The Gaze In The City: Video Surveillance In Perth

The gaze is a technique of power/knowledge that creates and exploits a new kind of visibility, of organising people so that they can be seen, known, surveilled and controlled. There is a complex interaction between the gaze and power, power and space, space and social subjectivity. Examples from Perth, Western Australia, illustrate how techniques of surveillance are used to gaze on the public, inviting consequent redefinition of what is public and private in the city. The possibilities of resistance to the gaze are outlined. There is a need to rethink the apparatus of the gaze, to debate publicly its enabling and oppressive aspects.     

PERCEPTIONS OF ENERGY PROBLEMS AND THE ADOPTION OF CONSERVATION PRACTICES IN EDMONTON AND CALGARY

The success of government efforts to stimulate energy conservation among the public ultimately depends on understanding patterns of energy consumption, perceptions of energy resources, and the adoption of conservation practices. These issues were addressed in a survey of residents of Edmonton and Calgary. Most respondents dismissed the seriousness of energy problems at the provincial level, although energy scarcity at the national and global scales was widely recognized. Conservation behaviour was characterized by a narrow range of adjustments perceived and adopted, attributable largely to patterns of resource perception and socio-economic factors.
La réussite des efforts gouvernementaux pour stimuler les conservations d'energie dépend, en dernière analyse, d' une compréhension des schémas de la consommation énergétique, desperceptions des resourcesénergétiques, et del'adoption d' habitudesconservatrices. On a interrogé les habitants d' Edmonton et de Calgary ace sujet. La plupart des réponses ignorent la gravité des problèmes d'énergie au niveau provincial, quoiqu'elles admettent la précarité des ressources énergétiques à l' échelle nationale et mondiale. L' attitude conservatrice se distingue plus particulikrèment à partir d' ajustements limités reliés géneralement aux schémas de perceptions énergétiques et aux facteurs socio-économiques.     

Beyond the Washington Consensus? Asia and Latin America in search of more autonomous development

International economic power (the ability to shape rules of global economic conduct) needs to be understood in terms of the interactions between rule‐makers and rule‐takers in the global economy. Attempts to reshape development paradigms through interventions during financial crisis have been highly significant for the domestic political economy of the developing world. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the primary question was how much countries would liberalize in response to financial crisis. Reactions to the crises of the late 1990s in Asia and Latin America were more varied. This article explores domestic political responses to crises in both regions in the 1980s and late 1990s. It argues that countries are finding it increasingly difficult to trump domestic political pressure for change with arguments about technocratic necessity. Popular pressure is pushing governments into new experiments in economic nationalism, not a radical rejection of global economic integration, but a reshaping of relationships in an attempt to secure national interests and, in some cases, to devote more resources to welfare. Experiments to date are modest, but could presage more significant change in the future.     

UVB RADIATION DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA DURING 1992 AND 1993

One of the steps leading to an assessment of the biological significance of ozone destruction is to determine the biologically effective ultraviolet radiation (UVB) distribution. The objective of this study is to describe and analyze broadband UVB radiation at 24 locations across Canada, during the period from July 1992 through December 1993. This is the first study of broadband UVB measurements involving such a large number of UVB measuring instruments. Quantitative characteristics and statistical analysis of the surface UVB radiation in Canada with respect to ozone amount, as well as cloudiness, are presented. The results indicate higher UVB irradiance in the second half of 1992, compared with the same period in 1993. Among all the locations, Toronto received the greatest dose of UVB radiation in 1993. Excluding Yellowknife, due to its northernmost location (larger zenith angles), Ste-Agathe, Quebec received the smallest dose. Unusually high UVB fluxes were found to occur in March 1993 over eastern Canada. A study of the correlation of UVB radiation with total ozone and cloud opacity was carried out for most of the locations. The results suggest that other meteorological parameters have a significant impact on the ultraviolet levels.