Graptemys pseudogeographica

Number of Pages: 6Integrative BiologyGeological Science

“Naturalizing the nation”: the rise of naturalistic nationalism in the United States and Canada

Perhaps the most vexing problem in philosophy and social theory concerns the relative importance of material and ideal factors for social action. Karl Marx, for instance, with his notion of base and superstructure and his materialistic interpretation of the dialectic process, made a clean break from the idealism of his Hegelian heritage (McLellan 1977:390; Swingewood 1991:62–63). Nevertheless, idealism proved resilient and later came to inform the thinking of both actor-oriented (that is, phenomenologist, ethnomethodologist, symbolic interactionist) and structure-oriented (that is Functionalist, Structuralist) theorists

Prison as Seen by Convict Criminologists

Most criminologists tend to base their view of prison on ideological assumptions gathered from secondary sources, with at best limited entry to the prison world. They nearly always get it wrong, as they systematically exclude the perspectives and real life experiences of their human subjects. These academic researchers have contributed to poor public policy that promotes the violent repression of prisoners in the USA and other countries. In response, Convict Criminologists are ex‐convicts working as criminology and criminal justice professors, along with “non‐con” associates, that insist that as a means for societies to develop humane, effective, and cost efficient prisons, we must develop ways to incorporate the voice of prisoners in our theorizing about, policy recommendations for, and management of the prison

INDIGENOUS LAND TENURE AND LAND USE IN ALASKA: COMMUNITY IMPACTS OF THE ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT

Through the utilization of qualitative methods such as archival analysis, semi-structured interviewing, comparative and extended case studies, and observation, this paper closely examines two related Alaska Native communities. Our purpose is to document the impact of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) on land tenure, land use, and community structure. In all, 41 interviews were conducted, focusing on the following issues: (1) the role of the tribal government in relation to the regional and village corporate structure; (2) the recent changes in traditional land uses; and (3) how group decisions are made regarding land management and distribution of resources. By locating ANCSA within a broader context of economic, political, and cultural globalization that seeks to substitute traditional collective rights in land with individual tenure in a "free market" economy, the findings of this research may carefully and cautiously be applied beyond North America to other indigenous-state struggles regarding control of land and resources.United States. -- [Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act], Indians of North America -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Alaska, Land tenure -- Law and legislation -- Alaska, Indians of North America -- Alaska -- Claims, Indians of North America -- Land tenure -- Alaska, Indians of North America -- Alaska -- Government relations -- History, Land Economics/Use,

The Social and Economic Impact of Native American Casinos

In the late 1980s, a series of legal rulings favorable to tribes and the subsequent passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 legalized gaming operations on reservations in many states. Today, there are over 310 gaming operations run by more than 200 of the nations' 556 federally-recognized tribes. Of these operations, about 220 are Las Vegas' style casinos with slot machines and/or table games. We use a simple difference-in-difference framework where we compare economic outcomes before and after tribes open casinos to outcomes over the same period for tribes that do not adopt or are prohibited from adopting gaming. Four years after tribes open casinos, employment has increased by 26 percent, and tribal population has increased by about 12 percent, resulting in an increase in employment to population ratios of five percentage points or about 12 percent. The fraction of adults who work but are poor has declined by 14 percent. Tribal gaming operations seem to have both positive and negative spillovers in the surrounding communities. In counties where an Indian-owned casino opens, we find that jobs per adult increase by about five percent of the median value. Given the size of tribes relative to their counties, most of this growth in employment is due to growth in non-Native American employment. The increase in economic activity appears to have some health benefits in that four or more years after a casino opens, mortality has fallen by 2 percent in a county with a casino and an amount half that in counties near a casino. Casinos do, however, come at some cost. Four years after a casino opens, bankruptcy rates, violent crime, and auto thefts and larceny are up 10 percent in counties with a casino.

WHO OWNS NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA?

Property rights are social definitions; they exist as long as the society is willing to enforce them. If enforcement is missing, they cease to exist. The reasons for changes might be market conditions, popular sentiments, scientific knowledge, new technologies, lobbying, or legal battles. Biotechnologies are already having profound effects on how we organize property rights for natural resources. Resource rights change as our understandings and sentiments change. This paper presents a general overview of property rights in natural resources, with particular reference to water and land and emphasizing that rights are what a society is willing to grant and enforce. If companies, individuals, groups, or the state are not managing and stewarding resources in sustainable ways, their authority should be challenged. Rights are social inventions, and society can abrogate them.Right of property--Canada, Right of property--United States, Natural resources--Canada--Management, Natural resources--United States--Management, Natural resources--Social aspects--North America, Tenure systems--North America, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,