<p>Mortality statistics are much used although their accuracy is often questioned. Producers of mortality statistics check for errors in death certification but current methods only capture obvious mistakes. This thesis investigates whether non-obvious errors can be found by linking death certificates to hospital discharge data.</p><p>Data: 69,818 deaths in Sweden 1995. Paper I: Analysing differences between the underlying cause of death from the death certificate (UC) and the main discharge condition from the patient’s last hospitalization (MDC). Paper II: Testing whether differences can be explained by ICD definitions of UC and MDC. Paper III: Surveying methods in 44 current studies on the accuracy of death certificates. Paper IV: Checking death certificates against case summaries for: i) 573 deaths where UC and MDC were the same or the difference could be explained; ii) 562 deaths where the difference could not be explained.</p><p>Results: In 54% of deaths the MDC differed from the UC. Almost two-thirds of the differences were medically compatible since the MDC might have developed as a complication of the UC. Of 44 recent evaluation studies, only 8 describe the methods in such detail that the study could be replicated. Incompatibility between MDC and UC indicates a four-fold risk that the death certificate is inaccurate. For some diagnostic groups, however, death certificates are often inaccurate even when the UC and MDC are compatible.</p><p>Conclusion: Producers of official mortality statistics could reduce the number of non-obvious errors in the statistics by collecting additional information on incompatible deaths and on deaths in high-risk diagnostic groups. ICD conventions contribute to the quality problem since they presuppose that all deaths are due to a single underlying cause. However, in an ageing population an increasing number of deaths are due to an accumulation of etiologically unrelated conditions.</p>

Due to the global warming, the increase in greenhouse gases and the resulting threat for the environment, not only private households have to rethink their behaviour towards the environment, but also companies and organisations have a responsibility towards their environment. Therefore, we investigated several small and midsize enterprises in order to understand their way of implementing strategies of eco-friendliness and thus contributing to the ‘green revolution’ which is apparently in progress. The managers and company leaders provided us with their personal experiences in implementing environmental certificates and Environmental Management Systems. We learned that the trigger point for the implementation of certificates or management systems is often a stakeholder demand. Therefore, our theoretical framework presents our personal understanding of leadership, an example of the relationship of leadership and eco-friendliness, the conflicts of interest within different roles leaders are often captured in, the presentation of personally chosen environmental certificates and stakeholder theory.

Applications of accuracy certificates for problems with convex structure   This dissertation addresses the efficient generation and potential applications of accuracy certificates in the framework of “black-box-represented” convex optimization problems - convex problems where the objective and the constraints are represented by  “black boxes” which, given on input a value x of the argument, somehow (perhaps in a fashion unknown to the user) provide on output the values and the derivatives of the objective and the constraints at x. The main body of the dissertation can be split into three parts.  In the first part, we provide our background --- state of the art of the theory of accuracy certificates for black-box-represented convex optimization. In the second part, we extend the toolbox of black-box-oriented convex optimization algorithms with accuracy certificates by equipping with these certificates a state-of-the-art algorithm for large-scale nonsmooth black-box-represented problems with convex structure, specifically, the Non-Euclidean Restricted Memory Level (NERML) method. In the third part, we present several novel academic applications of accuracy certificates. The dissertation is organized as follows: In Chapter 1, we motivate our research goals and present a detailed summary of our results. In Chapter 2, we outline the relevant background, specifically, describe four generic black-box-represented generic problems with convex structure (Convex Minimization, Convex-Concave Saddle Point, Convex Nash Equilibrium, and Variational Inequality with Monotone Operator), and outline the existing theory of accuracy certificates for these problems. In Chapter 3, we develop techniques for equipping with on-line accuracy certificates the state-of-the-art NERML algorithm for large-scale nonsmooth problems with convex structure, both in the cases when the domain of the problem is a simple solid and in the case when the domain is given by Separation oracle. In Chapter 4, we develop  several novel academic applications of accuracy certificates, primarily to (a) efficient certifying emptiness of the intersection of finitely many solids given by Separation oracles, and (b) building efficient algorithms for convex minimization over solids given by Linear Optimization oracles (both precise and approximate). In Chapter 5, we apply accuracy certificates to efficient decomposition of “well structured” convex-concave saddle point problems, with applications to computationally attractive decomposition of a large-scale LP program with the constraint matrix which becomes block-diagonal after eliminating a relatively small number of possibly dense columns (corresponding to “linking variables”) and possibly dense rows (corresponding to “linking constraints”).

Klimato kaita ir jos švelninimo instrumentų įgyvendinimas yra prioritetinis visų pasaulio šalių tikslas. Šiuo metu yra taikoma daug įvairių klimato kaitos švelninimo instrumentų, skirtų atsinaujinančių energijos išteklių ir energijos efektyvumo didinimui, energijos tiekimo patikimumui ir kt., kuriuos plačiai nagrinėja daugelis pasaulio mokslininkų. Magistro baigiamojo darbo tikslas buvo apžvelgti Lietuvoje šiuo metu taikomus ekonominius klimato kaitos švelninimo instrumentus bei juos kokybiškai ir kiekybiškai įvertinti. Iškeltam tikslui pasiekti suformuluoti uždaviniai: apžvelgti moksline literatūroje nagrinėjamus pagrindinius klimato kaitos švelninimo instrumentų taikymo teorinius aspektus; išnagrinėti pagrindinius klimato kaitos švelninimo instrumentus, taikomus Lietuvoje; įvertinti klimato kaitos ekonominius instrumentus įtakojančiais šiltnamio efektą sukeliančių dujos sumažėjimą bei atsinaujinančiųjų energijos išteklių plėtrą Lietuvoje; sudarytu vertinimo modeliu atlikti klimato kaitos švelninimo instrumentų ekonominį vertinimą; remiantis atliktu vertinimu, pateikti išvadas. Darbo struktūrą nulėmė užsibrėžti darbo tikslai bei numatyti uždaviniai, kurių sprendimas pateikiamas trijose darbo dalyse. Pirmoje dalyje apžvelgti moklinėje literatūroje nagrinėjami pagrindiniai klimato kaitos švelninimo instrumentų taikymo teoriniai apsektai, tokie kaip klimato indikatoriai bei būklė pasaulyje ir Lietuvoje, Lietuvos darnios plėtros prioritetiniai rodikliai ir apžvelgtos ekonominius... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Climate change and implementation of its reducing instruments is underlying goal of all countries. At present there are plenty of climate change instruments being applied which are used for increasing shifting energy resources and effectiveness of energy, reliability of energy supplying etc. that are widely discussed by many scientists all over the world. The goal of Master's thesis was a review of economical instruments for reducing climate change used in Lithuania and their quantitative and qualitative evaluation. To reach the goal following tasks were set: to survey the nonfiction theoretical aspects of using main instruments for reducing climate change; analyse the main instruments for reducing climate change that are used in Lithuania; evaluate the economical instruments for reducing climate change that affect the reduction of gas causing the greenhouse effect and development of shifting energy resources in Lithuania; to make the economical evaluation of instruments for reducing climate change with the help of created evaluating model; to make conclusion refering to the evaluation. Thesis consist of three parts that were determined by stated goals and tasks. In first part are analysed the nonfiction theoretical aspects of using main instruments for reducing climate change, such as climate indicators and state in Lithuania and all over the world, underlying rates of Lithuanian regular development. Also the directives introducing economical instruments of regulating... [to full text]

Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) are emerging as a promising approach to improving traffic safety and providing a wide range of wireless applications for drivers and passengers. To perform reliable and trusted vehicular communications, one prerequisite is to ensure a peer vehicle’s credibility by means of digital certificates validation from messages that are sent out by other vehicles. However, in vehicular communication systems, certificates validation is more time consuming than in traditional networks, due to the fact that each vehicle receives a large number of messages in a short period of time. Another issue that needs to be addressed is the unsuccessful delivery of information between vehicles and other entities on the road as a result of their high mobility rate. For these reasons, we need new solutions to accelerate the process of certificates validation. In this thesis, we propose a certificate revocation status validation scheme using the concept of clustering; based on data mining practices, which can meet the aforementioned requirements. We employ the technique of k -means clustering to boost the efficiency of certificates validation, thereby enhancing the security of a vehicular ad hoc network. Additionally, a comprehensive analysis of the security of the proposed scheme is presented. The analytical results demonstrate that this scheme can effectively improve the validation of certificates and thus secure the vehicular communication in vehicular networks.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2008. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1974. / Typescript. Vita. Based on Kemper's paper, Reference groups, socialism, and achievement, published in American Sociological Review, February 1968. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated to occupational accidents that occurred in a metal mechanic industry which operates in the automotive, highway construction, agricultural and construction businesses as well as auto parts manufacturing and in association with printing, machining, welding and surface treatment sets. To do so, a descriptive statistics analysis and an analytical approach were carried out, through the adjustment of a multivariable logistic regression model, considering both employees who had suffered accidents and those who had not. Initially, a conceptual model of approach for this study was synthesized and an exploratory research was developed, one which was composed of a data collection step and a case study step. In the data collection, the internal data of the organization being studied were used, in the case study step, relevant factors were estimated and identified and the ones which have the greater influence on occupational accidents. The following covariates were tested in the model: the functions executed, company time, work shift, age and sex. Among the covariates tested, the following showed statistically significant: executed function, age and employees sex, what suggests that a welder or a production assistant, aged up to twenty six years old and male has greater probability to suffer as occupational accident. Besides, a descriptive analysis was carried out referring to the medical certificates and comparisons between the records of injured employees, showing other factors such as the lesion place, the day of the week and the time that most accidents occurred. Generally speaking, it was possible to conclude that a male welder, with up to two years of company time, working the night shift and aged up to twenty six years old is more likely to have a lesion on the fingers, on Wednesdays, between 6pm and 8pm. It is believed that the results obtained in this research may contribute to broaden the knowledge about the factors associated to occupational accidents in the company being studied, providing subsides to the managers, in order to base their decisions to mitigate the number of occupational accidents. / O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar os fatores associados aos acidentes de trabalho ocorridos em uma empresa metal mecânica atuante no segmento automotivo, rodoviário, agrícola, construção e fabricante de peças e conjuntos com operações de estamparia, usinagem, solda e tratamento de superfície. Para isso foi realizada uma análise estatística descritiva e uma abordagem analítica, por meio do ajuste de um modelo de regressão logística multivariável, considerando os funcionários acidentados e não acidentados. Inicialmente foi sintetizado um modelo conceitual de abordagem deste estudo, e foi elaborada uma pesquisa exploratória, composta de uma etapa de coleta de informações e de uma etapa de estudo de caso. Na coleta de informações foram utilizados os dados internos da organização em estudo, no estudo de caso, foram identificados e estimados os fatores relevantes e que mais tenham influência sobre os acidentes de trabalho. Foram testadas no modelo as seguintes covariáveis: as funções executadas, o tempo de empresa, o turno de trabalho, a idade e o sexo. Dentre as covariáveis testadas, mostraram-se estatisticamente significativas: função executada, idade e sexo dos funcionários, o que sugere que um soldador ou ajudante de produção, com idade até vinte e seis anos, do sexo masculino possui maior probabilidade de sofrer acidente de trabalho. Além disso, foi realizada análise descritiva referente aos atestados médicos e comparações entre os registros dos acidentados, demonstrando outros fatores como local da lesão, dia da semana e horário que mais ocorreram acidentes. De um modo geral, foi possível concluir que um soldador também do sexo masculino, com até dois anos de empresa, trabalhando à noite e com idade até vinte e seis anos possui maior risco de ter lesão nos dedos das mãos, nas quartas-feiras, entre 18:00h e 20:00h. Acredita-se que os resultados obtidos nesta pesquisa contribuem para ampliar o conhecimento sobre os fatores associados aos acidentes de trabalho na empresa em estudo, fornecendo aos gestores subsídios para que possam embasar suas decisões no sentido de minimizar o número de acidentes ocupacionais.

theme of dissertation {\clq}qInvestment by internet{\crq}q is focused on the new method of investment. The topic is an innovation in the internet banking sphere. Four bank institutions offer the investment by internet nowadays. The goal of the dissertation is to analyse the new investment. Theoretical part describes electronic banking development, legal amendment, security and possibilities of investment. Further on it defines advantages and disadvantages of practical use of investment by internet. The second part of dissertation is focused on the practice. It includes the real study, comparison of investment bank institutions' possibilities and real investment example. Here I tried the on-line investment myself.

Os óbitos de mulheres em idade reprodutiva correspondem a 16% do total de óbitos femininos em todo o Brasil, indicando a dificuldade dos serviços de saúde em implementar ações baseadas na atenção integral à saúde da mulher no Sistema Único de Saúde, sob o enfoque ampliado da assistência, incorporando a perspectiva de gênero. Objetivo: analisar óbitos de mulheres em idade reprodutiva, residentes em Ribeirão Preto-SP, no período de 2007 a 2009, com ênfase nas causas de morte. Método: foram analisadas 532 Declarações de Óbito (DO) de mulheres de 10 a 49 anos residentes no município de Ribeirão Preto/SP que foram a óbito no período de 2007 a 2009, obtidas por meio do Comitê Municipal de Prevenção da Mortalidade Materna para transcrição integral dos dados. As mortes foram classificadas em maternas declaradas, não maternas e presumíveis. Procedeu-se com a análise dos dados com o software STATA, codificação das causas de acordo com a CID 10 e seleção da causa básica de óbito. Resultados: Os principais grupos de causas de morte foram: neoplasias 137 (26%), doenças do aparelho circulatório 94 (18%), doenças infecciosas e parasitárias 67 (13%) e causas externas 65 (12%). As mortes por causas maternas representaram a antepenúltima causa de óbito. Foram identificadas, após análise dos campos preenchidos na DO, 467 (88%) mortes não maternas, 5 (1%) mortes maternas declaradas e 60 (11%) mortes maternas presumíveis. Conclusão: O padrão de mortalidade do município é semelhante ao do país, apontando a necessidade de incrementar ações nas três esferas de governo voltadas para a saúde da população feminina. Conhecer o perfil de mortalidade de mulheres em idade reprodutiva possibilita a compreensão de suas principais demandas e problemas de saúde oferecendo subsídios para o planejamento de ações focadas em reduzir mortes por causas evitáveis. / The deaths of women in reproductive age represent 16% of all female deaths in Brazil, indicating the difficulty of health services to implement actions based on comprehensive health care of women in the National Health System, under the approach extended care, incorporating a gender perspective. Objective: To analyze deaths of women in reproductive age residing in Ribeirao Preto-SP, in the period of 2007 to 2009, focusing on causes of death. Method: We analyzed 532 Death Certificates of women aged 10 to 49 years residing in Ribeirao Preto - SP who died in the period 2007 to 2009, obtained through the Municipal Committee for the Prevention of Maternal Mortality for transcription full of data. The deaths were classified as declared maternal, not maternal and presumed. Proceeded with the analysis of the data with STATA software, coding causes according to ICD 10 and selecting the underlying cause of death. Results: The main groups of causes of death were neoplasms 137 (26%), circulatory diseases 94 (18%), infectious and parasitic diseases 67 (13%) and external causes 65 (12%). Deaths from maternal causes represented the antepenultimate cause of death. Were identified after analysis of the fields filled in Death Certificates, 467 (88%) not maternal deaths, 5 (1%) declared maternal and 60 (11%) presumed maternal deaths. Conclusion: The pattern of mortality in the municipality is similar to the country, pointing to the need for increased action in the three spheres of government focused on the health of the female population. Knowing the profile of women mortality in reproductive age furthers our understanding of their main demands and health problems, offering support for the planning of actions focused on reducing deaths from preventable causes.