RELAÇÕES DE SUPORTE E BEM-ESTAR NO TRABALHO EM PESSOAS COM DEFICIÊNCIA

Desde tempos remotos é notória a busca da humanidade para entender e conquistar a felicidade, qualidade de vida, bem-estar e saúde na sua plenitude bio-psico-social. Assim, o objetivo geral deste estudo foi analisar as relações entre percepções de suporte (social, social no trabalho e organizacional) e bem-estar no trabalho (satisfação no trabalho, envolvimento com o trabalho e comprometimento organizacional afetivo) em trabalhadores com deficiência, pois são poucas as pesquisas sobre pessoas com deficiência (PCD). O propósito em abordar o trabalho é por ser um importante elemento de integração social e por constituir um símbolo de reconhecimento social, valorizando a capacidade de estreitar contatos e de estabelecer relações sociais. Deste estudo, participaram 44 trabalhadores com algum tipo de deficiência que atuam em cargos operacionais, técnicos e administrativos. Todos foram escolhidos por conveniência, sendo 24 (54,5%) do sexo masculino e 20 (45,5%) do sexo feminino, com idade entre 18 e 65 anos. Foi possível classificar as deficiências dos participantes em quatro categorias: deficiência nos membros superiores: 9 (20,5%) trabalhadores; deficiência nos membros inferiores: 11 (25%) trabalhadores; deficiência auditiva: 21 (47,7%) trabalhadores; deficiência visual: 3 (6,8%) trabalhadores. Para a coleta de dados foi utilizado questionário de auto-preenchimento, composto de seis escalas que avaliam satisfação no trabalho, envolvimento com o trabalho e comprometimento organizacional, além de suporte social, suportes social no trabalho e organizacional. Foram realizadas análises estatísticas descritivas, testadas diferenças entre médias, bem como calculados coeficientes de correlação entre variáveis. Os resultados apontam que em termos de satisfação no trabalho, não revelam discrepâncias entre estudos realizados com trabalhadores sem deficiências (considerados normais ). Também foi possível observar que as PCD declaram ter orgulho da empresa em que trabalham, além de estarem contentes, entusiasmadas, interessadas e animadas com a organização empregadora. O estudo revelou que as PCD obtêm de sua rede social, ajuda emocional que lhes proporciona sentimento de apoio frente às dificuldades ou carências afetivas, pois provavelmente entendam que podem contar com essa rede para comemorar realizações e sucessos, da mesma forma que receber carinho e consolo quando se frustram ou passam por algum momento triste. É possível afirmar que as PCD percebem que essa mesma rede seria capaz de lhes prover algum apoio prático, como receber informações acerca de sua saúde, talvez reabilitação, também informações para atualização profissional ou até acompanhamento do seu desenvolvimento, inclusive busca de novas oportunidades e desafios para crescimento pessoal e profissional. Os resultados desta pesquisa indicam que as PCD tendem a manter uma forte convicção de que a empresa em que trabalham preocupa-se com seu bem-estar e está disposta a oferecer ajuda diante uma necessidade. Demais resultados sinalizam que as PCD tendem a aumentar o seu vínculo com o trabalho vivenciando mais satisfação na medida em que também aumentam os suportes ofertados pela organização, pela rede social no contexto do trabalho e fora dele. A análise de todo o conteúdo confeccionado é a grande contribuição deste estudo, por ser considerado pioneiro nesta discussão, mas futuros estudos podem vir a confirmar tais resultados e corroborar com mais informações.(AU)

BEM ESTAR NO TRABALHO E OTIMISMO EM ESTUDANTES TRABALHADORES

O estudo teve como objetivo geral submeter ao teste empírico as relações entre bem estar no trabalho e otimismo em estudantes trabalhadores. No estudo foi utilizada uma amostra escolhida por conveniência, sendo composta por 125 estudantes trabalhadores de ambos os sexos, divididos em dois grupos. O grupo 1, com 60 estudantes de uma universidade da cidade de São Bernardo do Campo; e, o grupo 2, com 65 jovens adolescentes de uma organização não governamental da cidade de São Paulo. O instrumento de coleta foi um questionário de auto-aplicação composto por itens versando sobre as variáveis da pesquisa e questões sobre dados pessoais e profissionais dos participantes do estudo. As análises estatísticas foram descritivas e multivariadas. Os resultados descritivos das três dimensões de BET indicam a maior presença de sentimentos de satisfação com chefias e colegas em ambos os grupos; menores níveis de satisfação de ambos os grupos ocorreram com os fatores salário e promoção; fracos vínculos afetivos do grupo 1 com o trabalho e com a organização; fraco envolvimento com o trabalho do grupo 2. Os dois grupos apresentaram níveis elevados de otimismo, o que significa afirmar que ambos tinham uma percepção de futuro promissor. Foi confirmada empiricamente a hipótese de que BET pudesse ter alguma associação com otimismo, através da presença de correlação entre otimismo e satisfação com colegas, bem como, com envolvimento com o trabalho para o grupo 1. Para o grupo 2, otimismo correlacionou-se com satisfação com tarefas e comprometimento organizacional afetivo. O presente estudo visou a contribuir para a compreensão de bem estar no trabalho e otimismo e suas relações no contexto profissional de estudantes trabalhadores para desta forma prover melhor fundamentação conceitual acerca do tema para estudiosos, bem como sugerir ações e práticas de gestão de pessoas que intensifiquem o bem estar e a promoção de saúde das pessoas quando inseridos no contexto organizacional de trabalho.

ANSIEDADE E CONSUMO DE SUBSTÂNCIAS PSICOATIVAS EM ADOLESCENTES

Os objetivos deste estudo foram: relacionar o consumo de substâncias psicoativas e ansiedade, verificar os níveis de ansiedade e as substâncias psicoativas mais consumidas, e associar consumo de substâncias psicoativas e ansiedade entre estudantes do ensino médio de escolas públicas e particulares da cidade de Maceió. Os estudantes e as instituições que participaram da pesquisa foram selecionados por meio de amostragem não-probabilística por conveniência. Tratou-se de um estudo de delineamento correlacional. A amostra foi de 407 estudantes, com idade de 14 a 18 anos. A pesquisa foi realizada em sete escolas, sendo quatro da rede pública estadual e três da rede particular. Os participantes responderam a um questionário sóciodemográfico; à Escala de Ansiedade do Adolescente (EAA); e a um questionário sobre o consumo de substâncias psicoativas. Foi feita a análise das relações entre consumo de substâncias psicoativas e ansiedade por meio do teste qui-quadrado e exato de Fisher. O álcool foi a substância lícita mais consumida pelos estudantes, enquanto o solvente, a substância ilícita mais consumida por esse grupo. Os participantes apresentaram maior percentual no nível moderado: 28%. Verificou-se diferença estatisticamente significativa entre o consumo de substâncias psicoativas e ansiedade nos adolescentes. O uso na vida de solventes (p=0,037) e energéticos (p=0,023); uso no ano de cigarro (p=0,043) e bebidas alcoólicas (p=0,007); e uso freqüente de bebidas alcoólicas (p<0,001) relacionou-se com ansiedade moderada. Houve diferença significativa entre consumo de substâncias psicoativas e ansiedade nos tipos de escola: Na escola pública, houve relação entre estudantes que disseram consumir cigarro na vida e no ano, e entre os que fizeram uso na vida de solventes e energéticos com ansiedade grave (p=0,022; p=0,003; p=0,010;p=0=0,44, respectivamente); e entre estudantes que afirmaram ter feito consumo freqüente de bebidas alcoólicas com ansiedade moderada (p=0,007). Na escola particular, houve relação entre estudantes consumiram bebidas alcoólicas no ano com ansiedade moderada (p=0,011). A pesquisa verificou a necessidade de se realizarem projetos de prevenção de drogas e promoção de saúde que visem aumentar a reflexão sobre o estilo de vida e ansiedade.

SAÚDE MENTAL DE INTERNAUTAS UNIVERSITÁRIOS

O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a saúde mental de internautas universitários. Trata-se de uma pesquisa com delineamento transversal e quantitativa. Participaram deste estudo 150 usuários de internet, dos gêneros, masculino e feminino, com idade entre 17 e 53 anos, estudantes universitários de diversos cursos de graduação da faculdade de saúde, de um único campus, de uma universidade privada, localizada na cidade de São Bernardo do Campo, na região metropolitana de São Paulo. A amostra foi selecionada por critério de conveniência, porém considerou-se a amostragem por cotas para melhor representatividade da população estudada. Os instrumentos utilizados foram o Questionário de Morbidade Psiquiátrica para Adultos (QMPA) e um questionário complementar desenvolvido para caracterização da amostra. Após coleta, os dados foram lançados e tratados estatisticamente. Os resultados mostraram prevalência de saúde mental em 58% dos internautas universitários. Entre os participantes que apresentaram sintomas de morbidade psiquiátrica (42%) prevaleceram os sintomas de exaltação do humor, ansiedade, somatização, irritabilidade e depressão, sintomas comumente referidos como transtornos psiquiátricos menores. Dos internautas estudados 55% foram considerados usuários pesados por utilizarem a internet acima de 60 horas mensais. A média de horas de acesso à internet apresentou correlação com os sintomas de morbidade psiquiátrica avaliados. Contudo estes sintomas de morbidade psiquiátrica não apresentaram diferenciação entre tipo de usuário (pesado e leve), em ambos os casos prevaleceram a avaliação de saúde mental. As horas de acesso à internet foram consideradas um dos indícios do uso patológico da internet, porém insuficiente para estabelecer qualquer diagnóstico. O uso patológico da internet mostrou-se presente em 57% dos internautas, por utilizarem a internet em detrimento de outros aspectos de suas vidas. Os sintomas de morbidade psiquiátrica apresentaram correlações positivas e significativas com as questões sobre o uso patológico da internet. Os resultados desta pesquisa sugerem que o uso patológico da internet revela-se como um novo campo de expressão de morbidades psiquiátricas já conhecidas. Deste modo, a internet não se mostra como um fator de risco para saúde mental de seus usuários. Ela seria um amplificador, uma ferramenta que facilitaria a expressão de tais comportamentos patológicos, que são provenientes de transtornos já existentes, assim como a utilização de diversas outras práticas sociais, que podem se tornar patológicas pela manifestação de diferentes transtornos do indivíduo.

Why are health care interventions delivered over the internet? A systematic review of the published literature

Background: As Internet use grows, health interventions are increasingly being delivered online. Pioneering researchers are using the networking potential of the Internet, and several of them have evaluated these interventions. Objective: The objective was to review the reasons why health interventions have been delivered on the Internet and to reflect on the work of the pioneers in this field in order to inform future research. Methods: We conducted a qualitative systematic review of peer-reviewed evaluations of health interventions delivered to a known client/patient group using networked features of the Internet. Papers were reviewed for the reasons given for using the Internet, and these reasons were categorized. Results: We included studies evaluating 28 interventions plus 9 interventions that were evaluated in pilot studies. The interventions were aimed at a range of health conditions. Reasons for Internet delivery included low cost and resource implications due to the nature of the technology; reducing cost and increasing convenience for users; reduction of health service costs; overcoming isolation of users; the need for timely information; stigma reduction; and increased user and supplier control of the intervention. A small number of studies gave the existence of Internet interventions as the only reason for undertaking an evaluation of this mode of delivery. Conclusions: One must remain alert for the unintended effects of Internet delivery of health interventions due to the potential for reinforcing the problems that the intervention was designed to help. Internet delivery overcomes isolation of time, mobility, and geography, but it may not be a substitute for face-to-face contact. Future evaluations need to incorporate the evaluation of cost, not only to the health service but also to users and their social networks. When researchers report the outcomes of Internet-delivered health care interventions, it is important that they clearly state why they chose to use the Internet, preferably backing up their decision with theoretical models and exploratory work. Evaluation of the effectiveness of a health care intervention delivered by the Internet needs to include comparison with more traditional modes of delivery to answer the following question: What are the added benefits or disadvantages of Internet use that are particular to this mode of delivery? © Griffiths, Frances, Lindenmeyer, Antje, Powell, John, Thorogood, Margaret.

Retail restructuring and consumer choice 2:understanding consumer choice at the household level

This paper complements the preceding one by Clarke et al, which looked at the long-term impact of retail restructuring on consumer choice at the local level. Whereas the previous paper was based on quantitative evidence from survey research, this paper draws on the qualitative phases of the same three-year study, and in it we aim to understand how the changing forms of retail provision are experienced at the neighbourhood and household level. The empirical material is drawn from focus groups, accompanied shopping trips, diaries, interviews, and kitchen visits with eight households in two contrasting neighbourhoods in the Portsmouth area. The data demonstrate that consumer choice involves judgments of taste, quality, and value as well as more ‘objective’ questions of convenience, price, and accessibility. These judgments are related to households’ differential levels of cultural capital and involve ethical and moral considerations as well as more mundane considerations of practical utility. Our evidence suggests that many of the terms that are conventionally advanced as explanations of consumer choice (such as ‘convenience’, ‘value’, and ‘habit’) have very different meanings according to different household circumstances. To understand these meanings requires us to relate consumers’ at-store behaviour to the domestic context in which their consumption choices are embedded. Bringing theories of practice to bear on the nature of consumer choice, our research demonstrates that consumer choice between stores can be understood in terms of accessibility and convenience, whereas choice within stores involves notions of value, price, and quality. We also demonstrate that choice between and within stores is strongly mediated by consumers’ household contexts, reflecting the extent to which shopping practices are embedded within consumers’ domestic routines and complex everyday lives. The paper concludes with a summary of the overall findings of the project, and with a discussion of the practical and theoretical implications of the study.

Self-testing for cancer:a community survey

Background: Cancer-related self-tests are currently available to buy in pharmacies or over the internet, including tests for faecal occult blood, PSA and haematuria. Self-tests have potential benefits (e.g. convenience) but there are also potential harms (e.g. delays in seeking treatment). The extent of cancer-related self-test use in the UK is not known. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of cancer-related self-test use. Methods: Adults (n = 5,545) in the West Midlands were sent a questionnaire that collected socio-demographic information and data regarding previous and potential future use of 18 different self-tests. Prevalence rates were directly standardised to the England population. The postcode based Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004 was used as aproxy measure of deprivation. Results: 2,925 (54%) usable questionnaires were returned. 1.2% (95% CI 0.83% to 1.66%) of responders reported having used a cancer related self test kit and a further 36% reported that they would consider using one in the future. Logistic regression analyses suggest that increasing age, deprivation category and employment status were associated with cancer-related self-test kit use. Conclusion: We conclude that one in 100 of the adult population have used a cancer-related self-test kit and over a third would consider using one in the future. Self-test kit use could alter perceptions of risk, cause psychological morbidity and impact on the demand for healthcare.

Diabetes service provision:a qualitative study of newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes patients' experiences and views

Aims: To explore newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes patients' views about Scottish diabetes services at a time when these services are undergoing a major reorganization. To provide recommendations to maximize opportunities brought by the devolvement of services from secondary to primary healthcare settings. Methods: Qualitative panel study with 40 patients newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, recruited from hospital clinics and general practices in Lothian, Scotland. Patients were interviewed three times over 1 year. The study was informed by grounded theory, which involves concurrent data collection and analysis. Results: Patients were generally satisfied with diabetes services irrespective of the types of care received. Most wanted their future care/review to be based in general practice for reasons of convenience and accessibility, although they dis-liked it when appointments were scheduled for different days. Many said they lacked the knowledge/confidence to know how to manage their diabetes in particular situations, and needed access to healthcare professionals who could answer their questions promptly. Patients expressed a need for primary care professionals who had diabetes expertise, but who had more time and were more accessible than general practitioners. Patients who had encountered practice lead nurses for diabetes spoke particularly positively of these professionals. Conclusions: Nurses with diabetes training are particularly well placed to provide information and support to patients in primary care. Ideally, practices should run 'one-stop' diabetes clinics to provide structured care, with easily accessible dietetics, podiatry and retinopathy screening. Newly diagnosed patients may benefit from being made more aware of specific services provided by charitable organizations such as Diabetes UK. © 2005 Diabetes UK.

Minimum description length, regularisation and multi-modal data

Conventional feed forward Neural Networks have used the sum-of-squares cost function for training. A new cost function is presented here with a description length interpretation based on Rissanen's Minimum Description Length principle. It is a heuristic that has a rough interpretation as the number of data points fit by the model. Not concerned with finding optimal descriptions, the cost function prefers to form minimum descriptions in a naive way for computational convenience. The cost function is called the Naive Description Length cost function. Finding minimum description models will be shown to be closely related to the identification of clusters in the data. As a consequence the minimum of this cost function approximates the most probable mode of the data rather than the sum-of-squares cost function that approximates the mean. The new cost function is shown to provide information about the structure of the data. This is done by inspecting the dependence of the error to the amount of regularisation. This structure provides a method of selecting regularisation parameters as an alternative or supplement to Bayesian methods. The new cost function is tested on a number of multi-valued problems such as a simple inverse kinematics problem. It is also tested on a number of classification and regression problems. The mode-seeking property of this cost function is shown to improve prediction in time series problems. Description length principles are used in a similar fashion to derive a regulariser to control network complexity.

Ocular biotribology and contact lens lubrication mechanisms

The work described in this thesis is concerned with mechanisms of contact lens lubrication. There are three major driving forces in contact lens design and development; cost, convenience, and comfort. Lubrication, as reflected in the coefficient of friction, is becoming recognised as one of the major factors affecting the comfort of the current generation of contact lenses, which have benefited from several decades of design and production improvements. This work started with the study of the in-eye release of soluble macromolecules from a contact lens matrix. The vehicle for the study was the family of CIBA Vision Focus® DAILIES® daily disposable contact lenses which is based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The effective release of linear soluble PVA from DAILIES on the surface of the lens was shown to be beneficial in terms of patient comfort. There was a need to develop a novel characterisation technique in order to study these effects at surfaces; this led to the study of a novel tribological technique, which allowed the friction coefficients of different types of contact lenses to be measured reproducibly at genuinely low values. The tribometer needed the ability to accommodate the following features: (a) an approximation to eye lid load, (b) both new and ex-vivo lenses, (c) variations in substrate, (d) different ocular lubricants (including tears). The tribometer and measuring technique developed in this way was used to examine the surface friction and lubrication mechanisms of two different types of contact lenses: daily disposables and silicone hydrogels. The results from the tribometer in terms of both mean friction coefficient and the friction profiles obtained allowed various mechanisms used for surface enhancement now seen in the daily disposable contact lens sector to be evaluated. The three major methods used are: release of soluble macromolecules (such as PVA) from the lens matrix, irreversible surface binding of a macromolecule (such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone) by charge transfer and the simple polymer adsorption (e.g. Pluoronic) at the lens surface. The tribological technique was also used to examine the trends in the development of silicone hydrogel contact lenses. The focus of the principles in the design of silicone hydrogels has now shifted from oxygen permeability, to the improvement of surface properties. Presently, tribological studies reflect the most effective in vitro method of surface evaluation in relation to the in-eye comfort.

Recent patents and trends in orally disintegrating tablets

Orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) offer many advantages over the conventional oral dosage forms in terms of convenience and ease of use. Over the last decade, substantial advances in the formulation of ODTs have been achieved in academia and industry that resulted in the emerging of a large number of patents. The aim of this review is to summarise the most recent patents in ODT formulations and highlight their motivations, inventive steps and significances in the development of ODT formulations. Five major techniques have been applied in manufacturing of ODTs, namely conventional tablet press, moulding, freeze drying, tablet loading and pulverization, with majority of the patents dedicated to the use of conventional tablet pressing. The patents have addressed various issues concerning the manufacturing of robust and practical ODT formulations by disclosing new manufacturing techniques, advantageous materials, and innovative formulation steps. However, future developments are required to reduce the cost and widening the application of the new manufacturing techniques, while simplifying and shortening the formulation steps will be crucial in the well established ones.

An enigma still: Poujadism fifty years on

Few names resonate more loudly from the French Fourth Republic than that of Pierre Poujade, and few terms exude such a sulfurous odour as le poujadisme. Between 1953 and 1958, the Poujadists secured their place in modern French history, winning 52 seats in the National Assembly and inscribing a lasting entry in the lexicon of political protest. Taking as its starting point the fiftieth anniversary of Poujade’s movement held in its birthplace of Saint-Céré in July 2003, this article reassesses Poujadism fifty years on from its heyday. It considers Poujadism as the first important anti-globalisation movement in post-war France, a locus for the conflict between ‘stalemate’ traditionalism and socio-economic modernisation. It examines the trajectory of the Poujadists from anti-tax movement to political party, arguing the difficulty of defining Poujadism in classic political terms. In particular, the article takes issue with the perception of Poujadism as an extreme-right ideology and interprets it instead as a form of populist protest lacking a solid doctrinal core and opportunistic in its exploitation of political issues and allies. As such, it is argued, Poujadism represents a complex synthesis of both right-wing and left-wing values and discourses, as impervious to definition today as it was fifty years ago. The article considers the brief alliance of convenience between Poujade and Le Pen, and locates in Le Pen’s early Poujadist experience some of the methods and even some of the arguments used by the FN today. It concludes by discussing Poujade’s political activities after 1958, tracing his long-term conversion from violent opposition to the State under the Fourth Republic to co-operation under the Fifth. The author draws here on correspondence with Pierre Poujade up until his death in August 2003.

Investigation of gas engine driven heat pump systems

Heat pumps are becoming increasingly popular, but poor electricity generating efficiency limits the potential energy savings of electrically powered units. Thus the work reported in this thesis concerns the development of a range of gas engine driven heat pumps for industrial and commercial heating applications, which recover heat from the prime mover, normally rejected to waste. Despite the convenience of using proprietary engine heat recovery packages, investigations have highlighted the necessity to ensure the engine and the heat recovery equipment are compatible. A problem common •to all air source heat pumps is the formation of frost on the evaporator, which must be removed periodically, with the expenditure of energy, to ensure the continued operation of the plant. An original fluidised bed defrosting mechanism is proposed, which prevents the build-up of this frost, and also improves system performance. Criticisms have been levelled against the rotary sliding vane compressor, in particular the effects of lubrication, which is essential. This thesis compares the rotary sliding vane compressor with other machines, and concludes that many of these criticisms are unfounded. A confidential market survey indicates an increasing demand for heat pumps up to and including 1990, and the technical support needed to penetrate this market is presented. Such support includes the development of a range of modular gas engine driven heat pumps, and a computer aided design for the selection of the optimum units. A case study of a gas engine driven heat pump for a swimming pool application which provided valuable experience is included.

Chemical synthesis of DNA and RNA containing thio-substituted bases and their post-synthetic modifications

Modified oligonucleotides containing sulphur group have been useful tools for studies of carcinogenesis, protein or nucleic acid structures and functions, protein-nucleic acid interactions, and for antisense modulation of gene expression. One successful example has been the synthesis and study of oligodeoxynucleotides containing 6-thio-2'-deoxyguanine. 6-Thio-2-deoxyguanosine was first discovered as metabolic compound of 6- mercaptopurine (6-MP). Later, it was applied as drug to cure leukaemia. During the research of its toxicity, a method was developed to use the sulphur group as a versatile position for post-synthetic modification. The advantage of application of post-synthetic modification lies in its convenience. Synthesis of oligomers with normal sequences has become routine work in most laboratories. However, design and synthesis of a proper phosphoramidite monomer for a new modified nucleoside are always difficult tasks even for a skilful chemist. Thus an alternative method (post-synthetic method) has been invented to overcome the difficulties. This was achieved by incorporation of versatile nucleotides into oligomers which contain a leaving group, that is sufficiently stable to withstand the conditions of synthesis but can be substituted by nucleophiles after synthesis, to produce, a series of oligomers each containing a different modified base. In the current project, a phosphoramidite monomer with 6-thioguanine has been successfully synthesised and incorporated into RNA. A deprotection procedure, which is specific for RNA was designed for oligomers containing 6-thioguanosine. The results were validated by various methods (UV, HPLC, enzymatic digestion). Pioneer work in utilization of the versatile sulphur group for post-synthetic modification was also tested. Post-synthetic modification was also carried out on DNA with 6- deoxythioguanosine. Electrophilic reagents with various functional groups (alphatic, aromatic, fluorescent) and bi-functional groups have been attached with the oligomers.

Controlled release in inhalation

Increasingly complicated medication regimens associated with the necessity of the repeated dosing of multiple agents used in treating pulmonary disease has been shown to compromise both disease management and patient convenience. In this study the viability of spray drying to introduce controlled release vectors into dry powders for inhalation was investigated. The first experimental section highlights the use of leucine in producing highly respirable spray dried powders, with in vitro respirable fractions (Fine particle fraction, FPF: F < 5µm) exceeding 80% of the total dose. The second experimental chapter introduces the biocompatible polymer chitosan (mw 190 – 310 kDa) to formulations containing leucine with findings of increased FPF with increasing leucine concentration (up to 82%) and the prolonged release of the active markers terbulataline sulfate (up to 2 hours) and beclometasone dipropionate (BDP: up to 12 hours) with increasing chitosan molecular weight. Next, the thesis details the use of a double emulsion format in delivering the active markers salbutamol sulfate and BDP at differing rates; using the polymers poly-lactide co-glycolide (PLGA 50:50 and PLGA 75:25) and/or chitosan incorporating leucine as an aerosolisation enhancer the duration of in vitro release of both agents reaching 19 days with FPF exceeding 60%. The final experimental chapter involves dual aqueous and organic closed loop spray drying to create controlled release dry powders for inhalation with in vitro sustained release exceeding 28 days and FPF surpassing 55% of total loaded dose. In conclusion, potentially highly respirable sustained release dry powders for inhalation have been produced by this research using the polymers chitosan and/or PLGA as drug release modifiers and leucine as an aerosolisation enhancer.