Innovation and Technical Efficiency in the Smallholder Dairy Production System in Ethiopia

This study provides estimates of smallholder household＇s production efficiency and its determinants, and separately analyses the technical efficiency of dairy technology adopting and non-adopting farmers using data from Ethiopia. Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function was modeled in the context of local level agricultural innovation systems framework and estimated using 2011 milk production data on 304 dairy farmers. Results show that the mean level of technical efficiency among the sampled farmers was about 26%. This result suggests that there is room for significant increases of production through reallocation of existing resources. Despite significant variation among farmers, these results also indicate only 19% of farmers have mean efficiency scores （_〉 50%）, implying a need to focus on creating innovation capacity that pushes the production frontier outward in the dairy production system. It is also revealed that individual farm households＇ efficiency varied widely across dairy technology adoption status, gender and districts. The significant gamma （g） statistic, of 0.9985 in the analysis indicates that about 99.85% variation in the output of milk production would be attributed to technical inefficiency effects （those under farmer＇s control） while only 0.0015% would be due to random effects, i.e., beyond the farmers control and hence calling for a focus on efficiency enhancing investments. Education, farm size, extension visit and off-farm income opportunity were found to be efficiency enhancing. The study recommends that different components of an agricultural innovation system have to interact to improve the innovation capacity of different actors and thereby improve the estimated technical inefficiencies.

Evaluation System and Method of Industrial Park Renewal:A Case Study of the Starting Area of Handan City

With the rapid development of urbanization,the industrial parks originally located in the suburbs are gradually incorporated into the urban center.Industries that fail to follow the transformation of urban economic development and are forced to close,or enterprises that move out without conforming to the environment,become a gray area within the city.Most of the existing assessments are conducting single assessment of some indicators,but than their actual benefits.Through the field investigation on the starting area of Handan Economic Development Zone,and the evaluation on the nature of land use,development intensity,investment and output,and idle land,inefficient land use in the park is identified.According to different evaluation results,different update and promotion methods are put forward.The research could provide a new evaluation method and idea for subsequent renewal and development of urban industrial parks.

Analysis on the Influence of Inefficient Investment of Internal Controls

This paper takes 2011-2013 Chinese A shares of listing Corporation as the object of study and researchs the problem between internal controls and overinvestment and tmderinvestment.Through this paper, the study find reasonable and effective internal controls can restrain overinvestment and underinvestment, Overall, strengthening the constmclion of internal controls is an effective way to improve the efficiency of corporate investment.

Potential Analysis of Inefficient Garden Land and Residual Forest Land Remediation in Comprehensive Land Remediation of the Whole Region—A Case Study of Zhemu Town, Guilin City, China

The remediation of inefficient garden land and defective forest land is one of the important sources and types of supplementary cultivated land in the comprehensive land remediation of the whole region. The remediation and development of inefficient garden land and defective forest land will effectively alleviate the multiple pressures faced by cultivated land at present. Taking Zhemu Town, Guilin City, China as an example, on that basis of the data of the third national land survey, using analytic hierarchy process, this paper selects six evaluation factors, including water source, traffic, slope, field concentration, farmland infrastructure and villagers’ will, to study the remediation potential of inefficient garden land and defective forest land in Zhemu Town, and delimits four potential divisions, in order to provide the basis for the arrangement of land remediation projects in Zhemu Town. The results show that the northern, central and western regions of Zhemu Town have great remediation potential.

EVA Assessment,Discipline Constraints of CPC and SOEs’Inefficient Investment:Evidence From Listed Companies in Chinese A-Share Owned by Chinese Central Government

Based on the Richard Model in 2006,the author classify the Chinese Central Government-Owned Companies(CGOCs),which show the typical characteristics of State-Owned Enterprises(SOEs),by their state of investing into the sample of Over-Investment(OI)or Under-Investment(UI),then empirically testify how the assessment based on Economic Value-added(EVA)by Chinese State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission(SASAC),and the Discipline Constraints(DCs)of the Communist Party of China(CPC)affect the state of Inefficient Investment(II).The author’s empirical results include those as following:(1)The EVA assessment has significant effect of restraining CGOCs’OI,but the effect is not significant for UI;(2)The DCs show no significant effect of suppressing OI,but significant effect of worsening UI;(3)As far as the moderating effect is concerned,DCs only in a small degree strengthen the function of EVA assessment for suppressing CGOCs’OI,but significantly weaken its function of relieving CGOCs’UI.Based on these empirical proofs,the author proposes that the emphasis of the EVA assessment and DCs should be synergistically shifted to CGOCs’UI,which has important institutional meanings especially under the background of macro-economic going down for a long time.

Observations on Samuelson’s Dictum

The stock market in the form of the S&P 500 is estimated to be inefficient in 13%to 30%of the time since 1963.This is contrary to the theory of efficient capital markets,but in accordance with Samuelson’s Dictum,which posits that the stock market is micro efficient,but macro inefficient.I develop a new model to measure potential inefficiency at macro level.Inefficiency in price(P)is driven by earnings(EPS)and/or valuation(P/E).At the peak of the TMT-bubble in 1999/2000,both factors were in play,while only earnings assumptions were inefficient before the Great Financial Crisis in 2008/09.The model developed show expected results in terms of relative efficiency for Developed vs.Emerging Markets and for Dow Jones vs.Nasdaq.Parts of academia seems to accept a different definition of market efficiency at micro level compared to macro level.At macro level,a standard“price vs.fair value”definition seems to be generally accepted,while at micro level,a relative“price vs.price”definition seems to be broadly used.The latter way of thinking has historically contributed to price bubbles.Numerous examples of stock prices that deviate significantly from their fair value in days,weeks and months and doubtful methods for measuring efficiency at micro level cast doubt about the micro efficiency claim part of Samuelson’s Dictum.

Understanding and Detecting Inefficient Image Displaying Issues in Android Apps

Mobile applications(apps for short)often need to display images.However,inefficient image displaying(IID)issues are pervasive in mobile apps,and can severely impact app performance and user experience.This paper first establishes a descriptive framework for the image displaying procedures of IID issues.Based on the descriptive framework,we conduct an empirical study of 216 real-world IID issues collected from 243 popular open-source Android apps to validate the presence and severity of IID issues,and then shed light on these issues’characteristics to support research on effective issue detection.With the findings of this study,we propose a static IID issue detection tool TAPIR and evaluate it with 243 real-world Android apps.Encouragingly,49 and 64 previously-unknown IID issues in two different versions of 16 apps reported by TAPIR are manually confirmed as true positives,respectively,and 16 previously-unknown IID issues reported by TAPIR have been confirmed by developers and 13 have been fixed.Then,we further evaluate the performance impact of these detected IID issues and the performance improvement if they are fixed.The results demonstrate that the IID issues detected by TAPIR indeed cause significant performance degradation,which further show the effectiveness and efficiency of TAPIR.

A Contention-Based MAC and Routing Protocol for Wireless Sensor Network

Advance development of wireless technologies and micro-sensor systems have enabled Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) to emerge as a leading solution in many crucial sensor-based applications. WSN deploys numerous resource-constrained sensor nodes which have limited power supply, memory and computation capability in a harsh environment. Inefficient routing strategy results in degraded network performance in terms of reliability, latency and energy efficiency. In this paper, a cross-layer design, Contention-based MAC and Routing protocol is proposed, termed Contention/SNIR-Based Forwarding (CSBF) protocol. CSBF utilizes the geographical information of sensor nodes to effectively guide the routing direction towards destination node, thereby enhancing reliability. Furthermore, Signal-to-Noise-plus-Interference Ratio (SNIR) metric is used as a routing parameter to guarantee high quality link for data transmission. A Contention-Winner Relay scheme is utilized to reduce the delays caused by the contention procedure. Energy efficiency is also improved by introducing sleep mode technique in CSBF. The simulation work is carried out via OMNeT++ network simulator. The performance of CSBF is compared with other existing routing protocols such as AODV and DSDV in terms of packet delivery ratio (PDR), average end-to-end (ETE) delay and energy consumption per packet. Simulation results highlight that CSBF outperforms AODV and DSDV protocols in respect of PDR and energy efficiency. CSBF also has the most consistent overall network performance.

Rehabilitation of Overhead Crane in HPP

This paper presents a case study on the repair of a mechanical component of an overhead crane.The problem was initially identified through on-site inspection and analysis of the crane’s performance.The mechanical part was found damaged,leading to safety concerns and operational inefficiencies.The paper details the process of diagnosing the issue,developing a repair plan,and executing the repair work.The repair plan involved replacing the damaged component with a new one and conducting additional maintenance work to ensure optimal performance.The paper also discusses the outcomes of the repair work,which led to improved safety and increased efficiency of the overhead crane.The case study provides insights into the importance of regular maintenance and on-site inspections in ensuring the safe and efficient operation of mechanical systems.

ANALYSIS ON A TYPE OF SERVICING MACHINES MODEL WITH REPAIRABLE SERVICE STATION

This paper deals with a type of servicing machines model, which service station has a life time of the kth Er-langian distribution and can be repaired just like a new one. The cyclic time and the inefficiency quantities of this system in equilibrium are obtained.

Problems in EFL Extensive Reading Teaching and Possible Solutions

This paper examines the problems existing in Extensive Reading Teaching for Vocational Business English Majors and analyses the contributing factors for the time-consuming and inefficient Extensive Reading Teaching.Based on the analysis,the author points out some solutions from the following several aspects:the teachers’ roles,the choice of textbooks and the organization of the class as well as the integrated design of the class activities,be carried out in the student-centered class to be practical and helpful in the Extensive Reading Teaching.

Mechanics and fracturing techniques of deep shale from the Sichuan Basin, SW China

Deep shale gas exploration and production in Fuling(Sichuan Basin,SW China)are confronted with hydraulic fracturing challenges owing to high stress,high fracture pressure,low pump rate and proppant concentration,as well as high closing pressure in deep strata.This study focused on the mechanical properties of shale core samples from Fuling through high-temperature triaxial rock mechanical tests and in-situ stress tests based on the Kessel effect of acoustic emission.Their mechanical property var-iations with depth were delineated using brittleness index calculated via simulating different depths and different confining pressures for the samples.The results showed that several parameters of deep shale reservoirs,i.e.brittleness index,fracture density,performance of self-propping,and flow conductivity,are lower than that of shale reservoirs with moderate burial depth.Thus,the current operating pressure in deep shale reservoir stimulation should be taken full advantage of,rather than channeling the focus on the propagation of fracture length.The objective is to increase the complexity of the near-hole fracture network for enhancing self-propping and flow conductivity of the fractures.This can be achieved by reducing the number of perforation clusters and cluster spacing,adopting variable-rate fracturing,decreasing proppant size,increasing sand volume,and optimizing the fracturing parameters.A field application showed that,compared with the neighboring wells,the test well had larger drainage area,doubling the gas yield.

Why Quantitative Variables Should Not Be Recoded as Categorical

The transformation of quantitative variables into categories is a common practice in both experimental and observational studies. The typical procedure is to create groups by splitting the original variable distribution at some cut point on the scale of measurement (e.g. mean, median, mode). Allegedly, dichotomization improves causal inference by simplifying statistical analyses. In this article, we address some of the adverse consequences of recoding quantitative variables into categories. In particular, we provide evidence that categorization usually leads to inefficient and biased estimates. We believe that considerable progress in our understanding of data analysis can occur if scholars follow the recommendations presented in this article. The recodification of quantitative variables as categorical is a poor methodological strategy, and scientists must stay away from it.

Australia’s Out-Dated Concern over Fishing Threatens Wise Marine Conservation and Ecologically Sustainable Seafood Supply

Seafood plays an important role in human nutrition and its increased consumption is actively recommended for sustenance and health benefits in both developing and developed countries. In parallel to this, the public receives confusing advice as to what seafood is sustainably produced and is frequently misled about the environmental impacts of fishing, especially in locations such as Australia where contemporary fishery management has a conservation and sustainability focus. It is recognised globally that Australia’s traditional fishery management driven by strict sustainability and biodiversity regulations, has achieved impressive results in managing both fish stocks and the effects of fishing on marine environments. Despite this, continued pressure from non-government organisations (NGOs) and a perpetuation of the misuse of management terms such as “overfished” is used to promote the misguided need for ever increasing fishing restrictions, most obviously in “protected areas”. This paper questions the motives of some NGOs and governments in Australia in pursuing additional restrictions on fishing which are mostly unnecessary and disproportionate to the sustainability requirements of other sources of food. This is done within the context of the global need for sustainable seafood supply and the need for effective marine conservation that addresses all threats to marine ecosystems in proportion to the magnitude of each threat.

An algorithm for the anchor points of the PPS of the BCC model

Anchor points play an important role in data envelopment analysis theory and applications;they delineate the efficient part of the production possibility set(PPS)frontier.In this paper,we propose an approach for finding the anchor points of the PPS of the Banker,Charnes and Cooper(BCC)model.This approach is based on a variant of super-efficiency models and their duals.The necessary and sufficient conditions for the characterization of the anchor points are also provided.Finally,the applicability of the proposed model is illustrated with some numerical examples.

Fuel consumption,vehicle quantities,and total factor inefficiency in China

Scale-controlling and technology-upgrading measures are considered effective for mitigating vehicle exhaust emissions.This study investigated the impacts of fuel consumption and vehicle quantities on the total factor inefficiency in China’s highway transport sector during 2011-2015,based on the Bounded Adjusted Measure Data Envelopment Analysis(BAM-DEA)model combined with natural and managerial disposability scenarios.The results showed that the average global inefficiency(GIE)score of the exhaust emissions(CO,HC,NOx,and PM)was 0.41 under the assumption of natural disposability and 0.23 in the managerial disposability situation.Moreover,the main causes of total factor inefficiency scores from the perspective of natural disposability were road length,fuel consumption,and exhaust emissions,whereas those from a managerial disposability perspective were road length and exhaust emissions.These two results suggested that environmental efficiency can be promoted by increasing the quantities of clean-energy vehicles and high-quality gasoline/diesel consumption.In terms of the spatial distribution of GIE,the scores showed a decreasing trend from China’s northwestern inland regions to its southeastern coastal regions under both natural and managerial disposability.Environmental efficiency in some provinces(such as Yunnan)demonstrated good progress under managerial disposability,but other regions did not(such as Hebei and Ningxia).Thus,each province should choose appropriate strategies regarding vehicle quantities and fuel consumption according to the technical inefficiency scores of differing disposability situations.

Impacts of Improved Supplemental Irrigation on Farm Income, Productive Efficiency and Risk Management in Dry Areas

This paper provides empirical evidence that improved supplemental irrigation (ISI) can be justified on both environmental and economic grounds. Results of a stochastic frontier model which explicitly and simultaneously accounts for technical inefficiency and production risk applied to data collected from 513 wheat farms in the rainfed areas of Syria show that the typical adopter farmer obtained yield and productive efficiency gains of 6% and 7% respectively. A stochastic dominance criterion also showed that the adopter farmers got 10% and 13% reductions in risk of obtaining yield levels below 4 tons/ha and 3 tons/ha respectively. Given its adoption level of 22.3% in 2010, ISI led to the production of 52 thousand metric tons (6%), more wheat and conservation of 120 million cubic meters of water (10%). ISI has the potential to reduce total irrigation water use by upto 45% and for further increases in yield if accompanied with sprinklers and other improved agronomic practices, thereby enhancing food security and environmental sustainability in the country. An important policy implication of these findings is that wider dissemination of ISI along with other complementary agronomic practices in postwar Syria could be a viable option to be considered by national and international efforts for the restoration and rehabilitation of agriculture in the country.

Importance of Monitor and Control on New-Emerging Pollutants in Conventional Wastewater Treatment Plants

The wide occurrence of new-emerging pollutants and their potential environmental and ecological risks have recently caused great public concerns. The paper firstly put forward the severe problem. Then the possible main reasons were analyzed which might attribute to both the inefficient removal of wastewater treatment plants with conventional technology and ignorance of the monitor and control of new-emerging pollutants in the effluents. Also, the complexity and extreme high costs may also make the organizations sidestep the problem. Finally, possible strategies to deal with the problems were proposed. The upgrade of wastewater treatment plants was important and urgent.

Effects of technical and allocative inefficiencies on energy and nonenergy elasticities:an analysis of energy-intensive industries in China

Elasticity of substitution is traditionally estimated while ignoring technical and allocative inefficiencies,which could bias the estimates.We estimate elasticity of substitution for Chinese energy-intensive sectors by incorporating these inefficiencies.The results show most of the sectors are low substitutes between input factors and stress important differences among energy-intensive sectors.Concerning the cross-price elasticity for energy,with respect to capital(labor),the sectors are mainly characterized by weak substitutability or complementary.These imply the production structure is quite rigid and capital cannot be so readily used as a substitute for energy.

Green Inefficiency for Regions in China

We used the directional output distance function to derive estimates of green inefficiency, shadow prices, and waste costs of three wastes (waste water, waste gas, and solid waste) for thirty regions in China during the 1996-2003 periods. There is an upward trend in green inefficiency in Chinese regions from 1996 to 2003. The green inefficiency score in west area is the lowest but in central and east areas are higher. The costs of wastes have an upward trend in east and central areas but downward trend in west area in the last two observation years.