Trick or treaty?: The Australian debate over the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

The secretive 2011 Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement – known in short by the catchy acronym ACTA – is a controversial trade pact designed to provide for stronger enforcement of intellectual property rights. The preamble to the treaty reads like pulp fiction – it raises moral panics about piracy, counterfeiting, organised crime, and border security. The agreement contains provisions on civil remedies and criminal offences; copyright law and trademark law; the regulation of the digital environment; and border measures. Memorably, Susan Sell called the international treaty a TRIPS Double-Plus Agreement, because its obligations far exceed those of the World Trade Organization's TRIPS Agreement 1994, and TRIPS-Plus Agreements, such as the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement 2004. ACTA lacks the language of other international intellectual property agreements, which emphasise the need to balance the protection of intellectual property owners with the wider public interest in access to medicines, human development, and transfer of knowledge and technology. In Australia, there was much controversy both about the form and the substance of ACTA. While the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was a partisan supporter of the agreement, a wide range of stakeholders were openly critical. After holding hearings and taking note of the position of the European Parliament and the controversy in the United States, the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties in the Australian Parliament recommended the deferral of ratification of ACTA. This was striking as representatives of all the main parties agreed on the recommendation. The committee was concerned about the lack of transparency, due process, public participation, and substantive analysis of the treaty. There were also reservations about the ambiguity of the treaty text, and its potential implications for the digital economy, innovation and competition, plain packaging of tobacco products, and access to essential medicines. The treaty has provoked much soul-searching as to whether the Trick or Treaty reforms on the international treaty-making process in Australia have been compromised or undermined. Although ACTA stalled in the Australian Parliament, the debate over it is yet to conclude. There have been concerns in Australia and elsewhere that ACTA will be revived as a ‘zombie agreement’. Indeed, in March 2013, the Canadian government introduced a bill to ensure compliance with ACTA. Will it be also resurrected in Australia? Has it already been revived? There are three possibilities. First, the Australian government passed enhanced remedies with respect to piracy, counterfeiting and border measures in a separate piece of legislation – the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act 2012 (Cth). Second, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade remains supportive of ACTA. It is possible, after further analysis, that the next Australian Parliament – to be elected in September 2013 – will ratify the treaty. Third, Australia is involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. The government has argued that ACTA should be a template for the Intellectual Property Chapter in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The United States Trade Representative would prefer a regime even stronger than ACTA. This chapter provides a portrait of the Australian debate over ACTA. It is the account of an interested participant in the policy proceedings. This chapter will first consider the deliberations and recommendations of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties on ACTA. Second, there was a concern that ACTA had failed to provide appropriate safeguards with respect to civil liberties, human rights, consumer protection and privacy laws. Third, there was a concern about the lack of balance in the treaty’s copyright measures; the definition of piracy is overbroad; the suite of civil remedies, criminal offences and border measures is excessive; and there is a lack of suitable protection for copyright exceptions, limitations and remedies. Fourth, there was a worry that the provisions on trademark law, intermediary liability and counterfeiting could have an adverse impact upon consumer interests, competition policy and innovation in the digital economy. Fifth, there was significant debate about the impact of ACTA on pharmaceutical drugs, access to essential medicines and health-care. Sixth, there was concern over the lobbying by tobacco industries for ACTA – particularly given Australia’s leadership on tobacco control and the plain packaging of tobacco products. Seventh, there were concerns about the operation of border measures in ACTA. Eighth, the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties was concerned about the jurisdiction of the ACTA Committee, and the treaty’s protean nature. Finally, the chapter raises fundamental issues about the relationship between the executive and the Australian Parliament with respect to treaty-making. There is a need to reconsider the efficacy of the Trick or Treaty reforms passed by the Australian Parliament in the 1990s.

"Over The Hill" is not so far away : crossing teaching contexts to create benefits for all through rural teaching experiences.

Attracting and retaining quality teachers to rural and remote areas has been a challenge over the last decade. Many preservice teachers are reluctant to experience a rural and remote practicum and may not consider applying to teach in such areas when they graduate. Education departments and universities need to explore innovative ways that will encourage graduates to consider undertaking a teaching position in the bush. As a way forward, preservice teachers from a regional campus of a Queensland University were invited to participate in a six-day rural experience entitled ‘Over the Hill’ that included being billeted with local families, participating in community activities and observing and teaching in classrooms. Fifteen preservice teachers were accompanied by two university academics who returned to work in a classroom as teacher for their own rural and remote professional experience. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the perceptions of a rural and remote teaching experience from the perspectives of the preservice teachers, the accompanying academics and the school staff hosting the program. Data were collected from the preservice teachers and accompanying academics in the form of written reflections while fourteen school staff completed a related questionnaire. The results indicated that a six-day rural and remote teaching program can provide professional benefits for all involved, preservice teachers, accompanying academics and the school staff hosting the program. Indeed, this study indicates that short experiences such as “Over the Hill” not only assist preservice teachers to make informed decisions about teaching in rural and remote areas but can provide professional benefits for accompanying academics and the schools.

Volcanic sulphate and Arctic dust plumes over the North Atlantic Ocean

High time resolution aerosol mass spectrometry measurements were conducted during a field campaign at Mace Head Research Station, Ireland, in June 2007. Observations on one particular day of the campaign clearly indicated advection of aerosol from volcanoes and desert plains in Iceland which could be traced with NOAA Hysplit air mass back trajectories and satellite images. In conjunction with this event, elevated levels of sulphate and light absorbing particles were encountered at Mace Head. While sulphate concentration was continuously increasing, nitrate levels remained low indicating no significant contribution from anthropogenic pollutants. Sulphate concentration increased about 3.8 g/m3 in comparison with the background conditions. Corresponding sulphur flux from volcanic emissions was estimated to about 0.3 TgS/yr, suggesting that a large amount of sulphur released from Icelandic volcanoes may be distributed over distances larger than 1000 km. Overall, our results corroborate that transport of volcanogenic sulphate and dust particles can significantly change the chemical composition, size distribution, and optical properties of aerosol over the North Atlantic Ocean and should be considered accordingly by regional climate models.

Charities, civil society and the charity law reviews on the island of Ireland

This article considers the opportunity, presented by the coincidence of simultaneous charity law reviews in the two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, for an adjustment of charity law frameworks to maximise appropriate and effective charitable activity within each jurisdiction,while also facilitating the coordination of some such activity between both. It examines the nature of civil society and charity law, and the relationship between them. The article argues that a creative legislative response to this opportunity could address themes of social inclusion common to both jurisdictions and thereby contribute to the consolidation of civil society on this island.

Out of touch? On the lack of emotional support over the mobile phone

Findings from an Australian case study of adult women expose general, light and basic use of mobile phones. Participants used their mobile phone mainly for coordination and to a lesser extent for practicing intrinsic interactions motivated by emotional support purposes. This paper focuses on social and emotional support over the mobile phone. Though crucial to individuals, emotional support seems to be a neglected area of research among mobile communication studies, all the more so when focusing on adult women. This study addresses this literature gap. The empirical findings are based on a case study of 26 women over 35 years of age residing in one coastal Australian town. The research design included a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. This paper examines the communication methods adult women use for social and emotional support, and analyses reasons and social implications of this limited intrinsic communication use pattern over the mobile phone.

DIScoveringABILITIES : creating interactive performances over the Internet

This article presents a case study that shows how a creative music educator uses the internet to enable participatory performance.

Osteoclastic activity begins early and increases over the course of bone healing

Osteoclasts are specialised bone-resorbing cells. This particular ability makes osteoclasts irreplaceable for the continual physiological process of bone remodelling as well as for the repair process during bone healing. Whereas the effects of systemic diseases on osteoclasts have been described by many authors, the spatial and temporal distribution of osteoclasts during bone healing seems to be unclear so far. In the present study, healing of a tibial osteotomy under standardised external fixation was examined after 2, 3, 6 and 9 weeks (n = 8) in sheep. The osteoclastic number was counted, the area of mineralised bone tissue was measured histomorphometrically and density of osteoclasts per square millimetre mineralised tissue was calculated. The osteoclastic density in the endosteal region increased, whereas the density in the periosteal region remained relatively constant. The density of osteoclasts within the cortical bone increased slightly over the first 6 weeks, however, there was a more rapid increase between the sixth and ninth weeks. The findings of this study imply that remodelling and resorption take place already in the very early phase of bone healing. The most frequent remodelling process can be found in the periosteal callus, emphasising its role as the main stabiliser. The endosteal space undergoes resorption in order to recanalise the medullary cavity, a process also started in the very early phase of healing at a low level and increasing significantly during healing. The cortical bone adapts in its outward appearance to the surrounding callus structure. This paradoxic loosening is caused by the continually increasing number and density of osteoclasts in the cortical bone ends. This study clearly emphasises the osteoclastic role especially during early bone healing. These cells do not simply resorb bone but participate in a fine adjusted system with the bone-producing osteoblasts in order to maintain and improve the structural strength of bone tissue.

Promoting rural and remote teacher education in Australia through the Over the Hill project

Attracting quality teachers to rural areas is an ongoing international concern. Teacher education institutions have been criticised for contributing to this problem by failing to raise an awareness of teaching in rural areas in their teacher education programs. This study investigates preservice teachers’ perceptions towards teaching in rural areas after participating in a rural experience through the Over the Hill project. A self-selected group of second and third year preservice teachers from a regional campus of an urban Queensland university participated in a six-day rural experience, which included being billeted with local families, attending local community events and observing and teaching in rural primary and secondary schools. Data collected from the preservice teachers before and after the rural teaching experience were analysed to reveal positive perceptions towards teaching and living in rural communities. The findings revealed that even a brief immersion into rural schooling communities can positively influence preservice teachers’ attitudes towards seeking rural teaching placements. These findings have implications for the ways in which teacher education institutions can promote rural teaching opportunities in their teacher education programs.

Civil applications in the Magistrates Court are often set down for hearing by a judicial registrar, but there is now some uncertainty on the limitation of this practice

The decision of the District Court of Queensland in Mark Treherne & Associates -v- Murray David Hopkins [2010] QDC 36 will have particular relevance for early career lawyers. This decision raises questions about the limits of the jurisdiction of judicial registrars in the Magistrates Court.

"My friend was over the alcohol limit, so I asked him not to drive" : Young females intervening in alcohol-impaired driving

Potential to strengthen a commitment to intervene within a friendship group: – all knew the other passengers, – 3 in 4 discussed intervening with other passengers, – expectations of friends was a key predictive factor. - young women have potential and willingness to intervene in their friends’ drink driving behaviour - majority of campaigns and strategies to reduce alcohol related crashes target the driver however it is arguable that some strategies should target the young female passenger.