Incentives-Based Mechanism for Efficient Demand Response Programs

In this work we investigate the inefficiency of the electricity system with strategic agents. Specifically, we prove that without a proper control the total demand of an inefficient system is at most twice the total demand of the optimal outcome. We propose an incentives scheme that promotes optimal outcomes in the inefficient electricity market. The economic incentives can be seen as an indirect revelation mechanism that allocates resources using a one-dimensional message space per resource to be allocated. The mechanism does not request private information from users and is valid for any concave customer's valuation function. We propose a distributed implementation of the mechanism using population games and evaluate the performance of four popular dynamics methods in terms of the cost to implement the mechanism. We find that the achievement of efficiency in strategic environments might be achieved at a cost, which is dependent on both the users' preferences and the dynamic evolution of the system. Some simulation results illustrate the ideas presented throughout the paper.Comment: 38 pages, 9 figures, submitted to journa

A Platform-Based Software Design Methodology for Embedded Control Systems: An Agile Toolkit

A discrete control system, with stringent hardware constraints, is effectively an embedded real-time system and hence requires a rigorous methodology to develop the software involved. The development methodology proposed in this paper adapts agile principles and patterns to support the building of embedded control systems, focusing on the issues relating to a system's constraints and safety. Strong unit testing, to ensure correctness, including the satisfaction of timing constraints, is the foundation of the proposed methodology. A platform-based design approach is used to balance costs and time-to-market in relation to performance and functionality constraints. It is concluded that the proposed methodology significantly reduces design time and costs, as well as leading to better software modularity and reliability

Modelo de asociación pública-privada: un enfoque de teoría de contratos

En los contratos de construcción de infraestructura de servicios públicos, el sector privado tiene fuertes incentivos para reducir los costos durante la vida del proyecto, lo que afecta la calidad de la prestación. En este trabajo se extiende el modelo de Hart para evaluar las ventajas de la asociación pública privada, examinando diferentes tipos de propiedad e introduciendo un mecanismo simple de renegociación. El ejercicio indica que la participación del gobierno no se justifica por su capacidad para hacer innovaciones en calidad, sino porque internaliza los costos y beneficios de la inversión en reducción de costos que realiza el sector privado.teoría de contratos, unión pública-privada, privatización, incentivos, análisis de inversión

El arte de aprender a caer

It was a Thursday afternoon on June 7, 2020, nearing 5 o'clock when I entered the coffee shop. The moment I sat down, I started to think about how I had reached that exact moment. It had been seven months since I had failed the urology residency entrance exam, which took place on December 5, 2019. I had dedicated years of preparation to this test, strenuous months of studying, leaving behind other aspects of my life. When I received the result, I felt like I was free falling...Era un martes casual, 7 de junio de 2020, cuando entré al café. Al sentarme, comencé a pensar en cómo había llegado a ese momento. Hacía 7 meses que mi vida había sufrido un gran golpe, un punto de inflexión, después de haber perdido el examen de ingreso a la residencia de urología. El 5 de diciembre de 2019 tuvo lugar la prueba, para la cual había dedicado años de preparación desde el inicio de mi carrera, meses intensivos de estudio, dejando completamente de lado otras esferas de mi vida. Al recibir los resultados negativos, sentí que la tierra se derrumbaba bajo mis pies, me sentí en caída libre..

Basic concepts for alternating current through educational videos

This article highlights the importance of complementing classes through educational videos, especially in disciplines exclusively with lectures. This proposition is exemplified through basic concepts in alternating current for both single-phase and three-phase circuits, which are critical in the formation of electrical engineers, mechanics, chemists, etc. The main objective of conducting educational videos is to make learning more attractive and stimulate interest in acquiring the knowledge of certain topics, given their importance in professional life in different engineering areas. The videos, filmed in laboratory and of short duration, aim to complement and consolidate the content taught in the classroom lectures491491

Efeitos da granulometria nas características físicas dos substratos de coco e de pinus

Efficient plant production in recipients requires appropriate knowledge of the substrate characteristics that have important role in supporting plant root systems and offering suitable moisture for their growth. The primary source of the substrate defines different characteristics to the growth media, limiting its successful employment in crop water management. In order to indicate suitable physical substrate attributes for capillarity irrigation, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of two particle size distribution (fine and coarse) of coconut and pine bark substrates on physical attributes related to water retention. For both of analyzed substrates, poremeter and particle size distribution analysis methods were employed, adding gravitational particle separation for the coconut material. The results have indicated that the coconut substrate with coarse particles distribution presented deficiency for watering processes by capillary rise due to a higher porosity caused by the fiber constitution. Fine substrates, with smaller average particle size and lower percentage of particle fibers, showed more suitability for water storage processes and, consequently, capillary rise processes. The fine coconut substrate presented higher aeration with high water retention capacity.O desempenho da produção vegetal em recipientes requer o conhecimento adequado das características dos substratos que possuem função importante de suporte ao sistema radicular das plantas e de propiciar umidade adequada ao seu crescimento. A fonte primária do substrato define diferentes características físicas ao meio de crescimento. Com o objetivo de indicar um substrato com atributos físicos adequados para utilização na irrigação por capilaridade, avaliaram-se os efeitos de duas granulometrias (fina e grossa) de substratos de fibra de coco e de pinus nas características físicas relacionadas à retenção de água. Para ambos os substratos, empregaram-se os métodos de porômetro e de análise granulométrica, sendo que, no caso dos substratos de coco, adicionou-se também a separação gravitacional de partículas. Os resultados indicaram que o substrato de coco com maior granulometria mostrou-se deficiente para processos de molhamento por ascensão capilar, devido à maior porosidade gerada pela constituição fibrosa. Os substratos com menor tamanho médio de partículas e menor percentual de fibras favoreceram os processos de armazenamento de água e, consequentemente, os processos de ascensão capilar. O substrato fino de coco apresentou maior aeração com alta capacidade de retenção de água

Consideraciones empíricas del consumo de los hogares, el caso del gasto en electricidad y alimentos

La teoría del consumidor ha formulado que los aumentos en los ingresos delas personas implica una disminución del gasto relativo en alimentos. Estahipótesis, se conoce en la literatura como la ley de Engel. Esta hipótesistambién ha sido aplicada a otros bienes de primera necesidad mediante loque se conoce como la Curva de Engel, la cual permite observar el impactoen el gasto de cualquier bien ante cambios en la renta. Por tales motivos,este trabajo expone empíricamente el comportamiento del consumo de loshogares por medio de un análisis estadístico y econométrico utilizando elconcepto de la curva de Engel para electricidad y alimentos por medio de unaregresión cuantílica, en la que se pretende capturar no solo la pendientenegativa entre las variables relacionadas, sino su cambio por medio de losdistintos niveles de ingresos de la muestra seleccionada.función de demanda, ley de Engel, regresión por cuantiles