TRANSIENT STRUCTURES FOR STREET VENDORS: VIABLE DESIGN INTERVENTIONS

The commercial sector in India is ever-changing with a visible divide in different aspects of the operations, this leads to the creation of different sectors of the economy namely the 'formal' and the 'informal sector'. There is a wide disparity in documentation and assessment needs of the commercial setups involved in different types of activities in such 'unorganized' or 'informal' units. The Government of NCT of Delhi data on street vendors indicates that Delhi has an estimate of over 4 lakh vendors who are working in the informal sector as street vendors, roadside tea sellers, small roadside nursery owners, etc. all these setups require a special type of planning & consideration as these vendors have limited resource availability, with many of these street vendors finding accommodations in their mobile carts, and unplanned roadside setups. The state of livelihood and resource access remains limited for these 'informal' vendors. Issues such as the access to 'safe' infrastructure, permits & certification to operate as street vendors limit their social and economic well-being. Such concerns require significant social and design interventions to ensure the social, physical, and economic well-being of the vendors on 'the streets'.

O Programa AGUAPURA de racionalização do consumo de água da Universidade Federal da Bahia / The AGUAPURA Program for water consumption rationalization at the Federal University of Bahia

RESUMO Este artigo descreve e discute os métodos usados, as dificuldades encontradas e os resultados obtidos em um programa de racionalização do uso da água desenvolvido por um programa de pesquisa da Universidade Federal da Bahia. Na universidade, foi alcançada redução de até 49% no consumo per capita. No aeroporto e em um shopping center de Salvador foram identificados cenários de reduções ainda maiores. Pesquisa de opinião justifica a admissão de alternativas inovadoras de grande impacto. Em um conjunto de prédios do Governo do Estado da Bahia as reduções atingiram 55, 72 e 82% nos três prédios mais comprometidos com o projeto. Os resultados obtidos levaram o Governo do Estado a estender o projeto a todos os seus prédios administrativos e às escolas públicas estaduais.

ABSTRACT This article describes and discusses methods, results obtained and difficulties found in a water-use rationalization program developed by a research program at the Federal University of Bahia. At the University we obtained a reduction of up to 49% in per capita consumption. At the airport and in a shopping center in Salvador we identified other scenarios for further reductions. Opinion survey justifies the admission of innovating high-impact alternatives. In a set of buildings of the State Government of Bahia, reductions reached 55, 72 and 82% in the three buildings most committed to the project. The results led the State Government to extend the project to all its administrative buildings and public schools.

Experiencias en las etapas de control y sostenibilidad de la epidemia de Dengue / Experiences gained in the phases of management and sustainability of dengue epidemics

Introducción: el dengue es uno de los problemas de salud prioritarios debido al incremento en el reporte de casos, la aparición de epidemias en nuevas áreas geográficas, con la consecuente extensión del vector y la transmisión de la enfermedad. Cuba ha trabajado durante muchos años para mantener al país libre de transmisión de Dengue. Objetivo: diseñar un grupo de acciones para fortalecer la estrategia en la etapa de control y sostenibilidad de la epidemia de dengue en el área de salud del Policlínico "Héroes del Moncada". Método: se realizó un estudio epidemiológico descriptivo transversal en el área de salud del Policlínico "Héroes del Moncada", durante el año 2012. Se tomó como punto de partida el diagnóstico de la situación epidemiológica basado en 6 áreas clave de la estrategia: análisis clínico, epidemiológico, entomológico y ambiental de los riesgos; el tratamiento focal; el trabajo del adulticida; el tratamiento extradomiciliario, el trabajo entomológico; la participación comunitaria e intersectorial. Las técnicas utilizadas fueron las entrevistas a profundidad con su análisis cualitativo, y el análisis cuantitativo y cualitativo. Se confeccionaron gráficos con los pronósticos y las tendencias. Resultados: se elaboraron acciones tomando como elementos básicos los documentos normativos emitidos por el MINSAP, los criterios de expertos en el tema y el resultado de investigaciones avaladas a nivel internacional y nacional, así como la estrategia municipal confeccionada por los profesores de la ENSAP y el municipio de salud. Se confeccionaron e implementaron acciones en las etapas vitales para minimizar los riesgos potenciales y controlar la transmisión de la enfermedad, con la participación activa de todos los entes imbricados, estimulando el desarrollo del pensamiento salubrista. Conclusiones: la implementación de estas acciones es un ejercicio teórico-práctico que logra la organización de todos los procesos y desarrolla el enfoque salubristas...

Introduction: dengue is one of the main health problems due to the increase of reported cases, the occurrence of epidemics in new geographic areas, the resulting extension of the vector and the transmission of the disease. Cuba has worked for years to keep the country free from dengue transmission. Objective: to design a group of actions to strengthen the prevention strategy in the phases of management and sustainability of the dengue epidemics in the health area of ¨Heroes del Moncada¨polyclinics. Methods: a cross-sectional descriptive epidemiological study was conducted in the health area of ¨Heroes del Moncada¨ polyclinics in 2012. The starting point was the diagnosis of the epidemiological situation of six key areas for this strategy: the clinical, the epidemiological, the entomological and the environmental analysis of risks, the focal treatment, the effect of substances on the adult vector, the outdoor treatment applied, the entomological work, and the community and the intersectoral involvement. The techniques used for this study were in-depth interviews with its qualitative analysis, and the quantitative-qualitative analysis as such. Forecasts and tendencies were reflected in graphs. Results: a plan of actions was drawn up after considering the basic elements of the MINSAP normative documents, the expert criteria on the topic and the results of research studies at national and international levels, as well as the municipal strategy designed by the National School of Health and the health municipality authorities. The actions were implemented in the vital phases in order to minimize potential risks and to control the disease transmission, with the active participation of all the involved and developing the health-oriented thought. Conclusions: the implementation of this plan of actions is a theoretical-practical exercise that manages to organize all the processes and develops the health approach of the participants...