Search results for: feminist legal theory

Authors: Siti Nurma Hanim Hadie, Asma’ Hassan, Zul Izhar Ismail, Ahmad Fuad Abdul Rahim, Mohd. Zarawi Mat Nor, Hairul Nizam Ismail

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Anatomy is a medical subject, which contributes to high cognitive load during learning. Despite its complexity, anatomy remains as the most important basic sciences subject with high clinical relevancy. Although anatomy knowledge is required for safe practice, many medical students graduated without having sufficient knowledge. In fact, anatomy knowledge among the medical graduates was reported to be declining and this had led to various medico-legal problems. Applying cognitive load theory (CLT) in anatomy teaching particularly lecture would be able to address this issue since anatomy information is often perceived as cognitively challenging material. CLT identifies three types of loads which are intrinsic, extraneous and germane loads, which combine to form the total cognitive load. CLT describe that learning can only occur when the total cognitive load does not exceed human working memory capacity. Hence, managing these three types of loads with the aim of optimizing the working memory capacity would be beneficial to the students in learning anatomy and retaining the knowledge for future application.

Keywords: cognitive load theory, intrinsic load, extraneous load, germane load

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Authors: Zahra Kouzehgari

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Since the early emergence of chaos theory in the 1970s in mathematics and physical science, it has increasingly been developed and adapted in social sciences as well. The non-linear and dynamic characteristics of the theory make it a useful conceptual framework to interpret the complex social systems behavior. Regarding chaotic approach principals, sensitivity to initial conditions, dynamic adoption, strange attractors and unpredictability this paper aims to examine whether chaos approach could interpret the ancient social changes. To do this, at first, a brief history of the chaos theory, its development and application in social science as well as the principals making the theory, then its application in archaeological since has been reviewed. The study demonstrates that although based on existing archaeological records reconstruct the whole social system of the human past, the non-linear approaches in studying social complex systems would be of a great help in finding general order of the ancient societies and would enable us to shed light on some of the social phenomena in the human history or to make sense of them.

Keywords: archaeology, non-linear approach, chaos theory, ancient social systems

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Authors: Nazia Yaqub

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Globally, the number of cases of international parental child abduction has remained consistent in the past decade despite the legal provision designed to prevent and deter abduction, and so it appears the current legal approach to prevent abduction is lacking. Reflecting on the findings of an empirical study conducted by the author between 2017-19 on parental abduction from the UK, the article considers a solution to the predicament of protecting children at risk of abduction through electronic monitoring. The electronic monitoring of children has negative connotations, particularly in its use in the criminal justice system, yet in the context of family law proceedings, the article considers whether electronic monitoring could serve a protective rather than a punitive purpose. The article reflects on the use of electronic monitoring in parental abduction cases by the Family Courts and examines the ethical considerations of the proposal, drawing on the rights found in the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Keywords: law, parental child abduction, electronic monitoring, legal solutions

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Authors: Thato Masiangoako

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While being home to one of the greatest constitutions in the world, South Africa is also notorious for brutal policing practices, endemic corruption, and an overstrained criminal justice system. This apparent gap between the normative conceptions of the law and the actual experiences of being subjected to the criminal justice system forms the crux of this study. This study explores how community activists, student activists, and migrants in Johannesburg, who rely on the law for protection and effective political expression and participation and understand the law through their experiences of arrest and short-term incarceration. This work introduces the concept of legal consciousness to the South African context, whilst also drawing very heavily from South African literature of the law and criminal justice system. This research is grounded in the experiences of arrest and pre-trial and immigration detention shared by these individuals, which are used to develop a rich account of legal consciousness in South Africa. It also sheds light on some of the ways in which the criminal justice system sustains its legitimacy within a post-apartheid framework despite the gaps between what the law ought to be and it actually is. The study argues that the ways in which these groups make sense of their experiences of the criminal justice system and the law, more broadly, are closely bound to their socio-political identities. This calls the core values of equality and dignity that undergird South Africa’s Constitution into question.

Keywords: criminal justice, immigrant detention, legal consciousness, remand detention

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Authors: Zeynep Ozkan, Cigdem Serra Uzunpinar

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Citizenship is a legal bond that binds a person to a certain state. How constitutions define ‘the citizen’ and how they regulate the elements of citizenship have great importance in terms of individuals’ duties before the state as well as the rights they own. Especially in multi-segmented societies that contain foreign elements, it becomes necessary to examinate the institution of naturalization in terms of individuals’ duty of constitutional citizenship. The meaning of citizenship in Turkey has transformed due to the changes in practices of naturalization, in parallel to receiving huge amount of immagrants with the recent Syrian Crisis, the change in the governmental system and facing economic crisis. This transformation took place in the way of a diversion from the states’ initial motive of building the bond of citizenship with the aim of founding/sustaining political unity. Hence, rising of the economic and political motives in naturalization practices are in question, instead of objective and subjective criterias, that are traditionally used on defining the notion of nation. In this study, firstly the regime of citizenship and the legal regime of aliens in Turkish legislation will be given place. Then, the transformation, that the notion of constitutional citizenship underwent, will be studied, especially on the basis of governmental practices of naturalization. The assessment will be made in the context of legal institutions brought with the new governmental system as a result of recent constitutional amendment.

Keywords: constitutional citizenship, naturalization, naturalization practices in Turkish legal system, transformation of the notion of constitutional citizenship

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Authors: Hamdan Arief Hanif, Rahmat Sidiq

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Indonesia is a country of law, the legal system adopted by Indonesia is a civil law system. A major feature of the civil law is the codified legislation. Meanwhile the majority of society Indonesia are Muslims, whilst Islamic law itself having the sources written in Qur'an, Sunnah and the opinion of Muslim scholars, generally not codified in book form of legislation that is easy on the set as a reference. in Indonesia, many scholars have different opinions in decisions so that there is no legal certainty in Muslim civil cases, so the need for legal codification, which, as the source of the judges in deciding a case, especially a case in religious courts. This paper raised the topic of discussion which offers a solution to the application of the codification of the Islamic Law which became the core resources in delivering a verdict against Islamic civil related issue; codification usually called a compilation of Islamic Law. Compilation of Islamic Law is highly recommended as a core reference for the judges in religious courts in Indonesia. This compilation which includes a collection of large number of opinions scholars (book of fiqh) that existed previously and are ripened in deduce in order to unify the existing differences. This paper also discusses how the early formation of the compilation and as the right solution in order to create legal certainty and justice especially for the muslim community in Indonesia.

Keywords: Islamic law, compilation, law applied core, religious court

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Authors: Idette Sheirina Biyo, Rhodora Lynn C. Lintag

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This paper explores how the work-life balance of selected working single mothers situated in a coastal community is affecting their well-being. Working single mothers carry the responsibility of earning for their family while simultaneously exercising their motherhood. This study utilized a purposeful qualitative research through semi-structured interviews among ten working single mothers living in the coastal community of La Huerta, Parañaque in order to identify the following: a) experiences of the working single mothers, b) problems usually encountered, and c) how these problems are affecting their well-being. Dorothy Smith’s Feminist Standpoint theory is used as a theoretical lens in order to explain their work-life balance. Results have shown that despite their dual roles as the main income earners and heads of the households, they are not neglecting to care for their well-being. They consider getting sufficient rest, eating well, and going to church as forms of caring for their well-being. Other factors that affect their work-life balance include living arrangements, work hours, type of work, and income.

Keywords: coastal community, well-being, work-life balance, Working single mother

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Authors: Ayesha Murtza

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Controlling images develop misinformed behaviors about impoverished Muslim Pakistani women that add to the oppression these Pakistani women endure their whole lives. Meanwhile, patriarchal and stereotypical societies provide an ideological justification for gender, class, and racial oppression, especially for women. Cojoining the concepts of controlling images by Patricia Hill Collins (1990) and binary thinking by Barbara Christian (1987), this paper discusses the ways in which various controlling images of urban and rural women are being presented in Pakistani dramas. These images reinforce an interlocking system of oppression for women in Pakistan. This paper further explores how these controlling images of intersecting components like class, gender, religion, ethnicity, physical appearance, color, and caste normalize hegemonic gendered oppression in society and how men have the same attitude towards women of their family whether they belong to the rural or urban class since they are the product of the same society. It further sheds light on how these matrixes of domination are an inevitable part of Pakistani women’s everyday lives and how these women reinforce survival strategies for coping with all these forms of oppression. By employing the feminist interactional framework, this paper elucidates the role of masculinity, femininity, feminist activism, and traditional knowledge against a monolithic image of Pakistani women. By highlighting these, this paper complicates the role of descriptive and visual images, religion, women’s rights, and the stereotypical role of women in Pakistani dramas.

Keywords: controlling images, oppression, women, Pakistan

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Authors: Caroline Kim

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The designation autism spectrum disorder (ASD) groups complex disorders in the development of the brain. Autism is defined essentially as a condition in which an individual lacks a theory of mind. The theory of mind, in this sense, explains the ability of an individual to attribute feelings, emotions, or thoughts to another person. An autistic patient is characteristically unable to determine what an interlocutor is feeling, or to understand the beliefs of others. However, it is possible that autism cannot plausibly characterized as the lack of theory of mind in an individual. Genes, the bran, and its interplay with environmental factors may also cause autism. A mutation in a gene may be hereditary, or instigated by diseases such as mumps. Though an autistic patient may experience abnormalities in the cerebellum and the cortical regions, these are in fact only possible theories as to a biochemical explanation behind the disability. The prevailing theory identifying autism with lacking the theory of mind is supported by behavioral observation, but this form of observation is itself determined by socially constructed standards, limiting the possibility for empirical verification. The theory of mind infers that the beliefs and emotions of people are causally based on their behavior. This paper demonstrates the fallacy of this inference, critiquing its basis in socially constructed values, and arguing instead for a biochemical approach free from the conceptual apparatus of language and social expectation.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, sociology of psychology, social construction, the theory of mind

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Authors: Jonathan H. Westover, Jacque P. Westover, Maureen S. Andrade

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Though learning theories vary in complexity and usefulness, a thorough understanding of foundational learning theories is a necessity in today’s educational environment. Additionally, learning theories lead to approaches in instruction that can affect student motivation and learning. The combination of a learning theory and elements to enhance student motivation can create a learning context where the student can thrive in their educational pursuits. This paper will provide an overview of three main learning theories: (1) Behavioral Theory, (2) Cognitive Theory, and (3) Constructivist Theory and explore their connection to elements of student learning motivation. Finally, we apply these learning theories and elements of student motivation to the following two context: (1) The FastStart Program at the Community College of Denver, and (2) An Online Academic English Language Course. We discussed potential of the program and course to have success in increasing student success outcomes.

Keywords: learning theory, student motivation, inclusive pedagogy, developmental education

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Authors: Snezana Savoska, Blagoj Ristevski, Violeta Manevska, Zlatko Savoski, Ilija Jolevski

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Big data is widely accepted by the pharmaceutical companies as a result of business demands create through legal pressure. Pharmaceutical companies have many legal demands as well as standards’ demands and have to adapt their procedures to the legislation. To manage with these demands, they have to standardize the usage of the current information technology and use the latest software tools. This paper highlights some important aspects of experience with big data projects implementation in a pharmaceutical Macedonian company. These projects made improvements of their business processes by the help of new software tools selected to comply with legal and business demands. They use IT as a strategic tool to obtain competitive advantage on the market and to reengineer the processes towards new Internet economy and quality demands. The company is required to manage vast amounts of structured as well as unstructured data. For these reasons, they implement projects for emerging and appropriate software tools which have to deal with big data concepts accepted in the company.

Keywords: big data, unstructured data, SAP ERP, documentum

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Authors: Tran Van Long

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Beyond trade facilitation, transparency in the WTO legal context is, implicitly and explicitly, aimed at addressing problems in domestic administrative law. Through the lens of global governance, this paper attempts to shed more light on the power of transparency norms enshrined in multilateral trading agreements under the aegis of the WTO. In this global ruled-base system, transparency has become sufficiently powerful to be a multifunctional instrument for promoting rule of law, good governance, and democracy.

Keywords: WTO, transparency, good governance, rule of law, global administrative law.

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Authors: Kgolagano Mpejane

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The study applies a New Institutional Economics (NIE) analytical framework to trade in developing economies by assessing the impacts of institutional quality and institutional quality distance on agricultural trade using a panel data of 15 Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries from the years 1991-2010. The issue of institutions on agricultural trade has not been accorded the necessary attention in the literature, particularly in developing economies. Therefore, the paper empirically tests the gravity model of international trade by measuring the impact of political, economic and legal institutions on intra SADC agricultural trade. The gravity model is noted for its exploratory power and strong theoretical foundation. However, the model has statistical shortcomings in dealing with zero trade values and heteroscedasticity residuals leading to biased results. Therefore, this study employs a two stage Heckman selection model with a Probit equation to estimate the influence of institutions on agricultural trade. The selection stages include the inverse Mills ratio to account for the variable bias of the gravity model. The Heckman model accounts for zero trade values and is robust in the presence of heteroscedasticity. The empirical results of the study support the NIE theory premise that institutions matter in trade. The results demonstrate that institutions determine bilateral agricultural trade on different margins with political institutions having positive and significant influence on bilateral agricultural trade flows within the SADC region. Legal and economic institutions have significant and negative effects on SADC trade. Furthermore, the results of this study confirm that institutional quality distance influences agricultural trade. Legal and political institutional distance have a positive and significant influence on bilateral agricultural trade while the influence of economic, institutional quality is negative and insignificant. The results imply that nontrade barriers, in the form of institutional quality and institutional quality distance, are significant factors limiting intra SADC agricultural trade. Therefore, gains from intra SADC agricultural trade can be attained through the improvement of institutions within the region.

Keywords: agricultural trade, institutions, gravity model, SADC

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Authors: Ali Oveysi Sarabi

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The dimensions of nanostructures are in the range of inter-atomic spacing of the structures which makes them impossible to be modeled as a continuum. Nanoscale size-effects on vibration analysis of nanobeams embedded in an elastic medium is investigated using different types of beam theory. To this end, Eringen’s nonlocal elasticity is incorporated to various beam theories namely as Euler-Bernoulli beam theory (EBT), Timoshenko beam theory (TBT), Reddy beam theory (RBT), and Levinson beam theory (LBT). The surrounding elastic medium is simulated with both Winkler and Pasternak foundation models and the difference between them is studies. Explicit formulas are presented to obtain the natural frequencies of nanobeam corresponding to each nonlocal beam theory. Selected numerical results are given for different values of the non-local parameter, Winkler modulus parameter, Pasternak modulus parameter and aspect ratio of the beam that imply the effects of them, separately. It is observed that the values of natural frequency are strongly dependent on the stiffness of elastic medium and the value of the non-local parameter and these dependencies varies with the value of aspect ratio and mode number.

Keywords: nanobeams, free vibration, nonlocal elasticity, winkler foundation model, Pasternak foundation model, beam theories

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Authors: Thusitha B. Abeysekara, M. A. Nihal Chandrathilake

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The aim of this research is to examine the legal mechanism of resolving maritime disputes by arbitration, and it would be a reference point on the analysis of USA approaches. In doing so, the research aims to analyse the relevant legal principles in the context of current maritime arbitration practices in selected jurisdictions. The research also aims to analyse the advantages and applicability of arbitration in maritime dispute settlements over the litigation and further approaches the role of specialist maritime arbitration institutes in the USA and the position of international merchant organizations in maritime arbitration. Further, research values the legislative aspects of maritime arbitration. The study would evaluate the contemporary issues in maritime arbitration practices in the USA and further analyses the statistical information on maritime arbitration. Finally, the research made remarks to often parallel consequence in USA legal systems in maritime arbitration and despite the fundamental divergences of the applicable principles and practices of maritime arbitration. The research finally suggests the doctrine should reshape with equitable remedies and international maritime arbitration practices with its institutional impact rather than using as statutory rules related maritime arbitration.

Keywords: arbitration, international shipping, maritime dispute, New York convention

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Authors: Yuval Sinai

Abstract:

As part of the historical, religious and cultural heritage of the Jewish people, Jewish law is part of the legal system in Israel, which is a Jewish and democratic state. The proper degree of use of Jewish law in judicial decisions is an issue that crops up in Israeli law from time to time. This was a burning question in the 1980s in the wake of the enactment of the Foundations of Law Act 1980, which declared Jewish heritage a supplementary legal method to Israeli law. The enactment of the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty 1992, which decreed that the basic Israeli legal principles must be interpreted in light of the values of a Jewish and democratic state, marks a significant change in the impact of Judaism in the law created and applied by the courts. Both of these legislative developments revived the initiative to grant a central status to Jewish law within the state law. How should Jewish law be applied in Israel’s secular courts? This is not a simple question. It is not merely a question of identifying the relevant rule of Jewish law or tracing its development from the Talmud to modern times. Nor is it the same as asking how a rabbinic court would handle the issue. It is a matter of delicate judgment to distill out of the often conflicting Jewish law sources a rule that will fit into the existing framework of Israeli law so as to advance a policy that will best promote the interests of Israel’s society. We shall point out the occasional tensions between Jewish religious law and secular law, and introduce opinions as to how reconciliation of the two can best be achieved in light of Jewish legal tradition and in light of the reality in the modern State of Israel.

Keywords: law and religion, israel, jewish law, law and society

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Authors: Fereshteh Ganjavi, Rachel Schaffer, Varsha Jorawar

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Elena’s Light is a non-profit organization focused on building brighter futures for refugees, especially women and children. Our mission is to empower refugee women and children by addressing social, legal, and public health issues that predominantly concern them. Elena’s Light offers a range of services that support refugees from structural disadvantages, cultural and social stress, marginalization, and other stressors related to migration. Using a three-pronged approach, our programs focus on legal advocacy, English language acquisition, and health and wellness. Following the Afghan humanitarian crisis, Elena’s Light has developed and intensified advocacy efforts in the legal realm to address the influx of refugees who desperately need assistance. We developed and hosted a Know Your Rights presentation with local immigration lawyers and professionals in February 2022 on the Afghan Humanitarian Parole, which was very successful with over 100 attendees. Elena’s Light is hosting the second Know Your Rights session in early August 2022 on immigration options for Afghans, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS), asylum, Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), and humanitarian parole. Lastly, EL is also leading the local initiative to develop a pro-bono committee to respond to the overwhelming need for lawyers to work on legal cases for Afghan during this crisis. Furthermore, through our other services, we provide free, in-home customizable ESL tutoring sessions to refugee women with a focus on driver’s education, facilitating acculturation, and improving employment opportunities. We also provide in-home maternal, pediatric, and mental health education and wellness services that are aimed at addressing the explicit and implicit barriers to healthcare for refugee populations. Elena’s Light’s diverse community aims to counter the structural disadvantages and anxiety-inducing emotions and experiences related to being a refugee. We would like to join this International Conference on Refugee Law since protecting refugee rights is our mission. We would like to share what we have learned from our legal initiatives for refugee rights. We would also like to listen, learn from, and discuss with experts and researchers how to better understand and advocate for refugee rights. We hope to improve our understanding of how to provide better legal aid for our clients through this conference.

Keywords: legal, advocacy, Afghan humanitarian crisis, policy, pro-bono

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Authors: John Goodhue, Xiaonan Wei

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Current legal decisions and policies regarding the naming as artificial intelligence as inventor are reviewed with emphasis on the recent decisions by the European Patent Office regarding the DABUS inventions holding that an artificial intelligence machine cannot be an inventor. Next, a set of hypotheticals is introduced and examined to better understand how artificial intelligence might be used to create or assist in creating new inventions and how application of existing or proposed changes in the law would affect the ability to protect these inventions including due to restrictions on artificial intelligence for being named as inventors, ownership of inventions made by artificial intelligence, and the effects on legal standards for inventiveness or obviousness.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, innovation, invention, patent

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Authors: Deborah Garcia-Magna

Abstract:

The use of new technologies has become widespread in the last decade, giving rise to various risks associated with the transfer of personal data and the publication of sensitive material on social media. There are already several supranational instruments that seek to protect the citizens involved in this growing traffic of personal information and, especially, the most vulnerable people, such as minors, who are also the ones who make the most intense use of these new means of communication. In this sense, the configuration of the concept of privacy as a legal right has necessarily been influenced by these new social uses and supranational instruments. The researcher considers correct the decision to introduce sexting as a new criminal behaviour in the Penal Code in 2015, but questions the concrete manner in which it has been made. To this end, an updated review of the various options that our legal system already offered is made, assessing whether these legal options adequately addressed the new social needs and guidelines from jurisprudence and other supranational instruments. Some important issues emerge as to whether the principles of fragmentarity and subsidiarity may be violated since the new article 197.7 of the Spanish Penal Code could refer to very varied behaviours and protect not only particularly vulnerable persons. In this sense, the research focuses on issues such as the concept of 'seriousness' of the infringement of privacy, the possible reckless conduct of the victim, who hang over its own private material to third parties, the affection to other legal rights such as freedom and sexual indemnity, the possible problems of concurrent offences, etc.

Keywords: criminal law reform, ECHR jurisprudence, right to privacy, sexting

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Authors: Luigina Mortari, Alessia Bevilacqua, Roberta Silva

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The experience presented in this paper aims to understand how educational research can support the introduction and optimization of teaching innovations in legal education. In this increasingly complex context, a strong need to introduce paths aimed at acquiring not only professional knowledge and skills but also transversal such as reflective, critical, and problem-solving skills emerges. Through a peer observation intertwined with an analysis of discursive practices, researchers and the teacher worked together through a process of participatory and transformative accompaniment whose objective was to promote the active participation and engagement of students in learning processes, an element indispensable to work in the more specific direction of strengthening key competences. This reflective faculty development path led the teacher to activate metacognitive processes, becoming thus aware of the strengths and areas of improvement of his teaching innovation.

Keywords: legal education, teaching innovation, peer observation, discursive analysis, faculty development

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Authors: Elzbieta Babula, Juhyun Park

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Tversky and Kahneman’s cumulative prospect theory assumes symmetric probability cumulation with regard to the reference point within decision weights. Theoretically, this model should be invariant under the change of the direction of probability cumulation. In the present study, this phenomenon is being investigated by creating a reference model that allows verifying the parameter interactions in the cumulative prospect theory specifications. The simultaneous parametric fitting of utility and weighting functions is applied to binary choice data from the experiment. The results show that the flexibility of the probability weighting function is a crucial characteristic allowing to prevent parameter interactions while estimating cumulative prospect theory.

Keywords: binary choice experiment, cumulative prospect theory, decision weights, parameter interactions

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Authors: Yuval Sinai

Abstract:

As part of the historical, religious and cultural heritage of the Jewish people, Jewish law is part of the legal system in Israel, which is a Jewish and democratic state. The proper degree of use of Jewish law in judicial decisions is an issue that crops up in Israeli law from time to time. This was a burning question in the 1980s in the wake of the enactment of the Foundations of Law Act 1980, which declared Jewish heritage a supplementary legal method to Israeli law. The enactment of the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty 1992, which decreed that the basic Israeli legal principles must be interpreted in light of the values of a Jewish and democratic state, marks a significant change in the impact of Judaism in the law created and applied by the courts. Both of these legislative developments revived the initiative to grant a central status to Jewish law within the state law. How should Jewish law be applied in Israel’s secular courts? This is not a simple question. It is not merely a question of identifying the relevant rule of Jewish law or tracing its development from the Talmud to modern times. Nor is it the same as asking how a rabbinic court would handle the issue. It is a matter of delicate judgment to distill out of the often conflicting Jewish law sources a rule that will fit into the existing framework of Israeli law so as to advance a policy that will best promote the interests of Israel’s society. We shall point out the occasional tensions between Jewish religious law and secular law, and introduce opinions as to how reconciliation of the two can best be achieved in light of Jewish legal tradition and in light of the reality in the modern State of Israel.

Keywords: law and politics, law and religion, comparative law, law and society

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Authors: Goodness Thandi Ntuli

Abstract:

Some cultural aspects in the African context have a tendency of uplifting women while some thrust them into the worst denigration scenarios; hence African Women Theologians refer to culture as a ‘double edged sword. Through socialization and internalization of social norms, some women become custodians of life, denying aspects of the culture that are against them and hand them down to the next generation. This indirectly contributes to the perpetuation of patriarchal tendencies wherein women themselves uphold and endorse such tendencies to their own detriment. One of the findings of the empirical research study conducted among the Zulu young women in the South African context was that, on the one hand, lobola (the bride-price) is one of the cultural practices that contribute a great deal in the vilification of women. On the other hand, a woman whose lobola has been paid is highly esteemed in the cultural context not only by society at large but also by the implicated woman who takes pride in it. Consequently, lobola becomes an ambiguous cultural practice. Thus from the postcolonial feminist perspective, this paper examines and critiques lobola practice while also disclosing and exposing its deep seated cultural reinforcement that is life denying to women. The paper elucidates the original lobola as a cultural practice before colonization and how it became commercialized during colonial times. With commercialization in the modern world, lobola has completely lost its preliminary meaning and ceased to be a life-giving cultural practice, particularly for women. It turned out to be the worst cultural practice that demeans women to the extent that it becomes suicidal to women dignity because, in marriage, they become objects or property to the men who purchased them. Women objectification in marriage does not only leave them culturally trapped in what was perceived to be a good practice, but it also leads to women abuse and gender based or domestic violence. The research has indicated that this kind of violence is escalating and has become so pervasive in the South African context that the country is rated as one of the capital cities of violence against women in the world. Therefore, this paper demonstrates how cultural practices at times indirectly contribute to this national scourge that needs to be condemned, disparaged and rejected. Women in the African context where such cultural activities are still viewed as a norm are in desperate need for true liberation from such ambiguous cultural practices that leave them in the margins in spite of the earned social status they might have achieved.

Keywords: african, ambiguity, critique, culture, feminist, lobola, postcolonial, society

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Authors: Linda Ana-Maria Ungureanu

Abstract:

As space exploration opens to new actors, we are faced with the interesting question of regulating more complex structures that enable private experiments. From intellectual property implications to private and public law, there is a multitude of factors and legal structures that need to be taken into consideration when opening space, and these structures need to be harmonized with the International Space Treaties governing space exploration. In this sense, this article presents an overview of the legal and contractual framework applicable to private experiments conducted in space and/or in relation to off-world environments. Additionally, the article analyses the manner in which national space agencies regulate agreements concluded with private actors and research institutions. Finally, the article sets a series of de lege ferenda proposals for the regulation of general research and development rules and intellectual property matters that are connected to experiments and research conducted in space and/or concerning off-world environments.

Keywords: private space, intellectual property, contracts, ESA guidelines, EU legislation, Intellectual property law, international IP treaties

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Authors: Florence Nyemba, Rufaro Chitiyo

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This work features the voices of women as they describe their experiences living in the diaspora either with their families or alone. The contributing authors of this work pursued this project to understand how the women’s personal lives (and those of their families back home) changed (both positively and negatively). The work addressed the following important questions, what is female migration? What are the factors causing women to migrate? What types of migration do women engage in? What is the influence of family relationships on migration? What are the challenges of migration? How do migrant women maintain ties with their home countries? What is the role of social networks in migration? How can feminist theories and methodologies be incorporated in migration studies? Women continue to contribute significantly to mass movements of people across the yet, their voices silent in the literature on migration. History shows that women have always been on the move trying to make a living just like their male counterparts. Whether they migrate as spouses, daughters, or alone, women make up a sizeable portion of migration statistics around the world. These women are migrating independently without the accompaniment of male relatives. This calls for the need to expand research on women as independent migrants without generalizing their experiences as in the case with early studies on international migration. The goal of this work is to offer a rich and detailed description of the lives of immigrant women across the globe using theoretical frameworks that advance gender and migration research. Methodology: This work invited scholars and researchers from across the globe whose research interests were in gender and migration. The work incorporated a variety of methodologies for data collection and analysis, which included oral narratives, interviews, systematic literature reviews and interviews. Conclusion: There is a considerable amount of interest in various topics on gender, violence, and equality throughout social science disciplines in higher education. Therefore, the three major topics covered in this work, Women’s Immigration: Theories and Methodologies, Women as Migrant Workers, and Women as Refugees, Asylees, and Permanent Migrants, can be of interest across social sciences disciplines. Feminist theories can expand the curriculum on identity and gendered roles and norms in societies. Findings of this work advance knowledge of population movements across the globe. This work will also appeal to students and scholars wanting to expand their knowledge on women and migration, migration theories, gender violence, and women empowerment. The topics and issues presented in this work will also assist the international community and lawyers concerned with global migration.

Keywords: gender, feminism, identity formation, international migration

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Authors: Manouchehr Amiri

Abstract:

This article introduces a general notion of physical bit information that is compatible with the basics of quantum mechanics and incorporates the Shannon entropy as a special case. This notion of physical information leads to the Binary data matrix model (BDM), which predicts the basic results of quantum mechanics, general relativity, and black hole thermodynamics. The compatibility of the model with holographic, information conservation, and Landauer’s principles are investigated. After deriving the “Bit Information principle” as a consequence of BDM, the fundamental equations of Planck, De Broglie, Beckenstein, and mass-energy equivalence are derived.

Keywords: physical theory of information, binary data matrix model, Shannon information theory, bit information principle

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Authors: Dominika Collett

Abstract:

AI applications, such as machine learning, require access to a vast amount of data in the training phase, which can often be the subject of copyright protection. During later usage, the various content with which the application works can be recorded or made available on the basis of which it produces the resulting output. The EU has recently adopted new legislation to secure machine access to protected works under the DSM Directive; but, the issue of machine use of copyright works is not clearly addressed. However, such clarity is needed regarding the increasing importance of AI and its development. Therefore, this paper provides a basic background of the technology used in the development of applications in the field of computer creativity. The second part of the paper then will focus on a legal analysis of machine use of the authors' works from the perspective of existing European and Czech legislation. The main results of the paper discuss the potential collision of existing legislation in regards to machine use of works with special focus on exceptions and limitations. The legal regulation of machine use of copyright work will impact the development of AI technology.

Keywords: copyright, artificial intelligence, legal use, infringement, Czech law, EU law, text and data mining

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Authors: Donato Vese

Abstract:

According to the common interpretation, in a legal system, public powers are established by law. Exceptions are admitted in an emergency or particular relationship with public power. However, we currently agree that law allows public administration a margin of decision, even in the case of non-discretionary acts. Hence, the administrative decision not exclusively established by law becomes the rule in the ordinary state of things, non-only in state of exception. This paper aims to analyze and discuss different ideas on discretionary power on the Rule of Law and Rechtsstaat. Observing the legal literature in Europe and Nord and South America, discretionary power can be described as follow: it could be considered a margin that law accords to the executive power for political decisions or a choice between different interpretations of vague legal previsions. In essence, this explanation admits for the executive a decision not established by law or anyhow not exclusively established by law. This means that the discretionary power of public administration integrates the law. However, integrating law does not mean to decide according to the law, but it means to integrate law with a decision involving public power. Consequently, discretionary power is essentially free will. In this perspective, also the Rule of Law and the Rechtsstaat are notions explained differently. Recently, we can observe how the European notion of Rechtsstaat is founded on the formal validity of the law; therefore, for this notion, public authority’s decisions not regulated by law represent a problem. Thus, different systems of law integration have been proposed in legal literature, such as values, democracy, reasonableness, and so on. This paper aims to verify how, looking at those integration clauses from a logical viewpoint, integration based on the recourse to the legal system itself does not resolve the problem. The aforementioned integration clauses are legal rules that require hard work to explain the correct meaning of the law; in particular, they introduce dangerous criteria in favor of the political majority. A different notion of public power can be proposed. This notion includes two main features: (a) sovereignty belongs to persons and not the state, and (b) fundamental rights are not grounded but recognized by Constitutions. Hence, public power is a system based on fundamental rights. According to this approach, it can also be defined as the notion of public interest as concrete maximization of fundamental rights enjoyments. Like this, integration of the law, vague or subject to several interpretations, must be done by referring to the system of fundamental individual rights. We can think, for instance, to fundamental rights that are right in an objective view but not legal because not established by law.

Keywords: administrative discretion, free will, fundamental rights, public power, sovereignty

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Authors: Shanaj Parvin Jonaki

Abstract:

After the first wave of the feminist movement, gender has become one of the most important issues to be researched in social science. Many gender theories have been invented and opened a new window to look at. These works showed how gender is a social construct, how gender has been used to oppress, how to rule. While it's the education system’s duty to guide students to understand the concept of gender, it sometimes shows gender-based discrimination. Transgenders exclusion from educational institutes of Bangladesh justifies this very statement. This study aims to figure out how people perceive transgenders’ identity, their inclusion in secondary schools, as well as the underlying barriers in the pathway of inclusion in the context of Bangladesh. A qualitative approach was taken to explore different perspectives towards transgender inclusion from several stakeholders such as students, parents, and teachers of secondary schools and transgenders as well. Data were collected through focus group discussion and interview by convenient sampling. 15 students, 10 parents, and 5 teachers were selected from Bangla Medium school as well as from Madrasha. Collected data were analyzed thematically and were run by experts of gender, education, and psychology to identify the core barriers of inclusion. The study revealed that most of the students, teachers, and parents lacked the knowledge of non-binary gender identities, and they showed unwillingness towards the inclusion of transgender in schools because of the cultural context of Bangladesh. Moreover, this study suggests future initiatives to be taken to ensure the inclusion of transgenders in a secondary school in our country and analyzes it through the lens of feminist theories.

Keywords: education, gender, inclusion, transgender

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Dana Pugach, Michal Tamir

Abstract:

Most criminal cases end with a plea agreement, an issue whose many aspects have been discussed extensively in legal literature. One important feature, however, has gained little notice, and that is crime victims’ place in plea agreements following the federal Crime Victims Rights Act of 2004. This law has provided victims some meaningful and potentially revolutionary rights, including the right to be heard in the proceeding and a right to appeal against a decision made while ignoring the victim’s rights. While victims’ rights literature has always emphasized the importance of such right, references to this provision in the general literature about plea agreements are sparse, if existing at all. Furthermore, there are a few cases only mentioning this right. This article purports to bridge between these two bodies of legal thinking – the vast literature concerning plea agreements and victims’ rights research– by using behavioral economics. The article will, firstly, trace the possible structural reasons for the failure of this right to be materialized. Relevant incentives of all actors involved will be identified as well as their inherent consequential processes that lead to the victims’ rights malfunction. Secondly, the article will use nudge theory in order to suggest solutions that will enhance incentives for the repeat players in the system (prosecution, judges, defense attorneys) and lead to the strengthening of weaker group’s interests – the crime victims. Behavioral psychology literature recognizes that the framework in which an individual confronts a decision can significantly influence his decision. Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein developed the idea of ‘choice architecture’ - ‘the context in which people make decisions’ - which can be manipulated to make particular decisions more likely. Choice architectures can be changed by adjusting ‘nudges,’ influential factors that help shape human behavior, without negating their free choice. The nudges require decision makers to make choices instead of providing a familiar default option. In accordance with this theory, we suggest a rule, whereby a judge should inquire the victim’s view prior to accepting the plea. This suggestion leaves the judge’s discretion intact; while at the same time nudges her not to go directly to the default decision, i.e. automatically accepting the plea. Creating nudges that force actors to make choices is particularly significant when an actor intends to deviate from routine behaviors but experiences significant time constraints, as in the case of judges and plea bargains. The article finally recognizes some far reaching possible results of the suggestion. These include meaningful changes to the earlier stages of criminal process even before reaching court, in line with the current criticism of the plea agreements machinery.

Keywords: plea agreements, victims' rights, nudge theory, criminal justice

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