What makes a truly prosperous society? Coexistence & cooperation for the future of Asia & Oceania

This short essay was submitted as part of the application for the 2006 JAL Scholarship Program, organised by Japan Airlines International Co. Ltd. In this short essay, the writer shares his ideas on the necessary elements for achieving a truly prosperous society and how he may contribute towards achieving this goal of a truly prosperous societ

Generation of mouse graves' ophthalmopathy model with full length TSH receptor plasmid and cytokine evaluation by real-time PCR

Master'sMASTER OF SCIENC

The Influence of Parole Case Characteristics and Construal Level on Parole Decisions and Perceived Humanness

Despite the low rate of discretionary parole release in New York, much is still unknown about the processes underpinning parole decisions. The present paper delves into how aggravating and mitigating parole case characteristics (e.g. institutional behavior) relate to parole decisions and the perceived humanness of parole applicants. The paper also examines how construal level can moderate the above relationships. Finally, a moderated mediation model outlining the pattern of these relationships is posited and tested. 122 New York residents were recruited online and randomly assigned to read either an abstractly or concretely construed transcript for an interview with a parole applicant. Participants then completed a questionnaire asking how they perceived the case’s characteristics, whether they would grant or deny parole, their decision certainty, their preferred specific parole disposition and the perceived humanness of the applicant. Results showed that cases perceived to have more mitigating characteristics were associated with greater certainty in granting parole, more lenient specific dispositions, and more perceived humanness. Additionally, for cases perceived to have more aggravating characteristics, abstract (versus concrete) construals led to greater certainty in granting parole. However, construal level did not moderate the relationships involving specific disposition or perceived humanness. Lastly, the posited model was partially supported, such that the direct effect of case characteristics on decision certainty was moderated by construal level; however, construal level did not moderate the indirect effect through perceived humanness. These findings lay the groundwork for more extensive parole research and have implications for parole applicants preparing for parole reviews

Evaluation Of Slope Stability Due To Earthquake And Rainfall Occurrences

Malaysia is a tropical country which has high humidity and heavy rainfall. The annual average rainfall for Peninsular Malaysia is 2,300 mm. In other aspect, earthquake is not a frequent natural disaster happened in Malaysia. However, the case of local earthquake displays a slightly increasing trend. Besides, residents often felt tremors of earthquake from neighbouring region such as Sumatra. The 2004 Sumatera earthquake even caused 68 people killed in Penang, Langkawi, and Kedah. It is unknown for the combined effect of rainfall and earthquake to the existing slope structures in Penang Island. This dissertation presents the results on slope stability after the impact of rainfall and earthquake using the GeoStudio software. When considering the single effect of rainfall only, the results show that rainfall with longer duration and higher rainfall intensity will adversely affect the slope stability. The rainfall-induced slope instability often related to the rise of groundwater table level. On the other hand, the factor of safety for selected slope are even lower when both effect of rainfall and earthquake are considered in the analysis since the seismic waves will be imposed as secondary damage to the slope. Deformation is another parameter that can be used to evaluate the stability of slope affected by seismic waves. The results show that a higher deformation is recorded for slope geometry which has bigger slope angle and higher slope height. Reinforcement is essential to improve the slope stability so the factor of safety greater than 1.0 and deformation can be reduced at the same time. One of the reinforcements applied in this research is retaining wall which can improve the slope stability under the effect of rainfall and earthquake. Soil nailing is another reinforcement that can reduce the effect of rainfall since it minimizes the soil displacements through bonding to the surrounding soil. The importance of proper drainage system including surface drainage and subsoil drainage was studied as well

Economics of neuraminidase inhibitor stock piling for pandemic influenza, Singapore.

We compared strategies for stock piling neuraminidase inhibitors to treat and prevent influenza in Singapore. Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses, with Monte Carlo simulations, were used to determine economic outcomes. A pandemic in a population of 4.2 million would result in an estimated 525-1,775 deaths, 10,700-38,600 hospitalization days, and economic costs of 0.7 dollars to 2.2 billion Singapore dollars. The treatment-only strategy had optimal economic benefits: stock piles of antiviral agents for 40% of the population would save an estimated 418 lives and 414 million dollars, at a cost of 52.6 million dollars per shelf-life cycle of the stock pile. Prophylaxis was economically beneficial in high-risk subpopulations, which account for 78% of deaths, and in pandemics in which the death rate was >0.6%. Prophylaxis for pandemics with a 5% case-fatality rate would save 50,000 lives and 81 billion dollars. These models can help policymakers weigh the options for pandemic planning

Estimating Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity in Unsaturated Soil Using Soil Moisture Sensors

Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) is a measurement of soil water-retaining ability in unsaturated soil. The unsaturated hydraulic properties are necessary to predict the movement of water in unsaturated soil. The current study aims to create an alternative experimental device to estimate the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) using water sensors. The experimental set up was designed and fabricated in order to measure the volumetric water content using GS3 (Campbell) sensors at different heights. The data obtained from the sensors was validated using mass of moist sand column measured from electronic balance. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) was estimated with the help of retention and conductivity functions. The primary materials used in the study were solute-free water and sand. It was found that the reading from the sensors was in good match with the reading of the volumetric water content calculated from the mass of water in the sand column with a root mean square error of 0.0091. Soil water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity were plotted using Peters-Durner-Iden (PDI) model. The current experimental set up required approximately up to 4-5 months of open drying to adequately estimate unsaturated hydraulic conductivity in a dry soil region

Estimating Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity in Unsaturated Soil Using Soil Moisture Sensors

Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) is a measurement of soil water-retaining ability in unsaturated soil. The unsaturated hydraulic properties are necessary to predict the movement of water in unsaturated soil. The current study aims to create an alternative experimental device to estimate the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) using water sensors. The experimental set up was designed and fabricated in order to measure the volumetric water content using GS3 (Campbell) sensors at different heights. The data obtained from the sensors was validated using mass of moist sand column measured from electronic balance. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) was estimated with the help of retention and conductivity functions. The primary materials used in the study were solute-free water and sand. It was found that the reading from the sensors was in good match with the reading of the volumetric water content calculated from the mass of water in the sand column with a root mean square error of 0.0091. Soil water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity were plotted using Peters-Durner-Iden (PDI) model. The current experimental set up required approximately up to 4-5 months of open drying to adequately estimate unsaturated hydraulic conductivity in a dry soil region

Our future together industry perspectives: Future of professional learning and entrepreneurship

Singapore Management University School of Accountancy as our knowledge partner, with special thanks to Associate Professor Gary Pan, Associate Professor Seow Poh Sun, Associate Professor Leong Kwong Sin and Visiting Assistant Professor Clarence Goh, for their invaluable advice and their contribution of the article entitled "Insights from Educator, SMU\342\200\231s Views" in the report.</p