The Portuguese Cortes during the reign of Ferdinand I (1367–83): the context of the Hundred Years War (1337–1453)

This article focuses on the study of the Cortes that convened during the reign of King Ferdinand I (1367–83), which took place in the context of the wars experienced in Europe, in the Iberian peninsula and in Portugal. First, it is shown how the Hundred Years War impacted on the Iberian peninsula from the moment when Henry of Trastámara, with the support of France, opposed the rule of his half-brother, Peter of Castile. At the same time, the Portuguese King Ferdinand I presented himself as a candidate to the Castilian throne, with the support of England. The three Fernandine Wars that took place in 1369–71, 1372–73 and 1381–82 are then briefly described. Next, this article examines the eight Cortes that met during the reign of Ferdinand I, showing how they were all summoned because of the war. Finally, this article analyses the appeals made by the municipalities in the Cortes of Lisbon of 1371, the Cortes of Oporto of 1372 and the Cortes of Leiria of 1372, with special attention given to the many military, economic, social, administrative and fiscal appeals and requests arising from the ills of war. Hence, it is concluded that the Cortes were unable to solve many of these problems, even though they contributed to restraining certain abuses. They were mostly an opportunity for dialogue between the king and the commoners, as well as a mitigating factor of greater tension and social conflict in this internal and external state of war. Within the context of war, the strength of the Cortes as a representative institution was reinforced, as well as the power and representativeness of the procurators of the commoners within the Cortes.     

Gradual institutional change and media influence: The case of Petrobras in Brazil

The media as a social actor emits discourses that reflect in the institutional context, influencing the process of institutionalization of existing practices. One view about the media in organizational studies is that it is a mechanism of organizational complexity reduction, and in this way, it is the focus of the managers' attention to certain aspects of the environment, which has implications for the way that everyday tasks are accomplished in organizations. In this sense, an interest has emerged to understand how the dissemination of information about the acquisition of a refinery in Pasadena, Texas, by Petrobras was the embryo of an international corruption scandal that compromised the organization's image but was also responsible for the emergence of new organizational practices. The data and information used are from secondary sources: the newspapers and magazines with the largest national circulations. The findings reveal that the media sought to influence individuals by elaborating its understanding of the context without being consistently coherent over time. We propose an analytical model of how the media can act in the gradual change of organizational and actors' practices.     

‘My Neighbour Drinks Clean Water,While I Continue To Suffer’: An Analysis of the Intra-Community Impacts of a Rural Water Supply Project in Mozambique

Rural water planners assume the positive impacts of community water projects are spread evenly across the population. We test this assumption by looking at the distribution of benefits within communities that received handpumps in rural Mozambique. Using survey and qualitative data we analyse the characteristics of those groups who benefited from the handpumps and also explore household decision-making processes. Handpump use was determined by distance, availability of other sources, perceptions of water quality, political affiliation, and wealth. We argue that the handpumps reinforced existing social divisions related to income and political affiliation and created new geographic divisions within communities.     

The influence of paternal substance abuse and difficult temperament in fathers and sons on sons' disengagement from family to deviant peers

This study was undertaken to examine the relative contribution of paternal history of substance abuse and difficult temperament in fathers and sons on a panel of individual, family, and interpersonal risk factors shown to be associated with deviant peer affiliations among boys. Deviant peer affiliations among boys have been associated with development of a conduct disorder and early age substance use. In a sample of sons of substance abusing fathers (n =56) and normal fathers (n=94), a structural equation path analysis revealed that the conjoint influence of paternal history of substance abuse and difficult temperament in fathers and sons influenced family and interpersonal processes that, in turn, influenced the developmental trajectory of the child toward deviant peer affiliations. The full model (F=74.49, p<.001, Stability Index=0.70) explained 50% of the variance on sons' Peer Delinquency Scale scores. Implications for primary prevention are discussed.Supported by the Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research (CEDAR), Pittsburgh, PA. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (No. DA 05605) and ROIs DA08540 and AA09985 to the first author. CEDAR is a consortium between St. Francis Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh.Received Ph.D. from University of Pittsburgh. Research interests include temperament, parent-child relationships, peer affiliations, and drug and alcohol abuse.Received Ph.D. from University of Oklahoma. Research interests include etiology and vulnerability to substance abuse.Received Ph.D. from Queens University. Research interests include the etiology of conduct disorder.Received Ph.D. from University of Pittsburgh. Research interests include social environment risk factors for substance abuse.Received Ph.D. from Penn State University. Research interests include temperament and substance abuse.     

Public‐service values and ethics: Dead end or strong foundation?

Abstract: In the Winter 2004 issue of this journal, John Langford pronounced a negative verdict on the concern for public‐service values, which has been a feature of public‐service reform over the past decade. This article reconsiders Langford's arguments. It suggests that public‐service renewal requires ongoing attention to public‐service values but also a widening of perspectives. It is now necessary to give more attention to the organizational, professional and institutional conditions for sound individual behaviour. Renewed attention to public‐service values did not seek to supplant traditional approaches to individual decision‐making but rather to re‐frame them, grounded in the principles without which they cannot make sense of the world. The research literature on values and ethics contradicts the critique's main contentions. The critique is also based on a mistaken premise, false dichotomies, and inadequate and contradictory assumptions about the nature of individual decision‐making. Three points that are useful contributions to the ongoing dialogue on public‐service values and ethics are noted. But an individual perspective must now be augmented by a focus on organizational performance. Far from being a “dead end,” public‐service values remain the strong foundation – the only possible foundation – for the public service of the future. Sommaire: Le présent article réexamine celui de John Langford, publié dans le numéro d'hiver 2004, dans lequel il prononqait un verdict négatif sur la préoccupation au sujet des valeurs du service public qui a été un élément de la réforme de la fonction publique au cours de la dernière décennie. Une nouvelle attention portée aux valeurs du service public n'a pas cherchéà remplacer les approches traditionnelles concernant la prise de décisions, mais plutôt à les recadrer, à les faire reposer sur des principes sans lesquels le monde n'a pas de sens. La littérature de recherche sur les valeurs et l'éthique conrredit les principales allégations du critique et est également fondée sur des assomptions erronées et contradictoires au sujet de la nature de la prise de décision individuelle. Trois points qui représentent des contributions utiles au dialogue actuel sur les valeurs et l'éthique du service public sont mentionnés. Mais la perspective individuelle doit aussi avoir pour objectif la performance organisarionnelle. Loin d'être une « voie sans issue », les valeurs du service public restent le fondement solide – et en fait le seul fondement possible – du service public de l'avenir.