Sociological reflections on E-government

The objective of this paper is to present dimensions of sociological analysis that allow a more comprehensive and interpretative analysis of e-government. This effort will contribute to a more critical analysis of its implementation, chosen devices and assessment. The analytical dimensions presented are: (i) citizenship models; (ii) metatheoretical frameworks on society and technology; (iii) the concept of e-government and its articulated domains. It intends to demonstrate that the choice between options of each dimension contributes for different kinds of e-government and results. The e-government is not a neutral issue. The citizenship model adopted, in a very incisive way, makes all the difference in the conception, design, working and results of e-government. The theoretical framework that is underlying to e-government shapes also its design, working and results. But the devices chosen per se are insufficient to characterize an e-government, as their potentialities can be used in a completely different way by people and rulers. Research and projects on e-government are principally focused in e-administration, underestimate e-democracy and e-society that have been analysed in a separate way, which makes difficult a more comprehensive and all-encompassing analysis and assessment of e-government

Surveillance: a (potential) threat to political participation?

Despite efforts of several authors, surveillance is nowadays yet sparsely understood, although surveillance has increasing impacts in our lives. The purpose of this paper is to point out, from a theoretical point of view, the threats that surveillance presents to political participation (and by consequence, to democracy) in digital societies. Current researches present the threats of surveillance to democracy focusing mainly in democracy-privacy trade-offs. Such debate, on the one hand, circumscribes the issue to a great extent to choosing the rulers and the kind of political regime, which does not allow a broader analysis of citizen participation in all spheres of public life in their daily life. On the other hand, the current debates seem put a little aside from the main issue: it is not the loss of privacy, but the loss of autonomy that challenges participation (and by consequence, democracy); although nowadays the threats to autonomy proceed mainly from the loss of privacy

Sistemas regionales de innovación en Portugal : una evaluación crítica

Innovation has moved to the foreground in regional policy in the three last decades. Public policies have been shaped by «best practice models» derived from high-tech urban-metropolitan areas and successful regions. However, lessons learned from these examples are rarely transferable elsewhere. The regional innovation systems in peripheral regions, and the likelihood of their acting as instruments for territorial competitiveness, have rarely been the subjects of discussion. The main objective of the article is precisely to take Portugal as an example to enrich this analysis. The first part of this article examines the concept of regional innovation systems against the background of modern theories of innovation and regional policies. It is argued that the role of localized learning is of strategic importance in the promotion of endogenous regional development. The authors then discuss the structural barriers and opportunities to promote regional innovation strategies in the Portuguese political, economic and social context, and, finally, they point out some specificities that need to be addressed in the redesign of public interventions in order to improve regional competitiveness and sustainability.La innovación ha pasado a primer plano en la política regional en las tres últimas décadas. Las políticas públicas han sido diseñadas por los «modelos de mejores prácticas» derivadas de las zonas urbano-metropolitanas de alta tecnología y regiones exitosas. Sin embargo, las lecciones aprendidas de estos ejemplos son raramente transferibles a otras partes. Los sistemas regionales de innovación en las regiones periféricas, y la posibilidad de su actuación como instrumentos de competitividad territorial, rara vez han sido objeto de discusión. El objetivo principal del artículo es, precisamente, tener a Portugal como un ejemplo para enriquecer este análisis. En la primera parte de este artículo se examina el concepto de sistemas de innovación regional en el contexto de las modernas teorías de la innovación y de las políticas regionales. Se argumenta que el papel del aprendizaje localizado es de importancia estratégica en la promoción del desarrollo regional endógeno. Luego, los autores discuten las barreras estructurales y oportunidades para promover estrategias regionales de innovación en el contexto político, económico y social portugués, y, por último, se señalan algunas especificidades que deben ser abordadas en el rediseño de las intervenciones públicas con el fin de mejorar la competitividad regional y la sostenibilidad

Novos actores na participação para o desenvolvimento

En un contexto marcado por una fuerte tradición centralizadora como es el caso de Portugal, las políticas de desarrollo del país tienden a ser marcadas por la herencia del pensamiento keynesiano que atribuye al “Estado providencial” la responsabilidad directa en la definición e implementación de un modelo global para el desarrollo. El propio desarrollo local continua fuertemente dependiente de las medidas definidas a nivel central y posteriormente diseminada con adaptaciones eventuales en cada región, en cada población, en cada realidad concreta de la que el PDR (Plano de Desarrollo Regional) un ejemplo reciente.In a context marked by a strong centralist tradition, as is the case of Portugal, the country's development policies tend to be marked by the legacy of the Keynesian view that attaches to the "providential State" the direct responsibility for the definition and implementation of a comprehensive model for development. The own local development continues to be strongly dependent on the measures defined at the central level and subsequently disseminated with any adjustments in each region, in every village and concrete reality of which the PDR (Level of Regional Development) is a recent example.Num contexto marcado por uma forte tradição centralizadora como é o caso de Portugal, as políticas de desenvolvimento para o País tém continuado a ser marcadas pela herença do pensamento keynesiano, que atribui ao "Estado Providéncia" a responsabilidade directa na definição e implementação de um modelo global para o desenvolvimento. O próprio Desenvolvimento Local continua fortemente dependente de medidas definidas ao nível central, e posteriormente disseminadas, com eventuais adaptaçóes, a cada regiáo, a cada população-alvo, a cada realidade concreta, de que o PDR (Plano de Desenvolvimento Regional) é um exemplo tecente

Regional Innovation Dilemmatic Policy-Making: between Misconceptions and Missing Conceptions

Regions are widely recognised as playing a fundamental role in the promotion of the knowledge economy, but most research has been focusing on diagnosing territorial archetypes, their dynamics peculiarities, as well as their drivers of innovation and innovative performance. Less attention has been paid on establishing a linkage between these theoretical foundations and the design of a policy framework and guidelines to promote regional innovation ina systemic way. Based on a vast theoretical research and on the analysis of empirical evidence, the main objective of this article is precisely to discuss this issue in the light of the mainstream theoretical frameworks that enable a better understanding of the relationship innovation-territory, analysing, also, the main criticisms those approaches are arising among some scholars. This article will present a discussion of the main approaches that constitute the theoretical corpus of the so-called territorial innovation models, pointing out to some of their main ambiguities, misconceptions and conceptual gaps and, lastly, will integrate this reflexion into an alternative framework proposal for a new generation of regional innovation policy.Les régions sont largement reconnues comme jouant un rôle fondamental dans la promotion de l'économie de la connaissance, mais la plupart des recherches se sont concentrées sur le diagnostic des archétypes territoriaux, leurs particularités dynamiques, ainsi que leurs moteurs d'innovation et de performance innovante. Une attention moindre a été accordée à l'établissement d'un lien entre ces fondements théoriques et la conception d'un cadre politique et de lignes directrices pour promouvoir l'innovation régionale de manière systémique. Sur la base d'une vaste recherche théorique et de l'analyse de preuves empiriques, le principal objectif de cet article est précisément de discuter de cette question à la lumière des cadres théoriques traditionnels qui permettent une meilleure compréhension de la relation innovation-territoire, en analysant, également, les principales critiques soulevées par ces approches chez certains chercheurs. Cet article présentera une discussion des principales approches qui constituent le corpus théorique des modèles d'innovation territoriale, soulignant leurs principales ambiguïtés, idées fausses et lacunes conceptuelles et, enfin, intégrera cette réflexion dans une proposition de cadre alternatif pour une nouvelle génération de politique d'innovation régionale.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Control of biofilms using surfactants: persistence and regrowth

The action of the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), respectively, a cationic and an anionic surfactant were investigated to control mature biofilms formed under turbulent and laminar flow, by P.fluorescens. The sanitizer action of the surfactants on biofilms was assessed by means of respiratory activity and variation of biofilm mass, immediately, 3, 7 and 12 h after the treatment of the chemicals. The latter experimental times were tested in order to assess the biofilm regrowth. The structure of the biofilms was assessed before and after surfactant treatment by SEM. The results showed that, laminar biofilms were more susceptible to the action of CTAB than those formed under turbulent flow. Concerning SDS, both biofilms showed analogous susceptibility to the surfactants. However, total inactivation of the cells within the biofilms was not achieved for both types of biofilms. CTAB application by itself did not promoted the detachment of biofilms from the surface. Regarding SDS, higher concentrations applied promoted significant biofilm inactivation. Turbulent and laminar flow had analogous susceptibility to SDS application. However, SDS did not promoted the detachment of biofilms from the metal surfaces. The structure of the biofilms was changed after the application of both surfactants. It was found that after CTAB and SDS application, the biofilms recovered its respiratory activity, reaching, in same situations, higher values than the ones found before chemical treatment. The CTAB application promoted similar recovery in the respiratory activity for both biofilms. Concerning biofilm behaviour after SDS treatment, turbulent biofilms showed a higher potential to recover their metabolic activity than laminar biofilms. Biofilm mass did not experienced any significant variation after the treatment, for both surfactants tested. This study highlights the need of care in choosing the correct procedure for biofilm control and the recalcitrant properties of biofilms.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT