A Computer Vision-Based Roadside Occupation Surveillance System for Intelligent Transport in Smart Cities.

In digital and green city initiatives, smart mobility is a key aspect of developing smart cities and it is important for built-up areas worldwide. Double-parking and busy roadside activities such as frequent loading and unloading of trucks, have a negative impact on traffic situations, especially in cities with high transportation density. Hence, a real-time internet of things (IoT)-based system for surveillance of roadside loading and unloading bays is needed. In this paper, a fully integrated solution is developed by equipping high-definition smart cameras with wireless communication for traffic surveillance. Henceforth, this system is referred to as a computer vision-based roadside occupation surveillance system (CVROSS). Through a vision-based network, real-time roadside traffic images, such as images of loading or unloading activities, are captured automatically. By making use of the collected data, decision support on roadside occupancy and vacancy can be evaluated by means of fuzzy logic and visualized for users, thus enhancing the transparency of roadside activities. The CVROSS was designed and tested in Hong Kong to validate the accuracy of parking-gap estimation and system performance, aiming at facilitating traffic and fleet management for smart mobility.

Saving for a Better Retirement: How Risk Attitudes Affect Choice of Retirement Scheme.

Over 3 million people in Hong Kong and 21 million people in the UK are saving for retirement under the mandatory provident fund and individual savings account schemes, respectively. Yet, we know little about how individual preferences, such as risk attitudes (risk-seeking and risk-averse) that are known to impact highly consequential decisions in a variety of real-world contexts, impact retirement investment choices. In two experimental studies (Study 1-Hong Kong sample and Study 2-United Kingdom sample), we show that personal risk attitudes were a strong predictor of the profile of retirement investment portfolios. Specially, risk-averse people allocated more of their savings to low-risk funds than risk-seeking people. The pattern of findings is consistent in both Hong Kong mandatory and the UK voluntary retirement investment schemes. These findings are considered in light of policy decisions made in Hong Kong retirement and UK pension schemes.

Evaluating the Pros and Cons of Different Peer Review Policies via Simulation.

In the academic world, peer review is one of the major processes in evaluating a scholars contribution. In this study, we are interested in quantifying the merits of different policies in a peer review process, such as single-blind review, double-blind review, and obtaining authors feedback. Currently, insufficient work has been undertaken to evaluate the benefits of different peer review policies. One of the major reasons for this situation is the inability to conduct any empirical study because data are presently unavailable. In this case, a computer simulation is one of the best ways to conduct a study. We perform a series of simulations to study the effects of different policies on a peer review process. In this study, we focus on the peer review process of a typical computer science conference. Our results point to the crucial role of program chairs in determining the quality and diversity of the articles to be accepted for publication. We demonstrate the importance of discussion among reviewers, suggest circumstances in which the double-blind review policy should be adopted, and question the credibility of the authors feedback mechanism. Finally, we stress that randomness plays an important role in the peer review process, and this role cannot be eliminated. Although our model may not capture every component of a peer review process, it covers some of the most essential elements. Thus, even the simulation results clearly cannot be taken as literal descriptions of an actual peer review process. However, we can at least still use them to identify alternative directions for future study.