Europe is facing new and radical challenges that demand extraordinary resilience from EU members, especially southern European societies, because of their outlying position and specific social problems in comparison with their EU neighbours. The difficulties of building a united Europe in the wake of the economic, financial and political crisis have exposed divergences in EU governance. In this context, sociology is an important tool to inform public policies and to provide the general public with an understanding of current challenges. The uses of sociology have social, political and practical implications in fields that are especially significant for southern European societies, such as welfare, work and employment, education, migration, social cohesion and political participation. However, the usual tensions in the organization of scientific research are now particularly intense in terms of how the sociological knowledge utility is understood and communicated. The trend toward internationalization in current research systems forces research communities to compete in a global market of scientific production, where English is the dominant language, and to publish results for an academic audience. Simultaneously there is a pressing need to make sociological knowledge relevant and applicable to regional and localproblems.
Organizations are made up of people, their most important asset. The Armed Forces are no exception in this context, quite the opposite. Despite all the developments in military equipment, especially in the last century, the human component continues to be a determining factor in the overwhelming majority of the weapons systems. The investments that have been made to the military, in terms of academic, technical and operational training, have contributed to increasing their skills and abilities in a professional career that, today, is facing even more asymmetrical challenges. Different levels of motivation, different career aspirations linked to organizational constraints and different economic contexts, have led to an increasingly difficult strategic management of human resources in the military areas, such as the Portuguese Army. This article addresses the urgency of retaining talent in the Portuguese Army, at a time when this branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces is confronted with new assignments, missions and challenges.
UID/SOC/04647/2019 ; Organizations are made up of people, their most important asset. The Armed Forces are no exception in this context, quite the opposite. Despite all the developments in military equipment, especially in the last century, the human component continues to be a determining factor in the overwhelming majority of the weapons systems. The investments that have been made to the military, in terms of academic, technical and operational training, have contributed to increasing their skills and abilities in a professional career that, today, is facing even more asymmetrical challenges. Different levels of motivation, different career aspirations linked to organizational constraints and different economic contexts, have led to an increasingly difficult strategic management of human resources in the military areas, such as the Portuguese Army. This article addresses the urgency of retaining talent in the Portuguese Army, at a time when this branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces is confronted with new assignments, missions and challenges. ; publishersversion ; published