Search

Evaluation contingente des couts intangibles de la dependance alcoolique La dependance alcoolique a de nombreuses consequences psychosociales qui reduisent de maniere substantielle la qualite de vie de la personne dependante, des autres membres du menage et des proches. Or, les estimations des couts intangibles de la dependance a l’alcool sont rares, contrairement a celles portant sur les couts directs et indirects de la mortalite et de la morbidite alcooliques et la litterature ne fournit que tres peu d’estimations monetaires de leur importance. Cet article presente les resultats d’une evaluation contingente des pertes de qualite de vie dues a la dependance alcoolique en Suisse. L’estimation des couts a ete realisee a l’aide d’une evaluation contingente. Le cout annuel par personne dependante a ete estime a CHF 5’400 par annee. Quant au fardeau pour le pays, il s’eleve a CHF 1,6 milliard.

Aim Food Allergy may have an impact on socioeconomic (SE) aspects of life. The Europrevall study (EU FP6, 2005-2009) developed and validated a SE questionnaire to measure the direct, indirect and intangible costs of food allergy. This measure takes up to 1 hour to complete as participants are required to respond to 70 to 170 questions, depending on response choice. We aimed to develop a brief, reliable, standardized measure of the socio-economic impact of food allergy on patients’ everyday lives.

Chapters 1 and 2 introduced the different Azure services as well as the business drivers for considering Azure as part of an organization’s IT portfolio. As with most IT initiatives, the main business driver is cost, which includes tangible and intangible costs.

Objectives A longer postoperative care, needed for patients admitted to the hospital, is expensive and associated with increased morbidity and mortality, when compared with the outpatient setting. Outpatient therapy with continuous infusion of drugs with elastomeric pumps represents an effective method to address this problem. The aim of this work is to analyse the benefits in using elastomeric devices and to test their their behaviour towards drugs to changes during storage that could influence quality, safety and efficacy of the therapy. Methods Several drugs belonging to different therapeutic classes, including anticancer, analgesic opioids, local anesthetics and Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) have been studied using a combined HPLC/LC-MS approach. Each drug was loaded in three different brands of elastomeric devices and the samples were withdrawn over 7 days and submitted to HPLC/LC-MS analyses. Key-Findings All tested drugs showed high stability in each filled device, in fact only a low variability, less than 5 %, in term of percentage change in chromatographic areas, was observed. Moreover additional peaks, due to degradation of drug and/or to medical device-drug interaction, have not been detected both in HPLC and LC-MS analysis. Conclusion Thanks to the implementation, within clinical protocols, of the use of these infusion systems, two important goals can be achieved: a) the keeping of the quality of care also out of hospitals and b) the reduction of tangible costs as well as intangible costs in health care.

Objectives: This study was aimed to analyze cost components and underlying methods of cost-of-illness (COI) studies on alcohol in Japan and overseas by international systematic review, to estimate direct and indirect costs attributable to alcohol in Japan with new data, and to estimate costs impacted by reduced drinking among high-risk drinkers in Japan. Methods: Relevant publications concerning COI studies on alcohol published during the years 2005-2014 were identified through PubMed and Embase. Google search was conducted to identify relevant studies based on references of other relevant publications. Japanese COI studies on alcohol were identified through Igaku-Chuo-Zasshi (Ichushi) database without limiting the publication year. Cost components and underlying methods were analyzed, and medical costs attributed to alcohol were calculated based on 2012 government data and alcohol-attributed fractions (AAFs), then costs impacted by reduced drinking in Japan were estimated. Results: Seven eligible studies on 7 countries including Japan met inclusion criteria. All the countries calculated direct and indirect costs associated with alcohol, while only 2 foreign countries further calculated intangible costs. Indirect and intangible costs were 2.5-4 times larger than direct costs in all countries. Medical care costs attributed to alcohol in Japan based on 2012 data and AAFs were 1.5 times higher than 25 years ago. Furthermore, decreased number of high-risk drinkers in Japan in achieving the second term goal of Health Japan 21 was estimated to save 363.1 billion yen per year. Conclusions: Despite methodological challenges of COI studies, it is still valuable to estimate direct and indirect costs attributable to alcohol in Japan, and related costs possibly saved by reduced drinking highlighted the importance of expanding brief interventions in a clinical setting in Japan.

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) methodology has the fundamental premise that the evaluation of a firm should not be confined to a traditional financial evaluation but should be supplemented with measures concerning the organization’s customers, internal processes, and the ability to innovate and grow. The technique while growing in use has seen low levels of adoption in IS departments. This work explores the BSC as a means to improve IS department planning and evaluation while tightly linking the department to the overall goals and objectives of the organization. The method provides a matrix to incorporate intangible measures into the planning and evaluation process. BSC concepts are illustrated through a case study.

Background: A drug therapy problem is any undesirable event experienced by a patient which involves, or is suspected to involve drug therapy and that interferes with achieving the desired goals of therapy. Drug Therapy Problems (DTPs) can lead to ineffective pharmacotherapy and may cause drug-related morbidity and mortality.Objective: The study aimed to estimates the direct medical cost of illness caused by the drug morbidity or mortality related to NSAID utilization in a community pharmacy setting at Medan, Indonesia.Method: Thisstudy used 7 (seven) categories probabilities and costs associated with the therapeutic outcomes to estimate the direct medical cost of illness resulting from morbidity related NSAIDs utilization. Direct non medical costs, indirect costs, and intangible costs related to drug-related-morbidity and mortality were not valued in this cost-of-illness analysis.The duration of the study was from July 2009 to October 2010.Result: The patient that experienced NSAIDs-related morbidity estimated to spend Rp.467.848,- each and Rp.11.696.200,- in total to managing the morbidity. Every Rp.1,- spent on NSAIDs therapy, an additional Rp.1,45,- was estimated to spent in managing morbidity related NSAIDs utilization.Conclusion: This result showed the cost of illnessrelated morbidity of NSAIDs utilization exceeds the cost of the medications themselves

The aim of this study is to evaluate additional hospitalisation costs and intangible costs (mortality) in patients with sepsis (intended as severe sepsis or sepsis shock) in Italy. The evaluation is based on clinical data from the Italian Sepsis Study, a prospective, multicentre study conducted in 99 Intensive Care Units (ICUs)located across Italy. Each ICU enrolled the first two (or three) patients admitted each month, during the year April 1993 to March 1994. In particular, data collected included the Average Length Of Stay (ALOS) in ICU and later in the regular ward, and the mortality within four weeks and in hospital. Out of the 2,946 patients enrolled, 2,641 never developed sepsis and were considered as the control group (comparability was confirmed based on gender, age, and comorbidity). The additional (respective to the control group) ALOSs of the patients with sepsis were valued in monetary terms using per diem full costs, inflated to 2000: 1,033.43 Euro for l day in ICU (published data) and 299.54 Euro for l day in the regular ward (estimated data based on published materials). Statistical significance was tested with Student t test. The hospitalisation cost of a patient with sepsis (21,571.88 Euro) is significantly higher (+86%) than that patient without sepsis (11,590.84 Euro), due to a longer (+ 163%) stay in the expensive ICU, not balanced by shorter stay in the regular ward. Also intangible costs are significantly higher: the risk for an ICU patient with sepsis to die in hospital is 3 times higher than that of an ICU patient without sepsis. In particular, those patients developing sepsis after admission are more costly and with a higher mortality risk.

If a company has a strategic goal of achieving better productivity and quality, it is not only necessary to have action programmes that support productivity and quality, but also score-keeping system in manufacturing must integrate both the strategy and the actions. Performance measurements must appraise, reinforce and reward improvements in terms of action programmes being used to pursue productivity and quality. Performance improvement in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can be achieved through the implementation of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). Many SMEs do not consider the implications of long-term benefits of CIM, but only consider short-term financial benefits when they decide about the implementation of CIM. They simply ignore the strategic benefits and intangibles. However, performance measurements considering financial, non-financial, tangible and intangible costs, and benefits have not received significant attention from SMEs while deciding on CIM. Nevertheless, CIM plays an...

Objective To determine the direct, indirect and intangible costs associated with type 2 diabetes in Italy, 1998. Direct costs were grouped into three main categories, depending on they were due to diabetes, related complications, other unrelated diseases.

Expatriates are employees on assignments that require them to live overseas for lengthy periods (often defined as at least six months, a period forcing them and their families to interact with the host community). This paper identifies factors affecting expatriate assignment success. Globalisation generates more and more demanding international assignments (IBM stands for "I've been moved."). About half of expatriate assignments fail, generating high tangible and intangible costs. Expatriates may terminate assignments early for job or family reasons; are ineffective on the job; or do not reintegrate on returning to Head Office. Clear objectives and rational management enhance the success of an organisation's expatriate program; we propose a seven-step methodology that will help ensure that expatriate postings are managed effectively and efficiently. We stress the importance of planning the fruitful reintegration of repatriates on their return to Head Office and mention some emerging issues.

Background: Micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) are a chronic lack of vitamins and minerals and constitute a huge public health problem. MNDs have severe health consequences and are particularly harmful during early childhood due to their impact on the physical and cognitive development. We estimate the costs of illness due to iron deficiency (IDA), vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and zinc deficiency (ZnD) in 2 age groups (6-23 and 24-59 months) of Filipino children by socio-economic strata in 2008. Methods: We build a health economic model simulating the consequences of MNDs in childhood over the entire lifetime. The model is based on a health survey and a nutrition survey carried out in 2008. The sample populations are first structured into 10 socio-economic strata (SES) and 2 age groups. Health consequences of MNDs are modelled based on information extracted from literature. Direct medical costs, production losses and intangible costs are computed and long term costs are discounted to present value. Results: Total lifetime costs of IDA, VAD and ZnD amounted to direct medical costs of 30 million dollars, production losses of 618 million dollars and intangible costs of 122,138 disability adjusted life years (DALYs). These costs can be interpreted as the lifetime costs of a 1-year cohort affected by MNDs between the age of 6–59 months. Direct medical costs are dominated by costs due to ZnD (89% of total), production losses by losses in future lifetime (90% of total) and intangible costs by premature death (47% of total DALY losses) and losses in future lifetime (43%). Costs of MNDs differ considerably between SES as costs in the poorest third of the households are 5 times higher than in the wealthiest third. Conclusions: MNDs lead to substantial costs in 6-59-month-old children in the Philippines. Costs are highly concentrated in the lower SES and in children 6-23 months old. These results may have important implications for the design, evaluation and choice of the most effective and cost-effective policies aimed at the reduction of MNDs.

Costs of BPH management is increasing dramatically and may represent as much as 1% of total National Health Service expenditure. It is important to offer the patients effeective treatment and to offer the society cost-effective treatment. The ideal cost-effectiveness or cost-utility analysis includes not only evaluation of outcome but also socioeconomic and intangible costs (“quality of life” costs). Studies on economics of the newer less invasive treatment modalities for BPH such as transurethral microwave thermotherapy of the prostate (TUMT) are scarce. Parameters important in the consideration of economy in TUMT are capital and disposable costs, retreatment rate and discount percentage. More studies are needed to make precise cost estimations for TUMT, but at present, TUMT seems comparable to TURP in cost-effectiveness.

The trend towards giving British secondary schools a fuller role in initial teacher education (ITE) has been gathering pace for much of the second half of this century. The impetuses driving this development have been partly professional and partly political. However, a recent political initiative (Circular 9/92, Department for Education, 1992) precipitated the development of school‐based ITE beyond what the professional evidence supported. This paper examines teachers’ perceptions of the costs and benefits to schools of involvement in school‐based ITE, as instituted by Circular 9/92, distinguishing between tangible and intangible costs and benefits. It is based on a survey of schools from throughout England and Wales. Four groups of teachers with different levels of involvement and managerial responsibility were sampled. The paper also explores teachers’ perceptions of the relationship between costs and benefits before offering some concluding speculations on the future of school‐based ITE.

The litigious environment surrounding employers today has caused them to be overly fearful of providing candid yet adverse employment references. Their attempts to minimize litigation risk created by the dismissal of a vindictive employee have clouded their judgment when asked to assist in the dissemination of employee information. This is alarmingly illustrated by the growing number of employers who have blindly adopted a neutral reference policy. Unfortunately, indiscriminate application of this policy will not necessarily preclude litigation, but, rather, foster it. It is imperative that employers carefully weigh the tangible and intangible costs of a reference defamation suit against their duty legally, ethically, and managerially to disclose vital information about a former employee.

In 2010, US citizens over the age of 12 were victims of “18.7 million violent and property crimes victimizations” (Truman 2011). Many researchers have studied the impact of crime on its victims. The effects of victimization may be physical, financial, psychological, social, behavioral, educational, or occupational/professional. Comprehensive studies of monetary crime victimization costs have been conducted in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Barbados. Miller, Cohen, and Wiersema 1996 calculated the monetary value of the tangible and intangible costs of crime victimization in the US and estimated an overall annual cost of $450 billion. Keywords: consequences of crime; costs of crime; costs of victimization; effects of victimization

21 p. Hydro-meteorological disasters have caused increasing losses in recent years. Efficient risk reduction policies require accurate assessment approaches, with careful consideration of costs, beyond direct tangible costs, which are commonly used in practice. Faced with possible risk reduction scenarios, limited financial resources require an improvement in the quality of cost estimation, thereby contributing to an efficient allocation of resources. This paper focuses on the concept of total costs of hydro-meteorological disasters, based on direct and indirect as well as tangible and intangible cost categories. These categories are defined and explained, supported by a comprehensive review of economic valuation methods. Based on this information, practice relevant suggestions are made concerning the most appropriate methods for different cases in terms of scale, availability of data and of technical resources. Our survey also provides critical insights to drawbacks of flood risk estimation, which need to be addressed and carefully dealt with in any future research in this area.

O presente artigo consiste numa abordagem teórica sobre a problemática dos custos económicos das úlceras por pressão. Parte-se do conhecimento do problema, numa perspetiva conceptual, para, de seguida, apresentar resultados de estudos de prevalência, a partir dos quais foram delineados estudos de impacto económico. O objectivo deste artigo é o de reflectir sobre os custos económicos associados às úlceras por pressão, quer numa perspetiva global, considerando a repercussão financeira, quer numa vertente personalista, atendendo aos custos intangíveis. Relativamente ao impacto económico das úlceras por pressão, foi efectuada uma estimativa ao nível da Região Autónoma dos Açores do custo total do tratamento por ambiente de cuidados. Nos cuidados domiciliários o custo com o tratamento de todas as categorias é calculado em 7.086.415 euros; nos cuidados hospitalares, em 1.723.509 euros, e nos cuidados prestados em lares de idosos, em 1.002.562 euros. Nos Açores, a estimativa do custo total do tratamento das úlceras por pressão, considerando todas as suas categorias, ronda os 9.812.486 euros. Quanto ao impacto emocional associado, este tem elevados custos para pessoa e para os familiares, nomeadamente pelo sofrimento gerado. De facto, as úlceras por pressão acarretam elevados custos económicos associados ao tratamento, bem como custos intangíveis pelo sofrimento vivenciado por pessoas e cuidadores. RESUMEN: El presente artículo consiste en una reflexión teórica sobre el problema de los costos económicos de las úlceras por presión. Se empieza por el conocimiento del problema, desde una perspectiva conceptual, y, a continuación, se presentan los resultados de estudios de prevalencia, a partir de los cuales se diseñaron estudios de impacto económico. El objetivo del artículo es reflexionar sobre los costos económicos asociados a las úlceras por presión tanto en una perspectiva global, considerando la repercusión financiera, como en una vertiente personalista, de acuerdo a los costos intangibles. En cuanto al impacto económico de las úlceras por presión, se realizó una estimación de la Región Autónoma de Açores del costo total del tratamiento por ámbito de atención. En la atención domiciliaria el costo con el tratamiento de todas las categorías se estima en € 7.086.415, en la atención hospitalaria, se estima € 1.723.509 y en la atención en los asilos se estima en €1.002.562. En Açores, el costo total estimado del tratamiento de las úlceras por presión en todas las categorías, es de alrededor de € 9.812.486. En cuanto al impacto emocional asociado, éste tiene elevados costos para la persona y para los familiares, principalmente, por el sufrimiento causado. De hecho, las úlceras por presión implican altos costos económicos asociados con el tratamiento, así como, costos intangibles generados por el sufrimiento experimentado por los individuos y los cuidadores. ABSTRACT: The present study consisted of a theoretical approach to the problem posed by the economic costs associated with pressure ulcers (PUs). The initial aim was to assess the target problem from a conceptual perspective and then to report the results of prevalence studies that formed the basis for investigations of the disease’s economic impact. The purpose of the present article is to discuss the economic costs associated with PUs from both the global point of view (appraising their financial repercussion) and the individual point of view (addressing the intangible costs). Regarding the economic impact of the costs associated with PUs, the total cost of treatment per healthcare setting was estimated relative to the Autonomous Community of Azores. The total cost of all the PU categories was EUR 7,086,415 in the homecare setting, EUR 1,723,509 in the hospital setting, and EUR 1,002,562 in older people’s homes. Therefore, the estimated total treatment cost of all the PU categories was approximately EUR 9,812,486 in Azores. However, the emotional impact of this disease imposes high costs on patients and their relatives as a function of the resultant suffering. Indeed, PUs impose high costs not only related to the treatment but also related to the intangible costs of the suffering caused to patients and their caregivers. Project ICE 2 – Investigação Científica em Enfermagem – Estudo do “Custo Económico das Úlceras por Pressão na Macaronésia” (MAC/1/A029) de Iniciativa Comunitária – Programa de Cooperação Transnacional Madeira-Açores-Canárias 2007-2013 info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Aim: Although seriously injured patients account for a high medical as well as socioeconomic burden of disease in the German health care system, there are only very few data describing the costs that arise between the days of accident and occupational reintegration. With this study, a comprehensive cost model is developed that describes the direct, indirect and intangible costs of an accident and their relationship with socioeconomic background of the patients. Methods: This study included 113 patients who each had at least two injuries and a total Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) greater than or equal to five. We calculated the direct, indirect and intangible costs that arose between the day of the accident and occupational reintegration. Direct costs were the treatment costs at hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Indirect costs were calculated using the human capital approach on the basis of the work days lost due to injury, including sickness allowance benefits. Intangible costs were assessed using the Short Form Survey (SF-36) and represented in non-monetary form. Following univariate analysis, a bivariate analysis of the above costs and the patients’ sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics was performed. Results: At an average Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 19.2, the average direct cost per patient were €35,661. An average of 185.2 work days were lost, resulting in indirect costs of €17,205. The resulting total costs per patient were €50,431. A bivariate analysis showed that the costs for hospital treatment were 58% higher in patients who graduated from lower secondary school [Hauptschule] (ISS 19.5) than in patients with qualification for university admission [Abitur] (ISS 19.4). Conclusions: The direct costs of treating trauma patients at the hospital appear to be lower in patients with a higher level of education than in the comparison group with a lower educational level. Because of missing data, the calculated indirect costs can merely represent a general trend, so that the bivariate analysis can only be seen as a starting point for further studies., GMS Psycho-Social-Medicine; 10:Doc02; ISSN 1860-5214

In this paper, we present a methodology for estimating social costs associated with firearm incidents and present some results regarding the application of the methodology to Portugal. We consider social costs associated with such incidents, including medical care costs, losses in productivity and also intangible costs, like the valuation of the loss of quality of life, measured by safety per se values. We conclude that the intangible costs constitute the main slice of the total costs, in accordance with what has been reported by other authors for other countries, but the annual average cost per inhabitant is low when compared with other countries’ realities.

Para avanzar en el conocimiento y estimación de la carga económica de una enfermedad surgen los estudios de costos de enfermedades. Estos identifican, cuantifican y valoran todos los recursos económicos asociados a una enfermedad, clasificándolos en costos directos, indirectos e intangibles. El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo describir críticamente los diferentes métodos de estimación de cada uno de ellos. La valoración de los costos de una enfermedad generalmente involucra un vector de precios y cantidades. Las cantidades surgen de los recursos consumidos o perdidos. Los precios se estiman a partir del valor de mercado del bien o servicio, o bien, cuando no existe mercado, a partir de variables proxy o métodos específicos de estimación de preferencias individuales. Entre las principales debilidades metodológicas y teóricas encontradas se destacan problemas en la estimación del recurso “tiempo”, presencia de externalidades e imperfecciones de mercado y violación algunos postulados de teoría económica. Studies on the cost of illness arise to advance knowledge and estimation of the economic burden of disease. These identify, quantify and value all the economic resources linked to a disease, and classify them as direct, indirect and intangible costs. The aim of this paper is to critically describe the different methods for estimating each of these costs. The valuation of the costs of an illness involves a vector of prices and quantities. The quantities arise from the resources used or lost. Prices are estimated from the market value of the good or service or, if it is a non-market good or service, then prices are estimated from proxy variables or specific methods of estimation of individual preferences. The main methodological and theoretical weaknesses found deal with the estimation of the ‘time’ resource, the presence of externalities and market imperfections and the violation of some assumptions of economic theory. Les études concernant le coût des maladies permettent de faire progresser la compréhension de l’impact économique des maladies. Tout particulièrement, ces études permettent d’identifier, de quantifier et d’évaluer toutes les ressources économiques associées à une maladie, dont les coûts peuvent être classifies en coûts directs, indirects et intangibles. Cet article a pour objectif décrire de manière critique les différentes méthodes d’estimation de ces coûts, tout en sachant que leur quantification implique l’usage d’un vecteur de prix et de quantités. Les quantités sont déterminées par les ressources consommées ou perdues, tandis que les prix sont calculés à partir de la valeur marchande du bien ou service. Cependant, lorsqu’il n’y a pas de marché ce prix est calculé par une variable proxy ou bien par des méthodes spécifiques d’estimation de préférences individuelles. Nous montrons que les principales faiblesses méthodologiques et théoriques concernent l’estimation du «temps», l’intégration aussi bien des externalités que des imperfections de marché et, finalement l’irrespect de certains postulats basiques de la théorie économique. Fil: Ripari, Nadia Vanina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Moscoso, Nebel Silvana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; Argentina Fil: Elorza, Maria Eugenia. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina

There is evidence to show that human capital represents “our greatest competitive potential…”, hence, absenteeism removes our primary competitive weapon. The tangible cost of absenteeism in the US is estimated to be over $40 billion per year. This figure does not include intangible costs such as reduced efficiency, loss of morale, supervisor's overload, and missed opportunities. There is clearly a need for effective methods of reducing employee absenteeism. The present article reviews the literature on absenteeism, with the aim of answering the following three questions: (1) How should an organisation define and measure absenteeism?; (2) What are the underlying causes of absence?; (3) Which are the best methods that an organisation might adopt to reduce absenteeism?

Crime has tangible economic costs. It also has less understood and likely sizable intangible costs. In particular, widespread crime has the potential to weaken trust between citizens and institutions, undermine government reform efforts, and become an obstacle to development. Yet, the impact of crime on trust remains relatively unexplored in the literature. This paper analyzes the potential interrelationship between individual victimization and several measures of trust, including trust in formal public institutions and trust in informal private networks. It is based on a representative sample of individuals in 19 countries in Latin America. The empirical strategy is intended to mitigate overt biases and assess sensitivity to hidden biases. The results show that victimization has a substantial negative effect on trust in the local police but no robust effect on informal institutions. Governments may henceforth need to redouble efforts to reduce victimization and the resulting erosion of trust in public institutions.

Rheumatic disorders concern a broad spectrum of painful disorders affecting the musculoskeletal system, and are responsible for a considerable amount of disease burden and also a substantial economic burden. This economic burden consists of direct and indirect costs, but also the so-called intangible costs. In this study, we estimated the societal cost of rheumatic disorders in the Netherlands, including intangible costs. Data from the National Monitor on Musculoskeletal System 2010 were used to assess resource used, multiplied with standard prices for the Netherlands to obtain total costs for the 1.8 million people suffering from rheumatic disorders. These estimates were supplemented with data from secondary sources. Total societal costs of rheumatic disorders in the Netherlands amount to €4.7 million a year, that is, €2665 per person with rheumatic disorders. Rheumatic disorders have considerable costs, which justify more attention in discussing investments in facing the challenges in our ageing Western societies.

Submitted by Fabricia Fialho Reginato (fabriciar) on 2015-07-15T23:34:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 CarolineDalSottoBoff.pdf: 985951 bytes, checksum: 9d755abfbe9920145ba558da1946fc19 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-15T23:34:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CarolineDalSottoBoff.pdf: 985951 bytes, checksum: 9d755abfbe9920145ba558da1946fc19 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-07-06 Nenhuma O presente trabalho teve como objetivo reconhecer os custos intangíveis vinculados a fatores intangíveis existentes nos relatórios de administração das empresas da Bovespa do segmento tradicional, durante os anos de 2007 a 2009. O referencial teórico foi fundamentado no valor de mercado das empresas, nos fatores intangíveis (positivos e negativos), esses sendo os recursos ativos e passivos intangíveis e, por fim, nos custos intangíveis. Através dos relatórios de administração das empresas listadas no segmento tradicional da Bovespa, utilizou-se o programa Wordstat para verificar quais eram as palavras mais citadas, das quais se utilizaram somente as quinhentas primeiras. Dentre as mais citadas, foram extraídas as que possuíam vínculo a fatores intangíveis. Dessas foram feitas associações resultando em seis fatores intangíveis. Identificaram-se os três mais citados em cada setor da Bovespa e os custos intangíveis vinculados a eles. Concluiu-se que as evidências encontradas nos relatórios de administração relativas aos custos intangíveis variam entre os setores, pois os fatores prioritários eram igualmente distintos por setor. Entretanto, os custos destacados por cada fator eram muito semelhantes ou de mesma origem. Pode-se observar que, dentre as empresas consultadas, nem todas apresentaram em seus relatórios de administração informações suficientes para uma análise dos fatores e dos custos intangíveis. This study aimed to recognize the intangible costs related to intangible factors existing in the reports of directors of companies in the traditional segment of the Bovespa during the years 2007 to 2009. The theoretical framework was based on market value offirms in intangible factors (positive and negative), these resources are intangible assets and liabilities and, finally, the intangible costs. Through the reports of directors of companies listed on Bovespa traditional segment, we used the program Wordstat to see which were the most frequently cited of which used only the 500 / 1. Among the most cited are from those Who had ties tointangibles. These associations were made resulting in six intangibles. Identified the three most cited in each sector of the Bovespa and the intangible costs associated with them. It was concluded that the evidence found in the reports of directors relating to intangible costs vary across sectors, since these factors were also distinguished by priority sector. However, the costshighlighted by each factor were very similar or the same source. It can be observed that among the companies surveyed, not allreports submitted in his administration enough information for an analysis of factors and intangible costs.

Each wired termination in a substation represents a cost associated with engineering, installing and testing that wired point. These costs include the obvious financial labor costs, but also include intangible costs such as installation and commissioning time, potential for human error, panel space, increased resistive burden in circuits, and larger raceways. Additionally, each wired termination represents stranded engineering time that is used to design these terminations rather than allowing the engineering staff to solve problems.

Although the building sector is recognized as having major potential for energy conservation and carbon dioxide emissions mitigation, conventional bottom-up and top-down models are limited in their ability to capture the complex economic and technological dynamics of the sector. This paper introduces a hybrid framework developed to assess future household energy demand in France. Res-IRF, a bottom-up module of energy consumption for space heating, has several distinctive features : (i) a clear separation between energy efficiency, i.e. investment in energy efficient technologies, and sufficiency, i.e. changes in the utilization of energy consuming durables which allows the rebound effect to be assessed ; (ii) the inclusion of barriers to energy efficiency in the form of intangible costs, consumer heterogeneity parameters and the learning-by-doing process ; (iii) an endogenous determination of retrofitting which represents trade-offs between retrofit quantity and quality. Subsequently, Res-IRF is linked to the IMACLIM-R computable general equilibrium model. This exercise shows that, compared to a 37% reduction in final energy demand achievable in business as usual in existing dwellings, an additional reduction of 14% could be achieved if relevant barriers to efficiency and sufficiency were overcome., Le secteur du bâtiment est reconnu comme le principal gisement d'économies d'énergie et de réduction des émissions de dioxyde de carbone. Toutefois, les méthodes conventionnelles d'évaluation bottom-up et top-down ne permettent pas de prendre en compte de façon satisfaisante les dynamiques économiques et technologiques complexes qui le caractérisent. Cet article présente un modèle hybride spécifiquement développé pour évaluer la demande d'énergie future des ménages français. Res-IRF, un module bottom-up de consommation de l'énergie pour le chauffage, est construit avec les caractéristiques suivantes : (i) une séparation nette entre les comportements d'efficacité énergétique, i.e. investissement dans les technologies efficaces, et de sobriété, i.e. variation de l'utilisation des équipements, qui permet d'évaluer l'effet rebond ; (ii) l'inclusion de barrières à l'efficacité énergétique sous la forme de coûts intangibles, de processus d'apprentissage et de paramètres d'hétérogénéité des ménages ; (iii) une détermination endogène du processus de rénovation, qui représente un arbitrage entre le nombre et la qualité des rénovations. Res-IRF est couplé au modèle d'équilibre général calculable IMACLIM-R, adapté à l'économie française. Les simulations prospectives montrent que, comparée à une réduction de 37 % de la demande d'énergie finale en business as usual, une réduction additionnelle de 14 % peut être atteinte si les barrières qui s'opposent à l'efficacité et la sobriété sont surmontées.

By eliciting an individual’s Willingness to Pay (WTP) for a reduction in crime risks, the contingent valuation method is one of the most solid methodologies in use to estimate the intangible costs of crime. However, very few studies have applied contingent valuation methods to random samples of the population located in high crime rate areas. This study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first attempt to apply the contingent valuation method to estimate how much a specific group of society, which is relatively prone to falling victim to (violent) crime, i.e., students, is willing to pay to reduce the likelihood of being the victim of violent crime. In contrast to the existing literature, our study focuses on a rather unexplored context, Portugal, where criminality and violent crime rates are relatively low by international standards, even though they have been on the rise. Based on responses from 1122 higher education students in a broad range of degrees (from Economics to Psychology and the Humanities), we found that 33% of our respondents have been victims of crime in the past, although in general they did not result in physical or psychological injuries. A reasonable percentage of the students (almost 40%) is very worried about falling victim to a crime and 52.8% worries moderately. Over 40% of our respondents were willing to pay a certain amount but less than 50€, whereas 20.8% were willing to pay between 50€ and 250€. On average, all other determinants constant, younger and female students revealed that they were more inclined to pay so as to avoid violent crime than their older and male counterparts. Low and high income Portuguese students do not differ in their willingness to pay more to avoid being victims of violent crime. Cautious behaviour, such as locking doors at home, and a strong opinion about policies and payment vehicles with potential to reduce the risk of crime is positively associated with the WTP. Finally, the students’ field of study surfaced as a key determinant of WTP – students enrolled in Economics and Management revealed a higher WTP. Such findings are likely to have a critical impact on crime and insurance policies.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-05T19:15:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 26 Nenhuma O objetivo deste estudo é contribuir com a mensuração de custos intangíveis. Inicialmente, fez-se uma revisão da literatura sobre Estratégia, Ativos Intangíveis, Fatores Intangíveis, Custos Intangíveis, Custeio ABC e matriz de relação. Na sequência, detalhou-se o modelo proposto por Diehl (1997) para a mensuração de custos intangíveis e acrescentou-se a priorização dos fatores intangíveis por meio de técnicas qualitativas como a entrevista não estruturada e a matriz de priorização a partir da seleção dos atributos constantes na estratégia empresarial comparados com os fatores intangíveis mais citados pelos gestores. Tal modelo foi aplicado na empresa de Trens Urbanos de Porto Alegre (Trensurb S/A). O período para análise dos custos intangíveis foi de novembro de 2007 a outubro de 2008, em razão de ser o período cujo sistema interno de custeio encontrava-se completo e fidedigno aos dados contábeis. Com a priorização do fator intangível imagem empresarial, foi possível mensurar o que foi gasto para manter esse Present research subject is measuring intangible costs. First of all, it was done a literature revision on Strategy, Intangible Assets, Intangible Factors, Intangible Costs, ABC Costing and relation matrix. On sequence, it is detailed model proposed by Diehl (1997) for intangible cost measurement. It is added intangible factor preference qualitative techniques as per non-structured interview and preference matrix from attributes selection regarding management strategy, compared with the most intangible factors quoted by management. Such model was applied at Porto Alegre’s Trens Urbanos company - Trensurb S/A. Intangible costs analysis period was from November, 2007 to October 2008 when costing internal system is complete and reliable with accounting data. From the intangible factor selection “company image”, it was possible measuring how much was spend to maintain such intangible factor on the last twelve months at the organization. Since methodology applying it was verified its applicability, over all on org

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nvAMD) is a chronic, progressive disease of the central retina, and its prevalence is expected to rise with the ageing population. Using a bottom-up approach based on retrospective data, this cross-sectional study estimated average annual direct costs of nvAMD to be £4,047, and average annual indirect costs to be £449. An attempt to measure intangible costs through willingness-to-pay yielded a lower response rate and estimated intangible costs to be 11.5% of monthly income. Direct costs were significantly higher for male participants, for those who have mild or moderate visual impairment in both eyes, and for those who have been diagnosed for a shorter time. The findings of this study suggest that the availability of early diagnosis, effective treatment, support services, and sustained research into the management of nvAMD may reduce the burden of visual impairment caused by nvAMD to affected individuals and the state.

The paper reports the results of a study of the costs and benefits associated with the implementation and operation of HACCP in the Chinese slaughtering and meat product processing industry. The research results suggest that although some kinds of intangible costs are more regularly referred to, the major costs of implementing and operating HACCP in the industry are still relatively tangible, such as investment in new equipments and product testing. And although most respondents indicated that the costs of implementing and operating HACCP were approximately in accordance with their prior expectations, still a significant majority indicated that some costs exceeded their expectations. The results also suggest that the slaughtering and meat product processing enterprises do derive benefits from implementing and operating HACCP, and some of them have derived distinct benefits. The results have implications for the further adoption of HACCP not only in the industry itself but also in the Chinese food industry as a whole. Policy makers should take account of these research results and make more quantitative researches to offer more comprehensive and classified information to help food enterprises make decisions on HACCP implementation and operation.

Objectives: To estimate indirect costs through human capital approach and intangible costs through willingness-to-pay (WTP), and identify factors potentially affecting these costs in multiethnic Asian patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: Data were collected through face-to-face interviews among knee OA patients. Human capital approach was used to estimate indirect costs by multiplying: 1) days of absence from work because of OA, with average earnings per capita per day for working patients; or 2) productivity loss with the market price of housekeeping for retirees/homemakers. A closed-ended iterative bidding contingent valuation method was used to elicit willingness-to-pay for a hypothetical cure of OA as a proxy for intangible costs. Mann–Whitney U or Kruskal–Wallis H-tests were performed in univariate analyzes, and linear regression in multivariate analyses. Results: Indirect costs per year and intangible costs were estimated at US$1008 and US$1200, accounting for 2.8% and 3.3% of annual household income, respectively. The indirect costs were significantly higher for male or working patients, while intangible costs were higher for Chinese, working patients, with higher income, or worse global well-being. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that eliciting indirect costs through human capital approach and intangible costs through WTP are acceptable and feasible in Asian patients with knee OA. Besides the direct costs, the indirect and intangible costs for the OA patients could be substantial.

Background Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, disabling, progressive disease, with many associated comorbidities, affecting patients during prime working years resulting in a high economic burden on society, producing high direct, indirect and intangible costs [1]. Pain and sufferings of patients because of a disease, which are usually measured by using the reduction in Quality of Life (QoL), define intangible costs. To date, there is no data available about intangible costs of SLE in the Republic of Moldova. Objectives To estimate the intangible costs of SLE in the Republic of Moldova. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study including consecutive patients fulfilling the SLICC, 2012 classification criteria for SLE. The disease activity was calculated by SLAM and damage index - SLICC/ACR DI. The intangible costs were calculated using two methods: willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a hypothetical cure of SLE and QoL, estimated by SF-8 questionnaire. Results The study included 106 patients, female:male ratio 10,7:1, mean age ± SD of41,1±12,6 yr, mean disease duration ± SD 90,0±87,2 months. The disease activity by SLAM was 11±5,2 points and mean SLICC/ACRDI 1,9±2,4 points. The analysis of the mental and physical component status of the QoL showed a reduction of both variables compared to general population: PCS and MCS were 43,2±9,6 and 46,9±13,4 points, respectively. It was established a close significant negative correlation between physical component status and disease activity by SLAM (r=-0,83, p Conclusions The intangible costs are an important component of SLE9s total costs, influencing substantially the disease9s economic burden in Republic of Moldova. References Turchetti G et al. Systemic lupus erythematosus and the economic perspective: a systematic literature review and points to consider. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2012 Jul-Aug;30 (4 Suppl 73):S116-22. Epub 2012 Oct 16. Disclosure of Interest None declared

Background Our group has previously described that indirect and intangible costs substantially burden households with a food allergic adult. We now extend our investigation to children and adolescents. Objective To estimate the total, direct, indirect and intangible costs of food allergy, in households with at least one child or adolescent with objectively-diagnosed allergy to staple foods (cow’ sm ilk, wheat and/or hen’s egg), and to compare these costs with age- and sex- matched controls. Methods Participants included 84 children and 60 adolescents (cases), and 94 children and 56 adolescents (controls). Direct and indirect cost data collected via the Food Allergy Socio-Economic Questionnaire (developed by EuroPrevall) from parents of children and adolescents with objectivelydiagnosed allergy to staple foods (cases) were compared to data from age- and sex-matched controls, and calculated as annual household costs. Total costs were defined as direct + indirect costs. Direct and indirect costs were also considered independently. Intangible costs included measures of self-reported health, standard of living and losses of well-being. Results

Cette contribution traite de la problématique du double-compte des impacts sur la santé humaine dans le cadre de l’évaluation du coût de la maladie. Un double-compte surgit lorsque des estimations sont utilisées conjointement, alors qu’elles sont issues de méthodes de monétarisation qui se recoupent partiellement. Afin d’y remédier, nous proposons de restreindre le champ d’investigation de chaque méthode à un domaine spécifique d’impacts. De manière à appliquer la méthode d l’évaluation contingente exclusivement à la monétarisation des coût intangibles, nous suggérons une approche en trois temps : (1) laisser les personnes interrogées libre d’évaluer les conséquences auxquelles elles sont sensibles, (2) obtenir de ces personnes des explications sur ce qui motive leur réponse, (3) contrôler l’influence de ces motivations sur leurs évaluations. Cette procédure a été appiquée lors d’une évaluation contingente menée en Suisse. Un traitement économétrique a été utilisé afin de limiter la portée des estimations contingentes aux seules intangibles, permettant ainsi de combiner les méthodes de monétarisation tout en réduisant au maximum le risque de double-compte et de surestimation. This paper addresses the issue of double counting of health impacts in the context of cost of illness valuation. Double counting occurs when estimates are jointly used, which rely on valuation techniques that overlap. As a solution, we propose to limit the scope of each of the valuation method to a specific range of impacts. In order to limit the contingentvaluation method to the exclusive valuation of intangible costs, we propose a three steps approach : (1) leave the respondents free to valuate the consequences which matter to them, (2) elicit respondent’s motivations, (3) control for the influence motivations have on elicited values. This procedure was applied in a Swiss contingent-valuation. An econometric treatment was applied in order to limit the scope of the estimates of the contingent valuation method to intangibles, therefore the possibility to a combination of methods with the risk of double-counting and underestimating costs being kept to a minimum.

Objectives:The purpose of this study was to determine and inform clinicians, managers, and budget allocators of the costs incurred to the British National Health Service (NHS), patient, and society when attending clinic-based physiotherapy compared with not attending clinic-based physiotherapy after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy surgery.Methods:The valuation principle used in this study was the economic concept of opportunity cost. Costs were referred to as direct medical (NHS), direct nonmedical (patient), and indirect (societal) costs. Due to the difficulties of their measurement and valuation, intangible costs, in the form of pain and anxiety related to the effect of receiving or not receiving treatment, have not been considered in this analysis.Results:Providing clinic-based physiotherapy after knee arthroscopic partial meniscectomy surgery is more costly to the NHS and patient, but no more costly to society than when not providing it and does not result in reduced contact with the NHS.Conclusions:Clinic-based physiotherapy after knee arthroscopic partial meniscectomy surgery is costly and evidence is needed that its effectiveness is high enough to support its use.

The implementation of new strategies for the detection of Down syndrome will have economic implications. These economic considerations must be considered before implementation, since resources are limited and health care costs in the Unites States are soaring. Economic analyses of prenatal diagnosis have unique challenges that must be considered. Most analyses include only direct medical costs, ignoring indirect and intangible costs.

We seek to bridge some of the existing gaps in knowledge on the costs associated with the intangible impacts of crime. In doing so, we present results from the first stated preference study of crime risks in the United Kingdom as well as the first such study, more generally, to present respondents with realistic descriptions of the physical and mental health impacts of violent crime of varying severity. Our findings suggest that the costs of three officially classified (statistical) crimes are £5,300 for common assault (no injury), £31,000 for other (moderate) wounding, and £36,000 for serious wounding. Such monetary values are important in the economic appraisal of policies that seek to reduce the incidence of violent crime. Nevertheless, valuing the intangible costs of crime is a challenging task and we outline a number of problem areas that we have encountered in eliciting the economic value of reducing crime risks.

Nowadays, the enterprise resource planning (ERP) products and services industry is one of the most promising. Through the usage of ERP systems such as SAP, BAAN, Peoplesoft and Oracle, organizations try to integrate the information flow of the different business areas and, at the same time, improve efficiency and reduce costs. Theoretically, these integrated systems provide large functionality in terms of problem solving associated with data flow when they are integrated with different software systems.

This paper studies the intangible costs of international trade by extending the basic gravity equation with measures of cultural and institutional distance, and institutional quality. Analyzing a sample of bilateral trade flows between 92 countries in 1999, we find that institutional distance has a negative effect on bilateral trade, presumably because the transaction costs of trade between partners from dissimilar institutional settings are high. In contrast, we find that cultural distance has a positive effect on bilateral trade. A potential explanation for this finding is that firms prefer trade to host-country production in culturally distant countries. Finally, we find that the institutional quality of both the importer and exporter increases the amount of bilateral trade.

The objectives of this study are to estimate time and out-of-pocket costs incurred by families attending a pediatric cochlear implant programme. In addition, qualitative data examine the intangible costs faced by families.Data was collected during semi-structured face-to-face interviews with parents of children with a cochlear implant attending a clinic visit at Nottingham Cochlear Implantation Programme (NPCIP), UK. Information supplied included socio-demographic characteristics, mode of travel, out-of-pocket expenses, time foregone, and details of companions. Quantitative data was stored and analysed in SPSS version 11.5.Two hundred and sixteen face-to-face interviews were conducted with parents of children implanted for between 1 month and 13 years. Time and out-of-pocket costs were significantly higher for those in the first 2 years of the programme, mean UK pound 3090 per annum compared to UK pound 2159 per annum for those in years2-5 and UK pound 1815 per annum for those in years5 (P0.001). The biggest component of this was time costs, although the sensitivity analysis revealed that these were also most variable depending on the methods used to estimate them. The largest out-of-pocket cost incurred by families was travel costs which accounted for 44%, although 16% of families received some financial help with travel costs. The qualitative findings are consistent with these findings, also showing that over time the financial and intangible costs incurred as a result of cochlear implantation decline.This study is the first to obtain primary data on the time and out-of-pocket costs incurred by families attending a pediatric cochlear implant programme in the UK. It finds that these costs are greatest for those families in the first 2 years of the programme and/or who live furthest from the programme.

This article describes how the increasing shift to managed care has impacted the treatment of women with breast cancer, from the perspectives of patients and providers. A descriptive exploratory pilot study was undertaken in a comprehensive cancer center in an urban northeastern city of the United States. The use of General Systems Theory is used to describe how the health care system has adapted to recent insurance changes. Qualitative interviews with patients,physicians, nurses, and business office staff reveal that the type of insurance did not affect treatment decisions. Findings from this pilot study, however, reveal that the increasing shift to managed care has resulted in a change in roles for nurses, fragmentation of care, and intangible costs to the patients.

The transition from hard resistant coast protection to soft protection requires transitions in four inter-related principles. First, the design, implementation and evaluation of the softer methods need to be appropriate to the severity of the erosion risk. Second, the costs and benefits need to be assessed in ways that take account of changes in levels of risk, frequencies of damaging events and intangible costs and benefits. Third, the coastal communities must be confident that the softer methods will provide protection. Fourth, the systems of softer protection need to ensure the resilience of vulnerable human communities and ecosystems. This paper reports the results of a series of softer protection schemes and discusses lessons learnt in using softer rather than hard solutions. The uncomfortable conclusion for traditional approaches is that people are part of coastal ecosystems and must be part of the solution. Sustainable coastal protection depends upon behavioural changes in all those involved with the coast and its management. Softer solutions must be subject to the following tests: 1. Is the softer protection measure able to protect against extreme events? Does softer mean safer? 2. Who loses and/or gains? 3. What is the timescale over which losses or gains are to be assessed? 4. How does the human community itself assess the risk? What is it prepared to accept and at what cost? Is it able or prepared to move?