Ioanna Iordanou

Pestilence, poverty, and provision: re-evaluating the role of the popolani in early modern Venice

The labouring classes of early modern Venice, the popolani, made up nearly 90 per cent of the citys population. To this point the relevant historiography has focused almost exclusively on their professional and civic role. It is the core contention of this article that the contribution of the popolani to the Venetian economy and society far exceeded their documented professional and civic function. Using as a case study the homogeneous group of the shipbuilders and sailors of Venice and drawing on newly discovered primary sources from the Venetian State Archives, this article shows the distinct contributions of the popolani to the citys economy and society through their charity to those in need. This took the form of sizeable dotal and charitable donations within and beyond the family. In one of the first attempts to explore the philanthropy of the Venetian workforce, this article challenges the existing scholarly view that charity was the sole responsibility of the government and the nobility in early modern Venice. It further shows that marriage was not merely a financial union for the popolani; it was a sanctuary for lasting companionship. Ultimately, the article offers a fresh vista onto the socio‐economic role of the popolani in early modern Venice.

What News on the Rialto? The Trade of Information and Early Modern Venice's Centralized Intelligence Organization

Abstract This article explores one of the earliest centrally organized state intelligence services in world history. Contrary to the orthodoxy that sees systematized intelligence as a modern political phenomenon, this was developed in early modern Venice. The article reveals the complex organization of Venetian systemized intelligence that distinguished it from other contemporaneous states’ espionage networks. It also shows how Venetian authorities commodified intelligence by engaging citizens and subjects in a trade of information for mutual benefits. Ultimately, the article challenges our understanding of early modern political communication and offers a fresh vista of intelligence as a business trait and economic necessity.

What can we learn from sports and sports coaching

Welcome to this issue of Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice. Alongside the high-quality submission of coaching related research in this journal, there has been a gradual increase in articles that explore different facets of sports coaching. In consequence, as editors, we have been asking the following questions: Is sports coaching research relevant to the readers of our journal and other relevant journals that publish coaching research? If so, how can studies in sports coaching contribute to our understanding of coaching in spheres such as business, leadership development, education, health, and, generally, life? Moreover, how can studies in sports coaching help advance the growing body of coaching research? I would like to start this editorial by categorically arguing that the sphere of sports can offer significant insights into fields such as business, health, and education, amongst others. This is because fast-paced and competitive environments such as those of elite sports, business, and health can be considered ‘rigorous laboratories for effective coaching’ (McCarry, 2016, p. 245) and, in consequence, can offer significant ‘lessons learnt’ for anyone involved in this fascinating professional service. Sports coaching can be divided into three main areas: sports-specific coaching (technical/ physical); game-day or event-related coaching (tactical/strategic); and individual or team coaching (emotional resilience/mind-set) (De Haan & McCarry, 2017, p. 21). In the first instance, one might argue that this type of coaching is a completely different ‘kettle of fish’. Indeed, for all of us who work as coaches in contexts such as business organisations and public sector institutions, to name just a few, the definition we have of the coaching professional is somewhat different to that of the sports coach. According to Bresser and Wilson (2010, p. 10), a coach empowers clients to achieve ‘self-directed learning, personal growth, and improved performance’. She does so by facilitating structured conversations that are based on specific conversational techniques and skills, and that aim to enable the coachee to set and achieve goals that lead to personal and professional development (van Nieuwerburgh, 2017). But isn’t sports coaching premised on similar attributes? In a recent enlightening article on the similarities between Sports Coaching and Executive Coaching, De Haan and McCarry (2016, p. 7) argued that ‘modern sports coaching is a discipline [...] misunderstood’, and it is ‘far more nuanced than a simple act of skills training’. Despite particular nuances of specific sports, in professional sports coaching the main focus is improved performance, which is primarily measured through tangible outcomes (Ibid.). This is not distinct from other types of coaching, such executive coaching, where the client strives to improve specific aspects of their professional (and personal) conduct. In non-elite sports, especially in contexts of youth sports, enabling the development of the whole person is amongst the sports coach’s responsibilities (Ibid., Iordanou, Hawley, & Iordanou, 2017, pp. 157–165), which is more akin to developmental interventions such as life coaching. Elite professional sports coaching has also increasingly become more attuned to combining technical finesse with personal development. In this respect, physical performance and mental well-being are complementary objectives in several types of coaching, including sports coaching. As De