Abílio Renato Gomes Almeida (1E1F-2B81-CAB1)

Curriculum Vitae

Abílio Renato Gomes Almeida

Abílio Almeida is a Portuguese researcher with a PhD in Communication Sciences (highest distinction), affiliated with CECS (University of Minho). His work lies at the intersection of media, emotions, and the common good, with particular attention to the role of media in promoting a more inclusive and democratic society. With a background in Multimedia and over a decade of professional experience, he combines analytical and technical skills, including programming, bot development, computational tools, and NLP, applied to the analysis of and intervention in digital contexts. His academic work has focused on the historical continuity between traditional media and new digital platforms, arguing for the re-inscription of public interest and public service principles within today’s algorithmic ecosystem. Among his scientific publications, The Future of Television (2024; 2026), published in the Routledge Advances in Sociology series, stands out. In 2025, he published an article in Nature on the urgency of rethinking algorithmic governance oriented towards the common good—positive peace—proposing nine structuring topics; the article was widely disseminated and received positive feedback from individual members of the European Commission and UNESCO. Since 2024, he has served as Editor of HSS Communications (Springer Nature, Q1), and is currently co-coordinating the special issue “Cultural Perspectives in Emotions Research”. He has also carried out occasional teaching in higher education and volunteers for the journalistic project 7MARGENS, where he publishes texts such as “What Is Peace Today?” and “A Brief Cultural History of Peace”, aimed at promoting greater civic, democratic, and emotional literacy. His academic work has been mentioned in national and international media, including the Financial Times (UK), Trouw (Netherlands), Público, Observador, and SIC (Portugal). Looking ahead to 2026, editorial commitments include an article on Peace and AI (Nature), the co-authorship of the book Media, AI and Peace (Routledge), and an essay on the representation of women’s emotions in the media (Aeon). At the institutional level, he is currently awaiting the formalisation of a preliminary approach from UNESCO’s I4T Knowledge Network. Overall, his trajectory brings together scientific research, public engagement, and critical reflection on technology, framing media and AI not only as sources of contemporary problems, but also as integral parts of future solutions.

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Identification

Personal identification

Full name: Abílio Renato Gomes Almeida
Date of birth: 1991/03/03
Gender: Male

Citation names

Almeida, A

Author identifiers

Ciência ID: 1E1F-2B81-CAB1
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0936-3898

Telephones

Telephone

253604695 (Professional)

Addresses

ICS, UMinho, 4710-057, Gualtar, Ed. 15, Braga, Portugal (Professional)

Websites

www.cecs.uminho.pt (Scholar)

Knowledge fields

Social Sciences - Media and Communications - Media and Socio-cultural Communication
Social Sciences - Other Social Sciences - Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
Social Sciences - Media and Communications - Information Science

Languages

Language	Speaking	Reading	Writing	Listening	Peer-review
Portuguese (Mother tongue)
English	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)
Spanish; Castilian	Upper intermediate (B2)	Upper intermediate (B2)	Upper intermediate (B2)	Upper intermediate (B2)	Upper intermediate (B2)

Education

	Degree	Classification
2016/10 - 2022/01 Concluded	Ciências da Comunicação (Doutoramento) Major in Sem especialidade Universidade do Minho, Portugal "Daytime television in Portugal: an analysis of the role of laughter in the main morning talk shows" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	Highest Distinction
2010/11/01 - 2013/07/01 Concluded	Design e Comunicação Multimédia (Licenciatura) Escola Superior Artística do Porto, Portugal "Final Project: Development of a Social Network Prototype" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	Very Good

Affiliation

Science

	Category Host institution	Employer
2022/01/26 - Current	Researcher (Research)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
	Universidade do Minho Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade, Portugal
2016/11/01 - 2022/01/25	Research Trainee (Research)	Universidade do Minho, Portugal
	Universidade do Minho Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade, Portugal

Teaching in Higher Education

	Category Host institution	Employer
2025/04 - 2025/05	Invited Assistant Professor (University Teacher)	Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2024/11 - 2024/12	Invited Assistant Professor (University Teacher)	Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia, Brazil

Positions / Appointments

	Category Host institution	Employer
2024/05/29 - Current	Editor	Springer Nature Limited, United Kingdom
	Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, United Kingdom

Others

	Category Host institution	Employer
2025/02 - Current	Member	Critical Humor Studies Association, United States
	Critical Humor Studies Association, United States
2025/01 - Current	Integrated Researcher, PolObs – Science, Communication and Culture Policies (CECS)	Universidade do Minho Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade, Portugal
	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Portugal
2023/04 - Current	Integrated Researcher, Passeio – Art and Culture Platform (CECS)	Universidade do Minho Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade, Portugal
	Universidade do Minho Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Portugal
2022/12 - Current	Volunteer Journalist / Columnist	7 Margens, Portugal
	Porta 18 (Non-Profit Cultural Association), Portugal
2012/07 - Current	Multimedia Design and Programming	Independent and employed work for media and technology companies, Portugal
	Multiple media and technology companies, Portugal
2007 - 2012	Waiter; among other roles	Other professional experience, Portugal
	Catering and service companies, Portugal

Projects

Contract

	Designation	Funders
2025/01 - Current	PolObs – Science, Communication and Culture Policies (CECS) 00736 Researcher Universidade do Minho Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade, Portugal Universidade do Minho, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Ongoing
2023/04 - Current	Passeio – Art and Culture Platform (CECS) 00736 Researcher Universidade do Minho Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade, Portugal Universidade do Minho, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Ongoing
2020/01/01 - 2025/12/31	Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade UIDB/00736/2020 10.54499/UIDB/00736/2020 Researcher Universidade do Minho Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade, Portugal Universidade do Minho, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded

Outputs

Publications

Book	Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. A Cultural History of Laughter. United Kingdom: Routledge. 2024. Published • 10.4324/9781003463894 Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. The Future of Television: Cultural Trajectories of Media Consumption in the Digital Age of Emotion. United Kingdom: Routledge. 2024. Published • 10.4324/9781003561675 Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. Television: An Essay. Portugal: Verbi Gratia. 2023. Published Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. History of Laughter. Portugal: Guerra & Paz. 2022. Published
Book chapter	Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "London: The (online?) cry from minorities". In Fragments of the Urban, edited by Pires, Helena; Pinto-Coelho, Zara, 115-116. Portugal: CECS, 2025. Published Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "London: The 'punishment' of Pakistani girls". In The skin of the city, edited by Pinto-Coelho, Zara; Pires, Helena, 219-220. Portugal: CECS, 2024. Published
Conference paper	Pinho, M.; Varsori, Enrickson; Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Varsori, Enrickson. "Game Engagement and Environmental Literacy: Development and Validation of a Motivational Model in Digital Game Contexts". Paper presented in 14th Iberoamerican Conference on Applications and Usability of Interactive Media (jAUTI 2025), Aveiro, 2025. In press
Journal article	Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "The Role of Media in Emotional Literacy". Global Media and Communication (2026): https://journals.sagepub.com/home/gmc. Under revision Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "The Authoritarianism of Pop Culture: Media Emotions Shaping Social Thoughts". Popular Communication (2026): https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/hppc20. Under revision Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "Decoding Actions and Emotions in the Media: An Analysis of Portuguese Television Talk Shows". Media & Jornalismo (2026): https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/mj. Under revision Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "Behind Popular Truth: How Media Shape “Truth” Through Emotional Intensification". Media, Culture & Society (2026): https://journals.sagepub.com/home/MCS. Submitted Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "What Is the New Digital Ecosystem? Between Media’s Technological Progress and the Erosion of Social Commitment (1925–2025)". Media History (2026): https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/cmeh20. Submitted Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "Television today: Less an object, more a phenomenon". The Journal of Popular Television 13 2 (2025): 131-144. https://doi.org/10.1386/jptv_00139_1. Published • 10.1386/jptv_00139_1 Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "Technology leaders should ‘pay back’ society to support the common good". Nature 646 8083 (2025): 34-37. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03152-y. Open access • Published • 10.1038/d41586-025-03152-y Almeida, A; Sousa, H. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "The power of laughter: Emotional and ideological gratification in media.". Societies 14 9 (2024): 164. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/soc14090164. Open access • Published • 10.3390/soc14090164 Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "Laughing ‘with’ vs. ‘at’: Exploring emotional bonds in media strategies". Journalism and Media 5 3 (2024): 1162-1172. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia5030074. Open access • Published • 10.3390/journalmedia5030074 Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "Daytime television in Portugal: A look at the evolution of morning talk shows (1985– 2023)". Observatorio (OBS)* 18 2 (2024): 99-118. http://dx.doi.org/10.15847/obsobs18220242370. Open access • Published • 10.15847/obsobs18220242370 Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "Praising pop emotions: media emotions serving social interests". Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 11 (2024): 757. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03210-2. Open access • Published • 10.1057/s41599-024-03210-2 Almeida, A. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "Do societies have emotions?". Societies 14 5 (2024): 65. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/soc14050065. Open access • Published • 10.3390/soc14050065 Almeida, A; Wolton, Dominique. Corresponding author: Almeida, A. "The role of television in shaping democracy: An old dream with a big future?". Comunicação e Sociedade 45 (2024): e024007. http://dx.doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.45(2024).4893. Open access • Published • 10.17231/comsoc.45(2024).4893
Journal issue	Almeida, A. "Cultural Perspectives in Emotions Research". Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2026): https://www.nature.com/collections/jbfjabfhec. Coeditor
Newspaper article	Almeida, A. "What is 'Peace' today?", 7Margens, 2024, https://setemargens.com/o-que-e-paz-hoje/. Almeida, A. "A brief journey through the history of peace", 7Margens, 2024, https://setemargens.com/uma-brevissima-viagem-pela-historia-cultural-da-paz/. Almeida, A. "From the laughter of science to the science of laughter", 7Margens, 2023, https://setemargens.com/do-riso-da-ciencia-a-ciencia-do-riso/. Almeida, A. "Is laughter a 'short-circuit' in our brain?", 7Margens, 2023, https://setemargens.com/sera-o-riso-um-curto-circuito-no-nosso-cerebro/. Almeida, A. "The musicality of peculiar laughter", 7Margens, 2023, https://setemargens.com/a-musicalidade-dos-risos-esquisitos/. Almeida, A. "The history of laughter is also the history of women’s non-laughter", 7Margens, 2022, https://setemargens.com/a-historia-do-riso-e-tambem-a-historia-do-nao-riso-sobretudo-feminino/.
Thesis / Dissertation	"Daytime television in Portugal: an analysis of the role of laughter in the main morning talk shows". PhD, Universidade do Minho Instituto de Ciências Sociais, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/1822/75831.

Other

Invention

TalkSci - A TV Talk Show to Make Science Accessible to Everyone. Proposed a talk show concept for CECS and RTP (Public Television) to bridge the gap between scientists and the general public. Initiated contact with television producers, potential sponsors, and other stakeholders to assess feasibility and foster collaborations. Although the project is currently on hold, its potential remains. Target Audience: The General Public and Scientific Community. 2022. Almeida, A.

Activities

Oral presentation

	Presentation title	Event name Host (Event location)
2025/11	Game Engagement and Environmental Literacy: Development and Validation of a Motivational Model in Digital Game Contexts	14th Ibero-American Conference on Applications and Usability of Interactive Media (jAUTI 2025) Universidade de Aveiro (Aveiro, Portugal)
2025/05	Social Media Bots: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly — Identifying Corrosive and Non-Human Automation on Social Platforms	Short lecture series in Communication, Technology and the Common Good (within the Strategic Communication Planning course, Social Communication programme) Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
2025/05	Social Media Bots as Instruments for Positive Peace: The @BlueBots Methodological Proposal	Short lecture series in Communication, Technology and the Common Good (within the Strategic Communication Planning course, Social Communication programme) Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
2025/04	Between Traditional Media and Social Networks: What Happened to Public Service and Public Interest Solutions?	Short lecture series in Communication, Technology and the Common Good (within the Strategic Communication Planning course, Social Communication programme) Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
2024/12	Emotions, Media and AI: What the Past Can Teach Us About the Future?	1st Scientific Seminar on Semiotics Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia (Bahia, Brazil)
2024/11	Empathy: The Biggest Secret of Successful Communication	General Meeting for the Preliminary Analysis of Final Projects Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia (Brazil)
2024/11	Communicating for Everyone Today: The Importance of Emotional Popular Tuning in Communication	General Meeting for the Preliminary Analysis of Final Projects Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia (Brazil)
2023/03	The data and conceptual proposal of my PhD thesis (with a focus on emotional gratifications in media)	Brief and informal presentation (at the invitation of Stephen Cave, Director) Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge (Cambridge, United Kingdom)
2023	History of Laughter – The Idea and the Research Process of the Book	Several Informal Presentations Portugal, Spain, UK, Brazil
2022/10	The PhD journey: difficulties, tips and ways to overcome constraints	9th Doctoral Conference at the University, ICS Universidade do Minho (Braga, Portugal)
2022/07	Is laughter really the best medicine?	46th PubhD UMinho 2022 Universidade do Minho (Braga, Portugal)
2019/10	Laughter in Morning Talk Shows in Portugal: An Analysis	7th Doctoral Conference at the University - ICS Universidade do Minho (Braga, Portugal)
2018/10	The Role of Laughter in Portuguese Television: An Analysis of Prime-Time Television Programming in Portugal	6th Doctoral Conference at the University - ICS Universidade do Minho (Braga, Portugal)
2017/07	The Role of Laughter in Audience Construction: An Analysis of Prime-Time Television and Radio Programming in Portugal	Formal Presentation of PhD Projects - ICS Universidade do Minho (Braga, Portugal)
2017/01	Why So Much Laughter? An Exploratory Analysis of the Laughter Phenomenon in Television Programmes	Formal Presentation in Sociology of Media - ICS Universidade do Minho (Braga, Portugal)
2017/01	Advertising: Is Humour the Facilitator of the Sexual Message?	Formal Presentation in Social Semiotics - ICS Universidade do Minho (Braga, Portugal)

Event organisation

	Event name Type of event (Role)	Institution / Organization
2025/04 - 2025/05	Short lecture series in Communication, Technology and the Common Good (within the Strategic Communication Planning course, Social Communication programme) (2025/04 - 2025/05) Other (Co-organisor)	Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2024/11 - 2024/12	1st Scientific Seminar on Semiotics (2024/11 - 2024/12) Seminar (Co-organisor)	Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia, Brazil

Jury of academic degree

	Topic Role	Candidate name (Type of degree) Institution / Organization
2023/11/15	Humour and Bioecological Development in Organisations (PhD Project/Thesis Proposal) (Thesis) Main arguer	Abbadhia Vieira (PhD) Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Portugal

Ad Hoc journal article review

	Journal title (ISSN)	Publisher
2026/01 - Current	Pragmatics (2406-4238)	International Pragmatics Association
2025/12 - Current	Frontiers in Sociology (2297-7775)	Frontiers
2025/12 - Current	Sociologia Online (1647-3337)	Associação Portuguesa de Sociologia (APS)
2025/08 - Current	Psychology, Health & Medicine (1465-3966)	Routledge
2025/08 - Current	Journal of Mobile Multimedia (2673-5172)	River Publishers
2025/04 - Current	SAGE Open (2158-2440)	SAGE
2025/04 - Current	Social Sciences (2076-0760)	Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2025/02 - Current	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (1660-4601)	Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2025/01 - Current	Electronics (2079-9292)	Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2025 - Current	Behavioral Sciences (2076-328X)	Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2024 - Current	Journalism and Media (2673-5172)	Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2024 - Current	Sustainability (2071-1050)	Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2024 - Current	PLoS ONE (1932-6203)	Public Library of Science
2023 - Current	Observatorio (OBS*) (1646-5954)	OberCom - Observatory of Communication
2022 - 2022	Revista Comunicando (2182-4037)	Sopcom / LabCom

Consulting

	Activity description	Institution / Organization
2025/10 - 2025/10	Individual contribution (5,000 words) to the European Commission public consultation on the evaluation of the 2009 Broadcasting Communication (State aid rules for public service broadcasting), under the call “Commission seeks input on evaluation of State aid rules for public service broadcasting”, submitted as a media researcher/expert. The contribution addressed the adaptation of public service principles to the digital ecosystem, focusing on the algorithmic responsibility of social media platforms in promoting the common good/positive peace.	European Commission, Belgium
2024/12 - 2024/12	Collaboration as a theoretical-scientific advisor on a major theatre production, Praise to Laughter (Elogio do Riso), starring Portuguese actress Maria Rueff, contributing to the public and artistic translation of academic research on the importance of positive emotions in media, society and democracy.	Companhia de Teatro de Almada , Portugal

Course / Discipline taught

	Academic session	Degree Subject (Type)	Institution / Organization
2025/04 - 2025/05	Strategic Communication Planning	Social Communication (Bachelor)	Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2024/11 - 2024/12	Communication, Media and Image	Advertising and Propaganda (Bachelor)	Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia, Brazil

Interview (newspaper / magazine)

	Activity description	Newspaper / Forum
2026/01	Feature article on positive emotions, health, and well-being. My contribution consisted of contextualising the social role of positive emotions within a broader analytical framework. By Ana Margarida Alves.	Publico (Portugal)
2025/11	Analytical feature on emotional expression and visual culture. My contribution consisted of contextualising the historical regulation of social values and related forms of expression within social norms. By Laurens Bluekens.	Trouw (Netherlands)
2025/06	Long-form feature on positive emotions, health, and well-being. My contribution consisted of contextualising the social role of positive emotions, including their repression over time. By Rosa Ruela.	Visão (Portugal)
2025/05	Opinion article on the social, political, and cultural meanings of laughter in contemporary public life. My contribution (drawing on my book A Cultural History of Laughter, also mentioned in the article) consisted of historically contextualising laughter and analysing its social role in the past and the present. By Jemima Kelly.	Financial Times (United Kingdom)
2025/04	Expert commentary featured in the Mental Health section, drawing on my research on emotional expression, society, and media. By Sofia Teixeira.	Observador (Portugal)
2022/10	Interview discussing my research, with particular emphasis on the role of mass media in social progress and individual freedom. By Ana Henriques.	Sapo (Portugal)
2022/10	Interview about my research, addressing, among other aspects, the role of mass media in shaping and disseminating positive emotions and social values. By Liliana Oliveira.	RUM (Portugal)

Interview (tv / radio show)

	Program	Topic
2022/10 - 2022/10	RUM (News Segment)	Interview on my research
2022/10 - 2022/10	TSF (News Segment)	Interview on my research

Other jury / evaluation

	Activity description	Institution / Organization
2024/11 - 2024/12	1st Scientific Seminar on Semiotics	Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia, Brazil

Distinctions

Other distinction

2025	Member of the Commission of Notables for the XXIX Golden Globes (Portugal’s main national media and cultural awards) SIC - Sociedade Independente de Comunicação, Portugal
2023	Inclusion of the book História do Riso (History of Laughter) in the Portuguese National Reading Plan (PNL/Ler+) Presidência do Conselho de Ministros, Portugal
2022	PhD thesis awarded the Highest Distinction Universidade do Minho Departamento de Ciências da Comunicação, Portugal
2013	Merit Student in the 3rd Year of the Undergraduate Degree Escola Superior Artística do Porto, Portugal
2012	Merit Student in the 2nd Year of the Undergraduate Degree Escola Superior Artística do Porto, Portugal
2011	Merit Student in the 1st Year of the Undergraduate Degree Escola Superior Artística do Porto, Portugal