Run Costs Research Articles

Cost-effectiveness of train-the-trainer versus expert consultation training models for implementing interpersonal psychotherapy in college mental health settings: evidence from a national cluster randomized trial

BackgroundThis study is a cost-effectiveness study of two implementation strategies designed to train therapists in college and university counseling centers to deliver interpersonal psychotherapy. Costs of implementing a train-the-trainer (TTT) strategy versus an expert consultation strategy were estimated, and their relative effects upon therapist outcomes were calculated and compared.MethodsTwenty four counseling centers were recruited across the United States. These centers were randomized to either a TTT (experimental) condition, in which an in-house therapist trained other center therapists, or an expert consultation condition, in which center therapists participated in a workshop and received 12 months of ongoing supervision. The main outcome was therapist fidelity (adherence and competence) to interpersonal psychotherapy, assessed via audio recordings of therapy sessions, and analyzed using linear mixed models. Costs of each condition were quantified using time-driven activity-based costing methods, and involved a costing survey administered to center directors, follow up interviews and validation checks, and comparison of time tracking logs of trainers in the expert condition. Mean costs to produce one therapist were obtained for each condition. The costs to produce equivalent improvements in therapist-level outcomes were then compared between the two conditions.ResultsMean cost incurred by counseling centers to train one therapist using the TTT strategy was $3,407 (median = $3,077); mean cost to produce one trained therapist in the control condition was $2,055 (median = $1,932). Therapists in the TTT condition, on average, demonstrated a 0.043 higher adherence score compared to therapists in the control condition; however, this difference was not statistically significant. For the competence outcome, effect size for therapists in the TTT condition was in the large range (1.16; 95% CI: 0.85–1.46; p < .001), and therapists in this condition, on average, demonstrated a 0.073 higher competence score compared to those in the expert consultation condition (95% CI, 0.008–0.14; p = .03). Counseling centers that used the TTT model incurred $353 less in training costs to produce equivalent improvements in therapist competence.ConclusionsDespite its higher short run costs, the TTT implementation strategy produces greater increases in therapist competence when compared to expert consultation. Expanding resources to support this platform for service delivery can be an effective way to enhance the mental health care of young people seeking care in college and university counseling centers.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02079142.

The Role of using Green Manufacturing as One of the Requirements for Sustainable Development in Reducing Costs

sustainability concepts in order to cancel waste in the available natural resources or legalize their use for the purpose of reducing the costs of products and achieving value for customers and meeting their desires, especially after the societal awareness of the negative effects left by industrial methods Traditional such as global warming and increased land temperature, so we see the transformation of many industrial facilities to the use of environmentally friendly industrial methods, including green manufacturing that takes into account environmental determinants, and thus achieving a competitive advantage, which reflects positively on improving the reputation of the facility, opening new markets and increasing profits in the long run and lowering Costs. The researcher conducted a field study on a sample of Iraqi industrial establishments, using a survey form. Where the results of the field study indicated that green manufacturing, which is one of the requirements of sustainable development, has an effective role in the process of reducing costs for industrial facilities.

The pox of politics: Troesken's tradeoff reexamined.

In The Pox of Liberty, Werner Troesken details the tradeoff between liberal institutions and communicable disease. According to Troesken, individual freedom presents a danger to the public health in the face of infectious disease, while constitutional constraints restrict the government’s ability to implement effective policy. Contra Troesken, I argue that decision-makers, amidst a crisis of contagion, neglect intertemporal tradeoffs, thereby discounting long run costs while favoring short run policies. These policies, once implemented, are difficult to reverse due to the path dependent nature of political institutions. Irreversible and self-reinforcing growth in political institutions established to enhance health can have an unintended negative impact on health during future crises, where political agents must operate in a more cumbersome and error-prone institutional environment. Using events from the history of public health in the U.S. as support for my theory, I conclude that Troesken’s alleged tradeoff ought to be met with greater skepticism.

To rent or not to rent? Mechanics, causes and consequences of Ricardian and Quasi-rents in the oil industry

How are Quasi-rents different from Ricardian Rents? Do differences in institutions, rulers’ time horizons, and policies determine what type of rents predominate? Using the oil industry as a laboratory, this paper explicates the key differences between rent types and explores their mechanics, causes and consequences. Sometimes, the state generates oil rents through appropriation (Quasi-rents); or, the underlying basis of oil rents may be a lack of the diffusion of technology or knowhow that therefore allows some firms or oil fields to monopolize a cost advantage that translates into consistently greater economic profits than its rivals (Ricardian Rents). Most simply, rents may bespeak immutable geological features (Ricardian Rents) and have nothing to do with engineering prowess (also Ricardian Rents) or opportunistic holdup by shortsighted state authorities (Quasi-rents). This is similar to when a state with relatively short time horizons imposes price controls on any industry, making it impossible for economic actors to recover their long run costs. And this makes it more likely such weak states will continue to appropriate Quasi-rents across economic sectors, fueling underdevelopment. This helps explain why some oil rich countries are highly developed, including the United States, Canada, and Norway, while others are institutionally dysfunctional and poor, such as Venezuela and Iran.

Boosting SARS-CoV-2 detection combining pooling and multiplex strategies

RT-qPCR is the gold standard technique available for SARS-CoV-2 detection. However, the long test run time and costs associated with this type of molecular testing are a challenge in a pandemic scenario. Due to high testing demand, especially for monitoring highly vaccinated populations facing the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, strategies that allow the increase in testing capacity and cost savings are needed. We evaluated a RT-qPCR pooling strategy either as a simplex and multiplex assay, as well as performed in-silico statistical modeling analysis validated with specimen samples obtained from a mass testing program of Industry Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Although the sensitivity reduction in samples pooled with 32 individuals in a simplex assay was observed, the high-test sensitivity was maintained even when 16 and 8 samples were pooled. This data was validated with the results obtained in our mass testing program with a cost saving of 51.5% already considering the expenditures with pool sampling that were analyzed individually. We also demonstrated that the pooling approach using 4 or 8 samples tested with a triplex combination in RT-qPCR is feasible to be applied without sensitivity loss, mainly combining Nucleocapsid (N) and Envelope (E) gene targets. Our data shows that the combination of pooling in a RT-qPCR multiplex assay could strongly contribute to mass testing programs with high-cost savings and low-reagent consumption while maintaining test sensitivity. In addition, the test capacity is predicted to be considerably increased which is fundamental for the control of the virus spread in the actual pandemic scenario.

Enterprise adoption of cloud computing with application portfolio profiling and application portfolio assessment

With the continued appeal and adoption of cloud computing, an assessment of cloud run costs and migration affordability prior to adoption would assist enterprises that have several legacy applications targeted for cloud migration. However, as cloud migrations have become more prevalent, many have been characterised by unsuccessful migration or application modernisation attempts. The primary reason behind the failed attempts is insufficient planning upfront, to identify which legacy applications are suitable to realise the benefits of public or private cloud, leading to time and cost overruns. There is a need for strategic decision making for application portfolios to mitigate the risks of cost overruns and migration delays. Thus, a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) of cloud run costs for an application portfolio is required in the planning phase as an input into IT governance. To obtain the ROM cloud run costs, it is necessary to baseline application data, preferably through automated discovery, and perform quantitative analysis of the applications. Therefore, we propose an approach to (a) baseline application data using Application Portfolio Profiling (APP), and (b) perform quantitative analysis of applications using an Application Portfolio Assessment (APA), to inform the legacy application migration decision. APP and APA are proposed as part of a Cloud Computing Considerations for Companies (CCCC) framework that enables an enterprise to make an informed decision regarding which legacy applications are to be migrated as part of enterprise Cloud Computing adoption. This decision is important because of the change in operating model, infrastructure requirements, hidden costs and commercial models inherent with cloud computing adoption. We validate the proposed framework through applying it to a real-world use case scenario that provides the necessary coverage to test the proposed framework.

Political Economy and the Three Sources of Rents

A huge political economy literature claims “rents” matter. They influence corruption, democracy, and political stability. Researchers assume rents are interchangeable. But Market Power Rents differ fundamentally from Ricardian Rents, and both differ from Quasi-rents. Researchers also assume rents are exogeneous, even though government policies affect firms’ costs and their ability to offset depreciation. And once generated and extracted, rents circumscribe governments’ actions. Some types fuel vicious circles. Other types fuel virtuous ones. Using the oil industry as a laboratory, we explicate these points. We argue oil is not sui generis, however. When governments nationalize and tax their oil sectors into the ground, it reflects their relatively short time horizons. This is similar to when the state imposes price controls on any industry, making it impossible for economic actors to recover their long run costs. And this makes it more likely weak states will continue to appropriate Quasi-rents across economic sectors, fueling underdevelopment.

Application Portfolio Profiling and Appraisal as Part of Enterprise Adoption of Cloud Computing

Computation resources have never been more affordable, powerful, or readily available than they are now, thanks to the Internet and the rapid advancement of processing and storage technologies. In response to this new trend in technological development, a brand-new computer paradigm is known as "cloud computing" has emerged. Resources are made available to end-users as general utilities that can be rented and released on-demand over the Internet. More and more corporate processes are being moved to the cloud as firms experience using the technology. Cloud adoption is substantially more complicated than we first thought when it comes down to data management, system integration, and managing various cloud providers. As cloud migration has grown more common, a number of have been plagued by failed application modernization initiatives or migration. However, many firms worldwide are finding that cloud computing is more expensive and more difficult to implement than they expected. Is cloud computing still up to the task in this scenario? Failures are largely due to a lack of planning in the early stages of identifying which legacy applications are best suited for private or public cloud deployment, resulting in cost and time overruns. Application portfolios need deliberate decision-making to reduce the risk of overruns and delays in migration. Consequently, a rough estimate of cloud operating costs (ROM) is required for inclusion in the planning phase of IT governance. ROM cloud run costs must first be gathered through an automated discovery process, followed by quantitative analysis. Accordingly, to assist in making an informed decision about whether or not to migrate legacy applications, we propose two methods: (1) gathering initial data through Application Portfolio Profiling (APP), and (2) performing Application Portfolio Assessment (APA). An Enterprise Cloud Computing Considerations Framework (CCCC) framework is used to help a corporation decide which legacy applications should be moved as part of the adoption process for Cloud Computing. In light of the shift in business models, infrastructure requirements, and other issues that arise when cloud computing is implemented, this decision is crucial.

Bank capital in the short and in the long run

How far should capital requirements be raised to ensure a resilient banking system without imposing undue costs on the real economy? Capital requirement increases make banks safer and are beneficial in the long run but entail transition costs because they reduce credit supply and aggregate demand on impact. In the baseline scenario of a quantitative macro-banking model, 25% of the long-run welfare gains are lost due to transitional costs. The strength of monetary policy accommodation and bank riskiness are key determinants of the trade-off between the short-run costs and long-run benefits from capital requirement changes.

Fiscal consequences of structural reform under constrained monetary policy

Structural reforms, in particular reductions in mark-ups in product and labour markets, can entail short run output costs unless offset by a demand expansion. When monetary policy is constrained and cannot carry out this short run expansion, there is a potential role for fiscal policy. Although this idea has received a lot of attention in the policy debate, there has been little formal study of the fiscal consequences of reforms under constrained monetary policy. This paper uses a model to quantify the short run fiscal costs and long run fiscal benefits of reforms, in order to see to what extent the latter justify the former. The fiscal costs and benefits of reforms are both generally found to be small, although larger reforms entail larger rises in deficit-to-GDP in the short run. Results suggest that reforms in labour markets have little effect on public finances in the long run, but their short run costs can be ameliorated if combined with product market reforms.

A Dynamic Model of Electoral Competition with Costly Policy Changes

We consider an infinite-horizon model of elections where policy changes are costly for citizens and parties. The so-called costs of change increase with the extent of the policy shift and make policy history-dependent. First, we provide a detailed description of the equilibrium dynamics and analyze how policies are influenced by history, costs of change, party polarization, and the incumbent's ability. We show that policies converge to a stochastic alternation between two states and that in the long run costs of change have a moderating effect on policies. Second, we analyze welfare as a function of the marginal cost of change. If the initial level of policy polarization is low, welfare is highest for intermediate marginal costs of change. Moreover, any positive level of costs of change will benefit society if the future is sufficiently valuable. If the initial level of policy polarization is high, however, welfare will be highest for low or zero costs of change.

Performance Analysis of Alternative Solid Dielectrics of Power Transformers with a Blend of Mineral and Silicon Oils

ABSTRACTIn the present paper, the influence of accelerated thermal ageing on the performance of thermally upgraded Kraft, Nomex 910 and Nomex 410 alternative solid dielectrics of transformers in conjunction with mineral oil has been investigated. Subsequently, the characteristics of the solid dielectrics which are impregnated in a blend of 80% mineral and 20% silicon oils are also studied. To investigate these properties, accelerated ageing tests have been carried out at different temperatures ranging from 100 to 220 °C. Furthermore, several electrical and thermal properties of transformer oil which include breakdown voltage, interfacial tension, water content, absorption coefficient and colour factor have been determined. It has been revealed from the test results that Nomex oil-impregnated samples have better thermal characteristics and oxidation stability than the thermally upgraded Kraft oil-immersed samples. Moreover, it is also found from the diagnostic test results that a combination of mineral and silicon oils in conjunction with Nomex insulations has improved characteristics than the samples which are composed of these dielectrics and normal mineral oil. Therefore, Nomex insulating materials and a mix of mineral and silicon oils are suggested as alternative solid and liquid dielectrics for power transformers in order to achieve better oxidation stability, improved thermal characteristics for long service run, reduced operating and maintenance costs. It is envisioned that the present experimental study shall be very beneficial for the utility managers and the end-users of transformers.

A multi vector energy analysis for interconnected power and gas systems

This paper presents the first multi vector energy analysis for the interconnected energy systems of Great Britain (GB) and Ireland. Both systems share a common high penetration of wind power, but significantly different security of supply outlooks. Ireland is heavily dependent on gas imports from GB, giving significance to the interconnected aspect of the methodology in addition to the gas and power interactions analysed. A fully realistic unit commitment and economic dispatch model coupled to an energy flow model of the gas supply network is developed. Extreme weather events driving increased domestic gas demand and low wind power output were utilised to increase gas supply network stress. Decreased wind profiles had a larger impact on system security than high domestic gas demand. However, the GB energy system was resilient during high demand periods but gas network stress limited the ramping capability of localised generating units. Additionally, gas system entry node congestion in the Irish system was shown to deliver a 40% increase in short run costs for generators. Gas storage was shown to reduce the impact of high demand driven congestion delivering a reduction in total generation costs of 14% in the period studied and reducing electricity imports from GB, significantly contributing to security of supply.

Renewable and distributed resources in a post-Paris low carbon future: The key role and political economy of sustainable electricity

Three recent “roadmap” analyses outline routes to a low-carbon economy that model the decarbonization of the electricity sector and the pervasive electrification of the transportation and industrial sectors. Using independent cost estimates and sequentially “relaxing” the constraints on resource selection, this paper compares the resource costs of the resulting portfolios of assets needed to meet the need for electricity. It supports the claim that the long run costs of the 100% renewable portfolios are less than business-as-usual portfolios, and finds that the “environmental merit order” of asset selection is quite close to the “economic merit order.” Neither fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage nor nuclear power enters the least-cost, low-carbon portfolio. Rigorous least-cost constraints on decarbonization render the pollution constraint is superfluous. The paper evaluates the Paris Agreement on climate change in light of these findings. The Agreement is described as a progressive, mixed market economic model with a governance structure based on a polycentric, multi-stakeholder approach for management of a common pool resource. It also notes that the political economy of the Agreement is consistent with current academic analysis of policy responses to the challenges of climate change and management of a large, focal core resource system.

The Economic and Institutional Foundations of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change: The Political Economy of Roadmaps to a Sustainable Electricity Future

Three recent “roadmap” analyses outline routes to a low-carbon economy that model the decarbonization of the electricity sector and the pervasive electrification of the transportation and industrial sectors. Two of these also impose a pollution constraint on electricity resources that rejects the use of nuclear power and fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage. Using independent cost estimates and sequentially “relaxing” the constraints on resource selection, this paper compares the resource costs of the resulting portfolios of assets needed to meet the need for electricity. Reflecting the continuing decline of the cost of renewable resources, the paper supports the claim that the long run costs of the 100% renewable portfolios are not only less than business-as-usual portfolios, but that the “environmental merit order” of asset selection is quite close to the “economic merit order.” Neither fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage nor nuclear power enters the least-cost, low-carbon portfolio. As long as a rigorous least-cost constraint is imposed on decarbonization, the pollution constraint is superfluous. The paper evaluates the Paris Agreement on climate change in light of these findings. The Agreement is described as a progressive, mixed market economic model with a governance structure based on a polycentric, multi-stakeholder approach for management of a common pool resource. The paper argues that this approach reflects the underlying techno-economic conditions and the fact that national governments have authority over local energy policy. It also notes that the political economy of the Agreement is consistent with current academic analysis of policy responses to the challenges of climate change and management of a large, focal core resource system.

The Effect of Metro Expansions on Air Pollution in Delhi

The Delhi Metro (DM) is a mass rapid transit system serving the National Capital Region of India. It is also the world’s first rail project to earn carbon credits under the Clean Development Mechanism of the United Nations for reductions in CO2 emissions. Did the DM also lead to localized reduction in three transportation source pollutants? Looking at the period 2004–2006, one of the larger rail extensions of the DM led to a 34 percent reduction in localized CO at a major traffic intersection in the city. Results for NO2 are also suggestive of a decline, while those for PM25 are inconclusive due to missing data. These impacts of pollutant reductions are for the short run. A complete accounting of all long run costs and benefits should be done before building capital intensive metro rail projects.

Simulation as a cloud service for short-run high throughput industrial print production using a service broker architecture

Evaluating end-to-end systems is uniquely challenging in industrial/commercial printing due to a large number of equipment combinations and customization needed for each customer and application. Moreover any mismatch in capacities may render multi-million dollar investments to zero returns on investment. Simulation can help foresee changes on the shop floor when demand changes. Providing a library of components that can be assembled together is the usual approach used by many simulation vendors which still leaves a simulation engineer in the loop to make it usable. We detail our experiences on implementing a prototype (private) cloud service using service broker architecture and a dynamic model generator. The service broker handles the heterogeneity associated with demand and equipment configurations whereas the dynamic model generator customizes a generic model based on inputs from the user. This helps avoiding rewiring of simulation models on each engagement. The schema and the necessary front and back-end codes all reside in the cloud and, therefore, users pay on a per use basis without worrying about the upgrade/update of software at their end. The service supports multi-tenancy which results in low costs per user and provides sharing of resource information yet restricting access to proprietary workflows and policies. A typical run costs a very small amount, which is affordable for even small-sized PSPs. We show the utility of our work in the context of educational book publishing to evaluate equipment changes needed when the current lumpy order demand stream changes to a highly fragmented demand stream. We also discuss how our work can be extended to several other domains such healthcare, transportation, 3D printing.

1P2-U10 宇宙エレベーター昇降実験機の下降速度安定化制御

The space elevator technology has been paid attention as an alternative means of transport in rocket technology. In our research, we focus the drive mechanism of a space elevator climber. In the space elevator climber, researchers had been paid attention to the ascent. Because the descent run costs the same distance as the ascent, the descent is also as important as the ascent. The descent controller should consider gravity acceleration. Therefore, we aim to descending without dropping and vibration. In this paper, we studied the descent speed stabilization control using the disk brake mechanism based on a disturbance observer.

On finite long run costs and rewards in infinite Markov chains

Abstract Conditions for the finiteness of long run costs and rewards associated with infinite recurrent Markov chains that may be discrete or continuous in time are considered. Without resorting to results from the theory of Markov processes on general state spaces we provide instructive proofs in the course of which we derive auxiliary results that are of interest in themselves. Potential applications of the finiteness conditions are outlined in order to elucidate their high practical relevance.

Chartered Cabs

The market share of Chartered Cabs is affected by new entrants in Ahmedabad. In addition, their operational costs are soaring due to excessive dry run costs. Due to immense competition, Chartered needs to focus on high service quality delivery and also minimize its operational costs. This case will allow the participants to understand the operational complexities of a cab service provider and also arrive at alternate strategies to minimize costs.