Being ahead of its time the consumer resistance phenomenon: A comparative case study research

Double Degree.

Challenges of converting nonprofit in for-profit-reasons decision making and key success factores of a conversion

Due to external constraints (opposed by the market and legal system) and internal changes nonprofit organizations have been converting to for-profit entities combining commercial revenue and social value creation. To create an understanding of the conversion process considering its challenges, the reasons, the decision-making process and key success factors of a conversion are examined. Therefore, a two-step research procedure is used combining literature research and a multiple case study approach based on expert interviews with known companies. The outcome is a helpful guideline (including a decision matrix) for social entrepreneurs that might face a conversion.

Responsible research and innovation: a global perspective

Based on the paper presented at the Doctorate Conference on Technologogy Assessment in July 2013 at the University Nova Lisboa, Caparica campus

Responsible research and innovation: a global perspective

Based on the paper presented at the Doctorate Conference on Technologogy Assessment in July 2013 at the University Nova Lisboa, Caparica campus

Teamwork and Gendered Work Cultures: The Case of Finland

In this article I focus on women workers��� experiences of transformation from line work to teamworking in Finnish clothing companies in the 1990s and also show what happened after this transformation in the clothing branch. The undertone of it is rather melancholic. Following an initial period of intensive and successful development, clothing work was moved from Finland to countries of cheap labour, such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia, and even China. In this type of network manufacturing, the development of modern information and communication technologies played a central role. My aim is to present the standpoint of women clothing workers in this process. The main body of the empirical data of my study consists of dialogues with clothing workers, union representatives, supervisors and managers. I also make use of my fieldwork notes, memos and research diaries from three companies over a period of five years. Furthermore, in the background lie the action research material from Scandinavian type work conferences and the survey material of an extensive mail inquiry that covered the whole branch in Finland. My own research started in 1991 as a mail inquiry and then continued as a case study in companies from 1992 to 2000, by employing action research and ethnographic methodologies.

Geography of the Information Society

All every day activities take place in space. And it is upon this that all information and knowledge revolve. The latter are the key elements in the organisation of territories. Their creation, use and distribution should therefore occur in a balanced way throughout the whole territory in order to allow all individuals to participate in an egalitarian society, in which the flow of knowledge can take precedence over the flow of interests. The information society depends, to a large extent, on the technological capacity to disseminate information and, consequently, the knowledge throughout territory, thereby creating conditions which allow a more balanced development, from the both the social and economic points of view thus avoiding the existence of info-exclusion territories. Internet should therefore be considered more than a mere technology, given that its importance goes well beyond the frontiers of culture and society. It is already a part of daily life and of the new forms of thinking and transmitting information, thus making it a basic necessity essential, for a full socio-economic development. Its role as a platform of creation and distribution of content is regarded as an indispensable element for education in today���s society, since it makes information a much more easily acquired benefit.������in the same way that the new technologies of generation and distribution of energy allowed factories and large companies to establish themselves as the organisational bases of industrial society, so the internet today constitutes the technological base of the organisational form that characterises the Information Era: the network��� (CASTELLS, 2004:15). The changes taking place today in regional and urban structures are increasingly more evident due to a combination of factors such as faster means of transport, more efficient telecommunications and other cheaper and more advanced technologies of information and knowledge. Although their impact on society is obvious, society itself also has a strong influence on the evolution of these technologies. And although physical distance has lost much of the responsibility it had towards explaining particular phenomena of the economy and of society, other aspects such as telecommunications, new forms of mobility, the networks of innovation, the internet, cyberspace, etc., have become more important, and are the subject of study and profound analysis. The science of geographical information, allows, in a much more rigorous way, the analysis of problems thus integrating in a much more balanced way, the concepts of place, of space and of time. Among the traditional disciplines that have already found their place in this process of research and analysis, we can give special attention to a geography of new spaces, which, while not being a geography of ���innovation���, nor of the ���Internet���, nor even ���virtual���, which can be defined as one of the ���Information Society���, encompassing not only the technological aspects but also including a socio-economic approach. According to the last European statistical data, Portugal shows a deficit in terms of information and knowledge dissemination among its European partners. Some of the causes are very well identified - low levels of scholarship, weak investments on innovation and R&D (both private and public sector) - but others seem to be hidden behind socio-economical and technological factors. So, the justification of Portugal as the case study appeared naturally, on a difficult quest to find the major causes to territorial asymmetries. The substantial amount of data needed for this work was very difficult to obtain and for the islands of Madeira and Azores was insufficient, so only Continental Portugal was considered for this study. In an effort to understand the various aspects of the Geography of the Information Society and bearing in mind the increasing generalised use of information technologies together with the range of technologies available for the dissemination of information, it is important to: (i) Reflect on the geography of the new socio-technological spaces. (ii) Evaluate the potential for the dissemination of information and knowledge through the selection of variables that allow us to determine the dynamic of a given territory or region; (iii) Define a Geography of the Information Society in Continental Portugal.

Learning networks and moodle use in online courses: a social network analysis study

Disserta����o para obten����o do Grau de Doutor em Ci��ncias da Educa����o Especialidade em Tecnologias, Redes e Multim��dia na Educa����o e Forma����o

The Impact of Bilingualism on Acquiring Second Language Vocabulary: A Case Study

Trabalho de Projecto apresentado para cumprimento dos requisitos necess��rios �� obten��ao do grau de Mestre em Did��ctica do Ingl��s,

Income and mental health

RESUMO: A enorme carga e o sofrimento provocado pelas doen��as mentais no mundo tornam imperioso conhecer melhor os seus determinantes. Combater as desigualdades em saude tornou-���se uma prioridadade de sa��de publica, mas e necess��rio estabelecer as suas vias causais para ser poss��vel implementar interven����es e politicas efetivas. A literatura cientifica tem sugerido a import��ncia dos determinantes sociais na etiologia e evolucao das principais doen��as mentais e do suicidio, com especial enfase no papel da desvantagem social. Ainda assim, o papel dos factores psicossociais na sa��de mental, e especificamente o papel do rendimento e da sua distribui����o n��o tem sido investigado no meu pais, Portugal. No meu projecto de investiga����o proponho���me a estudar se em Portugal existe uma associa����o entre as doen��as mentais e o rendimento absoluto e relativo. Pretendo usar os dados do primeiro inqu��rito epidemiol��gico sobre saude mental realizado em Portugal,um inqu��rito nacional transversal no domicilio que foi conduzido em 2009, integrado no WHO World Mental Health Survey Consortium. Nesta tese de mestrado apresento os resultados da minha revis��o da literatura Sobre a rela����o entre oestatuto socio-economico e a sa��de mental e esbo��o uma proposta de pesquisa para continuar a investigar estetema. A evidencia que apresento mostra que a exposi����o aum vasto leque de riscos psicossociais, como o baixo rendimento, a educa����o limitada e o estatuto ocupacionalbaixo,aumenta a probabilidade de desenvolver problemas de sa��de mental.. As diferencas em sa��de seguem um gradiente social, com piores resultados de sa��de a medida que a posi����o na hierarquia social diminui. Tambem sumarizo a literatura sobre o papel do contexto na produ����o de desigualdades em sa��de para alem das caracter��sticas individuais. Tem especial interesse o potencial efeito na sa��de do rendimento relativo e a import��ncia da distribui����o dos rendimentos como determinante de saude. Finalmente, delineio os poss��veis mecanismos atrav��s dos quais o estatuto socio-economico contribui para as disparidades em sa��de.-------------------ABSTRACT: The enormous burden and suffering from mental disorders worldwide makes it imperative to better understand its determinants. Tackling nhealth inequalities has become a public health priority, but it is necessary to establish their causalpathways in order to implement effective interventions and policies. Scientific literature has suggested the importance of social determinants in the aetiology and course of major mental disorders and suicide, with special emphasis on the role of social disadvantage. Nevertheless, the role of psychosocial factors on mental health, and specifically the role of income and its distribution, has not been researched in my home country, Portugal. In my research project I propose to study whether in Portugal there is an association between mental disorders and absolute and relative income. I intend to use data from the first Portuguese Mental Health Survey, a national cross-sectional household survey that was conducted in 2009, integrated in the WHO World Mental Health Survey Consortium. In this masters thesis I present the results of my literature review on the relation between Socioeconomic status and mental health and outline a research proposal to further nvestigate this topic. The body of evidence that I present shows that exposure to a wide range of psychosocial risks, such as low income, limited education, and low occupational status, increases the likelihood of mental health problems. Differences in health follow a social gradient, with worsening health as the position in the social ladder decreases. I also summarize the literature on the role of context in producing health inequalities beyond individual characteristics. Of special interest is the potential health effect of relative income and the importance of income distribution as a health determinant. Finally, I outline the various possible mechanisms for health disparities associated with socioeconomic status.