Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Real-Time Road Traffic Prediction With Spatio-Temporal Correlations, Wanli Min, Laura Wynter

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Real-time road traffic prediction is a fundamental capability needed to make use of advanced, smart transportation technologies. Both from the point of view of network operators as well as from the point of view of travelers wishing real-time route guidance, accurate short-term traffic prediction is a necessary first step. While techniques for short-term traffic prediction have existed for some time, emerging smart transportation technologies require the traffic prediction capability to be both fast and scalable to full urban networks. We present a method that has proven to be able to meet this challenge. The method presented provides predictions of speed …

Autonomy In The Workplace: An Essential Ingredient To Employee Engagement And Well-Being In Every Culture, Marylène Gagne, Devasheesh P. Bhave

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The nature of organizational life requires questioning the role of worker autonomy. An impressive amount of management research has been devoted to autonomy issues in organizations. Autonomy is at the forefront of research on job design and the management of employees. Therefore, we review evidence in the area of job design and management practices that deeply affect worker autonomy. Throughout this discussion, we evaluate the cross-cultural applicability of research and practice and offer future directions based on self-determination theory.

Responsibility Of Schools In Dispensing Equal Justice: A Singapore Case Study, Rathna Nathan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The gap between the needs of indigents and the state subsidised legal services or pro bono legal services exist in all societies. Traditionally, the state and the legal fraternity have assumed responsibility to bridge this gap. Law schools have traditionally and culturally confined themselves to the academic instruction of the law. This paper considers whether law schools have an equal responsibility to plug this gap. Four main issues are considered. First, law schools have a professional responsibility to instill legal professionalism in law students, which includes educating students in a pro bono culture. Second, these responsibilities can be effectively discharged …

Do Individual Differences In Perceiving Situational Demands Moderate The Relationship Between Personality And Assessment Center Dimension Ratings?, Anne Jansen, Filip Lievens, Martin Kleinmann

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study contributes to research on assessment centers' (AC) external construct-related validity by investigating a potential moderator of the relationship between personality and AC dimension ratings. On the basis of recent insights in person-situation contingencies we hypothesized that individual differences in people's perception of situational demands moderate the relationship between personality and conceptually related AC dimension ratings. The hypotheses were tested with 108 individuals in two leaderless group discussion exercises. Results confirmed the hypotheses for two of the three traits (i.e., Agreeableness and Conscientiousness). In particular, people high on these traits who identified the situational demands received higher AC dimension …

The Shareholder’S Personal Claim: Allowing Recovery For Reflective Loss, Pearlie Koh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

An absolute application of the no reflective loss principle can result in unfairness. As such, retaining judicial discretion in the area will do much to ensure that genuine causes are not denied remedy. However, even as our courts appear prepared to allow a shareholder to recover for reflective loss, it is important that corporate autonomy is accorded due respect, and not be obscured by an overconsideration of policy concerns. To ensure this, the courts should allow recovery only if the right asserted by the shareholder is one that is separate and independent of the company’s right.

An Impregnable Fortress? Possible Attacks On The Singapore Trust?, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In the past ten years, Singapore has emerged as one of the most important wealth management centres in Asia.1 This development can be attributed to a number of factors. First, favourable laws were enacted to encourage high net worth individuals to ‘park’ their money in Singapore. These include changes to laws governing trust companies, confidentiality, taxation rules with regard to foreign earned income, abolition of estate duty and amendments to the Trustees Act.2 Secondly, both the private and public sectors embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign to promote Singapore as a wealth management centre.3 Thirdly, Singapore has one of the …

The Unresolved Legality Of Online Gambling In Singapore, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article addresses what appears to be a hitherto (legislatively and judicially) unresolved issue in a country where gambling is an established sub-culture – the legality of online gambling. The existing legislation does not provide direct answers, and as a result, the courts have not been given the opportunity to answer the question directly either. The police have previously made a few statements to the press and the media, but what should we make of them? While placing bets with unauthorised bookies (including those who operate their own website or use others’ websites) is clearly outlawed, leaving the offender with …

Maintaining Faith In Agency Under Immutable Constraints: Cognitive Consequences Of Believing In Negotiable Fate, Evelyn Wing-Mun Au, Chi-Yue Chiu, Avinish Chaturvedi, Leeann Mallorie, Madhu Viswanathan, Zhi Xue, Krishna Savani

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Negotiable fate refers to the idea that one can negotiate with fate for control, and that people can exercise personal agency within the limits that fate has determined. Research on negotiable fate has found greater prevalence of related beliefs in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Eastern Europe than in Western Europe and English-speaking countries. The present research extends previous findings by exploring the cognitive consequences of the belief in negotiable fate. It was hypothesized that this belief enables individuals to maintain faith in the potency of their personal actions and to remain optimistic in their goal pursuits despite the immutable …

Sham Marriages, Ancillary Powers, And Moral Discourse: Toh Seok Kheng V. Huang Huiqun; Adp V. Adq, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Is marriage an institution (of public morality) or a contract (of private ordering)? In Toh Seok Kheng, the High Court concluded that it was unable to declare a “sham marriage” void just because the motives behind the marriage seemed improper. In ADP, the High Court held that since a void marriage meant there was no marriage to begin with, the “wife” was not entitled to maintenance, and there could not have been any “matrimonial assets” to be divided, unless she had a strong “moral” claim. This piece considers how the aforementioned moral-contractual dichotomy emerges in these cases.

The Road To The Istana, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Assistant professor Eugene Tan highlights the vital importance of Singaporeans being given more time to know candidates who are aspiring to be the nation's next head of state.

Payroll Taxes, Wealth And Employment In Neoclassical Theory: Neutrality Or Nonneutrality?, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

The theoretical proposition that temporarily below-normal tax rates on labor this year, when merged with the prospect of reversion to normal rates next year, will encourage households to squeeze more work into this year and to work less in future years is well-founded. This proposition was recently tested anew on Icelandic data and performed well empirically (Bianchi, Gudmundsson, and Zoega 2001). But would a permanent cut in tax rates on labor encourage more work permanently—with no diminution of effectiveness? Conversely, does a permanent increase in tax rates on labor cause a permanent decline in hours worked?

Model Selection In Validation Sampling Data: An Asymptotic Likelihood-Based Lasso Approach, Chenlei Leng, Denis H. Y. Leung

Research Collection School Of Economics

We propose an asymptotic likelihood-based LASSO approach for model selection in regression analysis when data are subject to validation sampling. The method makes use of an initial estimator of the regression coefficients and their asymptotic covariance matrix to form an asymptotic likelihood. This ``working'' objective function facilitates the formulation of the LASSO and the implementation of a fast algorithm. Our method circumvents the need to use a likelihood set-up that requires full distributional assumptions about the data. We show that the resulting estimator is consistent in model selection and that the method has lower prediction errors than a model that …

Monetary Policy In Singapore And The Global Financial Crisis, Hwee Kwan Chow, Peter Wilson

Research Collection School Of Economics

Prior to the crisis the consensus amongst central bankers in advanced economies was that price stability, in the form of low and stable price inflation, was a top priority for monetary policy and could best be achieved by targeting interest rates (usually overnight) or monetary aggregates, such as Narrow Money (M1) and Broad Money (M2). Liquidity in the banking system could be flexibly adjusted on a daily basis through open market operations to increase or decrease the monetary base which would be transmitted to the rest of the economy through financial intermediation. Financial markets would then adjust longer-term interest rates …

The Impact Of Transaction Duration, Volume And Direction On Price Dynamics And Volatility, Anthony S. Tay, Christopher Ting, Yiu Kuen Tse, Mitchell Warachka

Research Collection School Of Economics

We explore the role of trade volume, trade direction, and the duration between trades in explaining price dynamics and volatility using an Asymmetric Autoregressive Conditional Duration model applied to intraday transactions data. Our results suggest that volume, direction and duration are important determinants of price dynamics, while duration is also an important determinant of volatility. However, the impact of volume and direction on volatility is marginal after controlling for duration, and the impact of volume on volatility appears to be confined to periods of infrequent trading.

Economic Transition, Higher Education And Worker Productivity In China, Belton Fleisher, Yifan Yu, Haizheng Li, Seonghoon Kim

Research Collection School Of Economics

We investigate the role of education on worker productivity and firms' total factor productivity using a panel of firm-level data from China. We estimate the returns to education by calculating the marginal productivity of workers of different education levels based on estimates of the firm-level production function. We also estimate how the education level of workers and CEO contributes to firms' total factor productivity. Estimated marginal products are much higher than wages, and the gap is larger for highly educated workers. Our estimate shows that an additional year of schooling raises marginal product by 30.1%, and that CEO's education increases …

How Predictable Is The Chinese Stock Market?, Fuwei Jiang, Jun Tu, David Rapach, Jack K. Strauss, Guofu Zhou

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We analyze return predictability for the Chinese stock market index and its components sorted on industry, size, book-to-market and ownership concentration, with both in-sample and out-of-sample tests. We find significant predictability. Among industry portfolios, Finance and insurance, Real estate, and Manufacturing exhibit the most predictability, while small-cap, low book-to-market ratio and low ownership concentration firms also display considerable predictability. The conditional CAPM model largely accounts for component predictability, and industry concentration significantly explain differences in return predictability across industries, consistent with the information-flow frictions emphasized by Hong, Torous, and Valkanov (2007).

Mate Preferences In The Us And Singapore: A Cross-Cultural Test Of The Mate Preference Priority Model, Norman P. Li, Katherine A. Valentine, Lily Patel

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Sex differences have been found in mate preferences across several decades. Especially for long-term partners, men tend to value physical attractiveness and women tend to value social status. However, the sexes both value various other traits even more highly. Such findings thus diminish the importance of the sex differences and challenge the theoretical importance that evolutionary psychologists place on physical attractiveness and social status. Using a budget allocation methodology to examine mate preferences in both the US and Singapore, we found not only the usual sex differences, but also evidence that men prioritize physical attractiveness and women prioritize social status …

Applicant Versus Employee Scores On Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Measures, Filip Lievens, Ute-Christine Klehe, Nele Libbrecht

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

There exists growing interest to assess applicants' emotional intelligence (EI) via self-report trait-based measures of EI as part of the selection process. However, some studies that experimentally manipulated applicant conditions have cautioned that in these conditions use of self-report measures for assessing EI might lead to considerably higher scores than current norm scores suggest. So far, no studies have scrutinized self-reported EI scores among a sample of actual job applicants. Therefore, this study compares the scores of actual applicants at a large ICT organization (n = 109) on a well-known self-report measure of EI to the scores of employees already …

Quasi-Option Value Under Strategic Interactions, Tomoki Fujii, Ryuichiro Ishikawa

Research Collection School Of Economics

We consider a simple two-period model of irreversible investment under strategic interactions between two players. In this setup, we show that the quasi-option value may cause some conceptual difficulties. In case of asymmetric information, decentralized investment decisions fail to induce first-best allocations. Therefore a regulator may not be able to exercise the option to delay the decision to develop. We also show that information-induced inefficiency may arise in a game situation and that under certain assumptions inefficiency can be eliminated by sending asymmetric information to the players, even when the regulator faces informational constraints. Our model is potentially applicable to …

Nonparametric And Semiparametric Panel Econometric Models: Estimation And Testing, Liangjun Su, Aman Ullah

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper gives a selective review on the recent developments of nonparametric and semiparametric panel data models. We focus on the conventional panel data models with one-way error component structure, partially linear panel data models, varying coefficient panel data models, nonparametric panel data models with multi-factor error structure, and nonseparable nonparametric panel data models. For each area, we discuss the basic models and ideas of estimation, and comment on the asymptotic properties of different estimators and specification tests. Much theoretical and empirical research is needed in this emerging area

Impact Of Remittances On Schooling In The Philippines: Does The Relationship To The Household Head Matter?, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

The remittance have emerged as one of the most important sources of international flows. In the Philippines, the amount of remittance receipts has more than doubled over a decade since early 1990s. As a result, the way remittances are used has become extremely important for economic development. Unlike the previous studies, we allow for the potential heterogeneity in the impact of remittances across various relationships to the head of household and take into account the potential negative effects of being guarded by someone other than the parents. We find that the impact of remittances on schooling is generally positive and …

Trends And Controversies: Ai, Virtual Worlds, And Massively Multiplayer Online Games, Hsinchun Chen, Yulei Zhang, W. S. Bainbridge, Kyong Jin Shim, N. Pathak, M. A. Ahmad, C. Delong, Z. Borbora, A. Mahapatra, J. Srivastava

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The rich social media data generated in virtual worlds has important implications for business, education, social science, and society at large. Similarly, massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) have become increasingly popular and have online communities comprising tens of millions of players. They serve as unprecedented tools for theorizing about and empirically modeling the social and behavioral dynamics of individuals, groups, and networks within large communities. Some technologists consider virtual worlds and MMOGs to be likely candidates to become the Web 3.0. AI can play a significant role, from multiagent avatar research and immersive virtual interface design to virtual world and …

Estimation And Forecasting Of Dynamic Conditional Covariance: A Semiparametric Multivariate Model, Xiangdong Long, Liangjun Su, Aman Ullah

Research Collection School Of Economics

We propose a semiparametric conditional covariance (SCC) estimator that combines the first-stage parametric conditional covariance (PCC) estimator with the second-stage nonparametric correction estimator in a multiplicative way. We prove the asymptotic normality of our SCC estimator, propose a nonparametric test for the correct specification of PCC models, and study its asymptotic properties. We evaluate the finite sample performance of our test and SCC estimator and compare the latter with that of PCC estimator, purely nonparametric estimator, and Hafner, Dijk, and Franses’s (2006) estimator in terms of mean squared error and Value-at-Risk losses via simulations and real data analyses.

Grocery Shopping: How Individuals And Built Environments Influence Choice Of Travel Mode, Junfeng Jiao, Anne Vernez Moudon, Adam Drewnowski

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This research investigated the influences of socioeconomic characteristics of individual travelers and of the environments where the travelers live and shop on choice of travel mode for grocery shopping. The data on travel for grocery shopping came from 2,001 respondents to the 2009 Seattle Obesity Study survey in King County, Washington. Eighty-eight percent of the respondents drove to their grocery stores, whereas 12% used transit or taxis, walked, biked, or carpooled. The addresses of 1,994 homes and 1,901 primary grocery stores used by respondents were geographically coded. The characteristics of built environments in the neighborhoods around homes and grocery stores …

Oral History Interview With Tan Chin Tiong: Conceptualising Smu, Chin Tiong Tan

Oral History Collection

The interview covered: first involvement with SMU, changes to concept plan, research, private university, faculty recruitment, challenges, marketing, advertising campaign, autonomous universities, collaboration with Wharton School, schools in SMU, change agent for education landscape, differentiating SMU, SMU students.

Biography:

Provost, SMU, 1999–2008, and Deputy President, SMU, 2007–2009

Member of SMU start-up team

In 1998 Professor Tan Chin Tiong was one of the first three faculty members who joined the start-up team to create what would become Singapore’s third university, SMU. Among his many responsibilities during the planning phase of SMU, he oversaw faculty recruitment, public relations and marketing, and the …

Money And Its Effects On Life, Behaviour And Happiness, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Happiness cannot be bought, some people might argue. Yet, money certainly allows people to buy things and experiences that can ultimately bring joy and happiness. Results from this year's Gallup World Poll, for instance, ranked Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands – all wealthy countries – as the top five for happiest inhabitants. A recent SMU Social Sciences Capstone Seminar also pointed out that wealthier countries have cleaner water, better infrastructure, fewer diseases, and higher IQs. Could the old adage, that money is the root of all evil, be out of touch with the realities of our capitalist, consumerist …

Will You Empower Your Patrons To Buy Ebooks?, Sarena Law, Rajendra Munoo

Research Collection Library

The Assistant University Librarian for Technical Services, Sarena Law, first heard of patron driven access, PDA, while she was a librarian in Hong Kong prior to joining the Li Ka Shing Library at Singapore Management University. After hearing about PDA success stories at the Chicago ALA conference in 2009 she gathered support to try out PDA at the Li Ka Shing Library. Since the Library's mission is to provide service and access rather than ownership of large print collections, deciding to look into PDA was an easy decision. The Library set up a task force to examine the feasibility of …

Embedding Subject Guides At Nus Libraries, Chee Hsien Aaron (Zheng Zhixian) Tay

Research Collection Library

Librarians around the world have begun to experiment with dynamic subject guides, dubbed “Subject Guide 2.0” (Farkas, 2007; Kroski, 2007; Yang, 2009). They took their cue from Web 2.0 sites by incorporating interactive features, social sharing and dynamic layouts to appeal to users. In this paper, the initial efforts to incorporate widgets into the subject guides of NUS Libraries are described.

Smu Appoints James T.H. Tang As Social Sciences Dean, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

No abstract provided.

Universal Biases In Self-Perception: Better And More Human Than Average, Steve Loughnan, Bernhard Leidner, Guy Doron, Nick Haslam, Yoshihisa Kashima, Jennifer Tong, Victoria Yeung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There is a well-established tendency for people to see themselves as better than average (self-enhancement), although the universality of this phenomenon is contested. Much less well-known is the tendency for people to see themselves as more human than average (self-humanizing). We examined these biases in six diverse nations: Australia, Germany, Israel, Japan, Singapore, and the USA. Both biases were found in all nations. The self-humanizing effect was obtained independent of self-enhancement, and was stronger than self-enhancement in two nations (Germany and Japan). Self-humanizing was not specific to Western or English-speaking cultures and its magnitude was less cross-culturally variable than self-enhancement. …