Canadiana Abroad: The Department of External Affairs' Book Presentation Programmes, 1949–1963

This article examines one aspect of Canada's early cultural diplomacy. During the late 1940s, the Department of External Affairs frequently received requests for Canadian books from foreign libraries. At the same time, many officials were eager to promote Canadian culture abroad. The Annual Book Presentation Programme was inaugurated with the intention of creating “repositories of Canadiana” which might stimulate interest in Canada among foreign readers. Although the budget for the program was always modest, over the years the department's book gifts did fulfill their aim, creating a basis for the later growth of Canadian studies in universities abroad.     

Makarios cultural diplomacy legacy in the republic of Cyprus

ABSTRACT

The article explores the cultural diplomacy initiatives undertaken by the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) during Makarios presidency (1960–1977) in order to strengthen the state acknowledgement and visibility in the international scenery and promote a nation brand focused mainly on the Hellenocentric aspect of the Greek-Cypriots’ cultural identity. Cyprus, a recently independent state (1960), shaped its cultural diplomacy practices according to the political developments; on the escalation of bi-communal conflicts internally and the international insecurity provoked by the Cold War rhetoric. This paper aims to map certain state cultural initiatives in an attempt to make connections between the internal identity-building process and the external projection of cultural identity and gain a better understanding about how a small-sized state can pursue and project a nation brand abroad by practicing the diplomacy of culture.     

Illustrating the Phaenomena: Celestial Cartography in Antiquity and the Middle Ages

Abstract

The Ordnance Survey's Boundary Survey, carried out between 1841 and 1888, was a major undertaking which resulted in the local administrative boundaries of the whole of Great Britain being reliably mapped for the first time. This was not achieved by imposition but by the use of local knowledge of boundaries, thus making permanent a communal memory of administrative geography and rendering it globally accessible through maps. The Boundary Survey aided the reform of local government areas, a process which started during the same period and provided derived data for the burgeoning collection of statistics in the nineteenth century.     

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES IN SITING A NUCLEAR-FUEL WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITY IN ONTARIO, CANADA

An environmental assessment of the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Disposal Concept was initiated in 1989. The primary purpose of the assessment is to determine the technical feasibility of burying nuclear-fuel waste deep into the Canadian Shield. If deemed acceptable, a second phase of facility siting will commence. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the social and political dimensions of nuclear-fuel waste management in Canada. It is contended that nuclear-fuel waste management transcends technical concerns, and that the ultimate success or failure of siting procedures is hinged on social and political acceptability. Data focusing on various facets of a nuclear-fuel waste disposal facility were collected from a sample of residents from three northern Ontario communities. Results demonstrate that there is a strong relationship between facility acceptability, risk perception, and distance from community. On the basis of these findings, it is contended that a regional siting approach needs to be developed and implemented to ensure that concerns over the viability of nuclear power, equity, and trust are incorporated and granted legitimacy in the management of nuclear-fuel waste. Une évaluation environnementale du concept d'élimination des déchets de combustible nucléaire au Canada a débuté en 1989. L'idée première de cette évaluation est de déterminer la faisabilité d'enfouir les déchets de combustible nucléaire dans le Bouclier canadien. Si l'on estime que c'est possible, une deuxième phase dans le choix d'un emplacement d'enfouissement débutera. Le but de cet exposé est d'évaluer les dimensions sociale et politique qu'entraînent la gestion des déchets de combustible nucléaire au Canada. On dit que la gestion des déchets de combustible nucléaire va au-delà des préoccupations techniques et que le succès ou l'échec des procédures de choix d'emplacement dépendent aussi de l'acceptabilité sociale et politique. Les données portant sur différentes facettes d'élimination des déchets de combustible nucléaire ont été recueillies auprès de résidents sélectionnés dans trois communautés du nord de l'Ontario. Les résultats ont montré qu'il existait un lien très fort entre l'acceptabilité des installations, la perception de risque qu'elles entraînaient et la distance qui les en séparait de la communauté. Sur la base de ces constatations, on a avancé, quant au choix d'un emplacement, qu'il fallait envisager une approche sur le plan régional pour assurer qu'en matière de gestion des déchets de combustible nucléaire, on reconnaisse de manière légitime les préoccupations touchant à la viabilité de cette énergie.     

论晚明东林党的舆论活动及其影响

晚明是中国古代舆论最活跃的时期,其中又以东林党的舆论力量最为显著。从万历初年到天启末年,东林党人的舆论活动经历了三个阶段。东林党围绕官员诠选、官员考察、对阁臣的批判、以学术促清议等方面开展了一系列舆论活动,其主张在邸报发抄、印刷刻传和书信交流等方式的扩散之下,迅速流通于士林。东林党以舆论为载体,形成了与朝廷对峙和对话的政治力量。东林党的舆论活动加剧了明政府的党争态势,加速了官僚系统的分裂,不利于政治局面的稳定。但东林党的舆论主导了当时的社会思潮,对社会风气尤其是士大夫的气节产生了一种鼓舞作用。     

From Propaganda to ‘Information’: Reforming Government Communications in Britain

Since the 1980s, several studies of post-war British propaganda have been published. While many of these have focused on developments abroad, some have explored domestic work carried out under the auspices of the Central Office of Information. Established in 1946, the Central Office of Information provided a range of services to government departments, including advertising and public opinion polling, but it was just part of a wider system of official communications that has tended to attract less attention in the historiography. Reorganised by Clement Attlee’s post-war Labour governments, this system was presented to the public as a means of disseminating impartial and apparently non-controversial ‘facts’ about government policy. Few commentators today accept that justification, but little is known about why it emerged after the Second World War or what impact it had on existing communications machinery. Taking a broad view of the subject that considers the inter-war and wartime antecedents to the post-war communications system, this paper seeks to fill in some of the gaps that have emerged in the literature. Focusing on shifts in official nomenclature and departmental practice, it explores the relationship propaganda shared to government policy and its broader legacy in the twentieth century.     

Parading urban togetherness: a video record of Brussels' Zinneke Parade

This article introduces the concept of urban togetherness to parade research. We suggest that some parades are practices that establish urban relations and not community, carnival or consumerist relations. We develop this new perspective on the basis of a literature review and an analysis of a parade in Brussels, the Zinneke Parade. In the literature review, we distinguish between three existing perspectives on parades. Research has argued that parades serve to build community and claim identity, to suspend social positions and to enable tourist/consumerist relations. In our analysis, we focus on concrete features of the Zinneke Parade obtained through video recording showing the costumes and objects carried along, the rhythm and sounds, and the borders and interactions established during the parade. We argue that the Zinneke Parade should be understood as a form of urban togetherness in which participants and spectators are exposed to each other in a practice that does not necessarily lead to identification and shared meaning.     

辽宁省城市基本公共服务质量差异的时空分析

基于基本公共服务的内涵,从教育服务、文化服务、卫生服务、基础设施服务、社会保障服务、生态环境服务和信息服务7个方面构建了基本公共服务质量评价指标体系,运用熵值法对2003-2011年辽宁省城市基本公共服务质量进行综合测度,并以此为变量,利用差异系数和基尼系数对辽宁省各市基本公共服务质量差异的演变过程与空间格局进行定量分析。结果发现:辽宁省各市基本公共服务质量整体为上升的趋势,表现出较为明显的规模特征,沈阳市和大连市两极突出;2003-2011辽宁省城市基本公共服务质量区域差异总体扩大的基础上,呈现先扩大后缩小的演变趋势,且以文化服务、卫生服务和基础设施服务的差异为主;空间上,公共服务质量空间提升极化作用不断增强,表现为不断向"沈阳-大连、盘锦-本溪"的"十字"轴线紧靠。     

上海市日常体育生活圈的公共体育设施配置研究

运用"都市生活圈"和"时间地理学"的理论与方法,对上海城市日常体育生活圈进行了划分与构建,提出了由基础体育生活圈、基本体育生活圈和机会体育生活圈所构成的日常体育生活圈层体系,并以上海日常体育生活圈层体系为基础,依据"中心地理论"和上海公共体育设施建设与发展的实际状况,提出了上海日常体育生活圈的公共体育设施配置模式和公共体育设施配置体系。根据上海日常体育生活圈建设与发展的要求及实际状况,提出了相应的公共体育设施建设与配置的建议。