If trees could talk: the Derby Prison Boab Tree and the punitive landscape of northwest Western Australia

Structural Basis of the Catalytic Mechanism Operating in Open-Closed Conformers of Lipocalin Type Prostaglandin D Synthase

The rise in the incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers is a major public health issue with multiple sequelae for Aboriginal children and the cohesiveness of Aboriginal communities. The purpose of this paper is to review the available literature relating to Australian Aboriginal women prisoners' experiences of being a mother. The literature search covered bibliographic databases from criminology, sociology and anthropology, and Australian history. The authors review the literature on: traditional and contemporary Aboriginal mothering roles, values and practices; historical accounts of the impacts of white settlement of Australia and subsequent Aboriginal affairs policies and practices; and women's and mothers' experiences of imprisonment. The review found that the cultural experiences of mothering are unique to Aboriginal mothers and contrasted to non-Aboriginal concepts. The ways that incarceration of Aboriginal mothers disrupts child rearing practices within the cultural kinship system are identified. Aboriginal women have unique circumstances relevant to the concept of motherhood that need to be understood to develop culturally relevant policy and programs. The burden of disease and cycle of incarceration within Aboriginal families can be addressed by improving health outcomes for incarcerated Aboriginal mothers and female carers. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first literature review on Australian Aboriginal women prisoners' experiences of being a mother.

Aim To understand how natural geomorphological features and oil and gas platforms (OG platforms) influence the habitat use and seascape connectivity of the whale shark ( Rhincodon typus ). Location East‐Indian Ocean and North‐West Australia. Methods We compiled a satellite tracking dataset of 78 whale sharks tagged across a 14‐year period at Ningaloo Reef and Shark Bay World Heritage Areas in Western Australia to develop spatial networks for the regions of the East‐Indian Ocean and North‐West Australia. We then applied a Bayesian modelling framework to assess the effects of natural features and OG platforms on spatial patterns and habitat connectivity. Results Geomorphological features such as pinnacles, canyons, and seamounts promoted habitat connectivity and strongly influenced the habitat use of whale sharks across both regional (1000's km; East‐Indian Ocean) and local (100's km; North‐West Australia) spatial scales. In the North‐West of Australia, OG platforms had similar effects on habitat use as natural feature types and also enhanced habitat connectivity. The OG platforms most visited by whale sharks were situated close to the edge of the continental shelf and near natural geomorphological features that likely enhance productivity. Main Conclusion Our work identified natural geomorphological features that promoted habitat use and connectivity for whale sharks across oceanic and coastal seascapes. Sharks routinely visited OG platforms, which acted as migratory stepping stones that further enhanced habitat connectivity. Protection of natural feature types that promote habitat use and connectivity could assist conservation management of whale sharks. We suggest that the influence of OG platforms on their movement and habitat use beyond individual structures, should be considered in environmental impact assessments during operation and decommissioning phases.

BackgroundPrison populations are known to be at high risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and blood borne viruses (BBVs). In accordance with State health guidelines, the Western Australian Department of Correctional Services' policy is to offer testing for STIs and BBVs to all new prison entrants. This audit was undertaken to assess the completeness and timeliness of STI and BBV testing among recent prison entrants in Western Australia, and estimate the prevalence of STIs and BBVs on admission to prison.MethodsA retrospective audit of prison medical records was conducted among 946 individuals admitted to prison in Western Australia after the 1st January 2005, and discharged between the 1st January and 31st December 2007 inclusive. Quota sampling was used to ensure adequate sampling of females, juveniles, and individuals from regional prisons. Main outcomes of interest were the proportion of prisoners undergoing STI and BBV testing, and the prevalence of STIs and BBVs.ResultsApproximately half the sample underwent testing for the STIs chlamydia and gonorrhoea, and almost 40% underwent testing for at least one BBV. Completeness of chlamydia and gonorrhoea testing was significantly higher among juveniles (84.1%) compared with adults (39.8%; p < 0.001), and Aboriginal prisoners (58.3%) compared with non-Aboriginal prisoners (40.4%; p < 0.001). Completeness of BBV testing was significantly higher among adults (46.5%) compared with juveniles (15.8%; p < 0.001) and males (43.3%) compared with females (33.1%; p = 0.001). Among prisoners who underwent testing, 7.3% had a positive chlamydia test result and 24.8% had a positive hepatitis C test result.ConclusionThe documented coverage of STI and BBV testing among prisoners in Western Australia is not comprehensive, and varies significantly by age, gender and Aboriginality. Given the high prevalence of STIs and BBVs among prisoners, increased test coverage is required to ensure optimal use of the opportunity that prison admission presents for the treatment and control of STIs and BBVs among this high risk group.

Failure rate analysis (Stollmack and Harris, 1974; Maltz and McCleary, 1977) is used to study the recidivism of all prisoners released for the first time between July 1975 and June 1984 from Western Australian prisons (n = 11,262). Recidivism is defined as reincarceration and excludes convictions involving other penal sanctions. Prisoners serving sentences in police lock-ups, remanded in custody, or sentenced to imprisonment prior to July 1975 were also excluded. Estimates of the ultimate probability of recidivism for this population and various subgroups describe recidivism for race, sex, age, offense, and other variables, confirming a classic failure profile with strong distinctions by these factors, particularly race. Overall, the probability of recidivism for aboriginal male prisoners was 80% (SE 2%) and for nonaboriginal males was 48% (SE 2%) and the median times to fail for these groups were 11 months and 18 months, respectively. Female aboriginal recidivism was 75% (SE 6%) and female nonaboriginal recidivism was 29% (SE 7%) and the median times to fail were 16 months and 19 months, respectively. Higher recidivism was observed for male, and young prisoners. Other variables considered include major offense (at first receival), actual time served, sentence type, prison (at exit), and marital, educational, and employment status. Lower recidivism was observed for nonaboriginal prisoners incarcerated longer and for more serious offenses. Participation in work release and financial assistance on release was also associated with lower recidivism. The time to fail was consistently much shorter for aboriginals across all factors than for nonaboriginal prisoners. A general downward trend in recidivism was found between the years 1975 through 1976 and 1978 through 1979 although it was less marked for aboriginal prisoners and did not continue beyond the period 1980-1981. The contribution of aboriginal recidivism to high rates of imprisonment in Western Australia is discussed in relation to the utility of imprisonment. The limitations and merits of failure rate analysis in recidivism studies are considered.

Risk of death in prisoners after release from jail

Rottnest Island Prison was established in 1838. Situated 18 kilometers off the coast of Western Australia (WA), adjacent to the capital city of Perth, it is Australia's first and only mass segregation of Aboriginal people in a racially determined prison. It served this purpose for almost 100 years, finally closing in 1931, after incarcerating up to 4,000 people captured from different Aboriginal nations all over the State of Western Australia (Green and Moon 1997: 380). Despite its significance, its role as the first and longest operating Australian Aboriginal prison site remains hidden beneath national forgetting. In the 85 years since the last Aboriginal prisoners left in 1931, government and local authorities have largely ignored the presence of the former prison on Rottnest Island and inadequately signposted its history. However, its natural heritage and tourism value were recognized very quickly. In 1917, Rottnest Island was declared an A-Class Reserve (State Records Office of Western Australia 2015) and since the 1920s has been reimagined as a place of pleasure and escape for non-Aboriginal Australians. National Trust Australia (Heritage Council State Heritage Office 2012a) classified the island as a significant heritage place in 1993, while a number of colonial buildings, such as Rottnest Island Hotel, are listed on the WA State Heritage Register (Heritage Council State Heritage Office 2012b), with the notable exclusion of the Quod (the Prison—see below).

Missed Opportunities for Culturally Appropriate Imprisonment of APY Offenders: The Cross Border Justice Act 2009 (SA)

Identifying the documentary and archaeological indications of torture, punishment, discipline and imprisonment are key factors in addressing the ways in which society exerts its control over the individual; particularly the non‐conformist, the criminal, the indentured and the enslaved. Expressions of forced labour control are quite common in the archaeological record, at places such as large institutions, plantations, mining towns and industrial sites. But there are distinct differences between criminal imprisonment and racial enslavement, which become evident when one examines the permeability and persistence of physical and social boundaries. The ways in which Euro‐Australian and Aboriginal prisoners were treated in nineteenth century Western Australia gave rise to a system in which physical boundaries were more or less permeable for one group, but not the other. Although it was outlawed by the British Parliament just a few years after the Swan River Colony was established, both formal and informal types of incipient slavery seem to have persisted in the guise of forced incarceration, indentured servitude and illicit abductions. This was, in a way, reminiscent of the enslavement of native North Americans in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Several examples are provided to illustrate these ideas.

Marilyn Lake, Getting Equal: The History of Australian Feminism, Allen and Unwin, 1999, pp 316, pb $24.95. Neville Green and Susan Moon, Far From Home: Aboriginal Prisoners on Rottnest Island, 1838‐1931 (Dictionary of Western Australians, Volume X) Nedlands, University of Western Australia Press, pp viii+365, pb $45.00. Huggins, Jackie, Sister Girl, The Writings of Aboriginal Activist and Historian Jackie Huggins, St Lucia, UQP, 1998, pp 152, pb $18.95. Wark, MacKenzie, Celebrities, Culture and Cyberspace: The Light on the Hill in a Postmodern World, Annandale, Pluto, 1999, pp 372, pb $24.95. Lily Brett, Too Many Men, Sydney, Picador, 1999, pp 714, $29.95 pb; and Lily Brett, Collected Stories, St Lucia, UQP, 1999, pp 444, pb $19.95. Russell McGregor, Imagined Destinies: Aboriginal Australians and the Doomed Race Theory, 1880‐1939, Carlton, Victoria, Melbourne University Press, 1997, pp 313, pb $29.95. Bain Attwood and Andrew Markus (eds), The Struggle for Aboriginal Rights: A Documentary History, Sydney, Allen and Unwin, 1999, pp 375 + xxii, pb $29.95; Max Charlesworth (ed.), Religious Business: Essays on Australian Aboriginal Spirituality, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp 206 + xxvi, pb $29.95. Magdalene Williams, Ngay Janijirr Ngank: This is My Word, Pat Torres (ed.), Broome, Magabala Books, 1999, pp 121, pb $16.95. Diane Bell, Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin: A World That Is, Was, and Will Be, Melbourne, Spinifex Press, 1998, pp 688, pb $29.95. DWA Baker, Preacher, Politician, Patriot, A Life of John Dunmore Lang, Melbourne University Press, 1998, pb $29.95; and D Headon and E Perkins (eds), Our First Republicans, Lang, Harpur, Deniehy, The Federation Press, 1998, pb $29.95. Cassandra Pybus, The Devil and James McAuley, St Lucia, UQP, August 1999, pp 323, hb $34.95. Peter Read, A Rape of the Soul so Profound, St Leonards, Allen and Unwin, 1999, pb $19.9S. John Mulvaney and Johan Kamminga Prehistory of Australia, St Leonards, Allen and Unwin, 1999, pp xii + 480, pb $39.95.

The paper explores and analyzes similarities and differences between French settler colonialism in Algeria and Jewish Zionist settler colonialism in Palestine. This study focuses on the history and historical development of French settler colonialism and Jewish Zionist settler colonialism by deploying the analytical framework of settler colonialism, and the comparative history of settler colonialism. Settler colonial studies and comparative settler colonialism allow for gaining insight into the genesis, and development of settler colonies. The intention behind the application of comparative settler colonialism, specifically in juxtaposing French settler colonialism in Algeria and Jewish Zionist settler colonialism in Palestine is to identify overlaps, similarities as well as differences between these settler polities. The results of this study have shown that French and Zionist settler colonialism share numerous similarities and features. The most important feature that these settler colonialisms adhere to is the logic of elimination, which is defined as policies and practices of settler colonial policies aimed at the dispossession, displacement, ethnic cleansing, genocide, as well as cultural assimilation of the indigenous populations. In this case, both French and Zionist settler colonialisms have subscribed and followed the logic of the elimination of the natives. Yet as opposed to French settler colonialism, Zionist settler colonialism has been less interested in cultural assimilation and integration of the indigenous people of Palestine into settler society. Another conspicuous difference between French and Zionist settler colonialism is that while French settler colonialism is already defunct, Zionist settler colonialism has managed to survive and persist. The current study contributes to settler colonial studies and the comparative history of settler colonialism. Moreover, our research can inform other studies in the field of settler colonialism, and we suggest that more research into comparative settler colonialism needs to be undertaken.

This thesis compares fluctuating views of colonial dwellings in nineteenth and twentieth century Colombo (Sri Lanka), and Brisbane (Australia). It explores how dwellings built for elites of the colonial period have undergone changes over time; in response to changes in societies, and expectations of social status. Through the comparison of two distinct former colonies, a transient and a settler colony, this thesis will highlight how within colonial dwellings, colonial histories are viewed and reflected in contemporary society.Elites of the countries monopolised associations with, set expectations for, and established standards in colonial dwellings: Sri Lanka experienced a drastic change in ruling class post-independence, while within Australia, the social hierarchy of the settlers evolved gradually. The domestic architecture reflects this continuous evolution of postcolonial society in relation to reminders of the colonial past. Colonial dwellings of Brisbane have played an integral role in the development of a regional architectural type; in Colombo colonial dwellings continued to influence postcolonial architecture and society.How did colonial dwellings relate to the lifestyles of elites? How are colonial dwellings being occupied and used in (post) colonial as well as contemporary society? How do contemporary iterations of colonial dwellings view their (colonial) histories? The comparison of colonial dwellings, parallel to changes in societies, and the evaluation of the structure, people, use, and motivations, will answer these questions.Secondary research supplemented by novels, memoirs, and photographs will create a comprehensive foundation regarding dwellings of the colonial era; while case studies support the arguments regarding contemporary perceptions and uses. The narratives presented through interviews will provide raw insights into the mindset of the users of the dwelling, allowing this thesis to view their actions with regards to the dwellings and the motivations behind them.Thus, this thesis investigates how the structural and social differences present in Colombo and Brisbane are reflected in colonial dwellings as they evolved through the (post) colonial era to the present.

If intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) grow efficiently in gas disks around supermassive black holes, their host active galactic nucleus (AGN) disks should exhibit myriad observational signatures. Gap-opening IMBHs in AGN disks can exhibit spectral features and variability analagous to gapped protoplanetary disks. A gap-opening IMBH in the innermost disk imprints ripples and oscillations on the broad Fe K$\alpha$ line which may be detectable with future X-ray missions. A non-gap-opening IMBH will accrete and produce a soft X-ray excess relative to continuum emission. An IMBH on a retrograde orbit in an AGN disk will not open a gap and will generate soft X-rays from a bow-shock 'headwind'. Accreting IMBH in a large cavity can generate ULX-like X-ray luminosities and LINER-like optical line ratios from local ionized gas. We propose that many LINERs house a weakly accreting MBH binary in a large central disk cavity and will be luminous sources of gravitational waves (GW). IMBHs in galactic nuclei may also be detected via intermittent observational signatures including: UV/X-ray flares due to tidal disruption events, asymmetric X-ray intensity distributions as revealed by AGN transits, quasi-periodic oscillations and underluminous Type Ia supernovae. GW emitted during IMBH inspiral and collisions may be detected with eLISA and LIGO, particularly from LINERs. We summarize observational signatures and compare to current data where possible or suggest future observations.

This article examines the ecological sublime in its relationship to the history of colonial aesthetics, anticolonial thought, and contemporary colonialism. It argues that, while Edmund Burke utilized the sublime in support of colonialism (including settler colonialism) in North America and colonial slavery, Samson Occom and Ottobah Cugoano developed versions of the sublime to contest British colonialism in the Americas. The history of this aesthetic contestation has not been represented in scholarship on the ecological sublime, which, this article shows, has a vexed relationship with historical and contemporary colonialism. The article argues that the ecological sublime exhibits the “double fracture” of modernity in its inadequate handling of the history of colonialism and environmentalism. It concludes by evaluating the potential of the ecological sublime for anticolonial uses by Indigenous and Black thinkers.

Reviewed by: A Legacy of Exploitation: Early Capitalism in the Red River Colony, 1763–1821 by Susan Dianne Brophy Ted Binnema Brophy, Susan Dianne–A Legacy of Exploitation: Early Capitalism in the Red River Colony, 1763–1821. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2022. 298 p. Susan Brophy explains that two events—the production of celebratory vignettes by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 2015 and the public inquiry that followed the 2014 murder of Tina Fontaine—inspired this book. It examines the history of the Red River Colony, primarily between 1812 and 1817, as a case study. Brophy approaches the history of the colony through a Marxist framework which she has modified to be “more appropriate for the study of settler colonialism” (p. 5). Her central arguments are not about the Red River Colony per se. In her introduction, Brophy explains that her “objective in this book is to contest two rival ideas: that the transition to capitalism and settler colonialism alike necessarily entailed a shift from violent chaos to peaceful order, and that the relative lack of violence as the direct, primary means of compulsion in exchanges with Indigenous producers implied equanimity or complicity” (p. 10). And on the second-last page of the book, she concludes that “patently, the existing Marxist framework for understanding capitalism as a mode of production requires a foundational rethink when it comes to the settler colonial context, and my close study of the Red River Colony lends veracity to this thesis” (pp. 186–187). Scholars interested in developing an increasingly nuanced and sophisticated Marxist lens through which to understand the process of dialectical materialism may appreciate this new book, but those interested in a contextual history of the Red River Colony will be disappointed in it. Unlike many scholarly studies that relegate theoretical discussions almost solely to introductions and conclusions, theoretical considerations permeate throughout. Finding the framework established by Marx and Engels inadequate, Brophy relies heavily on the work of Marxist revolutionary, Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919), a scholar who thought about the historical connection between capitalism and imperialism. In her Accumulation of Capital (1913), Luxemburg argued that capitalism could persist (workers within the capitalist mode of production could afford the goods they produced) only if capitalists were permitted to exploit people outside the mode of production to purchase its surplus goods, supply inexpensive resources, and provide cheap labour. Luxemburg argued, however, that “natural economies”—ones in which there was little surplus production, little demand for foreign products, and a close connection between the means of production and labour—were useless to capitalists, and therefore capitalists need to annihilate or transform such economies. She averred that any evidence that these transformations were peaceful is illusory. The framework put forward by Luxemburg, with some modification, is the one upon which Brophy bases her analysis and arguments. Brophy appears to have begun with a position and sought to gather the evidence to support it. Ignoring almost all of the relevant documents in the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, Brophy appears to assume a Romantic image of Indigenous societies and economies, and the motivations that led Indigenous people to participate in the fur trade. While Brophy claims to take Indigenous people seriously, she portrays them very superficially, without attention to the complex circumstances they faced. Instead, she finds them interesting only insofar as they shed light on the [End Page 194] newcomers. Documents can certainly be mined to find enough evidence to make some of her arguments plausible—for example that the “relative autonomy of the Indigenous producers was a primary factor in the merger” of the Hudson’s Bay Company and North West Company (p. 182). However, even though she recognizes Indigenous agency, Indigenous people are nonetheless reduced to bit players in the service of a grand theory that the history of Red River was “a microcosm of the larger transition to capitalism that occurred in the settler colonial context of Canada” (p. 185). The typical historian’s attention to the thoughts and intentions of the historical actors (Indigenous or non-Indigenous) is rarely evident. Brophy interprets historical events and developments superficially, emphasizing the evidence that can support her interpretation, but neglecting other evidence. The treatment of...