Detecting common dynamics in transitory components

This paper considers VECMs for variables exhibiting cointegration and common features in the transitory components. While the presence of cointegration between the permanent components of series reduces the rank of the long-run multiplier matrix, a common feature among the transitory components leads to a rank reduction in the matrix summarizing short-run dynamics. The common feature also implies that there exists linear combinations of the first-differenced variables in a cointegrated VAR that are white noise and traditional tests focus on testing for this characteristic. An alternative, however, is to test the rank of the short-run dynamics matrix directly. Consequently, we use the literature on testing the rank of a matrix to produce some alternative test statistics. We also show that these are identical to one of the traditional tests. The performance of the different methods is illustrated in a Monte Carlo analysis which is then used to re-examine an existing empirical study. Finally, this approach is applied to provide a check for the presence of common dynamics in DSGE models.

The obesity-associated polymorphisms FTO rs9939609 and MC4R rs17782313 and endometrial cancer risk in non-Hispanic white women

Overweight and obesity are strongly associated with endometrial cancer. Several independent genome-wide association studies recently identified two common polymorphisms, FTO rs9939609 and MC4R rs17782313, that are linked to increased body weight and obesity. We examined the association of FTO rs9939609 and MC4R rs17782313 with endometrial cancer risk in a pooled analysis of nine case-control studies within the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium (E2C2). This analysis included 3601 non-Hispanic white women with histologically-confirmed endometrial carcinoma and 5275 frequency-matched controls. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to assess the relation of FTO rs9939609 and MC4R rs17782313 genotypes to the risk of endometrial cancer. Among control women, both the FTO rs9939609 A and MC4R rs17782313 C alleles were associated with a 16% increased risk of being overweight (p = 0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively). In case-control analyses, carriers of the FTO rs9939609 AA genotype were at increased risk of endometrial carcinoma compared to women with the TT genotype [odds ratio (OR) = 1.17; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03–1.32, p = 0.01]. However, this association was no longer apparent after adjusting for body mass index (BMI), suggesting mediation of the gene-disease effect through body weight. The MC4R rs17782313 polymorphism was not related to endometrial cancer risk (per allele OR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.91–1.06; p = 0.68). FTO rs9939609 is a susceptibility marker for white non-Hispanic women at higher risk of endometrial cancer. Although FTO rs9939609 alone might have limited clinical or public health significance for identifying women at high risk for endometrial cancer beyond that of excess body weight, further investigation of obesity-related genetic markers might help to identify the pathways that influence endometrial carcinogenesis.

Surface plasmon hybridization and exciton coupling

We derive a semianalytical model to describe the interaction of a single photon emitter and a collection of arbitrarily shaped metal nanoparticles. The theory treats the metal nanoparticles classically within the electrostatic eigenmode method, wherein the surface plasmon resonances of collections of nanoparticles are represented by the hybridization of the plasmon modes of the noninteracting particles. The single photon emitter is represented by a quantum mechanical two-level system that exhibits line broadening due to a finite spontaneous decay rate. Plasmon-emitter coupling is described by solving the resulting Bloch equations. We illustrate the theory by studying model systems consisting of a single emitter coupled to one, two, and three nanoparticles, and we also compare the predictions of our model to published experimental data. ©2012 American Physical Society.

Experimental comparison of odometry approaches

Odometry is an important input to robot navigation systems, and we are interested in the performance of vision-only techniques. In this paper we experimentally evaluate and compare the performance of wheel odometry, monocular feature-based visual odometry, monocular patch-based visual odometry, and a technique that fuses wheel odometry and visual odometry, on a mobile robot operating in a typical indoor environment.

Regional and remote airports under stress in Australia

Australia's airline industry was born on connecting regional communities to major cities, but almost a century later, many regional and remote communities are facing the prospect of losing their air transport services. The focus of this paper is to highlight key issues and concerns surrounding remote, rural and regional airports in Australia using a network governance framework. Contributions are focused towards regional and remote airport managers, decision makers, and policy makers to stimulate further discussion towards retaining regional and remote services to communities.

Incentive mechanisms in infrastructure projects : A case-based comparison between Australia and the Netherlands

Despite a general belief that incentive mechanisms can improve value for money during procurement and performance during project execution, empirical research on the actual effects is nascent. This research focuses on the design and implementation of incentive mechanisms in four different infrastructure projects: two road reconstructions in the Netherlands and two building constructions in Australia. Based on an analytical framework of key motivation drivers, a cross cases analysis is conducted in view of performance on the contract assumptions, selection phase, execution phase and project contract performance. It was identified that despite significant differences in the project characteristics, results indicate that they experience similar contextual drivers on the incentive effectiveness. High value was placed on risk allocation and relationship building in the selection and construction phase. The differences can be explained from both contextual and project related characteristics. Although there are limitations with this research in drawing generalizations across two sets of case projects, the results provide a strong base to explore the nature of incentive systems across different geographical and contextual boundaries in future research.

Creative industries and innovation in a knowledge economy

The cultural and creative industries contribute to the knowledge economy by their role in reproducing cultural knowledge and through provision of entertainment, experience and leisure goods with cultural content, for which they are widely acknowledged as suffering serious market failure problems (Baumol and Bowen, 1966; Throsby and Withers, 1979). But they also contribute to the innovation process, an aspect that has only recently been appreciated. Specifically, the creative industries are a driver of the knowledge economy by their contribution to the innovation process on the demand side of consumer uptake of new ideas and by their facilitation of consumer-producer interaction. The creative industries are, in this respect, a legitimate part of the innovation system of a knowledge economy.

Knowledge is People Doing Things, Knowledge Economies Are People Doing Things with Better Outcomes for More People

Description ‘The second volume of the Handbook on the Knowledge Economy is a worthy companion to the highly successful original volume published in 2005, extending its theoretical depth and developing its coverage. Together the two volumes provide the single best work and reference point for knowledge economy studies. The second volume with fifteen original essays by renowned scholars in the field, provides insightful and robust analyses of the development potential of the knowledge economy in all its aspects, forms and manifestations.’ – Michael A. Peters, University of Illinois, US

Small business entity tax concessions : through the eyes of the practitioner

The often competing imperatives of equity, simplicity and efficiency in the income tax regime, particularly the notion of simplicity, has been most evident within Australia’s small business sector over the last decade. In an attempt to provide tax simplification and reduce the tax compliance burden faced by Australian small businesses, provisions collectively referred to as the ‘simplified tax system’ or STS were introduced. The STS was designed to provide eligible small businesses with the option of adopting a range of ‘simplified’ tax measures designed to simplify their tax affairs whilst at the same time, reducing their tax compliance costs. Ultimately, a low take-up rate and accompanying criticisms led to a remodelled and rebadged concessionary regime known as the ‘Small Business Entity’ (SBE) regime which came into effect from 1 July 2007. This paper, through a pilot study, investigates the SBE regime though the eyes of the practitioner. In line the Australian Federal Government’s objective of simplification and reduced compliance costs, the purpose of the study was to (1) determine the extent to which the SBE concessions are being adopted by tax practitioners on behalf of their clients, (2) gain an understanding as to which individual SBE tax concessions are most favoured by practitioners, (3) determine the primary motivation as to why tax practitioners recommend particular SBE concessions to their clients, and (4) canvass the opinions of practitioners as to whether they believed that the introduction of the SBE concessions had met their stated objective of reducing tax compliance costs for small businesses. The findings of this research indicate that, while there is a perception that the SBE concessions are worth embracing, contrary to the policy intent, the reasons behind adopting the concessions was the opportunity to minimise a clients’ tax liability. It was revealed that adopting particular concessions had nothing to do with compliance costs savings and, in fact, the SBE concessions merely added another layer of complexity to an already cumbersome and complex tax code, which resulted in increased compliance costs for their small businesses clients. Further, the SBE concessions allowed tax practitioners the opportunity to engage in effective tax minimisation, thereby fulfilling the client advocacy role of the tax practitioner in maximising their clients’ tax preferences.

Nonlinear H_infinity control of UAVs for collision avoidance in gusty environments

This paper proposes a nonlinear H_infinity controller for stabilization of velocities, attitudes and angular rates of a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a windy environment. The suggested controller aims to achieve a steady-state flight condition in the presence of wind gusts such that the host UAV can be maneuvered to avoid collision with other UAVs during cruise flight with safety guarantees. This paper begins with building a proper model capturing flight aerodynamics of UAVs. Then a nonlinear controller is developed with gust attenuation and rapid response properties. Simulations are conducted for the Shadow UAV to verify performance of the proposed con- troller. Comparative studies with the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers demonstrate that the proposed controller exhibits great performance improvement in a gusty environment, making it suitable for integration into the design of flight control systems for cruise flight of UAVs.

Branding "Created in China" : the rise of Chinese fashion designers

This article discusses the importance of aesthetic recognition and branding for Chinese fashion designers as prerequisites for their successful positioning in a globalized marketplace. Fundamental to this process is the communication of their aesthetic in their branding process. In addition, the emergence of fashion designers of Asian-American descent who align their creative vision with a globally mainstream audience has created momentum for the new generation of mainland Chinese designers. Chinese creativity is moving to center stage as the country’s role as a leading consumer market with brands of domestic origin strengthens. Thus the aim of this article is to uncover the tension between what is, on the one hand, the need to embrace a global market, and, on the other, the desire to create the elements of a distinctly Chinese brand through aesthetic references to Chinese culture and iconography. We argue that one core element of branding is reference to heritage and tradition. Therefore to satisfy an increasingly sophisticated Chinese consumer, Chinese designers need to be able to incorporate these elements into a characteristic and well-promoted personal vision.

Self-identified experts lost on the interwebs

Security cues found in web browsers are meant to alert users to potential online threats, yet many studies demonstrate that security indicators are largely ineffective in this regard. Those studies have depended upon self-reporting of subjects' use or aggregate experimentation that correlate responses to sites with and without indicators. We report on a laboratory experiment using eye-tracking to follow the behavior of self-identified computer experts as they share information across popular social media websites. The use of eye-tracking equipment allows us to explore possible behavioral differences in the way experts perceive web browser security cues, as opposed to non-experts. Unfortunately, due to the use of self-identified experts, technological issues with the setup, and demographic anomalies, our results are inconclusive. We describe our initial experimental design, lessons learned in our experimentation, and provide a set of steps for others to follow in implementing experiments using unfamiliar technologies, eye-tracking specifically, subjects with different experience with the laboratory tasks, as well as individuals with varying security expertise. We also discuss recruitment and how our design will address the inherent uncertainties in recruitment, as opposed to design for an ideal population. Some of these modifications are generalizable, together they will allow us to run a larger 2x2 study, rather than a study of only experts using two different single sign-on systems.

Multi-cursor multi-user mobile interaction with a large shared display

When using a mobile device to control a cursor on a large shared display, the interaction must be carefully planned to match the environment and purpose of the systems use. We describe a ‘democratic jukebox’ system that revealed five recommendations that should be considered when designing this type of interaction relating to providing feedback to the user; how to represent users in a multi-cursor based system; where people tend to look and their expectation of how to move their cursor; the orientation of screens and the social context; and, the use of simulated users to give the real users a sense that they are engaging with a greater audience.

Experiences with implementing common mathematical operations using field programmable gate arrays

Many computationally intensive scientific applications involve repetitive floating point operations other than addition and multiplication which may present a significant performance bottleneck due to the relatively large latency or low throughput involved in executing such arithmetic primitives on commod- ity processors. A promising alternative is to execute such primitives on Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) hardware acting as an application-specific custom co-processor in a high performance reconfig- urable computing platform. The use of FPGAs can provide advantages such as fine-grain parallelism but issues relating to code development in a hardware description language and efficient data transfer to and from the FPGA chip can present significant application development challenges. In this paper, we discuss our practical experiences in developing a selection of floating point hardware designs to be implemented using FPGAs. Our designs include some basic mathemati cal library functions which can be implemented for user defined precisions suitable for novel applications requiring non-standard floating point represen- tation. We discuss the details of our designs along with results from performance and accuracy analysis tests.

Performance assessment of exponential Rosenbrock method for large systems of ODE

This paper studies time integration methods for large stiff systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) of the form u'(t) = g(u(t)). For such problems, implicit methods generally outperform explicit methods, since the time step is usually less restricted by stability constraints. Recently, however, explicit so-called exponential integrators have become popular for stiff problems due to their favourable stability properties. These methods use matrix-vector products involving exponential-like functions of the Jacobian matrix, which can be approximated using Krylov subspace methods that require only matrix-vector products with the Jacobian. In this paper, we implement exponential integrators of second, third and fourth order and demonstrate that they are competitive with well-established approaches based on the backward differentiation formulas and a preconditioned Newton-Krylov solution strategy.