Traffic sign symbol comprehension: a cross-cultural study

The objective of this study was to evaluate the comprehension levels of highway traffic sign symbols used in different countries, to identify underlying rules that affect comprehension levels, and recommend approaches to deal with the problem. The need for such an evaluation was based on today's travel culture where people are often licensed in one country and then drive—without any further training—in another country. We compared the comprehension levels of different traffic sign symbols in four countries with moderate to high levels of motorization: Canada, Finland, Israel, and Poland. Five different driver populations were sampled in each country: novice drivers, college students, tourists, problem drivers, and older drivers. There were large differences in comprehension among specific sign messages, different countries, and different driver populations. Signs were comprehended best when they were consistent with general ergonomic guidelines for display design as they relate to spatial compatibility, conceptual compatibility, physical representation, familiarity, and standardization. Illustrations of compliance with these principles and violations of these principles are presented, and their implication for traffic safety are discussed. Specific recommendations for sign design that is compliant with ergonomic principles, and for greater international cooperation in sign symbol design are made.     

Building the measurement framework of technology efficiency with technology development and management capability – Evidence from the ASEAN countries

In this paper, we present a research framework with data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to evaluate a nation’s technology efficiency and effectiveness in ASEAN countries. The study proposes two outputs, patents and licenses (PL) and technology exports (TE) along with three inputs, information and communication technology (ICT), R&D (RD), and governance capability (GC) in the model. Building on evidence from our research, we found that country has better outcome in PL can be derived from better application in ICT which in terms of TE to RD and GC as well. Additional findings also revealed the variable of ICT is mainly advantageous to technology efficiency in ASEAN countries. Further, from the viewpoint of country, our results indicate both Singapore and the Philippines are the most efficient countries among the variables in technology efficiency, scale efficiency, and window analysis as well. Moreover, our findings suggested some other countries may explore the suitable strategy to enhance their technology efficiency with benchmarking countries.     

Traffic sign symbol comprehension: a cross-cultural study

The objective of this study was to evaluate the comprehension levels of highway traffic sign symbols used in different countries, to identify underlying rules that affect comprehension levels, and recommend approaches to deal with the problem. The need for such an evaluation was based on today's travel culture where people are often licensed in one country and then drive--without any further training--in another country. We compared the comprehension levels of different traffic sign symbols in four countries with moderate to high levels of motorization: Canada, Finland, Israel, and Poland. Five different driver populations were sampled in each country: novice drivers, college students, tourists, problem drivers, and older drivers. There were large differences in comprehension among specific sign messages, different countries, and different driver populations. Signs were comprehended best when they were consistent with general ergonomic guidelines for display design as they relate to spatial compatibility, conceptual compatibility, physical representation, familiarity, and standardization. Illustrations of compliance with these principles and violations of these principles are presented, and their implication for traffic safety are discussed. Specific recommendations for sign design that is compliant with ergonomic principles, and for greater international cooperation in sign symbol design are made.     

Measuring global prosperity using data envelopment analysis and OWA operator

Prosperity is one of the key economic indicators of a nation's success. The measure of a country's true prosperity is best achieved by considering a set of criteria and identifying the optimal weights associated with each criterion. This study introduces a novel method for measuring global prosperity by employing a combination of variables that characterize economic wealth and social wellbeing using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator. It extends the existing global prosperity assessment approach proposed by the Legatum Institute, an international organization that produces a global prosperity index every year. The current Legatum Prosperity Index is obtained by averaging a set of distinct variables, but it fails to identify the optimal variable weights for each country. This is a significant drawback that we address in this study. Using DEA, each country can freely assign optimal weights that are most favorable to achieving maximum prosperity. It provides a flexible and competitive environment in which all countries can present their strengths, thereby creating a level playing field. This study also uses multilevel DEA efficiency frontiers for classifying countries into different groups based on their levels of prosperity score. Additionally, we apply the OWA operator to distinguish further between the countries within each cluster.     

Toward a model for the acceptance of Internet banking in developing countries

The technology acceptance model (TAM) has been used in much of the research into technology diffusion conducted in the United States and other developed Western countries. There is, however, no empirical evidence that information-technology acceptance models established in developed countries can apply equally well to less-developed countries without some modification to account for the different context. This article questions the appropriateness of the traditional TAM model for the study of e-commerce in a developing country. It discusses the literature and presents the preliminary results of an investigation into the penetration of Internet banking in Jordan, a strategic developing country of the Middle East. The research results are used to suggest and evaluate modifications to the TAM to make it more relevant for research on technological acceptance in less-developed and developing countries. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

发达国家中小企业政策性融资机制优劣比较与启示

当前，政策性融资已成为各国政府对中小企业进行资金支持的有力工具，但由于各国的经济体制和法律制度等社会环境及历史原因，使其中小企业政策性融资机制存在差异性，并直接影响对中小企业金融支持的效果。本文通过比较分析发达国家中小企业政策性融资机制优劣，探讨如何构建适合中国国情的中小企业政策性融资机制。     

Behavioral cues help predict impact of advertising on future sales

Advertising aims to influence consumer preferences, appraisals, action tendencies, and behavior in order to increase sales. These are all components of emotion. In the past, they have been measured through self-report or panel discussions. While informative, these approaches are difficult to scale to large numbers of consumers, fail to capture moment-to-moment changes in appraisals that may be predictive of sales, and depend on verbal mediation. We used web-cam technology to sample non-verbal responses to television commercials from four product categories in six different countries. For each participant, head pose, head motion, and more frequent facial expressions like smiling, surprise and disgust were automatically measured at each video frame and aggregated across subjects. Dynamic features from the aggregated series were input to simple linear ensemble classifier with 10-fold cross-validation to predict product sales. Sales were predicted with ROC AUC = 0.75, 95% CI [0.727,0.773] and predictions for unseen categories were consistent for all, but one product groups (ROC AUC varies between 0.74 and 0.83, except for Confections with 0.61). Predictions for unseen countries showed similar pattern: ROC AUC varied between 0.71 and 0.89, with the exception of Russia with ROC AUC 0.53. In comparison with previous attempts, our approach yielded higher overall performance and greater generalization over not modeled factors like country or category. These findings support the feasibility, efficiency, and predictive validity of sales predictions from large-scale sampling of viewers' moment-to-moment responses to commercial media.     

The business value of information technology as measured by technical efficiency: Evidence from country-level data

The value of information technology (IT) in a business production process has long been a debatable issue. Explanation of the so-called “productivity paradox” has been one of the central topics in this arena. Much work has focused on firm-level analyses. This paper investigates IT contribution at a country level, using production theory in microeconomics. It negates the relationship between IT value and productivity based on grouping of countries, when the individual analytical method is applied and technical efficiency is used as the performance criterion. Findings obtained by applying stochastic production frontiers to a comprehensive country-level panel data set suggest that the IT contributions, as determined by the increase or decrease in the technical efficiency, to individual countries differ in magnitude from a production frontier to another, but are robust. It also shows that IT spending does not necessarily improve technical efficiencies of individual countries, regardless of whether they are developed or developing countries, and that given technological changes, the so-called productivity paradox may exist in a country, no matter whether it is a developed or developing nation. Finally, the significant implications of the findings are presented.     

Will economic development enhance the energy use efficiency and CO2 emission control efficiency?

This study employs data envelopment analysis approach to construct the meta-frontier global technical efficiency of energy use index and global technical efficiency of CO₂ emission control index to measure the energy use efficiency and CO₂ emission control efficiency at country level. Destruction of these efficiency indices into pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency sub-indices is to capture sources of inefficiency in relation to the development of an economy. The results indicate that for developed countries the enhancement of the pure technical efficiency in the energy use and the scale efficiency of CO₂ emission control are important tasks to pursue. On the contrary, developing countries have to seek the improvement of the pure technical efficiency of CO₂ emission control and scale efficiency of energy use.     

Youth,mobility and mobile phones in Africa: findings from a three-country study

The penetration of mobile phones into sub-Saharan Africa has occurred with amazing rapidity: for many young people, they now represent a very significant element of their daily life. This paper explores usage and perceived impacts among young people aged c. 9–18 years in three countries: Ghana, Malawi and South Africa. Our evidence comes from intensive qualitative research with young people, their parents, teachers and other key informants (in-depth interviews, focus groups and school essays) and a follow-up questionnaire survey administered to nearly 3000 young people in 24 study sites. The study was conducted in eight different sites in each country (i.e. urban, peri-urban, rural and remote rural sites in each of two agro-ecological zones), enabling comparison of experiences in diverse spatial contexts. The evidence, collected within a broader research study of child mobility, allows us to examine current patterns of usage among young people with particular attention to the way these are emerging in different locational contexts and to explore connections between young people's phone usage, virtual and physical mobilities and broader implications for social change. The issues of gender and inter-generational relations are important elements in this account.     

基于白化权函数聚类法的航电系统效能评估

航空电子综合系统是作战飞机的神经中枢,准确评估航电系统的效能对我国航空电子技术的发展具有重要意义。为了用灰色白化权函数聚类法对基于1553B总线的航电系统进行效能评估。首先将1553B总线负载、延迟时间、总线使用效率三项指标分为优、良、中、差四个灰类,综合各指标的白化权函数和其隶属于不同灰类的权重得到航电系统聚类系数向量,然后由该向量中的最大聚类系数所属灰类来确定该航电系统的灰类等级。灰色白化权函数聚类方法为航电系统的设计和效能评估提供了重要方法和理论依据。     

Appreciating Healthcare Data Privacy Laws in Canada,the United Kingdom,and the United States

Abstract

From a historical perspective, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States have an interesting relationship dynamic. The evolution of each country’s health system and, in turn, the transition to electronic health records (EHRs) provides another area to assess these countries relationships and policies. Government agreements between nations are the norm in taxation allocation and are becoming more prevalent in the area of an individual’s electronic protected health information. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to assess each country’s main healthcare data privacy laws, provide a framework for understanding the agreements between these nations, and provide insights for internal auditors on what to look for when assessing companies and government entities who address international laws in relation to protected health information (PHI).     

Healthcare support for underserved communities using a mobile social media platform

Emerging digital technologies for healthcare information support have already contributed to reducing the digital divide among rural communities. Although mobile health (m-health) applications facilitate provision of support for treatment consultation in real-time, their substantial potential has not yet been operationalised for decision support to meet citizen demand in developing nations. Modern healthcare information access, especially in rural areas of developing countries, is critical to effective healthcare, since both information and expert opinions are limited. Mobile phone and social media penetration, however, is often extensive. In this paper, we design and evaluate an innovative mobile decision support system (MDSS) solution for rural citizens healthcare decision support and information dissemination.Developed using a design science approach, the instantiated artifact connects underserved rural patients in Bangladesh to general practitioners (GPs) – allowing GPs, based on queries and information support provided, to evaluate patient conditions virtually and provide answers for further diagnosis or treatment. A cloud platform using social media embodies health record information and is used with a rating technique that matches queries to profiled remote experts, participating asynchronously. A comprehensive evaluation of the MDSS artifact ensures its utility, efficacy, and reliability.     

Improved design of an extra-high-voltage expansion substation connector through magnetic field analysis

In many countries worldwide, the energy demand is growing faster than the transmission capacity. However, due to environmental constrains, social concerns and financial costs, the construction of new power transmission lines is an arduous task. In addition, power transmission systems are often loaded close to their nominal values. Therefore, improving power transmission system efficiency and reliability is a matter of concern. This work deals with a 400 kV, 3000 A, 50 Hz extra-high-voltage expansion substation connector used to connect two substation bus bars of 150 mm diameter each. This substation connector has four aluminum wires which provide the conductive path between both bus bars. Preliminary tests showed an unequal current distribution through the wires which was mainly attributed to the proximity effect. A three-dimensional finite elements method approach was applied to improve the design and evaluate the electromagnetic and thermal behavior of both the original and improved versions of the connector. Experimental tests made under laboratory conditions have validated the accuracy of the simulation method presented in this paper, which may be a valuable tool to assist the design process of substation connectors, therefore allowing improving both the thermal performance and reliability of the redesigned connectors.     

信息化背景下我国电子监听制度研究

电子监听作为侦查破案的有效技术侦查手段,在侦查实践中已被广泛应用。一方面电子监听在打击有组织犯罪、恐怖活动犯罪、网络诈骗犯罪中能够很好的发挥其作用,提高犯罪的侦查效率。另一方面它也会导致侦查机关滥用这一权力,妨害公民正常的通讯自由和通讯隐私。为了权衡打击犯罪和保障人权的价值冲突,西方国家如美英等都对通讯监听进行了立法规定,建立起比较完善的电子监听立法制度和法制体系,然而我国立法仅有原则性的规定,司法解释缺少具体的配套措施,仅靠机关的内部规范加以规制是无法保障执法公信力的。因此,我国电子监听应尽快制度化,从而有效的规范侦查实践。     

Inno-Qual efficiency of higher education: Empirical testing using data envelopment analysis

Since the overall quality of Taiwanese university education has been decreasing in recent years, and universities are losing their competitive advantage while facing foreign countries’ education systems and the threat of closing, upgrading innovation performance and improving total quality performance (Inno-Qual performance) so as to enhance overall operational performance have become an urgent issue. Although relative measurement models are increasingly being used for conquering the above-mentioned difficulties, such as the Inno-Qual performance system (IQPS), which integrates the features of innovation and TQM, currently, no studies empirically evaluate the efficiency of such improvement, meaning that the costs of using the Inno-Qual performance system are increasing, particularly the human administrative cost for providing intellectual products, which is the nature of higher education. To overcome this problem, in this study, the IQPS is adopted by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the Inno-Qual efficiency of 99 Taiwanese universities divided into five types (research-intensive, teaching-intensive, profession-intensive, research & teaching-intensive, and education-in-practice-intensive). On the basis of the empirical results, we found that over half (73%) of the universities are highly inefficient in improving the Inno-Qual performance, and thus we conclude that improving the Inno-Qual efficiency based on our results will be helpful for reducing the majority of cost expenditures.     

Exploring the role of espoused values on e-service adoption: A comparative analysis of the US and Nigerian users

Technology adoption in developing and developed countries needs to be studied and contrasted in order to identify similar and unique factors which impact adoptions. Information technology acceptance and the influence of espoused values (EV) have been investigated in developed countries but such studies are rare for developing countries. The present study surveyed 201 Nigerians and 188 Americans using constructs based on accepted theories, with the aim of comparing the influence of national culture on the acceptance of e-services in each country. The combined data indicate that user satisfaction with e-services is affected by perceived usefulness and information/system quality (with R² = 0.64). User satisfaction, in turn, affects users’ behavioral intention to continue to use e-services (R² = 0.50). EVs moderate the effect of perceived usefulness and information/system quality on satisfaction. In general, the moderating effects of EVs are more pronounced for Nigerian respondents than for US respondents, due to national cultural differences.     

Multimodel decision support system for psychiatry problem

Psychological distress and disabilities are increasingly identified among general population. Psychiatrist availability in rural areas is poor and often general practitioners have to identify and treat psychiatric problems like depression and anxiety. This work proposes a method to identify the psychiatric problems among patients using multimodel decision support system. Backpropagation neural networks (BPNN), radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) and support vector machine (SVM) models are used to design the decision support system. Forty-four factors are considered for feature extraction. The features are collected from 400 patients and divided into four sets of equal size. Three sets of patient features are used to train the decision support system and one set of patient feature are used to evaluate performance of the system. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves an accuracy of 98.75% for identifying the psychiatric problems.     

基于物联网技术的农网智能配变电系统

针对农村及偏远地区急需解决智能化配变电设备陈旧及功能单一的问题,有效增强配电有效性及安全性的需求,本文设计了一套完整可行的基于物联网技术的农网智能配变电系统.可以实现对电网电参数及用户电量信息的数据采集,数据传输、数据处理、异常报警、谐波分析等多功能为一体的农网配变电管理系统;本文从系统架构到各部分的组成进行了概述,详细的描述了部分设计过程和设计难点;以谐波分析为例进行结果验证.通过实际应用表明,该设计改善了农网配变电的现状,提高了配变电设备的功能,并能通过物联网来监测设备的运行.     

A New Dynamic Mixture Copula Mechanism to Examine the Nonlinear and Asymmetric Tail Dependence Between Stock and Exchange Rate Returns

This paper develops a new time-varying mixture copula, in which the dynamic weights of four distinct copulas are determined by a two-stratum process, to investigate the magnitude of tail dependence in four independent quadrants. In the two-stratum process, the weight of each copula is determined firstly by the relative importance of positive and negative dependence structures, and then by its own past values and adjustment processes. The weighting mechanism is time-varying in each stratum. This new specification is applied to analyze the asymmetric tail dependencies between the stock and exchange rate markets. Empirical results show four interesting findings. First, the quasi-maximum likelihood estimation (QMLE) has a better fitting ability than does the inference function for margins. The relative efficiency of the QMLE is irrespective of marginal specifications. Second, the goodness-of-fit tests of the new time-varying mixture copula are crucially affected by the marginal specifications. Third, estimation methods impact mixture weights. Four distinct tail dependencies are observed, revealing the importance of considering all four tails concurrently, and not just parts of the four tails. Fourth, the asymmetric positive and negative dependencies are significant. Each country shows a similar pattern of asymmetric negative dependence, but a different pattern of asymmetric positive dependence. These empirical findings provide important portfolio allocation implications.