Showing papers by "City University of Hong Kong published in 1996"
TL;DR: Simulation results show that the proposed 4SS performs better than the well-known three- step search and has similar performance to the new three-step search (N3SS) in terms of motion compensation errors.
Abstract: Based on the real world image sequence's characteristic of center-biased motion vector distribution, a new four-step search (4SS) algorithm with center-biased checking point pattern for fast block motion estimation is proposed in this paper. A halfway-stop technique is employed in the new algorithm with searching steps of 2 to 4 and the total number of checking points is varied from 17 to 27. Simulation results show that the proposed 4SS performs better than the well-known three-step search and has similar performance to the new three-step search (N3SS) in terms of motion compensation errors. In addition, the 4SS also reduces the worst-case computational requirement from 33 to 27 search points and the average computational requirement from 21 to 19 search points, as compared with N3SS.
1,619 citations
TL;DR: The genetic algorithm is introduced as an emerging optimization algorithm for signal processing and a number of applications, such as IIR adaptive filtering, time delay estimation, active noise control, and speech processing, that are being successfully implemented are described.
Abstract: This article introduces the genetic algorithm (GA) as an emerging optimization algorithm for signal processing. After a discussion of traditional optimization techniques, it reviews the fundamental operations of a simple GA and discusses procedures to improve its functionality. The properties of the GA that relate to signal processing are summarized, and a number of applications, such as IIR adaptive filtering, time delay estimation, active noise control, and speech processing, that are being successfully implemented are described.
1,093 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce genetic algorithms (GA) as a complete entity, in which knowledge of this emerging technology can be integrated together to form the framework of a design tool for industrial engineers.
Abstract: This paper introduces genetic algorithms (GA) as a complete entity, in which knowledge of this emerging technology can be integrated together to form the framework of a design tool for industrial engineers. An attempt has also been made to explain "why" and "when" GA should be used as an optimization tool.
893 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report an empirical study of 158 manufacturing and 117 services firms in Australia to examine the influence of market orientation on innovation characteristics and performance, and find that market orientation has significant relationships with innovation characteristics such as innovation-marketing fit, product advantage, and interfunctional teamwork but not with product newness and innovation-technology fit.
833 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that hedging in scientific research writing cannot be fully understood in isolation from social and institutional contexts and suggest a pragmatic framework which reflects this interpretive environment.
Abstract: Hedging is a well-documented feature of spoken discourse as a result of its role in qualifying categorical commitment and facilitating discussion. Its use in academic writing has received less attention, however, and we know little about the functions it serves in different research fields and particular genres. Hedging is a significant communicative resource for academics since it both confirms the individual's professional persona and represents a critical element in the rhetorical means of gaining acceptance of claims. Hedges allow writers to anticipate possible opposition to claims by expressing statements with precision, caution, and diplomatic deference to the views of colleagues. Based on a contextual analysis of 26 articles in molecular biology, this paper argues that hedging in scientific research writing cannot be fully understood in isolation from social and institutional contexts and suggests a pragmatic framework which reflects this interpretive environment
606 citations
TL;DR: The authors conduct an experimental study to examine the impact of two types of waiting information—waiting-duration information and queuing information—on consumers’ reactions to waits of differen...
Abstract: The authors conduct an experimental study to examine the impact of two types of waiting information—waiting-duration information and queuing information—on consumers’ reactions to waits of differen...
460 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report the average costs of raising external debt and equity capital for U.S. corporations from 1990 to 1994, and find substantial economies of scale for both straight bond offerings and convertible bond offerings.
Abstract: We report the average costs of raising external debt and equity capital for U.S. corporations from 1990 to 1994. For initial public offerings (IPOs) of equity, the direct costs average 11.0 percent of the proceeds. For seasoned equity offerings (SEOs), the direct costs average 7.1 percent. For convertible bonds, the direct costs average 3.8 percent. For straight debt issues, the direct costs average 2.2 percent, although they are strongly related to the credit rating of the issue. All classes of securities exhibit economies of scale, although they are less pronounced for straight debt issues. IPOs also incur a substantial indirect cost due to short-run underpricing. Most large equity offers include an international tranche, although debt issues do not. I. introduction In this article we present the average costs of raising external capital for US. corporations from 1990 to 1994. Specifically, we report the average spreads on public equity offerings and debt offerings, along with the other direct costs of raising capital, as a percentage of the proceeds. We find substantial economies of scale for initial public offerings (IPOs) of equity and seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). We also find substantial economies of scale for both straight bond offerings and convertible bond offerings. Spreads on bond offerings are highly sensitive to the credit rating of the offering. This article is descriptive in nature; no theories are tested. Its purpose is to provide benchmark numbers for use by issuers of securities. We do not address why firms issue the securities they do. This much broader corporate finance question would have to address taxes, corporate control, debt capacity, long-run performance patterns, investmentfinancing interactions, etc.
393 citations
TL;DR: Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is a cluster compatible doping and processing tool offering many inherent advantages over conventional beamline ion implantations as discussed by the authors, such as the formation of shallow junction, synthesis of silicon-on-insulator, large area implantation, trench doping, conformal deposition and so on.
Abstract: Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is a cluster compatible doping and processing tool offering many inherent advantages over conventional beamline ion implantation. When first introduced in the late 1980s, the technique was primarily used to enhance the surface mechanical properties of metals. Recently, a substantial amount of research activities have focused on microelectronics and have led to a number of very interesting applications, such as the formation of shallow junction, synthesis of silicon-on-insulator, large area implantation, trench doping, conformal deposition, and so on. In this paper, we will review the principles of PIII, the dynamic sheath model for various kinds of plasma, reactor designs, recent applications in the area of microelectronics, as well as the future of PIII pertaining to semiconductor materials and processing.
378 citations
TL;DR: Multiple regression analysis showed that the NH4(+)-N content of the spent litter was the most important chemical factor affecting phytotoxicity of the plant species selected for this study.
367 citations
TL;DR: In this article, conditional quantiles are used to estimate robustness of population moments in ARCH models, and they offer some advantages over more familiar methods based on Gaussian likelihoods.
Abstract: Quantile regression methods are suggested for a class of ARCH models. Because conditional quantiles are readily interpretable in semiparametric ARCH models and are inherendy easier to estimate robustly than population moments, they offer some advantages over more familiar methods based on Gaussian likelihoods. Related inference methods, including the construction of prediction intervals, are also briefly discussed.
267 citations
TL;DR: The sensitivity of energy performance of office buildings in Hong Kong is examined in this paper, where basic principles of sensitivity methods for the study of building energy performance are explained and the DOE-2 building energy simulation program is used on a generic model of an office building to generate data for the analysis.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of three moisture levels, 50%, 60%, and 70%, on the composting process were evaluated, and it was found that a moisture content of between 50 and 60% can be considered as the optimal moisture level for further composting of the spent litter.
TL;DR: The probability of erroneous assignment of a mobile to a microcell or macrocell is shown to be significantly lower than previous approaches, and a systematic way for finding an optimal partition of frequency spectrum between microcells and macrocells is proposed.
Abstract: In this paper, we study spectrum management in a two-tier microcell/macrocell cellular system. Two issues are studied: micro-macro cell selection and frequency spectrum partitioning between microcells and macrocells. To keep the handoff rate in a two-tier cellular system at an acceptable level, low mobility users (with speed /spl upsi/ V/sub 0/) should undergo handoffs at macrocell boundaries. The mobile determines user mobility from microcell sojourn times and uses it for channel assignment at call origination and handoff. The probability of erroneous assignment of a mobile to a microcell or macrocell is shown to be significantly lower than previous approaches. We investigate the optimal velocity threshold, V/sub 0/, and propose that it may be dynamically adjusted according to traffic load. Finally, we propose a systematic way for finding an optimal partition of frequency spectrum between microcells and macrocells. This partitioning is based on the traffic load and velocity distribution of mobiles in the system.
TL;DR: In this paper, a nonlinear generalization of Box and Jenkins approach for nonstationary time-series prediction is proposed for electric load forecasting based on neural weather compensation, which can accurately predict the change of actual electric load consumption from the previous day.
Abstract: This paper presents a novel technique for electric load forecasting based on neural weather compensation. Our proposed method is a nonlinear generalization of Box and Jenkins approach for nonstationary time-series prediction. A weather compensation neural network is implemented for one-day ahead electric load forecasting. Our weather compensation neural network can accurately predict the change of actual electric load consumption from the previous day. The results, based on Hong Kong Island historical load demand, indicate that this methodology is capable of providing a more accurate load forecast with a 0.9% reduction in forecast error.
TL;DR: The overall result has shown that the Geriatric Depression Scale translated version (Chinese) is generally applicable to the Chinese elderly population and is good for measuring depressive symptoms.
Abstract: This study has attempted to validate the Geriatric Depression Scale translated version (Chinese) with a psychiatric outpatient sample (N= 461) of males and females aged 60 or above, from 10 government-maintained psychiatric outpatient clinics between January 1992 and February 1993. Reliabilities and validities were exceptional. Internal consistency reliability was .89 (alpha), and the test-retest reliability was .85 (alpha). Criterion-related (psychiatrist diagnosis) validity was good at .95, and concurrent validity (with CES-D) was .96. Item analysis also confirmed consistency—all 30 items were significantly correlated with the full GDS. However, its sensitivity (70.6%), specificity (70.1%), false negatives (29.4%), and false positives (29.9%), though acceptable, were not as impressive. The overall result has shown that the GDS is generally applicable to the Chinese elderly population and is good for measuring depressive symptoms. The scale can be easily applied in the community by health care profession...
TL;DR: Growth in Chlorella vulgaris media was comparable to growth in the commercial Bristol medium which contains nitrate as the nitrogen source and was accompanied by a decrease in nitrogen content in the medium, indicating that nitrogen removal was due to algal uptake and assimilation.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the important contributions of quality gurus like Deming, Juran, Crosby, Feigenbaum, Ishikawa and Garvin which led to the evolutionary development of Strategic Quality Management (SQM).
Abstract: Describes the important contributions of quality gurus like Deming, Juran, Crosby, Feigenbaum, Ishikawa and Garvin which led to the evolutionary development of Strategic Quality Management (SQM). In addition, the core concepts of SQM, namely, customer focus, leadership, strategic quality planning, design quality, speed and prevention, people participation and partnership, fact‐based management and continuous improvement are identified and are compared with Malcolm Baldrige and European Quality Award criteria and ISO 9001 certification requirements. Also a framework for implementing strategies based on these seven core concepts is recommended. Develops a comparative analysis of Malcolm Baldridge and European Quality Awards, and ISO 9001 requirements.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the social, cultural, and educational functions of classroom code switching in Hong Kong secondary schools and concluded with a cost-benefit analysis of the English-dominated educational system.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the interaction effects of locus of control, a personality variable, and ethical reasoning on the behaviour of auditors in an audit conflict situation and found that ethical reasoning moderated the relationship between locus-of-control and the auditors' responses to accede to client's request.
Abstract: This study investigates the interaction effects of locus of control, a personality variable, and ethical reasoning on the behaviour of auditors in an audit conflict situation. Eighty experienced auditors from a sample of Big Six and Non-Big Six CPA firms in Hong Kong were provided with a case study involving an audit conflict situation and were asked to state the extent to which they would accede to the client's request. Subjects were also administered Rotter's Locus of Control Scale and the Denning Issues Test (DIT) to measure ethical reasoning. Analyses of the data using multiple regression found that ethical reasoning moderated the relationship between locus of control and the auditors' responses to accede to client's request in an audit conflict situation. An implication of these results is that the explicit recognition of both locus of control and ethical reasoning provides a better explanation for differences in auditors' ethical decision making.
TL;DR: Heavy metal accumulation in the surface mangrove soils collected in Hong Kong was higher than those in the People's Republic of China, although the metals in the latter soil type were more strongly bound.
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact properties of β-spherulites of polypropylene have been analyzed using electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic mechanical analysis.
TL;DR: The authors compare l'efficacite d'un program de lecture and of another program d'ecriture in anglais-langue seconde and conclude that the latter is more efficient than the former.
Abstract: L'A compare l'efficacite d'un programme de lecture et d'un programme d'ecriture sur l'acquisition de competences en ecriture descriptive en anglais langue seconde Les resultats soulignent l'importance de la nature du programme educatif dans l'efficacite d'un enseignement
TL;DR: A series of boron-doped polycrystalline diamond films grown by hot-filament-assisted chemical vapor deposition was studied with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), secondary-electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Hall effect and currentvoltage measurements.
TL;DR: A new scheme for constructing a 3D individualized head model automatically from only a side view and the front view of the face is presented, instantiating a generic 3D head model based on a set of the individual's facial features extracted by a local maximum-curvature tracking (LMCT) algorithm.
Abstract: A new scheme for constructing a 3D individualized head model automatically from only a side view and the front view of the face is presented. The approach instantiates a generic 3D head model based on a set of the individual's facial features extracted by a local maximum-curvature tracking (LMCT) algorithm that we have developed. A distortion vector field that deforms the generic model to that of the individual is computed by correspondence matching and interpolation. The input of the two facial images are blended and texture-mapped onto the 3D head model. Arbitrary views of a person can be generated from two orthogonal images and can be implemented efficiently on a low-cost, PC-based platform.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effect of career-oriented mentoring, ingratiation and their interaction term on the career success measures of salary, number of promotions received and career satisfaction.
Abstract: Underpinned by the growing recognition of influence processes or a careerist orientation in the determination of career success, this study examined the effect of career-oriented mentoring, ingratiation and their interaction term on the career success measures of salary, number of promotions received and career satisfaction. Data were obtained through structured questionnaires from graduate employees (N= 432) working full-time in Hong Kong. Results of the ordinary least-squares regression analyses revealed a non-significant effect of career-oriented mentoring, ingratiation and their interaction term on salary. Career-oriented mentoring was, however, significantly positively related to number of promotions received and career satisfaction. Although the results reinforced the dominance of the traditional determinants of career success, the significant effect of career-oriented mentoring on two of the career success measures may help to paint a more realistic picture of the process of career success in organizations. Limitations of the study, directions for future research and implications of the findings are discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, a method for solving general inverse LP problems including upper and lower bound constraints is suggested, based on the optimality conditions for LP problems, and when applied to inverse minimum cost flow problem or inverse assignment problem, they are able to obtain strongly polynomial algorithms.
TL;DR: A user activity model is developed to describe the usage of system resources by a user as it interacts with the service, and this model can be used to determine the requirements of network bandwidth and video server and the trade-off in communication and storage costs for different system resource configurations.
Abstract: An interactive video-on-demand (VoD) system allows users to access video services, such as movies, electronic encyclopedia, interactive games, and educational videos from video servers on a broadband network. This paper develops a performance evaluation tool for the system design. In particular, a user activity model is developed to describe the usage of system resources, i.e., network bandwidth and video server usage, by a user as it interacts with the service. In addition, we allow batching of user requests, and the effect of such batching is captured in a batching model. Our proposed queueing model integrates both the user activity and the batching model. This model can be used to determine the requirements of network bandwidth and video server and, hence, the trade-off in communication and storage costs for different system resource configurations.
TL;DR: The use of statistical modeling in the estimation of the Origin-Destination (OD) matrix from traffic counts is reviewed in this paper, where statistical models that consider explicitly the presence of measurement and sampling errors in the observed link flows are discussed.
Abstract: The use of statistical modeling in the estimation of Origin-Destination (OD) matrix from traffic counts is reviewed. In particular, statistical models that consider explicitly the presence of measurement and sampling errors in the observed link flows are discussed. This paper proposes treating the link choice proportions as random variables. Accordingly, new statistical models are formulated and the corresponding Maximum Likelihood Estimator and Bayesian Estimator of the OD matrix are developed. The accuracies of these estimators are compared with those obtained by previous methods.
TL;DR: In this article, a hybrid correlation model based on hourly measured data is proposed for the prediction of hourly direct and diffuse components from the global solar radiation for Hong Kong for the period 1991-1994.
TL;DR: For the period 1959 to 1994, the number of tropical storms and typhoons went through a period of decrease and then an increase, showing an obvious second-order variation such that the activity has been on a generally upward trend since the late 1980s as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: While Landsea et al. (1996) show that the number of intense Atlantic hurricanes is on the decrease, the trend of tropical cyclone activity over the western North Pacific is found to be just the opposite. For the period 1959 to 1994, the number of tropical storms and typhoons went through a period of decrease and then an increase, showing an obvious second-order variation such that the activity has been on a generally upward trend since the late 1980s. A similar trend is found for the number of typhoons. All these time tendencies are statistically significant. In addition to a trend, shorter-term oscillations of two, five and seven years can also be identified after the trend is removed.