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Initial Investment (initial + investment)
Selected AbstractsThe Application of Geographic Information Systems and Global Positioning Systems in Humanitarian Emergencies: Lessons Learned, Programme Implications and Future ResearchDISASTERS, Issue 2 2003Reinhard Kaiser Geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning systems and remote sensing have been increasingly used in public health settings since the 1990s, but application of these methods in humanitarian emergencies has been less documented. Recent areas of application of GIS methods in humanitarian emergencies include hazard, vulnerability, and risk assessments; rapid assessment and survey methods; disease distribution and outbreak investigations; planning and implementation of health information systems; data and programme integration; and programme monitoring and evaluation. The main use of GIS in these areas is to provide maps for decision-making and advocacy, which allow overlaying types of information that may not normally be linked. GIS is also used to improve data collection in the field (for example, for rapid health assessments or mortality surveys). Development of GIS methods requires further research. Although GIS methods may save resources and reduce error, initial investment in equipment and capacity building may be substantial. Especially in humanitarian emergencies, equipment and methodologies must be practical and appropriate for field use. Add-on software to process GIS data needs to be developed and modified. As equipment becomes more user-friendly and costs decrease, GIS will become more of a routine tool for humanitarian aid organisations in humanitarian emergencies, and new and innovative uses will evolve. [source] Egg maturation strategy and its associated trade-offs: a synthesis focusing on LepidopteraECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 4 2005Mark A. Jervis Abstract., 1.,Insects vary considerably between and within orders, and even within the same genus, in the degree to which the female's lifetime potential egg complement is mature when she emerges as an adult. 2.,The ,ovigeny index' (OI) , the number of eggs females have ready to lay divided by the lifetime potential fecundity , quantifies variation in the degree of early life concentration of egg production, and also variation in initial reproductive effort. 3.,Here, an integrated set of hypotheses is presented, based on a conceptual model of resource allocation and acquisition, concerning trade-offs at the interspecific level between initial investment in egg production (as measured by OI) and other life-history traits in holometabolous insects. 4.,The evidence supporting each of these hypotheses is reviewed, and particular attention is paid to the Lepidoptera, as relevant life-history data are rapidly accumulating for this ecologically and economically important group. 5.,There is evidence at the interspecific level supporting: (i) a link between OI and a trade-off between soma and non-soma in Trichoptera and Hymenoptera (the proportionate allocation to soma decreases with increasing OI); (ii) a negative correlation between OI and dependency on external nutrient inputs (via adult feeding) in Hymenoptera and in Lepidoptera; (iii) a negative correlation between OI and the degree of polyandry (and nuptial gift, i.e. spermatophore, use) in Lepidoptera; (iv) negative correlations between OI and resource re-allocation capabilities (egg and thoracic musculature resorption) in Hymenoptera and in Lepidoptera; (v) a negative correlation between lifespan and OI in Trichoptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera, indicating a cost of reproduction; (vi) a link between winglessness and an OI of one in Lepidoptera; (vii) a negative correlation between OI and the degree of female mobility in winged Lepidoptera; and (viii) a negative correlation between OI and larval diet breadth (as mediated by oviposition strategy) in Lepidoptera. [source] Emergency Department Information System Implementation and Process Redesign Result in Rapid and Sustained Financial Enhancement at a Large Academic CenterACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 5 2010Jason S. Shapiro MD Abstract Objectives:, The objectives were to measure the financial impact of implementing a fully integrated emergency department information system (EDIS) and determine the length of time to "break even" on the initial investment. Methods:, A before-and-after study design was performed using a framework of analysis consisting of four 15-month phases: 1) preimplementation, 2) peri-implementation, 3) postimplementation, and 4) sustained effects. Registration and financial data were reviewed. Costs and rates of professional and facility charges and receipts were calculated for the phases in question and compared against monthly averages for covariates such as volume, collections rates, acuity, age, admission rate, and insurance status with an autoregressive time series analysis using a segmented model. The break-even point was calculated by measuring cumulative monthly receipts for the last three study phases in excess of the average monthly receipts from the preimplementation phase, corrected for change in volume, and then plotting this against cumulative overall cost. Results:, Time to break even on the initial EDIS investment was less than 8 months. Total revenue enhancement at the end of the 5-year study period was $16,138,953 with an increase of 69.40% in charges and 70.06% in receipts. This corresponds to an increase in receipts per patient from $50 to $90 for professional services and $131 to $183 for facilities charges. Other than volume, there were no significant changes in trends for covariates between the preimplementation and sustained-effects periods. Conclusions:, A comprehensive EDIS implementation with process redesign resulted in sustained increases in professional and facility revenues and a rapid initial break-even point. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:527,535 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine [source] Application of local and global particle swarm optimization algorithms to optimal design and operation of irrigation pumping systems,IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE, Issue 3 2009M. H. Afshar stations de pompage; conception et exploitation; optimisation par essaims particulaires locale et globale Abstract A particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is used in this paper for optimal design and operation of irrigation pumping systems. An irrigation pumping systems design and management model is first introduced and subsequently solved with the newly introduced PSO algorithm. The solution of the model is carried out in two steps. In the first step an exhaustive enumeration is carried out to find all feasible sets of pump combinations able to cope with a given demand curve over the required period. The PSO algorithm is then called in to search for optimal operation of each set. Having solved the operation problem of all feasible sets, the total cost of operation and depreciation of initial investment is calculated for all the sets and the optimal set and the corresponding optimal operating policy is determined. The proposed model is applied to the design and operation of a real-world irrigation pumping system and the results are presented and compared with those of a genetic algorithm. Two global and local versions of the PSO algorithm are used and their efficiencies are compared to each other and that of a genetic algorithm (GA) model. The results indicate that the proposed model in conjunction with the PSO algorithm is a versatile management model for the design and operation of real-world irrigation pumping systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Un algorithme d'optimisation par essaims particulaires (PSO en anglais) est employé dans cet article pour la conception et l'exploitation optimale des systèmes d'irrigation avec pompages. Un modèle de conception et de gestion du système est d'abord présenté et ensuite résolu avec le nouvel algorithme PSO. La solution du modèle est effectuée dans deux étapes. Dans la première étape une énumération exhaustive est effectuée pour trouver toutes les combinaisons possibles de pompes capables de répondre à une courbe de demande donnée pendant la période souhaitée. L'algorithme d'optimisation par essaims particulaires est alors utilisé pour rechercher la gestion optimale de chaque ensemble. Ayant résolu le problème de gestion de toutes les combinaisons possibles, le coût d'exploitation et d'amortissement de l'investissement initial est calculé pour chacune et la combinaison optimale et sa stratégie de gestion optimale est déterminée. Le modèle proposé est appliqué à la conception et l'exploitation d'un système irrigué réel et les résultats sont présentés et comparés à ceux d'un algorithme génétique. Deux versions globales et locales de l'algorithme PSO sont employées et leurs efficacités sont comparées entre eux et avec celles d'un modèle à algorithme génétique. Les résultats indiquent que le modèle proposé associé à l'algorithme d'optimisation par essaims particulaires est un modèle souple pour la conception et l'exploitation systèmes irrigués réels avec pompage. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Parental investment, sexual selection and sex ratiosJOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2008HANNA KOKKO Abstract Conventional sex roles imply caring females and competitive males. The evolution of sex role divergence is widely attributed to anisogamy initiating a self-reinforcing process. The initial asymmetry in pre-mating parental investment (eggs vs. sperm) is assumed to promote even greater divergence in post-mating parental investment (parental care). But do we really understand the process? Trivers [Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man 1871,1971 (1972), Aldine Press, Chicago] introduced two arguments with a female and male perspective on whether to care for offspring that try to link pre-mating and post-mating investment. Here we review their merits and subsequent theoretical developments. The first argument is that females are more committed than males to providing care because they stand to lose a greater initial investment. This, however, commits the ,Concorde Fallacy' as optimal decisions should depend on future pay-offs not past costs. Although the argument can be rephrased in terms of residual reproductive value when past investment affects future pay-offs, it remains weak. The factors likely to change future pay-offs seem to work against females providing more care than males. The second argument takes the reasonable premise that anisogamy produces a male-biased operational sex ratio (OSR) leading to males competing for mates. Male care is then predicted to be less likely to evolve as it consumes resources that could otherwise be used to increase competitiveness. However, given each offspring has precisely two genetic parents (the Fisher condition), a biased OSR generates frequency-dependent selection, analogous to Fisherian sex ratio selection, that favours increased parental investment by whichever sex faces more intense competition. Sex role divergence is therefore still an evolutionary conundrum. Here we review some possible solutions. Factors that promote conventional sex roles are sexual selection on males (but non-random variance in male mating success must be high to override the Fisher condition), loss of paternity because of female multiple mating or group spawning and patterns of mortality that generate female-biased adult sex ratios (ASR). We present an integrative model that shows how these factors interact to generate sex roles. We emphasize the need to distinguish between the ASR and the operational sex ratio (OSR). If mortality is higher when caring than competing this diminishes the likelihood of sex role divergence because this strongly limits the mating success of the earlier deserting sex. We illustrate this in a model where a change in relative mortality rates while caring and competing generates a shift from a mammalian type breeding system (female-only care, male-biased OSR and female-biased ASR) to an avian type system (biparental care and a male-biased OSR and ASR). [source] OPTIMIZATION CRITERIA FOR BATCH RETORT BATTERY DESIGN AND OPERATION IN FOOD CANNING-PLANTSJOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, Issue 6 2003R. SIMPSON ABSTRACT Optimization of thermal processing in the commercial sterilization of canned foods is of great interest because the canning industry plays an important role within the economy of the food processing sector. Many food canning plants operate in a batch mode with a battery of individual batch retorts. The aim of this study was to propose and analyze several criteria and methodologies for optimum design and operation of such retort systems. Two criteria were proposed in the case of choosing the optimum number of retorts to be installed when designing a new batch-operated canning line. The third criterion dealt with seeking optimum process conditions for maximizing output from a fixed number of retorts when processing small batches of different products and container sizes. In the case of new plant design optimization, one objective was to determine the optimum number of retorts that would minimize on-going processing costs related to labor and energy. Retort scheduling (programming) was studied from which a simple mathematical expression was derived for this purpose. A second objective was to determine the optimum number of retorts that would maximize the net present value of initial investment. Approaches based upon engineering economics were studied from which to develop a mathematical procedure for this purpose. In the case of maximizing output from a fixed number of retorts for different products and container sizes, isolethal processes were identified for various product/containers from which a common set of process conditions could be chosen for simultaneous processing of different product lots in the same retort. [source] Hard Bargains: The Impact of Multinational Corporations on Economic Reform in Latin AmericaLATIN AMERICAN POLITICS AND SOCIETY, Issue 1 2010Patrick J. W. Egan ABSTRACT This article promotes the idea that multinational corporations have independent agency in the process of economic reform in Latin American host countries. Through a number of pooled cross-sectional time series analyses, it shows that accumulated foreign direct investment can affect policy reform in ways unanticipated by earlier theories predicated on the obsolescence of firms' influence after initial investment. The influence of firms varies across different reform areas, and competitive pressures lead firms to press alternately for liberal and illiberal reform measures. The study also considers sectoral issues, and argues that a preponderance of natural resource,oriented FDI can alter the impact of multinational investment on policy reform. Indexes of economic reform are measured against stocks of FDI and a number of political and economic control variables. Evidence shows that the dramatic increase in FDI in the region in recent years has bolstered firms' bargaining power and concomitant policy leverage. [source] The Economics of Maintenance for Real Estate InvestmentsREAL ESTATE ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2004George W. Blazenko We propose a theory of urban decay. Following a negative real estate demand shock, property managers optimally suspend maintenance and the probability that they ever restart can be modest. Because maintenance expenditures are proportionately less risky than are the incremental building profits they generate, managers impose a more demanding profit standard on maintenance than on the initial investment. This differential in profit standards means that rather than maintain existing investments, property managers favor new investments, which, if marginally acceptable, they also leave unmaintained. Contractually required maintenance (e.g., for publicly subsidized real estate investments), increases the minimum profit for the initial investment acceptance and discourages subsidized real estate investments in favor of unsubsidized investments. However, the required profit for acceptance of a permanently maintained investment is below the profit boundary for maintenance if maintenance is not contractually required. Consequently, the subsidy that induces the investment is least expensive if maintenance is not required, more expensive if maintenance is permanently required and most expensive if maintenance is induced immediately after initial construction but thereafter is at the discretion of the manager. All of our findings are strongest for poorer quality properties. [source] Social dynamics and individual plasticity of infant care behavior in cooperatively breeding cotton-top tamarinsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Sofia Refetoff Zahed Abstract Individual variation in infant caretaking behavior is prevalent among marmoset and tamarin monkeys. Although most group members participate in infant care, the timing and amount provided differs greatly. In this study, we quantified general trends in infant carrying behavior by using a longitudinal database that included 11 years of instantaneous scan observations following 80 births of cotton-top tamarins. Using detailed focal observations on a subset of the same families (10 births) we identified influences that affected expression of infant care at the group and individual levels. Fathers were the primary carriers and paternal carry time gradually decreased with increasing infant age. Paternal carry time also decreased significantly with an increasing number of older sibling helpers. Most fathers began to carry on the first day postpartum. However, we report circumstances in which fathers delayed carrying until almost a month postpartum. Fathers retrieved infants the most, although adult brothers' rates of retrievals peaked and surpassed fathers' rates during week 4 postpartum. Fathers delayed rejection of infants until week 4, whereas mothers rejected infants immediately and throughout the eight weeks. Nonetheless, infants climbed onto their mothers more than onto any other family member. Mothers showed a high initial investment in carrying during the first two weeks, decreasing quickly thereafter. Maternal contributions to infant carrying remained low and relatively consistent regardless of group size. However, mothers dramatically increased their infant carrying behavior in families in which fathers were absent. Older siblings cared for infants more than did younger siblings, and brothers retrieved and carried infants more than did sisters. Individual expression of infant care changed to accommodate infant needs and changed according to varying social dynamics and circumstances across litters. Am. J. Primatol. 72:296,306, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Efficient versus Responsive Supply Chain Choice: An Empirical Examination of Influential FactorsTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 6 2003Taylor R. Randall Contemporary strategies in operations management suggest that successful firms align supply chain assets with product demand characteristics in order to exploit the profit potential of product lines fully. However, observation suggests that supply chain assets often are longer lived than product line decisions. This suggests that alignment between supply chain assets and demand characteristics is most likely to occur at the time of initial market entry. This article examines the association between product demand characteristics and the initial investment in a supply chain at the time of market entry. We characterize supply chains as responsive or efficient. A responsive supply chain is distinguished by short production lead-times, low set-up costs, and small batch sizes that allow the responsive firm to adapt quickly to market demand, but often at a higher unit cost. An efficient supply chain is distinguished by longer production lead-times, high set-up costs, and larger batch sizes that allow the efficient firm to produce at a low unit cost, but often at the expense of market responsiveness. We hypothesize that a firm's choice of responsive supply chain will be associated with lower industry growth rates, higher contribution margins, higher product variety, and higher demand or technological uncertainty. We further hypothesize that interactions among these variables either can reinforce or can temper the main effects. We report that lower industry growth rates are associated with responsive market entry, but this effect is offset if growth occurs during periods of high variety and high demand uncertainty. We report that higher contribution margins are associated with responsive market entry and that this effect is more pronounced when occurring with periods of high variety. Finally, we report that responsive market entry also is correlated positively with higher technological demand uncertainty. These results are found using data from the North American mountain bike industry. [source] Financial Impact of Emergency Department UltrasoundACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 7 2009Olanrewaju A. Soremekun MD Abstract Objectives:, There is limited information on the financial implications of an emergency department ultrasound (ED US) program. The authors sought to perform a fiscal analysis of an integrated ED US program. Methods:, A retrospective review of billing data was performed for fiscal year (FY) 2007 for an urban academic ED with an ED US program. The ED had an annual census of 80,000 visits and 1,101 ED trauma activations. The ED is a core teaching site for a 4-year emergency medicine (EM) residency, has 35 faculty members, and has 24-hour availability of all radiology services including formal US. ED US is utilized as part of evaluation of all trauma activations and for ED procedures. As actual billing charges and reimbursement rates are institution-specific and proprietary information, relative value units (RVUs) and reimbursement based on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 2007 fee schedule (adjusted for fixed diagnosis-related group [DRG] payments and bad debt) was used to determine revenue generated from ED US. To estimate potential volume, assumptions were made on improvement in documentation rate for diagnostic scans (current documentation rates based on billed volume versus diagnostic studies in diagnostic image database), with no improvements assumed for procedural ED US. Expenses consist of three components,capital costs, training costs, and ongoing operational costs,and were determined by institutional experience. Training costs were considered sunken expenses by this institution and were thus not included in the original return on investment (ROI) calculation, although for this article a second ROI calculation was done with training cost estimates included. For the purposes of analysis, certain key assumptions were made. We utilized a collection rate of 45% and hospitalization rates (used to adjust for fixed DRG payments) of 33% for all diagnostic scans, 100% for vascular access, and 10% for needle placement. An optimal documentation rate of 95% was used to estimate potential revenue. Results:, In FY 2007, 486 limited echo exams of abdomen (current procedural terminology [CPT] 76705) and 480 limited echo cardiac exams were performed (CPT 93308) while there were 78 exams for US-guided vascular access (CPT 76937) and 36 US-guided needle placements when performing paracentesis, thoracentesis, or location of abscess for drainage (CPT 76492). Applying the 2007 CMS fee schedule and above assumptions, the revenue generated was 578 RVUs and $35,541 ($12,934 in professional physician fees and $22,607 in facility fees). Assuming optimal documentation rates for diagnostic ED US scans, ED US could have generated 1,487 RVUs and $94,593 ($33,953 in professional physician fees and $60,640 in facility fees). Program expenses include an initial capital expense (estimated at $120,000 for two US machines) and ongoing operational costs ($68,640 per year to cover image quality assurance review, continuing education, and program maintenance). Based on current revenue, there would be an annual operating loss, and thus an ROI cannot be calculated. However, if potential revenue is achieved, the annual operating income will be $22,846 per year with an ROI of 4.9 years to break even with initial investment. Conclusions:, Determining an ROI is a required procedure for any business plan for establishing an ED US program. Our analysis demonstrates that an ED US program that captures charges for trauma and procedural US and achieves the potential billing volume breaks even in less than 5 years, at which point it would generate a positive margin. [source] Capital Investment under Alternative Marketing Scenarios in the Hog Industry: A Real Option ApproachCANADIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2002Adam Maung This paper uses a real option approach to analyze the impact of alternative marketing contracts on the decision to invest in a cooperatively owned hog facility. For the numerical analysis of the impact, this paper uses a simulation method that incorporates early exercise, multiple-state variables, multi-choice decisions and temporal optimality. The results show that the option values that stem from the value of waiting to invest and choosing between alternative marketing methods amounts to 20,36% of the initial investment. Further, having an option to choose an alternative marketing method with different risk structure does add to the value of waiting to invest. Having an option to enter a 15-year marketing contract increases the value of waiting by as much as $117,097 for the pork production example in this paper. Finally, the value of the option to wait is unilaterally lower under a risk-reducing contract scenario than under a spot market alternative. This could explain the explosion in hog production facility investment during the 1990s when prevalence of contract production increased. Les auteurs ont recouru à l'approche du choix véritable pour analyser l'impact d'autres solutions de mise en marché sur la capacité d'investir ou pas dans un élevage de porcs exploitéà la manière d'une coopérative. Aux fins de l'analyse, on s'est servi d'une méthode de simulation intégrant une brève campagne, de multiples variables d'État, des décisions à choix multiple et des conditions optimales dans le temps. Les résultats indiquent que l'existence d'un choix réel permettant à l'exploitant d'attendre avant d'investir et de sélectionner entre plusieurs méthodes de mise en marché représente 20 à 36 pour cent de l'investissement initial. Par ailleurs, le fait d'avoir accès à une autre méthode de mise en marché, à structure de risque différente, ne donne pas plus de valeur à la capacité d'attendre avant de procéder aux investissements. La possibilité de signer une entente de commercialisation de quinze ans accroît la valeur de l'attente de jusqu'à 117,097 $ pour le type d'élevage porcin retenu comme exemple. Enfin, l'existence d'une entente de commercialisation atténuant les risques réduit unilatéralement la valeur de l'option « attente », comparativement à ce qui se produit quand l'éleveur n'a d'autre choix qu'écouler ses bêtes sur le marché au comptant. Ces résultats pourraient expliquer l'explosion des investissements observée dans le secteur du porc au cours des années 90, où la production sous contrat avait sensiblement augmenté. [source] | ||||||||||||||||