Rökning är ett utbrett samhällsproblem världen över och sjukdomar relaterade till rökning leder till mer än åtta miljoner dödsfall årligen. Effektiva rökavvänjningsmetoder spelar därför en viktig roll i samhället då de besparar samhället sjukvårdskostnader och främjar folkhälsan. I detta arbete genomförs en hälsoekonomisk utvärdering av ett SMS-baserat stöd för rökavvänjning. Syftet med arbetet är att fylla en kunskapslucka vad det gäller kostnadseffektivitet av digitala rökavvänjningsinsatser och samtidigt ge ett underlag tillbeslutsfattare som ansvarar för att prioritera folkhälsofrämjande insatser. Den hälsoekonomiska utvärderingen använder sig av kostnadseffektivitetsanalys som metod och baseras på en klinisk studie, där långsiktiga kostnader och hälsoeffekter skattas med hjälpav en beslutsanalytisk modell primärt baserad på en Markovmodell. De tre vanligaste följdsjukdomarna av rökning; KOL (kronisk obstruktiv lungsjukdom), lungcancer och hjärt- och kärlsjukdom modelleras mot bakgrund av hur många som slutar röka med hjälp av SMS-stödet. Data från olika källor används i modellen och i de fall data saknas görs antaganden baserade på tidigare studier för att kunna skatta kostnader och hälsoeffekter. Arbetet påvisar att en implementering av ett SMS-baserat stöd skulle generera ökade hälsoeffekter till lägre kostnader i jämförelse med att inte implementera ett sådant stöd. Resultatet från grundscenariot visar att interventionen skulle leda till kostnadsbesparingar på 63 539 kr per individ som tar del av interventionen och 0,30 vunna år i perfekt hälsa, sett över ett livstidsperspektiv. Resultaten bör tolkas med viss försiktighet då de är förknippade med osäkerheter, men kan användas som en del av det underlag beslutsfattare behöver för att fattabeslut om hur hälso- och sjukvårdens resurser ska prioriteras. Trots osäkerheterna i underlagetförefaller ett SMS-baserat stöd för rökavvänjning ha positiva hälsoeffekter och samtidigt spara resurser och därmed framstår metoden som en potentiellt viktig insats i framtida folkhälsoarbete. / Smoking is a globally widespread societal problem and diseases related to smoking account for more than eight million deaths annually. Effective smoking cessation methods therefore play an important role in society as they save society´s healthcare resources and promote public health. In this work, a health economic evaluation of an SMS-based smoking cessation is performed. The purpose of the work is to fill a knowledge gap in terms of cost-effectiveness of digital smoking cessation initiatives and at the same time provide a basis for decision-makers who are responsible for prioritizing public health promotion initiatives. The health economic evaluation uses cost-effectiveness analysis as a method and is based on a clinical study, where long-term costs and health effects are estimated using a decision-analytical model with a Markov structure. The three most common sequelae of smoking; COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), lung cancer and cardiovascular disease are modeled based on how many people stop smoking with the help of the SMS support. Data from different sources are used in the model and required assumptions based on previous studies are used to be able to estimate costs and health effects. The work shows that the implementation of an SMS-based support would generate increased health effects at lower costs in comparison with not implementing such support. The results from the basic scenario show that the intervention would lead to cost savings of SEK 63,539 per individual who takes part in the intervention and a gain in 0.30 years in full health, seen over a lifetime perspective. The results should be interpreted with some caution as they are associated with uncertainties but can be used as part of the basis on which decision-makers need to make decisions about how health care resources should be prioritized. Despite these uncertainties the SMS-based support for smoking cessation appears to save resources and lead to positive health effects and the method should be considered a potentially important addition in future public health policy.

Submitted by Ricardo Cedraz Duque Moliterno (ricardo.moliterno@uefs.br) on 2017-09-26T21:37:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Disserta??o definitiva ILANA - revisada.pdf: 1964258 bytes, checksum: 73df2e7ec0b51bebe48619b3d272ec45 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-26T21:37:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Disserta??o definitiva ILANA - revisada.pdf: 1964258 bytes, checksum: 73df2e7ec0b51bebe48619b3d272ec45 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-27 / Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia - FAPEB / Pineapple is a tropical fruit of great commercial value, Brazil is the second largest producer of pineapple in the world. The most produced variety in the country is the ?Perola?, followed by Smooth Cayenne and, both have a high degree of sus-ceptibility to fusariosis or pineapple gum disease, caused by the fungus Fusarium guttiforme.Once installed, this disease can reduce pineapple yield by up to 80%. Lactic bacteria (BAL) have their metabolic characteristics and the potential to inhibit bacterial and fungal growth, as well as to neutralize toxins produced by F. guttiforme.This work aimed to determine by in vitro tests the inhibitory effect of lactic acid bacteria on the etiologic agent of fusariosis. Qualitative and quantitative microbial inhibition tests were performed, comparing strains of lactic acid bacteria and crude pineapple extract against F. guttiforme isolates. Determination of mycotoxins in the fungal extracts of these isolates. The inhibitory effect of Lactobacillus plantarum Abx3 and Lactobacillus paracasei subsp.paracasei Abx5.2 was observed for isolateson F. guttiforme, the same did not occur with crude pineapple extract, and mycotoxin production was not detected in extracts of fungal isolates. The preliminary results of this work point out that lactic bacteria present potential to be used as a biocontrol product on F. guttiforme. / O abacaxi ? uma fruta tropical de grande valor comercial, sendo o Brasil o se-gundo maior produtor no mundo. A variedade mais produzida no pa?s ? a P?rola, seguida pela Smooth Cayenne, ambas possuem alto grau de suscetibilidade ? fusa-riose ou gomose do abacaxi, causada pelo fungo Fusarium guttiforme. Esta doen?a, uma vez instalada, pode reduzir em at? 80% a produ??o dos cultivares. As bact?rias l?ticas (BAL), devido as suas caracter?sticas metab?licas possuem potencial de inibir o crescimento bacteriano e f?ngico, bem como neutralizar toxinas produzidas por algunsmicro-organismos. Este trabalho teve como objetivodeterminar atrav?s de tes-tes ?in vitro? o efeito inibit?rio de bact?rias l?cticas sobre o agente etiol?gico da fusa-riose do abacaxi.Foram realizados ensaios qualitativo e quantitativode inibi??o mi-crobiana, confrontando cepas de bact?rias l?ticas e extrato bruto do abacaxifrente aisolados de F.guttiforme. Determinarse h? micotoxina nos extratos f?ngicos destes isolados. Constatou-se efeito inibit?rio do Lactobacillus plantarum Abx3 e Lactobacillus paracaseisubsp.paracasei Abx5.2 sobre os isolados de F. guttiforme. O mesmo n?o aconteceu com o extrato bruto de abacaxi, e n?o foi detectada a produ??o de micotoxina nos extratos dos isolados f?ngicos. Os resultados preliminares deste trabalho apontamque as bact?rias l?ticas apresentam potencial de serem utilizadas em formula??es de produto de biocontrolede F. guttiforme.

O conforto acústico é um fator que, ultimamente, tem ganhado importância na indústria automobilística, especialmente porque o ruído de freio tem se apresentado como uma das principais causas de desconforto acústico para os usuários. Com isso, o material de atrito é alvo de contínuas pesquisas, com intenção de reduzir os ruídos, mas o sistema de freio também tem responsabilidade no ruído. O ruído de freio tipo squeal ocorre em altas frequências e destaca-se por ser o ruído de freio mais economicamente importante, pois gera elevados custos de acionamento da garantia do veículo. O squeal é induzido pelo efeito do atrito, existindo técnicas de simulação numérica para avaliar esse fenômeno, que se baseiam na análise de autovalores complexos (CEA) do sistema de freio. Os trabalhos encontrados na literatura tratam quase exclusivamente sobre sistemas de freio a disco. Diante disso, esse trabalho visa apresentar uma metodologia de análise de instabilidade dinâmica em sistemas de freio a tambor, considerando os efeitos de amortecimento. É utilizado o programa ANSYS e o Método dos Elementos Finitos para realizar esse estudo. Ao longo do trabalho são apresentadas discussões sobre fatores de influência nas frequências auto excitadas, como amortecimento, coeficiente de atrito e pressão de acionamento. A técnica de CEA é aplicada a dois sistemas de freio a tambor, com geometrias diferentes, sendo os dois casos validados através da comparação com resultados veiculares. Os modelos numéricos são ferramentas muito úteis, e a referida análise fornece grande vantagem no desenvolvimento de um sistema de freio acusticamente confortável. No entanto, os parâmetros de entrada no modelo numérico precisam ser coerentes e cuidadosamente definidos. A metodologia se mostrou adequada para avaliar o fenômeno de acoplamento modal induzido por atrito. / Acoustic comfort has become increasingly important nowadays, especially because brake noise is one of the major causes of acoustic discomfort to the users. Thus, the friction material is a continuous research target, intended to reduce noise, but bearing in mind that the brake system also has responsibility in noise. The squeal noise occurs at high frequencies and stands out for being the most economically important type of brake noise, because it generates high costs of the activation of the vehicle warranty. Squeal noise is induced by friction, and there are numerical simulation techniques to assess this phenomenon, which are based on the complex eigenvalues analysis (CEA). Studies in the literature deal almost exclusively on disc brake systems. Therefore, the present work addresses the dynamic instability analysis methodology applied to drum brake systems, where the damping effect is considered. It is used ANSYS and the Finite Element Method program to perform this study. The influence of damping, friction coefficient and working pressure on the self-excited frequencies of the brake system are discussed throughout this work. CEA technique is applied to two drum brake systems, which have different geometries. These two cases are validated by comparison with results obtained in vehicle tests. The numerical models are very useful tools, and this analysis provides great advantage in developing an acoustically comfortable brake system. However, the input parameters in the numerical model must be carefully defined and consistent. The methodology proved to be adequate to evaluate the modal coupling phenomenon induced by friction in drum brake systems.

<p>The general purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate KrAmi – a correctional program for young offenders – regarding socioeconomic profitability. Evaluating socioeconomic results enables us to examine and reflect upon the possibilities of applying socioeconomic models to social work. The basic data, from a long-term follow up study of 140 persons in two KrAmi programs, one Knuff program and two probation programs (treatment as usual), also allow systematic comparisons with more traditional evaluation models</p><p>The data have been presented in one research report and three articles.</p><p>The research report examines both the effects in an effect study and the socioeconomic results in a CBA (Cost-Benefit Analysis) and a CEA (Cost-Effectiveness analysis). The overall aim of the socioeconomic study was to examine the socioeconomic profitability of the programmes. We found a halving of expenditure for the KrAmi and Knuff groups and a 25 percent reduction for the two probation programmes compared to the cost one year before rehabilitation started.</p><p>The 15-year investment analysis (CBA) showed that expenditures decreased and benefits increased by about 2.5 million SEK per individual for the two KrAmi programmes and one non-custodial program, by 0.5-1.0 million SEK for the Knuff program and the other non-custodial program. For the KrAmi programs investment in rehabilitation pays off in 1-1.5 years, for probation in 2.5-4 years and for Knuff in 4 years after the intervention. The benefit-cost ratios were 17.8 - 12.7 for the two KrAmi programs and 5.1 - 5.8 for the two non-custodial programs. For the Knuff program the benefit-cost ratio was 13.2. KrAmi rates are higher for rehabilitation rate (pension points), rehabilitation rate compared to investment costs and benefit-cost ratio, pay-off time is the shortest.</p><p>The results of both the effect study and socio-economic study, which were presented in the first article, suggest that social improvements for the clients corresponded with socio-economic profitability. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution due to difficulties in comparing short-term data on effects from ASI interviews collected in one period with long-term data concerning socio-economic costs per day per client in a different period. The second article elaborated on these design issues and also examined whether approaching an evaluation from different perspectives and employing different research methods can increase understanding. The conclusion drawn was that it was essential to have knowledge on the dissimilarities in design and measures between the two studies to come to the correct interpretations. These interpretations led to new questions to illuminate the results of the evaluations.</p><p>In the third article the focus was the long-term follow up period. In this study the Knuff program was excluded from the study and the two KrAmi programs formed the program group and the two probation group formed the control group. The follow-up period was two years during which the socioeconomic costs decreased stepwise for both groups, probation groups more so than program groups. The deteriorations were 70-80% compared to the period before treatment. However rehabilitation to labour market was more successful for program groups than for control groups thanks to the greater socio-economic profitability for program groups.</p><p>The introductory part of this dissertation focuses on methodological difficulties, and a multivariate regression analysis (MRA) is presented which shows that pre-existing differences in the composition of the program groups and control groups were not responsible for the differences on the socio-economic results. Moreover the introductory section includes a research presentation and the rationale for socioeconomic evaluation.</p>

<p>In this thesis, two different vaccines were evaluated as adjuvant therapy for patients with colorectal cancer. The ability of the two candidate vaccines to generate antigen-specific cellular and humoral responses, respectively, was studied. The effectiveness of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) as a cytokine adjuvant to augment the immune response was also examined.</p><p>The first vaccination strategy involved immunization with the recombinant tumor-associated protein, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Recombinant CEA was administered at 4 different dose levels 7 times during one year. Peripheral blood samples were regularly analyzed during 36 months. This vaccination regimen induced a strong immunoglobulin 1 (IgG1) and IgG4 response, a moderate IgG2 response and a weak IgG3 response against CEA. GM-CSF markedly augmented the effect on IgG1 and IgG4 as well as the T cell response. In contrast, dose of rCEA had no or modest effect on induced immune responses. The response gradually increased during the 12 months immunization period. Responses of all three IgG subclasses and of T cells were protracted up to 36 months. The anti-CEA IgG titers related significantly to survival. Functional HLA-DR epitopes of CEA could be defined. These major histocompatibility class II epitopes may serve as putative components of a peptide-based vaccination strategy. </p><p>The other vaccine strategy consisted of the tumor-associated antigen epithelial cell adhesion molecule (Ep-Cam) expressed as a transgene in a viral vector, ALVAC. Patients were immunized subcutaneously/intradermally 3 times over 6 weeks and monitored for immune responses for 46 weeks. No anti-Ep-Cam specific humoral response was induced, but Ep-Cam specific type 1 T cells (interpheron-gamma production) were induced, mainly in the GM-CSF group. The cytotoxic cellular response appeared late, or a few months after the last immunization.</p><p>Both vaccines were well tolerated. Since GM-CSF was an important component for both regimens, immungenicity of this cytokine was assessed. Multiple immunizations with low dose GM-CSF were associated with a low incidence of GM-CSF antibodies that did not neutralize the biological effect of GM-CSF. </p><p>In conclusion, both vaccines are promising candidate vaccines. GM-CSF is necessary to induce a strong humoral and cellular immune response. Large clinical trials are urgently warranted to evaluate the clinical efficacy.</p>

In this thesis, two different vaccines were evaluated as adjuvant therapy for patients with colorectal cancer. The ability of the two candidate vaccines to generate antigen-specific cellular and humoral responses, respectively, was studied. The effectiveness of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) as a cytokine adjuvant to augment the immune response was also examined. The first vaccination strategy involved immunization with the recombinant tumor-associated protein, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Recombinant CEA was administered at 4 different dose levels 7 times during one year. Peripheral blood samples were regularly analyzed during 36 months. This vaccination regimen induced a strong immunoglobulin 1 (IgG1) and IgG4 response, a moderate IgG2 response and a weak IgG3 response against CEA. GM-CSF markedly augmented the effect on IgG1 and IgG4 as well as the T cell response. In contrast, dose of rCEA had no or modest effect on induced immune responses. The response gradually increased during the 12 months immunization period. Responses of all three IgG subclasses and of T cells were protracted up to 36 months. The anti-CEA IgG titers related significantly to survival. Functional HLA-DR epitopes of CEA could be defined. These major histocompatibility class II epitopes may serve as putative components of a peptide-based vaccination strategy. The other vaccine strategy consisted of the tumor-associated antigen epithelial cell adhesion molecule (Ep-Cam) expressed as a transgene in a viral vector, ALVAC. Patients were immunized subcutaneously/intradermally 3 times over 6 weeks and monitored for immune responses for 46 weeks. No anti-Ep-Cam specific humoral response was induced, but Ep-Cam specific type 1 T cells (interpheron-gamma production) were induced, mainly in the GM-CSF group. The cytotoxic cellular response appeared late, or a few months after the last immunization. Both vaccines were well tolerated. Since GM-CSF was an important component for both regimens, immungenicity of this cytokine was assessed. Multiple immunizations with low dose GM-CSF were associated with a low incidence of GM-CSF antibodies that did not neutralize the biological effect of GM-CSF. In conclusion, both vaccines are promising candidate vaccines. GM-CSF is necessary to induce a strong humoral and cellular immune response. Large clinical trials are urgently warranted to evaluate the clinical efficacy.

The general purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate KrAmi – a correctional program for young offenders – regarding socioeconomic profitability. Evaluating socioeconomic results enables us to examine and reflect upon the possibilities of applying socioeconomic models to social work. The basic data, from a long-term follow up study of 140 persons in two KrAmi programs, one Knuff program and two probation programs (treatment as usual), also allow systematic comparisons with more traditional evaluation models The data have been presented in one research report and three articles. The research report examines both the effects in an effect study and the socioeconomic results in a CBA (Cost-Benefit Analysis) and a CEA (Cost-Effectiveness analysis). The overall aim of the socioeconomic study was to examine the socioeconomic profitability of the programmes. We found a halving of expenditure for the KrAmi and Knuff groups and a 25 percent reduction for the two probation programmes compared to the cost one year before rehabilitation started. The 15-year investment analysis (CBA) showed that expenditures decreased and benefits increased by about 2.5 million SEK per individual for the two KrAmi programmes and one non-custodial program, by 0.5-1.0 million SEK for the Knuff program and the other non-custodial program. For the KrAmi programs investment in rehabilitation pays off in 1-1.5 years, for probation in 2.5-4 years and for Knuff in 4 years after the intervention. The benefit-cost ratios were 17.8 - 12.7 for the two KrAmi programs and 5.1 - 5.8 for the two non-custodial programs. For the Knuff program the benefit-cost ratio was 13.2. KrAmi rates are higher for rehabilitation rate (pension points), rehabilitation rate compared to investment costs and benefit-cost ratio, pay-off time is the shortest. The results of both the effect study and socio-economic study, which were presented in the first article, suggest that social improvements for the clients corresponded with socio-economic profitability. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution due to difficulties in comparing short-term data on effects from ASI interviews collected in one period with long-term data concerning socio-economic costs per day per client in a different period. The second article elaborated on these design issues and also examined whether approaching an evaluation from different perspectives and employing different research methods can increase understanding. The conclusion drawn was that it was essential to have knowledge on the dissimilarities in design and measures between the two studies to come to the correct interpretations. These interpretations led to new questions to illuminate the results of the evaluations. In the third article the focus was the long-term follow up period. In this study the Knuff program was excluded from the study and the two KrAmi programs formed the program group and the two probation group formed the control group. The follow-up period was two years during which the socioeconomic costs decreased stepwise for both groups, probation groups more so than program groups. The deteriorations were 70-80% compared to the period before treatment. However rehabilitation to labour market was more successful for program groups than for control groups thanks to the greater socio-economic profitability for program groups. The introductory part of this dissertation focuses on methodological difficulties, and a multivariate regression analysis (MRA) is presented which shows that pre-existing differences in the composition of the program groups and control groups were not responsible for the differences on the socio-economic results. Moreover the introductory section includes a research presentation and the rationale for socioeconomic evaluation.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a significant public health problem that afflicted approximately 29.1 million Americans in 2012 (CDC, 2014). The estimated cost of diabetes in the United States in 2012 was $245 billion, including $176 billion in direct medical costs and $69 billion in reduced productivity (ADA, 2013a). To reach a diagnosis of DM, a clinician generally relies on fasting plasma glucose (FPG), the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and/or the Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test (ADA, 2013b). Current noninsulin antidiabetic medications include sulfonylureas, GLP-1 analogues, DPP-4 inhibitors, biguanides, thiazolidinediones, and SGLT2 inhibitors (Kaiser & Oetjen, 2014). Insulin therapies include basal (long-acting insulin analogues), biphasic (premixed insulin analogues), prandial (short-acting insulin analogues), and basal bolus (a combination of long-acting and short-acting insulin analogues) (Esposito et al., 2012). The aim of this study is to review the existing literature on the cost effectiveness of diabetes interventions to develop a standardized protocol for early type 2 diabetes care that can be delivered through primary care providers. The substantial cost effectiveness of preventative measures, including ad campaigns and outreach programs, has already been established (Mendis & Chestnov, 2013). Screening for impaired glucose tolerance early and implementing lifestyle and pharmacological changes at an early stage are also considered cost effective approaches for the long-term management of diabetes mellitus (Gillies et al., 2008). This study utilizes six cost effectiveness analyses on both clinical and non-clinical interventions to determine a standardized protocol for screening, diagnosing, and treating DM. Noninsulin antidiabetic drugs accounted for 78.4% of the 154.4 million prescriptions for antidiabetic drugs filled in 2012 (Hampp et al., 2014). Approximately half of the noninsulin antidiabetic drugs filled in 2012 was for metformin, whereas roughly a quarter of the same category was for sulfonylureas (Hampp et al., 2014). In decreasing order, long-acting human analog insulin and fast-acting human analog insulin were the most popular insulin variants in the insulin antidiabetic drug market (Hampp et al., 2014). Of the noninsulin antidiabetic drugs, the highest proportion of diabetic patients who achieved the HbA1C target of <7% were those taking sustained release exenatide (a GLP-1 analog) (63.2%) (Esposito et al., 2012). Of the insulin varieties, the highest proportion of diabetic patients who achieved the HbA1C target of <7% were those using basal bolus insulin (50.2%) (Esposito et al., 2012). While there are some concerns about the ability of diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease to clear metformin via renal excretion, extensive clinical experience supports its use in diabetic patients with mild to moderate renal impairment (Inzucchi et al., 2014). From the cost effectiveness studies, lifestyle modification (i.e., changes in diet and exercise) beginning at any age was determined to be a cost-effective approach in preventing and treating DM and may be cost saving for adults between the age of 25 to 44 (Herman et al., 2005). Screening for DM beginning at age 45 and repeating every three years if negative provides the best balance of effectiveness and cost effectiveness (Kahn et al., 2010). As a first-line clinical intervention, metformin was established to be cost-effective as well in treating DM (but less so compared to lifestyle modification) (Herman et al., 2005). Bariatric surgery for diabetics with a BMI greater than or equal to 35 kg/m2 has also been established as cost effective (Hoerger et al., 2010). Next, in considering the ideal frequency of clinical consultations, diabetics with a stable condition (assessed as HbA1c ≤7.5%, blood pressure ≤145 mmHg, and total cholesterol ≤201 mg/dL) can safely be seen by a primary care provider every six months compared to every three months with no noticeable decline in long-term health outcomes (Wermeling et al., 2014). For cases of T2D that cannot be simply controlled with metformin, sulfonylurea has shown that it is overall more cost-effective and effective as a second-line therapy when compared to DPP-4 inhibitors and GLP-1 analogs (Zhang et al., 2014). Cost effectiveness analysis of the long-acting analogue insulin detemir across different countries reveals substantially different cost effectiveness for the medication in terms of both nominal and purchasing power terms (Home et al., 2014). The results of these studies were parsed to establish a long-term clinical protocol for primary care providers in screening, diagnosing, and treating type 2 diabetes. Future studies should focus on integrating cost effectiveness and comparative effectiveness research in implementing even more nuanced clinical decisions through a structured protocol. The cost effectiveness of existing and new interventions--both clinical and non-clinical in nature--will also need to be continuously assessed to ensure that the measurements incorporate the most accurate set of assumptions on costs and effectiveness.

The objective of this diploma thesis is to identify factors for improvement of effective implementation of public projects for upcoming programming period in LAG Rozvoj Krnovska o.p.s. with respect to its individual conditions. The theoretical part provides understanding with the most important concepts for this thesis as various methods of evaluation, local action groups and rural development under LEADER platform. Practical part of this thesis focuses on implementation of chosen evaluation methods at research sample composed of projects executed in chosen LAG during 2010-2013. It further evaluates their effectiveness under CUA and CEA conditions and from results it additionally analysis factors which were present at the best performing projects. Identification of these factors should become a recommendation for specific LAG in order to improve project selection criterion with aim to improve project effectiveness in programming period 2014-2020.

BURDÍKOVÁ, H. Ex-post evaluation of non-investment projects in the field of tourism promotion financed from ROP South-East. Thesis. Brno, 2015. This thesis is concerned with evaluation in conditions of EU Cohesion Policy. The subjects of evaluation are non-investment projects financed from the Regional Operational Programme South-East, whose implementation falls within the programming period 2007-2013. It was selected a sample of five projects, which are focused on the development and promotion of tourism in the South Moravian Region and the Region Vysočina. The theoretical part is devoted to literature review, which focuses firstly on the general definition of regional policy, its specific application in the European Union and the Czech Republic. After putting in this necessary context, it is proceeded to explain the concept of evaluation, especially the difference between program and project evaluation and detailed description of subsequent (ex-post) evaluation. The conclusion of this part is determination of procedure of ex-post evaluation, which the author observes in practical part of the thesis. This part is devoted to a brief description of selected projects and the establishment of evaluation questions, together with its own indicator system. Quantitative analysis of the data is done in consideration of the goals of the thesis, which is assessment of cost-effectiveness of projects through cost-utility method CEA. Its conclusions are complemented and explained using information from qualitative analysis - individual interviews with representatives of the grant recipients. The results of this analysis are used to answer a set of evaluation questions and also to perform comparisons using the benchmarking method. In the last part of the thesis are formulated suggestions and recommendations for improving cost-effectiveness and quality of the examined projects for the grant recipients and the managing authority of the operational program.