Empirical analysis of the portuguese governments social network

The Portuguese governmental network comprising all the 776 ministers and junior ministers who were part of the 19 governments between the year 1976 and 2013 is presented and analyzed. The data contain information on connections concerning business and other types of organizations and, to our knowledge, there is no such extensive research in previous literature. Upon the presentation of the data, a social network analysis considering the temporal dimension is performed at three levels of granularity: network-level, subnetwork-level (political groups) and node-level. A discussion based on the results is presented. We conclude that although it fits two of the four preconditions of a small-world model, the Portuguese governmental network is not a small-world network, although presenting an evolution pointing toward becoming one. Also, we use a resilience test to study the evolution of the robustness of the Portuguese governmental network, pinpointing the moment when a set of members became structurally important.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Break On Through (to the other side) of Political Connections: An exploratory Empirical Analysis of Portuguese Companies

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Science and Advanced Analytics, specialization in Data ScienceTransparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer 2013 reveals that political parties, Parliament, the judiciary and the military are the most corrupt institutions in Portugal. Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Perception Index ranks the country 29th place out of 180 countries. Although politicians have a great influence on company profits, there is no such research in Portugal that examines the impact of political connections on firms. This thesis tries to complete this task differently. With the information publicized on the Portuguese parliament website, databases that contain information about the public employees, and one of the Orbis Van Dijk databases about the Portuguese companies, this paper tries to evaluate the performance of these companies compared to the ones that don’t have connections. This dissertation describes the difference between companies that has government connections and compare to companies that don’t. The dissertation explains the origin of each database explains the keys to merge them, and then compares each one of them. In the end, the reader will be able to understand their behavior and how private companies with government connections have an advantage compared to the market. This thesis in among the first ones to examine the influence of political power connections in Portugal.O Barómetro de Corrupção Global 2013 da Transparency International revela que os partidos políticos, o Parlamento, o sistema judiciário e os militares são as instituições mais corruptas em Portugal. O Índice de Percepção de Corrupção de 2017 da Transparency International classifica o país em 29º lugar entre 180 países. Embora os políticos tenham uma grande influência nos lucros das empresas, não existe em Portugal qualquer investigação que examine o impacto das ligações políticas nas empresas. Esta dissertação tenta completar essa tarefa de maneira diferente. Com a informações divulgadas no site do parlamento português com bases de dados públicas que contém informações sobre os funcionários públicos, e uma das bases de dados Orbis Van Dijk sobre as empresas portuguesas e seus respectivos desempenhos ao longo dos anos, esta tese procura avaliar o desempenho destas empresas face às que não o possuem conexões. Esta dissertação descreve a diferença entre empresas que têm ligações com o governo e compara com empresas que não têm. A dissertação explica a origem de cada banco de dados, explica as chaves para mesclá-los e, a seguir, compara cada um deles. Ao final, o leitor poderá entender seu comportamento e como empresas privadas com vínculo governamental levam vantagem em relação ao mercado

The Portuguese agrarian reform: why no violent repression?

This dissertation examines the question of non-violence in the process of implementation of the Portuguese agrarian reform (1974-6). Through data and interview analysis the dissertation explains that, despite the state crises and violent actions that were perpetrated, during the democratic transition, in the urban centers of the country, the land occupations, both legal and illegal, do not lead to violent action in the countryside. Using triangulation as a preferred method it is demonstrated that the articulation of a set of factors contributes to a peaceful process. It was the absence of conservative forces as well as the lack of a class organization along with the radicalism of left-wing forces and their symbiotic articulation with governmental forces that makes so that none of the actors resort to violent actions, despite what was to be expected.Esta dissertação examina a questão da não violência na implementação da reforma agrária em Portugal (1974-6). Através da análise de dados de arquivo e de entrevistas a dissertação explica que, apesar da crise de estado e das ações violentas que decorriam, durante a transição democrática, nos centros urbanos do país, que as ocupações de terra, tanto legais como ilegais, não levam a ação violenta no meio rural. Usando o método de triangulação demonstra-se que a articulação de um conjunto de fatores contribuí para o desenrolar de um processo pacífico. É a ausência de forças conservadores assim como a ausência de uma organização de classe juntamente com o radicalismo das forças de esquerda e a sua articulação simbiótica com as forças governamentais que faz com que, ao contrário do esperado, nenhum dos atores recorra a ações violentas

Culture and urban development policies: beyond large metropolis

In a changing world, the role of culture in promoting development has become widely recognised as a means and resource for revitalising places, strengthening the identity and communities’ sense of belonging, boosting the culture economy, and legitimising the action of cultural and political elites and the implementation of new forms of governance. Alongside, the intrinsic value of culture has been discussed, associated with subjective and aesthetic experience and the improvement of individual and collective well-being. The vast literature, on this subject, focuses mainly on the processes that take place in large metropolises due to the concentration and diversity of resources, neglecting the initiatives undertaken in smaller cities. However, the interest in understanding the challenges of these urban centres has increased in the pursuit of a more sustainable and cohesive development in the European context, where they have a significant expression and a central role in urban-rural and centre-periphery relations. This research reflects on the values and roles attributed to culture in the urban planning strategies and development policies of four European small and medium-sized urban centres, situated in intermediate and rural regions, namely, Český Krumlov (Czech Republic); Jyväskylä (Finland); Óbidos (Portugal) and York (England). Given the complex nature of these processes, this study examined through a comparative and relational approach the dominant political discourses and practices, observing the structural conditions and developmental trajectories that shape and are shaped by the actors' agency. This should allow broader conclusions about the political action and cultural processes, and even about how we perceive the transformations that we are living.Num mundo em mudança, o papel da cultura na promoção do desenvolvimento passou a ser reconhecido amplamente, como meio e recurso para revitalizar os lugares, fortalecer a identidade e o sentido de pertença das comunidades, promover a economia da cultura, bem como, legitimar a ação das elites culturais e políticas e a implementação de novas formas de governança. Paralelamente, tem sido discutido o valor intrínseco da cultura, associado à experiência subjetiva e estética e à melhoria do bem-estar individual e coletivo. A vasta literatura sobre este assunto foca-se principalmente nos processos que ocorrem nas grandes metrópoles devido à concentração e diversidade de recursos, negligenciando as iniciativas empreendidas em cidades de menor dimensão. Contudo, o interesse em compreender os desafios destes centros urbanos aumentou na prossecução de um desenvolvimento mais sustentável e coeso no contexto europeu, onde apresentam uma expressão significativa e um papel central nas relações urbano-rural e centro-periferia. A investigação apresentada reflete sobre os valores e os papéis atribuídos à cultura nas estratégias de planeamento urbano e nas políticas de desenvolvimento de quatro centros urbanos de pequena e média dimensão europeus, localizados em regiões intermédias e rurais, designadamente: Český Krumlov (República Checa); Jyväskylä (Finlândia); Óbidos (Portugal) e York (Inglaterra). Dada a natureza complexa destes processos, este estudo procurou examinar, através de uma abordagem comparativa e relacional, os discursos e práticas políticas dominantes, observando as condições estruturais e as trajetórias de desenvolvimento que moldam e são moldadas pela ação dos atores, permitindo deduções mais amplas sobre a ação política e os processos culturais, e mesmo sobre o modo como percecionamos as transformações que estamos a viver

The role of the State : the question of fair access to higher education

Given the massive expansion of higher education systems around the world and the private benefits associated with obtaining a university degree, there is constant pressure on higher education sectors to ensure fair access to universities and colleges. Nonetheless, there is significant disagreement on what exactly constitutes fair access to higher education. This thesis presents two conflicting contemporary conceptions of social justice that have varying implications for the development and evaluation of existing access schemes. The analysis of three case studies, the United Kingdom, Germany and Portugal demonstrates that principles of both conceptions of justice can be found in today’s higher education systems. It is the aim of this thesis to elaborate on the practical implications of theoretical approaches of justice and to determine which of the analyzed countries has established a system of fair access to higher education

2nd Volume

Democracy and political practices are suffering a major shift. Political participation and deliberation take place in the context of strategically manipulated information. Opportunities to mobilize data, in order to reinforce manifestations of panic or alarm, are becoming more evident. Concepts such as "information", "agenda-setting " and "participation" are being challenged today by an almost belligerent mobilization of media resources. Recent developments on the recognition of women’s rights and promotion of new affirmative policies intended to improve gender equality coincides with an ever-increasing controversy around the concept of "political correctness". At the same time, while affirmations concerning human dignity appears to be progressively incorporated in political discourse, phenomena such as xenophobia, misogyny, racism, cultural, racial and ethnic confrontation, and, at the limit, the proliferation of genocides, rise to a previously unimaginable proportion and extent. Emphasis was placed on empirical and theoretical works involving relatively recent political debates, such as the creation of the "left majority" (or "geringonça") in Portugal; the Brexit; the Brazilian process; the American elections; the debates on the political correctness, the emergence of illiberal democracies and the political impact of migratory fluxes. Index Part 2 - Leadership, transgression, manipulation and new political campaigns - 9 Deliberative framings and the constitution of “Geringonça”: from media frames to readers’ comments. The case of “Observador” - 11 João Carlos Correia & Ricardo Morais Political communication and electoral strategy in Donald Trump´s Campaign - 37 José Antonio Abreu Colombri The Performance of Power and Citizenship: David Cameron meets the people in the 2016 Brexit campaign - 61 Peter Lunt Hungarian media policy 2010 – 2018: the illiberal shift - 81 Monika Metykova The agri is tech, the agri is pop, the agri is politics: the “rural world” and the rise of the agripolitician in Brazil - 97 Pedro Pinto Oliveira Part 3 - Identities and life politics in a hyper-mediated society - 113 Dystopian fiction as a means of impacting reality and initiating civic commitment among fans: “The Handmaid’s Tale” series case - 115 Marine Malet Australia’s immigration policy and the scapegoating of Lebanese migrants - 127 Mehal Krayem & Judith Betts The construction of feminine, technofeminism and technological paradox - 145 Êmili Adami Rossetti & Renata Loureiro Frade Educational Superavit: Human rights versus Education Policies - 159 Ana S. Moura, João Seixas, M. Natália D. S. Cordeiro & João Barreiros Aylan Kurdi as the awakening image of the refugee crisis:the framework of the Iberian press - 173 Rafael Manganainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Contesting Austerity

Despite the historical and political similarities between Portugal and Spain, the contentious responses to austerity diverged in terms of number, rhythm and players. This book compares the contentious responses to austerity in Portugal and Spain during the Eurozone crisis and the Great Recession between 2008 and 2015. While in Spain a sustained wave of mobilisation lasted for three years, involving various players and leading to a transformation of the party system, in Portugal social movements were only able to mobilise in specific instances, trade unions dominated protest and, by the end of the cycle, institutional change was limited. Contesting Austerity shows that the different trajectories and outcomes in these two countries are connected to the nature and configurations of the players in the mobilisation process. While in Spain actors’ relative autonomy from one another led to deeper political transformation, in Portugal the dominance of the institutional actors limited the extent of that change

“Everything was possible”: emotions and rerceptions of the past among former Portuguese antifascist activists

In this article, I analyze how former activists opposed to Estado Novo, Portugal's fascist regime, see their past, as well as the emotions and perceptions associated with it. I argue that what Antonio Costa Pinto called a “double legacy” shapes these activists' process of remembering. This means that the legacies of dictatorship in Portugal's consolidated democracy are strongly shaped by how it ended and by how democracy was implemented in the country—that is, through a revolution and a radical “cut with the past.” I use semistructured interviews and open questionnaires to study how former activists are affected by and contribute to building this double legacy. By adopting an interactionist perspective and by bridging the scholarship on transition and oral history, this research aims to strengthen the dialogue between social movement and memory studies, and also stresses the relevance of the co-construction of individual and collective memory.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Building Nations after Empire: Post-Imperial Migrations to Portugal in a Western European Context

Building on original research and dialoguing with scholarly works on Portugal, France and the United Kingdom, this article argues that decolonisation and migrations from the (former) colonies triggered and moulded a new, post-imperial nation-building in Western Europe. Analysing the highly significant but hitherto much-neglected case of Portugal in its broader Western European context, this claim is substantiated by surveying how these migrations affected citizenship and notions of the national community, the welfare state and public memories. Comparative and relational in its approach, the article links the histories of white ‘returnees’ from Portugal's African colonies after the 1974 Carnation Revolution to those of non-white ‘immigrants’, arguing that we must situate in the same analytical field all those who migrated from (formerly) colonised territories to the metropole during the drawn-out end of empire.publishedVersionPaid Open Acces

An Afro-Brazilian Landscape: African Oil Palms and Socioecological Change in Bahia, Brazil

Palm oil extracted from the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is the world’s most produced vegetable oil, commanding a roughly 50 billion dollar global industry. In contrast to the agroindustrial firms and monocultures that dominate global production, a biodiverse cultural landscape of African oil palms in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia has for centuries supplied local alimentary and spiritual demands for palm oil—an essential resource in Afro-Brazilian cultures. Drawing on fieldwork, ethnography, archives, GIScience, quantitative analysis, and travelers’, rare, and secondary accounts, this dissertation provides the first comprehensive study of Bahia’s palm oil landscapes, cultures, and economies. Analyzing seven centuries of social and ecological change, the study contributes to environmental histories of colonialism and the African diaspora, and advances theories and practices of agricultural development, environmental governance, and the politics of knowledge. Native to West Africa, African oil palms have supported cultures and economies on that continent for millennia. During colonial overseas expansion, Elaeis guineensis and its products traversed the Atlantic as early African contributions to the Columbian Exchange of beings, biota, and ideas. The palm’s subsequent diffusion in Bahia combined African traditions of palm oil production and consumption with European and Indigenous knowledges in the Americas to found and sustain diasporic Afro-Brazilian cultures and economies. This study examines the early and ongoing development of Bahia’s African oil palm cultures and landscapes, connecting transatlantic cultural, ecological, and economic circulations to reconstruct the emergence of an Afro-Brazilian landscape. Building on its historical analyses, the study culminates with an ethnography of Bahia’s contemporary palm oil economy. Integrating theories of resistance, development, and complexity, the final chapter maps the constituents of, and flows of power through, Bahia’s palm oil economy to scrutinize the modern policies and interventions that seek to redirect and control the network. The dissertation concludes by juxtaposing Bahia’s Afro-Brazilian landscape with the epistemological constraints of modern development. It argues that diasporic knowledges, such as those underpinning Bahia’s palm oil economy, represent potent but generally untapped fonts of place-based development practice with potential to transform global palm oil production and enact more viable and abundant forms of development