Legal Effects of the Mabo Case in Australian Law

Legal Effects of the Mabo Case in Australian Law The Mabo cases are some of the most well known cases in the Australian legal system, this paper will focus on the Mabo v. Queensland, a case that was litigated over for almost a decade in the Australian high court, this case was a monumental step for indigenous people in Australia. From the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788 The native Australians (Aboriginals) have fought to claim back their land, but it was seen by the first Australian colonists that Australia was terra nullius and therefore the indigenous people had no claim to land rights. There are many different points that need to be addressed before we can show that the legal effects of the Mabo case have turned out to be deceptive. The Mabo cases were seen by many people in Australia as a victory for indigenous people throughout Australia, but for some indigenous people it was not seen in the same light. A long battle between the indigenous people and the commonwealth had be going on since the first settlers had arrived in Australia and claimed the land as terra nullius (un-inhabited), even though Australia was clearly not un-inhabited. The indigenous people of Australia had a long and devoted relationship with the land and had set-up their families and homes on this land. In 1982, Eddie Mabo began an action for a declaration of native title over the Queensland Aboriginal land claims. They argued that terra nullius had wrongfully been used by the settlers that colonizied Australia, because for thousands of years indigenous Australians had enjoyed a relationship with the land that included a sense of ownership. In 1992 the High Court of Australia rejected terra nullius and the myth that the first settlers had used to deprive indigenous Australians of their land. In doing this, it recognized that native title existed before the arrival of the first Brittish colonists. The judgment became known as the Mabo decision, one of the most controversial decisions ever seen in an Australian court. It was a decision that was quite hard to fully comprehend, as there was no deffinition to which native title existed in Australia. Mining and other industry groups were not happy with the decision as it would take more time and money to gain leases on land and their applications may also be denied, but was celebrated by indigenous Australians and Paul Keating (prime minister), as an opportunity to appologise to indigenous Australians for the treatment they received and the taking of their lands. The Mabo decision in the high court awarded certain land rights to indigenous people, which were celebrated by some, but the terms and conditions that went along with the final high court ruling did not benefit all indigenous and had some negative effects on the indigenous, there are many requirements that must be met in order for an indigenous person / persons to claim rights to land in Australia, which some people see as unfair. For a long time before the first settlers came to Australia Aboriginals have inhabited what they called Mother Earth and there was a strong bond between the aboriginals and their land that they raised their families on, hunted on and built their homes on. The aboriginals roamed the whole of their country as the pleased and had many different sacred sites throughout, sites which had a link to their ancestors and what they called the dreaming, then in 1788 all of what they know and respected was taken from them by the white man, the first settlers had arrived from England and had claimed that land, that the aboriginals had called home for so many centuries, terra nullius (un-inhabited). With the arrival of the first settlers came with them a system of laws and government that had never been seen by the aboriginals. Laws and government that did not benefit the aboriginals in any way shape or form, laws that took away their land and left them with nothing. The indigenous people in Australia have suffered in different ways and forms from the days of the first settlers and have fought to claim back what many see as rightfully theirs, their land and their rights to own land and live, hunt and follow the way their ancestors lived on/ from the land. There have been many attempts by the indigenous to claim back their land and the MABO v Queensland is just one of many. Many of the land rights battles were started by the Milirrpum others v Nabalco Pty Ltd (1971), the Yolnga people brought an action against the Nabalco Corporation which had secured a twelve year mining lease from the federal government, ATNS. (2003), the argument was that the federal government had no right to offer a lease to the lands as they belonged to the aboriginal people. Justice Blackburn stated that native title was not part of the law of Australia and went on to add that even had it existed any native title rights were extinguished, ATNS, (2003), the rights of the indigenous were not heard until nearly two decades later when Justice Blackburns decision was overturned in the MABO others v Queensland others case, the indigenous peoples rights were considered for the first time since the colonization of Australia, Cullen, R. (1990). With the overturning of Justice Blackburns ruling the indigenous people of Australia have finally been given some legal rights to be able to claim some of their land back. But with these rights come quite a few guidelines and requirements that have to be met for an indigenous person to be able to make a claim to land in Australia, some of which in the Northern Teretory include, under the act the only land claimable is un-alienated Northern Territory land outside town boundaries, land that no-one else owns or leases, usually semi-desert or desert, also claims have been known to take a large amount to be decided and are often rejected by the government and Aboriginals must also prove to the government that they have a lawful claim to the land and that under their Aboriginal laws that they have a responsibility to sacred sites that they are trying to claim, Australiatrek.com. (n.d). Other states such as South Australia have different guidelines and requirements that have to be met in order to claim land some of which include the Pitjantjatjara Land Rights Act 1981 South Australia This gives Anangu Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people title to 10% of South Australia. The land, known as the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands, is in the far north of the state. Just south of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands lie the Maralinga Lands, this area was largely contaminated by British nuclear tests in the 1950s, this land in South Australia was returned to its Anangu traditional owners by virtue of the Maralinga Tjarutja Land Rights Act 1984 South Australia, Australiatrek.com. (n.d). To define native title, parliament passed the Native Title Act in 1993. Despite the mining industries anger, the act gives indigenous Australians very few new rights. It limits the application of native title to land which no-one else owns or leases, and also to land with which indigenous Australians have continued to have a sacred bond to. The act states that existing ownership or leases overrides the native title, although the native title may be given back to indigenous australians after mining leases have finished. If land is successfully claimed by indigenous australians under the act, they will have no rights over the developments of the land that they are claiming, including mining royalties. In conclusion i would have to agree and say that initially the Mabo decision would have been seen by indigenous Australians and by non-indiginous Australians as a win for all of the indigenous Australians living in Australia at the time of the decision.

Development and frameworks support development influence current practice Essay

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development focusses on how children acquire knowledge and learn. He believed that when a child and an adult are given the same logical question children gave less sophisticated answers, not because they were less competent than the adults but because children are born with an extremely simple mental structure which is the basis for the child’s knowledge and learning ability. He suggests that children go through four stages of intellectual growth: 0-2yrs – Sensorimotor, i.e. motor control and learning about objects, the child explores the environment around them using their senses; 2-7yrs – Preoperational, verbal skills development, the child understands the use of symbols and language; 7-11yrs – Concrete Operational, beginning to grasp abstract concepts, shows logical thinking; 12yrs to adulthood – Formal Operational, logical and systematic reasoning skills, is able to work through abstract problems. One of the basic components of Piaget’s theory is ‘Schemas’. Each schema is a building block of intelligent behaviour and a way of a child’s brain organising the knowledge they have gained. Children will develop new schemas as they learn and experience more to allow them to retain this knowledge, as well as modifying their existing schemas as new information about them emerges through additional knowledge. We can effectively plan the development of a child by taking his ideas of ‘schemas’ into practice and using Piaget’s stages we can assess where and how a child is currently learning. From assessment it becomes possible to plan activities to help them to develop onto the next stage. Psychoanalytical Sigmund Freud (1856 1939) An Austrian neurologist Freud believed that each stage of a child’s development directly related to specific needs and demands, each based on a particular body part and was rooted with a sexual base. Freud outlined these stages as oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Each stage involves the satisfaction of a desire and can later play a role in the adult personality. Freud suggested that if a child does not successfully complete a stage, they could develop a fixation that would later influence adult personality and behaviour. According to Freud the mind can be split into two halves, the conscious (mental processes we are aware of) and the unconscious mind (mental processes we are unaware of), and has three separate aspects – the Id (the conscious mind), Ego and Superego (unconscious mind) which all need to be balanced to have good mental health. The Id is about basic needs and feelings, the pleasure principle. The Ego is the reality principle and the Superego is the moral part of the mind. Freud’s theories about unconscious actions can still be witnessed, for example when a child is caught hurting another child. The aggressor may deny it and tell a lie, but may start to cry because he knows what he has done is wrong, and that he has lied about it. Whilst Freud’s psychosexual theories do not fit well with today’s more scientific standards and are considered not to be very accurate, they have been influential because it was original thinking about human development, and many other theorists used his ideas as a starting point. He has also helped those working with children by understanding there is a link between our conscious and unconscious actions. Humanist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) An American psychologist Abraham Maslow was a humanistic psychologist who is most famous for his ‘Hierarchy of Needs’, which is relevant to all ages, not just for children. The five-stage hierarchy of needs is often visually displayed as a pyramid with the largest most important needs at the bottom and the more advanced needs at the top We are born with basic needs for survival, food, water, shelter and sleep which is represented in the first layer. Without these nothing else is possible. Once these needs are met we can progress to the next level which consists of a need for feeling safe and secure. We seek safety from others and strive to be in an environment that keeps us safe and free from harm. The third level is our need for love, our desire for acceptance and our need to fit in. At this level we seek out love, friendships and intimacy. The fourth level is our need for esteem, achievement, education and respect. At this level we focus our attention on self-respect and respect from others. We seek information and knowledge through education, strive to make advancements in our careers and work towards an overall higher self-worth. The fifth and final level in the hierarchy is our need for self-actualisation, the need to reach our fullest  potential with complete understanding of ourselves. According to Maslow very few people if any, master this level. Our basic needs (1st level) are essential for our survival. We need to feel safe (2nd level) before we can develop friendships which will give us a sense of belonging (3rd level). Once we have developed friendships we seek the esteem of self and others (4th level). This demonstrates how each layer must be fulfilled before moving up to a higher level. Maslow’s theories are very relevant to child development and care. Based on his hierarchy of needs a child would find it very hard to learn if their basic needs are not being met, for example a hungry or thirsty child would find it difficult to focus their attention to learn as the most basic need must be met first. A simple solution of snack time in between lessons and having drinking water available would help to overcome this problem. Addressing a child’s most basic needs will help them to grow, learn and develop. Social learning Albert Bandura born 1925, an American psychologist Bandura states that behaviour is learned from the environment, i.e. behaviours of others, and then imitated. His famous experiment in 1961 – the Bobo doll study – involved a film being shown of an adult beating up a Bobo doll and shouting aggressive words. This was then shown to a group of children and after watching the film they were allowed to play in the room that held the Bobo doll. All the children began to beat up the doll and were physically and verbally aggressive towards it, even though nurturing toys were available to play with the doll. They were apparently imitating the actions of the adult they had seen in the film. This was seen as an important break away from the behaviourist theory that behaviour is directed by reinforcement or rewards. The children simply copied the adult’s behaviour. They received no encouragement or reward. Bandura’s theories have an influence on current practice today in the form of positive role modelling. Recognition that child carers have a responsibility to demonstrate positive role modelling, as children will often imitate their behaviour. If aggressive behaviour or frustration is exhibited by the adult it is likely to be imitated by the child. Learning  is acquired by observation and imitation. Operant conditioning B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) An American psychologist. Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning can be described as a process that attempts to modify a behaviour through the use of positive and negative reinforcement. The child will make the association between a particular behaviour and a consequence. The fundamental idea behind this is that behaviours that are reinforced will tend to continue while behaviours that are punished will eventually stop. Positive reinforcement is when a desired behaviour is rewarded positively: for example, when a child completes a set task they would receive a positive response e.g. a sticker, positive praise or maybe free play. Negative reinforcement is more about focussing on the negative behaviours that are to be changed and instilling a sanction or removal of a positive event: for example, a child that is continually exhibiting a negative behaviour, such as disobeying house rules will be told that if this behaviour continues they will lose their gaming machine or similar sanction. In summary if we reward good behaviour we expect that behaviour to continue and if we punish negative behaviour we hope that behaviour will cease. Importantly adults using this theory must make sure that they consistently carry out what they have intended otherwise the system becomes completely ineffective. Skinner’s theories are used widely in childcare today, we actively praise children for positive behaviours and for performing actions correctly; additionally we use the ‘time out’ method for negative behaviour. Behaviourist John B Watson (1878-1958) An American psychologist. Watson believed all learning was gradual and continuous. Development is a sequence of specific conditional behaviours with the main emphasis on the environment not heredity. Observable behaviours were considered to be more important rather that internal events such as thinking because external/observable behaviours could be witnessed and monitored. Watson believed that everyone is born as a ‘blank canvas’ and with the same abilities as each other and that they can be taught and trained to become anything they wish to be. Individuals can be trained to behave in a certain  way. He believed all behaviour is a result of the environment and a response. His work was heavily influenced by physiologist Ivan Pavlov who is famous for his theory based on dogs. Pavlov learned that dogs would begin to salivate in response to seeing a care giver in anticipation of food, rather than just in the response of receiving food. He named this response the ‘Classical Conditioning Theory’. It was Watson’s and Pavlov’s ideas which impacted on that of Skinner’s. We use Watson’s theories today by rewarding good behaviour and punishing negative behaviour. Good behaviour in our classrooms today is often rewarded with stickers, privileges or other positive motivators. To discourage negative behaviours often a stepped warning system is used. A system of planned ignoring is beneficial and often used for dealing with attention seeking behaviour. Social pedagogy Social Pedagogy is a framework that influences current practice by creating a holistic way of working with children by seeking to bring together theories and concepts from education, psychology and sociology. It aims to treat the child as a whole, making sure all their needs are met especially those children with additional needs.

In what way is American TV culture satirised in The Simpsons TV Violence?

Satire is an extensive form of mockery. The Simpsons uses exaggeration and comedy to mock the TV culture of America. In America, at the moment most children tend to go home from school and spend the rest of the night watching TV. This episode is trying to show that TV is killing children's imagination and influencing them negatively. When the children stop liking the cartoons they start going out and playing traditional games like hopscotch, marbles and fishing. In this episode Maggie is influenced negatively by the Itchy and Scratchy cartoons, Marge realises and starts protesting to get them banned. The children then find the new style of the cartoons boring and they go out to play rubbing their eyes, as they are not use to playing outside. The producers use parody, as a form of satire by copying the Psycho scene when Janet Leigh is killed. In the episode, Maggie is watching violent cartoons that influence her. The cartoon shows a mouse and a cat that are endlessly beating each other up. The opening song is catchy, â€Å"We fight, we bite, we fight, we bite, we fight†. In the episode of Itchy and Scratchy, the characters are hitting each other over the heads with mallets. Immediately after she goes down to the basement were Homer is doing some DIY, picks up a mallet and hits Homer with it. This proves that the Itchy and Scratchy Show is influencing the children. The producers of The Simpsons use parody as a technique to satirise the TV culture of America by including the Psycho scene. When Maggie attacks Homer for the first time the directors include the same music and camera angles. This is because Psycho is a well-known horror film, which is easily recognised. From then on, every time Maggie goes to attack Homer they include the same music as if to say she's about to do something evil. This is satire as you just laugh at the thought of a little baby beating her over weight father up and trying to kill him. The Simpsons copies many techniques to parody the Psycho scene but the two most noticeable are the music and camera angles. It uses the same kind of camera angles during the attack to try and make it more dramatic. There is a close up of Homer's mouth just as he realises that Maggie is about to hit him, this is the same as when Janet Leigh is just about to be killed. Also the directors copy the overhead shot of the plug which is faded out to become the eye once the victim had been hit. The music is easily recognisable, as most of the audience have seen the film or would recognise that it is out of a horror film. The audience will hear the music and think that something bad is about to happen. This is because the music is quite slow and quiet, and when there is a quick sudden movement it makes you jump. These techniques combine to make the scene recognisable and easy to relate to. Although it does this, it manages to put its point across in a humorous way. This means that if you were just watching you probably wouldn't think about the meaning behind it, as you know what kind of programme The Simpsons is so would just laugh which is the designed effect. In the second episode of Itchy and Scratchy, the cat and mouse are still trying to beat each other up and so are still influencing in a negative way. Itchy is trying to stab Scratchy and kill him. Immediately afterwards Maggie picks up a pencil and walks over to Homer, Marge spots this and stops her. She looks over at the TV and realises that the cartoon is what is influencing her and wants to do something about it. Marge writes a letter to the producers of Itchy and Scratchy telling them she wants the cartoons changed. In return she receives a letter calling her a â€Å"screwball† and that â€Å"one person cannot make a difference†. This is ironic as America is meant to be a democracy where everyone has freedom of speech and expression. She starts protesting and is invited onto a chat show. The title of the show was â€Å"Are cartoons to violent for children?† which the host replied to by saying, â€Å"of course not, what sort of stupid question is that†. Her they are using parody to satirise talk shows. The host is meant to be neutral but this host is obviously more one sided in the argument. She is given nine seconds to put her point across. So she is not aloud substantial time in order to put her point across. She ends up winning though and the cartoons are changed. The cartoon now begins with the song, â€Å"We love, we share, we love, we share, we care†. The Itchy and Scratchy cartoons are now about happy things and in the one Maggie is watching they are sharing the lemonade. Maggie is once again influenced and she goes over to Homer to give him a glass of lemonade. At first he doesn't know what she is doing and backs off and then he realises that her intentions are good and only wants to give her dad a drink. This shows that she is still being influenced but this time for the better. Once the cartoons have changed the kids do not like them and start going out to play. The music slows down and changes into a piece of happy classical music by Beethoven. The children started playing traditional games such as hopscotch, dancing round the maypoles and used their imagination and spirits to make them fun. Homer referred to this time as â€Å"the golden age† and told Marge that she had â€Å"changed the world for the better†. The children ate their dinner with manners and were polite to their parents. This shows that when children don't spend as much time watching TV they spend their time doing positive, worthwhile thing and are more obedient as TV is no longer poisoning their minds. At the end of the episode Marge lost the argument and the TV went back to having lots of violence. This was because the people did not understand how she could be â€Å"for one form of expression, but not for another†. She didn't feel that anything was wrong with Michel Anglos David, where as the other women in the town felt nudity was evil. The cartoons went back to being more violent than ever and all the children went back inside leaving the playground empty and the music becomes slower and less cheerful. Maggie was again influenced by the cartoons and picked up a toy gun and shoot it at a picture of Homer. In conclusion The Simpsons uses many ways to satirise the TV culture. They use music, parody, and exaggeration. They try to do it in a comic way and get their point across well. It could be argued that the September 11th attack could also have been caused by violence on TV. It may be that the attackers would never have got the ideas if it wasn't for films such as Independence Day. Although The Simpsons is only a cartoon it highlights the influence TV has on the actions of people.

What Is the Hardy-Weinberg Principle

Godfrey Hardy (1877-1947), an English mathematician, and Wilhelm Weinberg (1862-1937), a German physician, both found a way to link genetic probability and evolution in the early 20th century. Hardy and Weinberg independently worked on finding a mathematical equation to explain the link between genetic equilibrium and evolution in a population of species. In fact, Weinberg was the first of the two men to publish and lecture on his ideas of genetic equilibrium in 1908. He presented his findings to the Society for the Natural History of the Fatherland in WÃ ¼rttemberg, Germany in January of that year. Hardys work wasnt published until six months after that, but he received all of the recognition because he published in the English language while Weinbergs was only available in German. It took 35 years before Weinbergs contributions were recognized. Even today, some English texts only refer to the idea as Hardys Law, totally discounting the work of Weinberg. Hardy and Weinberg and Microevolution Charles Darwins Theory of Evolution touched briefly on favorable characteristics being passed down from parents to offspring, but the actual mechanism for that was flawed. Gregor Mendel did not publish his work until after Darwins death. Both Hardy and Weinberg understood that natural selection occurred because of small changes ​within the genes of the species. The focus of Hardys and Weinbergs works was on very small changes at a gene level either due to chance or other circumstances that changed the gene pool of the population. The frequency at which certain alleles appeared changed over generations. This change in frequency of the alleles was the driving force behind evolution at a molecular level, or microevolution. Since Hardy was a very gifted mathematician, he wanted to find an equation that would predict allele frequency in populations so he could find the probability of evolution occurring over a number of generations. Weinberg also independently worked toward the same solution.The Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Equation used the frequency of alleles to predict genotypes and track them over generations. The Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium Equation p2 2pq q2 1 (p the frequency or percentage of the dominant allele in decimal format, q the frequency or percentage of the recessive allele in decimal format) Since p is the frequency of all dominant alleles (A), it counts all of the homozygous dominant individuals (AA) and half of the heterozygous individuals (Aa). Likewise, since q is the frequency of all recessive alleles (a), it counts all of the homozygous recessive individuals (aa) and half of the heterozygous individuals (Aa). Therefore, p2 stands for all homozygous dominant individuals, q2 stands for all homozygous recessive individuals, and 2pq is all heterozygous individuals in a population. Everything is set equal to 1 because all individuals in a population equals 100 percent. This equation can accurately determine whether or not evolution has occurred between generations and in which direction the population is heading. In order for this equation to work, it is assumed that all of the following conditions are not met at the same time: Mutation at a DNA level is not occurring.Natural selection is not occurring.The population is infinitely large.All members of the population are able to breed and do breed.All mating is totally random.All individuals produce the same number of offspring.There is no emigration or immigration occurring. The list above describes causes of evolution. If all of these conditions are met at the same time, then there is no evolution occurring in a population. Since the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Equation is used to predict evolution, a mechanism for evolution must be happening.