Photovoltaic hybrid systems for rural electrification in the Mekong countries

In rural areas of the Mekong Countries, the problem of electricity supplying rural communities is particularly alarming. Supplying power to these areas requires facilities that are not economically viable. However, government programs are under way to provide this product that is vital to community well being. A nation priority of Mekong Countries is to provide electrical power to people in rural areas, within normal budgetary constraints. Electricity must be introduced into rural areas in such a way that maximize the technical, economic and social benefit. Another consideration is the source of electrical generation and the effects on the natural environment. The main research purpose is to implement field tests, monitoring and evaluation of the PV-Diesel Hybrid System (PVHS) at the Energy Park of School of Renewable Energy Technology (SERT) in order to test the PVSH working under the meteorological conditions of the Mekong Countries and to develop a software simulation called RES, which studies the technical and economic performance of rural electrification options. This software must be easy to use and understand for the energy planner on rural electrification projects, to evaluate the technical and economic performance of the PVHS based on the renewable energy potential for rural electrification of the Mekong Country by using RES. Finally, this project aims to give guidance for the possible use of PVHS application in this region, particularly in regard to its technical and economic sustainability. PVHS should be promoted according to the principles of proper design and adequate follow up with maintenance, so that the number of satisfied users will be achieved. PVHS is not the only possible technology for rural electrification, but for the Mekong Countries it is one of the most proper choices. Other renewable energy options such as wind, biomass and hydro power need to be studied in future.

Architecture and other Architectures: Mapping the Production of Insular Space in the Pearl River Delta (China) and Jakarta (Indonesia)

Globalization is widely regarded as the rise of the borderless world. However in practice, true globalization points rather to a “spatial logic” by which globalization is manifested locally in the shape of insular space. Globalization in this sense is not merely about the creation of physical fragmentation of space but also the creation of social disintegration. This study tries to proof that global processes also create various forms of insular space leading also to specific social implications. In order to examine the problem this study looks at two cases: China’s Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Jakarta in Indonesia. The PRD case reveals three forms of insular space namely the modular, concealed and the hierarchical. The modular points to the form of enclosed factories where workers are vulnerable for human-right violations due to the absent of public control. The concealed refers to the production of insular space by subtle discrimination against certain social groups in urban space. And the hierarchical points to a production of insular space that is formed by an imbalanced population flow. The Jakarta case attempts to show more types of insularity in relation to the complexity of a mega-city which is shaped by a culture of exclusion. Those are dormant and hollow insularity. The dormant refers to the genesis of insular– radical – community from a culture of resistance. The last type, the hollow, points to the process of making a “pseudo community” where sense of community is not really developed as well as weak social relationship with its surrounding. Although global process creates various expressions of territorial insularization, however, this study finds that the “line of flight” is always present, where the border of insularity is crossed. The PRD’s produces vernacular modernization done by peasants which is less likely to be controlled by the politics of insularization. In Jakarta, the culture of insularization causes urban informalities that have no space, neither spatially nor socially; hence their state of ephemerality continues as a tactic of place-making. This study argues that these crossings possess the potential for reconciling venue to defuse the power of insularity.

Molecular effects on the cross section for pair production and their importance in the evaluation of the total photonuclear cross section of {^16}O in the {\delta-resonance} region

The screening correction to the coherent pair-production cross section on the oxygen molecule has been calculated using self-consistent relativistic wave functions for the one-center and two-center Coulomb potentials. It is shown that the modification of the wave function due to molecular binding and the interference between contributions from the two atoms have both sizeable effects on the screening correction. The so-obtained coherent pair-production cross section which makes up the largest part of the total atomic cross section was used to evaluate the total nuclear absorption cross section from photon attenuation measurements on liquid oxygen. The result agrees with cross sections for other nuclei if A-scaling is assumed. The molecular effect on the pair cross section amounts to 15 % of the nuclear cross section in the {\delta-resonance} region.

Technical and scale efficiency of cassava production system in Delta State, Nigeria: an application of Two-Stage DEA approach

The present study examines the level of pure technical and scale efficiencies of cassava production system including its sub-processes (that is production and processing stages) of 278 cassava farmers/processors from three regions of Delta State, Nigeria by applying Two-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. Results reveal that pure technical efficiency (PTE) is significantly lower at the production stage 0.41 vs 0.55 for the processing stage, but scale efficiency (SE) is high at both stages (0.84 and 0.87), implying that productivity can be improved substantially by reallocation of resources and adjusting operation size. The socio-economic determinants exert differential impacts on PTE and SE at each stage. Overall, education, experience and main occupation as farmer significantly improve SE while subsistence pressure reduces it. Extension contact significantly improves SE at the processing stage but reduces PTE and SE overall. Inverse size-PTE and size-SE relationships exist in cassava production system. In other words, large/medium farms are technically and scale inefficient. Gender gap exists in performance. Male farmers are technically efficient at processing stage but scale inefficient overall. Farmers in northern region are technically efficient. Investments in education, extension services and infrastructure are suggested as policy options to improve the cassava sector in Nigeria.