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This article examines a series of internet artworks by the artist Miao Ying (b. 1985). Contextualizing her digital collages in relation to China's online culture and media spheres, it situates the contemporary art world's engagement with internet art in relation to anti-aesthetics and the rise of what has been termed Internet ugly. Interrogating the assumption that internet art emerging from China can only belatedly repeat works of Euro-American precedent, it argues that Miao's work presents a dramatic reframing of online censorship, consumerism and the unique aspects of vernacular culture that have emerged within China's online realm. Demonstrating a distinctly self-conscious celebration of what has often disparagingly been labeled The Chinternet, Meanwhile in China can be seen to emerge out of the broader contradictions of internet art practices that parody the relationships between The Chinternet and the World Wide Web, global capitalism and Shanzhai [fake or pirated] aesthetics, online propaganda and media democracy, and the art market's relationship to the virtual economies of an art world online.

Canadian anticipations data for manufacturers' capital and repair expenditures are now extensive enough to allow statistical estimates of their accuracy to be made. The data are based on mail questionnaire surveys conducted and analysed by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Trade and Commerce. Their year-end "cut-off" surveys include manufacturing establishments having gross sales in excess of $200,000.00 annually, and are used to estimate intentions for the year ahead, as well as to provide actual expenditures for the current year and the previous year. The results are published the following spring, and the forecasts are revised at mid-year on the basis of smaller "follow-up" surveys which include only the larger establishments.The accuracy of these forecasts is measured in this study by comparing them with the estimates of actual expenditures which are published two years later. Objections to such comparisons on the grounds that the forecasts could be used as an instrument of control, designed to influence the subject of the forecast, can be safely ignored, since the published results are simply summations of the estimates of individual establishments, with a mechanical allowance for non-surveyed expenditures. Our measure of accuracy might also be criticized on the grounds that the estimates of actual expenditures may be as inaccurate as the forecasts themselves, so that the comparison of forecast to "actual" is no measure of the accuracy of the former. This is unlikely to be the case, however, since the accounting data of most firms provide accurate and readily available statements of actual capital outlays.

ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR RESULTS OF THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS OF 1994 OCCURRED IN IRELAND WHERE TWO CANDIDATES FROM THE GREEN PARTY WERE ELECTED TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. THIS SUCCESS COINCIDED WITH THE ACCESSION OF A GREEN COUNCILLOR TO THE LORD MAYORSHIP OF DUBLIN. THE COMBINATION OF THESE EVENTS HAS PROJECTED THE GREENS ON TO THE NATIONAL AGENDA. TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF THE PARTY'S APPARENT POLITICAL BREAKTHOUGH, THIS ARTICLE CONSIDERS THE BACKGROUND TO ITS RECENT SUCCESS AS WELL AS THE CAREERS OF THE THE CANDIDATES RECENTLY ELECTED TO OFFICE.

Two public opinion polls, in Los Angeles and Michigan, on smoking in public places contradicted findings from other major surveys. Both were commissioned by the tobacco interests during consideration of non-smoking legislation to measure opinion and influence the outcome. Analysis reveals the two polls to be remarkably similar and in violation of basic principles of survey research. Response categories lacked objective or parallel phrasing, response lists were not rotated, and the ordering of items appeared prejudicial. Both polls were effectively countered and the legislation passed.

Many significant advancements have been made in the mine closure process over the past several decades, including "design for closure," the development of comprehensive mine closure planning and the regulatory requirement for financial assurances for mine site rehabilitation. However, mine closure remains a significant challenge for all major mining jurisdictions around the world. This is largely due to the amorphous nature of the process, inconsistencies in regulations across jurisdictions and inadequate management approaches. To address these challenges in mine closure, the Canada Mining Innovation Council's Environmental Stewardship Initiative has prioritized the development of standardised, performance-based completion criteria for mine closure and the subsequent relinquishment. The criteria will allow a clear and consistent path to mine closure by defining the conditions acceptable to stakeholders, which, if met, will enable the government and regulatory agencies to accept mine sites into their custody for long-term stewardship. The criteria will serve as a key strategic planning and risk management tool for industry, regulatory agencies and mining stakeholders at large. Mining stakeholders will have certainty regarding how a site will be rehabilitated, decommissioned and closed, and it is anticipated that the criteria will drive closure management from mine design to the ultimate closure of operations. This paper provides an overview of the initiative by outlining the challenges in mine closure that the project aims to solve. The standardised closure criteria concept is defined, with examples of criteria that will likely be included in the framework. An overview of how industry and regulatory agencies will use the criteria is provided. The benefits that will likely accrue to mining stakeholders are summarised. The main benefits for industry include improved efficiency and consistency in the mine closure process as well as the promotion of a more stable and competitive investment climate. For governments and regulatory agencies, the mine closure process will become more managed and structured, thus enabling a more simplified and efficient regulatory regime. Furthermore, with a managed relinquishment process, the accrual of improperly closed (i.e. abandoned and orphaned sites) will be reduced. This will also provide a key public benefit, as public funds will not be required for associated clean-up costs. Lastly, local stakeholders will be assured that environmental performance will be central to the mine closure process with a view toward establishing positive post-mining legacies. ; Non UBC ; Unreviewed ; Other

The authors discuss from a pro-Peking viewpoint China's policies in Southeast Asia, socio-political development in Kampuchea under the Pol Pot government, the extent of Peking's influence on this government and the background of the Sino-Vietnamese conflict. The authors criticize various leftist, liberal and conservative analyses of these topics. (DÜI-Sen)