Portuguese Scientists’ Migration: a study on the 2008 crisis aftermath

In the economic and social aftermath of the 2008 crisis there has been an important and growing new wave of highly qualified Portuguese emigration comprising scientists. No or very few public policies have been designed to reverse this phenomenon, risking the consequences of brain drain. International literature argues that professional reasons are central to scientists’ decision to migrate, even after the 2008 crisis. Spending some time in a foreign country to study, research, or teach, is perceived as a common step in an individual academic trajectory and an advantage for a successful professional career in academia. It is also encouraged by European Union policies. Twelve individual portraits of Portuguese scientists living in central Europe reveal how important other factors are to the migration decision‐making process. These factors include the economic crisis, student mobility programmes, and the current Portuguese scientific system revision.     

Does media coverage influence public attitudes towards welfare recipients? The impact of the 2011 English riots

Following the shooting of Mark Duggan by police on 4 August 2011, there were riots in many large cities in the UK. As the rioting was widely perceived to be perpetrated by the urban poor, links were quickly made with Britain's welfare policies. In this paper, we examine whether the riots, and the subsequent media coverage, influenced attitudes toward welfare recipients. Using the British Social Attitudes survey, we use multivariate difference‐in‐differences regression models to compare attitudes toward welfare recipients among those interviewed before (pre‐intervention: i.e. prior to 6 August) and after (post‐intervention: 10 August–10 September) the riots occurred (N = 3,311). We use variation in exposure to the media coverage to test theories of media persuasion in the context of attitudes toward welfare recipients. Before the riots, there were no significant differences between newspaper readers and non‐readers in their attitudes towards welfare recipients. However, after the riots, attitudes diverged. Newspaper readers became more likely than non‐readers to believe that those on welfare did not really deserve help, that the unemployed could find a job if they wanted to and that those on the dole were being dishonest in claiming benefits. Although the divergence was clearest between right‐leaning newspaper and non‐newspaper readers, we do not a find statistically significant difference between right‐ and left‐leaning newspapers. These results suggest that media coverage of the riots influenced attitudes towards welfare recipients; specifically, newspaper coverage of the riots increased the likelihood that readers of the print media expressed negative attitudes towards welfare recipients when compared with the rest of the population.     

Ethnic and Socioeconomic Segregation in Belgium: A Multiscalar Approach Using Individualised Neighbourhoods

Segregation may have profound effects when it is paired with an accumulation of inequalities. This is namely the case when ethnic and socioeconomic segregation overlap. Few studies in Europe have, however, addressed the relationship between ethnic and socioeconomic segregation in a comprehensive manner. This paper first aims at investigating the interrelation between ethnic and socioeconomic segregation in Belgium. Second it looks into the role of scale in the relationship between ethnic and socioeconomic segregation. The analyses are based on the newly available geocoded data from the 2011 Belgian census. These data were used to construct individualised neighbourhoods at nine scales with a nearest-neighbours approach for the urban agglomerations of Brussels, Antwerp, and Liege. Ethnic and socioeconomic indicators calculated for these individualised neighbourhoods were then inputted in independent factor analyses for each agglomeration. The results reveal remarkably similar segregation patterns in the three cities. Our analyses give way for three main conclusions: there is an undeniable process of spatial isolation of deprived migrants in Belgium’s inner cities; despite the central location of neighbourhoods with high concentration of migrants and poverty, the scope of isolation is considerably high, both in extension and in population density; and macro/national factors such as housing policies and territorial processes seem to shape the segregation patterns in Belgian cities.     

A Comparative Study of Segregation Patterns in Belgium,Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden: Neighbourhood Concentration and Representation of Non-European Migrants

In this paper, we use geo-coded, individual-level register data on four European countries to compute comparative measures of segregation that are independent of existing geographical sub-divisions. The focus is on non-European migrants, for whom aggregates of egocentric neighbourhoods (with different population counts) are used to assess small-scale, medium-scale, and large-scale segregation patterns. At the smallest scale level, corresponding to neighbourhoods with 200 persons, patterns of over- and under-representation are strikingly similar. At larger-scale levels, Belgium stands out as having relatively strong over- and under-representation. More than 55% of the Belgian population lives in large-scale neighbourhoods with moderate under- or over-representation of non-European migrants. In the other countries, the corresponding figures are between 30 and 40%. Possible explanations for the variation across countries are differences in housing policies and refugee placement policies. Sweden has the largest and Denmark the smallest non-European migrant population, in relative terms. Thus, in both migrant-dense and native-born-dense areas, Swedish neighbourhoods have a higher concentration and Denmark a lower concentration of non-European migrants than the other countries. For large-scale, migrant-dense neighbourhoods, however, levels of concentration are similar in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Thus, to the extent that such concentrations contribute to spatial inequalities, these countries are facing similar policy challenges.     

东方与西方之间:犹太哲学及其对中国哲学的意义

犹太哲学既不同于西方的理性主义哲学 ,也不同于中国古代的直觉主义哲学。它代表了一种新型的思维方式 ,是一条介于东方哲学与西方哲学之间的“亦东亦西”的思想之路。犹太哲学不仅在形式上利用西方哲学的理性主义思维方式来解释自己的传统 ,而且做到了在内容上与西方哲学的融合与统一。犹太哲学对中国哲学的意义在于 ,它认定了中国现代哲学发展的方向 ,表明中西哲学会通的道路是可行的 ;中国现代哲学没有做到在形式和内容两个方面与西方哲学的真正融合 ,犹太哲学为未来提供了一个可供参考的范例 ;作为一种宗教哲学 ,犹太哲学提醒未来的中国哲学应关注宗教信仰因素。     

试论艾青诗歌创作中的宗教情感

艾青诗歌中表现了“救世者”、“创世者”的宗教情感,这种情感的形成对其诗歌创作产生了积极的影响,是其社会思想、审美思想、道德情感的具体表现,使其诗歌具有世代感和使命感.     

Buying Citizenship? Chinese Golden Visa Migrants in Portugal

In 2011, Portugal launched a residence permit programme to attract foreign investment from non-EU citizens, with Chinese business migrants representing those taking most advantage of this initiative. This paper analyses this policy measure and assesses its social consequences, as a new way that Chinese migrants have to enter Portugal. Firstly, we characterise this programme by identifying its principles and legal requirements, using official data from 2012 to 2018. We then describe the emergence of this type of residence permit as a response to the financial crisis of 2011, and as part of a neoliberal political rationality that has guided a governance model since this time. Next, we characterise the profile of Chinese citizens who benefit from this initiative and claim residence permits on the basis of their economic power. Finally, we discuss the social and political implications of this kind of entrance to Portugal, to provide some insights for policymakers.     

Size does matter: Passive sampling in urban parks of a regional bat assemblage

Urban Ecosystems - We studied the occurrence of bats in urban parks in the city of Madrid (Spain), and the resulting patterns were compared with bat occurrence in the surrounding region. In this...