African Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Human Rights: Implications for Higher Education,Based on the South African Experience

ABSTRACT

Africa has rich traditions and knowledge systems founded on the principles of caring for one another and the spirit of mutual support embedded in the African philosophy of Ubuntu. These collective values tend to be marginalised in international human rights standards built on western values. The standards were developed without broad-based consultation of the different value systems in Africa. Therefore, in order to inspire sustainable implementation among diverse cultures, dialogue to develop universal human rights and obligations based on the diversity of cultures and ways of knowing is needed. Using South Africa's experience at two universities, the extent to which these institutions have attempted to incorporate African indigenous knowledge systems (AIKS) and human rights into the higher education curriculum is investigated. The implications for higher education and the human rights and development paradigms built on western knowledge systems are investigated. North-West University has been the pioneer of integrating AIKS into higher education in South Africa and is the only higher education institution in South Africa with an accredited IKS Teaching Programme at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels – which has been notably successful, albeit with some challenges. AIKS has also been integrated into research and teaching at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and has registered significant successes since 2012. The need to embed AIKS in the curriculum of higher education institutions is affirmed.     

Public Support for Democratic Governance in Southeast Asia

Abstract

The transition and consolidation of democracy in Southeast Asia has proven fragile and tenuous some 30 years after the current wave of democratization began. A critical ingredient in the process of democratization is the role of public opinion and the extent that the public supports the democratic ‘rules of the game’. This study uses 2006 and 2007 public opinion data from the AsiaBarometer Survey of six Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Singapore) to examine popular perceptions of democracy and democratic principles and practices. Specifically, it seeks to shed light on the following interrelated questions: Do democratic institutions in Southeast Asia work well in the short and long term? To what extent are citizens in these countries satisfied with various political and civil freedoms? Do citizens trust specific institutions to operate in the best interests of their society? Does the current political system and government perform well?     

Visual representation,editorial power,and the dual ‘othering’ of black men in the South African gay press: The case of Gay Pages

Abstract

This article considers some of the ways in which black gay men are marginalised within the queer community and have limited ‘visibility’ in mainstream queer visual culture. The formation of a minority within a minority (or the ‘other’ Other) is ultimately what the article sets out to expose. Thus, we argue that images of black gay men are far less ubiquitous than, for example, those of white, male and middle-class gay men. In order to illustrate this, a purposive sample from the South African gay men's lifestyle magazine Gay Pages is considered and critiqued. We argue that the visual mode of Gay Pages gives the impression of promoting a hegemonic gay male identity. This identity appears to be ‘natural’, but is in fact one-sided and stereotypical, as are most cultural constructions and representations. The narrow and limited representation of gay men endorses an exclusive, homogenous and inaccurate portrait of the queer constituency (in the minds of heterosexual and gay South Africans alike) and suggests the question that leads this investigation: If ‘belonging’ is articulated through the consumption of queer culture, what then of those queers who do not fit the ‘mould’ standardised by mainstream gay print media? This exploration of queer visual media deals not only with that which is frequently represented (white homomasculinity), but also, more significantly, with that which is not (black homomasculinity).     

Reader Participation in Spanish Electoral Coverage: The Case of a Small Newspaper

Between 1993 and 1995, the National Air and Space Museum was involved in a heated generic controversy. Curators at the museum planned a display called "The Last Act" from an interpretative genre to interrogate the traditional histories surrounding the Enola Gay bombing of Hiroshima. Characterized as "revisionists," these curators became involved in a political clash with those veterans and members of Congress who saw the Smithsonian as part of a commemorative genre that should celebrate the end of World War II. The present analysis examines the political implications that attended this clash of genres and the resulting rhetorical constraints in the cultural wars over the Enola Gay display.     

Intellectual Property Counterfeiting and Piracy – Response of Small Commonwealth Jurisdictions∗

This article provides an analysis of some recent developments relating to Constitutional law in Jamaica, including the legal issues arising from tied elections and the dual nationality of parliamentarians. It also discusses a case relating to the failure to incorporate the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime (the Palermo Convention). In this case, though the Palermo Convention contemplates investigations by agents of one country on the territory of another for certain crimes, one state party found it was unable to carry out such investigations on the territory of another. Although the latter country, a CARICOM member state, was also a party to the Convention, it had not enacted the required implementing legislation     

违反治安管理行为人陈述申辩权保障之探析

陈述和申辩权是治安管理处罚决定作出前向违反治安管理行为人进行处罚告知法定必经程序的重要内容,是对违反治安管理行为人的一项重要的"事前救济"权利。执法实践中存在的诸多问题严重影响了违反治安管理行为人对该权利的行使,损害了其合法权益。加强法治理念,提高程序公正意识,加强执法监督和责任追究以及律师介入等,对于保障违反治安管理行为人的陈述和申辩权、促进公正执法意义重大。     

Relativierung des Rechts durch Digitalisierung

Das Recht ist in modernen Gesellschaften ein wichtiges Steuerungsmittel. Schon bisher ist es allerdings nicht das einzige Instrument gewesen, um gesellschaftliche Entwicklungen und individuelles Verhalten zu beeinflussen. Es gab und gibt Bereiche, die sich selbst organisieren und in denen staatliches Recht aus unterschiedlichen Gründen nicht das entscheidende Steuerungsmittel ist. Dieser Beitrag untersucht, wie sich die zunehmende Digitalisierung der modernen Gesellschaften auf die Steuerungsfähigkeit des Rechts auswirkt. Er kommt dabei zu dem Ergebnis, dass die Bedeutung des Rechts in der digitalisierten und hoch fragmentierten Welt abnimmt. Das Recht muss sich deshalb Verbündete in anderen Bereichen der Gesellschaft suchen, um weiterhin Steuerungsfunktionen für die Gesellschaft wahrnehmen zu können. Der Beitrag skizziert, wer als Verbündeter des Rechts in Frage kommt und wie die notwendigen transrechtlichen Kooperationen aussehen könnten.     

关于改善公安民警执法环境的思考

公安执法环境是一个复杂的、开放的系统,是由若干相互联系和相互作用的要素组成的有机整体。公安机关自身的因素和社会外部众多矛盾的相互作用使得当前公安民警的执法环境处于非常尴尬的境地。改善公安民警的执法环境除了公安机关自身的努力之外,还必须通过社会各方面的努力,才能真正促进社会的公平与正义,促使公安民警在维护社会稳定和为公众提供理想的公共安全服务产品方面履行好应尽的职责。     

论食品安全权是我国公民的基本权利

食品是人类赖以生存和发展的物质基础,食品安全关系国计民生。食品安全问题随着社会的发展而引起人们的高度关注,食品安全权与生命权、健康权具有同等重要的地位,从人类生存意义上来看,公民的食品安全权是人类不言而喻的一项基本权利,但目前我国的宪法并没有明确确认公民这一基本权利。事实上,我国宪法规定的模糊性已造成了对公民食品安全权保障的不确定性。因而,食品安全权应属于公民的一项基本权利,我国宪法应予以确认,并在宪法的高度给予其强有力的保障。