EFFICIENCY DECOMPOSITION WITH SHARED INPUTS AND OUTPUTS IN TWO-STAGE DEA

Data envelopment analysis （DEA） is an effective non-parametric method for measuring the relative efficiencies of decision making units （DMUs） with multiple inputs and outputs. In many real situations, the internal structure of DMUs is a two-stage network process with shared inputs used in both stages and common outputs produced by the both stages. For example, hospitals have a two-stage network structure. Stage 1 consumes resources such as information technology system, plant, equipment and admin personnel to generate outputs such as medical records, laundry and housekeeping. Stage 2 consumes the same set of resources used by stage 1 （named shared inputs） and the outputs generated by stage 1 （named intermediate measures） to provide patient services. Besides, some of outputs, for instance, patient satisfaction degrees, are generated by the two individual stages together （named shared outputs）. Since some of shared inputs and outputs are hard split up and allocated to each individual stage, it needs to develop two-stage DEA methods for evaluating the performance of two-stage network processes in such problems. This paper extends the centralized model to measure the DEA efficiency of the two-stage process with non split-table shared inputs and outputs. A weighted additive approach is used to combine the two individual stages. Moreover, additive efficiency decomposition models are developed to simultaneously evaluate the maximal and the minimal achievable efficiencies for the individual stages. Finally, an example of 17 city branches of China Construction Bank in Anhui Province is employed to illustrate the proposed approach.

Urban Land Use Efficiency and Contributing Factors in the Yangtze River Delta Under Increasing Environmental Restrictions in China

Evaluating urban land use efficiency(ULUE) provides insights into the interactions between land use systems and their external environment. Specifically, changes in ULUE are important for monitoring urban transformation in developing countries. In this study, using a traditional input-output index model, we incorporated slack-based measurements and undesirable outputs into a SBM-UN(slack-based measure-undesirable) model to investigate ULUE within the context of increasing environmental restrictions in China. The model was used to estimate the ULUE of 26 cities in the highly developed urban agglomeration of the Yangtze River Delta from 2000 to2018. The average ULUE in the Yangtze River Delta was relatively low compared to that of developed city regions in the European Union(EU) and North America and exhibited a U-shaped curve over the study period. Incorporating undesirable outputs, such as environmental pollution, into the model reduced ULUE by 19.06%. ULUE varied spatially, with the kernel density estimation exhibiting a bimodal distribution. Efficiency decomposition analysis showed that scale efficiency made a greater contribution to ULUE than pure technical efficiency. Based on our findings, recommended approaches to improve ULUE include optimizing factor allocation, reducing undesirable outputs, and increasing the effective output per land unit. The study suggests that ULUE and the SBM-UN model are useful planning tools for sustainable urban development.

Effects of Advanced Oxidation Processes on the Decomposition Properties of Organic Compounds with Different Molecular Structures in Water

Studies to decompose persistent organic pollutants in wastewater from chemical factories by using Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) have recently been performed. Oxidation reactions involving ozone and •OH radicals and cleavage caused by UV are the main decomposition reactions that occur in AOPs using ozone and UV. The mechanisms through which organic compounds are decomposed in AOPs are complicated and difficult to understand because various decomposition reactions occur simultaneously. The Total Organic Carbon (TOC) removal efficiencies achieved in several different AOPs were evaluated in this study. The TOC removal efficiencies were different for organic compounds with different chemical structures. The TOC was more effectively removed when aromatic compounds were treated using the O3-UV-TiO2 process than when using the other AOPs, and the TOC was removed more effectively by the O3-UV process than by the UV-TiO2 process. However, the TOC was removed more effectively when open-chain compounds were treated using the UV-TiO2 process than using the O3-UV process, and the UV-TiO2 and O3-UV-TiO2 processes resulted in similar TOC removal efficiencies. Therefore, it is necessary to use the O3-UV-TiO2 process to decompose aromatic compounds as quickly as possible. On the other hand, the UV-TiO2 process degraded the open-chain compounds most effectively, and the O3-UV-TiO2 process did not need to decompose open-chain compounds. Moreover, the TOC of aromatic compounds was removed more slowly than that of open-chain compounds. The TOC removal efficiency increased with decreasing the number of carbon atoms in the molecule. The TOC removal efficiencies increased in order of the organic compounds containing methyl groups, aldehyde groups and carboxyl groups. The removal of the TOC when organic compounds were treated using the O3-UV-TiO2 process followed pseudo-zero-order kinetics.

An Integrated DEA Model Allowing Decomposition of Eco-Efficiency:A Case Study of China

A common feature of previous studies about the application of data envelopment analysis(DEA) to determine environmental and economic efficiencies is that the two were analyzed in separate models or frameworks. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the economic efficiency and environmental efficiency with a single model. This paper proposes an integrated DEA model, based on a modification of the directional distance function, which allows us to decompose the eco-efficiency(EE) into the economic efficiency(ECE) and environmental efficiency(ENE). The ECE characterizes the ability of gaining economic benefits while the ENE characterizes the ability to control pollutant emissions in production activities. Identification of ECE and ENE can help decision makers of different regions detect what kind of factor(economic inefficiency or environmental inefficiency) is the main source of eco-inefficiency. This can help decision makers more targeted to improve EE. To illustrate the feasibility of our approach, a case study of 30 regions in China is presented. The empirical results show that almost all regions have very high economic efficiencies. The environmental inefficiency is the main source of eco-inefficiency. The differences of environmental efficiencies lead to the differences of eco-efficiencies in the east, central and west areas, while the economic efficiencies do not have significant differences among these areas. The economic efficiencies showed an opposite "V" shape and the environmental efficiencies showed a decreasing trend during the period 2010–2014.

Destruction of VOCs by combination of corona discharge and catalysis techniques

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