Draining Resources

2020 ◽  
pp. 195-228
Author(s):  
Laurens E. Tacoma
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Social Expectations ◽  
Private Initiative ◽  
Internal Competition ◽  
Point Of Reference

This chapter discusses the sixth characteristic of Roman political culture: ambiguity in the agency of benefactions. It is analysed on the basis of a small dossier concerning a drainage project carried out in the reign of the Ostrogothic king Theoderic. Members of the elite were supposed to engage voluntarily in benefactions that were directed at the wider community. In reality social expectations were very strong. The Roman period of single rule altered the dynamic of the benefactions. Although they remained an integral part of the internal competition within the elite, in larger projects the ruler became a primary point of reference. Given the tension between voluntary and forced behaviour, the ruler’s role was ambiguous: was he the actual initiator of benefactions that were in reality state ventures, or merely offering approbation to private initiative? The agency in benefactions had never been completely clear, but benefactions could now be used by both ruler and elite to construe a relation between the two parties. The drainage project discussed in this chapter occurred under Ostrogothic rule. It not only shows the durability of Roman modes of behaviour, but precisely because engaging in benefactions offered a type of discourse that had proven to be successful over several centuries, it lent itself to adaptation to changing situations. The language of benefaction offered common ground to ruler and senate, and at the same time allowed both parties to position themselves as the embodiment of Roman values in a radically changed society.

scholarly journals Lietuvos valdovų Gedimino ir Algirdo prigimtinio teisingumo doktrina tarptautinių santykių aspektu

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021/1 ◽  
pp. 5-28
Author(s):  
Darius Baronas
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Comparative Investigation ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Cultural Interaction ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Natural Justice ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
Medieval Europe ◽  
The Right

This article seeks to explore the notion of justice in the letters of grand dukes Gediminas (1316–1341) and Algirdas (1345–1377) of Lithuania. To provide the right context, use is made of studies of late medieval political ideas. This comparative investigation has been carried out in order to identify schools of Latin medieval political thought that share common ground with what we might call a Lithuanian version of natural justice. On the other hand, an attempt is made to identify views of political life and cultural interaction that represent a stark contrast with the principles of Christian and non-Christian coexistence expressed in the letters of the abovementioned Lithuanian pagan rulers. KEYWORDS: Gediminas, Algirdas, political culture, justice, Lithuania, medieval Europe, Byzantium.

The Economy of Favours

2020 ◽  
pp. 159-194
Author(s):  
Laurens E. Tacoma
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Urban Network ◽  
Equal Status ◽  
Horizontal Competition ◽  
Symbolic Exchange

This chapter discusses the fifth characteristic of Roman political culture; the fact that competition for honour between cities became locked in expectations about the mutual behaviour of its participants. It analyses this on the basis of the rescript of Constantine to the Umbrian city of Hispellum. In the Roman period under single rule competition between cities continued unabated, but the direction and nature of it changed. What might be regarded as a form of ‘horizontal’ competition or ‘peer polity interaction’ between communities that were in principle of equal status was now increasingly conducted along vertical lines: communities tried to enhance their status by obtaining privileges and honours from the ruler that affected their ranking in the urban network. In this way the ruler became not only the external arbiter in the competition for status, but at the same time actively shaped that competition. The symbolic exchange with the ruler was structured by petitions which were presented by embassies sent by communities. The relation between emperor and subject was construed in their interaction, and both the requests and their answers could therefore be bent and subtly manipulated to fit their writers’ wishes. However, as both parties became locked in expectations of each other’s behaviour, in the honorific exchanges exactly what was perceived as a gift obtained from the ruler and what was perceived as an honour given to the ruler became obfuscated. An economy of favours emerged in which benefactor and beneficiary played leapfrog.

BECOMING PROFESSIONAL: CHINESE ACCOUNTANTS IN EARLY 20TH CENTURY SHANGHAI

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Xu ◽  
Xiaoqun Xu
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Accounting Profession ◽  
Nationalist Movement ◽  
Professional Self ◽  
Point Of Reference

This paper examines the experience of Chinese accountants transforming themselves into a profession during the early 20th century. It delineates how the experience was shaped by an intersection of economic development, the political culture and the nationalist movement in semi-colonial Shanghai. Chinese accountants responded to the daily manifestations of these larger historical forces by combining their professional self-interests with a nationalist agenda and by adapting to the changing political environment. The history and legacy of this experience provides a point of reference for observing the re-emergence of the accounting profession in China since the end of the Maoist era.

scholarly journals How did Public Buildings and Monuments Contribute to the Evolution of Agora to Forum during the Early Roman Period in Athens?

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Han Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
The Political ◽  
Dynamic Evolution ◽  
Public Buildings ◽  
Research Environment ◽  
New Public ◽  
Roman Forum

This article uses Athens in the early Roman Empire, the province of Achaia, and the political culture behind it as a research environment. Then focuses on two public spaces in Athens: Classic Agora and Roman Forum, which are used as cases to research the relationships between these public spaces. Based on the dynamic evolution of public buildings, monuments, and new public spaces in Athens during that period, this article explores the reasons for this adaptation and transformation of the Forum to Agora in the Roman period. Research suggests that the construction and existence of public buildings and monuments in Athens during the Roman period may have played a major role in promoting this transition from Agora to Forum.

Talking Across Cultures in Early Intervention: Finding Common Ground to Meet Children's Communication Needs

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 79-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth D. Peña ◽  
Christine Fiestas
Keyword(s):  
Early Intervention ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Cultural Orientation ◽  
Speech Language Pathology ◽  
Provider Perspectives ◽  
Language Pathology ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
Caregiver Role

Abstract In this paper, we explore cultural values and expectations that might vary among different groups. Using the collectivist-individualist framework, we discuss differences in beliefs about the caregiver role in teaching and interacting with young children. Differences in these beliefs can lead to dissatisfaction with services on the part of caregivers and with frustration in service delivery on the part of service providers. We propose that variation in caregiver and service provider perspectives arise from cultural values, some of which are instilled through our own training as speech-language pathologists. Understanding where these differences in cultural orientation originate can help to bridge these differences. These can lead to positive adaptations in the ways that speech-language pathology services are provided within an early intervention setting that will contribute to effective intervention.

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