School to Work Transition, Employment Attainment and VET. Theories Guide for Policy Makers

The employment attainment after a vocational training course, in a lifelong learning perspective is due to several factors, those inherent to the individual and those through exogenous scopes. In this theoretical revue we identify the most and the least notorious theories that can support policy maker’s decisions. This paper is a result of a subchapter of the author’s PhD thesis. The usefulness of the theories briefly described is under the reader’s verdict and judgment. The objective is barely to share a structured way to compare eleven “big groups” of theories, underneath ten different elements, that are commonly the aim of public and private policies.employment attainment, vocational training, job search methods, constraints factors, employment, unemployment

From Training to Labour Market. Holocletic Model.

The desired professional insertion (placement) after training is under the influence of personal and exogenous variables. In the present paper we identify the constraints and devices that, in an interactive way, can shape and affect the professional insertion. This paper is a result of a subchapter of the author’s PhD dissertation. The helpfulness of the meanings and definitions is clearly reliant on the study framework. We aim to provide to the reader a set of elements that help to distinguish, to compare and turn out accessible the eclectic dominant mainstream, in order to standardized, to clarify and to apply concepts in future research works and studies. We also suggest a study model with a different point of view.employment attainment, vocational training, job search methods, constraints factors, devices, employment, unemployment.

The Role of Overseas Chinese in Europe in Making China Global: The Case of Portugal

This paper aims at analysing the characteristics and dynamics of the Chinese business community in Portugal in the context of the growing phenomenon of Chinese migration flows to Portugal and to Europe. By means of original research based on primary data obtained through questionnaires and interviews applied to Chinese entrepreneurs and business associations the paper provides an in-depth analysis of the role that this community plays both as a facilitator of China’s integration in the world economy and a potential bridge between the European Union (EU) and China. The study concludes that the Chinese business community in Portugal is rather heterogeneous, dominated by immigrants from Zhejiang province, who operate predominantly in the service sector (retail and wholesale trade), taking advantage of the guanxi network within Europe so as to make use of the advantages of the European single market in order to consolidate competitive advantages. Moreover, this community plays a pro-active role in fostering China’s integration in the global economy by acting as windows for the penetration of Chinese exports on the one hand and by capturing and channelling foreign direct investment to China on the other hand.Chinese business community in Portugal; Overseas Chinese network (guanxi); EU Single Market; EU-China trade and investment relations

Percus-Yevick theory for the structural properties of the seven-dimensional hard-sphere fluid

The direct correlation function and the (static) structure factor for a seven-dimensional hard-sphere fluid are considered. Analytical results for these quantities are derived within the Percus-Yevick theoryComment: 3 pages, 2 tables, 1 figure; v2: minor changes; to be published in JC