Did Waldegrave Work? The Impact of Open Government upon British History

The Impact of the waldegrave Initiative on Open Government uponBritish History is examined and placed within the wider frameworkof changes in Whitehall, which might be interpreted as a shifttowards transparency, or alternatively towards more sophisticated‘information control’. The areas of intelligencehistory, nuclear history and international history are examinedin detail and used to suggest that while their broad contoursremain largely unchanged, specific subjects that were once inaccessiblecan now be tackled. The mundane nature of some of the materialhitherto withheld for exceptional periods sheds light not onlyon the period that it documents, but also on the absurd andfantastical secrecy of the government in the 1980s, which continuedto keep eighteenth century records under lock and key, claimingtheir continued sensitivity. The workaday world of the DepartmentalRecord Officer is considered and found to be suffering badlyfrom the strains of under-resourcing The significant problemsthat are identified here, it is argued, will be exacerbatedby the arrival of Freedom of Information Legislation     

Social Impact Assessment as ‘Applied Peoples' Geography’

The increasing imposition of requirements for formal impact assessment reports prior to government approval of major industrial developments provides an opportunity for professional geographers to address the research-action agenda outlined by Harvey (1984) in his call for an applied peoples' geography. Using examples from impact studies involving indigenous peoples affected by Australian resource projects, this paper considers the conceptual basis for empowering, participatory and interventionist social impact research which addresses Harvey's concerns.     

CANADIAN ENERGY FUTURES: POLICY SCENARIOS AND PUBLIC PREFERENCES

Alternative Canadian energy futures as articulated by forecasting agencies and as perceived by a sample of the Albertan public are examined. The use of environmental world views as a conceptual framework facilitates the analyses of both the energy scenarios and public perspectives in an analogous manner in order to establish areas of congruence and disagreement.
The results indicate that energy projections were consistent with the forecasting methodology selected, as well as the attitudes, values, and assumptions incorporated into the forecasting models. A relationship between environmental attitudes, energy preferences, and reasons expressed for those preferences was also found amongst the public sample.     

DÉPART: GÉOGRAPHIE et POÉSIE

Soumises à des préventions humanistes et romantiques, la géographie ne voit dans le texte littéraire qu'un réservoir d'images géographiques. Pareille approche impose de sérieuses limites à l'analyse littéraire en géographie: elle interdit pour le moins tout rapport avec le texte poétique moderne. A partir des Illuminations de Rimbaud, première manifestation du non-sens dans la linérature occidentale, il est montre que ce qui est essentiel dans cette poésie, ce n'est pas l'expérience origrnale de la ville qu'elle présente, mais bien le bouleversernentde la fonction textuellequ'elle opère. Du coup, le géographe est amené a s'interroger sur son propre rapport aux textes .
Influenced by romantic and humanistic prejudices, geography has used imaginative literature solely as a source of geographical images. Such an approach puts serious limits on literary analysis in geography. It has prevented geographers from making meaningful contact with modern poetry. From Rimbaud's epoch-making Illuminations, which made a place for nonsense in Western literature, it is shown that significant images (urban motifs) stand on very thin ice in modern poetry, especially when contrasted with the new role that Rimbaud gives the text. Furthermore, it is argued that geographers can take advantage of Rimbaud's joyful play on words by re-examining their own position in relation to texts .     

LECHAION,WESTERN PORT OF CORINTH: A PRELIMINARY ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY

Lechaion was the western port of the prosperous city of Corinth, and thus much of the Corinthia, Argolid and Peloponnesos. The position of Lechaion ensured that the port was used for traffic with the western Mediterranean as well as central Greece. Lechaion was separated from the city by agricultural land, but remained a dependent entity; in the classical period the port was connected to the city by long walls. The port contained an outer and inner harbor with a combined area of approximately 150,000 m² The outer harbor works consisted of two large moles; the inner harbor was artificially excavated. Multiple periods of construction are suggested by the archaeological remains. The construction phases of the harbor may be related to the expansive economic activity in Corinth at the beginning of the sixth century B. C., c. A.D. 45, and perhaps again c. A.D. 355.     

Thurlow, Eldon and Lyndhurst and the Management of the House of Lords

From 1783 to 1846 lord chancellors played an important role in managing the business of the house of lords. Not surprisingly, as the career of Lord Thurlow will illustrate, their position was not as strong as it had been before 1783 when the office of leader of the House was created. Before then a chancellor could manage the House by himself, as Thurlow did, and Eldon from 1801 to 1803 when there was no regular leader. Yet even when there was a leader, a chancellor could be a major force. Lord Grenville, the first strong leader, yearned for one who would play the role of an active second-in-command. Eldon played it, but more at the beginning than toward the end of his career. This was because of clashes with Lord Liverpool, who had been leader of the House before he became prime minister. But long since, Eldon had become a power in his own right as the revered head of the high tories. Lord Lyndhurst played the role to perfection because of his long partnership with the duke of Wellington, who trusted and admired him.