Digital Commons Network^™

The Value Of Humanization In Customer Service, Yang Gao, Huaxia Rui, Shujing Sun

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

As algorithm-based agents become increasingly capable of handling customer service queries, customers are often uncertain whether they are served by humans or algorithms, and managers are left to question the value of human agents once the technology matures. The current paper studies this question by quantifying the impact of customers' enhanced perception of being served by human agents on customer service interactions. Our identification strategy hinges on the abrupt implementation by Southwest Airlines of a signature policy, which requires the inclusion of an agent's first name in responses on Twitter, thereby making the agent more humanized in the eyes of …

Why My Code Summarization Model Does Not Work: Code Comment Improvement With Category Prediction, Qiuyuan Chen, Xin Xia, Han Hu, David Lo, Shanping Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Code summarization aims at generating a code comment given a block of source code and it is normally performed by training machine learning algorithms on existing code block-comment pairs. Code comments in practice have different intentions. For example, some code comments might explain how the methods work, while others explain why some methods are written. Previous works have shown that a relationship exists between a code block and the category of a comment associated with it. In this article, we aim to investigate to which extent we can exploit this relationship to improve code summarization performance. We first classify comments …

Peer-To-Peer Trade And The Economy Of Distributed Pv In China, Peiyun Song, Yiou Zhou, Jiahai Yuan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With the deepening of power market reform, distributed power generation is gaining momentum. This paper tests the distributed photovoltaic (DPV) economy under different business models by taking three provinces to stand for typical resource zones. The Internal return rate (IRR) is used to measure the economy, while the improved levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is used to model the generation cost. Three business modes, namely pure producer (all generation sold to the grid), prosumer (self-use and the rest sold to the grid), and peer-to-peer trade (P2P, all generation traded via the grid) are studied. Results show that peer-to-peer trade is …

Fakespotter: A Simple Yet Robust Baseline For Spotting Ai-Synthesized Fake Faces, Run Wang, Felix Juefei-Xu, Lei Ma, Xiaofei Xie, Yihao Huang, Jian Wang, Yang Liu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In recent years, generative adversarial networks (GANs) and its variants have achieved unprecedented success in image synthesis. They are widely adopted in synthesizing facial images which brings potential security concerns to humans as the fakes spread and fuel the misinformation. However, robust detectors of these AI-synthesized fake faces are still in their infancy and are not ready to fully tackle this emerging challenge. In this work, we propose a novel approach, named FakeSpotter, based on monitoring neuron behaviors to spot AIsynthesized fake faces. The studies on neuron coverage and interactions have successfully shown that they can be served as testing …

Key Performance Indicators For Holistic Evaluation Of Building Retrofits: Systematic Literature Review And Focus Group Study, Wai Yee, Betty Chiu

Department of Construction, Environment and Engineering

Buildings are increasingly designed and constructed with state-of-the-art facilities. But without proper upkeep including timely implementation of appropriate retrofits throughout the operational stage, the facilities will not be able to perform to meet their intended purposes and the ever-rising user demands. Research on building retrofits has been widely pursued, but studies focusing on the identification of appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs) for holistic evaluation of building retrofits remain limited. To address this research gap, a mixed methods approach combining positivism and interpretivism was taken for a study. First, a four-stage literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews …

Infinite-Duration All-Pay Bidding Games, Guy Avni, Ismäel Jecker, Dorde Zikelic

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In a two-player zero-sum graph game the players move a token throughout a graph to produce an infinite path, which determines the winner or payoff of the game. Traditionally, the players alternate turns in moving the token. In bidding games, however, the players have budgets, and in each turn, we hold an "auction" (bidding) to determine which player moves the token: both players simultaneously submit bids and the higher bidder moves the token. The bidding mechanisms differ in their payment schemes. Bidding games were largely studied with variants of first-price bidding in which only the higher bidder pays his bid. …

Website Creation As A Means Of Fulfilling Muslim Funeral Information Needs Amid Covid-19 Pandemic, Witanti Prihatiningsih, Ninis Agustini Damayani, Asep Suryana, Susie Perbawasari

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

A website can serve as a means of fulfilling information needs on the internet. The need for websites as a source of information increased during the Covid-19 pandemic along with many people doing their activities at home. The Memorial Advisor sees this situation as an opportunity. They created a website to convey information about Muslim funeral products to the public. The purpose of this research is to examine website creation as a means of fulfilling the information needs of the public regarding Muslim funerals amid the Covid-19 Pandemic. This research uses the descriptive qualitative method. This research concludes that Memorial …

Shifting Contour Of Data Sharing In Financial Market And Regulatory Responses: The Uk And Australian Models, Han-Wei Liu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Starting from Directive 2015/2366 on Payment Services in the Internal Market — known as PSD II in the European Union (EU) — countries across the world have or are contemplating a new framework to govern data sharing among different players in the financial market. “Open Banking,” as this trend is called, requires or encourages — depending on the regulatory models adopted in different jurisdictions — banks to share consumer-permissioned banking data with third parties securely, in a form that facilitates its use. The Open Banking initiatives have diffused from the EU, and the UK, to elsewhere. The current Open Banking …

Towards A Control-Centric Account Of Tort Liability For Automated Vehicles, Jerrold Tsin Howe Soh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Existing motor vehicle accident laws are generally described as ‘driver-centric’, since regulatory, liability, and insurance obligations revolve around drivers. This is sometimes taken to imply that they cannot apply to automated vehicles. This article seeks to re-centre the liability discussion around the tortious doctrine of control. It argues centrally that properly understanding legal control as influence over metaphysical risks, rather than physical objects, clarifies that automated vehicles are both legally controllable in theory, despite having no human drivers, and legally controlled in practice, despite their reliance on machine learning. Examining today’s automated driving technology and businesses, this article demonstrates how …

Molecular Characterization Of The Cattle Tick Rhipicephalus (Boopphilus) Spp. From Selected Provinces Of Luzon, Philippines Based On The Cytochrome Oxidase 1 Gene, Adrian Jacob T. Barcenas

Undergraduate Theses

Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, commonly known as the tropical cattle tick, is a major blood-sucking ectoparasite of cattle that greatly affects the cattle industry. The real identity of the cattle tick in the Philippines is not yet elucidated because this species is believed to be complex. The samples used in this study were pre-collected adult, partially fed female ticks morphologically identified as R. microplus, from the cattle-producing provinces of Luzon, Philippines: Isabela, Cagayan, Rizal, Laguna, Batangas, Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, and Quezon. The cattle ticks were characterized through amplification and sequence analysis of the cytochrome oxidase 1 (cox1). Genetic characterization of the …

Tax Law And The Digital Economy In Singapore, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This chapter is divided into three main parts: 1) international tax law, 2) domestic tax law, and 3) tax and regulation. The first part deals with the international tax system and the way it has been affected by technology. This part will focus on income tax. Existing rules of nexus, characterisation of income and treatment of data are increasingly being challenged, leading to changes in the OECD Model Convention and the implementation of the Base Erosion and Profits Shifting (“BEPS”) project. These in turn have had a considerable impact on Singapore tax law, as Singapore is an active participant in …

Towards An Optimal Model Of Directors’ Duties In The Zone Of Insolvency: An Economic And Comparative Approach, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a recent article, I analyse the primary regulatory models of directors’ duties in the zone of insolvency observed internationally. From a sample of more than 20 countries from Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and North America, I distinguish six primary regulatory models: (i) the imposition of a duty to initiate insolvency proceedings, generally found in Europe; (ii) the imposition of a duty to recapitalise or liquidate the company, typically existing in Europe and Latin America; (iii) the imposition of duties towards the company’s creditors, including the duty to minimise losses for the creditors existing in the United Kingdom; …

Important Not To Let Hsr Termination Hobble Further Cooperation, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Strong people-to-people ties can help temper political histrionics, moderate negative impact on political ties. The tantalising prospect of being able to leave Singapore and arrive in Kuala Lumpur in just 90 minutes remains a pipe dream after the High Speed Rail (HSR) agreement was terminated last Friday, along with what could have been an important confidence booster to bilateral ties between Singapore and Malaysia.

S’Poreans Are Feeling Betrayed Because Of Tracetogether. The Government Needs To Restore Trust, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The authorities previously assured citizens that the TT data "will only be used for contact tracing", but subsequently indicated that the data may be used for criminal investigations. TT is the vital tool in our fight against the pandemic as it helps with contact tracing. It is in the government's interest to ensure optimal usage of TT. Some are now feeling that the government has "betrayed" their trust, so public confidence in using TraceTogether must be restored.

Rethinking China Trade Policy: Lessons Learned And Options Ahead, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Looking back at the China trade policy of the Trump administration, the biggest lesson is that unilateralism simply doesn’t work, at least not against a major power like China. Despite the tumultuous two-and-half-year trade war and the Phase 1 deal hailed as an “unprecedented” deal promising “a more balanced trade relationship and a more level playing field for American workers and companies,” there has been little progress on the issues U.S. businesses and the Trump administration objected to in China’s trade and economic policies. It is not only the U.S. government that needs a more viable approach. Many companies would …

Modernizing Corporate Law In Latin America: Lessons From Ecuador, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez, Esteban Ortiz-Mena, Paul Noboa-Velasco

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In the past decades, several countries in Latin America, including Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay, have implemented significant corporate law reforms. In the meantime, the regulatory framework for companies in Ecuador has remained virtually intact since 1964. This situation, however, has dramatically changed in 2020. In one of the most ambitious corporate law reforms observed in Latin America in the past decades, Ecuador has recently modernized its corporate law.

Human Capital Formation And Return Migration Within Mong Communities In Rural/Semi-Rural Northern California, Chong Yang

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This research uses computational grounded theory to explore the human capital formation and stay/return migration experiences of well-educated Mong adults living in various rural/semi-rural Northern California localities within Butte, Yuba, and Sutter Counties. Rural vitality is dependent on the return of these well-educated rural-raised adults. Out-migration of rurality’s best and brightest contributes towards a brain drain and the hallowing out of rurality’s human capital. Findings of this research is conveyed using two research articles examining two different points on the continuum of rural vitality. The first article examines 19 Mong adults’ educational experiences within their rural communities and college education. …

[Introduction To] Race, Removal, And The Right To Remain : Migration And The Making Of The United States / Samantha Seeley., Samantha Seeley

Bookshelf

This work explores the conflicts over migration at the center of the social, political, intellectual, and physical landscape of the early United States. Examining the voluntary and forced migrations of Indigenous, African American, and Anglo Americans in the decades immediately following the Revolution, Samantha Seeley argues that the United States took shape as a white republic through contentious negotiations over who could move and where, who could remain and how. Removal was not sweeping, top-down federal legislation. Instead, it was a battle fought on multiple fronts. It encompassed tribal leaders' attempts to expel white settlers from Native lands and African …

The Effect Of Diet On The Variation Of Blood And Urine Heavy Metal Biomarkers Among National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (Nhanes) Subjects: A Secondary Data Analysis, Devineé Lingo, Alyssa Perri

Loma Linda University Research Reports

Background: Heavy metals are non-essential elements that provide no biological benefit to the human body. Heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium are toxic to humans even in trace amounts. Humans are exposed to various heavy metals through ingestion of contaminated food and water supplies. Heavy metals can accumulate in body organs and displace essential minerals leading to detrimental health effects such as neurological, endocrine, and immune dysfunction, that can result in long-term damage.

Objective: The purpose of this graduate student research study was to examine the effect of diet on the variation of blood and urine lead, …

An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of The National Diabetes Education Program From The Perspective Of Registered Dietitians, Anne Atkinson, Baylee Wilhelmson

Loma Linda University Research Reports

Background: Diabetes is currently the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. While knowledge and awareness of T2DM remains high, the perception of risk is still quite low despite education programs such as the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP). Diabetes treatment centers incorporate this education program into their patient care to address exercise, diabetes management, emotional issues, and healthy eating and cooking.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the National Diabetes Education Program for T2DM populations from the perspective of registered dietitians in the United States.

Design: An anonymous online survey of 24 questions was designed to collect …

The Effectiveness Of A Four-Week Parent Nutrition Education Series In Creating Knowledge And Behavioral Changes, Glencill Taylor, Sally B. Millon

Loma Linda University Research Reports

Background: Recent research has indicated that the diets of many US children are not meeting established dietary recommendations. Parent-based nutrition education has been identified as an option to influence children in adopting healthful dietary practices. This study sought to explore how an online school-supported nutrition program for parents and guardians can address this need.

Objective: To determine if a four-week school supported online parent nutrition education program created knowledge and/or potential behavioral change for participants.

Design: The study was originally designed as a qualitative research study intended to include up to 100 participants. As a result of …

Re-Imagining “Spaces” For Relating Within And Between France And Germany In The Long Nineteenth Century, Debra Gusnard

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The “modern world” as we now know it is quite different from that which was emerging in Western Europe and began to accelerate in its development under the impetus of revolution and wars at the turn of the nineteenth century. Not only were material conditions in the process of shifting from those grounded in more traditional, rural and agrarian ways of life to those developing into more urban and industrialized ones, but the “social ontology” and cultural forms of “mapping” and communicating about reality were also changing. This study employs a “macro-historical” framework which incorporates complexity and complex system principles …

Who Is Bisexual? Perceptions Of Sexual Orientations Under Ambiguity, Megan E. Wilson

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

How do people determine another individual’s sexual orientation? As sexuality often does not have visible cues, people must often rely on how others identify and behave. However, sexual identity and behavior can often conflict (Pathela et al., 2006; Ross et al., 2003). In Study 1, I examined whether participants perceived individuals to be straight, gay, or bisexual when identity and behavior conflicted (e.g., a man who identifies as “straight” but had sex with other men). Study 2 examined how perceptions were affected by the characteristics of the target and their behavior and Study 3 examined how perception was related to …

Determining Optimal Resistance Loads During Exercise In Male And Female College Students, Alexia Amo

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Exercise is a crucial component in obtaining proper health and fitness objectives in young adulthood. Determination of an optimal resistance load for men and women may aid in physiological function and reduce the likelihood of injury. We tested 32 physically active men (n=14) and women (n=18) between ages 18-25 on Proteus Motion, USA. Proteus applies continuous three-dimensional magnetic resistance loads during exercise. Testing consisted of 2 repetitions of horizontal and vertical push and pull exercises comparing performance of the dominant and non-dominant arm. Each exercise was performed with a resistance of 7lb, 14lb, 21lb, and 28lb for a total of …

Exploring The Identification Of American Indian Children With Autism Spectrum Disoder Through The Story Of A Parent, Christopher Cooper

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

American Indian or Alaska Native children are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at later ages than Non-Hispanic White children. Other than being included in prevalence studies, in the last thirty years, there has been less than a handful of studies that have looked specifically at Autism Spectrum Disorder within the AI/AN community. No studies looked at the assessment experience of parents. This exploratory study used Indigenous Storytelling Methodology to hear an AI/AN parent’s initial developmental concerns about their child and their experience with the Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis process. The system of assessment created a frustrating experience, and the parent …

Integrated Threat Theory: Immigration Perspectives And Teachers’ Attitudes, Doe Adelfa Suzanne Hain-Jamall

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Using integrated threat theory as a theoretical framework, this multiple case study analyzed the effects of threat and the perception of threat from immigrants on the attitudes of teachers toward their elementary school students. The study was conducted with teachers at five northern California schools. All of the teachers were experienced and well-trained, teaching in low-income neighborhoods with large immigrant populations.

In support of integrated threat theory’s premise, results indicated that where threat was present or perceived, teachers’ words and reported teaching behavior indicated prejudicial attitudes toward students. The lack of threat corresponded to a lack of bias.

It was …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Role Of Social Robots As Teaching Assistants In The Online Teaching Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Richard Hutley

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are the fastest-growing group of children with special education needs. ASD affects individuals from all walks of life, regardless of race, ethnicity, educational levels of family members, or socio-economic backgrounds. People on the autism spectrum have difficulty communicating and establishing socio-emotional connections with other human beings, making teaching those with ASD challenging for their human teachers.Most research in the field of autism has focused on the clinical aspects of the condition and on the individuals who are on the spectrum. However, research into the perception of the teachers charged with educating ASD students is …

Speech And Language Development Of Bilingual Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Children, Joanne J. Ryu

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Due to gaps in literature exploring communication outcomes in Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children with access to more than one spoken language, limited agreement on optimal language use for DHH children, and an ongoing cultural and linguistic loss in this population, the aim of this pilot study was to further the literature and comprehensively explore the impact of oral bilingualism in DHH children. Participants were self-selected and recruited primarily through relevant social media. Speech and language development in children were observed and quantified at two time points (at the time of enrollment into the study and subsequently after …

Improving The Educational Experience Of Trauma-Impacted Students: Identifying Emerging Best Practices For Teaching Low-Socioeconomic Status Urban Students, Regina Lane

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative action research concentrates on examining the best practices for teachers in trauma-informed practices by producing an implementation guide to train the trainer. The theoretical framework utilized to help inform the development of this research was Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (1989) in relation to human development for identifying the emerging best practices with being trauma informed. The scope of this research focuses on low-socioeconomic status (SES) urban youth, so cultural sensitivity is naturally always a component of a complete train-the-trainer, trauma-informed teaching program. I identified the emerging best practices in two ways: (a) by gathering and summarizing supporting sources …

Community Gardens: Giving Hope To Southeast Asian Refugees, Yua Thao

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Since 1975, over 1.3 million Southeast Asian refugees have resettled in the United States from the Southeast Asian nations of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam (Office of Refugee Resettlement, 2014). Many Southeast Asian refugees fled their home countries after the Vietnam War to avoid political persecution. As a result of forced migration, Southeast Asian refugees experience high levels of psychological distress attributed to premigration trauma and postmigration. Stressors may include adjusting to a new culture, finding housing, establishing employment, financial hardship, learning a new language and the feeling of identity loss of their homeland. In considering these stressors, this study sought …