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In the last two decades, many European countries allowed the sale of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs outside pharmacies. This was expected to lower retail prices through increased competition. Evidence of such price reductions is scarce. We assess the impact of supermarket and outlet entry in the OTC drug market on OTC prices charged by incumbent pharmacies using a difference-in-differences strategy. We use price data on five popular OTC drugs for all retailers located in Lisbon for three distinct points in time (2006, 2010, and 2015). Our results suggest that competitive pressure in the market is mainly exerted by supermarkets, which charge, on average, 20% lower prices than pharmacies. The entry of a supermarket among the main competitors of an incumbent pharmacy is associated with an average 4% to 6% decrease in prices relative to the control group. These price reductions are long-lasting but fairly localized. We find no evidence of price reductions following OTC outlet entry. Additional results from a reduced-form entry model and a propensity score matching difference-in-differences approach support the view that these effects are causal., (© 2020 The Authors. Health Economics published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Copyright of Anuário Internacional de Comunicação Lusófona is the property of Federacao Lusofona de Ciencias da Comunicacao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The 2016–2018 triennium was a period marked by a fierce dispute between the European Commission and Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações, Portugal, on the need to regulate wholesale access prices. While the European Commission defended the imposition of Fiber-To-The-x regulation in non-competitive areas, the Portuguese sectoral regulator argued in favor of the persistence of Fiber-To-The-x deregulation. Following a Game Theory approach, the present study demonstrates that the transition from Fiber-To-The-x deregulation to Fiber-To-The-x regulation should only occur when a given territorial unit becomes a competitive area since the subgame perfect Nash equilibrium captures a regulatory framework optimally characterized by the imposition of active access price deregulation (regulation) in non-competitive (competitive) areas, that is, local administrative units characterized by a weak (strong) degree of vertical spillover, respectively. Meanwhile, ducts access regulation must be permanently imposed throughout the national territory, despite it can be relaxed in competitive areas if the regulator imposes intra-flexibility to establish a monopolistic bottleneck to ensure social welfare maximization. Previous conclusions require to introduce both facility-based and service-based competition at the entry stage as well as active and passive obligations at the regulation stage in a multi-stage game with complete information. The present analysis legitimizes the emergence of a new optimization theory in the telecommunications literature, whose modus operandi is contrary to (coincident with) the ladder of investment theory in non-competitive (competitive) areas, respectively. Differently from the view sustained by the ladder of investment theory, which defends that a short-term regulatory touch combined with long-term market deregulation is a socially optimal strategy, the new theory confirms that a regulatory intervention is socially desirable only in the long run. The conceptual refinement is meticulously explained and labeled as the theory of creative creation because, differently from the Schumpeterian gale of creative destruction, whose processes of industrial mutation are permanently market-driven by assumption, a period of regulatory holidays followed by successive regulatory interventions dependent on the degree of vertical spillover observed in the telecommunications industry can effectively promote investment realization that continuously revolutionizes the market structure from within, incessantly destroying the old technology. The theory of creative creation reflects the regulatory framework currently in force in the Portuguese Telecommunications Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the deregulation of electricity market in distribution systems, renewable distributed generations (RDG) are being invested in by third-party social capital, such as distributed generations operators (DGOs) and load aggregators (LAs). However, their arbitrary RDG investment and electricity trading behavior can bring great challenges to distribution system planning. In this paper, to reduce distribution system investment, a distribution system expansion planning model based on a bi-level Stackelberg game is proposed for the distribution system operator (DSO) to guide this social capital to make suitable RDG investment. In the proposed model, DSO is the leader, while DGOs and LAs are the followers. In the upper level, the DSO determines the expansion planning scheme including investments in substations and lines, and optimizes the variables provided for followers, such as RDG locations and contract prices. In the lower level, DGOs determine the RDG capacity and electricity trading strategy based on the RDG locations and contract prices, while LAs determine the RDG capacity, demand response and electricity trading strategy based on contract prices. The capacity information of the DRG is sent to the DSO for decision-making on expansion planning. To reduce the cost and risk of multiple agents, two long-term renewable energy contracts are introduced for the electricity trading. Conditional value-at-risk method is used to quantify the RDG investment risk of DGOs and LAs with different risk preferences. The effectiveness of the proposed model and method is verified by studies using the Portugal 54-bus system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1980s, Portuguese policy makers have engaged in a strong process of liberalization, deregulation and privatization of the financial system to adhere to the rules imposed by the European Economic Community and to promote financial growth, boost economic growth and reduce inequality. However, the Portuguese economic growth has exhibited a weaker performance and inequality has continued to widen in the last decades, a situation that seems to contradict the mainstream beliefs regarding the supportive role played by financial growth in the era of financialisation. This article undertakes an empirical assessment of the finance–inequality nexus by performing a time series econometric analysis for Portugal from 1980 to 2020 through the estimation of both linear and non‐linear models. It finds strong evidence for a positive (linear) relationship between finance and inequality and some evidence for a convex quadratic (non‐linear) relationship between finance and inequality in Portugal, corroborating the hypothesis that the financial growth has been prejudicial, enhancing inequality in Portugal. These findings highlight the urgent need to abandon the so‐called 'trickle‐down theory' or the 'horse and sparrow theory' and to implement the so‐called 'trickle‐up theory' with the support of pro‐poor public policies to decrease inequality in Portugal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociedade e Estado is the property of Sociedade e Estado and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There is an ongoing trend of deregulation and integration of electricity markets in Europe and North America. This change in market structure has naturally affected the interaction between agents and has contributed to an increasing commoditization of electric power. This paper focuses on one specific market, the Iberian electricity market (MIBEL). In particular, we assess the persistence of electricity prices in the Iberian market and test whether it has changed over time. We consider each hour of the day separately, that is, we analyze 24 time series of day-ahead hourly prices for Portugal and another 24 series for Spain. We find results consistent with the hypothesis that market integration leads to a decrease in the persistence of the price process. More precisely, the tests detect a break in the memory parameter of most price series around the year 2009, which coincides with a significant increase in the integration of the Portuguese and Spanish markets. The results reinforce the view that market integration has an impact on the dynamics of electricity prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The insider-outsider politics approach conjectures that moderate unions and centre-left parties safeguard the interests of insiders and neglect outsiders in labour market reforms. This article challenges this hypothesis. By comparing the positions taken by centre-left parties and moderate union confederations during labour market reforms in Portugal and Spain (1975–2019), it shows that while they may indeed protect insiders, they sometimes do the opposite. To explain this, the article argues that more attention must be paid to the configuration of left parties and confederations. In Portugal, where communist and radical left parties were strong, the centre-left was afraid of losing outsiders' electoral support, and thus it did not follow a pro-insider strategy. This was reinforced by the fact that the centre-left had to face the opposition of a strong class-oriented confederation that was not willing to commit to two-tier reforms. This was not what happened in Spain. The centre-left, supported by a union confederation, undertook a two-tier reform in 1984 because there was a different configuration of left parties and confederations. Notwithstanding, this was not a stable equilibrium because this confederation changed its position over time when it realized the negative consequences of these reforms. Henceforth, their strategy became more pro-outsider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Turismo & Desenvolvimento (RT&D) / Journal of Tourism & Development is the property of Associacao de Gestao e Planeamento em Turismo da Universidade de Aveiro (AGPTUA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

One of the distinctive characteristics of the trade union model in Southern Europe is the clear political persuasion of the dominant confederations (mainly left-wing) and, with the exception of Italy, their low membership density. The Great Recession ushered in a period of confrontation between unions and governments over the application of austerity policies and radical reforms deregulating the labour market, creating a hostile environment for unions, which responded by intensifying their discourse and socio-political action in order to call for the support of workers and alliances with other left-wing organisations. This article, based on data from the European Social Survey, analyses the importance of the political attitudes of workers as a determining factor of unionisation in Italy, Portugal and Spain over a significant period, from 2002 to 2018. The results obtained reveal an important influence of political attitudes on unionisation in Southern Europe, especially in Portugal. However, other variables also affected unionisation, notably the negative influence of precarious forms of employment and the conjunction of the recessionary economic cycle and neoliberal reforms that took place during the Great Recession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study focuses on the banking systems evaluation in Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain (known as the PIIGS) during the financial and post-financial crisis period from 2009 to 2018. Design/methodology/approach: A conditional robust nonparametric frontier analysis (order-m estimators) is used to measure banking efficiency combined with variables highlighting the effects of Non-Performing Loans. Next, a truncated regression is used to examine if institutional, macroeconomic, and financial variables affect bank performance differently. Unlike earlier studies, we use the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) as an institutional variable that affects banking sector efficiency. Findings: This research shows that the PIIGS crisis affects each bank/country differently due to their various efficiency levels. Most of the study variables — CPI, government debt to GDP ratio, inflation, bank size — significantly affect banking efficiency measures. Originality/value: The contribution of this article to the relevant banking literature is two-fold. First, it analyses the efficiency of the PIIGS banking system from 2009 to 2018, focusing on NPLs. Second, this is the first empirical study to use probabilistic frontier analysis (order-m estimators) to evaluate PIIGS banking systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we provide a thorough analysis, conducted on a company-by-company basis, of the impact of bank concentration and the bank-relative power of banks on firm profitability, financing costs, and capital structure in a small economy like Portugal. Using a sample of 434,990 Portuguese companies, the study spans a time frame of 13 years (from 2006 to 2018). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine bank concentration, and a new variable, "bank-related power", was introduced. This work employed linear regression with static panel data for fixed and pooled effects, using Driscoll–Kraay standard errors and robust standard error estimation. A direct association was found between business performance and the use of bank credit in highly concentrated banking markets (SMEs), and there is evidence of an inverse relationship when the relative power of banks increases (small business). Evidence also shows that financing costs increase with greater bank concentration, while firms' capital structure improves under similar conditions. When a bank holds greater relative market power, it tends to exert a negative impact on the capital structure of large companies. However, an inverse relationship is observed in the case of SMEs. Unlike previous studies, the article assesses the effects of bank market power on each of the different companies involved by using both bank concentration (as a composite variable) and a new variable that measures the relative power of banks. Due to its extensive database and expanded time frame, this research is innovative in the context of small-sized companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that differences in sociopolitical reputation can explain why interest groups fail or succeed in influencing policymakers and that therefore sociopolitical reputation is a useful addition to the conceptual toolbox of interest groups scholars. Focusing on pharmacies and their associations in Greece and Portugal between 2005 and 2021, this article uses the concept of sociopolitical reputation to explain why reform attempts to reduce pharmaceutical spending and increase competition in the pharmacy sector were successful in Portugal but not in Greece, even though pharmacists are a much stronger interest group in Portugal than in Greece and even though both countries were under significant exogenous pressure to introduce structural reforms in the wake of the Eurozone crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to reexamine the decision-making process on Portugal's entry into PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). The analysis indicates that the decision, which was not unanimous among the government members with responsibilities in the education field, was made in a context of normative emulation, with the goal of strengthening a specific direction of the national educational agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the relationship between morality and engagement focused on the narratives about climate change. The goal of our research is to understand whether moral grounds identified in individuals and in narratives can influence youth's engagement in environmental debate and news consumption on climate change. Recognizing that people's perceptions of climate change are related to several factors, such as ideas, cultures, and values, we sought to understand whether there is a "green morality" or a prevalence of more responsive moral attributes in individuals when they are exposed to thinking about the environment. We use the Moral Foundations Theory to analyze comments on the environmental news on Twitter and a questionnaire adapted to the environment on moral grounds. The data were collected from Brazil and Portugal between 2021 and 2022. The overall results showed a high incidence of responses with Care/Harm and Fairness/Cheating, and an average incidence of responses related to Loyalty/Betrayal and Authority/Subversion. The results indicate that youngsters show a more prominent moral to care and environmental harm, as well as justice and responsibility, which may influence their interest in the consumption of environmental news and future engagement. In addition, there are factors, such as political issues, that can influence moral values and engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Aposta is the property of Aposta and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Better theories and practices are constructed through a deep understanding of the subjects involved. In Portugal, young adults aged 18 to 30 are a group sometimes left out because the Portuguese official statistical data does not treat this as an age category by itself, dividing it either into young people or the general idea of adults. Through a social constructivist quantitative approach, this article seeks to construct a profile of young adulthood in Portugal, both in socio-demographic terms and in terms of their relationship with media. An online survey was conducted on a representative sample of young Portuguese adults (18–30 years), guaranteeing a margin of error of ±2.53% at the 95% confidence level. Results reveal that 83.5% of young adults identify themselves as heterosexual, and 83.5% do not have children. The average age of respondents with children is 26 years old. Most young adults (63.5%) live with their parents or other adult relatives, and the vast majority (82.2%) of these parents or relatives with whom they live are employed and have primary or secondary education. Mobile phones (92.8%), laptop computers (84.1%), and TV with a box (78.5%) are the primary media to which the young people in the sample have access. The mobile phone stands out in particular, as 90.2% of those inquired revealed that they use it every day. Social media are identified as the most frequently consumed type of media content (81.1% every day). These findings strengthen the idea of the centrality of the mobile phone in daily lives, especially among young adults, as well as social media platforms. This research helps to understand that the young adult profile in Portugal presents themselves as heterosexual, has no children, lives with parents or other adult relatives, and uses a mobile phone daily, despite having other media available for its use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of the residential function beyond the limits of the urban and developable land in the legislative frameworks has had a distinct and incomplete character. Faced with an identical phenomenon in general, called urban sprawl, the competent governments in this matter within the Iberian Peninsula have opted for a dissimilar assimilation of it, materialized in different legal and instrumental mechanisms. The objective of this paper is to present the different ways of understanding and regulating this new urban model by the Portuguese state government and the regional autonomous governments in Spain. To do this, a comparative analysis is carried out on the criteria for the classification of undeveloped land and a review of the most paradigmatic tools for the management of periurban and rurban development. The works indicate a position that is still indeterminate and, sometimes, contradictory. In spite of this, there is a tendency towards the regulated inclusion of the residential function outside the geographical contexts that have traditionally supported it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A widely held view in economics and comparative capitalism states that the crisis in the eurozone was a crisis of labour cost competitiveness. This view maintains that a divergence in unit labour costs engendered a cleavage between the euro area's core and periphery. Critics have disputed this and drawn attention to export specialisation, along with global competition, rather than intra-European competition. To make progress on this agenda, this article focuses on structures of production as a source of crisis vulnerability. It advances the notion that countries have unique forms of articulation within global capitalism, and that this matters to understanding national crisis trajectories. Focussing on the Portuguese case, the article scrutinises the interactions between export specialisation, global competition and industrial decline. The article shows that Portugal's current account deficit developed within a context of industrial change and deindustrialisation, which was facilitated competition from China and Eastern Europe. By stressing industrial patterns and global competition, the article provides a more concrete analysis of production than most accounts of the eurozone crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Medulloblastomas are the most common primary malignant brain tumors in children. They are divided into molecular subgroups: WNT-activated, SHH-Activated, TP53 mutant or wild type, and non-WNT/non-SHH (Groups 3 and 4). WNT-activated medulloblastomas are usually caused by mutations in the CTNNB1 gene (85%-90%), and most remaining cases of CTNNB1 wild type are thought to be caused by germline mutations in APC. So far, the frequencies of CTNNB1 have been reported mainly in North American and European populations. The aim of this study was to report the frequency of CTNNB1 mutations in WNT-activated medulloblastomas in a Latin-Iberian population and correlate with their clinicopathological characteristics. Methods: A total of 266 medulloblastomas from seven different institutions from Brazil (n=211), Portugal (n=38), and Argentina (n=17) were evaluated. Following RNA and DNA isolation from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissues, the molecular classification and CTNNB1 mutation analysis were performed by nCounter and Sanger sequencing, respectively. Results: WNT-activated medulloblastomas accounted for 15% (40/266) of the series. We observed that 73% of WNT-activated medulloblastomas harbored CTNNB1 mutations. CTNNB1 wild-type cases (27%) were more prevalent in female individuals and suggested to be associated with a worse outcome. Among the CTNNB1 wild-type cases, the available analysis of family history revealed two cases with familiar adenomatous polyposis, harboring APC germline variants. Conclusion: We observed a lower incidence of CTNNB1 mutations in WNT-activated medulloblastomas in our Latin-Iberian cohort compared to frequencies previously described in other populations. Considering that CTNNB1 wild-type cases may exhibit APC germline mutations, our study suggests a higher incidence (~30%) of hereditary WNT-activated medulloblastomas in the Latin-Iberian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Europe, with the dissemination of curriculum autonomy policies, teachers tend to be more involved in curriculum reforms as curriculum designers. In Portugal, in 2016, the government unprecedently commissioned eighteen teachers' associations to define a curriculum benchmark – 'Essential Learning'. Studies have shown the difficulties felt by teachers in their role as curriculum designers due to a lack of the knowledge and skills required to enact collaborative curriculum design. However, few studies have investigated the kind of knowledge, skills and support teachers need for curriculum design. This paper aims to present a theoretical model of the knowledge and skills required for curriculum design at the macro‐level, verify to what extent the eighteen associations master them, and describe the type of support that teachers need to design the curriculum. For data collection, the focus group technique was applied to the teachers' associations and to two curriculum experts hired by the Ministry of Education to support them. The results show that the associations had difficulties in three domains of knowledge and skills, regarding curriculum design expertise, pedagogical content knowledge, and knowledge required to create external curriculum consistency, presenting some guidelines to increase the quality of curriculum design in future curriculum changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rent regulation has a significant impact on tenant–landlord relations and the overall functioning of the private rented sector. Different forms of rent regulation—in relation to rent levels, rent increases, security of tenure, etc.—also affect the quality, the social composition and, ultimately, the size of the private rented sector. Together they affect the character of much urban regeneration and renewal. The introduction in Portugal of more flexible rent regimes that aimed to gradually replace open-ended tenancies with freely negotiated contracts led researchers to classify the country as a free market system. In this paper, by using a mixed methods approach that combined desk-based research with census data and in-depth interviews, we test the) classification of Portugal's rented sector as a free market against empirical evidence and examine the impacts of the main rent regulation regimes on social sustainability-oriented urban regeneration. Our results show that open-ended contracts, which were signed before the 1990s, still account for a significant part of the private rented sector, thus the classification of Portugal's rent regulation regime as a free-market system does not capture the country's most significant features. This is particularly evident in inner-city Lisbon, where various extreme rent regimes (in terms of contract duration, tenant security and prices) coexist, giving rise to tensions between housing quality and demographic shifts that threaten the overall social sustainability of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the determinants of the partisan composition of cabinets formed in the last twenty years in Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Assuming that coalition formation processes take place in three-dimensional political spaces, we assess the impact of the ideological heterogeneity of potential coalitions on economic, EU-related, and socio-cultural issues on the chances that a combination of parties finally forms a cabinet. We find that – in line with the intensified role exerted by EU institutions in domestic affairs – parties were more likely to form a coalition government with those actors who share similar positions on an economic and an EU integration dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the pandemic of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2, university students were considered a vulnerable risk group for mental health impairment and wellbeing deterioration. This study aimed at evaluating the pandemic's impact on the physical and mental health and wellbeing among students of a Portuguese university. This cross-sectional study included 913 participants and ran from June to October 2020. Data collected included sociodemographics, three mental health self-report questionnaires (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire and Brief COPE) and lifestyle practices (eating and sleeping patterns, media, and entertainment habits) during the first months of the pandemic, which included a 72-day full national lockdown. Descriptive and correlational statistical analysis were conducted. Students' food habits changed during the pandemic, namely on the consumption of snacks and fast food and, overall, less balanced meals became more prevalent. Additionally, almost 70% of the students reported Body Mass Index changes, while 59% went through sleep pattern changes–these were more pronounced in women and younger students. Over half (67%) of the inquirees exhibited an increase in their stress, depression, and generalized anxiety symptoms. Also, the study demonstrates that students' lifestyles trended negatively during the pandemic and highlights how important regular psychological, health monitoring and emotional support is, amongst this somehow overlooked population throughout the pandemic. Universities should provide support to overcome challenges in future stressful situations. This study might have an impact on how universities and higher education systems approach their students in terms of mental and physical health monitoring and promotion in future situations, non-related with COVID. Moreover, it has a large sample of students well characterized in terms of mental and physical health, which might be of interest for future comparison with other worldwide group of students throughout stressful situations, such as tragic events, wars, pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in the complementarity of road and railway systems and a growing integration of logistical chains, there is an urgent need to coordinate the management of these two often-independent systems. Portugal has adopted a more radical approach, and with the argument of capturing synergies and reducing costs, merged the road and railway companies, creating the largest Portuguese infrastructure manager, responsible for overseeing the entire road and railway network. This research analyzes from an efficiency perspective the effects of such a policy option. The methodology used was to calculate several scores (using data envelopment analysis), and analyze the impact of a number of external factors [e.g., gross domestic product (GDP) growth, employment, financial crisis, and so on], and policy options (the merger itself), on those scores through multiple regressions. The results show that the merger had a positive impact on efficiency. The merger also improved the overall performance toward negative economic cycles, thus increasing its economic resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-evolution of techno-economic, societal, environmental and political-institutional systems towards sustainable energy transitions is largely influencing the disruptive reconfiguration of the energy sector across the globe. At the heart of this disruption is the peer-to-peer energy sharing concept. Nonetheless, peer-to-peer energy sharing business models are yet very little put into practice due to the rigid energy market structures and lagging regulatory frameworks across the globe. In view of this, this paper presents a novel peer-to-peer energy sharing business model developed specifically for the context of the Portuguese energy market, which was successfully trialed in three pilot projects in Portugal under real market conditions. All things considered, the novelty of this paper lies on an innovative approach for the collaborative use of the surplus electricity generation from photovoltaic systems between end-users under the same low voltage/medium voltage transformer substation, which resulted in direct financial benefits to them. While absent deregulation obstructs the implementation of effective peer-to-peer energy sharing markets in Portugal, such demonstration projects are essential to challenge restrictive regulatory frameworks that do not keep pace with techno-economic and societal innovations, thus helping to build the emerging consumer-centric energy regime and disrupt the old one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Antipode is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With growing concern for the unsustainability of food systems, the international research community has turned its attention to small farms as key actors to potentially face the global food crisis. This study aims to support a policy design that values the diversity of small farms business models vis‐à‐vis environmental, economic, social and institutional challenges affecting European farming systems. Building on the existing classification of five small farm types in the EU, our analysis targets the business model dynamics of small farms in four Euro‐Mediterranean countries: Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. For this analysis, we applied resilience thinking to the Business Model Canvas framework. This innovative conceptual framework allows us to depict the architecture of small farms business models and their role in farming systems. The diversity of small farms business models and their continuous adaptation to changing conditions allows for the identification of a strongly heterogeneous assemblage of farms that contribute to the resilience of food systems at local, regional and multiple other scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in life expectancy, the incidence of neurodegenerative disorders and their impact worldwide has been increasing in recent years. Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease, have complex and varied mechanisms of pathogenesis. Importantly, they share the common feature of disrupted circadian rhythms. This hallmark is believed to underlie the symptoms of such diseases and even potentially contribute to their onset. In addition, the association of physical frailty with dementia and neurodegenerative disorders has been demonstrated. In fact, frail persons are 8 times more likely to have some form of dementia and population studies report a significant prevalence for frailty in older patients with AD and PD. SIRT1 regulates the acetylation status of clock components and controls circadian amplitude of clock genes. However, the mechanisms responsible for this circadian clock control have been the subject of contradictory findings. Importantly, the activation of SIRT1 has been shown to have very relevant therapeutic potential against neurodegeneration. Nevertheless, few studies have attempted to connect the therapeutic reestablishing of SIRT1 as an approach against circadian disruption in neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we address: circadian rhythms as an important early biomarker of neurodegenerative disorders; mechanisms for SIRT1 activation and the novel sirtuin-activating compounds (STACs); SIRT1 circadian paradox and subsequent studies in an unprecedented way in the literature; the beneficial role of SIRT1 activation in neurodegeneration; innovative proposals of how circadian-based interventions (e.g., SIRT1 activators) may become an important therapeutic approach against neurodegenerative disorders and how non-pharmacologic interventions (e.g., Mediterranean-style diet) might help in the prevention and/or treatment of these high-burden disorders, while tackling frailty and enhancing robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the fact that the current level of energy supply security in Europe is quite satisfactory, new challenges present a potential risk of jeopardising the current state of affairs. Among others, key challenges are related to the strengthening of the market framework (in the context of deregulation and unbundling as imposed by EU directives) and the increasing penetration of renewable energy sources in the generation mix (with inherently greater variability). Under these circumstances, assessing the value of lost load (VoLL) is useful to support energy decision-making, including benefit-cost analysis and the design of suitable regulatory frameworks. This paper develops VoLL estimation using a macroeconomic technique, namely the production-function approach. The VoLL determines the foregone value added due to electricity outage. The production-function method is applied to the Portuguese case and an average VoLL of 5.12 €/kWh is found. The paper also presents the VoLL results obtained for various economic sectors as well as households. Moreover, the temporal variation of the VoLL along typical weekdays and weekend, in winter and in summer, and for the most relevant sectors (manufacturing, retail services, and households) is demonstrated and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Health, present and future, is becoming increasingly structuring of the lifestyle of large amounts of western populations. Food, as an immediate intervention object, is revealing plasticity either in which concerns the transformative power of technology or the enlarged purposes of usage. Functional foods, a category of techno-foods, enriched with micro-ingredients, is showing increasing presence in the Portuguese dietary habits related both with the willing to consume from the individual's side and the expanding creative offer from the industry side. In a context of deregulation of eating practices [1], in which dietary norms are under constant remodelling and dietary patterns become fragmented, hybrid objects (between food and medicines), such as the functional foods, play an important role in the food decision making and the associated risk management. The mobilization of the 'rationalism' concept from Weber [2] and its declination on the cost-benefit principle of calculation [3] together with the neoliberal ideology of empowerment of the 'responsible' consumer [4] enable to understand the regular consumers of functional foods as calculated, methodical and premeditated agents trying to achieve higher levels of control of their bodies. Materials and methods: In an approach to a mix-methods methodology two independent quantitative techniques were used namely a survey by questionnaire about nutritional habits, of the Portuguese population, and a database of 500.000 transactions, of functional foods, performed with a retail chain's loyalty card in order to identify typified usage profiles. Further analysis of content of 4 focus groups, integrating 24 participants, was used to explore the logics and perceptions that modulate the different modes of relation of Portuguese consumers with functional foods. This investigation complied with the standard ethics procedures and follows the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Results: The combination of the quantitative data shows the average consumer as being a woman, aged 35–54 years, high levels of education and living in a home with a monthly income >2.500,00€ and consuming in a daily or weekly basis. The most consumed products are those for the regulation of the intestinal transit, mainly yogurts enriched with bacteria and water and cereals enriched with fibres. Discussion and conclusions: Three profiles were identified related to the following rationalities: Aspirational, Instrumental and Pragmatic. The first two, usually related with the 'worried well', reveal medicalised or proto-medicalised practices connected with the use-value of the functional foods, transformed in a therapeutic tool, either to complement, delay or substitute a medicine. The third is an indicator of how commodification and normalisation is stimulating simplified heuristics [5]. Through functional foods medicalisation presents new social manifestations and expands to the territories of performance and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rates of mental health issues have been increasing among university students. This study investigates the effects of the Interculturality and Mindfulness Program (PIM) on academic students on mindfulness, emotional regulation, depression, anxiety, stress, life satisfaction, optimism, positive solitude, and loneliness. A quasi-experimental research was conducted, with pre- and post-test comparative measurements in three groups: in-person (IG), synchronous online (OG), and passive control (CG). A diverse group of students (n = 150; mean age = 25.4 ± 8.31) participated from two universities in Portugal. When compared to the CG, both active groups (IG and OG) demonstrated a beneficial interaction effect in acceptance, positive solitude, optimism, and mindfulness. The IG demonstrated a positive interaction effect in awareness and satisfaction with life, whereas the OG indicated a favorable interaction effect in impulse. When analyzing the intra-group effects, both active groups presented a significant improvement in stress, emotion regulation, mindfulness, positive solitude, and optimism. The OG demonstrated an improvement in awareness and loneliness. The main limitations of this research are that students were not randomly assigned, and groups were heterogeneous in nationality, education level, and sex. Nonetheless, PIM has indicated beneficial results in both IG and OG, and is a promising intervention for the prevention of mental health issues (e.g., stress, difficulties in emotional regulation, and loneliness), as well as for the promotion of well-being (e.g., positive solitude, mindfulness, life satisfaction, and optimism). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ireland, Portugal and Slovenia – three states with different historical legacies and institutional frameworks – promoted labour market flexibility and active labour market policies before and during the 2008 crisis. These policies were postulated as basic policies on the EU level. However, a significant change came with the COVID-19 crisis when governments in all three states implemented measures much more resembling neo-Keynesian policies. In the article, we show that the crucial mechanisms for the various labour market policy choices made in these three countries were due to the two crises being of distinct types, the (non)coincidence of interests of a range of actors and classes, and the different policy frameworks promoted by the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a sociological approach to coffee consumption as a performance management strategy in work contexts, particularly in professions with intense work rhythms and highly responsive demands. Focusing on the daily work of three professional groups (nurses, police officers, and journalists), we analyze the social expression of coffee and how it is mobilized to deal with sleep problems, fatigue, concentration, or stress. For this purpose, three intertwined dimensions are explored: (1) the nature of these professionals' work and the pressures for certain forms and levels of performance; (2) sleep problems as both a result of those work characteristics and a constraint on performance; and (3) the role of coffee in managing professional imperatives. The use of coffee appears as a legitimate practice in everyday working routines, due to its socializing markers, whereas additional benefits are attributed to the pharmacological properties of caffeine, given the perceived improvement in performance. The empirical data derive from a study carried out in Portugal on the use of medicines and food supplements for performance management, following a mixed methods approach. In particular, data from a questionnaire survey in a sample of 539 workers and information collected through seven focus groups with a total of 33 participants were used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine a focus group with eight Portuguese psychologists (four career counsellors) on two quantitative studies' results focused on the psychosocial consequences of unemployment/precarity/uncertainty, exploring how do they: give meaning to the results, perceive their professional role, and think that socio-political issues influence their practice. Data were analysed through thematic social-constructionist and critical discourse analyses. Two themes (the construction of the "employable individual" and the limits of psychology), and two discourses (the hegemonic psychological discourse reflecting neoliberal discourses and adaptation to the labour market and "the social context is an aggressor" highlighting socio-political/economic roots of psychological ailments) were identified. We aim to foster a reflection on socially-just practices within career counselling, and to promote people's agency/conscientisation/emancipation and career development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze the temporal dependence in energy prices and demand using daily data of Portugal and Spain over the period 2007–2017. The methodology used is based on a stochastic Hidden Markov Model and the results indicate first that all significant relationships between energy prices and demands were found to be positive; second, spot prices are only time dependent on future prices and spot energy, while future energy is solely time dependent on spot energy behavior; third, future prices are not only autocorrelated but also time-dependent with spot energy and future energy demands level; and finally, spot energy is autocorrelated and time-dependent with future prices and future energy. Policy implications of the results obtained are presented at the end of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an index of domestic macroprudential policy tools is constructed and the effectiveness of these tools in controlling credit growth, managing GDP growth and steadying inflation is studied using a dynamic panel data model for the period between 2000 and 2017. The empirical analysis includes two panels namely an EU panel of 27 countries and a Latin American panel of 7 countries, the paper also looks at a case study of Japan, Portugal and the UK. Our main results show that a tighter overall macroprudential policy stance would result in lower credit growth as well as lower GDP growth while, a tighter overall macroprudential policy tool stance would lead to higher inflation in the majority of cases. Factors such as capital openness and the perception of global market risk play an important role in both the exigency of policy implementation as well as the success thereof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multitarget anti-Alzheimer agents are the focus of very intensive research. Through a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the publications in the period 1990–2020, we have identified trends and potential gaps that might guide future directions. We found that: (i) the number of publications boomed by 2011 and continued ascending in 2020; (ii) the linked-pharmacophore strategy was preferred over design approaches based on fusing or merging pharmacophores or privileged structures; (iii) a significant number of in vivo studies, mainly using the scopolamine-induced amnesia mouse model, have been performed, especially since 2017; (iv) China, Italy and Spain are the countries with the largest total number of publications on this topic, whereas Portugal, Spain and Italy are the countries in whose scientific communities this topic has generated greatest interest; (v) acetylcholinesterase, β-amyloid aggregation, oxidative stress, butyrylcholinesterase, and biometal chelation and the binary combinations thereof have been the most commonly pursued, while combinations based on other key targets, such as tau aggregation, glycogen synthase kinase-3β, NMDA receptors, and more than 70 other targets have been only marginally considered. These results might allow us to spot new design opportunities based on innovative target combinations to expand and diversify the repertoire of multitarget drug candidates and increase the likelihood of finding effective therapies for this devastating disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In Portugal, due to the rental market's inability to respond to the constant mismatch between supply and demand over the course of decades, things have become increasingly residual and dysfunctional within the scope of the homeownership market. Through analysis of various laws and legislative changes over the last century, as well as the participant observation acquired by the author's two-and-a-half years of experience as a stakeholder in the sector, this paper aims to review rental policies in Portugal and the multiple impacts they have had on reproducing various weaknesses in the rental market. The paper concludes with some policy recommendations that advocate how government action is decisive in shaping housing and rental policy, establishing a legal and regulatory framework able to transmit credibility, stability and security to the contractual forms between supply and demand, in keeping with an effective right to housing through affordable renting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper to analyze the risk reporting practices and its determinants of commercial banks during the period of the adoption of the Basel II Accord in Portugal. Design/methodology/approach: The paper conducts a content analysis of the risk and risk management sections included in the management reports and the notes of the annual reports of Portuguese commercial banks, for the years 2007, 2010 and 2013. Findings: Findings show that theoretical frameworks underpinned in agency and legitimacy theories continue to provide valid explanations for risk reporting by Portuguese banks. More specifically, findings indicate that agency costs, public visibility and reputation are crucial drivers of risk reporting. Findings also indicate that younger banks with lower risk management skills use risk reporting either as an informational process or as a channel to manage organizational legitimacy. Research limitations/implications: The content analysis does not allow readily for in-depth qualitative inquiry. The coding instrument is subject to coder bias. Information about risk can be provided in sources other than annual reports. Additionally, not all banks disclose information on corporate governance-related variables that could also influence risk reporting. Originality/value: The current research setting has never been studied hitherto. In this sense, this study seems to be of great relevance given the scarcity of literature on the subject in Portugal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a more nuanced analysis of employee promotion decisions; specifically, how they are affected by firm size, gender and stages within the business cycle. Drawing on data from Portugal, we find that during times of adverse macroeconomic conditions, promotion prospects in all firms decline. Within large firms, women are more likely to be promoted during economic downturns, reflecting the 'glass cliff' hypothesis. In small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), overall promotion rates are less affected by adverse economic conditions, however, women are less likely to attain promotions. Our results emphasize the importance of market volatility and firm heterogeneity in promotion and importantly, reveal differing forms of gender discrimination. In large firms women are, in effect, afforded greater responsibility for the effects of market volatility whilst SMEs invest more confidence in male employees to manage during crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to describe sleep habits, quality of life and psychosocial aspects in older people and analyze associated differences considering the time before COVID-19 pandemic and during its first wave in Portugal. Methods: Online survey used for data collection received answers from 914 elderly (age range 65 – 90y), from April to August 2020. Results: Symptoms of self-perception of depression, anxiety, irritability and economic problems were not prominent in the elderly, except for worries concerning uncertainty about the future. There was no difference in sleep duration before and during the pandemic, although there was a worsening of some aspects related to sleep, such as sleep quality, sleep efficiency, awakening quality, sleep latency and nocturnal awakenings. Gender comparisons showed a higher vulnerability in women. Some morbidities got worse during the pandemic among the elderly, such as Insomnia, Headaches, Depression, Tinnitus, among others. Conclusion: Even though our data suggest that the pandemic did not have a great impact on quality of life, sleep quality and psychosocial aspects in the elderly, they were still affected by the worsening of their health conditions, including sleep and morbidities. Some behaviors may act as protective factors in this population, such as walking and keeping contact with others, as well as other aspects like financial stability, high level of education and family support, as they can help them to cope better with difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article describes and explains labour market reforms in Portugal during the sovereign debt crisis from 2011 to 2014. Policy outputs were not homogenous, but differentiated between a first phase where recalibration co-existed alongside hard liberalising measures and a second phase, from late 2012, where recalibration was dropped and liberalisation further deregulated employment protection and security and eroded collective bargaining. This variation is explained by the changing coalitional politics and blame allocation underpinning policymaking under conditionality. Initial reforms resulted from a broad informal political coalition spanning the governing centre-right parties, the main opposition party, a trade union and employer confederations; its breakdown in late 2012 led to the executive's increasing centralisation, the shut down of social concertation, and more radical policy outputs. The article shows that cooperation between government and opposition and government and social partners is possible even under external conditionality, how coalition politics affects the nature and direction of reforms, and highlights how political dynamics of blame allocation drive the process of coalition building and breakdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we examine the making of austerity as common sense, located at the intersection of state interventions and the everyday practices and moral logics through which austerity emerges as an acceptable livelihood possibility for individuals, households and communities. Our argument is based on a comparative analysis of austerity in Italy and Portugal, with a focus on popular austerities among working-class households in two post-industrial towns. With the aim of addressing the conundrum of the pervasiveness of austerity, we emphasise the relevance of Gramsci's notion of common sense to expand the anthropological theorisation of austerity as a hegemonic project combining coercion and consent, capable of reconfiguring the state, and as a field of contradictions integral to the very making of common sense. We argue that austerity regimes become operative through the deployment of institutional coercive practices, moral arguments and the ideological co-optation of historical legacies of austerity embodied by ordinary people in their livelihood praxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to study the functional distribution of income in Portugal in the long run, considering the period between 1953 and 2017. The labour share in income or value added depends on two fundamental variables, labour productivity and the average labour compensation. The trends of these variables are quantified for the aggregate economy and for its main productive sectors. An interesting result emerges, namely the different dynamics across sectors, both for the (unadjusted) wage share (considering only the wages of employees) and for the adjusted labour share (considering also as labour compensation one fraction of mixed income). Moreover, a shift-share analysis is used, in order to distinguish the importance of each sector's wage share evolution ("within" effect) and the changes in each sector's weight (structural changes, or "between" effect). Finally, a first attempt to incorporate the effect of wage inequality on the functional distribution of income is made, subtracting the labour compensation of the highest paid workers (top 10%, 5% and 1%) in order to calculate the wage share of the (so-called) "typical" workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Cardiovascular complications are the main causes of death for type 2 diabetes. Their relationship to socioeconomic factors, such as health literacy, is not well known. Objectives. To study the relationship between health literacy and cardiovascular complications (acute myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, transient ischemic attack and ischemic heart disease) in type 2 diabetes patients and to understand the relationship of type 2 diabetes mellitus associated cardiovascular disease with empowerment and therapy adherence. Material and methods. A cross-sectional study with a convenience sample of people with type 2 diabetes in central Portugal. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics (blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, hemoglobin A1c and history of cardiovascular diseases) were collected, and validated scales were applied to assess health literacy, adherence to therapy, empowerment and quality of life. Bivariate inferential analysis between literacy, other variables and cardiovascular diseases, with subsequent Logistic Regression, was performed. Results. A sample of n = 202, mean age 68.11 ± 10.19 years, n = 116 (57.4%) males was studied. Higher health literacy was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (p = 0.015). This relationship was independent of the remaining variables (OR = 0.947; 95% CI: 0.913–0.982; p = 0.003). Significant relationships were demonstrated between cardiovascular disease and quality of life (p = 0.001), adherence to total therapy (p = 0.045), general diet (p = 0.002), physical activity (p = 0.027), age (p = 0.004) and LDL cholesterol (p = 0.036). Conclusions. The independent relationship between health literacy and cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes, when confirmed, will indicate that health literacy promotion acts as an important health policy measure to be adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Universitas, Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas is the property of Universidad Politecnica Salesiana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)