Review of the book "PENSAR NA VIDA: BIOGRAFIAS E REFLEXIVIDADE INDIVIDUAL".

: Many changes have shaped the labour market in the last decades, initiated with the increasing globalization of trade and exacerbated by the 2008 economic and financial crisis. Among these changes, flexibility and insecurity of labour relations stand out. In this paper, we intend to analyse the ways social and human science graduates react/adapt when their professional future is confined to insecure and flexible work. The biographical method is for us the most suitable strategy to understand the senses and meanings that individuals attribute to the choices they make along their life-path. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted to social and human science graduates who reside in the district of Porto, Braga and Viana do Castelo. The results obtained indicate that, albeit differently, the forms of job insecurity and non-employment have a negative impact in the process of forging and consolidating a professional identity for the graduates interviewed.

In this article it is shown the results of a study done with four elderly attending a senior university in Lisbon (Portugal). The aim was to verify if there is a relation among the subjective perception of memory, social identity and aging. It is a transversal, descriptive and qualitative study with information analysis carried out through the elderly’s life narration. Four elderly of both sexes, aged 65 or more, took part in the study. The perception about aging was considered predominantly negative showing few positive highlights, the memory complaints were present in all stories and the social ties have been kept by elderly. These results show a relation between the subjective perception of memory, social identity and aging and highlight the importance of additional studies.

Critical review of the book "Pensar na vida: Biografias e reflexividade individual".

Civil society organizations play a vital role in setting the agenda in health and social rights and in the development of innovative public policies. Spending cuts, however, challenge the capacity of civil society organizations to innovate. Utilizing a case-study approach, this paper addresses the role of civil society disability and mental health organizations as social innovators in Italy during the economic crises. The first case-study concerns social housing for people with mental/cognitive impairment. The second, concerns regional legislation for the introduction of Personal Assistance for people with disabilities. This paper shows that civil society organizations continue to have the power to innovate, but are relatively powerless to establish policy priorities at national level.

This article addresses the issue of food waste. At a time when food insecurity in the world has once again grown, not only due to conflicts and climate change, but also due to profound changes in eating habits, about one third of the food produced is wasted around the world resulting in high environmental, economic and social costs. Therefore, the reduction of food waste will be an essential step in feeding a growing population. In this regard, civil society practices developed at the different levels of the food recovery hierarchy will be addressed. Mobilizing a social, economic and environmental perspective, this paper focuses on prevention and food donation.

Many changes have shaped the labour market in the last decades, initiated with the increasing globalization of trade and exacerbated by the 2008 economic and financial crisis. Among these changes, flexibility and insecurity of labour relations stand out. In this paper, we intend to analyse the ways social and human science graduates react/adapt when their professional future is confined to insecure and flexible work. The biographical method is for us the most suitable strategy to understand the senses and meanings that individuals attribute to the choices they make along their life-path. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted to social and human science graduates who reside in the district of Porto, Braga and Viana do Castelo. The results obtained indicate that, albeit differently, the forms of job insecurity and non-employment have a negative impact in the process of forging and consolidating a professional identity for the graduates interviewed.

In this article it is shown the results of a study done with four elderly attending a senior university in Lisbon (Portugal). The aim was to verify if there is a relation among the subjective perception of memory, social identity and aging. It is a transversal, descriptive and qualitative study with information analysis carried out through the elderly’s life narration. Four elderly of both sexes, aged 65 or more, took part in the study. The perception about aging was considered predominantly negative showing few positive highlights, the memory complaints were present in all stories and the social ties have been kept by elderly. These results show a relation between the subjective perception of memory, social identity and aging and highlight the importance of additional studies.

Civil society organizations play a vital role in setting the agenda in health and social rights and in the development of innovative public policies. Spending cuts, however, challenge the capacity of civil society organizations to innovate. Utilizing a case-study approach, this paper addresses the role of civil society disability and mental health organizations as social innovators in Italy during the economic crises. The first case-study concerns social housing for people with mental/cognitive impairment. The second, concerns regional legislation for the introduction of Personal Assistance for people with disabilities. This paper shows that civil society organizations continue to have the power to innovate, but are relatively powerless to establish policy priorities at national level.

This article addresses the issue of food waste. At a time when food insecurity in the world has once again grown, not only due to conflicts and climate change, but also due to profound changes in eating habits, about one third of the food produced is wasted around the world resulting in high environmental, economic and social costs. Therefore, the reduction of food waste will be an essential step in feeding a growing population. In this regard, civil society practices developed at the different levels of the food recovery hierarchy will be addressed. Mobilizing a social, economic and environmental perspective, this paper focuses on prevention and food donation.