Native title and related disputes and mediations, in Australian lands and waters : a corpus database approach

本研究采用了语料库的方法，以了解目前正在进行的关于土著群体在澳大利亚境内和周围的土地和沃茨提出的土著产权要求的冲突、争端、诉讼和各种类型的调解/谈判做法。广泛收集和分析了书面公开材料。数据库主要包括：（1）大众媒体的报道和评论;（2）行政发布，如国家土著产权法庭的媒体发布以及州和联邦一级的政府声明;（3）土著组织和个人的正式声明以及不太正式的评论; 4）从政治、人类学和法律的角度进行专家评论。所获得的材料已被处理成4.1兆字节的机器可读数据库，其中包含1，543条记录，每条记录都有一些关键字用于搜索和分析目的。调查截止到2004年3月的最新资料来源，调查期间恰逢1998年对《土著土地所有权修正案》及其颁布（即所谓的Wik立法）的激烈辩论。提出和处理土地和沃茨权利主张的法律的结构和程序已作了重大修改，从而对证明土著产权的研究战略产生了重大影响，也对与权利主张群体之间的微观政治进程产生了重大影响。走向法院外解决往往伴随着地方群体（甚至家庭群体）的分裂，因此，支持和调解土著人民的愿望和需要已成为一项极为敏感的任务。本研究报告的语料库反映了1996年底至2004年初期间观察到的这些和其他趋势。

A corpus database approach has been taken in this study in order to comprehend the currently on-going process of conflicts, disputes, litigations, and varied types of mediation/negotiation practices concerning the native title claims made by the indigenous groups in lands and waters in and around Australia. Written public materials have been extensively collected and analyzed. The data corpus mainly consists of 1)mass media reports and commentaries ; 2)administrative releases, such as National Native Title Tribunal media releases and Governmental statements both of State and Federal level ; 3)formal statements as well as less formal commentaries made by indigenous organizations and individuals ; and 4)expert commentaries from political, anthropological and legal points of view.Obtained materials have been processed into a 4.1 megabyte machine-readable database that contains 1,543 records, each bestowed with a number of keywords for searching and analyzing purposes. The survey has been up to the latest sources of March 2004.The research period coincides with the heated debate over the Native Title Amendment Bill and its enactment in 1998 (i.e.the so-called Wik legislation). The legal structure and the procedures of making and dealing with land-and-waters claims have significantly been modified, thus heavily influencing on research strategies for proof of native title and also on the micro-political processes with and among the claimant groups. Moves towards outside-court settlement are so often accompanied with division in local groups (even family groups) that the business of supporting and mediating indigenous people's wants and needs has turned into an extremely sensitive task. The corpus of this study reflects these and other tendencies observed in the period from late 1996 to early 2004.