On the concept of Total Institution

This conceptual paper puts forward Goffman’s concept of total institution, a classic of sociology. It is concluded that this concept holds heuristic capacity, notwithstanding the great constraint of the action of its members, which, however, does not determine each actor’s margins of freedom, at least in the study carried out. Even in extreme situations, organisational actors discover or create spaces of (some) autonomy, in which they exercise their (even if highly regulated) freedom beyond the structure of the organisation, a fact that is acknowledged by Goffman himself

Book Review: Pensamento Sociológico. Uma Introdução Didática às Teorias Clássicas [Sociological Thought. A Didactic Introduction to Classical Theories]

This book review presents a handbook that addresses several classical authors in sociology, and that may be mobilized to be, with interest, clarity and pedagogical quality, a useful instrument in the teaching-learning process of some of the perspectives that contributed most to the institutionalization of sociology as form of specific knowledge. They are, even today, unavoidable for those who wish to deepen contemporary sociological view(s) of a pluri-paradigmatic science

As práticas educativas e o investimento escolar das famílias com a Doença de Machado-Joseph num contexto de risco

Comunicação apresentada no V Congresso Português de Sociologia, "Sociedades Contemporâneas: Reflexividade e Acção" (Atelier: Direito, Crime e Dependências), Universidade do Minho, Campus Gualtar, Braga em Maio 2004.Esta comunicação, assumindo a importância do trabalho educativo da família como um elemento central para um percurso escolar de sucesso, centra-se nas práticas educativas das famílias com a doença de Machado-Joseph, no desenvolvimento do processo educativo dos seus filhos e filhas enquanto alunos em situação de risco acrescido e na sua relação com o contexto educativo escolar. Os dados foram recolhidos através de entrevistas a dez doentes com filhos, a professores e a outros informantes privilegiados. O estudo permitiu concluir que os filhos destas famílias não vivem, necessariamente, histórias de fracasso escolar sendo incorrecta uma condenação precipitada destas práticas educativas familiares. Resulta da nossa análise que, diferentemente da imagem partilhada pelo senso comum, não podemos falar de uma realidade mas de realidades complexas e plurais, muito marcadas por diferenciações das práticas educativas familiares baseadas no género do filho e da posição deste na fratria, existindo traços comuns mas que não permitem uma generalização automática e linear

Comparison in Sociology

The relationship between comparison and sociology is a fundamental motive when deepening the forms of sociological research. This paper aims to contribute to the analysis of the importance of comparison, in several possible forms, in the creation and consolidation of sociological knowledge. To accomplish this goal, a documental collection and analysis of manuscripts deemed essential was carried out based on the snowball system, in which the reading of manuscripts referred to other manuscripts that, by their mobilization, seemed crucial on this topic. It is concluded that comparison is a process that is always present and it is essential in sociology, although sometimes in a more explicit way, and other times in a more implicit way

A Complex Relationship

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020The objective of this article is to contribute to the understanding and discussion of the relationship between human rights and tourism. This topic has emerged, above all, in the wake of the discussion on ethics and social responsibility, frequently in a very polarized way in some public debate, and in very generic and non-discussed terms in declarations of intergovernmental organizations. It takes more than that. Thus, our purpose is to analyze, systematize and discuss the main dimensions of the relationship between tourism and human rights. We offer two interrelated approaches: a more theoretical and philosophical reflection on cultural interaction, dignity and human rights; and another approach more related to observation and operationalization of the problem in the social practices, how intergovernmental organizations present and formalize those issues and what are the actors and the logics at play in tourism. Our main conclusion is that such a relationship is inescapably complex because of the nature of tourism and its intrinsic interactions, and because human rights are related to an unfinished debate of plural perspectives, principles and operationalizations.publishersversionpublishe

A paradoxical relationship

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020The objective of this paper is to discuss and contribute to the understanding of the relationship between tourism and cultural interaction, as well as the relationship between people of different cultural backgrounds in tourist context. The interaction between cultures framed by an ideal intercultural communication is frequently the center of a tourism discourse, promoting a possible heavenly world brought by tourism. This paper argues that its relationship is, by definition, problematic because of the complexities of the tourism and the cultural phenomena, clearly shown on the contemporary social and scientific debate about monoculturalism, multiculturalism and interculturalism, and the problems and paradoxes it entails. The discourses of international organizations on the specific subjects of cultural issues and relationships, having in mind their institutional roles, also reflect, in their choices and silences, the complexity of the subject. The main conclusion of this piece of research is that such a relationship is inescapably complex, and sometimes paradoxical and contradictory or irreducible due to the complex natures of tourism and intercultural communication themselves.publishersversionpublishe

Critical Literacy and Literacies

Literacy emerged as a concept that meant the application of reading, writing and numeracy skills in the individual’s everyday context. Nowadays, the concept of literacy takes on a central and multivariate dimension and is mobilized in several contexts, such as digital literacy, sustainability literacy and ocean literacy, just to name a few. This paper seeks to discuss these multiplicities of literacies through an approach supported in the critical literacy concept, as well as the implications of this stance

Domains, challenges and health devices

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020This article aims to understand the domains and uses of the various conceptual frameworks of contagion, its modalities and effects, in its different acceptations and historical contexts, as an expression of the process of interdependence between the stances and the different viewpoints of diverse actors involved with multiple scientific, moral, social and political challenges. Another objective focuses on understanding the process of collective management of contagion, disease and health, in which prevention is a critical element of its objectives and justifications, its discursive order and its practical activities.publishersversionpublishe

COVID-19 and social sciences

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020publishersversionpublishe

Literacy: Promoting Sustainability in a Digital Society

We increasingly live simultaneously immersed in physical interactions and in a world where the digital dimension is present at various levels, such as the social, economic and political ones. In this context, the relationship between the digital world and Sustainability is pivotal. This aim of this paper is to discuss, in a reasoned manner, the importance of literacy in the promotion of sustainability in a digital society. For this purpose, the results of a literature review will be mobilized, as well as our 20 years of experience in teaching and research in the fields of sociology, education and organizations, without forgetting the publications that we have on similar topics, which will be, whenever heuristically relevant, mobilized to substantiate and justify the arguments presented herein. The conclusions show that, in a reality where the digital involves many of the life dimensions—for example, in the form of Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0—the role of literacy and, in particular, digital literacy, are critical in the development of sustainability literacy. For this to be possible, significant training work must be carried out. Furthermore, it is not possible to assume that the access, the skills in its use and the benefits of this wonderful digital world will automatically be grasped and felt by all citizens, in an ideology that must be fought. Only in this way will it be possible to foster sustainability, which must necessarily be inclusive