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The central goal of this article is to analyze social mobility using a comparative investigation of the social class trajectories of Portuguese men and women born in different generations. Using data from the “Family trajectories and social networks: the life course in an intergenerational perspective” project, social class trajectories are examined comparatively, following the life course of each individual. An innovative methodology is used, seeking to establish a relationship between historical time and social mobility. Social class trajectories are compared based on class origins, gender, and generation. Significant relationships between capitals at origin and individual trajectories are revealed., Este artigo analisa a mobilidade social a partir da investigação comparativa das trajetórias de classe social de portugueses nascidos em duas gerações correspondentes a contextos sociohistóricos distintos. Usando dados provenientes do projeto “Trajetórias familiares e redes sociais: a trajetória de vida numa perspetiva intergeracional” examinam-se trajetórias de classe, seguindo o percurso de vida dos indivíduos. Investiga-se em que medida a origem de classe tem um impacto sobre as trajetórias de classe social dos indivíduos, articulando esta relação com o género, a geração e a classe social de origem. Encontram-se relações significativas entre os capitais na origem e os percursos individuais.

In the context of successive global crises and rising household food insecurity in wealthy European countries there is renewed attention to the role of school meals as a welfare intervention. However, little is known about the extent to which school meals are a resource for low-income families living in different contexts. Drawing on a mixed methods study of food in low-income families in three European countries, this paper adopts a realist ontological stance and an embedded case study approach to address this question. The research concerns low-income families with children aged 11–15 years in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis in the UK, Portugal and Norway. Based on a comparative, multi-layered analysis of macro-, meso- and micro-level contexts, we argue that publicly funded, nutritious school meals protect children from the direct effects of poverty on their food security, whilst underfunded and weakly regulated school food provision compounds children’s experiences of disadvantage and exclusion. The paper concludes with recommendations for public policies that conceptualise school meals as a collective resource, like education, to which young people as bearers of the right to food are entitled.

Supplemental material for Food consumption, social class and taste in contemporary Portugal by Vasco Ramos in Journal of Consumer Culture

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Informática, Information systems are continuously evolving in nature and complexity. Infrastructure concerns such as availability, efficiency, and disaster recovery have been some of the most important drivers regarding how infrastructure is planned and executed. As these mechanisms evolved, so did the underlying foundation for their functioning — Information Technology (IT) infrastructure monitoring. Inside the healthcare environment, it is important to discuss IT infrastructure monitoring and disaster prevention and recovery since availability and communication are vital for the proper functioning of healthcare units, whether acting in isolation or on a network. When acting on a network, it is especially important to be able to easily monitor and observe each unit from a single point of access so that actions can be swiftly taken when there is a problem. Considering the wide range of available solutions and heterogeneous nature of IT infrastructure, even within the healthcare industry, the majority of the solutions either focus too much on a particular problem of some industry, healthcare or not, or are too generic and can’t fulfill the needs of an increasingly connected and interdependent healthcare industry. This Dissertation proposes a web and microservices-based IT infrastructure monitoring backend solution with a multi-site and multi-organization scheme at its core that is designed to be scalable, easily deployed and integrated with existing tools, and simple to further extend and improve. This solution has two main components, one server which is the central point of the solution, the guardian server, and the other one, which is the local client to be installed on each organization’s infrastructure. The produced backend solution was tested and validated in two healthcare organizations which provided useful feedback and a positive answer to the usefulness of a monitoring solution, such as the one developed in this Dissertation, in improving the efficiency and reliability of the organizations’ IT infrastructure and, therefore, their healthcare services. A formal evaluation of the solution was also carried out with a combination of a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis and a risk assessment report, both mechanisms providing useful insights on the strengths and limitations of the solution, as well as possible improvement points., Os sistemas de informação estão em constante evolução tanto em índole, como complexidade. Questões como disponibilidade, eficiência e recuperação de falhas têm sido alguns dos fatores mais importantes no que diz respeito ao planeamento e execução de infraestruturas. À medida que esses mecanismos evoluíram, o mesmo aconteceu com a base subjacente para o seu funcionamento — a monitorização de infraestruturas de Tecnologia de Informação (TI). O ambiente hospitalar é particularmente relevante quando se discute monitorização de infraestruturas de TI e a prevenção e recuperação de desastres, uma vez que a disponibilidade e a comunicação com terceiros são vitais para o bom funcionamento das unidades de cuidados de saúde, quer estas atuem isoladamente ou em rede. Ao atuar em rede, é especialmente importante ser capaz de facilmente monitorizar e observar cada unidade de saúde a partir de um único ponto de acesso, de modo a que, quando houver um problema, se possa agir de forma rápida e integrada. Tendo em conta a vasta gama de soluções de monitorização disponíveis e a heterogeneidade das infraestruturas de TI, a maioria das soluções ou se concentra demasiado num problema específico de uma dada indústria ou setor, de cuidados de saúde ou não, ou é demasiado genérica e não consegue satisfazer as necessidades de uma indústria de cuidados de saúde cada vez mais conexa e interdependente. Esta Dissertação propõe uma solução backend de monitorização de infraestruturas de TI baseada em microserviços web, com um esquema multi-local e multi-organização na sua fundação, que foi concebida para ser escalável, facilmente instalada e integrada com ferramentas já existentes, e simples de expandir e melhorar. Esta solução tem dois principais componentes, um servidor que é o ponto central da solução, o guardian server, e o outro que é o cliente local a ser instalado na infraestrutura de cada organização. A solução backend produzida foi testada e validada em duas organizações de cuidados de saúde que forneceram opiniões úteis e construtivas, bem como uma resposta positiva à utilidade de uma solução de monitorização, como a desenvolvida nesta Dissertação, para melhorar a eficiência e fiabilidade da infraestrutura de TI das organizações e, consequentemente, dos cuidados de saúde que estas prestam. Foi também realizada uma avaliação formal da solução através da combinação de uma análise SWOT e de um relatório de avaliação de risco, em que ambos forneceram informação útil sobre os pontos fortes e limitações da solução, bem como possíveis pontos de melhoria.

This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions., Different representations of the ‘countryside’ coexist in contemporary Portugal, from idyllic depictions to portrayals of emptiness and loneliness. Rural contexts close to urban areas are assumed to have informal support networks that can alleviate poverty and exclusion when institutional support fails. The incidence and intensity of food poverty are presumed to be lessened by proximity to food production sites and land ownership. In this article, we aim to analyse how living in an intermediate area shapes the experience of food poverty. We draw on qualitative case studies of low-income families living in between a predominantly rural and a predominantly urban territory in Portugal, which has been through a process of restructuring of its rural territory since the second half of the 20th century. Paying attention to the specificities of this intermediate context, including the availability of formal support, we will investigate to what extent informal support networks alleviate food poverty for these families. Our discussion adds to the scientific debate on food poverty and its links to social networks in intermediate areas previously embedded in predominantly rural territories. We also discuss the highly gendered nature of informal support and its significance for women enduring food poverty.

This CESSDA® Roadshow on 14 October 2021 is a deep dive on climate change research in the social sciences, which are key to ensuring impartial, reliable and trusted datasets contribute to tackling this global challenge. Bringing together CESSDA® experts and users, the Roadshow zooms in on datasets available in the Finnish Social Science Data Archive as just one example of the wealth of resources available to researchers in the CESSDA Data Catalogue®. Experts also give practical guides on the CESSDA Data Management Expert Guide®. Researchers then share their first-hand experiences in using the CESSDA Data Catalogue® and re-using data from related studies, highlighting benefits also for cross-disciplinary research. These flash talks serve as a springboard for the interactive discussions with invited panelists and participants, sharing diverse viewpoints as data service providers and members of the social sciences community in the context of CESSDA®. The video is available on theCESSDA TrainingYouTube channel.

Throughout the world, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted family routines, relationships, projects and sociability, threatening the health, income, social cohesion, and well-being of individuals and their families. Lockdown restrictions imposed during the first wave of the pandemic challenged the theories, concepts, and methods used by family sociologists and the intersecting fields of gender and social inequality. By restricting physical interactions to co-resident family members, the household regained a privileged role as a crucial social laboratory for studying the impact of COVID-19 on family life. The difficulties encountered by individuals in maintaining and dealing with close relationships across households and geographical borders, in a context in which relational proximity was discouraged by the public authorities, exposed the linked nature of family and personal relationships beyond the limits of co-residence. The main aim of this article is to investigate the social impacts of the pandemic on different types of households during the first lockdown at an early stage of the pandemic in Portugal. Drawing on an online survey applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 11,508 households between 25 and 29 March 2020, the authors combined quantitative and qualitative methods, including bi-variate inferential statistics, cluster analysis and in-depth case studies. The article distinguishes between different household types: solo, couple with and without children, extended, friendship, lone-parent families, and intermittent arrangements, such as shared custody. A cross-tabulation of the quantitative data with open-ended responses was carried out to provide a refined analysis of the household reconfigurations brought about during lockdown. The analysis showed how pre-existing unequal structural living conditions shaped the pathways leading to household reconfiguration as families sought to cope with restrictions on mobility, social distancing norms, and other lockdown measures. The findings stress that, in dealing with a crisis, multilevel welfare interventions need to be considered if governments are to cater to the differentiated social needs and vulnerabilities faced by individuals and families.

The paper develops a critical reflection upon the methodological and ethical challenges of researching the food practices of low-income families with children. We draw on data and fieldwork experience in Portugal, within a recently completed European research project. The study aimed to understand children’s experiences and views about the place of food in their lives, drawing on sociological approaches to childhood that conceptualize children as social agents, active participants within families and competent experts on their own social and interactional worlds. These assertions underlie the project’s mixed-method approach (in-person interviews, questionnaires and photo-elicitation). We argue that beyond well-known ethical challenges (such as gatekeeping, power asymmetries, reciprocity and active participation), food and food poverty bring forth unique dilemmas, which may affect children’s participation in research. Following the dimensions suggested by Tracy, our contribution offers a reflexive account of ethics-in-practice of how we dealt with ethical dilemmas on the field.

A imprevisibilidade dos percursos profissionais na era do capitalismo pós-fordista é uma problemática amplamente discutida na sociologia contemporânea. Partindo da segunda metade do século XX, o artigo contextualiza a discussão no contexto português. Mobilizando o conceito de trajetória profissional, desenvolvido a partir da análise sequencial às trajetórias de portugueses de três coortes etárias, oferece-se uma tipologia dos percursos que articula modalidades contratuais e atividade profissional. Os resultados revelam ampla variedade de trajetórias e a segmentação entre percursos com diferentes graus de vulnerabilidade contratual. The issue of the unpredictability of occupational paths in the post-Fordist capitalist era has been widely discussed in contemporary sociology. Beginning with the second half of the 20th century, the article contextualises this debate in the Portuguese case. Mobilising the occupational trajectory concept, which it develops using a sequential analysis of the trajectories of three Portuguese age cohorts, it offers a path typology that articulates contractual formats and work. The results reveal a wide variety of trajectories and a segmentation of paths into different degrees of contractual vulnerability. L’imprévisibilité des parcours professionnels à l’ère du capitalisme postfordiste est une problématique amplement discutée dans la sociologie contemporaine. L’article part de la seconde moitié du XXe siècle pour resituer la discussion dans le contexte portugais. En développant le concept de trajectoire professionnelle à partir de l’analyse séquentielle des trajectoires de Portugais de trois tranches d’âge, il propose une typologie des parcours qui associe modalités contractuelles et activité professionnelle. Les résultats révèlent une grande variété de trajectoires et de segmentations entre parcours présentant différents degrés de vulnérabilité contractuelle. La imprevisibilidad de los trayectos profesionales en la era del capitalismo post-fordista es una problemática ampliamente discutida en la sociología contemporánea. Partiendo de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, el artículo contextualiza la discusión en el panorama portugués. Movilizando el concepto de trayectoria profesional, desarrollado a partir del análisis secuencial a las trayectorias de portugueses de tres cohortes de edad, ofrece una tipología de los trayectos que articula modalidades contractuales y actividad profesional. Los resultados revelan una amplia variedad de trayectorias y la segmentación entre recorridos con diferentes grados de vulnerabilidad contractual.

This paper addresses the importance of school meals in balancing food budgets and diets among 45 lowincome families in Portugal. Drawing on interviews with both parents and children (aged 11–15 years) we found that children’s views on the quality of school meals affect their willingness to eat at school and heighten parental concerns with health, food and resources. For parents, school meals are crucial to ensure children’s dietary variety and balancing tight food budgets. Schools’ role in food poverty alleviation is also critically addressed, contributing to current and future sociological studies of children, school meals and food poverty.