Narrow Results

In data envelopment analysis (DEA), calculating the distances of decision making units (DMUs) from the weak efficient boundary of a production possibility set (PPS) is a very important subject which has attracted increasing interest of researchers in recent years. The distances of DMUs to the weak efficient boundary of the PPS can be used to evaluate the performance of DMUs, obtain the closest efficient patterns and also assess the sensitivity and stability of efficiency classifications in DEA. The present study proposes some new models which compute the distances of DMUs from the weak efficient boundary of a PPS for both convex and nonconvex PPSs using Hölder norms. In fact, the presented models assist a DMU to improve its performance by an appropriate movement towards the weak efficient boundary.

The target-oriented multi-criteria decision making is investigated based on the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator. The criteria evaluations are measured by using the likelihood of satisfying the targets of criteria. To aggregate the target-oriented criteria evaluations, the target-oriented OWA operator is firstly introduced, in which the target-oriented criteria evaluations are reordered and then aggregated by using the weight vector associated with the position of criteria evaluations. Four types of targets about criteria evaluations and four types of attitudinal characters about criteria weight vector are introduced, based on which, models are given to identify the potential best alternative(s), and estimate the ranges of attitudinal characters about criteria weight vector for each potential best alternative. The proposed models can not only analyze the sensitivity of each potential best alternative, but also can explore the impact of targets about criteria evaluations and attitudinal characters about criteria weight vector on the decision results. Models are further established to find the best and worst ranking orders of each alternative based on targets about criteria evaluations, and give decision analysis by considering specific ranking orders of alternatives. The proposed method considers the targets about criteria evaluations and attitudinal character about criteria weight vector at the same time and can provide decision makers more choices. Several examples are given to illustrate the proposed methods.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is the process through which the impacts of plans and programmes on the environment are assessed. Objectives, targets and indicators are the tools through which these environmental impacts can be measured. The same objectives, targets and indicators may be used for all planning levels but it is also necessary to identify additional plan specific ones. We used a workshop based approach to provide an interface between planners and environmental scientists and to give examples of objectives, targets and indicators for biodiversity, water, air and climatic factors, which could be used in SEA for national, regional and local plans. In addition, we highlight the need for careful consideration during the selection process of these variables which will result in a more rigorous and robust SEA. This is a challenging process but once completed will maximise resources and reduce the workload later in the SEA process.

The concept of environmental water requirements (EWRs) is central to Australia’s present approach to water reform. Current decision-making regarding environmental water relies strongly on the notion that EWRs necessary to meet targets associated with ecological objectives for asset sites can be scientifically defined, thus enabling the ecological outcomes of alternative water management scenarios to be evaluated in a relatively straightforward fashion in relation to these flow thresholds or targets. We argue, however, that the ecological objectives and targets currently underpinning the development of EWRs in the Murray-Darling Basin are insufficient to permit the identification of exact water requirements or flow thresholds. Because of the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of the Murray-Darling Basin and the myriad ways in which it is valued by people, we also assert that it is unlikely that adequate ecological objectives and targets from which to determine EWRs could ever be formulated. We suggest that the current emphasis on the concept of EWRs in environmental water planning conflates science and values, perpetuating a “how much is enough?” myth whereby the significance of the social, cultural and political dimension in environmental decision-making is diminished. We support an alternative paradigm in which the contribution of ecological science to water policy and management decisions focuses on understanding ecological responses of water-dependent ecosystems and their biota to alternative management scenarios and linking these responses to the ecosystem services and human values which they support.

Due to an undecided target and the prescription of chiral-aminoquinolines (chloroquine, primaquine and quinacrine) in the racemic form, the mechanism of action as well as the reason of causing side effects become unclear. Based on computationally evaluated literature data, the things determined theoretically were (i) the target of aminoquinolines during antimalarial activity, (ii) the mechanism of action of chiral-aminoquinolines and (iii) biologically active enantiomers of aminoquinolines. For the presented study, the enantiomeric binding affinities of aminoquinolines with all the targets claimed by other scientists were calculated, and then used in interpretation with the help of many investigations done/observed by others. The results were very interesting based on which, a new and acceptable mechanism of action of chiral-aminoquinolines during malaria curing step, is given for the first time. The current docking study not only resolves the questionable point about a definite target of aminoquinolines but also makes the mechanism of action understandable.