Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Kevin C. Dhuyvetter / A Microsoft Excel based budget was developed to find the cost of becoming National Animal Identification Systems (NAIS) compliant in the U.S for beef cow-calf producers. This budget was turned into a stochastic budget by using different distributions for five key variables. From these distributions 10,000 observations were simulated using Latin Hypercube sampling. From the comprehensive budget, a second, more simple budget was constructed for obtaining NAIS cost. This Microsoft Excel based model gives beef cow-calf producers an estimate and a prediction interval associated with the estimated cost of adopting a cattle ID system that is compliant with the National Animal Identification Systems quickly and conveniently, requiring only six inputs. Both the comprehensive and the quick budget are available online. An Ordinary Least Squares regression was estimated using the simulated observations to find marginal effects associated with key variables. The driving factor of total cost per head was eID tag price for operations that tag and eID tag price and chute costs for non-tagging operations. For producers with five or less animals, it was cheaper to hire third parties to tag animals. From the sample data generated, smaller operations pay significantly more than larger operations on a per head basis, as the minimum cost was $2.08 for the larger operations and the maximum cost to small operations was $17.56. The estimated overall average cost per head for the cow/calf industry was $6.26, with a standard deviation of $4.12. Costs were on a per breeding female basis. The Excel spreadsheet budget and model can be downloaded at http://www.agmanager.info/ for producers who wish to estimate NAIS costs specific to their operations.

Programming resource-sensitive systems, such as real-time embedded systems, requires guaranteeing both the functional correctness of computations and also that time and space usage fits within constraints imposed by hardware limits or the environment. Functional programming languages have proved very good at meeting the former logical kind of guarantees but not the latter resource guarantees. This thesis contributes to demonstrate the applicability of functional programming in resource-sensitive systems with an automatic program analysis for obtaining guaranteed upper bounds on dynamic space usage of functional programs. Our analysis is developed for a core subset of Hume, a domain-specific functional language targeting resource-sensitive systems (Hammond et al. 2007), and presented as a type and effect system that builds on previous sized type systems (Hughes et al. 1996, Chin and Khoo 2001) and effect systems for costs (Dornic et al. 1992, Reistad and Giord 1994, Hughes and Pareto 1999). It extends previous approaches by using abstract interpretation techniques to automatically infer linear approximations of the sizes of recursive data types and the stack and heap costs of recursive functions. The correctness of the analysis is formally proved with respect to an operational semantics for the language and an inference algorithm that automatically reconstructs size and cost bounds is presented. A prototype implementation of the analysis and operational semantics has been constructed and used to experimentally assess the quality of the cost bounds with some examples, including implementations of textbook functional programming algorithms and simplified embedded systems.

Transport infrastructure investment decision making is typically based on a range of inputs such as social, environmental and economic factors. The benefit cost ratio (BCR), a measure of economic efficiency (“value for money”) determined through cost benefit analysis (CBA), is dependent on accurate estimates of the various option costs and net social benefits such as reductions in travel time, accidents, and vehicle operating costs. However, most evaluations are deterministic procedures using point estimates for the inputs and producing point estimates for the outputs. Transport planners have primarily focused on the cost risks and treat risk through sensitivity testing. Probabilistic risk analysis techniques are available which could provide more information about the statistical confidence of the economic evaluation outputs. This research project report investigated how risk and uncertainty are dealt with in the literature and guidelines. The treatment of uncertainty in the Nelson Arterial Traffic Study (ATS) was reviewed and an opportunity to apply risk analysis to develop probabilities of sea level rise impacting on the coastal road options was identified. A simplified transport model and economic evaluation case study based on the ATS was developed in Excel to enable the application of @RISK Monte Carlo simulation software. The simplifications mean that the results are not comparable with the ATS. Seven input variables and their likely distributions were defined for simulation based on the literature review. The simulation of seven variables, five worksheets, and 10,000 iterations takes about 30 seconds of computation time. The input variables in rank order of influence on the BCR were capital cost, car mode share, unit vehicle operating cost, basic employment forecast growth rate, and unit value of time cost. The deterministically derived BCR of 0.75 is associated with a 50% chance that the BCR will be less than 0.6, although this probability is partly based on some statistical parameters without an empirical basis. In practice, probability distribution fitting to appropriate datasets should be undertaken to better support probabilistic risk analysis conclusions. Probabilities for different confidence levels can be reported to suit the risk tolerance of the decision makers. It was determined that the risk analysis approach is feasible and can produce useful outputs, given a clear understanding of the data inputs and their associated distributions.

Geothermal energy is an important source of clean and renewable energy. This project deals with the study of deep geothermal power plants for the generation of electricity. The design involves the extraction of heat from the Earth and its conversion into electricity. This is performed by allowing fluid deep into the Earth where it gets heated due to the surrounding rock. The fluid gets vaporized and returns to the surface in a heat pipe. Finally, the energy of the fluid is converted into electricity using turbine or organic rankine cycle (ORC). The main feature of the system is the employment of side channels to increase the amount of thermal energy extracted. A finite difference computer model is developed to solve the heat transport equation. The numerical model was employed to evaluate the performance of the design. The major goal was to optimize the output power as a function of parameters such as thermal diffusivity of the rock, depth of the main well, number and length of lateral channels. The sustainable lifetime of the system for a target output power of 2 MW has been calculated for deep geothermal systems with drilling depths of 8000 and 10000 meters, and a financial analysis has been performed to evaluate the economic feasibility of the system for a practical range of geothermal parameters. Results show promising an outlook for deep geothermal systems for practical applications.

Internationalisation theories and other aspects of this phenomenon have been investigated by researchers to a large extent with respect to MNCs, MNEs and SMEs. However not very much attention has been devoted to the study of the internationalisation of family firms and factors influencing this process. Specifically, in the current era of the third wave of internationalisation, where firms from emerging country markets are internationalising, there has not been sufficient research to investigate, how, when, and why family firms from an emerging country market such as South Africa internationalise. Family firms in South Africa contribute significantly to the economic developments of their nation. They form 80% of businesses within the country and 60% of the firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Therefore, research into the internationalisation of these family firms will not only be beneficial to the South African family businesses investigated, but it will also add valuable knowledge and insight to the internationalisation phenomenon with respect to the nation’s family firms. This study sets out to fill this gap by examining and explaining the internationalisation of South African family firms, and identifying the possible lessons that could be learnt from the internationalised South African family firms by their not yet internationalised counterparts. This research was conducted through a qualitative case study of six South African family firms, out of which three have internationalised and three are yet to internationalise. Face-to-face interviews conducted with the owners and managers, as well as secondary sources of data formed the base of the empirical data analysed. The interview questions were grouped under the concepts of family impact, decision-making, business networks and culture. These concepts were examined and their impact on internationalisation explained. The researchers conclude that chance played the most important role in the internationalisation of the firms. The chance to internationalise however, was made available to these firms through their business networks.

The thesis focuses on costs incurred during the golf course construction and also on operating costs. Types of these costs and options of cost cutting are described. The final part of the thesis analyzes and models usage yield and capacity of golf courses.

INTRODUÇÃO: As diretrizes para Análise de Impacto Orçamentário (AIO) têm a finalidade de padronizar os estudos, tornando-os úteis e compreensíveis para os tomadores de decisão. Avaliar a concordância dessas diretrizes às recomendações de boas práticas para elaboração de AIO da Internacional Society for Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) e conhececer a metodologia do desenvolvimento por meio do instrumento Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation Instrument (AGREE II) podem contribuir para um conhecimento dos itens de maior relevância para a promoção de padronização e de transparência dos estudos de AIO. OBJETIVO: Revisar sistematicamente as diretrizes para a elaboração de AIO. MÉTODOS: Foram utilizadas as bases de dados Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) (via PubMed), Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE) (via Elsevier), Cochrane Library, NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED), HTA Database (via Centre for Reviews and Dissemination - CRD) e Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS); websites de organizações de avaliações de tecnologias em saúde e Ministérios da Saúde dos países membros da Organização das Nações Unidas. O critério de inclusão foi tratar-se de diretriz metodológica com recomendações para a elaboração de AIO. O processo de seleção foi realizado por dois revisores de forma independente e, no caso de discordância, por um terceiro revisor. Os instrumentos utilizados foram recomendações de boas práticas para a elaboração de AIO da ISPOR e o AGREE II. Esta revisão foi relatada de acordo com o Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA). RESULTADOS: Foram incluídas 17 diretrizes. O período de publicação ocorreu de 2006 a 2018. Das diretrizes incluídas, dez eram atualizações. Mais da metade (10 de 17) estava incluída em documentos para outros tipos de avaliação econômica em saúde e sete eram diretrizes específicas para AIO. Essas apresentaram concordância com as recomendações da ISPOR de 30% a 92% e as diretrizes incluídas em documentos para outros tipos de avaliação econômica em saúde apresentaram concordância de 19% a 70%. A avaliação metodológica por meio do instrumento AGREE II apresentou uma pontuação de 18% (DP ±12%) no domínio rigor metodológico e de 15% (DP ±23%) no domínio independência; para as diretrizes específicas para AIO, a pontuação foi de 26% (DP ±32%) e para as diretrizes com mais de um tipo de avaliação econômica em saúde, de 8% (DP ±13%). CONCLUSÃO: A concordância das diretrizes para a elaboração de AIO foi maior nas diretrizes específicas para AIO. Quanto à análise da metodologia, 15 diretrizes apresentaram baixa qualidade metodológica no domínio rigor metodológico, sendo recomendável explicitar o processo do desenvolvimento metodológico / INTRODUCTION: The guidelines for Budgetary Impact Analysis (BIA) aim to standardize studies, making them useful and understandable to decision makers. To evaluate the agreement of these guidelines to the recommendations of good practices for the preparation of BIA of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) and to know the development methodology through the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation Instrument (AGREE II) can contribute to a knowledge of the most relevant items to promote a standardization and transparency of BIA studies. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the guidelines for elaborating budget impact analysis. METHODS: We used the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE) (via Elsevier), Cochrane Library, NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED) and HTA Database (via Center for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) and Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS); on the websites of the following organizations health technology assessment and of the Ministries of Health of the member countries of the United Nations. The inclusion criterion was to be methodological guidelines with recommendations for the elaboration of BIA. The selection process was carried out by two reviewers independently and in the case of disagreement, a third reviewer. The instruments used were those of ISPOR and AGREE II. This review has been reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA). RESULTS: 17 guidelines were included. The publication period occurred from 2006 to 2018. Of the guidelines included, ten were updates. More than half (10 out of 17) were included in documents for other types of economic health assessment and only seven guidelines were BIA-specific documents. The specific BIA guidelines were in agreement with the ISPOR recommendations from 30% to 92% and the guidelines for BIA included in documents for other types of health economic assessment presented agreement from 19% to 70%. The methodological evaluation using the AGREE II instrument presented a score of 18% (SD ±12%) in the methodological rigor domain and 15% (DP ±23%) in the independence domain, for the specific guidelines for AIO was 26% (SD ± 32%) and guidelines with more than one type of health economic assessment, 8% (SD ± 13%). CONCLUSION: A greater adherence to the recommendations of ISPOR was observed in the BIA-specific guidelines. As regards the methodology analysis, 15 guidelines presented low quality in the methodological rigor domain, and it is advisable to explain the process of methodological development

The demand for high energy battery assemblies is growing in sectors such as transportation. Alongwith it is the need for reliable, efficient and cost-effective ways to electrically connect the batteries toensure their performance. Battery cells are most often put into modules or packs when produced forelectrically driven vehicles. The variable of greatest influence when welding battery packs is thecontact resistance between the cell and the connection tab. It is crucial to minimize this variable asmuch as possible to prevent energy loss in the form of heat generation. The purpose of this project is to conduct a comparative literature study of different weldingtechniques for welding batteries. The compared techniques are resistance spot welding, laser beamwelding and ultrasonic welding. The performance was evaluated in terms of numerous factors such asproduction cost, degree of automation and weld quality. All three methods are tried and proven to function in the production of battery applications. Eachmethod has separate strengths and limitations which makes them complement each other. Thus, it isimportant to look at several factors when deciding which welding technique is the most suitable forthe desired application. The scale of production, economical aspects as well as battery cell geometrywere concluded to be the most important in making this decision.

Bakgrund: Outsourcing av delar eller hela logistikflödet till tredjepartslogistiker har ökatavsevärt de senaste åren. Detta har satt press på tredjepartslogistikföretagen. Alwex Lager och logistik är ett tredjepartslogistikföretag som utför tjänster åt andra företag i form av materialhantering. Materialhanteringsprocessen i lagret är en av de processerna som innehåller mest icke värdeadderande aktiviteter och som har störst förutsättningar att kunna effektiviseras. För att tredjepartslogistiker ska kunna fortsätta vara attraktiva på marknaden måste de kunna möta en förändrad marknad på både kort och långsikt. Syfte: Syftet med den här studien är att underlätta för andra tredjepartslogistiker som har liknande icke värdeadderande aktiviteter i sin materialhanteringsprocess som Alwex Lager och Logistik AB. Genom de kort och långsiktiga lösningar som författarna har identifierat är syftet att de ska hjälpa dem att eliminera deras icke värdeadderande aktiviteter och minska totala kostnader. Metod: Den här studien är en kvalitativ fallstudie utförd på Alwex Lager och Logistik AB. Den teori som presenteras är främst insamlad från aktuella artiklar. Empirin som presenteras är insamlad genom intervjuer och fokusgrupper med anställda på Alwex. Resultat: Författarna har identifierat att det under aktiviteten orderplock i en materialhanteringsprocess uppstår flest icke värdeadderande aktiviteter och högst kostnader. Detta har bidragit till att fokus har lagts på att finna lösningar som eliminerar ickevärdeadderande aktiviteter och minska totala kostnader inom plock. Fallstudien presenterar två kortsiktiga och två långsiktiga lösningsförslag som eliminerar icke värdeadderandeaktiviteter och minskar totala kostnader kopplade till en materialhanteringsprocess. Lösningarna som har identifierats minskar tidsåtgång för identifierade icke värdeadderandeaktiviteter med 23-75% och totala kostnader med 23-32%. / Background: Outsourcing of parts or the entire logistics flow to a third-party logisticprovider have increased significantly in recent years. This has led to high pressure on the thirdparty logistics companies. Alwex Lager och Logistik is a third-party logistics provider that performs services for other companies in form of material handling. The material handlingprocess in the warehouse is one of the main areas that contain the most non-value-adding activities and therefore have the greatest opportunity for streamlining. In order for a thirdparty logistics provider to continue to be attractive on the market, they must be able to meet a changing market on both short and long terms. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find short-term and long-term solutions that eliminates non value adding activities and reduces total costs in the material handling process in a third-party logistics provider. Methods: This study is a qualitative case study of the material handling process at the third-party logistics provider Alwex Lager & Logistik AB. The theoretical chapter is based on current literature mainly from articles. The empirical chapters are based on data collected through interviews and focus groups. Findings: The authors have identified that most of the non-value-adding activities and highest costs appears during the picking activity in a material handling process. This has led to the focus of the study being placed on finding solutions that eliminate non-value-adding activities and reduce total costs within picking. This case study presents two short-term and two long-term solutions that eliminate non-value adding activities and reduces total costs associated with a material handling process. The solutions that have been identified to reduce non valueadding time by 23-75% and total costs by 23-32%

Introdução: A manutenção periódica da permeabilidade de cateter venoso central totalmente implantado (CVC-TI), realizada por enfermeiros, contribui para o aumento da vida útil do cateter, fator imprescindível para o êxito do tratamento quimioterápico endovenoso, e para evitar a ocorrência de complicações que podem acarretar prejuízos intangíveis aos pacientes (perda do cateter, infecções, trombose venosa profunda, prolongamento de períodos de internação) e demandar maiores recursos financeiros das instituições de saúde. Este procedimento requer a disponibilidade de recursos específicos cujo consumo gera custos desconhecidos que podem comprometer o processo decisório em relação à sua eficiência alocativa. Objetivos: Identificar o custo direto médio (CDM) da manutenção da permeabilidade de CVC-TI no Hospital Dia (HD) de um hospital público de alta complexidade especializado em tratamento de pacientes oncológicos e estimar o CDM da substituição de heparina por cloreto de sódio 0,9% para a manutenção da permeabilidade de CVC-TI. Método: Estudo de caso quantitativo, exploratório-descritivo, cuja amostra constituiu-se da observação não participante de 200 manutenções de CVC-TI, com heparina. O CDM foi calculado multiplicando-se o tempo (cronometrado) despendido por enfermeiros e técnicas de enfermagem na execução do procedimento pelo custo unitário da mão de obra direta, somando-se ao custo dos materiais e soluções. Para a realização dos cálculos a moeda brasileira (R$) foi convertida para a moeda norte-americana dólar (US$). Resultados: O CDM do procedimento manutenção de CVC-TI, com heparina, correspondeu a US$ 9.71 (DP=1.35) sendo o CDM total da etapa 1 - busca de material na Central de Atendimento de Material e Medicamento do 11º andar de US$ 0.92 (DP=0.32); o CDM total da etapa 2 - preparo do material e assepsia de US$ 7.89 (DP=0.67), com impacto expressivo do CDM com materiais (US$ 5.55 - DP=0.14); o CDM total da etapa 3 - punção e heparinização do CVC-TI de US$ 0.57 (DP=1.17) e o CDM total da etapa 4 - descarte do material de US$ 0.34 (DP=0.14). A etapa 1 foi executada majoritariamente por técnicas de enfermagem e as etapas 2, 3 e 4 realizadas exclusivamente por enfermeiros. Estimando-se o utilizando-se cloreto de sódio 0,9% obteve-se o valor de US$ 8.81 (DP=1.29) com redução do CDM total nas etapas 2 e 3, US$ 6.99 - DP=0.65 e US$ 0.56 - DP=1.02, respectivamente. Conclusão: A apuração do custo direto médio da manutenção de CVC-TI com heparina favoreceu a proposição de estratégias com potencial para auxiliar na contenção/minimização de custos. A estimativa da substituição da heparina por cloreto de sódio 0,9%, além de ser subsidiada por evidências da literatura como prática mais indicada, mostrou a possibilidade da redução do custo direto médio total. / Introduction: The periodic permeability maintenance of totally implanted central venous catheter (IT-CVC) performed by nurses contributes to an increase in the useful life of the catheter, an essential factor for successful intravenous chemotherapy treatment and to avoid the occurrence of difficulties which may bring some intangible damage for patients (catheter loss, infections, deep venous thrombosis, prolongation of hospitalization periods) and demanding greater financial resources from health institutions. This procedure requires the availability of specific resources whose consumption generates unidentified costs that may compromise the decision-making process in relation to its allocative efficiency. Objectives: To identify the mean direct cost (MDC) of permeability maintenance of TI-CVC at Day Hospital (DH) of a highly complex public hospital to treat cancer patients and to estimate the MDC of heparin replacement with sodium chloride 0.9% for the permeability maintenance of TI-CVC. Method: A quantitative, exploratory-descriptive case study whose sample consisted of the non-participant observation of 200 TI-CVC maintenance with heparin. The MDC was calculated by multiplying the time (measured) spent by nurses and nursing techniques when implementing the procedure by the unit cost of direct labor, adding up to the cost of materials and solutions. For the calculations, the Brazilian currency (R$) was converted for US dollar (US$). Results: The MDC of the IT-CVC of the maintenance procedure mean direct cost with heparin, which corresponded to US $ 9.71 (SD = 1.35), being the total MDC of step 1 - \" search of material at the Assistance Center for materials and Drugs at 11th Floor \" of US $ 0.92 (SD = 0.32); The total MDC of step 2 - \" material preparation o and asepsis\" of US $ 7.89 (SD = 0.67), with significant impact of MDC with materials (US $ 5.55 - SD = 0.14); the total MDC of step 3 - \" TI-CVC puncture and heparinization\" of $ 0.57 (SD = 1.17) and the total MDC of step 4 - \"discard of material\" of $ 0.34 (SD = 0.14). Stage 1 was performed mainly by nursing techniques and stages 2, 3 and 4 performed exclusively by nurses. Estimating the mean direct cost using 0.9% sodium chloride it was obtained the value of US $ 8.81 (SD = 1.29) with reduction of total MDC in steps 2 and 3, US $ 6.99 - SD = 0.65 and US $ 0.56 - SD = 1.02, respectively. Conclusion: The determination of maintenance of TI-CVC with heparin favored the proposition of strategies with a great possibility to support the control / minimization of costs. The estimation to replace heparin for sodium chloride 0.9%, besides being subsidized by evidences in the literature as the most indicated practice, showed the chance to reduce the total mean direct cost.