Traditional Ownership Research Articles

Ownership and Control in Australia's Air Services Agreements: Further Reform Needed for Genuine Commercial Freedom?

Australian bilateral air services agreements, like those all around the world, invariably contain an airline nationality clause. Most such clauses restrict designation to airlines “substantially owned and effectively controlled” by the state of designation and/or its nationals. A key feature of the bilateral regulatory framework, ownership and control clauses work to restrict the benefit of an air services agreement to the signatory states and lock out third parties. Uncontroversial and rarely problematic in the days of the government-owned flag carrier, the requirement is now a serious obstacle to meaningful liberalisation in the commercial aviation sector.The free flow of capital is axiomatic of globalisation. Commercial decisions can be taken with relative freedom from artificial nationality distinctions. Rationalisation along efficiency lines, accordingly, is the norm in global markets. The airline business, however, is treated differently. Ownership and control restrictions isolate the airlines and curtail the ability to access capital, consolidate across borders and establish in new markets. Prospective efficiency gains are forgone. Many suggest, on reasonable grounds, that the future health and prosperity of the industry and the broader marketplace is dependent on relaxation of these restrictions. Commercial aviation, they posit, should be treated “just like any other business.” Australia considers itself at the forefront of liberalisation initiatives. It is party to 3 open skies agreements, one of which comprises the Single Aviation Market with New Zealand, and is presently, it is reported, negotiating a further substantive agreement with the EU. Foreign ownership restrictions for Australian airlines have been progressively reduced and, most notably, 100% foreign ownership is permitted for domestic airlines. However, like many other nations, Australia is still bound by traditional ownership and control restrictions in many of its approximately 70 bilateral agreements. Reform on a point has been slow and, as this paper will argue, further action is needed.

Multi-agent-based Pay-Per-Use (PpU) distributed manufacturing

This paper presents the research on the use of the internet and multi-agent technologies to construct a Pay-Per-Use (PpU) Distributed Manufacturing (DM) platform on which service providers can offer their services and clients can access services on-demand. Instead of the traditional ownership of manufacturing resources and licensing services, the PpU service is a type of service where clients can have access to manufacturing resources but will only need to pay for what they have actually used. With PpU, the clients no longer need to own or maintain expensive software and hardware tools, but request use on-demand through the PpU platform.

Welcome to Country … Not.

ABSTRACT It seems that every public function I attend includes a ‘welcome to country’ speech presented by a representative of a local Aboriginal group claiming traditional ownership of the land where the gathering is conducted. Indeed, while it was already becoming customary for white officials to acknowledge traditional Aboriginal ownership prior to introducing any kind of its own business in recent years, it seems to have become de rigueur since the 42nd Federal Parliament was opened with a ‘Welcome to Country’ speech from a Ngunnawal representative in February, 2008. As this paper demonstrates, welcome to country might be understood by whites as a ‘safe’ kind of inclusive gesture of recognition all the time knowing that such claims are not legally enforceable. But, as the two ethnographic examples I present in this article demonstrate, Indigenous agency, once acknowledged in performance, cannot be fully directed by the nation state to serve its own ends.

Web 2.0 rollercoaster. A ride we should all take

Web 2.0 rollercoaster. A ride we should all take

The Scramble for the Arctic and International Law

The Arctic has for long been a portion of the earth surface that is characterised by severe atmospheric condition as a result of the huge amount of ice formations. As a matter of fact, about seventy five percent of the arctic regions are inhabitable due to the extreme coldness of the area. Over time, countries of the world especially those who surround the region do not see much importance in the sovereignty of the region despite the vast resources underneath the ice formations. With the recent depletion of the ozone layer and the attendant consequence of the melting of the region, the arctic is becoming more and more accessible with the modern sophisticated vessels. It has also been recently discovered that about 25% of World's undiscovered oil and gas remain locked up deep beneath the frigid waters. Hence the recent global energy crisis will definitely draws the attention of every country on the arctic axis to exert some form of ownership or the other over the region. This paper will therefore examine the controversy surrounding the ownership of the arctic vis-a-vis the traditional ownership theories and the recent UNCLOS regime as it affects the arctic.

Economic Returns for Purchased or Contract‐Grazed Stockers on Marshall Annual Ryegrass

Output and profitability of stocker production depend largely on stocking rate, but the optimal stocking rate may be different for contract grazing and traditional ownership of cattle (Bos taurus). Little previous research has been conducted on economic returns under contract grazing for different stocking rates. Data from a grazing experiment performed at the E.V. Smith Research Center (Macon County, Alabama) in 2004 were used in an analysis of the economic benefits of contract grazing vs. traditional ownership. In the experiment, the highest stocking rate (SR) resulted in the maximum gain ha−1 (G) but not always the maximum return ha−1. For traditional ownership, returns ha−1 were highest at 6.17 steers ha−1 under typical price margins. Under contract grazing, the highest experimental stocking rate (7.41 steers ha−1) produced the highest returns. If resources to purchase cattle are not limited, traditional ownership was superior to contract grazing under all but extremely unfavorable price margins. If capital to purchase stockers is limited, contract grazing may provide higher total returns. Shrinkage level can influence the relative profitability of contract grazing versus traditional ownership. Contract grazing may be preferred in some situations with high expected shrinkage, where ownership would be preferred with lower expected shrinkage.

“Which Way?”

For thirty years, Australian Aboriginal witnesses have been subjected to varying degrees of oppression in land claim and native title cases. Each legal arena requires Aboriginal witnesses to demonstrate their traditional connections to Aboriginal land. Some witnesses appear reticent or even inarticulate, despite their actual, considerable knowledge of Aboriginal traditions. However, there are also highly acculturated Aboriginal witnesses; ironically, such witnesses may be criticized by opposing counsel essentially for their Anglo-Australian cultural literacy, so that such witnesses will be depicted as not, or less, “traditional” than their less acculturated counterparts and, therefore, have their status as Aboriginal traditional owners of land discounted—or at least questioned. For these vulnerable witnesses, there is a Catch-22 cleavage: if you are articulate, you appear less traditional; if you are inarticulate, you may appear traditional, but it is difficult for the tribunal to assess your claim to traditional ownership of land.

Does Regulation Substitute or Complement Governance?

We examine whether firms utilize governance systems and increased monitoring mechanisms when information asymmetry and managerial discretion are limited. Given that such monitoring is costly, we expect regulated firms to use less monitoring if regulation substitutes for governance. Using data from initial public offerings, we document that regulated firms have greater proportions of monitoring directors and larger boards as well as use similar amounts of equity-based compensation as non-regulated firms. Further, regulated and unregulated firms are analogous in terms of observed trade-offs between traditional monitoring mechanisms and insider ownership. Finally, regulated firms appear to decrease monitoring following a period of deregulation. These findings support the hypothesis that regulation and governance are complements and are consistent with the notion that regulators pressure firms to adopt effective monitoring structures.

Analysis of land-cover/use change dynamics in Manica Province in Mozambique in a period of transition (1990–2004)

The land-cover/use change dynamics in Manica Province in Mozambique are analysed, based upon interpretation of LANDSAT images, to assess trends and highlight management suggestions considering current policies in place that include the ownership and participation of local communities in natural resources management and the recognition of traditional ownership systems. Applying an object-oriented approach to compare the year 2004 with 1990, one observes that land-cover/use changes are not distributed evenly in the province. A substantial decrease in areas with trees belonging to the ‘ miombo ecosystem’ occurred and an increase of cultivated areas. The nature of agriculture is changing from shifting cultivation to more permanent types. These changes are found in prevalence on gentle slopes and close to the road network. The shift in equilibrium between the cultivated and (semi-) natural vegetated areas to cultivated areas may reduce the availability of forest products and reduce the free ecological services provided by trees. Prolonged cultivation in the same area represents a critical limit for destruction of rootstock and therefore miombo regrowth potential. Community-based management of the natural resources should thus be careful not to disturb the delicate balance of remaining miombo and give emphasis to the regulation of land-use activities, otherwise the negative impacts of land-cover/use change dynamics may fall disproportionately on the poorest members of society.

From public open access to common property: the prospects and challenges of institutionalizing boundaries for self-governance and management of community irrigation dams in the Upper East Region, Ghana

The Hardian solutions to the excessive abuses of common-pool resources are still being contested. On the one hand public ownership is seen as a major draw back to the efficient and sustainable management of common-pool resources, and on the other the challenges of private ownership in addressing issues of equity and access. Self-governing community management groups are now seen as the panacea. The paper explores the mechanisms that the Water User Associations are using to address the critical issues of boundaries. It addresses three interrelated questions, i.e. how do communities: (1) delimit the territoriality of their irrigation schemes? (2) define authority spheres within the context of the traditional land ownership system? (3) define the limits of each individual user within the context of competing users such that conflicts are minimized? The central finding is that, although successes are not uniform across the board, the WUAs are employing ingenious mechanisms to define clear resource, authority and user boundaries to enable them set up workable systems for self-governance and the management of their communal dams in more sustainable ways. On the basis of the findings, it is recommended that for a lasting impact, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) will need to assist the emerging WUAs in this process of institutionalization. Ghana Journal of Development Studies Vol. 3(1) 2006: 102-118

Chinese construction firms in reform

Since the economic reforms that began 20 years ago, and especially with the enterprise reforms in recent years, ownership of Chinese construction firms has evolved from traditional state and collective ownership towards a mixed economy characterised by diversified ownership forms. Based on a questionnaire survey and personal interviews with individuals from firms representing four types of ownership, it has been determined that the majority of Chinese construction firms have already embraced commercial objectives and behaviour patterns similar to those of typical firms in developed market economies. Nevertheless, despite the important progress that the reforms have made, this study indicated that various construction firms during this transition are suffering serious difficulties caused by the former planned system and underdeveloped market mechanisms. Unfair practices were found to be quite serious in the construction market. Major problems stem from clients' abnormal behaviour in forcing the price down, asking contractors to finance a project wholly or partially during its construction, and delays in payment; these actions have caused severe financial difficulties to Chinese firms and seriously disrupted the normal order of market stability.

Returns to Schooling in China Under Planning and Reform

We estimate returns to schooling using a retrospective work history survey covering more than 4,000 workers over the period 1950 to 1994, with particular emphasis to the returns to schooling for workers who attended institutes of higher education and who graduated from college. We find evidence that schooling returns declined throughout the period leading up to the Cultural Revolution (CR), with returns for workers who did not attend college becoming negligible. Returns to those with some college education remained positive, but low compared to other countries. Consistent with other studies, we find that returns to schooling did not recover from their CR low until the 1990s. Increases in the return to schooling during the transition following the CR were not associated directly with workers changing jobs or with taking new-economy jobs but appear to have occurred for most workers across all ownership categories. Workers most likely to leave jobs in the traditional ownership sector for jobs in the private or joint venture categories were those who entered the labor force prior to 1967. We do not find evidence supporting other studies' finding that schooling returns for college graduates increased more than for workers with lower levels of schooling attainment.

Returns to schooling in China under planning and reform

Using retrospective data covering the period from 1950 to 1994, we find that schooling returns declined prior to the Cultural Revolution (CR) and returns for non-college graduates becoming negligible. Returns to those with some college education remained low compared to other countries. Consistent with other studies, returns to schooling did not recover from their CR low until the 1990s. Increases in returns were not associated directly with changing jobs or with taking new-economy jobs. The workers most likely to leave jobs in the traditional ownership sector for jobs in the private or joint-venture categories were those who entered the labor force prior to 1967. Journal of Comparative Economics 33 (2) (2005) 265–277.

Sustainable futures for Australia's tropical rivers: introduction to current research and information needs

The Forum on Sustainable Futures for Australia’s Tropical Rivers was held at Charles Darwin University in Darwin in February 2004. The concept emerged in response to increasing social, political and business interest in the water resources of northern Australia, recognising the need for science to be proactive in providing the knowledge to guide current and future policy and decision making on the use of these rivers. Pressures on tropical systems worldwide are increasing and Australian systems are not isolated from this reality.The papers within this issue focus onAustralia, but the lessons learned and conclusions drawn are relevant to many parts of the world. There is a long history of interest in development of northern Australia and this is currently being fuelled by increasing pressure on water supply and river systems in southern regions. Tropical rivers and groundwater systems contain roughly 70% of Australia’s freshwater resources. Water availability has been the driver of many grand schemes in the past and there are many examples that have proven to be non-feasible, or which have had significant unforeseen environmental impacts. Further development of water resources in tropical Australia is likely to result in conflicting opinions concerning risks to environmental goods and services and cultural values, as well as the intended social and economic benefits. Land use across the Australian tropical region is dominated by grazing, agriculture, Aboriginal tenure and traditional use, mining and tourism, with significant fishing interests in estuaries and coastal waters. Current management priorities are focussed on water-resource planning, water quality, fisheries, invasive plants, salinity, conservation, grazing and fire management. Outside of catchments such as the Ord and Burdekin, which have existing irrigation areas, estimates of existing water use as a percentage of sustainable yield are low. Scientific understanding of rivers in southern Australia has largely developed in a reactive fashion as unforeseen consequences of earlier development decisions have become apparent. While some tropical catchments have been extensively developed and are now the focus of environmental management efforts, many catchments are relatively unchanged from their historical condition under traditional ownership. The combination of growing interest in water at a national level, development aspirations in the tropics and the relatively good ecological condition of tropical rivers provides an opportunity for science to lead the information needs for sound management of Australia’s tropical rivers into the future. The objectives of the forum were to assemble and synthesise existing scientific knowledge of Australia’s tropical river systems and to identify critical knowledge gaps for future research priorities. The forum covered catchments spanning tropicalAustralia from Broome in WesternAustralia to Rockhampton in Queensland, adopting a system-scale approach to the functioning of tropical rivers, their wetlands, floodplains, estuaries and near-shore environments, and the impacts of land use, water use and other activities. Forum themes covered present and future use and management of tropical rivers, aquatic ecosystem assets and threats, tropical aquatic ecosystem processes, the role of flow and connectivity in tropical rivers and information needs to protect tropical rivers in the face of increasing development pressure. Erskine et al. (2005) review the geomorphological template of tropical Australian rivers and present a detailed typology of characteristic reaches. The template provides a sequential spatial framework for the ecological function of tropical rivers, with clear implications for the fish communities likely to be encountered in each region. Wetlands are characteristic geomorphic habitat features of tropical Australia that support high levels of biodiversity, but large areas of wetlands have been lost or are under threat from human activities in some regions. Finlayson et al. (2005) offer an analysis of the drivers behind the changing face of tropical wetlands, including both direct drivers and the less direct social attitudes that encourage or allow wetlands to be degraded. They propose a model based on inventory, assessment and monitoring to maintain the character of tropical

Traditional Owners and 'Community-Country' Anangu: Distinctions and Dilemmas

In some contexts, including those that require concrete and locally specific knowledge, the term 'traditional owner' has come to mean something different from its original statutory definition, in daily discourse, in the routine operations of settlement life and the administration of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (ALRA). It has also become a common referent for Aborigines resident in remote areas, rather than a specific term for land-holder. I will begin to unpack the nexus between this category and the reality of decision making by persons whom I term 'community-country' Anangu. To this end, this post-settlement sociopolitical category is examined to contrast it from the definition of traditional ownership under the ALRA. This will highlight the tensions between the functional legal operations of the ALRA - its obligation to consult with traditional owners - and the reality of those persons who tend to be consulted about development proposals. The emerging issue of the regionalisation of remote settlements also plays directly into this issue of defining traditional owners.

‘taming the lagoon’: aquaculture development and the future of customary marine tenure in kiribati, central pacific

ABSTRACT The atolls and low‐lying limestone islands of Kiribati (Micronesia) illustrate the challenges of economic development based on natural resources exploitation. For that reason, the widely scattered island nation has relied heavily on foreign aid and remittances sent by merchant seamen. However, it is becoming apparent that excessive reliance on external support can no longer be considered secure in the medium to longer term, notably with cutbacks in aid assistance and advances in marine technology. In attempts at achieving ‘self‐reliance’, successive governments have always perceived marine resources development, particularly living resources, as a means of attaining greater economic independence. Recently, efforts have been underway to promote inshore and aquaculture development by smallholders. Seaweed farming, and especially black pearl production, are new commercial ventures. Giant clam mariculture remains an option. While it is too early to measure the success of some of these projects, their establishment may have important implications for reviving marine tenure by encouraging smallholders to reassert their traditional rights to inshore resources. Customary marine tenure (CMT) has declined significantly as a result of colonial intrusion. Today, the impact of population growth, urbanization, more efficient extractive technologies and expanding market opportunities calls for more effective village‐based control of threatened resources. Close monitoring of aquaculture projects will be required to minimize potential conflicts over traditional marine ownership.

The Decision of the European Court of Justice on Open Skies and Competition Cases

The open skies court judgments of the European Court of Justice relate to legal action brought by the European Commission seeking a declaration against eight member States which had signed bilateral air services agreements with the United States. The contention of the Commission was that the defendant Member States were in flagrance of their duty and obligations under Articles 10, and 43 in particular of the EC Treaty and that, according to EC law, only the Commission was competent, on behalf of its Member States, to conduct negotiations and to enter into agreements pertaining to market access and other related commercial aviation issues. While the Court refused to draw the inference that only the Commission could conduct negotiations and enter into agreements in the manner claimed, it brought to bear one clear principle in its judgments, that the traditional national ownership and control clauses of the bilateral agreements in question clearly eroded Articles 10 and 438 of the EC Treaty. It was the view of the Court that the clauses in question permitted the foreign party, i.e. the United States, to withdraw, suspend or limit operating licences or technical authorisation of an airline designated by the European States that were parties to the action if a substantial part of the ownership or effective control was not vested in that State or its nationals. These decisions may have far reaching consequences for the manner in which future competition laws and frameworks within the European Union may unfold. This article examines implications and possible scenarios in that context.

Contemporary Geographies of Indigenous Rights and Interests in Rural Australia

More than half of Australia's lands and coastal regions are now encompassed within the boundaries of native title claims. The claims and the 'native title communities' who have lodged them are shaping a new geography of Australia's lands and seascapes. These communities derive from traditional ownership and thus have a different, and more fundamentally authoritative, basis to the indigenous 'residential communities' whose representative organisations are the mechanism through which governments have promoted indigenous self-management and which dominate in public affairs. Recognition of native title provides some opportunities for indigenous people to negotiate for benefits which will address their marginalised and economically dependent status but these are limited by the protection given to non-indigenous interests and are often proving they can be very difficult to realise. Overcoming indigenous marginalisation, promoting co-existence between indigenous and other Australians, and securing sustainability in rural regions requires that institutional reform goes beyond legally bounded interpretations of where native title does and does not still exist. Rebuilding indigenous institutions for governance of country is fundamental to achieving necessary change but political will and resources to support the process are critically lacking.

Rock Art Aesthetics and Cultural Appropriation

Marks on rocks, painted, engraved, or sculpted, human beings find useful and to transform it can be found worldwide, wherever there are suitfor their own use in ways that other species able surfaces. In modem times, archaeologists supposedly cannot even imagine.2 and anthropologists increasingly have begun To appropriate something is to make it one's studying such marks in relation to their material property, which entails a right to privileged use and social contexts, insofar as available. Freand to restrict access to it. Generally, this right quently, such marks, moreover, display values is claimed on basis of transfer in course such as representational realism, abstraction of of legitimate purchase, gift, profit or earnings, figures, attention to line and paint application, traditional ownership, and, ultimately, through concern with quality of surfaces upon original acquisition from the storehouse of which paintings or engravings are placed, comnature.3 When appropriation is seen as morally position, and so on, any of which values may problematic, this is because it is perceived as elicit aesthetic appreciation. 1 not legitimate, not fair, or, in general, not attenAlthough apparently benign, such attention to tive to rights and needs of those with prior marks on rocks from aesthetic point of view claims to items appropriated. Notoriously, may become subject to criticism, because it appropriation of indigenous peoples' lands may be supposed to entail a (problematic) form in Americas and Australia, on basis of a of cultural appropriation. In following, I begin false application of concept of terra nullius, by briefly reviewing notion of cultural is a case in point. appropriation and circumstances under which it may be seen as problematic. After this, ii. Cultural appropriation and its problems. In I take note of claims to effect that rock art 1990s, appropriation of culture, that is, aesthetics entails problematic cultural appropricultural appropriation, came into spotlight ation and show that, given proper care, in countries such as Canada, United States, alleged problems can be avoided. I conclude by and Australia in context of acquisition arguing that a strong case can be made for and transformation by members of mainstream aesthetic appreciation of marks on rocks. society of ideas, images, and art styles originally generated by indigenous peoples and other minority groups. Criticisms have been raised, I. APPROPRIATION AND CULTURAL APPROPRIATION for example, with regard to stories adopted (and adapted) from certain Canadian First Nations i. Appropriation. As of late, appropriation as groups; paintings reflecting imagery found on such has been treated as problematic on West Coast Native totem poles; and music, such basis that it is equated with an illegitimate boras blues, originally created by African rowing or taking of a valued item. Nonetheless, Americans.4 until recently, appropriation had been considered Cultural appropriation may be seen as probin a positive light, and even as a telltale mark of lematic in at least three ways. First, when humanity. It was understood to be a special cultural appropriation is perceived as illegitcapacity to separate out from nature what imate taking of a cultural good, it constitutes

Henry George on Land Ownership: A Comment on Pullen

Did George alienate many by presenting his reform program as the institution of a new form of restricted land possession rather than as the retention of traditional ownership with a substantial land tax imposed? It seems doubtful, yet the distinction merits further exploration and the peculiar and hard‐to‐implement nature of the tax and the difficulty of reconciling it with George's distrust of government needs to be stressed. Ideally, George might have preferred complete government ownership of land but his policy proposals were pragmatically adapted to the realities of his own society. The extent of the egalitarianism and aid to the landless implied in his program is questioned.