Born in S. João da Madeira (1946); “Licenciatura” in Economics at Faculty of Economics of  University of Porto (FEP) (1968); member of Gabinete de Investigações Sociais (GIS) and assistant professor in Instituto Superior de Economia (ISE) and Instituto de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empresa (ISCTE) (Lisbon, 1971-1974); PhD in Sociology granted by ISCTE (1983) –  dissertation title: “Estruturas Sociais e Práticas Simbólico-ideológicas nos Campos”; member of Social Sciences Group in FEP (1974-2008) and, temporarily, of Sociology Section of Faculty of Arts of the same University. “Agregação” in Social Sciences in FEP (1992), where he remained Full Professor until his retirement in 2008; President of Associação Portuguesa de Sociologia (1990–1994); Coordinator of Sociology Area (Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica – JNICT) (1993-1996); Consultant of President Jorge Sampaio for “Economy, Development and Society” (1996-2005); Researcher in Instituto de Sociologia da Universidade do Porto, since 2004; Coordinator of Research Teams on “Work and Workers in the Building Industry” (JNICT), on “Dequalification and Social Integration in the Building Industry” (FCT) and on “Social Change in a Local Community in Northwestern Portugal” (FCT). He published books (as author, co-author, editor and co-editor), chapters in books and peer-reviewed articles in national and international periodicals on: Epistemology, Methodology and Theory of the Social Sciences; Sociological Analysis of Symbolic, Cultural and Educational Practices; Social Change in Rural Collectivities; Challenges to the Welfare State under the New Economy.  He is concluding a study on “John Kenneth Galbraith and the field of North-American Economics”.