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The afterlives of repatriation: Heritage, emancipation and violence in Hindu nationalist India
No full textIn 2021, a statuette of Hindu goddess Annapurna was taken from a Canadian museum to India as an arguably restorative, if not emancipatory, and decolonial achievement for a postcolonial nation. The statuette was enshrined at the Kashi Vishvanath temple in Banaras (Varanasi), a few metres from the Gyanvapi mosque – a longstanding target of Hindu nationalist campaigns for the mukti (liberation or emancipation) of supposedly originally Hindu sites. This article brings together Annapurna and the Gyanvapi mosque as two sides of the same story about heritage, emancipation and violence in Hindu nationalist India, and proposes an alternative methodological approach to the under-explored afterlives of repatriation. By combining longitudinal ethnographic research in the neighbourhood where Annapurna was enshrined with analysis of media and legal discourses, it teases out under-explored understandings that returned objects and repatriation itself afford in their post-repatriation locality – both in local responses and broader discussions around heritage restitution. I argue that repatriation cases such as that of Annapurna feed into a Hindu nationalist discursive ecology in which notions of emancipation, decolonisation and restitution are mobilised for majoritarian agendas: as exemplified by controversies around the Gyanvapi mosque, these notions increasingly underpin violent claims against minorities and their heritage.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
‘It's not a permanent thing’: Projectification and precarity in higher education research careers
No full textThis article addresses the topic of working as a researcher in higher education, recognising the importance of fixed-term employment episodes in constructing a career via a ‘project-to-project’ dynamic. Focusing on the example of Portugal, I argue that this approach can be interpreted as a form of projectification, but one that generates precarity beyond the early career stage through reliance on continual success in state-supported funding competitions, illustrating this position through discussing accounts from 44 researchers at intermediate and advanced levels. This evidence, collected in 2022 and 2023, reveals both the positive aspects of this form of career-building, with relatively democratic access to funding programmes and the ability to remain at the same institution for long periods, alongside some negative implications, especially prolonged exposure to job insecurity. The concluding discussion argues that this is an under-appreciated aspect of precarity in higher education that has implications for the well-being of researchers and the sustainability of research units, with recent policy developments in Portugal suggesting movement towards tenure-oriented employment as a response.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
A transformação dos votos em mandatos: O sistema eleitoral português em análise
Full text linkA comemoração dos 50 anos da Revolução de Abril tem sido favorável à realização de uma série de balanços relativos aos elementos definidores da democracia portuguesa. Neste sentido, o presente Working Paper carateriza o sistema eleitoral português e avalia a performance do mesmo ao longo do seu quase meio século de existência. O desempenho do sistema eleitoral foi medido através da definição de três critérios-chave: a proporcionalidade, a governabilidade e a qualidade da representação. Concluímos que é a governabilidade o indicador que melhor desempenho tem registado, com a erradicação dos problemas relativos à formação e manutenção de executivos desde o ano de 1987. Já a desproporcionalidade eleitoral tem sido crescente ao longo dos anos, fruto do desenho institucional decidido pelo legislador que penaliza os pequenos partidos. Ainda assim, é na qualidade da representação que o sistema mais falha, dificultando a prestação de contas dos deputados aos eleitores e desincentivando o trabalho de círculo. A investigação realizada foi sustentada por uma perspetiva histórica que permitiu compreender as razões por detrás da escolha pelo atual sistema eleitoral.The commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the April Revolution has been favorable to the carrying out of a series of balances regarding the defining elements of Portuguese democracy. In this sense, the present Working Paper characterizes the Portuguese electoral system and evaluates its performance throughout its almost half-century of existence. The electoral system’s performance was measured by defining three key dimensions: proportionality, governability, and quality of representation. We conclude that governability is the indicator that has registered the best performance, with the eradication of problems related to the formation and maintenance of executives since 1987. Electoral disproportionality, on the other hand, has been growing over the years as a result of the institutional design decided on by the legislator, which penalizes small parties. Even so, it is in the quality of representation that the system fails most, making it difficult for deputies to be accountable to voters and discouraging constituency work. The research was supported by a historical perspective that allowed understanding the reasons behind the choice of the current electoral system.aceit
Owner guarantees, observed and unobserved risks, and bank lending spreads
Full text linkIn this paper, we examine the influence of owner guarantees on loan rates. Other studies on the influence of business collateral have used survey and credit register data to establish this link. They support it with the pre-lending information theory and post-lending incentive theory and find that the latter predominates the former. Thus, we measure observed and unobserved risks on bank lending spreads negotiated over the counter to show the co-existence of both theories. The main findings and robustness tests show that owner guarantees reduce bank lending spreads for safe but not risky firms, supporting the pre-lending information theory rather than the post-lending incentive theory. These findings underscore the role of owner guarantees in allaying the information problems the bank confronts prior to lending.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
An experimental analysis of contagion in financial markets
Full text linkIn an experimental market, we study how information about the dividend of an asset, which is available to some traders, is absorbed in the asset's price when all traders also have access to the prices of another different asset. We consider two treatments: in one, the dividends of the two assets are independent; in the other, the dividend of the own asset correlates positively with the dividend of the other asset. Since there is no aggregate uncertainty in the own market, the other dividend should not affect own prices according to the rational expectations equilibrium. Consistent with a prior information perspective, we find that (a) own prices are increasing in the other dividend if and only if dividends are correlated, and (b) correlated dividends can worsen information dissemination when the own dividend is low, and the other dividend is high. These findings imply that linkages between markets, both via fundamentals and via observability of market prices, can cause financial contagion even if there are corrective market forces at play (superior private information in the own market).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Maintaining a sense of normality with the help of others: Lived experiences of facilitators and barriers to Lupus adjustment
Full text linkSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has a high detrimental impact on individuals’ quality of life. Identifying key factors associated with SLE adjustment is crucial for intervention development, yet there is no previous research exploring the perspectives of individuals with SLE regarding illness adjustment’ facilitating or hindering factors. In this qualitative study, 16 individual semi-structured interviews with Portuguese adults with SLE (13 women) were conducted to explore perceived facilitators and barriers to illness adjustment. A reflexive thematic analysis revealed that efforts toward maintaining a normal life, optimism, keeping engaged in meaningful activities, accessing reliable illness-related information, and having supportive relationships were core facilitators of SLE adjustment. Main barriers included inability to maintain normality, engaging in excessive activity, pessimism, being unsupported or stigmatized, and not having access to reliable illness-related information. These findings unveil potential targets for psychosocial and behavioral interventions aimed at enhancing the quality of life for individuals with SLE.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Analysis of the policies and constraints limiting the aquaponics industry in Portugal
Full text linkAquaponics is an innovative and potentially sustainable method of producing vegetables and fish, enabling local, inland fish production, and vegetable production without the need for artificial fertilization. With the aim to analyze the potential development of commercial aquaponics in Portugal, a group of Portuguese stakeholders and experts were interviewed to capture their understanding of the challenges faced by the emerging Portuguese aquaponics sector. The paper evaluates and discusses the main issues experienced by stakeholders, proposing solutions to overcome barriers and restrictions. Legal and administrative barriers were identified, and it is recognized that aquaponics requires its own legal and administrative framework. Bureaucracy is duplicated in licensing processes, authorizations for sale, and permits. Exotic fish species, such as tilapia (Tilapia spp.) face legal barriers to their use in aquaculture. The freshwater aquaculture species to consider for integration into aquaponics systems are largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), pikeperch (Sander lucioperca), and eel (Anguilla anguilla). To address barriers to the organic certification of aquaponics products, producers need to collaborate and establish their own certification schemes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Managerialism and democratic governance in Portuguese higher education: Assessing the impact of the legal framework
Full text linkThis paper explores the impact of managerialism on democracy in Higher Education by analyzing the implications of the Legal Framework of Higher Education Institutions in Portugal from 2007 to 2022. The findings, drawn from data on representation and electoral participation, reveal deficiencies in democratic governance. Notably, General Councils lacking legitimacy, and there is insufficient representation within the teaching and research community. Consequently, the disparities in electoral representation and labor rights disproportionately affect those facing precarity and job insecurity. The law's inability to strengthen accountability, transparency, and participation underscores the urgent need to promote democratic governance within public higher education institutions. By shedding light on the impacts of the Legal Framework, this research emphasizes the crucial task of evaluating and enhancing democratic governance in higher education for the benefit of the academic community and society at large.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
Value incoherence precedes value change: Evidence from value development in childhood and adolescence across cultures
Full text linkWe test the theory that personality incoherence may instigate personality change in the context of personal values. Values’ near-universal organization makes value incoherence assessment straightforward. The study included 13 longitudinal samples from seven cultures (Australia, Israel Palestinian citizens, Israel Jewish majority, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Switzerland), total N = 7,126, and T1 Mage ranging between 6 and 18. Each participant reported values between two- and six-times. Using unfolding analysis, we calculated the fit of the internal value structure of each participant at the first time point to the value structure in their sample (normative structure) and to the theoretical structure of values. We estimated value change using Growth Curve Modeling (when at least three measurement times were available) and the difference between T1 and T2 in each sample. We correlated value incoherence with value change and estimated the effect across samples using a meta-analysis. Incoherence with the structure of values predicted greater value change. The associations were stronger when participant’s value structures were compared to the normative value structure at T1 than when they were compared to the theoretical structure. A meta-regression analysis indicated that effects were not moderated by age. We discuss possible underlying processes and implications for personality development.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
A insolvência é uma questão de género? Análise dos perfis de devedores em Portugal, 2011-2020
No full textHousehold indebtedness is a phenomenon that cuts across capitalist economies. Women and men face different challenges. The cross-cutting nature of this event can be best understood by an in-depth analysis of social and economic factors contributing to a greater predisposition to situations of imminent insolvency. By developing a statistical analysis of a sample of 641 court decisions in insolvency proceedings from 2011 to 2020 in Portugal, this article aims to explore how women and men are affected by the elaboration of different debt profiles. Our data suggests that women are particularly vulnerable to economic difficulty. Gender inequality in working practices and salaries, unemployment, divorce, health conditions, and the sexual division of domestic and childcare work are phenomena that condition women's ability to pay their debts, making them more exposed to the possibility of defaulting on their loans. The study concludes that gender is an explanatory factor in personal insolvency.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio