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Societal Impact Statement: Morels (Morchella spp.) are specialty mushrooms that fetch high prices from wild‐foraged or indoor grown suppliers. Outdoor cultivation could expand availability and diversify morel crops. Participatory research trials in the United States during 2021–2023 resulted in low, uneven yields. Cost accounting reveals that in 2023, a producer needed to achieve an average morel yield of 0.16 lb/ft of row to break even. This threshold was sensitive to prices and labor costs. While these findings are preliminary due to a small sample and experimental conditions, they establish baseline indicators for the yields needed for outdoor morel cultivation to break even financially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and its damaging consequences for ecology and humanity is advancing. Industry and its metals sector are responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions. Current costs of industrial goods do not reflect the true costs caused by the externalized climate damages of its production and thus offer no competitive incentive to decarbonize. Additionally, regional climate regulation can lead to competitive distortion. We therefore aim to investigate the impact of climate cost internalization on the metals industry. Using true‐cost analysis for an exemplary and widely used metal product, the effects of climate true costs depending on production region, technology, and energy mix, CO2e taxation and value chain are examined. Based hereon, the impact of internalizing climate true costs together with the introduction of a carbon‐border tax on the carbon leakage problem, climate protection, and the cost situation for companies in global competition are investigated. The results of the study show that steel and wire production is responsible for most CO2e emissions showing significant decarbonization effects by steel recycling whereas production location and logistics play a minor role. On a competitive level, cost internalization has hardly any effect on the product costs because of the currently low CO2e‐taxation rates. Thus, almost no incentive to produce or consume in a climate‐protective way is generated, incentivizing production in pollution havens versus highly climate regulated regions. Instead, to realize emission efficiency gains and innovations leading to a competitive advantage of decarbonized products and value chains, a significant increase of CO2e‐taxation rates together with a carbon‐border tax is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food system transformation requires a better understanding of the negative and positive externalities involved in food production and consumption. Although negative externalities have received substantial attention, positive externalities have been largely overlooked. True Cost Accounting (TCA) is an economic assessment aimed at accounting for externalities in food systems. The beef industry is an important part of the US food system. In the western USA, beef cattle production is a major land use and economic activity that involves direct links among the cattle, range ecosystems, range management, climate, and ranchers' decisions and welfare. We present a case study based on a TCA assessment to quantify and monetize the contribution of human, social, natural, and produced capitals, as well as farm structure, to the market value generated by cow-calf operations, a key component of the USA beef industry. We estimated an Ordinary Least Square regression model based on indicators of these capitals and of farm structure derived from publicly available data sources at the county level. From model coefficients, we estimated the marginal revenue product of these factors. Results show that nonmarket factors linked with human and social capitals support market performance by contributing to the market value of cow-calf production. These factors operate at scales above the ranch, usually remain hidden, and seldomly are considered in policy decision-making which can lead to policies that inadvertently hamper or eliminate these positive externalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yale Animal Resource Cost and Benchmarking survey, conducted in United States (US) academic animal research/resource centres (ARC), was modified to capture similar information in European Union (EU) (including the non-EU countries Switzerland and the United Kingdom) academic ARCs, who are members of the League of European Research Universities (LERU). Participating institutions came from Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland. Survey data analysis suggests that (a) per diem rates have similar compositions in LERU and US programs, with >50% of the rates dedicated to recovering salary and fringe, followed by supplies (∼25%), facility costs (∼10%) and other expenses (∼15%); (b) ∼60% of US and LERU programs under-recover mouse care costs; (c) on average, LERU programs have a small positive net-operating balance, while US programs average a large deficit; (d) in LERU programs <50% of institutions fund the animal program deficit, while in US programs almost 100% of such deficits are covered by the institution; and (e) when setting per diem rates, both US and LERU programs rank cost accounting as the most influential factor. Both US and LERU programs are reluctant to raise per diem rates to the extent required to recover costs and, thus, continue to under-recover costs, resulting in the animal program being 'caught in the middle' between the competing financial challenges of investigator 'affordability' and the animal program's fiduciary responsibility to the institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to investigate the usefulness of cost information in the Brazilian federal government, through observation and empirical analysis of the perception of public managers, who are the main users of this information. The data collected from managers of different government entities were treated using the Multicriteria Decision Aid (MCDA) methodology, in order to highlight the interviewees' perception of the purposes, conditions, and mechanisms of access to information. The results showed broad recognition by managers about the usefulness of information, triggering a discussion that puts forward that the vast standardization, the search for improvements in accounting standards, and technological advances are not enough for innovative cost management practices to be successful in public organizations. These reflections indicate the need for alignment between information generated by the cost system and its users, that is, between cost accountants and cost managers, so that the institutionalization of the system does not become a mere formalism of the public sector bureaucracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new low‐cost clean pre‐desulfation technology is very important in pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy. However, traditional reactors have low space‐time yield and desulfation rate, resulting in high energy consumption and SO2 emissions in the industrial desulfation processes. Herein, dual rotating liquid film reactors (RLFRs) and lime are proposed to construct a recyclable, ultra‐fast, and value‐added desulfation method. Parameter optimization and kinetic calculations prove that the above reactions are controlled by internal diffusion, revealing that RLFR promotes the mass transfer and reaction rate. The new process greatly shortens the desulfation time of lead paste from 40 min to 10 s with a high desulfation rate of 99.7%, and the sulfation time of lime from 30 min to 30 s with a sulfation rate of 98.6% with a net profit of 55.99 ¥/ton by cost accounting. Moreover, ten batches of continuous scale‐up experiments demonstrate the stability of processes, the desulfation and sulfation rates are kept at 99.7% and 98.2%, which greatly reduces the emissions of waste desulfate liquor. This work provides a new universal strategy for a sustainable, low‐cost, and clean desulfation method of waste resources to achieve technical and economic feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As cloud computing has grown in popularity, several different models and deployment strategies have emerged, fulfilling specific needs of different users. Thus cloud service selection is a major task that combines business and technical aspects. Several cloud providers categorize their bundles to help users find the best fit. However, the policy behind this categorization is unclear, making it difficult to be consistent among providers. Therefore, this work explores the complication of selecting the optimal cloud service among numerous and comparable solutions and introduces a selection framework for cloud services based on clustering analysis, providing an overall size categorization of cloud services derived from the cloud market and making the categorization policy explicit and homogeneous across all providers. Finally, a real-word case study is presented, highlighting the application of the proposed framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use complementary bottom-up and top-down approaches to assess the current cost of AE and PEM stacks and how the costs are expected to come down by 2030. The total AE and PEM stack cost reduce from a range of 242–388 €/kW and 384–1071 €/kW in 2020 to 52–79 €/kW and 63–234 €/kW in 2030 respectively. The main drivers of these cost reductions are an increased current density and a reduction and/or replacement of expensive materials with cheaper alternatives. To a lesser extent, manufacturing and labor costs reduction is expected due to mass manufacturing at a GW scale. The total cost decrease is less prominent for AE than PEM due to AE's maturity. The uncertainty range for PEM stacks is due to the low TRL associated with the advanced design PEM stack. • We incorporate bottom-up with top-down costing approaches for stacks. • Current stack cost range from 242 to 388 €/kW (AE) and 384–1071 €/kW (PEM). • Stack costs may reduce to 52–79 €/kW (AE) and 63–234 €/kW (PEM) by 2030. • Cost reductions are driven by higher current density (AE&PEM) and lower catalyst loading (PEM). • Learning Investments of >73 bn € are needed to reduce system cost to 564 €/kW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Given the variability of intensive care unit (ICU) costs in different countries and the importance of this information for guiding clinicians to effective treatment and to the organisation of ICUs at the national level, it is of value to gather data on this topic for analysis at the national level in Belgium. The objectives of the study were to assess the total cost of ICUs and the factors that influence the cost of ICUs in hospitals in Belgium. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using data collected from the ICUs of 17 Belgian hospitals from January 01 to December 31, 2018. A total of 18,235 adult ICU stays were included in the study. The data set was a compilation of inpatient information from analytical cost accounting of hospitals, medical discharge summaries, and length of stay data. The costs were evaluated as the expenses related to the management of hospital stays from the hospital's point of view. The cost from the hospital perspective was calculated using a cost accounting analytical methodology in full costing. We used multivariate linear regression to evaluate factors associated with total ICU cost per stay. The ICU cost was log-transformed before regression and geometric mean ratios (GMRs) were estimated for each factor. Results: The proportion of ICU beds to ward beds was a median [p25-p75] of 4.7% [4.4–5.9]. The proportion of indirect costs to total costs in the ICU was 12.1% [11.4–13.3]. The cost of nurses represented 57.2% [55.4–62.2] of direct costs and this was 15.9% [12.0-18.2] of the cost of nurses in the whole hospital. The median cost per stay was €4,267 [2,050–9,658] and was €2,160 [1,545–3,221] per ICU day. The main factors associated with higher cost per stay in ICU were Charlson score, mechanical ventilation, ECMO, continuous hemofiltration, length of stay, readmission, ICU mortality, hospitalisation in an academic hospital, and diagnosis of coma/convulsions or intoxication. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that, despite the small proportion of ICU beds in relation to all services, the ICU represented a significant cost to the hospital. In addition, this study confirms that nursing staff represent a significant proportion of the direct costs of the ICU. Finally, the total cost per stay was also important but highly variable depending on the medical factors identified in our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost information is critical to ease managers' decisions in daily business, but its provision is informationally demanding and error prone. Effective design choices for costing systems that can reduce errors are the subject of a growing body of research. The computational model by Anand, Balakrishnan, and Labro (2019) collates previous research in a unifying framework, turning it into a potential standard for future studies. This paper uses this framework and aims to investigate the mechanism behind the well-documented empirical pattern of product cost cross-subsidization in a large-scale simulation experiment. According to this pattern, volume-based costing systems bias the costs of high-volume products upward and of low-volume products downward. Although this pattern has important implications for firms and is discussed extensively in the literature, it has not yet been investigated with computational models. As the first objective of this paper, we replicate the original model by following a pattern-oriented model replication approach. The second objective is to study the mechanism behind the pattern of product cost cross-subsidization. We are unable to reproduce it systematically with the original model. However, the pattern emerges when we extend the model to include a simple cost hierarchy with distinct resource consumption types and volume-based cost drivers. This allows us to specify the likely mechanism behind it. Building on these results, we further extend the model with empirical and theory-based ABC cost hierarchies and assess their effect on product cost cross-subsidization. Our results suggest that production environments underpin more diverse cost hierarchies in practice than previously implemented in the model. Overall, we argue that our extension provides relevant insights into the pattern of product cost cross-subsidization, while our replication and extension strengthen the models' credibility and usability for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous higher education institutions apply a full costing system in their accounting model due to the imposition of formal agents (governments/funding institutions), or by suggestion of informal agents (associations). This paper analyzes whether the rationale applied by these agents to justify the use of the full costing rather than the direct/variable system is consistent with the theoretical bases underlying both costing systems. Methodologically, we review the mainstream literature that explores the links between the management accounting model and the use of its informative outcomes for the decision-making in higher education institutions. We conclude that there exists a gap between the theory-based statements and the information needs of these institutions. Remarkably, the full costing system falls short of adequateness for these institutions, which need information for their managerial decision-making process rather than for other industries' decisions such as stock valuation. Thus, this paper contributes to a critical view on the use of full costing systems and calls for redirecting current practices towards other more effective partial costing systems. Our findings have implications for academic, managers and policymakers interested on the implementation and improvement of managerial accounting in public higher education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's dynamic financial environment, several countries have harmonized their accounting standards with the International Accounting Standards Board's International Financial Reporting Standards, leading to increasing use of fair value accounting among firms. However, the practical implications of this transition, especially for the Thai insurance sector, remain under-explored. The aim of the present study was to bridge this gap by evaluating the effect of fair value versus historical cost accounting on the financial statement analysis. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) constantreturns-to-scale and Malmquist DEA models were used to examine Thai insurance companies from financial years 2015 to 2019. The objectives included assessing the change in value of financial items on restatement from historical cost to fair value, evaluating the ensuing changes on the efficiency of firms, and benchmarking the firms for comparative performance evaluation. The findings obtained suggest statistically significant differences in many financial items on restatement, along with noticeable changes in firms' efficiency scores and overall rankings. The study underscores the theoretical debate between fair value and historical cost, and suggests that fair value can be used to complement historical cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical development paradigms for cell and gene therapies appear to be different to those of more conventional treatments: therefore, it is informative to explore this from the perspective of investments required to bring a new cell and/or gene therapy to the market. While there are a number of studies in the literature analyzing clinical-stage R&D costs for novel therapeutics, these are 'modality-agnostic' and thus do not elucidate costs specifically for the emerging class of cell and gene therapies. Objectives: The objective of this study was to understand the research and development (R&D) costs associated with the clinical development of new cell and gene therapy assets Methods: As part of our analysis of clinical-stage R&D costs for cell and gene therapies, we focused our efforts on cell and gene therapy assets recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or expected to receive FDA approval by the end of 2024. A total of 25 therapies were identified for the study, 11 of which had sufficient level of detail for our clinical-stage R&D costing study. We calculated the clinical-stage R&D costs to bring a new cell and/or gene therapy to the market following a three-step approach, starting with (1) calculation of the out-of-pocket investment reported in US SEC reports; (2) we adjusted these figures for the risk of failure by applying a clinical trial phase-dependent attrition risk rate; (3) we accounted for the cost of capital of 10.5%. Results: After accounting for R&D attrition rate (i.e., costs of failed programs) and applying a cost of capital at 10.5%, we estimate that the clinical-stage R&D investment required to bring a new cell and/or gene therapy to market is US$1943 M (95% CI US$1395 M, US$2490 M). Conclusion: This knowledge can inform financial planning for biopharma companies looking to enter the space and inform policy makers within the context of the commercialization and pricing of such therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romania's actual accounting system is used since 1994 and is made up of two major categories, namely financial and management accounting. Both of these are regulated by the Accounting Law no. 82/1991 and Regulation no. 704/1993. Financial accounting, also named general accounting, is mandatory for all patrimonial units and involves the collection of all company transactions, as well as their transformation into accounting information. The goal is to synthesize data and create annual financial statements. On the other hand, management accounting is the second section of the accounting system and is not mandatory. This one is developed by each enterprise in accordance with its specifics and needs. Calculating costs is one of the main objectives of management accounting. It is followed by the synthetization of the results, establishment of the products and services profitability, as well as by the making of income and expenditure budgets according to the types of activities. Finally, their execution control and data transmittance in order to establish decisions regarding unit management are developed. Cost accounting or analytical accounting is a way to establish an information system through which the costs of the products are known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on collaborative manufacturing process modelling and simulation is of great significance in improving production efficiency and product quality, reducing costs, promoting collaborative work, and supporting decision-making. However, current studies have not offered the optimal costs of node enterprises participating in collaborative manufacturing, and ignored the impact of demand uncertainty of suppliers, manufacturers and customers on costs and economic benefits. Therefore, this paper aimed to study the collaborative manufacturing process modelling and simulation of production cost and economic benefit accounting analysis. First, this paper summarized three cost types, conducted cost accounting for the collaborative manufacturing process, and analysed its economic benefits. Second, based on the basic timed automata (TA) model, this paper used a timed input/output automata with port labels (Lp-TIOA) for modelling test cases of the simulation system. Finally, the experimental results verified the effectiveness of the constructed simulation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A transformation of food systems is needed to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals specified in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Recognizing the true costs and benefits of food production and consumption can help guide public policy decisions to effectively transform food systems in support of sustainable healthy diets. A new, expanded framework is presented that allows the quantification of costs and benefits in three domains: health, environmental, and social. The implications for policy makers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazilian energy grid is considered as one of the cleanest in the world, because it is composed of more than 80% of renewable energy sources. This work aimed to apply the levelized costs (LCOH) and environmental cost accounting techniques to demonstrate the feasibility of producing hydrogen (H2) by alkaline electrolysis powered by the Brazilian energy grid. A project of hydrogen production, with a lifetime of 20 years, had been evaluated by economical and sensitivity analysis. The production capacity (8.89 to 46.67 kg H2/h), production volume (25 to 100%), hydrogen sale price (1 to 5 USD/kg H2) and the MAR rate were varied. Results showed that at 2 USD/kg H2, all H2 production plant sizes are economically viable. On this condition, a payback of fewer than 4 years, an IRR greater than 31, a break-even point between 56 and 68% of the production volume and a ROI above 400% were found. The sensitivity analysis showed that the best economic condition was found at 35.56 kg H2/h of the plant size, which generated a net present value of USD 10.4 million. The cost of hydrogen varied between 1.26 and 1.64 USD/kg and a LCOH of 37.76 to 48.71 USD/MWh. LCA analysis showed that the hydrogen production project mitigated from 26 to 131 thousand tons of CO2, under the conditions studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to determine the applicability of Resource Consumption Accounting (RCA) method, a modern cost and decision-making method, in the service business and to compare the results obtained by RCA and the traditional method. In this context, the RCA method is applied by using the case study method in a private educational institution, which is a service business. The results show that RCA method is applicable in a private educational institution, correctly determines the unit student costs by calculating the unused capacity costs and has many advantages over the traditional method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing crude oil quality affects the refinery capacity, quality for downstream units, and overall economics. The thermoeconomic model of a refinery can show that the effects of faults generally propagate through the whole process and affect the behavior of several components, resulting in induced malfunction in typical components. This study aims to estimate the primary source of inefficiency and, therefore, the main reason for the increase in irreversibility and entering feed into the refinery due to changes in some operating conditions. Operating conditions in 2013 and 2023 are defined as base mode and operating mode, respectively. The results of exergy cost analysis show that Liquefied Petroleum Gases (LPG) unit and H2S removal unit have the greatest impact on reducing the overall performance of the refinery in 2023, while this unit is one of the units with the least exergy destruction in the base year. The share of the environment and fuel oil unit, LPG unit, H2S removal unit, and kerosene treating unit in increasing the irreversibility of the utility unit is 4,898.18, 1200.67, 935.15, 642.73, and 624.45 GJ/day, respectively. The share of the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) in the reduction of the irreversibility of the utility unit is 7,316.67. The results show that the total resource consumption has increased by 168 MJ/day. Therefore, in order to reduce resource consumption in 2030 (operational mode), the impact of LPG and H2S removal units on utility irreversibility should be controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The price of the product has a great impact on the market competitiveness of the product. The manager can adjust the operation strategy according to the cost information of the product, cut costs, adjust the market decision and make the product more competitive in the market. Therefore, the research of product costing method has a very important significance. Considering that the physical resources in the processing of the virtual network mapping (VNM) fragment embedded in the request are rejected, and the problem of physical resource usage is weakened, a VNM algorithm based on the optimal subnet edge matching algorithm is proposed. After the VNM request is coarsened to the subnet, the breadth-first search algorithm is used to create the physical subnet candidate set, and the constraints of the virtual node and the coarsening network topology are complied with. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm reduces the number of link mapping hops and can improve the acceptance rate and cost-benefit ratio of virtual networks. First of all, this paper analyzes the research background of manufacturing cost calculation and the research situation at home and abroad, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of standard cost calculation and studies and analyzes the principles, advantages and disadvantages of standard cost calculation in daily business activities. Second, design a new mathematical accounting model based on the mathematical model of standard cost calculation in daily business activities. This combines the advantages of standard costing and time-based activity costing, and provides theoretical support for manufacturing companies to use this accounting method. Finally, the research results of this paper are summarized, and the shortcomings of this paper are analyzed. Cost accounting method needs to be further studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transformation toward carbon neutrality is crucial, especially within the building industry, which is a significant carbon source. Building carbon accounting is fundamental to enable designers to undertake decarbonisation efforts, yet it remains a less mature field. This paper aims to assess carbon emissions and conduct cost accounting for a shared building using life cycle assessment (LCA) method. Beyond this, this paper also focuses on cost accounting associated with decarbonising efforts. The primary objective is to uncover the sustainability characteristics of shared buildings and establish a foundation for future decarbonisation decision-making. To achieve these goals, this paper first analyses various LCA techniques. Second, the carbon cost accounting model and method are discussed in aspects of five stages across the building life cycle. Third, the carbon emissions and cost accounting of an actual project involving an intelligently designed shared building are examined. The results reveal important insights. The intelligent design stage exhibits the lowest carbon emission, constituting a mere 0.002% of the total, whereas the use and maintenance stage shows the highest carbon emission, representing approximately 65.45% in proportion. In addition, the demolition and disposal stage demonstrates negative emissions (~7.1% of the total), indicating its contribution to decarbonisation. On the decarbonisation costs, material production and transportation contribute the largest proportion, ~67.38%, with the greatest potential for decarbonisation optimization. Overall, this paper provides essential insights into building carbon emission assessment in different stages, offering valuable guidance for architects, designers and engineering to optimise decarbonisation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) has enabled the Government of India to become a strategic purchaser of health care services from private providers. To generate base cost evidence for evidence-based policymaking the Costing of Health Services in India (CHSI) study was commissioned in 2018 for the price setting of health benefit packages. This paper reports the findings of a process evaluation of the cost data collection in the private hospitals. Methods: The process evaluation of health system costing in private hospitals was an exploratory survey with mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative). We used three approaches–an online survey using a semi-structured questionnaire, in-depth interviews, and a review of monitoring data. The process of data collection was assessed in terms of time taken for different aspects, resources used, level and nature of difficulty encountered, challenges and solutions. Results: The mean time taken for data collection in a private hospital was 9.31 (± 1.0) person months including time for obtaining permissions, actual data collection and entry, and addressing queries for data completeness and quality. The longest time was taken to collect data on human resources (30%), while it took the least time for collecting information on building and space (5%). On a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) difficulty levels, the data on human resources was the most difficult to collect. This included data on salaries (8), time allocation (5.5) and leaves (5). Discussion: Cost data from private hospitals is crucial for mixed health systems. Developing formal mechanisms of cost accounting data and data sharing as pre-requisites for empanelment under a national insurance scheme can significantly ease the process of cost data collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzed as implicit assertions about moral values, the 2022 revelations of systemic disinvestment in Jackson's public water system and the state's theft of federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families both represent the larger violence of systematic resource extraction and wealth hoarding that generalizes to the nation the political economy of the plantation. Under the allegedly scientific and value-free rubric of "economics," moral values are asserted every time a budget is proposed, a bank charter is issued, a mortgage is written, or a ledger is balanced. Questions of distribution, extraction, care, labor, production, reciprocity, and subsistence rest upon inescapably moral assumptions: what is fair, who owns, who owes, who makes, who takes, what is work, and what—who—is property. Just as inescapably, the norms that compete to govern moral life require particular orderings of economic resources and obligations. A "fully loaded cost accounting," in historian Nell Irvin Painter's words, must be demanded of economic assumptions that deny their cruelly punitive model of the market as a perfect moral sorting device—and devil take the hindermost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from resource drain theory, this article intends to investigate how and when leader family-to-work conflict (FWC) influences team innovation. We conduct two studies to test our model. In Study 1, we collect cross-sectional data from 107 research and development (R&D) team leaders from an electronic information company in China. In Study 2, we collect multisource and time-lagged data from 112 R&D team leaders and 371 members of a biopharmaceutical firm in China. Our research findings showed that leader FWC negatively affects team innovation via leader creative process engagement. Leader perceived organizational support (POS) alleviates the negative effect of leader FWC on leader creative process engagement. Leader POS also weakens the negative effect of leader FWC on team innovation via leader creative process engagement. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these results for team innovation, FWC, and POS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the rising environmental protection awareness and the importance of green product design, in this article we develop two models to investigate the quality and greenness decisions and product line choices of a green manufacturer as well as the corresponding impact of product line length on environmental performance. In our models, both the manufacturer and consumers show environmental responsibility behaviors. We find that the manufacturer extends the product line when the unit fit cost, the green cost, the quality cost, the market scale of low-segment consumers, and the environmental responsibility level (or unit environmental cost) are low. In the presence of two products with different market positioning, our analysis reveals that: first, owing to the consumer's self-selection behavior, product quality and greenness may be distorted from the efficient quality and greenness; second, product line extension may improve both the environmental performance and the manufacturer's utility, i.e., achieving a win–win outcome; and third, a higher unit environmental cost (environmental responsibility level or a longer product line) will improve the environmental performance if the unit environmental cost is high. In the continuous green valuation setting, interestingly, we find different results that the manufacturer with a high environmental responsibility level may extend its product line, and the environmental performance increases with the unit environmental cost in the single-product case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this study is to propose a method through which student cost is measured at Prince Sattam bin Abdualzizi University (PSAU). Cost accounting practices were used to measure, analyze, and report financial information related to the costs of using resources at PSAU. The framework of cost accounting system is used to estimate the cost of student at PSAU. In specific, the cost of student can be calculated in three levels, namely; the university, the college and the department levels. In more details, the cost of student at PSAU can be classified based on the type of college which include: scientific colleges, healthcolleges, human colleges, and community colleges. The outcomes of this study are important in determining the budget allocations for educational institutions and the method of their implementation in order to rationalize the use of the available resources in an optimal way. Further, the use of cost information gives ability and flexibility in planning and controlling the activity of educational institutions and achieving the greatest benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to achieve cost minimization by determining service costs accurately with target costing method in accommodation enterprises and thus to support their decision-making process. For this purpose, a target costing model is developed by compiling the financial data of a 5-star accommodation enterprise in Alanya for July 2019. The findings indicate that for the accommodation enterprise to reach the targeted profit with the target cost determined for July 2020, it is necessary to reduce the cost by 5% in service parts with a cost index below one, and suggestions are made to achieve this target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coverage is a key indicator for verification progress, verification closure, and verification sign-off in an integrated circuit design. The notion of coverage management, namely, the use of coverage information across the design hierarchy to identify verification loopholes, is well understood in the digital context, but requires considerable disambiguation in the analog/mixed-signal (AMS) context. This article develops the core artifacts of AMS coverage and presents a comprehensive coverage management approach based on our tool, CoveRT. Our results, gleaned from live industrial designs, demonstrate the benefits of AMS coverage management across the design hierarchy, both in terms of identifying verification gaps, as well as in finding design bugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, concerning cost structures and innovation in monopoly and the resulting welfare, has counter-intuitive results. We consider linear demand and two cases of cost structures namely constant marginal cost (henceforth CMC) and increasing marginal cost (henceforth IMC) in monopoly, and show that innovation is rewarding in both situations. From the regulator's perspective, in absence of any innovation or in case of equal innovation in both cases, a monopolist with an IMC may be preferred as against the one with a CMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agroecosystems provide numerous ecosystem services (ESs) such as provisioning, regulating, habitat and cultural services. At the same time, the management of these agroecosystems can cause various negative impacts on the environment such as the generation of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the way humans manage agroecosystems often focuses only on the production of agricultural goods, which yield monetary benefits in the short term but do not include the positive and negative external effects on ESs. In order to enable a holistic assessment of the economic and environmental costs and benefits, the current study combines the production costs, the monetary value of the ESs provided and the monetization of the environmental impacts caused by the management of agroecosystems using the perennial crop miscanthus as an example. Depending on the scenario assessed, the cultivation of miscanthus leads to a net benefit of 140 to 3051 EUR ha−1 yr−1. The monetary value of the ESs provided by the miscanthus cultivation thereby considerably outweighs the internal and external costs. The approach applied allows for a holistic assessment of the benefits and costs of agroecosystems and thus enables management decisions that are not only based on the biomass yield but include the various interactions with the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

目的探索分项点数成本法在医疗服务项目中核算的运用, 为医院管理提供帮助。方法通过访谈调研收集 某医院2019年所有医疗服务项目的相关资源信息, 运用分项点数成本法结合科室成本核算数据以跟腱斷裂修补 术为例测算项目成本。结果跟腱断裂修补术项目平均成本为1 301.74元。结论分项点数咸本法适用于医疗服务 项目成本核算, 能提供可靠的成本信息, 从而推动医疗服务项目合理定价, 顺应医疗保险按病种付费改革的趋势. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spectrum usage often comes in an online fashion. Considering the selfish behaviors of both primary users(PUs) and sencond users(SUs), we design online double spectrum allocation methods. We propose a truthful online double auction for spectrum allocation. Preempting existing spectrum usage is not allowed. We design a strategyproof mechanism for both the primary user side and the SU side. In previous studies, users who do not interfere with each other have not been reasonably allocated to use channels. There is one and only one user on the used spectrum channel at a certain time, which will result in discarding many user requests. Our model allows multiple users to use a spectrum channel at the same time. Aiming at the shortcomings of previous research, we propose the concept of grouping for online auctions, so that all SUs that do not interfere with each other can use spectrum channels at the same time. This will greatly increase the number of users who use the spectrum at the same time. We thus increase the utilization rate of the user market, and a large number of users will not be idle and abandoned.In the design of our experiments, the grouping model proposed in this paper has obtained at least $43{\%}$ utilization rate on the set channel, and our experiments have obtained good generality for different interference radius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different plasticizers have obvious differences in plasticizing properties. As one of the important indicators for evaluating plasticization performance, the substitution factor (SF) has great significance for product cost accounting. In this research, a genetic algorithm with "variable mutation probability" was developed to screen the key molecular descriptors of plasticizers that are highly correlated with the SF, and a SF prediction model was established based on these filtered molecular descriptors. The results show that the improved genetic algorithm greatly improved the prediction accuracy in different regression models. The coefficient of determination (R2) for the test set and the cross-validation both reached 0.92, which is at least 0.15 higher than the R2 of the unimproved genetic algorithm. From the results of the selected descriptors, most of the descriptors focused on describing the branching of the molecule, which is consistent with the view that the branching chain plays an important role in the plasticization process. As the first study to establish the relationship between plasticizer SF and plasticizer molecular structure, this work provides a basis for subsequent plasticizer performance and evaluation system modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the time of data blast and the ascent of the Web, the dramatic development of information and the data needs of small- and medium-sized endeavors affect the customary expense of the executives. Instructions to all the more likely mine viable data in information to give effective ways and technique merits considering. As the center innovation of handling enormous information, information mining can deal with a lot of mind-boggling information effectively. Accordingly, this paper talks about the cycle and technique for applying information mining at the expense of the executives of small- and medium-sized endeavors, to work on the seriousness of small- and medium-sized undertakings. This examination depends on the exploration and examination of the monetary information of small- and medium-sized ventures, joined with information mining innovation, extricates and uses the immense monetary information produced in the day-to-day administration cycle of the monetary division of the small- and medium-sized undertakings, plans and executes an information mining-based monetary information examination of small- and medium-sized endeavors framework. Joined with programming plan thoughts, through fundamental interest exploration and examination and many benefits of the ongoing B/S design, it was chosen to utilize the Java programming language, MyEclipse11 programming apparatus, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 data set administration instrument, J2EE advancement stage, and the exemplary Apriori in information mining. Mining techniques, for example, affiliation rules, bunching calculations, and choice tree calculations, have completely dissected the monetary information of small- and medium-sized undertakings, naturally and dependably give monetary administration branches of small- and medium-sized endeavors and ranking directors of small- and medium-sized ventures with helpful monetary data, and can help small- and medium-sized endeavors. Business pioneers pursue speedy choices. The planned and executed monetary examination framework in light of information mining incorporates the fundamental elements of SME monetary administration, resource stock administration, resource designation of the board, resource deterioration and discount, resource information upkeep of the executives, and so on. Small- and medium-sized undertakings' monetary administration framework is a mix of information mining innovation, programming innovation, and small- and medium-sized monetary administration. The effective, solid, and helpful way has further developed the center seriousness of small- and medium-sized undertakings partially and accomplished a definitive objective of the framework plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) was developed by a German textile company in late 1980s through their projects for environmental management. The major objectives of MFCA are to increase transparency of material flow and energy usage along with their environmental and financial impacts. MFCA traces a variety of measures from material productivity metrics to crucial environmental indexes. Most of the existing researches on MFCA focus on conceptual models. A major research gap is the lack of mathematical optimization models which use the MFCA logic to support managerial decisions. This is the first known study in which a comprehensive mathematical optimization model has been developed based on MFCA cost logic, i.e., positive and negative costs. The model is named MFCABOM (MFCA-Based Optimization Model) in this paper. In addition, we have incorporated the quality cost of raw materials into the MFCABOM. The MFCABOM determines the optimal quality level of raw materials in a production system with rework. A numerical example has been solved and discussed to assess the performance and validity of the MFCABOM. The results show that the MFCABOM can strongly support production managers in selecting the optimal quality level of raw materials based on MFCA cost logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of the economy, the challenges faced by enterprises are becoming more and more severe. In order to enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises themselves, enterprises pay more and more attention to accounting cost accounting. However, for a long time, enterprises have been using traditional accounting costing methods, which greatly hampered the development of enterprises. The Fourier transform (FT) algorithm is a commonly used information transformation method, which can simplify the complex cost accounting process. Based on this, this paper proposes a centralized cost accounting method for enterprise accounting based on FT algorithm, aiming to fundamentally change the traditional cost accounting thought. The article first analyzes and summarizes the general characteristics of cost accounting methods. Then, starting from the cost centralized accounting method, the paper optimizes the traditional cost accounting formula by using the FT algorithm and proposes a new accounting cost-centralized accounting formula based on the FT algorithm. Finally, starting from the reality and taking W company as the research object, the article focuses on analyzing the application of the centralized accounting method of accounting cost relying on the FT algorithm in the production and operation activities of the actual enterprise. After a series of experiments and analysis, we found that the centralized cost accounting method of enterprise accounting based on FT algorithm has a very high degree of fit with the actual situation, and the accuracy of cost accounting is as high as 70.01%. Moreover, in the process of enterprise cost analysis, the quality of accounting information of enterprises has been comprehensively improved by 31.9%. This fully shows that the centralized accounting method of enterprise accounting cost based on the FT algorithm can bring certain economic benefits to the enterprise and optimize the internal resource allocation of the enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problems of high error rate and long time of traditional environmental pollution control cost accounting algorithm, a cost accounting algorithm of environmental pollution control based on discrete probability was designed. Firstly, the cost of environmental pollution is classified and the monetization function of environmental pollution cost is constructed. Then, the cost accounting index system of environmental pollution control is established, and the cost function of environmental pollution control is constructed. Finally, a discrete probability model is used to optimize the cost function, and the optimized cost function is used to design the environmental pollution control cost accounting algorithm. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can quickly converge to the optimum within 70 iterations, the accounting error rate is between -0.2% and 1.3%, and the accounting time is always less than 0.4 s. It has good convergence and can accurately calculate the cost of ecological environmental pollution control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the effect of engineering cost accounting, this paper applies the Internet of Things technology to the engineering cost accounting system, and combines the chaotic data processing method with the Internet of Things technology. Moreover, this paper uses the Internet of Things technology to construct the engineering cost accounting system, uses the Internet of Things technology to collect various data in the real-time process of the project, and builds the engineering cost accounting system based on the actual situation. In addition, this paper combines improved intelligent algorithms to improve system performance to enable the system to collect data, manage data, process data, transmit data, and output data. It can be seen from the research results that the project cost evaluation system constructed in this paper is rated above good, which is higher than the existing project cost evaluation methods. The experimental research shows that the project cost accounting system based on the Internet of Things technology proposed in this paper has a good engineering data processing effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EMC (economic management cost) of the government has become a hot topic of concern from all walks of life. Controlling and reducing government EMC is the requirement for building a conservation-oriented society and deepening the reform of public budget. Dynamic cost accounting calculates the cost of cost objects through the confirmation, measurement, and distribution of production costs. In this article, it is innovatively proposed to integrate BSC (balanced score card) into EMC control, and analyze the logical relationship between system objectives and functions by using the mathematical model. Based on GA (genetic algorithm) cost optimization control concept and specific control ideas, individuals who meet the evolutionary characteristics are stored in the crossover database and participate in crossover operation as parents when crossing. In order to improve the local optimization ability of the algorithm, parallel mutation operation mechanism is introduced, which can execute multiple mutation rules at the same time. The results show that the average convergence time of this algorithm is 0.186s and the variance of population fitness is 288.19. The conclusion shows that the algorithm proposed in this article can overcome the problems of slow convergence speed, low accuracy, and local convergence of GA, and effectively improve the overall performance of the algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoration programs that can deliver implementation outcomes across large-scales are critical to achieving global conservation targets such as Target 2 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Yet, limited funding poses a strong barrier to the achievement of these ambitious goals, suggesting the adoption of emerging technologies capable of delivering cost-effective solutions to restoration at scale may be required. To date, there has been limited reporting of restoration implementation costs at scales that are meaningful for decision making, hindering the capacity for evidence-based comparisons of existing and emerging restoration methods. Here, we demonstrate the application of a detailed framework that addresses the shortcomings of previous frameworks by matching the costs of conservation actions to their outcomes across multiple scales. We estimate the financial costs of two planting methods from the perspective of a restoration practitioner comparing an established method (tubestock planting) to an emerging method (drone seeding: seed pelleting and delivery via drones), across five spatial scales (1, 10, 100, 500, and 1000 ha). Using data from a hypothetical case-study, we show that both methods exhibit economies of scale (decrease in the cost per hectare to action with increase in scale); however, the economies of scale were greater for drone seeding. Our framework allows for transparent cost accounting of project implementation to guide practitioners and policy makers when budgeting and reporting costs for future projects. Users of this framework can also explore if and how context influences the costs of restoration to maximise the delivery of cost-efficient restoration at scale. • Financial costs pose a barrier to the achievement of global targets for restoration. • Uptake of emerging technologies may be required to undertake restoration at scale. • Case-based comparisons of costs across are required though rarely reported. • We exhibit and test a framework to track restoration costs across context and scale. • We use this to compare costs of an existing to emerging method across five scales. • We show that emerging technologies can cost-effectively deliver restoration at scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to underground infrastructure and earthworks, the excavated soil and rock (ESR) emerges as the primary construction and demolition (C&D) waste stream in numerous urban areas. The transportation and disposal of ESR entail substantial costs and adverse environmental impacts, necessitating optimized management approaches. However, the environmental and economic evaluation of various ESR disposal methods remains insufficiently explored. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of a city-scale ESR management system through a case study in Shenzhen. This rapidly expanding megacity generated an annual average of 77 million m3 of ESR. We dynamically evaluate the sustainability of ESR management by harnessing a synergistic methodology that integrates material flow cost accounting (MFCA) with life cycle thinking. The findings reveal that cross-regional transportation emerges as the prioritized ESR disposal method, accounting for 72 ± 2% of the total ESR treatment, resulting in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 584 ± 35 kt CO 2 eq. and economic costs of 8358 ± 64 million USD per year. Scenario analysis reveals that sound recycling routes, accompanied by policy support, can yield environmental and economic benefits by reducing GHG emissions by 574 ± 55 kt CO 2 eq. and generating net profits of 248 ± 15million USD per year in the coming decade. This study exemplifies the complementary methodologies supporting sustainable ESR management in Shenzhen while offering valuable insights for other cities in China and beyond. • MFCA and life cycle thinking methods were integrated to examine ESR management. • The ESR treatment flows and their ecological and economic impacts were assessed. • Scenario analysis was conducted to evaluate the future ESR management plans. • ESR recycling consistently yields optimal environmental and economic advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A DNN-based cost prediction method is proposed for the difficult problem of cost calculation in engineering cost accounting, combined with deep neural networks. Firstly, we introduce the basic information of artificial neural network and select the DNN structure to calculate the engineering cost price according to the characteristics of the data related to engineering cost price. Secondly, the DNN-based engineering cost price prediction model is constructed, and the two types of index systems, engineering characteristics and list item characteristics, are used as model inputs. In addition, the total quotation and each subitem engineering quotation and tax are used as model outputs by analyzing previous relevant studies. Based on this, simulation experiments are conducted on the DNN-based engineering cost price prediction model, and it is concluded from the training model that the DNN model has a better prediction effect. Among them, the relative error of total price forecast by DNN is 4.203%, and the relative error of integrated unit prices V1 and V2 is 2.98% and 4.52%, respectively, with small relative error. Finally, by reasonably adjusting the integrated unit price, the cost price of the integrated unit price and the cost price of the total offer can be calculated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main difference between rough set theory and some methods of uncertainty theory, such as probabilistic data mining, fuzzy set theory, and evidence-based data mining, is that they do not require any prior knowledge beyond the data set being processed. This is also its advantage. At present, rough set theory has been well applied in artificial intelligence, knowledge discovery, pattern recognition, fault detection, and so on. According to the discovery model of classification knowledge, the attribute reduction of decision table, classification rule reduction, and classification algorithm under the condition of missing attribute are discussed. It tests the effectiveness of the knowledge recognition algorithm. The effectiveness of the algorithm proposed in this article reaches 87.6%, 84.4%, 94.97%, and 96.34%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A costing system can demonstrate how investments are applied and it also guarantees the management improvement. For this reason, the adoption of a costing system should not be exclusive to private organizations, considering that the use of this method by public corporations is relevant. In this context, the application of a costing system is fundamental to support decision making. Therefore, this article aims to propose the adoption of a costing method for a technical education institute, in order to determine the monthly cost of a student per course during five months of 2019. Hence, the method called Absorption Costing with Departmentalization was used, and the necessary information to apply this method was collected from finantial systems of the institute and government. Concerning the methodology, this work is characterized as an applied research with a combined approach. It consists on a qualitative-quantitative method with an exploratory objective by using a case study method. As a result, it was possible to obtain the unit cost of the student per course per month, illustrating the costing method applicability in the context of this study. Additionally, it allows a greater transparency in the application of public resources. In conclusion, it was observed that, although the agency did not adopt a costing system, the managerial actions adopted in the considered months of 2019 had little impact on costs, since the unit cost suffered little fluctuation in the analyzed periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the subdisciplines of engineering, environmental engineering is distinctive in three aspects. First, descriptions of the profession of environmental engineering emphasize that environmental engineers solve problems to prevent harm, which typically is an important motivation for taking a job in care work. Second, the percentage of degrees awarded to women is highest for environmental among all subdisciplines of engineering (i.e., 53.3% of bachelor's degrees, 46.3% of master's degrees, and 43.6% of doctoral degrees in environmental engineering conferred in 2020 were awarded to women). Third, median salaries for environmental engineers–controlling for other variables–are lowest among engineering subdisciplines (i.e., $82,036 per year in 2019), despite high levels of educational attainment and training. Our analysis of environmental engineers working in the United States strongly suggests that the profession of environmental engineering is highly susceptible to what is known as the care penalty. The care penalty is a function of market dynamics, which tend to undervalue work that generates substantial unpriced benefits for others. The care penalty often is observed in jobs characterized by high levels of intrinsic motivation, such as concern for human welfare. Additional data would be useful to further evaluate the care penalty in environmental engineering in other countries. To address the care penalty, we do not suggest that environmental engineers should become less caring. Rather environmental engineers should be aware of this potential economic risk and seek to mitigate the care penalty in two specific ways. First environmental engineers should encourage life-cycle principles and environmental full-cost accounting in order to increase fungibility among different measures of the components of the triple bottom line of people (i.e., human welfare), planet (i.e., planetary health), and prosperity (i.e., financial gain). Second, environmental engineers should clearly demonstrate the unique contributions that technically skilled commitments to human welfare can generate. We suggest that a greater awareness of these issues could build on and strengthen growing public concerns regarding environmental sustainability. Finally, we suggest that distinctive attributes of environmental engineering may prove critical to unlocking growth in the engineering workforce as care for human welfare and planetary health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of science and technology, we have completely entered the information age. The amount of data around us increases linearly, and everyone lives in a pile of data. Enterprises also need to use big data technology in the process of operation and management to mine data and realize various data management functions. For the current enterprise, the operation of data will not only affect the management cost of the enterprise but also affect the future development of the enterprise. Based on the problem of enterprise management cost, this paper proposes to effectively use big data technology to solve the problem of enterprise cost management. The article also uses big data technology to optimize the management cost of the enterprise and uses big data technology to innovate and apply the management method of the enterprise. This paper constructs a cost management model based on data mining and expounds on the objects, sources, and calculation methods of data mining. Under this model, the company's data was mined, a specific plan was proposed, and an improved association algorithm was proposed to test the completion and consolidation of tasks. In the case of a large number of tasks, in order to efficiently realize the selection and merging of data, this paper proposes a new cost forecasting scheme based on a fuzzy model. Use time series for cost forecasting, and the accuracy is relatively high. In the process of forecasting, our forecasting method is suitable for the human reasoning process and can have better adaptability. Finally, we applied the research results of the thesis to actual business management to meet the management needs of the business, thus verifying the feasibility of the method proposed in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental problems have become a major factor affecting the world's economic development. In order to reduce environmental pollution and improve environmental quality. This paper takes Guangdong Province as the research object, adopts the basic principles of human capital method and medical cost usage environmental pollution loss cost, incorporates environmental factors into the national economic accounting system, establishes the green GDP cost accounting method, and develops the environmental pollution economic loss accounting index; it adopts the environmental pollution economic loss accounting method, counts the number of affected objects within the scope of environmental pollution, so as to establish a comprehensive environmental economic accounting system, incorporating environmental factors into the economic system; the economic losses calculated in accordance with the established environmental pollution accounting procedures, converting tangible losses into monetary losses and counting the environmental pollution costs caused by the economy of Guangdong Province, analyzing the root causes of the deficiencies and problems in environmental damage cost control in Guangdong Province, and proposing methods to effectively control the costs of air, water, solid waste, and polluted environment. The results of the study provide a new direction and basis for future industrial pollution control in Guangdong Province and take into account both social and economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a dynamic valuation framework to determine the opportunity value of battery capacity degradation in grid applications based on the internal degradation mechanism and utilization scenarios. The proposed framework follows a dynamic programming approach and includes a piecewise linear value function approximation solution that solves the optimization problem over a long planning horizon. The paper provides two case studies on price arbitrage and frequency regulation using real market and system data to demonstrate the broad applicability of the proposed framework. Results show that the battery lifetime value is critically dependent on both the external market environment and its internal state of health. On the grid service side, results show that second-life batteries can provide more than 50% of the value compared to new batteries, and frequency regulation provides two times more revenue than price arbitrage throughout the battery lifetime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Because of the education sector's evolution, accounting initiatives are required regarding competitiveness. Activity-based costing's (ABC) neglected potential as a cost strategic tool initiated this research, which aims to identify administrative and operational factors that support or hinder its implementation in educational institutions as a predictor of competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical model was proposed and tested through structural equation modeling to identify relationships between accounting departments, cost procedures, the transmissibility of information and competitiveness. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, a scale of items was derived, denoting an institute's cost strategy and ABC implementations and returned from 417 Greek education institutes. Findings: An accounting department's role in accurate data transmissibility and an institution's organizational structure significantly affect cost-related competitiveness. The importance of information sharing is strengthened by current cost allocation capabilities and the accounting department's influence on management. Research limitations/implications: ABC's limited implementation in the Greek education sector complicated the theoretical model's construction, as a variety of geographical and institutional factors were taken into consideration. Practical implications: Customer value provides a competitive advantage and constitutes the basis of solid price strategies. Research demonstrates ABC's importance for education institutions' competitiveness and resource exploitation. Social implications: Education's commercialization urges costing strategy prioritization. ABC could benefit competitiveness and attract long-term funds and investments. To create value institutions, the allocation of incurred costs to added-value activities is crucial. Originality/value: This study sheds light on vague issues institutions face when dealing with ABC. Understanding accounting departments' influence shows ABC's feasibility even for smaller or less efficiency-oriented education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Credit purchasing has seen dramatic growth recently, requiring retailers to adapt their operations in response to an online platform’s strategic credit offering. This article presents a model for exploring the platform’s strategy for offering credit and the retailer’s response, considering consumer spillover, that is, how much the benefit of credit outweighs the drawbacks. The consumers differ in their disposable personal incomes and valuations for the product, and they may perceive a spillover from the credit. We study an integrated system, where the platform acts as a retailer and determines the credit-offering strategy and the price simultaneously. We find that the platform will offer credit only when the spillover is above a given negative threshold, and will charge an interest rate for credit only when the spillover is positive. In addition, the price exhibits a nonmonotonic change with the credit spillover, but the demand remains unchanged at a high level. We then extend the analysis to an independent system, where the retailer sells through the platform. We find that the revenue-sharing percentage the retailer pays is critical for the platform to optimize its credit strategy. Specifically, the platform will never offer interest-free credit when the percentage is low, but in other cases may do so and the credit offering does not harm the retailer’s profit. Interestingly, when the spillover is moderate, the demand may decrease instead of increase, indicating a deviation from the presumed intention of offering credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]