The Political and Social Dynamics of Poverty, Poor Relief and Health Care in Early-Modern Portugal

By the end of the fifteenth century most European countries had witnessed a profound reformation of their poor relief and health care policies. As this book demonstrates, Portugal was among them and actively participated in such reforms. Providing the first English language monograph on this topic, Laurinda Abreu examines the Portuguese experience and places it within the broader European context. She shows that, in line with much that was happening throughout the rest of Europe, Portugal had not only set up a systematic reform of the hospitals but had also developed new formal arrangements for charitable and welfare provision that responded to the changing socioeconomic framework, the nature of poverty and the concerns of political powers. The defining element of the Portuguese experience was the dominant role played by a new lay confraternity, the confraternity of the Misericórdia, created under the auspices of King D. Manuel I in 1498. By the time of the king's death in 1521 there were more than 70 Misericórdias in Portugal and its empire, and by 1640, more than 300. All of them were run according to a unified set of rules and principles with identical social objectives. Based upon a wealth of primary source documentation, this book reveals how the sixteenth-century Portuguese crown succeeded in implementing a national poor relief and health care structure, with the support of the Papacy and local elites, and funded principally through pious donations. This process strengthened the authority of the royal government at a time which coincided with the emergence of the early modern state. In so doing, the book establishes poor relief and public health alongside military, diplomatic and administrative authorities, as the pillars of centralisation of royal power.

Moçambique: educação e VIH/SIDA: as perspectivas dos professores e directores face ao VIH/SIDA na realidade ecolar

Esta dissertação centra-se na análise da perspectiva dos directores/ professores de Educação Cívica e Moral da 6ª e 7ª das Escolas Primárias e Completas (EPCs) na realidade do VIHISIDA nessas mesmas escolas, considerando as representações que estes actores têm face a esta patologia. Este estudo visa apreender a construção da resposta ao fenómeno no quotidiano escolar. Pretende, igualmente, avaliar as representações dos actores face às intervenções e hipóteses de melhoria da resposta dada. E, ainda, chamar a atenção da sociedade, do ministério e da escola, para a necessidade de se ouvir as diversidades que caracterizam as escolas na resposta ao VIH/SIDA. O trabalho de campo foi realizado nas EPCs do Distrito de Quelimane e Nicoadala, com base em entrevistas semi-estruturadas realizadas aos Directores e aos professores da província da Zambézia. Foi igualmente feita recolha documental e bibliográfica, tendo-se recorrido ao apoio de teorias pertinentes ao estudo. Face à investigação realizada, podemos concluir que, apesar do envolvimento dos actores locais no processo de prevenção do VIH/SIDA, existem carências e lacunas a nível da respectiva formação pedagógica e epidemiológica, a nível das condições de trabalho e no que diz respeito às fracas articulações entre o Ministério da Educação e o Ministério da Saúde. ABSTRACT: This dissertation focuses on the perspectives of the principals/teachers of civic and moral education of the 6th and 7th classes o EPC’s on the reality on HIV/AIDS in schools, considering the representation that they have on this pathology. This study aims to understand the construction of responses to the phenomenon in the everyday life. It also aims to take a closer look at the representations of the actors on the interventions and the possibilities of improving the daily responses of the EPC's. Another aspect that was considered was of the society, the ministry and schools on the relevance of listening and nuances of schools in response to HIVIAIDS. Based on the fieldwork in the districts of Quelimane and Nicoadala, semi-structured interviews with school principals/ teachers were carried out as well as the collection of documents, bibliographies and the support of pertinent theories. According to this research we can conclude that besides the local actors' involvements in the prevention process of HIVIAIDS, there are lacks and needs on teaching training and on epidemics, on working conditions and a weak dialogue between Education and Health Ministries.