Noções dos futuros profissionais da Química. eixo I: liberdades e demandas da pesquisa

During the schooling process, images are constructed about research and researcher activities. Based on that, a questionnaire has been structured based on three thematic axes that tend to represent some of the discussions about the translations that integrate the scientific activity collectively: freedom and demands from research, academia as a mediator and science disclosure. The objective of the instrument was to map some notions from entrants to the graduation course in Chemistry in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre about what, based on the contributions by Bruno Latour, was called vascularizations of research.

Hydrogen production by alkaline water electrolysis

Water electrolysis is one of the simplest methods used for hydrogen production. It has the advantage of being able to produce hydrogen using only renewable energy. To expand the use of water electrolysis, it is mandatory to reduce energy consumption, cost, and maintenance of current electrolyzers, and, on the other hand, to increase their efficiency, durability, and safety. In this study, modern technologies for hydrogen production by water electrolysis have been investigated. In this article, the electrochemical fundamentals of alkaline water electrolysis are explained and the main process constraints (e.g., electrical, reaction, and transport) are analyzed. The historical background of water electrolysis is described, different technologies are compared, and main research needs for the development of water electrolysis technologies are discussed.

Country Risk and Market Reactions to Earnings Announcements: Evidence from Finnish Stock Markets

The objective of this thesis is to examine the market reaction around earnings announcements in Finnish stock markets. The aim is to find out whether the extreme market conditions during the financial crisis are reflected in stock prices as a stronger reaction. In addition to this, the purpose is to investigate how extensively Finnish listed companies report the country segmentation of revenues in their interim reports and whether the country risk is having a significant impact on perceived market reaction. The sample covers all companies listed in Helsinki stock exchange at 1.1.2010 and these companies’ interim reports from the first quarter of 2008 to last quarter of 2009. Final sample consists of 81 companies and 630 firm-quarter observations. The data sample has been divided in two parts, of which country risk sample contains 17 companies and 127 observations and comparison sample covers 66 companies and 503 observations. Research methodologies applied in this thesis are event study and cross-sectional regression analysis. Empirical results indicate that the market reaction occurs mainly during the announcement day and is slightly stronger in case of positive earnings surprises than the reactions observed in previous studies. In case of negative earnings surprises no significant differences can be observed. In case of country risk sample and negative earnings surprise market reaction is negative already in advance of the disclosure contrary to comparison sample. In case of positive surprise no differences can be observed. Country risk variable developed during this study seems to explain only minor part of the market reaction.

Material embodiment and energy flows as efficiency indicators of soybean (Glycine max) production in Brazil

As the requirement for agriculture to be environmentally suitable there is a necessity to adopt indicators and methodologies approaching sustainability. In Brazil, biodiesel addition into diesel is mandatory and soybean oil is its main source. The material embodiment determines the convergence of inputs into the crop. Moreover, the material flows are necessary for any environmental analysis. This study evaluated distinct production scenarios, and also conventional versus GMO crops, through the material embodiment and energy analysis. GMO crops demanded less indirectly applied inputs. The energy balance showed linearity with yield, whereas for EROI, the increases in input and yield were not affected.

Evaluation of cotton stalks destroyers

The destruction of the cotton crop residues (cotton stalks) is a mandatory procedure in Brazil for prophylactic issues, but is a subject unexplored by the research and there are few studies that deal with this issue. However, this is not encouraged in recent decades, studies aimed at developing and evaluating equipment for this purpose. The present study had the objective to evaluate six methods for mechanical destruction of cotton crop residues. Each method was defined based on the principle of operation of the active parts of the equipment, which were tested in medium texture soil and in a clayey one. The variables used to evaluate the efficiency of the equipment were the regrowth rate, the theoretical field capacity and energy demand. The equipment with convergent concave disks (DCC) and flat cutters discs from manufacturer A (CPS-a) showed the best results in cotton stalks destruction in both soil types. The harrow disc (GPD) was efficient only in clay soil. It was concluded that the equipment with convergent concave disks, among those tested, was the most efficient to destroy cotton stalks, regardless of soil type, and that the harrow disc was not included among the best performers.

Corporate Social Responsibility in the Oil and Gas Industry: Environmental Management Systems as a Source of Sustainable Development

The environmental aspect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) expressed through the process of the EMS implementation in the oil and gas companies is identified as the main subject of this research. In the theoretical part, the basic attention is paid to justification of a link between CSR and environmental management. The achievement of sustainable competitive advantage as a result of environmental capital growth and inclusion of the socially responsible activities in the corporate strategy is another issue that is of special significance here. Besides, two basic forms of environmental management systems (environmental decision support systems and environmental information management systems) are explored and their role in effective stakeholder interaction is tackled. The most crucial benefits of EMS are also analyzed to underline its importance as a source of sustainable development. Further research is based on the survey of 51 sampled oil and gas companies (both publicly owned and state owned ones) originated from different countries all over the world and providing reports on sustainability issues in the open access. To analyze their approach to sustainable development, a specifically designed evaluation matrix with 37 indicators developed in accordance with the General Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines for non-financial reporting was prepared. Additionally, the quality of environmental information disclosure was measured on the basis of a quality – quantity matrix. According to results of research, oil and gas companies prefer implementing reactive measures to the costly and knowledge-intensive proactive techniques for elimination of the negative environmental impacts. Besides, it was identified that the environmental performance disclosure is mostly rather limited, so that the quality of non-financial reporting can be judged as quite insufficient. In spite of the fact that most of the oil and gas companies in the sample claim the EMS to be embedded currently in their structure, they often do not provide any details for the process of their implementation. As a potential for the further development of EMS, author mentions possible integration of their different forms in a single entity, extension of existing structure on the basis of consolidation of the structural and strategic precautions as well as development of a unified certification standard instead of several ones that exist today in order to enhance control on the EMS implementation.

Videolaparoscopia no trauma abdominal

Despite the use of laparoscopy in abdominal trauma for several decades, it was only after the advent of video chip camera that an explosion of interest ocurred, giving rise to possibilities and perspectives not only in diagnosis but also in therapeutics. In trauma, its use has been gradually defined and experience has shown the benefits of the method in early diagnosis of visceral injuries as well as avoiding unnecessary laparotomies. Trauma laparoscopy is a safe method, can reduce negative and nontherapeutic laparotomies. The worrisome failure of laparoscopy to detect gastrintestinal injuries, specially small bowel lesions can be avoided with a mandatory and apropriated "run bowel" exploration. We believe that in hemodinamically stable patients, video laparoscopy is safely indicated in some situations in trauma, such as evaluation of diaphragmatic injuries in thoraco abdominal stab wounds and tangential gunshot wounds of anterior abdominal wall.

Empiirinen analyysi tilitoimiston liikeriskeistä ja niiden hallinnasta

Tämän tutkimuksen aiheena ovat tilitoimiston liikeriskit ja niiden hallinta. Tilitoimistot ovat merkittävässä asemassa tuottaessaan asiakasyrityksistään taloudellista tietoa paitsi yritykselle itselleen myös sen sidosryhmille sekä yhteiskunnalle. Tilitoimiston toimintaa ja samalla riskienhallintaa ohjaa erityisesti hyvä tilitoimistotapa, jonka noudattaminen auttaa ylläpitämään ammatillista arvostusta. Tilitoimiston liikeriskit voidaan jakaa henkilöstöriskeiksi, sopimus- ja vastuuriskeiksi sekä tietoriskeiksi, joihin kuuluvat myös väärinkäytösriskit. Sopimus- ja vastuuriskejä hallitaan kirjallisin toimeksiantosopimuksin vakiosopimusehtoja käyttämällä sekä vastuuvakuutuksin. Tietoriskien hallinnassa apuna ovat salas-sapitosopimukset, tietoturvatoimet ja ohjeet. Väärinkäytösriskejä hallitaan parhaiten ennaltaehkäisemällä. Henkilöstö on tilitoimistojen suurin resurssi, mutta samalla myös suurin riskitekijä. Henkilöstö on myös avainasemassa tilitoimistojen riskienhallinnan toteuttamisessa. Suurimpia henkilöstöön kohdistuvia riskejä ovat avainhenkilöihin, työhyvinvointiin, jaksamiseen, motivaatioon sekä työvoiman saatavuuteen kohdistuvat riskit. Näitä kaikkia pystytään hallitsemaan toimivalla henkilöstöhallinnolla ja varahenkilöjärjestelmillä. Tutkimuksen empiirinen osio toteutettiin satunnaisesti valittuihin eteläsuomalaisiin tilitoimistoihin suunnatulla kyselytutkimuksella. Tutkimustuloksista käy ilmi, että tilitoimistojen tieto-, sopimus- ja vastuuriskien hallinta on hyvällä tasolla, mutta että henkilöstöriskien hallinnassa on jonkin verran parantamisen varaa. Tutkimus vahvistaa myös, että pk-sektorilla toimivien tilitoimistojen kannattaa käyttää kokonaisvaltaista riskienhallintaa liikeriskiensä hallitsemiseen ja toiminnan laadun turvaamiseen.

Ankle-brachial index, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and endothelial function in a cardiovascular risk population

Atherosclerotic vascular disease is the leading cause of death in the Western world. Its main three manifestations are coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral arterial disease. Asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease is usually diagnosed using the ankle brachial index, and values ≤ 0.90 are used to determine the diagnosis. The classical risk factors of peripheral arterial disease, such as smoking and diabetes, are well known and early interventions are mandatory to improve the prognosis. What is not well known is the role of inflammation as a risk factor. Yet, a novel approach to cardiovascular diseases is the measurement of endothelial function. In this thesis, we studied the ankle-brachial index, C-reactive protein and endothelial function in a cardiovascular risk population. A total of 2856 subjects were invited to the study and 2085 (73%) responded. From these subjects, a cohort of 1756 risk persons was screened. We excluded the subjects with previously known cardiovascular disease or diabetes, because they were already under systematic follow-up. Out of the study subjects, 983 (56%) were women and 773 (44%) men. The ankle brachial index and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were measured from 1047 subjects. Endothelial function was assessed by measuring reactive hyperemia pulse amplitude tonometry from 66 subjects with borderline peripheral arterial disease. In this study, smoking was a crucial risk factor for peripheral arterial disease. Subclinical peripheral arterial disease seems to be more common in hypertensive patients even without comorbidities. The measurement of the ankle brachial index is an efficient method to identify patients at an increased cardiovascular risk. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein did not correlate with the ankle brachial index or peripheral arterial disease. Instead, it correlated with measures of obesity. In a cardiovascular risk population with borderline peripheral arterial disease, nearly every fourth subject had endothelial dysfunction. This might point out a subgroup of individuals in need of more intensive treatment for their risk factors.

Indicent reporting in shipping. Experiences and best practices for the Baltic Sea

Incident and near miss reporting is one of the proactive tools of safety management. By analyzing incidents and near misses and by corrective actions, severe accidents can potentially be avoided. Near miss and incident reporting is widely used in many riskprone industries such as aviation or chemical industry. In shipping incident and near miss reporting is required by the mandatory safety management system International Safety Management Code (ISM Code). However, in several studies the conclusion has been that incidents are reported poorly in the shipping industry. The aim of this report is to highlight the best practices for incident reporting in shipping and to support the shipping industry in the better utilization of incident reporting information. The study consists of three parts: 1) voluntary, shared reporting systems in shipping (international experiences), 2) interview study at four shipping companies in Sweden and in Finland (best practices), 3) expert workshop on incident reporting (problems and solutions). Preconditions for a functional reporting system are an existing no blame culture, commitment of the top management, feedback, good communication, training and an easy-to-use system. Although preconditions are met, problems can still appear, for example due to psychological, interpersonal or nationality-related reasons. In order to keep the reporting system functioning, the shipping company must be committed to maintain and develop the system and to tackle the problems. The whole reporting process from compiling, handling and analyzing a report, creating corrective actions and implementing them has to be handled properly in order to gain benefits from the reporting system. In addition to avoiding accidents, the functional reporting system can also offer other benefits by increasing safety awareness, by improving the overall safety and working conditions onboard, by enhancing team work and communication onboard and between ships and the land-based organization of shipping companies. Voluntary shared reporting systems are supported in the shipping industry in principle, but their development in the Baltic Sea is still in its infancy and the potential benefits of sharing the reports have not been realized. On the basis of this study we recommend that a common reporting system be developed for the Baltic Sea area which all the ships operating in the area could use regardless of their flag. Such a wider system could prevent some of the problems related to the current national systems. There would be more incident cases available in the database and this would support anonymity and thus encourage shipping companies to report to a shared database more frequently. A shared reporting system would contribute to the sharing of experiences and to the wider use of incident information in the shipping industry.

IFRS-standardien noudattaminen liikearvon raportoinnissa suomalaisissa listayhtiöissä

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tutkia liikearvoon liittyvien IFRS 3- ja IAS 36 –standardien säännösten noudattamista suomalaisten korkean liikearvon määrän omaavien listayhtiöiden tilinpäätöksissä. Teoria muodostettiin tarkastelemalla aihepiirin tieteellisiä julkaisuja, sekä yritysten kirjanpitoa ohjailevia liikearvoon liittyviä säännöksiä. Tutkimusmenetelmä oli kvalitatiivinen, ja empiirisenä aineistona käytettiin viiden yrityksen tilinpäätöksiä vuodelta 2011. Yritykset valittiin tarkastelemalla liikearvon suhteellista osuutta omasta pääomasta. Analysointimenetelmänä käytettiin sisällönanalyysia, ja tutkimuksen runko muodostettiin tilintarkastukseen tarkoitetun tarkastuslistan avulla. Tutkimuksessa tuotettiin tarkkaa ja kuvailevaa tietoa säännösten noudattamisesta kohdeyrityksissä. IFRS 3- ja IAS 36 –standardeissa on määritelty tarkat esitysvaatimukset tilinpäätöksissä esitettävälle liikearvoon liittyvälle tiedolle. Esitettäviä tietoja ovat esimerkiksi kuvaus yritysostojen yhteydessä syntyneestä liikearvosta, sekä selvitys liikearvon arvonalentumistestauksessa käytetyistä avainoletuksista. Kohdeyritysten havaittiin noudattavan tutkimuksessa tarkasteltuja esitysvaatimuksia noin 94 % tarkkuudella. Virheet eivät keskittyneet tiettyihin esitysvaatimuksiin, vaan eri yritykset tekivät erilaisia virheitä liikearvon raportoinnissa.

Assessing the histopathology to depict the different stages of bovine tuberculosis infection in a naturally infected herd

The standard method for detection of bovine tuberculosis (TB) is the single intradermal tuberculin test (SITT). Nevertheless, current studies suggest that a single test is not enough to detect all cattle infected by TB, particularly when animals present different stages of infection. A dairy herd comprised of 270 cows was studied and 15 were reactive to SITT plus nine inconclusive animals. Blood samples (for IFN and ELISA) were collected from these 24 cows. At 30 days after injection of PPD, all the cows that were reactive to any of the employed tests were slaughtered, and tissues were processed by Bacteriology, Histopathology (HP) and PCR. According to HP 33.4% of the animals were positive, 45.8% inconclusive and 20.8% were negative. The inconclusive samples came from IFN positive animals, signalizing recent infection. Regarding the animals that were negative to HP, all of them were identified by IFN while ELISA was negative. Immune responses are different in recent and advanced infections, what supports the identification between chronically or recently infected animals. This multidisciplinary approach is mandatory for the interpretation of the various tools that are frequently employed for the diagnosis of TB and mainly to identify all infected animals.

Kiinteistönvälittäjän tiedonantovelvollisuus käytetyn asunnon kaupassa

Tutkielman tarkoituksena on selvittää kiinteistövälittäjän tiedonantovelvollisuuden laajuus käytetyn asunnon kaupassa. Tutkielma noudattaa lainopillista tutkimusmenetelmää ja sen perustan muodostaa kiinteistönvälitystä ja asuntokauppaa sääntelevä lainsäädäntö ja sen tulkinta. Tarkemmat rajaukset kiinteistönvälittäjän tiedonantovelvollisuudelle sekä tukea lain tulkinnalle haetaan aihetta käsittelevistä korkeimman oikeuden ennakkopäätöksistä ja oikeuskirjallisuudesta. Ennakkopäätösten sekä kuluttajariitalautakunnan ratkaisujen läpikäynti ja tulkinta muodostavat tutkimuksen ytimen. Tutkimus osoittaa, että kiinteistönvälittäjän tiedonantovelvollisuuteen vaikuttaa monta tekijää kussakin yksittäisessä asuntokaupassa, jolloin tiedonantovelvollisuuden täyttäminen on monisyinen ja tulkinnanvarainen seikka. Laki ei siis anna tyhjentävää vastausta kiinteistönvälittäjän tiedonantovelvollisuudesta, vaan se on kokonaisuus, joka täytyy arvioida voimassa olevan lain sekä ennakkopäätösten linjausten valossa.

Tuotehyväksynnän hallinta rakennusliikkeessä

Rakennusalan tuotehyväksyntä muuttuu EU:n rakennustuoteasetuksen astuessa voimaan 1.7.2013, jolloin CE-merkintä tulee pakolliseksi suurella osalle rakennustuotteita. Muutos aiheuttaa toimia yli 4000 suomalaisyrityksessä, jotka joutuvat hankkimaan tuotteelleen CE-merkinnän. Rakennustuoteasetus vaikuttaa kaikkiin alan toimijoihin. Tämä diplomityö on toteutettu toimintatutkimuksena, johon sisältyvien teemahaastattelujen kautta saatujen tutkimustulosten perusteella kehitettiin tuotehyväksynnän hallintaan työkalu, YIT-tuotehyväksyntäkortit. Ne laadittiin tuotehyväksynnän teoriaan pohjalta palvelemaan koko YIT Rakennus Oy:tä ja muokattiin yrityksen tarpeisiin sopiviksi soveltaen toimintatutkimuksen tuloksia. YIT-tuotehyväksyntäkortiston avulla pyritään kehittämään yrityksen toimintatapoja vaikuttamalla organisaation henkilöstöön osallistamalla ja vastuuttamalla heitä. Tuotehyväksynnän vaikutuksia rakennushankkeen eri vaiheisiin tutkittiin havainnoivan keskustelun avulla ja teemahaastatteluiden tuloksia analysoiden. YIT-tuotehyväksyntäkortistoa hallinnan välineenä testattiin pääasiassa haastattelujen avulla, sillä mallikortit eivät vielä mahdollistaneet laajempaa testausta käytännössä. Työn tuloksina esitellään YIT-tuotehyväksyntäkorttien laadintaprosessi ja paneudutaan tarkemmin korttien sisältöön.