Gender and diversity in the workplace : Introduction to the special issue

Research on gender and diversity has taken longer than usual to develop in Portuguese academia. Different explanations can be provided for the apparent lack of interest in these matters. Comparative cultural studies have depicted Portuguese culture as scoring high on femininity (Hofstede, 1991). ��Femininity pertains to societies in which social gender roles overlap�� (p. 82) and it may have an influence on people���s attitudes towards ���the other��� and the role of men and women in the organisation, and in shaping the individual���s behaviour and attitudes towards equality and diversity. On the other hand, Portuguese society likes to portray itself as a homogenous society (Cabral-Cardoso, 2002). Taken together, these factors may partly explain why gender and diversity issues have failed to make it to the top of research agendas in Portuguese academia. The limited number of papers included in this special issue and focusing on the Portuguese context still reflects that state of affairs.

Test Anxiety, Coping, Gender and Academic Performance in English Exams: A Study of Finnish Upper Secondary School Students

In this MA thesis, test anxiety related to English exams among Finnish upper secondary school students was studied. In addition, the ways students try to cope with test anxiety were investigated. The purpose of the study was to investigate gender differences in test anxiety, the effects of test anxiety on academic performance and relationships between test anxiety, academic performance and coping strategies. Test anxiety and coping strategies were analysed as scores of questionnaire responses. Coping strategies comprised of three categories ��� task-orientation and preparation, seeking social support and avoidance. Academic performance was analysed as teacher ratings of general performance in English exams. In total 67 subjects were studied. The subjects were Finnish general upper secondary school students. The data were collected by using online questionnaires. This data were mainly quantitative, but also qualitative elements were included. The quantitative data were analysed by using statistical methods. The results showed that females experienced statistically significantly more test anxiety than males. In addition, a statistically significant correlation was found between test anxiety levels and academic performance ratings of the subjects: the higher the test anxiety score, the lower the academic performance rating. A meaningful correlation was found between test anxiety and seeking social support as a coping strategy: a higher test anxiety score was related to using social support as a coping strategy. However, no relationships were found between academic performance and the three coping strategies when quantitative and qualitative data were analysed. Therefore, different coping strategies per se did not seem to be related to academic performance, but instead it was assumed that the effectiveness of coping strategies is dependent on individual differences. In order to obtain more generalisable results and to gain more understanding of test anxiety and coping with it, a larger number of subjects form different areas of Finland and of different ages could be examined in future studies. Moreover, cross-national and cross-cultural studies could provide valuable information. As a practical recommendation for educational purposes, the results of this study indicated that a more individualised approach is needed.

Criouliza����o c��nica: em busca de uma Identidade para o teatro cabo-verdiano

Tese de Doutoramento, Comunica����o, Cultura e Artes, Faculdade de Ci��ncias Humanas e Sociais, Universidade do Algarve, 2016

Mulheres negras e (in)visibilidade : imagin��rios sobre a intersec����o de ra��a e g��nero no cinema brasileiro (1999-2009)

Tese (doutorado)���Universidade de Bras��lia, Faculdade de Comunica����o, Programa de P��s-Gradua����o em Comunica����o, 2016.

The impossible anamesis. Memory versus history in Hubert Aquin���s �� Blackout ��

Soon after joining the Canadian Confederation in 1867, the province of Quebec adopted the phrase �� Je me souviens �� ("As I recall") as its "national" motto, although many Qu��b��cois do not remember today what they were supposed to memorize, as collective subject, when their government voted this motion. My thesis is that contrary to other countries which have a strong sense of history based on a secular tradition, this process was more complicated in Quebec ��� as if a collective memory loss lied at the heart of it's history. Through a rereading of Hubert Aquin's cult novel, Trou de m��moire (in its English translation Blackout), first published in 1968, I try to illustrate this paradox and to emphasize the heuristic functions of memory blanks, gaps and lapses in certain postmodern narratives, after the historical breakdown of "the great narratives" (Lyotard). In this perspective, the example of Quebec, through the voice of one of its more gifted yet controversial novelist, can be seen as emblematic of what happens when the mnemonic impossibility of rewriting history opens up new possibilities for writing fiction.

Taking Issue with History: Empathy and the Ethical Imperatives of Creative Interventions

The purpose of this thesis was to contribute to a dialogue that considers the relationship between history, literature, and empathy as a literary affect. Specifically, I explored sites of literature���s transformative potential as it relates to cultural studies and the ethics of deconstruction. Via a deconstructive, post-colonial reading of Toni Morrison���s Beloved and Junot D��az���s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, I considered how subjects in our current socio-political moment can feel history. Emerging from a post-structurally mediated engagement with history, signification, and feeling, I argued that empathy, as it is contentiously presented in the context of deconstruction, is not necessarily a reductive or essentialist approach towards relating or ���being-with��� an-other. Instead, I proposed that the act of reading historiographical novels that take constructions of the Atlantic Slave Trade to task might generate an affective empathy, which could in turn engender a more empathetic relationality and way of being-in-the-world.

The impossible anamesis. Memory versus history in Hubert Aquin���s �� Blackout ��

Soon after joining the Canadian Confederation in 1867, the province of Quebec adopted the phrase �� Je me souviens �� ("As I recall") as its "national" motto, although many Qu��b��cois do not remember today what they were supposed to memorize, as collective subject, when their government voted this motion. My thesis is that contrary to other countries which have a strong sense of history based on a secular tradition, this process was more complicated in Quebec ��� as if a collective memory loss lied at the heart of it's history. Through a rereading of Hubert Aquin's cult novel, Trou de m��moire (in its English translation Blackout), first published in 1968, I try to illustrate this paradox and to emphasize the heuristic functions of memory blanks, gaps and lapses in certain postmodern narratives, after the historical breakdown of "the great narratives" (Lyotard). In this perspective, the example of Quebec, through the voice of one of its more gifted yet controversial novelist, can be seen as emblematic of what happens when the mnemonic impossibility of rewriting history opens up new possibilities for writing fiction.

Makt och motst��nd i k��pcentrumet

This article focuses how power and resistance are exercised in one of Stockholm���s biggest shopping centres. Power and resistance are key words in Cultural Studies. However, the tradition is dominated by studies where 'ordinary/common��� people and their everyday resistance against economical, political and symbolic power is analysed. Critics of Cultural Studies have pointed out that this domination in some cases has led to a romanticized view on common people s resistance and an unproblematic, simplified concept of power. This article works in the tradition of Cultural Studies, but takes this critique seriously by distinguishing three arenas where economic, political and symbolical forms of power intersect and clash with other interests. These are located in the tension between three sets of relations: a) the shopping centre versus the local municipality, b) the centre management versus the individual businesses that run shops in the centre, and c) the shopping centre as a whole (comprising the owners, the shops and the space itself) versus the visitors (who are predominantly women). The empirical material consists of observations and field-notes, branch statistics, interviews with customers, shop employees and centre managers, photographic documentation, advertisements and other public sources from 1998 to 2002.

A cat��strofe p��s-colonial: ler Ant��nio Lobo Antunes ���� rebours��

Le roman As Naus (Le retour des Caravelles) d���Ant��nio Lobo Antunes propose une r��vision du pass�� historique portugais, en offrant une relecture de la R��volution du 25 avril 1974 comme ��v��nement traumatique et catastrophique. En effet, sur fond de guerre et de d��colonisation africaine, l���auteur nous transmet une vision dysphorique du contexte r��volutionnaire portugais, ceci en adoptant le point de vue des �� retornados ��, ex-colons fuyant l���Afrique, revenant vers la m��re Patrie : le Portugal. Nous assistons ainsi �� une �� navigation �� contre-courant ��, celle o�� les �� h��ros de jadis ��, rel��gu��s aux marges de la soci��t�� portugaise, se transforment en personnages nomadiques et �� border-line ��. Dans ces conditions, l���espace des marges repr��sente �� l���envers du d��cor �� de la soci��t�� portugaise, un monde sens dessus dessous, o�� r��gnent la sauvagerie et l���abjection. C���est �� travers ces motifs apocalyptiques que l���auteur touche �� l���un des fondements de l���identit�� portugaise, �� savoir, celle d���une grande Nation au centre d���un Empire.

La retroalimentaci��n facial y su efecto en la evaluaci��n de publicidad de humor

La hip��tesis de retroalimentaci��n facial planteada por Tomkins en 1962 sustenta que la activaci��n de algunos m��sculos faciales env��a informaci��n sensorial al cerebro y se induce entonces una experiencia emocional en el sujeto. Partiendo de dicha teor��a y de investigaciones que la sustentan, el presente estudio se propuso confirmar el efecto de la emoci��n inducida a trav��s de la retroalimentaci��n facial sobre la evaluaci��n de cinco tipos de humor en publicidad. Para ello se realiz�� un experimento con 60 hombres y 60 mujeres, que fueron asignados aleatoriamente a una de dos condiciones: estimulaci��n de sonrisa ���m��sculos hacia arriba- o inhibici��n de sonrisa ���m��sculos hac��a abajo-, mientras evaluaban 16 im��genes de publicidad de humor. A partir del an��lisis de los resultados se encontraron diferencias significativas entre las condiciones; en l��nea con la hip��tesis formulada, los participantes expuestos a la condici��n estimulaci��n de sonrisa ���m��sculos hac��a arriba- evaluaron m��s positivamente los comerciales. Tambi��n se encontraron diferencias significativas en funci��n del sexo y los tipos de humor evaluados. El estudio ofrece evidencia emp��rica de la teor��a propuesta hace m��s de medio siglo y su efecto en el ��mbito de la publicidad actual.

Gobierno empresarial: etnograf��a de un proyecto de cultura organizacional en la C��a. Aceros Ltda

La presente investigaci��n analiza las din��micas y relaciones sociales de la implementaci��n de un estudio de cultura organizacional en un escenario etnogr��fico concreto. El prop��sito del presente trabajo, es analizar el estudio de la cultura organizacional como una t��cnica de gobierno con unas pr��cticas espec��ficas, negociadas, consensuadas y establecidas en el marco de la participaci��n de los empleados en el estudio realizado por la empresa.

Authentic Leadership Questionnaire: invariance between samples of Brazilian and Portuguese employees

The Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) is used to assess authentic leadership (AL). Although ALQ is often used in empirical research, cross-cultural studies with this measure are scarce. Aiming to contribute to filling this gap, this study assesses the invariance of the ALQ measure between samples of Brazilian (N���=���1019) and Portuguese (N���=���842) employees. A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was performed, and the results showed the invariance of the first- and second-order factor models between the Brazilian and Portuguese samples. The results are discussed considering their cultural setting, with the study���s limitations and future research directions being pointed out.

J��venes en la sociedad del miedo: miradas sobre medios, miedos y j��venes en el Ecuador

ResumenSe plantea un an��lisis de la mirada de miedo e inseguridad que los medios de comunicaci��n construyen en relaci��n a los y las j��venes y a las culturas juveniles en el Ecuador. A partir dela referencia al tratamiento del incendio de la discoteca Factory en el transcurso de un concierto de rock en abril del 2008, en la ciudad de Quito. La mirada de los medios contribuye a la construcci��n del miedo social hacia las personas j��venes. Finalmente, se plantea que la mirada de los estudios culturales en relaci��n con temas de juventud permite superar formas tradicionales de tratar este tema, precisamente por su naturaleza interdisciplinar.Palabras clave: culturas juveniles, j��venes, medios de comunicaci��n, miedo social, Ecuador.AbstractAn analysis on the view of fear and insecurity that mass media builds in relation with young people and juvenile cultures from the analysis of the treatment of the fire at the ���Factory��� discotheque duringa rock concert in Quito on April 2008, is proposed. It is proposed that the mass media���s outlook contributes to the social construction of the social fear towards young people. Finally, it is stated thatthe perspective of cultural studies on youth topics break off traditional forms of dealing with the topic due to tis interdisciplinary nature.Keywords: juvenile cultures, youth, mass media, social fear, Ecuador.