"As you receive with one hand, so should you give with the other": the mutual-help practices of Cape Verdeans on the Lisbon periphery”

Rural Cape Verdeans employ a number of mutual-help practices to mitigate the uncertainties surrounding activities fundamental to their subsistence. One of these practices is djunta mon (‘to work together’), a loosely planned, non-monetized system of allocating labor at peak intervals during the growing season. By means of djunta mon, neighbors or family members work in each other’s fields until the tasks of every landowning participant are complete. Alongside djunta mon in rural Cape Verde exist a number of other non-remunerated mutual-help practices, such as djuda mutua (‘mutual help’) and laja kaza (‘to add concrete to one’s house’). While less visible than djunta mon, they are nonetheless important in completing tasks essential to rural life in the islands. In this thesis, I will attempt to show how Cape Verdean immigrants in Lisbon have adapted the mutual-help practices of rural Cape Verde to a new, transnational context. The iterations of these practices in Lisbon differ from their rural counterparts in that they involve fewer people, occur on a year-round basis, and are concerned primarily with domestic work. They also help people find employment, access childcare, secure interest-free credit, and construct or repair houses. I will argue that extensive mutual-help ties ensure Cape Verdean migrants in Lisbon a sufficient pool of family and friends upon which they can rely for support and assistance. An additional element I will explore is the perception among Cape Verdean immigrants that these mutual-help practices seem to be occurring with less frequency. While this shift is in part due to the availability of other means of support, I will contend that the changing attitude of Cape Verdeans towards mutual help is also due to their encountering neoliberal notions of ‘self-accountability.’ Thus, Cape Verdeans perceive that their mutual-help practices are in decline, while simultaneously needing the material support that they provide.

Challenges to the implementation of behavioural survellance for HIV/STI in Europe

Background: Well-conducted behavioural surveillance (BS) is essential for policy planning and evaluation. Data should be comparable across countries. In 2008, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) began a programme to support Member States in the implementation of BS for Second Generation Surveillance. Methods: Data from a mapping exercise on current BS activities in EU/EFTA countries led to recommendations for establishing national BS systems and international coordination, and the definition of a set of core and transversal (UNGASS-Dublin compatible) indicators for BS in the general and eight specific populations. A toolkit for establishing BS has been developed and a BS needs-assessment survey has been launched in 30 countries. Tools for BS self-assessment and planning are currently being tested during interactive workshops with country representatives. Results: The mapping exercise revealed extreme diversity between countries. Around half had established a BS system, but this did not always correspond to the epidemiological situation. Challenges to implementation and harmonisation at all levels emerged from survey findings and workshop feedback. These include: absence of synergy between biological and behavioural surveillance and of actors having an overall view of all system elements; lack of awareness of the relevance of BS and of coordination between agencies; insufficient use of available data; financial constraints; poor sustainability, data quality and access to certain key populations; unfavourable legislative environments. Conclusions: There is widespread need in the region not only for technical support but also for BS advocacy: BS remains the neglected partner of second generation surveillance and requires increased political support and capacity-building in order to become effective. Dissemination of validated tools for BS, developed in interaction with country experts, proves feasible and acceptable.

Oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC): alcohol and tobacco consumption versus non-consumption. A study in a Portuguese population

There has been an increase in the incidence of carcinoma of the tongue, particularly among alcohol and tobacco non-users. However, the number of studies that would allow a better understanding of etiological factors and clinical features, particularly in the Portuguese population, is very limited. This study was based on patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anterior two thirds of the tongue that were treated at the Department of Head and Neck Surgery of the ¿Instituto Portugues de Oncologia de Lisboa - Francisco Gentil" IPOLFG) in Lisbon, Portugal, between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2009. The patients were divided in alcohol and tobacco users and non-users in order to evaluate the differences between these 2 groups based on gender, age, tumor location, denture use, and tumor size, metastasis and stage. Of the 354 cases, 208 were users and 146 were non-users. The main location in both groups was the lateral border of the tongue. Denture use showed no significant effect in both study groups. It was possible to conclude that patients who did not drink or smoke were older and presented with smaller tumor size, lower incidence of ganglion metastasis and lower tumor stage compared with alcohol and tobacco users.

Partnering in the International Marketplace: The Role of Culture for Trust Development in Multicultural Partnerships

Tutkimuksen tarkoitus oli kasvattaa tietämystä kultuurin vaikutuksesta luottamuksen rakentamiseen monikulttuurisissa partnerisuhteissa. Kulttuurin oletettiin aiheuttavan hankaluuksia pitkäaikaisen suhteen luomisessa, etenkin luottamuksen ollessa kyseessä, sillä kulttuurit ja tavat olivat erilaisia toimittajan ja asiakkaan päässä. Tutkimus käsitteli johtajan nakökulmaa: mikä oli johtajien mielestä kriittistä luottamuksen ja yhteistyön onnistumiselle. Empiirinen osa suoritettiin UPM-Kymmenellä ja sen kolme partneria valittiin case-esimerkeiksi. Tutkimus keskittyi ostaja-myyjä –suhteeseen. Materiaali kerättiin case-asiakkaista vastuussa olevia myyntijohtajia haastattelemalla. Tulos oli, että johtajille tärkeintä yhteistyössä olivat samanlaiset organisaatiokulttuurit sekä normit. Kansallisella kulttuurilla oli merkittävä vaikutus suhteen alussa sekä liikeasioiden mennessä huonosti. Luottamuksen havaitseminen eri kultuurien välillä todettiin vaikeaksi. Eri arvot, viestintätyylit, jopa kieli joissain tapauksissa vaikeuttivat luottamuksen rakentamista. Luottamus oli erilaista maasta riippuen, sen tyyli ja määrä vaihteli.

Communication challenges in virtual teams – a case study of implementing computer-mediated communication technologies in inter-organisational virtual teams

This thesis seeks to answer, if communication challenges in virtual teams can be overcome with the help of computer-mediated communication. Virtual teams are becoming more common work method in many global companies. In order for virtual teams to reach their maximum potential, effective asynchronous and synchronous methods for communication are needed. The thesis covers communication in virtual teams, as well as leadership and trust building in virtual environments with the help of CMC. First, the communication challenges in virtual teams are identified by using a framework of knowledge sharing barriers in virtual teams by Rosen et al. (2007) Secondly, the leadership and trust in virtual teams are defined in the context of CMC. The performance of virtual teams is evaluated in the case study by exploiting these three dimensions. With the help of a case study of two virtual teams, the practical issues related to selecting and implementing communication technologies as well as overcoming knowledge sharing barriers is being discussed. The case studies involve a complex inter-organisational setting, where four companies are working together in order to maintain a new IT system. The communication difficulties are related to inadequate communication technologies, lack of trust and the undefined relationships of the stakeholders and the team members. As a result, it is suggested that communication technologies are needed in order to improve the virtual team performance, but are not however solely capable of solving the communication challenges in virtual teams. In addition, suitable leadership and trust between team members are required in order to improve the knowledge sharing and communication in virtual teams.

Best practice report on policy learning infrastructures in innovative labour market policies

This report synthesizes the findings of 11 country reports on policy learning in labour market and social policies that were conducted as part of WP5 of the INSPIRES project, which is funded by the 7th Framework Program of the EU-Commission. Notably, this report puts forward objectives of policy learning, discusses tools, processes and institutions of policy learning and presents the impacts of various tools and structures of the policy learning infrastructure for the actual policy learning process. The report defines three objectives of policy learning: evaluation and assessment of policy effectiveness, vision building and planning, and consensus building. In the 11 countries under consideration, the tools and processes of the policy learning, infrastructure can be classified into three broad groups: public bodies, expert councils, and parties, interest groups and the private sector. Finally, we develop four recommendations for policy learning: Firstly, learning processes should keep the balance between centralisation and plurality. Secondly, learning processes should be kept stable beyond the usual political business cycles. Thirdly, policy learning tools and infrastructures should be sufficiently independent from political influence or bias. Fourth, Policy learning tools and infrastructures should balance out mere effectiveness, evaluation and vision building.

Ambiental volatile organic compounds in the megacity of São Paulo

In order to characterize the composition of the main urban air organic compounds in the megacity of Sao Paulo, analysis of samples collected during the winter of 2003 downtown was carried out. The samplings were performed on the roof of a building in the commercial center of São Paulo. Hydrocarbons and carbonyls compounds were collected on August 4, 5 and 6. Comparing to previous data, the concentration of hydrocarbons presented no decrease in the concentration, except for the aldehydes, which decreased when compared to previous data. Among the HCs species analyzed, the highest concentrations observed were those of toluene (7.5 ± 3.4 ppbv), n-decane (3.2 ± 2.0 ppbv), benzene (2.7 ± 1.4 ppbv) and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (2.2 ± 1.5 ppbv).

Petri Net approach for modelling system integration in intelligent buildings

In this paper, a Petri Net approach is introduced for modelling and simulation of control strategies in Intelligent Building. In this context, it is claimed that integration with other building systems can be achieved in a more systematic way considering a mechatronic approach (i.e. multidisciplinary concepts applied to the development of systems). The case study is the Ambulatory Building of Medical School Hospital of University of São Paulo. Particularly, the developed methodology is applied to the elevator system and to the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) system. It is shown that using this approach, the control systems could be integrated, improving performance.

Designing in the real world is complex anyway - so what?

Designing is a heterogeneous, fuzzily defined, floating field of various activities and chunks of ideas and knowledge. Available theories about the foundations of designing as presented in "the basic PARADOX" (Jonas and Meyer-Veden 2004) have evoked the impression of Babylonian confusion. We located the reasons for this "mess" in the "non-fit", which is the problematic relation of theories and subject field. There seems to be a comparable interface problem in theory-building as in designing itself. "Complexity" sounds promising, but turns out to be a problematic and not really helpful concept. I will argue for a more precise application of systemic and evolutionary concepts instead, which - in my view - are able to model the underlying generative structures and processes that produce the visible phenomenon of complexity. It does not make sense to introduce a new fashionable meta-concept and to hope for a panacea before having clarified the more basic and still equally problematic older meta-concepts. This paper will take one step away from "theories of what" towards practice and doing and try to have a closer look at existing process models or "theories of how" to design instead. Doing this from a systemic perspective leads to an evolutionary view of the process, which finally allows to specify more clearly the "knowledge gaps" inherent in the design process. This aspect has to be taken into account as constitutive of any attempt at theory-building in design, which can be characterized as a "practice of not-knowing". I conclude, that comprehensive "unified" theories, or methods, or process models run aground on the identified knowledge gaps, which allow neither reliable models of the present, nor reliable projections into the future. Consolation may be found in performing a shift from the effort of adaptation towards strategies of exaptation, which means the development of stocks of alternatives for coping with unpredictable situations in the future.

Achieving carbon reduction from listed buildings in the UK: A case study on The Royal Academy of Engineering, London

A carbon reduction strategy for a historic Grade 1 listed office building in London is presented. The study evaluates the impact of49 different carbon abatement options, quantified using building simulation software, auditing procedures and qualitative methods. The impact of each option is assessed against three criteria: carbon abatement potential, practicality and cost. The strategy comprises of18interventions,integrated within 12 key recommendations. Accumulative reduction of 37% (below a 2009 carbon emissions baseline)appears achievable and only feasible with heavy reliance on changes in occupant behaviour. This theme appears central in achieving realistic and significant carbon savings from listed buildings, where planning constraints relinquish potential for major building fabric alteration and renewable energy installations.

Evaluating the legacies of state-building: success, failure, and the role of responsibility

What impact do international state-building missions have on the domestic politics of states they seek to build, and how can we measure this impact with confidence? This article seeks to address these questions and challenge some existing approaches that often appear to assume that state-builders leave lasting legacies rather than demonstrating such influence with the use of carefully chosen empirical evidence. Too often, domestic conditions that follow in the wake of international state-building are assumed to follow as a result of international intervention, usually due to insufficient attention to the causal processes that link international actions to domestic outcomes. The article calls for greater appreciation of the methodological challenges to establishing causal inferences regarding the legacies of state-building and identifies three qualitative methodological strategies—process tracing, counterfactual analysis, and the use of control cases—that can be used to improve confidence in causal claims about state-building legacies. The article concludes with a case study of international state-building in East Timor, highlighting several flaws of existing evaluations of the United Nations' role in East Timor and identifying the critical role that domestic actors play even in the context of authoritative international intervention

Surrounding buildings and wind pressure distribution on a high-rise building

The effect of the surrounding lower buildings on the wind pressure distribution on a high-rise building is investigated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). When B/H=0.1, it is found that the wind pressure on the windward side was reduced especially on the lower part, but for different layers of surrounding buildings, there was no great difference, which agrees with our previous wind tunnel experiment data. Then we changed the aspect ratio from 0.1 to 2, to represent different airflow regimes: skimming flow (SF), and wake interference (WI). It shows that the average Cp increases when B/H increases. For different air flow regimes, it is found that insignificant difference exists when the number of the building layers is more than 2. From the engineering point of view, it is sufficient to only include the first layer for natural ventilation design by using CFD simulation or wind tunnel experiment.