Jack Balkin's constitutionalism and the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians

This article assesses the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians\u27 Report and proposals from the perspective of constitutional theory. Introduction In January 2012, the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians (‘Expert Panel’) delivered its report to the then Prime Minister making a number of recommendations to amend the Australian Constitution to ‘recognise’ Indigenous Australians. Rather than engage in a legal critique of the substance of the Expert Panel’s various proposals, this article approaches the Expert Panel’s Report and proposals as a whole from the perspective of constitutional theory. It argues that the Expert Panel’s Report and proposals strongly reflect the constitutional theory of the American constitutional theorist Jack Balkin. In his book Living Originalism, Balkin conceives of the United States Constitution functioning not only as ‘basic law’, distributing powers and setting up institutions of government, but also as ‘higher law’, embodying values and aspirations for the nation, and as ‘our law’, helping to constitute the people of the nation as a people. The first claim made in this article is that the Expert Panel conceives of the functions of the Australian Constitution in much the same way as Balkin conceives of the functions of the United States Constitution. The article makes a second claim. For Balkin, a constitution successfully functioning as basic law gives it procedural legitimacy whilst its success in functioning as higher law and our law gives it moral and sociological legitimacy respectively. Whilst the Australian Constitution does not really function as higher law or our law in Balkin’s sense, the Expert Panel’s adoption of that kind of thinking can be seen as a critique of the legitimacy of the Australian Constitution. The Expert Panel implicitly suggests that the Australian Constitution can be made more legitimate. The article also makes a third claim building upon the first two. It is argued that the Expert Panel is engaged in a project of constitutional redemption, a concept that features heavily in Living Originalism and which is the principal subject of its companion work Constitutional Redemption: Political Faith in an Unjust World. This article begins by setting out the background to the Expert Panel’s Report and notes its various proposals for amendments to the Australian Constitution. The article then turns to the first main claim. It explains Balkin’s tripartite view of constitutional functions and explores how the Expert Panel’s report and recommendations appear to be based on a view of the Australian Constitution as higher law and as our law. The article then turns to the second main claim, explaining how it is difficult to accept that the Australian Constitution functions as higher law and our law in Balkin’s sense and showing how the Expert Panel’s adoption of that thinking offers a critique of the legitimacy of the Australian Constitution. The article then turns to the third main claim and explores how the Expert Panel appears to be engaged in a project of constitutional redemption. The article concludes with a reference to The Castle and ‘the vibe’ and suggests that it is possible that the Australian people may one day look to the Australian Constitution as higher law and our law

Fair Enough? That National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004

The need to combat terrorism has resulted in a need for changes to the legal process to take account of the realities of national security. One important change has been the introduction of legislation to govern the disclosure of national security-sensitive information to participants in legal proceedings. This, of course, raises a number of issues including concerns about ensuring fairness to the participants. This article considers whether the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 is consistent with the right to a fair trial found in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Australia is a party. The conclusion is that the legislation is consistent with that right

New as Renewal: A Framework for Adaptive Reuse in the Sustainable Paradigm

The way in which we approach building design is constantly being influenced by evolving economic, environmental and social parameters. These factors have implications on both pragmatic and aesthetic facets of design. The built environment is not autonomous from its immediate site or the ecologies of the region in which it is located, rather, the former must be designed to symbiotically exist within and enhance the latter. The term ecology is defined as “a branch of science that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.” Although this typically relates to biology, the term can be expanded to include economic or social ecology. It has been proposed that architectural design can be informed through and should evolve in relation to; environmental, economic and social ecologies. This thesis will examine the relationships between these “ecologies” and how they can inform the adaptive reuse of a vacant industrial site. It will include an examination of the paradigm shift from large-scale industrial manufacturing to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) at the economic and social level. It will further discuss the evolution of environmental awareness within this shift and how these values can drive architectural design while allowing for long term flexibility in adaptive reuse

Efficient Follow-Up of Exoplanet Transits Using Small Telescopes

11 pages, 5 figures, to be published in PASP, comments welcomeHere, we introduce an online tool for the prediction of exoplanet transit light curves. Small telescopes can readily capture exoplanet transits under good weather conditions when the combination of a bright star and a large transiting exoplanet results in a significant depth of transit. However, in reality there are many considerations that need to be made to obtain useful measurements. This paper and the accompanying website lay out a procedure based on timeseries differential photometry that has been successfully employed using 0.4 m aperture telescopes to predict the expected precision for a whole light curve. This enables robust planning to decide whether the observation of a particular exoplanet transit should be attempted, and in particular to be able to readily see when it should not to be attempted. This may result in a significant increase in the number of transit observations captured by non-specialists. The technique and website are also appropriate for planning a variety of variable star observations where a prediction of the light curve can be made.Peer reviewe

New insights into the interstellar medium of the dwarf galaxy IC 10 : connection between magnetic fields, the radio--infrared correlation and star formation

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society following peer review. Available at doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx1567.We present the highest sensitivity and angular resolution study at 0.32 GHz of the dwarf irregular galaxy IC\,10, observed using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, probing $\sim45$ pc spatial scales. We find the galaxy-averaged radio continuum spectrum to be relatively flat, with a spectral index $\alpha = -0.34\pm0.01$ ($S_\nu \propto \nu^\alpha$), mainly due to a high contribution from free--free emission. At 0.32 GHz, some of the H{\sc ii} regions show evidence of free--free absorption as they become optically thick below $\sim0.41$ GHz with corresponding free electron densities of $\sim11-22~\rm cm^{-3}$. After removing the free--free emission, we studied the radio--infrared relations on 55, 110 and 165 pc spatial scales. We find that on all scales the non-thermal emission at 0.32 and 6.2 GHz correlates better with far-infrared (FIR) emission at $70\,\mu$m than mid-infrared emission at $24\,\mu$m. The dispersion of the radio--FIR relation arises due to variations in both magnetic field and dust temperature, and decreases systematically with increasing spatial scale. The effect of cosmic ray transport is negligible as cosmic ray electrons were only injected $\lesssim5$ Myr ago. The average magnetic field strength ($B$) of $12~\mu$G in the disc is comparable to that of large star-forming galaxies. The local magnetic field is strongly correlated with local star formation rate ($\mathrm{SFR}$) as $B \propto \mathrm{SFR}^{0.35\pm0.03}$, indicating a star-burst driven fluctuation dynamo to be efficient ($\sim10$ per cent) in amplifying the field in IC\,10. The high spatial resolution observations presented here suggest that the high efficiency of magnetic field amplification and strong coupling with SFR likely sets up the radio--FIR correlation in cosmologically young galaxies.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Extended Reaction Rate Integral as Solutions of Some General Differential Equations

Here an extended form of the reaction rate probability integral, in the case of nonresonant thermonuclear reactions with the depleted tail and the right tail cut off, is considered. The reaction rate integral then can be looked upon as the inverse of the convolution of the Mellin transforms of Tsallis type statistics of nonextensive statistical mechanics and stretched exponential as well as that of superstatistics and stretched exponentials. The differential equations satisfied by the extended probability integrals are derived. The idea used is a novel one of evaluating the extended integrals in terms of some special functions and then by invoking the differential equations satisfied by these special functions. Some special cases of limiting situations are also discussed.Comment: 9 pages, LaTe

Electric Vehicles

This chapter regards the current state of electric vehicles in society today: the pros and cons, areas that need to improve, etc. The chapter starts by discussing some of the unethical practices that go into creating commodities of electric vehicles. From there, we explore the short, yet rapidly changing history of electric vehicles. Topics explored throughout its history include early inefficiencies, the introduction of hybrids that led to major improvements, and the increase in availability. The chapter then explores markets and commodities of electric vehicles, which explores the supply and demand side of this technology. We will show how growing demand has lead to improved government action, and how production methods must be improved for a sustainable future of electric vehicles. Finally, we test the ethics of electric vehicles, challenging the notion of nothing but the most ethical environmental standards. We will show how ways of metal mining and electricity generation actually do more bad than good for our environment. By reading this chapter, you will become more knowledgeable of how impactful electric vehicles are, and also you will get a grasp on whether or not you want to support this practice.Angela Person, Ph.D.N

Revealing microcanonical phase diagrams of strongly correlated systems via time-averaged classical shadows

Quantum computers and simulators promise to enable the study of strongly correlated quantum systems. Yet surprisingly, it is hard for them to compute ground states[Kitaev]. They can, however, efficiently compute the dynamics of closed quantum systems. We introduce time-average classical shadows(TACS) and machine learning(ML) methods to take advantage of this efficiency to study microcanonical quantum thermodynamics. Using the one-dimensional transverse field Ising model(1DTFIM), we first validate the unsupervised ML method of diffusion maps on classical shadows data from ground state calculations on 100 qubit systems. We then show that diffusion maps applied to TACS data from quantum dynamics simulations beginning from cat states show distinct phase-defining features and correctly identifies the quantum phase transition. Finally, we introduce a Bayesian inference method to compute the second Renyi entropy, a stand in for entropy, the primary thermodynamic potential of microcanonical ensemble. Our results provide evidence that quantum simulators and computers capable of outperforming classical computers at dynamics simulations can also produce quantum thermodynamic data with quantum advantage

Eating As Treatment (EAT): A Stepped-Wedge, Randomized Controlled Trial of a Health Behavior Change Intervention Provided by Dietitians to Improve Nutrition in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer Undergoing Radiation Therapy (TROG 12.03)

Purpose: Malnutrition in head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment is common and associated with poorer morbidity and mortality outcomes. This trial aimed to improve nutritional status during radiation therapy (RT) using a novel method of training dietitians to deliver psychological techniques to improve nutritional behaviors in patients with HNC. Methods and Materials: This trial used a stepped-wedge, randomized controlled design to assess the efficacy of the Eating As Treatment (EAT) program. Based on motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy, EAT was designed to be delivered by oncology dietitians and integrated into their clinical practice. During control steps, dietitians provided treatment as usual, before being trained in EAT and moving into the intervention phase. The training was principles based and sought to improve behavior-change skills rather than provide specific scripts. Patients recruited to the trial (151 controls, 156 intervention) were assessed at 4 time points (the first and the final weeks of RT, and 4 and 12 weeks afterward). The primary outcome was nutritional status at the end of RT as measured by the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment. Results: Patients who received the EAT intervention had significantly better scores on the primary outcome of nutritional status at the critical end-of-treatment time point (β = −1.53 [−2.93 to −.13], P =.03). Intervention patients were also significantly more likely than control patients to be assessed as well-nourished at each time point, lose a smaller percentage of weight, have fewer treatment interruptions, present lower depression scores, and report a higher quality of life. Although results were not statistically significant, patients who received the intervention had fewer and shorter unplanned hospital admissions. Conclusions: This trial is the first of its kind to demonstrate the effectiveness of a psychological intervention to improve nutrition in patients with HNC who are receiving RT. The intervention provides a means to ameliorate malnutrition and the important related outcomes and consequently should be incorporated into standard care for patients receiving RT for HNC

Can brief mindfulness practice be of benefit? Evidence from an evaluation of group Person-based Cognitive Therapy for depression

Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) was not intended for current depression, and lengthy mindfulness practices (≥30 min) can be challenging. Person-based cognitive therapy (PBCT) includes brief mindfulness practices (<10 min). While group PBCT can improve depressive symptoms whether benefits can be attributed to the brief practices is unclear. Twenty-eight participants with chronic major depression were randomly assigned to PBCT (n = 14) or treatment as usual (n = 14). Measures of mindfulness and depression were taken. Six PBCT participants were interviewed. Improvements in mindfulness in mediating the relationship between group and improvements in depressive symptoms just failed to reach statistical significance (95% confidence interval −0.97 to 14.84). Thematic analysis identified four themes: ‘altered relationship to symptoms’, ‘impact on self’, ‘the challenge of letting go’ and ‘effect of the group’. Although bootstrapped indirect effects were in the hypothesized direction they failed to reach statistical significance; this could be due to low power, but further research is needed. Qualitative themes support the potential of brief mindfulness practices and are similar to themes identified of mindfulness-based interventions with lengthier mindfulness practices. Findings suggest that some people experiencing current depression report benefit from the brief mindfulness practices included in PBCT but further research in larger samples is now needed