On the Segmentation of Markets

This paper endogenizes the market structure of an economy with heterogeneous agents who want to form bilateral matches in the presence of search frictions and when utility is non-transferable. We depart from standard matching models where all agents are assumed to be in a unique meeting place by assuming the existence of infinitely many meeting places and allowing each agent to choose which meeting place to be in. The market is thus allowed to be segmented into dierent meeting places, and agents not only get to choose who to match with, but also who they meet with. We show that in equilibrium all market structures feature perfect segmentation where agents match with the rst person they meet. All these market structures have the same matching pattern, implying that the value of search to each agent is the same. Although perfect assortative matching cannot be obtained in equilibrium, the degree of assortativeness is nevertheless greater than in standard models.search, matching, segmentation, market structure

Landscape, home, & nation: Chinatown identities in urban Southeast Asia

Existing research on Chinatowns have focused largely on the development of the ethnic community, and racial and ethnic discourses in the context of urban spatialities in the form of enclaves, as well as economic networks. Migration and issues related to transnationalism and the Chinese diaspora are accompanying themes. More significantly, the majority of studies on Chinatowns have been situated in the 'Western Hemisphere', notably in North America and Europe. The purpose of this dissertation is to stimulate conversation on Chinatowns in Southeast Asia. It also proposes to explore the idea of Chinatown vis-a-vis concepts of heritage landscapes, diaspora and home, and national identities. Focusing on the cities of Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Rangoon, and Singapore, this dissertation draws on theories of place to consider three themes and objectives. First, the research explores the processes that shape the urban and imaginative landscapes of Chinatown and the functions that Chinatown plays in the city. This theme examines the idea of Chinatown and its sources, investigating images drawn from concepts of heritage to produce a recognisable space. Second, in conjunction with the concept of diaspora, it explores the potential inherent in the idea of Chinatown as home to the Chinese population and a place of the Chinese diaspora. It also considers the multiple homes that diasporic and migrant communities tend to sustain. The third objective of the study examines the role and place of Chinatown in the context of the nation, and how particularly ethnic and multicultural identities are negotiated in this space. At the same time, this theme explores the complex globalities that Chinatowns involve with the nation and the city. Using a postcolonial framework to address these themes, the research analyses the negotiation of place and identity in its interaction with concepts of orientalism. This research shows that Chinatown identities are produced in and through their landscapes which are shaped by imaginations of diasporic Chinese heritage. It also reveals that these diasporic identities help produce global impacts on their national contexts. It is at the intersection of these themes that Chinatown identities are realised as complex and plural, not arising simply from connections between China and present places of settlement, but also from the networks comprising other Chinatowns

Towards a global city: Emerging arts spaces in Singapore

Master'sMASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

Social Support, Resilience, and Happiness in Response To COVID-19

In dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals are having difficulties in coping with stress and enhancing their happiness due to the lack of proper social support. The phenomenon is highly alarming as the mental health issues of Malaysians begin to surface during the period of adversity. The study aims to investigate the mediating effect of resilience on the relationship between social support and happiness during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 104 Malaysian adults participated in the study through a convenience sampling method. They completed an online survey which measured levels of social support, resilience, and happiness. A Pearson correlation analysis showed that social support and resilience were positively associated with happiness. Besides that, resilience was evidenced as a partial mediator on the association between social support and happiness. The study concluded that individuals with a higher level of social support showed a higher level of resilience which eventually led to a higher level of happiness. In facing adversity, Malaysian adults with poor social support should improve their resiliency to boost their happiness

Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology Consensus Statements on the Diagnosis and Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, evidence supporting this association in the Asian population is scarce. Given the differences in the epidemiology of CVD and cardiovascular risk factors, as well as differences in the availability of healthcare resources between Asian and Western countries, an Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology (APSC) working group developed consensus recommendations on the management of OSA in patients with CVD in the Asia-Pacific region. The APSC expert panel reviewed and appraised the available evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. Consensus recommendations were developed and put to an online vote. Consensus was reached when 80% of votes for a given recommendation were in support of ‘agree’ or ‘neutral.’ The resulting statements provide guidance on the assessment and treatment of OSA in patients with CVD in the Asia-Pacific region. The APSC hopes for these recommendations to pave the way for screening, early diagnosis and treatment of OSA in the Asia-Pacific region

Effects of grain source and processing methods on the nutritional profile and digestibility of grain amaranth

Amaranth grain is reputed to have a high nutritional value, and as a plant, be tolerant to adverse weather conditions. This suggests that grain amaranth could be useful in tackling malnutrition and the growing burden of cardiometabolic diseases. However, there is insufficient knowledge at present about how the nutrient composition and digestibility of amaranth grain varies with growing environment, crop genotype, and post-harvest processing. We investigated the effect of the source and processing of amaranth grains on the digestibility of protein and lipid present in the grains. There was variation in the composition and digestibility of raw grains from different sources, indicating a role of genotype and/or growing environment which warrants further investigation. The greatest differences in digestibility were measured between the different processing techniques. This indicates that efforts to increase the cultivation and consumption of grain amaranth need to be supported by education about effective processing and preparation techniques

Microbial fuel cell for bio-electricity generation with optimisation on electrode and biological factors

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a novel biotechnology that converts chemical energy to electrical energy with the help of bacteria, and organic substrates as the fuel. This green technology produces electricity and also cleans wastewater at the same time. Therefore MFC technology has unique advantages that are unrivalled by other waste-to-energy technologies. However current applications of MFC are restrained by very low power density. Some literature reviews have suggested that one of the ways to significantly improve discharge performance is through electrode modifications on the anode. Therefore this project will attempt to modify the anode using carbon nanotubes (CNT). Dissimilatory metal reducing bacteria (DMRB) donate electrons to anode through their outer-membrane-bound c-type cytochromes, and thus are vital for MFC anodic electron transfer. The DMRB adopted in this project is Shewanella oneidensis. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) was used to measure the current output and it was conducted immediately after inoculation to determine the discharge performance of the system. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis was also conducted for better understanding of the electrochemical system qualitatively. After LSV and CV analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was also carried out to observe the physical effects of multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) on the electrode and graphite sheets From the results, it was observed that when the anode was modified with 3 drops of MWCNT, the best discharge performance was achieved. It was also found that with 3 drops of MWCNT, the surface was the roughest and least homogeneous as compared to the others, and large aggregates were observed. This trend was evident in both the SEM images of modified electrode and modified graphite sheets, which proves that 3 drops of MWCNT was the optimum amount. In conclusion, this project has successfully attempted to characterise the anode with carbon nanotubes and achieved excellent discharge performance with DMRB in half cell reactors. The anode modified with 3 drops of MWCNT produced discharge performance which was 3 times better than the blank electrode which was not characterised with any MWCNT, and this clearly demonstrated the benefits of characterising the electrode with CNT. 3drops of MWCNT was also the optimum amount as it was 12.5 times better than the lowest discharge performance of 5 drops of MWCNT.Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental Engineering

Essays in search theory

This thesis contains three essays. The first essay, “Matching with Multiple Applications: A Correction,” is a directed search model analyzing the implications of multiple applications by job seekers on the matching function. This paper shows why the matching function provided by Albrecht et al. (2003) is not correct when the numbers of firms and workers agents are finite, and shows how to derive the correct matching function. The second essay, “Search, Heterogeneity, and Segmentation” is joint work with Nicolas Jacquet, the first of a two-part project where we look at segmentation of markets when agents are heterogeneous, and deals with the special case when agents are of two types: either they are desirable (high-type) or not (low-type); the companion paper analyzes an economy where agents\u27 heterogeneity is on a continuum. We first characterize all steady state equilibria, and show that the segmented equilibrium can be an equilibrium. Welfare analysis is next carried out and it is shown that the economy with segmentation leads to at least as high an aggregate welfare as the economy when everyone is mixing in one meeting place. Out-of-steady-state dynamics is then analyzed. The third essay, “Directed Search and Firm Size,” shows how the size-wage differential, where larger firms paying their workers higher wages, can be obtained in a directed search setting. Directed search models generally predict that large firms, by promising the worker a higher probability of getting hired, pay lower wages. What I do here is to assume that there is an “optimal” size associated with a firm: if a firm hires less workers than capacity, it cannot be run properly and hence produces less. To avoid this potential loss in production, large firms have an incentive to post higher wages in order to get the right queue length. I show that if the penalty from not operating at the optimal capacity is large, there always exist parameter where the size-wage differential hold. I also endogenize the fractions of large and small firms in the economy