Implementação do abc (activity-based costing) numa empresa prestação de serviços de saúde

O presente trabalho cujo título é Implementação do ABC numa empresa prestadora de serviços de Saúde, tem como finalidade a obtenção do grau de licenciatura em Contabilidade e Administração e tem como principal objectivo a implementação do método ABC numa pequena e média empresa de prestação de serviços de saúde, como um instrumento de apoio á gestão. Para a introdução da Contabilidade de Gestão na empresa, há que se escolher um método/sistema de apuramento de gastos que espelha a realidade da empresa, e de uma certa forma o ABC é o método ideal para apuramento de resultados sem distorções. O ABC (Activity-Based Cost) apura os resultados através da relação de causa-efeito, considerando que as actividades é que geram gastos e os objectos de custeio é que consomem as actividades. É aplicável tanto nas empresas industriais como nas empresas prestadoras de serviços, apesar de inicialmente ter sido concebido para as empresas industrias, isto é, para as grandes empresas devido aos avultados recursos financeiros e humanos como também pelo tempo necessário para a sua implementação. Mas o modelo matricial apresentado por Roztcki et al (1999) permite a aplicação deste método nas PME com poucos recursos financeiros e de tempo, utilizando uma folha de cálculo no Excel. Será este modelo a ser proposto e poderá ser implementado na clínica. O modelo apresentado foi testado num estudo de caso realizado numa clínica. Com a realização dos testes foi detectado algumas dificuldades e limitações, as maiores dificuldades encontradas foram a identificação das actividades e dos cost drivers, devido à complexidade do sector. A implementação foi concluída com sucesso, proporcionando informações detalhadas dos gastos dos produtos/serviços prestados em toda a clínica. This work was done as a requisite for obtaining a degree in Accounting and Administration, and is titled “The Implementation of ABC – Activity Based Cost in a company that provides health services”. Its main purpose is to analyze the implementation of ABC method in a small and medium-sized enterprise which provides health services to support decision making by the Managers. To adopt management accounting in a company, it’s necessary to choose a cost qualifying system that reflects the reality of the company and in a certain way ABC is the method which can determine the results without any distortion. ABC (Activity-Based Cost) determines the results through cause-and-effect relationship, whereas the activities generate spending while costing objects consume the activities. It’s applicable both in industrial companies as in services providers, although it was initially designed for industrial companies, that is, to large companies, due to the huge financial and human resources existent as well as by the time required for its implementation. But the matrix model presented by Roztckiet al (1999) allows application of this method in small and medium-sized enterprises with limited financial resources and time, using a spreadsheet in Excel. This model will be proposed and could be implemented in any clinic. The model was tested in a case study, undertaken in a private clinic. With the realization of the tests, some problems and limitations were detected, and the major difficulties encountered were the identification of activities and cost drivers, due to the complexity of the sector. The implementation was completed successfully, providing detailed information of the products services spending throughout the clinic.

Appraising and selecting strategies to combat and mitigate desertification based on stakeholder knowledge and globalbest practices in Cape Verde Archipelago

Cape Verde is considered part of Sahelian Africa, where drought and desertification are common occurrences. The main activity of the rural population is rain-fed agriculture, which over time has been increasingly challenged by high temporal and spatial rainfall variability, lack of inputs, limited land area, fragmentation of land, steep slopes, pests, lack of mechanization and loss of top soil by water erosion. Human activities, largely through poor farming practices and deforestation (Gomez, 1989) have accelerated natural erosion processes, shifting the balance between soil erosion and soil formation (Norton, 1987). According to previous studies, vegetation cover is one of the most important factors in controlling soil loss (Cyr et al., 1995; Hupy, 2004; Zhang et al., 2004; Zhou et al., 2006). For this reason, reforestation is a touchstone of the Cape Verdean policy to combat desertification. After Independence in 1975, the Cape Verde government had pressing and closely entangled environmental and socio-economic issues to address, as long-term desertification had resulted in a lack of soil cover, severe soil erosion and a scarcity of water resources and fuel wood. Across the archipelago, desertification was resulting from a variety of processes including poor farming practices, soil erosion by water and wind, soil and water salinity in coastal areas due to over pumping and seawater intrusion, drought and unplanned urbanization (DGA-MAAP, 2004). All these issues directly affected socio-economic vulnerability in rural areas, where about 70% of people depended directly or indirectly on agriculture in 1975. By becoming part of the Inter- State Committee for the Fight against Drought in the Sahel in 1975, the government of Cape Verde gained structured support to address these issues more efficiently. Presentday policies and strategies were defined on the basis of rational use of resources and human efforts and were incorporated into three subsequent national plans: the National Action Plan for Development (NDP) (1982–1986), the NDP (1986–1990) and the NDP (1991–1995) (Carvalho

Data-based approach for developing a physical activity frequency questionnaire.

Measurement of total energy expenditure may be crucial to an understanding of the relation between physical activity and disease and in order to frame public health intervention. To devise a self-administered physical activity frequency questionnaire (PAFQ), the following data-based approach was used. A 24-hour recall was administered to a random sample of 919 adult residents of Geneva, Switzerland. The data obtained were used to establish the list of activities (and their median duration) that contributed to 95% of the energy expended, separately for men and women. Activities that were trivial for the whole sample but that contributed to > or = 10% of an individual's energy expenditure were also selected. The final PAFQ lists 70 activities or group of activities with their typical duration. About 20 minutes are required for respondents to indicate the number of days and the number of hours per day that they performed each activity. The PAFQ method was validated against a heart rate monitor, a more objective method. The total energy estimated by the PAFQ in 41 volunteers correlated well (r = 0.76) with estimates using a heart rate monitor. The authors conclude that the design of their self-administered physical activity frequency questionnaire based on data from 24-hour recall appeared to accurately estimate energy expenditure.

A new class of isothiocyanate-based irreversible inhibitors of macrophage migration inhibitory factor.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a homotrimeric multifunctional proinflammatory cytokine that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Current therapeutic strategies for targeting MIF focus on developing inhibitors of its tautomerase activity or modulating its biological activities using anti-MIF neutralizing antibodies. Herein we report a new class of isothiocyanate (ITC)-based irreversible inhibitors of MIF. Modification by benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) and related analogues occurred at the N-terminal catalytic proline residue without any effect on the oligomerization state of MIF. Different alkyl and arylalkyl ITCs modified MIF with nearly the same efficiency as BITC. To elucidate the mechanism of action, we performed detailed biochemical, biophysical, and structural studies to determine the effect of BITC and its analogues on the conformational state, quaternary structure, catalytic activity, receptor binding, and biological activity of MIF. Light scattering, analytical ultracentrifugation, and NMR studies on unmodified and ITC-modified MIF demonstrated that modification of Pro1 alters the tertiary, but not the secondary or quaternary, structure of the trimer without affecting its thermodynamic stability. BITC induced drastic effects on the tertiary structure of MIF, in particular residues that cluster around Pro1 and constitute the tautomerase active site. These changes in tertiary structure and the loss of catalytic activity translated into a reduction in MIF receptor binding activity, MIF-mediated glucocorticoid overriding, and MIF-induced Akt phosphorylation. Together, these findings highlight the role of tertiary structure in modulating the biochemical and biological activities of MIF and present new opportunities for modulating MIF biological activities in vivo.

3-year follow-up results of bone mineral content and density after a school-based physical activity randomized intervention trial.

BACKGROUND: As an important modifiable lifestyle factor in osteoporosis prevention, physical activity has been shown to positively influence bone mass accrual during growth. We have previously shown that a nine month general school based physical activity intervention increased bone mineral content (BMC) and density (aBMD) in primary school children. From a public health perspective, a major key issue is whether these effects persist during adolescence. We therefore measured BMC and aBMD three years after cessation of the intervention to investigate whether the beneficial short-term effects persisted. METHODS: All children from 28 randomly selected first and fifth grade classes (intervention group (INT): 16 classes, n=297; control group (CON): 12 classes, n=205) who had participated in KISS (Kinder-und Jugendsportstudie) were contacted three years after cessation of the intervention program. The intervention included daily physical education with daily impact loading activities over nine months. Measurements included anthropometry, vigorous physical activity (VPA) by accelerometers, and BMC/aBMD for total body, femoral neck, total hip, and lumbar spine by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Sex- and age-adjusted Z-scores of BMC or aBMD at follow-up were regressed on intervention (1 vs. 0), the respective Z-score at baseline, gender, follow-up height and weight, pubertal stage at follow-up, previous and current VPA, adjusting for clustering within schools. RESULTS: 377 of 502 (75%) children participated in baseline DXA measurements and of those, 214 (57%) participated to follow-up. At follow-up INT showed significantly higher Z-scores of BMC at total body (adjusted group difference: 0.157 units (0.031-0.283); p=0.015), femoral neck (0.205 (0.007-0.402); p=0.042) and at total hip (0.195 (0.036 to 0.353); p=0.016) and higher Z-scores of aBMD for total body (0.167 (0.016 to 0.317); p=0.030) compared to CON, representing 6-8% higher values for children in the INT. No differences could be found for the remaining bone parameters. For the subpopulation with baseline VPA (n=163), effect sizes became stronger after baseline VPA adjustment. After adjustment for baseline and current VPA (n=101), intervention effects were no longer significant, while effect sizes remained the same as without adjustment for VPA. CONCLUSION: Beneficial effects on BMC of a nine month general physical activity intervention appeared to persist over three years. Part of the maintained effects may be explained by current physical activity.

Self-reported smoking cessation activities among Swiss primary care physicians.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Individual counselling, pharmacotherapy, and group therapy are evidence-based interventions that help patients stop smoking. Acupuncture, hypnosis, and relaxation have no demonstrated efficacy on smoking cessation, whereas self-help material may only have a small benefit. The purpose of this study is to assess physicians' current clinical practice regarding smokers motivated to stop smoking. METHODS: The survey included 3385 Swiss primary care physicians. Self-reported use of nine smoking cessation interventions was scored. One point was given for each positive answer about practicing interventions with demonstrated efficacy, i.e. nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion, counselling, group therapy, and smoking cessation specialist. No points were given for the recommendation of acupuncture, hypnosis, relaxation, and self-help material. Multivariable logistic analysis was performed to identify factors associated with a good practice score, defined as >1. RESULTS: The response rate was 55%. Respondents were predominately over the age of 40 years (88%), male (79%), and resided in urban areas (74%). Seventeen percent reported being smokers. Most of the physicians prescribed nicotine replacement therapy (84%), bupropion (65%), or provided counselling (70%). A minority of physicians recommended acupuncture (26%), hypnosis (8%), relaxation (7%), or self-help material (24%). A good practice score was obtained by 85% of respondents. Having attended a smoking cessation training program was the only significant predictor of a good practice score (odds ratio: 6.24 , 95% CI 1.95-20.04). CONCLUSION: The majority of respondents practice recommended smoking cessation interventions. However, there is room for improvement and implementing an evidence-based smoking cessation-training program could provide additional benefit.

Micro-Computer Based Linear Scheduling Application for Highway Construction Project Control, HR-339A, 1995

This report describes a new approach to the problem of scheduling highway construction type projects. The technique can accurately model linear activities and identify the controlling activity path on a linear schedule. Current scheduling practices are unable to accomplish these two tasks with any accuracy for linear activities, leaving planners and manager suspicious of the information they provide. Basic linear scheduling is not a new technique, and many attempts have been made to apply it to various types of work in the past. However, the technique has never been widely used because of the lack of an analytical approach to activity relationships and development of an analytical approach to determining controlling activities. The Linear Scheduling Model (LSM) developed in this report, completes the linear scheduling technique by adding to linear scheduling all of the analytical capabilities, including computer applications, present in CPM scheduling today. The LSM has tremendous potential, and will likely have a significant impact on the way linear construction is scheduled in the future.

Comparing ICA-based and single-trial topographic ERP analyses.

Single-trial analysis of human electroencephalography (EEG) has been recently proposed for better understanding the contribution of individual subjects to a group-analysis effect as well as for investigating single-subject mechanisms. Independent Component Analysis (ICA) has been repeatedly applied to concatenated single-trial responses and at a single-subject level in order to extract those components that resemble activities of interest. More recently we have proposed a single-trial method based on topographic maps that determines which voltage configurations are reliably observed at the event-related potential (ERP) level taking advantage of repetitions across trials. Here, we investigated the correspondence between the maps obtained by ICA versus the topographies that we obtained by the single-trial clustering algorithm that best explained the variance of the ERP. To do this, we used exemplar data provided from the EEGLAB website that are based on a dataset from a visual target detection task. We show there to be robust correspondence both at the level of the activation time courses and at the level of voltage configurations of a subset of relevant maps. We additionally show the estimated inverse solution (based on low-resolution electromagnetic tomography) of two corresponding maps occurring at approximately 300 ms post-stimulus onset, as estimated by the two aforementioned approaches. The spatial distribution of the estimated sources significantly correlated and had in common a right parietal activation within Brodmann's Area (BA) 40. Despite their differences in terms of theoretical bases, the consistency between the results of these two approaches shows that their underlying assumptions are indeed compatible.

El proyecto ‘Ecosportech’ como ejemplo de universidad emprendedora. Una experiencia a base del ‘Problem Based Learning’

El objetivo de este artículo es presentar el proyecto EcoSPORTech, cuya finalidad es la creación de una empresa social con jóvenes para la realización de actividades deportivas/ocio en el medio natural, integrando las nuevas tecnologías. Este proyecto supone una colaboración interdisciplinaria dentro de la Universidad de Vic, entre las facultades de Empresa y Comunicación (FEC), la de Ciencias de la Salud y el Bienestar (FCSB) y la de Educación (FE) e integra un equipo de profesionales procedentes de los ámbitos de la empresa, el marketing, el periodismo, el deporte y la terapia ocupacional. Estos profesores formarán al grupo de jóvenes con los que se creará la empresa y dirigirán la misma. Esta empresa (cooperativa) se integra en el vivero de empresas sociales que se está creando en la Universidad de Vic.

Parental investment and its sensitivity to corticosterone is linked to melanin-based coloration in barn owls.

Behavioral and physiological responses to unpredictable changes in environmental conditions are, in part, mediated by glucocorticoids (corticosterone in birds). In polymorphic species, individuals of the same sex and age display different heritable melanin-based color morphs, associated with physiological and reproductive parameters and possibly alternative strategies to cope with variation in environmental conditions. We examined whether the role of corticosterone in resolving the trade-off between self-maintenance and reproductive activities covaries with the size of melanin-based spots displayed on the ventral body side of male barn owls. Administration of corticosterone to simulate physiological stress in males revealed pronounced changes in their food-provisioning rates to nestlings compared to control males. Corticosterone-treated males with small eumelanic spots reduced nestling provisioning rates as compared to controls, and also to a greater degree than did corticosterone-treated males with large spots. Large-spotted males generally exhibited lower parental provisioning and appear insensitive to exogenous corticosterone suggesting that the size of the black spots on the breast feathers predicts the ability to cope with stressful situations. The reduced provisioning rate of corticosterone-treated males caused a temporary reduction in nestling growth rates but, did not affect fledgling success. This suggests that moderately elevated corticosterone levels are not inhibitory to current reproduction but rather trigger behavioral responses to maximize lifetime reproductive success.

Homology-based identification of capsid determinants that protect HIV1 from human TRIM5{alpha} restriction.

The tropism of retroviruses relies on their ability to exploit cellular factors for their replication as well as to avoid host-encoded inhibitory activities such as TRIM5α. N-tropic murine leukemia virus (MLV) is sensitive to human TRIM5α restriction, whereas human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV1) escapes this antiviral factor. We showed previously that mutation of four critical amino acid residues within the capsid (CA) can render MLV resistant to huTRIM5α. Here, we exploit the high degree of conservation in the tertiary structure of retroviral capsids to map the corresponding positions on the HIV1 capsid. We then demonstrate that, by introducing changes at some of these positions, HIV1 becomes sensitive to huTRIM5α restriction, a phenomenon reinforced by additionally mutating the nearby cyclophilin A (CypA)-binding loop of the viral protein. These results indicate that retroviruses have evolved similar mechanisms to escape TRIM5α restriction, via the interference of structurally homologous determinants in the viral capsid.

Determinants of science-based cooperation: evidence in a sample of small and micro firms

We study the determining factors of cience-based cooperation in the case of small and micro firms. In this research, we propose an analytical framework based on the resource-based view of the firm and we identify a set of organisational characteristics, which we classify as internal, external and structural factors. Each factor can be linked to at least one reason, from the firm¿s point of view, to cooperate with universities and public research centres. Each reason can, in turn, be used as an indicator of a firm¿s organisational needs or organisational capacities. In order to validate the theoretical model, we estimate a logistic regression that models the propensity to participate in science-based cooperation activities within a sample of 285 small and micro firms located in Barcelona. The results show the key role played by the absorptive capacity of new and small companies.

Emotions in a Web-based Learning Environment

The aim of this thesis was to examine emotions in a web-based learning environment (WBLE). Theoretically, the thesis was grounded on the dimensional model of emotions. Four empirical studies were conducted. Study I focused on students’ anxiety and their self-efficacy in computer-using situations. Studies II and III examined the influence of experienced emotions on students’ collaborative visible and non-collaborative invisible activities and lurking in a WBLE. Study II also focused on the antecedents of the emotions students experience in a web-based learning environment. Study IV concentrated on clarifying the differences between emotions experienced in face-to-face and web-based collaborative learning. The results of these studies are reported in four original research articles published in scientific journals. The present studies demonstrate that emotions are important determinants of student behaviour in a web-based learning, and justify the conclusion that interactions on the web can and do have an emotional content. Based on the results of these empirical studies, it can be concluded that the emotions students experience during the web-based learning result mostly from the social interactions rather than from the technological context. The studies indicate that the technology itself is not the only antecedent of students’ emotional reactions in the collaborative web-based learning situations. However, the technology itself also exerted an influence on students’ behaviour. It was found that students’ computer anxiety was associated with their negative expectations of the consequences of using technology-based learning environments in their studies. Moreover, the results also indicated that student behaviours in a WBLE can be divided into three partially overlapping classes: i) collaborative visible ii) non-collaborative invisible activities, and iii) lurking. What is more, students’ emotions experienced during the web-based learning affected how actively they participated in such activities in the environment. Especially lurkers, i.e. students who seldom participated in discussions but frequently visited the online environment, experienced more negatively valenced emotions during the courses than did the other students. This result indicates that such negatively toned emotional experiences can make the lurking individuals less eager to participate in other WBLE courses in the future. Therefore, future research should also focus more precisely on the reasons that cause individuals to lurk in online learning groups, and the development of learning tasks that do not encourage or permit lurking or inactivity. Finally, the results from the study comparing emotional reactions in web-based and face-to-face collaborative learning indicated that the learning by means of web-based communication resulted in more affective reactivity when compared to learning in a face-to-face situation. The results imply that the students in the web-based learning group experienced more intense emotions than the students in the face-to-face learning group.The interpretations of this result are that the lack of means for expressing emotional reactions and perceiving others’ emotions increased the affectivity in the web-based learning groups. Such increased affective reactivity could, for example, debilitate individual’s learning performance, especially in complex learning tasks. Therefore, it is recommended that in the future more studies should be focused on the possibilities to express emotions in a text-based web environment to ensure better means for communicating emotions, and subsequently, possibly decrease the high level of affectivity. However, we do not yet know whether the use of means for communicating emotional expressions via the web (for example, “smileys” or “emoticons”) would be beneficial or disadvantageous in formal learning situations. Therefore, future studies should also focus on assessing how the use of such symbols as a means for expressing emotions in a text-based web environment would affect students’ and teachers’ behaviour and emotional state in web-based learning environments.

DFMA- Analysis and Aspects of Applying Internet Based Collaborative Design for Axial Eccentric Oil-Pump Design

The integrated system of design for manufacturing and assembly (DFMA) and internet based collaborative design are presented to support product design, manufacturing process, and assembly planning for axial eccentric oil-pump design. The presented system manages and schedules group oriented collaborative activities. The design guidelines of internet based collaborative design & DFMA are expressed. The components and the manufacturing stages of axial eccentric oil-pump are expressed in detail. The file formats of the presented system include the data types of collaborative design of the product, assembly design, assembly planning and assembly system design. Product design and assembly planning can be operated synchronously and intelligently and they are integrated under the condition of internet based collaborative design and DFMA. The technologies of collaborative modelling, collaborative manufacturing, and internet based collaborative assembly for the specific pump construction are developed. A seven-security level is presented to ensure the security of the internet based collaborative design system.

Determination of the critical activities of a public-private intermediary organization with the help of value chain analysis

Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena oli selvittää arvoketjuanalyysin avulla toiminnot, joilla voittoatavoittelemattoman, julkisen osakeyhtiön toimintaa voitaisiin kuvata. Tarkoituksena oli selvittää mainitut toiminnot yleisesti ja luoda malli kohdeyrityksen arvoketjusta ja sen toiminnoista. Tutkielma jakautuu teoreettiseen ja empiiriseen osaan. Ensimmäinen pohjautuu aikaisempaan tutkimukseen ja kirjallisuuteen sidosryhmistä, arvon muodostumisesta ja arvoketjuanalyysistä. Jälkimmäinen on laadullista tapaustutkimusta. Empiriassa mallinnettiin Lappeenranta Innovation Oy:nsisäisiä toimintoja ja sidosryhmien odotuksia. Empiirinen tutkimus perustui kohdeyrityksen omistajille ja henkilöstölle tehtyihin haastatteluihin sekä yrityksen toiminnan päivittäiseen seurantaan. Johtopäätöksenätodettiin, että julkisen, voittoa tavoittelemattoman yrityksen toiminnot on mahdollista kuvata arvoketjuanalyysin avulla. Alan ja yrityksen asettamat erityispiirteet toivat haasteita määrittelylle, mutta silti arvoketju antoi selkeän tavan kohdeyrityksen toimintojen mallintamiselle.