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- See the change! - using visual storytelling in NGO strategic communicationPublication . Teixeira, PauloAt a time when change seems to be the norm and all human systems seem to be permanently and persistently changing at a faster pace than ever, one of the key capacities needed for organisations to survive, grow and evolve is to change and adapt to change. This fast paced ever changing world makes it difficult for Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), specially those that work for social inclusion or that advocate for social causes, to make people stop and see what is, in the vast majority of cases, invisible and distant to them. All over the world, XXI Century NGOs battle to make social issues and the positive social change that they accomplish seen, understood and given importance by donors, actual and potential, and society as a whole. As one might imagine this is not an easy task, social problems are complex, uneasy realities, that usually don’t appeal to those not involved and social programmes, projects and interventions are full of technical and social data (indicators and metrics) not easily decoded and understood by those who are not trained in social sciences. Even more, this is an area where populism, demagogic rhetoric and even hate speech are more present each day, posing more and new challenges to these NGOs communication. In this paper we will look into the use of photography and photography based visual storytelling in strategic communication by NGOs (in this case Portuguese NGOs) to give visibility to social issues and communicate the social change or even social impact that they are able to promote through their projects and interventions. We will start by discussing the, already mentioned, challenges that all NGO Communication Strategies must address, and look into the importance of having a strong strategic communication, aligned with organisational purpose and mission, to achieve goals like awareness, engagement and fundraising. Then we will suggest that Storytelling is a communicational tool that is being used more and more each day by organisations and managers and a fundamental tool for successful NGO communication. History and stories are how most, if not all, of us have learned and retained most of the information, concepts and social codes that have been passed on to us, and that we have retained and operationalised in our socialisation practices and processes. The narratives create a context of "interest" and involvement that captures the attention and a mental imagery facilitating the passage of information. It is for this reason that storytelling and narrative creation can play such a relevant role when we want to "pass" strategic messages. In this paper we will focus our attention on how the use of the visual elements, in this case photography, can enhance the, already significant, power of storytelling. Authors such as Shani Orgad explore the dimensions and roles that strategic communication and the use of visual storytelling can have at different levels within NGOs, creating bridges between their mission and functions such as fundraising or advocacy. As photography supported visual storytelling is the focus of this paper, we will reflect on the power of photography to impress, pass emotions and involve viewers, specially when we talk about social problems and social change. From the ideas of Susan Sontag on the power of photography to the specific use of photography to impress and engage audiences on social issues, presented in works by authors like Alice Baroni, Lillie Chouliaraki, Jane Davison, Tiffany Fairey, Marta Zarzycka or Barbie Zelizer. We will look into the specific role that photography can have in passing stories and emotions that can be fundamental both to make the invisible visible and to raise support, tangible or intangible, for social causes. It is with that framework in mind that we analyse how three Portuguese NGOs use (or not) photography and visual storytelling in their websites and social media and if those uses are in line with their purpose, mission and objectives. Finally we will present some main conclusions on the use of photographic visual storytelling by these NGOs and draw some reflections on what could be done to maximise their impact and make them more inline with the theoretical framework used in this paper and is part of a broader research for a PhD in Communication Studies.
- Patients with delayed sleep-wake phase disorder sleep less during daylight saving timePublication . Reis, Cátia; Pilz, Luísa K.; Kramer, Achim; Lopes, Luísa Vaqueiro; Paiva, Teresa; Roenneberg, Till
- An elephant in the room? (Re)building possibilities and challenges for promoting relationships between supervisors and PhD students at neoliberal universityPublication . Jesus, Antonela PereiraPhD student pathway studies demonstrate how this teaching cycle has high dropout, dissatisfaction, and mental health problems (McAlpine & Norton, 2006; Stubb, Pyhältö & Lonka, 2011; Anttila et al., 2015; Levecque et al., 2017). These are problems with external and internal factors that play against each other and the relationship with supervisors is a widely recognized aspect to minimize and, in certain situations, prevent such situations (Dharmananda & Kahl, 2012; Filho & Martins, 2006; Hunter & Devine, 2016). However, this relationship can serve both as a source of support and as a critical element (Schmidt & Hansson, 2018). These relationships are contextualized in a neoliberal culture, including the imposition of the “publish or perish culture” in which teaching and pedagogy lose strength in the face of research understood as an end in itself (Moosa, 2018). Considering the commitment of social work to the promotion of human relations both in formationWeidman & Stein, 2003) and in practice (IFSW, 2014)this paper proposes to analyze and understand students' experiences and perceptions regarding the doctoral supervision relationship, in today’s context. More specifically, this work deepens the students' conceptions about the following aspects: i) the reasons that led to the choice of the supervisor and the expectations regarding this process, namely in terms of the support received and in the academic socialization; ii) satisfaction with the relationship, favoring the characteristics and competences indicated in this area, the components of the support received as well as their articulation with critical moments in the doctoral course; iii) the way they envisage the repercussions of neoliberal logic in academia including, but not limited to, their articulation with the frequency and quality of the supervisory process; iv) and finally the way they perceive the supervisor as a role model of professional socialization, in the investigative and pedagogical aspect., this research is a qualitative, descriptive and phenomenological study using semi-structured interviews with 15 students from the 2nd and 3rd year of PhD.
- Remote work, career strategies and organisational challenges by the European countries in the post-2019 pandemic scenario: preliminary results of the EURECA projectPublication . Piteira, Margarida; Pinto, Joana Carneiro; Cervai, Sara; Hildred, Kiall; Corte, Catarina; Duarte, Rosana; Martinis, MartinaCurrent work intends to present the preliminary results of an international project (EURECA) developed by a team from Católica Research Centre for Psychological, Family and Social Wellbeing of Faculdade de Ciências Humanas/Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), SOCIUS/CSG/Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração de Lisboa (ISCAL)/Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa (IPL), and Università degli Studi di Trieste (UniTs, Italy). The EURECA Project, still in progress, seeks to understand the career management strategies and remote work design in response to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. Quantitative and qualitative studies have resulted from the project. Data collection took place between 2022/2023 in several European countries. The quantitative studies (4 in total) were based on a questionnaire assessing career dimensions, and a total of 739 European hybrid workers have participated in it. These 4 studies have highlighted: (1) perceived (objective and subjective) career success; (2) strategic career behaviours among European remote workers; (3) country-Level Individualism vs Collectivism comparisons; and, (4) a comparative study between Poland and Portugal on remote working and career management. Regarding the qualitative data, two case studies were generated (Italy and Portugal), and 17 organisations were observed. The main objective of the latter was to understand the role of remote work for career management and the resulting organisational challenges. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications are further discussed and avenues for future research advanced.
- Social work students voices: lessons learned from the pandemicPublication . Jesus, Antonela Filipa Spínola Rodrigues; Barata, RitaThe closure of universities and the transition to online education due to the COVID-19 crisis, led to a period of change in contexts characterized by face-to-face education (McFadden et al., 2020). In this pandemic period, the SW literature has addressed the use of digital technology during their stay at home (Papouli, Chatzifotiou & Tsairidis, 2020), the experiences of BSW and MSW students during the COVID-19 pandemic (Paceley et al., 2021), field instructors and students in order to analyze difficulties and innovations in internships (Csoba & Diebel, 2020), good practices developed by universities (Morley & Clarke, 2020) and the access conditions of students in (a emerging) online education, also comparing online with face-to-face teaching (Dinh & Nguyen, 2020). With this background, this study explores the perspectives of social work students of the bachelor's degree in Portugal on experiences in the online teaching-learning process, through the deepening of the following aspects: (i). access and conditions for online emergency education at home (e.g. specific space for study, access and quality of the internet); (ii). perspectives on the online teaching experience (positive and negative aspects, access to educational materials, motivation, interpersonal relationships, among others); (iii). pedagogical practices and activities (frequency, importance, and adaptation); (iv). Satisfaction with emergency online education in general, deepening several dimensions. Data collection was carried out with an online survey, with open and closed questions (according to the dimensions identified), and participants were recruited from social networks. The data obtained through the closed questions of the survey are subject of treatment and quantitative analysis, with descriptive statistics, with the SPSS software. Qualitative data analysis was conducted through content analysis. We conclude the presentation with the implications of the students' perspective to identify innovative practices and the possibility to rethink curricula and practices for the post-pandemic future and eventual moments of crisis.
- The old-age social minima in Portugal: policy trajectory, trends and adequacyPublication . Branco, FranciscoThe paper focuses on the old-age social minima in Portugal, considering the first layer of social protection in old age, that consists of the minimum pension of contributory system (MP), the social pension (SP) and the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly (SSE), two non-contributory social minima for the elderly. The Portuguese old-age social minimum are also composed by several additional supplements. The paper adopts, despite the use a statistical quantitative data, mainly, a qualitative approach following an historical institutionalism orientation. Two dimensions will be explored. Firstly, the policy trajectories of the old-age regime of social minima in Portugal, looking at the main drivers of the policy changes that occurred since their creation and the recent trends observed. Secondly, the features and the analysis of the patterns of adequacy proportioned by these different social minima, namely considering the UE poverty threshold and the Rendimento Adequado em Portugal (RAP) referential, a minimum income standard established according to the standard budget method.
- Social workers affecting social policy in PortugalPublication . Branco, Francisco; Carrilho, RitaPolicy practice has been gaining a growing interest in social work literature, since it is considered that such practice may promote social policies committed with the furthering of social welfare and justice, but more research is needed on how policy practice is embedded in social worker’s professional practice and which factors may enhance or constraint such kind of practice. This communication is based on the first extensive study trying to ascertain if and how Portuguese social workers incorporate it in their daily professional work, by developing activities focused on influencing social policies, bringing some light on the level of involvement of social workers in policy practice in Portugal. The study approach was quantitative, based on a snowball sample of 265 valid answers to an online survey. The conceptual model was supported in the Civic Voluntarism Model (Verba, et al, 1995) on political participation, and on the Policy Practice Engagement Model (Gal & Weiss-Gal, 2015) which described the main predictors for engaging in policy practice in social work. The findings led to the conclusion that the social workers showed a low level of engagement in policy practice activities, especially those which imply a greater public exposure, acting with the media, policy makers or public officers to share opinions, make a proposition or report a problem. Considering as main factors the socio-political context, the professional context, the organizational context and individual factors, the findings showed that the last explained most of the differences in the social workers involvement in policy practice, especially when considering interest and efficacy. The study pointed out the need to further research in this area. Given that policy practice implies acting in the political structures, political participation may work as a strong predictor for engaging in policy practice. The study showed that social workers are not politically active and distrust the main political institutions. Although in other countries social workers are more politically active than the average citizen (Hamilton & Fauri, 2001; Ritter, 2008) the level of distrust and disaffiliation shown in this study suggest the need to further studying social worker’s political participation. Professional associations and academia are the main stakeholders in the reinforcement of policy practice. The professional associations may work as actors by proxy once social workers recognize the importance of having strong professional associations that allow them to avoid the direct exposure to the political structures. Regarding the academic background, results show that social workers acknowledge that to influence social policy is part of their professional purpose, however they don’t seem to know how to do it and need to develop the required skills for a better performance in this field. Therefore, Academia can play a lead role in the reinforcement of social workers activity in the social policy, through training, research, and expertise.
- Ensinar inovação social a estudantes de serviço social em estruturas de competitividade: aproximação à metodologia de ApSPublication . Jesus, Antonela"The labor market has become more constrained and, consequently, competitiveness has increased, which makes it increasingly urgent for Social Work to demonstrate what it is, what it is for, and in which areas it cannot be replaced by other professions" (Amaro, 2015: 125). With reference to the perspectives of authors in line with the above, the challenge was to combine the teaching of innovation and social intervention in the second year of the degree course in Social Work with the Service-Learning (SPL) methodology. On the one hand, we had already built a curricular unit with a seminar configuration that proposed to explore the current transformations in the field of social intervention, as well as to bring students closer to notions and initiatives of social innovation; on the other hand, the possibility of implementing a pilot project within the scope of ApS implemented in that Higher Education Institution was presented. To talk about ApS is to talk about a pedagogical methodology that combines "in a single activity" the learning of contents, skills, and values with the performance of tasks in the service of the community. As such, learning and service establish a bilateral relationship in which both are favored: learning acquires a civic sense and service becomes a workshop of knowledge and values (Puig et al., 2010: 10). Based on this experience, we propose for the present communication to present the views of the students involved from the exploration of aspects such as: i. proximity and apprehension of the contents taught in the CU; ii. pedagogical strategy(s) implemented for the course of the CU; iii. development of competencies; iv. relevance and usefulness to/for Social Work. This study aims to bring to the debate the implementation of (new) strategies in experiential training in Social Work, reflecting on its convenience, but also necessity, when faced with profound transformations in the labor market, which not only make pressing the possibilities of facing the exercise of the profession in social economy organizations or in the private market, but also do not guarantee the professional insertion of this category (Amaro, 2014).
- Ubuntu & direitos humanos: contributos de uma filosofia indígena para a formação de assistentes sociaisPublication . Jesus, AntonelaSocial Work has been faced with the need to review and rethink its intervention, adapting it to the different social, political, economic, and cultural contexts and to the multiplicity of voices in them. The very international definition of the profession that we know today, when it was established by the realities of the 21st century, maintains central assumptions of the previous definition - promoting social change, strengthening the emancipation of people -, but introduces others that deserve equal emphasis: besides Social Work being enunciated as an academic discipline, with its own theories, sustained in the social sciences, it is also reinforced that this knowledge is strengthened in indigenous knowledge, opening space for its recognition and the need for its integration as a source of knowledge. In fact, the indigenous Ubuntu philosophy - "I am because we are" is assumed as the first theme of the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development for 2020-2030. At a time when global politics has shown a growth of governments with nationalistic and oppressive ideologies, Ubuntu highlights the interdependence of all people and their potential in co-constructing more just and dignified social realities.Methodologically, we follow a qualitative approach, with focus groups and bibliographic research. Thus, we intend, to demonstrate (i) the origins and foundations of Ubuntu, (ii) its alignment with values central to Social Work - Human Rights, Social Justice and Social Solidarity, (iii) the understanding of current SW undergraduate students and recent graduates about indigenous knowledge, intersecting with their own definition and with what they learn in training; (iv) the integration of these meanings in readings of social reality, the contributions and limits associated with such philosophy; finally, (v) problematizing the multiple levels of oppression, stimulating participants' reflection around the influence that social structures associated with imperialism bring to the personal and cultural life trajectories of each one of us. It is hoped that the results of the study will shed light on the future of training in the Social Sciences in general, and in Social Work in particular.