Government energy pricing policies have multiple and often conflicting objectives: economic efficiency, government revenues (for both parastatal supply companies and the treasury), maintenance or improvement of income distribution, promotion of particular sectors (such as industrial exporters and local resource development) demand management and security of supply. It is important to examine the impacts on and the trade-offs between these objectives resulting from alternative policies in order to assist in policy selection. This article discusses the more important objectives and their conflicts and outlines an approach for the quantitative examination of alternative policies. 相似文献
This paper concerns the following problem: given a set of multi-attribute records, a fixed number of buckets and a two-disk system, arrange the records into the buckets and then store the buckets between the disks in such a way that, over all possible orthogonal range queries (ORQs), the disk access concurrency is maximized. We shall adopt the multiple key hashing (MKH) method for arranging records into buckets and use the disk modulo (DM) allocation method for storing buckets onto disks. Since the DM allocation method has been shown to be superior to any other allocation methods for allocating an MKH file onto a two-disk system for answering ORQs, the real issue is knowing how to determine an optimal way for organizing the records into buckets based upon the MKH concept.
A performance formula that can be used to evaluate the average response time, over all possible ORQs, of an MKH file in a two-disk system using the DM allocation method is first presented. Based upon this formula, it is shown that our design problem is related to a notoriously difficult problem, namely the Prime Number Problem. Then a performance lower bound and an efficient algorithm for designing optimal MKH files in certain cases are presented. It is pointed out that in some cases the optimal MKH file for ORQs in a two-disk system using the DM allocation method is identical to the optimal MKH file for ORQs in a single-disk system and the optimal average response time in a two-disk system is slightly greater than one half of that in a single-disk system. 相似文献
This paper presents the results of a 2003 national survey of urban water pricing structure implemented by 429 district level
water utilities. After providing some background elements on the diversity of existing water pricing structures, the paper
shows how each structure can be used to achieve different management objectives (water allocation efficiency, costs recovery,
and equity). It then describes the structures adopted by French water utilities, showing that flat rate are rarely adopted;
declining blocks frequently used; and increasing blocks pricing which should be used to promote water use efficiency remain
extremely rare. A statistical clustering is then conducted and a typology of situations elaborated. The paper concludes with
highlighting that current pricing structures are influenced by past practices and that the dominant objective of water utilities
is to cover costs. 相似文献
The interaction of highly purified alkaline protease fromBacillus sp. KSM-K16 with the horny cells of human skin contained in skin grime was directly visualized by electron microscopy. It
became clear that the protease first penetrates the horny cells and then adsorbs, mainly onto the internal structure of the
cells at the initial stage of hydrolysis, and directly hydrolyzes the keratin filaments, though the marginal band surrounding
them retains its original shape. Then, hydrolysate produced from the keratin filaments flows out of the cell, and early in
the hydrolysis process keratin filaments decrease and then disappear, leaving a marginal band, i.e., the cell turns to a hollow
state. As a result, the remaining marginal band loses support from inside the cell, thus promoting cleavage and dispersion.
Until this stage in the protease reaction, the remarkable liberation of hydrolysis products as water-soluble protein does
not occur. 相似文献
Abstract. A Bayesian approach to option pricing is presented in which posterior inference about the underlying returns process is conducted implicitly via observed option prices. A range of models allowing for conditional leptokurtosis, skewness and time‐varying volatility in returns are considered, with posterior parameter distributions and model probabilities backed out from the option prices. Models are ranked according to several criteria, including out‐of‐sample predictive and hedging performance. The methodology accommodates heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation in the option pricing errors, as well as regime shifts across contract groups. The method is applied to intraday option price data on the S&P500 stock index for 1995. While the results provide support for models that accommodate leptokurtosis and skewness, no one model dominates when all criteria are considered. 相似文献