Intervenção social com as famílias = Intervention sociale avec les familles

RESUMO: Breve apresentação de uma família e sua problemática, beneficiária do Rendimento Social de Inserção, bem como as dificuldades que a técnica encontra no acompanhamento da mesma. ABSTRACT: Brief presentation of a family and set of problems raised by their social situation that receives a social subsidy for reinsertion, as well as the difficulties that the social worker encounters.

A incubação das micro, pequenas e médias empresas (MPMEs) em Portugal : uma discussão sobre custos de transacção, dimensão competitiva e a cadeia de valor

RESUMO: Este trabalho tem por objectivo discutir as formas como as incubadoras de empresas contribuem para a criação da cadeia de valores de Micros, Pequenas e Médias Empresas (MPMEs) permitindo a redução dos seus custos de transacção. Para melhor compreender a forma como se reduzem os custos de transacção é importante conhecer os pressupostos comportamentais que provocam a existência de tais custos: a racionalidade limitada, porque a nossa forma de pensar tem limitações; e o oportunismo, porque há pessoas com comportamentos desonestos envolvidas no negócio. O verdadeiro poder explicativo da teoria dos custos de transacção está, no entanto, na análise de três variáveis que determinam se esses custos serão mais baixos numa estrutura hierárquica ou num mercado. Estas três variáveis são: a especificidade de activos - se uma transacção envolve ou não activos específicos à actividade da empresa; a incerteza - qual o grau de incerteza em encontrar um produto ou serviço externo à empresa; e a frequência - e se um bem ou serviço é frequentemente utilizado ou não. As incubadoras de empresas são actualmente consideradas como uma iniciativa essencial ao desenvolvimento socioeconómico regional, e nacional. Estas instituições contribuem para corrigir ineficiências no mercado, conferindo às empresas uma capacidade de inovação tecnológica que garante empregos e a criação de riquezas, aumentando o bem-estar da sociedade. O sucesso da sua actuação resume-se à capacidade para gerar dimensões virtuais que contribuem para a cadeia de valores, permitindo as MPMEs, a redução dos seus custos de transacção. ABSTRACT: This work aims to discuss the relevant forms how incubators contribute to the value chain of a in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME´s) reducing their transaction costs. To better understand how transaction costs can be reduced one must recognize the behavioral assumptions that are behind there existence; bounded rationality - because our way of thinking has limitations and opportunism - because there are dishonest people involved in the business. The true cost theory´s explanatory power comes from the analyses of the three variables that determine whether those costs will be lower in a hierarchical structure or a market structure. These three variables are: specificity of assets - if the transaction involves or not specific assets in for the firm´s activity; the uncertainty - what is the degree of uncertainty in finding a product or service external to the firm; and the frequency - what is the frequency of the good or service use. Business incubators are currently regarded as a key initiative for the national or regional economic development. The institutions contribute to correct market inefficiencies, improving the capacity of firms to produce technological innovations that guaranty jobs and wealth creation increasing welfare. The success of this all boils down to the capacity to create virtual dimensions that contributes to the MSME´s value chain reducing transaction costs.

Estágios de desenvolvimento econômico e políticas públicas de empreendedorismo e de micro, pequenas e médias empresas (MPMEs) em perspectiva comparada: os casos do Brasil, do Canadá, do Chile, da Irlanda e da Itália

Esta pesquisa explora em perspectiva comparada as políticas públicas de empreendedorismo e Micro, Pequenas e Médias Empresas (MPMEs) no Brasil, no Canadá, no Chile e na Itália. A hipótese fundamental é que economias no estágio de inovação tendem a desenvolver mais políticas de empreendedorismo do que as de países no estágio da eficiência. Da mesma forma, países no estágio de inovação tendem a usar menos instrumentos de políticas de MPMEs do que países em estágio de eficiência, quase sempre para incentivar grupos, setores ou regiões em específico. O artigo contribui com a literatura de empreendedorismo ao analisar na prática a convergência/divergência das escolhas de política pública e estágio de desenvolvimento.

Dificuldades e perspectivas no acesso de micro e pequenas empresas a linhas de crédito públicas: o caso de Chapecó

Estas linhas se constituem em políticas que pretendem promover o desenvolvimento econômico e social através da geração de trabalho e renda. Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar se as linhas de crédito públicas - Proger e BNDES/Finame - foram acessadas pelas microempresas no município de Chapecó (SC), suas dificuldades e perspectivas. Caracteriza-se como um estudo exploratório descritivo, com abordagem qualitativa. Do universo investigado constatou-se um baixo índice de acesso, existindo mais dificuldades do que perspectivas concretas de que essas linhas se constituam em políticas de inclusão social que promovam o desenvolvimento para o município e região. A ausência de informações dos públicos-alvo a serem beneficiados por essas políticas mostra a necessidade de reformular as diretrizes de exigência necessárias para o acesso ao crédito.

Qualified intervention/qualifying formation

An education promoting scientific literacy (SL) that prepares the citizens to a responsible citizenship has persisted as an argument across discussions on curricula design. The ubiquity of science and technology on contemporary societies and the ideological requirement of informed democratic participation led to the identification of relevant categories that drive curriculum reforms towards a humanistic approach of school science. The category ‘Science as culture’ acquires in the current work a major importance: it enlightens the meaning of scientific literacy. Looking closely to the French term, culture scientifique et tecnologique, turns science simultaneously into a cultural object and product that can be both received and worked at different levels and within several approaches by the individuals and the communities. On the other hand, nonformal and informal education spaces gain greater importance. Together with the formal school environment these spaces allow for an enrichment and diversification of learning experiences. Examples of nonformal spaces where animators can develop their work may be science museums or botanical gardens; television and internet can be regarded as informal education spaces. Due to the above mentioned impossibility of setting apart the individual or community-based experiences from Science and Technology (S&T), the work in nonformal and informal spaces sets an additional challenge to the preparation of socio-cultural animators. Socio-scientific issues take, at times, heavily relevance within the communities. Pollution, high tension lines, spreading of diseases, food contamination or natural resources conservation are among the socio-scientific issues that often call upon arguments and emotions. In the context of qualifying programmes on socio-cultural animation (social education and community development) within European Higher Education Area (EHEA) the present study describes the Portuguese framework. The comparison of programmes within Portugal aims to contribute to the discussion on the curriculum design for a socio-cultural animator degree (1st cycle of Bologna process). In particular, this study intends to assess how the formation given complies with enabling animators to work, within multiple scenarios, with communities in situations of socio-scientific relevance. A set of themes, issues and both current and potential fields of action, not described or insufficiently described in literature, is identified and analysed in the perspective of a qualified intervention of animators. One of these examples is thoroughly discussed. Finally, suggestions are made about curriculum reforms in order, if possible, to strongly link the desired qualified intervention with a qualifying formation.

Implication of an intervention program for the promotion of physical activity in the quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis

The aims of this study is to examine the interest for quality of life of an implementation of program physical activity, with patients of multiple sclerosis.

Multi-agent simulation of continental, regional, and micro electricity markets

Renewable based power generation has significantly increased over the last years. However, this process has evolved separately from electricity markets, leading to an inadequacy of the present market models to cope with huge quantities of renewable energy resources, and to take full advantage of the presently existing and the increasing envisaged renewable based and distributed energy resources. This paper proposes the modelling of electricity markets at several levels (continental, regional and micro), taking into account the specific characteristics of the players and resources involved in each level and ensuring that the proposed models accommodate adequate business models able to support the contribution of all the resources in the system, from the largest to the smaller ones. The proposed market models are integrated in MASCEM (Multi- Agent Simulator of Competitive Electricity Markets), using the multi agent approach advantages for overcoming the current inadequacy and significant limitations of the presently existing electricity market simulators to deal with the complex electricity market models that must be adopted.

Optimal scheduling of a renewable micro-grid in an isolated load area using mixed-integer linear programming

In the energy management of the isolated operation of small power system, the economic scheduling of the generation units is a crucial problem. Applying right timing can maximize the performance of the supply. The optimal operation of a wind turbine, a solar unit, a fuel cell and a storage battery is searched by a mixed-integer linear programming implemented in General Algebraic Modeling Systems (GAMS). A Virtual Power Producer (VPP) can optimal operate the generation units, assured the good functioning of equipment, including the maintenance, operation cost and the generation measurement and control. A central control at system allows a VPP to manage the optimal generation and their load control. The application of methodology to a real case study in Budapest Tech, demonstrates the effectiveness of this method to solve the optimal isolated dispatch of the DC micro-grid renewable energy park. The problem has been converged in 0.09 s and 30 iterations.

Parental cognitive dimensions associated with preschool children’s eating habits: an intervention study

Childhood excessive weight and obesity are a major public health concern from early childhood. Early childhood is an important period of development for developing healthy eating habits, that may be associated with an adequate present/future BMI. There is extensive evidence that children’s food intake is shaped by early experiences, suggesting ways in which parenting practices may be promoting obesity. But what leads parents to endorse healthier or detrimental educational practices and routines needs further study. 1. Perception of children’s weight: parents of overweight or obese children often fail to correctly perceive their children as overweight; failing to recognize their children’s excessive weight may impeach parents from implementing the best educational practices. 2. Concern: relation between the adequacy of mothers perception of their children’s weight and the level of concern - parental concern is be associated with parental practices. 3. Attribution of control: also, if parents do not consider their children’s eating behavior at least partially controllable by them, they may relinquish some of their responsibility in this area. Self-efficacy: evidence linking parental self-efficacy to parent competence and to parenting practices and behaviors; low parental self-efficacy related to the control of everyday behavior of young children may lead parents to abandon more consistent health practices and endorse permissive and inconsistent strategies. We designed 2 sequential studies that aim to contribute to the understanding of cognitive determinants of children’s eating patterns.

Word learning and text organisation: an intervention case

In the present study we focus on the interaction between the acquisition of new words and text organisation. In the acquisition of new words we emphasise the acquisition of paradigmatic relations such as hyponymy, meronymy and semantic sets. We work with a group of girls attending a private school for adolescents in serious difficulties. The subjects are from disadvantaged families. Their writing skills were very poor. When asked to describe a garden, they write a short text of a single paragraph, the lexical items were generic, there were no adjectives, and all of them use mainly existential verbs. The intervention plan assumed that subjects must to be exposed to new words, working out its meaning. In presence of referents subjects were taught new words making explicit the intended relation of the new term to a term already known. In the classroom subjects were asked to write all the words they knew drawing the relationships among them. They talk about the words specifying the relation making explicit pragmatic directions like is a kind of, is a part of or are all x. After that subjects were exposed to the task of choosing perspective. The work presented in this paper accounts for significant differences in the text of the subjects before and after the intervention. While working new words subjects were organising their lexicon and learning to present a whole entity in perspective.

Implications of the Intervention Program for Physical Activity (IPPA) in the perception of illness and wellbeing in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

The aim of this study is to examine the implications of the IPPA in the perception of illness and wellbeing in MS patients. Methods - This is a quasi experimental study non-randomized study with 24 MS patients diagnosed at least 1 year before, and with an EDSS score of under 7. We used the IPPA in 3 groups of eight people in 3 Portuguese hospitals (Lisbon, Coimbra, and Porto). The sessions were held once a week for 90 minutes, over a period of 7 weeks. The instruments used were: We asked the subjects the question “Please classify the severity of your disease?” and used the Personal Wellbeing Scale (PWS) at the beginning (time A) and end (time B) of the IPPA. We used the SPSS version 20. A non-parametric statistical hypothesis test (Wilcoxon test) was used for the variable analysis. The intervention followed the recommendations of the Helsinki Declaration. Results – The results suggest that there are differences between time A and B, the perception of illness decreased (p<0.08), while wellbeing increased (p<0.01). Conclusions: The IPPA can play an important role in modifying the perception of disease severity and personal wellbeing.

Monte Carlo modeling and simulations of the High Definition (HD120) micro MLC and validation against measurements for a 6 MV beam

Purpose: The most recent Varian® micro multileaf collimator(MLC), the High Definition (HD120) MLC, was modeled using the BEAMNRCMonte Carlo code. This model was incorporated into a Varian medical linear accelerator, for a 6 MV beam, in static and dynamic mode. The model was validated by comparing simulated profiles with measurements. Methods: The Varian® Trilogy® (2300C/D) accelerator model was accurately implemented using the state-of-the-art Monte Carlo simulation program BEAMNRC and validated against off-axis and depth dose profiles measured using ionization chambers, by adjusting the energy and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the initial electron beam. The HD120 MLC was modeled by developing a new BEAMNRC component module (CM), designated HDMLC, adapting the available DYNVMLC CM and incorporating the specific characteristics of this new micro MLC. The leaf dimensions were provided by the manufacturer. The geometry was visualized by tracing particles through the CM and recording their position when a leaf boundary is crossed. The leaf material density and abutting air gap between leaves were adjusted in order to obtain a good agreement between the simulated leakage profiles and EBT2 film measurements performed in a solid water phantom. To validate the HDMLC implementation, additional MLC static patterns were also simulated and compared to additional measurements. Furthermore, the ability to simulate dynamic MLC fields was implemented in the HDMLC CM. The simulation results of these fields were compared with EBT2 film measurements performed in a solid water phantom. Results: Overall, the discrepancies, with and without MLC, between the opened field simulations and the measurements using ionization chambers in a water phantom, for the off-axis profiles are below 2% and in depth-dose profiles are below 2% after the maximum dose depth and below 4% in the build-up region. On the conditions of these simulations, this tungsten-based MLC has a density of 18.7 g cm− 3 and an overall leakage of about 1.1 ± 0.03%. The discrepancies between the film measured and simulated closed and blocked fields are below 2% and 8%, respectively. Other measurements were performed for alternated leaf patterns and the agreement is satisfactory (to within 4%). The dynamic mode for this MLC was implemented and the discrepancies between film measurements and simulations are within 4%. Conclusions: The Varian® Trilogy® (2300 C/D) linear accelerator including the HD120 MLC was successfully modeled and simulated using the Monte CarloBEAMNRC code by developing an independent CM, the HDMLC CM, either in static and dynamic modes.

Banco de ensaios para micro geração eólica

Mestrado em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores

Estudo técnico relativo à instalação de micro eólicas em edifícios urbanos para microprodução de energia eléctrica

O Planeta Terra tem vindo a ser fustigado pelas alterações climáticas resultado da poluição ambiental provocada pelo Homem. Com o objectivo de minimizar estes efeitos deletérios, os países mais desenvolvidos estabeleceram compromissos relativamente às emissões de gases com efeito de estufa, tendo por base o Protocolo de Kyoto. A iniciativa «Renováveis na Hora» é uma das medidas previstas no plano para a política de energia e alterações climáticas, apresentado em Fevereiro de 2008, pelo Ministério da Economia e da Inovação Português. Actualmente, em Portugal, existe um mercado emergente para a microgeração, que se rege segundo a legislação aplicada recentemente, que estabelece o novo regime jurídico aplicável à produção de energia por intermédio de unidades de microprodução. Esta iniciativa levará à criação de um novo paradigma de exploração e utilização de energia. Deste modo, é fundamental avançar com alguns alertas das condições de exploração. A energia eólica é umas das fontes renováveis em que o rendimento de conversão pode atingir valores interessantes (poderá ser superior a 50%) e em determinadas regiões o seu potencial é bastante bom, nomeadamente em zonas litorais e em zonas montanhosas. Em ambiente urbano é impraticável a instalação de grandes torres eólicas, mas a micro produção baseada em pequenas turbinas eólicas é perfeitamente possível e desejável. O propósito deste trabalho é realizar um estudo de cariz técnico acerca da instalação de um mini parque eólico num edifício urbano, tendo em conta todas as condicionantes (velocidade do vento, obstáculos na zona, altura de montagem, inter-distância entre aerogeradores). Foi realizado um software que irá auxiliar a escolha dos aerogeradores e inversores para o tipo de local onde vai ser instalado o parque eólico.

Helical Twisting of Electrospun Liquid Crystalline Cellulose Micro- and Nanofibers

Helically twisted fibers can be produced by electrospinning liquid-crystalline cellulose solutions. Fiber topographies are studied by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (see figure) and polarized optical microscopy. The fibers have a nearly universal pitch-to-diameter ratio and comprise both right- and left-handed helices.