In the early 1970s, Henry County, Virginia experienced rapid growth but by the late 1970s the population began to decline. In 1982, talks of building a new high school to consolidate two smaller high schools began with the school to be built on the North Carolina boarder. Between 1993 and 2003 approximately 10,523 jobs were lost in Henry County. At this time Henry County operated 20 public schools. In 2000, Dr. Sharon Dodson became the superintendent of Henry County. She was hired to make schools more efficient by using the best available spaces and closing facilities in need of structural repair. In 2001 the school board voted to close three schools but the board of supervisors refused necessary funding for consolidation. During the 2003/04 school year, the school board had no other choice but to revisit the idea of consolidation. In the fall of 2004, reconfiguration occurred which eliminated four facilities with a fifth building closing in the spring of 2008. Today, Henry County operates 14 schools. This study examined the politics associated with the consolidation process in Henry County and closure of five facilities. The literature associated with consolidation concerning divisions and schools within a division was reviewed to provide context and better understanding of the consolidation process. Historical case study methods where employed to conduct the study. Data were collected from primary sources and interviews were handled qualitatively. Triangulation verification techniques were used to describe and verify consolidation events in Henry County. The findings express the issues and challenges faced and met by Henry County during consolidation. The events that led to school closings and some course offerings and programs are described. The findings indicate that consolidation can be successful even when some stakeholders reject the idea and plan of consolidation. Continued research in the field of consolidation could possibly benefit educational and community leaders considering reconfiguration within a school division. Additional research comparing the cost of operating a division before and after consolidation of schools may provide insights that educational and community members should consider before embarking on consolidation. / Ed. D.

Yes / The objective of this study is to provide an evidence base concerning the costs and benefits of conflict prevention (CP) activities (defined as those activities undertaken primarily to reduce the risk of conflict), compared with those of engaging after large-scale conflict has begun.

No / Improved treatment, diagnostics and greater patient participation could help to reduce both the financial and the social cost of leg ulcers in the UK

Cost-of-illness (COI) analysis was the first economic evaluation methodology used in the health field, and it aims to identify and quantify all of the costs incurred due to a particular illness. While cost-of-illness studies attract much interest from healthcare policy makers and public health advocates, inconsistencies in study methodologies and cost inventories have made cost-of-illness estimates difficult to interpret and compare, limiting their usefulness. The purpose of this thesis was to use a scoping review approach to systematically explore cost inventories in the cost of foodborne illness literature, and to investigate the association between study methodologies, component costs, and foodborne illness-related factors to the estimated cost of non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. illness, using studies identified in the scoping review. The results indicated high variability in terms of the depth and breadth of individual and societal level component costs, along with a wide range of data sources being used in the cost of foodborne illness literature. Additionally, the number of direct component cost categories included in an estimate, particularly long-term care costs, and the inclusion of chronic sequelae costs were significantly associated with the cost of non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. illness. Therefore, these may be important factors to consider when initiating a cost of foodborne illness study and when interpreting or comparing existing cost of foodborne illness estimates. The results of this thesis can be used to address issues that are believed to be limiting cost-of-illness studies as decision making tools, and to better understand factors which may impact a cost of foodborne illness estimate. / Scoping review and linear regression analyses in the area of cost of foodborne illness / Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Public Health Agency of Canada (CIHR/PHAC) Applied Public Health Research Chair (awarded to Dr. Jan M. Sargeant)

This thesis is the result of many years of research in the field of manufacturing cost modelling. It particularly focuses on the Data Collection Process for the development of manufacturing cost models in the UK Aerospace Industry with no less important contributions from other areas such as construction, process and software development. The importance of adopting an effective model development process is discussed and a new CMD Methodology is proposed. In this respect, little research has considered the development of the cost model from the point of view of a standard and systematic Methodology, which is essential if an optimum process is to be achieved. A Model Scoping 3 Framework, a functional Data Source and Data Collection Library and a referential Data Type Library are the core elements of the proposed Cost Model Development Methodology. The research identified a number of individual data collection methods, along with a comprehensive list of data sources and data types, from which essential data for developing cost models could be collected. A Taxonomy based upon sets of generic characteristics for describing the individual data collection, data sources and data types was developed. The methods, tools and techniques were identified and categorised according to these generic characteristics. This provides information for selecting between alternative methods, tools and techniques. The need to perform frequent iterations of data collection, data identification, data analysis and decision making tasks until an acceptable cost model has been developed has become an inherent feature of the CMDP. It is expected that the proposed model scoping framework will assist cost engineering and estimating practitioners in: defining the features, activities of the process and the attributes of the product for which a cost model is required, and also in identifying the cost model characteristics before the tasks of data identification and collection start. It offers a structured way of looking at the relationship between data sources, cost model characteristics and data collection tools and procedures. The aim was to make the planning process for developing cost models more effective and efficient and consequently reduce the time to generate cost models.

No description available.

A well-maintained bridge infrastructure is a fundamental necessity for a modern society that provides great value, but ensuring that it meets all the requirements sustainably and cost-effectively is challenging. Bridge investment and management decisions generally involve selection from multiple alternatives. All of the options may meet the functional demands, but their life-cycle cost (LCC), service life-span, user-cost, aesthetic merit and environmental impact may differ substantially. Thus, life-cycle analysis (LCCA, a widely used decision-support technique that enables comparison of the LCC of possible options), is essential. However, although LCCA has recognized potential for rationalizing bridge procurement and management decisions its use in this context is far from systematic and the integration of LCCA findings in decisions is often far from robust. Thus, the overall objective of the work underlying this thesis has been to contribute to the development of sustainable bridge infrastructures while optimizing use of taxpayers’ money, by robustly incorporating life-cycle considerations into bridge investment and management decision-making processes. The work has introduced a full scheme for applying LCCA throughout bridges’ entire life-cycle. Several practical case studies have been presented to illustrate how an agency could benefit from use of a bridge management system (BMS) to support decisions related to the management of existing bridges and procure new bridges. Further developments include a comprehensive approach incorporating a novel LCCA technique, “LCC Added-Value Analysis”, which enables procurement of the most cost-efficient bridge design through a fair design-build (D-B) tendering process. A further contribution is a novel, holistic approach designed to enable procurement of bridges with the maximal possible sustainability (life-cycle advantages) under D-B contracts. The approach combines LCC Added-Value analysis with other techniques that make bridges’ aesthetic merit and environmental impact commensurable using an adapted concept named the willingness-to-pay-extra (WTPE). The systematic analytical procedures and potential of LCCA to deliver major savings highlighted in this thesis clearly demonstrate both the feasibility and need to integrate LCCA into bridge procurement and management decisions. This need has been recognized by Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration), which has implemented a software tool developed in the research (BaTMan-LCC) in its bridge and tunnel management system (BaTMan). This thesis introduces readers to the field, considers BaTMan and the bridge stock in Sweden, discusses the developments outlined above and obstacles hindering further implementation of LCCA, then presents proposals for further advances. / <p>QC 20131029</p>

This thesis investigated the cost-effectiveness of a 12-month supervised aerobic walking program with or without a behavioural intervention and an educational pamphlet, compared to an unsupervised/self-directed educational pamphlet intervention, among individuals with moderate osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Analyses included an economic evaluation to assess the cost effectiveness of the two walking interventions from both the societal and Canadian provincial/territorial health care payer perspectives. A value of information analysis exploring the potential value of future research was also performed. Results revealed that the unsupervised/self-directed intervention was the most cost-effective approach given that it cost the least to implement and participants had higher quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Walking, either supervised in a community setting, or unsupervised in a setting such as the home, may be a favourable non-pharmacological option for the management of OA of the knee. The thesis concludes with a policy discussion relating to the funding of non-pharmacological therapies.

In order that the task of student evaluation will be simplified, that the final evaluations will be more accurate, and that instructors and professors in the field of cost accounting will have more time available for research and study, the purpose of this study is to make available a series of valid and reliable objective examinations to instructors and professors who adopt Cost Accounting by Adolph Matz, Othel J. Curry, and George W. Prank as a textbook.

This research examines the assertions made by Johnson and Kaplan (1987) that cost accounting lost relevance after 1925 due to the dominance of financial accounting, to an academic preoccupation with financial accounting, to the disappearance of engineers and to a managerial emphasis on financial measures of net income and earnings per share. Additionally, the research looks at environmental effects on cost accounting, both economic and governmental.