The State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System is an interactive web-based application and data tool providing up-to-date state-level information related to tobacco use. Indicators in STATE present data related to current and former tobacco use, smoking cessation, funding, tobacco-related health costs, and tobacco control policies. The STATE System also serves as a primary data source for many objectives in Healthy People 2020’s Tobacco Use chapter. Currently, there is no common thread between access to information pertaining to Healthy People 2020 objectives and STATE System data. For this reason, a comprehensive evaluation was conducted of the STATE System’s individual reports and static web-content as it relates to Healthy People 2020 objectives. Implications for research and evaluation are intended to educate the Office on Smoking and Health’s staff & colleagues in the states, networks, and territories on identifiable, cross-promotional opportunities that highlight both state and national data.

In present Taiwan society, ethnic issue is the most sensitive and unavoidable issue. The ¡§Taiwanese - Provincial¡¨ concept divides people in Taiwan into two ethnic groups, and these two groups have different ethinic memories and specific political attitudes. But the classification isn¡¦t preexistent. People learn to recognize the society and political affairs in Taiwan by using ¡§Taiwanese - Provincial¡¨ concepts when they grow up with political socialization. Some people consider that KMT regime give Provincial some preferential treatments in economic side. Therefore, the article hopes to depict the basic appearance of ¡§party-state system¡¨ by KMT regime, and find the provincial discriminating system in economic side under the special historical background. Furthermore, the article hopes to find the relationship between the Provincial ethnicity construction and the discriminating system. The research detects KMT regime constructed provincial discrimination in economic side after withdrawing to Taiwan and building party-state system. KMT regime constructed these discrimination and enforced the historical memories of ¡§withdraw from mainland China¡¨, and made separate provincial crowd forming the ethnic consciousness of ¡§Provincial¡¨. Finally Provincial become a new ethnic group, and inter-verify with ethnic theories

The Confucius Institutes (CIs) are part of a major new Chinese Government initiative promoting the learning of the Chinese language and culture internationally. They operate through a network of institutes located in learning institutions around the world, and while they have an education focus, they also reflect political changes in China’s relationship with the rest of the world. A transformation in China’s approach to foreign relations has been evident since the belligerence and self-sufficiency of the Mao era, and cautious engagement of the Deng era. In the early 21st century, China’s new foreign policy is more confident and engaged behaviour than it has ever been. The conceptual sources of China’s foreign policy have broadened from Marxism-Leninism to include some contemporary international values and traditional Chinese norms. However, managing the sphere of ideas both domestically and externally, and securing the nation’s economic development, are the main means the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) maintains its legitimacy in the early 21st century. While China’s leadership has given the CIs considerable political independence, they are part of the Party’s propaganda system. Despite some foreign concerns about the Confucius Institutes being a propaganda tool, many other countries have similar programmes; the difference is China’s political system. Through the CIs, China is building the architecture of a major power, and has succeeded in improving its international influence. But because of the lack of international attractiveness of China’s political system, this is likely to be slow. The CIs reflect a more confident and effective Chinese foreign policy; and one that offers greater opportunities for engagement.

Complex adaptive systems are usually difficult to design and control. There are several particular methods for coping with complexity, but there is no general approach to build complex adaptive systems. The challenges of designing complex adaptive systems in a highly dynamic world drive the need for anticipatory capacity within engineering organizations, with a goal of enabling the design of systems that can cope with an unpredictable environment. This thesis explores this question of enhancing anticipatory capacity through the study of a complex adaptive system design methodology and complexity management competencies. A general introduction to challenges and issues in complex adaptive systems design is given, since a good understanding of the industrial context is considered necessary in order to avoid oversimplification of the problem, neglecting certain important factors and being unaware of important influences and relationships. In addition, a general introduction to complex thinking is given, since designing complex adaptive systems requires a non-classical thought, while practical notions of complexity theory and design are put forward. Building on these, the research proposes a Complex Systems Life-Cycle Understanding and Design (CXLUD) methodology to aid system architects and engineers in the design and control of complex adaptive systems. Starting from a creative anticipation construct - a loosening mechanism to allow for more options to be considered, the methodology proposes a conceptual framework and a series of stages to follow to find proper mechanisms that will promote elements to desired solutions by actively interacting among themselves. To illustrate the methodology, a financial systemic risks infrastructure systems architecture development case study is presented. The final part of this thesis develops a conceptual model to analyse managerial complexity competency model from a qualitative phenomenological study perspective. The model developed in this research is called Understanding-Perception-Action (UPA) managerial complexity competency model. The results of this competency model can be used to help ease project manager’s transition into complex adaptive projects, as well as serve as a foundation to launch qualitative and quantitative research into this area of project complexity management.

Thesis (M.P.A. )--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 2005. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2938. Typescript. Abstract precedes thesis as 1 leaf (ii). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-83).

No / This paper studies the selective maintenance problem for multi-state series systems working in variable loading conditions in the next mission. In the mission, a component's degradation depends on its current state and the load applied on it. A load-dependent degradation model is proposed for multi-state components operating in variable loading conditions. This model is inspired by the load-sharing model where many components share a common workload and the failure rate of a component depends on the state of other components. A Monte-Carlo simulation method is presented to simulate the multi-state component's degradation and to evaluate the system reliability. The final objective is to determine the best selective maintenance strategy to maximize the expected system reliability in the next mission within available resources. An illustrative example, reliability estimation results, and analysis of optimal selective maintenance scenarios for different levels of budget limitation are provided.

No / This paper studies the selective maintenance problem for multi-state systems with structural dependence. Each component can be in one of multiple working levels and several maintenance actions are possible to a component in a maintenance break. The components structurally form multiple hierarchical levels and dependence groups. A directed graph is used to represent the precedence relations of components in the system. A selective maintenance optimization model is developed to maximize the system reliability in the next mission under time and cost constraints. A backward search algorithm is used to determine the assembly sequence for a selective maintenance scenario. The maintenance model helps maintenance managers in determining the best combination of maintenance activities to maximize the probability of successfully completing the next mission. Examples showing the use of the proposed method are presented.

In quantum mechanics it is not uncommon to find analytically solved problems involvinga degree of math too advanced for most. It is often helpful to use a numerical approachto test solutions and deepen the understanding of such problems. In order to determine the validity of this approach, it is important to examine its accuracy. An exampleof this is the Landau-Zener problem, which is the topic of this thesis. It describes atwo-state quantum mechanical system that is applicable to many real world situations.The numerical method used involves propagating the wave function by calculating thetime evolution operator for numerous time steps. The accuracy using this method wasanalysed by comparing the results with the exact solution with varying parameters. Theconclusion is that the numerical solution does converge toward the known analytical solution. However, it does this with different accuracy, depending on the system parameters.

Depois de uma tradição que remonta ao Brasil imperial, o ensino de música nas escolas de educação básica do país caiu no ostracismo a partir da Lei Federal nº 5.692/71. O advento da Lei Federal nº 11.769/08, fruto da mobilização da sociedade civil, reintroduziu a música como conteúdo curricular obrigatório, algo que posteriormente foi estendido a outras linguagens por meio da lei nº 13.278/16. O objetivo do presente trabalho é analisar o processo de implementação e adequação da rede estadual paulista à Lei nº 11.769/08, levantando seus impactos, implicações, dificuldades e possíveis demandas decorrentes. A pesquisa se utiliza de uma abordagem qualitativa, tendo como mecanismo de coleta de dados a análise documental e entrevistas. A análise documental enfoca a legislação passada e atual, projetos de lei, atos normativos federais e estaduais, além de PCN e editais de concursos para contratação de professores. As entrevistas foram realizadas com professores de Arte da rede estadual de São Paulo, conduzidas por meio de um roteiro estruturado. Nas análises realizadas, constatou-se que, embora a Lei nº 11.769/08 tenha trazido avanço para a educação musical, ela não orienta sobre como seria sua implementação, dando autonomia às redes para se adequar. Com isso, evidencia-se que o panorama de ensino musical na rede de São Paulo, após a sanção da Lei nº 11.769/08, pouco foi alterado. A música continua como conteúdo dentro da disciplina Arte, não ocorreu a adequação de espaços físicos para o ensino musical e, tampouco, a aquisição de instrumentos e equipamentos ou aumento de carga horária. Não houve a contratação de profissionais com formação específica, nem a oferta de cursos de formação continuada em música para os profissionais que estão na rede. Ademais, os professores relatam dificuldades em lidar com o conteúdo musical e ainda apontam a desvalorização da área perante a comunidade escolar. De forma geral, os dados obtidos indicam que o processo de implementação da lei é incipiente, evidenciando a necessidade de ações políticas que promovam uma melhor adequação da rede a essa lei. A pesquisa ainda aponta a precarização do ensino de música para o ensino médio trazido pela lei nº 13.415/17. / After a tradition that goes back to Brazil as an empire, the music education in the basic education schools of the country suffered a relegation with the federal law nº 5.692/71. The beginning of the federal law nº 11.769/08, result of the mobilization of civil society, reintroduced the music education into required curriculum, which was extended for other languages of arts through the law nº 13.278/16. The aim of the present study is to analysis the adaptation process of the São Paulo state system to the law nº 11.769/08, collecting its impacts, difficulties and possible resulting demands. The research makes uses of qualitative methods, focused on the documental analyses and interviews. The focus of documental analyses the actual and predecessors laws, law projects about the theme, federal and state normative acts that regulates the law implementation, federal curriculum, notices of contest to teachers contraction to the state schools of São Paulo. The interviews with art teachers from the state schools of São Paulo were based in structured guideline of interviewing. In the analyses, it was verified that, although law nº 11.769/08 has brought progress to musical education, it does not move forward about how would be its implementation, giving autonomy to the system to best suit the law. In the analyses was found a few changed in the states schools of São Paulo with the enactment of law nº 11.769 / 08. The music continues as content within the Art discipline, there was no adaptation of physical spaces, no purchase of musical instruments and musical stuff or increase of the workload. Furthermore, there was no hiring of music teachers or the offer of continuing education courses in music for professionals who are in states schools. The teachers report difficulties in teaching the musical content, and that there is still a devaluation of the area before the school community. In general, the results of research show the implementation process of the law still it is incipient, highlighting the necessity of political actions that promote a better adequacy of the system to this law. The research also points to the precariousness of music education to high school brought by law nº 13.415 / 17.

Esta pesquisa investigou a expansão do ensino médio no estado de São Paulo na década de 1990, mais precisamente no período entre 1991 e 2003, buscando compreender sua dinâmica e suas características. O crescimento das matrículas no ensino médio público foi intensificado na década de 1980, mas foi nos anos 1990 que atingiu seu ápice, produzindo a escola média massificada. Entretanto, os anos 1990 são conhecidos pela focalização das políticas no ensino fundamental, etapa para a qual convergiram os esforços governamentais, bem como a agenda da pesquisa educacional. Enquanto isso, justamente quando os olhares estavam voltados ao ensino fundamental, o ensino médio vivia o maior período do seu crescimento. Os impactos desse processo foram enormes para a rede estadual sobre a qual recai a responsabilidade constitucional pela oferta , que incorporou em número crescente um grupo social relativamente novo adolescentes, jovens e adultos que por sua vez experimentavam mutações importantes nos processos de socialização num contexto de crise do Estado, das políticas sociais e do emprego. Nesse sentido, a pesquisa se debruçou sobre as seguintes questões: Como se deu a expansão do ensino médio no estado de São Paulo, num contexto adverso em termos das políticas educacionais? Qual foi a configuração social e histórica na qual o ensino médio foi expandido? Quais foram as medidas tomadas para absorver a expansão? Para elucidar o fenômeno foram utilizadas cinco estratégias metodológicas: 1) entrevistas exploratórias com gestores educacionais; 2) levantamento e análise de dados estatísticos sobre a movimentação das matrículas; 3) análise de dados sobre o financiamento educacional; 4) levantamento em dois grandes jornais de circulação estadual de 1991 a 2003 e 5) pesquisa documental sobre as ações e os programas governamentais. A análise do corpus empírico permitiu identificar dois períodos distintos no processo de expansão do ensino médio: 1991 a 1994 e 1995 a 2003. Entre 1991 e 1995 o crescimento das matrículas foi mais intenso, chegando a 50,4%. Foram anos em que o estado de São Paulo viveu o ápice da onda jovem e um aumento significativo nos concluintes do ensino fundamental. Houve enorme pressão por vagas públicas no ensino médio, gerando um cenário de escassez. A partir de 1995 o ritmo de crescimento das matrículas diminuiu, acompanhado de uma desaceleração da onda jovem. O que caracterizou o período de 1995 a 2003 foi a mudança no padrão da oferta de ensino médio, com a implementação de uma política educacional sistêmica na rede estadual, marcada pela racionalização administrativa, criação de mecanismos de planificação da oferta escolar com centralização decisória e fortalecimento de uma burocracia interna. A matrícula automática eliminou a concorrência entre as escolas da rede estadual. De forma geral, se concluiu que as políticas educacionais tiveram papel secundário na expansão do ensino médio paulista. Maior importância pode ser atribuída ao aumento da demanda social que pressionou pela extensão da escolaridade, para além do ensino fundamental obrigatório, pressão esta ligada ao contexto demográfico e econômico e à evolução interna do atendimento educacional que foi resultado de expansões anteriores. / This research has investigated the expansion of secondary education in the state of São Paulo in the 1990s, more precisely in the period between 1991 and 2003, trying to understand its dynamics and its features. The growth of enrollment in public high school was intensified in the 1980s but it was in the 1990s that it reached its peak. It produced a mass middle school. However, the 1990s are known for focusing policies on elementary school, into which converged government efforts as well as the agenda of educational research. While the attention was drawn to elementary school, high school lived its longest period of growth. The impacts of this process were huge for the state schools network, where the constitutional responsibility for demand lies on. It incorporated the growing number of a relatively new social group teenagers, young adults and adults who in turn experienced major changes in the processes of socialization in a context of crisis of the state, social and employment policies. In this sense, the research has focused on the following questions: How has the expansion of secondary education in the state of São Paulo developed, in a difficult environment in terms of education policy? What was the social and historical setting in which high school was expanded? What measures were taken to absorb the expansion? Five methodological strategies were used to elucidate the phenomenon: 1) exploratory interviews with education managers; 2) survey and analysis of statistical data on the movement of enrollment; 3) analysis of data on educational funding; 4) survey in two major newspapers of state circulation from 1991 to 2003 and 5) documentary research on the actions and government programs. The analysis of the empirical corpus identified two distinct periods in high school expansion process: from 1991 to 1994 and from 1995 to 2003. Between 1991 and 1995 the growth in enrollment was more intense, reaching 50.4%. These were years in which the state of São Paulo lived the culmination of the \"youth wave\" and a significant increase in the number of graduates from elementary school. There was tremendous pressure for public vacancies in high school, generating a shortage scenario. As of 1995 the rate of growth of enrollments decreased accompanied by a slowdown in the \"youth wave\". The change in high school offer pattern characterized the period from 1995 to 2003, with the implementation of a systematic educational policy in the state system and marked by administrative streamlining, creating planning mechanisms of school provision with centralized decision-making and strengthening an internal bureaucracy. Automatic enrollment eliminated competition between schools of the state. Overall, it was concluded that educational policies have had a secondary role in the expansion of São Paulo high schools and greater importance may be attributed to increased social demand pressured by the extension of schooling beyond the compulsory elementary school which is linked to the demographic and economic context and the internal evolution of the educational service that was the result of previous expansions.