Changes in the Portuguese employment system: the perspective of equality between men and women (1979 -2009)
Research Team: Virgínia Ferreira
Funding Body: Committee for Equality in Labour and Employment (CITE)
Duration: 1 month
Start date: 12/10/2009
End date: 30/11/2009
Keywords: Work and employment; Equality between men and women
Abstract: This project, integrated in the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of CITE, intends to make a balance of the changes occurred in the employment system since the entry into force of the Law no. 392/79, of September 20^th, the founding law of the  Committee for Equality in Labour and Employment (CITE), in the perspective of equality between men and women, in order to express a multidisciplinary vision about the changes in the Portuguese society under the aegis of a new legislation regarding the economic activity framework, in general, and the salary ratio, in particular.

Deepening Ethical Engagement and Participation in Emerging Nanotechnologies (DEEPEN)
Research Team: João Arriscado Nunes; António Carvalho and Ângela Filipe
Funding Body: European Commission
Duration: 2006 - 2009
Keywords: nanotechnology, ethics and participation
Expected Results: organization of focus groups, interim reports, elaboration of recommendations on policies, final report, publication of several scientific papers and a book.
Webpage: http://www.geography.dur.ac.uk/projects/deepen/

From precarious society to decent society: balance of the social evolution in Portugal
Research Team: António Casimiro Ferreira (Principal Investigator), Marina Henriques
Funding Body: General Workers' Union (UGT)
Duration: 6 months
Start date: 02/01/2009
End date: 31/06/2009
Keywords: social dialogue, social policies, labour market, unemployment, labour conflicts’ resolution
Expected Results: Elaboration of a diagnosis of the Portuguese social situation between 2003 and 2008, identifying the main future challenges and perspectives.
Abstract: The main subjects which constitute the analysis objects, in what concerns the last five years’ evolution and future prospects, are the following: labour market and employment, labour conditions, equal opportunities, social cohesion, wealth distribution, poverty and social exclusion, migration phenomena, social security and welfare, and future prospects.

Gender, Violence and Public Security
Research Team: Tatiana Moura
Funding Body: Ford Foundation
Duration: 12 months
Start date: 01/06/2008
End date: 31/05/2009
Keywords: gender; violence; small arms; security
Expected Results: Creation of an Observatory on Gender and Armed Violence (CES) and a Research Group on Violence, Gender and Security (CESeC).
Abstract: Mapping and conducting researches and intervention projects interconnecting the issues of violence, gender and security in order to establish bridges and explore the interconnections between two different research and intervention fields: the feminist field – dealing with violence and gender issues only through the perspective of female victims – and the field of public security – dealing with gender relationships as a relevant factor in contexts of violence.

Humanitarian Crisis and Conflict Studies: Bridging the Gap between European Research, Policy and Practice
Research Team: José Manuel Pureza (Principal Investigator), Maria Raquel Freire, Paula Duarte Lopes, Tatiana Moura
Funding Body: European Commission – Marie Curie Actions
Duration: 48 months
Start date: October 2003
End date: September 2009
Keywords: Humanitarian crisis; Conflicts; European Union; Peace
Abstract: The European Union seeks approaching humanitarian crises and violent conflict situations in a comprehensive way. However, the need for consistency, coherence and complementariness still holds. In order to fill in this gap, the proposed training project intends to train young researchers so that they are able to produce and disseminate academic knowledge. It will allow an improvement of the research cooperation at European level, as well as the quality of research and education on the matters in question. The project combines cooperation activities and a training programme, structured and focused on three subject areas: Theories and Concepts of Humanitarian Aid and Conflict Prevention; European Strategies for Humanitarian Intervention, Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding; and Humanitarian Crises, Regional Conflicts and Global Peace.

Maternity and paternity costs from the perspective of individuals, employers and the state
Research Team: Virgínia Ferreira (Principal Investigator), Rosa Monteiro, Mónica Lopes and Lina Coelho.
Funding Body: FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology)
Duration: 24 months
Start date: 01/05/2007
End date: 30/04/2009
Keywords: maternity costs; paternity costs; social policies; motherhood penalty; mothers and fathers’ labour rights
Expected Results: Promotion of new structuring mechanisms of welfare systems, promotion of conciliation between work and family and equality between men and women.

National strategy for education and development
Research Team: José Manuel Pureza (Principal Investigator), Silvia Roque and Rita Santos
Funding Body: IPAD (Portuguese Institute for Development Support)
Duration: 5 months
Start date: 02/01/2009
End date: 31/05/2009
Keywords: Education, Development
Abstract: The Research Group on Peace Studies collaborates in the elaboration of the national strategy for education towards development (ENED), integrating its design group, as responsible for writing the final document, as well as the preparatory and sectoral documents

Observatory for Brazilian Justice
Research Team: Boaventura de Sousa Santos (Principal Investigator), Conceição Gomes, Élida Santos
Funding Body: Ministry of Justice of Brazil
Duration: 19 months
Start date: November 1st, 2007
End date: June 5th, 2009
Keywords: Justice administration; Courts; Legal professions; alternative systems for dispute settlement; Prison system; Legal pluralism; Criminal justice; Civil justice; Access to law and justice
Expected Results: Report about the structure and functioning of the Permanent Observatory for Portuguese Justice, Advisory report about the project of constitution and structure of the Observatory for Brazilian Justice, Advisory service to guide the formation of the Observatory project; organization of an international seminar on this subject; Creation of the Observatory.
Abstract: Provision of a specialized scientific advisory service in order to aid, with evaluation and research activities, the structuring and functioning of the Observatory for Brazilian Justice. The scheduled activities, among others, are the following: guidance about the Observatory’s goals and functions; presentation of the comparison data; evaluation of the Observatory project to be implemented.

Participatory Budget - more participation, better democracy
Research Team: Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Giovanni Allegretti, João Arriscado Nunes, Juliana Torquato Luíz and Lucas Alves Amaral
Funding Body: Equal
Partner institutions: IN Loco Association (Project’s general coordination), Palmela City Council, S. Brás de Alportel City Council, Centre for Municipal Studies and Training (CEFA), Centre for Social Studies of University of Coimbra (CES), Carnide Parish Council (Setúbal)
Duration: 12 months
Start date: 01/01/2008
End date: 31/12/2009
Webpage: www.op-portugal.org/index.php

Poetry of the Colonial War: the ontology of the shattered ´self´
Research Team: Margarida Calafate Ribeiro (Principal Investigator) and Roberto Vecchi
Funding Body: FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology)
Duration: 24 months
Start date: 01/10/2007
End date: 30/09/2009
Keywords: Poetry; Portuguese Colonial War; Shattered identities; Anthology,
Expected Results: Final report; book (poetry anthology); scientific papers; international conference (publication of proceedings); dissemination of the results in national and international conferences.
Webpage: www.ces.uc.pt/projectos/poesiadaguerracolonial 

Researching Inequality Through Science and Technology – ResIST
Research Team: João Arriscado Nunes (coord.), Tiago Santos Pereira, Marisa Matias, Ana Raquel Matos, Daniel Neves
Funding Body: European Commission (CIT5-CT-2005-029052)
Duration: 2006 - 2009
Keywords: science, technology, inequality, responsibility, exclusion, inclusion, knowledge economy
Expected Results: The Portuguese team participates actively in two of the five project work packages – WP0 and WP3. Regarding WP0, the following results are expected: three workshops will be held on thematic areas of interest within the context of the project (these will take place in Europe, Southern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean); framing of the issue relating to structural, representational and distributional inequalities in empowerment in Science and Technology; two progress reports; final report and two policy-oriented documents.
WP3 is expected to yield the following results: a preliminary draft and a revised draft of the framework integrated in the project; conducting case studies and producing reports on same; contributing to the synthesis of work carried out by the teams and involvement of the different, interested players in regional meetings to be held within the context of WP0
On a general level, we also anticipate several publications (national and international).
Webpage: http://www.resist-research.net/home.aspx

The social service professional field
Research Team: António Casimiro Ferreira, Pedro Hespanha (Principal Investigators), Carina Gomes e Marina Henriques
Funding Body: Association of Social Workers (APSS)
Duration: 6 months
Start date: 02/01/2009
End date: 31/06/2009
Keywords: social workers, professional self-regulation
Expected Results: To collect and analyse data regarding the professional practices of social workers and the opinion of these professionals about professional associativism.
Abstract: Facing the possibility of the formation of a Social Service Professional Order, this characterization study of that professional field is of major significance for its contemporaneity and scientific relevance.

Technical advisory service on the NSRF Observatory in the field of interterritorial relations
Research Team: José Reis (Principal Investigator)
Funding Body: Financial Institute for Development
Duration: 10 months
Keywords: interterritorial relations, spatial development
Expected Results: elaboration of an analysis framework which best represents the present issue of interterritorial relations; evaluation of the possibility to create empirical bases and analytical instruments that can help formulating and supervising policies within this domain.
Abstract: Basically, this advisory service intends to analyse how the development of a region affects other regions and is, equally influenced by it, assigning a key role to the relationship between, on one hand, the Lisbon Region and Setúbal Peninsula and, on the other hand, the remaining NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) of the Continent.

Trajectories of violence dissemination and containment: comparing Bissau and Praia
Research Team: José Manuel Pureza (Principal Investigator), Kátia Cardoso, Sílvia Roque, Tatiana Moura and Alfredo Handem
Funding Body: FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology)
Duration: 27 months
Start date: 01/10/2007
End date: 30/12/2009
Keywords: urban violence, group violence, youth, identities
Expected Results: Direction of radio and TV programs/debates at both studied cities; organization of two national seminars to produce a document with action recommendations, in cooperation with national and international decision-makers and technicians and civil society organizations; arrangement of a meeting of experts and organization of a training course.
Abstract: This project will make the systematization of direct violence typologies in Bissau (Guinea-Bissau) and Praia (Cape Verde), based on the analysis of group violence expressions carried out by male youngsters. However, the project will not neglect the relationships and interactions with other agents, victims and forms of violence (including the individual type), in a multidimensional and relational perspective.