Product Costs as Decision Aids: An Analysis of Alternative Approaches (Part 2)

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramji Balakrishnan ◽  
Eva Labro ◽  
K. Sivaramakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Aids ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
System Implementation ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Product Costs ◽  
Current Systems ◽  
Common Platform

SYNOPSIS In the first part of this two-part paper (Balakrishnan et al. 2012), we used a common platform to characterize four popular approaches for computing product costs. In this part, we compare the approaches along three dimensions: (1) the cost of system implementation and maintenance, (2) the ability to provide decision-relevant data, and (3) the provision of incentives to manage the demand for resources. As no system clearly dominates, we show how future approaches might blend the best features of current systems.

Product Costs as Decision Aids: An Analysis of Alternative Approaches (Part 1)

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramji Balakrishnan ◽  
Eva Labro ◽  
K. Sivaramakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Aids ◽  
Resource Consumption ◽  
Activity Based Costing ◽  
Numerical Example ◽  
Product Costing ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Product Costs ◽  
Common Platform

SYNOPSIS In this first part of a two-part paper, we develop a common platform to characterize several popular approaches for computing product costs. We describe four kinds of product costing systems: traditional volume-based systems, activity-based costing systems, time-driven activity-based costing systems, and resource consumption accounting. We employ a continuing numerical example to illustrate the commonalities and differences among these systems. In Part 2 of the paper, we evaluate the systems along multiple dimensions and offer suggestions for how we might blend the best features of various approaches.

scholarly journals Patients’ views about screening for atrial fibrillation (AF): a qualitative study in primary care

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. e033061
Author(s):  
Mark Lown ◽  
Christopher R Wilcox ◽  
Stephanie Hughes ◽  
Miriam Santer ◽  
George Lewith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Decision Aids ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Semistructured Interview ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Registration Number ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Inductive Thematic Analysis

ObjectivesThere has been increased interest in screening for atrial fibrillation (AF) with commissioned pilot schemes, ongoing large clinical trials and the emergence of inexpensive consumer single-lead ECG devices that can be used to detect AF. This qualitative study aimed to explore patients’ views and understanding of AF and AF screening to determine acceptability and inform future recommendations.SettingA single primary care practice in Hampshire, UK.Participants15 participants (11 female) were interviewed from primary care who had taken part in an AF screening trial. A semistructured interview guide was used flexibly to enable the interviewer to explore any relevant topics raised by the participants. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsParticipants generally had an incomplete understanding of AF and conflated it with other heart problems or with raised blood pressure. With regards to potential drawbacks from screening, some participants considered anxiety and the cost of implementation, but none acknowledged potential harms associated with screening such as side effects of anticoagulation treatment or the risk of further investigations. The screening was generally well accepted, and participants were generally in favour of engaging with prolonged screening.ConclusionsOur study highlights that there may be poor understanding (of both the nature of AF and potential negatives of screening) among patients who have been screened for AF. Further work is required to determine if resources including decision aids can address this important knowledge gap and improve clinical informed consent for AF screening.Trial registration numberISRCTN 17495003.

Alternative Approaches for Upgrading Effluent Quality for Lagoon Based Systems

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 201-205
Author(s):  
Brian Evans ◽  
Stephen Nutt ◽  
Tony Ho ◽  
Henryk Melcer
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Solids ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Effluent Quality ◽  
Waste Sludge ◽  
Clean Environment ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Phosphorus Levels ◽  
Lagoon Systems

The province of Ontario is Canada's most populous province with over 8 million residents out of a total population of 27 million. The province has 512 sewage treatment plants of which 137 or 27% are lagoons. Improved environmental effluent quality standards since the introduction of the lagoons has resulted in many of these being unable to achieve proper effluent quality. Typical effluent quality requirements across the province require a minimum of secondary treatment, that is 15 mg/l of BOD and suspended solids and 1 mg/l of total phosphorus. The movement towards a clean environment has resulted in phosphorus levels as low as 0.3 mg/l TP and in an increasing number of cases, full nitrification year round. Because many of these lagoons serve small populations in the 100 - 3 000 population equivalents category, the cost of upgrading such lagoons to tertiary quality effluent is significant. Two approaches for upgrading conventional lagoon systems were evaluated. They are called the Sutton and New Hamburg processes after the towns in Ontario where they were first installed. The Sutton process consists of extended aeration plant, followed by polishing lagoons with waste sludge sent directly to the lagoons, while the New Hamburg process consists of conventional lagoons followed by intermittent sand filtration.

NEW FICTITIOUS DOMAIN METHODS: FORMULATION AND ANALYSIS

2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 1575-1594 ◽  
Author(s):  
IVO BABUŠKA ◽  
EUGENE G. PODNOS ◽  
GREGORY J. RODIN
Keyword(s):  
Model Problem ◽  
Nonlinear Problems ◽  
Theory Of Elasticity ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Fictitious Domain ◽  
Element Mesh ◽  
Multiple Interfaces ◽  
Fictitious Domain Methods ◽  
The Cost

Two closely-related fictitious domain methods for solving problems involving multiple interfaces are introduced. Like other fictitious domain methods, the proposed methods simplify the task of finite element mesh generation and provide access to solvers that can take advantage of uniform structured grids. The proposed methods do not involve the Lagrange multipliers, which makes them quite different from existing fictitious domain methods. This difference leads to an advantageous form of the inf–sup condition, and allows one to avoid time-consuming integration over curvilinear surfaces. In principle, the proposed methods have the same rate of convergence as existing fictitious domain methods. Nevertheless it is shown that, at the cost of introducing additional unknowns, one can improve the quality of the solution near the interfaces. The methods are presented using a two-dimensional model problem formulated in the context of linearized theory of elasticity. The model problem is sufficient for presenting method details and mathematical foundations. Although the model problem is formulated in two dimensions and involves only one interface, there are no apparent conceptual difficulties to extending the methods to three dimensions and multiple interfaces. Further, it is possible to extend the methods to nonlinear problems involving multiple interfaces.

The cost profiles of alternative approaches to journal publishing

First Monday ◽  
1969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Journal Publishing ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
The Cost

The digital era is having substantial impacts on journal publishing. In order to assist in analysing these impacts, a model is developed of the costs incurred in operating a refereed journal. Published information and estimates are used to apply the model to a computation of the total costs and per-article costs of various forms of journal-publishing. Particular attention is paid to the differences between print and electronic forms of journals, to the various forms of open access, and to the differences between not-for-profit and for-profit publishing undertakings. Insight is provided into why for-profit publishing is considerably more expensive than equivalent activities undertaken by unincorporated mutuals and not-for-profit associations. Conclusions are drawn concerning the current debates among conventional approaches and the various open alternatives.

Mitigation of Current-Driven, Vortex-Induced Vibrations of a Spar Platform via “SMART” Thrusters

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Joseph Fischer ◽  
Stergios I. Liapis ◽  
Yannis Kallinderis
Keyword(s):  
Active Control ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Frequency Wave ◽  
Fluid Forces ◽  
Vortex Induced Vibrations ◽  
Helical Strakes ◽  
The Cost

The possibility of using active-control technology to mitigate long-period (100–300 s) motions of spar platforms was investigated. In particular, the technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness of using a thruster-based active-control system was examined. Only vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) of a moored spar were considered for this study, although it is believed that similar active-control systems can contend equally well with low-frequency wave-drift and wind-induced motions. VIV has been selected for this demonstration due to the considerable attention it has received for spars, because of the high cost for passive VIV-mitigation means. The investigation employed numerical simulations of the hydrodynamics around the spar in two and three dimensions. In particular, for this study, Navier-Stokes methods were used to compute the strongly nonlinear interactions between the current-flow field and the spar hull. The fluid forces (hull-integrated pressures) were then used to compute the unsteady motions of the moored spar. The effect of the motion-controlling thrusters was included as an additional external force—that also varies with time. Of the several different control strategies that were examined, it was found that the most effective one is “D-Control” wherein thruster forces are proportional to spar velocities. Using such control, spar motions can be kept below 35% of the spar diameter, whereas uncontrolled responses were computed to be as high as 80% of the spar diameter. Similar uncontrolled motions have actually been observed in current-tank model tests of spars. As part of this study, discussions were held with engineers from three different thruster companies to ascertain the number and type of thrusters that would be required to achieve desirable VIV mitigation—given the computed thruster-forces, and to provide prudent reliability. Associated costs were also very much of interest. For the spar system examined here, which is representative of those introduced into or being considered for the Gulf of Mexico, it was found that the cost of the thrusters and their electric motors is around $8 million—a cost that is significantly less than that estimated for passive VIV-control devices such as helical strakes, or discontinuous hull geometries. Furthermore, the proposed thruster system could also be employed to contend with (to mitigate) other undesirable, large-amplitude, near-resonant spar motions, e.g., low-frequency drift, for which there are no alternative remedies at present.

GPS for Aviation

1983 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 350-355
Author(s):  
S. Ratcliffe
Keyword(s):  
First Principles ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Technical Knowledge ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mode Of Operation ◽  
Acquisition Mode ◽  
The Cost

It must be stated at the outset that the present author has a technical knowledge of Navstar GPS based only on fragments of the literature open to the public, and no knowledge whatever about the plans for its military use. An attempt will be made to discuss, from first principles, the consequences to both civil and friendly military users of the availability of a global, satellite-based navaid that makes possible the determination of position in three dimensions to a high accuracy. For civil users, confined to the ‘coarse acquisition’ mode, there is a 95 per cent probability that the horizontal position error will not exceed about 20 metres. For military users holding the key to a more sophisticated mode of operation, a significantly greater accuracy is available. The GPS also determines velocity, and data can be updated every second or so. It will be assumed that the navaid covers all the Earth's surface of interest, down to ground level. The cost of the satellite system is assumed to be high.

Gathering Evidence through Enquiry: A Process Improvement Focus

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoping Liu
Keyword(s):  
Process Improvement ◽  
Decision Aid ◽  
Decision Aids ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Planning Theory ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
The Cost

ABSTRACT As financial statements continue to contain more estimates and audit programs rely more on enquiry-based evidence, there is an increasing need to understand whether the process of enquiry can provide more reliable evidence. Prior research in other disciplines indicates enquiry process improvement is a first step in the direction of improving the quality of evidence obtained from management enquiry. This study explores which type of decision aid—a simple cognitive planning theory-adapted instruction or a detailed checklist developed from auditing field research—is more likely to improve junior auditors' planning for collecting enquiry-based evidence about a specific accounting issue. An experiment was conducted using 154 participants with an average of 12 months of auditing experience. The results show participants receiving the theory-based instruction, in contrast to those receiving no decision aids, planned to pose a greater number of questions and inquire of a larger and more diverse set of client personnel in areas relevant to the accounting issue. Further, these participants planned to corroborate evidence obtained from management enquiry with an increased number of audit procedures other than enquiry. The practice-based checklist resulted in similar overall effects, albeit at the “cost” of having to deal with a more complex aid and with less focus on corroboration by means other than enquiry. This study suggests that both decision aids can lead junior auditors to improve their planned approach to enquiry, and if these plans are executed appropriately, they could lead to more reliable audit evidence generated from enquiry of management. Data Availability: Contact the author.

The book of names: DSM-IV in context

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER S. JENSEN ◽  
KIMBERLY HOAGWOOD
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Classification Systems ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Diagnostic Strategies ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Dsm Iv ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
Current Systems

The authors review the constraints of current mental disorder classification systems that rely upon descriptive symptom-based approaches, and weigh the benefits and hazards of these classification and diagnostic strategies. By focusing principally on superficial descriptions of symptoms, current systems fail to address the complex nature of persons' transactions within and adaptations to difficult environments. While attempting to be atheoretical, current systems exclude types of information that may elucidate individuals' functioning across various contexts, often because it is difficult to obtain such data reliably. With current approaches, misdiagnosis is likely, particularly when diagnostic criteria are applied to persons in nonclinical settings. Alternative approaches that take fuller advantage of clinicians' expertise and other forms of clinical data are reviewed, and recommendations are made for the next generation of classification systems. Application of evolutionary theory to psychiatry and psychology, as well as development of a theory and nosology of context in terms of persons' adaptations, are needed to expand our knowledge of normal and abnormal human development and psychopathology.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document