At present, a large part of the products from the north is transported on the main line through upper Norrland, which handles all railway transports through Norrland. The track does not meet today´s requirements for freight transport because of its curvy and hilly traction, its only track and the fact that it is located far from the coast where most industries are situated. In 2002, the investigation of a new coastal railway began, which can relieve the main line from freight traffic, but also promote passenger transport by dimidiated travel times and increased communication between the cities. The new railway was named Norrbotniabanan and is planned to pass through the larger cities along the coast. Piteå is the city that has the most possible route options and potential locations for the railway station. After a number of investigations, only two alternative tractions through Piteå remains, alternatives P1 and P2. In alternative P1, or the Coastal route, Norrbotniabanan is supposed to run parallel with E4. A travel center is planned to be located south of Lomtjärn and west of E4. In the other alternative P2, or the Central route, the track would pass through the center of Piteå where the travel center would be located also. The purpose of this work has been to investigate the potential of Lomtjärn Travel Center in the alternative coastal route of the Norrbotniabanan railway. The aim was to be able to specify which features that should be implemented to achieve the best design for the Lomtjärn Travel Center in its peripheral position, with regard to social and ecological sustainability, to promote passenger transport. In order to achieve the aim information was obtained by a literature study linked to the railway station's basic properties and importance to the city. Furthermore, a study was conducted of existing peripheral stations to gather inspiration and see how others had solved various functions connected to the station. A site analysis was also conducted where the travel centers location previously determined by the municipality was analyzed to find out if it really was the best location in the area. The above studies and analyzes resulted in a concept proposal for the design of the Lomtjärn Travel Center. Early on, accessibility proved to be one of the most important success of the location of a railway station. The passage over the railway tracks and E4 is seen as the most important accessibility action because it breaks the barrier created by E4 and creates access to the station from two directions. Other measures that contribute to increased accessibility are the division of the car and cycle parking lots to each side of E4 and the connection between the station and the grocery store at Backen. Another action that is connected to both accessibility and ecological sustainability is the transport between the station and the center, as it strengthens the connection between them at the same time as it is fossil-free. Good personal security is also seen as important. The decision to choose a raised glazed walkway as a passage instead of a tunnel under the ground is considered to be a positive action for the proposal. Another security action was to add a kiosk, this creates security by adding someone who can oversee the station. Other measures that increase security are the choice to keep the passage open and not add anything that obscures the visibility and the fact that the entire passage is a waiting room, because it allows excellent view of the tracks. A solution that does not have much to do with either social or ecological sustainability, but which is nevertheless believed to be significant for Piteå city is the height of the passage. The height enables it to appear from a longer distance and form a landmark in the northwest while forming an entrance to Piteå.

Student Number : 0001367T - MA dissertation - School of Architecture and Planning - Faculty of Humanities / This is an exploratory study which seeks to look at barriers to land accessibility for the construction of low-income or affordable housing on former mining lands between Soweto and Johannesburg CBD. Based on the findings, there are various barriers which inhibit and threaten the construction of houses on former mining lands. These barriers, exposed by the findings of this report are radon, mine dust - both of which pose a serious health risk to residents if exposed to it for a long period of time - high prices of land, inadequate funding for housing subsidies and the National Nuclear Regulator’s too strict and uncompromising stance on housing construction on contaminated lands. The conclusion drawn by this report is that the government, owners of former mining land and the National Nuclear Regulator need to co-operate and work together towards finding a common ground in order to enhance the possibility of a total removal of these barriers, so that the previously marginalized citizens can afford to own houses closer to the Central Business District of Johannesburg.

With aging populations and rising health care costs, many high-income countries are exploring mobile computing technologies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health care provision. These technologies, which underpin the field of pervasive computing, introduce a new model of human–computer interaction. Instead of the scenario where a single user interacts with a desk-bound “personal” computer, pervasive computing envisions a world embedded with small, inexpensive, portable networked devices able to communicate seamlessly with each other. In common with resource-rich countries, the field of pervasive computing has the potential to promote and support healthy population development in middle and low-income countries, and this, therefore, has relevance for South Africa. Current estimates suggest that there are between 28 and 32 million mobile phones in South Africa. This means that around 60% of all South Africans own, or have access to, mobile telecommunication. Over 900 000 km2 of the country is covered by the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) network of Vodacom, the largest telecommunications company in the country. Over 90% of South Africa is provided with access to mobile connectivity through shared agreements between the country’s major telecommunications networks. Aims The ubiquity of mobile phones has resulted in their receiving increasing attention from public health researchers. Yet a better understanding of how mobile phones could support health research in South Africa is still an emerging field with many unanswered questions. This thesis attempts to fill some of these gaps in our current knowledge. In particular, the primary aim of this work is to implement and evaluate the use of mobile phones as instruments with which to collect and analyse information for monitoring, evaluation and research in low-resource rural African settings. Methods To investigate this aim, data were gathered from the development, implementation and evaluation of four health surveys in South Africa. Two surveys were conducted with Birth to Twenty, a birth cohort of South African young adults living in Greater Johannesburg. These data were used to better understand the feasibility and data-quality implications of using mobile phones as a tool for the administration of ‘self-administered’ surveys. Two additional surveys, completed in KwaZulu-Natal province, evaluated the same themes of feasibility, acceptability and impact of data quality in mobile-phone-assisted personal (face-to-face) interviews (MPAPI). The first, conducted with 500 HIV-positive pregnant women in eight primary health clinics and 12 interviewers trained to use the mobile-phone survey software, was used to assess the feasibility and acceptability of MPAPI. The final survey compared the difference in data quality achieved by 100 interviewers using either pen and paper, or mobile phones to conduct a short health survey. De Leeuw's conceptual model was used to frame how mode characteristics influence data quality. Results Mobile-phone-assisted interviewing was found to have an impact on the data quality, feasibility and acceptability of health surveys. MPAPI was found to be similar in terms of accuracy and cost to small-scale paper-and-pen interviewing (PAPI) surveys. Time lines and accessibility were improved by the use of MPAPI. Mobile-phone-assisted self-interviewing (MPASI) surveys were found to have a lower survey response but a higher item-completion rate. Acceptability was found to be moderated by technological familiarity and the use patterns of mobile-phone features. Finally, conducting health research using mobile-phone interviews in South Africa was found to be feasible; to reduce the loss of questionnaires, and photocopying and data-entry costs; and to improve the speed at which data becomes available for analysis. Factors that mediated feasibility included the technical expertise of the project management and field staff, the technological know-how of participants, the comprehensiveness of the interviewer training, the mobile communication channel used (e.g., handset-agnostic SMS) and the presence or absence of an interviewer. Conclusion Under the right conditions, mobile-phone-assisted interviewing appears to be a feasible and practical tool for the rapid collection of health information, with data accuracy being the same or better than pen-and-paper interviews. It is argued that these benefits increase as the scale of the survey increases. Improved data can positively influence population health by providing decision makers with more rapid access to accurate data with which to monitor large-scale health systems. Small projects that do not require the rapid availability of data or where staff do not have the appropriate technical proficiencies would be better suited at present to more traditional survey data-collection techniques. Keywords: mobile phones; pervasive computing; mHealth; data collection; survey error

Esta pesquisa aborda a questão da acessibilidade e da usabilidade em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem que tem como foco o desenvolvimento da aprendizagem de estudantes surdos. O problema de investigação centra-se no seguinte questionamento: Que princípios um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem deve ter para que o estudante surdo possa desenvolver a aprendizagem? Temos como objetivo analisar o ambiente virtual de aprendizagem utilizado pela instituição lócus da pesquisa, bem como descrever e avaliar a efetividade do ambiente no desenvolvimento da aprendizagem do estudante surdo. Esta pesquisa possui uma abordagem qualitativa realizada por meio de revisão bibliográfica e de pesquisa empírica com base na análise de entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas com estudantes surdos, os intérpretes de libras, a coordenação do Núcleo de acessibilidade da universidade lócus da pesquisa, como também a análise do ambiente virtual de aprendizagem utilizado pela universidade. No intuito de pesquisarmos a questão da acessibilidade e da usabilidade de ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem no que diz respeito ao desenvolvimento da aprendizagem de estudantes surdos, elaboramos quatro capítulos. Os conteúdos presentes nos capítulos dizem respeito à trajetória da educação à distância no Brasil e no mundo, os conceitos de acessibilidade e de usabilidade, bem como o perfil de acesso de estudantes surdos à educação, aspectos relacionados à educação de surdos, a identidade surda, aspectos da aprendizagem e a cognição visual como possibilidade de aprendizagem. Além disso, discutimos os ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem e como a acessibilidade e a usabilidade se constituem concretamente nesses ambientes, principalmente em relação à aprendizagem de estudantes surdos, enfatizando a linguagem visual como possibilidade para o desenvolvimento da aprendizagem de estudantes surdos e o percurso metodológico delineando os sujeitos da pesquisa, caracterizando o lócus da pesquisa e analisando os dados coletados nas entrevistas. Como considerações finais, são propostos delineamentos relativos às ações de acessibilidade e de usabilidade dos ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem; a utilização destes ambientes por estudantes surdos bem como no processo, desenvolvimento e efetivação da aprendizagem de tais estudantes no âmbito da educação a distância; a compreensão do papel da cognição visual na construção do conhecimento do sujeito surdo e a ações relacionadas ao protagonismo do sujeito surdo nas instituições de ensino considerando as necessidades deste grupo, advindas do próprio sujeito. / This research addresses the issue of accessibility and usability in virtual learning environments that focuses on the development of learning for deaf students. The research problem focuses on the following question: What principles should a virtual learning environment have in order for the deaf student to develop learning? We aim to analyze the virtual learning environment used by the research institution, as well as to describe and evaluate the effectiveness of the environment in the development of deaf student learning, This research has a qualitative approach carried out by means of bibliographical review and empirical research based on the analysis of semi-structured interviews with deaf students, the interpreters of pounds, the coordination of the Accessibility Center of the university locus of the research, as well as the analysis of the virtual learning environment used by the university. In order to investigate the accessibility and usability of virtual learning environments with regard to the development of learning of deaf students, we have elaborated four chapters. The contents present in the chapters relate to the trajectory of distance education in Brazil and in the world, the concepts of accessibility and usability, as well as the access profile of deaf students to education, aspects related to education of the deaf, deaf identity, aspects of learning and visual cognition as a learning possibility. In addition, we discuss the virtual learning environments and how accessibility and usability are concretely constituted in these environments, especially in relation to the learning of deaf students, emphasizing the visual language as a possibility for the development of the learning of deaf students and the methodological path delineating the research subjects, characterizing the research locus and analyzing the data collected in the interviews. As final considerations, proposals are outlined regarding the accessibility and usability actions of virtual learning environments; the use of these environments by deaf students as well as in the process, development and effectiveness of the learning of such students in the scope of distance education; the understanding of the role of visual cognition in the construction of knowledge of the deaf subject and actions related to the protagonism of the deaf subject in educational institutions considering the needs of this group, coming from the subject itself.

Since many seniors are non-car holders, they are often dependent of the public transport system in reaching vital services, such as primary health care centers. Having spatial accessibility to primary health care centers can be of importance not only for preventing fatal outcomes of chronic diseases, but also for the utilization of these services. The aim of this study is to analyze how accessible primary health care centers are for people from the age of 65 and older in Uppsala by analyzing the public transport system. Statistical data on populations was collected, such as positions of bus stops and primary health care centers. GIS was used as a tool in order to analyze and visualize the data with maps. Accessibility was implemented through the cumulative opportunities measure with distance as impedance to get the total number of primary health care centers reached within each residential area. The measure of centrality was based on the assumption of Uppsala being a monocentric city where the central point was set at the most central clinic in the city. A regression analysis was conducted in order to see if closeness to a public health care facility, wealth, disposable income and centrality had an impact on accessibility and if there were any differences between the seniors and the general population in accessibility. The results showed that seniors were having better access to primary health care centers than the total population. The seniors who were living within a walking distance to a primary health care center had better accessibility, but fewer primary health care centers to choose from. Furthermore, both rich and poor individuals had an increase in accessibility suggesting that poor seniors do not have lower accessibility. Residential areas with a higher and lower disposable income had slightly lower accessibility. At last, the centrality measure showed a similar result, where central and peripheral areas had lower accessibility but areas in between had higher accessibility, which stands in contrast with the conducted maps, indicating that Uppsala might be a polycentric and not a monocentric city.

O presente trabalho visa analisar o impacto do curso de formacao para educadores sociais, tambem conhecido por Acoes Multiplicadoras: o museu e a inclusao sociocultural, uma das frentes de trabalho da Pinacoteca do Estado de Sao Paulo. A investigacao tem a intencao de esclarecer como as acoes educativas da Pinacoteca podem contribuir com o trabalho dos educadores sociais. Quais sao os ganhos e limites de sua intervencao? Elas auxiliam na inclusao e expansao do publico em vulnerabilidade social? Qual e a percepcao do educador social? Ao promover o encontro entre o publico em vulnerabilidade social e as obras de arte, acredita-se estar reduzindo a desigualdade do acesso aos bens e servicos culturais. Todavia, alguns autores criticam esse pensamento afirmando nao ser possivel criar um vinculo profundo e duradouro. A principal abordagem metodologica utilizada na pesquisa foi a qualitativa e para coletar os dados selecionamos os participantes do curso nos anos de 2012 e 2013. Nessa ocasiao, consideramos a observacao participativa, a aplicacao de questionario e a entrevista com a coordenadora do Programa de Inclusao Sociocultural - PISC. Atraves da observacao participante, verificou-se que o sentido do curso e ressignificado segundo a realidade e o esforco criativo do educador social, a quem ele contribui ampliando sua atuacao profissional. Ficou evidente tambem que o seu intuito e difundir as potencialidades do museu e acessibilizar instrumentos e recursos que podem ser usados em projetos socioeducativos. Mas no que tange ao desejo da instituicao por formar novos publicos, nao se pode contar nem com a consolidacao da parceria, e nem com a modificacao significativa do publico, ja que este tem pouca capacidade de criar habitos culturais duradouros / The aim of this work is to analyse the impact of the course for social educator formation, also known as Acoes Multiplicadoras; o museu e a inclusao sociocultural, one of the initiatives of the Sao Paulo State Pinacotheca. The investigation intents to understand how educational initiatives by the Pinacotheca may be an aid to the work of social educators. What are the gains and the limits of their intervention? Do these initiatives help in including and expanding the public under social vulnerability? What are the perceptions of the social educator? When trying to promote an encounter between the public under social vulnerability and the works of art, one believes that the inequality of the access to cultural assets and services is reduced. However, some authors criticise this point of view, by stating that it is not possible to create deep and lasting links. The present research used mainly a qualitative approach. In order to collect the data, I selected the participants of the course in the years 2012 and 2013. In this occasion, I engaged in a participative observation and applied forms. I also interviewed the coordinator of the Sociocultural Inclusion Program. Through participative observation, I verified that the meaning of the course is resignified according to the reality and the creative efforts of the social educator, who has in this way his or her professional activity enlarged. It became evident too that its goal is to take to the public the possibilities of the museum and to grant access to the instruments and resources that can be used in socioeducational projects. Yet, as regards the ambition of the institution to form new publics, it is not possible to assert either that the cooperation is consolidated or that the public has been substantially modified, once that the public does not have the capacity to create lasting habits

A pesquisa Reabilitação do Museu: Políticas de Inclusão Cultural por meio da Acessibilidade investiga a relação museu e pessoas com deficiência analisando as teorias e práticas voltadas à ação cultural e programas inclusivos. Investiga também os conceitos de inclusão e acessibilidade em relação ao museu e à mediação cultural, utilizando para tanto os depoimentos de integrantes dos dois lados do sistema pesquisado: pessoas com deficiência representando o público beneficiário e gestores das instâncias pública e privada representando os museus e instituições culturais. A finalidade desta dissertação é demonstrar a necessidade de uma nova forma de atuação institucional que leve em consideração o direito e o desejo das pessoas com deficiência em se beneficiarem com o acesso à cultura, à arte e ao patrimônio cultural, o que implica conseqüentemente, em novas estratégias de mediação e acesso à informação na gestão de equipamentos culturais. A pesquisa oferece subsídios práticos e teóricos para a implantação de políticas culturais que promovam o acesso à informação, ao patrimônio e às atividades culturais para pessoas com deficiência e mobilidade reduzida, com a possibilidade de extensão destes benefícios para outros públicos. / The research Rehabilitation of Museum: Policies of Cultural Inclusion through Accessibility investigates the relationship between museums and people with disabilities by the analysis of practices and theories about cultural actions and inclusive programs. Also investigate the accessibility and inclusion concepts in relation to museums and cultural mediation using for this objective the testimony of people representing the two sides of this system: people with disabilities the target audience, and directors and cultural agents of public and private museums and cultural institutions. This research aim to show the necessity of a new way of institutional action that consider the desire and rights of people with disabilities in have benefits with the cultural, artistic and heritage access, that force this spaces to develop new forms of mediation and access to the information in the administration of this spaces . The research offer practical and theory subsidy to the creation of cultural politicies to promote access to information, heritage and cultural activities for people with disabilities and reduced mobility, with the possibility of extension of this benefits for other visitors.

O processo de obtenção diagnóstica da tuberculose (TB) é permeado por aspectos relacionados à acessibilidade aos serviços de saúde, que interferem diretamente na conduta do doente em buscar por atendimento após perceber o início dos sintomas da doença. Reconhecer esses aspectos pode contribuir na elaboração de medidas que levem à identificação precoce dos casos, diminuição do tempo diagnóstico e disseminação do agravo na comunidade. O presente estudo teve como objetivo, analisar o tempo do doente na busca por serviço de saúde para o diagnóstico da tuberculose no município de Ribeirão Preto - SP, 2009. Estudo descritivo do tipo transversal, realizado em Ribeirão Preto. De 113 doentes de TB, que estavam em tratamento no período de julho a novembro de 2009, foram entrevistados 94, que atenderam os critérios de seleção. Utilizou-se um questionário estruturado baseado no Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCAT) adaptado para o enfoque no diagnóstico da TB. Para a análise dos dados, medidas de tendência central (mediana e intervalos interquartis) foram utilizadas para analisar a variável: \"tempo decorrido entre sentir-se doente e a primeira procura pelo serviço de saúde\". Estabeleceu-se a mediana como valor mais adequado para a caracterização dos dois grupos de doentes (atraso e não atraso). Considerou-se atraso ao diagnóstico, doentes que demoraram mais de 15 dias para buscar pelo primeiro atendimento em um serviço de saúde. Em seguida, por meio do cálculo da Razão de Prevalência identificaram-se as variáveis sócio-demográficas, clínicas e da dimensão porta de entrada de maior atraso na busca por atendimento. O primeiro serviço de saúde procurado foram os Serviços de Pronto Atendimento (SPA) (57,4%), seguidos pelas Unidades de Atenção Básica (UAB) (24,5%) e Serviços Especializados (SE) (18,1%). Já o acesso ao diagnóstico ocorreu nos SE (60,6%), seguidos dos SPA (26,6%) e das UAB (12,8%). Quanto ao tempo de atraso ao diagnóstico, em relação às informações sócio-demográficos, o perfil dos doentes que mais demoraram para buscar pelos SPA foram: idade entre 50 a 59 anos (30 dias); SE: gênero masculino (30 dias), com escolaridade (21dias); renda acima de cinco salários mínimos (30 dias). Informações clínicas: SE: forma clínica pulmonar, caso novo e com co-infecção TB/HIV, (20 dias). Dimensão porta de entrada (primeiro serviço de saúde pocurado): UAB: sintomas moderados da doença (30 dias); SPA: não consumiam bebidas alcoólicas (25 dias) e com conhecimento satisfatório sobre a TB (26 dias); SE: não realizavam controle preventivo de saúde (30 dias), fumavam (20 dias), com conhecimento satisfatório sobre a TB (26 dias), não procuravam o serviço de saúde mais próximo do domicílio (30 dias). O serviço de saúde de maior acessibilidade foram os SPA, (funcionamento de 24h, demanda livre). É necessário capacitar as equipes de saúde, para identificarem os doentes de TB que tiveram maior atraso na busca por atendimento, favorecendo a acessibilidade ao diagnóstico precoce e contribuindo no controle da doença. / The process of obtaining diagnosis for tuberculosis (TB) is permeated by aspects relating to the accessibility of health services, which impact directly on the conduct of patients in search of medical attention after noticing the first symptoms of the disease. Recognising these aspects can contribute to the development of measures that lead to the early diagnosis of cases, reduction in the overall time taken in the diagnostic process and alleviation of the impacts of TB on the community. The aim of the present study was to analyse the patient time in the search in first health service for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in city of Ribeirao Preto, SP, 2009. Descriptive study, cross sectional conducted in Ribeirao Preto. Of 113 TB patients that were in treatment during the period between June and November of 2009, 94 were interviewed that fulfilled the selection criteria. A questionnaire was used based on the Primary Care Assessment tool (PCAT), which was adapted for focus on the diagnosis of TB. For the analysis of data, measures of central tendency (median and interquartile intervals) were utilised to analyse the variable: ,,time elapsed between the appearance of symptoms and the first search for health services\". The median was established as the most appropriate value for the characterisation of two groups of patients (timely and delay). Patients were considered ,,delay\" if the time between the first signs of illness and the search for health sercices was greater than 15 days. Next, through calculation of the prevalence ratios, socioeconomic, demographic, clinical and gateway dimension were identified for the greatest delay in the search in first health service. The emergency services (ES) room was the most common health service first sought by patients (57.4%), followed by primary health care (PHC) (24.5%), and finally specialists services (SS) (18.1%). The leading service with regard to obtaining a diagnosis was that of SS (60.1%), followed by ES (26.6%), and PHC (12.8%). Regarding the delay in obtaining a diagnosis, and with relation to socio-demographic information, patients that took the longest to seek health services through ES rooms were: between 50-59 years of age (30 days); SS: masculine (30 days), educated (21 days), receive a salary greater than five times the minimum wage (30 days). Clinical Information: SS: lung clinics, new cases and with co-infection TB/HIV (20 days). Gateway dimension (the search in first health service): PHC: moderate symptoms of the disease (30 days); ES: non-drinkers (30 days), and with a satisfactory knowledge of TB (26 days); SS: not practicing preventative health control (30 days), smokers (20 days), satisfactory knowledge of TB (26 days), didn\"t seek the health service closest to residence (30 days). The most accessible health service proved to be ES (functioning 24 hours, on demand). It is necessary to properly equip health care professionals so as to facilitate the identification of patients from TB that delayed in the search in first health service, facilitating the health service accessibility thus enabling the early diagnosis of the disease and contributing to its control.

O paciente portador de necessidades especiais pode ser descrito como aquele indivíduo que não se adapta de maneira física, intelectual ou emocional aos parâmetros normais, considerando os padrões de crescimento, desenvolvimento mental e controle emocional, além dos relacionados à conservação da saúde. A Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS) estima que a prevalência das deficiências no mundo seja de uma pessoa a cada dez e mais de dois terços não recebe nenhum tipo de assistência odontológica. O objetivo do estudo foi verificar a percepção dos profissionais odontólogos sobre a acessibilidade do paciente com Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida (SIDA/AIDS) em estabelecimentos odontológicos na cidade de São Paulo e comparar com um grupo controle, representados por pacientes com Diabetes Mellitus. A informação para o estudo foi baseada em conversações telefônicas com cirurgiões-dentistas, onde foi realizada uma entrevista semi-estruturada. A análise de conteúdo das entrevistas foi executada segundo método de Lefèvre e Lefèvre (2000) e foi realizada destacando-se a idéia central. Do total de entrevistados, 55,14% eram do gênero feminino e 53,27% trabalhavam em consultório particular. Em relação à acessibilidade, 96,26% já tinham tratado de pacientes com Diabetes, 55,14% com SIDA/AIDS. Concluiu-se que a principal dificuldade para tratar pacientes com diabetes é a prática clínica, principalmente relacionada com problemas de coagulação. Entre os pacientes com SIDA/AIDS embora tenham sido citadas dificuldades clínicas, pôde ser verificado que a maior dificuldade ainda é o preconceito contra eles. / The patient who has special needs can be described as the individual that can´t adapt himself to normal physical, intellectual or emotional parameters, considering the growing patterns, mental development and emotional stability, in addition to those related to the health maintenance. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the deficiencies prevalence is about one in ten individuals allover the world and more than two thirds don´t have any dental assistance. The objective of the study was to verify the dental professional perception with relation to the accessibility among patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (SIDA/AIDS) in clinical settings in the city of São Paulo, and to compare this perception with a control group, patients with Diabetes Mellitus. The study information was based on telephone conversations with Dentistis. A semi-structured interview was prepared. Content analysis was performed as per Lefèvre and Lefèvre (2000) with the relief of the central ideas. Among the participants, 55.14% were female and 53.27% worked in private settings. Regarding the accessibility, 96.26% had already treated patients with Diabetes, 55.14% with SIDA/AIDS. It was concluded that the main difficulty to treat diabetes patients is the clinical practice, mainly with problems related to blood coagulation. Among SIDA/AIDS patients, even though it had been listed clinical difficulties, it could be verified that the main difficulty is still prejudice amongst them.

Thesis advisor: Michael Russell / Large-scale assessments are often used for statewide accountability and for instructional and institutional planning. It is essential that the instruments used are valid and reliable for all test takers included in the testing population. However, these tests have often fallen short in the area of accessibility, which can impact validity for students with special needs. This dissertation examines two strategies to addressing accessibility: the use of technology to implement principles of universal design to assessment and the provision of accommodations. This study analyzed test data for students attending high schools in New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island who participated in the 2009 11th grade New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) science assessment. Three test conditions were of interest: (1) no accommodations with a paper-based form (2) accommodated test administration with a paper-based form and (3) accommodated test administration using a universally designed computer-based test delivery system with embedded accommodations and accessibility features. Results from two analyses are presented: differential item functioning (DIF) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). DIF was used to explore item functioning, comparing item difficulty and discrimination under accommodated and non-accommodated conditions. Similarly, CFA was used to examine the consistency of underlying factor structure as evidence that constructs measured were stable across test conditions. Results from this study offered evidence that overall item functioning and underlying factor structure was consistent across accommodated and unaccommodated conditions, regardless of whether accommodations were provided with a paper form or a universally designed computer-based test delivery system. These results support the viability of using technology-based assessments as a valid means of assessing students and offering embedded, standardized supports to address access needs.