Iscte – University Institute of Lisbon

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The aim of this scoping review is to map, describe and characterize the available evidence on the role that formal care might have in complementing informal caregivers role – romantic partners, parallel family members (e.g., [step]siblings, cousins or in‐laws) or descendants (e.g., the care‐receivers are [step]parents, [step]aunts/uncles, [step]grandparents or in‐laws) – when providing care to adults with acquired diseases (physical or neurologic) in domestic settings and will set the ground for future research on this topic. The scoping review questions are the following: (i) What is the existing literature on the complementarity between formal and informal care? (ii) Which are the types of formal cares' services/interventions that have been described in the literature as complementary to informal care, provided to the informal caregiver and/or to the adult being cared for? (iii) Which outcomes have been assessed in the caregiver's physical, psychological, and social health domains, and how have they been measured?

Under the agreement signed with Portugal, which defined the terms of the handover to China, Macau became a Special Administrative Region on 20 December 1999. China undertook to maintain the way of life, the rights and freedoms of the residents and the essence of the laws previously in force, and guarantee the inapplicability of the socialist system. Events in Hong Kong since 2019 and the concerns of the Central Government have led to changes in the national security law and electoral laws which, among other things, have imposed political screening on candidates for the Legislative Assembly and Chief Executive, which can lead to their exclusion without appeal, while criminalising calls for blank votes, null votes, and abstentions. This article answers the question of whether these changes are compatible with the guarantees provided, the Luso-Chinese Joint Declaration and Macau’s Basic Law.

Introduction: Although drug trafficking has been a historical practice in the Paraguayan Chaco, social dynamics have changed in recent years, generating a hybrid social order in which drug traffickers have gained power, indigenous groups have been left unprotected and at the mercy of traffickers, and politics has disengaged from the community and freed up areas to facilitate and protect the illegal business. Objective: Against this backdrop, the article describes social perceptions of drug trafficking and politics in indigenous communities in the Department of Alto Paraguay. Methodology: The research is based on a qualitative multi-method approach that includes documentation, ethnography and key informant interviews. Conclusions: The paper demonstrates how the delegitimization of formal politics and legality create areas of risk not only for the expansion and social tolerance of criminality, but also for the legitimization of illegality as a means to achieve a (more) dignified life. In this sense, the article questions that the literature on criminal governance and narcopolitics has focused more on adjectives than on nouns. It is the previous inefficiency of governance and politics that creates the conditions for the emergence of unwanted adjectives (such as criminal or narco). The challenge is not so much to fight crime as to promote revalorized governance and policy.

The way we connect to the world around has undergone profound changes due to technological innovations. While these innovations have enabled greater access to information, instant communication, and opportunities for creativity, they have also given rise to issues related to health, privacy, and social isolation. The Metaverse emerges as an ambitious promise to create a virtual world in which individuals from all over the world can interact in a more immersive manner than ever before, often referred to as the future of the Internet. As technology becomes increasingly intertwined into daily lives, it becomes essential to understand the perceptions and attitudes towards these technological advances. This article aims to comprehend individuals’ perceptions of current technology and its usage, as well as their perception of the creation of a truly immersive virtual world like the Metaverse. It also encompasses a literature review of the most pertinent traits of the Metaverse, formulated hypotheses based on an adapted Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and data analysis based on an online questionnaire. The data collected was analysed using SPSS software, with the goal of capturing the current perspectives regarding the Metaverse and technological use in general. This study aspires to contribute to current research on technological adoption and perception and to offer deeper insights into the possible social impacts of technological advancements.

This paper presents a systematic exploration of the role of the metaverse in transforming educational information systems, using a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of academic literature from the Scopus database. The metaverse, a digital construct where real and virtual worlds converge, is increasingly recognized for its potential to revolutionize learning environments. This study aims to describe the nature of the metaverse and its ability to innovate educational information systems through the possible integration of technologies and educational processes. By synthesizing current research, this paper reveals the transformative potential of the metaverse in various fields, with a particular focus on its implications in education. The methodology includes bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review, using citations and word co-occurrence to map the influence of studies, authors, and journals, and to identify relationships between key concepts and themes. The keyword-guided search yielded 116 relevant articles, from which data on publication details, institutional affiliations, and thematic trends were extracted and analyzed using bibliometric software. The findings underscore the capacity of the metaverse to foster immersive, interactive, and personalized learning experiences, facilitate international scholarly collaboration, and enhance continuous educational professional development. Despite its promise, the study also highlights challenges, including the need for secure, ethical, and user-centered technological frameworks, and calls for multidisciplinary research to address these issues. Therefore, this paper contributes to the scholarly discourse by offering a multidimensional view of the role of the metaverse in education, underscoring the need for continued innovation and policy-driven research to realize its full educational potential. The insights gained lay the groundwork for future investigations aimed at bridging existing gaps and harnessing the metaverse’s capabilities in creating dynamic and inclusive educational landscapes.

This study embarks on a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to elucidate the intricate relationship between knowledge management capabilities and perceived performance within information technology small and medium-sized enterprises (IT SMEs). Utilizing data from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, this research meticulously examines occurrences, word frequencies, and clustering analyses to identify pivotal thematic areas influencing IT SMEs. By employing advanced tools such as RStudio software and the Biblioshiny application, the study dissects average citations per year, presenting a dynamic view of research impact and evolving significance in the domain. Authorship dynamics are explored through Lotka’s law, and geographic contributions are analyzed, highlighting the global and collaborative essence of knowledge management research. Factorial analysis further reveals layered dimensions of research trends, offering guidance for researchers and practitioners in crafting nuanced strategies. The collective insights underscore the paramount role of knowledge management in enhancing IT SMEs’ performance and competitive edge, marking a significant stride toward understanding and implementing effective knowledge management strategies in the rapidly evolving IT landscape.

Diabetic retinopathy screenings are a vital strategy to avoid the severe consequences of this disease. However, their success depends on the adherence of the target population. The present work aims to review the adherence to diabetic retinopathy screening, more specifically the influence of the persons with diabetes’ social network (contacts between persons with diabetes) on their screening behaviour. The used data set comprises information of 75,921 persons with diabetes, distributed by 20 Primary Health Centre Groups of the Portuguese North Region. Persons with diabetes of the same Group were organized in an N-by-N matrix, resulting in 20 social networks. Network metrics were calculated and its relationship with the adherence to screening was analysed using two perspectives: correlation between global network metrics and adherence rate; cluster analyses based on node level metrics. The results obtained show that: (1) Less connected networks, strongly divided into communities and with a great number of connected components, present the highest adherence rates. (2) The node level metrics allow the identification of groups where the problem of non-adherence is especially high. (3) The non-adherence phenomenon is especially evident in a small group of highly connected individuals. We believe that these results are of utmost relevance as a starting point for future research and as support to the planning of interventions related to diabetic retinopathy screening adherence.

Following the aftermath of the COVID‐19 pandemic, small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) have faced growing challenges that underscore the critical need for enhanced organizational resilience. This study aims to bridge the gap in resilience research by offering a structured and practical decision‐support tool to enhance the resilience of SMEs. Adopting a multiple‐criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach, combining value‐focused thinking (VFT), and interpretative structural modeling (ISM), the study identifies and prioritizes key initiatives and factors affecting SME resilience. Specifically, using a constructivist, process‐oriented methodology, we engaged an expert panel from diverse sectors, including technology, manufacturing, and services, to collaboratively develop a group cognitive map and an interpretive model that guide resilience‐building efforts. The findings highlight a hierarchy of resilience determinants, offering actionable insights for SME managers to structure and implement targeted resilience‐enhancing strategies. The originality of this study lies in its dynamic decision‐support approach, tailored specifically for SMEs, which is particularly relevant in today's volatile, post‐pandemic business environment. The results provide a significant contribution to the field by addressing critical gaps in SME resilience research and offering practical tools for organizational planning.

This paper introduces an innovative portfolio selection methodology that incorporates extended goal programming (EGP) to address the efficiency‐equity tradeoff in international portfolio management. Unlike traditional methods, EGP integrates multiple‐objective optimization, allowing for a balanced consideration of risk, return, and correlation simultaneously. This study not only advances the theoretical framework of portfolio management by extending the principles of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) but also provides empirical evidence of EGP's robustness across various market conditions, including financial crises. Utilizing data from five major global stock markets, which collectively represent over 70% of global market value, the results demonstrate that EGP‐constructed portfolios outperform both global and market‐specific benchmarks. The research contributes to the literature by offering a flexible, adaptable tool for decision‐makers, enabling them to tailor portfolio strategies to diverse investor goals and volatile market environments. This study's findings have significant implications for both academics and practitioners, paving the way for more resilient and optimized portfolio management practices.

We test the theory that personality incoherence may instigate personality change in the context of personal values. Values’ near-universal organization makes value incoherence assessment straightforward. The study included 13 longitudinal samples from seven cultures (Australia, Israel Palestinian citizens, Israel Jewish majority, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Switzerland), total N = 7,126, and T1 M age ranging between 6 and 18. Each participant reported values between two- and six-times. Using unfolding analysis, we calculated the fit of the internal value structure of each participant at the first time point to the value structure in their sample (normative structure) and to the theoretical structure of values. We estimated value change using Growth Curve Modeling (when at least three measurement times were available) and the difference between T1 and T2 in each sample. We correlated value incoherence with value change and estimated the effect across samples using a meta-analysis. Incoherence with the structure of values predicted greater value change. The associations were stronger when participant’s value structures were compared to the normative value structure at T1 than when they were compared to the theoretical structure. A meta-regression analysis indicated that effects were not moderated by age. We discuss possible underlying processes and implications for personality development.

Este artigo pretende apresentar uma fenomenologia das relações com, atra-vés e entre os média digitais num contexto de cultura plataformizada. Ana-lisando um conjunto de práticas sociais mediadas pelas tecnologias digitais, esboça-se a reconfiguração de um novo campo de experiências propedêuti-cas à formação de novos habitus cognitivos e percetivos. Para a compreen-são desse novo cenário sociotécnico, mostra-se a potencialidade heurística de uma metodologia analítica baseada na articulação entre as categorias de media ecology, material engagement e affordance. A complementaridade desses três prismas interpretativos revela-se pertinente no contexto da crítica cultural à plataformização das identidades, dos dispositivos de poder computacional, dos processos de valorização social e da epistemologia que lhes é subjacente. Palavras-chave Cognição incorporada; interpassividade; affordance; ecologia mídiatica; premediação.

This chapter aims to explore the influence of food-related content on social media on the destination image of Greece, emphasizing the value of food as a unique and distinguishing element of tourist destinations. The study uses a focus group technique to collect ideas from a sample of young culinary tourists belonging to the target group of Millennials and Generation Z. The focus group provides valuable insights into the relationship between Greek gastronomy, traveling, and social media, with a specific focus on the impact of Instagram on destination choice and travel planning. The findings demonstrate a significant impact of social media food content on the behavior, travel choices, and motivations of young gastronomic tourists, underscoring the importance of this type of content in developing gastronomic tourism and improving the destination image of Greece.

Sustainability is a growing theme in society, and associated with it is the concept of circular economy (CE) that tries to reuse products for greater durability, thus contributing to reducing waste and pollution. A very important agent in this topic is eco-innovation (EI), which can be developed to promote the growth of this new economic concept. This study intends to determine the key drivers of EI for Portuguese companies, considering their evolution towards a circular economy. Using a Tobit model and data from the CIS, all the variables identified in the literature review were tested to understand their impact on firms’ performance by measuring turnover growth (TG). Verifying all variables’ effects was impossible from the estimations because not all were significant. Our findings allow concluding that not all drivers that appeared to have a positive impact on the TG had one. Therefore, the results show that not all theoretical drivers of eco-innovation are, in fact, drivers and may even represent negative impacts for the company, contrary to what one would predict. The negative effect that is still notorious regarding the costs that companies have associated with the implementation of these new measures should also be highlighted. It represents one of the biggest inhibitors for companies to integrate this action into their internal strategies.

We present a framework to describe completely general first-order perturbations of static, spatially compact, and locally rotationally symmetric class II spacetimes within the theory of general relativity. The perturbation variables are by construction covariant and identification gauge invariant and encompass the geometry and the thermodynamics of the fluid sources. The new equations are then applied to the study of isotropic, adiabatic perturbations. We discuss how the choice of frame in which perturbations are described can significantly simplify the mathematical analysis of the problem and show that it is possible to change frames directly from the linear level equations. We find explicitly that the case of isotropic, adiabatic perturbations can be reduced to a singular Sturm–Liouville eigenvalue problem, and lower bounds for the values of the eigenfrequencies can be derived. These results lay the theoretical groundwork to analytically describe linear, isotropic, and adiabatic perturbations of static, spherically symmetric spacetimes.