Sunset Company: Risk Analysis For Capital Budgeting Using Simulation And Binary Linear Programming

The Sunset Company case illustrates how the study of linear programming and risk analysis are facilitated with popular spreadsheets and their simulation add-ins.  From new products having a singular expected value for NPV, binary linear programming (BLP) optimally selects the combination of products that maximizes total NPV given capital constraints.  Yet, when probability distributions are used to model risk of the products, an optimized simulation finds a different set of products for a risk adverse strategy.  Advances in spreadsheet technology facilitate accounting educators introducing meaningful modeling and risk analysis into the classroom

Amaya Company: Financial Considerations For Product-Mix LP Models

The Amaya Company case illustrates how financial considerations can be added to product-mix linear programming (LP) models to create a more realistic and robust decision aid.  Most managerial/cost accounting or operations management courses introduce product-mix LP models but without financial considerations such as cash flows and its interest expense, debt covenants, or the time value of money.  Hence, the initial product-mix solution may not be acceptable when managers scrutinize its impact for related financial requirements.  Students completing the Amaya Company case add financial considerations to a product-mix LP problem and examine the resulting change from the misleading initial solution

Integrating Operations Management Into Cost Systems: An Accounting Approach To Linear Programming

Managers rely on information from cost accounting systems in building operations management models to support their decision-making.  Yet, the link between accounting and operations management techniques within a business information system can be improved.  Cost accountants provide critical input for decision models, but, they often have difficulty using decision models and relating results back into the cost accounting information system.  The Keano Macadamia Nut Company is a cross-functional exercise which illustrates a cost accounting system providing data for a linear programming problem; the use of linear programming to obtain a solution to a profit maximization problem, and a connection of the model’s optimal solution back into the cost accounting system

Stochastic Risk Analysis Of Budgeted Financial Statements

Stochastic modeling of financial statements facilitates risk analysis by explicitly introducing uncertainty for key input variables.  When input variables are modeled as probability distributions, then Monte Carlo simulation can be performed for the budgeted financial statements.  Critical outputs within the financial statements can be displayed with cumulative graphs that show a range of outcomes with its likelihood of occurrence.  Stochastic modeling techniques are superior to scenario analysis in assessing risk and are another innovative use of technology in support of managerial decision-making.  Students for a cost/managerial accounting course reported a better understanding of risk analysis for accounting relationships, and a greater interest in modeling uncertainty in other financial relationships

Maile-Ann Company: A Matrix Approach To Reciprocated Support Department Cost Allocations

The reciprocal method for allocating support department costs has been shown to be better than the direct and step-down methods.  In addition, a matrix approach for the reciprocal method has been presented often in academic journals.  Yet, the instructional use of spreadsheet matrix functions for reciprocal cost allocations has been limited as many authors continue to present two-department simultaneous equations solved by algebraic substitutions.  The Maile-Ann Company presents an intuitive matrix approach to allocating reciprocated costs of many support departments.  The case converts commonly used algebraic expressions of support department reciprocated costs into an equivalent matrix relationship.  Spreadsheet matrix functions compute each support department’s reciprocated costs and allocate them to user departments

Estimating Costs With Curvilinear Analyses For Learning

Even when the underlying mathematical relationship for the learning curve is a power function, most popular accounting textbooks perform a logarithmic transformation of the learning curve into a linear relationship.  This transformation allows students to perform linear regression techniques; however, accounting students may be left with the misconception that all costs are linear.  With the enhanced capabilities of spreadsheets, accounting students can now easily perform curvilinear analysis on historical learning data and then forecast costs where learning is present.  The Smart Missile Company exercise illustrates this spreadsheet approach to teaching learning curves

Piezoelectric and optical setup to measure an electrical field: Application to the longitudinal near-field generated by a tapered coax

We propose a new setup to measure an electrical field in one direction. This setup is made of a piezoelectric sintered lead zinconate titanate film and an optical interferometric probe. We used this setup to investigate how the shape of the extremity of a coaxial cable influences the longitudinal electrical near-field generated by it. For this application, we designed our setup to have a spatial resolution of 100 um in the direction of the electrical field. Simulations and experiments are presented

Hodgkin Lymphoma at the Paediatric Oncology Unit of Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital, Bamako, Mali: 5-Year Experience

Introduction. The aim of this retrospective, unicentric study over 5 years is to describe the epidemiologic, pathologic, clinic and therapeutic aspects of children treated for Hodgkin lymphoma in our paediatric oncology unit. Patients and Methods. From January 2005 to December 2009, all children under 18 years of age, with Hodgkin lymphoma were included in this study. The treatment protocol was the GFAOP (Groupe Franco—Africain d'Oncologie Pédiatrique) Hodgkin lymphoma treatment protocol. Results. During the study period, 217 cancer cases were diagnosed in our centre. Of these cases, 7 were Hodgkin Lymphoma (LH) (0.04%). The mean age was 11.7 years. The sex-ratio was 6/1. 4% (5/7) of patients were stage IIB and 28.6% (2/7) stage IIIB of Ann-Arbor classification. There were 3 cases (42.8%) of sclero-nodular subtype, 2 cases (28.6%) of lymphocyte-rich classical HL subtype, 1 case (14.3%) of mixed cellularity and 1 case (14.3%) of lymphocyte depleted subtype. With a median followup of 37 months, 5 patients (71.4%) are alive, and 2 patients (28.6%) died. Conclusion. Broader multicentric studies are needed for more accurate data on this malignancy

Lymphome de Burkitt pédiatrique à révélation orl : quelle prise en charge en milieu sub sahélien ? réflexion sur trois cas

Le lymphome de Burkitt dans sa forme Africaine peut se manifester sous des signes d’emprunt ORL à type de tuméfaction orbito-maxillo-faciale. Le diagnostic peut être fait par les ORL à travers un faisceau de signes cliniques et une cytoponction. La prise en charge se fait dans des unités d’oncologie médicale ou le bilan d’extension et le lancement de la chimiothérapie sont des impératifs incontournables. Actuellement cette tumeur à potentiel très agressif répond à une poly chimiothérapie bien conduite.Mots-clés : Lymphome de Burkitt, cancer, voies aérodigestives supérieures, oncologie pédiatriqu

Time variations in the deep underground muon flux measured by MACRO

More than 30 million of high-energy muons collected with the MACRO detector at the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory have been used to search for flux variations of different natures. Two kinds of studies were carried out: search for periodic variations and for the occurrence of clusters of events. Different analysis methods, including Lomb-Scargle spectral analysis and Scan Test statistics have been applied to the data.Comment: 6 pages, 4 EPS figures. Talk given at the 29th ICRC, Pune, India, 3-10 August 200