Redefining the political moment

On 16 February 2003, more than half a million people gathered in Sydney, Australia, as part of a global anti-war protest aimed at stopping the impending invasion of Iraq by the then US Administration. It is difficult to estimate how many millions marched on the coordinated protest, but it was by far the largest mobilization of a generation. Walking and chanting on the streets of Sydney that day, it seemed that a political moment was upon us. In a culture that rarely embraces large scale activism, millions around Australian demanded to be heard. The message was clear: if you do not hear us, we would be willing to bring down a government. The invasion went ahead, however, with the then Australian government, under the leadership of John Howard, being one of the loudest and staunchest supporters of the Bush Administrations drive to war. Within 18 months, anti-war activists struggled to have a few hundred participants take part in anti-Iraq war rallies, and the Howard Government was comfortably re-elected for another term. The political moment had come and gone, with both social commentators and many members of the public looking for a reason. While the conservative media was often the focus of analysis, this paper argues that in a time of late capitalism, the political moment is hollowed out by ‘Politics’ itself. That is to say, that formal political processes (or ‘Politics’) undermine the political practices that people participate in everyday (or ‘politics’). Drawing on an ongoing research project focusing on democracy and young people, I discuss how the concept of ’politics‘ has been destabilised and subsequently, the political moment has been displaced. This displacement has led to a re-definition of ‘political action’ and, I argue, the emergence of a different type of everyday politics

The Commons: Opening and Enclosing Non-commodified Space

This paper begins with a simple question—‘how can you steal something that no one owns’? Though a simple question, the answer is complicated, for the stealing of ‘things’ owned by no one explains an important aspect of capitalism’s insatiable appetite. Historically the conditions for industrialisation and market economies were created by capital through the colonisation of common lands and common modes of production—things that are shared but not owned. And this is an appetite that shows no sign of abating. This paper looks at the concept of the commons as aspects of our lives that no one owns but that everyone enjoys. Today the commons are constantly under siege. However, this claim does not only refer to ‘physical’ commons; here, I extend the concept of non-commodified ‘spaces’ into the cultural sphere. By outlining how capital continually works to enclose the commons—both physical and cultural—this paper aims to present a key contest occurring between neoliberalism and today’s social justice movements. This conflict is based on the manufacturing of scarcity through enclosure versus the concept of abundance through sharing and cooperation. The purpose, then, is to identify the source of this enclosure, and why it continues, as well as describe potential paths to challenge it

Rapport de mission en Martinique, du 22 au 28 juin 2003

Cette mission, effectuée en Martinique du 22/06/03 au 28/06/03, a été entièrement prise en charge (transport, indemnités de suggestion, hébergement. .. ) par le "Docup Martinique". Suite aux problèmes causés par la Teigne des Brassicacées (Plutella xylostella (L.) Lepidoptera, Plutellidae) sur les cultures de choux et par l'absence d'entomologiste permanent à la Martinique, cette mission avait pour objectif de former et d'informer les acteurs de ce secteur d'activité sur la mise en place d'un programme de lutte intégrée pour lutter contre les populations de la Teigne en utilisant des plantes pièges (pour l'année 2003) et à les préparer à l'introduction d'une espèce d'entomophage, . Diadegma insulare (Cresson) (Hyménoptera, Ichneumonidae) inféodée à P. xylostella. Cette espèce actuellement présente dans certaines îles de l'arc Caraïbes devrait être introduite en cours d'année 2004. La formation a été organisée principalement au profit des techniciens des institutions locales (la SO COPMA, la Chambre d'agriculture, le SPV et la FREDON). (Résumé d'auteur

Frequency Extraction of Current Signal Spectral Components:A New Tool for the Detection of Rotor Electrical Faults in Induction Motors

This work expands the classical current signature analysis in induction machines in a two-stage spectral decomposition manner. The proposed methodology can be summarized in two main steps: initially, the current signals are analyzed using a time frequency representation, with the analysis focusing on the steady-state regime; thereafter, frequency extraction is applied to the spectral signatures of interest, aiming to identify specific fault related harmonic subcomponents induced by the fault related speed ripple effect. The proposed approach is verified experimentally on a 4 kW induction motor