Projects

Military occupation represents ‘the maximum level of influence based on coercion (…) opening the possibility of installing political structures or procedures that can guarantee mid-range influence on the regime’s character’. Nevertheless, even under Axis rule, the institutional design of dictatorships by their authoritarian elites was influenced by different models and political families, often with the relative watchful indifference of the occupant, but at times also with hostility and intervention. The nature of direct or indirect occupation was also diverse in strategy and type. The purpose of this collective rsearch project is to analyse how under Axis rule, the dynamics of the institution-building of political regimes of occupation under the direct or indirect control of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy was characterized by varied tensions and forced compromises between native fascists, conservatives and radical-right movements and elites, with the occupier far from being a political actor with a unified strategy of regime promotion. This project examines how the complicated relationship between radical right, conservatives, and fascists were present in the institutional crafting of new regimes. Military occupation opened a window of opportunity for the takeover of power by different segments of these authoritarian and fascist elites and the tension and forced pacts between different projects of institutionalization of dictatorships were a clear sign of this dynamic process. In this context, the debates and the praxis of the construction of new dictatorial political systems are analysed, looking to identify the design of their institutions, the segments of the political elites that hegemonize them, the diffusion models present and the attitudes of the Axis powers before them.

This project proposes a new approach to an old question in political science: How competent are our rulers? Distinguishing cabinet members according to their personal skills and resources is a widespread and powerful analytical tool. Notions like partisans, technocrats, technopols, amateurs, or outsiders are nowadays at the core of an ample range of theories and arguments on executive power. At the same time, however, these distinctions have been widely criticized. While conceptual labels may be the same, measurement criteria remain mostly based on rudimentary procedures and separated efforts, affecting validity and reliability, and hindering comparability and accumulation of knowledge. Based on a new strategy to characterize ministerial profiles that face those deficits, the project proposes a broad theory reassessment in the field of government formation and termination. Specifically, we raise three questions. First, what are the patterns of rulers’ recruitment? This is our main variable of interest, where the new analytical tool (open typology) will be used to produce a systematic mapping of ministers’ profiles and their distribution across portfolios’ areas over the last two decades in four southern European countries (Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal). For this last country, as a leading case for future research, also junior ministers will be observed. Second, what explains the patterns of ministerial recruitment? Here, ministers’ profiles take the place of the dependent variable to test leading theories in the field, namely the party government model (focusing on partisans), the technocratic model (focusing on technocrats), and a variant of the principal-agent model (focusing on non-partisans). The open typology will allow us to include also the hybrid profiles of specialists (partisans with technical expertise) and amateurs (neither partisan affiliation nor expertise), and to systematically analyze other four definitional attributes (political competences, group affiliation, loyalty, and gender). Third, what are the impacts of ministers’ profiles on cabinet stability? Here ministers’ profiles is observed as an independent variable to assess widespread explanatory arguments of government and ministers, mostly elaborated with a basis on large-N studies. Along the different phases, the project integrates a comparative approach with case study analyses.

Individualist logic and neoliberal thinking call into question human rights, collective solidarity and the universality of policies, achievements of the April Revolution. Social Work (SS) integrates a political dimension, supported by social justice, which places it as one of the agents that in the political and public arena fights against inequalities and social injustices and for the guarantee of social rights. In spite of this, we are witnessing today to a tendency towards the depoliticization of the SS and a low political and civic participation of its professionals, which results in interventions in based on readings of common sense that are merely welfare-oriented, which create spaces for the SS to become a “weapon” for the emerging populisms. The absence of studies on the subject in Portugal makes it urgent to reflect on political and civic participation in the SS, in order to re-establish and strengthen a political-ideological project of the SS Portuguese, capable of guaranteeing democratic principles.

TRANSKILL is a transformative initiative aimed at elevating the quality, relevance and accessibility of higher education (HE) and transversal skills in Nigeria and South Africa. This project, implemented in collaboration with four partner higher education institutions (HEIs), receives guidance from Lusófona and Sinop Universities. Positioned under the capacity-building umbrella of HE action, strand 2, TRANSKILL aligns with the overarching goals of fostering international cooperation through multilateral partnerships. The project aligns with the general objectives of the call, addressing key areas by enhancing the modernization, accessibility, and internationalization of HE in eligible third countries, focusing on improving the quality and relevance of HE while catering to the needs of the labor market and society, Improving the competences and skills of HEI staff and students, aligning them with market demands and enhancing the management, governance, innovation capacity, and internationalization of HEIs, also increasing the capacities of national authorities to modernize higher education systems through policy reforms and promoting regional integration and cooperation through joint initiatives and sharing of good practices. TRANSKILL will directly contribute to the specified priorities for Africa by focusing on: Green Transition and Digital Transformation; Inclusive Education, Gender Equality, and Civic Competences; Governance, Peace, Security, and Human Development; Sustainable Growth and Jobs. The project is rooted in a thorough needs analysis. Specific objectives include conducting a needs assessment, developing a curriculum, establishing TST centers, training stakeholders, implementing a quality assurance system, and disseminating project results. TRANSKILL represents a vital step towards transforming HE and transversal skills in Nigeria and South Africa, contributing significantly to the broader goals of sustainable development and regional collaboration.

In terms of professional competencies, and based on the idea that "they are always contextual, intersubjective and inseparable from the use of knowledge" (D’Almeida, Sousa and Caria, 2021, p.22), the research aims to contribute to the list of professional competences needed to work in the different areas of social work and the knowledge that must be acquired for an adequate intervention. It is considered that the set of skills to be developed by social workers should be based on research studies that produce knowledge to support them since, according to Rey (2002, cited in D’Almeida, Sousa and Caria, 2021), "skills are stable mental structures with a high degree of awareness that require complex training processes to be able to be mobilised in concrete situations. They must also be sufficiently formalised to be communicated to others and experimented with" (p.26). Bearing that professional competencies are intertwined with cultural competencies, the work aims to contribute to developing cultural competencies in the area in question. The term cultural competence, often used in the health field, refers to "the process by which a health professional endeavours to work appropriately/effectively within the cultural context of the person, family or community in need of their care. As a result, first and foremost, there needs to be a cultural desire/motivation to develop cultural awareness, cultural skills and cultural encounters" (Campinha-Bacote, 2002, cited in Gouveia, Silva and Pessoa, 2019, p. 85). Nowadays, social workers are forced to constantly adapt to new realities that are constantly and rapidly changing. Thus, this professional field requires combining professional and cultural competencies. As Berta Granja (2008) points out, "collective professional identities are constructed through the intimate thoughts of individuals, their projects and motivations, their life trajectory, the actions they take and the results they produce, the discourses they narrate to themselves during initial or continuing training and professional life, in social interactions with peers, other professionals and users" (p.111). Indirectly, the research will contribute to professional identity, since by listing the competences of social work, it will be contributing to "a common platform that groups professionals and differentiates them from others: it can be considered as the set of explicit, socially legitimised characteristics that allow members of the same professional group to recognise themselves as such and to have their specificity recognised in the field of work and employment" (Granja, 2008, p. 111).

This project aims to analyse and reflect on global trends and challenges and their impact on the ideological and political project of Social Work today. To this end, we will reflect on current problems and challenges and how they influence Social Work, particularly its ideological and political projects. Theoretically, we will reflect on “”What is ideology”” and its role in Social Work. To do this, we will draw on Engels & Marx (2007), Gramsci (1978), Pierre Bourdieu and Luc Boltanski (2008) and Slavoj Žižek (1999). A reflection on the relevance of the concept of class struggle and its place in the political-ideological project of social work will also be presented, with the support of the perspectives presented by Bourdieu (2007), Lahire (2006), Wright (1989, 1997) and Estanque (2012), Iamamoto, 1998, Netto (1992), Faleiros (2009), Webb (2019, 2023). The theoretical reflection ends with a reading of current societies from the point of view of the concept of risk and individualisation, based on the readings of Beck (2015, 2017) and Bauman (2016, 2017, 2018). To understand the global problems and current challenges in social work, we sent questionnaires (around 150) to social workers. We also sought to analyse how these risks and challenges impact the identity and conception of Social Work to understand the political and ideological project intrinsic to Social Work from the perspective of the professionals taking part in the study.

The Charter of Religions Odivelas, is a pioneering initiative in Portugal, which provided in-depth knowledge of the religious landscape of one of the main municipalities in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. This project, a collaboration between academia (ULusófona), local government (Odivelas Town Hall), and national authorities (High Commission for Migration – ACM), developed an open database for consultation and a series of reports and joint events that made the religious landscape of this municipality better known to political actors and promoted stronger articulation and interaction between religious communities. The Charter of Religions was an extraordinary vehicle for promoting inter-religious dialogue, cultural diversity, and tolerance, and it will be continued in other parts of the country, showing its relevance to public authorities and being an excellent example of how to promote the involvement of society and the transfer of knowledge. The idea and its success aroused interest among the national authorities and so the project will therefore be replicated in three other Portuguese municipalities (two in Lisbon and one in Porto), with the hope that by the 2024/2025 school year, there will be three more Charters of Religions published in the country.

In the contemporary globalised world, discourses emphasising the importance of obtaining a higher education degree have been associated with different dimensions, in different regional contexts and reflecting different socio-historical and political-economic specificities, in line with global education agendas. Since the 1990s, global agendas have emphasised the importance of education and higher education for the social construction of democratic societies and for sustainable socio-economic development that promotes social well-being. In contemporary African societies, characterised by the late emergence of the ‘university for all’ model, the quest for massification and democratisation of access to higher education is present in public discourses and policies. From a macro-social perspective, higher education has been associated with economic growth and sustainable development; at the meso-social level, there has been an argument about the importance of investing in the intellectual, technological and technical autonomy of countries, in order to overcome the intellectual, technical and technological dependence of the countries of the so-called “Global South” on the countries of the “Western North”, and at the micro-social level, higher education has been given the role of making a significant contribution to increasing the chances of realising successful career paths, in line with neoliberal models that defend the theories of human capital, meritocracy and upward social mobility through education. In African countries, especially in terms of their historical, socio-cultural, political, geographical and economic specificities, the discourse that emphasises the importance of accessing, attending, completing and obtaining a degree in higher education with the aim of a differentiated socio-professional insertion that is guided by professional success, represented by the achievement of “leadership positions”, denotes the alignment of national contexts with the “positive social representation model” of attending higher education, associated with expectations of upward social mobility. In this sense, investment in academic capital seems to be a strategic resource for equal opportunities and can be converted, depending on the context, into more privileged positions in the professional field and the fulfilment of aspirations in the various spheres of social life. Obtaining a higher education qualification in sub-Saharan Lusophone African countries has been associated with the promotion of fairer, more egalitarian societies, with respect for human rights and global citizenship, and democratic societies, because by creating conditions for the development of individuals’ capacities and potential, it contributes to the attenuation of social differences of origin, whether socio-economic or associated with gender issues, depending on the socio-cultural and economic-political structure of the national contexts. In order to contribute to greater knowledge about the career paths of highly qualified women in African countries, with a greater focus on Portuguese-speaking countries, this research project aims to develop a study that will allow us to characterise, identify and define the profile of African women who have reached “leadership positions” in different structures and institutions, as well as in regional and international organisations, with an emphasis on socio-professional groups: – Defense and Security; – Diplomacy and International Relations; – Higher education institutions; – Top political positions. This study will revisit theories that study gender roles and stereotypes, which highlight the “ideal male leadership profile”, due to the prevalence of different social roles attributed to men and women in contemporary societies, primary and secondary socialisation processes, the unequal distribution of time allocated to paid and unpaid work, occupational segregation in the labour market and the difficulties of access to leadership and top management positions, known as the “glass ceiling” effect, in order to better understand the trajectories and paths of African women in leadership positions. Similarly, global and regional agendas will be taken into account, with emphasis on the target “Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life”, of Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5) – “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and norms from other UN agencies, as well as analysing the African Union’s Agenda 2063 – The Africa we want.

Presentation With this proposal, CIDATE will coordinate the organisation, construction and dissemination of the first Illustrated Dictionary of Territory and Environment. The proposal is a joint action between ReLeCo CIDATE and NEA-ES. The Illustrated Dictionary of Territory and Environment is an unprecedented and open (wiki) collection of technical and popular terms used in the relationship between Portuguese-speaking communities and the territory and environment. More than just a static document, the Illustrated Dictionary of Territory and Environment aims to create a collection of lexical and graphic heritage, dedicated to research and the promotion of transdisciplinary approaches to the understanding, use and appropriation of territory. Conceived as a virtual and collaborative platform, the Illustrated Dictionary of the Territory and Environment will translate into the epistemological understanding that arises from the combination of various areas of knowledge, resulting from the transfer of knowledge and technology to promote the preservation of the collective memory and identity of the Portuguese-speaking countries of the CPLP. As a project, DITA aims to build, stimulate and enable the collection and collective construction of knowledge, through the articulation of a network of partners in Portuguese-speaking countries that includes technicians and academics. Focussed on communities, the Illustrated Dictionary of the Territory and Environment aims to promote citizen science in collaborative and participatory processes, as well as reflection on the use and appropriation of the territory, where language plays a fundamental role as a vehicle for information and understanding, to build more sustainable societies. DITA will be staffed by external curators and consultants, who will facilitate the verification of the accuracy, rigour and correctness of the entries included in the dictionary.

The Institute of Social Work of Lusófona University has signed a Cooperation Protocol regarding the Monitoring and Evaluation of Social Impact Results of the ReViOP project, promoted by Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Santarém (SCMS), with the co-promotion of the Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, which is a candidate for the Partnerships for Impact measure, a funding instrument under Portugal 2030, the Portugal Social Innovation national public initiative, which aims to contribute to the promotion of Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives (IIES) in Portugal. SOCIAL PROBLEMReViOP proposes to solve a problem of social exclusion for young people with educational needs attending the 3rd cycle of schooling, on an alternative school path (DL no. 54/2018), by promoting cognitive, emotional and relational/social skills, using cognitive stimulation through virtual reality and active participation through integration in participatory workshops. SCOPE OF ACTION – ReViOP Project will be developed with young people with educational needs attending the Agrupamento de Escolas da Cidade de Santarém. TARGET AUDIENCE- 30 young people with educational needs attending the 3rd cycle of schooling, as part of Decree Law n.º 54/ 2018 EXTERNAL ENTITY- Institute of Social Work of the Lusófona University of Lisbon. SCOPE OF THE PARTNERSHIPDevelopment of joint and concerted action.

MentHa is a project to develop a web platform aimed entirely at improving the well-being and quality of life of older adults with chronic mental illness, as well as their formal and informal caregivers. To this end, it includes (i) a cognitive stimulation program focused on reducing losses and preventing dementia in the context of disability and mental illness, (ii) a psychoeducational program for informal and formal caregivers and (iii) a neuropsychological assessment protocol for diagnostic support and validation of interventions. In addition to the commitment to combining human and technological knowledge, this work is a process that has been co-constructed (“side-by-side”) with the beneficiaries of the digital solutions and with representatives of the main stakeholders who are associated with this project as partners: ADEB – Associação de Apoio aos Doentes Depressivos e Bipolares, ASMAL – Associação de Saúde Mental do Algarve, Elo Social – Associação para a Integração e Apoio ao Deficiente Mental Jovem e Adulto, GIRA – Grupo de Intervenção e Reabilitação Activa, FamiliarMente – Federação Portuguesa das Associações das Famílias de Pessoas com Experiência de Doença Mental and the Portuguese Red Cross. With this innovative project, it will become possible to provide an important set of psychosocial intervention programs that can be implemented in a mixed mode (face-to-face and remote), in all regions of the country, not only contributing to the improvement of health status, but also minimizing the effects of possible (i) worsening of the disease condition, (ii) change of geographical context and (iii) social distancing or isolation – such as the current pandemic situation.

PIECIT – Inclusive Practices of creative and innovative teaching with ICT/LKT in schools in special difficulty – is a project under the Erasmus+ K-A2 program, promoted through a partnership between four universities – Campus Iberus (aggregation of the universities of the Autonomous Communities of Aragón and La Rioja, the Foral Community of Navarre and the province of Lleida), the University of Cyprus, the University of Ferrara and Lusófona University – and three primary schools (6-12 years old) – Santa Engracia School, Cosme Tura School and Real Colégio – from Spain, Cyprus, Italy and Portugal. The project aims to generate different actions that contribute to the recognition and development of inclusive, creative and innovative teaching practices using digital media. In this way, the aim is to: expose the value and potential of schools that carry out creative and inclusive practices, even in situations of technological, social and territorial deprivation; strengthen innovation in school environments; expand knowledge about the pedagogical use of digital technologies and; promote exchange and learning between European schools. The final product of the project includes a digital platform with a network of inclusive schools – http://ourinclusiveschools.eu/ – and the creation of three guides to inclusive practices of creative and innovative teaching with ICT in schools with special challenges, aimed at school management, primary and secondary school teachers and families.

Discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation is prohibited in the European Union, and one of its priorities is to build a “Union of Equality”. This means that social work students and professionals in Portugal must abide by the principles of equality and non-discrimination, which are enshrined in the European Union treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Their Code of Ethics requires them to be intolerant of negative discrimination, and they have a responsibility to denounce it. To this end, based on the Eurobarometer survey which examines attitudes towards discrimination, as well as the social acceptance of a variety of groups at risk of discrimination, this study aims to replicate this survey, in an adapted form, among social work students and professionals in Portugal with the aim of finding out i) their perception of discrimination in Portugal; ii) their experience of discrimination; iii) their feeling of comfort/discomfort with the presence, in their daily lives, of a person from a so-called discriminated group; iv) their perception of the syllabus content related to discrimination included in social work degree courses in Portugal; and v) their perception of the promotion of diversity in their work and university contexts.

The transformations in the civilizational paradigm and the resulting demands have increasingly highlighted the need for society to rethink itself as a learning society and to find balances and development models capable of responding to new problems and challenges. As we live in a complex society, we believe that the training of new professionals, as well as the (re)qualification of current professionals, is crucial and essential for the personal and professional development of all social actors. This is an exploratory study with the following objectives: 1) to map the training needs felt by students and professionals in the social field; 2) to make a diagnosis, based on this survey, in order to adapt the training offer to the contemporary needs of social workers.

The project “Database of Islamic Heritage in Portugal” is a project of the Religions Studies of the Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias. We present a survey list of Islamic heritage in Portugal (Including contemporary heritage of Islamic influence), both built and museological, with a methodically description in systematic records. In Europe some projects focusing on “”Master Pieces”” have already taken place. But this is the first time that a country meets all this information in a systematic way, allowing knowing and correctly assess the extent of Islamic heritage and identity in national and European history. Conscious that knowledge is the only way to build a society ruled by dialogue and respect, the project “Base de Dados do Património Islâmico” intends to be an instrument available to the entire Lusophone society, with the goal to enable the contact with the Islamic heritage, with the Islamic patrimony existent in Portugal. Far from being the heritage of a minority, the Islam that developed to what is now Portuguese territory, was central and primal in terms of culture, science and society. That Islam cannot be linked with a mental space where the words curiosity or exotic reside. That Islam is part of the cultural womb and identity and must therefore be studied, understood and given reach to all citizens. This is the role of this project that introduces, at this point, the first stage of the survey of the Tangible Heritage, which will be followed by the Intangible Heritage in both terms of language and tradition. *Note: The project does not have an end date, therefore, it was indicated in this form, in which it was mandatory to indicate an end date, the year 2030 as the end year of the project, in the sense that the project is naturally inscribed in lines of the so-called agenda 2030.

This abstract presents a project dedicated to advancing maritime security analysis and fostering stronger Atlantic relations. The project aims to address the evolving challenges and opportunities in the maritime domain while promoting cooperation among Atlantic nations. By leveraging a multidimensional approach encompassing policy frameworks, technological advancements, and diplomatic collaboration, this initiative seeks to research on sustainable solutions to maritime security threats and enhance transatlantic partnerships. The project will commence with an in-depth analysis of the current state of maritime security in the Atlantic region, considering diverse factors such as piracy, illegal fishing, maritime terrorism, and illicit trafficking. This comprehensive assessment will serve as a foundation for developing effective strategies and policies to counter emerging threats and safeguard the shared interests of Atlantic nations. Emphasising the significance of international cooperation, the project will encourage collaborative efforts among governments, maritime agencies, and relevant stakeholders. It will focus on the facilitation of information sharing, joint training exercises, and coordinated efforts to strengthen maritime surveillance and response capabilities. Additionally, the project will be based on fostering dialogue and forums, promoting engagements that encourage trust-building and facilitate the exchange of best practices. Technological innovation will play a pivotal role in this project. Advanced surveillance systems, satellite imagery, and data analytics will be part of the studies to enhance maritime domain awareness and its enablers, including the detection of potential security breaches. Furthermore, the project will explore integrating unmanned systems within emergency response operations. Another vital aspect of the project is the focus on capacity building and knowledge sharing. Training programs, workshops, and academic exchanges will be organized to enhance the skills and expertise of maritime security personnel. Moreover, research initiatives and publications will contribute to a deeper understanding of maritime security dynamics, encouraging evidence-based policymaking and fostering innovation. The project will recognise the importance of public-private partnerships and engage with the private sector, maritime industries, and civil society organizations. Collaborative endeavours will include initiatives to combat maritime crimes, promote sustainable practices, and support maritime infrastructure development. Ultimately, this project aspires to create a robust framework for maritime security cooperation and strengthen Atlantic relations. By fostering a shared understanding of challenges, proposing innovative solutions, and promoting inclusive partnerships, it endeavours to be a piece in enhancing economic prosperity, and promoting peace and stability in the Atlantic region.

The world is going through a moment of democratic regression characterized by increasing resistance to democratization and the emergence of new forms of authoritarianism. However, even in non-democratic contexts, power legitimation remains relevant: since regimes cannot rely on repression and coercion alone, incumbents need to generate some level of consent. This research proposes a model of analysis to contribute to the understanding of the legitimation strategies developed by personalized, semi-authoritarian and resilient regimes in Sub-Saharan Africa through a comparison between two case studies: the regime led by Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe (1980-2017) and the regime led by Paul Kagame in Rwanda (1994-2017). Because legitimation is a multidimensional concept, the model of analysis proposed is based on five distinct domains corresponding to sites where strategies and narratives of power justification are constructed and challenged: History and historiography; constitution, legal framework, and institutional architecture; economic and developmental performance; the state-civil society relation and the regime’s positioning in the regional and international spheres.

The model of sovereign states is seriously compromised in its meaning. The old Bodian definition, which states that sovereignty is the dominant power that does not recognize an equal power in the internal order or a superior power beyond its borders, is anachronistic and requires updating. From an internal point of view, some states are already living with a significant polycentric identity, and from an external point of view, they are increasingly committed to each other. Globalization and globalism have led to interdependence, most of which is formalized by international laws and supranational bodies, which jointly govern the economic, security, environmental and now also, increasingly, public health sectors. New interdependencies put the sovereign state and one of its fundamental characteristics – territorial borders – to the test. Thinking about the new concept of sovereignty implies, as Maria Regina Marcheuta presented, reviewing the traditional concept of borders. The paradigms that defined civilizational and cultural borders have taken on new configurations. New models and names appear on the horizon, such as the concept of service sovereignty and subsidiary sovereignty. Political, ideological, demographic and security issues have forced a review of the criteria for belonging and, consequently, territorial division. Exclusive sovereignties have given way to inclusive sovereignties, says Ulrich Beck. At the end of the 20th century, this German sociologist pointed out the weaknesses of exclusive sovereignties that put states under the illusion of independence, which is no longer possible given today’s new global challenges. These new demands continue to be economic, but also increasingly political and do not dispense with international normative organization. The delegation of powers from sovereign national states to transnational bodies involves a competition between self-strengthening and self-weakening. A paradox that can be resolved through the principle of subsidiarity and a new characterization in public international law: subsidiary sovereignty.

Objectives: 1) Review the major theories and exemplary empirical studies for political campaigns in traditional media. 2) Discuss the importance of candidate appearance in terms of voter perceptions and voting choices, focusing also on the role of the media and the strategic use of appearance-based dimensions by political elites. We start by examining the literature showing that attractiveness or beauty are advantages in electoral races. Then, we move to research, focusing on how facial traits elicit inferences about competence, and how these inferences impact assessments and voting decisions to a greater extent than other traits that can be inferred from faces. We also examine the extent to which these phenomena vary according to voter (political knowledge), candidate (party affiliation) or contextual (electoral systems, political culture) factors. The importance of candidate height, weight and attire is also discussed. We conclude by looking into the role of the media in these processes and discussing whether parties actively place candidates whose appearance might bring about advantages. 3) Research on the effects of exposure to polls in a pre-election context has shown that polls can have mobilization effects (driving voters to the polls to increase the likelihood of a given election outcome; Lau and Redlawsk, 2001; Sniderman et al., 1991) and strategic voting (an amendment of the voting decision for the same purpose; McAllister and Studlar, 1991). However, much of this literature is based on the assumption that voters have identical levels of exposure to polls and perfect information about what they present as the state of competition between the major parties or candidates – an assumption often based on the impossibility of measuring these variables with the data available to researchers. To shed light on the role of these factors, we use the 2022 post-election Portuguese study, which includes data to test the extent to which variations in the attention to polls and the perception of their content are associated with different effects or effects of different magnitude on the electorate that formed their voting decision during the election campaign. With this article, we not only contribute to the knowledge about the mechanisms underlying the impact of poll exposure on voting behavior, but also shed light on the role of polls in voting decision in the context of the 2022 legislative elections, which was the subject of debate in the public sphere due to the difference between polling estimates and the election results of the two main parties. In this article, we analyze the extent to which such disparity is not so much the result of sampling biases or other technical weaknesses (Mellon and Prosser, 2017), but rather of differences between the intentions expressed during the fieldwork of the polls and the actual voting behavior (Mellon and Prosser, 2017, Sturgis et al., 2018). 4) The relationship between economic performance and the incumbent’s electoral success has been extensively examined in the literature. However, such studies on the attribution of responsibility overlook the impact of media-driven economic salience on how the incumbent is perceived to bear responsibility. Consequently, it remains uncertain whether a heightened focus on the economy in the media results or not in an increased incumbent’s penalization at the polls. Furthermore, most studies have predominantly employed a synchronic approach, neglecting the relevance of a longitudinal perspective that captures variations over elections. Aiming at contributing to filling this gap, this paper examines whether the media, by shaping the political agenda and giving salience to the economy, affect the attribution of responsibility within the electoral context. Specifically, it investigates whether an increased emphasis on economic issues in the media leads voters to penalize the incumbent more harshly when they perceive that the economy is doing badly. The research draws upon data from the Portuguese Electoral Studies and the ERC-MAPLE project, encompassing the period from 2002 to 2022, and partially comparing the Portuguese case with the Spanish.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 shocked Europe into taking a long hard look at its defences. Some countries are talking about three-month of military programmes… that’s nothing. This project deals the military conscription and aims to create a forum for experts in the field to discuss the pros and cons of a possible return. It also aims to develop a study on attitudes towards compulsory military service in wartime in Europe.

For Amílcar Cabral (1924-1973), education is the “first weapon” for freedom and the development of the potential and capacities of children, young people and adults, in order to realise dignified, fair and emancipatory life projects. Similarly, education is an essential factor in the process of development and social transformation of the material living conditions of African societies, as a result of its impact on the economic, political, historical, cultural, ethno-linguistic and identity dimensions. In the academic and scientific communities of Portuguese-speaking African countries, there is a growing interest in the thought of Amílcar Cabral and his influence in the various fields of the social and human sciences that focus on the study of the various dimensions that influence the organisation, structuring and functioning of contemporary African societies. Likewise, in the global context, Amílcar Cabral is a recognised thinker and intellectual in academic institutions in different countries and continents. At this time of deepening knowledge about Amílcar Cabral’s thought, the aim is to contribute to the (re)discovery of Amílcar Cabral’s thought in the field of education research, through an interdisciplinary approach between the Sociology of Education and the Education Sciences, in dialogue with the History of Education.

The relationship between economic performance and the incumbent’s electoral success has been extensively examined in the literature. However, such studies on the attribution of responsibility overlook the impact of media-driven economic salience on how the incumbent is perceived to bear responsibility. Consequently, it remains uncertain whether a heightened focus on the economy in the media results or not in an increased incumbent’s penalization at the polls. Furthermore, most studies have predominantly employed a synchronic approach, neglecting the relevance of a longitudinal perspective that captures variations over elections. Aiming at contributing to filling this gap, this paper examines whether the media, by shaping the political agenda and giving salience to the economy, affect the attribution of responsibility within the electoral context. Specifically, it investigates whether an increased emphasis on economic issues in the media leads voters to penalize the incumbent more harshly when they perceive that the economy is doing badly. The research draws upon data from the Portuguese Electoral Studies and the ERC-MAPLE project, encompassing the period from 2002 to 2022, and partially comparing the Portuguese case with the Spanish.

The Bible addresses, from the beginning, the virtuous model of the Jewish people and the church: who listens, who deliberates, who walks together, inspired and shaped by the Holy Spirit: the 70 elders who share in the spirit with which Moses is endowed (cf. Ex 18,13-27; Nm 11,16-30; Dt 1,5-18), and the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). The different phases of its development: the decision is made in the Holy Spirit, within the community of believers in Jerusalem and Antioch, in their discussions and conflicts. This “synodal, missionary and ‘outgoing’ Church can only correspond to an ‘outgoing’ church”” that can “”prophetically interpret the present””, foreseeing “”new itineraries for the future, in the light of Revelation””… Opening up to the world and to man, “”with his problems, his wounds, his challenges, his potentialities””. To this end, “”a culture of dialogue and encounter between different traditions and diverse knowledge must be developed, between the different Christian confessions””. For this to be possible, so that, in addition to dialogue, Christians walk together and together reflect and find solutions to the problems that shadow the project of happiness that God has for every human being on earth, Synodality is the style and model of Church in which everyone has a role and a voice to be heard. Being the people of God calls for a community dimension, where Christians, being children, must recognize each other as brothers. Everyone has the same opportunity to enter into communion with God and everyone has an active role in building the Kingdom. Each one with their own vocation and charisma, without exception. Therefore, the role that each baptized person can play and the contribution they can make to the renewal and vitalization of the Church must be deepened, so that Christianity speaks and understands the language and culture(s) of these times. Today, the mission of the Church requires that all of God’s people travel together, a path in which each member plays their fundamental role, united with the others. A synodal Church walks in communion to pursue a common mission through the participation of each of its members. The objective of this synodal model is to offer an opportunity to all of God’s people to discern, choose the path to follow and the objectives to achieve, choose the mission to carry out and, above all, the way in which it will be carried out, with the qualifications human, spiritual and scientific resources that each person can provide the project with. Synodality illuminates ecclesial witness in the context of the globalized society of our time. The crucial challenges that the human family must face require a culture of encounter and, therefore, that attitudes of dialogue, service and cooperation be cultivated. Faced with the lack of interest and distrust that today affect the commitment to the national and international common good, it is necessary to expand spaces and processes to recreate co-responsible and supportive participation. Walking along the path of evangelizing reform, the Church can bring “social diakonia” to help cultivate justice, peace and care for the common home. As a model of Christian unity, synodality promotes a common response from Christian churches to the questions posed by contemporary cultures, about the essence and meaning of values and principles and intervention in the great challenges (global and local) of today and the future: in causes of degradation of human life values; human and peoples’ rights; in the quality of freedom and democracy; in education and health; in free, responsible and truthful social communication; in the allocation of goods to everyone’s needs; in social integration and respect for differences; in respect for the common home of humanity, the environment and integral ecology; in valuing and supporting the elderly and dependents; in valuing work and a decent salary; in implementing intergenerational, cultural and spiritual justice policies.

Human beings have always faced various obstacles over several generations, but in the last four years they have come face to face with the COVID-19 pandemic and its lockdowns, the occurrence of war contexts, climate changes, natural disasters, rising inflation and many other difficulties. This project aims to assess: 1) the perception of emotional intelligence (EI), resilience (R) and occupational stress (OS); 2) the importance of emotional intelligence and resilience in tackling burnout; and 3) compare the emotional intelligence (EI), resilience (R) and occupational stress (OS) between social professions and others professionals.

Attributing responsibility might shape the public understanding of who is responsible for a specific economic issue. However, in a multilevel structure such as the EU boundaries between national and supranational levels are often blurred. This paper considers a constitutive policy issue, the economic crisis in Ireland, Portugal and Spain. Through the analysis of more than 600 economic articles published in two major newspapers of each country during 14 national elections, the main goal is to test whether national media present a convergent media narrative, attributing the main responsibility to European level rather than to domestic level. There is a convergence in Portugal and Spain: national media tend to nationalise the attribution of responsibility, while in Ireland the tendency is to supranationalise it. Yet, the critical moments of national economy, such as the outbreak of the Eurozone crisis tended to amplify the presence of national actors in the three countries considered.

Given the current global context, where the pandemic, war and climate change are a reality, the aim of this study is to get to know the Portuguese population’s perception of their quality of life, emotional and social skills and empathic capacity, and to assess the impact of current events on these various domains. To this end, a questionnaire survey was applied via the Google forms platform and disseminated on social media. The aim of this study is to identify the factors and areas of greatest vulnerability in order to propose social and political strategies capable of mitigating them and strengthening resilience to this type of environment.

Despite the fact that in the 1960s and 1970s, corporate social work became one of the most attractive sectors with the greatest employment possibilities for social workers, the reduction in its scope of action that began to be seen in the 1990s and, consequently, the loss of space for social workers to intervene in this field, has meant that the knowledge we have today about entreprises as a socio-professional space for social workers is still incipient, providing little data on the real movement of social workers’ work in this field, with an even greater lack of in-depth content on the work process developed by Social Work in this context, justifying the relevance of current and in-depth studies in this area of knowledge. It is a fact that in recent years some studies in this field have begun to emerge in Portugal, as a result of the recognition of the profound changes in the labor market, the flexibilization of labor relations, associated with the exacerbation of the needs and problems related to the world of work and the reduction of the Welfare State, and which has opened up space, as in other historical moments, to bring (again) to the fore Entreprise’s Social Work and a more present action on the part of these professionals in the field of work. In order to assess this and other possibilities for intervention in the field of entreprises , this project sought to collect information from entreprises social workers in order to find out: a) areas of intervention; b) professional roles; c) social projects developed; d) challenges and constraints to intervention, and to draw up a profile of the company social worker, as well as to find out about their practices and possibilities for intervention.

This project includes investigations regarding the dark triad of personality, relating it to self-determination for safety-related behaviours and the propensity for the frequency of preventive behaviours in the workplace, as well as for workaholic behaviours and a justification of the democratic system (Rutto, Rosso & Mosso).

Recent literature has shown that small parties which obtain representation in Parliament do much better in subsequent elections than those who do not (Dinas, Riera and Roussias, 2015), and that entry to Parliament of radical right parties increases voter polarization (Bischof and Wagner, 2019). Yet, the mechanisms which may explain this connection between parliamentary entry, and subsequent party success as well as impact on voters’ ideological positioning remain obscure. We posit that the way in which the media divulges the radical right views once it has obtained parliamentary representation is disproportional to the party’s parliamentary representation, and is a great ally of these parties’ subsequent consolidation. Thus, this article will explore the changes in the media political coverage before and after the party parliamentary breakthroughs of radical right parties. Our main hypothesis is that, once radical right parties gain parliamentary representation, and thus become institutionally legitimized, the media increase their visibility disproportionally, covering their leader, as well as these parties’ issues to a much greater extent than other similar sized parties. We use the Spanish and Portuguese cases to test this hypothesis. Both countries saw the entry to national parliament of radical right parties, Vox and Chega, respectively in 2018 and 2019. Through an automated media analysis of different types of news media, this article will examine the changes in political coverage, before and after the emergence of these parties in national representation.

A investigação sobre os efeitos da exposição às sondagens em contexto pré-eleitoral tem demonstrado que as mesmas podem ter efeitos de mobilização (levando os eleitores às urnas para aumentar a probabilidade de um determinado resultado eleitoral; Lau e Redlawsk, 2001; Sniderman et al., 1991) e de voto estratégico (uma alteração da decisão de voto com o mesmo propósito; McAllister e Studlar, 1991). No entanto, muita desta literatura parte do pressuposto que os eleitores possuem níveis idênticos de exposição às sondagens e informação perfeita sobre aquilo que as mesmas apresentam como sendo o estado da competição entre os principais partidos ou candidatos – um pressuposto frequentemente baseado na impossibilidade de medir estas variáveis com os dados à disposição dos investigadores. Para lançar luz sobre o papel destes factores, utilizamos o estudo pós-eleitoral português de 2022, que inclui dados que permitem testar em que medida variações em termos de atenção às sondagens e de percepção do seu conteúdo estão associadas a diferentes efeitos ou efeitos de diferente magnitude junto do eleitorado que formou a sua decisão de voto durante a campanha eleitoral. Como este artigo, não apenas contribuímos para o conhecimento sobre os mecanismos subjacentes ao impacto da exposição a sondagens no comportamento eleitoral, mas também lançamos luz sobre o papel das sondagens na decisão de voto no contexto das eleições legislativas de 2022, que foi alvo de debate na esfera pública devido à diferença entre as estimativas das sondagens e os resultados eleitorais dos dois principais partidos. Neste artigo, analisamos, assim, até que ponto é que tal disparidade não resulta tanto de enviesamentos amostrais ou outras debilidades técnicas (Mellon e Prosser, 2017), mas, isso sim, de diferenças entre as intenções expressas aquando do trabalho de campo das sondagens e o comportamento eleitoral efectivo (Mellon e Prosser, 2017, Sturgis et al., 2018).

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has not only considerable economic and social effects, but also political impacts, namely on electoral contests. Candidates are challenged by the need to carry out campaigns in harsh and unprecedented conditions. The Portuguese presidential election of January 24 th , 2021 is a clear example, with seven candidates campaigning amidst the third (and so far, the most violent) wave of infections and deaths by COVID-19 in the country. This paper investigates the extent to which the pandemic crisis fosters significant shifts in candidates’ communication strategies during election campaigns. Specifically, in the levels of campaign professionalization, in a boost of online communication platforms, and in changes in the relationship of forces between different candidates in the social networks. To achieve this goal, we compare the campaigns preceding the 2016 and 2021 Presidential elections. The research design allows a cross-election and cross-candidate comparison, shedding light for future research on the impact of the pandemic in electoral campaigning. Building on new data on salience in the traditional media, campaign agenda, budgets and expenses, and use and engagement of in social networks, this research contributes to understand the different ways by which unprecedented events can foster a shift from traditional political communication strategies during election campaigns.

Research methods for political science and international relations, to simplify and demonstrate the main efforts associated, with a multidisciplinary approach.

Finalização da catalogação do espólio do pintor Neves e Sousa, com estudo de rituais religiosos retratados entre os anos 50 e 80 do século XX. Serão estudadas as representações femininas, tentando compreender as identidades étnicas em causa. Serão também estudados os desenhos e pinturas com elementos islâmicos de Moçambique.

The work entitled Global Dictionary of Spirituality and Mysticism is based on the idea that, regardless of whether you are a believer or not (and regardless of the faith you profess), spirituality and mysticism allow you to better understand the way in which it was formed and developed in the West religion, thought, society, science – in short, a large part of what we can roughly call the Western heritage – and which seeks to draw attention to its fundamental concepts and authors. The objective of the investigation was to write the following entries or entries: Acosmism, Autotelicism, Fallibilism, Immanentism, Monism, Divine Providence and Rationalism.

To speak correctly about Christian mysticism, it is necessary to identify its characterizing and qualifying elements. It is necessary that the mystical experience is consequent to Revelation and the Christian Mystery: Christ is the only object of spiritual experience. Christian mysticism was born from the New Testament, in the Gospel of Mark 4:11, Christ says to his disciples: “”to you has been entrusted the mystery of the Kingdom of God””, referring to the veiled teaching of the parables, we find just one of the many verifications of this concept. Paulo of Tarsus developed the reflection on the “”mystery”” of God revealed in Christ himself. Also Enrico Suso, in line with Rhenish mysticism, when reaffirming the concept of mystery, says it very clearly: this divine presence, “”Eternal Wisdom””, as he calls it, has its principle in the “”mystery””, in the abyss of divinity inaccessible to the human intellect and to those who are not prepared to access it because reason, precisely because of the characteristics that make it an instrument of abstraction and explanation, cannot penetrate the essence of superior things and much less can it apply to ‘essential’ reality God’s. The conceptions outlined in the New Testament are deepened and developed by the Fathers of the Church. At the end of the 19th and 20th centuries, thanks to the movement to rediscover biblical, patristic and liturgical sources, mystical doctrine managed to find its connection with the “”mystery””. The opinion that mystical experience does not belong exclusively to the field of the extraordinary and exceptional, separated from the essence of the Christian life, has become common among scholars. This experience is, rather, considered the ‘summit’, not always achievable and not by everyone, as it depends on an initiative from God himself and the availability of the subject. This study will address the Christian mystical phenomenon in its multiple approaches: the characteristics of the mystical phenomenon: mysticism and context; identity and structure; types of Christian mystical experience: mystical essence, bridal mysticism, Kenosis and absence mysticism; constituent elements of Christian mysticism: mystical experience, passivity and contemplative knowledge; written and poetic mystical experience; visionary imagination; the language of symbols; the visual and the visionary; and, the unprecedented union with God.

The overall objective of the project was to contribute to tackling gender stereotypes in education in Italy, Spain and Portugal, thus reducing the influence of gender expectations on young people’s choices in education, work and life. The project’s specific objective was to strengthen the capacity of professionals and other adults in contact with children to identify and address gender stereotypes in education. The project partially builds on the previous EU funded GENDER ABC project, that was implemented by all the project partners from 2018 to 2020 and in the framework of which 21 educational modules on gender-based violence prevention in education.

This project includes the investigations conducted during the pandemic period based on three samples collected during the confinement period, totaling 2231 respondents. It explores: the impact of confinement on the lives of those who work; adherence to general recommendations from health authorities; the perception of safety and the risk of contagion by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in various locations and activities; beliefs and attitudes about COVID-19 vaccines; and future expectations in the post-pandemic scenario.

Concern about the impact of the pandemic on the education of university students, particularly social work students, was the starting point for this research. The aim is to find out these students’ perceptions of the effects of replacing face-to-face classes with distance learning classes on their teaching/learning process during the lockdown period, both in terms of its impact on their emotional well-being and, above all, in terms of learning and academic results.

According to the literature, there is no specific national or international identification of the competencies that should govern the practice of professionals working in specific areas of intervention. In order to respond to this gap, this project seeks to identify the competencies that social workers need in order to intervene in some specific areas of intervention, such as intervention with children and young people in residential care, intervention with institutionalized elderly people, and others that appear to be relevant and of interest during the course of this project.

D’AR-TE is a pilot project at the level of the intervention model in a Residential Care Home, which aims to be an innovative response, with systemic integration of a set of stimulation activities aimed at fostering personal skills, interpersonal socialization and stimulating relationships. This project is funded under Portugal 2020 – Portugal Social Innovation – Partnerships for Social Impact.

"Considered one of the most important symbols of spiritual traditions, religions and esotericism, it was elevated to the status of divinity by many people, for whom fire represents the transformations of nature, its creation and destruction. The consuming power of fire made this element a symbol with a negative connotation, as in Christian iconographic representations of hell, but, due to its transformative quality, it was considered sacred by many cultures. Within its destructive characteristic, fire represents destruction, symbolized by hell, where life is, by being destroyed for all eternity, denying the project of divine love and human deification. Therefore, this state is temporary, as the destruction of something always represents, for mystics, the opening of space for new power to emerge, for a birth in a new condition. Alchemists have the principle that nature is renewed by fire. At the beginning of Greek philosophical thought, fire was considered one of the four elements that are at the basis of the universe. In an attempt to explain the nature of matter, several theories have emerged. One of them was created by the Greek philosopher Empedocles, around the 5th century BC. According to him, everything that exists in the universe is composed of four main elements: earth, fire, air and water. Later, around 350 BC, Aristotle returned to the idea and added that each of the elements has a proper place and seeks to remain there or find it. Earth was at the center of the four elements, next came water, above came air, and lastly, above all, fire."

This project is part of a joint research activity between professors and researchers in the areas of religious science, European studies and international relations, and social work at our university. The reinforcement of synergies has led to the definition of three fundamental areas of research: i) the place of religion in contemporary European societies; ii) cultural and religious diversity; and iii) religious freedom and the COVID-19 pandemic. We would highlight the production of several dozen scientific publications (Brazil, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, and Switzerland), and the collaboration with other national and international universities, for example, the Open University and the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil). We also emphasize the link between this project and another on the Charter of Religions Odivelas, led by researchers from LusoGlobe.