The chronic and relapsing nature of substance abuse points to the need for continuing care after a primary phase of treatment. This article reviews the economic studies of continuing care, discusses research gaps, highlights some of the challenges of conducting rigorous economic evaluations of continuing care, and offers research guidelines and…

In the current context of accountability, analysis of early intervention program costs can help decision makers allocate resources. This paper describes a cost analysis approach, known as the ingredient method, and demonstrates its applicability for evaluating the costs of a universal home visiting program designed to reduce child abuse and…

For libraries to use their limited resources in the most efficient manner, decision rules should be utilized to permit library resources to be directed toward those activities which yield the highest returns. 8 references. (AB)

These self-instructional resources have their origins in a workshop on the Costs and Financing of Open & Distance Learning which took place from 6-10 August 2007 in Gabarone, Botswana. The workshop was sponsored by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) with the overall aim of building capacity to plan, negotiate and manage appropriate financial…

This paper presents the activities of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) for 2009. The past year was one of accomplishment for USAC. USAC implemented a host of advances in operations, infrastructure, and outreach in an effort to continue to improve collection and disbursement of the Universal Service Fund (USF) support and to…

The goals and procedures of front-end analysis are described and a number of examples are cited. (Author)

This document presents an application of cost-benefit analysis to a hypothetical university parking problem. After discussing cost-benefit analysis in general, the document applies this technique to hypothetical data in light of a checklist for general cost-benefit procedure. The checklist includes the following steps: (1) examine and quantify…

This report was a part of the Human Effectiveness Function Allocation Methodology (HEFAM) project, which is attempting to develop a workable cost-effectiveness methodology for man-machine function allocation. Researchers reviewed the cost-effectiveness and function allocation literature, and interviewed engineers, data analysts, programers,…

Discusses methods of allocating an educational budget. Alternative avenues of expenditure on post secondary education are treated as investment projects and their benefit-cost ratios are compared. (Author)

In the UK, education is the third largest area of government spending (of which school spending has the largest share). Since 2000, school expenditure has increased by about 40 per cent in real terms for both primary and secondary schools (see Figure 1). The question as to whether such investment is worthwhile is of central importance. The…

Distance educators find themselves in a growth segment of the education industry. Distance educators must understand why the industry is growing. This growth presents a number of challenges. Four contributing factors are: (1) changes in educational delivery and regulations; (2) changes in technology; (3) changes in society; and (4) environmental…

A complete, detailed cost-effectiveness analysis of the Mexican Telesecundaria. (HB)

Paper examines in general terms the characteristics of university inputs and outputs, brings to light some of the special features of an education "production process," and examines the role of educational technology. (Author)

It is the responsibility of an inhouse film group to ensure that communication is maximized while holding expenses to a minimum. Many productions spend more than is necessary to effectively convey a message by employing: (1) overwritten scripts; (2) complex structure; (3) costly talent, sets, locales, special effects, and musical scores. The…

Although some serious limitations in the cost analysis technique do exist, the need for cost data in decision making is so great that every effort should be made to obtain accurate estimates. This paper discusses the several issues which arise when an attempt is made to make quality, trade-off, or scope decisions based on cost data. Three methods…