Average cost method

Abstract: Semiconductor hookup construction (i.e., constructing process tool piping systems) is critical to semiconductor fabrication plant completion. During the conceptual project phase, it is difficult to conduct an ac- curate cost estimate due to the great amount of uncer- tain cost items. This study proposes a new model for estimating semiconductor hookup construction project costs. The developed model, called FALCON-COST, in- tegrates the component ratios method, fuzzy adaptive learning control network (FALCON), fast messy ge- netic algorithm (fmGA), and three-point cost estimation method to systematically deal with a cost-estimating en- vironment involving limited and uncertain data. In ad- dition, the proposed model improves the current FAL- ∗ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: weichih@ mail.nctu.edu.tw. CON by devising a new algorithm to conduct building block selection and random gene deletion so that fmGA operations can be implemented in FALCON. The results of 54 case studies demonstrate that the proposed model has estimation accuracy of 83.82%, meaning it is approx- imately 22.74%, 23.08%, and 21.95% more accurate than the conventional average cost method, component ratios method, and modified FALCON-COST method, respec- tively. Providing project managers with reliable cost esti- mates is essential for effectively controlling project costs.

Abstract: We propose a family of novel cost-sensitive boosting methods for multi-class classification by applying the theory of gradient boosting to p-norm based cost functionals. We establish theoretical guarantees including proof of convergence and convergence rates for the proposed methods. Our theoretical treatment provides interpretations for some of the existing algorithms in terms of the proposed family, including a generalization of the costing algorithm, DSE and GBSE-t, and the Average Cost method. We also experimentally evaluate the performance of our new algorithms against existing methods of cost sensitive boosting, including AdaCost, CSB2, and AdaBoost.M2 with cost-sensitive weight initialization. We show that our proposed scheme generally achieves superior results in terms of cost minimization and, with the use of higher order p-norm loss in certain cases, consistently outperforms the comparison methods, thus establishing its empirical advantage.

Abstract: This article attempts to determine how the interplay of stakeholders in a larger economic and political context influences the design of development charge regimes in particular jurisdictions. As a vehicle for this exploration, the authors pose the question: Why do so many municipalities adopt average cost approaches to calculating development charges when it is widely assumed that a marginal cost approach is superior from an infrastructure and land-use efficiency perspective? The question is addressed through a case study method, which focuses on the creation of development charge regimes in Ontario, Canada, and in particular on eight 'focus' municipalities within the Greater Toronto Area. The article begins by presenting the 'pragmatic' explanations for adopting an average cost approach offered by finance officials and consultants. These explanations present the average cost method as the outcome of the deliberate application of basic principles of efficiency, equity, administrative simplicity and publi...