Circuit board accident - organizational dimension hidden by prescribed safety

This study analyzes an accident in which two maintenance workers suffered severe burns while replacing a circuit breaker panel in a steel mill, following model of analysis and prevention of accidents (MAPA) developed with the objective of enlarging the perimeter of interventions and contributing to deconstruction of blame attribution practices. The study was based on materials produced by a health service team in an in-depth analysis of the accident. The analysis shows that decisions related to system modernization were taken without considering their implications in maintenance scheduling and creating conflicts of priorities and of interests between production and safety; and also reveals that the lack of a systemic perspective in safety management was its principal failure. To explain the accident as merely non-fulfillment of idealized formal safety rules feeds practices of blame attribution supported by alibi norms and inhibits possible prevention. In contrast, accident analyses undertaken in worker health surveillance services show potential to reveal origins of these events incubated in the history of the system ignored in practices guided by the traditional paradigm.

Inovações tecnológicas e a complexidade do sistema econômico

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Investigação sobre um grupo de pesquisa como espaço de formação inicial de professores e pesquisadores de Biologia

Pós-graduação em Educação para a Ciência - FC

A sociedade e a natureza na paisagem urbana: análise de indicadores para avaliar a qualidade ambiental

Pós-graduação em Geografia - FCT

Divisão do trabalho inovador: análise do papel do Estado na perspectiva dos organismos de apoio de Birigui-SP

Pós-graduação em Ciências Sociais - FFC

Life cycle assessment applied to municipal solid waste management: a case study

This study analyzes the environmental performance of the Municipal Solid Waste Management System (MSWMS) of Piedade, São Paulo, from a systemic perspective. A life cycle assessment (LCA) technique was applied according to an attributional approach to evaluate both the current operational situation and different prospective scenarios, which were devised based on the application of targets for recycling dry and wet waste suggested by the pre-draft version of the Brazilian Plan for Solid Waste. The life cycle impact assessment method EcoIndicator 99, in association with normalization and weighting procedures, was used to conduct the analysis. It was observed that the adoption of goals of 30%, 50% and 70% for recovering of the recyclable dry waste, resulted in improvement of the environmental performance of the waste management system under analysis, respectively of 10%, 15% and 20%. It was also possible to detect an evolution in the order of 54% in reducing impacts resulting from the adoption of targets for composting. LCA proved to be effective for the evaluation of the environmental performance of MSWMS-Piedade. However, for future evaluations, the attributional approach should be replaced by the methodological practice of substitution to enable the avoided burdens to be considered in estimations of the environmental performance municipal solid waste management systems.

Gestão ambiental em escolas de negócios: mapeando o estado-da-arte

Following the guidelines of the United Nations, which established the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) and the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), the pressure on business schools for incorporating environmental management in their core activities (teaching, research, extension and university management) have intensified. In contrast, in Brazil, this discussion is still embryonic, and in some cases, the Business Schools seem to be in latter than the environmental management practiced by the world-class companies in the industrial sector. Therefore, this article prospected and systematized the state of the art on the inclusion of environmental management issues in the activities of Business Schools, by mapping the territory of the main academic works in this subject. The main results indicate that the state of the art is represented by: a vibrant leadership of U.S. researchers and others developed countries, a clear analytical reductionism of research, mainly by focusing on the dimension "teaching" does not addressing a systemic perspective that encompasses environmental management in the range of typical activities of Business Schools, a significant predominance of theoretical studies on the subject and a consequent lack of empirical studies, mainly based on multiple cases.

O estatuto moral dos animais não-humanos em uma perspectiva sistêmica

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Intra- and extracellular osmotic regulation in the hololimnetic Caridea and Anomura: a phylogenetic perspective on the conquest of fresh water by the decapod Crustacea

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Paediatric rheumatology - A global perspective

This chapter aims to give a global perspective to paediatric rheumatology. The main points covered are the incidence, recognition of paediatric autoimmune diseases, and ethnic/geographic distribution. The most prevalent disease is juvenile idiopathic arthritis; robust data are still required for childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, and scleroderma. Mimicking or overlapping infections are a major challenge in developing countries, and immunization policies in our patients in these areas need specific attention. The delivery of paediatric rheumatology care is also overviewed. Discrepancies in health-care resources and priorities are found in developing countries. Although most anti-rheumatic treatments are available worldwide, they are prohibitively expensive in many countries. For more traditional antirheumatic drugs there is still an ongoing need for good core outcome data across the world to ensure valid comparisons. Parent/patient education has been implemented worldwide in paediatric rheumatology through the power of the Internet. Physician and undergraduate training goals must be met to facilitate competent musculoskeletal assessment, a proper understanding of age-dependent variations, diagnosis, referral to specialists, and improved standards of care.