Implementation and evaluation of permeability-porosity and tortuosity-porosity relationships linked to mineral dissolution-precipitation

Changes of porosity, permeability, and tortuosity due to physical and geochemical processes are of vital importance for a variety of hydrogeological systems, including passive treatment facilities for contaminated groundwater, engineered barrier systems (EBS), and host rocks for high-level nuclear waste (HLW) repositories. Due to the nonlinear nature and chemical complexity of the problem, in most cases, it is impossible to verify reactive transport codes analytically, and code intercomparisons are the most suitable method to assess code capabilities and model performance. This paper summarizes model intercomparisons for six hypothetical scenarios with generally increasing geochemical or physical complexity using the reactive transport codes CrunchFlow, HP1, MIN3P, PFlotran, and TOUGHREACT. Benchmark problems include the enhancement of porosity and permeability through mineral dissolution, as well as near complete clogging due to localized mineral precipitation, leading to reduction of permeability and tortuosity. Processes considered in the benchmark simulations are advective-dispersive transport in saturated media, kinetically controlled mineral dissolution-precipitation, and aqueous complexation. Porosity changes are induced by mineral dissolution-precipitation reactions, and the Carman-Kozeny relationship is used to describe changes in permeability as a function of porosity. Archie’s law is used to update the tortuosity and the pore diffusion coefficient as a function of porosity. Results demonstrate that, generally, good agreement is reached amongst the computer models despite significant differences in model formulations. Some differences are observed, in particular for the more complex scenarios involving clogging; however, these differences do not affect the interpretation of system behavior and evolution.

"Learning together, growing with family": the implementation and evaluation of a family support programme

The "Learning together, growing with family" programme is targeted to at-risk parents and children from 6 to 11 years old, with a preventive focus on promoting positive parent-child relationships. In this study, we examined the quality of the programme implementation and its influence on the programme results in a sample of 425 parents and 138 facilitators drawn from the first trial. Mixed methods were used, consisting of: parental self-reports on parenting dimensions, professionals' records on parental attendance and appraisals on six topics of the implementation process, and focus group discussions in which facilitators reported on the initial steps of the implementation. Results showed a high quality of implementation with respect to the group facilitator and the programme organization factors, followed by the coordination with services and the support facilities offered to participants and, finally, by the factors of fidelity and prior organization steps. Results of the focus groups confirmed that the prior steps were challenging and offered the more effective strategies. Better quality in the implementation factors predicted better parenting styles and parental competencies after the programme, as well as a higher attendance rate. In sum, this study demonstrates the importance of good implementation in at-risk contexts and provides some clues as to the key elements that moderate programme effectiveness.

2013 survey of Iowa groundwater and evaluation of public well vulnerability classifications for contaminants of emerging concern (2015)

Studies in Iowa have long documented the vulnerability of wells with less than 50 feet (15 meters) of confining materials above the source aquifer to contamination from nitrate and various pesticides. Recent studies in Wisconsin have documented the occurrence of viruses in untreated groundwater, even in wells considered to have little vulnerability to contamination from near-surface activities. In addition, sensitive methods have become available for analyses of pharmaceuticals and pesticides. This study represents the first comprehensive examination of contaminants of emerging concern in Iowa’s groundwater conducted to date, and one of the first conducted in the United States. Raw groundwater samples were collected from 66 public supply wells during the spring of 2013, when the state was recovering from drought conditions. Samples were analyzed for 206 chemical and biological parameters; including 20 general water-quality parameters and major ions, 19 metals, 5 nutrients, 10 virus groups, 3 species of pathogenic bacteria, 5 microbial indicators, 108 pharmaceuticals, 35 pesticides and pesticide degradates, and tritium. The wells chosen for this study represent a diverse range of ages, depths, confining material thicknesses, pumping rates, and land use settings. The most commonly detected contaminant group was pesticide compounds, which were present in 41% of the samples. As many as 6 pesticide compounds were found together in a sample, most of which were chloroacetanilide degradates. While none of the measured concentrations of pesticide compounds exceeded current benchmark levels, several of these compounds are listed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Contaminant Candidate List and could be subject to drinking water standards in the future. Despite heavy use in the past decade, glyphosate was not detected, and its metabolite, aminomethylphosphonic acid, was only detected in two of 60 wells tested (3%) at the detection limit of 0.02 μg/L. Pharmaceutical compounds were detected in 35% of 63 samples. Of the 14 pharmaceuticals detected, six had reported concentrations above the method reporting limit, with the maximum reported concentration of 826 ng/L for acetaminophen. Diphenhydramine was the only pharmaceutical to have two detections above the reporting limit, at 24.5 and 145 ng/L. Eight pharmaceuticals had confirmed detections at concentrations below the method reporting limit. Caffeine was the most frequently detected pharmaceutical compound (25%), followed by the caffeine metabolite, 1,7-dimethylxanthine (16%). Microorganisms were detected in 21% of the wells using quantitative polymerase chain reaction methodologies. The most frequently detected microorganism was the pepper mild mottle virus (PMMV), a plant pathogen found in human waste. PMMV was detected in 17% of samples at concentrations ranging from 0.4 to 6.38 gene copies per liter. GII norovirus, human polyomavirus, bovine polyomavirus, and Campylobacter were also detected, while adenovirus, enterovirus, GI norovirus, swine hepatitis E, Salmonella, and enterohemmorhagic E. coli were not detected. No correlations were found between viruses or pathogenic bacteria and microbial indicators. Wells with less than 50 feet (15 meters) of confining material were shown to have greater incidence of surface-related contaminants; however, significant relationships (p<0.05) between confining layer thickness and contaminants were only found for nitrate and herbicides.

The new final Clinical Skills examination in human medicine in Switzerland: Essential steps of exam development, implementation and evaluation, and central insights from the perspective of the national Working Group.

OBJECTIVE: Since 2011, the new national final examination in human medicine has been implemented in Switzerland, with a structured clinical-practical part in the OSCE format. From the perspective of the national Working Group, the current article describes the essential steps in the development, implementation and evaluation of the Federal Licensing Examination Clinical Skills (FLE CS) as well as the applied quality assurance measures. Finally, central insights gained from the last years are presented. METHODS: Based on the principles of action research, the FLE CS is in a constant state of further development. On the foundation of systematically documented experiences from previous years, in the Working Group, unresolved questions are discussed and resulting solution approaches are substantiated (planning), implemented in the examination (implementation) and subsequently evaluated (reflection). The presented results are the product of this iterative procedure. RESULTS: The FLE CS is created by experts from all faculties and subject areas in a multistage process. The examination is administered in German and French on a decentralised basis and consists of twelve interdisciplinary stations per candidate. As important quality assurance measures, the national Review Board (content validation) and the meetings of the standardised patient trainers (standardisation) have proven worthwhile. The statistical analyses show good measurement reliability and support the construct validity of the examination. Among the central insights of the past years, it has been established that the consistent implementation of the principles of action research contributes to the successful further development of the examination. CONCLUSION: The centrally coordinated, collaborative-iterative process, incorporating experts from all faculties, makes a fundamental contribution to the quality of the FLE CS. The processes and insights presented here can be useful for others planning a similar undertaking.

The new final Clinical Skills examination in human medicine in Switzerland: Essential steps of exam development, implementation and evaluation, and central insights from the perspective of the national Working Group

Objective: Since 2011, the new national final examination in human medicine has been implemented in Switzerland, with a structured clinical-practical part in the OSCE format. From the perspective of the national Working Group, the current article describes the essential steps in the development, implementation and evaluation of the Federal Licensing Examination Clinical Skills (FLE CS) as well as the applied quality assurance measures. Finally, central insights gained from the last years are presented. Methods: Based on the principles of action research, the FLE CS is in a constant state of further development. On the foundation of systematically documented experiences from previous years, in the Working Group, unresolved questions are discussed and resulting solution approaches are substantiated (planning), implemented in the examination (implementation) and subsequently evaluated (reflection). The presented results are the product of this iterative procedure. Results: The FLE CS is created by experts from all faculties and subject areas in a multistage process. The examination is administered in German and French on a decentralised basis and consists of twelve interdisciplinary stations per candidate. As important quality assurance measures, the national Review Board (content validation) and the meetings of the standardised patient trainers (standardisation) have proven worthwhile. The statistical analyses show good measurement reliability and support the construct validity of the examination. Among the central insights of the past years, it has been established that the consistent implementation of the principles of action research contributes to the successful further development of the examination. Conclusion: The centrally coordinated, collaborative-iterative process, incorporating experts from all faculties, makes a fundamental contribution to the quality of the FLE CS. The processes and insights presented here can be useful for others planning a similar undertaking. Keywords: national final examination, licensing examination, summative assessment, OSCE, action research

Development and evaluation of a youth mental health community awareness campaign - The Compass Strategy

Background: Early detection and treatment of mental disorders in adolescents and young adults can lead to better health outcomes. Mental health literacy is a key to early recognition and help seeking. Whilst a number of population health initiatives have attempted to improve mental health literacy, none to date have specifically targeted young people nor have they applied the rigorous standards of population health models now accepted as best practice in other health areas. This paper describes the outcomes from the application of a health promotion model to the development, implementation and evaluation of a community awareness campaign designed to improve mental health literacy and early help seeking amongst young people. Method: The Compass Strategy was implemented in the western metropolitan Melbourne and Barwon regions of Victoria, Australia. The Precede-Proceed Model guided the population assessment, campaign strategy development and evaluation. The campaign included the use of multimedia, a website, and an information telephone service. Multiple levels of evaluation were conducted. This included a cross-sectional telephone survey of mental health literacy undertaken before and after 14 months of the campaign using a quasi-experimental design. Randomly selected independent samples of 600 young people aged 12 - 25 years from the experimental region and another 600 from a comparison region were interviewed at each time point. A series of binary logistic regression analyses were used to measure the association between a range of campaign outcome variables and the predictor variables of region and time. Results: The program was judged to have an impact on the following variables, as indicated by significant region-by-time interaction effects ( p < 0.05): awareness of mental health campaigns, self-identified depression, help for depression sought in the previous year, correct estimate of prevalence of mental health problems, increased awareness of suicide risk, and a reduction in perceived barriers to help seeking. These effects may be underestimated because media distribution error resulted in a small amount of print material leaking into the comparison region. Conclusion: We believe this is the first study to apply the rigorous standards of a health promotion model including the use of a control region to a mental health population intervention. The program achieved many of its aims despite the relatively short duration and moderate intensity of the campaign.

The development and evaluation of distance learning materials for administrative personnel in a multi-national company

There has been substantial research into the role of distance learning in education. Despite the rise in the popularity and practice of this form of learning in business, there has not been a parallel increase in the amount of research carried out in this field. An extensive investigation was conducted into the entire distance learning system of a multi-national company with particular emphasis on the design, implementation and evaluation of the materials. In addition, the performance and attitudes of trainees were examined. The results of a comparative study indicated that trainees using distance learning had significantly higher test scores than trainees using conventional face-to-face training. The influence of the previous distance learning experience, educational background and selected study environment of trainees was investigated. Trainees with previous experience of distance learning were more likely to complete the course and with significantly higher test scores than trainees with no previous experience. The more advanced the educational background of trainees, the greater the likelihood of their completing the course, although there was no significant difference in the test scores achieved. Trainees preferred to use the materials at home and those opting to study in this environment scored significantly higher than those studying in the office, the study room at work or in a combination of environments. The influence of learning styles (Kolb, 1976) was tested. The results indicated that the convergers had the greatest completion rates and scored significantly higher than trainees with the assimilator, accommodator and diverger learning styles. The attitudes of the trainees, supervisors and trainers were examined using questionnaire, interview and discussion techniques. The findings highlighted the potential problems of lack of awareness and low motivation which could prove to be major obstacles to the success of distance learning in business.

Is there space for senior civil servants hybrid management models across political- administrative systems?

Comunicação apresentada na 17.ª conferência anual da NISPACee, realizada de 14 a 16 de Maio de 2009.

Entte o estado e a sociedade civil organizada: avaliação do projeto "Olhares da Kova" na perspetiva das políticas públicas territorializadas

Dissertação de Mestrado em Gestão e Políticas Públicas

Participação no processo orçamentário (PPA, LDO, LOA) por meio de aplicativos móveis: uma proposta para o governo do estado de São Paulo

Este trabalho tem como objetivo explorar como o governo do Estado de São Paulo pode utilizar a tecnologia para fortalecer a participação dos cidadãos no processo orçamentário público por meio de aplicativos móveis. Nos últimos anos, o advento e a difusão de novas tecnologias tem impactado significativamente o relacionamento do Estado com os cidadãos em todo o mundo. Uma destas mudanças é a difusão e popularização de smartphones e tablets, que impõe desafios e oportunidades em termos de prestação de serviços e participação do cidadão no processo de elaboração, implementação e avaliação de políticas públicas. Para o alcance dos objetivos deste trabalho, como método de pesquisa, foi realizada, inicialmente, uma revisão da literatura sobre m-government, e-democracia e sistema orçamentário brasileiro. Em um segundo momento foi realizada a observação de experiências internacionais e nacionais, posteriormente aplicada ao estudo do caso do governo do Estado de São Paulo, explorando as possibilidades de utilização do m-government no processo orçamentário paulista. A partir de 2010, as leis anuais de diretrizes orçamentárias do Estado de São Paulo, passaram a conter dispositivos com relação à realização de audiências públicas ao Orçamento Estadual, de forma regionalizada. O uso das TICs no processo orçamentário pode contribuir para facilitar o entendimento dos complexos conceitos de finanças públicas e orçamento público. A utilização do m-government para elaboração de um futuro aplicativo no Estado de São Paulo deve possuir uma área explicativa, com textos e vídeos educativos, possibilitando aos cidadãos uma participação mais qualificada e efetiva. Conclui-se que os temas de e-democracia e m-government ainda são incipientes no Brasil, porém representam uma oportunidade para que governos se aproximem dos cidadãos, tendo em vista que ainda não está sendo explorado o potencial de interação e comunicação através da internet e aplicativos móveis. Esta perspectiva ainda não está inserida na agenda governamental, mas a sociedade civil está cobrando participação efetiva no ciclo de políticas públicas. Sugere-se que seja ampliada a adoção do uso de ferramentas tecnológicas de m-government e e-government, porque tendem a contribuir na interação entre cidadãos e o governo na elaboração, implementação e avaliação de políticas públicas com o aperfeiçoamento da alocação dos escassos recursos orçamentários disponíveis.

Alfabetização no Brasil: conjecturas sobre as relações entre políticas públicas e seus sujeitos privados

As complexas e polêmicas questões relativas a formulação, implementação e avaliação de políticas públicas para a educação no Brasil, nas últimas décadas, vêm sendo objeto de importantes estudos e pesquisas. Como resultado, tem-se acumulado significativo corpo de conhecimentos a esse respeito, o que propicia avanços no debate e possibilita novos estudos e pesquisas a respeito de aspectos cada vez mais específicos da temática. Com o objetivo de contribuir para esse debate, apresentam-se neste artigo conjecturas a respeito da relação entre setores públicos estatais decorrente especificamente do novo tipo de parceria entre órgãos públicos do Estado e docentes pesquisadores das universidades públicas para formulação, implementação e avaliação de políticas públicas para a alfabetização, iniciada na década de 1980 e enfatizada a partir da década de 1990, com a reforma do Estado brasileiro.

Programa Nacional de Incentivo à Leitura - PROLER: avaliação da implementação pelo Comitê Potiguar

The National Reading Incentive Program (PROLER) is a national initiative to promote and encourage reading throughout the country, linked to the National Library Foundation (FBN) of the Ministry of Culture (MinC). This research aims to assess the PROLER’s implementation process in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, from the actions of their local committee. The framework is based on contextualize the policies that seek to encourage the book and reading, as well as the processes of implementation and evaluation of public policies. The research is understood as a qualitative descriptive-exploratory study, comprising a single case study. Makes use of semi-structured interview as a tool for data collection, which was attended by 8 members of Potiguar Committee as respondents. The techniques of bibliographical and documentary analysis were used for the analysis and discussion of data obtained from surveys and documents on PROLER; as to the content of the interviews, the technique used was the analysis of conversations. As for the results, the existence of four barriers to program implementation in the state that are worth mentioning is observed: a) the political-administrative discontinuity; b) the limited resources and few partnerships; c) the management of school libraries and absence from the post of librarian in the state and; d) the absence of a process or assessment tool able to evaluate the results or the impacts of actions taken by the Potiguar Committee. It was noticed that these limiting four come PROLER making the implementation of the Rio Grande do Norte a process that, although complying with the national regulations of teacher training and follow school libraries and their needs, not flawed to develop assessments that can measure program impacts, making the feedback process of ineffective policy. Another observation of this study is seen in the fact that the Committee did not get enough to supply their shares resources, as well as not being able to articulate new partnerships, thus contributing negatively to the scope of the program form and, consequently, for the effectiveness of their actions. Has even mentioning the fact that the Committee do nothing regarding the mismanagement of the libraries that are in their care, ie, do not use the power of coercion as guaranteed by the National Policy on Reading and federal laws that treat the school library, and is therefore ineffective in relation to compliance with the program guidelines

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2009-2010: The distributive impact of public policies

Includes bibliography

American foreign policies; an examination and evaluation of certain traditional and recent international policies of the United States /

Mode of access: Internet.