Digital Commons Network^™

Match In My Way: Fine-Grained Bilateral Access Control For Secure Cloud-Fog Computing, Shengmin Xu, Jianting Ning, Yingjiu Li, Yinghui Zhang, Guowen Xu, Xinyi Huang, Robert H. Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Cloud-fog computing is a novel paradigm to extend the functionality of cloud computing to provide a variety of on demand data services via the edge network. Many cryptographic tools have been introduced to preserve data confidentiality against the untrustworthy network and cloud servers. However, how to efficiently identify and retrieve useful data from a large number of ciphertexts without a costly decryption mechanism remains a challenging problem. In this paper, we introduce a cloud fog-device data sharing system (CFDS) with data confidentiality and data source identification simultaneously based on a new cryptographic primitive named matchmaking attribute-based encryption (MABE) by extending …

Heterogeneous Attentions For Solving Pickup And Delivery Problem Via Deep Reinforcement Learning, Jingwen Li, Liang Xin, Zhiguang Cao, Andrew Lim, Wen Song, Jie Zhang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Recently, there is an emerging trend to apply deep reinforcement learning to solve the vehicle routing problem (VRP), where a learnt policy governs the selection of next node for visiting. However, existing methods could not handle well the pairing and precedence relationships in the pickup and delivery problem (PDP), which is a representative variant of VRP. To address this challenging issue, we leverage a novel neural network integrated with a heterogeneous attention mechanism to empower the policy in deep reinforcement learning to automatically select the nodes. In particular, the heterogeneous attention mechanism specifically prescribes attentions for each role of the …

Ispray: Reducing Urban Air Pollution With Intelligent Water Spraying, Yun Cheng, Zimu Zhou, Lothar Thiele

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Despite regulations and policies to improve city-level air quality in the long run, there lack precise control measures to protect critical urban spots from heavy air pollution. In this work, we propose iSpray, the first-of-its-kind data analytics engine for fine-grained PM2.5 and PM10 control at key urban areas via cost-effective water spraying. iSpray combines domain knowledge with machine learning to profile and model how water spraying affects PM25 and PM10 concentrations in time and space. It also utilizes predictions of pollution propagation paths to schedule a minimal number of sprayers to keep the pollution concentrations at key spots under control. …

Learning Program Semantics With Code Representations: An Empirical Study, Jing Kai Siow, Shangqing Liu, Xiaofei Xie, Guozhu Meng, Yang Liu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Program semantics learning is the core and fundamental for various code intelligent tasks e.g., vulnerability detection, clone detection. A considerable amount of existing works propose diverse approaches to learn the program semantics for different tasks and these works have achieved state-of-the-art performance. However, currently, a comprehensive and systematic study on evaluating different program representation techniques across diverse tasks is still missed. From this starting point, in this paper, we conduct an empirical study to evaluate different program representation techniques. Specifically, we categorize current mainstream code representation techniques into four categories i.e., Feature-based, Sequence-based, Tree-based, and Graph-based program representation technique and …

State Graph Reasoning For Multimodal Conversational Recommendation, Yuxia Wu, Lizi Liao, Gangyi Zhang, Wenqiang Lei, Guoshuai Zhao, Xueming Qian, Tat-Seng Chua

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Conversational recommendation system (CRS) attracts increasing attention in various application domains such as retail and travel. It offers an effective way to capture users’ dynamic preferences with multi-turn conversations. However, most current studies center on the recommendation aspect while over-simplifying the conversation process. The negligence of complexity in data structure and conversation flow hinders their practicality and utility. In reality, there exist various relationships among slots and values, while users’ requirements may dynamically adjust or change. Moreover, the conversation often involves visual modality to facilitate the conversation. These actually call for a more advanced internal state representation of the dialogue …

Insider Sales Under The Threat Of Short Sellers: New Hypothesis And New Tests, Kemin Wang, Rencheng Wang, K. C. John Wei, Bohui Zhang, Yi Zhou

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using the Regulation SHO program as a quasi-experiment, we document that the threat of short selling has a negative effect on the volume of opportunistic insider selling and a positive effect on its profitability for each transaction. These effects are stronger among firms with higher litigation risk, greater media coverage, and executives who have more of their firms' stock-related holdings. We further find robust evidence when we extend the analyses to short selling deregulations in the Chinese and Hong Kong stock exchanges. Overall, our findings suggest that short sellers play a disciplinary role in opportunistic insider selling.

From Roadman To Royalties: Inter-Representational Value And The Hypercapitalist Impulses Of Grime, Orlando Woods

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper explores how digital media can cause the representational value of rap artists to be transformed. Ubiquitous access to digital recording, production and distribution technologies grants rappers an unprecedented degree of representational autonomy, meaning they are able to integrate the street aesthetic into their lyrics and music videos, and thus create content that offers a more authentic representation of their (past) lives. Sidestepping the mainstream music industry, the digital enables these integrations and bolsters the hypercapitalist impulses of content creators. I illustrate these ideas through a case study of grime artist, Bugzy Malone, who uses his music to narrate …

Major Government Customers And Loan Contract Terms, Daniel A. Cohen, Bin Li, Ningzhong Li, Yun Lou

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We examine the relation between the presence of U.S. government as a major customer and a supplier firm’s loan contract terms, using major corporate customers as a benchmark. We find that firms with major government customers are associated with fewer covenants and a lower likelihood of having performance pricing provisions in their loan contracts. In contrast, we do not find such associations for firms with major corporate customers. Further, we find no evidence that the existence of major government customers is related to the supplier firm’s loan spread, security, or maturity. We conjecture that lenders benefit from the stricter monitoring …

Five Key Points In The Ipcc Report On Climate Change Impacts And Adaptation, Lisa Schipper, Vanessa Castan Broto, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

The latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) looks at the impacts, adaptation and vulnerabilities associated with the climate crisis, and we are three of the 270 scientists and researchers who wrote it. The document reports stark new findings on the way current global warming of 1.1℃ is impacting natural and human systems, and on how our ability to respond will be increasingly limited with every additional increment of warming.

Commentary: Coastal Cities Like Singapore Face Outsized Risks – And Opportunities – In A Warming World, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Many Southeast Asian cities are at the frontline for rapid, concerted and effective climate action, says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report's lead author Winston Chow.

Ecosystem Duties, Green Infrastructure, And Environmental Injustice In Los Angeles, Sayd Randle

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

In Los Angeles, water managers and environmentalist NGOs champion green infrastructure retrofits, installations intended to maximize the water-absorbing capacity of the urban landscape. In such arrangements, the work of water management is necessarily spread among a more-than-human community, including (but certainly not limited to) humans, plants, soils, and gravels. This article analyzes the human labor within these collaborations, tracking when and how this work gets enrolled in networks of water management and circuits of value. I develop the term ecosystem duties to characterize these exertions and as a useful analytic for assessing emergent dynamics of environmental justice.

A Framework For Assessing Accountability In Collaborative Governance: A Process-Based Approach, Seulki Lee, Sonia M. Ospina

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Despite the complexities involved around the accountability mechanisms of collaborative governance, little is known about how to assess accountability at the network level and disentangle possible accountability deficits. This study first explicates the nature of collaborative governance accountability in contrast to accountability in traditional public administration and market-based governance. The analysis shows how collaborative governance accountability is distinctive: (a) accountability relationships shift from bilateral to multilateral; (b) horizontal as well as vertical accountability relationships are involved; (c) not only formal standards but also informal norms are used; and (d) accountability challenges move from control/audit issues to trust-building and paradox management …

Information Trust And Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Amongst Middle-Aged And Older Adults In Singapore: A Latent Class Analysis Approach, Micah Tan, Paulin Tay Straughan, Grace Cheong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Rationale: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy presents significant challenges for public health. Objective: Vaccine hesitancy among middle-aged and older adults has been a significant barrier in Singapore’s battle against COVID-19. We hypothesize that the trust middle-aged and older adults place in various sources of information influences vaccine hesitancy, and that distinct typologies of trust can be identified to better inform targeted health communication efforts. Method: Data from a nationally representative panel survey of Singaporeans aged 56–75 (N = 6094) was utilized. Modules fielded in August and November 2020, and June 2021 were analyzed, assessing social networks, trust in sources of information, and …

Perceived Cultural Impacts Of Climate Change Motivate Climate Action And Support For Climate Policy, Kim-Pong Tam, Angela K. Y. Leung, Brandon Koh

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The impacts of climate change on human cultures have received increasing attention in recent years. However, the extent to which people are aware of these impacts, whether such awareness motivates climate action, and what kinds of people show stronger awareness are rarely understood. The present investigation provides the very first set of answers to these questions. In two studies (with a student sample with N = 199 from Singapore and a demographically representative sample with N = 625 from the USA), we observed a generally high level of awareness among our participants. Most importantly, perceived cultural impacts of climate change …

Evidence Integration For Coherent Nexus Policy Design: A Mediterranean Perspective On Managing Water-Energy Interactions, Sarah Giest, Ishani Mukherjee

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Nexus governance increasingly relies on using data to design policy measures. At the intersection of different policy fields, such as energy and water, data is seen to shed light on complex challenges and have the ability to measure both problems and solutions systematically. In order to analyze the challenges linked to data use in the context of nexus governance, we use a policy design lens and more specifically the perspective of organizational policy instruments to look at the Mediterranean region. We focus on how the design of organizational tools enables or impedes policy coherence and thereby the efficacy of data …

In Search Of The Social Impact Of Cultural Districts - Emerging Principles For Social Impact Evaluation, Su Fern Hoe

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Across the globe, the transformative powers of cultural districts have been widely noted, particularly with respect to how they add value to the lives of individuals and to society as a whole. Yet the ways in which cultural districts deliver and evaluate their social impact have yet to be fully explored. Importantly, there is a stark absence of rigorous methodologies and assessment frameworks to assist cultural districts in articulating, planning, delivering, and evaluating their social value proposition. Based on findings from a follow-up study to our 2019 report on Social Impact, untimely terminated due to Covid-19, this publication highlights there …

Using Google Trends As A Proxy For Occupant Behavior To Predict Building, Chun Fu, Clayton Miller

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

In recent years, the availability of larger amounts of energy data and advanced machine learning algorithms has created a surge in building energy prediction research. However, one of the variables in energy prediction models, occupant behavior, is crucial for prediction performance but hard-to-measure or time-consuming to collect from each building. This study proposes an approach that utilizes the search volume of topics (e.g., education or Microsoft Excel) on the Google Trends platform as a proxy of occupant behavior and use of buildings. Linear correlations were first examined to explore the relationship between energy meter data and Google Trends search terms …

The Epistemology Of Second Best, Gary S. Lawson

Faculty Scholarship

Second best theory “holds that where it is not possible to satisfy all the conditions necessary for a[] . . . system to reach an overall optimum, it is not generally desirable to satisfy as many of those conditions as possible.” Adrian Vermeule, Foreword: System Effects and the Constitution, 123 HARV. L. REV. 4, 17 (2009). In other words, if you are not moving all the way to the ideal state of affairs, it is unclear whether partial moves that seem to go in the direction of the ideal make the world “better” or “worse” – with “better” or “worse” …

Glutathione S-Transferase: A Candidate Gene For Berry Color In Muscadine Grapes (Vitis RotundifoliA), Aruna Varanasi, Margaret Worthington, Lacy Nelson, Autumn Brown, Thomas Mason Chizk, Renee Threlfall, Luke Howard, Patrick Conner, Rosa Figueroa-Balderas, Melanie Massonnet, Dario Cantu, John R. Clark

Horticulture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia Michx.) are a specialty crop cultivated in the southern United States. Muscadines (2n = 40) belong to the Muscadinia subgenus of Vitis, while other cultivated grape species belong to the subgenus Euvitis (2n = 38). The muscadine berry color locus was mapped to a 0.8 Mbp region syntenic with chromosome 4 of Vitis vinifera. In this study, we identified glutathione S-transferase4 as a likely candidate gene for anthocyanin transport within the berry color locus. PCR and Kompetitive allele-specific PCR genotyping identified a single intragenic SNP (C/T) marker corresponding to a proline …

Gender Gaps In Math Performance, Perceived Mathematical Ability And College Stem Education: The Role Of Parental Occupation, Lina Anaya, Frank P. Stafford, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Despite the promising future of employment opportunities in occupations related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), women remain underrepresented in some STEM occupational fields. We use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to study the role of gender differences in achievement and self-perceived ability in math during childhood, along with parental occupation (science-related versus non-science-related jobs), in the subsequent decision of majoring in science in college. Our findings suggest a loss in STEM enrollment by otherwise qualified young women and highlight the potential importance of parental occupation in STEM in encouraging women's participation in certain STEM fields.

Tax Evasion And Fraud In The United States Sex Market, Youngbee Dale

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This study describes tax evasion or fraud in the United States sex market. Prior to this study, scholars have recognized the problem of tax evasion in the commercial sex market as an obstacle to national revenue collection. Tax violation and fraud investigations also are ways to combat the illegal commercial sex industry. However, no studies have focused on the problem in the United States sex market. Hence, this study aims to describe tax evasion or fraud methods used by the criminals operating in the United States sex market. This study relies on both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the …

Prediction Of Bystander Intervention Behavior In A Sexual Assault Situation: The Role Of Religiosity, Empathy, And Gratitude, John D. Foubert, Mwarumba Mwavita, Kelva Hunger, Wei-Kang Kao, Pam Pittman-Adkins

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Bystander intervention in potential sexual assault situations is a common method of helping to address sexual violence on college campuses. Although numerous variables have been shown to mediate bystander intervention behavior, the pool of potential correlates is limited. The present study used regression analysis to determine the relationship between bystander behavior and three predictors: religiosity, gratitude, and victim empathy. Consistent with prior research, both religiosity and gratitude significantly predicted bystander behavior. Contrary to prior research, the relationship between victim empathy and bystander behavior was negative. Findings are discussed relating to potential bystander intervention programs, and future research, particularly on gratitude, …

Sexual Coercion, Unintended Pregnancy, And Poor Reproductive Health Among Adolescent Girls (Aged 13 - 19) In Mexico, Arun Kumar Acharya, Maria Luisa Martinez

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In Mexico, nearly 23,000 adolescents between the ages of 12-17 years suffer sexual coercion every year. This group also has a high birth rate of 77/1,000 adolescents, which indicates that one in every five pregnant women is an adolescent. This study describes the sexual coercion of victims and their views regarding the experience based on data collected from 37 Mexican girls between the age of 13 to 19, selected purposively using the snowball method in Monterrey city, Mexico. Results indicate that sexual coercion among adolescents is a serious problem, where 70% of adolescents experienced vaginal sexual coercion, nearly 22% experienced …

‘They Did Not Have To Burn My Sister Alive’: Causes And Distribution By State Of Dowry Murder In India, Peter Mayer

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Dowry, the money, goods, property, or gifts given by the bride’s family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage, is a common custom in South Asia. Although it is illegal to demand—or offer—a dowry in India, it is a nearly universal custom in many parts of the country. If, after marriage, a husband’s family feels that the wife’s dowry was insufficient, they may harass or inflict other forms of domestic violence on her to put pressure on her family to provide an additional dowry. At its most extreme, this violence may lead to the murder of …

Simultaneous Strength-Ductility Enhancement In As-Cast Ti6al4v Alloy By Trace Ce, K. M. Li, Y. J. Liu, X. C. Liu, X. Wu, S. F. Zhou, Laichang Zhang, W. Li, W. C. Zhang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Impurity elements always play a major role in hindering mechanical property improvement in Ti6Al4V, and specifically most of them e.g. O, P, Cl, and S dissolved in the matrix deteriorate the mechanical properties of Ti6Al4V. This work presents a strategy of enhancing the mechanical performance of as-cast Ti6Al4V alloy by adding a small amount of rare earth (i.e. 0.1 wt% Ce), where deleterious elements could be absorbed from the crystalline lattice during solidification process, forming uniformly distributed Ce-rich oxides or precipitates with ∼200 nm in size. The Ce-rich precipitates in turn refine the beta phase lamellae by introducing more nucleation …

Gatekeepers, Guides And Ghosts: Intermediaries Impacting Access To Schools During Covid-19, Michelle Striepe, Christine Cunningham

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This article reflects on the effect of gatekeepers, guides and ghosts on gaining access to research participants and field sites. Using a critically reflective approach, we examine our role as researchers and the roles of intermediaries in the process to access schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings show how gaining access is a non-linear process that is influenced by the agency of researchers and intermediaries at different contextual levels. Our analysis probes past research on gatekeepers, develops the emerging research on the role of guides and advances current understandings by introducing the concept of ghosts. Given the lack of …

Taking Flight, Georgia Southern University

College of Business: News & Publications

• Taking Flight- March 2022
• Message from the Dean

Bc-Dunet-Based Segmentation Of Fine Cracks In Bridges Under A Complex Background, Tao Liu, Liangji Zhang, Guoxiong Zhou, Weiwei Cai, Chuang Cai, Liujun Li

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Crack is the external expression form of potential safety risks in bridge construction. Currently, automatic detection and segmentation of bridge cracks remains the top priority of civil engineers. With the development of image segmentation techniques based on convolutional neural networks, new opportunities emerge in bridge crack detection. Traditional bridge crack detection methods are vulnerable to complex background and small cracks, which is difficult to achieve effective segmentation. This study presents a bridge crack segmentation method based on a densely connected U-Net network (BC-DUnet) with a background elimination module and cross-attention mechanism. First, a dense connected feature extraction model (DCFEM) integrating …

Spatiotemporal Analysis Of Urban Road Congestion During And Post Covid-19 Pandemic In Shanghai, China, Pengfei Xu, Weifeng Li, Xianbiao Hu, Hangbin Wu, Jian Li

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become one of the most serious global health crises in decades and tremendously influence the human mobility. Many residents changed their travel behavior during and after the pandemic, especially for a certain percentage of public transport users who chose to drive their owned vehicles. Thus, urban roadway congestion has been getting worse, and the spatiotemporal congestion patterns has changed significantly. Understanding spatiotemporal heterogeneity of urban roadway congestion during and post the pandemic is essential for mobility management. In this study, an analytical framework was proposed to investigate the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of urban roadway congestion in …

A Case Study Of Community-Engaged Design: Creating Parametric Insurance To Meet The Safety Needs Of Fisherfolk In The Caribbean, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The creation of the Caribbean Ocean and Aquaculture Sustainability faciliTy (COAST) is used as a case study of community-engaged design addressing safety needs. COAST is a parametric insurance product, sold to national governments, which was designed to meet the food and nutrition security of small- and medium-scale fisherfolk. The design of COAST is an example of convergence research, where the discipline of engineering was integrated with another discipline to solve pressing societal needs of Caribbean fisherfolk. This case study demonstrates that community-engaged design helps to (1) identify and include historically underrepresented stakeholders, (2) emphasize the importance of professional responsibility for …