TARA: Training and Representation Alteration for AI Fairness and Domain Generalization

We propose a novel method for enforcing AI fairness with respect to protected or sensitive factors. This method uses a dual strategy performing training and representation alteration (TARA) for the mitigation of prominent causes of AI bias. It includes the use of representation learning alteration via adversarial independence to suppress the bias-inducing dependence of the data representation from protected factors and training set alteration via intelligent augmentation to address bias-causing data imbalance by using generative models that allow the fine control of sensitive factors related to underrepresented populations via domain adaptation and latent space manipulation. When testing our methods on image analytics, experiments demonstrate that TARA significantly or fully debiases baseline models while outperforming competing debiasing methods that have the same amount of information—for example, with (% overall accuracy, % accuracy gap) = (78.8, 0.5) versus the baseline method's score of (71.8, 10.5) for Eye-PACS, and (73.7, 11.8) versus (69.1, 21.7) for CelebA. Furthermore, recognizing certain limitations in current metrics used for assessing debiasing performance, we propose novel conjunctive debiasing metrics. Our experiments also demonstrate the ability of these novel metrics in assessing the Pareto efficiency of the proposed methods.

Towards a Cashless Society: The Effects of Perceived Convenience and Security on Gamified Mobile Payment Platform Adoption

Integrating gamification into mobile payment platform incentivizes people to use digital alternatives for payment and could spur user-centric, platform-mediated interactions. This study examines the relationship between perceived convenience and perceived security on individual users’ intention to use a gamified mobile payment platform in Malaysia; a developing country envisioned to build a cashless society. The partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique is employed on a final sample of 388 online users. The results show that perceived convenience has a strong but indirect effect on the intention to use. Perceived security has a strong and direct effect on intention to use and mediates the relationship between perceived convenience and intention to use. Furthermore, the reliability aspect of security is a top priority concern for users interested in using mobile payment. The multi-functional aspect of convenience is a top priority concern to attract users who are not interested in using mobile payment at first. The study discusses theoretical and practical implications for developing a dual strategy of ‘ensuring convenience’ and ‘assuring security’ to encourage the gamified mobile payment platform adoption in developing countries.

Social development or marketing: A discourse analysis of female borrowers in Lahore Pakistan

The MFOs espoused marketing approach for financial sustainability over shadows development agenda. Originally community-based organizations were designed to bring lender-borrower closer for socio-economic development is now used to identify customers with repaying capacity. The MFOs derived international financial organizations’ financial sustainability discourse remains predominant and community organizations are means to develop relationship building for commercial goals. The interdisciplinary study uses interpretive methodology, discourse analysis and case method, interviewing 120 female borrowers individually and collectively in a more than 120 hours juxtaposing MFOs, and international financial organizations discourse with the borrowers’ text. The findings show there is a mismatch between stated social development goals and microloans only meet social and consumption needs. The study suggests MFOs dual strategy does not serve social development goals and there is need to pursue either goals.

Chapter 5: Russia’s Role in International Fish and Seafood Trade

This chapter sheds light on Russia’s changed role in the international seafood trade system and discusses to what extent the new more export-oriented turn is sustainable. Russia’s seafood trade policy has changed significantly over time, from directing just about all of the production to the domestic market during the Soviet period, to increasingly pursuing a dual strategy as both an importer and exporter from 2000 onwards. The first section gives a brief account of Soviet-era seafood production and trade. The second part offers a perspective on seafood trade during the early post-Soviet period. The third part examines how the introduction of Food Security Doctrines and the 2014 embargo have influenced Russia’s seafood trade. The final section provides an outlook for the future. Similar to agriculture, concerns over food security are likely to lead to a reduced role as a seafood importer and a larger role as a seafood exporter. The structure of Russia’s seafood exports will continue to tilt towards Asian markets, with European markets assuming a secondary role.

In-Silico Evidence for a Two Receptor Based Strategy of SARS-CoV-2

We propose a computational investigation on the interaction mechanisms between SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and possible human cell receptors. In particular, we make use of our newly developed numerical method able to determine efficiently and effectively the relationship of complementarity between portions of protein surfaces. This innovative and general procedure, based on the representation of the molecular isoelectronic density surface in terms of 2D Zernike polynomials, allows the rapid and quantitative assessment of the geometrical shape complementarity between interacting proteins, which was unfeasible with previous methods. Our results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 uses a dual strategy: in addition to the known interaction with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, the viral spike protein can also interact with sialic-acid receptors of the cells in the upper airways.