Rethinking the practice of accountability journalism in the digital age. The inception and development of the first Portuguese university-based investigative journalism centre and whistleblowing platform

At a time of worrying change, when Western traditional media outlets appear to be engulfed by the collapse of the advertising-based business model and can hardly bear the strain brought about by new technologies, the present study identifies an increasing information deficit as regards quality accountability reporting. Taking up Duffield and Cokley’s challenge to change in response to the demands of the time, the present paper supports the development of VALQUIRIA, at https://valquiria.org, a transmedia, multiplatform investigative journalism project integrated in the Faculty for Humanities and Social Sciences of the NOVA University of Lisbon. Valquíria, adopting a new sustainable media model, represents the very first attempt in Portugal to create a completely independent space for the education of investigative journalists, the assistance to foreign and local reporters, the production and diffusion of accountability reporting, technological products and innovative practices which can aid the profession. Featuring a vibrant crowd-sourcing and collaborative policy, its ultimate aim is to reinvigorate and enhance the practice of accountability journalism in Portugal, proving its urgency for preserving and guarding a healthy democracy. To change even more the traditional paradigm of public interest journalism, the project features a whistleblowing platform called PTLeaks: built in cooperation with the HERMES Center for Transparency and Digital Human rights, it is the first Portuguese GlobaLeaks initiative applied to investigative journalism

STUDIO IDROBIOLOGICO DELL'AREA MARINA COSTIERA COMPRESA TRA MARINA DI CARRARA E MONTEROSSO:CARATTERISTICHE IDROLOGICHE, CONDIZIONI TROFICHE, BIOMASSA E POPOLAMENTI FITOPLANCTONICI

La tesi, svolta presso il Centro Ricerche Ambiente Marino ENEA di S.Teresa, è finalizzata alla caratterizzazione della zona costiera prospiciente il litorale compreso tra Marina di Carrara e Punta Mesco. L'area di studio comprende il tratto di mare costiero della costa settentrionale Toscana (Marina di Carrara,la zona di Bocca di Magra (Sp) ed il paraggio del Promontorio di Punta Mesco che delimita a Nord l'area marina protetta delle Cinque Terre. Sono stati acquisiti dati idrologici ed effettuate misure biologiche e chimico-fisiche durante la campagna oceanografica denominata “MARMES”, effettuata tra il 13 ed il 15 settembre 2005. Scopo di questo tesi era di fornire una caratterizzazione delle principali proprietà idrobiologiche al fine di valutare l'apporto fluviale del Magra e l'influenza degli eventuali effetti dell’attività antropica e se fossero tali da causare differenze significative all'interno dell'area di studio. A tal fine sono stati determinati i principali parametri fisico-chimici delle acque (temperatura, salinità, ossigeno disciolto, densità, fluorescenza, clorofilla a) e i loro andamenti spaziali entro la zona eufotica; la concentrazione dei nutrienti (nitrati, fosfati, silicati e nitriti) e i loro andamenti spaziali entro la zona eufotica; il popolamento fitoplanctonico e la distribuzione spaziale delle specie. Tra i vari risultati ottenuti è da segnalare la presenza di un termoclino piuttosto profondo in tutta l'area di studio che si caratterizza anche per concentrazioni di nutrienti non particolarmente elevate, a conferma della caratteristica oligotrofia del Mar Ligure. L'influenza del fiume Magra è risultata modesta e ha determinato, limitatamente alla sua foce, le massime concentrazioni di clorofilla a, stima della biomassa fitoplanctonica, della fascia costiera. Per quanto riguarda la composizione del fitoplancton, la distribuzione delle specie risulta abbastanza omogenea con maggiore presenza delle Peridinee seguite dalla Diatomee, le quali risultano quantitativamente prevalenti. La densità delle alghe unicellulari diminuisce da costa verso largo ed è stata evidenziata la fase terminale, peraltro piuttosto modesta, di un bloom fitoplanctonico per lo più monospecifico ad opera della Diatomea Asterionellopsis glacialis nella zona di influenza del Magra. In sintesi è stato possibile affermare che, sia per le caratteristiche ambientali che per quelle biologiche, l'area marina costiera compresa tra Marina di Carrara e Punta Mesco è scarsamente perturbata da influenze antropiche e presenta la generale oligotrofia del Mar Ligure

Nuevas formas de relación entre ciencia e industria: los centros de investigación colaborativa en el sistema español de I+D

Esta tesis doctoral se ocupa de los nuevos modelos organizativos que han surgido durante las últimas décadas para facilitar las relaciones de colaboración entre el sector científico y el sector industrial con fines innovadores. Se trata de tendencias globales que, sin embargo, pueden adquirir características particulares en función del contexto, debido a que estas organizaciones suelen ser el resultado de políticas nacionales o regionales para la innovación. El estudio se centra en un tipo de organización en particular, los centros de investigación colaborativa (CIC), acotando el ámbito de investigación al caso de España. El objetivo de la investigación es analizar el proceso de producción de conocimiento científico y tecnológico en estos centros; para ello, se describen y clasifican los modelos de organización del trabajo de los CIC, prestando especial atención al problema que constituye el tipo de recursos humanos empleados y su efecto en la producción de ciencia y tecnología. El estudio emplea diferentes fuentes de información, tanto de tipo bibliográfico como de encuesta, que son analizadas mediante distintos tipos de técnicas estadísticas y de revisión documental. En las conclusiones del estudio se formulan algunas sugerencias para la gestión de las políticas de innovación en España. Asimismo, se delinean algunas de las implicaciones para los estudios sociales sobre ciencia, tecnología e innovación

Organizational Innovations in the Public Science Sector: An International Comparison of Cooperative Research Programs

This research is about the transformation of the organization of R&D activities in the public sector. We conceptualize such changes as intentional organizational innovations aimed to foster the collaboration between science and industry, improving the flexibility of the organizational model and strengthen the connection between research and society. We focus on the case of innovative public programs for cooperative research around the world. Through a brief review of the literature, we discuss a typology that has been proposed for classifying cooperative research programs and organizations based on two dimensions: institutional embeddedness and firm participation. We test the validity of such typology through an international comparison of policies and programs including countries from Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. Our findings show that, despite many cross-countries differences, there are also some common trends that can be partially captured by the proposed typology. Other implications for studying organizational innovations in public research are discussed

Transformando las prácticas de evaluación en las agencias de innovación para fomentar transiciones hacia la sostenibilidad

The aim of the study is to identify different styles and practices for evaluation of innovation policies based on different orientations, focusing on the case of the paradigm of transformative change to foster transitions towards sustainability, and the problems associated with its application. The study is exploratory, and it uses public funding agencies for innovation as strategic research settings. Based on the information provided by the experience of an international consortium participated by funding agencies from different countries, the main concepts and problems presented in the theoretical debate are illustrated. Finally, the main contributions of the study to the theory and practice of evaluating innovation policies are discussed from a sociological perspective

Flow stability in a wide vaneless diffuser

Abstract This work is concerned with the theoretical aspects of flow stability in a two dimensional vaneless diffuser. Specifically, the appearance of self-excited oscillations, also referred to as rotating stall, is investigated considering a two-dimensional inviscid flow in an annulus. We consider a linear perturbation method, taking as basic flow the steady potential velocity field whose radial and tangential components are inversely proportional to the radial coordinate. We show that such flow may become unstable to small two-dimensional perturbations provided that the ratio between the inlet tangential velocity and the radial one is sufficiently large and a certain amount of vorticity is injected in the flow field. Such an instability is purely kinematical, i.e. it does not involve any boundary layer effects, contrary to the classical hypothesis which ascribes the instability to a peculiar boundary layers interaction

La evolución de la gobernanza de las políticas de innovación en España: el caso de la colaboración entre ciencia e industria

This research is about the change of paradigm in innovation policies that have been taking place in the last decades, describing the turn toward a model based on the collaboration between science and industry. The aim of the study is to analyse the evolution of innovation policies undertaken in Spain, for discovering if such process fit with the scheme prescribed by theory. Through a bibliographic and documentary review, we identify three main phases of development for cross-sector collaborative relationships in Spain; such phases progressively converge on a more integrated model of knowledge transfer. Nevertheless, we also observe an increasing relevance of regional governments, contributing to the emergence of a complex multilevel governance system of innovation policies.Esta investigación se ocupa del cambio de paradigma en las políticas de innovación que ha tenido lugar en las últimas décadas, describiendo el giro hacia un modelo fundamentado en la colaboración entre el sector científico y el sector industrial. El objetivo de la investigación es analizar el caso de la evolución de las políticas de innovación que se han emprendido en España para averiguar si hay una correspondencia con el esquema previsto por la teoría. A partir de la revisión bibliográfica y documental, identificamos tres etapas principales de desarrollo de las relaciones de colaboración intersectorial en España, que representan efectivamente un progresivo acercamiento hacia un modelo más integrado de transferencia de conocimiento. Sin embargo, observamos también un protagonismo creciente por parte de los gobiernos autonómicos, que contribuye a la definición de un complejo sistema multinivel de gobernanza de las políticas de innovación