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Abstract Considerable amounts of research have been done on various aspects of orthognathic surgery during its short history. Nevertheless, there are no comprehensive publications on the cost-risk-benefit analysis of the entire process of orthognathic surgery. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the psychosocial and biophysiological outcomes of orthognathic surgery with special reference to complications and financial costs. The study series consisted of patients referred for consultations and treatment of dentofacial deformities and involved a total of 953 patients and 20 controls. Both prospective clinical follow-up examinations with measurements of various clinical parameters and retrospective assessments of radiographs and patient records were included. Functional and pain-related reasons were found to motivate patients to seek orthognathic surgery, and this impression was confirmed by the clinical findings. The great majority of the subjects examined had signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). The significance of facial appearance for the motivation to seek treatments seemed to play a lesser role compared to most earlier studies. Most of the patients felt that their expectations had been fulfilled by the treatment, and despite the potential risks involved, the overall complication rate in orthognathic surgery was very low. The most usual problem was neurosensory deficit of the inferior alveolar nerve. TMD patients with skeletal Class II non-open bite dentofacial deformity seem to have the greatest probability to benefit from orthognathic surgery, especially if their TMD is mostly of muscular origin. Pain in the face and headache improved significantly. The outcomes were more variable when the TMD mainly originated from internal derangements. In these cases, the individual outcome of treatment is more difficult to predict, and conservative treatment methods should probably be tried first. The orthognathic surgery of patients with non-open bite skeletal Class II dentofacial deformity is also cost-effective due to the low complication rate and the low cost, since sagittal ramus osteotomy is often sufficient treatment. However, there must be weighty grounds for orthognathic surgery of skeletal open-bite deformities due to their greater risk for relapse and condylar resorption. The high expenses of their treatment also result in a poor cost-effectiveness ratio.

M.Com. (Transport Economics) / In the past, air freight was generally a by-product of passenger orientated airlines in the sense that excess payload and unsold passenger seats were sold as air cargo space. In recent years, this trend has changed and it is observed that the air freight industry is increasingly becoming an industry in itself. The individual market share of scheduled international air freight operations within the air transport industry is currently approximately 35,8%. In South Africa, compared to the rest of the world, the historical development of air freight has been slower and confined primarily to the one national carrier (South African Airways (SAA)). The purpose of this study is, to firstly, determine the potential for growth in the air freight market within and outside South Africa. Secondly, to isolate and describe the factors within SAA which are sub-optimal and therefore have a negative impact on the development of the full potential of the air freight services of the carrier. The overall conclusion of the study is that the market for air freight within and outside of South Africa can be expanded significantly. This conclusion is dependent on the positioning and equipping of the freight division of SAA independently from passenger services, together with the provision of specialist knowledge and systems required for effective air freight management.

Many articles have been written on the effect and potential benefit of cost reduction, downsizing and expense management. Most of these articles have conflicting messages, some even internally within the same article.The objective of this research was to critically evaluate these articles and to see if there was any evidence of the economic effects of cost reduction from the South African experience. The evaluation of the articles was done by a process of deductive reasoning with some help from the principles found within the application of the Theory of Constraints. The research further used a quantitative design to analyse the effect of a cost reduction event on certain ratios and the share price performance relative to an appropriate index over a period of six years after the event.The research has shown that at least some of the academic articles on this subject made different implicit assumptions during the research process. The results from the quantitative research have shown that there were no significant evidence of any effect on the ratios and share price performance from the South African market experience. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Activity-based costing is a cost allocation method which appears to have many benefits when compared to traditional costing systems. However, there is limited academic research demonstrating this superiority. There is thus a need to investigate and profile the characteristics of selected enterprises and their adopted cost allocation systems. The main objective of this study was to profile and compare the characteristics of companies in Nelson Mandela Bay that use the activity-based costing system, versus those using traditional costing methods. The research methodology used for this research study is descriptive and quantitative, using various techniques for data analysis. An electronic internet based questionnaire was distributed to companies and the response automatically recorded for analysis with the help of Nelson Mandela University statistics department. The findings of the empirical study revealed that most (38%) of the respondents use a combination of both activity-based costing and traditional costing methods, followed by traditional costing methods (35%), and purely activity-based costing (27%). Data analysis revealed that companies in construction and manufacturing seemed to prefer activity-based costing over traditional costing methods. The findings raise the question as to whether the preference in cost allocation methods is based solely on the benefits of cost allocation, lack of new knowledge, adaptability within companies, or cost of change versus the benefit.

For many reasons planners in the past have failed to realize the full potential of the market system as a powerful practical and intellectual tool to be used in urban transportation planning. At a time when there is increasing evidence that past approaches to the urban transportation problem have not yielded the long term solutions that were expected, it is urgent that all alternative strategies be explored. This study addresses itself to one policy course: control of urban transportation through the deliberate use of the market mechanism. The objective of the pricing of urban transportation would be to promote a more socially desirable pattern of usage of the system through a structuring of the demand characteristics - by mode, route, time of travel, and amount of travel. Pricing may thus be used to make the trip-maker aware of, and accountable for, the social costs he incurs in the form of delays due to congestion, noise, air pollution, and so forth, and his travel behaviour would alter accordingly. Because these so-called externalities are, at present not quantifiable in monetary terms, and because of differences in individual utilities, the use of the pricing mechanism cannot displace the political decision-making, but can supplement it. This study is an evaluation of the tool of pricing control in urban transportation planning. The theoretical relationships and the rationale for use of the price mechanism are discussed, and the technical and administrative problems of implementation of a pricing scheme are evaluated. The potential impacts are examined. The practical application of the tool is explored in the context of a case study of traffic in the Lions' Gate Bridge Corridor in Vancouver. There are several compelling advantages to the use of the pricing system for achieving both short-run and long-run objectives. It is extremely flexible, adaptable, incremental, reversible, and most schemes can be implemented at very low capital cost. It can be a strategy for restraint or containment of traffic, or more generally a strategy for directing the patterns of use of the transportation system. But there are serious unanswered questions concerning the limitations of the tool - specifically the income redistribution effects and the overall effectiveness of the pricing mechanism in an increasingly affluent society. There are potential long-term impacts which will remain speculative until we have working urban simulation models. Although the direct application of pricing would be practicable in Canada in only a limited number of clearly defined situations, an understanding of the theoretical concepts will assist in the formulation of specific objectives which may then be pursued using alternate tools more suited to each set of circumstances. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The object of this investigation is to develop a procedure for the optimization of a roof system to yield minimum cost. The roof system is composed of parallel chord, steel trusses, with purlins and decking. The variables considered are geometry, topology, and member size. The optimal values of the geometry and topology variables are determined by the application of Box's Complex Method. A fully stressed design criterion is used in selecting the member sizes. It is shown that the optimization scheme always converges to a low cost region, although not necessarily to the global optimum. A cost model is developed that includes member-related costs and weight-related costs. Parameter studies demonstrate the importance of selecting the proper ratios of fixed and weight-related costs. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Diplomová práce se zabývá fenoménem low-cost automobilů (do 8 000 ?) a jejich perspektivě pro evropský trh: do jaké míry je evropský trh pro prodej low-cost automobilů (LCA) perspektivní? Jak by měl LCA pro evropský trh vypadat? Jaké jsou klíčové faktory úspěchu? První část pojednává o LCA obecně (vývoj, výroba, ziskovost), druhá část se věnuje jejich přítomnosti globálně, třetí část je strategickou analýzou evropského automobilového trhu z pohledu výrobce LCA.