The institutionalisation of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the institutional development of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies (BCD) from 1826 to the present. Legislature careers, the internal organisation of the BCD, the current system for filling positions within the committees and electoral rules are the objects of this study. The process of development of the BCD should be understood in light of the dynamics of the Brazilian political system, which has undergone significant ruptures of regime, and also in light of the nearly permanent fragility of the democracy, especially of its representative components. It is an institution with legislature career patterns that vary through time, but always point towards opportunities out of the BCD, a stable, hierarchical and complex mode of organisation that currently values parties as distributors of opportunities. It is, above all, an institution that is subject to external influences from other parts of the political system, which diminish its autonomy and self-determination, as shown by the example of the rule for the adjudication of terms. With its 190 years, the BCD has evolved along with Brazilian democracy and today, although boasting a great structure and large resources, it still needs to establish itself as a decisive and permanent actor in driving public policies and communication (parties and government projects) with voters.     

Characteristics and offences of women with borderline personality disorder in forensic psychiatry: a multicentre study

Although female forensic patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are generally considered taxing in clinical practice, little is known about their specific characteristics or offences. In this study, 156 female forensic psychiatric patients diagnosed with BPD were compared to 113 diagnosed otherwise. Information on demographic and psychiatric characteristics, victimization, index offences, and incidents during treatment was gathered from patient files. Risk factors for recidivism were assessed using the PCL-R and historical items of the HCR-20, including items from the new Female Additional Manual (FAM). Compared to non-BPD women, BPD women were more likely to have been abused as children and to have a history of outpatient treatment. While less likely to be convicted for (attempted) homicide, a higher percentage of BPD women was convicted for arson. Comorbid substance abuse was more frequent in the BPD group and incidents towards others and themselves were more violent in nature. The PCL-R and the H-scale of the HCR-20/FAM indicated several risk factors especially important for BPD women, such as poor behavioural control, impulsivity, and irresponsibility. The results support the clinical impression that women diagnosed with BPD are a subgroup within the female forensic psychiatric population, with specific focus points for treatment and management.     

Growth and the Welfare State in the EU: A Causality Analysis

In this paper, we test for causality between GDP growth andsocial protection expenditure in the European Union. To that end,we apply Hsiao's (1981) sequential procedure to data for twelveEU countries along the 1970–1994 period. Our results suggestthat, for Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,Portugal, and Spain, causality runs only from social protectiongrowth to GDP growth, while for Denmark, France, Greece, Italy,and the United Kingdom, no causality is found between socialprotection growth and GDP growth.     

Self-reported personality traits in forensic populations: a meta-analysis

The current study covers a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of self-reported deviant or disruptive personality traits: anger, aggression, hostility, antisocial traits, psychopathy, and impulsivity in forensic populations worldwide. A computer-based search of titles was carried out using the PubMed electronic database for articles published in English that included a self-report instrument for personality characteristics in combination with a forensic population (i.e. detained in remand, sentenced and/or in enforced treatment, or on parole). The final sample consisted of 39 studies (N?=?11,716) that together used 17 different instruments and reported on 32 subscales or constructs that fitted our current interest. Results showed significantly higher levels of self-reported antisocial and psychopathic features in forensic samples, including a significant effect of the assessment instrument and subscale used. No significant differences were found for self-reported impulsivity, anger, aggression, or hostility in forensic populations compared to norm scores of non-forensic samples. Possible explanations, including suggestions that forensic populations are prone to providing socially desirable answers on self-report questionnaires, possibly to gain advantages such as a lower prison sentence or to avoid enforced treatment, are discussed, as well as limitations, and suggestions for future research and clinical practice.     

Street-level bureaucrats' emotional intelligence and its relation with their performance

This article analyses whether the emotional intelligence (EI) of street-level bureaucrats, in this case inspectors, predicts their individual performance. It explores whether EI predicts the aggression that inspectors face and whether this explains the relation between EI and performance. Our survey among 547 inspectors, measuring their (self) perceptions, shows that inspectors' ability to appraise others' emotions and use their emotions intelligently (i.e., motivating themselves and maintaining a positive attitude) is significantly associated with inspectors' performance. Ability to appraise others' emotions predicts increases encountered aggression (as perceived by inspectors), and capacity to regulate one's emotions correlates with decreased perceived encountered aggression. The paper contributes to street-level bureaucracy literature by identifying affective factors that help explain performance, and to EI literature by theorizing and testing succedents of various dimensions of EI rather than assuming that EI is unidimensional. Dit artikel verkent of de emotionele intelligentie (EI) van inspecteurs hun individuele prestaties voorspelt. Er wordt onderzocht of EI verklarend is voor de agressie waarmee inspecteurs te maken krijgen, en of deze ondervonden agressie vervolgens de prestaties verklaart. Uit dit onderzoek waarin we de (zelf)perceptie van 547 inspecteurs hebben gemeten, blijkt dat het vermogen van inspecteurs om emoties van anderen in te schatten en hun eigen emoties intelligent te gebruiken (d.w.z. zichzelf te motiveren en een positief te blijven) significant samenhangt met de prestaties van inspecteurs. Het vermogen om emoties van anderen in te schatten voorspelt een toename van agressie die inspecteurs ondervinden, en het vermogen om hun eigen te emoties te reguleren correleert met een afname van ondervonden agressie. Het artikel draagt bij aan de literatuur over contactambtenaren (street-level bureaucracy) door affectieve factoren te identificeren die prestaties helpen verklaren, en aan de EI-literatuur door verschillende dimensies van EI te theoretiseren en te testen in plaats van aan te nemen dat EI eendimensionaal is.     

Still a poster child for social investment? Changing regulatory dynamics of early childhood education and care in Denmark and Sweden

This paper investigates the regulation of publicly organized early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Denmark and Sweden, through the regulatory welfare state (RWS) framework. The analysis focuses on how alterations in funding and quality of care are shaped by governmental and nongovernmental actors at national and local levels of government. Through focused structured analysis, we examine how various actors have shaped the funding and quality of childcare in Denmark and Sweden, from the early 2000s to 2020, with special attention to the period during and after the 2008 financial crisis. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, concerns about quality in care were raised on the political agenda by various actors in both countries, leading to decisions to improve the quality of care. Yet, the regulatory dynamics differ: In Denmark, the debate led to a decision in 2019, to implement a minimum statutory requirement of regulatory quality standards. From an RWS perspective, this outcome can be qualified as “double expansion,” because regulatory quality standards, and public funding for childcare increased. In Sweden, the debates about quality of ECEC led, in 2016, to political guidelines about quality standard, but with no additional national funds, and no mandatory regulatory quality requirements. Analytically, this can be qualified as “regulatory-led expansion,” that is requirements for quality standards, although the lack of additional national funds suggests that it will be difficult to improve ECEC quality substantially. The RWS perspective, which focuses on national and municipal levels of governance, also gives insights into hidden inequalities between municipalities regarding funding and quality of ECEC, which are more pronounced in Sweden than in Denmark.     

What drives compliance with COVID-19 measures over time? Explaining changing impacts with Goal Framing Theory

The COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to study which factors drive compliance and how the evolving context in society –virus fluctuations and changing government measures – changes the impact of these factors. Extant literature lists many factors that drive compliance – notably enforcement, trust, legitimacy. Most of these studies, however, do not look across time: whether a changing context for citizens changes the impact of factors driving compliance. In this study, we use Lindenberg's Goal Framing Theory to explain the dynamics of these drivers of compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic. We formulate hypotheses for pro-socialness, trust in government, observed respect for rules, rule effectiveness, rule appropriateness, fear of COVID-19 (severity and proximity), opportunities for pleasure and happiness, as well as worsened income position. We test our hypotheses with data collected at three different moments during the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis in Flanders, Belgium. Findings show that over time the constellations of factors that drive compliance change and, later in the pandemic, more distinct groups of citizens with different motivations to comply are identified. The overall conclusion is that the voluntary basis for compliance becomes more fragile over time, with a more differentiated pattern of drivers of compliance emerging. Public policy and communication need to adapt to these changes over time and address different groups of citizens.