Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading cause of cancer in Taiwan, which consumes high medical expense among the total healthcare expenditure and becomes the significant burden to the finance of National Health Insurance (NHI). However, population-based statistics about the cost with the survival rate is rare. Objective: Through analyzing the data from the Bureau of National Health Insurance and hospital clinical files, we estimated the medical expenditure for treating HCC patients and the factors associated with treatment outcome. Methods: The National Health Insurance data from 1996 to 2002 with ICD-9 code 155 were used, which include age, gender, visiting time, and medical cost for inpatient or outpatient visits. The population-based data were analyzed to estimate 1-5 year survival probability and medical cost of HCC patients. In hospital-based data, 189 patients from 1991 to 2004 were recorded by clinical chart and 62 of them diagnosed during 2002 and 2004 were further selected to match the claim data. These informations were used for computing survival or recurrence probability, related factors, and medical cost. Results: For all incident cases in 1997, the average 5-year cumulated cost was NT$ 219,398, while the cumulated cost for those patients survived more than five years was NT$ 491,288. The survival probability was 30.8% for more than one year, 20.9% for more than two years, 15.2% for more than three years, 11.3% for more than four years, and 9.7% for more than five years in 1997 respectively. Female and those age >45-65 years old seemed to have better survival outcomes than male and those age ¡Ø45 years old or >65 years old , the averaged medical cost per treated case surviving more than five years were T$2,457,214 for male and NT$ 1,987,874 for female. Hospital clinical data indicated that TNM stages, therapy choice, liver cirrhosis, and ascites are risk factors for surviving. Although pre-TACE treatment has higher expenditure, its five-year survival probability is better than other treatments in this research. Conclusions: This paper presents medical cost with survival probability and its associated factors for HCC patients and further estimates the medical cost per life saved for treating HCC patients. Our findings can offer the policy-maker, provider, and patient to evaluate the intervention or prevention program in the future.

Base on Krugman¡¦s NEG model, we subsume urban cost in this study. Referring to study procedure of Murata and Thisse, make few changes of the model. Then, we get 3 conclusions of this study: (1) Due to the difference between commuting costs of each region, the symmetric distribution of workers will no longer make the largest total mass of varieties. While a region attend to traffic construction in order to drop people¡¦s commuting cost, agglomeration economic will not certainly make a negative impact on urban cost or effect people¡¦s variety consumption behavior. (2) In the case of an agglomeration, if the transportation costs are sufficiently large, the agglomeration equilibrium will be stable. The larger the transportation costs between regions, the larger cost of consuming other regions¡¦ commodity. Thus, chose to agglomerate in a bigger region can get cheaper and variety manufacturing commodities easily. And the agglomeration equilibrium will be stable. (3) Any change of commuting cost of the other region will not influence the stable of agglomeration equilibrium.

Nowadays, all kind of enterprises have to face the tough environment-the low margin age. With the factors like liberalization of global trade, emergence of the newly industrialized countries and the blooming BRICs, the worse situation makes them to tolerate more pressure than before. One of all concern important items is cost system that we cannot put aside while composing a good business strategy, no matter how important low-cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy, or focus differentiation strategy is. The key ingredients make enterprises more competitive including the implement of strategies and the control of cost. But what is the analysts¡¦ great responsibility for providing the right and instant information to the top managers is the cost information matched with the strategies and delivered precisely in the right time. According to the current cost system in this studied case, neither can the information supplied becomes the key source to assist top managers to make the vital decision, nor can performance appraisal system be used. How to create a feasible cost system which can provide the precise and instant information is the main purpose of the essay. The studied case in the essay is one of the public paper manufacturers in Taiwan and almost produces all kind of paper. To simplify the compliexity, focusing on the fine paper, the most competitive field of paper industry in the world becomes my main part of discussion in the essay. And hopefully it will become the trigger to get lots of people involved to continue the study further.

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In a deregulated power market, customers would have more choices for their power service and the improvement of service quality has become a challenge to power transmission and distribution companies. Distribution system reliability that was traditionally considered within the planning activities, is now incorporated in the operational environment. This dissertation presents study results of a multi-objective feeder operation optimization problem that considers how to balance network efficiency, switching and reliability costs in a distribution network. The proposed method divides annual feeder load curve into multi periods of load levels and optimizes the feeder configurations for different load levels in annual operation planning. Customer load profiles and seasonal varying data of feeder section failure rates and customer interruption costs are considered. Simulations results demonstrate the time varying effects on the optimal distribution feeder reconfiguration and operation costs. A binary particle swarm optimization (BPSO) search is adopted to determine the feeder configuration in each time period. Test results indicate that not considering time varying effects and using only simplified fixed load and reliability parameters could underestimate the total loss to the utility and its customers.

Strategic cost management is in its infancy. Researches and studies are still in an early exploratory stage and have not yet developed a consistent theory for strategic cost management. The thesis presents a comprehensive framework for strategic cost management. In particular the study attempts to contribute to filling the gap in the literature of strategic cost management. The suggested framework covers the concept, the objectives, the principles, the analysis fields & activities, the objects, the instruments and the key supports factors of strategic cost management to meet different challenges that the companies encounter from time to time and at different stages of development.

Univ., Diss.--Perpignan, 2003.

Since the 1980s, companies have taken a larger interest in quality and it´s economic impact within the company. Having the knowledge that it´s not quality that costs money, but it´s rather the lack of quality. The work immerses itself in the field of cost of poor quality and the development of key performance indicators. The thesis is performed at Bufab Holding in Värnamo. Bufab Holding is a trading company which mainly buys and sells C-parts. C-parts include fasteners, other small metal-, rubber- or plastic parts such as wires, springs and electronic fasteners. The aim of this thesis was to make a survey of the cost of poor quality and to find key performance indicators (KPI) for cost of poor quality that can be continuously monitored. This work can serve as a basis for other companies within the Bufab group if the company believes that the content of the report can be used. With this aim two issues was created. What is the cost of poor quality that are linked to Bufabs complaints today, and where do they occur? Which key performance indicators can be created, which continuously can be monitored? The work began with a literature study to gain a deeper understanding of the cost of poor quality and the creation of KPI´s. The literature led the writers of this thesis into the methods that were used. Through the data collection, document gathering and given interviews an understanding of the company´s current economic situation. On this basis the company´s claims and processes where analysed with the help of "Seven quality tools". With the help of the piece cost model cost barriers was prepared and the cost of poor quality was calculated. Furthermore KPI´s was created through Lars Sörqvists description of ratio. The cost carriers differed depending on whether it was Bufab who caused the error, if it was a wrong product quality claim or if it was the supplier who caused the error. The cost of poor quality totaled of 4,7 Mkr. The pareto chart shows that the cause wrong product quality caused the highest costs. The costs of poor quality that where calculated mostly consisted of different labor costs. One of the KPI´s was based on labor cost and the other was based on total costs. Furthermore KPI´s where made of the number of complaints with the base of total number of order lines that have been sent. The company can then use this result to show how good quality the company have when new contracts are negotiated. If the methodology and results are promising, this thesis can be a working model for more companies within the Bufab group. Not all visible costs of poor quality was calculated in this thesis due a lack of time. The thesis also lacks entirely an assessment of the hidden costs of poor quality.

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The research was conducted in the light of a training programme which will train a total of 150 engineers of AVIC I in Cranfield University during a period of 3 years. Cost has become an essential driver to aircraft design, as well as performances due to either the limited defence budget or competitive airline market. Consequently, knowing the possible cost prior to making actual expenditure will help managers to make proper decisions and allocate resources efficiently, and designers to optimize their work. Existing aircraft cost estimating models are outdated and mainly based on a database including both military and civil aircraft with various missions. This research concentrated on commercial jet aircraft and was to develop a suitable acquisition cost estimating methodology for conceptual design from a commercial aircraft manufacturer’s perspective. The literature reviewing took a comprehensive overview of some widely-applied cost estimating methods: Analogy, Parametric, Bottom-up, Feature-based costing, Activitybased costing (ABC), Expert judgement, and etc. Some practical cost models were also reviewed to learn the application of cost estimating in the aerospace industry. Then, analogy and parametric approaches were selected to perform the methodology development considering the limited data available at the conceptual design phase. An investigation was deployed to identify the actual problems in practice. The results helped to recognize the needs of industry. Also, the preparation works for development are presented to understand the environment. With subjective judgement and statistical techniques, a series of cost estimating relationships (CERs) were achieved, in which some historic explanatory parameters remained or were eliminated, and some new ones introduced. Size of aircraft became another variable besides weight. As to engines, all developed explanatory variables have been revealed in prior researches. The validation of CERs proves that they can provide reliable cost estimates with high accuracy and can be applied to conceptual design. In addition, a case study was conducted using a baseline aircraft defined in the group design project (GDP) and presents cost forecasting for the proposed aircraft. At last, discussion and conclusion presents an overview of the research. A framework for cost estimating system can be educed. Also, the future work is proposed for in-depth research.