Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas

Precariousness in Portuguese football: social causes and risks to sporting integrity

2023-10-26T10:19:12+01:00

Based on documental analysis and professional footballers´ experiences and perceptions, this paper examines the social causes of precariousness in Portuguese professional football and the risks it poses to sporting integrity. It´s concluded that, more than the specific conditions of this professional activity, precariousness in Portuguese football is due above all to a set of organisational “bad practices” and illegal forms of contracting that exacerbate the circumstances in which footballers work and expose them to exploitative situations that are potentially harmful to sporting integrity.

Lynchings in Mexico: evidence-based patterns

2023-10-04T19:36:04+01:00

Lynchings are a cruel expression of neighborhood justice. The main contributions of the literature point out some factors that promote this self-protection way of applying justice: precariousness, poverty or the inability of the State to provide security; they even refer to this behavior as folklore events associated with rural populations where traditions and customs prevail. This research collects information from 157 lynchings with the intention of identifying patterns of occurrence based on evidence. The findings indicate that the main risk factors for dying in a lynching are that they occur in populations less than 7000 inhabitants, that the police do not intervene and that there is partial coordination between levels of government.

The Covid-19 pandemic in the Portuguese prison system: views from imprisoned individuals and professionals

2024-03-27T19:46:34+00:00

The Covid-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges for prison systems worldwide. In this article, based on 43 interviews conducted with imprisoned individuals aged 65 or over, prison guards, and NGO representatives and religious and spiritual assistants engaged in the prison context, we explore the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Portuguese prison system. The data highlights the impact of pandemic-related imposed restrictions on activities and social interactions, controversies surrounding the implementation of protective measures, and the paradoxical repercussions of the early release scheme introduced under Law 9/2020. The Covid-19 pandemic further accentuated the “depth of imprisonment”, functioned as a kaleidoscope that sheds light on the penal system’ diverging rationales, and acted as a magnifying glass that accentuated pre-existing social problems.

Prison misconduct: theoretical models, empirical evidence and implications for prison management

2023-10-15T13:40:48+01:00

Prison misconduct is a priority for the management of prisons due to its relevance to the order and security within prisons, the well-being of prisoners, and the achievement of the main goals of incarceration (e.g., prisoners’ rehabilitation and social reintegration). This article presents a theoretical reflection of the main models for understanding prison misconduct — the deprivation model and the importation model — to then show how the general strain theory, which integrates those models, has been widely used as a conceptual framework for the empirical evidence of current research in prison misconduct. Finally, we reflect on the implications of this knowledge for the implementation of prison misconduct management policies.

Emotional discourses in young masculinities: the case of young men in Valencia, Spain

2024-01-16T12:11:20+00:00

The aim of this article is to identify the different discourses related to masculinity in young Valencian men based on their narratives about the expression of emotions and feelings and how these are developed in friendship. The research used a qualitative methodology based on focus groups, five groups with young people and one with professionals working with young people. The results of the research allowed us to identify three models of masculinity in relation to the expression of emotions and with the different degrees of emotional connection in friendship relationships: hegemonic masculinity, masculinity in transition and (almost) inclusive masculinity.

What do the walls tell us? Street art and its potential for developing critical thinking

2023-12-31T21:21:04+00:00

Since its beginnings, graffiti culture has preserved a communicational function with an interventionist and denunciatory character. This culture takes place mainly in large cities and in public places that can be both peripheral and highly visible. Recognising that this form of expression has not lost its original characteristics has undergone changes in line with the social, political, cultural and economic changes in societies and suggests a renewed look at the potential it offers for education in the city. With the theoretical support of the perspectives of historical-dialectical materialism, this article seeks to answer the question of how this street art can be translated into an educational potential insofar as it can develop critical thinking about often controversial social issues. Methodologically, the study carried out in the city of Porto is essentially based on the ethnographic method, supported by visual techniques such as photography. In the data analysis carried out here, we specifically explored the expressions of this art form in relation to the social issue of housing. The results suggest that the freer context of the street encourages the development of expression through the latent demands of each artist.

Music, streaming, class: social divisions in new forms of digital cultural consumption

2023-05-23T16:21:46+01:00

The growing use of online platforms for music consumption has brought new dynamics to the specific practices of this consumption. This research aims to understand how the use of internet-connected devices has been incorporated into the cultural consumption of the Portuguese, with a specific focus on music consumption. To this end, secondary data from the ICS’s 2020 Survey of Portuguese Cultural Practices was used. The main results of the research point to social segmentation traits in the use of the internet for music consumption as well as musical styles, when using the variable of practices outside home as an indicator of personal taste.

Review: O Mundo do Trabalho a Partir de Baixo. Retratos e Percursos [Renato Miguel do Carmo, Jorge Caleiras, Isabel Roque, Rodrigo Vieira de Assis, 2023, Lisboa, Editora Mundos Sociais, CIES-Iscte]

2024-04-16T11:33:01+01:00