The zero, the centre and the empty utopia: from Rossellini to Walter Salles

This article examines utopian gestures and inaugural desires in two films which became symbolic of the Brazilian Film Revival in the late 1990s: Central Station (1998) and Midnight (1999). Both evolve around the idea of an overcrowded or empty centre in a country trapped between past and future, in which the motif of the zero stands for both the announcement and the negation of utopia. The analysis draws parallels between them and new wave films which also elaborate on the idea of the zero, with examples picked from Italian neo-realism, the Brazilian Cinema Novo and the New German Cinema. In Central Station, the ‘point zero’, or the core of the homeland, is retrieved in the archaic backlands, where political issues are resolved in the private sphere and the social drama turns into family melodrama. Midnight, in its turn, recycles Glauber Rocha’s utopian prophecies in the new millennium’s hour zero, when the earthly paradise represented by the sea is re-encountered by the middle-class character, but not by the poor migrant. In both cases, public injustice is compensated by the heroes’ personal achievements, but those do not refer to the real nation, its history or society. Their utopian breadth, based on nostalgia, citation and genre techniques, is of a virtual kind, attune to cinema only.

The United States in Southern Africa: Chester Crocker's linkage strategy 1981-1988

Chester Crocker was appointed as Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in 1981. He had criticised the inconsistencies of US African policy and proposed a renewed emphasis on the balance between America's global interests with specific regional priorities. While the focus of Congressmen, journalists and public opinion centred on the issue of apartheid, it was the Namibian War of Independence (South African Border War) that initially drew the attention of the Reagan administration, and it was the resolution of this war that remained the priority for the US government in this region throughout Crocker's time in office.

The politics of fiscal policy during economic downturns, 1981-2010

This article investigates fiscal policy responses to the Great Recession in historical perspective. We explore general trends in the frequency, size and composition of fiscal stimulus as well as the impact of government partisanship on fiscal policy outputs during the four international recessions of 1980-81, 1990-91, 2001-02 and 2008-09. Encompassing 17-23 OECD countries, our analysis calls into question the idea of a general retreat from fiscal policy activism since the early 1980s. The propensity of governments to respond to economic downturns by engaging in fiscal stimulus has increased over time and we do not observe any secular trend in the size of stimulus measures. At the same time, OECD governments have relied more on tax cuts to stimulate demand in the two recessions of the 2000s than they did in the early 1980s or early 1990s. Regarding government partisanship, we do not find any significant direct partisan effects on either the size or the composition of fiscal stimulus for any of the four recession episodes. However, the size of the welfare state conditioned the impact of government partisanship in the two recessions of the 2000s, with Left-leaning governments distinctly more prone to engage in discretionary fiscal stimulus and/or spending increases in large welfare states, but not in small welfare states.

Taxonomic review of Haliclystus antarcticus Pfeffer, 1889 (Stauromedusae, Staurozoa, Cnidaria), with remarks on the genus Haliclystus Clark, 1863

Difficulties concerning the taxonomy of stauromedusae are long known, and there is a clear need for taxonomic revision of the genus Haliclystus, as well as the reevaluation of some species. Haliclystus antarcticus Pfeffer, 1889 is recorded from Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Due to the lack of detailed information on this species, we provide a redescription, presenting new data on the cnidome, morphometry, geographical distribution and intraspecific variation. Based on these characters, we propose that our specimens and Haliclystus auricula from Chile and Argentina are synonymous and should be classified as H. antarcticus. We also review the worldwide distribution of the genus Haliclystus Clark, 1863 and discuss taxonomic issues, concluding that some characters traditionally used in the taxonomy of the group should be used cautiously.

Perspective: LaGuardia Community College Newsletter (Fall 1981)

Vol. 10 No, 1 Fall 1981; Perspective is a quarterly publication of LaGuardia Community College / CUNY which is designed and edited by the Office of Communications, Bill Freeland, director. Information on news and features stories should be addressed to the office In room M194. Faculty and staff news items should be sent to Dr. Roberta Matthews, Associate Dean of Faculty, room SB65.

Perspective: LaGuardia Community College Newsletter (Spring 1981)

Vol.9 No.1 Spring 1981; Perspective is a quarterly publication of LaGuardia Community College / CUNY which is designed and edited by the Office of Communications, Bill Freeland, director. Information on news and features stories should be addressed to the office In room M194. Faculty and staff news items should be sent to Dr. Roberta Matthews, Associate Dean of Faculty, room SB65.

A canção experimental de Walter Franco

Este artigo analisa as características de experimentação e criatividade em composições de Walter Franco, nos discos Ou não (1973) e Revolver (1975). Quatro aspectos serão observados: a letra, os elementos musicais (instrumentação e arranjos), as relações entre letra, arranjo e performance, e o design das capas dos discos em diálogo com a natureza conceitual das canções.

Conglomerados financeiros: análise de seu desempenho no Brasil, no período de 1978/1981

o presente trabalho resulta de uma pesquisa de campo realizada na cidade de Porto Velho / RO, em 1990, junto a técnicos da área agrícola e da utilização de outras fontes de informações (secundárias), com o objetivo de conhecer as Políticas Públicas para o setor agrícola do Estado, identificar e analisar o seu resultado e apresentar sugestões para mudanças, considerando a população migrante. o estudo descreve e analisa as Políticas Públicas do Estado, apresenta uma visão histórica de sua formação econômica, fazendo uma reconstituição de seu passado das Fases do Extrativismo e Moderna. Analisamos a evolução de sua economia, ficando evidente que os fatos econômicos e sociais condicionaram o direcionamento de fluxos migratórios para Porto Velho, desde os seus primórdios, até hoje em proporções crescentes. Evidenciaram-se os problemas decorrentes da crescente urbanização das cidades afetadas pelo processo migratório, principalmente a população rural, as dificuldades encontradas por essa população, motivadas pela falta de políticas agrícolas adequadas. Constatou-se que as políticas agrícolas do Estado não estão sendo viáveis, face a diversos fatores, os quais são apontados no trabalho. Por fim, apontamos sugestões para uma proposta de reformulação da política para o Setor Agrícola, com vistas a superar grandes problemas na área, vividos principalmente pela população rural que migra para aquele Estado.