No description available.

Wheelchair manufacturers design their products to provide the best possible experience to their users. The user effort and wheelchair mechanical efficiency during motion are highly affected by rolling resistance, which is a resistive force depending on many factors such as vehicle speed, tire/floor materials and tire inflation pressure. The study of this force over several conditions could lead to improvements in wheelchair design. The Anatomical Model Propulsion System (AMPS) is a robotic device to test manual wheelchairs with better repeatability than human subjects, helping to identify the effect of resistive forces. It uses electric motors to apply torque directly to the rear wheel handrims. In this thesis, a control system is developed to achieve a specified wheelchair trajectory and velocity profile, by controlling the input torque to the system. A kinetic and dynamic model is used to estimate this necessary input. Data collected from different experiments allows to determine rolling resistance under various conditions. The results show that rolling resistance also varies with acceleration, affecting the overall mechanical efficiency of a wheelchair following different velocity profiles.

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Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / The purpose of this thesis is to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis on proposals, submitted by vendors, for a telecommunication system. This thesis will be used as a guide in the decision-making process of choosing the most cost-effective system for the Bachelor Officers Quarters of the Naval Postgraduate School. In addition to cost-effectivness, this study includes a discussion of the analysis criteria, a review of the Statement of Work and an evaluation of the lease/purchase decision.

No description available.

No description available.

I uppsatsen utvärderas projektet Vägen in, som drevs av socialförvaltningen i Enköpingskommun 2007—2008. Deltagarna i projektet var individer med missbruksproblematik, oftatillsammans med en historia av kriminalitet och/eller psykisk ohälsa. Syftet med studien är attundersöka vilka kostnader och utfall Vägen in har gett upphov till i jämförelse medsocialtjänstens tidigare insatser för deltagarna, sett ur ett samhällsekonomiskt perspektiv.Bakgrunden till studien är att det i princip saknas samhällekonomiska utvärderingar avmissbruksvård. I studien jämförs samhällets kostnader för deltagarna två år innan projektet(2005-2006) med motsvarande kostnader under projekttiden (2007-2008). Dessa kostnaderställs sedan mot förändringen i deltagarnas kriminalitet samt förändringen av deraslivssituation. Samhällets kostnader för deltagarna ökade med över 50 % under projekttiden. Deltagarnasmissbruk har minskat, men det går inte att se någon markant minskning av deltagarnaskriminalitet. Kostnaderna har skjutits över från staten till kommunen. I huvudsak harkostnaderna för psykiatrisk slutenvård och socialtjänstens öppenvård ökat, medanrättsväsendets kostnader har minskat. Samtidigt går det inte att se någon tydlig nedåtgåendetrend vad gäller deltagarnas kriminalitet. För att uttala sig om huruvida de ökade kostnadernakan motiveras med det utfall de ger upphov hade det krävts längre tidsserier med uppgifter omdeltagarnas inkomster. Med hänsyn till storleken på ökningen av samhällets kostnader fördeltagarna under projektet är det dock problematiskt att det inte går att se någon tydligminskning av deltagarnas kriminalitet.

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem resulting in substantial hip fracture related morbidity. Using healthcare utilization data, we determined the 1- and 2-year direct attributable healthcare costs associated with hip fractures among Ontario seniors in comparison to a matched non-hip fracture cohort. Over a four-year period (2004-2008) we identified 22,418 females and 7,611 males with an incident hip fracture. Approximately 22% of females and 30% of males died in the first year after fracture. The mean attributable cost in the first year was $36,929 ($52,232 vs. $15,503) among females and $39,479 ($54,289 vs. $14,810) among males. Primary cost drivers included acute hospitalizations, complex continuing care, and rehabilitation. Attributable costs remained elevated into the second year, particularly among those who survived the first year ($9,017 females and $10,347 males). Results from this study will aid policy decision makers in allocating healthcare resources and help feed into future health economic analyses.

While there is great concern about the potential impact of aging populations on health care systems in the developed world, evidence from recent decades has shown at best a weak relationship between population aging and health expenditures at the aggregate level. This thesis explores the literature that frames the relationship between age and health care utilization in the context of reduced mortality and shorter periods of morbidity at the end of life. We add to this literature with an empirical study of individual health expenditures of the British Columbia senior population in the years 1991-2001 in the categories of hospital services, continuing care, doctor billings, and pharmaceutical prescriptions. Expenditures for decedent and survivors of the same age are compared and are fitted to a model using age and time-to-death as explanatory factors. The partial derivative of the model with respect to age is analyzed for empirical estimates of the effect of age after controlling for time-to-death. Results show that decedent costs rose over the study period while costs for survivors fell, particularly in continuing care, so that the relative cost of dying increased. The effect of age, after controlling for time to death, was muted or negative for hospitals, doctors, and drugs, but strongly positive for continuing care and, as a result, for all services combined. Overall, these results suggest that age is not a ‘red herring’, as some researchers have suggested, with respect to forecasting future demands on health systems. While future reductions in mortality and morbidity could mitigate pressures on hospitals, aging populations will put increased pressure on long-term residential care and other forms of social care.

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem resulting in substantial hip fracture related morbidity. Using healthcare utilization data, we determined the 1- and 2-year direct attributable healthcare costs associated with hip fractures among Ontario seniors in comparison to a matched non-hip fracture cohort. Over a four-year period (2004-2008) we identified 22,418 females and 7,611 males with an incident hip fracture. Approximately 22% of females and 30% of males died in the first year after fracture. The mean attributable cost in the first year was $36,929 ($52,232 vs. $15,503) among females and $39,479 ($54,289 vs. $14,810) among males. Primary cost drivers included acute hospitalizations, complex continuing care, and rehabilitation. Attributable costs remained elevated into the second year, particularly among those who survived the first year ($9,017 females and $10,347 males). Results from this study will aid policy decision makers in allocating healthcare resources and help feed into future health economic analyses.