Approaches to issues of job regulation. A study at branch level in a white collar, public sector trade union. Available in 2 volumes.

This study examines the internal dynamics of white collar trade union branches in the public sector. The effects of a number of internal and external factors on branch patterns of action are evaluated. For the purposes of the study branch action is taken to be the approach to issues of job regulation, as expressed along the five dimensions of dependence on the outside trade union, focus in issues adopted, initiation of issues, intensity of action in issue pursuit and representativeness. The setting chosen for the study is four branches drawn from the same geographical area of the National and Local Government Officers Association. Branches were selected to give a variety in industry settings while controlling for the potentially influential variables of branch size, density of trade union membership and possession of exclusive representational rights in the employing organisation. Identical methods of data collection were used for each branch. The principal findings of the study are that the framework of national agreements and industry collective bargaining structures are strongly related to the industrial relations climate in the employing organisation and the structures of representation within the branch. Where agreements and collective bargaining structures formally restrict branch job regulation roles, there is a degree of devolution of bargaining authority from branch level negotiators to autonomous shop stewards at workplace level. In these circumstances industrial relations climate is characterised by a degree of informality in relationships between management and trade union activists. In turn, industrial relations climate and representative structures together with actor attitudes, have strong effects on all dimensions of approach to issues of job regulation.

Uma proposta de preparação para equipes jovens de voleibol feminino

Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Faculdade de Educação Física

Proteomic analysis of low- to high-grade astrocytomas reveals an alteration of the expression level of raf kinase inhibitor protein and nucleophosmin

Proteomic approaches have been useful for the identification of aberrantly expressed proteins in complex diseases such as cancer. These proteins are not only potential disease biomarkers, but also targets for therapy. The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed proteins in diffuse astrocytoma grade II, anaplastic astrocytoma grade III and glioblastoma multiforme grade IV in human tumor samples and in non-neoplastic brain tissue as control using 2-DE and MS. Tumor and control brain tissue dissection was guided by histological hematoxylin/eosin tissue sections to provide more than 90% of tumor cells and astrocytes. Six proteins were detected as up-regulated in higher grade astrocytomas and the most important finding was nucleophosmin (NPM) (p < 0.05), whereas four proteins were down-regulated, among them raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) (p < 0.05). We report here for the first time the alteration of NPM and RKIP expression in brain cancer. Our focus on these proteins was due to the fact that they are involved in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and RAS/RAF/MAPK pathways, known for their contribution to the development and progression of gliomas. The proteomic data for NPM and RKIP were confirmed by Western blot, quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. Due to the participation of NPM and RKIP in uncontrolled proliferation and evasion of apoptosis, these proteins are likely targets for drug development.

Increasing profits and reducing risks in crop production using participatory systems simulation approaches

The development of cropping systems simulation capabilities world-wide combined with easy access to powerful computing has resulted in a plethora of agricultural models and consequently, model applications. Nonetheless, the scientific credibility of such applications and their relevance to farming practice is still being questioned. Our objective in this paper is to highlight some of the model applications from which benefits for farmers were or could be obtained via changed agricultural practice or policy. Changed on-farm practice due to the direct contribution of modelling, while keenly sought after, may in some cases be less achievable than a contribution via agricultural policies. This paper is intended to give some guidance for future model applications. It is not a comprehensive review of model applications, nor is it intended to discuss modelling in the context of social science or extension policy. Rather, we take snapshots around the globe to 'take stock' and to demonstrate that well-defined financial and environmental benefits can be obtained on-farm from the use of models. We highlight the importance of 'relevance' and hence the importance of true partnerships between all stakeholders (farmer, scientists, advisers) for the successful development and adoption of simulation approaches. Specifically, we address some key points that are essential for successful model applications such as: (1) issues to be addressed must be neither trivial nor obvious; (2) a modelling approach must reduce complexity rather than proliferate choices in order to aid the decision-making process (3) the cropping systems must be sufficiently flexible to allow management interventions based on insights gained from models. The pro and cons of normative approaches (e.g. decision support software that can reach a wide audience quickly but are often poorly contextualized for any individual client) versus model applications within the context of an individual client's situation will also be discussed. We suggest that a tandem approach is necessary whereby the latter is used in the early stages of model application for confidence building amongst client groups. This paper focuses on five specific regions that differ fundamentally in terms of environment and socio-economic structure and hence in their requirements for successful model applications. Specifically, we will give examples from Australia and South America (high climatic variability, large areas, low input, technologically advanced); Africa (high climatic variability, small areas, low input, subsistence agriculture); India (high climatic variability, small areas, medium level inputs, technologically progressing; and Europe (relatively low climatic variability, small areas, high input, technologically advanced). The contrast between Australia and Europe will further demonstrate how successful model applications are strongly influenced by the policy framework within which producers operate. We suggest that this might eventually lead to better adoption of fully integrated systems approaches and result in the development of resilient farming systems that are in tune with current climatic conditions and are adaptable to biophysical and socioeconomic variability and change. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bayesian feedback versus Markovian feedback in a two-level atom

We compare two different approaches to the control of the dynamics of a continuously monitored open quantum system. The first is Markovian feedback, as introduced in quantum optics by Wiseman and Milburn [Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 548 (1993)]. The second is feedback based on an estimate of the system state, developed recently by Doherty and Jacobs [Phys. Rev. A 60, 2700 (1999)]. Here we choose to call it, for brevity, Bayesian feedback. For systems with nonlinear dynamics, we expect these two methods of feedback control to give markedly different results. The simplest possible nonlinear system is a driven and damped two-level atom, so we choose this as our model system. The monitoring is taken to be homodyne detection of the atomic fluorescence, and the control is by modulating the driving. The aim of the feedback in both cases is to stabilize the internal state of the atom as close as possible to an arbitrarily chosen pure state, in the presence of inefficient detection and other forms of decoherence. Our results (obtained without recourse to stochastic simulations) prove that Bayesian feedback is never inferior, and is usually superior, to Markovian feedback. However, it would be far more difficult to implement than Markovian feedback and it loses its superiority when obvious simplifying approximations are made. It is thus not clear which form of feedback would be better in the face of inevitable experimental imperfections.

VPP´s multi-level negotiation in smart grids and competitive electricity markets

The increase of distributed generation (DG) has brought about new challenges in electrical networks electricity markets and in DG units operation and management. Several approaches are being developed to manage the emerging potential of DG, such as Virtual Power Players (VPPs), which aggregate DG plants; and Smart Grids, an approach that views generation and associated loads as a subsystem. This paper presents a multi-level negotiation mechanism for Smart Grids optimal operation and negotiation in the electricity markets, considering the advantages of VPPs’ management. The proposed methodology is implemented and tested in MASCEM – a multiagent electricity market simulator, developed to allow deep studies of the interactions between the players that take part in the electricity market negotiations.

Phonological and articulation treatment approaches in Portuguese children with speech and language impairments: a randomized controlled intervention study

Background: In Portugal, the routine clinical practice of speech and language therapists (SLTs) in treating children with all types of speech sound disorder (SSD) continues to be articulation therapy (AT). There is limited use of phonological therapy (PT) or phonological awareness training in Portugal. Additionally, at an international level there is a focus on collecting information on and differentiating between the effectiveness of PT and AT for children with different types of phonologically based SSD, as well as on the role of phonological awareness in remediating SSD. It is important to collect more evidence for the most effective and efficient type of intervention approach for different SSDs and for these data to be collected from diverse linguistic and cultural perspectives. Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of a PT and AT approach for treatment of 14 Portuguese children, aged 4.0–6.7 years, with a phonologically based SSD. Methods & Procedures: The children were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment approaches (seven children in each group). All children were treated by the same SLT, blind to the aims of the study, over three blocks of a total of 25 weekly sessions of intervention. Outcome measures of phonological ability (percentage of consonants correct (PCC), percentage occurrence of different phonological processes and phonetic inventory) were taken before and after intervention. A qualitative assessment of intervention effectiveness from the perspective of the parents of participants was included. Outcomes & Results: Both treatments were effective in improving the participants’ speech, with the children receiving PT showing a more significant improvement in PCC score than those receiving the AT. Children in the PT group also showed greater generalization to untreated words than those receiving AT. Parents reported both intervention approaches to be as effective in improving their children’s speech. Conclusions & Implications: The PT (combination of expressive phonological tasks, phonological awareness, listening and discrimination activities) proved to be an effective integrated method of improving phonological SSD in children. These findings provide some evidence for Portuguese SLTs to employ PT with children with phonologically based SSD

New Shop Floor Control Approaches for Virtual Enterprises

The virtual enterprise paradigm seems a fit response to face market instability and the volatile nature of business opportunities increasing enterprise’s interest in similar forms of networked organisations. The dynamic environment of a virtual enterprise requires that partners in the consortium own reconfigurable shop floors. This paper presents new approaches to shop floor control that meet the requirements of the new industrial paradigms and argues on work re-organization at shop floor level.

Biomarkers in Solea Senegalensis Kaup, 1858 exposed to contaminated estuarine sediments: a multi-level approach

Thesis submitted to the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Sciences

Geospatial data harmonization from regional level to european level: a usa case in forest fire data

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

Proteomic and Transcriptomic Approaches to Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Rice (Oryza sativaL.)

Dissertação para a obtenção de grau de doutor em Biologia pelo Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica da Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Internationalization strategies and methods of construction firms – a comparative study between Hong Kong - Chinese and Portuguese – European approaches

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau Mestre em Engenharia Civil – Perfil de Construção

Integrated care approaches and skills mix policies in Europe

ABSTRACT - Background: Integration of health care services is emerging as a central challenge of health care delivery, particularly for patients with elderly and complex chronic conditions. In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) already began to identify it as one of the key pathways to improve primary care. In 2005, the European Commission declared integrated care as vital for the sustainability of social protection systems in Europe. Nowadays, it is recognized as a core component of health and social care reforms across European countries. Implementing integrated care requires coordination between settings, organizations, providers and professionals. In order to address the challenge of integration in such complex scenario, an effective workforce is required capable of working across interdependent settings. The World Health Report 2006 noted that governments should prepare their workforce and explore what tasks the different levels of health workers are trained to do and are capable of performing (skills mix). Comparatively to other European countries, Portugal is at an early stage in what integrated care is concerned facing a growing elderly population and the subsequent increase in the pressure on institutions and professionals to provide social and medical care in the most cost-effective way. In 2006 the Portuguese government created the Portuguese Network for Integrated Care Development (PNICD) to solve the existing long-term gap in social support and healthcare. On what concerns health workforce, the Portuguese government already recognized the importance of redefine careers keeping professional motivation and satisfaction. Aim of the study: This study aims to contribute new evidence to the debate surrounding integrated care and skills mix policies in Europe. It also seeks to provide the first evidence that incorporates both the current dynamics of implementing integrated care in Portugal and the developments of international literature. The first ambition of our study is to contribute to the growing interest in integrated care and to the ongoing research in this area by identifying its different approaches and retrieve a number of experiences in some European countries. Our second goal of this research is to produce an update on the knowledge developed on skills mix to the international healthcare management community and to policy makers involved in reforming healthcare systems and organizations. To better inform Portuguese health policies makers in a third stage we explore the current dynamics of implementing integrated care in Portugal and contextualize them with the developments reported in the international literature. Methodology: This is essentially an exploratory and descriptive study using qualitative methodology. In order to identify integrated care approaches in Europe, a systematic literature review was undertaken which resulted in a paper published in the Journal of Management and Marketing in Health care titled: Approaches to developing integrated care in Europe: a systematic literature review. This article was recommended and included into a list of references identified by The King's Fund Library. A second systematic literature review was undertaken which resulted in a paper published in the International Journal of Healthcare Management titled: Skills mix in healthcare: An international update for the management debate. Semi-structured interviews were performed on experts representing the regional coordination teams of the Portuguese Network for Integrated Care Development. In a last stage a questionnaire survey was developed based on the findings of both systematic literature reviews and semi-structured interviews. Conclusions: Even though integrated care is a worldwide trend in health care reforms, there is no unique definition. Definitions can be grouped according to their sectorial focus: community-based care, combined health and social care, combined acute and primary care, the integration of providers, and in a more comprehensive approach the whole health system. Indeed, models that seek to apply the principles of integrated care have a similar background and are continually evolving and depend on the different initiatives taken at national level. . Despite the fact that we cannot argue that there is one single set typology of models for integrated care, it is possible to identify and categorize some of the basic approaches that have been taken in attempts to implement integrated care according to: changes in organizational structure, workforce reconfiguring, and changes in the financing system. The systematic literature review on skills mix showed that despite the widely acknowledged interest on skills mix initiatives there is a lack of evidence on skills mix implications, constraints, outcomes, and quality impact that would allow policy makers to take sustained and evidence-based decisions. Within the Portuguese health system, the integrated care approach is rather organizational and financial, whereas little attention is given to workforce integration. On what concerns workforce planning Portugal it is still in the stage of analyzing the acceptability of health workforce skills mix. In line with the international approaches, integration of health and social services and bridging primary and acute care are the main goals of the national government strategy. The findings from our interviews clarify perceptions which show no discrepancy with the related literature but are rather scarce comparing to international experience. Informants hold a realistic but narrow view of integrated care related issues. They seem to be limited to the regional context, requiring a more comprehensive perspective. The questionnaire developed in this thesis is an instrument which, when applied, will allow policy makers to understand the basic set of concepts and managerial motivations behind national and regional integrated care programs. The instrument developed can foster evidence on the three essential components of integrated care policies: organizational, financial, and human resources development, and can give additional input on the context in which integrated care is being developed, the type of providers and organizations involved, barriers and constraints, and the workforce skills mix planning related strategies. The thesis was successful in recognizing differences between countries and interventions and the instrument developed will allow a better comprehension of the international options available and how to address the vital components of integrated care programs.

Factors that determine the level of care children and adolescents experiencing mental disorders receive

RESUMO: Resumo Uma prestação de serviços de saúde mental para crianças e adolescentes (CAMHS) oportuna, eficaz e baseada na evidência pode evitar incapacidade a longo prazo. No entanto, estes serviços são criticamente sub-financiados em todo o mundo. É um imperativo garantir que este precioso recurso não seja desperdiçado. Os governos e outras partes interessadas relevantes na área da saúde mental precisam de conhecer o estado de saúde mental da população, quais os recursos disponíveis e como melhor utilizar os recursos disponíveis para orientar uma política e decisões efectivas sobre os níveis de serviços. Objetivo: O objetivo deste artigo é explorar o papel da acuidade, gravidade e complexidade na determinação dos cuidados em saúde mental especializados recebidos por crianças e adolescentes que sofrem perturbações mentais. Métodos: Este estudo é exploratório envolvendo uma revisão sistemática da literatura. Foi realizada uma pesquisa com palavras-chave utilizando bases de dados PsychINFO, EMBASE, PubMed e MEDLINE. A literatura cinzenta também foi investigada com um enfoque nas abordagens sistémicas, organizacionais e políticas para a organização e comissionamento de CAMHS. Foram selecionados apenas documentos escritos em Inglês. Três países, Bélgica, Reino Unido e Estados Unidos, todos eles com modelos muito diferentes de organização de CAMHS, foram revistos para investigar de que forma os conceitos de acuidade, gravidade e complexidade foram utilizados na sua concepção de serviços para determinar o nível da assistência prestada. Resultados: Nem a Bélgica, nem o modelo norte-americano de CAMHS organização de serviço parecem estar alinhados com os principais conceitos na determinação do nível de prestação de serviços. O sistema de serviços do Reino Unido de CAMHS está mais estreitamente alinhado com esses conceitos e tem uma alocação de recursos mais equilibrada entre o hospital e a comunidade. O seu ponto fraco está na falta de flexibilidade entre os níveis de serviço e na falta de apoio para com o sector dos cuidados de saúde primários. Conclusões: A variabilidade na alocação de recursos a diferentes níveis especializados de CAMHS (em regime de internamento, ambulatório, e na comunidade) e o modelo diferente de estrutura de serviços entre os países estudados indica uma inconsistência na forma como as crianças e adolescentes que apresentam aos CAMHS são referenciados para os cuidados que recebem. Isto põe em questão se as crianças e adolescentes com perturbações mentais estão a receber o nível e tipo de cuidados concordantes com as suas necessidades. A concepção e o comissionamento de sistemas de CAMHS levam-nos à discussão de uma série de princípios fundamentais que devem ser considerados. O sistema perfeito no entanto, ainda está para ser encontrado. -------------------------------- ABSTRACT: Provision of timely, effective, evidence based mental health services to children and adolescents can prevent long term impairment, but they are critically underfunded across the globe. There is an imperative to ensure this precious resource is not wasted. Governments and other relevant mental health stakeholders need to know the mental health status of the population, what resources are available and how best to use the resources available to guide effective policy and decisions about service levels. Aim: The aim of this paper is to explore the role of acuity, severity and complexity in determining the specialist mental health care that children and adolescents experiencing mental disorders receive. Methods: This study is exploratory involving a systematic scan of the literature. A key word search was conducted using databases PSYCHINFO, EMBASE, PUBMED and MEDLINE. Grey literature was also searched to focus on systemic, organisational and policy approaches to the organisation and commissioning of CAMHS. Only documents written in English were selected. Three countries Belgium, UK and the US all with very different models of service organisation for CAMHS were reviewed to investigate how well the concepts of acuity, severity and complexity were used to determine the level of care delivered in their service design. Findings: Neither the Belgium nor the US model of CAMHS service organisation appear to align with the key concepts driving intensity of level of service provision. The UK CAMHS service system most closely aligns with the concepts. It has a more balanced resource allocation between hospital and community. Its downfall is in its lack of flexibility between service levels and its lack of support for the primary care sector. Conclusions: The variability in resource allocation to different service levels (inpatient, outpatient, community) within specialist CAMHS and the differing model of service structure across countries indicates an inconsistency in how children and adolescents presenting to CAMHS are allocated to the care they receive. This puts into question whether children and adolescent with mental disorders are receiving a level and type of care commensurate with their needs. In commissioning and designing CAMHS systems a number of key principles that should be considered are discussed. The perfect system however, is yet to be found.

Two practical approaches to monitoring the zooplanktonic community at Lago Grande do Curuai, Pará, Brazil

The use of substitute groups in biomonitoring programs has been proposed to minimize the high financial costs and time for samples processing. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the correlation between (i) the spatial distribution among the major zooplankton groups (cladocerans, copepods, rotifers, and testaceans protozoa), (ii) the data of density and presence/absence of species, and (iii) the data of species, genera, and families from samples collected in the Lago Grande do Curuai, Pará, Brazil. A total of 55 sample of the zooplanktonic community was collected, with 28 samples obtained in March and 27 in September, 2013. The agreement between the different sets of data was assessed using Mantel and Procrustes tests. Our results indicated high correlations between genus level and species level and high correlations between presence/absence of species and abundance, regardless of the seasonal period. These results suggest that zooplankton community could be incorporated in a long-term monitoring program at relatively low financial and time costs.