Innovation and Environmental Policy: Clean vs. Dirty Technical Change

We study a two sector endogenous growth model with environmental quality with two goods and two factors of production, one clean and one dirty. Technological change creates clean or dirty innovations. We compare the laissez-faire equilibrium and the social optimum and study first- and second-best policies. Optimal policy encourages research toward clean technologies. In a second-best world, we claim that a portfolio that includes a tax on the polluting good combined with optimal innovation subsidy policies is less costly than increasing the price of the polluting good alone. Moreover, a discriminating innovation subsidy policy is preferable to a non-discriminating one. JEL codes: H23, O3, O41Pollution, Endogenous Growth, Innovation, Environmental Policy, Laissez-Faire Equilibrium, Optimal Equilibrium, Discriminating vs. Non-Discriminating Subsidies to R&D

Comparison Of Statistical Failure Models To Support Sewer System Operation

Currently, achieving appropriate operative performance of water infrastructure has become a high priority in urbanized areas. Particularly, providing reliable sewerage service is central for human well-being and its development (Kleidorfer, et al. 2013). Having that wastewater system management is an increasingly complex task due to a number of hardly predictable factors (e.g. deterioration of system components and climate variability), recent research efforts have been focusing on developing methods to identify optimum proactive rehabilitation and maintenance strategies, some of which are based on the identification of the sewerage structures in most need of attention. To meet such a goal, different forecast failure models for urban water infrastructure have been recently developed. These models are able to assess the future behavior of water supply and sewer system structures. This study presents the comparison of two different failure statistical packages for urban water systems: (a) The FAIL software that calculates failure predictions based on two alternative stochastic processes, the single-variate Poisson process and the Linear Extended Yule process (LEYP) (see Martins et al., 2013) and (b) The SIMA software that, trough out a series of statistical tests, selects a failure model that is based either on an homogeneous Poisson process (HPP), a renewal process or a non-homogeneous Poisson process (NHPP), which allows changes of trend in the failure intensity (see Rodríguez, et al. 2012). Those different statistical models are applied to two contrasting urban wastewater systems: Bogotá (Colombia, 7.5 million inhabitants) and Oeiras e Amadora (Portugal, 10.000 inhabitants). Customer complaints and failure databases were gathered in order to analyze two different types of sewer failures named sediment-related blockages and structural failures. Multiple analyses are carried out in order to assess the impact of sewer system characteristics, system complexity, spatial resolution and data availability onto models forecasting efficiency

Simulation-based methods for time series diagnostics.

We present sampling-based methodologies for the estimation of structural time series in the presence of outliers and structural shifts. We start by considering a simple structural model: a local level model, in the presence of outliers and level shifts. The existence of shocks is accounted for by including a product of intervention variables in the measurement and transition equations. These factors are composed of the product of an indicator variable and a parameter for the magnitude of the intervention variable, defining the size of the shocks. The Gibbs sampler is the Markov chain Monte Carlo method used for estimating the intervention model. Our contribution is in the use of a uniform prior distribution for the size of intervention variables. We show that this choice provides advantages over the usual multinomial and normal prior assumptions. The methodology is extended to a basic structural model. Using this model formulation, we consider 4 types of shocks: outliers, level, slope and seasonal shifts. The use of simulation based methods for this range of different breaks in structural models is not dealt with in the existing literature. By using the Gibbs sampler, we simultaneously estimate all the hyperparameters, detect the position of the shocks and estimate their size. Finally, we consider the local level model in the presence of outliers and level shifts for the case where one of the hyperparameters is equal to zero. In this situation, simulation based methods usually assume a multinomial prior distribution for the size of the intervention variables. We use a uniform prior, and present a two stages sampling scheme. In this two stage process the Gibbs sampler is first run on an auxiliary data set which has the same shocks as the original data set. For all the methods presented, performance is assessed by Monte Carlo studies and empirical applications to real data sets

Multi-agent system specification for distributed scheduling in home health care

Nowadays, scheduling and allocation of resources and tasks becomes a huge and complex challenge to the most diverse industrial areas, markets, services and health. The problem with current scheduling systems is that their management is still done manually or using classical optimization methods (usually static, time-consuming) and centralized approaches. However, opportunities arise to decentralize solutions with smart systems, which enable the distribution of the computational effort, the flexibility of behaviours and the minimization of operating times and operational planning costs. The paper proposes the specification of a Multi-agent System (MAS) for the Home Health Care (HHC) scheduling and allocation. The MAS technology enables the scheduling of intelligent behaviours and functionalities based on the interaction of agents, and allows the evolution of current strategies and algorithms, as it can guarantee the fast response to condition changes, flexibility and responsiveness in existing planning systems. An experimental HHC case study was considered to test the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed MAS approach, the results demonstrating promising qualitative and quantitative indicators regarding the efficiency and responsiveness of the HHC scheduling.This work has been supported by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia within the R&D Units Projects Scope: UIDB/00319/2020 and UIDB/05757/2020. Filipe Alves is supported by FCT Doctorate Grant Reference SFRH/BD/143745/2019

Confiabilidade intraclasse da Alberta Infant Motor Scale na versão brasileira

This study had as its objective to analyze the intraclass reliability of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS), in the Brazilian version, in preterm and term infants. It was a methodological study, conducted from November 2009 to April 2010, with 50 children receiving care in two public institutions in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Children were grouped according to gestational age as preterm and term, and evaluated by three evaluators in the communication laboratory of a public institution or at home. The intraclass correlation indices for the categories prone, supine, sitting and standing ranged from 0.553 to 0.952; most remained above 0.800, except for the standing category of the third evaluator, in which the index was 0.553. As for the total score and percentile, rates ranged from 0.843 to 0.954. The scale proved to be a reliable instrument for assessing gross motor performance of Brazilian children, particularly in Ceará, regardless of gestational age at birth.El objetivo fue analizar la confiabilidad intra-clase de Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) en la versión brasileña, en niños pre-término y a término. Estudio metodológico, realizado de noviembre de 2009 a abril de 2010, con 50 niños atendidos en dos instituciones públicas de Fortaleza/Ceará/Brasil. Los niños fueron agrupados, según la edad gestacional, en pretérmino y término y evaluados en un laboratorio de comunicación de una institución pública o en sus domicilios, por tres evaluadores. Los índices de correlación intra-clase para las categorías prono, supino, sentado y de pie variaron de 0,553 hasta 0,952, manteniéndose en su mayoría encima de 0,800 y sólo en el ítem de pie del tercer evaluador, el índice fue 0,553. Mientras que en el Score total y el Percentil, hubo una variación de 0,843 hasta 0,954. Se concluye que la escala es un instrumento confiable para evaluar el rendimiento motor grueso de niños brasileños, en particular de Ceará, independientemente de la edad gestacional al nacer.Objetivou-se analisar a confiabilidade intraclasse da escala Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS), na versão brasileira, em crianças pré-termo e a termo. Estudo metodológico, realizado de novembro de 2009 a abril de 2010, com 50 crianças atendidas em duas instituições públicas de Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil. As crianças foram agrupadas conforme a idade gestacional em pré-termo e a termo e avaliadas no laboratório de comunicação de uma instituição pública ou em domicílio por três avaliadores. Os índices de correlação intraclasse para as categorias prono, supino, sentado e em pé variaram de 0,553 a 0,952, mantendo-se em sua maioria acima de 0,800. Apenas no item em pé do terceiro avaliador o índice foi 0,553. Quanto ao escore total e ao percentil, os índices variaram de 0,843 a 0,954. A Escala mostrou-se um instrumento confiável para avaliar o desempenho motor grosso de crianças brasileiras, particularmente as cearenses, independente da idade gestacional ao nascer

Five Years of Experimental Warming Increases the Biodiversity and Productivity of Phytoplankton

Phytoplankton are key components of aquatic ecosystems, fixing CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and supporting secondary production, yet relatively little is known about how future global warming might alter their biodiversity and associated ecosystem functioning. Here, we explore how the structure, function, and biodiversity of a planktonic metacommunity was altered after five years of experimental warming. Our outdoor mesocosm experiment was open to natural dispersal from the regional species pool, allowing us to explore the effects of experimental warming in the context of metacommunity dynamics. Warming of 4°C led to a 67% increase in the species richness of the phytoplankton, more evenly-distributed abundance, and higher rates of gross primary productivity. Warming elevated productivity indirectly, by increasing the biodiversity and biomass of the local phytoplankton communities. Warming also systematically shifted the taxonomic and functional trait composition of the phytoplankton, favoring large, colonial, inedible phytoplankton taxa, suggesting stronger top-down control, mediated by zooplankton grazing played an important role. Overall, our findings suggest that temperature can modulate species coexistence, and through such mechanisms, global warming could, in some cases, increase the species richness and productivity of phytoplankton communities

Evaluating the intervening factors in patient safety: focusing on hospital nursing staff

OBJECTIVE To evaluate intervening factors in patient safety, focusing on hospital nursing staff. METHOD The study is descriptive, with qualitative approach, excerpt from a larger study with analytical nature. It was undertaken in a public hospital in Fortaleza, CE, Brazil, between January and June 2013, with semi-structured interviews to 70 nurses, using Thematic Content Analysis. RESULTS The principal intervening factors in patient safety related to hospital nursing staff were staff dimensioning and workload, professional qualification and training, team work, being contracted to the institution, turnover and lack of job security, and bad practice/disruptive behaviors. These aspects severely interfere with the establishment of a safety culture in the hospital analyzed. CONCLUSION It is necessary for managers to invest in nursing staff, so that these workers may be valued as fundamental in the promotion of patient safety, making it possible to develop competences for taking decisions with focus on the improvement of quality care.OBJETIVO Avaliar fatores intervenientes na segurança do paciente, com enfoque na equipe de Enfermagem hospitalar. MÉTODO Estudo descritivo, com abordagem qualitativa, recorte de pesquisa de maior abrangência de caráter analítico. Desenvolveu-se em um hospital público de Fortaleza, CE, Brasil, entre janeiro a junho de 2013, por meio entrevistas semiestruturadas com 70 enfermeiros assistenciais, empregando-se Análise de Conteúdo Temática. RESULTADOS Os principais fatores intervenientes na segurança do paciente relacionados à equipe de Enfermagem encontrados foram: dimensionamento de pessoal e carga de trabalho; formação e capacitação profissional; trabalho em equipe; vínculo empregatício, rotatividade e falta de estabilidade; má prática/comportamentos destrutivos. Tais aspectos interferem sobremaneira no estabelecimento da cultura de segurança na instituição analisada. CONCLUSÃO São necessários investimentos, por parte dos gestores, nos recursos humanos de Enfermagem, para que estes trabalhadores sejam valorizados como fundamentais na promoção da segurança do paciente, possibilitando o desenvolvimento de competências para a tomada de decisão com foco na melhoria da qualidade assistencial.OBJETIVO Evaluar los factores intervinientes en la seguridad del paciente, con énfasis en el equipo de Enfermería hospitalaria. MÉTODO Estudio descriptivo, con abordaje cualitativo, recorte de investigación de mayor alcance de carácter analítico. Se desarrolló en un hospital público de Fortaleza, CE, Brasil, entre enero y junio de 2013, por medio de entrevistas semiestructuradas con 70 enfermeros asistenciales, empleándose el Análisis de Contenido Temático. RESULTADOS Los principales factores intervinientes en la seguridad del paciente relacionados con el equipo de Enfermería encontrados fueron: dimensionamiento de personal y carga laboral; formación y capacitación profesional; trabajo en equipo; vínculo de empleo, rotatividad y falta de estabilidad; mala práctica/comportamientos destructivos. Dichos aspectos interfieren demasiado en el planteamiento de la cultura de seguridad de la institución analizada. CONCLUSIÓN Son necesarias inversiones, por parte de los gestores, en los recursos humanos de Enfermería, para que se valoren esos trabajadores como fundamentales en la promoción de la seguridad del paciente, posibilitando el desarrollo de competencias para la toma de decisiones con énfasis en la mejoría de la calidad asistencial