För att försäkringstagare ska känna sig trygga med att de har tecknat en lämplig försäkringsprodukt tar många försäkringstagare hjälp av rådgivare innan de ingår försäkringsavtal. Innan rådgivningen kan börja behöver försäkrings- eller investeringsrådgivaren genomföra en behovsanalys av konsumenten, för att utreda bl.a. konsumentens krav och behov. Därefter ska rådgivningen och de rekommendationer som ges baseras på de uppgifter som framkommit i behovsanalysen för att konsumenten ska kunna erhålla lämpliga råd och rekommendationer för just hens specifika situation. Att genomföra rådgivningen på ovanstående sätt ingår i den omsorgsplikt som rådgivaren behöver uppfylla, vilken går ut på att tillvarata konsumentens bästa intressen.  I uppsatsen utreds hur rådgivningen om privata personförsäkringar och försäkringsbaserade investeringsprodukter ska genomföras enligt EU-rättsliga källor och framförallt enligt svensk rätt, som genomfört de EU-rättsliga direktiven. Tre stycken djupare intervjuer har genomförts och används för att ta reda på om rådgivningen i praktiken stämmer överens med gällande rätt. Intervjuerna har även som syfte att klargöra hur olika personer inom försäkringsbranschen upplever att behovsanalysen i praktiken genomförs och om det finns några problem eller oklarheter med den nuvarande regleringen.  Slutsatserna kan sammanfattas till att lagstiftningen är tillräcklig på försäkringsområdet, däremot kan en mer principbaserad reglering vara vägen att gå framöver för att utreda de oklarheter och problem som framkommit i uppsatsen. Att använda sig av mer principbaserad reglering kan hjälpa rådgivare och fungera som vägledning i rådgivningssituationer som är mer komplicerade. Det råder bl.a. en osäkerhet på marknaden hur en konsuments lämpliga risknivå, inbegripen risktolerans och riskvilja, ska avgöras. Det finns ett behov av att tillsynsmyndighet eller lagstiftare behöver klargöra reglerna på området ytterligare, för att konsumentskyddet ska stärkas. Utöver en mer principbaserad reglering på området är en ytterligare lösning på framkomna problem att FI behöver utöva mer tillsyn över rådgivare och försäkringsförmedlare. Det kan t.ex. vara i form av mer omfattande granskning av rådgivningsdokumentationer, för att upptäcka genvägar som rådgivare ibland tenderar att ta. Granskningen av dokumentationer kan även leda till att FI upptäcker fler rådgivningstillfällen där rådgivaren inte tagit uppgifterna i hänsyn när rådgivning sedan genomförts.

<p>Soft multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) demodulators are a core component of iterative receivers for MIMO communication systems that employ bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM). The role of these demodulators is to extract a good approximation of the posterior likelihood of each bit transmitted at each channel use. The main challenge in designing a soft MIMO demodulator is to achieve the desired level of performance at a reasonable computational cost. This is important because in the case of a memoryless MIMO channel, the computational cost of the exact soft demodulator increases exponentially with the number of bits transmitted per channel use, and the cost grows faster in the case of the channels with memory.</p> <p>Several approximate low-complexity soft demodulators for memoryless channels have been proposed in the literature. In this thesis, we develop a low-complexity soft MIMO demodulator that is based on semidefinite relaxation (SDR) and uses the max-log approximation to reduce the cost of the demodulation. In particular, we develop a customized dual-scaling algorithm to solve the semidefinite program that constitutes the core computational task of the SDR-based soft demodulator. The computational cost per iteration of the customized dual algorithm is about half that of the existing customized primal-dual algorithm, and this leads to a reduction in the overall computational cost. We apply the customized dual-scaling algorithm to two different list-based soft demodulators, the list-SDR and single-SDR demodulators, and compare the performance, computational cost, and EXIT chart characteristics of these demodulators with other existing methods. This comparison shows that the developed demodulator provides a desirable trade-off between performance and complexity.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-23T13:56:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Aline Lyra Pereira.pdf: 1742611 bytes, checksum: fac56687c54e0ab6545343dd5ab0a212 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A paracoccidioidomicose (PCM) é uma micose sistêmica causada pelo fungo dimórfico Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. Está entre as infecções fúngicas mais frequentes da América Latina, sendo o Brasil o país de maior endemicidade, com maior prevalência na região Sudeste. O diagnóstico considerado por muitos autores padrão-ouro para a PCM é o encontro de células fúngicas sugestivas de Paracoccidioides brasiliensis no Exame Microscópico Direto (EMD) de escarro ou outros espécimes clínicos, como raspado de lesão, aspirado de linfonodos, biopsia, etc. As provas sorológicas têm grande importância, complementando ou substituindo o exame micológico no diagnóstico/prognóstico da doença. O objetivo do presente estudo foi comparar dois desses testes sorológicos para PCM: a imunodifusão dupla (IDD) e o ensaio imunoenzimático ELISA. A metodologia foi estabelecida comparando-se títulos de anticorpos obtidos de três grupos de pacientes: 145 amostras de soros de 83 pacientes com PCM (Grupo I), 49 doadores saudáveis (Grupo II) e 13 pacientes com IDD positiva para outras micoses pulmonares: 11 com histoplasmose e 2 com aspergilose (Grupo III). Nossos resultados mostraram que 8 (9,6%) e 5 (6,0%) dos pacientes com PCM foram falso-negativos ao teste de IDD e ELISA, respectivamente. Dentro do grupo de pacientes saudáveis, não houve casos de falso positivo na IDD, porém, 5 (10,2%) amostras foram positivas com títulos baixos no ELISA. Entre os 13 pacientes com outras micoses, o ELISA mostrou que 10 (77,0%) foram positivos enquanto a IDD não apresentou qualquer caso de reação cruzada. A sensibilidade do ELISA (93,9%) foi um pouco superior ao da IDD (90,3%). A especificidade do ELISA calculada como base o controle saudável e os pacientes com outras micoses foi 89,7% e 23,1%, respectivamente. A IDD mostrou uma especificidade de 100% para ambos os casos. Os valores preditivos positivos e negativos foram de 100% e 83,8% para IDD e de 88,5% e 90,3% para ELISA, respectivamente. A acurácia dos testes também foi calculada: a IDD teve 94,4% e o ELISA 86,2% de acurácia. / Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic mycosis caused by the dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. It is among the most common fungal infections in Latin America, with Brazil being the country of highest endemicity, mainly in the Southeast part. The diagnosis considered by many authors as gold standard for the PCM is the finding of suggestive yeast cells of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in the Direct Microscopic Examination of sputum or other clinical specimens, such as scraping the lesion, lymph node aspirate, biopsy, etc. The serological tests are of great importance, since they complement or replace the mycological examination in the diagnosis / prognosis of the disease. The aim of this study was to compare two serological tests for PCM: a double immunodiffusion (IDD) and Enzyme-Linked Immunoabsorbent Assay (ELISA). The methodology was established by comparing antibody titers obtained from three groups of patients: 145 serum samples from 83 patients with PCM (Group I), 49 healthy blood donors (Group II) and 13 patients with IDD positive for other pulmonary mycoses: 11 with histoplasmosis and 2 with aspergillosis (Group III). Our results showed that eight (9.6%) and 5 (6.0%) of patients with PCM were false negative to the IDD and ELISA tests, respectively. In the group of healthy patients, no cases of false positive in IDD were observed; however, 5 (10.2%) of samples were positive with low titers in ELISA. Among the 13 patients with other mycoses, the ELISA showed that 10 (77.0%) were positive while the IDD tests did not show any case of cross-reaction. The sensitivity of the ELISA (93.9%) was slightly higher than the IDD (90.3%). The specificity of the ELISA calculated basing on the healthy control and patients with other mycoses was 89.7% and 23.1%, respectively. IDD showed 100% of specificity for both cases. The positive predictive and negative predictive values were 100% and 83.8% for IDD and 88.5% and 90.3% for ELISA, respectively. The accuracy of the tests was also calculated: the IDD was 94.4% while ELISA was 86.2%.

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are prone to certain diseases in their lifetime, such as osteoporosis. Absorption of calcium is essential to maintaining good bone health and preventing osteoporosis. This study examined primary care providers’ (PCPs) choice of calcium supplementation, as well as type of calcium supplementation, and the relationship between variables in the IDD population. Ten PCPs were asked to complete a 14-question web-based survey, with five surveys completed. Calcium citrate was the preferred supplement among respondents at 50%. Retrospective data was collected from patient records and included type of calcium supplement prescribed, bone density test results, and other variable factors. The type of calcium supplement prescribed did not affect bone density results in subjects with IDD. There was a weak significance between calcium supplement type and gender and vitamin D. It is of modest benefit to include vitamin D with calcium supplementation to enhance calcium absorption.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:40:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alessandra Aronovich Vinic.pdf: 2041940 bytes, checksum: 3810ee85be2e8e1fa250540f34eca58f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-08-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Invasive Development Disorders (IDD) are a group of conditions characterized by the onset of lags and impairments in the development of social, communication and behavioral skills during infancy. The empathy capacity prejudice has been indicated as an endophenotype characteristic of IDD. The present study evaluates and compares empathy in people with IDD and a control group through a task of judging basic facial expressions that are contained in an Empathy Card-deck, an instrument developed by the researcher. Seven male participants with IDD, aged between 6 and 15 years, a minimum IQ of 70 (Wisc III) and all fulfilling criteria for IDD diagnosis (DSM IV) were evaluated. The IDD group erred significantly more than the control group in judging the card-deck of basic facial expression photos (p< 0.001), in the card-deck of drawings (p=0.007) and in both tests when the total performance was analyzed (p< 0.001). There was a significant difference between the control and IDD groups in the expression of doubt (p=0.031) and disgust (p=0.005) in the Drawings Card-deck, and in the expression of disgust (p=0.005) in the Photo Card-deck, always with a greater error index for the IDD group. When analyzing the performance in Photos and Drawings together, there is a statistically significant difference between expressions of doubt (p=0.012), disgust (p<0.001) and surprise (p=0.006). The results obtained reinforce the findings of previous studies about empathic capacity prejudice in individuals with IDD. / Os Transtornos Invasivos do Desenvolvimento (TID) são um grupo de condições caracterizadas pelo início na primeira infância de atrasos e déficits no desenvolvimento das habilidades sociais, comunicativas e comportamentais. O prejuízo da capacidade de empatia vem sendo apontado como um aspecto característico do endofenótipo dos TID. O presente estudo avaliou e comparou empatia em pessoas com TID e um grupo controle, através de tarefa de julgamento de expressões faciais básicas, contidas no Baralho da Empatia, instrumento desenvolvido pela pesquisadora. Foram avaliados 7 participantes com TID, do sexo masculino, com idades entre 6 e 15 anos, com QI mínimo de 70 (Wisc III) e que preenchiam critérios para diagnóstico de TID (DSM IV). Foram pareados por idade, sexo e inteligência com indivíduos com desenvolvimento normal. O grupo com TID errou significativamente mais que o controle, no julgamento de expressões faciais nas fotos (p< 0,001), nos desenhos (p=0,007) e nos dois testes quando analisado o desempenho total (p< 0,001). Houve diferença significativa entre controle e TID nas expressões de dúvida (p=0,031) e nojo (p=0,005) no Baralho de Desenhos, e nas Fotos, na expressão de nojo (p=0,018), sempre com maior índice de erros do grupo TID. Quando analisado o desempenho nas Fotos e Desenhos juntos, aparece diferença estatisticamente significante entre expressões de dúvida (p=0,012), nojo (p<0,001) e surpresa (p=0,006). Os resultados obtidos reforçam achados de pesquisas anteriores sobre o prejuízo da capacidade de empatia em pessoas com TID.

因個人用戶國際直撥電話服務，外在環境限制相對較小且市場規模大，因此新固網業者在進攻呈飽和狀態的電信市場時列為重要發展目標。然而國際話務行銷策略的影響因素眾多、複雜性高，還受到許多國內特有的限制因素影響。 由於研究主題著重在實務性問題的探討，且以特定組織作為研究對象，故採用「個案分析法」做為研究方法。並依據研究之主題及所涉及之專業領域，深度訪談相關之高階主管，取得國際直撥電話行銷策略制定的實務資訊，並且佐以國內外相關論文、期刊、研究報告等次級資料，以期對於研究主題有更深入的剖析。本研究以經營台灣地區國際電話業務極具代表性的「台灣固網」作為主要研究對象，不僅針對台灣固網國際電話現行的行銷策略深入的分析探討，更期望能提出一套思考體系及完整且具有競爭優勢的國際電話行銷策略制定模式，以供個案公司在制定未來行銷策略時使用，增進其市場優勢。並因應即將改變之重大環境因素-「指定選接」時代來臨、「網路電話」加入戰場，提出相關建議。 個人用戶國際直撥電話產業環境研究結果如下。 第一、台灣地區個人用戶國際直撥電話市場之整體產業問題在於現有業者所提供之產能大於消費者需求，而且產業內各公司所面對之成本近似，因此各公司的行銷策略變成決定績效優劣的關鍵因素。 第二、固網業者近年來的行銷活動均為以公司角度出發之思考方式，忽略了用戶內心深處的想法，在推廣行銷活動時會遭遇瓶頸；唯有從用戶心理層面進行探討，研究用戶行為對症下藥，方能採取最佳之行銷策略以提昇公司績效。 第三、針對新進業者公司而言，經營台灣地區個人用戶國際直撥電話市場之重大難題就是用戶對於國際電話服務的關心度普遍不足。因此經營此項業務成功之關鍵因素就是引起用戶之注意，再由關心度提高加強對台灣固網國際電話服務的認同度，並輔以適當之促購力助其跨越使用門檻。 本研究由文獻理論架構系統檢視個案公司行銷策略的貢獻如下。 第一、回顧並分析個案公司之行銷策略，指出未來需持續強化之項目。 第二、因應「指定選接」時代來臨，建議個案公司應於指定選接實施前提高用戶對於議題之關心度以增加用戶回應率；在執行細節方面積極發揮對主管機關之影響力，對「指定選接」通知爭取最符合公司利益之內容及通知形式。 第三、因應「網路電話」加入戰場，對個案公司固然是威脅，但同樣也是機會。面臨此威脅，建議個案公司可將經營重心移往衝擊較小的行動電話撥打國際電話之市場。另外，若個案公司能夠掌握網路電話的「上市推廣契機」適度轉換用戶使用行為，如此在面臨網路電話「真正」進入市場所帶來的衝擊時，可以適時地滿足用戶「喜好創新服務之需求」，避免用戶面臨使用寬頻網路之情境時轉而選擇其他業者所提供之網路電話撥打國際電話而影響整體的營收。 / Because of lesser constraint and large market scale, when new fixed line operators enter the mature telecommunication market, they often focus on long distance telephone and international direct dialing market first. However, the marketing strategy of international direct dialing (IDD) is affected by many complex and specific factors in our country. Because this is an exploratory research, we use case study method to do this research. We use in-depth interview method to visit TFN’s managers to get practical information of IDD marketing strategy. Furthermore, secondary information such as related thesis, magazines and reports are also used to get deeper understanding about this issue. Therefore, our study aims Taiwan Fixed Network Company (TFN), which stands an important position in Taiwan IDD market. The main purpose of this research is not only to investigate the IDD marketing strategy of TFN, but also to find out a comprehensive and competitive IDD marketing strategy decision model. We hope the decision model could help TFN to make its future marketing strategy and improve its market position. Besides, suggestions for the consequential changeable environmental factors: pre-selection and VOIP (Voice over IP) would be discussed in this research. The findings of this research are as follows: 1. Excess supply of telecommunication service is the major industrial problem in Taiwan IDD market. The operators in this industry have similar cost structure, so their performance would certainly be affected by whether they can adopt applicable marketing strategies. 2. Fixed line operators should try to discover their customers’ inner thoughts and take it into marketing consideration, instead of doing marketing campaigns by their self-centered thinking. When operators face obstacles in marketing campaigns, they should study psychological side of their users and investigate users’ behavior to find proper prescriptions. By doing this way, operators can adopt best marketing practice to increase revenues. 3. The most difficult task for new fixed line operators is that users care less about IDD service. The way to succeed is to arouse users’ attention of IDD service, strengthen their recognition of TFN, and then use proper promotion activities to make them pass the usage threshold. The contribution of this research comes from theoretical literature structure are as follows: 1. Review and analyze the marketing strategies of case company (TFN), and shows those items needed to be continuously strengthened in the future. 2. Facing the coming age of “pre-selection”, TFN should arouse users’ interests about the issue in order to increase users’ response rate before the launch of “pre-selection”. 3. VOIP is not merely a threat; it is an opportunity for TFN as well. Facing this threat, TFN should put more emphasis on the lesser-affected market, which are international calls via mobile phone. Besides, If TFN could make the timely market promotion of VOIP to shift users’ behavior moderately, TFN will absorb the shock of VOIP such as revenue plummet by satisfying users’ desire of innovative telecommunication service timely and preventing them from choosing the service of international calls via other internet phone operators, when the day VOIP “really” hits the shelf.

The nonobese diabetic mouse (NOD) is an excellent animal model to study type 1 diabetes. As with some humans, disease in the NOD mouse is effected by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. At least 20 insulin dependent diabetes (Idd) susceptibility loci have been identified so far, both in humans and in the NOD mouse. In this thesis, the overall aim has been to understand the genetic basis of diabetes in the NOD mouse by assessing immunogically-related phenotypes. As lymphocytes are the main players in the onset and progression to overt diabetes, we searched for physiological abnormalities in T and B cells, which could contribute to the breakdown of tolerance to pancreatic antigens. Ultimately, we postulate that abnormalities in the T or B cell compartments, under the genetic control of a previously defined diabetes susceptibility regions (Idds) could unravel the biological mechanisms underlying diabetes susceptibility and facilitate the identification of etiological polymorphisms involved in the disease. NOD T cells are defective in upregulating CTLA-4 upon in vitro activation. Previous studies have shown that this defect is, at least in part, controlled by gene(s) in the Idd5 region on chromosome 1. In paper I, we provide evidence that defective upregulation of the CTLA-4 in NOD T cells is not controlled by the Idd5.1 and Idd5.2 regions, but rather by genes linked to the telomeric region of chromosome 1 and to the Idd3 locus, for which the prime candidate gene is Il-2. Interestingly, we could restore some of the defective CTLA-4 expression in NOD T cells by the addition of exogenous IL-2 during T cell activation in vitro. In paper II, we show that NOD thymocytes are resistant to superantigen-mediated negative selection and that this trait is under control of the Idd5.2 region. Interestingly, it appears to operate in a T cell non-autonomous manner. In paper III, we describe a competitive advantage of NOD thymocytes to mature when they co-develop with B6 thymocytes in embryo aggregation chimeras. These results imply that defects exist in the positive/negative selection mechanisms in the NOD thymus. Apart from T cells, B cells also play an important role in the initiation of diabetes in NOD mice, probably as antigen presenting cells. In paper IV, we report that the genetic basis of an enlarged marginal zone (MZ) B cell population observed in the NOD mice is linked to the Idd9/Idd11 region. Together, these findings contribute to the dissection of the molecular mechanisms underlying diabetes pathogenesis, and shed light on the contribution of central and peripheral tolerance mechanisms to this process.

No description available.

No description available.

Although the White Paper on Families (2013) stipulates that family resilience should be strengthened in family preservation services, no guidelines exist for social workers in the South African context to do so. A need for practice guidelines for social workers in rendering services to families to strengthen family resilience was identified. The following central research question was formulated: How and by doing what, can social workers foster and sustain family resilience? The Intervention Design and Development (IDD) model of Rothman and Thomas (1994) was adapted for the study which included qualitative research to explore and describe the understanding, experiences and suggestions of social workers on family resilience for informing the family resilience intervention guidelines. Data was collected through focus- group and face-to-face semi-structured interviews with social workers employed by the Department of Social Development, and the NGOs from Gauteng, North West and Limpopo province. Tesch’s steps (cited in Creswell 2009:186) were used to analyse the data systematically and data was verified by Guba’s model (cited in Krefting 1991:214–222). Implementing steps 1–5 of phase 1, steps 1–3 of phase 2, step 2 of phase 3 and steps 1–3 of phase 4 of the IDD model, “Practice Guidelines for Social Workers to foster and sustain Family Resilience” (“The Guidelines”) were developed by translating the family resilience theory into practice to guide social workers to be able to develop and implement a family resilience intervention. The content of “The Guidelines” include an introduction containing the social work service delivery principles, the theoretical approaches of service delivery to families and the legislative and policy framework for services to families that would underpin a family resilience intervention. Section 1 of “The Guidelines” was developed and structured around the understanding of the family resilience construct and the family resilience process model on how family resilience operates. Section 2 of “The Guidelines” is presented in a question and answer format. This section provides practical guidelines on how to identify the target group for family resilience interventions, the reciprocal relationship between individual resilience and family resilience, family resilience interventions following the social work intervention process (i.e. intake, developmental assessment, a family developmental plan, and intervention strategies in accordance with the basket of services for families and monitoring and evaluation), how to integrate the domains of family resilience into the family resilience intervention, the need for education of both the social worker and client family on family resilience, the multi-dimensional aspects of the family requiring a multi-disciplinary approach and the role that the safety of family members play when rendering a family resilience intervention. / Social Work / D. Phil. (Social Work)