Searching for a Kuznets curve in environmental efficiency using kernel estimation

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The paper constructs environmental efficiency indexes for a sample consisting of high- and low-income countries using nonparametric production frontier techniques and then establishes an environmental Kuznets relationship for environmental efficiency by Nadaraya-Watson kernel estimation methodology. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved. JEL classification: Q25; Q32

The role of international trade on environmental efficiency

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The relationship between trade and environmental conditions receives considerable attention whenever countries are in the process of negotiating trade agreements. In this paper using a non-parametric non-stochastic production frontier approach, we first develop an environmental efficiency index for a sample of high income and low and middle income countries and then examine the role of trade on the changes in environmental efficiency. The paper shows that, in addition to the per capita income which exhibits an environmental Kuznets type relationship, trade-related variables such as trade composition, the share of polluting exports and openness of a country are important determinants of environmental efficiency. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classifications: Q32; Q25; F43

Desain Playground Modular Bagi PAUD untuk Lahan Terbatas

- Pendidikan anak usia dini atau yang biasa disingkat PAUD menjadi sebuah fenomena yang kian marak di berbagai tempat. Fasilitas bermain menjadi suatu poin penting dalam perkembangan pendidikan anak, yang diantaranya adalah playground. Playground merupakan salah satu sarana bermain sambil belajar yang merangsang perkembangan kemampuan anak seperti kemampuan kognitif, motorik, dan sensori. Namun, kerapkali lahan yang tersedia untuk playground sangat terbatas, akibatnya banyak PAUD yang tidak memiliki fasilitas playground yang memadai. Hal inilah yang menjadi latar belakang perancangan playground modular untuk tempat dengan lahan terbatas. Variabel yang digunakan dalam pengumpulan data adalah murid-murid dari TK Islam Masjid Jendral Sudirman Surabaya beserta eksistingnya. Metode pemecahan masalah didasarkan pada aspek-aspek yang berkaitan dengan anak usia 0-5 tahun. Aspek-aspek tersebut diantaranya adalah antopometri anak, psikologi anak, kemampuan kognitif, motorik, dan sensoris anak, serta kebutuhan yang harus dipenuhi oleh anak. Dari beragam aspek tersebut, nantinya akan diperoleh sebuah konsep perancangan berupa pemecahan dari masalah utama. Maka dapat diambil kesimpulan, bahwa diperlukan playground yang mengoptimalkan kreatifitas pengguna dalam membentuk playground sendiri sesuai keinginan. Hasil yang didapatkan dari perancangan adalah berupa jenis playground dengan sistem modular yang memfokuskan rangsangan terhadap kognitif, mototris, dan sensorik anak namun tetap membebaskan kreatifitas anak dengan 3 alternatif permainan utama yakni, balancing beam, children climber, dan childern tube

Catching-up and innovation in high and low income countries

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The study utilizes a variant of the Malmquist Productivity Index computed by nonparametric linear programming techniques to empirically investigate the catching-up hypothesis for a group of high- and low-income countries. The results show that the countries with low initial per capita income levels catch up at a faster rate while countries with relatively high income depend more on technological progress for their productivity increases

Assembly line balancing by using axiomatic design principles: An application from cooler manufacturing industry

[EN] The philosophy of production without waste is the fundamental belief behind lean manufacturing that should be adopted by enterprises. One of the waste elimination methods is assembly line balancing for lean manufacturing, i.e. Yamazumi. The assembly line balancing is to assign tasks to the workstations by minimizing the number of workstations to the required values. There should be no workstation with the excessively high or low workload, and all workstations must ideally work with balanced workloads. Accordingly, in this study, the axiomatic design method is applied for assembly line balancing in order to achieve maximum output with the installed capacity. In order to achieve this aim, all improvement opportunities are defined and utilized as an output of the study. Computational results indicate that the proposed method is effective to reduce operators’ idle time by 12%, imbalance workload between workstations by 38%, and the total number of workers by 12%. As a result of these improYilmaz, ÖF.; Demirel, ÖF.; Zaim, S.; Sevim, S. (2020). Assembly line balancing by using axiomatic design principles: An application from cooler manufacturing industry. International Journal of Production Management and Engineering. 8(1):31-43. https://doi.org/10.4995/ijpme.2020.11953OJS314381Ağpak, K , Gökçen, H , Saray, N , Özel, S . (2013). Stokastik Görev Zamanlı Tek Modelli U Tipi Montaj Hattı Dengeleme Problemleri İçin Bir Sezgisel. Gazi Üniversitesi Mühendislik Mimarlık Fakültesi Dergisi , 17 (4). Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/gazimmfd/issue/6654/89311Alcorta, L. (1999). Flexible automation and location of production in developing countries. The European Journal of Development Research, 11(1), 147-175. https://doi.org/10.1080/09578819908426731Babic, B. (1999). Axiomatic design of flexible manufacturing systems. International Journal of Production Research, 37(5), 1159-1173. https://doi.org/10.1080/002075499191454Black, J. T., Schroer, B. J. (1988). Decouplers in integrated cellular manufacturing systems. Journal of Engineering for Industry, 110(1), 77-85. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3187846Cakir, B. (2006). A simulation Annealing Algoirthm for Stochastic Process Time based Assembly Line Balancing, M.S. Thesis, Gazi University.Celek, O. E., Yurdakul, M., Ic, T. (2019). Axiomatic Design of a Reconfigurable Assembly System for Aircraft Fuselages (No. 2019-01-1359). SAE Technical Paper. https://doi.org/10.4271/2019-01-1359Cevikcan, E., Durmusoglu, M. B. (2011). Minimising utility work and utility worker transfers for a mixed-model assembly line. International Journal of Production Research, 49(24), 7293-7314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2010.537385Chen, S. J. G., Chen, L. C., Lin, L. (2001). Knowledge-based support for simulation analysis of manufacturing cells. Computers in Industry, 44(1), 33-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-3615(00)00071-3Chakraborty, K., Mondal, S., Mukherjee, K. (2017). Analysis of product design characteristics for remanufacturing using Fuzzy AHP and Axiomatic Design. Journal of Engineering Design, 28(5), 338-368. https://doi.org/10.1080/09544828.2017.1316014Cochran, D. S., Eversheim, W., Kubin, G., Sesterhenn, M. L. (2000). The application of axiomatic design and lean management principles in the scope of production system segmentation. International Journal of Production Research,38(6), 1377-1396. https://doi.org/10.1080/002075400188906Dolgui, A., Ihnatsenka, I. (2009). Branch and bound algorithm for a transfer line design problem: Stations with sequentially activated multi-spindle heads.European Journal of Operational Research, 197(3), 1119-1132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2008.03.028Durmusoglu, M. B., Satoglu, S. I. (2011). Axiomatic design of hybrid manufacturing systems in erratic demand conditions. International Journal of Production Research, 49(17), 5231-5261. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2010.510487Ertay, T., Satoğlu, S. I. (2012). System parameter selection with information axiom for the new product introduction to the hybrid manufacturing systems under dual-resource constraint. International Journal of Production Research, 50(7), 1825-1839. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2011.560205Ghosh, S., Gagnon, R. J. (1989). A comprehensive literature review and analysis of the design, balancing and scheduling of assembly systems. The International Journal of Production Research, 27(4), 637-670. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207548908942574Graves, S. C., Lamar, B. W. (1983). An integer programming procedure for assembly system design problems. Operations Research, 31(3), 522-545. https://doi.org/10.1287/opre.31.3.522Gunasekera, J. S., Ali, A. F. (1995). A three-step approach to designing a metal-forming process. JOM, 47(6), 22-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03221198Guschinskaya, O., Dolgui, A., Guschinsky, N., Levin, G. (2008). A heuristic multi-start decomposition approach for optimal design of serial machining lines. European Journal of Operational Research, 189(3), 902-913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2006.03.072Hager, T., Wafik, H., Faouzi, M. (2017). Manufacturing system design based on axiomatic design: Case of assembly line. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, 10(1), 111-139. https://doi.org/10.3926/jiem.728Han, W. M., Zhao, J. L., Chen, Y. (2013). A Virtual Cellular Manufacturing System Design Model Based on Axiomatic Design Theory. In Applied Mechanics and Materials (Vol. 271, pp. 1478-1484). Trans Tech Publications. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.271-272.1478Holzner, P., Rauch, E., Spena, P. R., Matt, D. T. (2015). Systematic Design of SME Manufacturing and Assembly Systems Based on Axiomatic Design.Procedia CIRP, 34, 81-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2015.07.010Houshmand, M., Jamshidnezhad, B. (2002). Conceptual design of lean production systems through an axiomatic approach. In Proceedings of ICAD2002 Second International Conference on Axiomatic Design.Houshmand, M., Jamshidnezhad, B. (2004). A lean manufacturing roadmap for an automotive body assembly line within axiomatic design framework. International Journal of Engineering Transactions, 17(1), 51-72.Houshmand, M., Jamshidnezhad, B. (2006). An extended model of design process of lean production systems by means of process variables. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 22(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcim.2005.01.004Khandekar, A. V., Chakraborty, S. (2016). Application of fuzzy axiomatic design principles for selection of non-traditional machining processes. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 83(1-4), 529-543.Kulak, O., Durmusoglu, M. B., Tufekci, S. (2005). A complete cellular manufacturing system design methodology based on axiomatic design principles. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 48(4), 765-787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2004.12.006Lipson, H., Suh, N. P. (2000). Towards a universal knowledge database for design automation. In Proceeding of ICAD2000, First International Conference on Axiomatic Design, pg (Vol. 250258, pp. 21-23).Matt, D. T. (2008). Template based production system design. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 19(7), 783-797. https://doi.org/10.1108/17410380810898741Matt, D. T. (2012). Application of Axiomatic Design principles to control complexity dynamics in a mixed-model assembly system: a case analysis.International Journal of Production Research, 50(7), 1850-1861. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2011.565086Matt, D. T. (2013). Design of a scalable assembly system for product variety: a case study. Assembly Automation, 33(2), 117-126. https://doi.org/10.1108/01445151311306627McMullen, P. R., Frazier, G. V. (1998). Using simulated annealing to solve a multiobjective assembly line balancing problem with parallel workstations. International Journal of Production Research, 36(10), 2717-2741. https://doi.org/10.1080/002075498192454Nakao, M., Kobayashi, N., Hamada, K., Totsuka, T., Yamada, S. (2007). Decoupling executions in navigating manufacturing processes for shortening lead time and its implementation to an unmanned machine shop. CIRP Annals-Manufacturing Technology, 56(1), 171-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2007.05.041Nordlund, M., Tate, D., Suh, N. P. (1996). Growth of axiomatic design through industrial practice. In 3rd CIRP Workshop on Design and the Implementation of Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, Tokyo, Japan (Vol. 6, pp. 77-84).Rauch, E., Spena, P. R., Matt, D. T. (2019). Axiomatic design guidelines for the design of flexible and agile manufacturing and assembly systems for SMEs. 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Scheduling batches in multi hybrid cell manufacturing system considering worker resources: A case study from pipeline industry. Advances in Production Engineering & Management, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.14743/apem2016.3.22

Forecasting natural gas consumption in Istanbul using neural networks and multivariate time series methods

Due to copyright restrictions, the access to the full text of this article is only available via subscription.The fast changes and developments in the world's economy have substantially increased energy consumption. Consequently, energy planning has become more critical and important. Forecasting is one of the main tools utilized in energy planning. Recently developed computational techniques such as genetic algorithms have led to easily produced and accurate forecasts. In this paper, a natural gas consumption forecasting methodology is developed and implemented with state-of-the-art techniques. We show that our forecasts are quite close to real consumption values. Accurate forecasting of natural gas consumption is extremely critical as the majority of purchasing agreements made are based on predictions. As a result, if the forecasts are not done correctly, either unused natural gas amounts must be paid or there will be shortages of natural gas in the planning periods

Environmental efficiency in carbon dioxide emissions in the OECD: A non-parametric approach

The role of the environment is an important issue in the policy-making and hence, the accurate assessment of the environmental conditions is vital. In this paper, an environmental efficiency index is developed for the OECD countries using non-parametric techniques. The approach adopted is based on the assumption that there is just one production process behind the production of both goods and pollution emissions. The index derived in this work measures the extent of the required output sacrifice, due to the transformation of the production process, from one where all outputs are strongly disposable to the one which is characterized by weak disposability of pollutants. Using this index, we first conduct cross-section comparisons on the state of each country's production process in its treatment of pollution emissions. We then trace each country's modification of their production processes overtime. The results indicate that if the disposability for CO2 emissions were strictly restricted as the result of an environmental regulation, the total value of output loss to the OECD countries as a whole would correspond to 3.7, 4.8 and 3.5% of the total OECD GDP for 1980, 1985 and 1990, respectively. © 2000 Academic Press

Fingering and strain localization in porous media during imbibition processes

Fingered infiltration of a wetting fluid through a porous network is a widely studied subject in the field of fluid mechanics. However, the effect of this heterogeneous percolation on the response of granular materials, in particular fine-grained soils, is a poorly investigated and badly understood topic which deserves deep analysis, considering, among others, possible applications in soil remediation and underground energy storage. This paper presents a first application of a new formulation of unsaturated poromechanics based on a phase field approach that allows to characterize on the one hand the occurrence of fingering hydraulic instabilities and on the other one to capture their effects on the irreversible, and possible unstable, deformation of the solid skeleton. The envisaged application concerns the behavior of fine-grained soils whose dilatant/contractant behavior is more and more attracting the interest of the scientific community both in the fields of experimental research and numerical modeling

Experimental hut evaluation of bednets treated with an organophosphate (chlorpyrifos-methyl) or a pyrethroid (lambdacyhalothrin) alone and in combination against insecticide-resistant Anopheles gambiae and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes

BACKGROUND: Pyrethroid resistant mosquitoes are becoming increasingly common in parts of Africa. It is important to identify alternative insecticides which, if necessary, could be used to replace or supplement the pyrethroids for use on treated nets. Certain compounds of an earlier generation of insecticides, the organophosphates may have potential as net treatments. METHODS: Comparative studies of chlorpyrifos-methyl (CM), an organophosphate with low mammalian toxicity, and lambdacyhalothrin (L), a pyrethroid, were conducted in experimental huts in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. Anopheles gambiae and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes from the area are resistant to pyrethroids and organophosphates (kdr and insensitive acetylcholinesterase Ace.1(R)). Several treatments and application rates on intact or holed nets were evaluated, including single treatments, mixtures, and differential wall/ceiling treatments. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: All of the treatments were effective in reducing blood feeding from sleepers under the nets and in killing both species of mosquito, despite the presence of the kdr and Ace.1(R )genes at high frequency. In most cases, the effects of the various treatments did not differ significantly. Five washes of the nets in soap solution did not reduce the impact of the insecticides on A. gambiae mortality, but did lead to an increase in blood feeding. The three combinations performed no differently from the single insecticide treatments, but the low dose mixture performed encouragingly well indicating that such combinations might be used for controlling insecticide resistant mosquitoes. Mortality of mosquitoes that carried both Ace.1(R )and Ace.1(S )genes did not differ significantly from mosquitoes that carried only Ace.1(S )genes on any of the treated nets, indicating that the Ace.1(R )allele does not confer effective resistance to chlorpyrifos-methyl under the realistic conditions of an experimental hut