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- Some tensions between capitalism and buddhism: a reflection from corporate mindfulnessPublication . Simão, JoãoThe root of mindfulness is the seventh step of the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism. Taken out of the original context, it is currently in vogue in Western societies for clinically proven positive effects. Most recently, mindfulness has been extended into business and has become a product of consumer society, interpreted as a competitive advantage (for employers) and an aid to career progression (of employees). For corporations, the advantages of mindfulness include the individualization of stress and the shaping of workers in toxic business environments without questioning the organizational culture in which they are inserted. This is the guiding idea for a reflection between Buddhism and capitalism. Based on three essential elements of Buddhism (anatta, tanha and kamma), it exposes the impossibility of conciliation of the philosophical and religious teachings of Buddhism with the current social-economic paradigm. In a society that lives accelerated in time, in space, in things, in actions, and in relationships, it is argued that this is an appropriation by the capitalist system, a takeover, which looks to mold individuals to neoliberalism.
- Integrating sustainable approaches in distance learning universities: the experience of Universidade AbertaPublication . Mapar, Mahsa; Nicolau, Paula Bacelar; Ferreira, Célia; Martins, Rute; Martinho, Ana Paula; Pereira, Pedro; Simão, João; Teixeira, Teresa; Trindade, Jorge; Fernandes, Paula Vaz; Caeiro, SandraOne of the key components in practicing sustainability and developing a sustainable Higher Education Institution (HEI) is the role played by the institution community including students and its staff, both administrative and academics according to a whole-campus approach. However, there is still a lack of how to integrate sustainability-related approaches into the HEIs, by involving the whole community of the HEI, in particular in distance-learning institutions. Recognizing this lack, Universidade Aberta (UAb), the Portuguese Distance Learning University, has recently integrated sustainability approaches into the University actions by establishing the “UAb Sustainable Campus Group” in 2021. In line with Agenda 2030, the Group promotes the sustainability approaches at UAb in 5 core elements of sustainability actions at HEIs: i) planning and administration, ii) operation and innovation, iii) academia and research, iv) assessment and reporting, and v) involvement with the community. This paper aims to reveal the recent sustainability initiatives (2021-2023) carried out by the Group and enlighten how a distance-learning University's actions, programs, and approaches have been integrated into the core elements of sustainability actions at HEIs. Several steps were implemented to address sustainability initiatives at UAb based on the proposed framework, considering: 1) “planning and administration”, by the formal commitment to sustainability that arose in the UAb Strategic Plan (2019-2023) to enforce sustainability initiatives centered on people and social commitment; 2) “operation”, by UAb contribution to the resource efficiency programs; 3) “academia and research”, by designing a micro-credential module entitled “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”, that were piloted in the academic year 2022-2023 and were evaluated the students’ knowledge improvement on SDGs and sustainability and their perceptions on the effectiveness of the training through pre- and postquestionnaires; 4) “assessment and reporting”, through self-assessment and reporting tools, among them, Time Higher Education Impact Ranking, which ranked the UAb sustainability initiatives towards SDGs 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 17. Also, with the collaboration of the administrative staff, the UAb Ecological Footprint (EF) was self-assessed through the University Ecological Footprint Calculator, which allows HEIs to calculate their consumption of natural resources and ecosystem services within the direct and indirect responsibilities of the administration, by bearing in mind the specific feature of distance learning. The results for “planning and administration” showed the UAb commitment to sustainable campus by the signatory of several associations, e.g., RCS-Portugal, AASHE - Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, and Lisbon Green Commitment to implement a set of measures to reduce the environmental impacts by 2030. In the “operation” element, the results revealed the UAb contribution to the Resource Efficiency Program in Public Administration - ECO.AP 2030 to reduce the consumption of resources and respective Greenhouse Gas emissions facilities, as well as the Energy Saving Plan (2022-2023). The results of the “academia and research” element based on the SDGs course showed the students’ knowledge improvement of both Sustainability and SDGs and a high level of satisfaction with the training, mainly appreciating the “diversified learning resources”. The results of the “assessment and reporting” based on THE displayed the UAb improvement on SDGs 4 and 5. The results of the EF calculator disclosed that “staff labour” was the main driver of the UAb Footprint in direct responsibility, whereas “energy consumption at home” was the main indirect contributor to the UAb Footprint, which showed the effect of distance learning on the results. Future work of the Group includes offering the SDGs micro-credential, targeting also public and private organizations, and later as a formal curricular unit in various degrees, thus enhancing the “involving the community” element. Also, based on the results of the assessment tools, the major drivers of unsustainability at UAb will be identified to assist the necessary improvement to reduce the environmental impact of UAb, thus reinforcing its commitment to building a more sustainable community. The framework for the implementation of sustainability in UAb can be adapted and tested in other HEI to produce robust knowledge and action in this context.
- Capital social e participação em hortas comunitárias: o caso de CascaisPublication . Barata, Sónia; Albuquerque, Rosana; Simão, JoãoA literatura existente sobre o fenómeno de hortas urbanas tem-se debruçado essencialmente sobre o seu contributo para a sustentabilidade das cidades e sobre a importância ambiental deste tipo de iniciativas. A questão que colocamos neste estudo é a de compreender o processo de participação em programas de hortas urbanas de carácter comunitário e relacionar essa mesma participação com a promoção da sustentabilidade local. O que motiva os cidadãos a participar, como participam e quais os resultados dessa participação são as questões centrais que iremos abordar. Tendo como estudo de caso as hortas urbanas de Cascais, recorreu-se a entrevistas semi estruturadas aos utilizadores dos espaços hortícolas. A participação no programa de hortas comunitárias de Cascais é examinada através de uma análise às entradas (inputs), ao próprio processo em si e aos resultados (outputs) da participação. Concluímos que o reforço das relações sociais, a promoção da coesão e inclusão social facilitam o estreitamento das relações de vizinhança. Mais, ao favorecerem a aquisição de competências, estimulam a cidadania e a participação em outros projetos comunitários, contribuindo assim para empoderar os participantes, criando um cenário favorável à geração de capital social.
- Estratégias e iniciativas da Universidade Aberta para a promoção da originalidade nos trabalhos académicosPublication . Novo, Ana; Nobre, Ana; Simão, João; Pereira, PedroO plágio tem assumido crescente relevância no ensino superior, sendo responsabilidade de todos contribuir para a integridade e originalidade dos trabalhos académicos. O presente capítulo pretende ilustrar as atividades desenvolvidas junto dos docentes e estudantes e as boas práticas implementadas pelo Grupo de Trabalho para a Promoção da Originalidade nos Trabalhos Académicos na Universidade Aberta (2017-2020), com o objetivo de prevenir e sensibilizar a comunidade académica para a adoção de comportamentos éticos relativamente à utilização de informação.
- O sector público e o desenvolvimento turístico sustentávelPublication . Simão, João; Partidário, Maria do RosárioA sustentabilidade, embora seja um conceito de múltiplas e contestáveis interpretações, tem vindo a assumir-se como solução para o sector do turismo enquanto ‘indústria’ que vive da exploração ambiental, física e humana. A ausência de mercados significativos de consumidores ‘verdes’ e, consequentemente, a falta de estímulo por parte da indústria em investir em medidas de gestão ambiental, fazem acrescer a responsabilidade do sector público enquanto actor incentivador e propulsor de dinâmicas de desenvolvimento sustentável que minimizem os impactes sociais e ambientais. Até porque, as medidas de auto-regulação ganham efectividade quando integradas e complementadas com mecanismos de política pública à disposição dos governos nacionais e locais. Neste sentido, o objectivo do trabalho consiste em perceber se o sector público promove políticas de desenvolvimento turístico sustentável, de acordo com o que é consensual na comunidade científica e nos organismos internacionais. Recorrendo à abordagem qualitativa, analisou-se dois instrumentos com potencial para propiciarem a implementação de sustentabilidade no sector, os sistemas de incentivo ao investimento (s.i.i.), e o planeamento local/regional. As conclusões vão no sentido de afirmar que o sector público em Portugal não promove o desenvolvimento turístico sustentável. A avaliação dos projectos de investimento que se candidatam a sistemas de incentivos governamentais permite trade-offs entre critérios, não assegurando uma qualidade ambiental mínima dos projectos. O desenvolvimento sustentável encontra-se presente de forma genérica ao nível do discurso, mas não se repercute nos princípios do planeamento estratégico: (i) verifica-se um deficit de participação pública no processo de planeamento, e ausência de discussão acerca do tipo de sustentabilidade a implementar; (ii) os recursos turísticos, nomeadamente a hotelaria, não são devidamente avaliados e analisados pelos organismos públicos que licenciam e planeiam a actividade; (iii) os planos de turismo não contemplam indicadores de sustentabilidade associados à estratégia do destino, pelo que a avaliação do desempenho estratégico prevê-se ser inexistente.
- People’s voices on the sustainable forest reform in the Democratic Republic of CongoPublication . Amaral, Filomena; Simão, JoãoSince the early 2000s, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been conducting a reform of its forestry sector with the publication of The Forest Code (2002). The implementation of this law, which aims to assure the participation of all stakeholders, has been evolving slowly since then. The present research aims to evaluate the knowledge local communities and indigenous people detain over the ongoing reform, and the expectations they created when negotiations over the implementation of industrial harvesting activities in their traditional territories began. By interviewing local people, we came to understand that insufficient knowledge regarding the law gathers with a lack of concern towards ecological or environmental matters and with the need of seeing basic needs satisfied; all this in a context in which different stakeholders’ responsibilities and negotiational terms are often misunderstood.
- CSR disclosure on the web: major themes in the banking sectorPublication . Vilar, Vítor; Simão, JoãoPurpose – Corporate social responsibility became a core topic in the management and activity of banks. Being a bidirectional, permanent, updateable and universal access communication channel, the internet contributed to transform the way the organizations report social responsibility to stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to understand how the banks use their web sites to disclose their social responsibility concerns and activities. Design/methodology/approach – The globe was divided in 11 regions, according to geographic and cultural criteria. Information was gathered from the corporate web sites of the ten major banks in each region, and their contents were analyzed. Geographic patterns and the correlation to universal development indicators were studied. Findings – The banks disclose on their web sites information on environmental management and socioeconomic programs. Other recurrent themes are the support to education, fight against corruption, workers’ welfare, corporate ethics and the existence of codes of conduct. There are geographic patterns in the quantity and detail of the information provided, as well as in the themes mentioned. The banks located in Europe, the American continent, and Oceania, are those who disclose more information. This confirms that the disclosure of social responsibility by the banks is larger and more detailed according to the development indexes of the country where they operate. Originality/value – The work studies the disclosure on the internet of information on social responsibility by the banks, being the first work to do it at the world level. This way, it provides a significant contribution to identify the themes that are more often disclosed and to establish comparisons between geographic areas.
- A perceção dos stakeholders sobre o desenvolvimento turístico: o caso da ilha de São Miguel, AçoresPublication . Moniz, Fabiana; Simão, JoãoO turismo na Região Autónoma dos Açores, e em especial na Ilha de São Miguel, tem sofrido nos últimos anos um aumento significativo que se repercute inevitavelmente em impactos económicos, socioculturais e ambientais. O planeamento estratégico da atividade torna‑se ainda mais desafiante em territórios insulares de pequena dimensão. Neste contexto, o presente estudo tem como objetivos conhecer as perceções de diferentes stakeholders sobre os impactos do desenvolvimento turístico; a identificação dos principais motores impulsionadores/inibidores da competitividade do destino; e a caracterização da participação dos stakeholders locais no processo de planeamento. Metodologicamente optou‑se por entrevistas semi‑diretivas e análise de conteúdo a uma amostra de stakeholders de S. Miguel. Os resultados mostram que os impactos económicos positivos são os mais notados, como seria de esperar num destino em fase de crescimento, e um nível de participação pública ainda escasso.
- Disclosure of corporate social responsibility in the forestry sector of the Congo BasinPublication . Colaço, Rui; Simão, JoãoThe Congo Basin (CB) region is highly relevant in both environmental and social terms. Due to the various roles and meanings that forests play in the region, it becomes urgent to understand how forestry companies disclose their (alleged) corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. This work aims at identifying which CSR themes are more often disclosed by companies, and verifying geographical patterns according to their headquarters location, in a region where studies on the subject are scarce. A grid of CSR themes enabled the analysis of the website contents of 37 forestry sector firms operating in the CB. Companies were divided in three geographical regions, according to the location of their headquarters: West, Africa, and Asia. The results suggest that the companies value timber certification and prefer to focus on disclosing environmental themes related to their operations. Education and health are the most disclosed themes, in line with contractual obligations. There is a clear relation between the disclosure and the geographical origin of the companies: Western companies disclose more than their Asian and African counterparts. The near-absence of disclosure around human and workers' rights by Asian companies is notorious.
- Sustainability campus working group. Annual report: 2021-2022Publication . Caeiro, Sandra; Fernandes, Ana Paula; Martinho, Ana Paula; Ferreira, Célia; Simão, João; Trindade, Jorge; Mapar, Mahsa; Nicolau, Paula; Pereira, Pedro; Martins, Rute; Teixeira, Teresa
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