On the Political Aspects of Unemployment: The Case of Election Results

Unemployment is related to economic, political and social aspects. One of the least analysed political aspects is the relationship that, from a partisan or ideological perspective, should exist between the election results and the aging level of the voters, which is to be reflected in different electoral costs of unemployment. This chapter updates previous work on the subject, using a spatial econometrics methodology to estimate the relationship between the levels of aging and the election results that were obtained in the most recent elections that took place in Portugal, i.e. the October 2015 legislative elections. The results confirm the hypothesis that the level of unemployment involves a higher (resp. lower) electoral cost the less (resp. more) aged is the electorate.

Social Representations of Violence against the Elderly

The repercussions of violence on the mental, social, and physical well-being of the elderly are some of the most challenging problems in public health today. Using a qualitative design, we conducted a study in Portugal and the United States that applied both descriptive and comparative methods in order to understand the social representations of violence against the elderly. Utilizing the Theory of Social Representations, we explored the perspectives of the elderly, their families, and healthcare professionals on the subject of violence against the elderly. The data on which the findings were based were obtained in two very different cultural contexts, yet the representations of violence against the elderly revealed no significant cross-cultural differences. However, conceptualizations regarding expectations of care and protection for the elderly proved to be distinct. We discussed concerns about the general attitudes of tolerance toward violence, including those of the elderly who self-identified as eventual victims. Violence against the elderly was portrayed as a part of old age and also somehow was justified by it. The results also indicated the need to better prepare healthcare professionals and society in general to deal with the consequences of the problem and not, as we would like to report, to prevent it from happening.