Maximising profits for an EPQ model with unreliable machine and rework of random defective items

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pal, Brojeswar; Sankar Sana, Shib; Chaudhuri, Kripasindhu

2013-03-01

This article deals with an economic production quantity (EPQ) model in an imperfect production system. The production system may undergo in 'out-of-control' state from 'in-control' state, after a certain time that follows a probability density function. The density function varies with reliability of the machinery system that may be controlled by new technologies, investing more costs. The defective items produced in 'out-of-control' state are reworked at a cost just after the regular production time. Occurrence of the 'out-of-control' state during or after regular production-run time is analysed and also graphically illustrated separately. Finally, an expected profit function regarding the inventory cost, unit production cost and selling price is maximised analytically. Sensitivity analysis of the model with respect to key parameters of the system is carried out. Two numerical examples are considered to test the model and one of them is illustrated graphically.

Profitability analysis in the hospital industry.

PubMed Central

Cleverley, W O

1978-01-01

Measures of marginal profit are derived for the two payment classes--cost payers and charge payers--that the hospital industry must consider in profitability analysis, i.e., prediction of the excess of revenue over expenses. Two indexes of profitability, use when payment mix is constant and when it is nonconstant, respectively, are derived from the two marginal profit measures, and one of them is shown to be a modification of the contribution margin, the conventional measure of profitability used in general industry. All three measures--the contribution margin and the two new indexes of profitability--are used to estimate changes in net income resulting from changes in patient volume with and without accompanying changes in payment mix. The conventional measure yields large overestimates of expected excess revenue. PMID:632101

Complaints in for-profit, non-profit and public nursing homes in two Canadian provinces

PubMed Central

McGregor, Margaret J; Cohen, Marcy; Stocks-Rankin, Catherine-Rose; Cox, Michelle B; Salomons, Kia; McGrail, Kimberlyn M; Spencer, Charmaine; Ronald, Lisa A; Schulzer, Michael

2011-01-01

Background Nursing homes provide long-term housing, support and nursing care to frail elders who are no longer able to function independently. Although studies conducted in the United States have demonstrated an association between for-profit ownership and inferior quality, relatively few Canadian studies have made performance comparisons with reference to type of ownership. Complaints are one proxy measure of performance in the nursing home setting. Our study goal was to determine whether there is an association between facility ownership and the frequency of nursing home complaints. Methods We analyzed publicly available data on complaints, regulatory measures, facility ownership and size for 604 facilities in Ontario over 1 year (2007/08) and 62 facilities in British Columbia (Fraser Health region) over 4 years (2004–2008). All analyses were carried out at the facility level. Negative binomial regression analysis was used to assess the association between type of facility ownership and frequency of complaints. Results The mean (standard deviation) number of verified/substantiated complaints per 100 beds per year in Ontario and Fraser Health was 0.45 (1.10) and 0.78 (1.63) respectively. Most complaints related to resident care. Complaints were more frequent in facilities with more citations, i.e., violations of the legislation or regulations governing a home, (Ontario) and inspection violations (Fraser Health). Compared with Ontario’s for-profit chain facilities, adjusted incident rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals of verified complaints were 0.56 (0.27–1.16), 0.58 (0.34–1.00), 0.43 (0.21– 0.88), and 0.50 (0.30– 0.84) for for-profit single-site, non-profit, charitable, and public facilities respectively. In Fraser Health, the adjusted incident rate ratio of substantiated complaints in non-profit facilities compared with for-profit facilities was 0.18 (0.07–0.45). Interpretation Compared with for-profit chain facilities, non-profit, charitable and public facilities had significantly lower rates of complaints in Ontario. Likewise, in British Columbia’s Fraser Health region, non-profit owned facilities had significantly lower rates of complaints compared with for-profit owned facilities. PMID:22567074

The use of rational functions in numerical quadrature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gautschi, Walter

2001-08-01

Quadrature problems involving functions that have poles outside the interval of integration can profitably be solved by methods that are exact not only for polynomials of appropriate degree, but also for rational functions having the same (or the most important) poles as the function to be integrated. Constructive and computational tools for accomplishing this are described and illustrated in a number of quadrature contexts. The superiority of such rational/polynomial methods is shown by an analysis of the remainder term and documented by numerical examples.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing mortality rates of private for-profit and private not-for-profit hospitals

PubMed Central

Devereaux, P.J.; Choi, Peter T.L.; Lacchetti, Christina; Weaver, Bruce; Schünemann, Holger J.; Haines, Ted; Lavis, John N.; Grant, Brydon J.B.; Haslam, David R.S.; Bhandari, Mohit; Sullivan, Terrence; Cook, Deborah J.; Walter, Stephen D.; Meade, Maureen; Khan, Humaira; Bhatnagar, Neera; Guyatt, Gordon H.

2002-01-01

Background Canadians are engaged in an intense debate about the relative merits of private for-profit versus private not-for-profit health care delivery. To inform this debate, we undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing the mortality rates of private for-profit hospitals and those of private not-for-profit hospitals. Methods We identified studies through an electronic search of 11 bibliographical databases, our own files, consultation with experts, reference lists, PubMed and SciSearch. We masked the study results before determining study eligibility. Our eligibility criteria included observational studies or randomized controlled trials that compared private for-profit and private not-for-profit hospitals. We excluded studies that evaluated mortality rates in hospitals with a particular profit status that subsequently converted to the other profit status. For each study, we calculated a relative risk of mortality for private for-profit hospitals relative to private not-for-profit hospitals and pooled the studies of adult populations that included adjustment for potential confounders (e.g., teaching status, severity of illness) using a random effects model. Results Fifteen observational studies, involving more than 26 000 hospitals and 38 million patients, fulfilled the eligibility criteria. In the studies of adult populations, with adjustment for potential confounders, private for-profit hospitals were associated with an increased risk of death (relative risk [RR] 1.020, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.003–1.038; p = 0.02). The one perinatal study with adjustment for potential confounders also showed an increased risk of death in private for-profit hospitals (RR 1.095, 95% CI 1.050–1.141; p < 0.0001). Interpretation Our meta-analysis suggests that private for-profit ownership of hospitals, in comparison with private not-for-profit ownership, results in a higher risk of death for patients. PMID:12054406

14 CFR Section 8 - General

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... UNIFORM SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS AND REPORTS FOR LARGE CERTIFICATED AIR CARRIERS Profit and Loss Classification Section 8 General (a) The profit and loss accounts are designed to reflect, through natural groupings, the... the dual subdivision of profit and loss elements in terms of both natural objectives and functional...

Financial Analysis of For Profit Child Care: A Work in Progress.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, Keith

1989-01-01

Compares revenues, debts, investments, and profit margins of for-profit publicly and privately owned day care centers. An evaluation tool was developed through analysis of financial statements of seven privately owned child care businesses and six publicly owned child care chains. (RJC)

SMOKE-FREE ORDINANCES INCREASE RESTAURANT PROFIT AND VALUE

PubMed Central

Alamar, Benjamin C.

2011-01-01

This study estimates the economic value added to a restaurant by a smoke-free policy using regression analysis of the purchase price of restaurants, as a function of the presence of a smoke-free law and other control variables. There was a median increase of 16% (interquartile range 11% to 25%) in the sale price of a restaurant in a jurisdiction with a smoke-free law compared to a comparable restaurant in a community without such a law. This result indicates that, contrary to claims made by the tobacco industry and other opponents of smoke-free laws, these laws are associated with an increase in restaurant profitability. PMID:21637722

Quality of care in for-profit and not-for-profit nursing homes: systematic review and meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Comondore, Vikram R; Zhou, Qi; Stone, Samuel B; Busse, Jason W; Ravindran, Nikila C; Burns, Karen E; Haines, Ted; Stringer, Bernadette; Cook, Deborah J; Walter, Stephen D; Sullivan, Terrence; Berwanger, Otavio; Bhandari, Mohit; Banglawala, Sarfaraz; Lavis, John N; Petrisor, Brad; Schünemann, Holger; Walsh, Katie; Bhatnagar, Neera; Guyatt, Gordon H

2009-01-01

Objective To compare quality of care in for-profit and not-for-profit nursing homes. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and randomised controlled trials investigating quality of care in for-profit versus not-for-profit nursing homes. Results A comprehensive search yielded 8827 citations, of which 956 were judged appropriate for full text review. Study characteristics and results of 82 articles that met inclusion criteria were summarised, and results for the four most frequently reported quality measures were pooled. Included studies reported results dating from 1965 to 2003. In 40 studies, all statistically significant comparisons (P<0.05) favoured not-for-profit facilities; in three studies, all statistically significant comparisons favoured for-profit facilities, and the remaining studies had less consistent findings. Meta-analyses suggested that not-for-profit facilities delivered higher quality care than did for-profit facilities for two of the four most frequently reported quality measures: more or higher quality staffing (ratio of effect 1.11, 95% confidence interval 1.07 to 1.14, P<0.001) and lower pressure ulcer prevalence (odds ratio 0.91, 95% confidence interval 0.83 to 0.98, P=0.02). Non-significant results favouring not-for-profit homes were found for the two other most frequently used measures: physical restraint use (odds ratio 0.93, 0.82 to 1.05, P=0.25) and fewer deficiencies in governmental regulatory assessments (ratio of effect 0.90, 0.78 to 1.04, P=0.17). Conclusions This systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence suggests that, on average, not-for-profit nursing homes deliver higher quality care than do for-profit nursing homes. Many factors may, however, influence this relation in the case of individual institutions. PMID:19654184

Relationship between profitability and type traits and derivation of economic values for reproduction and survival traits in Chianina beef cows.

PubMed

Forabosco, F; Bozzi, R; Boettcher, P; Filippini, F; Bijma, P; Van Arendonk, J A M

2005-09-01

The objectives of this study were 1) to propose a profit function for Italian Chianina beef cattle; 2) to derive economic values for some biological variables in beef cows, specifically, production expressed as the number of calves born alive per year (NACY), age at the insemination that resulted in the birth of the first calf (FI), and length of productive life (LPL); and 3) to investigate the relationship between the phenotypic profit function and type traits as early predictors of profitability in the Chianina beef cattle population. The average profit was 196 Euros/(cow.yr) for the length of productive life (LPL) and was obtained as the difference between the average income of 1,375 Euros/(cow.yr) for LPL and costs of 1,178 Euros/(cow.yr) of LPL. The mean LPL was equal to 5.97 yr, so the average total phenotypic profit per cow on a lifetime basis was 1,175 Euros. A normative approach was used to derive the economic weights for the biological variables. The most important trait was the number of calves born alive (+4.03.cow(-1).yr(-1) and +24.06 Euros/cow). An increase of 1 d in LPL was associated with an increase of +0.19 Euros/(cow.yr) and +1.65 Euros/cow on a lifetime basis. Increasing FI by 1 d decreased profit by 0.42 Euros/(cow.yr) and 2.51 Euros/cow. Phenotypic profit per cow had a heritability of 0.29. Heritabilities for eight muscularity traits ranged from 0.16 to 0.23, and for the seven body size traits between 0.21 and 0.30. The conformation trait final score can be used as an early predictor of profitability. The sale price of the animal and differences in the revenue and costs of offspring due to muscularity should be included in a future profit function.

COST FUNCTION STUDIES FOR POWER REACTORS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heestand, J.; Wos, L.T.

1961-11-01

A function to evaluate the cost of electricity produced by a nuclear power reactor was developed. The basic equation, revenue = capital charges + profit + operating expenses, was expanded in terms of various cost parameters to enable analysis of multiregion nuclear reactors with uranium and/or plutonium for fuel. A corresponding IBM 704 computer program, which will compute either the price of electricity or the value of plutonium, is presented in detail. (auth)

Factor analysis of financial and operational performance measures of non-profit hospitals.

PubMed

Das, Dhiman

2009-01-01

To understand the important dimensions of the financial and operational performance of non-profit hospitals. Secondary data for non-profit US hospitals between 1996 and 2004. I use iterative principal factor analysis of hospitals' financial and operational ratios for each year of the study. For factor interpretation, I use oblique rotation. Financial ratios were created using cost report data from HCRIS 2552-96 available from the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS). I identify five factors--capital structure, profitability, activity, liquidity, and an operational factor--that explain most of the variation in the performance of non-profit hospitals. I also find that capital structure is more important than profitability in determining the performance of these hospitals. The importance of capital structure highlights a significant shift in the organization of the non-profit hospitals' finances.

Determination of optimum values for maximizing the profit in bread production: Daily bakery Sdn Bhd

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muda, Nora; Sim, Raymond

2015-02-01

An integer programming problem is a mathematical optimization or feasibility program in which some or all of the variables are restricted to be integers. In many settings the term refers to integer linear programming (ILP), in which the objective function and the constraints (other than the integer constraints) are linear. An ILP has many applications in industrial production, including job-shop modelling. A possible objective is to maximize the total production, without exceeding the available resources. In some cases, this can be expressed in terms of a linear program, but variables must be constrained to be integer. It concerned with the optimization of a linear function while satisfying a set of linear equality and inequality constraints and restrictions. It has been used to solve optimization problem in many industries area such as banking, nutrition, agriculture, and bakery and so on. The main purpose of this study is to formulate the best combination of all ingredients in producing different type of bread in Daily Bakery in order to gain maximum profit. This study also focuses on the sensitivity analysis due to changing of the profit and the cost of each ingredient. The optimum result obtained from QM software is RM 65,377.29 per day. This study will be benefited for Daily Bakery and also other similar industries. By formulating a combination of all ingredients make up, they can easily know their total profit in producing bread everyday.

Clinical laboratory as an economic model for business performance analysis

PubMed Central

Buljanović, Vikica; Patajac, Hrvoje; Petrovečki, Mladen

2011-01-01

Aim To perform SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of a clinical laboratory as an economic model that may be used to improve business performance of laboratories by removing weaknesses, minimizing threats, and using external opportunities and internal strengths. Methods Impact of possible threats to and weaknesses of the Clinical Laboratory at Našice General County Hospital business performance and use of strengths and opportunities to improve operating profit were simulated using models created on the basis of SWOT analysis results. The operating profit as a measure of profitability of the clinical laboratory was defined as total revenue minus total expenses and presented using a profit and loss account. Changes in the input parameters in the profit and loss account for 2008 were determined using opportunities and potential threats, and economic sensitivity analysis was made by using changes in the key parameters. The profit and loss account and economic sensitivity analysis were tools for quantifying the impact of changes in the revenues and expenses on the business operations of clinical laboratory. Results Results of simulation models showed that operational profit of €470 723 in 2008 could be reduced to only €21 542 if all possible threats became a reality and current weaknesses remained the same. Also, operational gain could be increased to €535 804 if laboratory strengths and opportunities were utilized. If both the opportunities and threats became a reality, the operational profit would decrease by €384 465. Conclusion The operational profit of the clinical laboratory could be significantly reduced if all threats became a reality and the current weaknesses remained the same. The operational profit could be increased by utilizing strengths and opportunities as much as possible. This type of modeling may be used to monitor business operations of any clinical laboratory and improve its financial situation by implementing changes in the next fiscal period. PMID:21853546

Clinical laboratory as an economic model for business performance analysis.

PubMed

Buljanović, Vikica; Patajac, Hrvoje; Petrovecki, Mladen

2011-08-15

To perform SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of a clinical laboratory as an economic model that may be used to improve business performance of laboratories by removing weaknesses, minimizing threats, and using external opportunities and internal strengths. Impact of possible threats to and weaknesses of the Clinical Laboratory at Našice General County Hospital business performance and use of strengths and opportunities to improve operating profit were simulated using models created on the basis of SWOT analysis results. The operating profit as a measure of profitability of the clinical laboratory was defined as total revenue minus total expenses and presented using a profit and loss account. Changes in the input parameters in the profit and loss account for 2008 were determined using opportunities and potential threats, and economic sensitivity analysis was made by using changes in the key parameters. The profit and loss account and economic sensitivity analysis were tools for quantifying the impact of changes in the revenues and expenses on the business operations of clinical laboratory. Results of simulation models showed that operational profit of €470 723 in 2008 could be reduced to only €21 542 if all possible threats became a reality and current weaknesses remained the same. Also, operational gain could be increased to €535 804 if laboratory strengths and opportunities were utilized. If both the opportunities and threats became a reality, the operational profit would decrease by €384 465. The operational profit of the clinical laboratory could be significantly reduced if all threats became a reality and the current weaknesses remained the same. The operational profit could be increased by utilizing strengths and opportunities as much as possible. This type of modeling may be used to monitor business operations of any clinical laboratory and improve its financial situation by implementing changes in the next fiscal period.

A financial ratio analysis of for-profit and non-profit rural referral centers.

PubMed

McCue, Michael J; Nayar, Preethy

2009-01-01

National financial data show that rural referral center (RRC) hospitals have performed well financially. RRC hospitals' median cash flow margin ratio was 10.04% in 2002 and grew to 11.04% in 2004. The aim of this study is to compare the ratio analysis of key operational and financial performance measures of for-profit RRCs to those of private, non-profit RRCs. To control for accounting aberrations within a given year, we selected RRCs that reported 3 consecutive fiscal years of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) cost report data, starting with fiscal year 2004 and ending with fiscal year 2006. Given a limited sample size of 28 for-profit RRCs and 127 non-profits, we used the non-parametric median test to assess median differences in operational and key financial measures between the 2 groups. For-profit RRCs treated less complex cases and reported fewer discharges per bed and fewer occupied beds than did non-profits. However, for-profit RRCs staffed their beds with fewer full-time-equivalent (FTE) personnel and served a higher proportion of Medicaid patients. For-profit RRCs generated operating cash flow margins in excess of 19%, compared to only 8.1% for non-profits, and maintained newer plant and equipment. For-profit RRCs generated a substantially higher cash flow margin by controlling their operating costs.

Defining the breeding goal for a sheep breed including production and functional traits using market data.

PubMed

Theodoridis, A; Ragkos, A; Rose, G; Roustemis, D; Arsenos, G

2017-11-16

In this study, the economic values for production and functional traits of dairy sheep are estimated through the application of a profit function model using farm-level technical and economic data. The traits incorporated in the model were milk production, prolificacy, fertility, milking speed, longevity and mastitis occurrence. The economic values for these traits were derived as the approximate partial derivative of the specified profit function. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted in order to examine how potential changes in input and output prices would affect the breeding goal. The estimated economic values of the traits revealed their economic impact on the definition of the breeding goal for the specified production system. Milk production and fertility had the highest economic values (€40.30 and €20.28 per standard genetic deviation (SDa)), while, mastitis only had a low negative value of -0.57 €/SDa. Therefore, breeding for clinical mastitis will have a minor impact on farm profitability because it affects a small proportion of the flock and has low additive variance. The production traits, which include milk production, prolificacy and milking speed, contributed most to the breeding goal (70.0%), but functional traits still had a considerable share (30.0%). The results of this study highlight the importance of the knowledge of economic values of traits in the design of a breeding program. It is also suggested that the production and functional traits under consideration can be categorized as those which can be efficiently treated through genetic improvement (e.g. milk production and fertility) while others would be better dealt with through managerial interventions (e.g. mastitis occurrence). Also, sub-clinical mastitis that affects a higher proportion of flocks could have a higher contribution to breeding goals.

Hospital activity and hospital profits.

PubMed

Hegji, Charles E

2007-01-01

The paper uses data from a cross section of southeastern hospitals to examine which activities are profitable for hospitals. The analysis suggests that hospitals may operate at less than profit-maximizing levels of output. In addition, contrary to popular belief emergency rooms are shown to be profit generating centers for hospitals.

Pricing policy for declining demand using item preservation technology.

PubMed

Khedlekar, Uttam Kumar; Shukla, Diwakar; Namdeo, Anubhav

2016-01-01

We have designed an inventory model for seasonal products in which deterioration can be controlled by item preservation technology investment. Demand for the product is considered price sensitive and decreases linearly. This study has shown that the profit is a concave function of optimal selling price, replenishment time and preservation cost parameter. We simultaneously determined the optimal selling price of the product, the replenishment cycle and the cost of item preservation technology. Additionally, this study has shown that there exists an optimal selling price and optimal preservation investment to maximize the profit for every business set-up. Finally, the model is illustrated by numerical examples and sensitive analysis of the optimal solution with respect to major parameters.

Beyond reliability to profitability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bond, T.H.; Mitchell, J.S.

1996-07-01

Reliability concerns have controlled much of power generation design and operations. Emerging from a strictly regulated environment, profitability is becoming a much more important concept for today`s power generation executives. This paper discusses the conceptual advance-view power plant maintenance as a profit center, go beyond reliability, and embrace profitability. Profit Centered Maintenance begins with the premise that financial considerations, namely profitability, drive most aspects of modern process and manufacturing operations. Profit Centered Maintenance is a continuous process of reliability and administrative improvement and optimization. For the power generation executives with troublesome maintenance programs, Profit Centered Maintenance can be the blueprintmore » to increased profitability. It requires the culture change to make decisions based on value, to reengineer the administration of maintenance, and to enable the people performing and administering maintenance to make the most of available maintenance information technology. The key steps are to optimize the physical function of maintenance and to resolve recurring maintenance problems so that the need for maintenance can be reduced. Profit Centered Maintenance is more than just an attitude it is a path to profitability, be it resulting in increased profits or increased market share.« less

No association of smoke-free ordinances with profits from bingo and charitable games in Massachusetts.

PubMed

Glantz, S A; Wilson-Loots, R

2003-12-01

Because it is widely played, claims that smoking restrictions will adversely affect bingo games is used as an argument against these policies. We used publicly available data from Massachusetts to assess the impact of 100% smoke-free ordinances on profits from bingo and other gambling sponsored by charitable organisations between 1985 and 2001. We conducted two analyses: (1) a general linear model implementation of a time series analysis with net profits (adjusted to 2001 dollars) as the dependent variable, and community (as a fixed effect), year, lagged net profits, and the length of time the ordinance had been in force as the independent variables; (2) multiple linear regression of total state profits against time, lagged profits, and the percentage of the entire state population in communities that allow charitable gaming but prohibit smoking. The general linear model analysis of data from individual communities showed that, while adjusted profits fell over time, this effect was not related to the presence of an ordinance. The analysis in terms of the fraction of the population living in communities with ordinances yielded the same result. Policymakers can implement smoke-free policies without concern that these policies will affect charitable gaming.

Payments for care at private for-profit and private not-for-profit hospitals: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Devereaux, P.J.; Heels-Ansdell, Diane; Lacchetti, Christina; Haines, Ted; Burns, Karen E.A.; Cook, Deborah J.; Ravindran, Nikila; Walter, S.D.; McDonald, Heather; Stone, Samuel B.; Patel, Rakesh; Bhandari, Mohit; Schünemann, Holger J.; Choi, Peter T.-L.; Bayoumi, Ahmed M.; Lavis, John N.; Sullivan, Terrence; Stoddart, Greg; Guyatt, Gordon H.

2004-01-01

Background It has been shown that patients cared for at private for-profit hospitals have higher risk-adjusted mortality rates than those cared for at private not-for-profit hospitals. Uncertainty remains, however, about the economic implications of these forms of health care delivery. Since some policy-makers might still consider for-profit health care if expenditure savings were sufficiently large, we undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare payments for care at private for-profit and private not-for-profit hospitals. Methods We used 6 search strategies to identify published and unpublished observational studies that directly compared the payments for care at private for-profit and private not-for-profit hospitals. We masked the study results before teams of 2 reviewers independently evaluated the eligibility of all studies. We confirmed data or obtained additional data from all but 1 author. For each study, we calculated the payments for care at private for-profit hospitals relative to private not-for-profit hospitals and pooled the results using a random effects model. Results Eight observational studies, involving more than 350 000 patients altogether and a median of 324 hospitals each, fulfilled our eligibility criteria. In 5 of 6 studies showing higher payments for care at private for-profit hospitals, the difference was statistically significant; in 1 of 2 studies showing higher payments for care at private not-for-profit hospitals, the difference was statistically significant. The pooled estimate demonstrated that private for-profit hospitals were associated with higher payments for care (relative payments for care 1.19, 95% confidence interval 1.07–1.33, p = 0.001). Interpretation Private for-profit hospitals result in higher payments for care than private not-for-profit hospitals. Evidence strongly supports a policy of not-for-profit health care delivery at the hospital level. PMID:15184339

Federal Higher Education Policy and the Profitable Nonprofits. Policy Analysis. No. 678

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fried, Vance H.

2011-01-01

Undergraduate education is a highly profitable business for nonprofit colleges and universities. They do not show profits on their books, but instead take their profits in the form of spending on some combination of research, graduate education, low-demand majors, low faculty teaching loads, excess compensation, and featherbedding. The industry's…

Lender Profitability in the Student Loan Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jenkins, Sarah

This report provides results of a study that measured lender profitability in the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) program and compares these results with the profitability of other types of lending. Data analysis reveals credit card lending to be the highest average level of profitability over the 5-year period considered. Other lending types, in…

A Financial Ratio Analysis of For-Profit and Non-Profit Rural Referral Centers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCue, Michael J.; Nayar, Preethy

2009-01-01

Context: National financial data show that rural referral center (RRC) hospitals have performed well financially. RRC hospitals' median cash flow margin ratio was 10.04% in 2002 and grew to 11.04% in 2004. Purpose: The aim of this study is to compare the ratio analysis of key operational and financial performance measures of for-profit RRCs to…

Research on the factors of return on equity: empirical analysis in Chinese port industries from 2000-2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Wei

2012-01-01

Port industries are the basic industries in the national economy. The industries have become the most modernized departments in every country. The development of the port industry is not only advantageous to promote the optimizing arrangement of social resources, but also to promote the growth of foreign trade volume through enhancing the transportation functions. Return on equity (ROE) is a direct indicator related to the maximization of company's wealth. It makes up the shortcomings of earnings per share (EPS). The aim of this paper is to prove the correlation between ROE and other financial indicators by choosing the listed port companies as the research objectives and selecting the data of these companies from 2000 to 2008 as empirical sample data with statistical analysis of the chartered figure and coefficient. The detailed analysis method used in the paper is the combination of trend analysis, comparative analysis and the ratio of the factor analysis method. This paper analyzes and compares all these factors and draws the conclusions as follows: Firstly, ROE has a positive correlation with total assets turnover, main profit margin and fixed asset ratio, while has a negative correlation with assets liabilities ratio, total assets growth rate and DOL. Secondly, main profit margin has the greatest positive effect on ROE among all these factors. The second greatest factor is total assets turnover, which shows the operation capacity is also an important indicator after the profitability. Thirdly, assets liabilities ratio has the greatest negative effect on ROE among all these factors.

Research on the factors of return on equity: empirical analysis in Chinese port industries from 2000-2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Wei

2011-12-01

Port industries are the basic industries in the national economy. The industries have become the most modernized departments in every country. The development of the port industry is not only advantageous to promote the optimizing arrangement of social resources, but also to promote the growth of foreign trade volume through enhancing the transportation functions. Return on equity (ROE) is a direct indicator related to the maximization of company's wealth. It makes up the shortcomings of earnings per share (EPS). The aim of this paper is to prove the correlation between ROE and other financial indicators by choosing the listed port companies as the research objectives and selecting the data of these companies from 2000 to 2008 as empirical sample data with statistical analysis of the chartered figure and coefficient. The detailed analysis method used in the paper is the combination of trend analysis, comparative analysis and the ratio of the factor analysis method. This paper analyzes and compares all these factors and draws the conclusions as follows: Firstly, ROE has a positive correlation with total assets turnover, main profit margin and fixed asset ratio, while has a negative correlation with assets liabilities ratio, total assets growth rate and DOL. Secondly, main profit margin has the greatest positive effect on ROE among all these factors. The second greatest factor is total assets turnover, which shows the operation capacity is also an important indicator after the profitability. Thirdly, assets liabilities ratio has the greatest negative effect on ROE among all these factors.

Analysis of the financial factors governing the profitability of lunar helium-3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kulcinski, G. L.; Thompson, H.; Ott, S.

1989-01-01

Financial factors influencing the profitability of the mining and utilization of lunar helium-3 are examined. The analysis addressed the following questions: (1) which financial factors have the greatest leverage on the profitability of He-3; (2) over what range can these factors be varied to keep the He-3 option profitable; and (3) what ultimate effect could this energy source have on the price of electricity for U.S. consumers. Two complementary methods of analysis were used in the assessment: rate of return on incremental investment required and reduction revenue requirements (total cost to customers) achieved. Some of the factors addressed include energy demand, power generation costs with and without fusion, profitability for D-He(3) fusion, annual capital and operating costs, launch mass and costs, He-3 price, and government funding. Specific conclusions are made with respect to each of the companies considered: utilities, lunar mining company, and integrated energy company.

Based on BP Neural Network Stock Prediction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Xiangwei; Ma, Xin

2012-01-01

The stock market has a high profit and high risk features, on the stock market analysis and prediction research has been paid attention to by people. Stock price trend is a complex nonlinear function, so the price has certain predictability. This article mainly with improved BP neural network (BPNN) to set up the stock market prediction model, and…

Developing Degrees: An Exploratory Analysis of Laureate International Universities' 21st Century Entry into Mexico and Ecuador

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunsaker, Beau Thomas

2013-01-01

Laureate International Universities (LIU) embodies an emerging international phenomenon in which a multinational corporation (MNC) functions as a holding company that acquires and operates brick-and-mortar higher education institutions in a for-profit model; each individual portfolio institution granting degrees under its own name with any…

A subjective supply-demand model: the maximum Boltzmann/Shannon entropy solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piotrowski, Edward W.; Sładkowski, Jan

2009-03-01

The present authors have put forward a projective geometry model of rational trading. The expected (mean) value of the time that is necessary to strike a deal and the profit strongly depend on the strategies adopted. A frequent trader often prefers maximal profit intensity to the maximization of profit resulting from a separate transaction because the gross profit/income is the adopted/recommended benchmark. To investigate activities that have different periods of duration we define, following the queuing theory, the profit intensity as a measure of this economic category. The profit intensity in repeated trading has a unique property of attaining its maximum at a fixed point regardless of the shape of demand curves for a wide class of probability distributions of random reverse transactions (i.e. closing of the position). These conclusions remain valid for an analogous model based on supply analysis. This type of market game is often considered in research aiming at finding an algorithm that maximizes profit of a trader who negotiates prices with the Rest of the World (a collective opponent), possessing a definite and objective supply profile. Such idealization neglects the sometimes important influence of an individual trader on the demand/supply profile of the Rest of the World and in extreme cases questions the very idea of demand/supply profile. Therefore we put forward a trading model in which the demand/supply profile of the Rest of the World induces the (rational) trader to (subjectively) presume that he/she lacks (almost) all knowledge concerning the market but his/her average frequency of trade. This point of view introduces maximum entropy principles into the model and broadens the range of economic phenomena that can be perceived as a sort of thermodynamical system. As a consequence, the profit intensity has a fixed point with an astonishing connection with Fibonacci classical works and looking for the quickest algorithm for obtaining the extremum of a convex function: the profit intensity reaches its maximum when the probability of transaction is given by the golden ratio rule (\\sqrt {5}-1)/{2} . This condition sets a sharp criterion of validity of the model and can be tested with real market data.

Profitability Analysis of Soybean Oil Processes.

PubMed

Cheng, Ming-Hsun; Rosentrater, Kurt A

2017-10-07

Soybean oil production is the basic process for soybean applications. Cash flow analysis is used to estimate the profitability of a manufacturing venture. Besides capital investments, operating costs, and revenues, the interest rate is the factor to estimate the net present value (NPV), break-even points, and payback time; which are benchmarks for profitability evaluation. The positive NPV and reasonable payback time represent a profitable process, and provide an acceptable projection for real operating. Additionally, the capacity of the process is another critical factor. The extruding-expelling process and hexane extraction are the two typical approaches used in industry. When the capacities of annual oil production are larger than 12 and 173 million kg respectively, these two processes are profitable. The solvent free approach, known as enzyme assisted aqueous extraction process (EAEP), is profitable when the capacity is larger than 17 million kg of annual oil production.

Profitability Analysis of Soybean Oil Processes

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Soybean oil production is the basic process for soybean applications. Cash flow analysis is used to estimate the profitability of a manufacturing venture. Besides capital investments, operating costs, and revenues, the interest rate is the factor to estimate the net present value (NPV), break-even points, and payback time; which are benchmarks for profitability evaluation. The positive NPV and reasonable payback time represent a profitable process, and provide an acceptable projection for real operating. Additionally, the capacity of the process is another critical factor. The extruding-expelling process and hexane extraction are the two typical approaches used in industry. When the capacities of annual oil production are larger than 12 and 173 million kg respectively, these two processes are profitable. The solvent free approach, known as enzyme assisted aqueous extraction process (EAEP), is profitable when the capacity is larger than 17 million kg of annual oil production. PMID:28991168

Valuing goodwill: not-for-profits prepare for annual impairment testing.

PubMed

Heuer, Christian; Travers, Mary Ann K

2011-02-01

Accounting standards for valuing goodwill and intangible assets are becoming more rigorous for not-for-profit organizations: Not-for-profit healthcare organizations need to test for goodwill impairment at least annually. Impairment testing is a two-stage process: initial analysis to determine whether impairment exists and subsequent calculation of the magnitude of impairment. Certain "triggering" events compel all organizations--whether for-profit or not-for-profit--to perform an impairment test for goodwill or intangible assets.

Bioeconomic of profit maximization of red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) culture using polynomial growth model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wijayanto, D.; Kurohman, F.; Nugroho, RA

2018-03-01

The research purpose was to develop a model bioeconomic of profit maximization that can be applied to red tilapia culture. The development of fish growth model used polynomial growth function. Profit maximization process used the first derivative of profit equation to time of culture equal to zero. This research has also developed the equations to estimate the culture time to reach the target size of the fish harvest. The research proved that this research model could be applied in the red tilapia culture. In the case of this study, red tilapia culture can achieve the maximum profit at 584 days and the profit of Rp. 28,605,731 per culture cycle. If used size target of 250 g, the culture of red tilapia need 82 days of culture time.

No association of smoke-free ordinances with profits from bingo and charitable games in Massachusetts

PubMed Central

Glantz, S; Wilson-Loots, R

2003-01-01

Background: Because it is widely played, claims that smoking restrictions will adversely affect bingo games is used as an argument against these policies. We used publicly available data from Massachusetts to assess the impact of 100% smoke-free ordinances on profits from bingo and other gambling sponsored by charitable organisations between 1985 and 2001. Methods: We conducted two analyses: (1) a general linear model implementation of a time series analysis with net profits (adjusted to 2001 dollars) as the dependent variable, and community (as a fixed effect), year, lagged net profits, and the length of time the ordinance had been in force as the independent variables; (2) multiple linear regression of total state profits against time, lagged profits, and the percentage of the entire state population in communities that allow charitable gaming but prohibit smoking. Results: The general linear model analysis of data from individual communities showed that, while adjusted profits fell over time, this effect was not related to the presence of an ordinance. The analysis in terms of the fraction of the population living in communities with ordinances yielded the same result. Conclusion: Policymakers can implement smoke-free policies without concern that these policies will affect charitable gaming. PMID:14660778

Cost-volume-profit analysis and expected benefit of health services: a study of cardiac catheterization services.

PubMed

Younis, Mustafa Z; Jabr, Samer; Smith, Pamela C; Al-Hajeri, Maha; Hartmann, Michael

2011-01-01

Academic research investigating health care costs in the Palestinian region is limited. Therefore, this study examines the costs of the cardiac catheterization unit of one of the largest hospitals in Palestine. We focus on costs of a cardiac catheterization unit and the increasing number of deaths over the past decade in the region due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). We employ cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis to determine the unit's break-even point (BEP), and investigate expected benefits (EBs) of Palestinian government subsidies to the unit. Findings indicate variable costs represent 56 percent of the hospital's total costs. Based on the three functions of the cardiac catheterization unit, results also indicate that the number of patients receiving services exceed the break-even point in each function, despite the unit receiving a government subsidy. Our findings, although based on one hospital, will permit hospital management to realize the importance of unit costs in order to make informed financial decisions. The use of break-even analysis will allow area managers to plan minimum production capacity for the organization. The economic benefits for patients and the government from the unit may encourage government officials to focus efforts on increasing future subsidies to the hospital.

Impact of the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination-based Payment System on cardiovascular medicine-related costs.

PubMed

Yasunaga, Hideo; Ide, Hiroo; Imamura, Tomoaki; Ohe, Kazuhiko

2005-09-01

In 2003, a lump-sum payment system based on Diagnosis Procedure Combinations (DPC) was introduced to 82 specific function hospitals in Japan. While the US DRG/PPS system is a "per case payment" system, the DPC based payment system adopts a "per day payment." It is generally believed that the Japanese system provides as much of an incentive as the DRG/PPS system to shorten the average length of stay (LOS). We performed an empirical analysis of the effect of LOS shortening on hospital revenue and expenditure under the DPC-based payment system, particularly in cardiovascular diseases. We also point out fundamentally controversial aspects of the current system. A total 109 cases were selected from patients hospitalized at the University of Tokyo Hospital from May to July, 2003 and classified into one of three categories: (1) cardiac catheter interventions, (2) cardiac catheter examinations, and (3) other conservative treatments. We analyzed the changes in profit per day in cases of a reduction in average LOS and an increase in the number of cases. In category (1) profit increased significantly in conjunction with reduced LOS. In category (2) profit increased only minimally. In category (3), profit increased rarely and sometimes decreased. In cases of conservative treatment, profits sometimes decreased because an increase in material costs exceeded the increase in revenue. It therefore became clear that the DPC-based payment system does not decisively provide an economic incentive to reduce LOS in cardiovascular medicine.

Group search optimiser-based optimal bidding strategies with no Karush-Kuhn-Tucker optimality conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yadav, Naresh Kumar; Kumar, Mukesh; Gupta, S. K.

2017-03-01

General strategic bidding procedure has been formulated in the literature as a bi-level searching problem, in which the offer curve tends to minimise the market clearing function and to maximise the profit. Computationally, this is complex and hence, the researchers have adopted Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) optimality conditions to transform the model into a single-level maximisation problem. However, the profit maximisation problem with KKT optimality conditions poses great challenge to the classical optimisation algorithms. The problem has become more complex after the inclusion of transmission constraints. This paper simplifies the profit maximisation problem as a minimisation function, in which the transmission constraints, the operating limits and the ISO market clearing functions are considered with no KKT optimality conditions. The derived function is solved using group search optimiser (GSO), a robust population-based optimisation algorithm. Experimental investigation is carried out on IEEE 14 as well as IEEE 30 bus systems and the performance is compared against differential evolution-based strategic bidding, genetic algorithm-based strategic bidding and particle swarm optimisation-based strategic bidding methods. The simulation results demonstrate that the obtained profit maximisation through GSO-based bidding strategies is higher than the other three methods.

Accounting principles, revenue recognition, and the profitability of pharmacy benefit managers.

PubMed

McLean, Robert A; Garis, Robert I

2005-03-01

To contrast pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies' measured profitability by using two accounting standards. The first accounting standard is that which, under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), PBMs are currently allowed to employ. The second accounting standard, seemingly more congruent with the PBM business model, treats the PBM as an agent of the plan sponsor. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Emerging Issues Task Force Issue 99-19, U.S. Securities and Exchange 10-K filings and financial accounting literature. Under GAAP record keeping, the PBM industry profitability appears modest. Using currently applied GAAP, the PBM treats all payment from the plan sponsor as revenue and all payment to the pharmacy as revenue. However, the PBM functions, in practice, as an entity that passes-through money collected from one party (the sponsor) to other parties (dispensing pharmacies). Therefore, it would seem that the nature of PBM cash flows would be more accurately recorded as a pass-through entity. When the PBM is evaluated using an accounting method that recognizes the pass-through nature of its business, the PBM profit margin increases dramatically. Current GAAP standards make traditional financial statement analysis of PBMs unrevealing, and may hide genuinely outstanding financial performance. Investors, regulators, pharmacies, and the FASB all have an interest in moving to clarify this accounting anomaly.

Survival, lifetime production, and profitability of Normande × Holstein, Montbéliarde × Holstein, and Scandinavian Red × Holstein crossbreds versus pure Holsteins.

PubMed

Heins, B J; Hansen, L B; De Vries, A

2012-02-01

Pure Holstein (HO) cows (n=416) were compared with Normande (NO) × HO (n=251), Montbéliarde (MO) × HO (n=503), and Scandinavian Red (SR) × HO (n=321) crossbred cows for survival, lifetime production, and profitability in 6 commercial herds in California. The SR crossbred cows were sired by both Swedish Red and Norwegian Red bulls. Cows calved from June 2002 to January 2009. For analysis of survival to subsequent calvings, lifetime production, and profitability, data were restricted to 3 of 6 herds because they had at least 20 cows in each of the breed groups. All cows had the opportunity to calve at least 4 times. Best prediction, which is used by USDA for national genetic evaluations in the United States, was used to determine lifetime production to 4 yr (1,461 d) in the herd after first calving from test-day observations. Production and survival were estimated after 4 yr to calculate lifetime profit. A profit function was defined to include revenues and expenses for milk, fat, protein, and other solids production; somatic cell count; reproduction; feed intake; calf value; salvage value; dead cow disposal; and fixed cost. The NO × HO (1.2%), MO × HO (2.0%), and SR × HO cows (1.6%) had significantly fewer deaths than did pure HO cows (5.3%) during the first 305 d of first lactation. All crossbred groups had significantly more cows that calved a second, third, and fourth time, and had mean survival that was 300 to 400 d longer than did pure HO cows. The NO × HO, MO × HO, and SR × HO cows had significantly higher lifetime fat plus protein production than did pure HO cows up to 1,461 d after first calving. For profitability (ignoring possible differences in health costs), NO × HO cows had 26% greater projected lifetime profit per cow, but 6.7% less profit per cow-day, than did pure HO cows. On the other hand, MO × HO and SR × HO cows had 50 to 44%, respectively, more projected lifetime profit per cow and 5.3 to 3.6%, respectively, more projected profit per cow-day than did pure HO cows. Copyright © 2012 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Two retailer-supplier supply chain models with default risk under trade credit policy.

PubMed

Wu, Chengfeng; Zhao, Qiuhong

2016-01-01

The purpose of the paper is to formulate two uncooperative replenishment models with demand and default risk which are the functions of the trade credit period, i.e., a Nash equilibrium model and a supplier-Stackelberg model. Firstly, we present the optimal results of decentralized decision and centralized decision without trade credit. Secondly, we derive the existence and uniqueness conditions of the optimal solutions under the two games, respectively. Moreover, we present a set of theorems and corollary to determine the optimal solutions. Finally, we provide an example and sensitivity analysis to illustrate the proposed strategy and optimal solutions. Sensitivity analysis reveals that the total profits of supply chain under the two games both are better than the results under the centralized decision only if the optimal trade credit period isn't too short. It also reveals that the size of trade credit period, demand, retailer's profit and supplier's profit have strong relationship with the increasing demand coefficient, wholesale price, default risk coefficient and production cost. The major contribution of the paper is that we comprehensively compare between the results of decentralized decision and centralized decision without trade credit, Nash equilibrium and supplier-Stackelberg models with trade credit, and obtain some interesting managerial insights and practical implications.

Looking into the glass: glassware as an alcohol marketing tool, and the implications for policy.

PubMed

Stead, Martine; Angus, Kathryn; Macdonald, Laura; Bauld, Linda

2014-01-01

To examine how glassware functions as a marketing tool. Content analysis of trade journals. Glassware is used as an integral part of marketing activity to recruit customers, revive brands, build profits and increase consumption. Glassware should be subject to the same control as other forms of marketing. Glasses could be re-engineered to promote safer drinking.

Statistical analysis of the count and profitability of air conditioners.

PubMed

Rady, El Houssainy A; Mohamed, Salah M; Abd Elmegaly, Alaa A

2018-08-01

This article presents the statistical analysis of the number and profitability of air conditioners in an Egyptian company. Checking the same distribution for each categorical variable has been made using Kruskal-Wallis test.

Strategic wholesale pricing for an incumbent supplier facing with a competitive counterpart.

PubMed

Sun, Jianwu

2014-01-01

We introduce a wholesale pricing strategy for an incumbent supplier facing with a competitive counterpart. We propose a profit function which considers both the present loss and future loss from a wholesale price and then study the optimal wholesale prices for different objectives about this profit function for the incumbent supplier. First, we achieve an optimal wholesale price for the incumbent supplier to maximize his expected profit. Then, to reduce the risk originating from the fluctuation in the competitive supplier's wholesale price, we integrate the conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) measure in financial risk management into this study and derive an optimal wholesale price to maximize CVaR about profit for the incumbent supplier. Besides, the properties of the two optimal wholesale prices are discussed. Finally, some management insights are suggested for the incumbent supplier in a competitive setting.

Strategic Wholesale Pricing for an Incumbent Supplier Facing with a Competitive Counterpart

PubMed Central

Sun, Jianwu

2014-01-01

We introduce a wholesale pricing strategy for an incumbent supplier facing with a competitive counterpart. We propose a profit function which considers both the present loss and future loss from a wholesale price and then study the optimal wholesale prices for different objectives about this profit function for the incumbent supplier. First, we achieve an optimal wholesale price for the incumbent supplier to maximize his expected profit. Then, to reduce the risk originating from the fluctuation in the competitive supplier's wholesale price, we integrate the conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) measure in financial risk management into this study and derive an optimal wholesale price to maximize CVaR about profit for the incumbent supplier. Besides, the properties of the two optimal wholesale prices are discussed. Finally, some management insights are suggested for the incumbent supplier in a competitive setting. PMID:25614891

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 3:] Technical communications in aeronautics: Results of an exploratory study. An analysis of profit managers' and nonprofit managers' responses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Glassman, Myron; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Oliu, Walter E.

1989-01-01

Data collected from an exploratory study concerned with the technical communications practices of aerospace engineers and scientists were analyzed to test the primary assumption that profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community have different technical communications practices. Five assumptions were established for the analysis. Profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community were found to have different technical communications practices for one of the five assumptions tested. It was, therefore, concluded that profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community do not have different technical communications practices.

Merging with for-profits: flawed strategy. Such affiliations benefit neither the Catholic hospital nor society.

PubMed

Miller, A

1996-01-01

Some Catholic healthcare organizations, seeking new sources of capital, are eyeing mergers with for-profit systems. However, such mergers raise questions about their effects on both the mission of particular Catholic institutions and the well-being of society at large. For-profit organizations are driven by the pursuit of profit. They market ¿products.¿ This pursuit naturally shapes their decision-making rationales, employee relations, and business priorities. Not for-profits, on the other hand, provide ¿public goods¿--goods that for-profits either will not provide or will not provide adequately--and this mission shapes their priorities, decision making, and employee relations differently. What is more, economic power is unequal between the two kinds of organization. Since not-for profits are seeking capital when they merge with for profits, they usually do so from a position of relative disadvantage. When conflicts arise, the for-profit partner generally prevails. The not-for-profit partner then finds itself, not merged with, but acquired by the for-profit. Throughout U.S. history, not-for-profits have performed a function neglected by both government and private companies. Now, in the 1990s, the whole social welfare framework of our society is under attack. A moral-political crisis questions the very concept of the voluntary sector. If Catholic healthcare organizations allow themselves to be swallowed by for-profits, who will care for the voiceless and the vulnerable?

26 CFR 1.987-5 - Transition rules for certain qualified business units using a profit and loss method of...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... of United States persons that have a nondollar functional currency and that used a net worth method...) branches of United States persons, whose functional currency (as defined in section 985 of the Code and the regulations thereunder) is other than the United States dollar (dollar) and that used a profit and loss method...

26 CFR 1.987-1 - Profit and loss method of accounting for a qualified business unit of a taxpayer having a...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... accounting for a qualified business unit of a taxpayer having a different functional currency from the... 26 Internal Revenue 10 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Profit and loss method of accounting for a qualified business unit of a taxpayer having a different functional currency from the taxpayer. [Reserved] 1...

Universality of market superstatistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denys, Mateusz; Gubiec, Tomasz; Kutner, Ryszard; Jagielski, Maciej; Stanley, H. Eugene

2016-10-01

We use a key concept of the continuous-time random walk formalism, i.e., continuous and fluctuating interevent times in which mutual dependence is taken into account, to model market fluctuation data when traders experience excessive (or superthreshold) losses or excessive (or superthreshold) profits. We analytically derive a class of "superstatistics" that accurately model empirical market activity data supplied by Bogachev, Ludescher, Tsallis, and Bunde that exhibit transition thresholds. We measure the interevent times between excessive losses and excessive profits and use the mean interevent discrete (or step) time as a control variable to derive a universal description of empirical data collapse. Our dominant superstatistic value is a power-law corrected by the lower incomplete gamma function, which asymptotically tends toward robustness but initially gives an exponential. We find that the scaling shape exponent that drives our superstatistics subordinates itself and a "superscaling" configuration emerges. Thanks to the Weibull copula function, our approach reproduces the empirically proven dependence between successive interevent times. We also use the approach to calculate a dynamic risk function and hence the dynamic VaR, which is significant in financial risk analysis. Our results indicate that there is a functional (but not literal) balance between excessive profits and excessive losses that can be described using the same body of superstatistics but different calibration values and driving parameters. We also extend our original approach to cover empirical seismic activity data (e.g., given by Corral), the interevent times of which range from minutes to years. Superpositioned superstatistics is another class of superstatistics that protects power-law behavior both for short- and long-time behaviors. These behaviors describe well the collapse of seismic activity data and capture so-called volatility clustering phenomena.

Finance and marketing: birth of a profitable relationship.

PubMed

Frommelt, J J; Scheuerman, J L; Fillmore, J H

1987-12-01

As competition increases, the finance and marketing departments must work together to increase market share and improve the bottom line. If financial managers understand the functions of the marketing department, they can create a mutually beneficial and profitable relationship.

Taxes, bankruptcy costs, and capital structure in for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals.

PubMed

Huang, Sean S; Yang, Jie; Carroll, Nathan

2018-02-01

About 60% of the US hospitals are not-for-profit and it is not clear how traditional theories of capital structure should be adapted to understand the borrowing behavior of not-for-profit hospitals. This paper identifies important determinants of capital structure taken from theories describing for-profit firms as well as prior literature on not-for-profit hospitals. We examine the differential effects these factors have on the capital structure of for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals. Specifically, we use a difference-in-differences regression framework to study how differences in leverage between for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals change in response to key explanatory variables (i.e. tax rates and bankruptcy costs). The sample in this study includes most US short-term general acute hospitals from 2000 to 2012. We find that personal and corporate income taxes and bankruptcy costs have significant and distinct effects on the capital structure of for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals. Specifically, relative to not-for-profit hospitals: (1) higher corporate income tax encourages for-profit hospitals to increase their debt usage; (2) higher personal income tax discourages for-profit hospitals to use debt; and (3) higher expected bankruptcy costs lead for-profit hospitals to use less debt. Over the past decade, the capital structure of for-profit hospitals has been more flexible as compared to that of not-for-profit hospitals. This may suggest that not-for-profit hospitals are more constrained by external financing resources. Particularly, our analysis suggests that not-for-profit hospitals operating in states with high corporate taxes but low personal income taxes may face particular challenges of borrowing funds relative to their for-profit competitors.

The Profit-Maximizing Firm: Old Wine in New Bottles.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Felder, Joseph

1990-01-01

Explains and illustrates a simplified use of graphical analysis for analyzing the profit-maximizing firm. Believes that graphical analysis helps college students gain a deeper understanding of marginalism and an increased ability to formulate economic problems in marginalist terms. (DB)

Analysis of the costs of dialysis and the effects of an incentive mechanism for low-cost dialysis modalities.

PubMed

Cleemput, Irina; De Laet, Chris

2013-05-01

Treatment costs of end-stage renal disease with dialysis are high and vary between dialysis modalities. Public healthcare payers aim at stimulating the use of less expensive dialysis modalities, with maintenance of healthcare quality. This study examines the effects of Belgian financial incentive mechanisms for the use of low-cost dialysis treatments. First, the costs of different dialysis modalities were calculated from the hospital's perspective. Data were obtained through a hospital survey. The balance between costs and revenues was simulated for an average Belgian dialysis programme. Incremental profits were calculated in function of the proportion of patients on alternative dialysis modalities. Hospital haemodialysis is the most expensive modality per patient year, followed by peritoneal dialysis and finally satellite haemodialysis. Under current reimbursement rules mean profits of a dialysis programme are maximal if about 28% of patients are treated with a low-cost dialysis modality. This is only slightly lower than the observed percentage in Belgian dialysis centres in the same period. In Belgium, the financial incentives for the use of low-cost dialysis modalities only had a modest impact due to the continuing profits that could be generated by high-cost dialysis. Profit neutrality is crucial for the success of any financial incentive mechanism for low-cost dialysis modalities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

77 FR 19991 - Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Annual Specifications

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-03

... business entities under the proposed action. The profitability of these vessels as a result of this... sardine ex-vessel price per mt to conduct a profitability analysis because cost data for the harvesting... small entities' profitability compared to last season, due to the much higher HG this fishing season...

The Profitability Analysis of PT. Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. Before and After Privatization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurasiah, I.; Anggara

2017-03-01

This study purposes to determine differences in the profitability of PT. Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. before and after privatization using Net Profit Margin (NPM), Return on Investmen (ROI) and Return on Equity (ROE). This research used a case study method with a qualitative approach. The data used are secondary data from official financial statements of PT. Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. periode 2008-2013, 3 years before privatization and 3 years after privatization. Data analysis was performed by reviewing the financial statement data, calculate & determine the value of profitability ratios before and after privatization, and determine the amount of the average difference before and after privatization. The result proved that the average ratio of profitability calculated by applying NPM, ROI and ROE in every year shows a decrease that caused imbalance components forming of NPM, ROI, ROE, where profit is getting down while the selling, total assets and equity increase more and more from the previous period. The implication for the next research is a research that focus on determine how long a company can emerged from the crisis by privatization decision.

Soft cooperation systems and games

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández, J. R.; Gallego, I.; Jiménez-Losada, A.; Ordóñez, M.

2018-04-01

A cooperative game for a set of agents establishes a fair allocation of the profit obtained for their cooperation. In order to obtain this allocation, a characteristic function is known. It establishes the profit of each coalition of agents if this coalition decides to act alone. Originally players are considered symmetric and then the allocation only depends on the characteristic function; this paper is about cooperative games with an asymmetric set of agents. We introduced cooperative games with a soft set of agents which explains those parameters determining the asymmetry among them in the cooperation. Now the characteristic function is defined not over the coalitions but over the soft coalitions, namely the profit depends not only on the formed coalition but also on the attributes considered for the players in the coalition. The best known of the allocation rules for cooperative games is the Shapley value. We propose a Shapley kind solution for soft games.

Trade-off Between Quality, Price, and Profit Orientation in Germany's Nursing Homes.

PubMed

Geraedts, Max; Harrington, Charlene; Schumacher, Daniel; Kraska, Rike

International data suggest that for-profit nursing homes tend to provide lower quality than not-for-profit nursing homes. In Germany, the relationships between profit orientation, price and quality of nursing homes have not been investigated. We performed an observational study using secondary data from statutory quality audits of all nursing homes in Germany. The relationships were analyzed bivariately via Mann-Whitney U -Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test respectively, followed by a multivariate variance analysis which also covered the interaction effect between quality, price and type of ownership. 41 % of 10,168 German nursing homes were for-profit charging on average about 10 % less than not-for-profit homes. In five out of six quality categories under study, for-profit nursing homes provided lower quality than not-for-profit homes. Quality of care in all quality categories improved with increasing prices per day. However, for four out of six quality categories examined, the quality difference between for-profit and non-profit nursing homes existed independent of the price charged. When selecting a nursing home it is therefore advisable to consider the profit orientation of the institution. German legislation should require that statutory public quality reports contain details on the profit orientation of nursing homes.

78 FR 20693 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comments Requested: Office of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-05

... of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility... primary respondents are state agencies, tribal governments, local governments, colleges and universities, non- profit organizations, for-profit organizations, and faith-based organizations. The purpose of the...

Cost, volume and profitability analysis.

PubMed

Tarantino, David P

2002-01-01

If you want to increase your income by seeing more patients, it's important to figure out the financial impact such a move could have on your practice. Learn how to run a cost, volume, and profitability analysis to determine how business decisions can change your financial picture.

A comparison of quality measures between for-profit and nonprofit medicare-certified home health agencies in Michigan.

PubMed

Haldiman, Kathryn L; Tzeng, Huey-Ming

2010-04-01

This exploratory study investigated the differences in the means of quality measures between for-profit and nonprofit Medicare-certified home health agencies in Michigan. The research question was: Do nonprofit agencies provide higher quality of care than for-profit agencies? Twelve publicly available quality measures were retrieved in May 2009 and used for analysis. Independent t tests found significant differences between for-profit and nonprofit agencies on 6 of the 12 measures, with for-profit agencies performing better on 5 measures. The relative value of both types of ownership should be recognized. Future research may focus on using standardized quality measures to explore further the impact of profit orientation on home health quality of care.

Strategic planning for public health practice using macroenvironmental analysis.

PubMed Central

Ginter, P M; Duncan, W J; Capper, S A

1991-01-01

Macroenvironmental analysis is the initial stage in comprehensive strategic planning. The authors examine the benefits of this type of analysis when applied to public health organizations and present a series of questions that should be answered prior to committing resources to scanning, monitoring, forecasting, and assessing components of the macroenvironment. Using illustrations from the public and private sectors, each question is examined with reference to specific challenges facing public health. Benefits are derived both from the process and the outcome of macroenvironmental analysis. Not only are data acquired that assist public health professionals to make decisions, but the analytical process required assures a better understanding of potential external threats and opportunities as well as an organization's strengths and weaknesses. Although differences exist among private and public as well as profit and not-for-profit organizations, macroenvironmental analysis is seen as more essential to the public and not-for-profit sectors than the private and profit sectors. This conclusion results from the extreme dependency of those areas on external environmental forces that cannot be significantly influenced or controlled by public health decision makers. PMID:1902305

Hospital ownership and financial performance: what explains the different findings in the empirical literature?

PubMed

Shen, Yu-Chu; Eggleston, Karen; Lau, Joseph; Schmid, Christopher H

2007-01-01

This study applies meta-analytic methods to conduct a quantitative review of the empirical literature on hospital ownership since 1990. We examine four financial outcomes across 40 studies: cost, revenue, profit margin, and efficiency. We find that variation in the magnitudes of ownership effects can be explained by a study's research focus and methodology. Studies using empirical methods that control for few confounding factors tend to find larger differences between for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals than studies that control for a wider range of confounding factors. Functional form and sample size also matter. Failure to apply log transformation to highly skewed expenditure data yields misleadingly large estimated differences between for-profits and not-for-profits. Studies with fewer than 200 observations also produce larger point estimates and wide confidence intervals.

78 FR 6794 - Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Annual Specifications

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-31

... will impact these small entities in the same manner. The profitability of these vessels as a result of... Pacific sardine ex-vessel price per mt to conduct a profitability analysis because cost data for the... rule will decrease the effected small entities' potential profitability compared to last season, due to...

76 FR 4854 - Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Annual Specifications

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-27

... disproportionality between small and large business entities under the proposed action. The profitability of these.... NMFS used average Pacific sardine ex-vessel price per mt to conduct a profitability analysis because... approximately $11.5 million. There will also likely be a drop in profitability based on this rule compared to...

75 FR 56976 - Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Annual Specifications

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-17

... proposed action. The profitability of these vessels as a result of this proposed rule is based on the...-vessel price per mt to conduct a profitability analysis because cost data for the harvesting operations... drop in profitability based on this rule as the 2010/2011 available harvest (11,000 mt) is twice the...

Joint pricing, inventory, and preservation decisions for deteriorating items with stochastic demand and promotional efforts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soni, Hardik N.; Chauhan, Ashaba D.

2018-03-01

This study models a joint pricing, inventory, and preservation decision-making problem for deteriorating items subject to stochastic demand and promotional effort. The generalized price-dependent stochastic demand, time proportional deterioration, and partial backlogging rates are used to model the inventory system. The objective is to find the optimal pricing, replenishment, and preservation technology investment strategies while maximizing the total profit per unit time. Based on the partial backlogging and lost sale cases, we first deduce the criterion for optimal replenishment schedules for any given price and technology investment cost. Second, we show that, respectively, total profit per time unit is concave function of price and preservation technology cost. At the end, some numerical examples and the results of a sensitivity analysis are used to illustrate the features of the proposed model.

Is it time to rebalance the case mix? A portfolio analysis of direct catheterization laboratory costs over a 5-year period.

PubMed

Plehn, Gunnar; Butz, Thomas; Maagh, Petra; Oernek, Ahmet; Meissner, Axel; Plehn, Natalie

2016-11-03

Cardiac catheterization laboratories (CLL) have continued to function as profit centers for hospitals. Due to a high percentage of material and labor costs, they are natural targets for process improvement. Our study applied a contribution margin (CBM) concept to evaluate costs and cost dynamics over a 5-year period. We retrospectively analyzed all procedures performed at a tertiary heart center between 2007 and 2011. Total variable costs, including labor time, material, and maintenance-expenses, were allocated at a global as well as a procedural level. CBM and CBM ratios were calculated by integration of individual DRG revenues. Annual case volume increased from 1288 to 1545. In parallel, overall profitability improved as indicated by a 2% increase in CBM ratio and a higher CBM generated per hour of CLL working time (4325 vs. 5892 €, p < 0.001). Coronary angiography generated higher average CBMs per hour than coronary or electrophysiological interventions (5831 vs. 3458 vs. 1495 €; p < 0.001). The latter are characterized by relatively high per case material expenditures. On a procedural level, DRG-specific trends as a steady improvement of examination time or an increase in material costs were detectable. The CBM concept allows a comprehensive analysis of CLL costs and cost dynamics. From a health service providers view, its range of application includes global profitability analysis, portfolio evaluation, and a detailed cost analysis of specific service lines. From a healthcare payers perspective, it may help to monitor hospital activities and to provide a solid data basis in cases where inappropriate developments are suspected. The calculation principle is simple which may increase user acceptance and thus the motivation of team members.

Economic weights of somatic cell score in dairy sheep.

PubMed

Legarra, A; Ramón, M; Ugarte, E; Pérez-Guzmán, M D; Arranz, J

2007-03-01

The economic weights for somatic cell score (SCS) have been calculated using profit functions. Economic data were collected in the Latxa breed. Three aspects have been considered: bulk tank milk payment, veterinary treatments due to high SCS, and culling. All of them are non-linear profit functions. Milk payment is based on the sum of the log-normal distributions of somatic cell count, and veterinary treatments on the probability of subclinical mastitis, which is inferred when individual SCS surpass some threshold. Both functions lead to non-standard distributions. The derivatives of the profit function were computed numerically. Culling was computed by assuming that a conceptual trait culled by mastitis (CBM) is genetically correlated to SCS. The economic weight considers the increase in the breeding value of CBM correlated to an increase in the breeding value of SCS, assuming genetic correlations ranging from 0 to 0.9. The relevance of the economic weights for selection purposes was checked by the estimation of genetic gains for milk yield and SCS under several scenarios of genetic parameters and economic weights. The overall economic weights for SCS range from - 2.6 to - 9.5 € per point of SCS, with an average of - 4 € per point of SCS, depending on the expected average SCS of the flock. The economic weight is higher around the thresholds for payment policies. Economic weights did not change greatly with other assumptions. The estimated genetic gains with economic weights of 0.83 € per l of milk yield and - 4 € per point of SCS, assuming a genetic correlation of - 0.30, were 3.85 l and - 0.031 SCS per year, with an associated increase in profit of 3.32 €. This represents a very small increase in profit (about 1%) relative to selecting only for milk yield. Other situations (increased economic weights, different genetic correlations) produced similar genetic gains and changes in profit. A desired-gains index reduced the increase in profit by 3%, although it could be greater depending on the genetic parameters. It is concluded that the inclusion of SCS in dairy sheep breeding programs is of low economic relevance and recommended only if recording is inexpensive or for animal welfare concerns.

Propulsion/flight control integration technology (PROFIT) design analysis status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carlin, C. M.; Hastings, W. J.

1978-01-01

The propulsion flight control integration technology (PROFIT) program was designed to develop a flying testbed dedicated to controls research. The preliminary design, analysis, and feasibility studies conducted in support of the PROFIT program are reported. The PROFIT system was built around existing IPCS hardware. In order to achieve the desired system flexibility and capability, additional interfaces between the IPCS hardware and F-15 systems were required. The requirements for additions and modifications to the existing hardware were defined. Those interfaces involving the more significant changes were studied. The DCU memory expansion to 32K with flight qualified hardware was completed on a brassboard basis. The uplink interface breadboard and a brassboard of the central computer interface were also tested. Two preliminary designs and corresponding program plans are presented.

Staffing levels in not-for-profit and for-profit long-term care facilities: Does type of ownership matter?

PubMed Central

McGregor, Margaret J.; Cohen, Marcy; McGrail, Kimberlyn; Broemeling, Anne Marie; Adler, Reva N.; Schulzer, Michael; Ronald, Lisa; Cvitkovich, Yuri; Beck, Mary

2005-01-01

Background Currently there is a lot of debate about the advantages and disadvantages of for-profit health care delivery. We examined staffing ratios for direct-care and support staff in publicly funded not-for-profit and for-profit nursing homes in British Columbia. Methods We obtained staffing data for 167 long-term care facilities and linked these to the type of facility and ownership of the facility. All staff were members of the same bargaining association and received identical wages in both not-for-profit and for-profit facilities. Similar public funding is provided to both types of facilities, although the amounts vary by the level of functional dependence of the residents. We compared the mean number of hours per resident-day provided by direct-care staff (registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and resident care aides) and support staff (housekeeping, dietary and laundry staff) in not-for-profit versus for-profit facilities, after adjusting for facility size (number of beds) and level of care. Results The nursing homes included in our study comprised 76% of all such facilities in the province. Of the 167 nursing homes examined, 109 (65%) were not-for-profit and 58 (35%) were for-profit; 24% of the for-profit homes were part of a chain, and the remaining homes were owned by a single operator. The mean number of hours per resident-day was higher in the not-for-profit facilities than in the for-profit facilities for both direct-care and support staff and for all facility levels of care. Compared with for-profit ownership, not-for-profit status was associated with an estimated 0.34 more hours per resident-day (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.18–0.49, p < 0.001) provided by direct-care staff and 0.23 more hours per resident-day (95% CI 0.15–0.30, p < 0.001) provided by support staff. Interpretation Not-for-profit facility ownership is associated with higher staffing levels. This finding suggests that public money used to provide care to frail eldery people purchases significantly fewer direct-care and support staff hours per resident-day in for-profit long-term care facilities than in not-for-profit facilities. PMID:15738489

Estimating economic thresholds for pest control: an alternative procedure.

PubMed

Ramirez, O A; Saunders, J L

1999-04-01

An alternative methodology to determine profit maximizing economic thresholds is developed and illustrated. An optimization problem based on the main biological and economic relations involved in determining a profit maximizing economic threshold is first advanced. From it, a more manageable model of 2 nonsimultaneous reduced-from equations is derived, which represents a simpler but conceptually and statistically sound alternative. The model recognizes that yields and pest control costs are a function of the economic threshold used. Higher (less strict) economic thresholds can result in lower yields and, therefore, a lower gross income from the sale of the product, but could also be less costly to maintain. The highest possible profits will be obtained by using the economic threshold that results in a maximum difference between gross income and pest control cost functions.

Technical Communications in Aeronautics: Results of an Exploratory Study. An Analysis of Profit Managers' and Nonprofit Managers' Responses. NASA Technical Memorandum 101626.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinelli, Thomas E.; And Others

Data collected from an exploratory study concerned with the technical communications practices of aerospace engineers and scientists were analyzed to test the primary assumption that profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community have different technical communications practices. Profit and nonprofit managers were compared in five…

Optimal production lot size and reorder point of a two-stage supply chain while random demand is sensitive with sales teams' initiatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sankar Sana, Shib

2016-01-01

The paper develops a production-inventory model of a two-stage supply chain consisting of one manufacturer and one retailer to study production lot size/order quantity, reorder point sales teams' initiatives where demand of the end customers is dependent on random variable and sales teams' initiatives simultaneously. The manufacturer produces the order quantity of the retailer at one lot in which the procurement cost per unit quantity follows a realistic convex function of production lot size. In the chain, the cost of sales team's initiatives/promotion efforts and wholesale price of the manufacturer are negotiated at the points such that their optimum profits reached nearer to their target profits. This study suggests to the management of firms to determine the optimal order quantity/production quantity, reorder point and sales teams' initiatives/promotional effort in order to achieve their maximum profits. An analytical method is applied to determine the optimal values of the decision variables. Finally, numerical examples with its graphical presentation and sensitivity analysis of the key parameters are presented to illustrate more insights of the model.

How to map your industry's profit pool.

PubMed

Gadiesh, O; Gilbert, J L

1998-01-01

Many managers chart strategy without a full understanding of the sources and distribution of profits in their industry. Sometimes they focus their sights on revenues instead of profits, mistakenly assuming that revenue growth will eventually translate into profit growth. In other cases, they simply lack the data or the analytical tools required to isolate and measure variations in profitability. In this Manager's Tool Kit, the authors present a way to think clearly about where the money's being made in any industry. They describe a framework for analyzing how profits are distributed among the activities that form an industry's value chain. Such an analysis can provide a company's managers with a rich understanding of their industry's profit structure--what the authors call its profit pool--enabling them to identify which activities are generating disproportionately large or small shares of profits. Even more important, a profit-pool map opens a window onto the underlying structure of the industry, helping managers see the various forces that are determining the distribution of profits. As such, a profit-pool map provides a solid basis for strategic thinking. Mapping a profit pool involves four steps: defining the boundaries of the pool, estimating the pool's overall size, estimating the size of each value-chain activity in the pool, and checking and reconciling the calculations. The authors briefly describe each step and then apply the process by providing a detailed example of a hypothetical retail bank. They conclude by looking at ways of organizing the data in chart form as a first step toward plotting a profit-pool strategy.

Operation of Power Grids with High Penetration of Wind Power

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Awami, Ali Taleb

The integration of wind power into the power grid poses many challenges due to its highly uncertain nature. This dissertation involves two main components related to the operation of power grids with high penetration of wind energy: wind-thermal stochastic dispatch and wind-thermal coordinated bidding in short-term electricity markets. In the first part, a stochastic dispatch (SD) algorithm is proposed that takes into account the stochastic nature of the wind power output. The uncertainty associated with wind power output given the forecast is characterized using conditional probability density functions (CPDF). Several functions are examined to characterize wind uncertainty including Beta, Weibull, Extreme Value, Generalized Extreme Value, and Mixed Gaussian distributions. The unique characteristics of the Mixed Gaussian distribution are then utilized to facilitate the speed of convergence of the SD algorithm. A case study is carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Then, the SD algorithm is extended to simultaneously optimize the system operating costs and emissions. A modified multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm is suggested to identify the Pareto-optimal solutions defined by the two conflicting objectives. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to study the effect of changing load level and imbalance cost factors on the Pareto front. In the second part of this dissertation, coordinated trading of wind and thermal energy is proposed to mitigate risks due to those uncertainties. The problem of wind-thermal coordinated trading is formulated as a mixed-integer stochastic linear program. The objective is to obtain the optimal tradeoff bidding strategy that maximizes the total expected profits while controlling trading risks. For risk control, a weighted term of the conditional value at risk (CVaR) is included in the objective function. The CVaR aims to maximize the expected profits of the least profitable scenarios, thus improving trading risk control. A case study comparing coordinated with uncoordinated bidding strategies depending on the trader's risk attitude is included. Simulation results show that coordinated bidding can improve the expected profits while significantly improving the CVaR.

Administrative Coordination in Non-Profit Human Service Delivery Networks: The Role of Competition and Trust

PubMed Central

Bunger, Alicia C.

2014-01-01

Non-profit human service organizations operating within the same regional network are often faced with dual pressure to compete as well as coordinate administrative operations (by sharing funding, staff or space) to enhance efficiency. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that competing organizations coordinate, despite the risks. Trust, or perceived trustworthiness between two organizations may mitigate the negative influence of competition on coordination, however there have been few explicit tests of this hypothesis among non-profit organizations. Drawing on quantitative data collected from a network of 36 non-profit children’s behavioral health organizations, this paper empirically tests how competition and perceived trustworthiness interact to influence administrative coordination. Results support the hypothesis that trustworthiness moderates the influence of competition on administrative coordination. Findings suggest that as competing non-profit leaders build trust, the more their agencies coordinate their administrative functions. This study highlights the importance of leaders’ perceptions for organizational strategy. PMID:25349468

Moral transgressions corrupt neural representations of value.

PubMed

Crockett, Molly J; Siegel, Jenifer Z; Kurth-Nelson, Zeb; Dayan, Peter; Dolan, Raymond J

2017-06-01

Moral systems universally prohibit harming others for personal gain. However, we know little about how such principles guide moral behavior. Using a task that assesses the financial cost participants ascribe to harming others versus themselves, we probed the relationship between moral behavior and neural representations of profit and pain. Most participants displayed moral preferences, placing a higher cost on harming others than themselves. Moral preferences correlated with neural responses to profit, where participants with stronger moral preferences had lower dorsal striatal responses to profit gained from harming others. Lateral prefrontal cortex encoded profit gained from harming others, but not self, and tracked the blameworthiness of harmful choices. Moral decisions also modulated functional connectivity between lateral prefrontal cortex and the profit-sensitive region of dorsal striatum. The findings suggest moral behavior in our task is linked to a neural devaluation of reward realized by a prefrontal modulation of striatal value representations.

Moral transgressions corrupt neural representations of value

PubMed Central

Crockett, Molly J.; Siegel, Jenifer Z.; Kurth-Nelson, Zeb; Dayan, Peter; Dolan, Raymond J.

2017-01-01

Moral systems universally prohibit harming others for personal gain. However, we know little about how such principles guide moral behavior. Using a task that assesses the financial cost participants ascribe to harming others versus themselves, we probed the relationship between moral behavior and neural representations of profit and pain. Most participants displayed moral preferences, placing a higher cost on harming others than themselves. Moral preferences correlated with neural responses to profit, where participants with stronger moral preferences had lower dorsal striatal (DS) responses to profit gained from harming others. Lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) encoded profits gained from harming others, but not self, and tracked the blameworthiness of harmful choices. Moral decisions also modulated functional connectivity between LPFC and the profit-sensitive region of DS. The findings suggest moral behavior in our task is linked to a neural devaluation of reward realized by a prefrontal modulation of striatal value representations. PMID:28459442

Differences in drug treatment services based on profit status.

PubMed

Montoya, Isaac D

2006-09-01

The goal of this article is to examine whether profit status affects the provision of seven "core" drug treatment services and nine "auxiliary" treatment services. Data on the type of services provided by 8,606 treatment providers obtained from the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) collected by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in 2000 were used for this study. The types of services offered by the providers were modeled to be a function of the drug treatment providers' (DTP) profit status, DTP organizational and financial characteristics, staff's characteristics, clients' characteristics, and regional variables. A total of 16 logistic regressions were estimated. For-profit DTPs were found to be more likely to offer only two core services and were less likely to offer eight auxiliary services. However, after correcting for sample selection bias many differences in the supply of services between for-profit and nonprofit providers disappeared.

49 CFR 260.17 - Credit risk premium analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... past and projected: (A) Profitability; (B) Liquidity; (C) Financial strength; (D) Size; and (E) Level... improving revenues, profitability and cash flow from operations; and (B) Reliance on third parties for...

49 CFR 260.17 - Credit risk premium analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... past and projected: (A) Profitability; (B) Liquidity; (C) Financial strength; (D) Size; and (E) Level... improving revenues, profitability and cash flow from operations; and (B) Reliance on third parties for...

49 CFR 260.17 - Credit risk premium analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... past and projected: (A) Profitability; (B) Liquidity; (C) Financial strength; (D) Size; and (E) Level... improving revenues, profitability and cash flow from operations; and (B) Reliance on third parties for...

49 CFR 260.17 - Credit risk premium analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... past and projected: (A) Profitability; (B) Liquidity; (C) Financial strength; (D) Size; and (E) Level... improving revenues, profitability and cash flow from operations; and (B) Reliance on third parties for...

Framework for Financial Ratio Analysis of Audited Federal Financial Reports

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-12-01

franchising operations, allowing them to lower costs and share administrative support services with other agencies. [Ref. 60:sec. 402-403] The GMRA also...96 Federal Financial Reporting Statement of Net Cost Report Format 97 Federal Financial Reporting Statement of Changes in Net Position Report Format...analysis for sales, profitability, efficiency, marketing, investment, debt and capital analysis. Monitor growth Monitor costs Measure profitability and

Analysis of profitability of using a heat recovery system from grey water discharged from the shower (case study of Poland)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kordana, Sabina; Słys, Daniel

2017-11-01

The paper analyses the profitability of the use of Drain Water Heat Recovery units. An original simulation model was used for this purpose, and a detached residential building located in Poland was selected as the test facility. The conducted analysis proved that the type of the hot water heater has decisive influence on the profitability level of such an investment. Application of the abovementioned technology is particularly profitable, when water is heated with the use of an electrical device. When the energy source in the system is a gas water heater, the obtained calculation results are not as favourable, and the period of investment return in many cases exceeds the expected service life of these devices. Moreover, the analysis demonstrated that the potential energy savings, and thus also the financial savings, may be in both cases increased as a result of simultaneous intake of water from various water taps.

The Business of Charter Schooling: Understanding the Policies That Charter Operators Use for Financial Benefit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Bruce; Miron, Gary

2015-01-01

This research brief details some of the prominent ways that individuals, companies, and organizations secure financial gain and generate profit by controlling and running charter schools. To illustrate how charter school policy functions to promote privatization and profiteering, the authors explore differences between charter schools and…

40 CFR 262.200 - Definitions for this subpart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... research as its primary function and files as a non-profit organization under the tax code of 26 U.S.C. 501... college or university, or a non-profit research institute that is owned by or has a formal written... written affiliation agreement with a college or university. Formal written affiliation agreement for a non...

40 CFR 262.200 - Definitions for this subpart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... research as its primary function and files as a non-profit organization under the tax code of 26 U.S.C. 501... college or university, or a non-profit research institute that is owned by or has a formal written... written affiliation agreement with a college or university. Formal written affiliation agreement for a non...

40 CFR 262.200 - Definitions for this subpart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... research as its primary function and files as a non-profit organization under the tax code of 26 U.S.C. 501... college or university, or a non-profit research institute that is owned by or has a formal written... written affiliation agreement with a college or university. Formal written affiliation agreement for a non...

40 CFR 262.200 - Definitions for this subpart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... research as its primary function and files as a non-profit organization under the tax code of 26 U.S.C. 501... college or university, or a non-profit research institute that is owned by or has a formal written... written affiliation agreement with a college or university. Formal written affiliation agreement for a non...

Cost-volume-profit and net present value analysis of health information systems.

PubMed

McLean, R A

1998-08-01

The adoption of any information system should be justified by an economic analysis demonstrating that its projected benefits outweigh its projected costs. Analysis differ, however, on which methods to employ for such a justification. Accountants prefer cost-volume-profit analysis, and economists prefer net present value analysis. The article explains the strengths and weaknesses of each method and shows how they can be used together so that well-informed investments in information systems can be made.

Farm Business Management Analysis: Adjusting the Farm Business to Increase Profit. Unit III. Volume 15, Number 3. Instructor's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denker, Robert; And Others

Designed primarily for Missouri vocational agricultural instructors participating in the Farm Business Management Analysis Program, this instructor's guide, consisting of 10 lessons, deals with adjusting a farm business to increase profits. The following topics are covered in the individual lessons: law and the farm family, planning income tax…

Open pit mining profit maximization considering selling stage and waste rehabilitation cost

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muttaqin, B. I. A.; Rosyidi, C. N.

2017-11-01

In open pit mining activities, determination of the cut-off grade becomes crucial for the company since the cut-off grade affects how much profit will be earned for the mining company. In this study, we developed a cut-off grade determination mode for the open pit mining industry considering the cost of mining, waste removal (rehabilitation) cost, processing cost, fixed cost, and selling stage cost. The main goal of this study is to develop a model of cut-off grade determination to get the maximum total profit. Secondly, this study is also developed to observe the model of sensitivity based on changes in the cost components. The optimization results show that the models can help mining company managers to determine the optimal cut-off grade and also estimate how much profit that can be earned by the mining company. To illustrate the application of the models, a numerical example and a set of sensitivity analysis are presented. From the results of sensitivity analysis, we conclude that the changes in the sales price greatly affects the optimal cut-off value and the total profit.

Leadership Strategies for Maintaining Profitability in a Volatile Crude Oil Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braimoh, Lucky Anderson

Volatile crude oil prices significantly affect the profitability of crude oil firms. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies some crude oil and gas business leaders used to remain profitable during periods of crude oil price volatility. The target population comprised 8 crude oil and gas business leaders located in Calgary, Canada, whose company remained profitable despite crude oil price volatility. The transformational leadership theory formed the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through the use of semistructured face-to-face interviews, company reports, and field notes. Data analysis involved a modified Van Kamm method, which included descriptive coding, a sequential review of the interview transcripts, and member checking. Based on methodological triangulation and thematic analysis, 5 themes emerged from the study, including communication and engagement; motivation and empowerment; measurement, monitoring, and control; self-awareness and humility; and efficiency and optimization. The implications for social change include the potential for crude oil and gas companies in Calgary, Canada to manage production costs, ensure earnings and profitability, and thus improve the socioeconomic well-being of Calgary indigenes through improved employment opportunities.

Expanding the Horizon: For-Profit Degree Granting Institutions in Higher Education. An Annotated Bibliography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lechuga, Vicente M.; Tierney, William G.; Hentschke, Guilbert C.

2003-01-01

In recent years, higher education has witnessed the entry of a new breed of postsecondary education providers. These institutions have reshaped the traditional views of the function and purpose of higher education. For-profit education institutions provide a small but rapidly growing segment of the student population with the knowledge and skills…

26 CFR 1.6041-1 - Return of information as to payments of $600 or more.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... other gains, profits, and income aggregating $600 or more. (ii) Information returns required under other... engaged for gain or profit, but also organizations the activities of which are not for the purpose of gain... circumstances, that person— (i) Performs management or oversight functions in connection with the payment (this...

Analysis of the rationale for, and consequences of, nonprofit and for-profit ownership conversions.

PubMed Central

Mark, T L

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To examine percursors to private hospitals conversion, both from nonprofit status to for-profit status and from for-profit to nonprofit status, as well as the effect of hospital conversions on hospital profitability, efficiency, staffing, and the probability of closure. DATA SOURCES: The Health Care Financing Administration's Medicare Cost Reports and the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey of Hospitals. STUDY DESIGN: Bivariate and multivariate analyses comparing conversion hospitals to nonconversion hospitals over time were conducted. DATA EXTRACTION METHODS: The study sample consisted of all private acute care hospital conversions that occurred from 1989 through 1992. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Hospitals that converted had significantly lower profit margins prior to converting than did nonconversion hospitals. This was particularly true for nonprofit to for-profit conversions. After converting, both nonprofit and for-profit hospitals significantly improved their profitability. Nonprofit to for-profit hospital conversions were associated with a decrease in the ratio of staff to patients. No association was found between for-profit to nonprofit conversion and staff-to-patient ratios. The difference seems partially attributed to the fact that nonprofit hospitals that converted had higher staff ratios than the industry average. For-profit to nonprofit hospital conversions were associated with an increase in the ratio of registered nurses to patients and administrators to patients, despite the fact that nonprofit and for-profit hospitals did not differ in these ratios. CONCLUSIONS: The improvement in financial performance following hospital conversions may be a benefit to the community that policymakers want to consider when regulating hospital conversions. PMID:10201853

Revenue-based cost assignment: a potent but hidden threat to the survival of the multispecialty medical practice.

PubMed

Cooper, Robin; Kramer, Theresa R

2010-03-01

To demonstrate detrimental effects of revenue-based cost assignment (RBCA) in clinical practice and to compare that system with activity-based costing (ABC). Four cost-allocation methods including RBCA were applied to a comprehensive ophthalmology practice using typical accounting methods. Data were obtained by a survey of practitioners or practices and/or extracted from decision support and practice management systems. Inaccuracies and distortions in reported costs were enumerated. Accounting scenario analysis was used to predict resultant provider and managerial decisions. A sampling survey was used to analyze other specialties. ABC was applied to the practice. RBCA causes procedures with higher profitability to appear less profitable and those with lower profitability to appear more profitable. The distortion in reported costs, in medical settings, is often sufficient to incentivize providers with higher profitability to exit a practice and those with lower profitability to remain in it. The departure of providers causes the residual practice profits to decline. These detrimental effects occur in many subspecialties, which suggests a national effect on health care. ABC allocation can reduce cost distortions and eliminate detrimental effects. RBCA leads to fragmentation of health care and a reduction in the profitability of multispecialty practices. Its use may slow the updating of reimbursement and help eliminate low-profitability specialties.

Factors affecting profitability for craniotomy.

PubMed

Popp, A John; Scrime, Todd; Cohen, Benjamin R; Feustel, Paul J; Petronis, Karen; Habiniak, Sharon; Waldman, John B; Vosburgh, Margaret M

2002-04-15

The authors studied factors influencing hospital profitability after craniotomy in patients who underwent craniotomy coded as diagnosis-related group (DRG) 1 (17 years of age with nontraumatic disease without complication) and who met their hospital's craniotomy pathway criteria and had a hospital length of stay 4 days or less during a 20-month period. Data in all patients meeting these criteria (76 cases) were collected and collated from various hospital databases. Twenty-one cases were profitable and 55 were not. Variables traditionally influencing cost of care, such as surgeon, procedure, length of operation, and pharmacy use had no significant effect on whether a patient was profitable. The most important influence on profitability was the individual payor. Cases in which care was reimbursed under the prospective payment system based on DRGs were nearly always profitable whereas those covered by per diem plans were nearly always nonprofitable. 1) Hospital information systems should be customized to deliver consolidated data for timely analysis of cost of care for individual patients. This information may be useful in negotiating profitable contracts. 2) A clinical pathway was successful in reducing the difference in cost of care between profitable and nonprofitable postcraniotomy cases. 3) In today's health care environment both cost containment and revenue assume importance in determining profitability.

Stochasticity Favoring the Effects of the R&D Strategies of the Firms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinto, Alberto A.; Oliveira, Bruno M. P. M.; Ferreira, Fernanda A.; Ferreira, Flávio

We present stochastic dynamics on the production costs of Cournot competitions, based on perfect Nash equilibria of nonlinear R&D investment strategies to reduce the production costs of the firms at every period of the game. We analyse the effects that the R&D investment strategies can have in the profits of the firms along the time. We observe that, in certain cases, the uncertainty can improve the effects of the R&D strategies in the profits of the firms due to the non-linearity of the profit functions and also of the R&D parameters.

Understanding profitability: Why some customers are hot and others are not

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sioshansi, F.P.

Gone are the days when utilities would boast how many new customers were being added to their system annually-regardless of whether they were in fact profitable to serve or not-as if bigger was always better. In a not too distant future, and with the liberalization of the business environment, some utilities may no longer wish to serve certain customers on their systems, while at the same time aggressively wooing other customers. With the anticipated arrival of competition and erosion of utility franchise service areas, the electric power industry will gradually evolve into a mode where customers will be segmented intomore » finer groups and evaluated based on their expected profit margins-theoretically the difference between the revenues expected from them and the cost of serving them. Understanding this basic concept, and the mastery of the art of arriving at the correct profit margin for each market segment, will be essential to overall business profitability and survival in the future. In practice, however, many utilities are ill-prepared to accomplish such fundamental analyses correctly and consistently because they do not have the correct analytical framework, the right information, or the right tools to perform the analysis. This paper will outline the fundamentals of market segmentation and evaluating customer profitability. It will also illustrate how to balance the cost of serving a customer with the revenues derived to produce a {open_quotes}reasonable{close_quotes} profit margin in each market segment. EPRI has developed a software tool specifically designed to assist utility analysts perform this type of work. Other ongoing research in the area of profitability analysis is also described.« less

Stability and Optimal Harvesting of Modified Leslie-Gower Predator-Prey Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toaha, S.; Azis, M. I.

2018-03-01

This paper studies a modified of dynamics of Leslie-Gower predator-prey population model. The model is stated as a system of first order differential equations. The model consists of one predator and one prey. The Holling type II as a predation function is considered in this model. The predator and prey populations are assumed to be beneficial and then the two populations are harvested with constant efforts. Existence and stability of the interior equilibrium point are analysed. Linearization method is used to get the linearized model and the eigenvalue is used to justify the stability of the interior equilibrium point. From the analyses, we show that under a certain condition the interior equilibrium point exists and is locally asymptotically stable. For the model with constant efforts of harvesting, cost function, revenue function, and profit function are considered. The stable interior equilibrium point is then related to the maximum profit problem as well as net present value of revenues problem. We show that there exists a certain value of the efforts that maximizes the profit function and net present value of revenues while the interior equilibrium point remains stable. This means that the populations can live in coexistence for a long time and also maximize the benefit even though the populations are harvested with constant efforts.

14 CFR Section 7 - Chart of Profit and Loss Accounts

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... profit and loss elements Functional or financial activity to which applicable (00) Group I carriers Group... food—gross revenues 48 48 48. 09.2Movies and stereo—gross revenues 48 48 48. 09.3Other—gross revenues 48 48 48. 09.4Liquor and food—depreciation expense 71 71 71. 09.5Liquor and food—other expense 71 71...

The policy implications of the cost structure of home health agencies.

PubMed

Mukamel, Dana B; Fortinsky, Richard H; White, Alan; Harrington, Charlene; White, Laura M; Ngo-Metzger, Quyen

2014-01-01

To examine the cost structure of home health agencies by estimating an empirical cost function for those that are Medicare-certified, ten years following the implementation of prospective payment. 2010 national Medicare cost report data for certified home health agencies were merged with case-mix information from the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS). We estimated a fully interacted (by tax status) hybrid cost function for 7,064 agencies and calculated marginal costs as percent of total costs for all variables. The home health industry is dominated by for-profit agencies, which tend to be newer than the non-profit agencies and to have higher average costs per patient but lower costs per visit. For-profit agencies tend to have smaller scale operations and different cost structures, and are less likely to be affiliated with chains. Our estimates suggest diseconomies of scale, zero marginal cost for contracting with therapy workers, and a positive marginal cost for contracting with nurses, when controlling for quality. Our findings suggest that efficiencies may be achieved by promoting non-profit, smaller agencies, with fewer contract nursing staff. This conclusion should be tested further in future studies that address some of the limitations of our study.

Use of health information technology in home health and hospice agencies: United States, 2007.

PubMed

Resnick, Helaine E; Alwan, Majd

2010-01-01

This report provides updated estimates on use of electronic medical records (EMRs) in US home health and hospice (HHH) agencies, describes utilization of EMR functionalities, and presents novel data on telemedicine and point of care documentation (PoCD) in this setting. Nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of US HHH agencies conducted in 2007. Data on agency characteristics, current use of EMR systems as well as use of telemedicine and PoCD were collected. In 2007, 43% of US HHH agencies reported use of an EMR system. Patient demographics (40%) and clinical notes (34%) were the most commonly used EMR functions among US HHH agencies. Only 20% of agencies with EMR systems had health information sharing functionality and about half of them used it. Telemedicine was used by 21% of all HHH agencies, with most (87%) of these offering home health services. Among home health agencies using telemedicine, greater than 90% used telephone monitoring and about two-thirds used non-video monitoring. Nearly 29% of HHH agencies reported using electronic PoCD systems, most often for Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) data capture (79%). Relative to for-profit HHH agencies, non-profit agencies used considerably more EMR (70% vs 28%, p<0.001) and PoCD (63% vs 9%, p<0.001). Between 2000 and 2007, there was a 33% increase in use of EMR among HHH agencies in the US. In 2007, use of EMR and PoCD technologies in non-profit agencies was significantly higher than for-profit ones. Finally, HHH agencies generally tended to use available EMR functionalities, including health information sharing.

Returns on equity to not-for-profit hospitals: theory and implementation.

PubMed Central

Conrad, D A

1984-01-01

It is argued that not-for-profit hospitals can be assumed to generate a return on equity capital due, in principle, to competition in the final product market for hospital services and in the capital market. Practical difficulties in identifying claimants to the net income of the firm, as well as the incentive problems of cost-based reimbursement, suggest that a competitive pricing approach is likely to be the appropriate means to provide a reasonable return on equity for the not-for-profit and the for-profit hospital. Implications of the analysis for the correct discount rate in investment decisions are outlined. PMID:6724955

Enhanced representations of lithium-ion batteries in power systems models and their effect on the valuation of energy arbitrage applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakti, Apurba; Gallagher, Kevin G.; Sepulveda, Nestor; Uckun, Canan; Vergara, Claudio; de Sisternes, Fernando J.; Dees, Dennis W.; Botterud, Audun

2017-02-01

We develop three novel enhanced mixed integer-linear representations of the power limit of the battery and its efficiency as a function of the charge and discharge power and the state of charge of the battery, which can be directly implemented in large-scale power systems models and solved with commercial optimization solvers. Using these battery representations, we conduct a techno-economic analysis of the performance of a 10 MWh lithium-ion battery system testing the effect of a 5-min vs. a 60-min price signal on profits using real time prices from a selected node in the MISO electricity market. Results show that models of lithium-ion batteries where the power limits and efficiency are held constant overestimate profits by 10% compared to those obtained from an enhanced representation that more closely matches the real behavior of the battery. When the battery system is exposed to a 5-min price signal, the energy arbitrage profitability improves by 60% compared to that from hourly price exposure. These results indicate that a more accurate representation of li-ion batteries as well as the market rules that govern the frequency of electricity prices can play a major role on the estimation of the value of battery technologies for power grid applications.

A novel methodology for estimating upper limits of major cost drivers for profitable conceptual launch system architectures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rhodes, Russel E.; Byrd, Raymond J.

1998-01-01

This paper presents a ``back of the envelope'' technique for fast, timely, on-the-spot, assessment of affordability (profitability) of commercial space transportation architectural concepts. The tool presented here is not intended to replace conventional, detailed costing methodology. The process described enables ``quick look'' estimations and assumptions to effectively determine whether an initial concept (with its attendant cost estimating line items) provides focus for major leapfrog improvement. The Cost Charts Users Guide provides a generic sample tutorial, building an approximate understanding of the basic launch system cost factors and their representative magnitudes. This process will enable the user to develop a net ``cost (and price) per payload-mass unit to orbit'' incorporating a variety of significant cost drivers, supplemental to basic vehicle cost estimates. If acquisition cost and recurring cost factors (as a function of cost per payload-mass unit to orbit) do not meet the predetermined system-profitability goal, the concept in question will be clearly seen as non-competitive. Multiple analytical approaches, and applications of a variety of interrelated assumptions, can be examined in a quick, (on-the-spot) cost approximation analysis as this tool has inherent flexibility. The technique will allow determination of concept conformance to system objectives.

Hospital finance.

PubMed

Herman, M J

1998-01-01

This article summarizes key areas of focus for the analysis of risk in the hospital segment of the health care industry. The article is written from a commercial bank lending perspective. Both for-profit (C-corporations) and 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit segments are addressed.

Management of business economic growth as function of resource rents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prljić, Stefan; Nikitović, Zorana; Stojanović, Aleksandra Golubović; Cogoljević, Dušan; Pešić, Gordana; Alizamir, Meysam

2018-02-01

Economic profit could be influenced by economic rents. However natural resource rents provided different impact on the economic growth or economic profit. The main focus of the study was to evaluate the economic growth as function of natural resource rents. For such a purpose machine learning approach, artificial neural network, was used. The used natural resource rents were coal rents, forest rents, mineral rents, natural gas rents and oil rents. Based on the results it is concluded that the machine learning approach could be used as the tool for the economic growth evaluation as function of natural resource rents. Moreover the more advanced approaches should be incorporated to improve more the forecasting accuracy.

Comparative advantages and limitations of the basic metrology methods applied to the characterization of nanomaterials.

PubMed

Linkov, Pavel; Artemyev, Mikhail; Efimov, Anton E; Nabiev, Igor

2013-10-07

Fabrication of modern nanomaterials and nanostructures with specific functional properties is both scientifically promising and commercially profitable. The preparation and use of nanomaterials require adequate methods for the control and characterization of their size, shape, chemical composition, crystalline structure, energy levels, pathways and dynamics of physical and chemical processes during their fabrication and further use. In this review, we discuss different instrumental methods for the analysis and metrology of materials and evaluate their advantages and limitations at the nanolevel.

Production of biosolid fuels from municipal sewage sludge: Technical and economic optimisation.

PubMed

Wzorek, Małgorzata; Tańczuk, Mariusz

2015-08-01

The article presents the technical and economic analysis of the production of fuels from municipal sewage sludge. The analysis involved the production of two types of fuel compositions: sewage sludge with sawdust (PBT fuel) and sewage sludge with meat and bone meal (PBM fuel). The technology of the production line of these sewage fuels was proposed and analysed. The main objective of the study is to find the optimal production capacity. The optimisation analysis was performed for the adopted technical and economic parameters under Polish conditions. The objective function was set as a maximum of the net present value index and the optimisation procedure was carried out for the fuel production line input capacity from 0.5 to 3 t h(-1), using the search step 0.5 t h(-1). On the basis of technical and economic assumptions, economic efficiency indexes of the investment were determined for the case of optimal line productivity. The results of the optimisation analysis show that under appropriate conditions, such as prices of components and prices of produced fuels, the production of fuels from sewage sludge can be profitable. In the case of PBT fuel, calculated economic indexes show the best profitability for the capacity of a plant over 1.5 t h(-1) output, while production of PBM fuel is beneficial for a plant with the maximum of searched capacities: 3.0 t h(-1). Sensitivity analyses carried out during the investigation show that influence of both technical and economic assessments on the location of maximum of objective function (net present value) is significant. © The Author(s) 2015.

A longitudinal analysis of the impact of hospital service line profitability on the likelihood of readmission.

PubMed

Navathe, Amol S; Volpp, Kevin G; Konetzka, R Tamara; Press, Matthew J; Zhu, Jingsan; Chen, Wei; Lindrooth, Richard C

2012-08-01

Quality of care may be linked to the profitability of admissions in addition to level of reimbursement. Prior policy reforms reduced payments that differentially affected the average profitability of various admission types. The authors estimated a Cox competing risks model, controlling for the simultaneous risk of mortality post discharge, to determine whether the average profitability of hospital service lines to which a patient was admitted was associated with the likelihood of readmission within 30 days. The sample included 12,705,933 Medicare Fee for Service discharges from 2,438 general acute care hospitals during 1997, 2001, and 2005. There was no evidence of an association between changes in average service line profitability and changes in readmission risk, even when controlling for risk of mortality. These findings are reassuring in that the profitability of patients' admissions did not affect readmission rates, and together with other evidence may suggest that readmissions are not an unambiguous quality indicator for in-hospital care.

On the Malthusian theory of long swings.

PubMed

Waterman, A M

1987-05-01

"In the Essay on Population economic growth consists of alternating surges of population (during which real wages fall and the rate of profit rises) and capital (during which the reverse occurs). A series of temporary equilibria exists at which wages are maximal, the rate of profit minimal, and fully employed work-force in technically determined relation to fixed capital stock. Between these equilibria occur episodes of excess labour, below-maximum wages, above minimum profit-rate and capital accumulation. Malthus's 'ratios' presuppose a logarithmic production function that implies first, that the full-employment real wage will fall to subsistence; secondly, that the full-employment 'wages fund' is constant." (SUMMARY IN FRE) excerpt

Reported outcomes in major cardiovascular clinical trials funded by for-profit and not-for-profit organizations: 2000-2005.

PubMed

Ridker, Paul M; Torres, Jose

2006-05-17

In surveys based on data available prior to 2000, clinical trials funded by for-profit organizations appeared more likely to report positive findings than those funded by not-for-profit organizations. Whether this situation has changed over the past 5 years or whether similar effects are present among jointly funded trials is unknown. To determine in contemporary randomized cardiovascular trials the association between funding source and the likelihood of reporting positive findings. We reviewed 324 consecutive superiority trials of cardiovascular medicine published between January 1, 2000, and July 30, 2005, in JAMA, The Lancet, and the New England Journal of Medicine. The proportion of trials favoring newer treatments over the standard of care was evaluated by funding source. Of the 324 superiority trials, 21 cited no funding source. Of the 104 trials funded solely by not-for-profit organizations, 51 (49%) reported evidence significantly favoring newer treatments over the standard of care, whereas 53 (51%) did not (P = .80). By contrast, 92 (67.2%) of 137 trials funded solely by for-profit organizations favored newer treatments over standard of care (P<.001). Among 62 jointly funded trials, 35 (56.5%), an intermediate proportion, favored newer treatments. For 205 randomized trials evaluating drugs, the proportions favoring newer treatments were 39.5%, not-for-profit; 54.4%, jointly funded; and 65.5%, for-profit trials (P for trend across groups = .002). For the 39 randomized trials evaluating cardiovascular devices, the proportions favoring newer treatments were 50.0%, not-for-profit; 69.2%, jointly funded; and 82.4%, for-profit trials (P for trend across groups = .07). Regardless of funding source, trials using surrogate end points, such as quantitative angiography, intravascular ultrasound, plasma biomarkers, and functional measures were more likely to report positive findings (67%) than trials using clinical end points (54.1%; P = .02). Recent cardiovascular trials funded by for-profit organizations are more likely to report positive findings than trials funded by not-for-profit organizations, as are trials using surrogate rather than clinical end points. Trials jointly funded by not-for-profit and for-profit organizations appear to report positive findings at a rate approximately midway between rates observed in trials supported solely by one or the other of these entities.

Defense Financial and Investment Review

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-06-01

productivity -enhancing improvements. Other methods are required. Other SubJects o Shipbuilding contract pricing , financing and markup policies nced re...34 . . . current tax and profit policies appear to discourage capital investment in new facilities and equipment that would increase productivity and...borrowing and profits may not be productive . o The liquidity model postulates new capital expenditures as a function of rofits or cash flow. There are two

Profit and loss analysis for an intensive care unit (ICU) in Japan: a tool for strategic management

PubMed Central

Cao, Pengyu; Toyabe, Shin-ichi; Abe, Toshikazu; Akazawa, Kouhei

2006-01-01

Background Accurate cost estimate and a profit and loss analysis are necessary for health care practice. We performed an actual financial analysis for an intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital in Japan, and tried to discuss the health care policy and resource allocation decisions that have an impact on critical intensive care. Methods The costs were estimated by a department level activity based costing method, and the profit and loss analysis was based on a break-even point analysis. The data used included the monthly number of patients, the revenue, and the direct and indirect costs of the ICU in 2003. Results The results of this analysis showed that the total costs of US$ 2,678,052 of the ICU were mainly incurred due to direct costs of 88.8%. On the other hand, the actual annual total patient days in the ICU were 1,549 which resulted in revenues of US$ 2,295,044. However, it was determined that the ICU required at least 1,986 patient days within one fiscal year based on a break-even point analysis. As a result, an annual deficit of US$ 383,008 has occurred in the ICU. Conclusion These methods are useful for determining the profits or losses for the ICU practice, and how to evaluate and to improve it. In this study, the results indicate that most ICUs in Japanese hospitals may not be profitable at the present time. As a result, in order to increase the income to make up for this deficit, an increase of 437 patient days in the ICU in one fiscal year is needed, and the number of patients admitted to the ICU should thus be increased without increasing the number of beds or staff members. Increasing the number of patients referred from cooperating hospitals and clinics therefore appears to be the best strategy for achieving these goals. PMID:16403235

The importance of working capital management for hospital profitability: evidence from bond-issuing, not-for-profit U.S. hospitals.

PubMed

Rauscher, Simone; Wheeler, John R C

2012-01-01

Increased financial pressures on hospitals have elevated the importance of working capital management, that is, the management of current assets and current liabilities, for hospitals' profitability. Efficient working capital management allows hospitals to reduce their holdings of current assets, such as inventory and accounts receivable, which earn no interest income and require financing with short-term debt. The resulting cash inflows can be reinvested in interest-bearing financial instruments or used to reduce short-term borrowing, thus improving the profitability of the organization. This study examines the relationship between hospitals' profitability and their performance at managing two components of working capital: accounts receivable, measured in terms of hospitals' average collection periods, and accounts payable, measured in terms of hospitals' average payment periods. Panel data derived from audited financial statements for 1,397 bond-issuing, not-for-profit U.S. hospitals for 2000-2007 were analyzed using hospital-level fixed-effects regression analysis. The results show a negative relationship between hospitals' average collection period and profitability. That is, hospitals that collected on their patient revenue faster reported higher profit margins than did hospitals that have larger balances of accounts receivable outstanding. We also found a negative relationship between hospitals' average payment period and their profitability. Hospital managers did not appear to delay paying their vendors. Rather, the findings indicated that more profitable hospitals paid their suppliers faster, possibly to avoid high effective interest rates on outstanding accounts payable, whereas less profitable hospitals waited longer to pay their bills. The findings of this study suggest that working capital management indeed matters for hospitals' profitability. Efforts aimed at reducing large balances in both accounts receivable and accounts payable may frequently be worthwhile investments that have the potential to reduce the costs associated with working capital management and thus improve the profitability of an organization.

New Systems of Food Service Management for the Air Force

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-09-01

Without good management and successful innovations to meet customer needs, institutional food systems either survive precariously, or on a...unlimited access to all base facilities as well as the innovative , profit oriented management of the contractor. The results of this analysis and its...of innovative , profit-oriented management on the part of the contractor. The results of this analysis, along with its impact on the data presented in

Role of Surgical Services in Profitability of Hospitals in California: An Analysis of Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development Annual Financial Data.

PubMed

Moazzez, Ashkan; de Virgilio, Christian

2016-10-01

With constant changes in health-care laws and payment methods, profitability, and financial sustainability of hospitals are of utmost importance. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between surgical services and hospital profitability. The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development annual financial databases for the years 2009 to 2011 were used for this study. The hospitals' characteristics and income statement elements were extracted for statistical analysis using bivariate and multivariate linear regression. A total of 989 financial records of 339 hospitals were included. On bivariate analysis, the number of inpatient and ambulatory operating rooms (ORs), the number of cases done both as inpatient and outpatient in each OR, and the average minutes used in inpatient ORs were significantly related with the net income of the hospital. On multivariate regression analysis, when controlling for hospitals' payer mix and the study year, only the number of inpatient cases done in the inpatient ORs (β = 832, P = 0.037), and the number of ambulatory ORs (β = 1,485, 466, P = 0.001) were significantly related with the net income of the hospital. These findings suggest that hospitals can maximize their profitability by diverting and allocating outpatient surgeries to ambulatory ORs, to allow for more inpatient surgeries.

Relationship of Automobile Characteristics to List Prices and Profit Margins -- A Preliminary Analysis

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1978-08-01

The report describes research on potential impacts of fuel economy regulations on the U.S. automobile industry. The study focused on the possible effects of auto "down-sizing" on manufacture profit margins. Historical price data were used to estimate...

48 CFR 215.404-4 - Profit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... DEFENSE CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES CONTRACTING BY NEGOTIATION Contract Pricing 215.404-4... prenegotiation profit or fee objective on any negotiated contract action when cost or pricing data is obtained... analysis when assessing cost realism in competitive acquisitions. (2) When using a structured approach, the...

Organizational performance, Marketing strategy, and Financial strategic alignment: an empirical study on Iranian pharmaceutical firms.

PubMed

Mohammadzadeh, Mehdi; Aarabi, Sied Mohammad; Salamzadeh, Jamshid

2013-08-02

Strategic Functional-level planning should be aligned with business level and other functional strategies of a company. It is presumed that assimilating the strategies could have positive contribution to business performance, in this regard alignment between marketing strategy and financial strategy seems to be the most important strategies being studied. An empirical work in generic pharmaceutical manufacturing companies for evaluating effect of alignment between these two functions on organizational performance was developed in this paper. All Iranian pharmaceutical generic manufactures listed in Tehran stock market have been tested for period of five years between 2006-2010 and their marketing strategies were determined by using Slater and Olson taxonomy and their financial strategies have been developed by calculating total risk and total return of sample companies for five years based on rate of risk and return in the frame of a 2 × 2 matrix. For the business performance three profitability indices including Q-Tubin (Rate of market value to net asset value), ROA (Return on Asset), ROE (Return on Equity) have been tested. For analysis, a series of one-way ANOVAs as a collection of statistical models within marketing strategies considering financial strategy as independent variable and the three performance measures as dependent variables was used. Results show strategic alignment between financial and marketing has significant impact on profitability of company resulting in arise of all three profitability indices. Q tubing's rate were 2.33,2.09,2.29,2.58 and rate of ROA were 0.21,0.194,0.25,0.22 and rate of ROE were 0.44,0.46,0.45,0.42 for matched strategy types, respectively the rates shown here are more than average meaning that specific type of marketing strategy is fitted with specific type of financial strategy. Managers should not consider decisions regarding marketing strategy independently of their financial strategy.

Organizational performance, Marketing strategy, and Financial strategic alignment: an empirical study on Iranian pharmaceutical firms

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Strategic Functional-level planning should be aligned with business level and other functional strategies of a company. It is presumed that assimilating the strategies could have positive contribution to business performance, in this regard alignment between marketing strategy and financial strategy seems to be the most important strategies being studied. An empirical work in generic pharmaceutical manufacturing companies for evaluating effect of alignment between these two functions on organizational performance was developed in this paper. Methods All Iranian pharmaceutical generic manufactures listed in Tehran stock market have been tested for period of five years between 2006–2010 and their marketing strategies were determined by using Slater and Olson taxonomy and their financial strategies have been developed by calculating total risk and total return of sample companies for five years based on rate of risk and return in the frame of a 2 × 2 matrix. For the business performance three profitability indices including Q-Tubin (Rate of market value to net asset value), ROA (Return on Asset), ROE (Return on Equity) have been tested. For analysis, a series of one-way ANOVAs as a collection of statistical models within marketing strategies considering financial strategy as independent variable and the three performance measures as dependent variables was used. Results Results show strategic alignment between financial and marketing has significant impact on profitability of company resulting in arise of all three profitability indices. Q tubing’s rate were 2.33,2.09,2.29,2.58 and rate of ROA were 0.21,0.194,0.25,0.22 and rate of ROE were 0.44,0.46,0.45,0.42 for matched strategy types, respectively the rates shown here are more than average meaning that specific type of marketing strategy is fitted with specific type of financial strategy. Conclusion Managers should not consider decisions regarding marketing strategy independently of their financial strategy. PMID:23915467

Designing an agricultural vegetative waste-management system under uncertain prices of treatment-technology output products.

PubMed

Broitman, D; Raviv, O; Ayalon, O; Kan, I

2018-05-01

Setting up a sustainable agricultural vegetative waste-management system is a challenging investment task, particularly when markets for output products of waste-treatment technologies are not well established. We conduct an economic analysis of possible investments in treatment technologies of agricultural vegetative waste, while accounting for fluctuating output prices. Under a risk-neutral approach, we find the range of output-product prices within which each considered technology becomes most profitable, using average final prices as the exclusive factor. Under a risk-averse perspective, we rank the treatment technologies based on their computed certainty-equivalent profits as functions of the coefficient of variation of the technologies' output prices. We find the ranking of treatment technologies based on average prices to be robust to output-price fluctuations provided that the coefficient of variation of the output prices is below about 0.4, that is, approximately twice as high as that of well-established recycled-material markets such as glass, paper and plastic. We discuss some policy implications that arise from our analysis regarding vegetative waste management and its associated risks. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Market penetration of energy supply technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Condap, R. J.

1980-03-01

Techniques to incorporate the concepts of profit-induced growth and risk aversion into policy-oriented optimization models of the domestic energy sector are examined. After reviewing the pertinent market penetration literature, simple mathematical programs in which the introduction of new energy technologies is constrained primarily by the reinvestment of profits are formulated. The main results involve the convergence behavior of technology production levels under various assumptions about the form of the energy demand function. Next, profitability growth constraints are embedded in a full-scale model of U.S. energy-economy interactions. A rapidly convergent algorithm is developed to utilize optimal shadow prices in the computation of profitability for individual technologies. Allowance is made for additional policy variables such as government funding and taxation. The result is an optimal deployment schedule for current and future energy technologies which is consistent with the sector's ability to finance capacity expansion.

The proprietary hospital industry: a financial analysis 1972-1982.

PubMed

Michel, A; Shaked, I; Daley, J

1985-01-01

This paper evaluates the performance of both specific firms within the American for-profit hospital industry and the industry as a whole. First, traditional financial analysis is used to evaluate individual publicly traded for-profit chains. Then, industry performance from 1973 to 1982 is evaluated using a set of measures based on Modern Portfolio Theory. The traditional financial analysis indicates that the industry seems increasingly profitable as well as increasingly healthy from the perspective of utilizing its assets and reducing its collection period. However, the industry's rapid growth rate has strained its ability to use additional debt funding and has created a potentially dangerous liquidity position. Measures based on Modern Portfolio Theory indicate that the average return of the industry has improved over the past 5 years. However, its risk has also increased. Nevertheless, the increase in risk is more than offset by the increased average return. In addition, recent legislation designed 'to reward the efficient' has introduced a significant degree of uncertainty into the industry's performance for the coming years. Thus, hospitals' ability to maintain the substantial profitability and rate of growth they have experienced over the past decade will depend on how well they will adapt to the changing environment.

Hospital ownership and performance: evidence from stroke and cardiac treatment in Taiwan.

PubMed

Lien, Hsien-Ming; Chou, Shin-Yi; Liu, Jin-Tan

2008-09-01

This paper compares program expenditure and treatment quality of stroke and cardiac patients between 1997 and 2000 across hospitals of various ownership types in Taiwan. Because Taiwan implemented national health insurance in 1995, the analysis is immune from problems arising from the complex setting of the U.S. health care market, such as segmentation of insurance status or multiple payers. Because patients may select admitted hospitals based on their observed and unobserved characteristics, we employ instrument variable (IV) estimation to account for the endogeneity of ownership status. Results of IV estimation find that patients admitted to non-profit hospitals receive better quality care, either measured by 1- or 12-month mortality rates. In terms of treatment expenditure, our results indicate no difference between non-profits and for-profits index admission expenditures, and at most 10% higher long-term expenditure for patients admitted to non-profits than to for-profits.

Perceived profitability and well-being in Australian dryland farmers and irrigators.

PubMed

Peel, Dominic; Berry, Helen L; Schirmer, Jacki

2015-08-01

To describe the relationship between self-reported farm profitability and farmer well-being, and to explore potential implications for farmer assistance policy. Cross-sectional analysis of farmers from Regional Wellbeing Survey data (wave 1, 2013) and comparison between groups. Participants were 1172 dryland farmers (35% women) and 707 irrigators (24% women). The Personal Wellbeing Index and the Kessler 10-item measure of general psychological distress. There is a consistent and significant relationship between higher profitability, greater well-being and less distress among dryland farmers and irrigators. The relationship between farm profitability and the well-being of Australian dryland farmers and irrigators has the potential to inform farmer assistance policy. Assistance programs can be more effective if they explicitly incorporate a profitability assessment into their targeting and eligibility requirements and a well-being component into program design and delivery. Rural Australia. Not applicable. © 2015 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

48 CFR 415.404-4 - Profit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...) Termination settlements; and (v) Cost-plus-award-fee contracts; (b) Unless otherwise restricted by contracting... CONTRACT TYPES CONTRACTING BY NEGOTIATION Contract Pricing 415.404-4 Profit. (a)(1) USDA will use a... negotiation is based on cost analysis. (2) The following types of acquisitions are exempt from the...

Cost analysis of prophylactic intraoperative cystoscopic ureteral stents in gynecologic surgery.

PubMed

Fanning, James; Fenton, Bradford; Jean, Geraldine Marie; Chae, Clara

2011-12-01

Prophylactic intraoperative ureteral stent placement is performed to decrease operative ureteric injury, though few data are available on the effectiveness of this procedure, and no data are available on its cost. To analyze the cost of prophylactic intraoperative cystoscopic ureteral stents in gynecologic surgery. All cases of prophylactic ureteral stent placement performed in gynecologic surgery during a 1-year period were identified and retrospectively reviewed through the electronic medical records database of Summa Health System. Costs were obtained through the Healthcare Cost Accounting System. The principles of cost-effective analysis were used (ie, explicit and detailed descriptions of costs and cost-effectiveness statistics). Importantly, we evaluated cost and not charges or financial model estimates. In addition, we obtained the contribution margins (ie, the hospital's net profit or loss) for prophylactic ureteral stent placement. Other gynecologic procedures were also analyzed. Among 792 major inpatient gynecologic procedures, 18 cases of prophylactic intraoperative ureteral stents were identified. Median costs were as follows: additional cost of prophylactic intraoperative ureteral stenting, $1580; additional cost of surgical resources, $770; cost of ureteral catheters, $427; cost of surgeons, $383. The contribution margins per case for various gynecologic surgical procedures were as follows: oophorectomy, $2804 profit; abdominal hysterectomy, $2649 profit; laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH), $1760 profit. When intraoperative ureteral stenting was added, the contribution margins changed to the following: oophorectomy, $782 profit; abdominal hysterectomy, $627 profit; LAVH, $262 loss. Overall, the contribution margin profit was decreased by about 85%, from $2400 to $380. Prophylactic intraoperative ureteral stenting in gynecologic surgery decreases a hospital's contribution margin. Because of the expense of this procedure, as well as scientific data suggesting a lack of effectiveness, the authors argue that prophylactic intraoperative ureteral stenting should not be used in gynecologic surgery to decrease operative ureteric injury.

The Impact of Subsidies on the Ecological Sustainability and Future Profits from North Sea Fisheries

PubMed Central

Heymans, Johanna Jacomina; Mackinson, Steven; Sumaila, Ussif Rashid; Dyck, Andrew; Little, Alyson

2011-01-01

Background This study examines the impact of subsidies on the profitability and ecological stability of the North Sea fisheries over the past 20 years. It shows the negative impact that subsidies can have on both the biomass of important fish species and the possible profit from fisheries. The study includes subsidies in an ecosystem model of the North Sea and examines the possible effects of eliminating fishery subsidies. Methodology/Principal Findings Hindcast analysis between 1991 and 2003 indicates that subsidies reduced the profitability of the fishery even though gross revenue might have been high for specific fisheries sectors. Simulations seeking to maximise the total revenue between 2004 and 2010 suggest that this can be achieved by increasing the effort of Nephrops trawlers, beam trawlers, and the pelagic trawl-and-seine fleet, while reducing the effort of demersal trawlers. Simulations show that ecological stability can be realised by reducing the effort of the beam trawlers, Nephrops trawlers, pelagic- and demersal trawl-and-seine fleets. This analysis also shows that when subsidies are included, effort will always be higher for all fleets, because it effectively reduces the cost of fishing. Conclusions/Significance The study found that while removing subsidies might reduce the total catch and revenue, it increases the overall profitability of the fishery and the total biomass of commercially important species. For example, cod, haddock, herring and plaice biomass increased over the simulation when optimising for profit, and when optimising for ecological stability, the biomass for cod, plaice and sole also increased. When subsidies are eliminated, the study shows that rather than forcing those involved in the fishery into the red, fisheries become more profitable, despite a decrease in total revenue due to a loss of subsidies from the government. PMID:21637848

Monopoly models with time-varying demand function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavalli, Fausto; Naimzada, Ahmad

2018-05-01

We study a family of monopoly models for markets characterized by time-varying demand functions, in which a boundedly rational agent chooses output levels on the basis of a gradient adjustment mechanism. After presenting the model for a generic framework, we analytically study the case of cyclically alternating demand functions. We show that both the perturbation size and the agent's reactivity to profitability variation signals can have counterintuitive roles on the resulting period-2 cycles and on their stability. In particular, increasing the perturbation size can have both a destabilizing and a stabilizing effect on the resulting dynamics. Moreover, in contrast with the case of time-constant demand functions, the agent's reactivity is not just destabilizing, but can improve stability, too. This means that a less cautious behavior can provide better performance, both with respect to stability and to achieved profits. We show that, even if the decision mechanism is very simple and is not able to always provide the optimal production decisions, achieved profits are very close to those optimal. Finally, we show that in agreement with the existing empirical literature, the price series obtained simulating the proposed model exhibit a significant deviation from normality and large volatility, in particular when underlying deterministic dynamics become unstable and complex.

For-Profit Hospital Status and Rehospitalizations to Different Hospitals: An Analysis of Medicare Data

PubMed Central

Kind, Amy JH; Bartels, Christie; Mell, Matthew W; Mullahy, John; Smith, Maureen

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND About one-quarter of rehospitalized Medicare patients are admitted to hospitals different from their original. The extent to which this practice is related to for-profit hospital status, and impacts payments and mortality, is unknown. OBJECTIVE To describe and examine predictors of and payments for rehospitalization to a different hospital within 30 days among Medicare beneficiaries in for-profit and in not-for-profit/public hospitals. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Medicare fee-for-service hospitals throughout the United States. PARTICIPANTS Random 5% national sample of Medicare beneficiaries with acute-care rehospitalizations within 30-days of discharge, 2005–2006 (N=74,564). MEASUREMENTS 30-day rehospitalizations to different hospitals; total payments/mortality over subsequent 30-days. Multivariate logistic and quantile regression models included index hospital for-profit status, discharge counts, geographic region, rural-urban commuting area, and teaching status; and patient sociodemographics, disabled status, comorbidities, and a measure of risk-adjustment. RESULTS 22% (16,622) of the sample was rehospitalized to a different hospital. Factors associated with increased risk for rehospitalization to a different hospital included being hospitalized within a for-profit, major medical school-affiliated, or low volume index hospital, and having a Medicare-defined disability. When compared to those rehospitalized to the same hospital, patients rehospitalized to different hospitals had significantly higher adjusted 30-day total payments (median additional $1,308/patient, p-value<0.001), but no significant differences in 30-day mortality, regardless of index hospital for-profit status. LIMITATIONS The analysis lacked detailed clinical data, and did not assess specific provider practice motivations or the role of patient choice. CONCLUSIONS Rehospitalizations to different hospitals are common among Medicare beneficiaries, more likely among those initially hospitalized at a for-profit hospital, and related to increased overall payments without improved mortality. PMID:21135295

Nonprofit conversion: theory, evidence, and state policy options.

PubMed Central

Marsteller, J A; Bovbjerg, R R; Nichols, L M

1998-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To describe the contributions of nonprofit hospitals and health plans to healthcare markets and to analyze state policy options with regard to the conversion of nonprofits to for-profit status. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Secondary national and state data from a variety of sources, 1980-present. STUDY DESIGN: Policy analysis. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Development of a conceptual economic framework; analysis of empirical, legal, and theoretical literature; and review of statutes, rules, and court decisions. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Three main rationales support special status for nonprofits, especially hospitals: charity care, other community benefits, and consumer protection. The main social rationale for for-profits is their incentives for better efficiency. There are reasons to expect that nonprofit and for-profit goals differ; however, measured differences in community hospital cost, prices, and quality between nonprofit and for-profit hospitals are undetectable or inconclusive. Nonprofit hospitals do provide more uncompensated care than for-profit hospitals. Similarities between nonprofit and for-profit hospitals may exist because nonprofits may set norms that for-profits follow to some degree. States have substantial power and discretion in overseeing nonprofit conversions. Some have regularized oversight through new legislation that constrains, but does not eliminate, state officials' discretion. These statutes may be deferential to converting entities and their buyers or may be very restrictive of them. CONCLUSIONS: Overseeing the appropriate disposition of nonprofit assets in individual conversions is extremely important. States should also monitor local market conditions through community benefits assessments and other data collection, however, to accurately assess (and possibly redress) what is lost or gained from conversion. Local market conditions are likely more important in determining hospital behavior than ownership form. Potentially, a mix of for-profit and nonprofit hospitals in a given market may improve market performance due to constraints the two ownership types may exercise over one another. If nonprofits disappear, the states may need to maintain quality and access norms through regulation. Images Figure 1 PMID:9865231

A break-even analysis of major ear surgery.

PubMed

Wasson, J D; Phillips, J S

2015-10-01

To determine variables which affect cost and profit for major ear surgery and perform a break-even analysis. Retrospective financial analysis. UK teaching hospital. Patients who underwent major ear surgery under general anaesthesia performed by the senior author in main theatre over a 2-year period between dates of 07 September 2010 and 07 September 2012. Income, cost and profit for each major ear patient spell. Variables that affect major ear surgery profitability. Seventy-six patients met inclusion criteria. Wide variation in earnings, with a median net loss of £-1345.50 was observed. Income was relatively uniform across all patient spells; however, theatre time of major ear surgery at a cost of £953.24 per hour varied between patients and was the main determinant of cost and profit for the patient spell. Bivariate linear regression of earnings on theatre time identified 94% of variation in earnings was due to variation in theatre time (r = -0.969; P < 0.0001) and derived a break-even time for major ear surgery of 110.6 min. Theatre time was dependent on complexity of procedure and number of OPCS4 procedures performed, with a significant increase in theatre time when three or more procedures were performed during major ear surgery (P = 0.015). For major ear surgery to either break-even or return a profit, total theatre time should not exceed 110 min and 36 s. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Utilization of HIV-related services from the private health sector: A multi-country analysis.

PubMed

Wang, Wenjuan; Sulzbach, Sara; De, Susna

2011-01-01

Increasing the participation of the private health sector in the AIDS response could help to achieve universal access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. Yet little is known about the extent to which the private health sector is delivering HIV-related services. This study uses data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and AIDS Indicator Surveys (AIS) from 12 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean to explore use of HIV testing and STI care from the private for-profit sector, and its association with household wealth status. The analysis indicates that the private for-profit health sector is active in HIV-related service delivery, although the level of participation varies by region and country. From 3 to 45 percent of women and 6 to 42 percent of men reported the private for-profit sector as their source of the most recent HIV testing. While in some countries, use of the private for-profit health sector for HIV testing and STI care increases with wealth, in others the relationship is not clear, as there are no significant differences in using private for-profit HIV-related services between the rich and the poor. We conclude that as the global AIDS response evolves from emergency relief to sustained country programs, broader consideration of the role of the private for-profit health sector may be warranted. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Non-Profit Ecological Organizations in the Function of the Realization of the Right to Freedom of Association and the Development of Civil Environmental Liability in Kazakhstan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aitimov, Bolat Zh.; Dussipov, Erkin Sh.; Altynbekkyzy, Alua; Ashimova, Dinara I.; Nurbek, Dana T.; Urazymbetov, Talgat E.

2016-01-01

Environmental issues have become a central issue, which is considered not only at the state level, but also in the international arena. At the moment the main initiators of drawing attention to the environment are the environmental non-profit organizations. In developed countries, these organizations provide full support to the government and…

The impact of profitability of hospital admissions on mortality.

PubMed

Lindrooth, Richard C; Konetzka, R Tamara; Navathe, Amol S; Zhu, Jingsan; Chen, Wei; Volpp, Kevin

2013-04-01

Fiscal constraints faced by Medicare are leading to policies designed to reduce expenditures. Evidence of the effect of reduced reimbursement on the mortality of Medicare patients discharged from all major hospital service lines is limited. We modeled risk-adjusted 30-day mortality of patients discharged from 21 hospital service lines as a function of service line profitability, service line time trends, and hospital service line and year-fixed effects. We simulated the effect of alternative revenue-neutral reimbursement policies on mortality. Our sample included all Medicare discharges from PPS-eligible hospitals (1997, 2001, and 2005). The results reveal a statistically significant inverse relationship between changes in profitability and mortality. A $0.19 average reduction in profit per $1.00 of costs led to a 0.010-0.020 percentage-point increase in mortality rates (p < .001). Mortality in newly unprofitable service lines is significantly more sensitive to reduced payment generosity than in service lines that remain profitable. Policy simulations that target service line inequities in payment generosity result in lower mortality rates, roughly 700-13,000 fewer deaths nationally. The policy simulations raise questions about the trade-offs implicit in universal reductions in reimbursement. The effect of reduced payment generosity on mortality could be mitigated by targeting highly profitable services only for lower reimbursement. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

The Impact of Profitability of Hospital Admissions on Mortality

PubMed Central

Lindrooth, Richard C; Konetzka, R Tamara; Navathe, Amol S; Zhu, Jingsan; Chen, Wei; Volpp, Kevin

2013-01-01

Background Fiscal constraints faced by Medicare are leading to policies designed to reduce expenditures. Evidence of the effect of reduced reimbursement on the mortality of Medicare patients discharged from all major hospital service lines is limited. Methods We modeled risk-adjusted 30-day mortality of patients discharged from 21 hospital service lines as a function of service line profitability, service line time trends, and hospital service line and year-fixed effects. We simulated the effect of alternative revenue-neutral reimbursement policies on mortality. Our sample included all Medicare discharges from PPS-eligible hospitals (1997, 2001, and 2005). Results The results reveal a statistically significant inverse relationship between changes in profitability and mortality. A $0.19 average reduction in profit per $1.00 of costs led to a 0.010–0.020 percentage-point increase in mortality rates (p < .001). Mortality in newly unprofitable service lines is significantly more sensitive to reduced payment generosity than in service lines that remain profitable. Policy simulations that target service line inequities in payment generosity result in lower mortality rates, roughly 700–13,000 fewer deaths nationally. Conclusions The policy simulations raise questions about the trade-offs implicit in universal reductions in reimbursement. The effect of reduced payment generosity on mortality could be mitigated by targeting highly profitable services only for lower reimbursement. PMID:23346946

The Policy Implications of the Cost Structure of Home Health Agencies

PubMed Central

Mukamel, Dana B; Fortinsky, Richard H; White, Alan; Harrington, Charlene; White, Laura M; Ngo-Metzger, Quyen

2014-01-01

Purpose To examine the cost structure of home health agencies by estimating an empirical cost function for those that are Medicare-certified, ten years following the implementation of prospective payment. Design and Methods 2010 national Medicare cost report data for certified home health agencies were merged with case-mix information from the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS). We estimated a fully interacted (by tax status) hybrid cost function for 7,064 agencies and calculated marginal costs as percent of total costs for all variables. Results The home health industry is dominated by for-profit agencies, which tend to be newer than the non-profit agencies and to have higher average costs per patient but lower costs per visit. For-profit agencies tend to have smaller scale operations and different cost structures, and are less likely to be affiliated with chains. Our estimates suggest diseconomies of scale, zero marginal cost for contracting with therapy workers, and a positive marginal cost for contracting with nurses, when controlling for quality. Implications Our findings suggest that efficiencies may be achieved by promoting non-profit, smaller agencies, with fewer contract nursing staff. This conclusion should be tested further in future studies that address some of the limitations of our study. PMID:24949224

Economic Evaluation of the Production Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles via Liquid-Phase Route

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nandiyanto, A. B. D.; Fariansyah, R.; Ramadhan, M. F.; Abdullah, A. G.; Widiaty, I.

2018-02-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the production of magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles. The evaluation was done in two perspectives: engineering and economic evaluation. The engineering perspective concerned about the analysis of the production rate based on the available apparatuses and raw materials, completed with mass balance calculation. The economic analysis was conducted based on several economic parameters: gross profit margin (GPM), internal return rate (IRR), payback period (PBP), cumulative net present value (CNPV), break even point (BEP), and profit to investment (PI). The engineering perspective showed that the production of MgO is feasibly done in small scale industry. This is verified by the potential production using current available apparatuses and raw materials in the market. Economic analysis obtained that the present project is profitable. But, for some cases, further studies must be done to get the present production process is attractive for investor.

Economic Analysis of a Laser-Powered, Global Small Aerospacecraft Transportation System (G-SATS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walton, David; List, George; Myrabo, Leik N.

2005-04-01

A first-order economic analysis is performed for a revolutionary transport technology intended for hypersonic world travel — powered by laser energy beamed from satellite solar power stations, with relay mirrors in low Earth orbit. A fleet of 1-person to 5-person, `tractor-beam' lightcraft will enable direct port-to-port (no refueling) trips, half-way around the globe in under an hour — riding suborbital boost-glide trajectories through space. Estimates are presented of vehicle size, ridership, revenues, fleet size, capital, operating and maintenance costs, and expected profitability for a lightcraft-based global transportation system called G-SATS. On a net present value basis, over a 20-year time span, G-SATS should have a profit margin of over 20% — implying not only the ability to be profitable, but also a potential market penetrability that goes well beyond the conservative assumptions made in this analysis.

Model prototype utilization in the analysis of fault tolerant control and data processing systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovalev, I. V.; Tsarev, R. Yu; Gruzenkin, D. V.; Prokopenko, A. V.; Knyazkov, A. N.; Laptenok, V. D.

2016-04-01

The procedure assessing the profit of control and data processing system implementation is presented in the paper. The reasonability of model prototype creation and analysis results from the implementing of the approach of fault tolerance provision through the inclusion of structural and software assessment redundancy. The developed procedure allows finding the best ratio between the development cost and the analysis of model prototype and earnings from the results of this utilization and information produced. The suggested approach has been illustrated by the model example of profit assessment and analysis of control and data processing system.

77 FR 65053 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-24

... Ave. NW., Suite 8140, Washington, DC 20220, or online at www.PRAComment.gov . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION... of a U.S. company in order to do a national security analysis of the acquisition. Affected Public: Private Sector: businesses or other for-profits; Not-for-profit institutions. Estimated Total Annual...

Profitability and risk analysis of soybean planting date by maturity group

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Limited knowledge exists on estimated soybean yield response to planting date to determine the profit-maximizing planting date for soybean production by maturity group (MG) in the southern United States. Furthermore, determining the optimal MG and crop insurance coverage level that is preferred by r...

The new landscape for nonprofits.

PubMed

Ryan, W P

1999-01-01

For most of this century, society's caring functions have been the work of government and charities. But social services in the United States are in a period of transition. Today the U.S. government no longer considers nonprofits to be entitled--or even best qualified--to provide social services. Profit-seeking companies like Lockheed Martin are now winning contracts for such services. William Ryan describes how government outsourcing and a new business mind-set have changed the landscape of social services. The change raises fundamental questions about the mission and future of nonprofits. Ryan attributes the growth of for-profits in the social service industry to four factors: size, capital, mobility, and responsiveness. While those attributes give for-profits an advantage in acquiring new contracts, nonprofits have not yet lost their foothold. Ryan cites examples of organizations like the YWCA and Abraxas to demonstrate various ways that nonprofits are responding--from subcontracting to partnership to outright conversion to for-profit status. By playing in the new marketplace, nonprofits will be forced to reconfigure their operations and organizations in ways that could compromise their missions. Because nonprofits now find themselves sharing territory with for-profits, sometimes as collaborators and sometimes as competitors, the distinctions between these organizations will continue to blur. The point, Ryan argues, is not whether nonprofits can survive opposition from for-profits. Many have already adjusted to the new competitive environment. The real issue is whether nonprofits can adapt without compromising the qualities that distinguish them from for-profit organizations.

Cost analysis helps evaluate contract profitability.

PubMed

Sides, R W

2000-02-01

A cost-accounting analysis can help group practices assess their costs of doing business and determine the profitability of managed care contracts. Group practices also can use cost accounting to develop budgets and financial benchmarks. To begin a cost analysis, group practices need to determine their revenue and cost centers. Then they can allocate their costs to each center, using an appropriate allocation basis. The next step is to calculate costs per procedure. The results can be used to evaluate operational cost efficiency as well as help negotiate managed care contracts.

Profit intensity and cases of non-compliance with the law of demand/supply

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makowski, Marcin; Piotrowski, Edward W.; Sładkowski, Jan; Syska, Jacek

2017-05-01

We consider properties of the measurement intensity ρ of a random variable for which the probability density function represented by the corresponding Wigner function attains negative values on a part of the domain. We consider a simple economic interpretation of this problem. This model is used to present the applicability of the method to the analysis of the negative probability on markets where there are anomalies in the law of supply and demand (e.g. Giffen's goods). It turns out that the new conditions to optimize the intensity ρ require a new strategy. We propose a strategy (so-called à rebours strategy) based on the fixed point method and explore its effectiveness.

A Decomposition of Hospital Profitability: An Application of DuPont Analysis to the US Market.

PubMed

Turner, Jason; Broom, Kevin; Elliott, Michael; Lee, Jen-Fu

2015-01-01

This paper evaluates the drivers of profitability for a large sample of U.S. hospitals. Following a methodology frequently used by financial analysts, we use a DuPont analysis as a framework to evaluate the quality of earnings. By decomposing returns on equity (ROE) into profit margin, total asset turnover, and capital structure, the DuPont analysis reveals what drives overall profitability. Profit margin, the efficiency with which services are rendered (total asset turnover), and capital structure is calculated for 3,255 U.S. hospitals between 2007 and 2012 using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Healthcare Cost Report Information System (CMS Form 2552). The sample is then stratified by ownership, size, system affiliation, teaching status, critical access designation, and urban or non-urban location. Those hospital characteristics and interaction terms are then regressed (OLS) against the ROE and the respective DuPont components. Sensitivity to regression methodology is also investigated using a seemingly unrelated regression. When the sample is stratified by hospital characteristics, the results indicate investor-owned hospitals have higher profit margins, higher efficiency, and are substantially more leveraged. Hospitals in systems are found to have higher ROE, margins, and efficiency but are associated with less leverage. In addition, a number of important and significant interactions between teaching status, ownership, location, critical access designation, and inclusion in a system are documented. Many of the significant relationships, most notably not-for-profit ownership, lose significance or are predominately associated with one interaction effect when interaction terms are introduced as explanatory variables. Results are not sensitive to the alternative methodology. The results of the DuPont analysis suggest that although there appears to be convergence in the behavior of NFP and IO hospitals, significant financial differences remain depending on their respective hospital characteristics. Those differences are tempered or exacerbated by location, size, teaching status, system affiliation, and critical access designation. With the exception of cost-based reimbursement for critical access hospitals, emerging payment systems are placing additional financial pressures on hospitals. The financial pressures being applied treat hospitals as a monolithic category and, given the delicate and often negative ROE for many hospitals, the long-term stability of the healthcare facility infrastructure may be negatively impacted.

14 CFR Section 9 - Functional Classification-Operating Revenues

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Functional Classification-Operating... AIR CARRIERS Profit and Loss Classification Section 9 Functional Classification—Operating Revenues 3900Transport Revenues. This classification is prescribed for all air carrier groups and shall include all...

Research on the Rural Express Alliance based on ANP improved profit Allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Yufeng; Zhang, Bin

2018-01-01

Online shopping platform in rural distribution difficulties, leading to rural online shopping market and logistics market development is slow. At present, China Post and other private courier companies are not possible to do. So we need to build distribution alliances. Reasonable profit allocation mechanism is the key to the stable development of this distribution alliance. So we proposed the Shapley Value Method and the ANP Improved Model to allocate profits. Finally, the rationality of the method is proved by numerical analysis before and after using the corrected Shapley Value.

[Profitability of a day hospital: analysis of activity, cost and effectiveness].

PubMed

Hernando Ortiz, Lili; Hinojosa Mena-Bernal, Carmen; González Sarmiento, Enrique; González Guilabert, Isabel; Arana Ruiz, Jorge; Muñoz Moreno, M Fe

2012-01-01

Day hospitals are an alternative to conventional hospital care. We analyzed the functioning and profitability of the day hospital of Hospital Clínico de Valladolid, Spain, in 2009. Profitability is expressed as the provision of identical health coverage at a lower cost than that generated by conventional hospital care and with adequate quality indicators. We performed a retrospective, observational and descriptive study of the information obtained on each patient attended in the day hospital from January 1 to December 31, 2009. We studied four quality indicators: cancellation of meetings, the rate of transfusion reactions, the out-patient rate and the satisfaction index. The estimated savings for each process was calculated as the difference in the average cost of hospitalization minus the average cost of the process in the day hospital. The most frequent diseases were systemic and connective tissue diseases, accounting for 25.4% of the processes treated; of these, 17.1% corresponded to rheumatoid arthritis. Patient satisfaction was 93%. Meetings cancellations and the rate of transfusion reactions were 0%. The out-patient rate was 26%. Day hospital costs were 8.6% of conventional hospital costs, with savings of 78,390.69 euros. The day hospital is cost effective due to savings compared with conventional hospitalization and has a satisfactory quality index. Copyright © 2011 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Engineering Analysis and Economic Evaluation of the Synthesis of Composite CuO/ZnO/ZrO2 Nanocatalyst

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nandiyanto, A. B. D.; Hayati, W. R.; Aziz, T. A.; Ragadhita, R.; Abdullah, A. G.; Widiaty, I.

2018-02-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the synthesis process of composite CuO/ZnO/ZrO2 (CZZ) nanocatalyst. The CZZ nanocatalyst is used as a catalyst in the hydrogenation reaction, which is used to convert harmful CO2 gas into liquid fuels such as methanol. In this study, CZZ produced using the sol-gel autocombustion method was selected as a model of the production procedure. The evaluation was conducted into two factors: engineering and economic analysis. Engineering analysis was analyzed based on the available apparatuses and raw materials in online web. Then, these data were used and compared with the mass balance approximation. The economic analysis was done using several economic parameters, including such as gross margin, internal rate return, payback period, cumulative net value, break even point (BEP), profitability index on sales to investment. Engineering analysis showed the present method can be applied using available apparatuses and raw materials in market. Economic analysis result confirmed that the present project is profitable. The analysis concluded that the present project for the production of CZZ nanocatalyst is prospective in small scale industry and profitable (by positive values in all economic parameters).

The effect of age at first calving and calving interval on productive life and lifetime profit in korean holsteins.

PubMed

Do, Changhee; Wasana, Nidarshani; Cho, Kwanghyun; Choi, Yunho; Choi, Taejeong; Park, Byungho; Lee, Donghee

2013-11-01

This study was performed to estimate the effect of age at first calving and first two calving intervals on productive life and life time profit in Korean Holsteins. Reproduction data of Korean Holsteins born from 1998 to 2004 and lactation data from 276,573 cows with birth and last dry date that calved between 2000 and 2010 were used for the analysis. Lifetime profit increased with the days of life span. Regression of Life Span on Lifetime profit indicated that there was an increase of 3,800 Won (approximately $3.45) of lifetime profit per day increase in life span. This is evidence that care of each cow is necessary to improve net return and important for farms maintaining profitable cows. The estimates of heritability of age at first calving, first two calving intervals, days in milk for lifetime, lifespan, milk income and lifetime profit were 0.111, 0.088, 0.142, 0.140, 0.143, 0.123, and 0.102, respectively. The low heritabilities indicated that the productive life and economical traits include reproductive and productive characteristics. Age at first calving and interval between first and second calving had negative genetic correlation with lifetime profit (-0.080 and -0.265, respectively). Reducing age at first calving and first calving interval had a positive effect on lifetime profit. Lifetime profit increased to approximately 2,600,000 (2,363.6) from 800,000 Won ($727.3) when age at first calving decreased to (22.3 month) from (32.8 month). Results suggested that reproductive traits such as age at first calving and calving interval might affect various economical traits and consequently influenced productive life and profitability of cows. In conclusion, regard of the age at first calving must be taken with the optimum age at first calving for maximum lifetime profit being 22.5 to 23.5 months. Moreover, considering the negative genetic correlation of first calving interval with lifetime profit, it should be reduced against the present trend of increase.

The Effect of Age at First Calving and Calving Interval on Productive Life and Lifetime Profit in Korean Holsteins

PubMed Central

Do, Changhee; Wasana, Nidarshani; Cho, Kwanghyun; Choi, Yunho; Choi, Taejeong; Park, Byungho; Lee, Donghee

2013-01-01

This study was performed to estimate the effect of age at first calving and first two calving intervals on productive life and life time profit in Korean Holsteins. Reproduction data of Korean Holsteins born from 1998 to 2004 and lactation data from 276,573 cows with birth and last dry date that calved between 2000 and 2010 were used for the analysis. Lifetime profit increased with the days of life span. Regression of Life Span on Lifetime profit indicated that there was an increase of 3,800 Won (approximately $3.45) of lifetime profit per day increase in life span. This is evidence that care of each cow is necessary to improve net return and important for farms maintaining profitable cows. The estimates of heritability of age at first calving, first two calving intervals, days in milk for lifetime, lifespan, milk income and lifetime profit were 0.111, 0.088, 0.142, 0.140, 0.143, 0.123, and 0.102, respectively. The low heritabilities indicated that the productive life and economical traits include reproductive and productive characteristics. Age at first calving and interval between first and second calving had negative genetic correlation with lifetime profit (−0.080 and −0.265, respectively). Reducing age at first calving and first calving interval had a positive effect on lifetime profit. Lifetime profit increased to approximately 2,600,000 (2,363.6) from 800,000 Won ($727.3) when age at first calving decreased to (22.3 month) from (32.8 month). Results suggested that reproductive traits such as age at first calving and calving interval might affect various economical traits and consequently influenced productive life and profitability of cows. In conclusion, regard of the age at first calving must be taken with the optimum age at first calving for maximum lifetime profit being 22.5 to 23.5 months. Moreover, considering the negative genetic correlation of first calving interval with lifetime profit, it should be reduced against the present trend of increase. PMID:25049735

Person-Organization Commitment: Bonds of Internal Consumer in the Context of Non-profit Organizations.

PubMed

Juaneda-Ayensa, Emma; Clavel San Emeterio, Mónica; González-Menorca, Carlos

2017-01-01

From an Organizational Behavior perspective, it is important to recognize the links generated between individuals and the organization that encourage a desire for permanence. After more than a half century of research, Organizational Commitment remains one of the open questions in the Psychology of Organizations. It is considered an essential factor for explaining individual behavior in the organization such as satisfaction, turnover intention, or loyalty. In this paper, we analyze different contributions regarding the nature of the bond between the individual and the organization. Taking into account the peculiarities of Non-profit Organizations, we present different interpretation for later validation, comparing results from the Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the four models obtained using exploratory factor analysis, both conducted on a sample of 235 members of Non-profit Organizations.

[Comparative analysis of the non-profit, for-profit and public hospital providers: American experiences].

PubMed

Mogyorósy, Zsolt

2004-07-04

The new legislation allowed hospitals and other health care facilities to be converted into for-profit status. The detailed regulatory framework is under development in Hungary. This article reviews the literature of studies comparing hospital financial performance and the quality of care before and after conversion from public or non-profit status to for-profit. Studies were identified through electronic search of Medline (Pubmed), EconLit, Cochrane Library, Economic Evaluation Database (EED), az Health Technology Assessment (HTA) databases, library files and reference lists. The literature search was extended to the Internet, World Bank, International Labor Office (ILO), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and WHO websites as well as government, academic institutions and large insurance companies web pages for unpublished online information. Time series and before-after studies and systematic literature reviews were included. The conversion from non-profit to for-profit status improved the profitability of the hospitals. However the quality of care (measures in mortality, frequency of side effects, complications) might suffer in the first couple years of the conversion. The conversion may increase the total health care expenditures per capita. Trustful relationship between patients and physicians may also be threatened. The generalisability of the American experiences into the Hungarian single payer system may be limited. From societal point of view, for-profit providers could provide socially beneficial care in areas where it is possible to define, monitor and evaluate the nature and quality characteristics of the services, as well as market competition can be ensured. However most of the healthcare services are too complex to fall into this category.

A topological proof of chaos for two nonlinear heterogeneous triopoly game models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pireddu, Marina

2016-08-01

We rigorously prove the existence of chaotic dynamics for two nonlinear Cournot triopoly game models with heterogeneous players, for which in the existing literature the presence of complex phenomena and strange attractors has been shown via numerical simulations. In the first model that we analyze, costs are linear but the demand function is isoelastic, while, in the second model, the demand function is linear and production costs are quadratic. As concerns the decisional mechanisms adopted by the firms, in both models one firm adopts a myopic adjustment mechanism, considering the marginal profit of the last period; the second firm maximizes its own expected profit under the assumption that the competitors' production levels will not vary with respect to the previous period; the third firm acts adaptively, changing its output proportionally to the difference between its own output in the previous period and the naive expectation value. The topological method we employ in our analysis is the so-called "Stretching Along the Paths" technique, based on the Poincaré-Miranda Theorem and the properties of the cutting surfaces, which allows to prove the existence of a semi-conjugacy between the system under consideration and the Bernoulli shift, so that the former inherits from the latter several crucial chaotic features, among which a positive topological entropy.

A topological proof of chaos for two nonlinear heterogeneous triopoly game models.

PubMed

Pireddu, Marina

2016-08-01

We rigorously prove the existence of chaotic dynamics for two nonlinear Cournot triopoly game models with heterogeneous players, for which in the existing literature the presence of complex phenomena and strange attractors has been shown via numerical simulations. In the first model that we analyze, costs are linear but the demand function is isoelastic, while, in the second model, the demand function is linear and production costs are quadratic. As concerns the decisional mechanisms adopted by the firms, in both models one firm adopts a myopic adjustment mechanism, considering the marginal profit of the last period; the second firm maximizes its own expected profit under the assumption that the competitors' production levels will not vary with respect to the previous period; the third firm acts adaptively, changing its output proportionally to the difference between its own output in the previous period and the naive expectation value. The topological method we employ in our analysis is the so-called "Stretching Along the Paths" technique, based on the Poincaré-Miranda Theorem and the properties of the cutting surfaces, which allows to prove the existence of a semi-conjugacy between the system under consideration and the Bernoulli shift, so that the former inherits from the latter several crucial chaotic features, among which a positive topological entropy.

48 CFR 1515.404-471 - EPA structured approach for developing profit or fee objectives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... profit or fee objective. (5) The weight factors discussed in this section are designed for arriving at... involving creative design. (B) Consideration should be given to the managerial and technical efforts.../technical and general labor. Analysis of labor should include evaluation of the comparative quality and...

48 CFR 1515.404-471 - EPA structured approach for developing profit or fee objectives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... profit or fee objective. (5) The weight factors discussed in this section are designed for arriving at... involving creative design. (B) Consideration should be given to the managerial and technical efforts.../technical and general labor. Analysis of labor should include evaluation of the comparative quality and...

48 CFR 1515.404-471 - EPA structured approach for developing profit or fee objectives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... profit or fee objective. (5) The weight factors discussed in this section are designed for arriving at... involving creative design. (B) Consideration should be given to the managerial and technical efforts.../technical and general labor. Analysis of labor should include evaluation of the comparative quality and...

48 CFR 1515.404-471 - EPA structured approach for developing profit or fee objectives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... profit or fee objective. (5) The weight factors discussed in this section are designed for arriving at... involving creative design. (B) Consideration should be given to the managerial and technical efforts.../technical and general labor. Analysis of labor should include evaluation of the comparative quality and...

48 CFR 1515.404-471 - EPA structured approach for developing profit or fee objectives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... profit or fee objective. (5) The weight factors discussed in this section are designed for arriving at... involving creative design. (B) Consideration should be given to the managerial and technical efforts.../technical and general labor. Analysis of labor should include evaluation of the comparative quality and...

Miller Table Company: A Profit Analysis Case Integrating Managerial Accounting, Microeconomics and Marketing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Louise

2014-01-01

This paper describes a unique integrative business case appropriate for use in a managerial accounting course or other business courses related to economics or marketing. The case describes a scenario in which a managerial accountant is assisting in business decisions relating to factors influencing the profitability of a small manufacturing…

Impact of facility size and profit status on intermediate outcomes in chronic dialysis patients.

PubMed

Frankenfield, D L; Sugarman, J R; Presley, R J; Helgerson, S D; Rocco, M V

2000-08-01

Little information is available regarding the influence of dialysis facility size or profit status on intermediate outcomes in chronic dialysis patients. We have combined data from the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) Core Indicators Project; the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) facility survey; and the HCFA On-Line Survey, Certification, and Reporting System to analyze trends in this area. For hemodialysis patients, larger facilities were more likely than smaller facilities to perform dialysis on patients who were younger than 65 years of age, black, or undergoing dialysis 2 years or more (P < 0.001). Nonprofit facilities were more likely to perform dialysis on patients with diabetes mellitus as a cause of ESRD and less likely to perform dialysis on patients with hypertension as a cause of ESRD compared with for-profit units (P < 0.05). By multivariate analysis, larger facility size was modestly associated with a greater Kt/V value and urea reduction ratio, but not with hematocrit or serum albumin values. Facility profit status was not associated with these intermediate outcomes. For peritoneal dialysis patients, there were no significant differences in patient demographics based on facility size. More patients in nonprofit units had been undergoing dialysis 2 or more years than patients in for-profit units (P < 0.05). By univariate analysis, patients in larger facilities were more likely to have an adequacy measure performed than patients from smaller facilities (P < 0.05). There were few substantial differences in intermediate outcomes in chronic dialysis patients based on facility size or profit status.

Growth, carcass characteristics, and profitability of organic versus conventional dairy beef steers.

PubMed

Bjorklund, E A; Heins, B J; Dicostanzo, A; Chester-Jones, H

2014-03-01

Bull calves (n=49), born at the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center (Morris) between March and May 2011, were used to compare growth measurements and profitability of conventional and organic dairy steers. Calves were assigned to 1 of 3 replicated groups at birth: conventional (CONV; n=16), organic (pasture and concentrate; ORG; n=16), or organic grass only (GRS; n=17), and analysis of variables was on a pen basis. Breed groups of calves were Holstein (HO; n=9); Holsteins (n=11) maintained at 1964 breed average level; crossbreds (n=19) including combinations of HO, Montbéliarde, and Swedish Red; and crossbreds (n=10) including combinations of HO, Jersey, Swedish Red, and Normande. The CONV steers were fed a diet of 80% concentrate and 20% forage. The ORG steers were fed a diet of organic corn, organic corn silage, and at least 30% of their diet consisted of organic pasture during the grazing season. The GRS steers grazed pasture during the grazing season and were fed high-quality hay or hay silage during the nongrazing season. Intakes of a total mixed ration were recorded daily with herd management software. A profit function was defined to include revenues and expenses for beef value, feed intake, pasture intake, health cost, and yardage. The GRS (358.6 kg) steers had lesser total gains from birth to slaughter than ORG (429.6 kg) and CONV (534.5 kg) steers. Furthermore, the GRS (0.61 kg/d) steers had lesser average daily gain from birth compared with ORG (0.81 kg/d) and CONV (1.1 kg/d) steers. The GRS and ORG steers had smaller rib eye area (49.5 and 65.8 cm(2), respectively) compared with CONV (75.4 cm(2)) steers. For profitability, GRS steers had 43% greater profit than CONV steers due to organic beef price premiums and lower feed costs. On the other hand, ORG steers had substantially less profit than CONV steers. The higher cost of production for the ORG steers is due to the extreme high value of organic corn. The results of the current study illustrate the economic potential of alternative strategies for growing and marketing male offspring of organic dairy cattle in the Midwest. Copyright © 2014 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing the economic impacts of drought from the perspective of profit loss rate: a case study of the sugar industry in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Y.; Lin, L.; Chen, H.

2015-07-01

Natural disasters have enormous impacts on human society, especially on the development of the economy. To support decision-making in mitigation and adaption to natural disasters, assessment of economic impacts is fundamental and of great significance. Based on a review of the literature on economic impact evaluation, this paper proposes a new assessment model of the economic impacts of droughts by using the sugar industry in China as a case study, which focuses on the generation and transfer of economic impacts along a simple value chain involving only sugarcane growers and a sugar-producing company. A perspective of profit loss rate is applied to scale economic impact. By using "with and without" analysis, profit loss is defined as the difference in profits between disaster-hit and disaster-free scenarios. To calculate profit, analysis of a time series of sugar price is applied. With the support of a linear regression model, an endogenous trend in sugar price is identified and the time series of sugar price "without" disaster is obtained, using an autoregressive error model to separate impact of disasters from the internal trend in sugar price. Unlike the settings in other assessment models, representative sugar prices, which represent value level in disaster-free conditions and disaster-hit conditions, are integrated from a long time series that covers the whole period of drought. As a result, it is found that in a rigid farming contract, sugarcane growers suffer far more than the sugar company when impacted by severe drought, which may promote reflections among various economic bodies on economic equality related to the occurrence of natural disasters. Further, sensitivity analysis of the model built reveals that sugarcane purchase price has a significant influence on profit loss rate, which implies that setting a proper sugarcane purchase price would be an effective way of realizing economic equality in future practice of contract farming.

Caring for people with dementia disease (DD) and working in a private not-for-profit residential care facility for people with DD.

PubMed

Ericson-Lidman, Eva; Larsson, Lise-Lotte Franklin; Norberg, Astrid

2014-06-01

Caring for people with dementia and working in dementia care is described as having both rewarding and unpleasant aspects and has been studied to a minor extent. This study aims to explore care providers' narrated experiences of caring for people with dementia disease (DD) and working in a private not-for-profit residential care facility for people with DD. Nine care providers were interviewed about their experiences, the interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The analysis revealed that participants were struggling to perform person-centred care, which meant trying to see the person behind the disease, dealing with troublesome situations in the daily care, a two-edged interaction with relatives, feelings of shortcomings and troubled conscience, and the need for improvements in dementia care. The analysis also revealed an ambiguous work situation, which meant a challenging value base, the differently judged work environment, feelings of job satisfaction and the need for a functional leadership and management. The results illuminate participants' positive as well as negative experiences and have identified areas requiring improvements. It seems of great importance to strive for a supportive and attendant leadership, a leadership which aims to empower care providers in their difficult work. Using conscience as a driving force together in the work group may benefit care providers' health. © 2013 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Evaluation of economic efficiencies in clinical retina practice: activity-based cost analysis and modeling to determine impacts of changes in patient management

PubMed Central

Murray, Timothy G; Tornambe, Paul; Dugel, Pravin; Tong, Kuo Bianchini

2011-01-01

Background The purpose of this study is to report the use of activity-based cost analysis to identify areas of practice efficiencies and inefficiencies within a large academic retinal center and a small single-specialty group. This analysis establishes a framework for evaluating rapidly shifting clinical practices (anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy, microincisional vitrectomy surgery) and incorporating changing reimbursements for care delivery (intravitreal injections, optical coherence tomography [OCT]) to determine the impact on practice profitability. Pro forma modeling targeted the impact of declining reimbursement for OCT imaging and intravitreal injection using a strategy that incorporates activity-based cost analysis into a direct evaluation schema for clinical operations management. Methods Activity-based costing analyses were performed at two different types of retinal practices in the US, ie, a small single-specialty group practice and an academic hospital-based practice (Bascom Palmer Eye Institute). Retrospective claims data were utilized to identify all procedures performed and billed, submitted charges, allowed charges, and net collections from each of these two practices for the calendar years 2005–2006 and 2007–2008. A pro forma analysis utilizing current reimbursement profiles was performed to determine the impact of altered reimbursement on practice profitability. All analyses were performed by a third party consulting firm. Results The small single-specialty group practice outperformed the academic hospital-based practice on almost all markers of efficiency. In the academic hospital-based practice, only four service lines were profitable, ie, nonlaser surgery, laser surgery, non-OCT diagnostics, and injections. Profit margin varied from 62% for nonlaser surgery to 1% for intravitreal injections. Largest negative profit contributions were associated with office visits and OCT imaging. Conclusion Activity-based cost analysis is a powerful tool to evaluate retinal practice efficiencies. These two distinct practices were able to provide significant increases in clinical care (office visits, ophthalmic imaging, and patient procedures) through maintaining efficiencies of care. Pro forma analysis of 2011 data noted that OCT payments to facilities and physicians continue to decrease dramatically and that this payment decrease further reduced the profitability for the two largest aspects of these retinal practices, ie, intravitreal injections and OCT retinal imaging. Ultimately, all retinal practices are at risk for significant shifts in financial health related to rapidly evolving changes in patterns of care and reimbursement associated with providing outstanding clinical care. PMID:21792278

Economics of adopting solar photovoltaic energy systems in irrigation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Matlin, R.W.; Katzman, M.T.

An economic analysis concerning the adoption of solar photovoltaic energy systems in irrigation has been made compared to conventional fossil fuel energy sources. The basis for this analysis is presented along with a discussion as to the time of initial profitability, the time of optimal investment, the effects of the tax system, the cost per acre that would make irrigation unviable, and possible governmental incentives that would promote the deployment of photovoltaic irrigation systems between the time of initial profitability and the time of optimal investment.

Optimal pricing and replenishment policies for instantaneous deteriorating items with backlogging and trade credit under inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sundara Rajan, R.; Uthayakumar, R.

2017-12-01

In this paper we develop an economic order quantity model to investigate the optimal replenishment policies for instantaneous deteriorating items under inflation and trade credit. Demand rate is a linear function of selling price and decreases negative exponentially with time over a finite planning horizon. Shortages are allowed and partially backlogged. Under these conditions, we model the retailer's inventory system as a profit maximization problem to determine the optimal selling price, optimal order quantity and optimal replenishment time. An easy-to-use algorithm is developed to determine the optimal replenishment policies for the retailer. We also provide optimal present value of profit when shortages are completely backlogged as a special case. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the algorithm provided to obtain optimal profit. And we also obtain managerial implications from numerical examples to substantiate our model. The results show that there is an improvement in total profit from complete backlogging rather than the items being partially backlogged.

[Analysis of financial statements of Japanese private hospitals (1982-1991)].

PubMed

Matsuda, S; Murata, H

1996-06-01

In order to clarify the financial situation of Japanese private hospitals, the financial statements provided by the Social Welfare and Medical Service Corporation were analyzed for the period from 1982 to 1991. The results clarified the low growth rate and low profitability of the Japanese private hospitals, although their financial situation was relatively stable. However, the efficiency of cost has been stalled in recent years and profitability has been declining due to the low turnover rate of capital. According to the CVP analysis, the Profit volume ratio of the investigated hospitals has been increased to the level of 95%. This situation means that, in the current financial situation, more than half of the Japanese private hospitals will go into the red if revenue declines 5% due to some short term change in the managerial environment.

Person-Organization Commitment: Bonds of Internal Consumer in the Context of Non-profit Organizations

PubMed Central

Juaneda-Ayensa, Emma; Clavel San Emeterio, Mónica; González-Menorca, Carlos

2017-01-01

From an Organizational Behavior perspective, it is important to recognize the links generated between individuals and the organization that encourage a desire for permanence. After more than a half century of research, Organizational Commitment remains one of the open questions in the Psychology of Organizations. It is considered an essential factor for explaining individual behavior in the organization such as satisfaction, turnover intention, or loyalty. In this paper, we analyze different contributions regarding the nature of the bond between the individual and the organization. Taking into account the peculiarities of Non-profit Organizations, we present different interpretation for later validation, comparing results from the Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the four models obtained using exploratory factor analysis, both conducted on a sample of 235 members of Non-profit Organizations. PMID:28775699

M&A needn't be a loser's game.

PubMed

Selden, Larry; Colvin, Geoffrey

2003-06-01

Three out of four acquisitions fail; they destroy wealth for the buyer's shareholders, who end up worse off than they would have been had the deal not been done. But it doesn't have to be that way, argue the authors. In evaluating acquisitions, companies must look beyond the lure of profits the income statement promises and examine the balance sheet, where the company keeps track of capital. It's ignoring the balance sheet that causes so many acquisitions to destroy shareholders' wealth. Unfortunately, most executives focus only on sales and profits going up, never realizing that they've put in motion a plan to destroy their company's true profitability--its return on invested capital. M&A, like other aspects of running a company, works best when seen as a way to create shareholder value through customers. Some deals are sought to help create better value propositions for the business or to better execute current strategies--or to block competitors from doing these things. But most deals are about customers and should start with an analysis of customer profitability. Some customers are deliciously profitable; others are dismal money losers. The better an acquirer understands the profitability of its own customers, the better positioned it will be to perform such analyses on other companies. In this article, the authors show that customer profitability varies far more dramatically than most managers suspect. They also describe how to measure the profitability of customers. By understanding the economics of customer profitability, companies can avoid making deals that hurt their shareholders, they can identify surprising deals that do create wealth, and they can salvage deals that would otherwise be losers.

Quality of care in investor-owned vs not-for-profit HMOs.

PubMed

Himmelstein, D U; Woolhandler, S; Hellander, I; Wolfe, S M

1999-07-14

The proportion of health maintenance organization (HMO) members enrolled in investor-owned plans has increased sharply, yet little is known about the quality of these plans compared with not-for-profit HMOs. To compare quality-of-care measures for investor-owned and not-for-profit HMOs. Analysis of the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) Version 3.0 from the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Quality Compass 1997, which included 1996 quality-of-care data for 329 HMO plans (248 investor-owned and 81 not-for-profit), representing 56% of the total HMO enrollment in the United States. Rates for 14 HEDIS quality-of-care indicators. Compared with not-for-profit HMOs, investor-owned plans had lower rates for all 14 quality-of-care indicators. Among patients discharged from the hospital after myocardial infarction, 59.2% of members in investor-owned HMOs vs 70.6% in not-for-profit plans received a beta-blocker (P<.001); 35.1% of patients with diabetes mellitus in investor-owned plans vs 47.9% in not-for-profit plans had annual eye examinations (P<.001). Investor-owned plans had lower rates than not-for-profit plans of immunization (63.9% vs 72.3%; P<.001), mammography (69.4% vs 75.1%; P<.001), Papanicolaou tests (69.2% vs 77.1%; P<.001), and psychiatric hospitalization (70.5% vs 77.1%; P<.001). Quality scores were highest for staff- and group-model HMOs. In multivariate analyses, investor ownership was consistently associated with lower quality after controlling for model type, geographic region, and the method each HMO used to collect data. Investor-owned HMOs deliver lower quality of care than not-for-profit plans.

A Web Application for Cotton Irrigation Management on The US Southern High Plains. Part I: Crop Yield Modeling and Profit Analysis

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Irrigated cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L.) production is a central part of west Texas agriculture that depends on the essentially non-renewable water resource of the Ogallala aquifer. Web-based decision support tools that estimate the profit effects of irrigation for cotton under varying lint price, p...

Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act: An Analysis of the Role of the For-Profit Higher Education Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCarthy, Brittny Adair

2013-01-01

This research project examines the influence of the for-profit college sector on the 2008 reauthorization of the "Higher Education Act." It is based on interviews with Congressional staff, college lobbyists, and higher education reporters, as well as the "Congressional Record" and advocacy materials. Findings indicate that the…

Analysis of Servant-Leadership Characteristics: Case Study of a For-Profit Career School President

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hiatt, Elaine M.

2010-01-01

Servant leadership is a challenging leadership philosophy to study empirically. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to determine if an effective leader of a for-profit career school displays the 10 servant-leader characteristics, identified by Larry R. Spears (1995) in "Reflections on Leadership," according to respondents,…

For-Profit Colleges and Universities: Their Markets, Regulation, Performance, and Place in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hentschke, Guilbert C., Ed.; Lechuga, Vicente M., Ed.; Tierney, William G., Ed.

2010-01-01

This book offers a clear-eyed and balanced analysis of for-profit colleges and universities (FPCUs), reviewing their history, business strategies, and management practices; setting them in the context of marketplace conditions, the framework of public policy and government regulations; and viewing them in the light of the public good. Individual…

Assessing the feasibility and profitability of cable logging in southern upland hardwood forests

Treesearch

Chris B. LeDoux; Dennis M. May; Tony Johnson; Richard H. Widmann

1995-01-01

Procedures developed to assess available timber supplies from upland hardwood forest statistics reported by the USDA Forest Services' Forest Inventory and Analysis unit were modified to assess the feasibility and profitability of cable logging in southern upland hardwood forests. Depending on the harvest system and yarding distance used, cable logging can be...

Impact of in-woods product merchandizing on profitable logging opportunities in southern upland hardwood forests

Treesearch

Dennis M. May; Chris B. LeDoux; John B. Tansey; Richard Widmann

1994-01-01

Procedures developed to assess available timber supplies from upland hardwood forest statistics reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) units, were modified to demonstrate the impact of three in-woods product-merchandizing options on profitable logging opportunities in upland hardwood forests in 14 Southern...

Estimation of economic values for traits of dairy sheep: I. Model development.

PubMed

Wolfová, M; Wolf, J; Krupová, Z; Kica, J

2009-05-01

A bioeconomic model was developed to estimate effects of change in production and functional traits on profit of dairy or dual-purpose milked sheep under alternative management systems. The flock structure was described in terms of animal categories and probabilities of transitions among them, and a Markov chain approach was used to calculate the stationary state of the resultant ewe flock. The model included both deterministic and stochastic components. Performance for most traits was simulated as the population average, but variation in several traits was taken into account. Management options included lambing intervals, mating system, and culling strategy for ewes, weaning and marketing strategy for progeny, and feeding system. The present value of profit computed as the difference between total revenues and total costs per ewe per year, both discounted to the birth date of the animals, was used as the criterion for economic efficiency of the production system in the stationary state. Economic values (change in system profit per unit change in the trait) of up to 35 milk production, growth, carcass, wool, and functional traits may be estimated.

Optimization of EB plant by constraint control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hummel, H.K.; de Wit, G.B.C.; Maarleveld, A.

1991-03-01

Optimum plant operation can often be achieved by means of constraint control instead of model- based on-line optimization. This is because optimum operation is seldom at the top of the hill but usually at the intersection of constraints. This article describes the development of a constraint control system for a plant producing ethylbenzene (EB) by the Mobil/Badger Ethylbenzene Process. Plant optimization can be defined as the maximization of a profit function describing the economics of the plant. This function contains terms with product values, feedstock prices and operational costs. Maximization of the profit function can be obtained by varying relevantmore » degrees of freedom in the plant, such as a column operating pressure or a reactor temperature. These degrees of freedom can be varied within the available operating margins of the plant.« less

The association of debt financing with not-for-profit hospitals' operational and capital-investment efficiency.

PubMed

Magnus, Stephen A; Wheeler, John R C; Smith, Dean G

2004-01-01

Increased debt in companies can motivate both operational and capital-investment efficiency. This positive influence of debt is attributed to creditors' oversight of corporate behavior and the need to generate cash flows to service debt. Our study investigates whether debt has a similar relationship with efficiency in not-for-profit hospitals. Using statistical analysis of a database of audited financial statements of not-for-profit hospitals, we test whether debt is associated with six distinct measures of operational and capital-investment efficiency. We find that debt either has no association with efficiency or predicts decreased efficiency. Possible explanations are that creditors' oversight is less tight in the not-for-profit setting and that debt may at times motivate excessive capital investment because of a legal requirement to tie tax-exempt debt with a capital-investment project.

Do Robotic Surgical Systems Improve Profit Margins? A Cross-Sectional Analysis of California Hospitals.

PubMed

Shih, Ya-Chen Tina; Shen, Chan; Hu, Jim C

2017-09-01

The aim of this study was to examine the association between ownership of robotic surgical systems and hospital profit margins. This study used hospital annual utilization data, annual financial data, and discharge data for year 2011 from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. We first performed bivariate analysis to compare mean profit margin by hospital and market characteristics and to examine whether these characteristics differed between hospitals that had one or more robotic surgical systems in 2011 and those that did not. We applied the t test and the F test to compare mean profit margin between two groups and among three or more groups, respectively. We then conducted multilevel logistic regression to determine the association between ownership of robotic surgical systems and having a positive profit margin after controlling for other hospital and market characteristics and accounting for possible correlation among hospitals located within the same market. The study sample included 167 California hospitals with valid financial information. Hospitals with robotic surgical systems tended to report more favorable profit margins. However, multilevel logistic regression showed that this relationship (an association, not causality) became only marginally significant (odds ratio [OR] = 6.2; P = 0.053) after controlling for other hospital characteristics, such as ownership type, teaching status, bed size, and surgical volumes, and market characteristics, such as total number of robotic surgical systems owned by other hospitals in the same market area. As robotic surgical systems become widely disseminated, hospital decision makers should carefully evaluate the financial and clinical implications before making a capital investment in this technology. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ecology and Economics of Using Native Managed Bees for Almond Pollination.

PubMed

Koh, Insu; Lonsdorf, Eric V; Artz, Derek R; Pitts-Singer, Theresa L; Ricketts, Taylor H

2018-02-09

Native managed bees can improve crop pollination, but a general framework for evaluating the associated economic costs and benefits has not been developed. We conducted a cost-benefit analysis to assess how managing blue orchard bees (Osmia lignaria Say [Hymenoptera: Megachildae]) alongside honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus [Hymenoptera: Apidae]) can affect profits for almond growers in California. Specifically, we studied how adjusting three strategies can influence profits: (1) number of released O. lignaria bees, (2) density of artificial nest boxes, and (3) number of nest cavities (tubes) per box. We developed an ecological model for the effects of pollinator activity on almond yields, validated the model with published data, and then estimated changes in profits for different management strategies. Our model shows that almond yields increase with O. lignaria foraging density, even where honey bees are already in use. Our cost-benefit analysis shows that profit ranged from -US$1,800 to US$2,800/acre given different combinations of the three strategies. Adding nest boxes had the greatest effect; we predict an increase in profit between low and high nest box density strategies (2.5 and 10 boxes/acre). In fact, the number of released bees and the availability of nest tubes had relatively small effects in the high nest box density strategies. This suggests that growers could improve profits by simply adding more nest boxes with moderate number of tubes in each. Our approach can support grower decisions regarding integrated crop pollination and highlight the importance of a comprehensive ecological economic framework for assessing these decisions. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Weaknesses in Oversight of Naval Sea Systems Command Ship Maintenance Contract in Southwest Asia

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-27

task orders for engineering services under the contract to bank approximately $20.3 million in O& M funds. The task orders functioned as a way to bank...profit on repair parts obtained from IFM and has requested cost and pricing data to support that IFM has not charged FMSNA profit on the parts. In a ...Fincantieri.9 See the figure for a Fincantieri Corporate organizational chart that shows the relationship of FMSNA and IFM under the parent company

Assessing the economic impacts of drought from the perspective of profit loss rate: a case study of the sugar industry in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Y.; Lin, L.; Chen, H.

2015-02-01

Natural disasters have enormous impacts on human society, especially on the development of the economy. To support decision making in mitigation and adaption to natural disasters, assessment of economic impacts is fundamental and of great significance. Based on a review of the literature of economic impact evaluation, this paper proposes a new assessment model of economic impact from drought by using the sugar industry in China as a case study, which focuses on the generation and transfer of economic impacts along a simple value chain involving only sugarcane growers and a sugar producing company. A perspective of profit loss rate is applied to scale economic impact with a model based on cost-and-benefit analysis. By using analysis of "with-and-without", profit loss is defined as the difference in profits between disaster-hit and disaster-free scenarios. To calculate profit, analysis on a time series of sugar price is applied. With the support of a linear regression model, an endogenous trend in sugar price is identified, and the time series of sugar price "without" disaster is obtained using an autoregressive error model to separate impact by disasters from the internal trend in sugar price. Unlike the settings in other assessment models, representative sugar prices, which represent value level in disaster-free condition and disaster-hit condition, are integrated from a long time series that covers the whole period of drought. As a result, it is found that in a rigid farming contract, sugarcane growers suffer far more than the sugar company when impacted by severe drought, which may promote the reflections on economic equality among various economic bodies at the occurrence of natural disasters.

Hard gains through soft contracts: productive engagement of private providers in tuberculosis control.

PubMed Central

Lönnroth, Knut; Uplekar, Mukund; Blanc, Léopold

2006-01-01

Over the past decade, there has been a rapid increase in the number of initiatives involving "for-profit" private health care providers in national tuberculosis (TB) control efforts. We reviewed 15 such initiatives with respect to contractual arrangements, quality of care and success achieved in TB control. In seven initiatives, the National TB Programme (NTP) interacted directly with for-profit providers; while in the remaining eight, the NTP collaborated with for-profit providers through intermediary not-for-profit nongovernmental organizations. All but one of the initiatives used relational "drugs-for-performance contracts" to engage for-profit providers, i.e. drugs were provided free of charge by the NTP emphasizing that providers dispense them free of charge to patients and follow national guidelines for diagnosis and treatment. We found that 90% (range 61-96%) of new smear-positive pulmonary TB cases were successfully treated across all initiatives and TB case detection rates increased between 10% and 36%. We conclude that for-profit providers can be effectively involved in TB control through informal, but well defined drugs-for-performance contracts. The contracting party should be able to reach a common understanding concerning goals and role division with for-profit providers and monitor them for content and quality. Relational drugs-for-performance contracts minimize the need for handling the legal and financial aspects of classical contracting. We opine that further analysis is required to assess if such "soft" contracts are sufficient to scale up private for-profit provider involvement in TB control and other priority health interventions. PMID:17143461

A Decomposition of Hospital Profitability

PubMed Central

Broom, Kevin; Elliott, Michael; Lee, Jen-Fu

2015-01-01

Objectives: This paper evaluates the drivers of profitability for a large sample of U.S. hospitals. Following a methodology frequently used by financial analysts, we use a DuPont analysis as a framework to evaluate the quality of earnings. By decomposing returns on equity (ROE) into profit margin, total asset turnover, and capital structure, the DuPont analysis reveals what drives overall profitability. Methods: Profit margin, the efficiency with which services are rendered (total asset turnover), and capital structure is calculated for 3,255 U.S. hospitals between 2007 and 2012 using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Healthcare Cost Report Information System (CMS Form 2552). The sample is then stratified by ownership, size, system affiliation, teaching status, critical access designation, and urban or non-urban location. Those hospital characteristics and interaction terms are then regressed (OLS) against the ROE and the respective DuPont components. Sensitivity to regression methodology is also investigated using a seemingly unrelated regression. Results: When the sample is stratified by hospital characteristics, the results indicate investor-owned hospitals have higher profit margins, higher efficiency, and are substantially more leveraged. Hospitals in systems are found to have higher ROE, margins, and efficiency but are associated with less leverage. In addition, a number of important and significant interactions between teaching status, ownership, location, critical access designation, and inclusion in a system are documented. Many of the significant relationships, most notably not-for-profit ownership, lose significance or are predominately associated with one interaction effect when interaction terms are introduced as explanatory variables. Results are not sensitive to the alternative methodology. Conclusion: The results of the DuPont analysis suggest that although there appears to be convergence in the behavior of NFP and IO hospitals, significant financial differences remain depending on their respective hospital characteristics. Those differences are tempered or exacerbated by location, size, teaching status, system affiliation, and critical access designation. With the exception of cost-based reimbursement for critical access hospitals, emerging payment systems are placing additional financial pressures on hospitals. The financial pressures being applied treat hospitals as a monolithic category and, given the delicate and often negative ROE for many hospitals, the long-term stability of the healthcare facility infrastructure may be negatively impacted. PMID:28462258

Effect of drying, storage temperature and air exposure on astaxanthin stability from Haematococcus pluvialis.

PubMed

Ahmed, Faruq; Li, Yan; Fanning, Kent; Netzel, Michael; Schenk, Peer M

2015-08-01

Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant with various health benefits such as prevention of age-related macular degeneration and improvement of the immune system, liver and heart function. To improve the post-harvesting stability of astaxanthin used in food, feed and nutraceutical industries, the biomass of the high astaxanthin producing alga Haematococcus pluvialis was dried by spray- or freeze-drying and under vacuum or air at -20°C to 37°C for 20weeks. Freeze-drying led to 41% higher astaxanthin recovery compared to commonly-used spray-drying. Low storage temperature (-20°C, 4°C) and vacuum-packing also showed higher astaxanthin stability with as little as 12.3±3.1% degradation during 20weeks of storage. Cost-benefit analysis showed that freeze-drying followed by vacuum-packed storage at -20°C can generate AUD$600 higher profit compared to spray-drying from 100kgH. pluvialis powder. Therefore, freeze-drying can be suggested as a mild and more profitable method for ensuring longer shelf life of astaxanthin from H. pluvialis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Non-Profit Education Providers vis-a-vis the Private Sector: Comparative Analysis of Non-Governmental Organizations and Traditional Voluntary Organizations in Pakistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bano, Masooda

2008-01-01

Under the New Policy Agenda, international development institutions have promoted non-profit organizations (NPOs) in developing countries, on a dual logic: firstly, they deliver social services more efficiently than the state; secondly, they mitigate equity concerns around privatization of basic social services by reaching out to the poor. Based…

A web application for cotton irrigation management on the U.S. southern high plains. Part I: Crop yield modeling and profit analysis

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Irrigated cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L.) production is a central part of west Texas agriculture that depends on the essentially non-renewable water resource of the Ogallala aquifer. Web-based decision support tools that estimate the profit effects of irrigation for cotton under varying lint price, p...

Job Quality in Non-Profit Organizations. CPRN Research Series on Human Resources in the Non-Profit Sector.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMullen, Kathryn; Schellenberg, Grant

The quality of jobs in nonprofit organizations in Canada was examined through a review of data from Canada's Workplace and Employer Survey, which collected data from a nationally representative sample of Canadian workplaces and paid employees in those workplaces. Key findings of the analysis were as follows: (1) overall, compared to the for-profit…

Techno-economic and profitability analysis of food waste biorefineries at European level.

PubMed

Cristóbal, Jorge; Caldeira, Carla; Corrado, Sara; Sala, Serenella

2018-07-01

Food waste represents a potential source to produce value-added materials replacing the use of virgin ones. However, the use of food waste as feedstock in biorefineries is still at an early stage of development and studies assessing its economic viability at large scale are lacking in the literature. This paper presents a techno-economic and profitability analysis of four food waste biorefineries that use wastes from tomato, potato, orange, and olive processing as feedstock. The study includes the assessment of potentially available quantities of those waste flows in Europe. Due to the low technology readiness level of this kind of biorefineries, a screening methodology to estimate the investment and manufacturing costs as well as two profitability ratios (the return on investment and the payback time) was adopted. Results show that not all the waste feedstocks have the same potential. The most profitable options are those related to implementing fewer plants, namely concentrating the production and capitalising on economies of scale while being at risk of increasing externalities, e.g. due to logistics of the feedstocks. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Harter, James K; Schmidt, Frank L; Hayes, Theodore L

2002-04-01

Based on 7,939 business units in 36 companies, this study used meta-analysis to examine the relationship at the business-unit level between employee satisfaction-engagement and the business-unit outcomes of customer satisfaction, productivity, profit, employee turnover, and accidents. Generalizable relationships large enough to have substantial practical value were found between unit-level employee satisfaction-engagement and these business-unit outcomes. One implication is that changes in management practices that increase employee satisfaction may increase business-unit outcomes, including profit.

Hospital Financial Conditions and the Provision of Unprofitable Services

PubMed Central

Bazzoli, Gloria J.; Hsieh, Hui-Min

2011-01-01

Increases in hospital financial pressure resulting from public and private payment policy may substantially reduce a hospital’s ability to provide certain services that are not well compensated or are frequently used by the uninsured. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of hospital financial condition on the provision of these unprofitable services for the insured and uninsured. Economic theory provides the conceptual underpinnings for the analysis, and a longitudinal empirical analysis is conducted for an eight-year study period. The results indicate that not-for-profit hospitals with strong financial performance provide more unprofitable services for the insured and uninsured than do not-for-profit hospitals with weaker condition. For-profit hospital provision of these services is not influenced by their financial condition and instead may reflect actions to meet community expectations or to offer a sufficiently broad service array to maintain the business of insured patients. PMID:21625342

Function-Based Interventions for Children with Challenging Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunlap, Glen; Fox, Lise

2011-01-01

It is now axiomatic that challenging behaviors are defined more profitably by their functions (their motivations) than by their topographies (what they look like). The notion that challenging behaviors can be defined on the basis of their function has led in the past 30 years to a dramatically reconfigured approach to assessment and intervention.…

Volunteer Motivations and Satisfaction in a Tutoring Program: Implications for Recruitment and Retention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzalez, Kimberly

2009-01-01

The present study employed a functional approach to assess the motivations of tutors volunteering at a non-profit tutoring program. Based on the work of Clary et al. (1998), the "Volunteer Functions Inventory" (VFI) was used to differentiate between six different functions or motivations; values, understanding, social, career, protective and…

Financial standards for HMOs.

PubMed

Parsons, Robert J; Gustafson, Gary; Nelson, Ray D; Murray, Bruce P; Dwore, Richard B

2002-02-01

In today's health care environment, it is important to assess the liquidity and profitability performance of HMOs. This study focuses on three liquidity ratios and three profitability ratios derived from national databases of between 740 and 776 HMOs from 1996 to 1999. Most of the HMOs appear to be using more debt and are less liquid now than they were in 1995. Since administrative overhead costs and dollars spent on medical costs have been increasing, HMOs' margins have been consistently negative. A more careful analysis of overhead costs and the cost of the delivery of medical services could result in improved HMO quality of care, efficiencies, and a return to positive profit margins.

Environmental performance, profitability, asset utilization, debt monitoring and firm value

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bukit, R. Br; Haryanto, B.; Ginting, P.

2018-02-01

The growing issue on firm value shows that firm value is not only determined by the firm ability to increase financial profit, but also by the company's concern in maintaining the environmental condition. The industrial development produces waste that pollutes the environment that has potential to serious impact on the next life. In addition to provide financial benefits, companies are increasingly facing pressure to be socially responsible for the survival of the company. However, past findings demonstrate that the effect of environmental performance, profitability, and asset utilization to the firm’s value are still unclear. This study aims to test whether environmental performance, firm profitability and asset utilization can effectively enhance firm value in two different conditions: intensive debt monitoring and less intensive debt monitoring. Sample of companies is taken from the list of Indonesia Stock Exchange during the period of 2013 to 2015. Using multiple regression analysis, discloses that: in intensive monitoring, managers tend to have high firm value when company has high environmental performance and or high profitability and high asset utilization. Monitoring system needs to be intensified especially for companies with the above characteristics.

Decision and coordination of low-carbon supply chain considering technological spillover and environmental awareness.

PubMed

Xu, Lang; Wang, Chuanxu; Li, Hui

2017-06-08

We focus on the impacts of technological spillovers and environmental awareness in a two-echelon supply chain with one-single supplier and one-single manufacturer to reduce carbon emission. In this supply chain, carbon abatement investment becomes one of key factors of cutting costs and improving profits, which is reducing production costs in the components and products-the investment from players in supply chain. On the basis of optimality theory, the centralized and decentralized models are respectively established to investigate the optimal decisions and profits. Further, setting the players' profits of the decentralized scenario as the disagreement points, we propose a bargaining-coordination contract through revenue-cost sharing to enhance the performance. Finally, by theoretical comparison and numerical analysis, the results show that: (i) The optimal profits of players and supply chain improve as technological spillovers and environmental awareness increase, and the profits of them in the bargaining-coordination contract are higher than that in the decentralized scenario; (ii) Technological spillovers between the players amplify the impact of "free-ride" behavior, in which the supplier always incentives the manufacturer to improve carbon emission intensity, but the cooperation will achieves and the profits will improve only when technological spillovers and environmental awareness are great; (iii) The contract can effectively achieve coordinated supply chain, and improve carbon abatement investment.

Nursing home costs, Medicaid rates, and profits under alternative Medicaid payment systems.

PubMed Central

Schlenker, R E

1991-01-01

This analysis compares nursing home costs, Medicaid payment rates, and profits under three Medicaid nursing home payment systems: case-mix, facility-specific, and class-rate systems. Data used were collected from 135 nursing homes in seven states. The association of case mix with costs, rates, and profits under the three payment systems was of particular interest. Case mix was more strongly associated (positively) with patient care cost and the Medicaid rate for the case-mix systems than for the other systems, particularly the class-rate systems. In contrast, case mix and profits were not associated in the case-mix or facility-specific systems, but were negatively associated in the class rate systems. Overall, the results suggest that case-mix systems have some important advantages over other payment systems, but further research is needed on larger samples and involving the newer case-mix systems. PMID:1743972

A topological proof of chaos for two nonlinear heterogeneous triopoly game models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pireddu, Marina, E-mail: marina.pireddu@unimib.it

We rigorously prove the existence of chaotic dynamics for two nonlinear Cournot triopoly game models with heterogeneous players, for which in the existing literature the presence of complex phenomena and strange attractors has been shown via numerical simulations. In the first model that we analyze, costs are linear but the demand function is isoelastic, while, in the second model, the demand function is linear and production costs are quadratic. As concerns the decisional mechanisms adopted by the firms, in both models one firm adopts a myopic adjustment mechanism, considering the marginal profit of the last period; the second firm maximizesmore » its own expected profit under the assumption that the competitors' production levels will not vary with respect to the previous period; the third firm acts adaptively, changing its output proportionally to the difference between its own output in the previous period and the naive expectation value. The topological method we employ in our analysis is the so-called “Stretching Along the Paths” technique, based on the Poincaré-Miranda Theorem and the properties of the cutting surfaces, which allows to prove the existence of a semi-conjugacy between the system under consideration and the Bernoulli shift, so that the former inherits from the latter several crucial chaotic features, among which a positive topological entropy.« less

Land-use choices follow profitability at the expense of ecological functions in Indonesian smallholder landscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clough, Yann; Krishna, Vijesh V.; Corre, Marife D.; Darras, Kevin; Denmead, Lisa H.; Meijide, Ana; Moser, Stefan; Musshoff, Oliver; Steinebach, Stefanie; Veldkamp, Edzo; Allen, Kara; Barnes, Andrew D.; Breidenbach, Natalie; Brose, Ulrich; Buchori, Damayanti; Daniel, Rolf; Finkeldey, Reiner; Harahap, Idham; Hertel, Dietrich; Holtkamp, A. Mareike; Hörandl, Elvira; Irawan, Bambang; Jaya, I. Nengah Surati; Jochum, Malte; Klarner, Bernhard; Knohl, Alexander; Kotowska, Martyna M.; Krashevska, Valentyna; Kreft, Holger; Kurniawan, Syahrul; Leuschner, Christoph; Maraun, Mark; Melati, Dian Nuraini; Opfermann, Nicole; Pérez-Cruzado, César; Prabowo, Walesa Edho; Rembold, Katja; Rizali, Akhmad; Rubiana, Ratna; Schneider, Dominik; Tjitrosoedirdjo, Sri Sudarmiyati; Tjoa, Aiyen; Tscharntke, Teja; Scheu, Stefan

2016-10-01

Smallholder-dominated agricultural mosaic landscapes are highlighted as model production systems that deliver both economic and ecological goods in tropical agricultural landscapes, but trade-offs underlying current land-use dynamics are poorly known. Here, using the most comprehensive quantification of land-use change and associated bundles of ecosystem functions, services and economic benefits to date, we show that Indonesian smallholders predominantly choose farm portfolios with high economic productivity but low ecological value. The more profitable oil palm and rubber monocultures replace forests and agroforests critical for maintaining above- and below-ground ecological functions and the diversity of most taxa. Between the monocultures, the higher economic performance of oil palm over rubber comes with the reliance on fertilizer inputs and with increased nutrient leaching losses. Strategies to achieve an ecological-economic balance and a sustainable management of tropical smallholder landscapes must be prioritized to avoid further environmental degradation.

Land-use choices follow profitability at the expense of ecological functions in Indonesian smallholder landscapes

PubMed Central

Clough, Yann; Krishna, Vijesh V.; Corre, Marife D.; Darras, Kevin; Denmead, Lisa H.; Meijide, Ana; Moser, Stefan; Musshoff, Oliver; Steinebach, Stefanie; Veldkamp, Edzo; Allen, Kara; Barnes, Andrew D.; Breidenbach, Natalie; Brose, Ulrich; Buchori, Damayanti; Daniel, Rolf; Finkeldey, Reiner; Harahap, Idham; Hertel, Dietrich; Holtkamp, A. Mareike; Hörandl, Elvira; Irawan, Bambang; Jaya, I. Nengah Surati; Jochum, Malte; Klarner, Bernhard; Knohl, Alexander; Kotowska, Martyna M.; Krashevska, Valentyna; Kreft, Holger; Kurniawan, Syahrul; Leuschner, Christoph; Maraun, Mark; Melati, Dian Nuraini; Opfermann, Nicole; Pérez-Cruzado, César; Prabowo, Walesa Edho; Rembold, Katja; Rizali, Akhmad; Rubiana, Ratna; Schneider, Dominik; Tjitrosoedirdjo, Sri Sudarmiyati; Tjoa, Aiyen; Tscharntke, Teja; Scheu, Stefan

2016-01-01

Smallholder-dominated agricultural mosaic landscapes are highlighted as model production systems that deliver both economic and ecological goods in tropical agricultural landscapes, but trade-offs underlying current land-use dynamics are poorly known. Here, using the most comprehensive quantification of land-use change and associated bundles of ecosystem functions, services and economic benefits to date, we show that Indonesian smallholders predominantly choose farm portfolios with high economic productivity but low ecological value. The more profitable oil palm and rubber monocultures replace forests and agroforests critical for maintaining above- and below-ground ecological functions and the diversity of most taxa. Between the monocultures, the higher economic performance of oil palm over rubber comes with the reliance on fertilizer inputs and with increased nutrient leaching losses. Strategies to achieve an ecological-economic balance and a sustainable management of tropical smallholder landscapes must be prioritized to avoid further environmental degradation. PMID:27725673

Land-use choices follow profitability at the expense of ecological functions in Indonesian smallholder landscapes.

PubMed

Clough, Yann; Krishna, Vijesh V; Corre, Marife D; Darras, Kevin; Denmead, Lisa H; Meijide, Ana; Moser, Stefan; Musshoff, Oliver; Steinebach, Stefanie; Veldkamp, Edzo; Allen, Kara; Barnes, Andrew D; Breidenbach, Natalie; Brose, Ulrich; Buchori, Damayanti; Daniel, Rolf; Finkeldey, Reiner; Harahap, Idham; Hertel, Dietrich; Holtkamp, A Mareike; Hörandl, Elvira; Irawan, Bambang; Jaya, I Nengah Surati; Jochum, Malte; Klarner, Bernhard; Knohl, Alexander; Kotowska, Martyna M; Krashevska, Valentyna; Kreft, Holger; Kurniawan, Syahrul; Leuschner, Christoph; Maraun, Mark; Melati, Dian Nuraini; Opfermann, Nicole; Pérez-Cruzado, César; Prabowo, Walesa Edho; Rembold, Katja; Rizali, Akhmad; Rubiana, Ratna; Schneider, Dominik; Tjitrosoedirdjo, Sri Sudarmiyati; Tjoa, Aiyen; Tscharntke, Teja; Scheu, Stefan

2016-10-11

Smallholder-dominated agricultural mosaic landscapes are highlighted as model production systems that deliver both economic and ecological goods in tropical agricultural landscapes, but trade-offs underlying current land-use dynamics are poorly known. Here, using the most comprehensive quantification of land-use change and associated bundles of ecosystem functions, services and economic benefits to date, we show that Indonesian smallholders predominantly choose farm portfolios with high economic productivity but low ecological value. The more profitable oil palm and rubber monocultures replace forests and agroforests critical for maintaining above- and below-ground ecological functions and the diversity of most taxa. Between the monocultures, the higher economic performance of oil palm over rubber comes with the reliance on fertilizer inputs and with increased nutrient leaching losses. Strategies to achieve an ecological-economic balance and a sustainable management of tropical smallholder landscapes must be prioritized to avoid further environmental degradation.

Economic Conditions and Factors Affecting New Nuclear Power Deployment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harrison, Thomas J.

2014-10-01

This report documents work performed in support of the US Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Small Modular Reactor (AdvSMR) program. The report presents information and results from economic analyses to describe current electricity market conditions and those key factors that may impact the deployment of AdvSMRs or any other new nuclear power plants. Thus, this report serves as a reference document for DOE as it moves forward with its plans to develop advanced reactors, including AdvSMRs. For the purpose of this analysis, information on electricity markets and nuclear power plant operating costs will be combined to examinemore » the current state of the nuclear industry and the process required to successfully move forward with new nuclear power in general and AdvSMRs in particular. The current electricity market is generally unfavorable to new nuclear construction, especially in deregulated markets with heavy competition from natural gas and subsidized renewables. The successful and profitable operation of a nuclear power plant (or any power plant) requires the rate at which the electricity is sold to be sufficiently greater than the cost to operate. The wholesale rates in most US markets have settled into values that provide profits for most operating nuclear power plants but are too low to support the added cost of capital recovery for new nuclear construction. There is a strong geographic dependence on the wholesale rate, with some markets currently able to support new nuclear construction. However, there is also a strong geographic dependence on pronuclear public opinion; the areas where power prices are high tend to have unfavorable views on the construction of new nuclear power plants. The use of government-backed incentives, such as subsidies, can help provide a margin to help justify construction projects that otherwise may not seem viable. Similarly, low interest rates for the project will also add a positive margin to the economic analysis. In both cases, the profitable price point is decreased, making more markets open to profitable entry. Overall, the economic attractiveness of a nuclear power construction project is not only a function of its own costs, but a function of the market into which it is deployed. Many of the market characteristics are out of the control of the potential nuclear power plant operators. The decision-making process for the power industry in general is complicated by the short-term market volatility in both the wholesale electricity market and the commodity (natural gas) market. Decisions based on market conditions today may be rendered null and void in six months. With a multiple-year lead time, nuclear power plants are acutely vulnerable to market corrections.« less

An exploratory study of organization design configurations in health care delivery organizations.

PubMed

Sheppeck, Mick; Militello, Jack

2014-01-01

Organizations are configurations of variables that support each other to achieve customer satisfaction. Based on Treacy and Wiersema (1995), we predicted the emergence of two configurations, one supporting a product leadership stance and one predicting the customer intimate approach from a set of 73 for profit health care clinics. In addition, we predicted the emergence of a configuration where the scores on most variables were near the mean for each variable. Using cluster analysis and discriminant function analysis, we identified three configurations: one a "master of two" strategy, one "stuck-in-the-middle," and one showing scores well below the mean on most variables. The implications for organization design and manager actions in the health care industry are discussed.

FT3D: three-dimensional Fourier analysis on small Unix workstations for electron microscopy and tomographic studies.

PubMed

Lanzavecchia, S; Bellon, P L; Tosoni, L

1993-12-01

FT3D is a self-contained package of tools for three-dimensional Fourier analysis, written in the C language for Unix workstations. It can evaluate direct transforms of three-dimensional real functions, inverse transforms, auto- and cross-correlations and spectra. The library has been developed to support three-dimensional reconstructions of biological structures from projections obtained in the electron microscope. This paper discusses some features of the library, which has been implemented in such a way as to profit from the resources of modern workstations. A table of elapsed times for jobs of different dimensions with different RAM buffers is reported for the particular hardware used in the authors' laboratory.

A Step-by-Step Design Methodology for a Base Case Vanadium Redox-Flow Battery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Mark; Counce, Robert M.; Watson, Jack S.; Zawodzinski, Thomas A.; Kamath, Haresh

2012-01-01

The purpose of this work is to develop an evolutionary procedure to be used by Chemical Engineering students for the base-case design of a Vanadium Redox-Flow Battery. The design methodology is based on the work of Douglas (1985) and provides a profitability analysis at each decision level so that more profitable alternatives and directions can be…

Determining Relevant Financial Statement Ratios in Department of Defense Service Component General Fund Financial Statements

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

a . Gross Profit Ratio Modified to Budget Compliance Ratio ....70 b...statements. 1. Objective and Users For a business to make a profit , it is often required to obtain funds from lenders or investors to purchase the...required to determine conclusions regarding the financial position of a business. It is important for users to acknowledge that a ratio analysis is

Profiting and providing less care: comprehensive services at for-profit, nonprofit, and public opioid treatment programs in the United States.

PubMed

Bachhuber, Marcus A; Southern, William N; Cunningham, Chinazo O

2014-05-01

Opioid use disorders are frequently associated with medical and psychiatric comorbidities (eg, HIV infection and depression), as well as social problems (eg, lack of health insurance). Comprehensive services addressing these conditions improve outcomes. To compare the proportion of for-profit, nonprofit, and public opioid treatment programs offering comprehensive services, which are not mandated by government regulations. Cross-sectional analysis of opioid treatment programs offering outpatient care in the United States (n=1036). Self-reported offering of communicable disease (HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and viral hepatitis) testing, psychiatric services (screening, assessment and diagnostic evaluation, and pharmacotherapy), and social services support (assistance in applying for programs such as Medicaid). Mixed-effects logistic regression models were developed to adjust for several county-level factors. Of opioid treatment programs, 58.0% were for profit, 33.5% were nonprofit, and 8.5% were public. Nonprofit programs were more likely than for-profit programs to offer testing for all communicable diseases [adjusted odds ratios (AOR), 1.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.2, 2.5], all psychiatric services (AOR, 8.0; 95% CI, 4.9, 13.1), and social services support (AOR, 3.3; 95% CI, 2.3, 4.8). Public programs were also more likely than for-profit programs to offer communicable disease testing (AOR, 6.4; 95% CI, 3.5, 11.7), all psychiatric services (AOR, 25.8; 95% CI, 12.6, 52.5), and social services support (AOR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.4, 4.3). For-profit programs were significantly less likely than nonprofit and public programs to offer comprehensive services. Interventions to increase the offering of comprehensive services are needed, particularly among for-profit programs.

Specialty hospitals emulating focused factories: a case study.

PubMed

Kumar, Sameer

2010-01-01

For 15 years general hospital managers faced new competition from for-profit specialty hospitals that operate on a "focused factory" model, which threaten to siphon-off the most profitable patients. This paper aims to discuss North American specialty hospitals and to review rising costs impact on general hospital operations. The focus is to discover whether specialty hospitals are more efficient than general hospitals; if so, how significant is the difference and also what can general hospitals do in light of the rising specialty hospitals. The case study involves stochastic frontier regression analysis using Cobb-Douglas and Translog cost functions to compare Minnesota general and specialty hospital efficiency. Analysis is based on data from 117 general and 19 specialty hospitals. The results suggest that specialty hospitals are significantly more efficient than general hospitals. Overall, general hospitals were found to be more than twice as inefficient compared with specialty hospitals in the sample. Some cost-cutting factors highlighted can be implemented to trim rising costs. The case study highlights some managerial levers that general hospital operational managers might use to control rising costs. This also helps them compete with specialty hospitals by reducing overheads and other major costs. The study is based on empirical modeling for an important healthcare operational challenge and provides additional in-depth information that has health policy implications. The analysis and findings enable healthcare managers to guide their institutions in a new direction during a time of change within the industry.

Genetic relationships between growth and carcass traits and profitability in Japanese Brown cattle.

PubMed

Kahi, A K; Oguni, T; Sumio, Y; Hirooka, H

2007-02-01

The objectives of this study were 1) to examine the genetic relationship between growth and carcass traits and carcass price (CaP) and profitability in Japanese Brown cattle, 2) to estimate economic values of carcass and growth traits as regression coefficients of price and profit traits on growth and carcass traits using a multiple regression model, and 3) to compare direct and indirect predictions of the genetic merit of profit obtained from multitrait analysis and selection index, respectively. Growth and carcass traits considered in this study were ADG during the feedlot period, CWT, LM area (LMA), rib thickness (RT), subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), and marbling score (MS). Carcass price was evaluated as a price trait independent of its influence on profit. Profit traits were defined as 1) net income per year (PROF1), 2) net income per year/energy requirement (PROF2), and 3) net income per year minus feed costs (PROF3). Correlations between direct and indirect predictions were estimated based on EBV of sires and dams with progeny records. The heritability estimate for CaP was 0.41. The heritability estimates for profit traits were high and were 0.62, 0.66, and 0.60 for PROF1, PROF2, and PROF3, respectively. The genetic correlations between CaP and ADG, CWT, LMA, RT, SFT, and MS were 0.19, 0.14, 0.30, 0.38, -0.11, and 0.98, respectively. Among the profit traits, PROF1 had the greatest genetic correlations with growth and carcass traits. The correlations with ADG, CWT, LMA, RT, SFT, and MS were 0.30, 0.21, 0.24, 0.39, -0.01, and 0.69, respectively. These estimates indicate that use of profit traits as a selection criterion may promote desirable correlated responses in growth and carcass traits. The economic values for growth and carcass traits estimated relative to CaP and each profit trait differed because of the apparent differences in the description of these traits. The correlations between EBV for the same profit traits from direct and indirect predictions were high and ranged from 0.818 to 0.846 based on EBV of sires and from 0.786 to 0.798 based on EBV of dams. The strong correlations between direct and indirect predictions for profit indicate that there is no advantage to selecting directly for profit compared with an index with all of the component traits.

Do public nursing home care providers deliver higher quality than private providers? Evidence from Sweden.

PubMed

Winblad, Ulrika; Blomqvist, Paula; Karlsson, Andreas

2017-07-14

Swedish nursing home care has undergone a transformation, where the previous virtual public monopoly on providing such services has been replaced by a system of mixed provision. This has led to a rapidly growing share of private actors, the majority of which are large, for-profit firms. In the wake of this development, concerns have been voiced regarding the implications for care quality. In this article, we investigate the relationship between ownership and care quality in nursing homes for the elderly by comparing quality levels between public, for-profit, and non-profit nursing home care providers. We also look at a special category of for-profit providers; private equity companies. The source of data is a national survey conducted by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare in 2011 at 2710 nursing homes. Data from 14 quality indicators are analyzed, including structure and process measures such as staff levels, staff competence, resident participation, and screening for pressure ulcers, nutrition status, and risk of falling. The main statistical method employed is multiple OLS regression analysis. We differentiate in the analysis between structural and processual quality measures. The results indicate that public nursing homes have higher quality than privately operated homes with regard to two structural quality measures: staffing levels and individual accommodation. Privately operated nursing homes, on the other hand, tend to score higher on process-based quality indicators such as medication review and screening for falls and malnutrition. No significant differences were found between different ownership categories of privately operated nursing homes. Ownership does appear to be related to quality outcomes in Swedish nursing home care, but the results are mixed and inconclusive. That staffing levels, which has been regarded as a key quality indicator in previous research, are higher in publicly operated homes than private is consistent with earlier findings. The fact that privately operated homes, including those operated by for-profit companies, had higher processual quality is more unexpected, given previous research. Finally, no significant quality differences were found between private ownership types, i.e. for-profit, non-profit, and private equity companies, which indicates that profit motives are less important for determining quality in Swedish nursing home care than in other countries where similar studies have been carried out.

The shifting functional balance of patents and drug regulation.

PubMed

Eisenberg, R S

2001-01-01

Patents are often portrayed as the necessary reward to compensate pharmaceutical firms for the huge costs and risks associated with Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-mandated clinical trials of new drugs. But the relationship between the patent system and other regulation of drugs is more complex than this simple formulation suggests. Drug regulation operates in tandem with patents to make proprietary products profitable, and patents themselves increasingly threaten to limit profitability by diverting profits elsewhere. At the same time, resistance to high drug prices is prompting new state and federal regulatory initiatives that threaten to reduce the value of drug patents. The distinctive intertwining of patents with other regulatory regimes and the shifting role of patents in the biopharmaceutical sector call into question how this singular success story for innovation policy will play out in the future.

The Corporate Stake in Social Cohesion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oketch, Moses O.

2005-01-01

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a function that transcends, but includes, making profits, creating jobs, and producing goods and services. The effectiveness with which corporations perform this function determines their contribution (or lack of contribution) to social cohesion. This article therefore presents a discussion of some of the…

A Classification and Analysis of Contracting Literature

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-01

Pricing Model ( CAPM . This is a model designed by investment analysts to determine required rates of return given the systematic risk of a company. The...For the amount of risk they take, these profit margins were not excessively high. The author examined profitability in terms of the Capital Asset ...taxonomy was applied was limited , the results were necessarily qualified. However, at the least this application provided areas for further research

Mechanistic Considerations Used in the Development of the PROFIT PCI Failure Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pankaskie, P. J.

A fuel Pellet-Zircaloy Cladding (thermo-mechanical-chemical) Interactions (PC!) failure model for estimating the probability of failure in !ransient increases in power (PROFIT) was developed. PROFIT is based on 1) standard statistical methods applied to available PC! fuel failure data and 2) a mechanistic analysis of the environmental and strain-rate-dependent stress versus strain characteristics of Zircaloy cladding. The statistical analysis of fuel failures attributable to PCI suggested that parameters in addition to power, transient increase in power, and burnup are needed to define PCI fuel failures in terms of probability estimates with known confidence limits. The PROFIT model, therefore, introduces an environmentalmore » and strain-rate dependent strain energy absorption to failure (SEAF) concept to account for the stress versus strain anomalies attributable to interstitial-disloction interaction effects in the Zircaloy cladding. Assuming that the power ramping rate is the operating corollary of strain-rate in the Zircaloy cladding, then the variables of first order importance in the PCI fuel failure phenomenon are postulated to be: 1. pre-transient fuel rod power, P{sub I}, 2. transient increase in fuel rod power, {Delta}P, 3. fuel burnup, Bu, and 4. the constitutive material property of the Zircaloy cladding, SEAF.« less

Outcome switching in randomized controlled oncology trials reporting on surrogate endpoints: a cross-sectional analysis.

PubMed

Falk Delgado, Alberto; Falk Delgado, Anna

2017-08-23

Inconsistent reporting of clinical trials is well-known in the literature. Despite this, factors associated with poor practice such as outcome switching in clinical trials are poorly understood. We performed a cross-sectional analysis to evaluate the prevalence of, and the factors associated with outcome switching. PubMed and Embase were searched for pharmaceutical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in oncology reporting on a surrogate primary outcome published in 2015. Outcome switching was present in 18% (39/216). First-author male sex was significantly more likely associated with outcome switching compared to female sex with an OR of 3.05 (95% CI 1.07-8.64, p = 0.04) after multivariable adjustment. For-profit funded RCTs were less likely associated with outcome switching compared to non-profit funded research with an OR of 0.22 (95% CI 0.07-0.74, p = 0.01). First author male sex was more likely associated with outcome switching compared to female sex in drug oncology RCTs reporting on a primary surrogate endpoint. For-profit funded research was less likely associated with outcome switching compared to research funded by non-profit organizations. Furthermore, 18 percent of drug oncology trials reporting on a surrogate endpoint could have a higher risk of false positive results due to primary outcome switching.

Much ado about nothing? The financial impact of physician-owned specialty hospitals.

PubMed

Chakravarty, Sujoy

2016-06-01

The U.S. hospital industry has recently witnessed a number of policy changes aimed at aligning hospital payments to costs and these can be traced to significant concerns regarding selection of profitable patients and procedures by physician-owned specialty hospitals. The policy responses to specialty hospitals have alternated between payment system reforms and outright moratoriums on hospital operations including one in the recently enacted Affordable Care Act. A key issue is whether physician-owned specialty hospitals pose financial strain on the larger group of general hospitals through cream-skimming of profitable patients, yet there is no study that conducts a systematic analysis relating such selection behavior by physician-owners to financial impacts within hospital markets. The current paper takes into account heterogeneity in specialty hospital behavior and finds some evidence of their adverse impact on profit margins of competitor hospitals, especially for-profit hospitals. There is also some evidence of hospital consolidation in response to competitive pressures by specialty hospitals. Overall, these findings underline the importance of the payment reforms aimed at correcting distortions in the reimbursement system that generate incentives for risk-selection among providers groups. The identification techniques will also inform empirical analysis on future data testing the efficacy of these payment reforms.

Is functional integration of resting state brain networks an unspecific biomarker for working memory performance?

PubMed

Alavash, Mohsen; Doebler, Philipp; Holling, Heinz; Thiel, Christiane M; Gießing, Carsten

2015-03-01

Is there one optimal topology of functional brain networks at rest from which our cognitive performance would profit? Previous studies suggest that functional integration of resting state brain networks is an important biomarker for cognitive performance. However, it is still unknown whether higher network integration is an unspecific predictor for good cognitive performance or, alternatively, whether specific network organization during rest predicts only specific cognitive abilities. Here, we investigated the relationship between network integration at rest and cognitive performance using two tasks that measured different aspects of working memory; one task assessed visual-spatial and the other numerical working memory. Network clustering, modularity and efficiency were computed to capture network integration on different levels of network organization, and to statistically compare their correlations with the performance in each working memory test. The results revealed that each working memory aspect profits from a different resting state topology, and the tests showed significantly different correlations with each of the measures of network integration. While higher global network integration and modularity predicted significantly better performance in visual-spatial working memory, both measures showed no significant correlation with numerical working memory performance. In contrast, numerical working memory was superior in subjects with highly clustered brain networks, predominantly in the intraparietal sulcus, a core brain region of the working memory network. Our findings suggest that a specific balance between local and global functional integration of resting state brain networks facilitates special aspects of cognitive performance. In the context of working memory, while visual-spatial performance is facilitated by globally integrated functional resting state brain networks, numerical working memory profits from increased capacities for local processing, especially in brain regions involved in working memory performance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A market, operation, and mission assessment of large rural for-profit hospitals with positive cash flow.

PubMed

McCue, Michael J

2007-01-01

National benchmark data for 2002 indicate that large rural for-profit hospitals have a median cash flow margin of 19.5% compared to 9.2% for their nonprofit counterparts. This study aims to gain insight regarding the driving factors behind the high cash flow performance of large rural for-profit hospitals. Using 3 annual periods of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid cost report data with the last fiscal year ending between September 30, 2002, and August 30, 2003, the study found a cash flow margin of 21.5% for the large rural for-profit hospitals. All these facilities were owned by hospital management companies. To assess their underlying market, operational, and mission factors, these hospitals were compared to a similar comparison group of large rural nonprofit hospitals that are system owned and have positive cash flows. Using logistic regression analysis, the study found lower operating expense per adjusted discharge and salary expense as a percentage of total operating expense among large rural for-profit, system-owned hospitals with positive cash flows relative to nonprofits with similar traits. Overall, the findings of this study reflect how these for-profit hospitals, which are owned by hospital management companies, focus on controlling their labor costs as well as operating costs per discharge in order to achieve a greater positive cash flow position.

A National Study of Efficiency for Dialysis Centers: An Examination of Market Competition and Facility Characteristics for Production of Multiple Dialysis Outputs

PubMed Central

Ozgen, Hacer; A. Ozcan, Yasar

2002-01-01

Objective To examine market competition and facility characteristics that can be related to technical efficiency in the production of multiple dialysis outputs from the perspective of the industrial organization model. Study Setting Freestanding dialysis facilities that operated in 1997 submitted cost report forms to the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), and offered all three outputs—outpatient dialysis, dialysis training, and home program dialysis. Data Sources The Independent Renal Facility Cost Report Data file (IRFCRD) from HCFA was utilized to obtain information on output and input variables and market and facility features for 791 multiple-output facilities. Information regarding population characteristics was obtained from the Area Resources File. Study Design Cross-sectional data for the year 1997 were utilized to obtain facility-specific technical efficiency scores estimated through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). A binary variable of efficiency status was then regressed against its market and facility characteristics and control factors in a multivariate logistic regression analysis. Principal Findings The majority of the facilities in the sample are functioning technically inefficiently. Neither the intensity of market competition nor a policy of dialyzer reuse has a significant effect on the facilities' efficiency. Technical efficiency is significantly associated, however, with type of ownership, with the interaction between the market concentration of for-profits and ownership type, and with affiliations with chains of different sizes. Nonprofit and government-owned facilities are more likely than their for-profit counterparts to become inefficient producers of renal dialysis outputs. On the other hand, that relationship between ownership form and efficiency is reversed as the market concentration of for-profits in a given market increases. Facilities that are members of large chains are more likely to be technically inefficient. Conclusions Facilities do not appear to benefit from joint production of a variety of dialysis outputs, which may explain the ongoing tendency toward single-output production. Ownership form does make a positive difference in production efficiency, but only in local markets where competition exists between nonprofit and for-profit facilities. The increasing inefficiency associated with membership in large chains suggests that the growing consolidation in the dialysis industry may not, in fact, be the strategy for attaining more technical efficiency in the production of multiple dialysis outputs. PMID:12132602

A national study of efficiency for dialysis centers: an examination of market competition and facility characteristics for production of multiple dialysis outputs.

PubMed

Ozgen, Hacer; Ozcan, Yasar A

2002-06-01

To examine market competition and facility characteristics that can be related to technical efficiency in the production of multiple dialysis outputs from the perspective of the industrial organization model. Freestanding dialysis facilities that operated in 1997 submitted cost report fonns to the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), and offered all three outputs--outpatient dialysis, dialysis training, and home program dialysis. The Independent Renal Facility Cost Report Data file (IRFCRD) from HCFA was utilized to obtain information on output and input variables and market and facility features for 791 multiple-output facilities. Information regarding population characteristics was obtained from the Area Resources File. Cross-sectional data for the year 1997 were utilized to obtain facility-specific technical efficiency scores estimated through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). A binary variable of efficiency status was then regressed against its market and facility characteristics and control factors in a multivariate logistic regression analysis. The majority of the facilities in the sample are functioning technically inefficiently. Neither the intensity of market competition nor a policy of dialyzer reuse has a significant effect on the facilities' efficiency. Technical efficiency is significantly associated, however, with type of ownership, with the interaction between the market concentration of for-profits and ownership type, and with affiliations with chains of different sizes. Nonprofit and government-owned Facilities are more likely than their for-profit counterparts to become inefficient producers of renal dialysis outputs. On the other hand, that relationship between ownership form and efficiency is reversed as the market concentration of for-profits in a given market increases. Facilities that are members of large chains are more likely to be technically inefficient. Facilities do not appear to benefit from joint production of a variety of dialysis outputs, which may explain the ongoing tendency toward single-output production. Ownership form does make a positive difference in production efficiency, but only in local markets where competition exists between nonprofit and for-profit facilities. The increasing inefficiency associated with membership in large chains suggests that the growing consolidation in the dialysis industry may not, in fact, be the strategy for attaining more technical efficiency in the production of multiple dialysis outputs.

Subfield profitability analysis reveals an economic case for cropland diversification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandes, E.; McNunn, G. S.; Schulte, L. A.; Bonner, I. J.; Muth, D. J.; Babcock, B. A.; Sharma, B.; Heaton, E. A.

2016-01-01

Public agencies and private enterprises increasingly desire to achieve ecosystem service outcomes in agricultural systems, but are limited by perceived conflicts between economic and ecosystem service goals and a lack of tools enabling effective operational management. Here we use Iowa—an agriculturally homogeneous state representative of the Maize Belt—to demonstrate an economic rationale for cropland diversification at the subfield scale. We used a novel computational framework that integrates disparate but publicly available data to map ˜3.3 million unique potential management polygons (9.3 Mha) and reveal subfield opportunities to increase overall field profitability. We analyzed subfield profitability for maize/soybean fields during 2010-2013—four of the most profitable years in recent history—and projected results for 2015. While cropland operating at a loss of US 250 ha-1 or more was negligible between 2010 and 2013 at 18 000-190 000 ha (<2% of row-crop land), the extent of highly unprofitable land increased to 2.5 Mha, or 27% of row-crop land, in the 2015 projection. Aggregation of these areas to the township level revealed ‘hotspots’ for potential management change in Western, Central, and Northeast Iowa. In these least profitable areas, incorporating conservation management that breaks even (e.g., planting low-input perennials), into low-yielding portions of fields could increase overall cropland profitability by 80%. This approach is applicable to the broader region and differs substantially from the status quo of ‘top-down’ land management for conservation by harnessing private interest to align profitability with the production of ecosystem services.

Identifying Financially Sustainable Pricing Interventions to Promote Healthier Beverage Purchases in Small Neighborhood Stores

PubMed Central

Kumanyika, Shiriki; Gittelsohn, Joel; Adam, Atif; Wong, Michelle S.; Mui, Yeeli; Lee, Bruce Y.

2018-01-01

Introduction Residents of low-income communities often purchase sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) at small, neighborhood “corner” stores. Lowering water prices and increasing SSB prices are potentially complementary public health strategies to promote more healthful beverage purchasing patterns in these stores. Sustainability, however, depends on financial feasibility. Because in-store pricing experiments are complex and require retailers to take business risks, we used a simulation approach to identify profitable pricing combinations for corner stores. Methods The analytic approach was based on inventory models, which are suitable for modeling business operations. We used discrete-event simulation to build inventory models that use data representing beverage inventory, wholesale costs, changes in retail prices, and consumer demand for 2 corner stores in Baltimore, Maryland. Model outputs yielded ranges for water and SSB prices that increased water demand without loss of profit from combined water and SSB sales. Results A 20% SSB price increase allowed lowering water prices by up to 20% while maintaining profit and increased water demand by 9% and 14%, for stores selling SSBs in 12-oz cans and 16- to 20-oz bottles, respectively. Without changing water prices, profits could increase by 4% and 6%, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed that stores with a higher volume of SSB sales could reduce water prices the most without loss of profit. Conclusion Various combinations of SSB and water prices could encourage water consumption while maintaining or increasing store owners’ profits. This model is a first step in designing and implementing profitable pricing strategies in collaboration with store owners. PMID:29369758

Identifying Financially Sustainable Pricing Interventions to Promote Healthier Beverage Purchases in Small Neighborhood Stores.

PubMed

Nau, Claudia; Kumanyika, Shiriki; Gittelsohn, Joel; Adam, Atif; Wong, Michelle S; Mui, Yeeli; Lee, Bruce Y

2018-01-25

Residents of low-income communities often purchase sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) at small, neighborhood "corner" stores. Lowering water prices and increasing SSB prices are potentially complementary public health strategies to promote more healthful beverage purchasing patterns in these stores. Sustainability, however, depends on financial feasibility. Because in-store pricing experiments are complex and require retailers to take business risks, we used a simulation approach to identify profitable pricing combinations for corner stores. The analytic approach was based on inventory models, which are suitable for modeling business operations. We used discrete-event simulation to build inventory models that use data representing beverage inventory, wholesale costs, changes in retail prices, and consumer demand for 2 corner stores in Baltimore, Maryland. Model outputs yielded ranges for water and SSB prices that increased water demand without loss of profit from combined water and SSB sales. A 20% SSB price increase allowed lowering water prices by up to 20% while maintaining profit and increased water demand by 9% and 14%, for stores selling SSBs in 12-oz cans and 16- to 20-oz bottles, respectively. Without changing water prices, profits could increase by 4% and 6%, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed that stores with a higher volume of SSB sales could reduce water prices the most without loss of profit. Various combinations of SSB and water prices could encourage water consumption while maintaining or increasing store owners' profits. This model is a first step in designing and implementing profitable pricing strategies in collaboration with store owners.

Apes, Wolves, Birds, and Humans: Toward a Comparative Foundation for a Functional Theory of Language Evolution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Jane H.

1977-01-01

This article reviews the possibilities that a comparative, functionally oriented view of communication evolution offers to a linguist interested in the evolution of human languages and suggests a wide variety of areas which might be further investigated with profit. (CFM)

26 CFR 1.892-4T - Commercial activities (temporary regulations).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... current or future production of income or gain are commercial activities. An activity may be considered a... railroad is not a non-profit activity. (4) Governmental functions. Governmental functions are not commercial activities. The term “governmental functions” shall be determined under U.S. standards. In general...

26 CFR 1.892-4T - Commercial activities (temporary regulations).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... current or future production of income or gain are commercial activities. An activity may be considered a... railroad is not a non-profit activity. (4) Governmental functions. Governmental functions are not commercial activities. The term “governmental functions” shall be determined under U.S. standards. In general...

26 CFR 1.892-4T - Commercial activities (temporary regulations).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... current or future production of income or gain are commercial activities. An activity may be considered a... railroad is not a non-profit activity. (4) Governmental functions. Governmental functions are not commercial activities. The term “governmental functions” shall be determined under U.S. standards. In general...

26 CFR 1.892-4T - Commercial activities (temporary regulations).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... current or future production of income or gain are commercial activities. An activity may be considered a... railroad is not a non-profit activity. (4) Governmental functions. Governmental functions are not commercial activities. The term “governmental functions” shall be determined under U.S. standards. In general...

26 CFR 1.892-4T - Commercial activities (temporary regulations).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... current or future production of income or gain are commercial activities. An activity may be considered a... railroad is not a non-profit activity. (4) Governmental functions. Governmental functions are not commercial activities. The term “governmental functions” shall be determined under U.S. standards. In general...

The next $120,000: a case study to illustrate analysis of alternative farm investments in fixed assets.

PubMed

St-Pierre, N R; Shoemaker, D; Jones, L R

2000-05-01

Dairy scientists specializing in the area of farm management are increasingly involved in analysis of farm investments in fixed assets. There have been instances where the wrong procedures were used to assess investments in fixed assets, leading to erroneous and possibly disastrous conclusions. A detailed case study of a dairy farm facing the decision of where best to invest an unexpected $120,000 windfall is used to illustrate the various facets of financial analysis. Indicators of profitability, liquidity, solvency, repayment capacity, and financial efficiency are explained and applied to the farm case to produce a detailed analysis of the current financial position of the firm. Long-range budgets of four alternate investment options and their impact on all financial indicators are presented. The four options are: 1) to pay down debt, 2) to purchase an additional 100 cows, 3) to install automatic milk yield recording in the parlor, and 4) to build new heifer facilities. All four investments are profitable. Therefore, an analysis limited to profitability indicators would conclude that any of the four options is a good investment. However, liquidity and financial efficiency issues showed that the option of purchasing 100 cows is far superior to the three others. We conclude that a complete and thorough financial analysis is required to evaluate the impact of long-run investments in fixed assets.

Profitability analysis of a femtosecond laser system for cataract surgery using a fuzzy logic approach.

PubMed

Trigueros, José Antonio; Piñero, David P; Ismail, Mahmoud M

2016-01-01

To define the financial and management conditions required to introduce a femtosecond laser system for cataract surgery in a clinic using a fuzzy logic approach. In the simulation performed in the current study, the costs associated to the acquisition and use of a commercially available femtosecond laser platform for cataract surgery (VICTUS, TECHNOLAS Perfect Vision GmbH, Bausch & Lomb, Munich, Germany) during a period of 5y were considered. A sensitivity analysis was performed considering such costs and the countable amortization of the system during this 5y period. Furthermore, a fuzzy logic analysis was used to obtain an estimation of the money income associated to each femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (G). According to the sensitivity analysis, the femtosecond laser system under evaluation can be profitable if 1400 cataract surgeries are performed per year and if each surgery can be invoiced more than $500. In contrast, the fuzzy logic analysis confirmed that the patient had to pay more per surgery, between $661.8 and $667.4 per surgery, without considering the cost of the intraocular lens (IOL). A profitability of femtosecond laser systems for cataract surgery can be obtained after a detailed financial analysis, especially in those centers with large volumes of patients. The cost of the surgery for patients should be adapted to the real flow of patients with the ability of paying a reasonable range of cost.

20 CFR 435.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND... every procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison...

20 CFR 435.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND... every procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison...

20 CFR 435.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND... every procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison...

20 CFR 435.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND... every procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison...

Economic evaluation of pregnancy diagnosis in dairy cattle: a decision analysis approach.

PubMed

Oltenacu, P A; Ferguson, J D; Lednor, A J

1990-10-01

Cost-benefit evaluations of several pregnancy diagnosis schemes were performed. The strategy using on-farm milk progesterone test on d 19 after service, followed by treatment of nonpregnant cows with prostaglandin, was the most profitable returning $10.50 per cow above the cost of the intervention. An increase in efficiency of detection of estrus of greater than 20% among cows diagnosed nonpregnant and an error rate in pregnancy diagnosis of less than or equal to 3% were needed to ensure profitability. Pregnancy diagnosis by uterine palpation per rectum on d 35 after service, combined with the use of pressure-sensitive mounting devices on nonpregnant cows was the second most profitable strategy and returned $5.10 per cow. An increase in efficiency of detection of estrus of greater than or equal to 20% was required to ensure profitability. Embryonic mortality was also critical and an increase from a baseline value of 10% to 12%, as a result of early uterine palpation, made this scheme unprofitable ($-4.80 per cow). Pregnancy diagnosis by uterine palpation per rectum at 50 or 65 d was less profitable, with a return of $2.50 and $.10 per cow, respectively.

Economic analysis of a herpes zoster vaccination program in 19 affiliated supermarket pharmacies.

PubMed

Hedden, Megan A; Kuehl, Peggy G; Liu, Yifei

2014-01-01

To examine the economic impact of providing herpes zoster vaccine (ZOS) in 19 affiliated supermarket pharmacies in a midwestern metropolitan area from the perspective of the pharmacy and to identify factors associated with greater rates of vaccine delivery and profitability. 19 affiliated supermarket pharmacies in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Immunizations with ZOS were expanded from 2 pharmacies to all 19 affiliated pharmacies. Various methods to promote the vaccine were used, including personal selling, store signage, and circular ads. In addition to a broad perspective pharmacoeconomic model, a localized perspective model is proposed to determine profitability for the service. Factors associated with greater success in vaccine delivery and profitability were identified. Net financial gains or losses were calculated for each vaccine administered for each of the 19 pharmacies and for the entire supermarket chain. 662 vaccines were given during the study period, accounting for 6.7% of all eligible patients. The profit per vaccine averaged $9.60 (5.7%) and $28.37 (18.9%) using the broad and localized perspective models, respectively. Success of the ZOS program was demonstrated using both models. Certain factors correlated with greater profits when using the localized perspective model.

Subjective value of risky foods for individual domestic chicks: a hierarchical Bayesian model.

PubMed

Kawamori, Ai; Matsushima, Toshiya

2010-05-01

For animals to decide which prey to attack, the gain and delay of the food item must be integrated in a value function. However, the subjective value is not obtained by expected profitability when it is accompanied by risk. To estimate the subjective value, we examined choices in a cross-shaped maze with two colored feeders in domestic chicks. When tested by a reversal in food amount or delay, chicks changed choices similarly in both conditions (experiment 1). We therefore examined risk sensitivity for amount and delay (experiment 2) by supplying one feeder with food of fixed profitability and the alternative feeder with high- or low-profitability food at equal probability. Profitability varied in amount (groups 1 and 2 at high and low variance) or in delay (group 3). To find the equilibrium, the amount (groups 1 and 2) or delay (group 3) of the food in the fixed feeder was adjusted in a total of 18 blocks. The Markov chain Monte Carlo method was applied to a hierarchical Bayesian model to estimate the subjective value. Chicks undervalued the variable feeder in group 1 and were indifferent in group 2 but overvalued the variable feeder in group 3 at a population level. Re-examination without the titration procedure (experiment 3) suggested that the subjective value was not absolute for each option. When the delay was varied, the variable option was often given a paradoxically high value depending on fixed alternative. Therefore, the basic assumption of the uniquely determined value function might be questioned.

New Provider Models for Sweden and Spain: Public, Private or Non-profit? Comment on "Governance, Government, and the Search for New Provider Models".

PubMed

Jeurissen, Patrick P T; Maarse, Hans

2016-06-29

Sweden and Spain experiment with different provider models to reform healthcare provision. Both models have in common that they extend the role of the for-profit sector in healthcare. As the analysis of Saltman and Duran demonstrates, privatisation is an ambiguous and contested strategy that is used for quite different purposes. In our comment, we emphasize that their analysis leaves questions open on the consequences of privatisation for the performance of healthcare and the role of the public sector in healthcare provision. Furthermore, we briefly address the absence of the option of healthcare provision by not-for-profit providers in the privatisation strategy of Sweden and Spain. © 2016 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Profitable ultrasonic assisted microwave disintegration of sludge biomass: Modelling of biomethanation and energy parameter analysis.

PubMed

Kavitha, S; Rajesh Banu, J; Kumar, Gopalakrishnan; Kaliappan, S; Yeom, Ick Tae

2018-04-01

In this study, microwave irradiation has been employed to disintegrate the sludge biomass profitably by deagglomerating the sludge using a mechanical device, ultrasonicator. The outcomes of the study revealed that a specific energy input of 3.5 kJ/kg TS was found to be optimum for deagglomeration with limited cell lysis. A higher suspended solids (SS) reduction and biomass lysis efficiency of about 22.5% and 33.2% was achieved through ultrasonic assisted microwave disintegration (UMWD) when compared to microwave disintegration - MWD (15% and 20.9%). The results of biochemical methane potential (BMP) test were used to estimate biodegradability of samples. Among the samples subjected to BMP, UMWD showed better amenability towards anaerobic digestion with higher methane production potential of 0.3 L/g COD representing enhanced liquefaction potential of disaggregated sludge biomass. Economic analysis of the proposed method of sludge biomass pretreatment showed a net profit of 2.67 USD/Ton respectively. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

22 CFR 518.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award... analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted...

49 CFR 19.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award... analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted...

49 CFR 19.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award... analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted...

22 CFR 518.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award... analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted...

49 CFR 19.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award... analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted...

22 CFR 518.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award... analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted...

22 CFR 518.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award... analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted...

22 CFR 518.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award... analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted...

49 CFR 19.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award... analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted...

Government stewardship of the for-profit private health sector in Afghanistan

PubMed Central

Sayedi, Omarzaman; Irani, Laili; Archer, Lauren C.; Sears, Kathleen; Sharma, Suneeta

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Since 2003, Afghanistan's largely unregulated for-profit private health sector has grown at a rapid pace. In 2008, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) launched a long-term stewardship initiative to oversee and regulate private providers and align the sector with national health goals. Aim: We examine the progress the MoPH has made towards more effective stewardship, consider the challenges and assess the early impacts on for-profit performance. Methods: We reviewed publicly available documents, publications and the grey literature to analyse the development, adoption and implementation of strategies, policies and regulations. We carried out a series of key informant/participant interviews, organizational capacity assessments and analyses of hospital standards checklists. Using a literature review of health systems strengthening, we proposed an Afghan-specific definition of six key stewardship functions to assess progress towards MoPH stewardship objectives. Results: The MoPH and its partners have achieved positive results in strengthening its private sector stewardship functions especially in generating actionable intelligence and establishing strategic policy directions, administrative structures and a legal and regulatory framework. Progress has also been made on improving accountability and transparency, building partnerships and applying minimum required standards to private hospitals. Procedural and operational issues still need resolution and the MoPH is establishing mechanisms for resolving them. Conclusions: The MoPH stewardship initiative is notable for its achievements to date under challenging circumstances. Its success is due to the focus on developing a solid policy framework and building institutions and systems aimed at ensuring higher quality private services, and a rational long-term and sustainable role for the private sector. Although the MoPH stewardship initiative is still at an early stage, the evidence suggests that enhanced stewardship functions in the MoPH are leading to a more efficient and effective for-profit private sector. These successful early efforts offer high-leverage potential to rapidly scale up going forward. PMID:27683341

Government stewardship of the for-profit private health sector in Afghanistan.

PubMed

Cross, Harry E; Sayedi, Omarzaman; Irani, Laili; Archer, Lauren C; Sears, Kathleen; Sharma, Suneeta

2017-04-01

Since 2003, Afghanistan's largely unregulated for-profit private health sector has grown at a rapid pace. In 2008, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) launched a long-term stewardship initiative to oversee and regulate private providers and align the sector with national health goals. We examine the progress the MoPH has made towards more effective stewardship, consider the challenges and assess the early impacts on for-profit performance. We reviewed publicly available documents, publications and the grey literature to analyse the development, adoption and implementation of strategies, policies and regulations. We carried out a series of key informant/participant interviews, organizational capacity assessments and analyses of hospital standards checklists. Using a literature review of health systems strengthening, we proposed an Afghan-specific definition of six key stewardship functions to assess progress towards MoPH stewardship objectives. The MoPH and its partners have achieved positive results in strengthening its private sector stewardship functions especially in generating actionable intelligence and establishing strategic policy directions, administrative structures and a legal and regulatory framework. Progress has also been made on improving accountability and transparency, building partnerships and applying minimum required standards to private hospitals. Procedural and operational issues still need resolution and the MoPH is establishing mechanisms for resolving them. The MoPH stewardship initiative is notable for its achievements to date under challenging circumstances. Its success is due to the focus on developing a solid policy framework and building institutions and systems aimed at ensuring higher quality private services, and a rational long-term and sustainable role for the private sector. Although the MoPH stewardship initiative is still at an early stage, the evidence suggests that enhanced stewardship functions in the MoPH are leading to a more efficient and effective for-profit private sector. These successful early efforts offer high-leverage potential to rapidly scale up going forward. © VC The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Health systems: changes in hospital efficiency and profitability.

PubMed

Büchner, Vera Antonia; Hinz, Vera; Schreyögg, Jonas

2016-06-01

This study investigates potential changes in hospital performance after health system entry, while differentiating between hospital technical and cost efficiency and hospital profitability. In the first stage we obtained (bootstrapped) data envelopment analysis (DEA) efficiency scores. Then, genetic matching is used as a novel matching procedure in this context along with a difference-in-difference approach within a panel regression framework. With the genetic matching procedure, independent and health system hospitals are matched along a number of environmental and organizational characteristics. The results show that health system entry increases hospital technical and cost efficiency by between 0.6 and 3.4 % in four alternative post-entry periods, indicating that health system entry has not a transitory but rather a permanent effect on hospital efficiency. Regarding hospital profitability, the results reveal an increase in hospital profitability only 1 year after health system entry, and the estimations suggest that this effect is a transitional phenomenon. Overall, health system entry may serve as an appropriate management instrument for decision makers to increase hospital performance.

Analysis of Household Electricity Consumption Patterns and Economy of Water Heating Shifting and Saving Bulbs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosin, Argo; Moller, Taavi; Lehtla, Madis; Hoimoja, Hardi

2010-01-01

This article analyses household electricity consumption based on an object in Estonia. Energy consumption of workday and holiday by loads (including high and low tariff energy consumption) is discussed. The final part describes the evaluation of profitability of common investments of consumption shifting and replacing inefficient devices with more efficient ones. Additionally it describes shifting problems and shifting equipment profitability in real-time tariff system.

An Analysis of Superintendent-CEO Evaluation as Compared to Executive Officer Evaluation in Private Education, Higher Education, Non-Profit Organizations, and For-Profit Corporations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hentze, Brandon T.

2010-01-01

The accountability movement of the early 1990s, along with the No Child Left Behind legislation of 2001, required a change in the role of the school district superintendent. The long-used model of superintendent-manager was no longer appropriate to lead school districts in this new era of accountability. A new model of the superintendency emerged…

Survey of DoD Profit Policy and Further Analysis of the Estimation Theory

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-12-01

CAPITAL ASSET PRICING MODEL 21 E. APPLICATION OF THE CAPM TO WEIGHTED TO THE WEIGHTED GUIDLELINES POLICY 24 1. Pure...Working Capital Employed : 9 4. Facilities Capital 11 C. EFFECTIVENESS OF POLICY 12 III. CAPTIAL ASSET PRICING MODEL OF DOD PROFIT 19 A. OVERVIEW 19...and Rogerson’s approach to the weighted guidelines policy using a capital asset pricing model approach. Both models are examined in the

2 CFR 215.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS (OMB CIRCULAR... procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price...

15 CFR 14.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, OTHER NON-PROFIT, AND... every procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison...

2 CFR 215.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS (OMB CIRCULAR... procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price...

45 CFR 2543.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... SERVICE GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT... procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price...

45 CFR 2543.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... SERVICE GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT... procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price...

45 CFR 2543.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... SERVICE GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT... procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price...

15 CFR 14.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, OTHER NON-PROFIT, AND... every procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison...

15 CFR 14.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, OTHER NON-PROFIT, AND... every procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison...

15 CFR 14.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, OTHER NON-PROFIT, AND... every procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison...

2 CFR 215.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS (OMB CIRCULAR... procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price...

45 CFR 2543.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... SERVICE GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT... procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price...

Factors influencing health information system adoption in American hospitals.

PubMed

Wang, Bill B; Wan, Thomas T H; Burke, Darrell E; Bazzoli, Gloria J; Lin, Blossom Y J

2005-01-01

To study the number of health information systems (HISs), applicable to administrative, clinical, and executive decision support functionalities, adopted by acute care hospitals and to examine how hospital market, organizational, and financial factors influence HIS adoption. A cross-sectional analysis was performed with 1441 hospitals selected from metropolitan statistical areas in the United States. Multiple data sources were merged. Six hypotheses were empirically tested by multiple regression analysis. HIS adoption was influenced by the hospital market, organizational, and financial factors. Larger, system-affiliated, and for-profit hospitals with more preferred provider organization contracts are more likely to adopt managerial information systems than their counterparts. Operating revenue is positively associated with HIS adoption. The study concludes that hospital organizational and financial factors influence on hospitals' strategic adoption of clinical, administrative, and managerial information systems.

12 CFR 271.7 - Exemptions from disclosure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... its statutory functions; (2) Interfere with the orderly conduct of the foreign affairs of the United States; (3) Permit speculators or others to gain unfair profits or other unfair advantages by speculative...

Views of NHS commissioners on commissioning support provision. Evidence from a qualitative study examining the early development of clinical commissioning groups in England

PubMed Central

Petsoulas, Christina; Allen, Pauline; Checkland, Kath; Coleman, Anna; Segar, Julia; Peckham, Stephen; Mcdermott, Imelda

2014-01-01

Objective The 2010 healthcare reform in England introduced primary care-led commissioning in the National Health Service (NHS) by establishing clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). A key factor for the success of the reform is the provision of excellent commissioning support services to CCGs. The Government's aim is to create a vibrant market of competing providers of such services (from both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors). Until this market develops, however, commissioning support units (CSUs) have been created from which CCGs are buying commissioning support functions. This study explored the attitudes of CCGs towards outsourcing commissioning support functions during the initial stage of the reform. Design The research took place between September 2011 and June 2012. We used a case study research design in eight CCGs, conducting in-depth interviews, observation of meetings and analysis of policy documents. Setting/participants We conducted 96 interviews and observed 146 meetings (a total of approximately 439 h). Results Many CCGs were reluctant to outsource core commissioning support functions (such as contracting) for fear of losing local knowledge and trusted relationships. Others were disappointed by the absence of choice and saw CSUs as monopolies and a recreation of the abolished PCTs. Many expressed doubts about the expectation that outsourcing of commissioning support functions will result in lower administrative costs. Conclusions Given the nature of healthcare commissioning, outsourcing vital commissioning support functions may not be the preferred option of CCGs. Considerations of high transaction costs, and the risk of fragmentation of services and loss of trusted relationships involved in short-term contracting, may lead most CCGs to decide to form long-term partnerships with commissioning support suppliers in the future. This option, however, limits competition by creating ‘network closure’ and calls into question the Government's intention to create a vibrant market of commissioning support provision. PMID:25320000

New technologies for solar energy silicon - Cost analysis of BCL process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yaws, C. L.; Li, K.-Y.; Fang, C. S.; Lutwack, R.; Hsu, G.; Leven, H.

1980-01-01

New technologies for producing polysilicon are being developed to provide lower cost material for solar cells which convert sunlight into electricity. This article presents results for the BCL Process, which produces the solar-cell silicon by reduction of silicon tetrachloride with zinc vapor. Cost, sensitivity, and profitability analysis results are presented based on a preliminary process design of a plant to produce 1000 metric tons/year of silicon by the BCL Process. Profitability analysis indicates a sales price of $12.1-19.4 per kg of silicon (1980 dollars) at a 0-25 per cent DCF rate of return on investment after taxes. These results indicate good potential for meeting the goal of providing lower cost material for silicon solar cells.

Joint location, inventory, and preservation decisions for non-instantaneous deterioration items under delay in payments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsao, Yu-Chung

2016-02-01

This study models a joint location, inventory and preservation decision-making problem for non-instantaneous deteriorating items under delay in payments. An outside supplier provides a credit period to the wholesaler which has a distribution system with distribution centres (DCs). The non-instantaneous deteriorating means no deterioration occurs in the earlier stage, which is very useful for items such as fresh food and fruits. This paper also considers that the deteriorating rate will decrease and the reservation cost will increase as the preservation effort increases. Therefore, how much preservation effort should be made is a crucial decision. The objective of this paper is to determine the optimal locations and number of DCs, the optimal replenishment cycle time at DCs, and the optimal preservation effort simultaneously such that the total network profit is maximised. The problem is formulated as piecewise nonlinear functions and has three different cases. Algorithms based on piecewise nonlinear optimisation are provided to solve the joint location and inventory problem for all cases. Computational analysis illustrates the solution procedures and the impacts of the related parameters on decisions and profits. The results of this study can serve as references for business managers or administrators.

Conflict as an Asset: Perceptions and Dispositions of Executive Women in Higher Education and Business.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singleton, Carole A.; And Others

1994-01-01

A study of 53 women in leadership positions in business and 160 women in higher education indicates that they acknowledge functions of conflict as they relate to organizational performance. Those in the for-profit sector were more positive in their views of conflict functions. (SLD)

12 CFR 261.14 - Exemptions from disclosure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... statutory functions; (2) Interfere with the orderly conduct of the foreign affairs of the United States; (3) Permit speculators or others to gain unfair profits or other unfair advantages by speculative trading in...

78 FR 73890 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-09

... information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the... by non-profit, tax- exempt organizations (primarily museums), and governmental units to apply to the...

Risk aversion and compliance in markets for pollution control.

PubMed

Stranlund, John K

2008-07-01

This paper examines the effects of risk aversion on compliance choices in markets for pollution control. A firm's decision to be compliant or not is independent of its manager's risk preference. However, non-compliant firms with risk-averse managers will have lower violations than otherwise identical firms with risk-neutral managers. The violations of non-compliant firms with risk-averse managers are independent of differences in their profit functions and their initial allocations of permits if and only if their managers' utility functions exhibit constant absolute risk aversion. However, firm-level characteristics do impact violation choices when managers have coefficients of absolute risk aversion that are increasing or decreasing in profit levels. Finally, in the equilibrium of a market for emissions rights with widespread non-compliance, risk aversion is associated with higher permit prices, better environmental quality, and lower aggregate violations.

Muscle Functional Morphology in Paleobiology: The Past, Present, and Future of "Paleomyology".

PubMed

Perry, Jonathan M G; Prufrock, Kristen A

2018-03-01

Our knowledge of muscle anatomy and physiology in vertebrates has increased dramatically over the last two-hundred years. Today, much is understood about how muscles contract and about the functional meaning of muscular variation at multiple scales. Progress in muscle anatomy has profited from the availability of broad comparative samples, advances in microscopy have permitted comparisons at increasingly finer scales, and progress in muscle physiology has profited from many carefully designed and executed experiments. Several avenues of future work are promising. In particular, muscle ontogeny (growth and development) is poorly understood for many vertebrate groups. We consider which types of advances in muscle functional morphology are of use to paleobiologists. These are only a modest subset for muscle anatomy and a very small subset for muscle physiology. The relationship between muscle and bone - spatially and mechanically-is critical to any future advances in "paleomyology". Anat Rec, 301:538-555, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Competitive foods sales are associated with a negative effect on school finances.

PubMed

Peterson, Cora

2011-06-01

It is widely presumed that competitive foods-foods offered for sale in schools in addition to reimbursable federal meals programs-provide revenue that is essential to maintain school foodservices. However, evidence is lacking to demonstrate whether competitive foods sales truly improve foodservice financial viability. The aim of this research was to assess whether or not competitive foods sales have an overall positive financial effect on school foodservice finances. DESIGN AND STATISTICAL ANALYSES: This observational study used a multivariate time series analysis of annual foodservice financial data from repeated observations of 344 Minnesota public school districts between 2001 and 2008 (N=2,695). First, revenue from competitive foods was assessed in terms of whether or not such revenue displaced or complemented revenue from reimbursable meals. Second, profit from competitive foods was assessed in terms of whether or not such profit displaced or increased total school foodservice profit. Fixed effects models indicated small but significant negative relationships between competitive foods sales and reimbursable meals revenue, as well as overall foodservice profit. A 10% increase in competitive foods revenue was associated with a 0.1% decrease in reimbursable meals revenue (P<0.05). A 10% increase in competitive foods profit was associated with a 0.7% decrease in overall foodservice profit among schools with profitable competitive sales (P<0.10). Study findings suggest that competitive foods can have a negative effect on school foodservice finances. Better understanding of foodservice finances could influence current approaches to improve school nutrition. Improved recordkeeping may be necessary to ensure that public funds are not used to subsidize schools' competitive offerings. Copyright © 2011 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Essays on inference in economics, competition, and the rate of profit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scharfenaker, Ellis S.

This dissertation is comprised of three papers that demonstrate the role of Bayesian methods of inference and Shannon's information theory in classical political economy. The first chapter explores the empirical distribution of profit rate data from North American firms from 1962-2012. This chapter address the fact that existing methods for sample selection from noisy profit rate data in the industrial organization field of economics tends to be conditional on a covariate's value that risks discarding information. Conditioning sample selection instead on the profit rate data's structure by means of a two component (signal and noise) Bayesian mixture model we find the the profit rate sample to be time stationary Laplace distributed, corroborating earlier estimates of cross section distributions. The second chapter compares alternative probabilistic approaches to discrete (quantal) choice analysis and examines the various ways in which they overlap. In particular, the work on individual choice behavior by Duncan Luce and the extension of this work to quantal response problems by game theoreticians is shown to be related both to the rational inattention work of Christopher Sims through Shannon's information theory as well as to the maximum entropy principle of inference proposed physicist Edwin T. Jaynes. In the third chapter I propose a model of ``classically" competitive firms facing informational entropy constraints in their decisions to potentially enter or exit markets based on profit rate differentials. The result is a three parameter logit quantal response distribution for firm entry and exit decisions. Bayesian methods are used for inference into the the distribution of entry and exit decisions conditional on profit rate deviations and firm level data from Compustat is used to test these predictions.

Short communication: Estimation of the financial benefit of using Jersey milk at different inclusion rates for Cheddar cheese production using partial budgeting.

PubMed

Bland, J H; Bailey, A P; Grandison, A S; Fagan, C C

2015-03-01

Partial budgeting was used to estimate the net benefit of blending Jersey milk in Holstein-Friesian milk for Cheddar cheese production. Jersey milk increases Cheddar cheese yield. However, the cost of Jersey milk is also higher; thus, determining the balance of profitability is necessary, including consideration of seasonal effects. Input variables were based on a pilot plant experiment run from 2012 to 2013 and industry milk and cheese prices during this period. When Jersey milk was used at an increasing rate with Holstein-Friesian milk (25, 50, 75, and 100% Jersey milk), it resulted in an increase of average net profit of 3.41, 6.44, 8.57, and 11.18 pence per kilogram of milk, respectively, and this additional profit was constant throughout the year. Sensitivity analysis showed that the most influential input on additional profit was cheese yield, whereas cheese price and milk price had a small effect. The minimum increase in yield, which was necessary for the use of Jersey milk to be profitable, was 2.63, 7.28, 9.95, and 12.37% at 25, 50, 75, and 100% Jersey milk, respectively. Including Jersey milk did not affect the quantity of whey butter and powder produced. Although further research is needed to ascertain the amount of additional profit that would be found on a commercial scale, the results indicate that using Jersey milk for Cheddar cheese making would lead to an improvement in profit for the cheese makers, especially at higher inclusion rates. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Initial Risk Analysis and Decision Making Framework

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Engel, David W.

2012-02-01

Commercialization of new carbon capture simulation initiative (CCSI) technology will include two key elements of risk management, namely, technical risk (will process and plant performance be effective, safe, and reliable) and enterprise risk (can project losses and costs be controlled within the constraints of market demand to maintain profitability and investor confidence). Both of these elements of risk are incorporated into the risk analysis subtask of Task 7. Thus far, this subtask has developed a prototype demonstration tool that quantifies risk based on the expected profitability of expenditures when retrofitting carbon capture technology on a stylized 650 MW pulverized coalmore » electric power generator. The prototype is based on the selection of specific technical and financial factors believed to be important determinants of the expected profitability of carbon capture, subject to uncertainty. The uncertainty surrounding the technical performance and financial variables selected thus far is propagated in a model that calculates the expected profitability of investments in carbon capture and measures risk in terms of variability in expected net returns from these investments. Given the preliminary nature of the results of this prototype, additional work is required to expand the scope of the model to include additional risk factors, additional information on extant and proposed risk factors, the results of a qualitative risk factor elicitation process, and feedback from utilities and other interested parties involved in the carbon capture project. Additional information on proposed distributions of these risk factors will be integrated into a commercial implementation framework for the purpose of a comparative technology investment analysis.« less

The association of funding source on effect size in randomized controlled trials: 2013-2015 - a cross-sectional survey and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Falk Delgado, Alberto; Falk Delgado, Anna

2017-03-14

Trials financed by for-profit organizations have been associated with favorable outcomes of new treatments, although the effect size of funding source impact on outcome is unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the effect size for a favorable outcome in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), stratified by funding source, that have been published in general medical journals. Parallel-group RCTs published in The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, and JAMA between 2013 and 2015 were identified. RCTs with binary primary endpoints were included. The primary outcome was the OR of patients' having a favorable outcome in the intervention group compared with the control group. The OR of a favorable outcome in each trial was calculated by the number of positive events that occurred in the intervention and control groups. A meta-analytic technique with random effects model was used to calculate summary OR. Data were stratified by funding source as for-profit, mixed, and nonprofit. Prespecified sensitivity, subgroup, and metaregression analyses were performed. Five hundred nine trials were included. The OR for a favorable outcome in for-profit-funded RCTs was 1.92 (95% CI 1.72-2.14), which was higher than mixed source-funded RCTs (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.25-1.43) and nonprofit-funded RCTs (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.26-1.39). The OR for a favorable outcome was higher for both clinical and surrogate endpoints in for-profit-funded trials than in RCTs with other funding sources. Excluding drug trials lowered the OR for a favorable outcome in for-profit-funded RCTs. The OR for a favorable surrogate outcome in drug trials was higher in for-profit-funded trials than in nonprofit-funded trials. For-profit-funded RCTs have a higher OR for a favorable outcome than nonprofit- and mixed source-funded RCTs. This difference is associated mainly with the use of surrogate endpoints in for-profit-financed drug trials.

Relationship between dairy cow genetic merit and profit on commercial spring calving dairy farms.

PubMed

Ramsbottom, G; Cromie, A R; Horan, B; Berry, D P

2012-07-01

Because not all animal factors influencing profitability can be included in total merit breeding indices for profitability, the association between animal total merit index and true profitability, taking cognisance of all factors associated with costs and revenues, is generally not known. One method to estimate such associations is at the herd level, associating herd average genetic merit with herd profitability. The objective of this study was to primarily relate herd average genetic merit for a range of traits, including the Irish total merit index, with indicators of performance, including profitability, using correlation and multiple regression analyses. Physical, genetic and financial performance data from 1131 Irish seasonal calving pasture-based dairy farms were available following edits; data on some herds were available for more than 1 year of the 3-year study period (2007 to 2009). Herd average economic breeding index (EBI) was associated with reduced herd average phenotypic milk yield but with greater milk composition, resulting in higher milk prices. Moderate positive correlations (0.26 to 0.61) existed between genetic merit for an individual trait and average herd performance for that trait (e.g. genetic merit for milk yield and average per cow milk yield). Following adjustment for year, stocking rate, herd size and quantity of purchased feed in the multiple regression analysis, average herd EBI was positively and linearly associated with net margin per cow and per litre as well as gross revenue output per cow and per litre. The change in net margin per cow per unit change in the total merit index was €1.94 (s.e. = 0.42), which was not different from the expectation of €2. This study, based on a large data set of commercial herds with accurate information on profitability and genetic merit, confirms that, after accounting for confounding factors, the change in herd profitability per unit change in herd genetic merit for the total merit index is within expectations.

Organizational characteristics as predictors of work disability: a prospective study among sick employees of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.

PubMed

Schröer, C A P; Janssen, M; van Amelsvoort, L G P M; Bosma, H; Swaen, G M H; Nijhuis, F J N; van Eijk, J

2005-09-01

This article reports a prospective study that focused on the influence of organizational structure and organizational culture on the outcome of sickness absence, return to work or work disability. Former studies of determinants of work disability hardly have given attention to organizational characteristics and, if so, not following a appropriate prospective design. The study population consisted of 455 employees of 45 for-profit and not-for-profit companies participating in the Maastricht Cohort Study on fatigue at work who were on sick leave for at least 6 weeks. Both independent variables which were type of company, size, centralization of decision making and organizational culture, and covariates, which were sex, age, educational level, fatigue, and chronic illness, were all measured before employees reported sick. The dependent variable outcome of the sickness absence, mainly return to work or work disability, was measured 15 months after reporting sick. Multilevel logistic regression analysis, with organizational characteristics as level 2 independent variables and demographic and health characteristics as covariates, suggested that the type of company (for-profit/private or not-for-profit/public) is predictive of the outcome of sickness absence (crude OR = 2.21; CI: 1.16-4.20), but this may be partially due to a higher proportion of fatigued and chronically ill employees in not-for-profit companies (adjusted OR = 2.09; CI: 0.93-4.37). Findings about the role of some other organizational characteristics, like organizational culture, were inconclusive. Organizational characteristics should next to health characteristics be included in the models of studies which aim at predicting which sick employees are at risk for work disability. To prevent work disability not-for-profit companies might be stimulated to more active return-to-work policy by charging them with the costs of it.

Decomposing variation in dairy profitability: the impact of output, inputs, prices, labour and management.

PubMed

Wilson, P

2011-08-01

The UK dairy sector has undergone considerable structural change in recent years, with a decrease in the number of producers accompanied by an increased average herd size and increased concentrate use and milk yields. One of the key drivers to producers remaining in the industry is the profitability of their herds. The current paper adopts a holistic approach to decomposing the variation in dairy profitability through an analysis of net margin data explained by physical input-output measures, milk price variation, labour utilization and managerial behaviours and characteristics. Data are drawn from the Farm Business Survey (FBS) for England in 2007/08 for 228 dairy enterprises. Average yields are 7100 litres/cow/yr, from a herd size of 110 cows that use 0·56 forage ha/cow/yr and 43·2 labour h/cow/yr. An average milk price of 22·57 pence per litre (ppl) produced milk output of £1602/cow/yr, which after accounting for calf sales, herd replacements and quota leasing costs, gave an average dairy output of £1516/cow/yr. After total costs of £1464/cow/yr this left an economic return of £52/cow/yr (0·73 ppl) net margin profit. There is wide variation in performance, with the most profitable (as measured by net margin per cow) quartile of producers achieving 2000 litres/cow/yr more than the least profitable quartile, returning a net margin of £335/cow/yr compared to a loss of £361/cow/yr for the least profitable. The most profitable producers operate larger, higher yielding herds and achieve a greater milk price for their output. In addition, a significantly greater number of the most profitable producers undertake financial benchmarking within their businesses and operate specialist dairy farms. When examining the full data set, the most profitable enterprises included significantly greater numbers of organic producers. The most profitable tend to have a greater reliance on independent technical advice, but this finding is not statistically significant. Decomposing the variation in net margin performance between the most and least profitable groups, an approximate ratio of 65:23:12 is observed for higher yields: lower costs: higher milk price. This result indicates that yield differentials are the key performance driver in dairy profitability. Lower costs per cow are dominated by the significantly lower cost of farmer and spouse labour per cow of the most profitable group, flowing directly from the upper quartile expending 37·7 labour h/cow/yr in comparison with 58·8 h/cow/yr for the lower quartile. The upper quartile's greater milk price is argued to be achieved through contract negotiations and higher milk quality, and this accounts for 0·12 of the variation in net margin performance. The average economic return to the sample of dairy enterprises in this survey year was less than £6000/farm/yr. However, the most profitable quartile returned an average economic return of approximately £50 000 per farm/yr. Structural change in the UK dairy sector is likely to continue with the least profitable and typically smaller dairy enterprises being replaced by a smaller number of expanding dairy production units.

Decomposing variation in dairy profitability: the impact of output, inputs, prices, labour and management

PubMed Central

WILSON, P.

2011-01-01

SUMMARY The UK dairy sector has undergone considerable structural change in recent years, with a decrease in the number of producers accompanied by an increased average herd size and increased concentrate use and milk yields. One of the key drivers to producers remaining in the industry is the profitability of their herds. The current paper adopts a holistic approach to decomposing the variation in dairy profitability through an analysis of net margin data explained by physical input–output measures, milk price variation, labour utilization and managerial behaviours and characteristics. Data are drawn from the Farm Business Survey (FBS) for England in 2007/08 for 228 dairy enterprises. Average yields are 7100 litres/cow/yr, from a herd size of 110 cows that use 0·56 forage ha/cow/yr and 43·2 labour h/cow/yr. An average milk price of 22·57 pence per litre (ppl) produced milk output of £1602/cow/yr, which after accounting for calf sales, herd replacements and quota leasing costs, gave an average dairy output of £1516/cow/yr. After total costs of £1464/cow/yr this left an economic return of £52/cow/yr (0·73 ppl) net margin profit. There is wide variation in performance, with the most profitable (as measured by net margin per cow) quartile of producers achieving 2000 litres/cow/yr more than the least profitable quartile, returning a net margin of £335/cow/yr compared to a loss of £361/cow/yr for the least profitable. The most profitable producers operate larger, higher yielding herds and achieve a greater milk price for their output. In addition, a significantly greater number of the most profitable producers undertake financial benchmarking within their businesses and operate specialist dairy farms. When examining the full data set, the most profitable enterprises included significantly greater numbers of organic producers. The most profitable tend to have a greater reliance on independent technical advice, but this finding is not statistically significant. Decomposing the variation in net margin performance between the most and least profitable groups, an approximate ratio of 65:23:12 is observed for higher yields: lower costs: higher milk price. This result indicates that yield differentials are the key performance driver in dairy profitability. Lower costs per cow are dominated by the significantly lower cost of farmer and spouse labour per cow of the most profitable group, flowing directly from the upper quartile expending 37·7 labour h/cow/yr in comparison with 58·8 h/cow/yr for the lower quartile. The upper quartile's greater milk price is argued to be achieved through contract negotiations and higher milk quality, and this accounts for 0·12 of the variation in net margin performance. The average economic return to the sample of dairy enterprises in this survey year was less than £6000/farm/yr. However, the most profitable quartile returned an average economic return of approximately £50 000 per farm/yr. Structural change in the UK dairy sector is likely to continue with the least profitable and typically smaller dairy enterprises being replaced by a smaller number of expanding dairy production units. PMID:22505774

Process Feasibility Study in Support of Silicon Material Task 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, K. Y.; Hansen, K. C.; Yaws, C. L.

1979-01-01

Analysis of process system properties was continued for silicon source materials under consideration for producing silicon. The following property data are reported for dichlorosilane which is involved in processing operations for silicon: critical constants, vapor pressure, heat of vaporization, heat capacity, density, surface tension, thermal conductivity, heat of formation and Gibb's free energy of formation. The properties are reported as a function of temperature to permit rapid engineering usage. The preliminary economic analysis of the process is described. Cost analysis results for the process (case A-two deposition reactors and six electrolysis cells) are presented based on a preliminary process design of a plant to produce 1,000 metric tons/year of silicon. Fixed capital investment estimate for the plant is $12.47 million (1975 dollars) ($17.47 million, 1980 dollars). Product cost without profit is 8.63 $/kg of silicon (1975 dollars)(12.1 $/kg, 1980 dollars).

Impact of Patient and Procedure Mix on Finances of Perinatal Centres – Theoretical Models for Economic Strategies in Perinatal Centres

PubMed Central

Hildebrandt, T.; Kraml, F.; Wagner, S.; Hack, C. C.; Thiel, F. C.; Kehl, S.; Winkler, M.; Frobenius, W.; Faschingbauer, F.; Beckmann, M. W.; Lux, M. P.

2013-01-01

Introduction: In Germany, cost and revenue structures of hospitals with defined treatment priorities are currently being discussed to identify uneconomic services. This discussion has also affected perinatal centres (PNCs) and represents a new economic challenge for PNCs. In addition to optimising the time spent in hospital, the hospital management needs to define the “best” patient mix based on costs and revenues. Method: Different theoretical models were proposed based on the cost and revenue structures of the University Perinatal Centre for Franconia (UPF). Multi-step marginal costing was then used to show the impact on operating profits of changes in services and bed occupancy rates. The current contribution margin accounting used by the UPF served as the basis for the calculations. The models demonstrated the impact of changes in services on costs and revenues of a level 1 PNC. Results: Contribution margin analysis was used to calculate profitable and unprofitable DRGs based on average inpatient cost per day. Nineteen theoretical models were created. The current direct costing used by the UPF and a theoretical model with a 100 % bed occupancy rate were used as reference models. Significantly higher operating profits could be achieved by doubling the number of profitable DRGs and halving the number of less profitable DRGs. Operating profits could be increased even more by changing the rates of profitable DRGs per bed occupancy. The exclusive specialisation on pathological and high-risk pregnancies resulted in operating losses. All models which increased the numbers of caesarean sections or focused exclusively on c-sections resulted in operating losses. Conclusion: These theoretical models offer a basis for economic planning. They illustrate the enormous impact potential changes can have on the operating profits of PNCs. Level 1 PNCs require high bed occupancy rates and a profitable patient mix to cover the extremely high costs incurred due to the services they are legally required to offer. Based on our theoretical models it must be stated that spontaneous vaginal births (not caesarean sections) were the most profitable procedures in the current DRG system. Overall, it currently makes economic sense for level I PNCs to treat as many low-risk pregnancies and neonates as possible to cover costs. PMID:24771932

The Profitability of a Birthing Center a Cost Finding Analysis of a Not-for-Profit Hospital.

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-03-01

bed-days in each DRG. The supply, equipment and dietary cost pools were distributed using this methodology. Supplies and drugs made-up the largest...Large Freestanding Birth Center of Low-Income Women. Journal of Nurse Midwifery 39 (2) (March-April): 112-8. Duboff, Robert S. 1992. Marketing to...Spitzer, Matthew C. 1995. Birth Centers - Economy, Safety, and Empowerment. Journal of Nurse Midwifery 40 (4) (July-August): 371-5. Stone, Patricia W

Modeling production functions and economic weights in intensive meat production of guinea pigs.

PubMed

Pascual, Mariam; Cruz, Danny Julio; Blasco, Agustín

2017-10-01

A profit function for a typical commercial farm of intensive guinea pig production was designed. The simulated farm contained 86 cages with a ratio of 7:1 females/males, with continuous mating. Kits were weaned at 15 days of age and slaughtered for meat production at 90 days of age. The absolute (EW) and relative economic weights of the main traits were calculated. The highest EW were kits produced per kindling (US$25), kits weaned per kindling (US$22), kits born alive per kindling (US$20), and the number of kindlings per female and year (US$12). Profit, returns, and costs per female and year were US$15, 68, and 53, respectively. Returns came from the production of young guinea pigs and discarded reproductive adults for meat production, 90 and 10% of the total returns. The highest costs were feeding and labor, 44 and 23% of the total cost. The EW and profit did not substantially change when simulating variations of ±20% in the prices of kilograms of fattening feed and kilograms of live weight of guinea pig, showing their robustness to future variations in market prices or to variations in prices between countries. The results obtained highlight the importance of the feeding costs in the guinea pig meat production.

Profitability analysis of a femtosecond laser system for cataract surgery using a fuzzy logic approach

PubMed Central

Trigueros, José Antonio; Piñero, David P; Ismail, Mahmoud M

2016-01-01

AIM To define the financial and management conditions required to introduce a femtosecond laser system for cataract surgery in a clinic using a fuzzy logic approach. METHODS In the simulation performed in the current study, the costs associated to the acquisition and use of a commercially available femtosecond laser platform for cataract surgery (VICTUS, TECHNOLAS Perfect Vision GmbH, Bausch & Lomb, Munich, Germany) during a period of 5y were considered. A sensitivity analysis was performed considering such costs and the countable amortization of the system during this 5y period. Furthermore, a fuzzy logic analysis was used to obtain an estimation of the money income associated to each femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (G). RESULTS According to the sensitivity analysis, the femtosecond laser system under evaluation can be profitable if 1400 cataract surgeries are performed per year and if each surgery can be invoiced more than $500. In contrast, the fuzzy logic analysis confirmed that the patient had to pay more per surgery, between $661.8 and $667.4 per surgery, without considering the cost of the intraocular lens (IOL). CONCLUSION A profitability of femtosecond laser systems for cataract surgery can be obtained after a detailed financial analysis, especially in those centers with large volumes of patients. The cost of the surgery for patients should be adapted to the real flow of patients with the ability of paying a reasonable range of cost. PMID:27500115

Cover crops effect on farm benefits and nitrate leaching: linking economic and environmental analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabriel, José Luis; Vanclooster, Marnik; Garrido, Alberto; Quemada, Miguel

2013-04-01

Introducing cover crops interspersed with intensively fertilized crops in rotation has the potential to reduce nitrate leaching. However, despite the evident environmental services provided and the range of agronomic benefits documented in the literature, farmers' adoption of the technique is still limited because growing CC could lead to extra costs for the farm in three different forms: direct, indirect, and opportunity costs. Environmental studies are complex, and evaluating the indicators that are representative of the environmental impact of an agricultural system is a complicated task that is conducted by specialized groups and methodologies. Multidisciplinary studies may help to develop reliable approaches that would contribute to choosing the best agricultural strategies based on linking economic and environmental benefits. This study evaluates barley (Hordeum vulgare L., cv. Vanessa), vetch (Vicia villosa L., cv. Vereda) and rapeseed (Brassica napus L., cv. Licapo) as cover crops between maize, leaving the residue in the ground or selling it for animal feeding, and compares the economic and environmental results with respect to a typical maize-fallow rotation. Nitrate leaching for different weather conditions was calculated using the mechanistic-deterministic WAVE model, using the Richards equation parameterised with a conceptual model for the soil hydraulic properties for describing the water flow in the vadose zone, combined with field observed data. The economic impact was evaluated through stochastic (Monte-Carlo) simulation models of farms' profits using probability distribution functions of maize yield and cover crop biomass developed fitted with data collected from various field trials (during more than 5 years) and probability distribution functions of maize and different cover crop forage prices fitted from statistical sources. Stochastic dominance relationships are obtained to rank the most profitable strategies from a farm financial perspective. A two-criterion comparison scheme is proposed to rank alternative strategies based on farm profit and nitrate leaching levels, taking the baseline scenario as the maize-fallow rotation. The results show that cover crops reduced nitrate leaching respect to fallow almost every year and, when cover crop biomass is sold as forage instead of keeping it in the soil, greater profit were achieved than in the baseline scenario. While the fertilizer could be lower if cover crop is sold than if it is kept in the soil, the revenue obtained from the sale of the cover crops can compensate improvement of the soil properties. The results show that cover crops would perhaps provide a double dividend of greater profit and reduced nitrate leaching in intensive irrigated cropping systems in Mediterranean regions. But, if agro-environmental services provided by leaving the barley residue in the field were to be promoted, farmer subsidies would be required to promote cover cropping. Acknowledgements: Financial support by Spain CICYT (ref. AGL 2011-24732), Comunidad de Madrid (project AGRISOST, S2009/AGR-1630), Belgium FSR 2012 (ref. SPER/DST/340-1120525) and Marie Curie actions.

Strategic responses to fiscal constraints: a health policy analysis of hospital-based ambulatory physical therapy services in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

PubMed

Landry, Michel D; Verrier, Molly C; Williams, A Paul; Zakus, David; Deber, Raisa B

2009-01-01

Ambulatory physical therapy (PT) services in Canada are required to be insured under the Canada Health Act, but only if delivered within hospitals. The present study analyzed strategic responses used by hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to deliver PT services in an environment of fiscal constraint. Key informant interviews (n = 47) were conducted with participants from all hospitals located within the GTA. Two primary strategic responses were identified: (1) "load shedding" through the elimination or reduction of services, and (2) "privatization" through contracting out or creating internal for-profit subsidiary clinics. All hospitals reported reductions in service delivery between 1996 and 2003, and 15.0% (7/47 hospitals) fully eliminated ambulatory services. Although only one of 47 hospitals contracted out services, another 15.0% (7/47) reported that for-profit subsidiary clinics were created within the hospital in order to access other more profitable forms of quasi-public and private funding. Strategic restructuring of services, aimed primarily at cost containment, may have yielded short-term financial savings but has also created a ripple effect across the continuum of care. Moreover, the rise of for-profit subsidiary clinics operating within not-for-profit hospitals has emerged without much public debate and with little research to evaluate its impact.

Tools in the orbit space approach to the study of invariant functions: rational parametrization of strata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sartori, G.; Valente, G.

2003-02-01

Functions which are equivariant or invariant under the transformations of a compact linear group G acting in a Euclidean space Bbb Rn, can profitably be studied as functions defined in the orbit space of the group. The orbit space is the union of a finite set of strata, which are semialgebraic manifolds formed by the G-orbits with the same orbit-type. In this paper, we provide a simple recipe to obtain rational parametrizations of the strata. Our results can be easily exploited, in many physical contexts where the study of equivariant or invariant functions is important, for instance in the determination of patterns of spontaneous symmetry breaking, in the analysis of phase spaces and structural phase transitions (Landau theory), in equivariant bifurcation theory, in crystal field theory and in most areas where use is made of symmetry-adapted functions. A physically significant example of utilization of the recipe is given, related to spontaneous polarization in chiral biaxial liquid crystals, where the advantages with respect to previous heuristic approaches are shown.

48 CFR 915.404-4 - Profit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) functions. Pursuant to section 602(d) (13) and (20) of the... as those of the BPA, now being performed by DOE are exempt from the 6 percent of cost restriction on...

48 CFR 915.404-4 - Profit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) functions. Pursuant to section 602(d) (13) and (20) of the... as those of the BPA, now being performed by DOE are exempt from the 6 percent of cost restriction on...

48 CFR 915.404-4 - Profit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) functions. Pursuant to section 602(d) (13) and (20) of the... as those of the BPA, now being performed by DOE are exempt from the 6 percent of cost restriction on...

48 CFR 915.404-4 - Profit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) functions. Pursuant to section 602(d) (13) and (20) of the... as those of the BPA, now being performed by DOE are exempt from the 6 percent of cost restriction on...

48 CFR 915.404-4 - Profit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) functions. Pursuant to section 602(d) (13) and (20) of the... as those of the BPA, now being performed by DOE are exempt from the 6 percent of cost restriction on...

75 FR 41214 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Extension of a Currently Approved Information...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-15

... a brief abstract: Primary: Individual or Households, Business or other non-profit. The information... necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will...

The Role of the Network in Automated Acquisitions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Madden, Mary A.

1980-01-01

This examination of the acquisitions services offered by networks, the not-for-profit bibliographic services, stresses significant characteristics inherent in their structure and functions, and contrasts advantages and disadvantages for individual libraries. (Author/RAA)

26 CFR 49.4253-10 - Exemption for certain private communications services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... conducted with no purpose of gain or profit. A line or channel is considered to be furnished between... functions performed by a communications company exchange. Where an amount is paid which includes a charge for such a line or channel and also a charge for the service provided by means of switching functions...

26 CFR 49.4253-10 - Exemption for certain private communications services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... conducted with no purpose of gain or profit. A line or channel is considered to be furnished between... functions performed by a communications company exchange. Where an amount is paid which includes a charge for such a line or channel and also a charge for the service provided by means of switching functions...

26 CFR 49.4253-10 - Exemption for certain private communications services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... conducted with no purpose of gain or profit. A line or channel is considered to be furnished between... functions performed by a communications company exchange. Where an amount is paid which includes a charge for such a line or channel and also a charge for the service provided by means of switching functions...

26 CFR 49.4253-10 - Exemption for certain private communications services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... conducted with no purpose of gain or profit. A line or channel is considered to be furnished between... functions performed by a communications company exchange. Where an amount is paid which includes a charge for such a line or channel and also a charge for the service provided by means of switching functions...

Environmental Impact Analysis Process. Preliminary Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Construction and Operation of Space Launch Complex 7. Volume 2. Appendices.

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-15

non -point source pollution managementprograms, and implement controls to improve water quality. Controls should be implemented for any project...Businesses or other for- Vandenberg AFB, and the launching of on the proposed information collection profit, non -profit institutions Ithe Titan Centaur. In...communications. The Titan Centaur launch vehicle is a modified Titan 34D designed to deliver a payload of up to U 32,000 pounds directly into polar orbit from VAFB

Profit maximization, industry structure, and competition: A critique of neoclassical theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keen, Steve; Standish, Russell

2006-10-01

Neoclassical economics has two theories of competition between profit-maximizing firms-Marshallian and Cournot-Nash-that start from different premises about the degree of strategic interaction between firms, yet reach the same result, that market price falls as the number of firms in an industry increases. The Marshallian argument is strictly false. We integrate the different premises, and establish that the optimal level of strategic interaction between competing firms is zero. Simulations support our analysis and reveal intriguing emergent behaviors.

An integrated portfolio optimisation procedure based on data envelopment analysis, artificial bee colony algorithm and genetic programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Chih-Ming

2014-12-01

Portfolio optimisation is an important issue in the field of investment/financial decision-making and has received considerable attention from both researchers and practitioners. However, besides portfolio optimisation, a complete investment procedure should also include the selection of profitable investment targets and determine the optimal timing for buying/selling the investment targets. In this study, an integrated procedure using data envelopment analysis (DEA), artificial bee colony (ABC) and genetic programming (GP) is proposed to resolve a portfolio optimisation problem. The proposed procedure is evaluated through a case study on investing in stocks in the semiconductor sub-section of the Taiwan stock market for 4 years. The potential average 6-month return on investment of 9.31% from 1 November 2007 to 31 October 2011 indicates that the proposed procedure can be considered a feasible and effective tool for making outstanding investment plans, and thus making profits in the Taiwan stock market. Moreover, it is a strategy that can help investors to make profits even when the overall stock market suffers a loss.

22 CFR 1501.2 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

....C. 290h)). It is a non-profit, non-stock issuing, tax-exempt corporation, and is subject to title I of the Government Corporation Control Act (31 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.). (b) The primary function of ADF...

22 CFR 1501.2 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

....C. 290h)). It is a non-profit, non-stock issuing, tax-exempt corporation, and is subject to title I of the Government Corporation Control Act (31 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.). (b) The primary function of ADF...

22 CFR 1501.2 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

....C. 290h)). It is a non-profit, non-stock issuing, tax-exempt corporation, and is subject to title I of the Government Corporation Control Act (31 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.). (b) The primary function of ADF...

22 CFR 1501.2 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

....C. 290h)). It is a non-profit, non-stock issuing, tax-exempt corporation, and is subject to title I of the Government Corporation Control Act (31 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.). (b) The primary function of ADF...

22 CFR 1501.2 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

....C. 290h)). It is a non-profit, non-stock issuing, tax-exempt corporation, and is subject to title I of the Government Corporation Control Act (31 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.). (b) The primary function of ADF...

Profit-based conventional resource scheduling with renewable energy penetration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reddy, K. Srikanth; Panwar, Lokesh Kumar; Kumar, Rajesh; Panigrahi, B. K.

2017-08-01

Technological breakthroughs in renewable energy technologies (RETs) enabled them to attain grid parity thereby making them potential contenders for existing conventional resources. To examine the market participation of RETs, this paper formulates a scheduling problem accommodating energy market participation of wind- and solar-independent power producers (IPPs) treating both conventional and RETs as identical entities. Furthermore, constraints pertaining to penetration and curtailments of RETs are restructured. Additionally, an appropriate objective function for profit incurred by conventional resource IPPs through reserve market participation as a function of renewable energy curtailment is also proposed. The proposed concept is simulated with a test system comprising 10 conventional generation units in conjunction with solar photovoltaic (SPV) and wind energy generators (WEG). The simulation results indicate that renewable energy integration and its curtailment limits influence the market participation or scheduling strategies of conventional resources in both energy and reserve markets. Furthermore, load and reliability parameters are also affected.

A farm-level precision land management framework based on integer programming

PubMed Central

Li, Qi; Hu, Guiping; Jubery, Talukder Zaki; Ganapathysubramanian, Baskar

2017-01-01

Farmland management involves several planning and decision making tasks including seed selection and irrigation management. A farm-level precision farmland management model based on mixed integer linear programming is proposed in this study. Optimal decisions are designed for pre-season planning of crops and irrigation water allocation. The model captures the effect of size and shape of decision scale as well as special irrigation patterns. The authors illustrate the model with a case study on a farm in the state of California in the U.S. and show the model can capture the impact of precision farm management on profitability. The results show that threefold increase of annual net profit for farmers could be achieved by carefully choosing irrigation and seed selection. Although farmers could increase profits by applying precision management to seed or irrigation alone, profit increase is more significant if farmers apply precision management on seed and irrigation simultaneously. The proposed model can also serve as a risk analysis tool for farmers facing seasonal irrigation water limits as well as a quantitative tool to explore the impact of precision agriculture. PMID:28346499

What weight should be assigned to future environmental impacts? A probabilistic cost benefit analysis using recent advances on discounting.

PubMed

Almansa, Carmen; Martínez-Paz, José M

2011-03-01

Cost-benefit analysis is a standard methodological platform for public investment evaluation. In high environmental impact projects, with a long-term effect on future generations, the choice of discount rate and time horizon is of particular relevance, because it can lead to very different profitability assessments. This paper describes some recent approaches to environmental discounting and applies them, together with a number of classical procedures, to the economic evaluation of a plant for the desalination of irrigation return water from intensive farming, aimed at halting the degradation of an area of great ecological value, the Mar Menor, in South Eastern Spain. A Monte Carlo procedure is used in four CBA approaches and three time horizons to carry out a probabilistic sensitivity analysis designed to integrate the views of an international panel of experts in environmental discounting with the uncertainty affecting the market price of the project's main output, i.e., irrigation water for a water-deprived area. The results show which discounting scenarios most accurately estimate the socio-environmental profitability of the project while also considering the risk associated with these two key parameters. The analysis also provides some methodological findings regarding ways of assessing financial and environmental profitability in decisions concerning public investment in the environment. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determinants of financial performance of home-visit nursing agencies in Japan.

PubMed

Fukui, Sakiko; Yoshiuchi, Kazuhiro; Fujita, Junko; Ikezaki, Sumie

2014-01-09

Japan has the highest aging population in the world and promotion of home health services is an urgent policy issue. As home-visit nursing plays a major role in home health services, the Japanese government began promotion of this activity in 1994. However, the scale of home-visit nursing agencies has remained small (the average numbers of nursing staff and other staff were 4.2 and 1.7, respectively, in 2011) and financial performance (profitability) is a concern in such small agencies. Additionally, the factors related to profitability in home-visit nursing agencies in Japan have not been examined multilaterally and in detail. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the determinants of financial performance of home-visit nursing agencies. We performed a nationwide survey of 2,912 randomly selected home-visit nursing agencies in Japan. Multinomial logistic regression was used to clarify the determinants of profitability of the agency (profitable, stable or unprofitable) based on variables related to management of the agency (operating structure, management by a nurse manager, employment, patient utilization, quality control, regional cooperation, and financial condition). Among the selected home-visit nursing agencies, responses suitable for analysis were obtained from 1,340 (effective response rate, 46.0%). Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that both profitability and unprofitability were related to multiple variables in management of the agency when compared to agencies with stable financial performance. These variables included the number of nursing staff/rehabilitation staff/patients, being owned by a hospital, the number of cooperative hospitals, home-death rate among terminal patients, controlling staff objectives by nurse managers, and income going to compensation. The results suggest that many variables in management of a home-visit nursing agency, including the operating structure of the agency, regional cooperation, staff employment, patient utilization, and quality control of care, have an influence in both profitable and unprofitable agencies. These findings indicate the importance of consideration of management issues in achieving stable financial performance in home-visit nursing agencies in Japan. The findings may also be useful in other countries with growing aging populations.

The effect of feed demand on greenhouse gas emissions and farm profitability for organic and conventional dairy farms.

PubMed

Kiefer, Lukas; Menzel, Friederike; Bahrs, Enno

2014-12-01

The reduction of product-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in milk production appears to be necessary. The reduction of emissions on an individual farm might be highly accepted by farm owners if it were accompanied by an increase in profitability. Using life cycle assessments to determine the product carbon footprints (PCF) and farm-level evaluations to record profitability, we explored opportunities for optimization based on analysis of 81 organic and conventional pasture-based dairy farms in southern Germany. The objective of the present study was to detect common determining factors for low PCF and high management incomes (MI) to achieve GHG reductions at the lowest possible operational cost. In our sample, organic farms, which performed economically better than conventional farms, produced PCF that were significantly higher than those produced by conventional farms [1.61 ± 0.29 vs. 1.45 ± 0.28 kg of CO₂ equivalents (CO₂eq) per kg of milk; means ± SD)]. A multiple linear regression analysis of the sample demonstrated that low feed demand per kilogram of milk, high grassland yield, and low forage area requirements per cow are the main factors that decrease PCF. These factors are also useful for improving a farm's profitability in principle. For organic farms, a reduction of feed demand of 100 g/kg of milk resulted in a PCF reduction of 105 g of CO₂eq/kg of milk and an increase in MI of approximately 2.1 euro cents (c)/kg of milk. For conventional farms, a decrease of feed demand of 100 g/kg of milk corresponded to a reduction in PCF of 117 g of CO₂eq/kg of milk and an increase in MI of approximately 3.1 c/kg of milk. Accordingly, farmers could achieve higher profits while reducing GHG emissions. Improved education and training of farmers and consultants regarding GHG mitigation and farm profitability appear to be the best methods of improving efficiency under traditional and organic farming practices.

Determinants of financial performance of home-visit nursing agencies in Japan

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Japan has the highest aging population in the world and promotion of home health services is an urgent policy issue. As home-visit nursing plays a major role in home health services, the Japanese government began promotion of this activity in 1994. However, the scale of home-visit nursing agencies has remained small (the average numbers of nursing staff and other staff were 4.2 and 1.7, respectively, in 2011) and financial performance (profitability) is a concern in such small agencies. Additionally, the factors related to profitability in home-visit nursing agencies in Japan have not been examined multilaterally and in detail. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the determinants of financial performance of home-visit nursing agencies. Methods We performed a nationwide survey of 2,912 randomly selected home-visit nursing agencies in Japan. Multinomial logistic regression was used to clarify the determinants of profitability of the agency (profitable, stable or unprofitable) based on variables related to management of the agency (operating structure, management by a nurse manager, employment, patient utilization, quality control, regional cooperation, and financial condition). Results Among the selected home-visit nursing agencies, responses suitable for analysis were obtained from 1,340 (effective response rate, 46.0%). Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that both profitability and unprofitability were related to multiple variables in management of the agency when compared to agencies with stable financial performance. These variables included the number of nursing staff/rehabilitation staff/patients, being owned by a hospital, the number of cooperative hospitals, home-death rate among terminal patients, controlling staff objectives by nurse managers, and income going to compensation. Conclusions The results suggest that many variables in management of a home-visit nursing agency, including the operating structure of the agency, regional cooperation, staff employment, patient utilization, and quality control of care, have an influence in both profitable and unprofitable agencies. These findings indicate the importance of consideration of management issues in achieving stable financial performance in home-visit nursing agencies in Japan. The findings may also be useful in other countries with growing aging populations. PMID:24400964

How Big is Too Big for Hubs: Marginal Profitability in Hub-and-Spoke Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Leola B.; Schmidt, Stephen J.

1997-01-01

Increasing the scale of hub operations at major airports has led to concerns about congestion at excessively large hubs. In this paper, we estimate the marginal cost of adding spokes to an existing hub network. We observe entry/non-entry decisions on potential spokes from existing hubs, and estimate both a variable profit function for providing service in markets using that spoke as well as the fixed costs of providing service to the spoke. We let the fixed costs depend upon the scale of operations at the hub, and find the hub size at which spoke service costs are minimized.

Market policy as an innovative element of marketing in the Romanian healthcare services - an approach focused on the patient.

PubMed

Coculescu, B I; Coculescu, E C; Radu, A; Petrescu, L; Purcărea, V L

2015-01-01

The orientation towards one of the marketing policies with a major impact in organizations providing healthcare services, requires a careful analysis of the needs and aspirations of customers, targeting those patients whose needs the service organization can achieve through the existing resources at the respective health facility, finding the most effective way of achieving benefits associated with reduced costs to maximizing profits, placing the offers for medical services required by the patients on the market, as well as promptly reacting and acting to the changes of health services market which is constantly evolving through a flexible organizing and functioning structure, connected to the financial needs of the patients.

12 CFR 618.8020 - Feasibility requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...) An analysis of how the program relates to or promotes the institution's business plan and strategic... plan; (2) An analysis of the expected financial returns of the program which, at a minimum, must include an evaluation of market, pricing, competition issues, and expected profitability. This analysis...

Effect of Nursing Home Ownership on the Quality of Post-Acute Care: An Instrumental Variables Approach

PubMed Central

Grabowski, David C.; Feng, Zhanlian; Hirth, Richard; Rahman, Momotazur; Mor, Vincent

2012-01-01

Given the preferential tax treatment afforded nonprofit firms, policymakers and researchers have been interested in whether the nonprofit sector provides higher nursing home quality relative to its for-profit counterpart. However, differential selection into for-profits and nonprofits can lead to biased estimates of the effect of ownership form. By using “differential distance” to the nearest nonprofit nursing home relative to the nearest for-profit nursing home, we mimic randomization of residents into more or less “exposure” to nonprofit homes when estimating the effects of ownership on quality of care. Using national Minimum Data Set assessments linked with Medicare claims, we use a national cohort of post-acute patients who were newly admitted to nursing homes within an 18-month period spanning January 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005. After instrumenting for ownership status, we found that post-acute patients in nonprofit facilities had fewer 30-day hospitalizations and greater improvement in mobility, pain, and functioning. PMID:23202253

[Aftercare for durability and profitability of single-unit and multi-unit fixed dental prostheses].

PubMed

de Baat, C; van Loveren, C; van der Maarel-Wierink, C D; Witter, D J; Creugers, N H J

2013-01-01

An important aim ofa treatment with single-unit and multi-unit fixed dental prostheses is a durable and profitable treatment outcome. That requires aftercare, too. First, the frequency of routine oral examinations should be assessed, using an individual risk profile. The objectives of the routine oral examinations are the prevention and, when necessary, the treatment of pathological conditions and complications. With regard to prevention, attention should be paid to information and instruction, oral biofilm and calculus, non-functional activities, hard tooth tissues, periodontal and peri-implant tissues, and saliva. Subsequently, it can be determined whether the intended durability and profitability have been achieved or can still be achieved, whether or not through indicated adjustments. Special attention should be paid to endodontically treated teeth. Restorative, repair or replacement treatments may be indicated in case ofcomplications, such as loose single- or multi-unitfixed dental prosthesis, fracture of a fixed dental prosthesis unit, lost tooth pulp vitality, tooth root fracture, and implant or implant abutment problems.

Cournot games with network effects for electric power markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spezia, Carl John

The electric utility industry is moving from regulated monopolies with protected service areas to an open market with many wholesale suppliers competing for consumer load. This market is typically modeled by a Cournot game oligopoly where suppliers compete by selecting profit maximizing quantities. The classical Cournot model can produce multiple solutions when the problem includes typical power system constraints. This work presents a mathematical programming formulation of oligopoly that produces unique solutions when constraints limit the supplier outputs. The formulation casts the game as a supply maximization problem with power system physical limits and supplier incremental profit functions as constraints. The formulation gives Cournot solutions identical to other commonly used algorithms when suppliers operate within the constraints. Numerical examples demonstrate the feasibility of the theory. The results show that the maximization formulation will give system operators more transmission capacity when compared to the actions of suppliers in a classical constrained Cournot game. The results also show that the profitability of suppliers in constrained networks depends on their location relative to the consumers' load concentration.

Haïti and the health marketplace: the role of the private, informal market in filling the gaps left by the state.

PubMed

Durham, J; Michael, Marcos; Hill, P S; Paviignani, E

2015-09-28

In most societies the health marketplace is pluralistic in character, with a mix of formal and informal providers. In high-income countries, state regulation of the market helps ensure quality and access and mitigate market failures. In the present study, using Haiti as a case study, we explore what happens to the functioning of the pluralistic health marketplace in severely disrupted environments where the informal sector is able to flourish. The overall research design was qualitative. Research methods included an extensive documentary and policy analysis, based on peer-reviewed articles, books and "grey" literature--government policy and program reports, unpublished research and evaluations, reviews and reviews from key multilateral and bilateral donors, and non-government organisations, combined with field site visits and in-depth key informant interviews (N = 45). The findings show that state fragility has resulted in a privatised, commoditised and largely unregulated and informal health market. While different market segments can be identified, in reality the boundaries between international/domestic, public/private, for profit/not-for-profit, legal/illegal are hazy and shifting. The lack of state capacity to provide an enabling environment, establish, and enforce its regulatory framework has resulted in a highly segmented, heterogeneous and informal health market. The result is deplorable health indices which are far below regional averages and many other low-income countries. Working in fragile states with limited capacity to undertake the core function of securing the health of its population requires new and innovative ways of working. This needs longer time-frames, combining incremental top-down and bottom-up strategies which recognize and work with state and civil society, public and private actors, formal and informal institutions, and progressively facilitate changes in the different market functions of supply, demand, regulation and supporting functions.

The Norwegian Healthier Goats programme--a financial cost-benefit analysis.

PubMed

Nagel-Alne, G Elise; Asheim, Leif J; Hardaker, J Brian; Sølverød, Liv; Lindheim, Dag; Valle, Paul S

2014-05-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the profitability to dairy goat farmers of participating in the Healthier Goats disease control and eradication programme (HG), which was initiated in 2001 and is still running. HG includes the control and eradication of caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE), caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) and paratuberculosis (Johne's disease) in Norwegian goat herds. The profitability of participation was estimated in a financial cost-benefit analysis (CBA) using partial budgeting to quantify the economic consequences of infectious disease control through HG versus taking no action. Historical data were collected from 24 enrolled dairy goat herds and 21 herds not enrolled in HG, and supplemented with information from a questionnaire distributed to the same farmers. Expert opinions were collected to arrive at the best possible estimates. For some input parameters there were uncertainty due to imperfect knowledge, thus these parameters were modelled as PERT probability distributions and a stochastic simulation model was built. The CBA model was used to generate distributions of net present value (NPV) of farmers' net cash flows for choosing to enroll versus not enrolling. This was done for three selected milk quota levels of 30000L, 50000L and 70000L, and both for before and after the introduction of a reduced milk price for the non-enrolled. The NPVs were calculated over time horizons of 5, 10 and 20 years using an inflation-adjusted discount rate of 2.8% per annum. The results show that participation in HG on average was profitable over a time horizon of 10 years or longer for quota levels of 50000L and 70000L, although not without risk of having a negative NPV. If farmers had to pay all the costs themselves, participation in HG would have been profitable only for a time horizon beyond 20 years. In 2012, a reduced milk price was introduced for farmers not enrolled in HG, changing the decision criteria for farmers, and thus, the CBA. When the analysis was altered to account for these changes, the expected NPV was positive over five years for the 50000L quota, indicating an increased profitability of enrolling in HG. The sensitivity analysis showed that particular attention should be paid to work load and investment costs when planning for disease control programmes in the future. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Critical care medicine as a distinct product line with substantial financial profitability: the role of business planning.

PubMed

Bekes, Carolyn E; Dellinger, R Phillip; Brooks, Daniel; Edmondson, Robert; Olivia, Christopher T; Parrillo, Joseph E

2004-05-01

As academic health centers face increasing financial pressures, they have adopted a more businesslike approach to planning, particularly for discrete "product" or clinical service lines. Since critical care typically has been viewed as a service provided by a hospital, and not a product line, business plans have not historically been developed to expand and promote critical care. The major focus when examining the finances of critical care has been cost reduction, not business development. We hypothesized that a critical care business plan can be developed and analyzed like other more typical product lines and that such a critical care product line can be profitable for an institution. In-depth analysis of critical care including business planning for critical care services. Regional academic health center in southern New Jersey. None. As part of an overall business planning process directed by the Board of Trustees, the critical care product line was identified by isolating revenue, expenses, and profitability associated with critical care patients. We were able to identify the major sources ("value chain") of critical care patients: the emergency room, patients who are admitted for other problems but spend time in a critical care unit, and patients transferred to our intensive care units from other hospitals. The greatest opportunity to expand the product line comes from increasing the referrals from other hospitals. A methodology was developed to identify the revenue and expenses associated with critical care, based on the analysis of past experience. With this model, we were able to demonstrate a positive contribution margin of dollar 7 million per year related to patients transferred to the institution primarily for critical care services. This can be seen as the profit related to the product line segment of critical care. There was an additional positive contribution margin of dollar 5.8 million attributed to the critical care portion of the hospital stay of patients admitted primarily through other product lines or the emergency room. This can be seen as the profit related to the "hospital service" segment of critical care. This represented a total contribution margin of dollar 12.8 million, approximately 24% of the institution's entire contribution margin. This information was subsequently used to develop strategic plans to promote this product line. We were able to define the critical care product line, and we were able to demonstrate profitability through an analysis of revenue and expenses related to critical care services. Our experience suggests that the concept of critical care as a product line, in addition to a hospital service, may lead to a useful analysis of this new discipline. This plan provided a rational foundation for development of the operating and capital budgets for the health system.

Anti-profit beliefs: How people neglect the societal benefits of profit.

PubMed

Bhattacharjee, Amit; Dana, Jason; Baron, Jonathan

2017-11-01

Profit-seeking firms are stereotypically depicted as immoral and harmful to society. At the same time, profit-driven enterprise has contributed immensely to human prosperity. Though scholars agree that profit can incentivize societally beneficial behaviors, people may neglect this possibility. In 7 studies, we show that people see business profit as necessarily in conflict with social good, a view we call anti-profit beliefs . Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that U.S. participants hold anti-profit views of real U.S. firms and industries. Study 3 shows that hypothetical organizations are seen as doing more harm when they are labeled "for-profit" rather than "non-profit," while Study 4 shows that increasing harm to society is viewed as a strategy for increasing a hypothetical firm's long-run profitability. Studies 5-7 demonstrate that carefully prompting subjects to consider the long run incentives of profit can attenuate anti-profit beliefs, while prompting short run thinking does nothing relative to a control. Together, these results suggest that the default view of profits is zero-sum. While people readily grasp how profit can incentivize firms to engage in practices that harm others, they neglect how it can incentivize firms to engage in practices that benefit others. Accordingly, people's stereotypes of profit-seeking firms are excessively negative. Even in one of the most market-oriented societies in history, people doubt the contributions of profit-seeking industry to societal progress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Factors associated with profitability in pasture-based systems of milk production.

PubMed

Hanrahan, L; McHugh, N; Hennessy, T; Moran, B; Kearney, R; Wallace, M; Shalloo, L

2018-06-01

The global dairy industry needs to reappraise the systems of milk production that are operated at farm level with specific focus on enhancing technical efficiency and competitiveness of the sector. The objective of this study was to quantify the factors associated with costs of production, profitability, and pasture use, and the effects of pasture use on financial performance of dairy farms using an internationally recognized representative database over an 8-yr period (2008 to 2015) on pasture-based systems. To examine the associated effects of several farm system and management variables on specific performance measures, a series of multiple regression models were developed. Factors evaluated included pasture use [kg of dry matter/ha and stocking rate (livestock units/ha)], grazing season length, breeding season length, milk recording, herd size, dairy farm size (ha), farmer age, discussion group membership, proportion of purchased feed, protein %, fat %, kg of milk fat and protein per cow, kg of milk fat and protein per hectare, and capital investment in machinery, livestock, and buildings. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated costs of production per hectare differed by year, geographical location, soil type, level of pasture use, proportion of purchased feed, protein %, kg of fat and protein per cow, dairy farm size, breeding season length, and capital investment in machinery, livestock, and buildings per cow. The results of the analysis revealed that farm net profit per hectare was associated with pasture use per hectare, year, location, soil type, grazing season length, proportion of purchased feed, protein %, kg of fat and protein per cow, dairy farm size, and capital investment in machinery and buildings per cow. Pasture use per hectare was associated with year, location, soil type, stocking rate, dairy farm size, fat %, protein %, kg of fat and protein per cow, farmer age, capital investment in machinery and buildings per cow, breeding season length, and discussion group membership. On average, over the 8-yr period, each additional tonne of pasture dry matter used increased gross profit by €278 and net profit by €173 on dairy farms. Conversely, a 10% increase in the proportion of purchased feed in the diet resulted in a reduction in net profit per hectare by €97 and net profit by €207 per tonne of fat and protein. Results from this study, albeit in a quota limited environment, have demonstrated that the profitability of pasture-based dairy systems is significantly associated with the proportion of pasture used at the farm level, being cognizant of the levels of purchased feed. The Authors. Published by FASS Inc. and Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).

Are large farms more efficient? Tenure security, farm size and farm efficiency: evidence from northeast China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yuepeng; Ma, Xianlei; Shi, Xiaoping

2017-04-01

How to increase production efficiency, guarantee grain security, and increase farmers' income using the limited farmland is a great challenge that China is facing. Although theory predicts that secure property rights and moderate scale management of farmland can increase land productivity, reduce farm-related costs, and raise farmer's income, empirical studies on the size and magnitude of these effects are scarce. A number of studies have examined the impacts of land tenure or farm size on productivity or efficiency, respectively. There are also a few studies linking farm size, land tenure and efficiency together. However, to our best knowledge, there are no studies considering tenure security and farm efficiency together for different farm scales in China. In addition, there is little study analyzing the profit frontier. In this study, we particularly focus on the impacts of land tenure security and farm size on farm profit efficiency, using farm level data collected from 23 villages, 811 households in Liaoning in 2015. 7 different farm scales have been identified to further represent small farms, median farms, moderate-scale farms, and large farms. Technical efficiency is analyzed with stochastic frontier production function. The profit efficiency is regressed on a set of explanatory variables which includes farm size dummies, land tenure security indexes, and household characteristics. We found that: 1) The technical efficiency scores for production efficiency (average score = 0.998) indicate that it is already very close to the production frontier, and thus there is little room to improve production efficiency. However, there is larger space to raise profit efficiency (average score = 0.768) by investing more on farm size expansion, seed, hired labor, pesticide, and irrigation. 2) Farms between 50-80 mu are most efficient from the viewpoint of profit efficiency. The so-called moderate-scale farms (100-150 mu) according to the governmental guideline show no advantage in efficiency. 3) Formal land certificates and farmer's participation in land rental market are found to be important determinants of the profit efficiency across different scale of farms. 4) Fertilizer use has been excessive in Liaoning and could lead to the decline of crop profit.

A Bio-Economic Case Study of Canadian Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colonies: Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) in Queen Breeding Affects Beekeeper Profits

PubMed Central

Baylis, Kathy; Hoover, Shelley E.; Currie, Rob W.; Melathopoulos, Andony P.; Pernal, Stephen F.; Foster, Leonard J.; Guarna, M. Marta

2017-01-01

Abstract Over the past decade in North America and Europe, winter losses of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies have increased dramatically. Scientific consensus attributes these losses to multifactorial causes including altered parasite and pathogen profiles, lack of proper nutrition due to agricultural monocultures, exposure to pesticides, management, and weather. One method to reduce colony loss and increase productivity is through selective breeding of queens to produce disease-, pathogen-, and mite-resistant stock. Historically, the only method for identifying desirable traits in honey bees to improve breeding was through observation of bee behavior. A team of Canadian scientists have recently identified markers in bee antennae that correspond to behavioral traits in bees and can be tested for in a laboratory. These scientists have demonstrated that this marker-assisted selection (MAS) can be used to produce hygienic, pathogen-resistant honey bee colonies. Based on this research, we present a beekeeping case study where a beekeeper’s profit function is used to evaluate the economic impact of adopting colonies selected for hygienic behavior using MAS into an apiary. Our results show a net profit gain from an MAS colony of between 2% and 5% when Varroa mites are effectively treated. In the case of ineffective treatment, MAS generates a net profit benefit of between 9% and 96% depending on the Varroa load. When a Varroa mite population has developed some treatment resistance, we show that MAS colonies generate a net profit gain of between 8% and 112% depending on the Varroa load and degree of treatment resistance. PMID:28334400

The Maximums and Minimums of a Polnomial or Maximizing Profits and Minimizing Aircraft Losses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groves, Brenton R.

1984-01-01

Plotting a polynomial over the range of real numbers when its derivative contains complex roots is discussed. The polynomials are graphed by calculating the minimums, maximums, and zeros of the function. (MNS)

Objectives of the Airline Firm: Theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kneafsey, J. T.

1972-01-01

Theoretical models are formulated for airline firm operations that revolve around alternative formulations of managerial goals which these firms are persuing in practice. Consideration is given to the different objective functions which the companies are following in lieu of profit maximization.

Severity of illness and profitability: a patient level analysis.

PubMed

Carpenter, C E; Rosko, M D; Louis, D Z; Yuen, E J

1999-11-01

Crafting a payment mechanism for hospitals that provides for the legitimate operating needs of efficient institutions is an enduring health policy dilemma. The Prospective Payment System used by Medicare and some other payers in the US has been criticized for not adjusting for differences in severity of illness within diagnosis-related groups (DRGs). Previous studies have examined the relationship between profitability and severity of illness at the hospital level. This study examines the relationships between severity of illness and cost, revenue, and profit at the patient level. Two measures of severity (disease stage and number of unrelated diseases) were significant predictors of cost per case, and often had better predictive power than DRGs. In most instances, payers did not compensate adequately for severity so that higher values for the severity variables resulted in financial losses for the hospital.

Lightweight Combat Vehicle S and T Campaign

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-06

research in nano-materials, self - healing /diagnosing materials, multi-functional materials, and environmentally acceptable materials. The application...research includes nano-materials, self - healing /diagnosing materials, multi-functional materials, and environmentally acceptable materials.5 The 2003...hubs must be led by a not-for-profit organization, provide 50% cost share match, and are expected to become self -sufficient in 5 years. So far, all

An Examination of the Literature on the Function and Responsibilities of Board of Directors in Not for Profit Organizations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weis, Suzanne; Wynn, Patricia

A review of the literature on the functions and responsibilities of the board of trustees in nonprofit organizations shows the following as major areas of responsibility: (1) determinatlon of agency policy and assumption of the ongoing role of monitoring performance against established policies; (2) allocation of the organization's resources,…

Strategic Responses to Fiscal Constraints: A Health Policy Analysis of Hospital-Based Ambulatory Physical Therapy Services in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

PubMed Central

Verrier, Molly C.; Williams, A. Paul; Zakus, David; Deber, Raisa B.

2009-01-01

ABSTRACT Purpose: Ambulatory physical therapy (PT) services in Canada are required to be insured under the Canada Health Act, but only if delivered within hospitals. The present study analyzed strategic responses used by hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to deliver PT services in an environment of fiscal constraint. Methods: Key informant interviews (n = 47) were conducted with participants from all hospitals located within the GTA. Results: Two primary strategic responses were identified: (1) “load shedding” through the elimination or reduction of services, and (2) “privatization” through contracting out or creating internal for-profit subsidiary clinics. All hospitals reported reductions in service delivery between 1996 and 2003, and 15.0% (7/47 hospitals) fully eliminated ambulatory services. Although only one of 47 hospitals contracted out services, another 15.0% (7/47) reported that for-profit subsidiary clinics were created within the hospital in order to access other more profitable forms of quasi-public and private funding. Conclusions: Strategic restructuring of services, aimed primarily at cost containment, may have yielded short-term financial savings but has also created a ripple effect across the continuum of care. Moreover, the rise of for-profit subsidiary clinics operating within not-for-profit hospitals has emerged without much public debate and with little research to evaluate its impact. PMID:20808483

An analysis of the field service function of selected electronics firms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hull, Dennis Lee

For the purposes of this study, field service was defined as the function concerned with the servicing and maintaining, by the manufacturer or supplier, of products (usually owned by customers) used away from the manufacturer's or supplier's site. Field service is an important component of the service sector and of customer service. Field service availability and quality of this service are increasingly being used by customers as a means of product selection. Many companies have recognized this trend and have identified field service as a competitive edge. A review of the field service literature and discussions with field service consultants and professionals indicated a lack of field service research--more specifically, a systems analysis of the area was lacking. The purpose of this research was to examine, utilizing a systems perspective, the field service practices of leading electronics firms in order to develop field service management propositions (empirical generalizations) and a prescriptive model of best practice. The electronics industry was selected due to the critical relation of service-based competition to company profitability.

Outcome-based ventilation: A framework for assessing performance, health, and energy impacts to inform office building ventilation decisions.

PubMed

Rackes, A; Ben-David, T; Waring, M S

2018-07-01

This article presents an outcome-based ventilation (OBV) framework, which combines competing ventilation impacts into a monetized loss function ($/occ/h) used to inform ventilation rate decisions. The OBV framework, developed for U.S. offices, considers six outcomes of increasing ventilation: profitable outcomes realized from improvements in occupant work performance and sick leave absenteeism; health outcomes from occupant exposure to outdoor fine particles and ozone; and energy outcomes from electricity and natural gas usage. We used the literature to set low, medium, and high reference values for OBV loss function parameters, and evaluated the framework and outcome-based ventilation rates using a simulated U.S. office stock dataset and a case study in New York City. With parameters for all outcomes set at medium values derived from literature-based central estimates, higher ventilation rates' profitable benefits dominated negative health and energy impacts, and the OBV framework suggested ventilation should be ≥45 L/s/occ, much higher than the baseline ~8.5 L/s/occ rate prescribed by ASHRAE 62.1. Only when combining very low parameter estimates for profitable impacts with very high ones for health and energy impacts were all outcomes on the same order. Even then, however, outcome-based ventilation rates were often twice the baseline rate or more. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Reexploring Differences among For-Profit and Nonprofit Dialysis Providers

PubMed Central

Lee, Donald K K; Chertow, Glenn M; Zenios, Stefanos A

2010-01-01

Objective To determine whether profit status is associated with differences in hospital days per patient, an outcome that may also be influenced by provider financial goals. Data Sources United States Renal Data System Standard Analysis Files and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cost reports. Design We compared the number of hospital days per patient per year across for-profit and nonprofit dialysis facilities during 2003. To address possible referral bias in the assignment of patients to dialysis facilities, we used an instrumental variable regression method and adjusted for selected patient-specific factors, facility characteristics such as size and chain affiliation, as well as metrics of market competition. Data Extraction Methods All patients who received in-center hemodialysis at any time in 2003 and for whom Medicare was the primary payer were included (N=170,130; roughly two-thirds of the U.S. hemodialysis population). Patients dialyzed at hospital-based facilities and patients with no dialysis facilities within 30 miles of their residence were excluded. Results Overall, adjusted hospital days per patient were 17±5 percent lower in nonprofit facilities. The difference between nonprofit and for-profit facilities persisted with the correction for referral bias. There was no association between hospital days per patient per year and chain affiliation, but larger facilities had inferior outcomes (facilities with 73 or more patients had a 14±1.7 percent increase in hospital days relative to facilities with 35 or fewer patients). Differences in outcomes among for-profit and nonprofit facilities translated to 1,600 patient-years in hospital that could be averted each year if the hospital utilization rates in for-profit facilities were to decrease to the level of their nonprofit counterparts. Conclusions Hospital days per patient-year were statistically and clinically significantly lower among nonprofit dialysis providers. These findings suggest that the indirect incentives in Medicare's current payment system may provide insufficient incentive for for-profit providers to achieve optimal patient outcomes. PMID:20403066

Reexploring differences among for-profit and nonprofit dialysis providers.

PubMed

Lee, Donald K K; Chertow, Glenn M; Zenios, Stefanos A

2010-06-01

To determine whether profit status is associated with differences in hospital days per patient, an outcome that may also be influenced by provider financial goals. United States Renal Data System Standard Analysis Files and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cost reports. We compared the number of hospital days per patient per year across for-profit and nonprofit dialysis facilities during 2003. To address possible referral bias in the assignment of patients to dialysis facilities, we used an instrumental variable regression method and adjusted for selected patient-specific factors, facility characteristics such as size and chain affiliation, as well as metrics of market competition. All patients who received in-center hemodialysis at any time in 2003 and for whom Medicare was the primary payer were included (N=170,130; roughly two-thirds of the U.S. hemodialysis population). Patients dialyzed at hospital-based facilities and patients with no dialysis facilities within 30 miles of their residence were excluded. Overall, adjusted hospital days per patient were 17+/-5 percent lower in nonprofit facilities. The difference between nonprofit and for-profit facilities persisted with the correction for referral bias. There was no association between hospital days per patient per year and chain affiliation, but larger facilities had inferior outcomes (facilities with 73 or more patients had a 14+/-1.7 percent increase in hospital days relative to facilities with 35 or fewer patients). Differences in outcomes among for-profit and nonprofit facilities translated to 1,600 patient-years in hospital that could be averted each year if the hospital utilization rates in for-profit facilities were to decrease to the level of their nonprofit counterparts. Hospital days per patient-year were statistically and clinically significantly lower among nonprofit dialysis providers. These findings suggest that the indirect incentives in Medicare's current payment system may provide insufficient incentive for for-profit providers to achieve optimal patient outcomes.

Hospital Economics of Primary THA Decreasing Reimbursement and Increasing Cost, 1990 to 2008

PubMed Central

Rana, Adam J.; Healy, William L.

2010-01-01

Background The introduction of new technology has increased the hospital cost of THA. Considering the impending epidemic of hip osteoarthritis in the United States, the projections of THA prevalence, and national cost-containment initiatives, we are concerned about the decreasing economic feasibility of hospitals providing THA. Questions/purposes We compared the hospital cost, reimbursement, and profit/loss of THA over the 1990 to 2008 time period. Methods We reviewed the hospital accounting records of 104 patients in 1990 and 269 patients in 2008 who underwent a unilateral primary THA. Hospital revenue, hospital expenses, and hospital profit (loss) for THA were evaluated and compared in 1990, 1995, and 2008. Results From 1990 to 2008, hospital payment for primary THA increased 29% in actual dollars, whereas inflation increased 58%. Lahey Clinic converted a $3848 loss per case on Medicare fee for service, primary THA in 1990 to a $2486 profit per case in 1995 to a $2359 profit per case in 2008. This improvement was associated with a decrease in inflation-adjusted revenue from 1995 to 2008 and implementation of cost control programs that reduced hospital expenses. Reduction of length of stay and implant costs were the most important drivers of expense reduction. In addition, the managed Medicare patient subgroup reported a per case profit of only $650 in 2008. Conclusions If hospital revenue for THA decreases to managed Medicare levels, it will be difficult to make a profit on THA. The use of technologic enhancements for THA add to the cost problem in this era of healthcare reform. Hospitals and surgeons should collaborate to deliver THA at a profit so it will be available to all patients. Government healthcare administrators and health insurance payers should provide adequate reimbursement for hospitals and surgeons to continue delivery of high-quality THAs. Level of Evidence Level III, economic and decision analysis. See Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence. PMID:20809168

Characteristics of funding of clinical trials: cross-sectional survey and proposed guidance

PubMed Central

Jouni, Nahla; Abou-Jaoude, Eliane A; Hasbani, Divina Justina; Abou-Jaoude, Elias A; Khaldieh, Mariam; Hammoud, Mira Zein; Al-Gibbawi, Mounir; Anouti, Sirine; Guyatt, Gordon; Akl, Elie A

2017-01-01

Objectives To provide a detailed and current characterisation of funding of a representative sample clinical trials. We also aimed to develop guidance for standardised reporting of funding information. Methods We addressed the extent to which clinical trials published in 2015 in any of the 119 Core Clinical Journals included a statement on the funding source (eg, whether a not-for-profit organisation was supported by a private-for-profit organisation), type of funding, amount and role of funder. We used a stepwise approach to develop a guidance and an instrument for standardised reporting of funding information. Results Of 200 trials, 178 (89%) included a funding statement, of which 171 (96%) reported being funded. Funding statements in the 171 funded trials indicated the source in 100%, amount in 1% and roles of funders in 50%. The most frequent sources were governmental (58%) and private-for-profit (40%). Of 54 funding statements in which the source was a not-for-profit organisation, we found evidence of undisclosed support of those from private-for-profit organisation(s) in 26 (48%). The most frequently reported roles of funders in the 171 funded trials related to study design (42%) and data analysis, interpretation or management (41%). Of 139 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) addressing pharmacological or surgical interventions, 29 (21%) reported information on the supplier of the medication or device. The proposed guidance addresses both the funding information that RCTs should report and the reporting process. Attached to the guidance is a fillable PDF document for use as an instrument for standardised reporting of funding information. Conclusion Although the majority of RCTs report funding, there is considerable variability in the reporting of funding source, amount and roles of funders. A standardised approach to reporting of funding information would address these limitations. Future research should explore the implications of funding by not-for-profit organisations that are supported by for-profit organisations. PMID:28982811

Hospital economics of primary THA decreasing reimbursement and increasing cost, 1990 to 2008.

PubMed

Rana, Adam J; Iorio, Richard; Healy, William L

2011-02-01

The introduction of new technology has increased the hospital cost of THA. Considering the impending epidemic of hip osteoarthritis in the United States, the projections of THA prevalence, and national cost-containment initiatives, we are concerned about the decreasing economic feasibility of hospitals providing THA. We compared the hospital cost, reimbursement, and profit/loss of THA over the 1990 to 2008 time period. We reviewed the hospital accounting records of 104 patients in 1990 and 269 patients in 2008 who underwent a unilateral primary THA. Hospital revenue, hospital expenses, and hospital profit (loss) for THA were evaluated and compared in 1990, 1995, and 2008. From 1990 to 2008, hospital payment for primary THA increased 29% in actual dollars, whereas inflation increased 58%. Lahey Clinic converted a $3848 loss per case on Medicare fee for service, primary THA in 1990 to a $2486 profit per case in 1995 to a $2359 profit per case in 2008. This improvement was associated with a decrease in inflation-adjusted revenue from 1995 to 2008 and implementation of cost control programs that reduced hospital expenses. Reduction of length of stay and implant costs were the most important drivers of expense reduction. In addition, the managed Medicare patient subgroup reported a per case profit of only $650 in 2008. If hospital revenue for THA decreases to managed Medicare levels, it will be difficult to make a profit on THA. The use of technologic enhancements for THA add to the cost problem in this era of healthcare reform. Hospitals and surgeons should collaborate to deliver THA at a profit so it will be available to all patients. Government healthcare administrators and health insurance payers should provide adequate reimbursement for hospitals and surgeons to continue delivery of high-quality THAs. Level III, economic and decision analysis. See Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Evaluating the sale of a nonprofit health system to a for-profit hospital management company: the Legacy Experience.

PubMed Central

King, J G; Avery, J E

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To introduce and develop a decision model that can be used by the leadership of nonprofit healthcare organizations to assist them in evaluating whether selling to a for-profit organization is in their community's best interest. STUDY SETTING/DATA SOURCES: A case study of the planning process and decision model that Legacy Health System used to evaluate whether to sell to a for-profit hospital management company and use the proceeds of the sale to establish a community health foundation. Data sources included financial statements of benchmark organizations, internal company records, and numerous existing studies. STUDY DESIGN: The development of the multivariate model was based on insight gathered through a review of the current literature regarding the conversion of nonprofit healthcare organizations. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: The effect that conversion from nonprofit to for-profit status would have on each variable was estimated based on assumptions drawn from the current literature and on an analysis of Legacy and for-profit hospital company data. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The results of the decision model calculations indicate that the sale of Legacy to a for-profit firm and the subsequent creation of a community foundation would have a negative effect on the local community. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the decision model enabled senior management and trustees to systematically address the conversion question and to conclude that continuing to operate as a nonprofit organization would provide the most benefit to the local community. The model will prove useful to organizations that decide to sell to a for-profit organization as well as those that choose to continue nonprofit operations. For those that decide to sell, the model will assist in minimizing any potential negative effect that conversion may have on the community. The model will help those who choose not to sell to develop a better understanding of the organization's value to the community. PMID:10201854

Getting the most out of all your customers.

PubMed

Thomas, Jacquelyn S; Reinartz, Werner; Kumar, V

2004-01-01

Companies spend billions of dollars on direct marketing, targeting individual customers with ever more accuracy. Yet despite the power of the myriad data-collecting and analytical tools at their disposal, they're still having trouble optimizing their direct-marketing investments. Many marketers try to minimize costs by pursuing only those customers who are cheap to find and cheap to keep. Others try to get the most customers they possibly can and keep all of them for as long as they can. But a customer need not be loyal to be highly profitable, and many loyal customers turn out to be highly unprofitable. Companies can get more out of direct marketing if they see it as a single system for generating profits than if they try to maximize performance measures at each stage of the process. This article describes a tool for doing just that. Called ARPRO (Allocating Resources for Profits), the tool is essentially a complex regression analysis that can estimate the impact of a company's direct-marketing investments on the profitability of its customer pool. With data that companies already gather, the tool can show managers how much to spend on acquisition versus retention and even what percentage of their funds they should allocate to the different direct-marketing channels. Using the model, companies can easily see that even small deviations from the optimal levels of customer profitability are expensive. Applying it to one catalog retailer showed, for instance, that a 10% reduction in marketing costs would lead to a 1.8 million dollar drop in long-term customer profits. Conversely, spending 69% less on marketing would actually increase average customer profitability at one B2B service provider by 42%. What's more, the tool can show that finding the optimal balance between investments in acquisition and retention can be more important than finding the optimum amount to invest overall.

28 CFR 70.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Cost and price analysis. 70.45 Section 70... NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards § 70.45 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis must be made and documented in the procurement files in connection...

Charity care: do not-for-profits influence for-profits?

PubMed

Clement, Jan P; White, Kenneth R; Valdmanis, Vivian

2002-03-01

This study further examines whether not-for-profit hospitals exert pressure on for-profit hospitals to provide charity care and whether for-profit hospitals react differently than not-for-profit hospitals to managed care pressures and hospital competition in providing charity care. A two equation model is estimated using 1996 data from California hospitals. The results indicate that in mixed ownership markets, for-profit hospitals provide significantly less charity care as not-for-profit hospitals in the market provide more. Unexpectedly, study for-profit hospitals were not more influenced by price competition than other hospitals with respect to charity care. Having a unique role in providing charity care may justify continuing tax exemption for not-for-profit hospitals and enhance interest in payment and other policies with regard to conversions to ensure that not-for-profit hospitals continue to be represented in market areas.

Estimating costs of sea lice control strategy in Norway.

PubMed

Liu, Yajie; Bjelland, Hans Vanhauwaer

2014-12-01

This paper explores the costs of sea lice control strategies associated with salmon aquaculture at a farm level in Norway. Diseases can cause reduction in growth, low feed efficiency and market prices, increasing mortality rates, and expenditures on prevention and treatment measures. Aquaculture farms suffer the most direct and immediate economic losses from diseases. The goal of a control strategy is to minimize the total disease costs, including biological losses, and treatment costs while to maximize overall profit. Prevention and control strategies are required to eliminate or minimize the disease, while cost-effective disease control strategies at the fish farm level are designed to reduce the losses, and to enhance productivity and profitability. Thus, the goal can be achieved by integrating models of fish growth, sea lice dynamics and economic factors. A production function is first constructed to incorporate the effects of sea lice on production at a farm level, followed by a detailed cost analysis of several prevention and treatment strategies associated with sea lice in Norway. The results reveal that treatments are costly and treatment costs are very sensitive to treatment types used and timing of the treatment conducted. Applying treatment at an early growth stage is more economical than at a later stage. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Heart rate and treatment effect in children with disruptive behavior disorders.

PubMed

Stadler, Christina; Grasmann, Dörte; Fegert, Jörg M; Holtmann, Martin; Poustka, Fritz; Schmeck, Klaus

2008-09-01

To examine whether children with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs; hyperkinetic conduct disorder, conduct disorder, hyperkinetic disorder) characterized by low heart rate profit less from an intensive cognitive behavioral intervention aimed at reducing impulsive, oppositional and aggressive behavior problems. Basal heart rate was studied in twenty-three children (aged 7-12 years) with DBD at the beginning of intervention comprising an intensive day-care treatment and parent training. The disruptive behavior of the child was assessed before treatment and after termination (12 weeks later). Therapy responders and non-responders were compared in regard to heart rate and other risk factors (cognitive functioning and socio-economic status). Statistical analyses yielded evidence for a significant reduction of disruptive problem behaviors (aggression, delinquency) that is more prominent in DBD children with high heart rate scores compared to patients with low heart rate scores. Heart rate was significantly lower in children who did not profit from therapy. A logistic regression analysis revealed that heart rate is a significant predictor for therapy success whereas other risk factors had no impact on therapy success. Further studies investigating biological and psychosocial predictors of treatment effectiveness are necessary. In addition, it might be helpful to consider different subtypes of aggressive behavior for selecting the best possible treatment options.

32 CFR 173.3 - Profit reduction clause.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 32 National Defense 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Profit reduction clause. 173.3 Section 173.3... INFORMATION CERTIFICATE AND PROFIT REDUCTION CLAUSE § 173.3 Profit reduction clause. The following profit... Information Certificate is required prior to award. Profit Reduction for Illegal or Improper Activity (a) The...

32 CFR 173.3 - Profit reduction clause.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 32 National Defense 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Profit reduction clause. 173.3 Section 173.3... INFORMATION CERTIFICATE AND PROFIT REDUCTION CLAUSE § 173.3 Profit reduction clause. The following profit... Information Certificate is required prior to award. Profit Reduction for Illegal or Improper Activity (a) The...

32 CFR 173.3 - Profit reduction clause.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 32 National Defense 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Profit reduction clause. 173.3 Section 173.3... INFORMATION CERTIFICATE AND PROFIT REDUCTION CLAUSE § 173.3 Profit reduction clause. The following profit... Information Certificate is required prior to award. Profit Reduction for Illegal or Improper Activity (a) The...

32 CFR 173.3 - Profit reduction clause.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Profit reduction clause. 173.3 Section 173.3... INFORMATION CERTIFICATE AND PROFIT REDUCTION CLAUSE § 173.3 Profit reduction clause. The following profit... Information Certificate is required prior to award. Profit Reduction for Illegal or Improper Activity (a) The...

32 CFR 173.3 - Profit reduction clause.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 32 National Defense 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Profit reduction clause. 173.3 Section 173.3... INFORMATION CERTIFICATE AND PROFIT REDUCTION CLAUSE § 173.3 Profit reduction clause. The following profit... Information Certificate is required prior to award. Profit Reduction for Illegal or Improper Activity (a) The...

Characterization of the rainbow trout spleen transcriptome and identification of immune-related genes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Disease susceptibility affects production efficiency and profitability in rainbow trout aquaculture. There is limited information available regarding the functions and mechanisms of teleost immune pathways. Immunogenomics provides powerful approaches to identify disease resistance genes/gene pathway...

The Intergovernmental Marine Bioenergy and Carbon Sequestration Protocol: Environmental and Political Risk Reduction of Global Carbon Management (The IMBECS Protocol Draft)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayes, M.

2014-12-01

The IMBECS Protocol concept employs large cultivation and biorefinery installations, within the five Subtropical Convergence Zones (STCZs), to support the production of commodities such as carbon negative biofuels, seafood, organic fertilizer, polymers and freshwater, as a flexible and cost effective means of Global Warming Mitigation (GWM) with the primary objective being the global scale replacement of fossil fuels (FF). This governance approach is categorically distinct from all other large scale GWM governance concepts. Yet, many of the current marine related GWM technologies are adaptable to this proposals. The IMBECS technology would be managed by an intergovernmentally sanctioned non-profit foundation which would have the following functions/mission: Synthesises relevant treaty language Performs R&D activities and purchases relevant patents Under intergovernmental commission, functions as the primary responsible international actorfor environmental standards, production quotas and operational integrity Licence technology to for-profit actors under strict production/environmental standards Enforce production and environmental standards along with production quotas Provide a high level of transparency to all stakeholders Provide legal defence The IMBECS Protocol is conceptually related to the work found in the following documents/links. This list is not exhaustive: Climate Change Geoengineering The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A guide to the debate IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy and Climate Change Mitigation DoE Roadmap for Algae Biofuels PodEnergy Ocean Agronomy development leaders and progenitor of this proposal. Artificial Upwelling of Deep Seawater Using the Perpetual Salt Fountain for Cultivation of Ocean Desert NASAs' OMEGA study. Cool Planet; Land based version of a carbon negative biofuel concept. Cellana; Leading developer of algae based bioproducts. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture Mariculture: A global analysis of production trends since 1950 BECCS /Biochar/ Olivine UNFCCC/IMO/CBD The President's Climate Action Plan The conclusion of this analysis calls for funding of an investigational deployment of the relevant technologies for an open evaluation at the intergovernmental level.

The 'fixed cost effect' on practice management.

PubMed

Tipton, E F; Finley, J B

1999-01-01

To obtain a better understanding of the behavior of "non-professional" costs in a medical practice, the authors analyzed the expenses of a 19-doctor practice. The analysis revealed that 80 percent of these expenses were fixed costs. Fixed costs, as opposed to variable costs, remain static in total but vary on a per unit basis as volume changes. Organizations with high fixed cost must maximize capacity to achieve profitability. Thus, the relationship among volume, capacity, cost and profit must be understood by medical practices negotiating rates for service units.

Contribution of family labour to the profitability and competitiveness of small-scale dairy production systems in central Mexico.

PubMed

Posadas-Domínguez, Rodolfo Rogelio; Arriaga-Jordán, Carlos Manuel; Martínez-Castañeda, Francisco Ernesto

2014-01-01

The objective of this work was to determine the effect of family labour on the profitability and competitiveness of small-scale dairy farms in the highlands of Central Mexico. Economic data from 37 farms were analysed from a stratified statistical sampling with a Neyman assignment. Three strata were defined taking herd size as criterion. Stratum 1: herds from 3 to 9 cows plus replacements, Stratum 2: herds from 10 to 19 cows and Stratum 3: herds from 20 to 30 cows. The policy analysis matrix was used as the method to determine profitability and competitiveness. The coefficient of private profitability (CPP) when the economic cost of family labour is included in the cost structure was 8.0 %, 31.0 % and 46.0 %. When the economic cost of family labour is not included, CPP increase to 47.0 %, 57.0 % and 66.0 % for each strata, respectively. The private cost ratio (PCR) when family labour is included was 0.79, 0.51 and 0.42 for strata 1, 2 and 3, respectively. When family labour is not included, the PCR was 0.07, 0.25 and 0.26. Net profit per litre of milk including family labour was US$0.03 l(-1) for Stratum 1, US$0.09 for Stratum 2 and US$0.12 l(-1) for Stratum 3; but increased to $0.12, 0.14 and 0.15, respectively, when the economic cost of family labour is not included. It is concluded that family labour is a crucial factor in the profitability and competitiveness of small-scale dairy production.

Filling in the blanks. An estimation of illicit cannabis growers' profits in Belgium.

PubMed

Vanhove, Wouter; Surmont, Tim; Van Damme, Patrick; De Ruyver, Brice

2014-05-01

As a result of increased pressure on cannabis cultivation in The Netherlands, the number of confiscated indoor cannabis plantations in Belgium is rising. Although increases are reported for all plantations sizes, half of the seized plantations contain less than 50 plants. In this study, factors and variables that influence costs and benefits of indoor cannabis cultivation are investigated as well as how these costs and benefits vary between different cannabis grower types. Real-situation data of four growers were used to perform financial analyses. Costs included fixed and variable material costs, as well as opportunity costs. Gross revenue per grow cycle was calculated based on most recent forensic findings for illicit Belgian cannabis plantations and was adjusted for the risk of getting caught. Finally, gross revenues and return on costs (ROC) were calculated over 1 year (4 cycles). Financial analysis shows that in all cases gross revenues as well as ROC are considerable, even after a single growth cycle. Highest profitability was found for large-scale (600 plants, ROC=6.8) and mid-scale plantations (150 plants, ROC=6.0). However, industrial plantations (23,000 plants, ROC=1.4) and micro-scale plantations (5 plants, ROC=2.8) are also highly remunerative. Shift of police focus away from micro-scale growers, least likely to be involved in criminal gangs, to large-scale and industrial scale plantations would influence costs as a result of changing risks of getting caught. However, sensitivity analysis shows that this does not significantly influence the conclusions on profitability of different types of indoor cannabis growers. Seizure and confiscation of profits are important elements in the integral and integrated policy approach required for tackling illicit indoor cannabis plantations. The large return of costs evidenced in the present study, underpin the policy relevance of confiscating those illicit profits as part of enforcement. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mapping the Profit Motive: The Distinct Geography and Demography of For-Profit Charter Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, W. Brett

2015-01-01

For-profit charter schools represent a controversial new market-based education reform (Garcia, Barber, & Molnar, 2009; Conn, 2002). This essay explores how schools operated by for-profit corporations differ from those operated by non-profit organizations. Specifically, do for-profit charter schools locate in demographically distinct areas and…

Profiles of For-Profit Education Management Companies: Sixth Annual Report. 2003-2004.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molnar, Alex; Wilson, Glen; Allen, Daniel

2004-01-01

The for-profit management of public schools by for-profit corporations continues to be a controversial innovation. Proponents argue for-profit schools will result in educational improvement by harnessing the profit seeking motive of the marketplace. Competition, they maintain, forces companies to earn their profits by reducing administrative…

Applying risk management strategies to strengthen an IDS's investment policy.

PubMed

Fine, R P

1998-11-01

The increased financial risk that not-for-profit integrated delivery systems have assumed to function under managed care has required them to become increasingly reliant on income and gains from their investment portfolios. This reliance underscores the need for these organizations to take steps to effectively manage their investment risk. Not-for-profit IDSs should establish a systematic approach to investment risk management that is based on maintaining a sound fiduciary infrastructure and having a clear understanding of risk exposures, the most important of which are policy and market risk. Applying reasonable and common-sense risk management strategies to investment policy will enhance an IDS's overall financial and competitive strength.

Wireless Sensor Network-Based Service Provisioning by a Brokering Platform

PubMed Central

Guijarro, Luis; Pla, Vicent; Vidal, Jose R.; Naldi, Maurizio; Mahmoodi, Toktam

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a business model for providing services based on the Internet of Things through a platform that intermediates between human users and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). The platform seeks to maximize its profit through posting both the price charged to each user and the price paid to each WSN. A complete analysis of the profit maximization problem is performed in this paper. We show that the service provider maximizes its profit by incentivizing all users and all Wireless Sensor Infrastructure Providers (WSIPs) to join the platform. This is true not only when the number of users is high, but also when it is moderate, provided that the costs that the users bear do not trespass a cost ceiling. This cost ceiling depends on the number of WSIPs, on the value of the intrinsic value of the service and on the externality that the WSIP has on the user utility. PMID:28498347

Wireless Sensor Network-Based Service Provisioning by a Brokering Platform.

PubMed

Guijarro, Luis; Pla, Vicent; Vidal, Jose R; Naldi, Maurizio; Mahmoodi, Toktam

2017-05-12

This paper proposes a business model for providing services based on the Internet of Things through a platform that intermediates between human users and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). The platform seeks to maximize its profit through posting both the price charged to each user and the price paid to each WSN. A complete analysis of the profit maximization problem is performed in this paper. We show that the service provider maximizes its profit by incentivizing all users and all Wireless Sensor Infrastructure Providers (WSIPs) to join the platform. This is true not only when the number of users is high, but also when it is moderate, provided that the costs that the users bear do not trespass a cost ceiling. This cost ceiling depends on the number of WSIPs, on the value of the intrinsic value of the service and on the externality that the WSIP has on the user utility.

The benefits of social influence in optimized cultural markets.

PubMed

Abeliuk, Andrés; Berbeglia, Gerardo; Cebrian, Manuel; Van Hentenryck, Pascal

2015-01-01

Social influence has been shown to create significant unpredictability in cultural markets, providing one potential explanation why experts routinely fail at predicting commercial success of cultural products. As a result, social influence is often presented in a negative light. Here, we show the benefits of social influence for cultural markets. We present a policy that uses product quality, appeal, position bias and social influence to maximize expected profits in the market. Our computational experiments show that our profit-maximizing policy leverages social influence to produce significant performance benefits for the market, while our theoretical analysis proves that our policy outperforms in expectation any policy not displaying social signals. Our results contrast with earlier work which focused on showing the unpredictability and inequalities created by social influence. Not only do we show for the first time that, under our policy, dynamically showing consumers positive social signals increases the expected profit of the seller in cultural markets. We also show that, in reasonable settings, our profit-maximizing policy does not introduce significant unpredictability and identifies "blockbusters". Overall, these results shed new light on the nature of social influence and how it can be leveraged for the benefits of the market.

Profitability of simple technical trading rules of Chinese stock exchange indexes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Hong; Jiang, Zhi-Qiang; Li, Sai-Ping; Zhou, Wei-Xing

2015-12-01

Although technical trading rules have been widely used by practitioners in financial markets, their profitability still remains controversial. We here investigate the profitability of moving average (MA) and trading range break (TRB) rules by using the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index (SHCI) from May 21, 1992 through December 31, 2013 and Shenzhen Stock Exchange Component Index (SZCI) from April 3, 1991 through December 31, 2013. The t-test is adopted to check whether the mean returns which are conditioned on the trading signals are significantly different from unconditioned returns and whether the mean returns conditioned on the buy signals are significantly different from the mean returns conditioned on the sell signals. We find that TRB rules outperform MA rules and short-term variable moving average (VMA) rules outperform long-term VMA rules. By applying White's Reality Check test and accounting for the data snooping effects, we find that the best trading rule outperforms the buy-and-hold strategy when transaction costs are not taken into consideration. Once transaction costs are included, trading profits will be eliminated completely. Our analysis suggests that simple trading rules like MA and TRB cannot beat the standard buy-and-hold strategy for the Chinese stock exchange indexes.

78 FR 31599 - Notice of Quarterly Report (January 2013-March 31, 2013)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-24

... trained. Rural land service offices installed and functioning (Services Fonciers Ruraux). Rural hectares... trained in profitability of commercial cultivation, agriculture. services to Additional hectares...) Training of health among target staff by MCA populations and Mongolia. improved medical Improved services...

45 CFR 2543.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Property Standards § 2543.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award. Recipients shall monitor subawards to...

15 CFR 14.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...-PROFIT, AND COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 14.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award. Recipients shall monitor subawards to...

40 CFR 30.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 30.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award...

40 CFR 30.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 30.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award...

40 CFR 30.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 30.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award...

15 CFR 14.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...-PROFIT, AND COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 14.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award. Recipients shall monitor subawards to...

45 CFR 2543.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Property Standards § 2543.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award. Recipients shall monitor subawards to...

40 CFR 30.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 30.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award...

45 CFR 2543.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Property Standards § 2543.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award. Recipients shall monitor subawards to...

45 CFR 2543.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Property Standards § 2543.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award. Recipients shall monitor subawards to...

15 CFR 14.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...-PROFIT, AND COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 14.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award. Recipients shall monitor subawards to...

15 CFR 14.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...-PROFIT, AND COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 14.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award. Recipients shall monitor subawards to...

The economic survival of long stay institutions for impoverished aged people.

PubMed

Creutzberg, Marion; Gonçalves, Lúcia Hisako Takase; Sobottka, Emil Albert

2007-01-01

Identify structural couplings of Retirement Institutions for the Aged (RIA) with the economic system, in order to maintain those institutions that shelter the poor aged in the Brazilian context. Qualitative, exploratory-descriptive study. The data collection was carried out through interviews with seven leading people and eight aged people, analysis of communication of 52 non-profit Brazilian RIAs, both public and private. The content analysis was performed based on the Niklas Luhmann's Systems Theory. It was verified that in face of the aged scarce resources, a considerable share of the maintenance costs are supported by the institutions themselves, whose search for resources is done by leaders, team, the aged and communities. The excessive involvement of these institutions in the elaboration of programs for searching funds can harm the performance of their essential function which is to care for the poor aged.

20 CFR 435.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cost and price analysis. 435.45 Section 435.45 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND...

36 CFR 1210.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards... in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar...

36 CFR 1210.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards... in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar...

36 CFR 1210.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards... in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar...

Views of NHS commissioners on commissioning support provision. Evidence from a qualitative study examining the early development of clinical commissioning groups in England.

PubMed

Petsoulas, Christina; Allen, Pauline; Checkland, Kath; Coleman, Anna; Segar, Julia; Peckham, Stephen; Mcdermott, Imelda

2014-10-15

The 2010 healthcare reform in England introduced primary care-led commissioning in the National Health Service (NHS) by establishing clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). A key factor for the success of the reform is the provision of excellent commissioning support services to CCGs. The Government's aim is to create a vibrant market of competing providers of such services (from both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors). Until this market develops, however, commissioning support units (CSUs) have been created from which CCGs are buying commissioning support functions. This study explored the attitudes of CCGs towards outsourcing commissioning support functions during the initial stage of the reform. The research took place between September 2011 and June 2012. We used a case study research design in eight CCGs, conducting in-depth interviews, observation of meetings and analysis of policy documents. We conducted 96 interviews and observed 146 meetings (a total of approximately 439 h). Many CCGs were reluctant to outsource core commissioning support functions (such as contracting) for fear of losing local knowledge and trusted relationships. Others were disappointed by the absence of choice and saw CSUs as monopolies and a recreation of the abolished PCTs. Many expressed doubts about the expectation that outsourcing of commissioning support functions will result in lower administrative costs. Given the nature of healthcare commissioning, outsourcing vital commissioning support functions may not be the preferred option of CCGs. Considerations of high transaction costs, and the risk of fragmentation of services and loss of trusted relationships involved in short-term contracting, may lead most CCGs to decide to form long-term partnerships with commissioning support suppliers in the future. This option, however, limits competition by creating 'network closure' and calls into question the Government's intention to create a vibrant market of commissioning support provision. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Profit pools: a fresh look at strategy.

PubMed

Gadiesh, O; Gilbert, J L

1998-01-01

In charting strategy, many managers focus on revenue growth, assuming that profits will follow. But that approach is dangerous: today's deep revenue pool may become tomorrow's dry hole. To create strategies that result in profitable growth, managers need to look beyond revenues to see the shape of their industry's profit pool. The authors define an industry's profit pool as the total profits earned at all points along the industry's value chain. Although the concept is simple, the structure of a profit pool is usually quite complex. The pool will be deeper in some segments of the value chain than in others, and depths will vary within an individual segment as well. Segment profitability may, for example, vary widely by customer group, product category, geographic market, and distribution channel. Moreover, the pattern of profit concentration in an industry will often be very different from the pattern of revenue concentration. The authors describe how successful companies have gained competitive advantage by developing sophisticated profit-pool strategies. They explain how U-Haul identified new sources of profit in the consumer-truck-rental industry; how Merck reached beyond its traditional value-chain role to protect its profits in the pharmaceuticals industry; how Dell rebounded from a misguided channel decision by refocusing on its traditional source of profit; and how Anheuser-Busch made a series of astute product, pricing, and operating decisions to dominate the beer industry's profit pool. The companies with the best understanding of their industry's profit pool, the authors argue, will be in the best position to thrive over the long term.

A Bio-Economic Case Study of Canadian Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colonies: Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) in Queen Breeding Affects Beekeeper Profits.

PubMed

Bixby, Miriam; Baylis, Kathy; Hoover, Shelley E; Currie, Rob W; Melathopoulos, Andony P; Pernal, Stephen F; Foster, Leonard J; Guarna, M Marta

2017-06-01

Over the past decade in North America and Europe, winter losses of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies have increased dramatically. Scientific consensus attributes these losses to multifactorial causes including altered parasite and pathogen profiles, lack of proper nutrition due to agricultural monocultures, exposure to pesticides, management, and weather. One method to reduce colony loss and increase productivity is through selective breeding of queens to produce disease-, pathogen-, and mite-resistant stock. Historically, the only method for identifying desirable traits in honey bees to improve breeding was through observation of bee behavior. A team of Canadian scientists have recently identified markers in bee antennae that correspond to behavioral traits in bees and can be tested for in a laboratory. These scientists have demonstrated that this marker-assisted selection (MAS) can be used to produce hygienic, pathogen-resistant honey bee colonies. Based on this research, we present a beekeeping case study where a beekeeper's profit function is used to evaluate the economic impact of adopting colonies selected for hygienic behavior using MAS into an apiary. Our results show a net profit gain from an MAS colony of between 2% and 5% when Varroa mites are effectively treated. In the case of ineffective treatment, MAS generates a net profit benefit of between 9% and 96% depending on the Varroa load. When a Varroa mite population has developed some treatment resistance, we show that MAS colonies generate a net profit gain of between 8% and 112% depending on the Varroa load and degree of treatment resistance. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.

Application of qualitative response models in a relevance study of older adults' health depreciation and medical care demand.

PubMed

Weng, Shuo-Chun; Chen, Yu-Chi; Chen, Ching-Yu; Cheng, Yuan-Yang; Tang, Yih-Jing; Yang, Shu-Hui; Lin, Jwu-Rong

2017-04-01

The effect of health depreciation in older people on medical care demand is not well understood. We tried to assess the medical care demand with length of hospitalization and their impact on profits as a result of health depreciation. All participants who underwent comprehensive geriatric assessment were from a prospective cohort study at a tertiary hospital. A total of 1191 cases between September 2008 to October 2012 were investigated. Three sets of qualitative response models were constructed to estimate the impact of older adults' health depreciation on multidisciplinary geriatric care services. Furthermore, we analyzed the factors affecting the composite end-point of rehospitalization within 14 days, re-admission to the emergency department within 3 days and patient death. Greater health depreciation in elderly patients was positively correlated with greater medical care demand. Three major components were defined as health depreciation: elderly adaptation function, geriatric syndromes and multiple chronic diseases. On admission, the better the basic living functions, the shorter the length of hospitalization (coefficient = -0.35, P < 0.001 in Poisson regression; coefficient = -0.33, P < 0.001 in order choice profit model; coefficient = -0.29, P < 0.001 in binary choice profit model). The major determinants for poor outcome were male sex, middle old age and length of hospitalization. However, factors that correlated with relatively good outcome were functional improvement after medical care services and level of disease education. An optimal allocation system for selection of cases into multidisciplinary geriatric care is required because of limited resources. Outcomes will improve with health promotion and preventive care services. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 645-652. © 2016 Japan Geriatrics Society.

An Examination of Not-For-Profit Stakeholder Networks for Relationship Management: A Small-Scale Analysis on Social Media.

PubMed

Wyllie, Jessica; Lucas, Benjamin; Carlson, Jamie; Kitchens, Brent; Kozary, Ben; Zaki, Mohamed

2016-01-01

Using a small-scale descriptive network analysis approach, this study highlights the importance of stakeholder networks for identifying valuable stakeholders and the management of existing stakeholders in the context of mental health not-for-profit services. We extract network data from the social media brand pages of three health service organizations from the U.S., U.K., and Australia, to visually map networks of 579 social media brand pages (represented by nodes), connected by 5,600 edges. This network data is analyzed using a collection of popular graph analysis techniques to assess the differences in the way each of the service organizations manage stakeholder networks. We also compare node meta-information against basic topology measures to emphasize the importance of effectively managing relationships with stakeholders who have large external audiences. Implications and future research directions are also discussed.

An Examination of Not-For-Profit Stakeholder Networks for Relationship Management: A Small-Scale Analysis on Social Media

PubMed Central

Carlson, Jamie; Kitchens, Brent; Kozary, Ben; Zaki, Mohamed

2016-01-01

Using a small-scale descriptive network analysis approach, this study highlights the importance of stakeholder networks for identifying valuable stakeholders and the management of existing stakeholders in the context of mental health not-for-profit services. We extract network data from the social media brand pages of three health service organizations from the U.S., U.K., and Australia, to visually map networks of 579 social media brand pages (represented by nodes), connected by 5,600 edges. This network data is analyzed using a collection of popular graph analysis techniques to assess the differences in the way each of the service organizations manage stakeholder networks. We also compare node meta-information against basic topology measures to emphasize the importance of effectively managing relationships with stakeholders who have large external audiences. Implications and future research directions are also discussed. PMID:27711236

A Non-Profit University and a For-Profit Consulting Company Partner to a Offer a New Master's Degree

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitney, Gary; Dalton, Thomas M.

2008-01-01

The University of San Diego, School of Business Administration (non-profit university) and the Ken Blanchard Companies (for profit management consulting company) teamed to create the Master of Science in Executive Leadership at USD. Fusing a traditional non-profit university faculty and staff with a for-profit consulting company created a plethora…

Evaluation of comparative advantages in the profitability and competitiveness of the small-scale dairy system of Tulancingo Valley, Mexico.

PubMed

Posadas-Domínguez, Rodolfo Rogelio; Del Razo-Rodríguez, Oscar Enrique; Almaraz-Buendía, Isaac; Pelaez-Acero, Armando; Espinosa-Muñoz, Verónica; Rebollar-Rebollar, Samuel; Salinas-Martínez, Jesús Armando

2018-06-01

This article combines a Policy Analysis Matrix with a sensitivity and poverty line analysis with the objective of evaluating the economic contribution of comparative advantages to the private profitability and competitiveness of small-scale dairy systems. For 1 year, socioeconomic data were collected from 82 farms selected from four strata via statistical sampling. Two scenarios were established to determine the quantitative contribution of comparative advantages: (1) a simulated scenario, which accounted for the cost of purchasing the total food and the opportunity cost of the family labour force (FLF), and (2) an actual production scenario, which accounted for the cost of producing food and eliminating the payment of the FLF and included other income. The E3 and E4 producers were the most profitable and competitive in the simulated scenario and actual production scenario. Of the four scales evaluated, the E2 and E1 producers were the most efficient in taking advantage of the economic contribution provided by the comparative advantages in their own production of food and employment of the FLF, in addition to accounting for other income, a condition that increased their profitability by 171 and 144% and competitiveness by 346 and 273%, respectively. The poverty results indicated that only E3 and E4 producers were non-vulnerable in the simulated scenario and actual production scenario. The purchase of food was the comparative advantage with the greatest sensitivity to cost increases in the two scenarios analysed, which exacerbated the effect on the E1 and E2 producers.

Effect of probiotic supplementation on organic feed to alternative antibiotic growth promoter on production performance and economics analysis of quail.

PubMed

Lokapirnasari, W P; Dewi, A R; Fathinah, A; Hidanah, S; Harijani, N; Soeharsono; Karimah, B; Andriani, A D

2017-12-01

The purpose of this study was to know the production performance and economic analysis in quail which use probiotic supplementation to alternate antibiotic growth promoter (AGP) to feed consumption, water consumption, egg production, egg mass, feed conversion, and feed efficiency. About 240 quails ( Coturnix coturnix japonica) at 14 weeks of age were completely randomized into four treatments, each treatment consisted of six replications and each replication consisted by 10 heads. The treatment was T0 (organic feed without AGP and without probiotic), T1 (organic feed + 0.001% AGP), T2 (organic feed + 0.005% probiotic in feed), and T3 (organic feed + 0.005% probiotic in drinking water). The probiotic consist of 1.2×10 5 CFU/g of Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus . The results showed that the probiotic supplementation both in feed and water give a significant impact to feed consumption, water intake, feed conversion, feed efficiency, and quail day production, but no statistical difference of egg mass. The T3 also show the most profitable business analysis, which has the best result in income, profit, break-even point, return cost ratio, benefit-cost ratio, and return on investment. It can be concluded that giving 0.005% probiotic in drinking water to get the best egg production and profit.

Social signals and algorithmic trading of Bitcoin.

PubMed

Garcia, David; Schweitzer, Frank

2015-09-01

The availability of data on digital traces is growing to unprecedented sizes, but inferring actionable knowledge from large-scale data is far from being trivial. This is especially important for computational finance, where digital traces of human behaviour offer a great potential to drive trading strategies. We contribute to this by providing a consistent approach that integrates various datasources in the design of algorithmic traders. This allows us to derive insights into the principles behind the profitability of our trading strategies. We illustrate our approach through the analysis of Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency known for its large price fluctuations. In our analysis, we include economic signals of volume and price of exchange for USD, adoption of the Bitcoin technology and transaction volume of Bitcoin. We add social signals related to information search, word of mouth volume, emotional valence and opinion polarization as expressed in tweets related to Bitcoin for more than 3 years. Our analysis reveals that increases in opinion polarization and exchange volume precede rising Bitcoin prices, and that emotional valence precedes opinion polarization and rising exchange volumes. We apply these insights to design algorithmic trading strategies for Bitcoin, reaching very high profits in less than a year. We verify this high profitability with robust statistical methods that take into account risk and trading costs, confirming the long-standing hypothesis that trading-based social media sentiment has the potential to yield positive returns on investment.

Social signals and algorithmic trading of Bitcoin

PubMed Central

Garcia, David; Schweitzer, Frank

2015-01-01

The availability of data on digital traces is growing to unprecedented sizes, but inferring actionable knowledge from large-scale data is far from being trivial. This is especially important for computational finance, where digital traces of human behaviour offer a great potential to drive trading strategies. We contribute to this by providing a consistent approach that integrates various datasources in the design of algorithmic traders. This allows us to derive insights into the principles behind the profitability of our trading strategies. We illustrate our approach through the analysis of Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency known for its large price fluctuations. In our analysis, we include economic signals of volume and price of exchange for USD, adoption of the Bitcoin technology and transaction volume of Bitcoin. We add social signals related to information search, word of mouth volume, emotional valence and opinion polarization as expressed in tweets related to Bitcoin for more than 3 years. Our analysis reveals that increases in opinion polarization and exchange volume precede rising Bitcoin prices, and that emotional valence precedes opinion polarization and rising exchange volumes. We apply these insights to design algorithmic trading strategies for Bitcoin, reaching very high profits in less than a year. We verify this high profitability with robust statistical methods that take into account risk and trading costs, confirming the long-standing hypothesis that trading-based social media sentiment has the potential to yield positive returns on investment. PMID:26473051

CO2 Accounting and Risk Analysis for CO2 Sequestration at Enhanced Oil Recovery Sites.

PubMed

Dai, Zhenxue; Viswanathan, Hari; Middleton, Richard; Pan, Feng; Ampomah, William; Yang, Changbing; Jia, Wei; Xiao, Ting; Lee, Si-Yong; McPherson, Brian; Balch, Robert; Grigg, Reid; White, Mark

2016-07-19

Using CO2 in enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) is a promising technology for emissions management because CO2-EOR can dramatically reduce sequestration costs in the absence of emissions policies that include incentives for carbon capture and storage. This study develops a multiscale statistical framework to perform CO2 accounting and risk analysis in an EOR environment at the Farnsworth Unit (FWU), Texas. A set of geostatistical-based Monte Carlo simulations of CO2-oil/gas-water flow and transport in the Morrow formation are conducted for global sensitivity and statistical analysis of the major risk metrics: CO2/water injection/production rates, cumulative net CO2 storage, cumulative oil/gas productions, and CO2 breakthrough time. The median and confidence intervals are estimated for quantifying uncertainty ranges of the risk metrics. A response-surface-based economic model has been derived to calculate the CO2-EOR profitability for the FWU site with a current oil price, which suggests that approximately 31% of the 1000 realizations can be profitable. If government carbon-tax credits are available, or the oil price goes up or CO2 capture and operating expenses reduce, more realizations would be profitable. The results from this study provide valuable insights for understanding CO2 storage potential and the corresponding environmental and economic risks of commercial-scale CO2-sequestration in depleted reservoirs.

The effect of information technology investment on firm-level performance in the health care industry.

PubMed

Thouin, Mark F; Hoffman, James J; Ford, Eric W

2008-01-01

The return on investment for information technology (IT) has been the subject of much debate throughout the history of management information systems research. Often referred to as the productivity paradox, increased IT investments have not been consistently associated with increased productivity. Understanding individual IT factors that directly contribute to business value should provide insight into the productivity paradox. The effects of 3 different firm-level IT characteristics on financial performance in the health care industry are studied. Specifically, the effects of IT budget, IT outsourcing, and the relative number of IT personnel on firm-level financial performance are analyzed. Regression analysis of archival survey data for 914 Integrated Healthcare Delivery Systems is performed. IT budgetary expenditures and the number of IT services outsourced are associated with increases in the profitability of Integrated Healthcare Delivery Systems, whereas increases in IT personnel are not significantly associated with increased profitability. Each one tenth of a percentage increase in IT expenditures is associated with approximately $100,000 in increased profit, and each additional IT service outsourced is associated with approximately $950,000 in increased profit for an average-sized Integrated Healthcare Delivery System. To increase profitability, IT administrators should increase IT budgetary expenditures along with IT outsourcing levels. IT administrators in the health care industry can use such findings during budgeting cycles to justify increased investments in IT personnel as being budget neutral while increasing organizational capacity.

Self-declared stock ownership and association with positive trial outcome in randomized controlled trials with binary outcomes published in general medical journals: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Falk Delgado, Alberto; Falk Delgado, Anna

2017-07-26

Describe the prevalence and types of conflicts of interest (COI) in published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in general medical journals with a binary primary outcome and assess the association between conflicts of interest and favorable outcome. Parallel-group RCTs with a binary primary outcome published in three general medical journals during 2013-2015 were identified. COI type, funding source, and outcome were extracted. Binomial logistic regression model was performed to assess association between COI and funding source with outcome. A total of 509 consecutive parallel-group RCTs were included in the study. COI was reported in 74% in mixed funded RCTs and in 99% in for-profit funded RCTs. Stock ownership was reported in none of the non-profit RCTs, in 7% of mixed funded RCTs, and in 50% of for-profit funded RCTs. Mixed-funded RCTs had employees from the funding company in 11% and for-profit RCTs in 76%. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that stock ownership in the funding company among any of the authors was associated with a favorable outcome (odds ratio = 3.53; 95% confidence interval = 1.59-7.86; p < 0.01). COI in for-profit funded RCTs is extensive, because the factors related to COI are not fully independent, a multivariable analysis should be cautiously interpreted. However, after multivariable adjustment only stock ownership from the funding company among authors is associated with a favorable outcome.

22 CFR 145.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards § 145... ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar indicia...

24 CFR 84.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards § 84... ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar indicia...

24 CFR 84.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards § 84... ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar indicia...

7 CFR 3019.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement... accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar...

22 CFR 145.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards § 145... ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar indicia...

24 CFR 84.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards § 84... ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar indicia...

22 CFR 145.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards § 145... ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar indicia...

7 CFR 3019.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement... accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar...

22 CFR 145.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards § 145... ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar indicia...

7 CFR 3019.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement... accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar...

24 CFR 84.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards § 84... ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar indicia...

48 CFR 2115.404-71 - Profit analysis factors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., enrollees, beneficiaries, and Congress as measures of economical and efficient contract performance. This..., etc., having viability to the Program at large. Improvements and innovations recognized and rewarded...

48 CFR 2115.404-71 - Profit analysis factors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., enrollees, beneficiaries, and Congress as measures of economical and efficient contract performance. This..., etc., having viability to the Program at large. Improvements and innovations recognized and rewarded...

48 CFR 2115.404-71 - Profit analysis factors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., enrollees, beneficiaries, and Congress as measures of economical and efficient contract performance. This..., etc., having viability to the Program at large. Improvements and innovations recognized and rewarded...

48 CFR 2115.404-71 - Profit analysis factors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., enrollees, beneficiaries, and Congress as measures of economical and efficient contract performance. This..., etc., having viability to the Program at large. Improvements and innovations recognized and rewarded...

Market policy as an innovative element of marketing in the Romanian healthcare services – an approach focused on the patient

PubMed Central

Coculescu, BI; Coculescu, EC; Radu, A; Petrescu, L; Purcărea, VL

2015-01-01

The orientation towards one of the marketing policies with a major impact in organizations providing healthcare services, requires a careful analysis of the needs and aspirations of customers, targeting those patients whose needs the service organization can achieve through the existing resources at the respective health facility, finding the most effective way of achieving benefits associated with reduced costs to maximizing profits, placing the offers for medical services required by the patients on the market, as well as promptly reacting and acting to the changes of health services market which is constantly evolving through a flexible organizing and functioning structure, connected to the financial needs of the patients. PMID:26664466

Structural Analysis of Competitive Forces in Higher Education Industry: A Conceptual Framework.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sisaye, Seleshi

This report describes how colleges and universities in the Not-for-Profit sector can bridge the strategic management research gap by applying competitive analysis in the strategic planning process. This business analysis tool can be used to assist colleges and universities, just as it assists businesses, in understanding the competitive forces…

Growth and profitability in small privately held biotech firms: preliminary findings.

PubMed

Brännback, Malin; Carsrud, Alan; Renko, Maija; Ostermark, Ralf; Aaltonen, Jaana; Kiviluoto, Niklas

2009-06-01

This paper reports on preliminary findings on a study of the relationship of growth and profitability among small privately held Finnish Life Science firms. Previous research results concerning growth and profitability are mixed, ranging from strongly positive to a negative relationship. The conventional wisdom states that growth is a prerequisite for profitability. Our results suggest that the reverse is the case. A high profitability-low growth biotech firm is more probably to make the transition to high profitability-high growth than a firm that starts off with low profitability and high growth.

22 CFR 145.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 145.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award...

28 CFR 70.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., HOSPITALS AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 70.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award. Recipients must monitor subawards...

22 CFR 145.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 145.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award...

22 CFR 145.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 145.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award...

22 CFR 145.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 145.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award...

36 CFR 1210.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 1210.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award...

28 CFR 70.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., HOSPITALS AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 70.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award. Recipients must monitor subawards...

28 CFR 70.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., HOSPITALS AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 70.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award. Recipients must monitor subawards...

36 CFR 1210.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 1210.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award...

28 CFR 70.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., HOSPITALS AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 70.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award. Recipients must monitor subawards...

36 CFR 1210.51 - Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Reports and Records § 1210.51 Monitoring and reporting program performance. (a) Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by the award...

Cost analysis and the practicing radiologist/manager: an introduction to managerial accounting.

PubMed

Forman, H P; Yin, D

1996-06-01

Cost analysis is inherently one of the most tedious tasks falling on the shoulders of any manager. In today's world, whether in a service business such as radiology or medicine or in a product line such as car manufacturing, accurate cost analysis is critical to all aspects of management: marketing, competitive strategy, quality control, human resource management, accounting (financial), and operations management, to name but a few. This is a topic that we will explore with the intention of giving the radiologist/manager the understanding and the basic skills to use cost analysis efficiently, making sure that major financial decisions are being made with adequate cost information, and showing that cost accounting is really managerial accounting in that it pays little attention to the bottom line of financial statements but places much more emphasis on equipping managers with the information to determine budgets, prices, salaries, and incentives and influences capital budgeting decisions through an understanding of product profitability rather than firm profitability.

Marketing ethics, functions, and content: a health education/marketing survey.

PubMed

Cooper, P D; King, K K

1985-01-01

Survey data were used to evaluate the role of marketing in the nonprofit arena of health promotion. Questionnaires utilizing a Likert type scale were sent to 106 marketers and 247 health educators soliciting their opinions about health care marketing. Both groups agreed that marketing was appropriate for both profit and non-profit organizations, but were not in total agreement on specific aspects of the marketing process. Marketers were adamant that marketing is not confined to promotional, advertising and communication functions, while health educators were neutral. Marketers were strong in their disagreement that marketing is selling; health educators were still neutral but in slight disagreement. Marketers did not believe that marketing uses gimmickry heavily, while health educators agreed that it does use gimmickry. A significant finding from the survey is that the major ethical issue for health educators is their view that marketing manipulates society. Both community and school health educators agreed that using marketing techniques is a step forward manipulation of a society, while the group of marketers disagreed.

Optimum profit model considering production, quality and sale problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chung-Ho; Lu, Chih-Lun

2011-12-01

Chen and Liu ['Procurement Strategies in the Presence of the Spot Market-an Analytical Framework', Production Planning and Control, 18, 297-309] presented the optimum profit model between the producers and the purchasers for the supply chain system with a pure procurement policy. However, their model with a simple manufacturing cost did not consider the used cost of the customer. In this study, the modified Chen and Liu's model will be addressed for determining the optimum product and process parameters. The authors propose a modified Chen and Liu's model under the two-stage screening procedure. The surrogate variable having a high correlation with the measurable quality characteristic will be directly measured in the first stage. The measurable quality characteristic will be directly measured in the second stage when the product decision cannot be determined in the first stage. The used cost of the customer will be measured by adopting Taguchi's quadratic quality loss function. The optimum purchaser's order quantity, the producer's product price and the process quality level will be jointly determined by maximising the expected profit between them.

Transcriptomic basis for drought-resistance in Brassica napus L.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Pei; Yang, Cuiling; Chen, Hao; Song, Chunpeng; Zhang, Xiao; Wang, Daojie

2017-01-01

Based on transcriptomic data from four experimental settings with drought-resistant and drought-sensitive cultivars under drought and well-watered conditions, statistical analysis revealed three categories encompassing 169 highly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in response to drought in Brassica napus L., including 37 drought-resistant cultivar-related genes, 35 drought-sensitive cultivar-related genes and 97 cultivar non-specific ones. We provide evidence that the identified DEGs were fairly uniformly distributed on different chromosomes and their expression patterns are variety specific. Except commonly enriched in response to various stimuli or stresses, different categories of DEGs show specific enrichment in certain biological processes or pathways, which indicated the possibility of functional differences among the three categories. Network analysis revealed relationships among the 169 DEGs, annotated biological processes and pathways. The 169 DEGs can be classified into different functional categories via preferred pathways or biological processes. Some pathways might simultaneously involve a large number of shared DEGs, and these pathways are likely to cross-talk and have overlapping biological functions. Several members of the identified DEGs fit to drought stress signal transduction pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana. Finally, quantitative real-time PCR validations confirmed the reproducibility of the RNA-seq data. These investigations are profitable for the improvement of crop varieties through transgenic engineering.

Estimating the effect of mastitis on the profitability of Irish dairy farms.

PubMed

Geary, U; Lopez-Villalobos, N; Begley, N; McCoy, F; O'Brien, B; O'Grady, L; Shalloo, L

2012-07-01

The objective of this paper was to estimate the effect of the costs of mastitis on the profitability of Irish dairy farms as indicated by various ranges of bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC). Data were collected from 4 sources and included milk production losses, cases treated, and on-farm practices around mastitis management. The Moorepark Dairy Systems Model, which simulates dairying systems inside the farm gate, was used to carry out the analysis. The cost components of mastitis that affect farm profitability and that were included in the model were milk losses, culling, diagnostic testing, treatment, veterinary attention, discarded milk, and penalties. Farms were grouped by 5 BMSCC thresholds of ≤ 100,000, 100,001-200,000, 200,001-300,000, 300,001-400,000, and > 400,000 cells/mL. The ≤ 100,000 cells/mL threshold was taken as the baseline and the other 4 thresholds were compared relative to this baseline. For a 40-ha farm, the analysis found that as BMSCC increased, milk receipts decreased from €148,843 at a BMSCC <100,000 cells/mL to €138,573 at a BMSCC > 400,000 cells/mL. In addition, as BMSCC increased, livestock receipts increased by 17%, from €43,304 at a BMSCC <100,000 cells/mL to €50,519 at a BMSCC > 400,000 cells/mL. This reflected the higher replacement rates as BMSCC increased and the associated cull cow value. Total farm receipts decreased from €192,147 at the baseline (< 100,000 cells/mL) to €189,091 at a BMSCC > 400,000 cells/mL. Total farm costs increased as BMSCC increased, reflecting treatment, veterinary, diagnostic testing, and replacement heifer costs. At the baseline, total farm costs were €161,085, increasing to €177,343 at a BMSCC > 400,000 cells/mL. Net farm profit decreased as BMSCC increased, from €31,252/yr at the baseline to €11,748/yr at a BMSCC > 400,000 cells/mL. This analysis highlights the impact that mastitis has on the profitability of Irish dairy farms. The analysis presented here can be used to develop a "cost of mastitis" tool for use on Irish dairy farms to motivate farmers to acknowledge the scale of the problem, realize the value of improving mastitis control, and implement effective mastitis control practices. Copyright © 2012 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

36 CFR § 1210.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement... accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar...

Evolutionary technology adoption in an oligopoly market with forward-looking firms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamantia, F.; Radi, D.

2018-05-01

In this paper, we propose an evolutionary oligopoly game of technology adoption in a market with isoelastic demand and two possible (linear) production technologies. While one technology is characterized by lower marginal costs, the magnitude of fixed costs entails that a technology does not necessarily dominate the other. Firms are forward-looking as they assess the profitability of employing either technology according to the corresponding expected profits. The dynamics of the system is studied through a piecewise-smooth map, for which we present a local stability analysis of equilibria and show the occurrence of smooth and border collision bifurcations. Global analysis of the model is also presented to show the coexistence of attractors and its economic significance. This investigation reveals that firms can fail to learn to adopt the more efficient technology.

Evolutionary technology adoption in an oligopoly market with forward-looking firms.

PubMed

Lamantia, F; Radi, D

2018-05-01

In this paper, we propose an evolutionary oligopoly game of technology adoption in a market with isoelastic demand and two possible (linear) production technologies. While one technology is characterized by lower marginal costs, the magnitude of fixed costs entails that a technology does not necessarily dominate the other. Firms are forward-looking as they assess the profitability of employing either technology according to the corresponding expected profits. The dynamics of the system is studied through a piecewise-smooth map, for which we present a local stability analysis of equilibria and show the occurrence of smooth and border collision bifurcations. Global analysis of the model is also presented to show the coexistence of attractors and its economic significance. This investigation reveals that firms can fail to learn to adopt the more efficient technology.

Costs, commitment and locality: a comparison of for-profit and not-for-profit health plans.

PubMed

2004-01-01

Following on the heels of the first national study demonstrating differences in the community benefits provided by not-for-profit and for-profit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) (Schlesinger, Mitchell, and Gray 2003), this study of the New York state market shows significant differences in premiums, administrative overhead and commitment to safety net coverage between nonprofit and for-profit health plans. This study shows that for-profit health plans do act differently than not-for-profit plans in terms of performance, efficiency, and contribution to safety net programs. Moreover, it suggests that not-for-profit health insurers operating in a predominantly for-profit market act in many ways like for-profits. The New York state insurance market provides an ideal study environment because one can compare a large number of policyholders and plans in both business models (for-profit and not-for-profit) that share an identical legislative and regulatory environment. New York has large populations being provided coverage under both models and no allowances had to be made for state-to-state political and/or legal differences. Specifically, this study shows that: The downstate insurance market is predominantly for-profit, while the upstate market is almost entirely not-for-profit. The recent conversion of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield to a for-profit model moves the downstate market further into the for-profit column, while the upstate region remains not-for-profit. Insurers in the upstate not-for-profit market are more administratively efficient than insurers in the downstate region. Compared to the downstate region, insurers in upstate New York spent 1.5% less of their operating revenues on administrative expenses. The additional 1.5% of spending on administrative expenses downstate totals dollars 137,000,000. Upstate insurers spend significantly more of the revenues received on payments for medical care. Downstate insurers spent 80.4% of operating revenues on medical care. Upstate insurers spent 87.7% of operating revenue on medical care. If health care spending patterns downstate were similar to upstate, the additional 7.3% allocated to medical care would total dollars 678,000,000. A lower level of investment in medical care in the downstate region translated into higher underwriting gains, which totaled 8.1% of operating revenue. Plans in the upstate region reported underwriting gains of only 2.3%. Not-for-profit insurers offer more cost effective (i.e., lower) premium options for consumers. In 2002, the upstate market had the lowest operating revenues (premiums) statewide, averaging dollars 184 per member per month (pmpm); the not-for-profit plans downstate averaged dollars 203 pmpm. Premiums in the for-profit segment of the downstate market averaged dollars 221 pmpm in 2002. The not-for-profit upstate market has proved its viability, while maintaining commitments to New York safety net and Medicare programs. The not-for-profit upstate market experienced a dollars 12 million loss in New York safety net programs in 2002, but generated dollars 131 million in underwriting gains for all product lines combined. Furthermore, upstate revenue gains in 2002 exceeded 2001 results by dollars 45 million. Not-for-profit HMOs, both upstate and downstate, participate in state-sponsored safety net programs to a far greater degree than the downstate for-profit managed care organizations. Within the plan group selected for this study, the not-for-profit plans supported 88% of the enrollment in New York state-sponsored programs, compared with for-profit plans' support of only 12% of safety net membership. Not-for-profit plans have also demonstrated a higher level of dedication to the Medicare Plus Choice product line than for-profit insurers downstate. In 2002, not-for-profit plans enrolled 73% of this population of 385,000 elderly statewide. Despite the favorable financial returns in the product line, for-profit insurers downstate enrolled only 105,000 Medicare risk members in 2002, or 27% of the statewide total. The emergence in New York of health care insurance markets that are predominantly for-profit raises significant public policy issues, especially with reference to community benefits and services. Should the upstate health insurance environment change with the entrance of for-profit plans or conversion of existing plans to for-profit status, the upstate market is likely to look very similar to the downstate in that there will be diminished access to care for the at-risk population; premium costs will be higher and administrative costs will be higher. The health care insurance market upstate would become less attentive to the provision of public goods as insurers strive to maximize their economic advantages.

Capital Investment Motivational Techniques Used by Prime Contractors on Subcontractors

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

by block number) Productivity; Profit Policy; Subcontractors; Weighted Guidelines; Profitability; Profit 20. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse aide If...probably productivity gains that could be made if defense contractors increased their investment [6:39]. A major deterrent to the Weighted Guideline...any profit gained would be offset to some degree by a profit loss from a reduction in profit based on costs . This result is a consequence of the cost

Challenges to healthcare reform in China: profit-oriented medical practices, patients' choice of care and guanxi culture in Zhejiang province.

PubMed

Wu, Dan; Lam, Tai Pong; Lam, Kwok Fai; Zhou, Xu Dong; Sun, Kai Sing

2017-11-01

Doctors' profit-oriented practices in public institutions were widespread in China. Two major targets of the healthcare reform launched in 2009 were to curb the profit-making practices in public institutions and to encourage the citizens to use primary care. After 6 years, the status of profit-orientation of public institutions remains unknown. Compared with hospitals, there is no trend of increasing use of primary care. Our study aimed to explore the status of profit-orientation of public institutions and patients' utilization preference. The impacts of guanxi (personal relationship) on patients' utilization of healthcare and doctors' practices were also explored. From September 2014 to September 2015, we conducted focus group and individual interviews, followed by a survey with doctors (n = 1111) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Thematic analysis, independent t-test and Fisher's exact test were conducted to analyse the data. This study found that 36.8% of survey respondents needed to consider making profits for their institutions, especially the hospital specialists. A total of 38.5% and 40.7% thought that their practices led to patients' worries of unnecessary drugs and tests, respectively. Doctors attributed their profit-oriented practices to institutions' agenda setting, poor salary and an organizational bonus system. Their awareness of breaching medical ethics created a guilt feeling and frustration. Nearly 65.0% reported patients' preference for hospital-based care even for minor conditions and 76.2% if the patient was a child. Ineffective gate-keeping mechanism, weak primary care and mistrust in community-based care were major reasons. More specialists than primary care practitioners (41.0 vs 21.5%, P < 0.001) said that patients would use guanxi to gain better services and 64.5% of doctors reported better dedication when patients were somehow connected. In conclusion, profit-orientated practice widely exists in public institutions. Patients generally prefer hospital-based services. Guanxi, which affects both patients' and doctors' practices, is more often used to access hospital-based services. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Why hospitals adopt patient engagement functionalities at different speeds? A moderated trend analysis.

PubMed

Asagbra, O Elijah; Burke, Darrell; Liang, Huigang

2018-03-01

To investigate acute care hospitals' adoption speed of patient engagement health information technology (HIT) functionalities from 2008 to 2013 and how this speed is contingent on environmental factors and hospital characteristics. Data on non-government acute care hospitals located in the United States was obtained from merging three databases: the American Hospital Association's (AHA) annual survey information technology supplement, AHA annual survey, and the Area Health Resource File (AHRF). The variables obtained from these datasets were the amount of annually adopted patient engagement HIT functionalities and environmental and organizational characteristics. Environmental factors included were uncertainty, munificence, and complexity. Hospital characteristics included size, system membership, ownership, and teaching status. A regression analysis of 4176 hospital-year observations revealed a positive trend in the adoption of HIT functionalities for patient engagement (β= 1.109, p < 0.05). Moreover, the study showed that large, system-affiliated, not-for-profit, teaching hospitals adopt patient engagement HIT functionalities at a faster speed than their counterparts. Environmental munificence and uncertainty were also associated with an accelerating speed of adoption. Environmental complexity however did not show a significant impact on the speed of adoption. From 2008 to 2013, there was a significant acceleration in the speed of adopting patient engagement HIT functionalities. Further efforts should be made to ensure proper adoption and consistent use by patients in order to reap the benefits of these IT investments. Hospitals adopted at least one HIT functionality for patient engagement per year. The adoption speed varied across hospitals, depending on both environmental and organizational factors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The eggshell: strength, structure and function.

PubMed

Solomon, S E

2010-08-01

In making a journey through the literature of the last 50 years one can easily highlight a sequence of seminal works-but the route has not been direct and to avoid the many profitable diversions and detours that have enriched and deepened our collective understanding of the subject of eggshell structure and function is to do the subject a serious disservice. This is a route march of science enabled by advances in technology.

14 CFR 1260.145 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations Procurement Standards § 1260.145 Cost and..., including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar indicia, together with...

14 CFR § 1260.145 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations Procurement Standards § 1260... ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar indicia...

43 CFR 12.945 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations Post-Award... accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar...

14 CFR 1260.145 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations Procurement Standards § 1260.145 Cost and..., including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar indicia, together with...

43 CFR 12.945 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations Post-Award... accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar...

43 CFR 12.945 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations Post-Award... accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar...

14 CFR 1260.145 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations Procurement Standards § 1260.145 Cost and..., including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar indicia, together with...

43 CFR 12.945 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations Post-Award... accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar...

A new perspective on hospital financial ratio analysis.

PubMed

Zeller, T L; Stanko, B B; Cleverley, W O

1997-11-01

Using audit financial data in a study of 2,189 not-for-profit hospitals for the period 1989-1992, six financial characteristics of performance were defined. These characteristics are profitability factor, fixed-asset efficiency, capital structure, fixed-asset age, working capital efficiency, and liquidity. The statistical output also shows the specific sets of financial ratios that can be used to measure the six characteristics of hospital performance. The results of this study can be beneficial to healthcare financial managers, hospital boards, policy groups, and other relevant entities because it affords them a clear understanding of an institution's financial performance.

78 FR 37542 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-21

...; Affected Public: Private Sector (Business or other for- profit and Not-for-profit institutions); Number of...: Occasionally; Affected Public: Private Sector--Business or other for- profits; Number of Respondents: 500...); Frequency: Monthly; Affected Public: Private sector (business or other for-profits and not-for-profit...

Managers’ Compensation in a Mixed Ownership Industry: Evidence from Nursing Homes

PubMed Central

Huang, Sean Shenghsiu; Hirth, Richard A.; Smith, Dean G.

2016-01-01

An extensive literature is devoted to differences between for-profit and non-profit health-care providers’ prices, utilization, and quality. Less is known about for-profit and non-profit managers’ compensation and its relationship with financial and quality performance. The aim of this study is to examine whether for-profit and non-profit nursing homes place differential weights on financial and quality performance in determining managers’ compensation. Using a unique 8-year dataset on Ohio nursing homes, fixed-effect regression models of managers’ compensation include financial and quality performance as well as other explanatory variables concerning firm and market characteristics and manager qualifications. Among for-profit nursing homes, compensation of owner-managers and non-owner managers are compared. Compensation of for-profit managers is significantly positively associated with profit margin and return-on-assets, while compensation of non-profit managers does not exhibit any consistent relationship with financial measures. Compensation of neither for-profit nor non-profit managers is significantly related to quality measures. Nursing home size and managers’ years of experience are the only consistent determinants of compensation. Owner-managers earn significantly higher compensation than non-owner managers and their compensation is less related to nursing home performance. Finding that home size and experience are strong determinants of compensation, and the association with ownership and financial performance for for-profit nursing homes are as expected. The insignificant relationship between compensation and quality performance is potentially troublesome. PMID:28083528

Predictors of High Profit and High Deficit Outliers under SwissDRG of a Tertiary Care Center

PubMed Central

Mehra, Tarun; Müller, Christian Thomas Benedikt; Volbracht, Jörk; Seifert, Burkhardt; Moos, Rudolf

2015-01-01

Principles Case weights of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) are determined by the average cost of cases from a previous billing period. However, a significant amount of cases are largely over- or underfunded. We therefore decided to analyze earning outliers of our hospital as to search for predictors enabling a better grouping under SwissDRG. Methods 28,893 inpatient cases without additional private insurance discharged from our hospital in 2012 were included in our analysis. Outliers were defined by the interquartile range method. Predictors for deficit and profit outliers were determined with logistic regressions. Predictors were shortlisted with the LASSO regularized logistic regression method and compared to results of Random forest analysis. 10 of these parameters were selected for quantile regression analysis as to quantify their impact on earnings. Results Psychiatric diagnosis and admission as an emergency case were significant predictors for higher deficit with negative regression coefficients for all analyzed quantiles (p<0.001). Admission from an external health care provider was a significant predictor for a higher deficit in all but the 90% quantile (p<0.001 for Q10, Q20, Q50, Q80 and p = 0.0017 for Q90). Burns predicted higher earnings for cases which were favorably remunerated (p<0.001 for the 90% quantile). Osteoporosis predicted a higher deficit in the most underfunded cases, but did not predict differences in earnings for balanced or profitable cases (Q10 and Q20: p<0.00, Q50: p = 0.10, Q80: p = 0.88 and Q90: p = 0.52). ICU stay, mechanical and patient clinical complexity level score (PCCL) predicted higher losses at the 10% quantile but also higher profits at the 90% quantile (p<0.001). Conclusion We suggest considering psychiatric diagnosis, admission as an emergencay case and admission from an external health care provider as DRG split criteria as they predict large, consistent and significant losses. PMID:26517545

Predictors of High Profit and High Deficit Outliers under SwissDRG of a Tertiary Care Center.

PubMed

Mehra, Tarun; Müller, Christian Thomas Benedikt; Volbracht, Jörk; Seifert, Burkhardt; Moos, Rudolf

2015-01-01

Case weights of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) are determined by the average cost of cases from a previous billing period. However, a significant amount of cases are largely over- or underfunded. We therefore decided to analyze earning outliers of our hospital as to search for predictors enabling a better grouping under SwissDRG. 28,893 inpatient cases without additional private insurance discharged from our hospital in 2012 were included in our analysis. Outliers were defined by the interquartile range method. Predictors for deficit and profit outliers were determined with logistic regressions. Predictors were shortlisted with the LASSO regularized logistic regression method and compared to results of Random forest analysis. 10 of these parameters were selected for quantile regression analysis as to quantify their impact on earnings. Psychiatric diagnosis and admission as an emergency case were significant predictors for higher deficit with negative regression coefficients for all analyzed quantiles (p<0.001). Admission from an external health care provider was a significant predictor for a higher deficit in all but the 90% quantile (p<0.001 for Q10, Q20, Q50, Q80 and p = 0.0017 for Q90). Burns predicted higher earnings for cases which were favorably remunerated (p<0.001 for the 90% quantile). Osteoporosis predicted a higher deficit in the most underfunded cases, but did not predict differences in earnings for balanced or profitable cases (Q10 and Q20: p<0.00, Q50: p = 0.10, Q80: p = 0.88 and Q90: p = 0.52). ICU stay, mechanical and patient clinical complexity level score (PCCL) predicted higher losses at the 10% quantile but also higher profits at the 90% quantile (p<0.001). We suggest considering psychiatric diagnosis, admission as an emergency case and admission from an external health care provider as DRG split criteria as they predict large, consistent and significant losses.

34 CFR 74.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Cost and price analysis. 74.45 Section 74.45 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education ADMINISTRATION OF GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements...

34 CFR 74.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Cost and price analysis. 74.45 Section 74.45 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education ADMINISTRATION OF GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements...

34 CFR 74.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Cost and price analysis. 74.45 Section 74.45 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education ADMINISTRATION OF GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements...

34 CFR 74.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Cost and price analysis. 74.45 Section 74.45 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education ADMINISTRATION OF GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements...

34 CFR 74.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Cost and price analysis. 74.45 Section 74.45 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education ADMINISTRATION OF GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements...

Cash Management Program Reaps Financial Rewards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saylor, Joan Nesenkar

1984-01-01

Basic components of a New Jersey district's profitable cash management program include consolidating funds using a negotiated bank agreement, a short term investment policy, accurate flowcharts for precise planning, and revenue and expenditure analysis. Data collection and analysis and the alternative of using a bank service agreement are…

Characterization of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) spleen transcriptome and identification of immune-related genes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Resistance against specific diseases is affecting profitability in fish production systems including rainbow trout. Limited information is known about functions and mechanisms of the immune gene pathways in teleosts. Immunogenomics are powerful tools to determine immune-related genes/gene pathways a...

Evaluation of functional variation in candidate genes for pork quality

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Considerable variation exists in pork quality traits and consumer perception of pork eating satisfaction is largely driven by tenderness and sensory juiciness scores, which are related to shear force, cooking loss and ultimate pH. Water loss from meat during postmortem storage reduces profitability ...

An economic order quantity model with nonlinear holding cost, partial backlogging and ramp-type demand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

San-José, Luis A.; Sicilia, Joaquín; González-de-la-Rosa, Manuel; Febles-Acosta, Jaime

2018-07-01

In this article, a deterministic inventory model with a ramp-type demand depending on price and time is developed. The cumulative holding cost is assumed to be a nonlinear function of time. Shortages are allowed and are partially backlogged. Thus, the fraction of backlogged demand depends on the waiting time and on the stock-out period. The aim is to maximize the total profit per unit time. To do this, a procedure that determines the economic lot size, the optimal inventory cycle and the maximum profit is presented. The inventory system studied here extends diverse inventory models proposed in the literature. Finally, some numerical examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical results previously propounded.

Is Treating Oral and Maxillofacial Trauma Profitable? An Analysis of Hospital and Surgeon Reimbursement at an Academic Medical Center.

PubMed

DeLuke, Dean M; Agarwal, Vickas; Holleman, Trevor; Carrico, Caroline K; Laskin, Daniel M

2017-02-01

During the past 2 decades, there has been a marked decrease in the willingness of community-based oral and maxillofacial surgeons to participate in trauma call. Although many factors can influence the decision not to take trauma call, 1 primary disincentive is the perception that managing facial trauma might be profitable for the hospital, but not profitable for the surgeon. The purpose of this study was to compare the profitability of facial trauma management for the hospital and the surgeon at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center (Richmond, VA). In this retrospective cohort study, records were collected for patients who were seen for primary trauma management by the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at VCU (VCUOMS) from June 2011 through July 2014. Cost and reimbursement data were analyzed for these patients from the VCU Health System (VCUHS) and the VCUOMS. For the hospital, actual cost data were provided; for the surgeon, cost was calculated based on an average overhead of 50%. For uniformity, patients were excluded if they remained in the hospital for longer than a 23-hour observation period. Patients younger than 18 years also were excluded. In total, 169 patients met the inclusion criteria. There was a statistically relevant difference in the percentage of costs recouped and the actual profit. The average percentage of costs recouped was 230% for the VCUHS versus 47% for the VCUOMS. This amounts to an average profit per case of $3,461 for the hospital versus a loss of $1,162 for the surgeon. The results of this study indicate that in the VCU Medical Center, maxillofacial trauma yields a net profit for the hospital and a net loss for the operating surgeon. Although the results are limited to outpatient management at 1 academic institution, they suggest that hospitals in some settings might be in a position to incentivize surgeons for trauma management. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The relationship between the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) and hospital profitability.

PubMed

Younis, Mustafa Z

2006-01-01

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) reduced the payment for fees for service providers and reduced the subsidy paid by the government for teaching hospitals. Since the passage of such cost containment measures, debates regarding their impact on hospitals, graduate medical education, and access to health care were raised. The need to examine the effect of such payment reduction on hospital profitability was widely ignored. We examined the relationship between the BBA and hospital profitability by using return on assets to measure profitability, by running an ordinary least squares regression for 1996 as pre-BBA and 1999 as post-BBA. We controlled for variables that were not included in previous literature, such as disproportionate share hospital status, critical access hospital status, and graduate medical education, measured by teaching hospitals to measure the effect of BBA cuts on teaching hospitals. Furthermore we incorporated several economic, financial, and utilization variables in the model. We used 1996 and 1999 data in our analysis to bridge potential effects of the BBA. To locate hospitals that changed ownership status we cross-matched the Medicare Cost Report data with the American Hospital Association Annual Survey. We found that overall hospital profitability declined as a result of the introduction of the BBA; however, small rural hospitals that converted to critical access status enjoyed improvement in financial status over the period of our study. Hospitals that converted to for-profit status did not improve in financial status, and showed a lower earning after the conversation. Our results show that the BBA had a negative effect on hospitals because of cuts in its reimbursement policy, except for critical access hospitals, which show improvement because of their exemption from the prospective payment system. Our study differs from others by using national comprehensive data for years that focus exclusively on the Balanced Budget Act period. We deliberately excluded any period that might be affected by the Balanced Budget Refinement Act (BBRA) of 1999, to clarify the severity of the BBA cut on hospital financial performance. Furthermore, because of the few studies that focused on the effect of the BBA on hospital profitability, this study is an important addition to the literature.

Characteristics of funding of clinical trials: cross-sectional survey and proposed guidance.

PubMed

Hakoum, Maram B; Jouni, Nahla; Abou-Jaoude, Eliane A; Hasbani, Divina Justina; Abou-Jaoude, Elias A; Lopes, Luciane Cruz; Khaldieh, Mariam; Hammoud, Mira Zein; Al-Gibbawi, Mounir; Anouti, Sirine; Guyatt, Gordon; Akl, Elie A

2017-10-05

To provide a detailed and current characterisation of funding of a representative sample clinical trials. We also aimed to develop guidance for standardised reporting of funding information. We addressed the extent to which clinical trials published in 2015 in any of the 119 Core Clinical Journals included a statement on the funding source (eg, whether a not-for-profit organisation was supported by a private-for-profit organisation), type of funding, amount and role of funder. We used a stepwise approach to develop a guidance and an instrument for standardised reporting of funding information. Of 200 trials, 178 (89%) included a funding statement, of which 171 (96%) reported being funded. Funding statements in the 171 funded trials indicated the source in 100%, amount in 1% and roles of funders in 50%. The most frequent sources were governmental (58%) and private-for-profit (40%). Of 54 funding statements in which the source was a not-for-profit organisation, we found evidence of undisclosed support of those from private-for-profit organisation(s) in 26 (48%). The most frequently reported roles of funders in the 171 funded trials related to study design (42%) and data analysis, interpretation or management (41%). Of 139 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) addressing pharmacological or surgical interventions, 29 (21%) reported information on the supplier of the medication or device. The proposed guidance addresses both the funding information that RCTs should report and the reporting process. Attached to the guidance is a fillable PDF document for use as an instrument for standardised reporting of funding information. Although the majority of RCTs report funding, there is considerable variability in the reporting of funding source, amount and roles of funders. A standardised approach to reporting of funding information would address these limitations. Future research should explore the implications of funding by not-for-profit organisations that are supported by for-profit organisations. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Gender Invariance of the Gambling Behavior Scale for Adolescents (GBS-A): An Analysis of Differential Item Functioning Using Item Response Theory.

PubMed

Donati, Maria Anna; Chiesi, Francesca; Izzo, Viola A; Primi, Caterina

2017-01-01

As there is a lack of evidence attesting the equivalent item functioning across genders for the most employed instruments used to measure pathological gambling in adolescence, the present study was aimed to test the gender invariance of the Gambling Behavior Scale for Adolescents (GBS-A), a new measurement tool to assess the severity of Gambling Disorder (GD) in adolescents. The equivalence of the items across genders was assessed by analyzing Differential Item Functioning within an Item Response Theory framework. The GBS-A was administered to 1,723 adolescents, and the graded response model was employed. The results attested the measurement equivalence of the GBS-A when administered to male and female adolescent gamblers. Overall, findings provided evidence that the GBS-A is an effective measurement tool of the severity of GD in male and female adolescents and that the scale was unbiased and able to relieve truly gender differences. As such, the GBS-A can be profitably used in educational interventions and clinical treatments with young people.

Profitability of HMOs: does non-profit status make a difference?

PubMed

Bryce, H J

1994-06-01

This study, based on 163 HMOs, tests the hypothesis that the rates of return on assets (ROA) are not significantly different between for-profit and non-profit HMOs. It finds no statistical support for rejecting the hypothesis. The marked similarity in profitability is fully explained by analyzing methods of cost control and accounting, operational incentives and constraints, and price determination. The paper concludes that profitability is not a defining distinction in the operation of managed care.

Tying Profit to Performance: A Valuable Tool, But Use With Good Judgment

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

tool that ties profit to performance in a way that has been dem- onstrated to be a win-win for DoD and industry. PBL is...understood the definition of suc-cess: It was profit . If something made a profit for a business, it was good. If some- thing did not make a profit for a ... bankruptcy . Declining profits make it harder for businesses to raise capital or to invest for their futures. These

41 CFR 105-72.505 - Cost and price analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 72.50-Post-Award Requirements/Procurement Standards... accomplished in various ways, including the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and similar...