Cis-IUL

This article analyses the current Portuguese Schools’ Evaluation Programme, implemented since 2006 in all state schools, as a social construction. The article focuses on a particular topic of the
external evaluation the participation of social actors in school life, as well as on school principals’ perceptions of the process. Our research is based on a content analysis of schools’ evaluation
reports conducted in three different regions (Lisbon and Tagus Valley, Alentejo and Algarve) and a series of semi-directive interviews with the principals and chairpersons of the General
Councils of 20 schools. While it is important to consider the evaluation programme in the light of international political tendencies (e.g. New Public Management), it is also relevant to understand the impact of such policy on schools. We highlight the contributions of this approach to a wider
reflection on evaluation processes.

Planning the redevelopment of brownfields according to the principles of sustainable development is a significant challenge, particularly for rural brownfields that have little hope of attracting private investment. In this paper, we propose a sustainability framework for rural brownfield redevelopment planning that incorporates the concerns and expectations of stakeholders in the process, aiming at the integration of various forms of place making. This work is part of the ongoing REHMINE project. The area studied is the São Domingos mine in southeast Portugal, part of the Iberian Pyrite Belt region. The methodology included the mapping of stakeholders in the São Domingos mine redevelopment process; semi-structured interviews with those stakeholders; and content analysis of the interviews. The results from the field were then crossed with a detailed analysis of the literature on brownfield regeneration and validated by a participative process. The outcome was a sustainability redevelopment framework that illustrates how the integration of different perspectives and forms of place making can lead to a locally adapted sustainable development overview that can support the redevelopment planning of a brownfield in a rural setting.

Socio-economic status has been consistently identified as an important factor in explaining the health of a population. This correlation has been documented in a large body of literature that reflects a clear incongruity between empirical reality and the values of justice and social cohesion. Health status results from the mutual interaction of multiple factors that act in different ways over the life of the individual. A study of social inequalities in health that centres on a specific phase of people's lives, such as old age, may contribute to a better understanding of the factors and mechanisms that define health, and help to generate a relevant framework for the development of social policies.