Ecological consequences of land clearing and policy reform in Queensland

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 219 ◽  
Author(s):  
April E. Reside ◽  
Jutta Beher ◽  
Anita J. Cosgrove ◽  
Megan C. Evans ◽  
Leonie Seabrook ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Policy Reform ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Land Clearing ◽  
International Commitments ◽  
Australian Community ◽  
History Of ◽  
Effective Policy ◽  
Vegetation Loss

Land clearing threatens biodiversity, impairs the functioning of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, and is a key contributor to human-induced climate change. The rates of land clearing in the State of Queensland, Australia, are at globally significant levels, and have been the subject of intense and polarised political debate. In 2016, a legislative bill that aimed to restore stronger controls over land clearing failed to pass in the Queensland Parliament, despite the clear scientific basis for policy reform. Here, we provide a short history of the recent policy debate over land clearing in Queensland, in the context of its global and national ecological significance. Land clearing affects regional climates, leading to hotter, drier climates that will impact on the Queensland economy and local communities. Loss of habitat from land clearing is a key threatening process for many endangered animals and plants. Runoff from land clearing results in sediment and nutrient enrichment, which threatens the health of the Great Barrier Reef. Australia has made national and international commitments to conserve biodiversity and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but current land clearing policies are not consistent with these commitments. Stronger regulation is needed to reduce vegetation loss, such as target-based regulation, which sets a cap on land clearing and could effectively halt vegetation loss over the long term. Lasting policy reform is required, and we recommend an effective policy mix that restricts clearing, provides economic opportunities for vegetation retention, and informs the Australian community about the value of native vegetation.

Integrative Approach in Law Understanding: the History of the Origin of Ideas and the Current State

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-130
Author(s):  
R. R. Palekha ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Central Place ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Current State ◽  
History Of ◽  
Legal Thinking ◽  
Reliable Knowledge ◽  
The Right ◽  
Fat Formulation

Introduction. Right understanding is the most live, interesting and, at the same time, the uncertain and changeable area of researches which takes the central place as in the general theory of the right, and gains the increasing value in industry jurisprudence that is connected with its considerable teoretiko-methodological and applied potential which is shown in spheres of lawmaking and law-enforcement activity. Thus, right understanding represents research tools of the subject of knowledge which allow to study all range legal and, the based on them, state phenomena for the purpose of obtaining reliable knowledge of state and legal reality. In this regard integrative approach in right understanding which has rich history of the formation and development is of special interest, allows to perceive the right as integrally complete phenomenon, as much as possible retrieves its regulatory abilities and, provides achievement of criteria of scientific research: comprehensiveness, objectivity, historicism. Materials and Methods. In article an attempt of the analysis of integrative approach in right understanding from a position of history of origin of his ideas and assessment of the current state is made. A result of studying of scientific literature, generalization and comparison of the different points of view fat formulation of author’s determination of category “right understanding” and submission of the evidence-based integrative theory of right understanding which as much as possible conforms to requirements of time and has essential regulatory and guarding potential. Results. In article the category right understanding is comprehensively considered, different integrative theories of right understanding from a position of their origin and development are submitted, the value of modern integrative approach in right understanding is shown, perspectives of its further development are evaluated. Discussion and Conclusion. The author comes to the conclusion about the theoretical and methodological consistency and inevitability of the integrative approach in law understanding, which acts as a scientifically grounded type of legal thinking capable of comprehending the law on a truly scientific basis.

scholarly journals Presenting a strong and united front to tobacco industry interference : a content analysis of Australian newspaper coverage of tobacco plain packaging 2008–2014

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. e023485
Author(s):  
Caroline Louise Miller ◽  
Aimee Lee Brownbill ◽  
Joanne Dono ◽  
Kerry Ettridge
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Print Media ◽  
Tobacco Industry ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Plain Packaging ◽  
The Media ◽  
Implementation Delay

ObjectivesIn 2012, Australia was the first country in the world to introduce plain or standardised tobacco packaging, coupled with larger graphic health warnings. This policy was fiercely opposed by industry. Media coverage can be an influential contributor to public debate, and both public health advocates and industry sought media coverage for their positions. The aim of this study was to measure the print media coverage of Australian’s plain packaging laws, from inception to roll-out, in major Australian newspapers.MethodsThis study monitored mainstream Australian print media (17 newspapers) coverage of the plain packaging policy debate and implementation, over a 7-year period from January 2008 to December 2014. Articles (n=701) were coded for article type, opinion slant and topic(s).DesignContent analysis.ResultsCoverage of plain packaging was low during preimplementation phase (2008–2009), increasing sharply in the lead into legislative processes and diminished substantially after implementation. Articles covered policy rationale, policy progress and industry arguments. Of the news articles, 96% were neutrally framed. Of the editorials, 55% were supportive, 28% were opposing, 12% were neutral and 5% were mixed.ConclusionsProtracted political debate, reflected in the media, led to an implementation delay of plain packaging. While Australian media provided comprehensive coverage of industry arguments, news coverage was largely neutral, whereas editorials were mostly supportive or neutral of the policy. Countries seeking to implement plain packaging of tobacco should not be deterred by the volume of news coverage, but should actively promote the evidence for plain packaging in the media to counteract the arguments of the tobacco industry.

The Limits and Ambiguities of the Albanian “National Question” in Post-communism

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odeta Barbullushi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The United States ◽  
Discursive Practice ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
National Question ◽  
Post Communism ◽  
Political Leverage

This article interrogates the mobilization of the Albanian national question in Albania in 2012. The two interrelated questions of the article are why the nationalist card is not used consistently and why it failed to trigger a policy debate, or lead to policy changes. The main argument of the article is that, more than a policy alternative, “national unification” is a discursive practice performing two functions: Externally, it signals sovereignty and subjectivity to the international community in Albania, primarily the European Union (EU) and the United States, and as such it is used for political leverage, particularly at critical moments. Internally, it aims at constructing national cohesion, while drawing identity lines between the main political parties. This is particularly the case in moments of political instability, juncture or pressure, as before elections. However, its limited ability to inform policy and mobilize political action results not only from the demobilizing power of international actors, for example, the EU and the United States, but also the dominant position that a specific discourse of “good Albanian nationalism” holds in the political debate in post-communist Albania.

The history of formation and development of additives to lubricants

2021 ◽  
pp. 43-48
Author(s):  
E.A. Naghieva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Laboratory Staff ◽  
Mineral Oils ◽  
Functional Additives ◽  
History Of ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

The technological development led to the substitution of vegetable and animal oils for the mineral ones. With further development of engine manufacturing, the requirements to the quality of lubricants increased. It was revealed that the mineral oils, as though they are cleaned, do not satisfy the requirements. In this regard, the new method for the improvement of the quality of lubricants is the addition of organic compounds with various functional groups providing the lubricants with set properties into so-called “additives”. In 1945 on the offer of academician U. Mammadaliev a laboratory of the lubricants and additives had been established and leaded by academician A.M. Kuliev under AzNIINP named after V.V. Kuybyshev. Fundamental studies of this staff were considered a basis for the development of industrial production of efficient additives in the former Soviet Union. First developments of the staff related to the depressor and detergent, afterwards to the multi-functional additives. Based on carried out surveys by the laboratory staff the first local additives – depressors AzNII, AzNII-4, AzNII-5, AzNII-TSIATIM etc. have been developed in Azerbaijan. The success of the staff in the studies and developments, as well as the presence of qualified specialists in the chemistry of additives promoted the establishment of the single in our country profiled Institute for the chemistry of additives of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan SSR under the leadership of A.M. Kuliev in 1965. The diapason of fundamental works, enabling to develop the scientific basis of synthesis of efficient additives of optimum structure has been dramatically increased. Numerous efficient additives of various purpose have been obtained. The lubricants are being used in all spheres of the economy.

Diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorders in DSM-IV: Scientific Basis and Implications for Education

1993 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith McBurnett ◽  
Benjamin B. Lahey ◽  
Linda J. Pfiffner
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
History Of ◽  
Dsm Iv ◽  
Symptom List

The category of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) have undergone numerous revisions. The history of these revisions is briefly presented, followed by a summary of results of the Field Trials for the forthcoming fourth edition, the DSM-IV, regarding ADHD. The revised symptom list and empirical determination of symptom cutpoints resulted in increased reliability and predictive validity for educational impairment, as operationalized by measures of academic productivity and accuracy, for the new criteria. Three subtypes emerged, including a new subtype of predominantly hyperactive. The relevance, functions, and limitations of DSM-IV diagnosis for educational assessment of ADHD are discussed.

Indigenous Nations and US Foreign Relations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Parmenter
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Weight Of Evidence ◽  
International Commitments ◽  
Indigenous Nations ◽  
History Of ◽  
American Foreign Relations ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Relationship

The United States has engaged with Indigenous nations on a government-to-government basis via federal treaties representing substantial international commitments since the origins of the republic. The first treaties sent to the Senate for ratification under the Constitution of 1789 were treaties with Indigenous nations. Treaties with Indigenous nations provided the means by which approximately one billion acres of land entered the national domain of the United States prior to 1900, at an average price of seventy-five cents per acre – the United States confiscated or claimed another billion acres of Indigenous land without compensation. Despite subsequent efforts of American federal authorities to alter these arrangements, the weight of evidence indicates that the relationship remains primarily one of a nation-to-nation association. Integration of the history of federal relations with Indigenous nations with American foreign relations history sheds important new light on the fundamental linkages between these seemingly distinct state practices from the beginnings of the American republic.

The environmental history of Australian rivers: a neglected field of opportunity?

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul I. Boon
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Environmental History ◽  
Historical Ecology ◽  
Numerical Data ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Capital Cities ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Australian Community ◽  
History Of

Historical ecology documents environmental change with scientific precepts, commonly by using statistical analyses of numerical data to test specific hypotheses. It is usually undertaken by ecologists. An alternative approach to understanding the natural world, undertaken instead by historians, geographers, sociologists, resource economists or literary critics, is environmental history. It attempts to explain in cultural terms why and how environmental change takes place. This essay outlines 10 case studies that show how rivers have affected perceptions and attitudes of the Australian community over the past 200+ years. They examine the influence at two contrasting scales, namely, the collective and the personal, by investigating the role that rivers had in the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788, the establishment of capital cities, perceptions of and attitudes to the environment informed by explorers’ accounts of their journeys through inland Australia, the push for closer settlement by harnessing the country’s rivers for navigation and irrigation, anxiety about defence and national security, and the solastalgia occasioned by chronic environmental degradation. Historical ecology and environmental history are complementary intellectual approaches, and increased collaboration across the two disciplines should yield many benefits to historians, to ecologists, and to the conservation of Australian rivers more widely.

scholarly journals Highights in the History of Epilepsy: The Last 200 Years

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanouil Magiorkinis ◽  
Aristidis Diamantis ◽  
Kalliopi Sidiropoulou ◽  
Christos Panteliadis
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Advanced Imaging ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Epilepsy ◽  
The 19Th Century

The purpose of this study was to present the evolution of views on epilepsy as a disease and symptom during the 19th and the 20th century. A thorough study of texts, medical books, and reports along with a review of the available literature in PubMed was undertaken. The 19th century is marked by the works of the French medical school and of John Hughlings Jackson who set the research on epilepsy on a solid scientific basis. During the 20th century, the invention of EEG, the advance in neurosurgery, the discovery of antiepileptic drugs, and the delineation of underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, were the most significant advances in the field of research in epilepsy. Among the most prestigious physicians connected with epilepsy one can pinpoint the work of Henry Gastaut, Wilder Penfield, and Herbert Jasper. The most recent advances in the field of epilepsy include the development of advanced imaging techniques, the development of microsurgery, and the research on the connection between genetic factors and epileptic seizures.

Hidden challenges: Sex offenders legislated into homelessness

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 348-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill S Levenson
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Grand Challenge ◽  
Criminal Offenders ◽  
The Past ◽  
Empirically Supported ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Sexual Perpetration ◽  
History Of

Summary Zoning laws that prevent sex offenders from living within close proximity to schools and other places where children congregate have proliferated over the past 10 years. In many communities, few dwellings are compliant with these laws, causing sex offenders to become homeless. First, a brief history of residence restriction laws will be provided and then the research around their impact and effectiveness will be summarized, followed by empirically supported recommendations for reform. Findings Legislating individuals into homelessness is not sound social policy, nor is it humane. These laws do not conform to what is known about patterns of sexual perpetration and victimization, and thus do little to prevent recidivistic sexual violence. In fact, these policies may undermine the very factors shown by research to be associated with positive reentry and reduced recidivism. Applications The grand challenge of social justice requires social workers to advocate on behalf of those who are marginalized in our communities including criminal offenders. Research-based policy reform can result in improved public safety outcomes and social justice in our communities.

Revising the History of Machiavellism: English Machiavellism and the Doctrine of Things Indifferent

1993 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 526-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Kahn
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
English Renaissance ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Renaissance England ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common

We should be careful since not all indifferent things which appear indifferent are. Florentines can disguise and color any thing; and it is now adays the common exercise of the greatest wits of the world to transform good into evil, evil into good, and both into indifferent; so that in these days scant any thing is as it appears, or appears as it is.In linking the rhetorical machinations of the “Florentine” or stereotypical Machiavel with sixteenth- and seventeenth-century theological and political debate concerning the doctrine of “things indifferent,” this quotation from William Bradshaw invites us to reconsider the usual histories of Machiavellism in Renaissance England. In particular, it suggests that the association of Machiavelli with rhetoric in the English Renaissance is more complicated than it might first appear.

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