AI-Based Educational Training: Mapping Portugal's Higher Education Landscape and Regulatory Framework Sónia Pedro Sebastião, David Ferreia-Mendes Dias AI as Help and Hindrance in Education, 2025 This chapter presents a deductive empirical study examining how the Portuguese educational system adapts to the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) integration. It focuses on AI-related offerings in higher education and the associated assessment regulations in Portugal for the 2024/2025 academic year. The study employs a two-stage content analysis: first, identifying advanced (master's) and specialised (postgraduate and minor) AI courses through a web search; second, analysing the assessment regulations of institutions offering AI education to understand measures implemented to mitigate academic misconduct in line with the ENAI Recommendations on the Ethical Use of AI in Education (Foltynek et al., 2023). The research highlights the lack of institutional strategies for AI governance and academic integrity, contributing insights that may benefit other higher education systems in Europe facing similar challenges, while also enhancing the literature on AI governance in educational contexts.
Corporate social innovation communication and institutionalisation: a cement multinational’s sustainability journey Sonia Pedro Sebastiao, Andreia Melchiades Soares Corporate Communications, 2025 PurposeThis study examines how Secil, a multinational cement company headquartered in Portugal, communicates and institutionalises its corporate social innovation (CSI) initiatives through various communication channels, focusing on its sustainability priorities established in 2022.Design/methodology/approachA deductive and mixed-method, predominantly qualitative approach is used to understand how Secil utilises various communication tools to highlight its sustainability priorities and integrate CSI within its messages, using the dimensions of The Rutgers Institute Corporate Social Innovation Model (RICSI) presented by Wirtenberg (2021). Thematic and frame analysis are employed to interpret Secil’s articulation of its sustainability and innovation priorities. The generic frame of responsibility serves as a lens through which we can comprehend the institutionalisation of CSI within Secil’s narratives. Through a meticulous examination of journalistic and advertising materials depicting sustainable practices, the study elucidates their correspondence with the foundational pillars of RICSI.FindingsThe analysis reveals that Secil’s CSI initiatives are primarily driven by coercive isomorphic pressures from sector-specific regulations and international bodies such as the European Union and the United Nations. The company develops innovative solutions through strategic partnerships with governmental bodies, local municipalities and cultural associations, aligning these with sustainable development goals. Whilst this approach potentially offers competitive advantages, the institutionalisation of CSI appears to be predominantly shaped by external regulatory requirements rather than voluntary organisational change.Research limitations/implicationsWhilst the study’s reliance on sustainability reports, communication tools and CEO media interviews provides valuable insights, these sources may present an inherently optimistic view of organisational sustainability practices. This limitation suggests several promising avenues for future research. Subsequent studies would benefit from incorporating internal stakeholder interviews to understand communication strategy development, conducting comparative analyses across different market contexts and examining the longitudinal evolution of CSI communication.Originality/valueThis paper enhances the understanding of potential sustainability narratives used by multinational companies involved in traditionally polluting activities. It provides insights into how these companies integrate sustainability, innovation and communication in both theoretical and practical contexts. By applying the RICSI to strategic communication research, this case study highlights the crucial role of alignment, clarity of intent, stakeholder engagement and organisational culture in implementing CSI. This underscores the importance of strategic communication in this area.
AI Transparency: A Conceptual, Normative, and Practical Frame Analysis Sónia Pedro Sebastião, David Ferreira-Mendes Dias Media and Communication, 2025 This study aims to dissect the normative discourse about artificial intelligence (AI) transparency using frame analysis. By employing a predominantly deductive, qualitative, and interpretative approach, the research leverages a qualitative frame analysis informed by a literature review on AI ethics and transparency. The study examines various AI ethical frameworks and regulations—China’s Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan, the OECD’s Recommendation of the Council on Artificial Intelligence, the White House’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, and the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act—to understand how transparency is framed, transparency’s objects, the defined accountability, and the responsible entities for ensuring transparency in the production of AI information. The study highlights transparency as a core ethical principle for trustworthy AI, emphasising its importance in final outputs and throughout AI development and deployment stages for fostering public trust. The findings indicate variability in language, priorities, and approaches to transparency across different frameworks, influenced by their socio-political, economic, and cultural contexts. Despite encouraging transparency as an ethical principle, the study notes a need for concrete guidance for its practical implementation across different AI applications. This gap underscores the need for critical examination and improvement in governance to enhance transparency and accountability in AI development and deployment. The innovative methodological approach, combining qualitative frame analysis with a theory-driven codebook, offers a novel template for investigating key concepts and issues in AI ethics and governance.
The rhetoric of gender equality and the Brazilian Football Confederation's online sports communication Angelo Amorim Paz, Sonia Pedro Sebastiao Cuadernos Info, 2024 Considerando que la igualdad de género es una prioridad democrática y que el deporte es una plataforma para debatirla, esta investigación busca comprender la comunicación de la Confederación Brasileña de Fútbol sobre las iniciativas para fortalecer el fútbol femenino entre 2019 y 2022. Para responder a la pregunta inicial –¿Cómo comunicó la CBF las iniciativas para fortalecer el fútbol femenino?- se utilizó el método cualitativo, se realizó un análisis documental de los reglamentos normativos de la organización, un análisis de contenido de las publicaciones en el sitio web de la CBF y de sus redes sociales, y un análisis interpretativo de los resultados. Se concluyó que la promoción del fútbol femenino no es una cuestión de identidad del órgano responsable de regular y administrar el fútbol brasileño, sino que obedece exclusivamente a una imposición de la FIFA, y que el departamento de comunicación no ha realizado más que el registro habitual de las acciones concernientes a esa rama del fútbol. Este estudio pretende contribuir a los estudios críticos sobre la comunicación deportiva digital que incluyen la noción de igualdad de género y a las investigaciones sobre la comunicación deportiva en los organismos reguladores.
Environmental diplomacy: from transnational policies to the role of ambassadors – the contribution of David Attenborough (2018–2020) Sonia Pedro Sebastiao, Isabel Soares Journal of Communication Management, 2023 PurposeThe concept of environmental diplomacy appears associated with events (conventions) promoted between states and transnational organisations to discuss aspects related to regulating the use of natural resources and regulating pollution. In this study, the authors intend to highlight the contribution brought to environmental diplomacy by leading television figure David Attenborough and his focus on the destruction of biodiversity by humans (the problem). It is intended to analyse the frames of his public interventions, comparing them with the prevailing frames in the UNFCCC policies.Design/methodology/approachA predominantly inductive method of qualitative and interpretative nature is used. In epistemological terms, the framing analysis stems from a social constructivist perspective. A theoretical model for frame analysis was defined by combining the frameworks proposed by Entman (1993) and Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) and considering previous studies (Anholt, 2015; Seelig, 2019). Analysis scrutinised a two-fold corpus comprising articles regarding actions and statements by David Attenborough published in The Guardian between 2018 and 2020, and the UN's legal framework for climate change.FindingsThe most prominent frames regarding climate crisis in transnational policies are responsibilities. Attenborough's calls for action highlight the frames of “morality”, “responsibilities” and “problems”. However, it is necessary to make a distinction between the discourse used in transnational treaties and that by Attenborough. In the former, discourse is more technical and impersonal, presented in a structure of legal diplomas and barely accessible to the public. In contrast, Attenborough's speech is more emotional, appealing and sometimes dramatic. His message is transmitted straightforwardly to the public in a pedagogical, personal tone.Social implicationsThe choice of high-profile personalities like David Attenborough as ambassadors has implications in the visibility of the environmental cause, and in the multiplication of initiatives that denounce environmental degradation.Originality/valueThis study explores and analyses the narrative construct regarding climate change as carried out by a trusted and respected media voice. The authors intend to contribute to understanding the amplification role of public figures in controversial issues and diplomatic matters. The main contribution of this study is to highlight the strategic nature of the choice of SDA by political powers to voice the drama of climate emergency.
Rhetorical documentaries and the Arctic: raising awareness about the destruction of a natural global common Sónia Pedro Sebastião Polar Journal, 2023 This article aims to highlight the importance of raising awarenessabout the Arctic’s destruction and its consequences for humankind;sustaining that awareness can be promoted by rhetoricaldocumentaries. Awareness is a necessary departing point to fostersustainable citizenship and change behaviours. This change isneeded to preserve the Arctic and tackle global warming. Theauthor uses a humanistic interpretive paradigm to demonstrate thecontribution of the rhetorical documentary “The Last Ice” (2020)to raise awareness about the destruction of the Arctic, a naturalglobal common. The main conclusion pinpoints the media's role inrecognizing the need to listen, cooperate, and affect policy-making,turning it into a more unbiased and inclusive process since theyallow awareness raising among citizens. Rhetorical documentariesmay be a valuable resource to combine means to make theirvoice globally heard, enforcing the United Nations Declaration onthe Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) and active sustainablecitizenship.
The European Ecological Pact and Public Communication on Climate Change: A Case Study of the Lisbon City Council Catarina Terraquente Ribeiro, Sónia Pedro Sebastião Media E Jornalismo, 2023 O estudo desenvolvido visa explorar a comunicação pública da Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (CML) com foco nas alterações climáticas. Os objetivos específicos são evidenciar as temáticas ambientais abordadas na comunicação pública da CML, para permitir comparar as temáticas ambientais comunicadas pela CML com as metas do PEE. Neste sentido, é um estudo tendencialmente dedutivo e comparativo. Para cumprir os objetivos realizou-se um mapeamento das iniciativas de comunicação, através de pesquisa documental e observação direta. São identificados e sistematizados os conteúdos partilhados nas páginas oficiais da CML nas redes sociais online, nomeadamente, nos seus perfis de Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, e LinkedIn, assim como, nas páginas de Facebook e Instagram da Lisboa Capital Verde 2020. Também foi utilizada a técnica de observação direta de eventos da CML, realizados entre outubro de 2021 e março de 2022. Tal implicou a observação dos eventos e o seu registo tendo por base um modelo teórico original que guia a recolha de dados. Os resultados da análise temática subsequente evidenciam preocupação da CML em abordar as várias temáticas ambientais focadas no PEE, havendo, contudo, uma sub-abordagem a questões de saúde e bem-estar e transformação digital.
