Policy Agendas of the Poor,the Public and Elites: A Test of Bachrach and Baratz

This paper proposes an a fortiori case study method of testing Bachrach and Baratz's 1962, 1963, 1970 well-known hypotheses about the second face of power. This face of power is allegedly characterised by exclusionary agendasetting; elites exclude the interests and demands of the poor from the policy agenda. A working assumption of the paper is that exclusionary agenda-setting may be quite infrequent. If we can specify the conditions under which it is relatively likely to occur, and then investigate cases which meet most or all of these conditions, we may be able to discover the minimum set or sets of conditions which have to be met. We could then make a fortiori inferences about other less stringent sets of conditions under which it would rarely if ever occur.     

LES ACCIDENTS DE LA ROUTE ET LES CONTRAVENTIONS ROUTIÈRES AU QUÉBEC: ANALYSE GÉOGRAPHIQUE

Cet article traite de la relation géographique entre les accidents de la route et l'intervention policière sur les routes en milieu rural. On pose la question à savoirsi les accidents se produisent généralement là ou les policiers assurent une certaine intervention et surveillance et si, réciproquement, les caractéristiques géographiques des accidents incitent des interventions spécifiques des forces publiques. L'analyse permet de constater la distribution géographique des accidents et des contraventions. If existe également des lieux communs regroupant en nombre considérable les deux types d'événements. Les courbes de distribution selon les mois, jours et heures sont toutes spécifiques. En conclusion, l'article constate que la correspondance géographique entre accidents et contraventions est caractéristique du milieu étudié mais l'inadéuation temporelle en limite la relation. On s'interroge enfin sur le fait que l'intervention policièe pourrait ne pas etre suffisamment planifiée. This article deals with the geographical aspects of highway safety in a rural area. Using two different databanks, the research attempts to establish a correlation between car accidents and the frequency of police intervention (traffic tickets) in specific geographical locations. Is there a higher frequency of highway accidents in areas where patrolmen frequently hand out tickets to motorists? Research results indicate a concentration of accidents occurring in geographic areas where tickets are frequently given out. However, the period in time when tickets are given out does not correspond to the period in time when accidents happen. In conclusion, the authors question the nature of police intervention.     

Reviews/Comptes rendus

Book reviewed in this article:
Le Saint-Laurent, grande porte de l'Amérique , par J ean -C laude L asserre , Hurtubise HMH, Montréal
The Geography of Laws and Justice: Spatial Perspectives on the Criminal Justice System , by K eith D. H arries and S tanley D. B runn
Geographical Perspectives on Juvenile Delinquency , by D avid J. E vans
The Criminal's Image of the City , by R onald L. C arter and K im Q. H ill
Crime: A Spatial Perspective , edited by D aniel E. G eorges -A beyie and K eith D. H arries     

‘That Tiny,Stratospheric Apex That Owns Most of the World’– Exploring Geographies of the Super‐Rich

This paper exhorts geographers to give critical attention to the super‐rich, defined as individuals with investable assets in excess of $1 million. The super‐rich currently number almost 11 million globally (2011) and have collective wealth in excess of $42 trillion. We argue that as a result of our discipline's typical, and not unjustifiable, focus on the poor and middle class, and our neglect of the super‐rich, geographers may both be overlooking potentially valuable insights to the institutions, practices, and cultural values of our society and gaining only a partial view of global capitalism. We point to prospectively useful work in areas that embrace relationships between the super‐rich, place, and mobility; links between wealth and (geo)politics; new philanthropy; and the social and environmental consequences of ‘luxury fever’. We also speculate as to some of the reasons for geographers’ apparent reluctance to engage with the super‐rich, responding to some of the critical methodological challenges associated with such work.     

ÉVOLUTION DE L'AGRICULTURE MARAÎCHÈRE AU QUÉBEC DE 1940 À 1990: SUPERFICIES,PRODUCTIONS ET DIVERSITÉ

Depuis plus d'un siècle, l'agriculture québécoise en général, et la production maraîchère en particulier, ont subi d'importantes transformations. Cette étude historique vise à comprendre comment la production maraîchère a évolué par rapport aux changements dans l'environnement décisionnel général de l'agriculture entre 1940 et 1990. L'analyse des données statiques de superficie, de production et de rendement pour 12 légumes ont permis d'identifier trois périodes, intercalées d'années transitoires, dans l'évolution de la production maraîchère référant chacune à une stratégie agricole particulière. La première (1940–1957) correspond à une stratégie agricole de type familial traditionnel; la seconde (1963–1975), à une agriculture marchande spécialisée fondée sur la maximisation des revenus à court terme par intensification; la troisième (1980–1990), à une agriculture marchande diversifiée fondée également sur une maximisation à court terme. Les facteurs externes de l'environnement décisionnel qui ont entraîné ces changements sont identifiés et discutès. For more than a century, Quebec agriculture in general, and market-gardening production in particular, have experienced important changes. This study, using a historical perspective, seeks to understand how market gardening evolved in relation to changes in the broad decision environment for agriculture between 1940 and 1990. Statistical analysis of data on the areas cultivated, production levels, and yields for 12 vegetable crops revealed three distinct periods, separated by periods of transition, in the evolution of market gardening. Each period is characterized by a particular type of agricultural development strategy. The first period (1940–1957) is characterized by a focus on the traditional family form; the second (1963–1975), by a specialized market agriculture driven by short-term income-maximization intensification; the third (1980–1990), by a diversified marketoriented agriculture, also based on short-term income maximization. External environmental factors that stimulated these changes are identified and discussed.     

Dreams of Empire: France,Europe, and the New Interventionism in Africa

This article examines the growing importance of the concept of rural heritage in contemporary France by exploring its creation and institutionalisation through French cultural policies. The French state has sought to define rural heritage as a social and economic tool enabling different social categories to promote rural France as a new object of consumption mainly aiming at urban society. The concept of rural heritage has become the object of an intense appropriation by the declining farming industry, which uses it as a mean to create a new relationship with its territory. Considered as an ongoing and future project, rural heritage remains a major issue for the future of French society as a whole.