Albert Namatjira: copyright estates and traditional knowledge

Albert Namatjira was Australia's first Indigenous professional artist. He adapted Western-style painting to express his cultural knowledge of the Arrernte country, for which he was a traditional custodian. In his lifetime, Albert Namatjira achieved great acclaim for his exceptional ability as an artist. However, after his untimely death, he was ignored by the mainstream Australian art world, because of the aesthetic prejudices and social policies of the time. A recent exhibition entitled Seeing the Centre: The art of Albert Namatjira (1902-1959) curated by Alison French has sought to redress this neglect, and provide a retrospective of his work. The exhibition has brought to light that the copyright in the artistic works of Albert Namatjira has not been passed onto his family descendants. In June 1957, Namatjira entered into a copyright agreement with John Brackenreg, the owner of a publishing company by the name of Legend Press, and the associated Artarmon Galleries in Sydney. It was agreed that Legend Press would pay royalties to Namatjira for the sole right to reproduce all of his paintings. Following Namatjira's death in 1959, the administration of his estate passed to the Public Trustee for the Northern Territory Government. The Public Trustee of the Northern Territory Government authorised the sale of Namatjira's copyright to Legend Press in 1983, thereby ending the ability of the descendents of Namatjira to benefit from on-going income from the reproduction of his works. Senator Aden Ridgeway of the Democrats has called on the Federal Government to enter into discussions with the Northern Territory Government to buy back the copyright in Albert Namatjira's works. He argued that exclusive control of the use and reproduction of his works should be restored to his descendants, as well as the receipt of all financial benefits that result from the use and reproduction of his works under copyright protection. The Senator said: 'By doing this, we will all be rewarded, because finally, belatedly, we will be showing Albert Namatjira the reverence that he has always deserved. We will be protecting his legacy for future generations'.

Blame it on Rio: Biodiscovery, native title, and traditional knowledge

This article examines the legal responses to protect traditional knowledge of biodiversity in the wake of the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity. It considers the relative merits of the inter-locking regimes of contract law, environmental law, intellectual property law, and native title law. Part 1 considers the natural drug discovery industry in Australia. In particular, it looks at the operations of Amrad, Astra Zeneca R & D, and the Australian Institute of Marine Science. This section examines the key features of the draft regulations proposed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) - model contracts, informed consent, benefit-sharing, and ministerial discretion. The use of Indigenous Land Use Agreements in the context of access to genetic resources is also explored. Part 2 considers the role played by native title law in dealing with tangible and intangible property interests. The High Court decision in Western Australia v Ward considers the relationship between native title rights and cultural knowledge. The Federal Court case of Neowarra v Western Australia provides an intriguing gloss on this High Court decision. Part 3 looks at whether traditional knowledge of biodiversity can be protected under intellectual property law. It focuses upon reforms such as Senator Aden Ridgeway's proposed amendments to the Plant Breeder's Rights Act 1994 (Cth), and the push to make disclosure of origin a requirement of patent law.

Wikipedia, collective authorship, and the politics of knowledge

This chapter considers the legal ramifications of Wikipedia, and other online media, such as the Encyclopedia of Life. Nathaniel Tkacz (2007) has observed: 'Wikipedia is an ideal entry-point from which to approach the shifting character of knowledge in contemporary society.' He observes: 'Scholarship on Wikipedia from computer science, history, philosophy, pedagogy and media studies has moved beyond speculation regarding its considerable potential, to the task of interpreting - and potentially intervening in - the significance of Wikipedia's impact' (Tkacz 2007). After an introduction, Part II considers the evolution and development of Wikipedia, and the legal troubles that have attended it. It also considers the establishment of rival online encyclopedia - such as Citizendium set up by Larry Sanger, the co-founder of Wikipedia; and Knol, the mysterious new project of Google. Part III explores the use of mass, collaborative authorship in the field of science. In particular, it looks at the development of the Encyclopedia of Life, which seeks to document the world's biodiversity. This chapter expresses concern that Wiki-based software had to develop in a largely hostile and inimical legal environment. It contends that copyright law and related fields of intellectual property need to be reformed in order better to accommodate users of copyright material (Rimmer 2007). This chapter makes a number of recommendations. First, there is a need to acknowledge and recognize forms of mass, collaborative production and consumption - not just individual authorship. Second, the view of a copyright 'work' and other subject matter as a complete and closed piece of cultural production also should be reconceptualised. Third, the defense of fair use should be expanded to accommodate a wide range of amateur, peer-to-peer production activities - not only in the United States, but in other jurisdictions as well. Fourth, the safe harbor protections accorded to Internet intermediaries, such as Wikipedia, should be strengthened. Fifth, there should be a defense in respect of the use of 'orphan works' - especially in cases of large-scale digitization. Sixth, the innovations of open source licensing should be expressly incorporated and entrenched within the formal framework of copyright laws. Finally, courts should craft judicial remedies to take into account concerns about political censorship and freedom of speech.

A dangerous investment: Australia, New Zealand and the Trans-Pacific Partnership

This week, San Diego is hosting the latest round of talks over the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Australia and New Zealand are at loggerheads over this secretive new trade treaty spanning the Pacific Rim. The rift between the neighbours over the Trans-Pacific Partnership was revealed after the investment chapter of the agreement was leaked to the public.

Knowledge and behaviors of drunk-driving offenders in Guangzhou, China

Aims To better understand the knowledge and behaviors of drunk-driving offenders relating to alcohol use and driving in the context of recently amended Chinese legislation, and to investigate the involvement of alcohol-use disorders. Design The study was a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2012. Setting and participants: Data were collected at a local jail and 101 participants were recruited while in detention. Measures Questionnaire items examined demographic characteristics as well as practices and knowledge relating to alcohol use and driving. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to assess hazardous drinking levels. Findings Knowledge about the two legal limits for “drink driving” and for “drunk driving” was low, at 28.3% and 41.4%, respectively. AUDIT scores indicated that a substantial proportion of the offenders had high levels of alcohol-use disorders. Higher AUDIT scores were found among the least experienced drivers, those who lacked knowledge about the legal limits, and recidivist drunk drivers. Conclusions Limited awareness of legal alcohol limits might contribute to offending; high AUDIT scores suggest that hazardous drinking levels may also contribute. This study provides important information to assist in refining community education and prevention efforts.

General motor vehicle drivers' knowledge and practices regarding drink driving in Yinchuan and Guangzhou, China

Objective: Drink driving contributes to significant levels of injury and economic loss in China but is not well researched. This study examined knowledge, drink-driving practices, and alcohol misuse problems among general drivers in Yinchuan. The objectives were to gain a better understanding of drink driving in Yinchuan, identify areas that need to be addressed, and compare the results with a similar study in Guangzhou. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with a survey designed to collect information on participants’ demographic characteristics and their knowledge and practices in relation to drinking and driving. The survey was composed of questions on knowledge and practices in relation to drink driving and was administered to a convenience sample of 406 drivers. Alcohol misuse problems were assessed by using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Results: Males accounted for the main proportion of drivers sampled from the general population (“general drivers”). A majority of general drivers in both cities knew that drunk driving had become a criminal offense in 2011; however, knowledge of 2 legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits was quite low. Fewer drivers in Yinchuan (22.6%) than in Guangzhou (27.9) reported having been stopped by police conducting breath alcohol testing at least once in the last 12 months. The mean AUDIT score in Yinchuan (M = 8.2) was higher than that in Guangzhou (M = 7.4), and the proportion of Yinchuan drivers with medium or higher alcohol misuse problems (31.2%) was correspondingly higher than in Guangzhou (23.1%). In Yinchuan, males had a significantly higher AUDIT score than females (t = 3.454, P < .001), similar to Guangzhou. Multiple regression analyses were conducted on potential predictors of the AUDIT score (age, gender, monthly income, education level, years licensed, and age started drinking). There were significant individual contributions of gender (beta = 0.173, P = .09) and age at which drinking started (beta = 0.141, P = .033), but the overall model for Yinchuan was not significant, unlike Guangzhou. Conclusions: The results show that there are shortfalls in knowledge of the legislation and how to comply with it and deficiencies in police enforcement. In addition, there was evidence of drink driving and drink riding at high levels in both cities. Recommendations are made to address these issues.

Using political science to progress public health nutrition: a systematic review

Objective Poor dietary intake is the most important behavioural risk factor affecting health globally. Despite this, there has been little investment in public health nutrition policy actions. Policy process theories from the field of political science can aid understanding why policy decisions have occurred and identify how to influence ongoing or future initiatives. This review aims to examine public health nutrition policy literature and identify whether a policy process theory has been used to analyse the process. Design Electronic databases were searched systematically for studies examining policymaking in public health nutrition in high-income, democratic countries. Setting International, national, state and local government jurisdictions within high-income, democratic countries. Subjects Individuals and organisations involved in the nutrition policymaking process. Results Sixty-three studies met the eligibility criteria, most were conducted in the USA and a majority focused on obesity. The analysis demonstrates an accelerating trend in the number of nutrition policy papers published annually and an increase in the diversity of nutrition topics examined. The use of policy process theory was observed from 2003, however, it was utilised by only 14% of the reviewed papers. Conclusions There is limited research into the nutrition policy process in high-income countries. While there has been a small increase in the use of policy process theory from 2003, an opportunity to expand their use is evident. We suggest that nutrition policymaking would benefit from a pragmatic approach that ensures those trying to influence or understand the policymaking process are equipped with basic knowledge around these theories.

Public Policy for the Creative Industries

The cultural and creative industries are closely intertwined with government. This chapter reviews key economic rationales for public policy interventions for the arts, cultural and creative industries. Market failure justifications depend on the status of arts and culture as non-rival public goods, as ‘merit goods’, or the need to moderate the effects of up-front investment costs or monopoly, and the inherent uncertainty of creative production. ‘Systems failure’ too is a regular rationale for policy intervention. Using the United Kingdom as an example, the chapter shows how emphasis on these rationales has shifted over the last three decades, first in the context of industrial policies for traditional aims such as exports and job growth, which have been joined in recent years by the need for investment in intangibles, knowledge exchange, and spillover effects in the wider economy.

An enquiry into the professional competence of inclusive education teachers in Beijing: Attitudes, knowledge, skills, and agency

Attitudes, knowledge, and skills are widely recognised as the three pillars of professional competence of inclusive education teachers. Studies emerging from the Chinese context consider these three pillars important for the practice of Learning in Regular Classrooms—an idiosyncratic Chinese form of inclusive education. Our mixed methods study reveals that agency is the fourth pillar of the professional competence for inclusive education teachers in Beijing, China. Results from comparative analysis indicate that the level of teachers’ agency is significantly lower than that of their attitudes, knowledge, and skills. We offer some implications for policy and practice in inclusive education.

An international benchmark for the Australian OHS Body of Knowledge (BoK)

Benchmarking was used to compare the Australian SIA’s (Safety Institute of Australia) OHS BoK with three different approaches to systemize the knowledge that should be taught by universities. The Australian Health and Safety Professionals Alliance (HaSPA) Core Body of Knowledge for Generalist OHS Professionals was benchmarked against three other international bodies of knowledge, the German Ergonomic Society’s Body of Knowledge Ergonomics – Core Definition, Object Catalogue and Research Domains, the IEEE Computer Society Software Engineering Body of Knowledge and the American ‘Association of Schools of Public Health’ Master’s Degree in Public Health Core Competency Model. It was found that quality, structure and content of the OHS BoK ranked lowest when compared with the other benchmarked documents. The HaSPA body of knowledge was ranked poorly when compared to the German Ergonomic Society’s Body of Knowledge for Ergonomics, IEEE Computer Society Software Engineering Body of Knowledge and the American Association of Schools of Public Health Core Competency Model. Analysis and discussion of the HaSPA BoK is important given its use as an audit tool for tertiary education in Australia. Furthermore the International Network of Safety & Health Practitioner Organisations (INSHPO) is apparently promoting the Australian SIA’s OHS BoK as the basis of an international standard.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Copyright Law, the Creative Industries, and Internet Freedom

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a highly secretive trade agreement being negotiated between the US and eleven Pacific Rim countries, including Australia. Having obtained a fast-track authority from the United States Congress, US President Barack Obama is keen to finalise the deal. However, he was unable to achieve a resolution of the deal at recent talks in Hawaii on the TPP. A number of chapters of the TPP will affect the creative artists, cultural industries and internet freedom — including the intellectual property chapter, the investment chapter, and the electronic commerce chapter. Legacy copyright industries have pushed for longer and stronger copyright protection throughout the Pacific Rim. In the wake of the Hawaii talks, Knowledge Ecology International leaked the latest version of the intellectual property chapter of the TPP. Jamie Love of Knowledge Ecology International commented upon the leaked text about copyright law: ‘In many sections of the text, the TPP would change global norms, restrict access to knowledge, create significant financial risks for persons using and sharing information, and, in some cases, impose new costs on persons producing new knowledge goods.’ The recent leaked text reveals a philosophical debate about the nature of intellectual property law. There are mixed messages in respect of the treatment of the public domain under copyright law. In one part of the agreement on internet service providers, there is text that says that the parties recognise the need for ‘promoting innovation and creativity,’ ‘facilitating the diffusion of information, knowledge, technology, culture, and the arts’, and ‘foster competition and open and efficient markets.’ A number of countries suggested ‘acknowledging the importance of the public domain.’ The United States and Japan opposed the recognition of the public domain in this text.

Knowledge transfer through a transnational program partnership between Indonesian and Australian universities

As transnational programs are often advocated as a knowledge transfer opportunity between the partner universities, this case study investigated the knowledge transfer (KT) processes between Indonesian and Australian universities through an undergraduate transnational program partnership (TPP). An inter-organisational KT theoretical framework from the business sector was adapted and used to guide the study. The data were generated through semi-structured interviews with key university officers and document analysis from two partner universities. Based on the thematic analysis of the data, the findings demonstrated that the curriculum mapping process facilitated KT. However, different intentions of the partner universities in establishing the program led to declining interest to conduct more KT when expectations were not met. The Indonesian university’s existing knowledge, acquired from other sources through processes that were serendipitous and based on individual lecturers’ personal experience, meant that KT opportunities through the TPP were not always pursued despite written agreement to exchange knowledge with the Australian partner. While KT most evidently resulted in institutional capacity development for the Indonesian university’s school that managed the TPP, dissemination of knowledge to other units within the university was more challenging due to communication problems between the units. Hence, other universities seeking to conduct KT through TPPs need to understand each partner university's intention in establishing the partnerships, identify the institutions' needs before seeking knowledge input from the partner university and improve the communication between and within the universities for sustainable benefits.

Mathematics knowledge for teaching and the classroom environment

This study investigated the classroom environment in an underperforming mathematics classroom. The objectives were: (1) to investigate the classroom environment and identify influences upon it, and (2) to further explore those influences (i.e., teacher knowledge). This was completed using a diachronic case study approach in which data were gathered during lesson observations and coaching sessions. These data were analysed to describe and exemplify the classroom environment, then further described against forms of teacher knowledge. Conjectures regarding the importance of teacher knowledge of content were made which formed a base for developing a model of teacher planning and pedagogy.

Australian pre-service teachers' Knowledge and understanding of cyberbullying: Implications for school climate

The beliefs, attitudes and understandings of pre-service teachers towards bullying and more recently, cyberbullying remains unclear. Previous studies have found them to be generally lacking confidence to address bullying, which could impact negatively on school climate if, when they enter the profession, these beliefs undermine existing anti-bullying initiatives. This study explores Australian pre-service teachers' (N= 717) understanding and knowledge of traditional bullying and cyberbullying and their confidence and capacity to deal with it. Findings from self-report, anonymous questionnaires from students attending three universities in Australia indicated that two thirds (66%) of current pre-service teachers felt informed to very informed and capable to very capable (62%) of dealing with school bullying and 90% could discern cyber and traditional bullying behaviours from other online and offline aggressive acts. Gender and Year level differences were found. The potential impact of their knowledge and understanding of bullying and cyberbullying on school climate, and sustaining and maintaining anti-bullying interventions as they enter the profession is discussed.

Public space design of knowledge and innovation spaces: Learnings from Kelvin Grove Urban Village, Brisbane

The era of knowledge-based urban development has led to an unprecedented increase in mobility of people and the subsequent growth in new typologies of agglomerated enclaves of knowledge such as knowledge and innovation spaces. Within this context, a new role has been assigned to contemporary public spaces to attract and retain the mobile knowledge workforce by creating a sense of place. This paper investigates place making in the globalized knowledge economy, which develops a sense of permanence spatio-temporally to knowledge workers displaying a set of particular characteristics and simultaneously is process-dependent getting developed by the internal and external flows and contributing substantially in the development of the broader context it stands in relation with. The paper reviews the literature and highlights observations from Kelvin Grove Urban Village, located in Australia’s new world city Brisbane, to understand the application of urban design as a vehicle to create and sustain place making in knowledge and innovation spaces. This research seeks to analyze the modified permeable typology of public spaces that makes knowledge and innovation spaces more viable and adaptive as per the changing needs of the contemporary globalized knowledge society.