Streamlined Procedures Research Articles

Thai power: Net metering comes to Thailand

Thailand has recently introduced net metering legislation that provides streamlined procedures for small renewable energy generators to connect to the grid, and guarantees both a market and good prices. The new laws create income opportunities for rural communities based on locally produced, clean, renewable energy supplies and offer significant potential to reduce Thailand's dependence on imported oil and coal. Chris Greacen, Chuenchom Sangarasri Greacen and Rich Plevin report.

Electron detection characteristics of slow-scan CCD camera

The characteristics of two single-crystal YAG-based slow-scan CCD (SSC) cameras are measured and analyzed for various electron accelerating voltages. A stream-lined procedure for characterizing electron cameras is described, especially, the procedures for the measurement of modulation transfer function (MTF) and detector quantum efficiency (DQE). The limiting factors on the DQE of the SSC camera are studied, and possible improvements in the design are discussed. These analyses should be useful for the future improvement and optimization of SSC cameras for specific applications.

Management information support for district health systems based on Primary Health Care

The authors consider the overall information requirements for a district health system. After reviewing the context of information support to operational management for primary health care (PHC) district health systems based upon PHC are defined with their principal features described. District management information systems typically have important information missing available data of inappropriate quantity and quality health staff with only limited skills in processing and using information and available information insufficiently used for local decision-making. District decision-making and information use are described in terms of resource allocation and use; use of services coverage and quality; policy and strategy; and assessment of health needs and program effects and impact. Increasing the scope of available information clarifying district needs resources objectives targets and indicators; streamlining procedures for data management; improving the skills of district staff in managing and using information; and broadening the use of information especially within districts and communities can improve district management information support. Closing sections consider the role and potential of microcomputer support for district health systems and policy implications at national and international levels.

Practical Applicatons of Discrete Mathmatical Programming in Exxon

Applications of discrete mathematical programming may be subdivided into those involving economies of scale, those involving mutually exclusive variables and those involving nonconvexity in the constraint set. Exxon’s earliest successful applications involved investment planning under economies of scale. Operations scheduling applications are characterized by mutually exclusive variables: these have been solved satisfactorily by heuristic methods and by branch-and-bound methods running under stream-lined computational procedures. Nonconvex constraints are found in engineering design problems: these require artful formulation and specialized computational search procedures. Research is still needed to endow discrete mathematical programming with interactive computation capabilities, with enhanced analytical and interpretive options and with extensions into the domain of mathematical programming under uncertainty.