Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas

Techno-authoritarian imaginaries in Latin America: the contestation of facial recognition technologies

Helena Machado — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In the context of the global expansion of facial recognition technologies, civil society organisations have taken action to challenge their use, citing risks of mass surveillance, threats to privacy and civil liberties, and inequalities and discrimination. This article expands knowledge about the contestation of facial recognition technologies beyond the cases of the US and Europe, analysing the contestation of civil society organisations in Latin America. It concludes that “techno-authoritarian imaginaries” are projected, revealing tensions and structural conflicts strongly marked by the political and social context, involving science and technological development, governments, companies, citizens and activism.

Cultural life of São Paulo elites

Maria da Graça Jacintho Setton — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The objective of this article is to present data about the cultural practices and lifestyle of sectors of the São Paulo elites. It is an effort to dialogue with the bibliography in order to update the knowledge about this social group. To develop the argument, the data will be analysed from the point of view of gender, age and time of belonging to the elites. In this way, three social markers are problematised in the expectation of carrying out a reflection that goes beyond what is known about the dominant strata of the city of São Paulo providing the opportunity to endorse or not the theory of the cultural legitimacy of the elites. What was observed is that the group presents a certain uniformity in their tastes and practices, whilst at the same time highlighting differences between them over time.

Book reading profiles and practices of Portuguese students

João Trocado da Mata, José Soares Neves, Patrícia Ávila, Miguel Ângelo Lopes — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Based on a survey conducted with a representative sample of students enrolled in lower secondary and upper secondary education in mainland Portugal during the 2018/19 and 2019/20 academic years, this article addresses book reading practices, in both print and digital formats, understood as a cultural practice, providing new data on the Portuguese case. The social profiles of students and family contexts are the two main dimensions analyzed. The results reveal the importance of including family activities and dynamics related to reading in the analytical model, complementing the more common approach in sociological analysis based on objectified and institutionalized cultural capital.

From emigration to return: the case of young Portuguese adults

Inês Vidigal — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The aim of this article is to identify what factors explain the return of so many Portuguese emigrants aged between 20 and 34, analysing the relationships between emigration and return, integration and return, and the effectiveness of the return, studying the entire migratory journey. The empirical analysis presented in this article is based on data collected through an online survey of Portuguese emigrants in the age group under study. The most important conclusions were that young Portuguese adults emigrate for work reasons, while they return for family reasons.

“I speak Portuguese, you speak Brazilian”: categorisation processes operated by teachers from the perspective of Brazilian students in Portugal

Renata Carone, Sofia Gaspar, Ana Raquel Matias, Gabriela Spanghero Lotta — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We conducted 31 semi-structured interviews with young students of Brazilian origin in the Lisbon metropolitan area, and analysed how these students interpret the categorisations made by their teachers regarding Brazilian Portuguese (different from Portuguese in Portugal, the language of their schooling). The aim of this article is to contribute to a better understanding of the use of categorisations in street-level bureaucracy literature from the users’ point of view, recognising the language issue as an element that activates stereotypes and constructs social categories.

Protection of children in Portugal: some key ideas for child welfare workers

Manuel Menezes, Paulo Guerra — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The essay discusses the importance of the LPCJP in promoting a practice of qualified protection within the Promotion and Protection System. We opted for a qualitative approach, conducting a systematic review of specialized literature. Regarding the concepts of risk and danger, we concluded that the criterion for intervention by society and the state is danger. The best interests of the child emerge as the cornerstone of protective intervention. The law is founded on a philosophy centered on the family. It is within the family that child welfare workers, whenever possible, must defend their rights and promote the well-being of children.

Euthanasia in Portugal and the United Kingdom: a comparative analysis of attitudes

Bruno Frutuoso Costa — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study uses data from the European Values Study to compare the attitudes of Portuguese and British people towards euthanasia, analysing how sociodemographic characteristics, religious beliefs, and political orientation are associated with attitudes. The results show that the British have an average justification 1.69 points higher (Likert scale from 1 to 10). Women have an average justification of 5.97 (SD = 3.16) and men 5.81 (SD = 3.12), with participants aged 45-54 having the highest justification for the practice (6.32) and those aged ³75 the lowest (5.25). The variables with significant relationships with the justification of euthanasia are age (negative), level of education (positive), and country.