Scientist women perceptions of their work conditions and career development

This article reports preliminary findings about Portuguese scientist women’s perceptions of gender issues in their institutions. Empirical data have been collected by means of an electronic open questionnaire sent to the AMONET (Portuguese Association of Women in Science) members. Basically, the study aims to examine the degree of satisfaction with their profession, the difficulties they meet in everyday professional life, and whether they feel or have felt gender discrimination in their institutions. Findings show that all respondents feel happy or very happy with their profession. However, discrimination is mentioned by a significant percentage, even if such discrimination assumes, quite often, an elusive way, suggesting that higher institutions still discriminate against women. Findings, articulated with literature, also lead to discussion about power and leadership, both in the hands of male academics, in the majority of the institutions, as well as the clarification of different perceptions of ambition both by women and man.

Perceptions of organizational virtuousness and happiness and predictors of organizational citizenship behaviors

Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 93 Issue 2, p214-235

Are societal changes new? Questions or trends and future perceptions on knowledge-based economy

With the emergence of a global division of labour, the internationalisation of markets and cultures, the growing power of supranational organisations and the spread of new information technologies to every field of life, it starts to appear a different kind of society, different from the industrial society, and called by many as ‘the knowledge-based economy’, emphasizing the importance of information and knowledge in many areas of work and organisation of societies. Despite the common trends of evolution, these transformations do not necessarily produce a convergence of national and regional social and economic structures, but a diversity of realities emerging from the relations between economic and political context on one hand and the companies and their strategies on the other. In this sense, which future can we expect to the knowledge economy? How can we measure it and why is it important? This paper will present some results from the European project WORKS – Work organisation and restructuring in the knowledge society (6th Framework Programme), focusing the future visions and possible future trends in different countries, sectors and industries, given empirical evidences of the case studies applied in several European countries, underling the importance of foresight exercises to design policies, prevent uncontrolled risks and anticipate alternatives, leading to different ‘knowledge economies’ and not to the ‘knowled

Public Participation geographic information systems in developing countries: lessons from Uganda on the impacts of interactive screens PPGIS and community perceptions of space

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

Positive effects of strategic corporate social responsibility

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Smart metering consumer behavior study in the Republic of Ireland: Further analyses on the consumers’ electricity consumptions and usage perceptions

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Which characteristics, behaviours and perceptions influence the consumption of Nestum private label brands?

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Junk food packaging on healthy food: A matter of children’s perceptions

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Attracting investments from Germany to Portugal: A specific value-proposition for automotive suppliers

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Corporate social responsibility: How internal and external CSR perceptions influence employee outcomes

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Moral Mazes: the world of corporate managers (20th anniversary edition) [Robert Jackall]

Recensão do livro Moral Mazes: the world of corporate managers (20th anniversary edition) [Robert Jackall], 2010, Oxford University Press, Nova Iorque

Contributo para a validação da versão portuguesa do instrumento de avaliação VOICE (service users perceptions of impatient care, Views on Inpatient Care)

RESUMO: Nos últimos anos assistiu-se a um reposicionamento das pessoas portadoras de doença mental na sociedade, no sentido de viverem em pleno os seus direitos, sem restrições. Esta tendência acompanhou as transformações que se têm vivido na forma como os utentes dos serviços de saúde interagem com os mesmos e com os profissionais de saúde, de forma a permitir uma maior autonomização e responsabilização no que concerne ao tratamento da sua doença, a relação que estabelecem com o seu médico, e a participação na avaliação e monitorização da qualidade dos serviços. Mais recentemente, também no mundo científico, esta afirmação se fez sentir, com o surgimento de investigação liderada por utentes, no sentido de estudar de forma adequada questões que partem do seu ponto de vista, e que possibilitem a produção de conhecimento significativa no contexto das suas experiências. Com o presente trabalho pretende-se contribuir para a validação da versão portuguesa do VOICE (Service Users’ Perceptions of Inpatient Care, Views on Inpatient Care) (Evans et al., 2012), instrumento para a avaliação dos serviços de internamento de agudos em psiquiatria, construído a partir de um investigação liderado por utentes e partindo das suas perspectiva. O VOICE é constituído por 19 questões, agrupadas em sete domínios: admissão; cuidados e tratamento; medicação; equipa de técnicos do internamento; terapia e atividades; ambiente e diferenças. O presente estudo envolveu uma amostra de 85 utentes de um serviço de internamento de agudos de uma instituição psiquiátrica do Norte de Portugal. A versão portuguesa do VOICE apresentou boa aceitação por parte dos utentes e boas características psicométricas - a consistência interna foi alta (α = 0,87) e todos, exceto um item (item 6), apresentam elevadas correlações item-total (variando de 0,18 - item 6 a 0,71 - item 11; M = 0,54, DP = 0,15), sugerindo ser um instrumento útil na avaliação dos serviços de internamento de agudos. No futuro torna-se necessário alargar o estudo a outros contextos de internamento e envolvendo amostras mais alargadas.-------------- ABSTRACT: In recent years there has been a gradual process to help people with the experience of mental illness regaining their full rights. Following the advances in the understanding of mental health problems, and the use of medication to help patients overcome symptoms, service-users have become more autonomous and responsible in the way they deal with health professionals, and are now called to participate in assessing and monitoring mental health services and policies. In the context of these transformations we have assisted to the emergence of research led by service-users (in this case of psychiatric and mental health services) in order to emphasize their point of view, and to enable the production of significant knowledge resulting from their experiences, and perceptions. The present study aims to contribute to the dissemination of service-user led research, based on the adaptation and validation of the Portuguese version of the VOICE - Service Users' Perceptions Questionnaire, Views on Inpatient Care. (Evans et al., 2012). The VOICE is composed of 19 questions, grouped in seven domains: admissions, care and treatment, medication, team of technicians during hospitalization, therapy and activities, environment and diversity. The present study involved a sample of 85 inpatient of a psychiatric institution in Northern Portugal. The Portuguese version of the VOICE showed good psychometric properties and was well accepted by patients [high internal consistency (α = 0,87); and high correlation of each item, except item 6, with the total score (ranging from 0.18 on item 6 to 0.71 on item 11; average=0,54; SD=0,15), suggesting it to be a useful tool for assessing inpatient services. In the future there is a need to extend the study to other contexts and include larger samples.

Resilience in organizations: The perspective of managers in Portugal and Germany

The concept of organizational resilience has become popular in Organizational Studies during the last decades - yet researchers have not been able to find one commonly accepted definition for what exactly it is. What are the drivers of resilience in organizations? Are there certain cultural factors and national differences regarding the perception of the concept? This paper aims to answer these questions from a perspective of within institutions. A group of managers from different corporations in Portugal and Germany has been interviewed in order to understand how managers experience and characterize organizational resilience. Based on qualitative inductive research the results show that organizational resilience is built on four main drivers: a sense of proximity, a sense of openness, a sense of challenge and a sense for structure.

A behavioral perspective on the effects of using performance measurement systems in the companies: Evidence from a case study

The effects of PMSs on the people’s behaviour represent a high degree of relevance in the context of an organization performance and success. Thus, motivational and behavioural consequences of performance measurements are far from being totally understood (Franco-Santos et al., 2012). This work project (WP) purposes going further regarding the consequences/effects on people’s behaviour of using PMSs in organizations. The researcher conducted 11 interviews to managers during a nine-month internship as a controller in a Portuguese multi-national company. The evidence from this WP suggests that the way how managers understand a PMS determines a lot the way how they behave. Data also supports that PMSs influences in several ways motivation, perceptions, participation and job-related stress of managers.

Professores realistas: mais eficazes e otimistas

A indisciplina na sala de aula prejudica o ensino e a aprendizagem sendo uma das principais causas do mal-estar dos professores, roubando-lhes energia e tempo conduzindo, muitos deles, à exaustão física e emocional e apresenta-se como um sério problema quer para professores principiantes, quer para professores experientes. A análise do ensino na perspetiva interpessoal possibilita uma nova visão sobre o ambiente de aprendizagem, nomeadamente no que se refere à relação professor-aluno. Nesta perspetiva, o enfoque dirige-se para a análise das perceções dos alunos sobre o comportamento do professor e o impacto que o mesmo tem sobre os alunos. Além de que, ao considerar-se a turma como um sistema deve ter-se em conta que o comportamento não pode ser visto como uma característica da pessoa mas, sim, como uma característica do sistema formado por aqueles que estão envolvidos na interação comunicacional. Analisar as interações comunicacionais à luz da pragmática da comunicação e dos seus cinco axiomas apresenta-se como um poderoso quadro clarificador de muitos dos comportamentos ditos disruptivos, possibilitando aos professores um “novo olhar” sobre o seu papel enquanto gestores da sala de aula. A formação realista de professores apresenta-se como uma estratégia com efeitos muito positivos uma vez que possibilita e ajuda-os a compreenderem o processo de circularidade característico da turma vista como um sistema. Por outro lado, permite evidenciar a impossibilidade dos professores de solucionarem os problemas disciplinares culpabilizando os alunos. Dito de outro modo, a formação realista conduz os professores a um (re) equacionar das suas práticas encorajando-os a selecionarem um comportamento interpessoal mais adequado. No 1º e 3º período letivo, os professores participantes (N= 15) responderam ao Questionário de Interação do Professor (Q.I.P.) e ao Questionário do Otimismo Académico (Q.O.A.) composto por três subescalas: Autoeficácia, Confiança nos alunos e famílias e Ênfase académica. Paralelamente, foram gravadas em suporte vídeo quatro aulas de cada professor, referentes a duas turmas selecionadas previamente pelos mesmos. Após a observação das suas aulas refletiram por escrito aquilo que observaram. No 2º período, participaram numa ação de formação intitulada “Ecologia da sala de aula: relacionamento interpessoal professor-aluno e a criação de ambientes de aprendizagem positivos” baseada no modelo realista de formação de professores. Desta formação resultou um conjunto de relatórios reflexivos que tiveram por objetivo desenvolver nos participantes a sua competência reflexiva, questionarem crenças tidas como inquestionáveis e otimizar a relação professor-aluno. A partir dos resultados obtidos pode afirmar-se que: 1) verificou-se um aumento no otimismo académico e no sentimento de autoeficácia; 2) observou-se um impacto nas conceções prévias, bem como no contexto organizacional.