The Passamaquoddy Indians Essays - , Term Papers

The Passamaquoddy Indians For several hundred years people have sought answers to the Indian problems, who are the Indians, and what rights do they have? These questions may seem simple, but the answers themselves present a difficult number of further questions and answers. State and Federal governments have tried to provide some order with a number of laws and policies, sometimes resulting in state and federal conflicts. The Federal Government's attempt to deal with Indian tribes can be easily understood by following the history of Federal Indian Policy. Indians all over the United States fought policies which threatened to destroy their familial bonds and traditions. The Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe of Maine, resisted no less than these other tribes, however, thereby also suffering a hostile anti-Indian environment from the Federal Government and their own State, Maine. But because the Passamaquoddy Tribe was located in such a remote area, they escaped many federal Indian policies. In order to make more eastern land available for settlement, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830. This enabled the President of the United States to have power physically to move eastern Indian tribes to land west of the Mississippi River. Indian Title did not grant the Indians the power to sell their own lands. The result of which was that, the Indians went uncompensated for their lands and the Original Indian Title was forsaken. Although more than 70,000 Indians had been forcibly removed in a ten-year journey westward, a trip that became known as the Trail of Tears, the Passamaquoddy Indians remained in the northeast. This was possibly due to their remoteness and harsh winters of the North Atlantic coast. Between 1821 and 1839 the state of Maine allowed timber havesting of the Passamaquoddy land in direct violation of the 1794 treaty and later sold more of their lands without compensation (Brooks 3). The 1774 treaty was signed between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Passamaquoddy Tribe. The treaty stipulated that the tribe would surrender all claims to land in Massachusetts in exchange for 23,000 acres at Indian Township and ten acres at Pleasant Point. Indian Township is located just above Princeton, Maine, and Pleasant Point is located between Eastport and Perry, Maine. This treaty was signed after the enactment of the Trade and Intercourse Acts, which held that no treaties could be made with the Indians, except with federal approval. There was no federal approval with this treaty (Brooks 3). The State of Maine's courts in 1842 described Indians as charity cases and imbeciles, subject to paternal control by the state. After years of being forcibly removed or displaced by white settlers, the Passamaquoddy were reduced to living a meager existence form hunting, fishing, trapping, and craft making (Brooks 3). The General Allotment Act of 1887 was passed with the concept that if Indians were given individual plots of land, they would farm that land and assimilate into the white culture. Allotted parcels of land were given to families, and the excess lands were sold off. This resulted in a disastrous loss of Indian Land, from 138 million acres in 1887 to 48 million in 1834, 20 million of which was desert (Brooks 4). In 1924, Congress passed a law giving U.S. citizenship to all Indians born in the U.S., but individual states could still prohibit the Indians from voting. The state of Maine, in 1892, decided that the Passamaquoddy Tribe no longer existed. This meant that the tribe was subject to all state laws. In the education of the Indians, the goal was to eliminate all traces of Indianness in the children (Baussenron 38). The Great Depression in the 1930's made fewer jobs available for the Passamaquoddy. Congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, based on the concept that the Allotment Act had been a complete failure (Baussenron 38). This new act helped the tribe in self-government and protected the land base of the tribes. It ended the Allotment Act and restored the surplus lands to the Indians. This land only included the land that had not already been sold off. The Act also encouraged tribes to adopt constitutions. However, this self-government still had to be approved by the federal government. Congress terminated a number of tribes. This meant

impact of music essays

impact of music essays Fifteen people died on April 20th 1999. Two misunderstood teens went to school and killed 12 people and then themselves(Manson). On October 6th, 1998 a man was beaten, robbed and left tied to a fence. He died 6 days later(Boston). Both of these cases are a focus for something that no one would ever think could cause such harm. Music. Both of these have a focus of music and the negative impact that it has on the youth. Music is a way to express your self, an outlet for emotions and personal issues. It is also a place to force ideas and opinions on a mass of thousands. People can relate to it on many different levels. But who should be responsible for the actions it provokes? Should the artist or the parents? What can we as average citizens do? Some say that music should be rated and in some cases banned. One such person would be Tipper Gore. Back in 1985 she was listening to her daughters Prince album Purple Rain. The album contained a song Darling Nikki about a woman who was masturbating with a magazine. The song continued with a sexual tone. She felt this was not proper for her, or any other child to listen to. She and other concerned parents founded the PMRC Parent Music Resource Center. They wanted a standard rating system for all albums to alert parents of the content. Such ratings as V for violence and X for sex related (Holland). Many musicians fought against the PMRC. Artists like Dee Snider (of Twisted Sister) and John Denver fought for the case of artists free speech. The result was not a standard set of ratings but one black and white sticker with the words, Parental Advisory Explicit Content. This was to be on all albums containing content not suitable for minors. The record companies would decide which albu m was to be stickered. Fifteen years later we are still arguing over free speech and what should be available to children and teens. The youth of Am...

The Great Gatsby and the Lost Generation

The Great Gatsby and the Lost Generation Nick Carraway, the tale’s â€Å"honest† narrator, is a small-town, Midwest American boy who once spent some time in New York with the greatest man he has ever known, Jay Gatsby.  To Nick, Gatsby is the embodiment of the American Dream: rich, powerful, attractive, and elusive.  Gatsby is surrounded by an aura of mystery and illusion, not unlike L. Frank Baum’s Great and Powerful Oz.  And, like the Wizard of Oz, Gatsby and all that he stands for turn out to be nothing more than carefully crafted, delicate constructs.   Gatsby is the dream of a man who does not exist, living in a world where he does not belong.  Although Nick understands that Gatsby is far from being who he pretends to be, it does not take long for Nick to be charmed by the dream and to believe wholeheartedly in the ideals that Gatsby represents.  Ultimately, Nick falls in love with Gatsby, or at least with the fantasy world that Gatsby champions. Nick Carraway is perhaps the most interesting character in the novel.  He is simultaneously the one person who seems to see through Gatsby’s faà §ade, but also the person who most adores Gatsby and who cherishes the dream that this man represents.  Carraway must continually lie to and deceive himself while attempting to reassure the reader of his honest nature and unbiased intentions.  Gatsby, or James Gatz, is fascinating in that he represents all aspects of the American Dream, from the tireless pursuit of it to the actual embodiment of it, and also, tragically, the realization that it does not really exist. The other characters, Daisy Tom Buchanan, Mr. Gatz (Gatsby’s father), Jordan Baker, and others are all interesting and important in their relationship to Gatsby. We see Daisy as the typical Jazz Age â€Å"flapper† interested in beauty and riches; she returns Gatsby’s interest only because he is so materially advantaged.  Tom is the representative of â€Å"Old Money† and its condescension to but vehement dislike of the  nouveau-riche. He is racist, sexist, and wholly unconcerned for anyone but himself. Jordan Baker, the artists, and others represent the various unspoken but ever-present notions of sexual exploration, individualism, and self-gratification that are indicative of the period.   What typically draws readers to this book, whether or not they come away with the traditional understanding of the novel (a love story, a censure on the American Dream, etc.), is its strikingly beautiful prose.  There are moments of description in this narrative which nearly take one’s breath away, particularly as they often come unexpectedly. Fitzgerald’s brilliance lies in his ability to undercut his every thought, showing both the positive and negative arguments of a situation within the very same paragraph (or sentence, even).   This is perhaps best demonstrated in the final page of the novel, where the beauty of the dream that is Gatsby is contrasted with the disillusionment of those pursuing the dream.  Fitzgerald explores the power of the American Dream, the heart-pounding, soul-shaking evocation of those early American immigrants who looked upon the new shores with such hope and longing, with such pride and eager determination, only to be crushed by the never-ending struggle to achieve the unattainable; to be trapped in a timeless, ageless, persistent dream  that never amounts to anything but the dream. The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald is quite possibly the most widely-read piece of American Literature.  For many, The Great Gatsby is a love story, and  Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan are the 1920s American Romeo Juliet, two star-crossed lovers whose destinies are intertwined and whose fates are tragically sealed from the beginning; however, the love story is a faà §ade. Does Gatsby love Daisy?  Not as much as he loves the  idea  of Daisy. Does Daisy love Gatsby?  She loves the possibilities he represents.   Other readers find the novel to be a depressing critique of the so-called American Dream, one which, perhaps, can never truly be reached.  Similar to Theodore Dreiser’s  Sister Carrie, this story predicts a bleak fate for America.  No matter how hard one works or how much one achieves, the American Dreamer will always want more. This reading brings us closer to the true nature and purpose of  The Great Gatsby,  but not quite all.   This is not a love story, nor is it strictly about one man’s striving for the American Dream. Instead, it is a story about a restless nation. It is a story about wealth and the disparity between â€Å"Old Money† and â€Å"New Money.† Fitzgerald, through his narrator Nick Carraway, has created a dreamy, illusory vision of a society of dreamers; shallow, unfilled people who are rising too fast and consuming too much.  Their children are neglected, their relationships disrespected, and their spirits crushed beneath the weight of soulless riches. This is the story of The Lost Generation and the lies they must tell in order to continue living every day when they are  so sad, lonely, and disillusioned.

American Attitudes towards Homosexuals Research Paper

American Attitudes towards Homosexuals - Research Paper Example In the traditional sense, the discrimination against these individuals has mostly been based on gender bias and the majority perception of the existence of only two genders – that of the male and female sex. Despite this dominant gender perception, homosexuals have been persistent about their rights and about their place in society. The laws have also been firm on the application of the equal protection of rights and the due process of law, as far as these homosexuals are concerned. As a result, these homosexuals have taken on a more public presence and have become more visible to the general population. In a way, they have made their presence known in almost all aspects of American life. However, even as their public visibility has increased dramatically over the past several decades, prejudicial attitudes against them have remained persistent. This paper shall discuss American attitudes against homosexuals, discussing the minor claim that public visibility of homosexuals has increased. In detail, it shall discuss the ways in which homosexual visibility has increased, more particularly through the media and through the â€Å"Don’t ask, Don’t Tell† military policy. ... Most Americans have become embroiled heavily in the contrasting opinions on homosexuality with some of them favoring the rights of homosexuals to self-promotion and perpetuation, and the rest expressing their outrage for homosexuality based on religious and moral grounds. In general, studies evaluating attitudes against homosexuals yielded negative attitudes against these individuals (Besen and Zickling, p. 251). These results have been seen in studies carried out during the 1980s and 1990s, including large scale reviews and surveys during the 1990s (Besen and Zicklin, p. 251). In recent years however, the attitudes towards homosexuals have improved with many Americans considering a more liberal approach towards civil rights (Besen and Zicklin, p. 251). Many of them have been able to gain some form of social acceptance from the general populace; however, to some extent many of them have persistently encountered these social issues on acceptance from moralists. Various factors have be en considered in explaining these attitudes towards homosexuals. Individuals who have negative attitudes towards homosexuals are usually authoritarian and are very traditional in their views of sex roles and of minority groupings (Besen and Zicklin, p. 251). These attitudes have also been spurred on by health concerns, with the percentage of HIV/AIDS sufferers of a higher rate among gay men. Such health concerns have further fueled the homophobic tendencies against homosexuals. Inasmuch as these negative attitudes towards homosexuals have been unfavorable, legal mandates have established provisions in order to protect the practice of civil rights among these homosexuals. Along with the more liberal ideals which many Americans

The SWOT Analysis of Beyond Product Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The SWOT Analysis of Beyond Product - Essay Example The Beyond company has a significant strength from the Peter, who is a vital shareholder and has experience in the business. The participation of Peter in the business plan completion helped him to win the competition that provides knowledge he used to formulate business the strategy that helps in achieving their objectives of introducing the snowboards in the market. His partner who had complementary financial and accounting skills also helped in the product and business plan development. The Italian and Belgian engineering companies and the significant chemical company motivated Peter to develop hybrid binding with positive features that proved that the market was ready for a new product. However, the company faced severe challenges in product development and marketing strategies because it was costly, and the company was limited to financing methods. Meanwhile, lack of assurance to the inventors due to slow product development of the product in the market caused Peter to lose the only partner, who was supporting the company financially. The beyond product has a significant opportunity of achieving its mission to provide a range of high-quality products by allowing business angels to invest their equity of pounds 300,000. Meanwhile, the company will encounter potential threats from generating the interest of importers at the ISPO fair because the sales would be much lower than expected that will jeopardize the future of the company. The snowboarding is the quickest growing sport in the United State with the average growth rate of 11.4 percent that will offer Peter a sizeable market opportunity for its products. Meanwhile, there are seventeen million snowboarders active globally that account for every one-third of the total winter sports population, and since the peter product is designed for this purpose it will benefit from these buyers.

Reading response on Communication Essay Example for Free

Reading response on Communication Essay For any effective communication, there must be understanding between the parties involved. This will therefore depend on the medium used and consideration of the barriers to effective communication. Students depend on communication to learn and when it is effective and inclusive, they get opportunities to grow and learn. In education, parents who are magnetic involve themselves in finding opportunities for their children. This is by involving the community at large and the administration to get opportunities for their children(Henderson, 297). Other parents are not concerned, which leads to inequality between the different children. Other families plan a teacher visit to the family, which increases unity and communication. When a teacher, parent and a student have a close relationship, they facilitate ample communication that leads to growth and opportunities. Accordind to (Mediratta, 32), for one to create opportunities that leads to growth among children, there should be a link between the outside of the school and the culture in the school. This is because the teachers do not understand the base the children are coming from especially in boarding schools. The power issue of the teachers goes down when the parents and their children mingles freely with the children which increases communication avenues. Poor families lack even the basic needs which make their students lack concentration due to the stress of their homes. This leads to inequality in the opportunities to children from richer families. Creating a link between the families and the general community leads to expansion of the communication network which leads to opportunities and growth. This addresses structural inequality and enables student from poor families learn and have good health. According to WARREN, (15), translation of important information to languages that learners understands leads to effective communication. Those who understands the foreign language have added advantage to those who can not. A barrier to translation is money to pay the translators and some parents lack the time to opportunity talk. In opportunity talks, the issue of freedom when talking is an issue due to distrust among members in the society(Zehr, 8). Relationships that can be trusted spread opportunities and this is true with parents who create friendship with their children’s teachers as they create trust between them. This is different from the parents who can not create this relationshipthat lead to disadvantage on their students’ opportunities. Organizing and planning for events for the school with older people with children improves their skills and confidence. This boosts their opportunities and improves their communication prowess unlike those who do not involve themselves in such programs. References Henderson, T Anne, Johnson Vivian, Mapp Karen, and Davies Don. Selection from Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family/School Partnerships. New York: The New Press, (2007): 296-301 Mediratta, Kavitha, Shah Seema, and McAlister Sara.Building Partnerships to Reinvent School Culture: Austin Interfaith. Providence, RI: Annenberg Institute for School Reform. Mark Warren, â€Å"Communities and Schools.†(2009):1-49. Print. WARREN, MARK. Communities And Schools: A New View Of Urban Education Reform. Harvard Educational Review 2.75 (2005): 1-40. Print. Zehr, M. A. Civil Rights Deal Signals Federal Push for Translation Services. Education Week, (2011): 30(3), 8-9. Source document

Macbeth: A Tragic Hero :: essays research papers

Tragedy occurs to some more often to others, but most define it differently. Webster’s Dictionary defines it as â€Å"a kind of drama in which some fatal or mournful event occurs† (764). To philosophers and traditional writers philosophy takes on another meaning. For example, to famous philosophical figure Aristotle, â€Å"tragedy occurs when noble or great persons are led, through pride or a secret flaw in their personalities, to suffering that changes their fortune. The tragic hero must begin in a high position and end in death or some sort of degraded role† (Definitions of Tragedy). Based on human nature, Aristotle’s philosophy of tragedy, and current literary criticism of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, is classified as a tragic hero.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Born in 384 B.C. at Stagirus, well known philosopher Aristotle was a student to Plato for over twenty years. Growing up on this Greek Colony and attending lectures, he acquired and retained new information. His father was a well known physician and scientist therefore Aristotle’s knowledge was broadened by his father. Unlike Plato, Aristotle studied the natural and sensory world; â€Å"while Plato used his reason, Aristotle used his senses† (Gaarder 107) He said that â€Å"things that are in the human soul were purely reflections of natural objects† (Gaarder 107). Aristotle believed that reason is mans most distinguishing characteristic; Macbeth had great lack of reason. When the first murder occurred, Macbeth did not anticipate the outcomes of the events, thus is soul was infected with selfish thought, and to him, nothing else mattered.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A human soul in Aristotle’s words is â€Å"the perfect expression or realization of a natural body,† which Macbeth follows (Aristotle). His internal instinct led his actions and soon to his main goal. Fellow philosopher Democritus, (460-370 B.C.), believed that all men are just mechanical and made up of different substances (Gaarder 44). If, his belief that there is no spiritual fore in nature, and everything happens mechanically is true, then Macbeth could not control his actions thus is innocent of his crimes. To Macbeth, it meant that he was destined to become king, and mechanically could not manage his own actions. This is because Macbeth’s imagination is â€Å"plunging deeper and deeper into unreality,† and turns into uncontrollable desires and wants (Knight 42). These two elements of soul and imagination are able to cause a dreadful combination of tragedy and misfortune. A Shakespearian critic implies that, â€Å"once caught by t he devils bait, only at the end he is able to express his inward state openly† (Davidson 92).

Employment relationship Essay

Unitarism is a process assumes that everyone in an organization is a member of a team with a common purpose representing the goals and policies of a company. The Unitarism has a univocal concept for every individual associated with the company right from managers to lower-level employees, should share the same objectives and work together for a common gain. The various staff levels involved in the company from the unions, the relationship managers and the top line management was actively leveraged for an equal representation through all levels. The groups were accepted only as a part of the reflecting loyalty. The managers were the two way communicators between the workers to the management. The management or the ownership was not allowed to force the loyalty factors. The free market orientation introduced by Margaret Thatcher has elevated the roles of the three levels of the employee relationship. The team representation of various levels have had shifted to more personal attention. The equal employee group representation in a company gradually diminished with management focusing on the individual excellence. The relationship manager who acted as a mediator lost his significance with new profile evolved at the same level of designation. Initially in the early 80’s the personal management scenario was not well defined and without any confined objectives. The personal management system has lot of unanswered concerns like tuning up of the individual performance management concerns with their respective team performance levels. The personal management was general and it was not customized according to the functional and industry specifications to make the personal management more effective. The main concern of Unitarism is, the organization is more inclined towards the organization goals and objectives and may not concentrate on the personal career aspects. The employee may not find it comfortable to tune up the organization goals with his personal individual goals. Pluralism: The pluralism provides freedom to tune up the individuals career goals with the organizational goals. The organization values the employees feedback and encourages the employees to be a part of the decision making process. Every level of the employees has the right to sound his voice in the organization. The employees were thus made responsible to the organization’s performance and profitability. The managers have to play a versatile role in motivating and teaming up the employees. The decision making process can be complex as different brains focus on the concerns and there would be possibility of not arriving at concrete decision The influence of the unions, governing bodies will be more on the management. The influence can swing in both the extremes resulting in the profitability or decisions in favor of a particular sector. Marxism: The Marxism refers the labourers’ welfare and representing their concerns. The low level working class is the prime resource and the Marxism exerts more pressure on upliftment of the working class. The working class was prime resource of production which uses the resources for the prosperity of the organization. The Marxist theories strongly condemn the gap between the operating cost incurred and the profits incurred on the products. The dominance of the top level management and ownership is not accepted. The ownership making considerable profits is not accepted are forced to carry the gains for the benefits of the working class. The modern development has decreased the involvement of the manual labour with the advent of machinery to push the productivity index to a considerable extent. The employee job responsibilities were handled by the machines with the artificial intelligence which in turn does not enhance the skill sets of the working class. The employees at some point of time may perceive the same job profile as monotonous and may loose the expertise. The ownership may start ignoring the skills sets of the workers which in turn lead to termination of labourers. The capitalist dominance was widely disregarded in the later half of the 19th century and many experts has drawn various implications on reformatting the Marxist principles to suite the modern challenges. Among them include Rubery, Braveman, Littler and Paul Edwards, who presented various directions of the labor and employee relations. The main implications drawn by these experts revolve around enhancing the employee relations by activily considering processes like: By Elevating the conflicting raising issues and initiating extra circular efforts like incentives, games and recreation that sooth the workers pressure(Burawoy). The Burawoy definition was vital part of the human resource management in many companies in the today to make the employee feel that the company cares the resources in may other ways. †¢ Bridging the gap between the ownership control and the workers resistance for a mutual profitable accord †¢ A more robust job design keeping on view of the employee growth accepts with equal representation of the control leading to a satisfactory employee relationship(Littler). The management has to tune up the workers with abilities required for the productions(Rubery). The experts have had strongly disregarded the employee coherent methodology with asserting more on mutually acceptable strategies for sustainable business and economic growth. The contemporary organization were now-a-days more proactive in providing the employees with more freedom and flexibility to retain them. The compensatory systems were broadened with more virtual incentives along with salaries wooing the employees to stick to the organizations.

Punjab -The Gateway to Serenity

Pakistan is a multicultural society when you visit its urban centers especially Karachi but in the rural areas, it is certainly influenced by one culture and that is the culture of Pakistan first and then the province in which the village is situated. The province of Punjab, one of the largest provinces, has the riches village life and for a first time visitor to Pakistan, it is best to start with Punjab to learn more about village life. People in villages speak the native language of the province and not Urdu, which is the native language of Pakistan. While people understand Urdu, they would prefer to communicate in the regional language. They are very hospitable and what makes them endearing to a visitor is their spontaneity and unaffected behavior. They welcome guests with open arms but are very rigid about their own moral and social codes. Since most of them follow the Islamic religion, they prefer the moral code that comes with being a Muslim. There are no large or small restaurants in the villages. If there is anything even remotely close to a restaurant that's what they call a hotel where they serve food on wooden seats or charpoi (a bed made of jute). Women are expected to dress modestly and most girls are married off very young. Men are not the sole breadwinners and women are allowed to work in the fields with the men. In fact more women choose to work than stay at home. Schools are few and quality of education is low. These schools are run by the state but children still manage to gain required primary education from these schools. Village life in Pakistan is rich and there are many cottage industries that provide most of the handicrafts that are even exported to western countries.

Exclusion Restrictions in Instrumental Variables

Exclusion Restrictions in Instrumental Variables In many fields of study, including statistics and economics, researchers rely on valid exclusion restrictions when they are estimating outcomes using either instrumental variables (IV) or exogenous variables. Such calculations are often used to analyze the causal effect of a binary treatment. Variables and Exclusion Restrictions Loosely defined, an exclusion restriction is considered valid so long as the independent variables do not directly affect the dependent variables in an equation. For example, researchers rely on randomization of the sample population in order to ensure comparability across the treatment and control groups. At times, however, randomization is not possible. This may for any number of reasons, such as lack of access to suitable populations or budgetary restrictions. In such cases, the best practice or strategy is to rely on an instrumental variable. Simply put, the method of using instrumental variables is utilized to estimate causal relationships when a controlled experiment or study is simply not feasible. Thats where valid exclusion restrictions come into play.   When researchers employ instrumental variables, they rely on two primary assumptions. The first is that the excluded instruments are distributed independently of the error process. The other is that the excluded instruments are sufficiently correlated with the included endogenous regressors. As such, the specification of an IV model states that the excluded instruments affect the independent variable only indirectly.   As a result, exclusion restrictions are considered observed variables that impact treatment assignment, but not the outcome of interest conditional on treatment assignment. If, on the other hand, an excluded instrument is shown to exert both direct and indirect influences on the dependent variable, the exclusion restriction should be rejected. The Importance of Exclusion Restrictions In simultaneous equation systems or a system of equations, exclusion restrictions are critical. The simultaneous equation system is a finite set of equations in which certain assumptions are made. Despite its importance to the solution of the system of equations, the validity of an exclusion restriction cannot be tested as the condition involves an unobservable residual. Exclusion restrictions are often imposed intuitively by the researcher who must then convince of the plausibility of those assumptions, meaning that the audience must believe the researcher’s theoretical arguments that support the exclusion restriction. The concept of exclusion restrictions denotes that some of the exogenous variables are not in some of the equations. Often this idea is expressed by saying the coefficient next to that exogenous variable is zero. This explanation may make this restriction (​hypothesis) testable and may make a simultaneous equation system identified. Sources Schmidheiny, Kurt. Short Guides to Microeconometrics: Instrumental Variables.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Schmidheiny.name. Fall 2016.University of Manitoba Rady Faculty of Health Sciences staff. Introduction to Instrumental Variables. UManitoba.ca.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Act

In determining who the Act is for, the definition of ATSI people must be considered. As this Act does not provide a definition, a review of prior Australian legislative and common law definitions is therefore required. The definition of ATSI people has a long and contentious history in Australia. Even today, two very different definitions are concurrently in use. One, commonly found in Australian legislation, defines Aboriginals as a person who is a member of the Aboriginal race of Australia. The second definition, a three-part test proposed in the early 1980’s by the Commonwealth Department of Aboriginal Affairs, identifies ATSI peoples as being ‘of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent who identify as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders and are accepted as such by the community in which they live. ’ The first definition becomes problematic as it fails to establish the sort of evidence required to satisfy it. Advances in the field of human genetics have concluded that there is no meaningful genetic or biological basis for the concept of ‘race’. The second definition presents its own problems, which arise when the Aboriginality of the community doing the accepting is thrown into question. Subsequent case law has further developed the definition of ATSI people, for example in Gibbs v Capewell (1995), Justice Drummond stated that ‘the less the degree of Aboriginal descent, the more important cultural circumstances become in determining whether a person is Aboriginal’. In Eatock v Bolt [2011], Bromberg J considered the extent to which each criteria in the three-part test needed to be deployed, stating that: â€Å"For some legislative purposes and in the understanding of some people, compliance with one or two of the attributes of the three-part test may be regarded as sufficient. † The currently favoured three-part definition may be considered an advancement over earlier colonial definitions of ATSI people, which comprised of derogatory terms such as â€Å"nobel savage† or â€Å"prehistoric beast†. The fact remains however within in Australia, only ATSI people are required to prove their identity. Furthermore, it is Australia’s legislature, comprising of mainly non-ATSI representatives, who are tasked with defining ATSI people, rather than ATSI peoples themselves. Who will benefit The question as to who this Act will benefit requires an examination of what the Act aims to achieve prior to the conclusion of its two year ‘sunset provision’, as well as the longer term aims to which the Act is directed. Parliament has acknowledged that the Act is only an interim step towards recognition of ATSI peoples in the Constitution, and that the Act is not intended to be a substitute for constitutional recognition itself. The Act provides for the recognition of ATSI people as Australia’s first occupants, acknowledges their continuing relationship with their traditional land and waters, and acknowledges ATSI people’s culture, language and heritage. The Act does not create any material or economic benefits for ATSI people. Rather, it aims at building political support for Constitutional reform. As the Australian Founding Fathers paid no attention at all to the position of the Australian aboriginal race, the Act may be of some benefit to the emotional wellbeing of ATSI people as it formally acknowledges their cultural heritage. However, due to the section 5 of the Act, which causes these to cease two years after its commencement, any such benefit will be temporary. Furthermore, as Parliament must hold a successful referendum to effect any Constitutional change, there remains a possibility that Parliament could fail to generate enough support for the amendments it proposes. In that case the Act would have been little, if any, lasting benefit. As Parliament is yet to propose any amendments to the Constitution, it remains unclear who will benefit in the longer term. PART B: Provisions to Bind Future Parliaments The Act provides a process for progressing constitutional recognition of ATSI people into the future. Section 4 (1) of the Act provides that the relevant minister must conduct a review of support for a referendum to recognize ATSI people in the Constitution within 12 months of the commencement of the Act. As the Act commenced in February 2012, and a Federal election is due for the same year, it is likely that this provision will take effect after the election. The question of whether this provision is binding on future Parliaments requires an examination of whether the Parliament has the power do so, and if it does, under what circumstances. Parliamentary Sovereignty Parliamentary sovereignty represents one of the twin pillars of British constitutional law, along with the rule of law, identified by the influential nineteenth century jurist, Alfred Venn Dicey (1835-1922). Dicey defined Parliamentary Sovereignty as essentially being â€Å"the power of lawmaking unrestricted by any legal limit† which gives Parliament â€Å"the right to make or unmake any law; whatever†. However, unlike the United Kingdom, the Australian Parliament is constrained by the Commonwealth Constitution and is therefore not absolutely sovereign In theory, there is a necessary limit to sovereignty. If Parliament were absolutely sovereign to pass any law whatsoever, it could pass laws limiting the power of its successors, and parliamentary sovereignty would be short-lived. In Australia, the general rule is that Parliament is not bound by a previous Parliament. This was supported by the majority in Kartinyeri, who concluded, as Brennan CJ and McHugh J put it, that â€Å"the power to make laws includes the power to unmake them†. Each new Parliament is therefore free to create new laws afresh. The notion that Parliament is not bound by prior legislation is further supported by the doctrines of express repeal and implied repeal. The doctrine of express repeal works on the proposition that a later act of Parliament can be enacted which expressly and clearly repeals an earlier act in its totality. The doctrine of implied repeal states that certain sections of an earlier act maybe accidently or impliedly repealed where the provisions of an earlier act are inconsistent with a later act. The Act in question is not binding of successor Parliaments, and may therefore be amended or repealed as Parliament sees fit. Manner and Form Provisions Australian Parliaments have on occasions sought to affect the power of their successors by imposing special requirements for the passing of some laws. These requirements, known as ‘manner and form’ provisions, are restrictive procedures. They restrict the legislative powers of the Parliament by requiring that laws on certain topics may only be enacted by a special and more difficult procedure. Probably the most common manner and form provision is the referendum requirement whereby, before royal assent is given to the bill, it must be approved by a majority of the electorate. Such a provision reconstitutes Parliament by adding an additional chamber, the electorate. This would provide a difficult hurdle for any future Parliament as only 8 of 44 referendums have been successful in Australia’s history. Although Parliament has not drafted this Act in a way which restricts its amendment or repeal, Parliament could do so by inserting manner and form provisions for this purpose. PART C: The Expert Panel Prior to drafting the Bill, the Federal Labor Government established an Expert Panel on constitutional recognition for ATSI people. Throughout 2011, the Panel engaged with thousands of Australians through submissions, consultations and meetings, to hear the views of a wide cross-section of the Australian community. In January 2012, the Panel published its report where it provided recommendations on the possible forms of constitutional recognition, along with constitutional amendments relating to racial non-discrimination. Constitutional background to this legislation The Australian ‘founding fathers’ paid no attention at all to the position of the ATSI peoples. The Constitution as originally framed in 1901 provided for the exclusion and the discriminatory treatment of the ‘aboriginal race’. There were only two references to ATSI people in the body of the original Australian Constitution: (a) Federal Parliament was denied power to make laws with respect to people of â€Å"the aboriginal race in any State†; and (b) Section 127 provided: â€Å"In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted. † The 1967 referendum, which did away with the discriminatory references in s 127 and amended s 51 (xxvi) to allow Parliament to make laws for ATSI people, was intended to be in the best interests of the Aboriginal people. However, in the case of Kartinyeri v Commonwealth (1998), which was the legal climax of a long political controversy, the majority of justices said that ‘for’ does not require the Parliament to legislate beneficially. The outcome meant that the Australian Parliament were empowered to enact laws that would not only benefit ATSI people, but also discriminate against them. And so, while the 1967 referendum made well-intentioned symbolic changes, the overall legal effect was that the discriminatory attitudes of the Constitution’s founders were retained. One of the principles agreed to by the Panel for its assessment of proposals for constitutional was that a proposal must be of benefit to and accord with the wishes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It could therefore be argued that an Expert Panel, comprised not only of lawyers but prominent ATSI community members, carefully scrutinising the legal ramifications of any proposed constitutional amendments, will make it less likely that constitutional recognition would have unintended outcomes for ATSI people (as in Kartinyeri). Furthermore, Megan Davis, a member of the expert panel, stated that constitutional recognition – whether amendment of a race power or a non-discrimination clause – does not foreclose on the question of sovereignty. The above findings by the Panel, along with its widespread consultation with ASTI people, will undoubtedly play a significant role in addressing the concerns the Australia people may have in relation to the proposed referendum. [ 1 ]. Dr John Gardiner-Garden, Defining Aboriginality in Australia (3 February 2003) Social Policy Group . [ 2 ]. Ibid. [ 3 ]. See, eg, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth). [ 4 ]. Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Report on a Review of the Administration of the Working Definition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (1981), Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, cited in J Gardiner-Garden, The Definition of Aboriginality: Research Note 18, 2000–01 (2000) Parliament of Australia, 2. [ 5 ]. See above n 1. [ 6 ]. J Graves, The Emperor’s New Clothes: Biological Theories of Race at the Millennium (2001) Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick. [ 7 ]. See above n 1. [ 8 ]. 54 FCR 503. [ 9 ]. FCA 1103 (28 September 2011). 10 ]. Michael Dodson ‘The End in the Beginning: Re(de)finding Aboriginality’ (Speech delivered at the Wentworth Lecture, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, 1994). [ 11 ]. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Act 2013 (Cth) s 5. [ 12 ]. Explanatory Memorandum, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Bill 2012 (Cth). [ 13 ]. Above n 11, s 3. [ 14 ]. Geoffrey Sawer, ‘The Australian Constitution and the Australian Aborigine’ (1966) 2 Federal Law Review 17. [ 15 ]. Australia Constitution s 128. [ 16 ]. Ibid. [ 17 ]. Above n 12. [ 18 ]. Sarah Joseph and Melissa Castan, Federal Constitutional Law: A Contemporary View (Thomson Reuters, 3rd ed, 2010) 3. [ 19 ]. A V Dicey, The Introduction to The Study of the Constitution (Macmillan and Co, first published 1885, 1889 ed). [ 20 ]. Ibid. [ 21 ]. Above n 21. [ 22 ]. A Reilly, G Appleby, L Grenfell and W Lacey, Australian Public Law (Oxford University Press, 2011). [ 23 ]. Ibid. [ 24 ]. 152 ALR at [13]. [ 25 ]. See, eg, Vauxhall Estates, Ltd. v. Liverpool Corporation [1932] 1 KB 733. See also Ellen Street Estates Ltd. v. Minister of Health [1934] 1 KB 590 at 597. [ 26 ]. Ibid. [ 27 ]. Above n 24. [ 28 ]. Tony Blackshield and George Williams, Australian Constitutional Law and Theory: Commentary and Materials (The Federation Press, 5th ed, 2010) 440. [ 29 ]. Ibid. [ 30 ]. Gerard Carney, ‘An Overview of Manner and Form in Australia’ (1989) 5 QUT Law Review 1. [ 31 ]. Ibid. [ 32 ]. Above n 32, 1340. [ 33 ]. Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians, Canberra, Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Constitution: Report of the Expert Panel (2012) . [ 34 ]. Geoffrey Sawer, ‘The Australian Constitution and the Australian Aborigine’ (1966) 2 Federal Law Review 17. 35 ]. Asmi Wood, ‘Constitutional Reform 2013: What are we trying to achieve? ’ (2012) 37 (3) Alternative Law Journal 156-160. [ 36 ]. Law Council of Australia, Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians, Discussion Paper (2011) 19. [ 37 ]. Australian Constitution s 51 (xxvi). [ 38 ]. Above n 18, 484. [ 39 ]. 195 CLR 337. [ 40 ]. Pet er Hanks Deborah Cass, Australian Constitution Law: Materials and Commentary (Butterworths, 6th ed, 1999). [ 41 ]. Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1, 110 (Gibbs CJ). [ 42 ]. Above n 35, 158. [ 43 ]. Above n 33.

Real Estate Markets and Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Real Estate Markets and Finance - Essay Example As outlined in the DCLG report, the role of the organizations involved in the delivery of affordable housing, decisions about the amount and types of affordable housing to be provided in individual proposals should reflect local housing need and individual site suitability, and be a matter for agreement between the parties. Local planning authorities and developers should be reasonably flexible in deciding the types of affordable housing most appropriate to a particular site. The objective should be to ensure that the affordable housing secured will contribute to satisfying local housing needs as demonstrated by a rigorous assessment. The policy on planning and affordable housing is set out in more detail in DETR Circular 6/98: Planning and Affordable Housing. Where a local planning authority has decided that an element of affordable housing should be provided in development of a site, there is a presumption that such housing should be provided as part of the proposed development of the site. Failure to apply this policy could justify the refusal of planning permission. A recent report commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government stated that: 'It is not hard to make a strong argument for social housing at sub-market rents' (LSE report, 'Ends and Means', 2007).Affordable Housing means housing that has a sales price or rental amount that is within the means of a household that may occupy, middle-, moderate-, or low income housing. In simple words it is "decent quality" housing that low-income households (those whose income is below the poverty level or below 50 percent of the median income for their area) can afford to occupy without spending more than 30 percent of their income or those households with slightly higher incomes (50 to 80 percent of the median income) can similarly afford (Jeffrey & William, 2005).In the case for dwelling units for sale, housing that is affordable means housing in which mortgage, amortization, taxes, insurance and condominium or association fees, if any, constitute no more than [28] percent of su ch gross annual household income for a household of the size which may occupy the unit in question