Indigenous names for Indigenous Support Centres as part of the Welcome to (University) Country

The significance of naming Indigenous Support Centres (ISCs) with Indigenous language terminology — given that such reconciliatory acts may serve as symbolic means to improve the cultural efficacy of an Australian university’s Welcome to Country on offer to Indigenous Australian students — is explored and discussed in this paper. A survey of all 39 Australian universities was conducted, and the results regarding the Indigenous naming of their ISCs were tabulated and compared.

An evaluation of the culture performance of two Macrobrachium species in Vanuatu: the exotic M. rosenbergii and the indigenous M. lar

Fisheries and aquaculture are important for food security, income generation and are critical to long term sustainability of many countries. Freshwater prawns have been harvested in the streams and creeks in Vanuatu, however due to over-exploitation catches have declined in recent years. To satisfy high demand for this product, Vanuatu government intends to establish economically viable small-scale aquaculture industries. The current project showed that wild Macrobrachium lar in Vanuatu constitute a single population for management purposes and that M. rosenbergii grows much faster than M. lar in simple pond grow-out systems, hence is a better species for culture in Vanuatu.

The ‘Indigenous Australian’ theme in the Australian Curriculum English : necessary or not?

On Friday 10 January 2014 Education Minister Christopher Pyne formally announced a review of the inaugural Australian curriculum. In his three and half minute televised justification, Pyne (2014) identified a number of criticisms of the national curriculum document, including the ‘necessity to have themes’ of ‘Australia’s place in Asia, Indigenous Australia and sustainability’. It is the second of these themes that we consider as ALEA’s Hot Topic for March 2014. We respond to Pyne’s momentary musing of the necessity of the ‘Indigenous Australian’ theme in the Australian Curriculum with a particular focus on the discipline of English. In the nomenclature of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority’s Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2013), we are of course referring to the ‘cross curriculum priority’ of ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures’.

The Australian Nonprofit Sector Legal and Accounting Almanac 2013

INTRODUCTION CASES For a number of years, Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes, Frances Hannah and Anne Overell have compiled one to two page summaries of cases involving nonprofit organisations and published them on The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies, Developing Your Organisation (DYO) website.1 You can be alerted of new case summaries as they are posted to the DYO website by subscribing to the ACPNS RSS feed or the ACPNS twitter service.2 There were some very significant cases during 2013, such as Commissioner of Taxation v Cancer & Bowel Research Association (see case notes 2.8.2 and 2.8.11), The Hunger Project case which is under appeal, but could change the face of PBI jurisprudence (see case note 2.8.7) while Home Health Pty Ltd retained the PBI status quo but might have been different if appealed (see case note 2.8.8). For sheer interest there is nothing better in my 30 odd years of reading tax and charity judgements than case involving The Study and Prevention of Psychological Diseases Foundation Incorporated (see case note 2.1.1). It even rivals some of the more bizarre cases from the US jurisdiction of which St Joseph Abbey v Castille (case note 2.10.9) is certainly ‘dead centre’. A set of cases which stand out for attention are those involving New Zealand’s Christchurch Cathedral which anyone with responsibility for heritage-listed buildings should study carefully, for implications in relation to their own circumstances. A number of cases summarised in this Almanac are working their way through the appeals process and care should be taken with their application. In addition, some of the cases are from jurisdictions outside Australia, and readers should exercise caution when considering the implications of these cases for Australian law. LEGISLATION The Almanac includes a review of major statutory amendments during 2013, which are relevant to the nonprofit sector in all Australian jurisdictions. Special thanks must go to Nathan MacDonald and the JusticeConnect team for providing legislative updates for Victoria. SPECIAL ISSUES DURING 2013 A number of legal practitioners have contributed articles on significant legal issues facing nonprofit organisations: charitable trusts giving to government entities (Alice Macdougall); workplace bullying (Tim Longwill); and privacy (James Tan and Nina Brewer). WORLD ROUND-UP Major developments from the UK and Ireland (Kerry O’Halloran), Canada (Peter Broder), New Zealand (Michael Gousmett and Susan Barker) and Jamaica (Frances Hannah) are all summarised in a review of a significant part of the common law charity jurisdictions. WHAT DOES 2014 HOLD The final section moves from looking in the rear view mirror to peering out the front windscreen to discern the reform agenda. The view from the windscreen in 2013 was of considerable reform traffic at the Commonwealth level jostling for a place in the parliamentary agenda. This year is quite different with a smaller number of vehicles ahead, but the potential for significant impact.

Australian Indigenous Art : Local Dreamings, Global Consumption (Autohtona Australijska Umetnost : Lokalno Sanjarenje, Globalna Potražnja)

Indigenous Australian visual art is an outstanding case of the dynamics of globalization and its intersection with the hyper-local wellsprings of cultural expression, and of the strengths and weaknesses of state, philanthropic and commercial backing for cultural production and dissemination. The chapter traces the development of the international profile of Indigenous ‘dot’ art – a traditional symbolic art form from the Western Desert – as ‘high-end’ visual art, and its positioning within elite markets and finance supported by key international brokers, collectors and philanthropists.

Co-creative media in remote Indigenous communities

This paper examines co-creative video outputs that have originated from, or relate to, remote Indigenous communities in Australia. Scholarly work on remote media has mostly operated at the interface of media studies and anthropology, seeking to identify how cultural systems shape the production, distribution and reception of media in Aboriginal communities. This paper looks instead at content themes, funding sources and institutions during the 2010-2013 period, and examines the factors that may be determining the quantity of co-creative outputs, as well as the types of stories that get produced. I argue that the focus on culture has obscured important shifts in remote media policy and funding, including a trend towards content designed to address social disadvantage.

A History of Popular Indigenous Music

SINCE THE INVENTION OF recording technologies like the phonograph in the late 1800s, Indigenous music has been performed and recorded across Australia for a wide range of audiences. In the early twentieth century, for instance, music was recorded by anthropologists keen to capture the sounds of a culture that was believed to be in rapid decline (Thomas). Individual performers were not considered important in these recordings; their music was produced for scientific posterity rather than popular pleasure. And even though Aboriginal participation in local music festivals, touring vaudeville shows, and community gatherings was well documented throughout the twentieth century, it was not until the 1950s that Indigenous “pop stars” began to sell records for mass consumption(Dunbar-Hall and Gibson). Yet, with the persistence of recording artists like Jimmy Little over the past sixty years, Indigenous musicians have steadily gained prominence in Australia’s mainstream. This has been particularly true of the past twenty years, especially since the Sydney Olympics, where promotional strategies have brought about a new popular pride in musical achievements, based upon a celebrated history of diverse sounds and voices.

Developing Co-operating Legal Knowledge Based Systems

In attempting to build intelligent litigation support tools, we have moved beyond first generation, production rule legal expert systems. Our work supplements rule-based reasoning with case based reasoning and intelligent information retrieval. This research, specifies an approach to the case based retrieval problem which relies heavily on an extended object-oriented / rule-based system architecture that is supplemented with causal background information. Machine learning techniques and a distributed agent architecture are used to help simulate the reasoning process of lawyers. In this paper, we outline our implementation of the hybrid IKBALS II Rule Based Reasoning / Case Based Reasoning system. It makes extensive use of an automated case representation editor and background information.

Expanding horizons : scientific frontiers, legal regulation, and globalization

In the six decades since the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA by Watson and Crick in 1953, developments in genetic science have transformed our understanding of human health and disease. These developments, along with those in other areas such as computer science, biotechnology, and nanotechnology, have opened exciting new possibilities for the future. In addition, the increasing trend for technologies to converge and build upon each other potentially increases the pace of change, constantly expanding the boundaries of the scientific frontier. At the same time, however, scientific advances are often accompanied by public unease over the potential for unforeseen, negative outcomes. For governments, these issues present significant challenges for effective regulation. This Article analyzes the challenges associated with crafting laws for rapidly changing science and technology. It considers whether we need to regulate, how best to regulate for converging technologies, and how best to ensure the continued relevance of laws in the face of change.

At home on the outstation : barriers to home Internet in remote Indigenous communities

Indigenous Australians living in remote areas have little access to the Internet and make little use of it. This article investigates the various dimensions of Internet take-up in remote Indigenous communities in Australia and considers the implications for broadband policy. It focuses specifically on the circumstances and experiences of three remote Indigenous communities in central Australia. Residents in these communities provided significant insight into the social, economic and cultural aspects of communications access and use. This evidence is used to examine the drivers and barriers to home Internet for remote Indigenous communities and to discuss a complex set of issues, including: the dynamics of remote living, economic priorities, cultural engagement with technology, and the characteristics of domestic life in remote Indigenous communities.

Legal rights during pandemics : federalism, rights and public health laws - a view from Australia

Pandemic influenza will cause significant social and economic disruption. Legal frameworks can play an important role in clarifying the rights and duties of individuals, communities and governments for times of crisis. In addressing legal frameworks, there is a need for jurisdictional clarity between different levels of government in responding to public health emergencies. Public health laws are also informed by our understandings of rights and responsibilities for individuals and communities, and the balancing of public health and public freedoms. Consideration of these issues is an essential part of planning for pandemic influenza.