Inclusive design in the implementation of projects for schools modernization in Portugal - case studies

The Project for Schools Modernization taking place in Portugal, with an estimated total investment of 2450 million for the intervention in the first 205 schools, provide the reclassification of 332 secondary schools by 2015. One of the questions we can pose is if the authorities and the teams of architects selected to design these schools considered fundamental for the correctness of architectural barriers within the school and its accessibility the implementation of standards and principles of inclusion of children/teenagers with special needs within their school environment. As most of the projects are already being implemented, the main aim of this paper is to present the outcomes of a comparative analysis and synthesis of six schools located in the northern part of the country. This analysis occurs from the of Participatory Design perspective which appeals to the experience of the disable children to look (or evaluate) the negative and positive factors in terms of physical space, interpreted by inclusive design rules and orientations. Therefore, the evaluation of schools modernization project, and its discussion, is central for the understanding how these children are addressed in projects which are directed at them.     

Global healthy backpack initiatives

Schoolbag use by children is a global common concern.. Children carry school books and other amenities in their school bags. Global evidence indicates that daily load carried by school children may have negative health implications. Backpack as a school bag model, is the healthiest way of load carriage for school children. Several initiatives have been launched world over to minimize unhealthy consequences resulting from schoolbags. Based on a situation analysis, Sri Lanka implemented a national healthy schoolbag campaign by joint efforts of Ministries of Health and Education. Actions were contemplated on; strategies for bag weight reduction, introduction of an ergonomically modeled schoolbag and bag behaviour change. New strategies were introduced with awareness campaigns to policy makers, bag manufacturers, parents, teachers and children. Four million schoolchildren benefitted. In 2000, the backpack strategy of "Pack it Light, Wear it Right" was started as a public health initiative in the United States by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Over the last eleven years, thousands of occupational therapy practitioners and students participated in educational programs and outreach activities. In 2004, modeled after the success AOTA initiative, the Icelandic Occupational Therapy Association launched a national backpack awareness initiative. This article shares examples of practices that could be implemented in any context to the promote health of children.     

Methodological proposal for occupational health and safety actions in research laboratories with nanotechnologies activities

Nanotechnologies is a multidisciplinary set of techniques to manipulate matter on nanoscale level, more precisely particles below 100 nm whose characteristic due to small size is essentially different from those found in macro form materials. Regarding to these new properties of the materials there are knowledge gaps about the effects of these particles on human organism and the environment. Although it still being considered emerging technology it is growing increasingly fast as well as the number of products using nanotechnologies in some production level and so the number of researchers involved with the subject. Given this scenario and based on literature related, a comprehensive methodology for health and safety at work for researching laboratories with activities in nanotechnologies was developed, based on ILO structure guidelines for safety and health at work system on which a number of nanospecific recommendations were added to. The work intends to offer food for thought on controlling risks associated to nanotechnologies.     

Kaizen and ergonomics: the perfect marriage

This paper is an approach of how Kaizen (Continuous Improvement) and Ergonomics could be implemented in the field of work. The Toyota's Team Members are the owners of this job, applying tools and techniques to improve work conditions using the Kaizen Philosophy in a QCC Activity (Quality Control Circle).     

Postural analysis of workers in a typical meat processing company in Brazil

Companies have increasingly sought strategies that will ensure a more competitive position in the marketplace. Among these strategies adopted by companies include the health and welfare of the worker, factors currently valued by consumers, especially those of most demanding market. Thus, the postural analysis is of great importance and interest because it is the study of positioning related to body parts like head, torso and limbs, capable of producing loads that may be excessive or insufficient causing disturbances in the muscle skeletal system worker. The aim of this study was to perform a postural analysis of the main sectors of workers (slaughter, cutting room, special cuts, packaging and dispatch) of a typical refrigerator pig industry in Brazil during the execution of their daily activities as well as developing proposals to minimize and/or eliminate the diseases and accidents. The study followed the safety norms of Brazilian Ministry of Labor and Employment. The posture analysis used the OWAS (Ovako Working Posture Analyzing System) methodology. The postures assumed by workers in the sector of packaging were as the most in need of emergency and quick action.     

Email subject lines and response rates to invitations to participate in a web survey and a face-to-face interview: the sound of silence

This paper investigates the relationship between blank and non-blank email subject lines on levels of response to a solicitation to participate in an interview, and on participation in a web survey. Email use has grown substantially in recent years, presenting significant opportunity to the empiricist seeking research respondents. However, response to emails may be low because growth in the sheer volume of messages that individuals receive per day has led to a sense of ‘email overload’, and faced with the challenge of personal email management, many recipients choose to ignore some messages, or do not read them all fully. Drawing on information gap theory, we expected that sending an invitation with a blank subject line would induce a sense of curiosity in recipients that would improve email response and willingness to participate in research studies. However, findings from research with two samples with different propensities to participate in research (academics and business owners) revealed that an email invitation with a blank subject line does not increase overall response rates to a web survey and a face-to-face interview over either an informative subject line or a provocative subject line, but that it does prompt a greater number of active refusals. Based on this finding, recommendations for researchers are outlined.     

The Portuguese Disabled People’s Movement: development,demands and outcomes

The increased variety of social conflicts in the post-1960?years resulted in the extension of the individual’s participation in the state’s activity. This change was mirrored by the emergence of new social movements and the related expansion of the notion of citizenship. New groups of people, including disabled people, have emerged claiming citizenship rights. In order to do this, disabled people started to coalesce into uni-impairment and multi-impairment groups and organisations to denounce social exclusion and legal oppression, as well as to demand rights as citizens. Partially based on my research about social citizenship and the Disabled People’s Movement, this article investigates, firstly, the seeds and development of the Portuguese Disabled People’s Movement, secondly, its aims, demands and action strategies and, finally, its impact in the lives of disabled people in Portugal.     

Sexology in Portugal: Narratives by Portuguese Sexologists

This article presents the emergence and development of modern sexology in Portugal through the analysis of Portuguese sexologists’ narratives, to explore how they commit to a professional identity as sexologists, and to discuss how they integrate their professional role into the vast multidisciplinary field of sexology. In-depth interviews were conducted with 44 key professionals, purposefully recruited to guarantee heterogeneity concerning generation, gender, training, and practice. Content analysis focused on highlighting differences and articulations among the main professionals making up the field. The findings indicate that sexology is not seen as a full-fledged profession but rather as a specialization or a secondary field of action. The sexual medicine perspective is prevalent and more visible among physicians, thus reflecting the gap between psychosocial and biomedical approaches. A close link between clinical work and research and a gap between clinical work and health promotion were found. Despite the multidisciplinary nature of sexology being acknowledged, it is not fully implemented by the experts in the field. However, it is this characteristic that permitted sexology to institutionalize and to legitimate itself as a discourse of truth about sex, in Portugal as in other countries.     

Smoking Risks in Spain: Part II—Perceptions of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Externalities

Previous studies of smoking risk beliefs have focused almost exclusively on risks to the smoker. Using an original set of survey data from Spain, we examine the public's perceived risks from exposures to environmental tobacco smoke. The risk categories considered included lung cancer, heart disease, life expectancy loss, and low birth weight for children of smoking mothers. Risk beliefs were quite high, often dwarfing scientific estimates of the risk. The results are consistent with overestimation of risks from highly publicized, low probability events.     

Inequality of opportunity in daycare and preschool services in Brazil

In this paper we measure inequality of opportunity in daycare and preschool services in Brazil. For this purpose, we construct an opportunity index that modifies the Human Opportunity Index proposed in the literature and used in Barros et al. (2009) to measure inequality in basic opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Specifically, we construct an opportunity measure that includes not only attendance but also parental choice not to enroll children in daycare or preschool, using data from a supplementary questionnaire included in the 2006 version of Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD). The results show that there are large differences between our opportunity index and the Human Opportunity Index for children aged 0–3 years old and considerably smaller differences for children aged 4–6 years old, which suggests that preschool may be closer to a basic opportunity than daycare.