Astronomia no Império brasileiro: longitude, congresso internacional e a busca por uma ciência universal no final do século XIX / Astronomy in the Brazilian Empire: longitude, an international congress and the quest for a universal science in the late nineteenth century

Resumo Não há uma visão clara na historiografia internacional sobre a participação do Brasil na Conferência de Washington de 1884. No Brasil há uma interpretação de que o voto brasileiro acompanhou a França, por razões de subordinação. Este texto pretende estabelecer um diálogo com essas produções, ao trazer fontes inéditas sobre o tema, como as cartas trocadas por Luiz Cruls, tanto com o imperador como com sua esposa, bem como notícias de periódicos, anais e relatórios. Neste artigo foi utilizada uma abordagem da história da ciência, preocupada com os processos de institucionalização da astronomia no Brasil em meio a um debate mundial sobre padronização e universalização da ciência.

Abstract There is no clear picture in the international historiography of Brazil's participation at the International Prime Meridian Conference in Washington of 1884. In Brazil there exists the prevailing interpretation that the Brazilian vote accompanied France for reasons of subordination. This work seeks to analyze this interpretation, by scrutinizing unpublished sources on the subject, such as the letters exchanged by Luiz Cruls both with the emperor and with his wife, as well as news articles in journals, annals and reports. In this article, an approach to the history of science was adopted that was concerned with the processes of institutionalization of astronomy in Brazil in the midst of a worldwide debate on the standardization and universalization of science.

Bogus neurosurgeon beats system hands down.

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)'s top management has ordered a probe of all foreign-qualified specialist registrations going back at least a decade, and instituted a 'double verification' mechanism for all future such applications following a dramatic system failure.

Avaliação das condições de atuação de Conselhos Municipais de Saúde no Estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil / Effectiveness of community participation in Municipal Health Councils in Santa Catarina State, Brazil

Este artigo apresenta um modelo de avaliação da participação popular em sistemas municipais de saúde. Trata-se de pesquisa avaliativa cuja construção da matriz utilizou o referencial teórico da legislação existente que orienta a participação popular na formulação de estratégias e no controle da execução das políticas de saúde. Os indicadores e medidas foram validados por técnica de consenso com especialistas. O modelo proposto tem 26 indicadores divididos em cinco dimensões avaliativas, que refletem a adequação à legislação da estrutura, organização, representatividade, participação no planejamento em saúde e autonomia dos Conselhos Municipais de Saúde. Sua aplicabilidade foi testada em 24 municípios de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Os dados analisados indicaram os melhores resultados para a dimensão "sistema de planejamento do SUS", e os piores para as dimensões "estrutura e autonomia". Apenas dois municípios apresentaram bom resultado para o indicador sintético final. Foi demonstrada a viabilidade e adequação do modelo de avaliação proposto.

This article presents a model for the evaluation of community participation in municipal (county) health systems. The theoretical basis for this evaluative study was the existing Brazilian legislation on community participation in drafting health strategies and overseeing health policy implementation. The indicators and measures were validated using the expert consensus technique. The proposed model has 26 indicators divided into five evaluative dimensions that reflect the legislation's adequacy for the structure, organization, representativeness, health planning participation, and autonomy of the Municipal Health Councils. Its applicability was tested in 24 municipalities in Santa Catarina State, Brazil. The data analysis indicated the best results for the dimension "planning system in the Unified National Health System" and the worst for "structure" and "autonomy". Only two municipalities showed good results for the final summary indicator. The study demonstrated the feasibility and adequacy of the proposed evaluation model.

A legislatively mandated council: a model for palliative care policy integration.

Mechanisms are needed to foster discussion of policy choices about end-of-life care, identify areas of general agreement, and clarify possible areas of disagreement. The Maryland State Advisory Council on Quality Care at the End of Life (MSAC), created by legislation as a permanent part of Maryland government, is one such mechanism. We describe the rationale for creating the MSAC, its operational features, and some of its successes and challenges. Given state-to-state variation in many aspects of health care organization and financing, we do not present the MSAC as a model to be adopted in every state. The MSAC's body of work over 8 years indicates that the model can be an effective catalyst for positive change in end-of-life policy making. Reformers elsewhere should consider this model, with an eye to both the MSAC's accomplishments and areas in which a different approach might be more fruitful.

Legal rights of client councils and their role in policy of long-term care organisations in the Netherlands.

BACKGROUND: Legislation demands the establishment of client councils in Dutch nursing homes and residential care facilities. The members of those councils are residents or their representatives. Client councils have the right to participate in the strategic management of long-term care facilities. More specifically, they need to be consulted regarding organisational issues and a right to consent on issues regarding daily living of residents, including CQ-index research. CQ-index research concerns a method that measures, analyses and report clients' experiences about the quality of care. Research questions were: 'Do client councils exercise their rights to be consulted and to give their consent?' and 'What is the role of client councils in the process of measuring clients' experiences with the CQ-index and what is their opinion about the CQ-index?' METHODS: Postal questionnaires were sent to members of 1,540 client councils of Dutch nursing homes and residential care facilities. The questionnaire focussed on background information and client councils' involvement in decision-making and strategic management. RESULTS: The response rate was 34% (n = 524). Most councils consisted of seven members (range: 5 to 12 members). One out of four members participating in the client councils were clients themselves. Although councils have a legal right to be consulted for organisational issues like finance, vision, annual report, and accommodation, less than half the councils (31-46%) reported that they exercised this right. The legal right to consent was perceived by 18 to 36% of the councils regarding client care issues like food and drink, complaints registration, respectful treatment, and activities. For CQ-index research, only 18% of the client councils perceived a right to consent. Their rights to choose an approved contractor -who performs CQ-index research- and indicating improvement priorities, were hardly used. CONCLUSIONS: Client councils play a rather passive role in determining the policy on quality of long-term care. Therefore, specific attention and actions are needed to create a more proactive attitude in councils towards exercising their rights, which are already supported by legislation.

[Effectiveness of community participation in Municipal Health Councils in Santa Catarina State, Brazil]. / Avaliação das condições de atuação de Conselhos Municipais de Saúde no Estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil.

This article presents a model for the evaluation of community participation in municipal (county) health systems. The theoretical basis for this evaluative study was the existing Brazilian legislation on community participation in drafting health strategies and overseeing health policy implementation. The indicators and measures were validated using the expert consensus technique. The proposed model has 26 indicators divided into five evaluative dimensions that reflect the legislation's adequacy for the structure, organization, representativeness, health planning participation, and autonomy of the Municipal Health Councils. Its applicability was tested in 24 municipalities in Santa Catarina State, Brazil. The data analysis indicated the best results for the dimension "planning system in the Unified National Health System" and the worst for "structure" and "autonomy". Only two municipalities showed good results for the final summary indicator. The study demonstrated the feasibility and adequacy of the proposed evaluation model.

[Resolutions of the Health Council: instrument of social control or bureaucratic document]. / Resoluções do Conselho de Saúde: instrumento de controle social ou documento burocrático?

The present study has a documentary character and analyzes the resolutions registered in minutes of meetings of a Health Council, as a form to characterize the social control in health carried through for this instance. The majority of the resolutions were referred to the approval of Programs and Projects, arising from the Secretariat of Health, regarding the reform, material and equipment acquisition for units of health, the qualification of existing services or the creation of new services. The study suggests that the practical one of this council seems to be bureaucratic, without any proposal of politics of health for the council is visualized. The way the resolutions have being legalized does not characterize its guiding not even the visibility of the actions for the population in general. In the studied case, it is signaled that the mere regular functioning of this council does not guarantee that exist effective social control.

Resoluções do Conselho de Saúde: instrumento de controle social ou documento burocrático? / Resolutions of the Health Council: instrument of social control or bureaucratic document?

O presente estudo, de caráter documental, analisa as resoluções registradas em atas de reuniões de um Conselho de Saúde, de forma a caracterizar o controle social em saúde realizado por esta instância. A maioria das resoluções referiam-se à aprovação de programas e projetos, oriundos da Secretaria da Saúde, referentes à reforma, aquisição de material e equipamento para unidades de saúde, qualificação de serviços já existentes ou criação de novos serviços. O estudo sugere que a prática deste conselho parece ser burocratizada, sem que seja visualizada nenhuma proposição de políticas de saúde pelo conselho. A forma como as resoluções vêm sendo formalizadas não caracteriza seu encaminhamento, muito menos a visibilidade das ações para a população em geral. No caso estudado, sinaliza-se que o mero funcionamento regular deste conselho não garante que exista efetivo controle social.

The present study has a documentary character and analyzes the resolutions registered in minutes of meetings of a Health Council, as a form to characterize the social control in health carried through for this instance. The majority of the resolutions were referred to the approval of Programs and Projects, arising from the Secretariat of Health, regarding the reform, material and equipment acquisition for units of health, the qualification of existing services or the creation of new services. The study suggests that the practical one of this council seems to be bureaucratic, without any proposal of politics of health for the council is visualized. The way the resolutions have being legalized does not characterize its guiding not even the visibility of the actions for the population in general. In the studied case, it is signaled that the mere regular functioning of this council does not guarantee that exist effective social control.