O TRABALHO DO ASSISTENTE SOCIAL NO CONTEXTO DE CRISE DO CAPITAL? DESAFIOS E POSSIBILIDADES?

Resumo O objetivo deste trabalho é compreender o Serviço Social, suas bases de formação e consolidação na sociedade brasileira. Refletir e apreender o significado sócio histórico da profissão, a forma com que conduz sua prática profissional frente às crises recorrentes do capitalismo, as quais imprimem gritantes cortes de gastos públicos na área social. Estabelecendo um diálogo no modo de pensar a profissão, e como se posiciona os profissionais frente às mutações pertinentes ao modo de produção capitalista. Como pretende se posicionar no atual contexto, ante aos tempos difíceis que se anunciam, como: o aumento do desemprego, os desmontes das políticas sociais, em especial da previdência social, a iminente possibilidade de privatização total da força de trabalho, a redução da maioridade penal, enfim como se prepara técnica e politicamente a categoria para o enfrentamento de todas as formas de barbárie que são anunciadas

Business Plan for a New Engineering Consulting Firm in the Electrical Utility Market

Author’s note: The set forth business plan presented was developed as a hypothetical start-up firm. Despite being a hypothetical business plan, the data and facts are accurate. Due to sensitive and confidential information, some companies’ and persons’ names and data have been altered. The thought of starting a business crosses the mind of every engineer at some point in his/her career. Starting ones own business, specifically in the engineering field, is not an easy task. It requires a set of entrepreneurial skills, which not many engineers naturally possess. That is why it is essential to carefully create a business plan before starting a business. The goal of a business plan is setting up business goals along with the strategies needed to make the business goals successful, creating a business structure, forecasting issues that may arise and planning how to resolve them, and, ultimately, determining how much capital funding will be required to start-up the business. The United States energy industry has been experiencing steady growth for more than ten years. Along with energy market regulatory agencies such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Southwest Power Pool (SPP), electrical utilities must ensure that the electricity provided to customers is 1) reliable, and 2) cost-effective. Due to such regulations, utilities are required to maintain, upgrade, and build new infrastructure to support the current and future power grid. It is in this growth state that start-up firm so called “GCS” plans to penetrate the energy market. Objectives The following are GCS main objectives for the business plan set forth: 1. Obtain a long term business loan for start up expenses and operations for the first six months of the business, and a short-term loan for the third year of operations. 2. Achieve break-even by fiscal year (FY) 2011. 3. Establish a general service agreement with at least one of the potential feasible clients within the first two years of operations. 4. Exceed the sales forecast for the first three years of operations. 5. Establish a strong relationship with clients and achieve a solid customer base. Mission GCS’s mission is to provide better and more reliable power solutions to clients through strong, dependable, and quality engineering and project management consulting services for power substations and transmission lines. Keys to Success • Be indispensable to clients through comprehensive consulting service in the conceptual and detailed electrical and civil design of power substations and transmission lines. • Keep on-going communication with clients through monthly status reports of current projects. • Control cost through close monitoring of current projects. Keep invoicing and cash flow under control at all times. • Follow up to clients and solicit their feed back on successful and unsuccessful proposals. • Deliver projects under budget and ahead of schedule

Phylogenies of atpD and recA support the small subunit rRNA-based classification of rhizobia

The current classification of the rhizobia (root-nodule symbionts) assigns them to six genera. It is strongly influenced by the small subunit (16S, SSU) rRNA molecular phylogeny, but such single-gene phylogenies may not reflect the evolution of the genome as a whole. To test this, parts of the atpD and recA genes have been sequenced for 25 type strains within the alpha -Proteobacteria, representing species in Rhizobium, Sinorhizobium, Mesorhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, Azorhizobium, Agrobacterium, Phyllobacterium, Mycoplana and Brevundimonas. The current genera Sinorhizobium and Mesorhizobium are well supported by these genes, each forming a distinct phylogenetic clade with unequivocal bootstrap support. There is good support for a Rhizobium clade that includes Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and the very close relationship between Agrobacterium rhizogenes and Rhizobium tropici is confirmed. There is evidence for recombination within the genera Mesorhizobium and Sinorhizobium, but the congruence of the phylogenies at higher levels indicates that the genera are genetically isolated. rRNA provides a reliable distinction between genera, but genetic relationships within a genus may be disturbed by recombination

BARRIERS FOR CARDIAC REHABILITATION IN HEART FAILURE: HOW TO IMPROVE ADHERENCE

Introdução: Apesar da disponibilidade de terapias farmacológicas e de dispositivos para o tratamento da insuficiência cardíaca (IC), os doentes com IC ainda apresentam um mau prognóstico e uma qualidade de vida reduzida. Modificações no estilo de vida, a reabilitação cardíaca (RC) e exercício físico regular, ajudam a controlar os sintomas da IC e melhorar a função cardíaca. No entanto, apesar de todas as evidências científicas e recomendações clínicas, a RC é subutilizada no tratamento da IC. As razões para a subutilização dos programas de RC são multifatoriais e incluem fatores relacionados com o sistema de saúde, os profissionais de saúde ou ainda barreiras relacionadas ao doente. É importante identificar estas barreiras para aumentar a participação e adesão aos programas de RC de modo a garantir que todos os que possam se beneficiar deste tipo de programa tenham a oportunidade de participar. Desta forma, a RC domiciliária isoladamente ou em combinação com a RC supervisionada, tem o potencial de abordar algumas barreiras, como flexibilidade de horário, distância do centro de RC, custos e a preferência do doente. Além disso, o maior grau de auto monitorização exigido em programas domiciliários pode promover uma transição favorável para a mudança comportamental sustentável e o autocuidado da doença. A adesão a longo prazo ao exercício físico após a fase II da RC pode ser desafiadora, mas é fundamental para manter a saúde cardiovascular e reduzir o risco de futuros eventos cardíacos. Assim, considerando a importância dos programas de RC no tratamento dos doentes com IC, a baixa acessibilidade e adesão a esse tipo de programa, bem como a adesão subótima em longo prazo, é preciso entender os motivos dessa subutilização no contexto da população portuguesa. Objetivo: No presente trabalho propomos-nos: i) descrever e comparar as barreiras à participação num programa de RC hospitalar versus domiciliar em doentes com IC num hospital público em Portugal; ii) investigar a relação entre as barreiras reportadas e a adesão ao programa de RC; iii) verificar a efetividade de um programa de RC domiciliário em relação a adesão a longo prazo à atividade física e aos níveis de aptidão física após um programa de RC fase 2; iv) comparar os efeitos a longo prazo de uma intervenção de RC domiciliária versus uma intervenção de RC hospitalar; e v) propor um programa comunitário especializado de RC fase III visando auxiliar doentes cardíacos a alcançarem um estilo de vida saudável, a controlar os fatores de risco cardiovascular e promover o bem-estar após a fase II de RC. Métodos: Para alcançar os objetivos propostos, avaliamos 87 doentes com IC no Estudo I e 54 pacientes com IC no Estudo II. No estudo I, foi utilizado o questionário de Barreiras na Reabilitação Cardíaca para avaliar a perceção dos doentes em relação ao grau em que diferentes barreiras afetam sua participação no programa de RC. Além disso, foram coletados dados de adesão dos registos das sessões de exercícios e da monitorização de frequência cardíaca. No Estudo II, os doentes foram avaliados quanto à atividade física (IPAQ versão curta e o monitor de frequência cardíaca, modelo POLAR M200) e aptidão física (teste de caminhada de 6 minutos, teste de 8-foot-up-and-go, teste de força de preensão manual e teste de sentar e levantar por 30 segundos). O Estudo III é um protocolo de fase III para ser implementado dentro da comunidade Resultados: No Estudo I, os nossos dados indicam que "outros problemas de saúde" são a principal barreira à RC para doentes com IC na população estudada. Comparando com o grupo RC hospitalar, os doentes do grupo RC domiciliário identificaram duas principais barreiras como principais, nomeadamente, "mau tempo" e "tenho pouco tempo", mas isso não se refletiu nas taxas de adesão. No Estudo II, nossos dados sugerem que o programa domiciliar não resultou em melhor adesão à atividade física a longo prazo ou níveis de aptidão física em comparação ao programa hospitalar. Por fim, no Estudo III, propomos a implementação de um programa de RC fase III na comunidade, com alocação em grupos de acordo com a preferência do doente, a fim de abordar desafios de saúde e sociais não atendidos relacionados à manutenção após a fase II de RC. Conclusões: Os nossos dados sugerem que, após identificar as barreiras relacionadas à participação e adesão à RC, programas individualizados que incorporem as barreiras específicas do doente poderão ter um impacto na participação nestes programas. Além disso, 12 semanas de um programa de RC domiciliária ou hospitalar parecem não ser suficientes para promover uma transição para uma mudança de comportamento sustentável no tempo. Por fim, são necessários novos programas especializados de RC de fase III baseados na comunidade para ajudar os doentes cardíacos a alcançarem um estilo de vida saudável e sustentável, auxiliar no controle dos fatores de risco cardiovascular e promoverem o bem-estar após a RC de fase II. Palavras-chave: reabilitação cardíaca, insuficiência cardíaca, domiciliar, barreiras, adesão, efeitos a longo prazo, doentes cardíacos, fase III, comunidade.Introduction: Despite a variety of pharmacological and device therapies for heart failure (HF), patients still have a poor prognosis and quality of life. Lifestyle modifications, cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and regular exercise, have been shown to help manage HF symptoms and improve cardiac function. However, despite all the scientific evidence and clinical recommendations, CR is underutilized in the treatment of HF. The reasons for the underutilization of CR programs are multifactorial and include health system, health professionals or patient barriers. It is important to address these barriers to increase participation and adherence to ensure that everyone who could benefit from CR has the opportunity to participate. In light of this, home-based CR (HBCR) alone or in combination with clinical-based CR (CBCR), have the potential to address some barriers such as schedule flexibility, time commitment, travel distance, cost and patient preference. In addition, the higher degree of self-monitoring/management required in home-based programs, may promote a favorable transition to sustainable behavioral change and disease self-management. Long-term adherence to exercise training after CR phase 2 can be challenging, but it is critical to maintaining cardiovascular health and reducing the risk of future cardiac events. Thus, considering the importance of CR programs in the treatment of patients with HF, the low accessibility and adherence to this type of program, as well the long-term adherence, it is necessary to understand the reasons for this underutilization in the context of the Portuguese population. Objective: In the present work we propose: i) to describe and compare the barriers to participation in a clinical versus home-based CR program in patients with HF in a public hospital in Portugal; ii) to investigate whether these barriers were related to adherence to the CR program; iii) to assess the effectiveness of the home-based CR on exercise adherence and physical fitness after phase II CR in HF patients; iv) to compare long-term effects of a home-based vs clinical-based CR intervention; and v) to propose the implementation of a specialized community phase III CR program to help cardiac patients achieve a healthy lifestyle, manage optimal cardiovascular risk factors, and promote wellness after phase II CR. Methods: To achieve the proposed objectives, we evaluated 87 patients with HF in Study I and 54 patients with HF in Study II. In study I, the Barriers to Cardiac Rehabilitation Scale questionnaire was used to assess patients' perception of the degree to which different barriers affected their participation in a CR program. In addition, adherence data were collected from exercise session records and the heart rate monitor device. In Study II, patients were assessed for physical activity (IPAQ short version and the heart rate monitor, model POLAR M200) and physical fitness (6-minute-walking test (6MWT), 8-foot-up-and-go test, handgrip and 30-second sit-to-stand test). Study III is a phase III CR protocol to be implemented within the community. Results: In Study I, our data indicate that other health problems are the main barrier for patients with HF. Comparing with CBCR group, the HBCR participants rated two main barriers significantly higher, such as "bad weather" and "I have little time", but it not reflected in adherence rates. In Study II, our data suggests that HBCR program did not resulted in better adherence to long-term physical activity or fitness levels compared with the CBCR intervention. Finally, in Study III, we propose a phase III CR program within the community, with group allocation according to preference, to respond to unmet health and social challenges regarding maintenance after phase II CR. Conclusions: Our data suggest that after identifying barriers related with CR participation and adherence, an individualized CR programs that incorporates patient's-specific barriers would impact on CR participation. In addition, 12 weeks of a HBCR or CBCR program appears to be not enough to promote a transition to sustainable behavior change over time. Finally, new a specialized community-based phase III CR programs are needed to help cardiac patients achieve a sustainable healthy lifestyle, manage optimal cardiovascular risk factors, and promote wellness after phase II CR

The speed gateway: a facility for the upliftment and promotion of South Africa's motorsport culture

This document is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree: Masters of Architecture (Professional) University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2015Globally people are at the edge of their seats wide-eyed with passion and awe for the spectacular and entertaining world of motor racing, admiring the world’s most powerful machines and talented drivers battling through the race tracks with lightning speed and outstanding agility. Due to lack of public support, poor management and funding the motorsport culture is rapidly dying out and race tracks are becoming exceedingly underutilized in South Africa. Through Architectural intervention, the aim is to transform the underutilized Kyalami race track into a vibrant and entertaining motorsport venue that will integrate motorsport back into society and preserve this iconic race track that maintains the national motorsport culture alive. Apart from the shear entertainment value motorsport provides it has always united people from around the globe and enabled the production of some of the most technologically advanced machines of our time. Recognising the tremendous value motor racing had, the iconic Kyalami race track was built in South Africa, situated between Johannesburg and Pretoria, which hosted a great number of International Grand Prix events. Motorsport soon gained a major cultural, political, social, economic and spatial presence in South Africa. After almost three decades the race track was removed from the Formula 1 Grand Prix calendar, among other major motorsport calendars, due to sanctions. The poor entertainment value over recent years has led to a major decline in public and sponsor interest in local motorsport. In return Kyalami has become unsustainable which, in the past year, nearly led to the loss of the iconic race track which would have further rendered the local motorsport culture extinct. This recurring scenario around the country becomes the vital point of enquiry for this thesis; the role of Architecture in promoting the motorsport culture; the long-standing relationship between the automobile and Man and its influence on the urban fabric and architecture that is part of our everyday experience. Sited on the Kyalami race track, the architectural design will include an urban framework that will better integrate the current isolated race track with its surrounding context. The framework will include outdoor public activity spaces as well as research, training and workshop facilities that will accommodate the public’s needs and interests at the same time uplift and promote both the automobile and motorsport industry. The primary Kyalami Motorsport Centre sited by the existing southern pit complex will not only offer an enhanced trackside and racing experience to both spectators and race teams but the necessary auto-tecture that will host thrilling motorsport events and promote the nation’s young talented driversGR201

Strategies for halogen determination and isotopic analysis via ICP-MS

Dit werk presenteert nieuwe methodes voor de kwantitatieve bepaling van halogenen door middel van inductief gekoppeld plasma massaspectrometrie (ICP-MS) en voor de meting van isotopen verhoudingen gebruikmakend van multicollector (MC) ICP-MS. Vier methodes voor directe vastestofanalyse (SS) door middel van ICP-MS – drie met behulp van elektrothermische vervluchtiging (ETV) en één middels laser ablatie (LA) – en twee methodes voor de isotopenanalyse van Br en Cl in zeewater met MC-ICP-MS werden ontwikkeld. Deze methodes werden toegepast op stalen afkomstig uit concrete studies en geven als dusdanig relevante resultaten met betrekking tot milieuprocessen. In alle methodes waarin SS-ETV-ICP-MS toegepast werd, werden de vaste stalen direct afgewogen in grafietbuisjes en ingebracht in de grafietoven. De instrumentele parameters werden geoptimaliseerd voor het bekomen van een hoge gevoeligheid en efficiënte verwijdering van de matrix. Chloorbepaling in biologische stalen kon uitgevoerd worden via kalibratie tegenover waterige standaardoplossingen, in de aanwezigheid van vooraf gedroogde modifiers (Pd + Nd of Pd + Ca) of met gecertificeerde vaste referentiematerialen (CRMs), eveneens in de aanwezigheid van vooraf gedroogde modifiers of zonder gebruik te maken van modifiers, wat leidt tot een kwantificatielimiet (LOQ) van 5 µg g-1. Voor de bepaling van Br en Cl in steenkoolstalen werd Cl accuraat gemeten middels kalibratie met vaste standaarden, terwijl Br ook succesvol werd gekwantificeerd via kalibratie met waterige standaardoplossingen, in beide gevallen met vooraf gedroogde modifiers (Pd + Ca). Kwantificatielimieten van 0.03 µg g-1 en 7 µg g-1 werden bereikt voor respectievelijk Br en Cl. In een derde deel van dit werk werden F, Cl, Br en I bepaald in fijn stof (PM10). Fluor werd bepaald middels hoge resolutie moleculaire absorbtiespectrometrie (HR-CS MAS), waarbij de CaF molecule geobserveerd werd, terwijl Cl, Br en I bepaald werd door middel van SS-ETV-ICP-MS. De methode liet de kwantificatie van halogenen toe in 14 PM10-stalen verzameld in een noordoostelijke kuststad in Brazilië. De resultaten toonden variaties in halogeengehalte naargelang de meteorologische omstandigheden, in het bijzonder gerelateerd aan regenval, relatieve luchtvochtigheid en zonneschijn. In een vierde deel wordt de bepaling van broom in polymeerstalen met LA-ICP-MS behandeld. Onder geoptimaliseerde omstandigheden kon Br accuraat bepaald worden in vijf verschillende polymeerstandaarden (CRM) en vijf ‘echte’ polymeerstalen door externe calibratie tegenover verschillende CRMs en eveneens door externe calibratie tegenover slechts één CRM, mits gebruik van het 12C+ als interne standaard. De LOQ werd bepaald op 110 µg g-1 Br. Daarnaast werd aangetoond dat de accurate en precieze meting van broom- en chloorisotopen verhoudingen in zeewater via MC-ICP-MS mogelijk is mits het gebruik van hoge massaresolutie, en door toevoeging van 5 mmol L-1 NH4OH aan alle staal-, standaard- en wasoplossingen (voor analietconcentraties van ≥ 3 mg L-1 voor Br en ≥ 70 mg L-1 voor Cl). Het overgrote deel van de kationen in zeewater werd voorafgaand aan de analyse verwijderd door kationenuitwisselingschromatografie (Dowex 50WX8 hars). In het geval van Br liet het uitdampen van de stalen bij 90°C toe om de stalen op te concentreren zonder analietverlies of isotopische fractionatie. Voor beide elementen werd gecorrigeerd voor massadiscriminatie door externe correctie in een staal-standaard ‘bracketing’ benadering, en tevens werd ook nagegaan of Sr, Ge of Se kunnen aangewend worden als potentiële interne standaarden voor Br-isotopenanalyse. Vergelijking van de bekomen resultaten bij de analyse van CRMs met de referentiewaarden of waarden uit de literatuur, toonde aan dat beide methodes aanleiding geven tot precieze en accurate resultaten. Tot slot werden deze methodes toegepast als onderdeel van een milieustudie rond de aanwezigheid van Br en Cl in zeeijs verzameld op verschillende dieptes en locaties tijdens de Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem eXperiment 2012 expeditie. De concentratie van deze elementen in de stalen bedroeg 700 tot 31000 µg L-1 Br en 200 tot 8000 mg L-1 Cl en er werd een relatie aangetoond tussen de Br en Cl concentraties in de stalen en de overeenkomstige δ81Br en δ37Cl waarden. De lagere concentraties en δ-waarden werden geobserveerd in diep zeeijs, wat waarschijnlijk verklaard kan worden door de optredende ontzoutingsprocessen

A GÊNESE DA PAUPERIZAÇÃO DA CLASSE TRABALHADORA NA SOCIEDADE CAPITALISTA

Resumo Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar a gênese da pauperização da classe trabalhadora no capitalismo, expondo as bases materiais do se que convencionou a chamar de “questão social”. Para o alcance desse objetivo faremos uma análise em Karl Marx dos capítulos “A Assim Chamada Acumulação Primitiva”, como também da “Lei Geral da Acumulação Capitalista”, ambos da obra O Capital. Procuraremos identificar os fundamentos da pauperização da classe trabalhadora, por intermédio da formação do exército industrial de reserva, para possibilitarmos o entendimento sobre a “questão social” em seus fundamentos ontológicos, buscando explicitar a origem de suas expressões na sociedade capitalista