The majority legal status of women in southern Africa: implications for women and families

Women in many countries of southern Africa do not have majority status or have only recently gained this right. Majority status grants individuals adult legal status and the right to bring matters to court, own and administer property, have legal custody of children, and contract for marriage. This article summarizes the legal status of women in Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Lack of majority status contributes to the ongoing risk of poverty for women and makes them overly dependent on men. Compounding the situation in these countries is the presence of a dual legal system. Improving the situation of women and their families involves targeting changes in the legal system, influencing implementation of laws, educating women about their rights, and giving women needed support to seek their legal rights. The legal status of women must be viewed in the context of historical changes in the economic, educational, political, and cultural developments of society.The research for this paper was conducted during her previous faculty affiliation with the University of Michigan, School of Social Work. Her research interests include the impact of social change on women and families, rural mental health services, and health and mental health linkages. She received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University and her M.S.W. from the Columbia University School of Social Work.Her research interests are gender, work and family, culture and power, social transformations in rural and peri-urban communities, critical education, women and community politics, history of women, family and kinship issues, and community-based program development and evaluation. She received her M.S.W. from Dalhousie University, Halifax.     

论免费软件经营者的法定和契约义务及其法律规制

随着互联网开放共享精神的发展、计算机软件开发技术的改进,以及软件经营商业模式的改变,免费软件越来越多地呈献给广大互联网用户,随之也带来了更多的知识产权纠纷,侵犯个人隐私以及不正当竞争行为时有发生.软件免费经营如何实现盈利,根据权利义务对等原则,软件免费是否意味着软件经营者就无需承担义务？文章主要阐述了免费软件概念、内涵、盈利途径及法律性质,并通过对免费软件经营者的法定义务、契约义务的分析论证,提出有效的法律规制建议.     

习近平建设海洋强国重要论述研究

习近平建设海洋强国重要论述经历了率先发出“向海进军”号召、明确提出海洋经济强省建设、庄严宣告海洋强国建设三个阶段。习近平建设海洋强国重要论述主要包括发展海洋经济、保护海洋环境、创新海洋科技、维护海洋权益等。习近平建设海洋强国重要论述具有三个鲜明的特点：在海洋强国建设“目的性”上做到了为国富强与为民谋利的统筹;在海洋强国建设“方法论”上做到了矛盾论和系统论等方法的统筹运用;在海洋强国建设“治理观”上实现了国际治理与国家治理的统筹。习近平建设海洋强国重要论述具有重要的区域意义——指导有关沿海省份创建海洋强省示范区、国家意义——强力推进海洋强国建设并取得了重大突破、世界意义——为全球海洋治理提供“中国方案”和“中国经验”。     

国家义务构造论的功能主义建构

国家义务是保障公民权利不可或缺的工具。确定国家义务内容主要诉诸基本权利功能、人权保障和规范主义3种路径。但以上路径过于强调国家义务内容的组成,从而带来理论层级设计混乱、语词选择不一、内部逻辑不明、理论功能不完善、整体性建构缺失等弊端。欲解决以上诸问题,层级化、递进式的国家义务构造理论为可行方案。其中,自由权向社会权的转向决定其实质内容,需求层次理论形塑内部层级结构,而融贯体系化和系统构造论则提供外部理论支持。功能主义系统论和内容理论的积淀最终建构了以尊重、保护和给付为基本要素的“二元三层次多位阶”的国家义务构造论。     

论行政诉讼非法证据类型

非法证据排除规则最早在美国确立并得到发展,形成一套比较完整的体系。我国对非法证据排除规则的探讨很长时期仅停留在理论阶段,2012年《刑事诉讼法》修改中采纳并确立这一证据规则,使其从理论探讨变为实践,也为行政诉讼非法证据排除规则的探讨提供了很好的借鉴。目前,行政诉讼法正处于修改时期,以现有的法律规范为基础探讨行政诉讼非法证据的类型及其判断标准显得尤为必要。     

简论民事诉讼处分原则之立法模式

处分原则是最能反映民事诉讼特色的基本原则。由于诉讼传统、理论以及观念的差异,各国关于处分原则的立法并不一致,主要有三种模式：大陆法系的＂处分权主义＂、英美法系对抗制下的处分原则、苏联的＂职权干预式＂处分原则。其中,大陆法系的立法模式为中国进一步改革与完善处分原则提供了一个好的范例。     

‘Youth is Present Only When Its Presence is a Problem’: Voices of Young People on Discipline in School

Discipline in schools is a topic of enduring public interest and concern. This article reviews findings from three recent research studies, which gathered views of young people on this issue in mainstream, alternative and special school settings. It reveals the confusion and frustration of students seeking to contribute to the debate, often on aspects that affect them directly and significantly. Their reflections are contextualised within a discussion of different conceptualisations of discipline, and from there, it is argued that, by strengthening the voice, power and presence of young people in dialogue on this key issue, the debate itself will be more relevant and well‐focused.     

The Human Right to Leisure in Old Age: Reinforcement of the Rights of an Aging Population

The right to leisure is recognized as a human right under the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The actual meaning and material content of this human right is subject to debate. The aim of this study is to examine the extent and the context to which this human right is specifically recognized with regard to older persons. Methodologically, this study textually analyzed 17 different international older persons’ human rights documents. The findings reveal that in the majority of these documents there is no reference to the right to leisure. In the remaining documents, the right to leisure is mostly referred to indirectly or in a narrow legal construction. These findings support the notion that despite the growing body of knowledge regarding the importance of meaningful leisure in old age—and its empowering and anti-ageist nature—this knowledge has not transformed into a legal human rights discourse.     

Global liberalization on homosexuality: Explaining the African gap

We are trapped in two divergent worlds when it comes to global views on homosexuality. There is the liberal world epitomized by Spain and other nations, where homosexuality is increasingly accepted; gays and lesbians are claiming their human rights; and laws are changing to codify that transformation. The second is the extremely anti-gay world symbolized by Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, where attitudes are favorable to criminalization. This research explains the “African Gap” in attitudes toward homosexuality in a comparative analysis of six African nations and Argentina and Canada, South and North America's most liberal nations on gay rights. Using Pew's 2015 Spring Global Attitudes Survey data, we find that the major variables have essentially similar effects on opinion in any context. Africa's distinction is explained by its comparatively higher levels of factors such as religion, morality dogma, and low socioeconomic status that generally retard support for homosexuality, at the same time of lower levels of factors such as education, urbanization, and personal liberty that increase gay support. Africa's extreme anti-gay outlook is mutable. Two social forces will facilitate this softening: expansion of liberalizing agents such as education and urbanization, and repositioning away from “traditionalism” toward modernism emphasizing individualism, civil rights, and personal liberties.     

Mitigating Harm: Considering Harm Reduction Principles in Work with Sexually Exploited Young People

A growing awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the United Kingdom and throughout the world has prompted human service and legal/policy professionals to seek ways of engaging young people experiencing sexual exploitation, although much remains unknown regarding effective practice, and whether or not current knowledge regarding best practices with young people can be expanded to address CSE. This paper considers how principles of harm reduction, a public health approach widely used to engage adults and young people in help‐seeking behaviours, can be considered as part of a children's rights‐centred approach to policy and practice with young people experiencing CSE.