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This paper analyzes efficiency and productivity changes in Emergency Obstetric and Newborn care (EmONC) in regional public hospitals in India. A novel approach of Weighted Russell Directional Distance Function Model (WRDDFM) has been employed. This model considers all the radial and non-radial slacks associated with good outputs as well as the undesirable outcomes while estimating inefficiency and helps to identify the source of the inefficiency. The empirical results based on a sample of 46 regional public hospitals from 2006–07 to 2013–14 show on average overall inefficiency of 24% and much of these are due to inefficiencies associated with undesirable outcome of stillbirths and intra-uterine deaths. Further, on an average the sampled hospitals have experienced marginal productivity decline over the reform period. The study indicates that there is a greater scope for efficiency and productivity gains in public hospitals, particularly if the undesirable outcome of still birth is minimized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recently, computer vision technique becomes a popular tool in flume experiment. The accuracy of computer vision method relies on the exactness of camera calibration, quality of the image and effectiveness of the image processing technique. Camera calibration is a delicate and difficult task to carry out in field work. However, the features on flume window are planar. This research adopted an idea called modified plane-based camera calibration to develop a method suitable for flume experiments. The calibration is simplified as map projection, and the associated time and efforts are reduced. Therefore, cameras can be installed at any location to meet the observation needs. The performance of the calibration is studied by comparing the measurements with the theoretical values of a known curve which mimics a beach slope. The robustness was examined by comparing the results acquired under two conditions: The camera was mounted on a secure fixture and on a mobile tripod. Overall measurement results are studied by comparing seabed profiles and surface waveforms obtained by our method and capacitance wave gauges. With inexpensive web cameras as the imaging devices, the RMS error was smaller than one millimeter when the target feature was measured 70cm away. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper assesses whether geographical characteristics and service strategies influence the performance of Chinese airports. It examines the technical efficiency of 41 Chinese airports in 2008; with data envelopment analysis then regressed on environmental factors. The results show that airports located in cities with populations of more than two million are more efficient than those for other city sizes. Further, airports that are able to accommodate A380 or Boeing 747 aircraft are operationally more efficient than other categories, and airports' efficiency improves with the number of airlines using them. The distance between an airport and the local central business district, however, does not significantly affect its performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]