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2013

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Articles 271 - 292 of 292

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Decision Support For Assorted Populations In Uncertain And Congested Environments, Pradeep Reddy Varakantham, Asrar Ahmed, Shih-Fen Cheng Jan 2013

Decision Support For Assorted Populations In Uncertain And Congested Environments, Pradeep Reddy Varakantham, Asrar Ahmed, Shih-Fen Cheng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This research is motivated by large scale problems in urban transportation and labor mobility where there is congestion for resources and uncertainty in movement. In such domains, even though the individual agents do not have an identity of their own and do not explicitly interact with other agents, they effect other agents. While there has been much research in handling such implicit effects, it has primarily assumed deterministic movements of agents. We address the issue of decision support for individual agents that are identical and have involuntary movements in dynamic environments. For instance, in a taxi fleet serving a city, …

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Automated Parameter Tuning Framework For Heterogeneous And Large Instances: Case Study In Quadratic Assignment Problem, Linda Lindawati, Zhi Yuan, Hoong Chuin Lau, Feida Zhu Jan 2013

Automated Parameter Tuning Framework For Heterogeneous And Large Instances: Case Study In Quadratic Assignment Problem, Linda Lindawati, Zhi Yuan, Hoong Chuin Lau, Feida Zhu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper is concerned with automated tuning of parameters of algorithms to handle heterogeneous and large instances. We propose an automated parameter tuning framework with the capability to provide instance-specific parameter configurations. We report preliminary results on the Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP) and show that our framework provides a significant improvement on solutions qualities with much smaller tuning computational time.

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How Strong Are The Effects Of Technological Disruption? Smartphones' Impacts On Internet And Cable Tv Services Consumption, M. R. Chang, Robert J. Kauffman, K.S. Kim Jan 2013

How Strong Are The Effects Of Technological Disruption? Smartphones' Impacts On Internet And Cable Tv Services Consumption, M. R. Chang, Robert J. Kauffman, K.S. Kim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Emerging technologies have created disruptions in organizational, business process and industry contexts. They act as shocks to a system. We focus on a retail telecom service provider’s offerings of different bun-dles, including mobile phones, Internet and cable TV services. We conduct empirical regularities analysis for Singapore, which was affected by the emergence of smartphones in 2009. We assess the impacts on the service bundle choices of a provider’s customers. We analyze customer switching among service bundles involving three services. We compute switching proba-bilities for each of the service levels offered, as well as between bundles. We use Markov chain transition …

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The Pricing Model Of Cloud Computing Services, Jianhui Huang, Dan Ma Jan 2013

The Pricing Model Of Cloud Computing Services, Jianhui Huang, Dan Ma

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Cloud computing service providers offer computing resource as a utility and software as a service over network. Many believe that Cloud computing is making an industry-wise paradigm shift for IT use. Besides its technique issues, the business feature of Cloud computing attracts our interests. Specifically the practice of Amazon EC2 introduces an interesting pricing scheme. Amazon provides users with virtual computing instances as a combination of interruptible service (i.e., spot instance) and uninterruptible service (i.e., on-demand and reserved instance). Spot instance is charged at a per use price which is dynamically changing over time; users of spot instance face the …

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Technology Investment Decision-Making Under Uncertainty: The Case Of Mobile Payment Systems, Robert J. Kauffman, Jun Liu, Dan Ma Jan 2013

Technology Investment Decision-Making Under Uncertainty: The Case Of Mobile Payment Systems, Robert J. Kauffman, Jun Liu, Dan Ma

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The recent launch of Google Wallet has brought the issue of technology solutions in mobile payments (m-payments) to the forefront. In deciding whether and when to adopt m-payments, senior managers in banks are concerned about uncertainties regarding future market conditions, technology standards, and consumer and merchant responses, especially their willingness to adopt. This study applies economic theory and modeling for decision-making under uncertainty to bank investments in m-payment systems technology. We assess the projected benefits and costs of investment as a continuous-time stochastic process to determine optimal investment timing. We find that the value of waiting to adopt jumps when …

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Regret Based Robust Solutions For Uncertain Markov Decision Processes, Asrar Ahmed, Pradeep Reddy Varakantham, Yossiri Adulyasak, Patrick Jaillet Jan 2013

Regret Based Robust Solutions For Uncertain Markov Decision Processes, Asrar Ahmed, Pradeep Reddy Varakantham, Yossiri Adulyasak, Patrick Jaillet

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we seek robust policies for uncertain Markov Decision Processes (MDPs). Most robust optimization approaches for these problems have focussed on the computation of maximin policies which maximize the value corresponding to the worst realization of the uncertainty. Recent work has proposed minimax regret as a suitable alternative to the maximin objective for robust optimization. However, existing algorithms for handling minimax regret are restricted to models with uncertainty over rewards only. We provide algorithms that employ sampling to improve across multiple dimensions: (a) Handle uncertainties over both transition and reward models; (b) Dependence of model uncertainties across state, …

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Valuation Of Participation In Social Gaming, Kwansoo Kim, Byungjoon Yoo, Robert J. Kauffman Jan 2013

Valuation Of Participation In Social Gaming, Kwansoo Kim, Byungjoon Yoo, Robert J. Kauffman

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This study examines the value of the time that a user spends to participate in a social game. We focus on how a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) vendor can establish prices to encourage participation and retain its players. We estimate value through an application of the hedonic pricing model and analyze a data set for an MMORPG in Korea. The results permit us to estimate the value of game-playing time in monetary terms. Based on our empirical results, we propose an economic model and conduct numerical simulation to show how a game vendor can apply differential pricing in …

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Firm Strategy And The Internet In U.S. Commercial Banking, K. H. Goh, Robert J. Kauffman Jan 2013

Firm Strategy And The Internet In U.S. Commercial Banking, K. H. Goh, Robert J. Kauffman

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

As information technology (IT) becomes more accessible, sustaining any competitive advantage from it becomes challenging. This has caused some critics to dismiss IT as a less valuable resource. We argue that, in addition to being able to generate strategic advantage, IT should also be viewed as a strategic necessity that prevents competitive disadvantage in rapidly changing business environments. We test a set of hypotheses on strategic advantage and strategic necessity in the context of Internet banking investments among the entire population of the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) banks from 2003 to 2005. We seek to understand whether …

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Uncertain Congestion Games With Assorted Human Agent Populations , Pradeep Reddy Varakantham, Asrar Ahmed, Shih-Fen Cheng Jan 2013

Uncertain Congestion Games With Assorted Human Agent Populations , Pradeep Reddy Varakantham, Asrar Ahmed, Shih-Fen Cheng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Congestion games model a wide variety of real-world resource congestion problems, such as selfish network routing, traffic route guidance in congested areas, taxi fleet optimization and crowd movement in busy areas. However, existing research in congestion games assumes: (a) deterministic movement of agents between resources; and (b) perfect rationality (i.e. maximizing their own expected value) of all agents. Such assumptions are not reasonable in dynamic domains where decision support has to be provided to humans. For instance, in optimizing the performance of a taxi fleet serving a city, movement of taxis can be involuntary or nondeterministic (decided by the specific …

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Seller Diversity On A Technology-Based Platform, Ruhai Wu, Mei Lin Jan 2013

Seller Diversity On A Technology-Based Platform, Ruhai Wu, Mei Lin

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Managing a technology portfolio is one of the great challenges for sustained success, especially in high-technology industrieswhere technologies can be a major selling point. For engineers, this portfolio is more of a toolbox for solving design problems,but in large organizations there can be so many technologies used in different business areas that even the engineers may not beaware of all of them. When the same technologies are used in different types of products, knowledge about them can also begenerated by various groups within an organization. To improve the usefulness of a company's technology base, this paperproposes the use of a …

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Lexis In Chemical Engineering Discourse: Analyzing Style In Chemical Engineering Research Articles Through A Rhetorical Lens, David Lamar Young Jan 2013

Lexis In Chemical Engineering Discourse: Analyzing Style In Chemical Engineering Research Articles Through A Rhetorical Lens, David Lamar Young

Masters Theses

"This study examines the style of chemical engineering research articles to discover stylistic trends that may be applicable to authors looking to publish their own research. Rhetorical stylistic analysis was used as a research method to allow for thorough analysis of all articles in the sample. Ten research articles from the two prominent chemical engineering journals were chosen using specific criteria to constitute a sample of articles that could most accurately represent the population of chemical engineering research articles. Each article was then analyzed line by line to identify markers of chemical engineering research article style, including the following: ▬Use …

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A Comparison Of Periodic Autoregressive And Dynamic Factor Models In Intraday Energy Demand Forecasting, Thomas Mestekemper, Goeran Kauermann, Michael Smith Dec 2012

A Comparison Of Periodic Autoregressive And Dynamic Factor Models In Intraday Energy Demand Forecasting, Thomas Mestekemper, Goeran Kauermann, Michael Smith

Michael Stanley Smith

We suggest a new approach for forecasting energy demand at an intraday resolution. Demand in each intraday period is modeled using semiparametric regression smoothing to account for calendar and weather components. Residual serial dependence is captured by one of two multivariate stationary time series models, with dimension equal to the number of intraday periods. These are a periodic autoregression and a dynamic factor model. We show the benefits of our approach in the forecasting of district heating demand in a steam network in Germany and aggregate electricity demand in the state of Victoria, Australia. In both studies, accounting for weather …

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Constructing And Evaluating An Autoregressive House Price Index, Chaitra Nagaraja, Lawrence Brown Dec 2012

Constructing And Evaluating An Autoregressive House Price Index, Chaitra Nagaraja, Lawrence Brown

Chaitra H Nagaraja

No abstract provided.

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Connecting Big Data With Big Decisions: Ideas For Synthesizing Analytics And Decision Analysis, Jeffrey Keisler Dec 2012

Connecting Big Data With Big Decisions: Ideas For Synthesizing Analytics And Decision Analysis, Jeffrey Keisler

Jeffrey Keisler

This paper describes an approach to connect decision analysis models with outputs of analytic methods applied to various types of big data. Decision analysis models focus on issues of concern to a decision maker and incorporate use of a range of methods and axioms to develop insights about what the decision maker should do. In particular, decision analysis models typically use subjective judgments from the decision maker to describe beliefs about the likelihood of events and the desirability of outcomes. In order for human judgments to be improved by the availability of large amounts of data and processing power, it …

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Location And Tracking Of Mobile Devices: Überveillance Stalks The Streets, Katina Michael, Roger Clarke Dec 2012

Location And Tracking Of Mobile Devices: Überveillance Stalks The Streets, Katina Michael, Roger Clarke

Professor Katina Michael

During the last decade, location-tracking and monitoring applications have proliferated, in mobile cellular and wireless data networks, and through self-reporting by applications running in smartphones that are equipped with onboard global positioning system (GPS) chipsets. It is now possible to locate a smartphone-user's location not merely to a cell, but to a small area within it. Innovators have been quick to capitalise on these location-based technologies for commercial purposes, and have gained access to a great deal of sensitive personal data in the process. In addition, law enforcement utilise these technologies, can do so inexpensively and hence can track many …

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Towards A Conceptual Model Of User Acceptance Of Location-Based Emergency Services, Anas Aloudat, Katina Michael Dec 2012

Towards A Conceptual Model Of User Acceptance Of Location-Based Emergency Services, Anas Aloudat, Katina Michael

Professor Katina Michael

This paper investigates the introduction of location-based services by government as part of an all-hazards approach to modern emergency management solutions. Its main contribution is in exploring the determinants of an individual’s acceptance or rejection of location services. The authors put forward a conceptual model to better predict why an individual would accept or reject such services, especially with respect to emergencies. While it may be posited by government agencies that individuals would unanimously wish to accept life-saving and life-sustaining location services for their well-being, this view remains untested. The theorised determinants include: visibility of the service solution, perceived service …

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Community And Commercial Strategies In Open Source Software, Anthony Wasserman Dec 2012

Community And Commercial Strategies In Open Source Software, Anthony Wasserman

Tony Wasserman

This paper describes the recent evolution of business strategies used by companies offering products and services based on free and open source software (FOSS). The primary focus is on companies that develop and release products under an open source license. The paper compares their practices with traditional proprietary software companies and with community-based open source projects, and identifies growing overlaps between the different kinds of software companies. Finally, the paper describes the likely impact of recent technology developments in mobile and cloud computing on open source software and related business.

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Importance Of Integrating Information Technology Related Curriculum In American Inner City Schools, Jorja Wright, Maurice E. Dawson Jr. Dec 2012

Importance Of Integrating Information Technology Related Curriculum In American Inner City Schools, Jorja Wright, Maurice E. Dawson Jr.

Maurice Dawson

This paper examines the significance of integrating Information Technology (IT) into the inner city K - 12 educational curriculum. Educational curriculum reform is eminent due to the major breakthroughs in technology, including mobile internet, digital textbooks, and cloud computation. Currently, some educational systems are starting to utilize IT. Examples of this are seen with: Technology- based educational reform efforts such as Huntsville City Schools Laptop Initiative and Geospatial Information Technology (GIT); Software-focused initiatives such as Apple Textbook Initiative and Barnes and Noble e-book editions for Nook; finally, structured/standardized professional development workshops or courses such as the Library of Congress Teaching …

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Dod Cyber Technology Policies To Secure Automated Information Systems, Maurice E. Dawson Jr., Miguel Crespo, Stephen Brewster Dec 2012

Dod Cyber Technology Policies To Secure Automated Information Systems, Maurice E. Dawson Jr., Miguel Crespo, Stephen Brewster

Maurice Dawson

Availability, integrity, and confidentiality (AIC) is a key theme everywhere as cyber security has become more than an emerging topic. The Department of Defense (DoD) has implemented multiple processes such as the Department of Defense information assurance certification and accreditation process (DIACAP), common criteria (CC), and created proven baselines to include information assurance (IA) controls to protect information system (IS) resources. The aim of this research study shall provide insight to the applicable processes, IA controls, and standards to include providing a method for selecting necessary government models and for system development.

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The Future Prospects Of Embedded Microchips In Humans As Unique Identifiers: The Risks Versus The Rewards, Katina Michael, M.G. Michael Dec 2012

The Future Prospects Of Embedded Microchips In Humans As Unique Identifiers: The Risks Versus The Rewards, Katina Michael, M.G. Michael

Professor Katina Michael

Microchip implants for humans are not new. Placing heart pacemakers in humans for prosthesis is now considered a straightforward procedure. In more recent times we have begun to use brain pacemakers for therapeutic purposes to combat illnesses such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s Disease, and severe depression. Microchips are even being placed inside prosthetic knees and hips during restorative procedures to help in the gathering of post-operative analytics that can aid rehabilitation further. While medical innovations that utilise microchips abound, over the last decade we have begun to see the potential use of microchip implants for non-medical devices in humans, namely for …

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Bayesian Approaches To Copula Modelling, Michael S. Smith Dec 2012

Bayesian Approaches To Copula Modelling, Michael S. Smith

Michael Stanley Smith

Copula models have become one of the most widely used tools in the applied modelling of multivariate data. Similarly, Bayesian methods are increasingly used to obtain efficient likelihood-based inference. However, to date, there has been only limited use of Bayesian approaches in the formulation and estimation of copula models. This article aims to address this shortcoming in two ways. First, to introduce copula models and aspects of copula theory that are especially relevant for a Bayesian analysis. Second, to outline Bayesian approaches to formulating and estimating copula models, and their advantages over alternative methods. Copulas covered include Archimedean, copulas constructed …

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Taking No Prisoners: Captive Insurance As An Alternative To Traditional Or Commercial Insurance, Constance A. Anastopoulo Dec 2012

Taking No Prisoners: Captive Insurance As An Alternative To Traditional Or Commercial Insurance, Constance A. Anastopoulo

Constance A. Anastopoulo

No abstract provided.

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