1997年爆發的亞洲金融危機起因之一為金融機構信用過度擴充，隨著企業紛紛倒閉，金融機構的逾放比迅速攀升，因此，提高放款的質與量，便成了目前各金融機構經營的首重目標。為降低逾放比率、提高放款量、爭取放款時效、減少審核時間，使用自動化的審核制度是有必要的，而客觀科學化的評分方法更能使徵信資料得到迅速的整理與分析，以利放款決策的有效釐定。 本研究以國內某金融機構為研究對象，採用Logistic Regression Model為信用評等模式，針對其目前所使用之個人擔保放款的信用評分表表列變數和表外變數，深入探討並從中找出影響授信成敗之顯著變數，建立最適之信用評等模式。

Project (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Statistics, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-67).

<p><p>Warehouses are a key aspect of modern supply chains and play a vital role in the success or failure of businesses today. Figures from the USA indicate that the capital- and operating costs of warehouses represent about 22 % of a company’s logistics costs while figures from Europe indicate 25 % (Baker & Canessa, 2009). Because warehousing is such an important function within a company, the authors chose to focus on this in their thesis. The purpose of this thesis has been to examine the significance of a Warehouse Management System (WMS) and item identification with attention to logistic efficiency. With this as a starting point, the thesis also intends to examine the needs and possibilities with a WMS and some sort of item identification at a specific company and also present suggestions of how to move forward with this type of work.</p></p>

<p><strong>Purpose</strong> - To analyze the relationship between supply chain management maturity, supply chain performance and financial performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME:s).</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach</strong> - The data comprises 15 SME:s that participated in a local logistic study in Gävleborgs län. The levels of supply chain mature within these firms were based upon an interview study and the financial performance of the firms was then examined using financial reports-based data.</p><p><strong>Findings</strong> -The results of this study indicate that there is a strong relationship between SCM maturity and SC performance in SMEs, some relationships between SCM maturity and financial performance, as well as some relationships between SC performance and financial performance. This means that if firms use maturity indicators in the SCOR areas to improve their processes, they will most likely achieve a positive effect on supply chain performance and probably also on financial performance. The result implies that the supply chain maturities in these firms are higher than expected with no one at the adHoc level.</p><p>While this study is based on a rather small number of participating firms, it would be valuable to further test the significance of the indicated correlations between SCM maturity and performance in a large-scale survey.</p><p><strong>Research limitations/Implications</strong> - The research is an attempt to understand supply chain maturity and it´s implication on financial performance. Developing supply chain maturity is an opportunity for a company to gain superior performance. The use of this approach has been validated in several previous research studies. The research limitation of this study is the small number of participating firms.</p><p><strong>Practical implication</strong> - Maturity models could be valuable frameworks for corporate management. This study provides statistical evidence that a SME firm that has achieved a higher maturity level in their supply chain management also can achieve higher SC performance and financial performance as well. The study further confirms the maturity model from Lockamy and McCormack (2004) as a very reliable tool for this purpose, even in extremely small firms.</p><p><strong>Originality/Value</strong> - This study is one of very few to focus on supply chain maturity of SME:s and analyze the linkage between financial performance and supply chain maturity in SME:s. This is particularly significant since earlier research implicate that SME:s has a very low maturity and in addition to that a high potential of improvements in this area. Maybe the findings of this study can be a starting point for these SME:s to take their maturity to a higher level and improve their financial performance. These findings might be valuable for further research in the linkage between maturity and superior performance in SME:s.</p><p><strong>Key words</strong> - Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Performance, Supply Chain Maturity, Financial Performance, Logistic Performance.</p><p><strong>Paper type</strong> - Thesis/research paper</p>

<p>This examination work aims to describe how a supply chain around the biggest pellets factory in Sweden will be configured in a logistic perspective. The plant and associated infrastructure are in the building phase and will have production start on the 2 November 2009. The key question that is set in this examination work is to recognize the logistic processes which are essential for an effective flow of materials and information that link the source of supply with the ultimate customer. In order to get the answer, a flowcharting of these supply chain processes is required for understanding the pipeline activities such as input and storage of raw material, the production system and the output of pellets to the customers. The basis for this supply chain map is a model-based representation of these logistic processes and activities that are involved around the pellets factory. This model was configured according to scientific theories and the supply chain's fundamental concept. In these maps, the model will highlight the network of inter-linked activities in the system and finally show the opportunities for recommendations and improvements in productivity through reengineering those logistic processes.</p>

The rate of overweight in children is increasing at an alarming rate. The IOM (2005) estimated 9 million children over the age of six in the United States are obese. Between 1980 and 2002 the CDC (2002) estimated the rate of childhood obesity has doubled for adolescents ages 12 to 19 years (7% to 16%), and tripled for those children ages six to 11 years (5% to 16%). The health consequences of being overweight are severe and lead to decreased longevity and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine which factors (diet, physical activity, stress, sleep, gender, ethnicity, parental obesity, self-perception, and SES) have predictive value in the development of overweight in children in grades six through eight. The epidemiological framework, Web of Causation was used to guide this study. This model originally described by MacMahon, Pugh, and Ispen (1960) allows for the investigation of multiple causative and associated factors including lifestyle, environment, psychosocial factors, health care availability, nutrition, and physical activity. A cross-sectional predictive study was completed with 75 parent and child participants from a parochial school in south Florida. A univariate analysis of all potential predictors identified in the literature using a significance of p < .25 was performed. The dependent factor was the child's BMI greater than 85% for age and gender. Fourteen factors were included in the final forward stepwise logistic regression analysis. Instruments included family demographics, the parent and student Middle School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (MSPAN), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Harter's Self-Perception Scale for Children (SPSC). The sample demographics were Hispanic (60%), Caucasian (25%), and Multiethnic (8%), and other (7%). The final logistics regression model found that father's obesity (OR 5.99; p= 0.001) and Self-perception of Physical Appearance (OR 0.43; p=0.038) were predictive factors of overweight in this sample of children. The findings of this study supported that family dynamics play a part in the development of this chronic disease. Future research should be directed at defining factors that place children at risk for overweight in order to develop meaningful interventions to curb this pandemic.

Problem discussion:   Information Logistics has with the rising of the new technologies developed into a key is-sue for companies seeking competitive advantage. The birth and expansion of Internet has brought down the boundaries that kept business partners from sharing extensive informa-tion between each other (McClelland, 2003). The increase of information has yielded a bet-ter understanding of your business partners and one could perhaps think that it is only positive outcomes derived from the increased information sharing. However, research show upon an extensive need for structuring the information flows which relates to an or-ganization. Gartner group (2003) presented an investigation present ting that managers spend over 49 minutes every day in their mailbox for reading and sending e-mails and Del-phi Group (2002) presented figures saying that executives spend over two hours a day searching for the right information (cited in Sandkuhl, 2005). Expected outcomes for im-proving the information logistics are however not only related to time savings activities, business partners could also expect enhanced improvement regarding business processes and operational efficiency. The need for structuring the information flow is therefore an in-teresting subject to investigate and will also be the focus of this thesis. For specifying and narrowing the theoretical framework the authors have chosen to focus upon information sharing based on a web-based system. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how a company can utilize a web-based system to share information with their first tier suppliers. Methodology: In order to fulfil the purpose a case study approach has been chosen whereas semi-structured telephone interviews have been complimented with face-to-face interviews for gathering material. The rationale for the chosen approach was because the information needed to fulfil the purpose was of the character to be found in a qualitative study by going in-depth into the field. Conclusion: The importance in utilizing a web-based system is for the buyer to facilitate user handiness and provide trustworthy information to suppliers. The shared information has to be cor-rect, easy accessible, and customized for suppliers. Information requested by the suppliers are, updated inventory levels, lead-time from Husqvarna to end customer, back orders, or-der fulfillment, on-time deliveries, complete orders, forecasts, and sell-through information.

Influenza is a public health problem that causes serious illness and deaths all over the world. Vaccination has been shown to be the most effective mean to prevent infection. The primary component of influenza vaccine is the weakened strains. Vaccination triggers the immune system to develop antibodies against those strains whose viral surface glycoprotein hemagglutinin (HA) is similar to that of vaccine strains. However, influenza vaccine must be updated annually since the antigenic structure of HA is constantly mutation. Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay is a laboratory procedure frequently applied to evaluate the antigenic relationships of the influenza viruses. It enables the World Health Organization (WHO) to recommend appropriate updates on strains that will most likely be protective against the circulating influenza strains. However, HI assay is labour intensive and time-consuming since it requires several controls for standardization. We use two machine-learning methods, i.e. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Logistic Regression, and a Mixed-Integer Optimization Model to predict antigenic variety. The ANN generalizes the input data to patterns inherent in the data, and then uses these patterns to make predictions. The logistic regression model identifies and selects the amino acid positions, which contribute most significantly to antigenic difference. The output of the logistic regression model will be used to predict the antigenic variants based on the predicted probability. The Mixed-Integer Optimization Model is formulated to find hyperplanes that enable binary classification. The performances of our models are evaluated by cross validation.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia is a kind of blood cancer with around 1 incidence per 100 000 persons/year. After the development of an effective treatment, imatinib, in the late 1990:s, the survival percentage has increased drastically. The high survival has turned the attention to different kinds of treatment responses, which in turn are good prognostic factors to future health status. In this thesis, the focus is on whether or not the patient has achieved a so called major molecular response after 12 month, or not. More precisely, the aim is to find prognostic factors to the 12 month response. In order to find prognostic factors for this binary response variable, a multivariate logistic regression analysis is conducted, with the goal of finding a parsimonious logistic model that describes the data. The analysis is done from a merged dataset from three earlier studies. The prognostic factors in the final model are treatment, 3 month response, and enlarged spleen. However, the residual analysis indicates that the model is incomplete, implying that further research needs to be done.

Background: Women and men in Sweden are in paid work to almost the same extent, but are found in different occupations and positions in the labour market. Still, women perform the bulk of the unpaid domestic work at home. Gendered inequalities in these respects leave women and men exposed to different work environments and responsibilities, which in turn can have gendered health consequences. In public health research there is a lack of studies on domestic work that include women and men, as well as a lack of qualitative studies exploring individuals’ experiences of domestic work and mental health. At the workplace level, few attempts have been made to analyse how several dimensions of gender equality at workplaces are related to health status and there is a lack of studies with a contextual approach combining many different variables that are at play simultaneously. Because of the cross-sectional design of previous studies on paid and domestic work there is a lack of analyses taking possible health-related selection into account, which makes it difficult to ascertain whether gender equality leads to better health or if good health is a prerequisite for gender equality. Aim: The aim of this thesis was to analyse gender relations of work (at workplaces and at home) in relation to mental illness among women and men. Methods: The thesis was based on data from the Northern Swedish Cohort. The baseline survey was conducted in 1981 when the participants were 16 years old (n= 1080, 574 boys and 506 girls), with follow-up at age 18, 21, 30 and 42. The response rate was 94 % throughout the last follow-up in 2007. Data from the Northern Swedish Cohort were supplemented with register data about the employees at the participants’ workplaces. The analysis methods for the questionnaire and register data were logistic regression analysis and cluster analysis. Interviews were performed with four women and four men in the Northern Swedish Cohort and were analysed with a Grounded Theory approach. Results: Women had overall greater responsibility for domestic work. Gender inequality in responsibility for domestic work and perceptions of gender inequality in the couple relationship (after adjustments for background variables and previous psychological distress) were associated with psychological distress among women and men. However, among men the relation between domestic work inequalities and psychological distress was affected by socioeconomic position relative to the partner. Having less responsibility for domestic work and a partner with higher socioeconomic position was associated with psychological distress among men. The qualitative analysis showed that gender relations were an important part of how the domestic work was unequally organised and related to experiences of mental illness among women and men. Among women the high burden of domestic work was experienced as an obstacle to experiencing good health. Among men the experience of being trapped in an outmoded masculinity was related to feelings of stress. At the workplace level, patterns of gender inequality were associated with psychological distress among women, but not among men. However, the most gender-equal pattern was related to lower as well as more similar levels of mental illness among women and men, which supports a convergence in health when women’s and men’s work conditions become more similar. Conclusion: Gender equality at home and at work is central for reducing mental illness among both women and men, but also for achieving a good average health status in the population, which is a central public health target. When investigating social inequalities in health, gender perspectives are of great importance for deepening the understanding of how and why gender inequalities in paid and domestic work are related to mental illness. Integrating gender perspectives into public health policy could be a way to acknowledge power relations that hinder good public health. / Bakgrund: Kvinnor och män i Sverige yrkesarbetar i nästan samma sträckning, men återfinns i olika yrken och positioner på arbetsmarknaden. Samtidigt utför kvinnor merparten av det obetalda arbetet i hemmet. Könade orättvisor i dessa avseenden innebär att kvinnor och män utsätts för olika arbetsmiljöer och ansvarsområden, vilket kan medföra könade hälsokonsekvenser. Dock är det få folkhälsovetenskapliga studier om obetalt arbete i hemmet och hälsa som inkluderar både kvinnor och män. Det är också en brist på kvalitativa studier som undersöker individers upplevelser av det obetalda arbetet i hemmet och psykisk hälsa. På arbetsplatsnivå har det gjorts få försök att analysera hur olika dimensioner av jämställdhet på arbetsplatser är relaterade till hälsostatus, och det är en brist på studier med en kontextuell metod som tar hänsyn till hur flera olika variabler samspelar. Tidigare folkhälsovetenskapliga studier som undersökt förvärvsarbete och hemarbete har framförallt använt sig av en tvärsnittsdesign, vilket gjort det svårt att utreda riktningen av samband mellan jämställdhet och psykisk hälsa, det vill säga om jämställdhet leder till bättre hälsa eller om god hälsa är en förutsättning för jämställdhet. Syfte: Syftet med denna avhandling var att analysera genusrelationer i arbete (på arbetsplatser och i hemmet) i förhållande till självskattad psykisk ohälsa bland kvinnor och män. Metod: Avhandlingen bygger på data från Luleåkohorten. Baslinjeundersökningen genomfördes år 1981 då deltagarna var 16 år (n=1080, 574 pojkar och 506 flickor). Uppföljningar har genomförts vid 18, 21, 30 och 42 års ålder och svarsfrekvensen var 94% under det senaste uppföljningen år 2007. Data från Luleåkohorten kompletterades med registerdata om anställda på deltagarnas arbetsplatser. Analysmetoder för enkät- och registerdata var logistisk regressionsanalys och klusteranalys. Intervjuer har genomförts med fyra kvinnor och fyra män i kohorten och analyserats med grundad teori. Resultat: Kvinnor hade totalt sett ett större och män ett mindre ansvar för det obetalda arbetet i hemmet. Upplevelse av bristande jämställdhet i ansvar för obetalt arbete i hemmet och i parrelationen hade ett samband med psykisk ohälsa bland kvinnor och män (även efter justering för bakgrundsvariabler och tidigare psykisk ohälsa). Att ha mindre ansvar för det obetalda arbetet i hemmet och en partner med högre socioekonomisk klass hade även ett samband med psykisk ohälsa bland män. Den kvalitativa analysen visade att genusrelationer var en viktig del i en ojämställd organisering av hemarbete och relaterade till upplevelser av psykisk ohälsa bland kvinnor och män. En hög belastning av hemarbete var ett hinder för kvinnor att uppleva en god hälsa. Upplevelser av att vara instängd i en omodern maskulinitet innebar en stressfull situation bland män. Mönster av ojämställdhet på arbetsplatser hade ett samband med psykisk ohälsa för kvinnor, men inte för män. Däremot visade sig de mest jämställda arbetsplats-mönstern vara relaterade till lägre och mer liknande nivåer av psykisk ohälsa bland kvinnor och män, vilket stödjer en konvergens i hälsa när kvinnor och mäns arbetsplats förhållanden är likvärdiga. Slutsats: Jämställdhet på arbetsplatser och i hemmet är viktigt för att minska psykisk ohälsa både bland kvinnor och män, men också för att uppnå en god genomsnittlig hälsa i befolkningen, något som är ett centralt folkhälsomål. Vid analyser av social ojämlikhet i hälsa är genusperspektiv av stor betydelse för att fördjupa förståelsen om hur och varför ojämställdhet i på arbetsplatser och i hemmet är relaterat till psykisk ohälsa. Att integrera genusperspektiv i folkhälsopolicy kan vara ett sätt att ta hänsyn till de maktrelationer som förhindrar en god folkhälsa.