Neutron imaging is a non-destructive technique with many applications in diverse fields such as industrial quality assurance, archaeology, and border security. However with the high cost of the standard fill gas 3He and the high cost of scaling conventional digital imaging systems to large areas its applications are limited. Here is presented the proof of concept for a gaseous neutron imaging system utilizing a 10B4C solid state converter and THGEM technology and 2D passive delay line readout. THGEMs used for signal amplification can be produced cost effectively and in large areas by PCB manufacturers. This combined with the reduced channel processing requirements of delay lines over individual pixel readouts results in a cost-effective and scalable system when compared to similar designs using solid state multipliers such as silicon photomultipliers. Here is presented a proof of concept of this imaging system with data acquisition accomplished by digitization and offline image reconstruction achieving mean X and Y resolution of <sigma_x> = (1.37+-0.24) mm and <sigma_y> = (1.15+-0.13) mm respectively. Studied in parallel with this system is the effectiveness of gadolinium oxide based paint as a thermal neutron shield and image contrast agent. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / In this work is presented the development process of a novel and cost-effective neutron imaging system capable of imaging soft biological and dense materials that X-rays are unable to penetrate. Such a system may be scaled to large areas for many applications including the study of large archeological objects or employed as a security measure to monitor border checkpoints for transportation of controlled radioactive materials.

The Swedish healthcare system strives to maximize the health of the population and at the same time consider a fair distribution of health. In this consideration, the severity of disease is an important attribute as high severity signals a higher need for healthcare. Currently, the Dental and pharmaceuticals benefits agency (TLV) operationalizes this approach by striking a balance between efficiency and equity when deciding which prescription pharmaceuticals that should be reimbursed. The agency uses a qualitative approach to assess the severity of diseases. There are however quantitative methods that can be used to assess disease severity such as absolute and proportional shortfall, indicating how much health is lost compared to the general population. In this study, we quantify the severity of different diseases using absolute and proportional shortfall based on information available from TLV decisions and compare those with the agency´s qualitative assessment. To quantify severity, we use data from publicly available decision-documents from TLV and estimated health of the general population.  The results show that quantitative assessments of disease severity with absolute and proportional shortfall differ from the qualitative assessments made by TLV. A large range of absolute and proportional shortfall estimates was observed for diseases assessed to have a specific severity by TLV. A quantitative approach to disease severity could contribute to a more objective severity assessments than current practice. Furthermore, as disease severity is an important aspect of TLV´s prioritization a quantitative assessment could contribute to a fairer allocation of resources in healthcare. / Den svenska sjukvården strävar efter att maximera hälsan hos befolkningen samtidigt som hänsynskall tas till hur hälsan fördelas. Hur vårdens knappa resurser skall fördelas bygger på tre principerfrån en etisk plattform: människovärdesprincipen, behovs- och solidaritetsprincipen ochkostnadseffektivitetsprincipen. Sjukdomars svårighetsgrad är därmed en viktig prioriteringsgrundnär sjukvårdens resurser skall fördelas eftersom hög svårighetsgrad innebär ett större behov avvård. Tandvårds- och läkedelsförmånsverket (TLV) använder exempelvis denna ansats vid beslutom vilka förskrivningsläkemedel som skall få subvention. TLV använder idag en kvalitativ ansatsi bedömningen av svårighetsgrad. Det finns även kvantitativa metoder som bygger på hur myckethälsa patienter förväntas förlora jämfört med individer utan sjukdom, så kallade shortfallmått. Idenna studie kvantifierar vi svårighetsgraden med absolute och proportional shortfall försjukdomar som varit föremål för beslut av TLV och jämför dessa med TLV:s kvalitativabedömningar. För att kvantifiera svårighetsgraden används data från TLV:s beslutsunderlag samtskattad hälsa i normalpopulationen. Resultaten visar att de kvantitativa skattningarna av svårighetsgrad med absolute och proportionalshortfall skiljer sig från de kvalitativa bedömningarna från TLV. Det förekommer ett stort spannav absolute och proportional shortfall för sjukdomar med en specifik svårighetsgrad bedömd avTLV. En kvantitativ ansats kan därmed bidra till mer objektiva skattningar av svårighetsgradjämfört med dagens kvalitativa ansats. Eftersom bedömningen av svårighetsgrad är en viktig delav TLV:s prioriteringsbeslut är ett förslag att myndighetens kvalitativa ansats kompletteras medkvantitativa mått för att säkerställa en rättvis och effektiv resursfördelning inom hälso- ochsjukvården.

PROPHAZ is a computer program created for the analysis of survival data using the general proportional hazards model. It was designed specifically for the situation in which the underlying hazard function may be estimated from the mortality experience of a large reference population, but may be used for other problems as well. Input for the program includes the variables of interest as well as the information necessary for estimating the hazard function (demographic and mortality data). Regression coefficients for the variables of interest are obtained iteratively using the Newton-Raphson method. Utilizing large sample asymptotic theory, χ2 statistics are derived which may be used to test hypotheses of the form Cβ = 0. Input format is completely flexible for the variables of interest as well as the mortality data.

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The older population is growing rapidly and businesses must prepare for changes in their workforce. Cases of age discrimination have also become more common. Older workers are being forced out of their jobs at a faster rate than any other age group. As a result, older workers commonly take jobs in different careers, where they compete with younger workers who have similar relevant experience and are valued for their youth. Both prototype matching theory and career timetables theory state that people hold stereotypes of the job in addition to stereotypes of people. In laboratory research, a mismatch between the age of the worker and the age-type of the job has led to lower evaluations, lower job suitability ratings, and other indicators of discrimination. The purpose of this thesis is to assess whether the construct of age-type is related to discrimination in real-world legal cases. Real life instances of discrimination were attained from a 15-year sample of 388 age discrimination jury verdicts and settlements. Each job in the sample of cases was rated to determine age-type, perceived proportion of older and younger workers in the job, and importance of stereotypically older worker features to the job. Results showed that all forms of age stereotypes, both general and specific, were related to the frequency of cases in jobs associated with older or younger stereotypes. Specifically, older workers were more likely to have age discrimination cases go to trial in younger age-typed jobs. However, these variables did not help to predict formal outcomes of the cases (win vs. loss). Among the cases that did win, cases in older age-typed jobs won significantly more money than in younger age-typed jobs.

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