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This paper examines the extent to which the position of the medical profession and the state towards complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners has changed since the late 1990s, taking Portugal as a case study. Using Light's concept of countervailing powers we consider the alliances, interests, rhetorics and degrees of control between these three actors over time, focusing particularly on the extent to which CAM practitioners have acted as a countervailing force in their relationship with the medical profession and the state. It also brings to the fore the position of supra-state agencies concerning CAM regulation. A critical discourse analysis was conducted on data derived from a systematic search of information from the late 1990s until 2015. Our analysis suggests that CAM has emerged as an active player and a countervailing power in that it has been a significant influence in shaping state policy-making. The medical profession, in turn, has changed from rejecting to 'incorporating' CAM while the state has acted has a 'broker', trying to accommodate the demands and preferences of both actors while simultaneously demonstrating its power and autonomy in shaping health policy. In sum, the history of countermoves of CAM, the medical profession and the state in recasting power relations regarding CAM regulation in Portugal has highlighted the explanatory value of Light's countervailing power theory and the need to move away from a professional dominance and corporatist approach where CAM has simply been seen as subjugated to the power of the medical profession and the state. ; as before the April 2016 deadline (just!) full text not required for REF. File attached is publishers pdf. Passing metadata only to repository 4/4/18

Sociological research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has focused on CAM practitioners' efforts to professionalise within biomedically-dominated healthcare systems. Structural changes and alterations in the knowledge or content of work have been main aspects of CAM's professionalisation process. This research emphasises a third, often overlooked, aspect: the role of the geographical setting and its distinct context. This research has four objectives: (1) to compare the evolvement of the professionalisation of CAM in two European countries, the UK and Portugal; (2) to identify parallels and differences to this process in these two countries; (3) to discuss the role of political, historical, economic and cultural context in explaining such parallels and differences; (4) to contribute to a multi-layered analysis of CAM's professionalisation in Western societies. Acupuncture and homeopathy will be used as case-studies. The analysis draws on empirical data gathered between 2008-2015 in the UK and Portugal. In-depth interviews with traditional acupuncture and classical homeopathy practitioners and educators, documentary analysis of regulation policies, and participant observation of teaching, have been the methods of data collection. A preliminary analysis of the data suggests different levels of state intervention and control in CAM's regulation in the UK and Portugal. There are also considerable differences in terms of stages of formalisation of education in both countries: while in the UK CAM's undergraduate programmes were established already in the 1990s but have recently witnessed a significant rejection and decline, in Portugal, prompted by government regulation, they have recently been created. This comparative approach can help identify country-specific forces to CAM's professionalisation. Furthermore, it can extend national-level ideas about what is possible within CAM's professionalisation process and contribute to developing a typology of CAM's professionalisation in Western societies.

Short Abstract This investigation compares the formalising of acupuncture and homeopathy training in the UK and in Portugal while emphasising another, often overlooked, dimension - the role of the local setting with its distinctive cultural-political make up. Long Abstract Sociological research of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has focused on CAM practitioners' efforts to professionalise within biomedically-dominated healthcare systems, a process characterised by structural/organisational changes and alterations to the knowledge or content of work. This investigation compares the formalising of acupuncture and homeopathy training in the UK and in Portugal while emphasising another, often overlooked, dimension - the role of the local setting with its distinctive cultural-political make up. This study objectives are: (1) to compare and contrast the formalisation process of CAM therapies in two European countries, the UK and Portugal; (2) to consider the role of the political, historical and cultural context in explaining parallels and differences between the two settings; (3) drawing in particular on Bourdieu's 'field' concept, to enhance the theoretical conceptualisation of professional projects in CAM. While reflecting on empirical findings gathered between 2008-2015 in the UK and Portugal, this investigation draws on a current documentary textual analysis of acupuncture and homeopathy courses' syllabi as well as educational guidelines and documents published by the main professional bodies representing the two practitioner-groups. A preliminary analysis of the data points at different levels of state intervention and control in CAM's regulation in the UK and Portugal as well as differences in the evolvement of formalising education in both countries: in the UK CAM's undergraduate programmes were already established in the 1990s but have recently witnessed a significant challenge and decline, while in Portugal, prompted by direct government regulation, such programmes are only recently being created.

Tese de doutoramento, Ciências Sociais (Sociologia Histórica), 2009, Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Ciências Sociais ; O Vintismo determinou, mesmo antes da Constituição de 1822, que o governo devia ser exercido através de seis secretarias de Estado: Reino; Justiça e Negócios Eclesiásticos; Fazenda; Marinha e Ultramar; Negócios Estrangeiros; e Guerra. Estes ministérios não foram uma invenção dos constitucionalistas. Antes da Revolução de 1820, existiam já secretarias de Estado especializadas, criadas com D. João V. Depois, mesmo com as guerras civis e nos períodos contra-revolucionários, foram estas seis secretarias de Estado que administraram os negócios do governo até à Regeneração. São elas as personagens principais desta dissertação. Nela, irá analisar-se o modelo ministerial de administração e a relação dos ministérios com a restante configuração do Estado, serão reconstituídas a estrutura organizativa das suas repartições, a composição do pessoal que nelas trabalhava e o processamento do expediente, ao mesmo tempo que se tentará descrever e interpretar o dia-a-dia do trabalho administrativo e as imagens a ele associadas. Através de um alargamento interdisciplinar de fontes e de bibliografia, procurou-se superar o antagonismo entre uma análise exclusivamente externa da administração, recorrendo aos grandes modelos explicativos, e uma leitura interna, cingida aos documentos administrativos ou às lógicas próprias de cada ministério, e, assim, caracterizar a cultura burocrática ministerial da primeira metade do século XIX. Esta cultura burocrática, fundada na tradição administrativa de finais do Antigo Regime, adaptada a novos modelos institucionais e a novas necessidades de funcionamento, sobrevivente a diversas fases de instabilidade política e servidora de uma sociedade em mutação, vai enformar a administração pública das épocas seguintes, nomeadamente configurando o funcionário público contemporâneo. ; Even before to the 1822 Constitution, the new power determined that government should be conducted ...

Zoos have changed dramatically over the last century and today attract millions of people worldwide, being places where visitors can closely watch wildlife and learn about the species on display. Although present at most zoos, reptiles are challenging animals in terms of visitor interest and engagement, as some species do not fit aesthetic standards from the human standpoint, have culturally negative perceptions or generate aversive emotions. By studying zoo visitors' social representations of crocodiles and turtles, we aimed to detail their structures, as well as identifying their prototypical elements that help to understand their emotional and cognitive framing. The findings show the crocodile's prototypical image as a big, fearsome predator with teeth as its main physical attribute. Male visitors showed a more emotional perception of this animal. The turtle's prototypical image is a slow, hard-shelled ancestral sea animal with a neutral-to-positive set of traits, with no particular differences between genders. Our results shed a more detailed light on some of the social constructs that make up the mental images of these animals, which can help the zoological community direct communication toward a more fluent conversation between stakeholders toward conservation.

This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 778045, as well as from Portuguese funds from FCT/MCTES through grant UID/AMB/04085/2019. J. Almeida acknowledges Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia for her PhD fellowship 560 PD/BD/135170/2017. ; Resources efficiency regarding the decrease of residues generation and disposal are important steps towards a cleaner production in the construction and mining industry. Minning processes generate huge amounts of residues, and some deposits have accumulated them over hundreds of years, causing environmental and public health problems. However, mining residues can be recovered as secondary supplies for construction materials production due to its physical, chemical and microstructural properties. This study presents a critical review on sustainable strategies researched to introduce mining residues in the construction sector. The gaps and barriers of these strategies and final products are discussed, concerning a safe and sustainable inclusion of mine residues in construction materials production ; authorsversion ; published