Proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) is one of the elementary reactions occurring in many chemical and biological systems, such as photosystem II where the oxidation of tyrosine (TyrZ) is coupled to deprotonation of the phenolic proton. This reaction is here modelled by the oxidation of a phenol covalently linked to a Ru(bpy)32+-moitey, which is photo-oxidized by a laser flash-quench method. This model system is unusual as mechanism of PCET is studied in a unimolecular system in water solution. Here we address the question how the nature of the proton accepting base and its hydrogen bond to phenol influence the PCET reaction. In the first part we investigate the effect of an internal hydrogen bond PCET from. Two similar phenols are compared. For both these the proton accepting base is a carboxylate group linked to the phenol on the ortho-position directly or via a methylene group. On the basis of kinetic and thermodynamic arguments it is suggested that the PCET from these occurs via a concerted electron proton transfer (CEP). Moreover, numerical modelling of the kinetic data provides an in-depth analysis of this CEP reaction, including promoting  vibrations  along the O–H–O coordinate that are required to explain the data. The second part describes the study on oxidation of phenol where either water or an external base the proton acceptor. The pH-dependence of the kinetics reveals four mechanistic regions for PCET within the same molecule when water is the base. It is shown that the competition between the mechanisms can be tuned by the strength of the oxidant. Moreover, these studies reveal the conditions that may favour a buffer-assisted PCET over that with deprotonation to water solution.

The aim of this study was to examine how some Swedish school counsellor’s describe their school social work and how they look at its content. Further more the aim is to look at what restraining and promoting factors the school counsellor’s experience in their working situation. The approach of the study is qualitative and interviews have been made with five school counsellors. The results show that school counsellors have a variety of different working-areas, which consist of supporting and consulting pupils, parents and teachers through dialogue. Another assignment is to work preventive with groups and classes. Other scientists have found similar results as the ones in this study. About restraining and promoting factors in their work, the school counsellors expressed, for example, time and resources as restraining factors and as promoting factors they mentioned closeness to the pupils and working preventive. Their offices were mentioned being both a restraining and promoting factor due to the central activity of dialogue. They expressed that they were all satisfied with their work, but that it would be enough to work full-time on just one school. To analyse the results the time-geographic perspective was used.

<p>Language diversity continues to create a language barrier to international tourism. Tourists from non-English speaking countries face a language barrier in South Africa and this affects their experiences in the country. Measuring and understanding something of this challenge is the purpose of this study. The focus is on how the tourism industry in Cape Town uses languages to&nbsp / sell and promote the city internationally. The study investigates procedures, strategies, and policies adopted by the tourism industry in Cape Town to cater for tourists from across the world. In addition, the study also investigates how tourists from non-English speaking countries adapt linguistically to cope with their stay in Cape Town. The study targeted both tourism organisations&nbsp / and international tourists who use tourist facilities in most popular tourist areas in Cape Town. Both primary and secondary data were collected. Convenience sampling was used to select&nbsp / both tourism service providers and tourists. To enhance validity, reliability, and accuracy, various tools have been deployed to collect the data. Primary data were collected from both tourism service providers and international tourists using questionnaires, interviews, photographs and observations. Secondary data collection involved observations of public signage as well as&nbsp / analysis of electronic and printed promotional materials such as brochures, guidebooks, menus, newspapers and websites. Collected data were captured in spread sheets to enable&nbsp / descriptive analysis of tourists&rsquo / languages and of language use in tourism organisations in different of forms of niche tourism in Cape Town. Survey results reveal that a little more than half of&nbsp / all surveyed tourism organisations in Cape Town sell and promote their products using only South African languages including English whilst a minority sell and promote their products using&nbsp / English coupled with foreign languages. The majority of multilingual staff in those surveyed tourism organisations who have adopted multilingualism are working part-time or employed&nbsp / temporarily. In addition, results also indicate that English dominates other languages in public signs and printed and electronic promotional publications used by surveyed tourism organisations in Cape Town. Foreign languages are used most in tour operations and travel agencies sector whilst South African languages dominate in accommodation and restaurants&nbsp / sectors. On the other hand the research shows that a big proportion of foreign tourists in Cape Town were able to speak English and other foreign languages. The research shows that the&nbsp / majority of tourists from non-English speaking countries are more interested in learning foreign languages compared with their counterparts from English speaking countries. Only less than a&nbsp / quarter of all surveyed tourists from non-English speaking countries in Cape Town are monolingual in their home languages. These tourists&nbsp / struggle to communicate with service providers in Cape Town. Translators and gestures were used by non-English speaking tourists as a way of breaking down communication barriers in Cape Town. Contrarily, a big proportion (two thirds) of&nbsp / all surveyed tourists from English speaking countries in Cape Town does speak only English. Foreign tourists in Cape Town speak tourism service providers&rsquo / language rather than tourism&nbsp / service providers speaking tourists&rsquo / languages. The majority of tourism service providers in Cape Town are reluctant to learn foreign languages and to employ multilingual staff. This means&nbsp / that most tourism organisations sell and market their product in English only. Other South African languages such as Afrikaans and Xhosa are used frequently in informal communication in the&nbsp / ourism industry in Cape Town. Seemingly, Afrikaans dominates Xhosa in all forms of tourism except in township tourism where the majority of service providers are Xhosa-speakers. To market and promote Cape Town internationally, the tourism industry in Cape Town should employ multilingual staff who can communicate in tourists&rsquo / native languages. Multilingualism should&nbsp / be practised in all tourism sectors rather than in one or few sectors because all tourism sectors compliment each other in meeting customer&rsquo / s satisfaction. Failure in one tourism sector may&nbsp / affect other tourism sectors&rsquo / performance.</p>

This master thesis analyses the housing cooperative´s capability to manageknowledge in order to improve its performances and create innovation. It is based on the analysis of elite interviews concerning the latest ten years of two Swedish housing cooperatives (bostadsrättsförenigar), which are Brf Grantorpand Brf Kullen that, because of their almost identical properties, made acomparison possible. Absorptive Capacity, which refers to the organization´s ability to identify, assimilate and apply knowledge in its specific context and Knowledge Management, which refers to the organization´s knowledge management activities, provided the basis for the theoretical framework. The empirical data show that, within the organizations, the main sources of knowledge are the Board members: when internal expertise knowledge is present then innovation takes place. Lack of policies in recruiting Board members means that innovation coming from within the organizations is always fortuitous, and depends on the individuals´ previous expertise knowledge. Even if the two years mandate constitutes a constrain in investing in knowledge development, it has been revealed that providing the Board members with a general knowledge in the housing cooperatives´ all-day activities constitutes a solid precondition to capture new opportunities: Brf Kullen acts in a more proactive way and actively identifies opportunities in the environment. Whilst Brf Grantorp does suffer the lack of basic knowledge and acts in a more passive way, waiting for someone else bringing in from the outside. However, both the organizations suffer the lack of explicit knowledge management policies. This is very noticeable when it comes to codification and storage: what is provided is essentially of tacit nature, and blanks out over and over again because it still remains in the members´ heads and it leaves when they leave the Board. Hence, both the organizations´ ability to exploit and transfer knowledge suffers lack of efficiency. Furthermore, even if they offer both formal and informal manners in order to share ideas between Board members, the activities are subject to each Board member´s commitment and time.

Actualment es considera que entre el 60 i el 80% de les persones han sofert o sofriran en qualque moment de la seva vida algun tipus de mal vertebral. En general, quasi tres quartes parts dels mals d'esquena no tenen causa orgànica precisa, i es precisa de l'estudi dels factors de risc associats a la seva aparició.En el present estudi s'exposa el procés d'elaboració i aplicació d'un protocol d'intervenció per a la prevenció del mal d'esquena en escolars d'entre 10 i 12 de Mallorca, i l'avaluació de la seva efectivitat després de la intervenció i al cap de tres mesos, analitzant l'efecte sobre variables relacionades amb l'autopercepció, la higiene postural quotidiana, i les motxilles escolares.Els resultats mostren millores significatives en els tres grups de variables esmentats, de manera que la promoció de la salut a les escoles és possible mitjançant l'aplicació d'estratègies d'intervenció bassades en l'educació postural. / Actualmente, entre el 60 y 80% de las personas han sufrido o sufrirán en algún momento de su vida dolor de espalda y casi tres cuartas partes de este mal no tiene causa orgánica determinada, precisándose del estudio de factores de riesgo asociados a su aparición. El presente estudio expone el proceso de elaboración y aplicación de un protocolo de intervención para la prevención del dolor de espalda en escolares de entre 10 y 12 de Mallorca, y la evaluación de su efectividad tras la intervención y a la cabo de tres meses, analizando el efecto sobre variables relacionadas con la autopercepción, la higiene postural cotidiana, y las mochilas escolares. Los resultados muestran mejoras significativas en los tres grupos de variables mencionados, de manera que la promoción de la salud en las escuelas es posible mediante la aplicación de estrategias de intervención basadas en la educación postural.

Robertsson, T. &amp; Söderström, M. (2011). En analys av hälsoinspiratörsverksamheten inom Umeå kommun - I vilken utsträckning tillämpas policydokumenten i praktiken? (An analyze of the health coach organization in Umeå municipality – to what extent are the policy documents used in practice?) Bachelor Essay in Swedish. Umeå: Umeå University, Department of Education. Abstract The purpose of this study was to analyze in what extent Umeå municipality health coaches uses their policy "work environment, health and rehabilitation" in social services workplaces. Furthermore was the purpose to analyze the policy "work environment, health and rehabilitation" with help from Bacchi’s policy analyzing model. The study was based on a qualitative design and involved seven health coaches from the social service. Interviews were conducted and analyzed with sentence concentration. The result showed that it differs from person to person on which view on health they have and what they believe represent health promoting work. Most of the interviewees notions and understandings of health and health promoting work are however the same as the municipality’s. The health coaches follow the municipality’s directions on how the assignment should be executed, though they vary in the degree of engagement. Furthermore, all of the interviewees experience that they have the support from the municipality that they need. A few of them though lack the support from their leader. Finally, the result from the policy-analyze showed that Umeå municipality’s problem was that their quality of work was inadequate. It also showed that the municipality put a lot of responsibility on the leaders, but that they should take more accountability themselves.

Varje elev i den svenska skolan har rätt att få kunskap om och insikt i demokratiska principer. Detta är stadgat i den svenska Skollagen och i läroplanen sedan 1946. Skolverket gav 2004 alla svenska skolor i uppdrag att arbeta på ett hälsofrämjande sätt. Elevinflytande och delaktighet i skolan är positiva hälsofrämjande faktorer, genom att eleverna ges möjligheter att själva få påverka sin situation och därmed skapa tillhörighet, sammanhang och meningsfullhet med skolarbete. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur åtta grundskoleelever från åk 9 förklarade och upplevde elevinflytande och delaktighet. Kvalitativ undersökningsmetod användes i form av intervjuer och resultatet från intervjuerna analyserades och relaterades till två huvudområden; det demokratiska och det hälsofrämjande perspektivet. Resultatet av intervjufrågorna visade att informanterna till viss del kunde förklara begreppen elevinflytande och delaktighet, och även relatera till demokratiskt arbete i skolans kontext. Upplevelserna av detta arbete beskrevs som positiva, trygga och meningsfulla. Kopplingen mellan elevinflytande/delaktighet och hälsa blev dock inte tydligt i undersökningen, därtill krävs ytterligare studier. / Every child in Swedish schools should have the right to gain knowledge about and insight in democratic principles related to school matters. This is stated in the Swedish Education Act and in the national curricula since 1946. In 2004 all Swedish schools were commissioned by the National Agency of Education to work in a health promoting way. Democracy, as in influence and autonomy, help young people to protect their health and give opportunities for connectedness and sense of belonging to adolescents own school situation in a positive healthy way. The aim of this study was to investigate how eight pupils from a comprehensive school class (9th degree) perceived and expressed influence and autonomy at school. A qualitative methodology through interviewing was used. The results of the interviews was analyzed and related to two perspectives; the democratic and the health promoting perspective. The findings showed that the informants to a certain extent were able to explain the meaning of, and also relate to some situations connected to influence and autonomy. They described the experiences as being positive, confident and meaningful for them. However, it became difficult to find a distinct connection between the informant´s experienced democracy work and health. Further studies about this coherence are needed.

Comments and Discussions : Hitoshi HIRAKAWA

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Η παρούσα διατριβή πολυπαραμετρικής ανάλυσης και αξιολόγησης των ενεργειών προαγωγής της υγείας και της ασφάλειας στις επιχειρήσεις ολοκληρώνεται με τη δόμηση ενός ολιστικού προτύπου διαχείρισης ποιότητας της εργασιακής ζωής. Στο πρώτο κεφάλαιο πραγματοποιείται επισκόπηση του πεδίου της υγιεινής και ασφάλειας (επιστημονικές μελέτες, νομοθετικό πλαίσιο, δράσεις κοινωνικών φορέων). Στο δεύτερο κεφάλαιο προσδιορίζεται το πεδίο έρευνας της διατριβής. Η προαγωγή της υγείας και της ασφάλειας αποτελεί σήμερα την αιχμή των ενεργειών πρόληψης των κινδύνων. Στο τρίτο κεφάλαιο καταγράφονται οι τεχνικές πραγματοποίησης και αναλύονται τα δεδομένα της εμπειρικής έρευνας (εξετάσεις, συμπεριφορά, οργάνωση, κοινωνικά προγράμματα, ασφάλεια και φυσικό περιβάλλον). Τέλος στο τέταρτο κεφάλαιο στοιχειοθετείται η τελική πρόταση που περιλαμβάνει τα κεντρικά αποτελέσματα της έρευνας. Δομείται ένα ολιστικό πρότυπο το οποίο απαντά στις απαιτήσεις συνολικότητας στην ποιοτική διαχείριση των επαγγελματικών κινδύνων. / The present thesis lies in the field of working health and safety promotion (WHSP) which is the enabler of all activities aiming at the prevention of occupational hazards.After an extended review of the related literature, legislation and social actions (Chapter 1), we concentrate on the role of WHSP and we develop a framework to be used in its study (Chapter 2). The 3rd chapter discusses the results of an empirical research conducted on the basis of the aforementioned framework that extends over the areas of health screening, health behaviour promotion, organizational change, social welfare and the physical environment. Finally, in the 4th Chapter, based on the results of our research and through a multi-factor analysis we arrive at a set of propositions which are integrated into an holistic model. The model can be used to provide guidelines in response to the requirements concerning occupational hazards within the framework of total quality management.