Mobilizing Roe: The Political Life of a Decision, Beyond Abortion and Beyond Courts

Reviewing: Joshua C. Wilson - The New States of Abortion Politics; Mary Ziegler - Beyond Abortion: Roe v. Wade and the Battle for Privac

On Memory and Post-Truth: Through the Family Album

Facing an idea of post-truth, “post” as meaning to be beyond something, that signifies spatial distance, to go beyond the unrepresentable, this article means to understand the built memory around a constructed truth over a picture of a colonial priest also my great-grandfather of my Cape Verdean family, questioning the regime of truth in which it was made and the relationship within the truth production context. Taking this figure as a pretext to analyse the processes of memory, history and representation, it’s meant to understand an idea of truth

Journeys in meaning : Psychological adjustment to trauma in resettled syrian refugees

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Doctor in Philosophy, specialty in Clinical Psychology, to ISPA – Instituto Universitário, in 2022, with the supervision of Isabel Maria Pereira Leal, Crystal L. Park and Monica J. Indart. The present work was sponsored by a doctoral grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (ref.: SFRH/BD/129602/2017).The ability to make meaning of extreme events is a key determinant of psychological adjustment to trauma. Guided by Park’s (2010) integrated meaning-making model, the principal aim of this dissertation was to investigate the meaning-making experiences of resettled Syrian refugees and the impact of those experiences on posttraumatic adjustment. To this end, we conducted a mixed-methods cross-sectional study, with two phases of data collection and two independent samples. A total of 44 Syrian war-exposed adults living in urban communities across continental Portugal participated in Phase 1 Focus Groups (n = 2; 5 participants) and Phase 2 individual interviews (n = 39). Empirical results are described in Chapters 3 to 7. Key results identified: (1) exposure to significant meaning-shattering events pre-, during, and post-flight; (2) the centrality of pre-war global meanings related to identity, justice, control, God, expectations of normality, intact family and country, and peace to appraise the war and forced displacement; (3) situational appraisals as both intra- and interpersonal processes subject to revisiting with new trauma, new information, time, and context; (4) cognitive-specific, as well as immediate and gradual meaning violations; (5) determinants of search for meaning including cumulative stressors, availability of cognitive resources, stage of displacement, social support, coping strategies, and developmental age; (6) negative, positive, ambivalent, and unresolved meanings-made of trauma; and (7) psychological adjustment to refugee trauma as a continuum of responses, from distress to perceptions of growth. Findings suggest that meaning-making of refugee trauma entails a set of concurrent, dynamic, cognitive-specific trajectories that are informed by place and sociopolitical context, and thus prone to be repeatedly revisited. Findings further challenge the concept of successful psychological adjustment to trauma as an end-state. This work highlights the need to promote adaptive meaning-making as an integrated experience that prioritizes repairing the meanings most severely challenged by war, including sense of justice, belonging, control, as well as the possibility of a peaceful and safe future.O processo de atribuição de sentido a acontecimentos extremos é um determinante-chave do ajustamento psicológico ao trauma. Tendo por base o modelo teórico integrado de atribuição de sentido (Park, 2010), este trabalho teve como principal objetivo investigar os processos de atribuição de sentido em refugiados sírios reinstalados, bem como o impacto desses processos no ajustamento pós-traumático. Para tal, foi realizado um estudo transversal, de métodos mistos, com duas fases de recolha de dados e duas amostras independentes. Um total de 44 sobreviventes de guerra sírios, adultos, reinstalados em diferentes cidades portuguesas, participaram em Grupos Focais (Fase 1; n = 2, 5 participantes) e em entrevistas individuais (Fase 2; n = 39). Os Capítulos 3 a 7 descrevem os resultados empíricos. Os principais resultados identificaram: (1) exposição a números significativos de acontecimentos potencialmente traumáticos antes, durante e após a fuga; (2) centralidade de sentidos globais (i.e., global meanings) relativos a identidade, justiça, controlo, Deus, expectativas de normalidade, família e país intactos, e paz, na avaliação das experiências de guerra e migração forçada; (3) avaliações situacionais (i.e., situational meanings) enquanto processos tanto intrínsecos como extrínsecos, reavaliados com exposição a novos traumas, a nova informação, com o tempo e contexto; (4) violações de sentido (i.e., meaning violations) tanto imediatas como progressivas e que afetam cognições específicas; (5) determinantes de procura de sentido, incluindo stressores cumulativos, disponibilidade de recursos cognitivos, período migratório, suporte social, estratégias de evitamento e idade; (6) sentidos atribuídos ao trauma (i.e., meanings-made) negativos, positivos, ambivalentes e incompletos; e (7) ajustamento psicológico ao trauma associado à experiência de refúgio como um continuum de respostas, que vão do distress a perceções de crescimento psicológico. Os resultados sugerem que a atribuição de sentido ao trauma associado à experiência de refúgio inclui um conjunto de trajetórias paralelas, dinâmicas e relativas a cognições específicas, que são informadas pelo contexto sociopolítico e lugar e, como tal, propensas a serem repetidamente reavaliadas. Por outro lado, os resultados desafiam conceitos de ajustamento psicológico positivo enquanto processo com um fim definido. Este estudo destaca a necessidade de promover processos adaptativos de atribuição de sentido enquanto experiência integrada, que priorize a reparação das estruturas cognitivas mais severamente danificadas pelo trauma, incluindo sentido de justiça, pertença, controlo, bem como a expectativa de um futuro em paz e segurança

An R package for inference and prediction in an illness-death model

Multi-state models are a useful way of describing a process in which an individual moves through a number of nite states in continuous time. The illness-death model plays a central role in the theory and practice of these models, describing the dynamics of healthy subjects who may move to an intermediate `diseased' state before entering into a terminal absorbing state. In these models one important goal is the modeling of transition rates which is usually done by studying the relationship between covariates and disease evolution. However, biomedical researchers are also interested in reporting other interpretable results in a simple and summarized manner. These include estimates of predictive probabilities, such as the transition probabilities, occupation probabilities, cumulative incidence functions, prevalence and the sojourn time distributions. An R package was built providing answers to all these topics

An exploratory study about Portuguese Music Festivals’ Word-of-Mouth (WOM)

Music festivals are crucial events in the Portuguese live show structure. There are hundreds per year, diverse in dimension, territory and musical genre, attracting millions of festivalgoers, who talk with their friends and family about it. Due to the social and experiential characteristics of music festivals, it is significantly important to find out how WOM is affecting their communication. There is a lack of research about which information and content constitutes Portuguese music festival’s WOM, through which channels it is spread, who is more susceptible of engaging in it, and how it can affect audiences. This dissertation aims to provide insights on this behalf. It is based on literature relating music festivals with marketing strategies, more specifically on word-of-mouth. It also analyzes the impact of content circulation on social media pages, affecting music festivals’ communication. A complementary purpose of this paper is to examine if the results vary according to type of festival and with audience demographic characteristics. Data were collected concerning six Portuguese music festivals – NOS Alive, Vodafone Paredes de Coura, NEOPOP, Festival Músicas do Mundo, EDPCOOLJAZZ and MUSA Cascais – through a web-based survey which gathered 288 respondents. The results show that information related with the lineup and useful details about the festival organization are the topics that festivalgoers search the most. What they prefer to share are visual memories from past editions, information about the lineup and content produced in real time during the event. Social media pages are their favorite channel to engage in both input and output WOM. By doing so, festivalgoers are also co-producers, acting as brand ambassadors of music festivals. The results also show that satisfied and recurrent festivalgoers are more propense of engaging in output WOM. Most of them were influenced by friends or relatives to attend the event. There were no big discrepancies between festivalgoers and non-festivalgoers’ perceptions towards the event. Other finding is that non-festivalgoers also engage in WOM. Even though advertising is the primary communication channel raising awareness about Portuguese music festivals, WOM also plays a significant role in regard to this matter.Os festivais de música desempenham um papel fundamental na estrutura dos espetáculos ao vivo em Portugal. Existem centenas destes eventos por ano, diversos em dimensão, território, e género musical, atraindo milhões de festivaleiros que partilham as experiências vividas com os seus amigos e familiares. Devido às suas características sociais e experienciais, é relevante analisar o papel do passa-a-palavra na comunicação dos festivais de música em Portugal. Pouco se sabe sobre este tema. Qual a informação e conteúdo que o constitui, através de que canais se espalha, quem é mais suscetível de se envolver nesse processo, e qual o impacto que tem nas audiências. A presente dissertação pretende fornecer conhecimentos nesse sentido. Foca também o impacto que a circulação de conteúdos tem nas redes sociais, afetando a comunicação dos festivais de música. Um propósito adicional é o de investigar se os resultados obtidos variam consoante o tipo de festival e as características demográficas dos participantes. Foram recolhidos dados relativos a seis festivais de música portugueses - NOS Alive, Vodafone Paredes de Coura, NEOPOP, Festival Músicas do Mundo, EDPCOOLJAZZ e MUSA Cascais – através de um formulário online que reuniu 288 respostas válidas. Os resultados demonstram que os festivaleiros procuram maioritariamente informação sobre o cartaz e detalhes úteis acerca da organização do festival. O que preferem partilhar são memórias visuais de edições anteriores, conteúdo produzido em tempo real e informação sobre o programa. As redes sociais são o seu meio favorito neste processo. Ao produzir e partilhar este tipo de conteúdo, os festivaleiros agem como embaixadores destes eventos. Os resultados demonstram ainda que os festivaleiros regulares e satisfeitos são os mais propensos a partilhar dados acerca do evento. A maioria foi influenciada por amigos ou familiares a frequentar o festival. Não houve grandes discrepâncias entre as perceções dos festivaleiros e dos restantes inquiridos. Os participantes que não foram aos eventos em análise, também se envolveram no passa-a-palavra. Apesar de a publicidade ter sido o principal meio de divulgação dos festivais de música em Portugal, o passa-a-palavra também se revelou importante nesse sentido

Assessing deviations to the ΛCDM model: the importance of model-independent approaches

The remarkable improvement of the accuracy of cosmological data in the last years has provided tight constraints on the parameters of the ΛCDM model. For example, gravitational-wave events have confirmed that the speed of gravity is very close to the speed of light. This result has ruled out several modified gravity models. The remaining allowed models are nearly indistinguishable from the standard ΛCDM in data comparison. One approach to discriminate models is to use estimators built for that purpose, as, for example, a model-independent determination of the anisotropic-stress parameter. From this estimator, one can infer if the perfect fluid approximation done in General Relativity is valid, testing any theory that includes this approximation. In this dissertation, we use the latest available data from several cosmological probes and three different methods to reconstruct the anisotropic stress parameter in a model-independent way. Our conclusions depend mildly on the data reconstruction method but agree at the 2σ level. The resulting anisotropic stress may rule out standard gravity within a 1-2σ level depending on the method or redshift. An important question is how the amount of information in the data can be measured. Ideally, we would like to quantify the degree of belief in ΛCDM. In this dissertation, we tackle these questions by using information theory. We compute the entropy of model parameters for specific cosmological probes. We compare this approach with the widely-used Fisher matrix, typically computed when forecasting future large-scale structure surveys. The uncertainties on each parameter are obtained and thus the quality of the data is usually associated with certain properties of the Fisher matrix. Information entropies can also measure how different combinations of cosmological probes constrain the parameters of a model. The same procedure is applied to the recently found data tensions, and it can be used in case of model comparison. Information entropies can be extremely useful due to its analytical expressions if a Gaussian distribution is assumed but a generalization to any distribution is possible. The main message of this dissertation is that new ways of testing gravity are needed, specifically with the decreasing uncertainty in cosmological datasets and the appearance of discrepancies between datasets. We need to better discriminate competing theories. This can be done through estimators that should not rely on a specific scenario. Another possibility is to find a different perspective on statistical inference, which is particularly useful in order to re-evaluate the assumptions done in data reduction

Risco, segurança e criminalidade: o suspeito "transnacional"

Face ao incremento da mobilidade de pessoas no espaço da União Europeia (UE) e a uma escala global, a criminalidade transnacional apresenta-se, cada vez mais, como uma fonte de preocupação política. De forma a dar resposta a potenciais riscos para a segurança pública, tecnologias forenses, como o DNA, têm sido mobilizadas no âmbito de práticas governamentais de expansão de bases de dados de informação que visam vigiar e controlar populações e indivíduos “suspeitos”. A este respeito destaca-se o facto de a UE ter criado um sistema transnacional para partilha automatizada de informação genética forense com vista a prevenir e combater a criminalidade organizada e transfronteiriça, o terrorismo e a imigração ilegal. Com base numa análise de documentos de natureza diversa destinados a debater a criminalidade transfronteiriça no espaço Europeu, a presente comunicação visa compreender significados morais e políticos de gestão do risco e de populações suspeitas. Os dados revelam que a monitorização transnacional de "populações suspeitas" envolve a produção de uma ampla gama de “novas” formas de controlo social que atuam sob a égide da neutralidade da ciência e tecnologia, pelas quais são (re)construídas categorias que agregam novas e “velhas” formas de suspeição e discriminação. De processos de materialização e quantificação da criminalidade transfronteiriça emergem categorizações de suspeição que reproduzem conceções dominantes de risco e segurança pública, ao mesmo tempo que vulnerabilizam os grupos sociais mais afetados por desigualdades económicas e políticas.In view of the increasing mobility of people in European Union (EU) area and on a global scale, transnational criminality has been increasingly presented as a source of political concern. In order to respond to potential threats to public safety, forensic technologies, such as DNA, have been mobilized under governmental practices of expansion of databases that aim to monitor and control “suspect” populations and individuals. In this regard we outline how EU has created a transnational system for automated sharing of forensic genetic information to prevent and combat organized and cross-border criminality, terrorism and illegal immigration. Based on an analysis of various types of documents intended to discuss cross-border crime in the European space, this communication aims to understand the moral and political meanings associated with risk management and with suspicious populations. The data shows that the transnational monitoring of "suspicious populations" involve the production of a wide range of "new" forms of social control that operate under the aegis of the neutrality of science and technology, by which categories that aggregate new and "old" forms of suspicion and discrimination are (re)constructed. From the materialization and quantification processes of cross-border criminality emerge categorizations of suspicion that reproduce dominant conceptions of risk and public safety that accentuate the vulnerability of the social groups most affected by economic and political inequalities

Portuguese migrants in Rio de Janeiro: exploring identity ambivalences through food practices

This article discusses the role of food and food circulation in contemporary migration. Based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in Rio de Janeiro in 2014 with young Portuguese immigrant families who have entered the country recently, the article focuses on their dominant perceptions and values concerning local food practices, as well as their routines on food selection, acquisition, preparation, and consumption to examine and discuss the group’s strategies of belonging and positioning in Brazil. Moreover, this discussion also explores the centrality of food in the evocation of origin and its relevance among the things that circulate across the Atlantic Ocean, following the same route the families travelled.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How to Commercialize GETbizz : the new Database Marketing Platform Solution

Engaging in Customer Relationship Management practices is crucial in today’s business world. Strengthening business relations with clients and increasing customer loyalty are ones of companies´ priorities. GETbizz is a software that enables such practices by managing final clients’ database, establishing automated and personalized communications via SMS and email and even measuring the Return On Investment (ROI) of marketing campaigns. The present dissertation aims to reveal which could be the best commercialization strategy for GETbizz and its implementation on the market. With the purpose of understanding the software industry and analyzing the best recommendations for the launch of GETbizz, a benchmark was performed on this market. Furthermore, questionnaires to both current and potential clients’ of GETbizz were conducted so that the recommendations to the company were aligned with the targeted customer. Lastly, interviews with three different experts from renowned companies had taken place in order to get some industry’s insights. To successfully implement GETbizz in the market it seemed crucial to design structured segmentation, commercialization, pricing and placement approaches and the present thesis aims to unveil such strategies.Exercer práticas de Gestão de Relacionamento com o Cliente é essencial no mundo dos negócios de hoje. Fortalecer as relações comerciais com os consumidores e aumentar a fidelização de clientes são umas das prioridades das empresas atualmente. O GETbizz é um software que permite tais práticas através da gestão de base de dados de clientes, criação de comunicações automatizadas e personalizadas via SMS e email e, até mesmo, através da medição do Retorno do Investimento das campanhas de marketing. A presente dissertação visa revelar qual a melhor estratégia de comercialização para o GETbizz e a sua implementação no mercado. Com o propósito de conhecer a indústria dos softwares e analisar as melhores recomendações para o lançamento do GETbizz, foi feita uma análise de benchmarking. Adicionalmente, foram realizados questionários para os atuais e potencias clientes da plataforma, de modo a que as recomendações à empresa estivessem alinhadas com as expectativas do cliente-alvo. Por fim, entrevistas com três diferentes especialistas de empresas de renome tiveram lugar com o intuito de aprofundar o conhecimento da indústria. Para vitoriosamente implementar o GETbizz no mercado é fundamental desenhar-se uma segmentação e comercialização estruturadas, bem como, uma estratégia de preços e abordagem ao cliente personalizadas. A presente tese pretende revelar tais estratégias

An R package for determining groups in multiple survival curves

Survival analysis includes a wide variety of methods for analyzing time-to-event data. One basic but important goal in survival analysis is the comparison of survival curves between groups. Several nonparametric methods have been proposed in the literature to test for the equality of survival curves for censored data. When the null hypothesis of equality of curves is rejected, leading to the clear conclusion that at least one curve is different, it can be interesting to ascertain whether curves can be grouped or if all these curves are different from each other. We present the R clustcurv package which allows determining groups with an automatic selection of their number. The applicability of the proposed method is illustrated using real data