Family succession through adoption in the Chosun Dynasty

Using a unique data source of genealogies of upper-status families, called Bulcheonwye families, we assess how the extent of family succession through adoption changed over five centuries from 1450 to 1949 in Korea. Our analysis shows the continued increase in the share of adopted sons among total family successors up to the end of the 19th century when three out of ten family successors were adopted. The trend of the increasing role of adoption is closely related to the declining number of sons per family, suggesting that not only the rising influence of Confucian culture but also demographic changes increased the demand for adoption. Finally, our comparison provides evidence that the likelihood of achieving high social status was significantly higher among adopted sons than biological ones, suggesting that the socioeconomic potential of adopted sons could be an important factor for adoption decision.     

从清末修律的局限性看中国对西方法律的借鉴

190 2～ 1911年间 ,清政府进行修律 ,制订了大批新式法典并由此建立起中国近代的法律体系 ,对后世的立法与司法活动产生了深远的影响。由于当时主客观条件的限制 ,这次变革实质是以资产阶级法律形式掩盖封建法律的内容 ,故存在很多缺陷。文章根据法律移植理论 ,对清末修律的局限性进行了分析 ,并探讨当前我国的法治建设对西方法律的借鉴及对中国传统法律的继承问题。     

弃婴与收养:计划生育与村落生育文化的冲撞与耦合——对1990年代赣南农村计划生育政策运行逻辑的一项微观解读

20世纪末赣南农村涌现的弃婴潮和收养高峰在一定程度上消解了国家计划生育政策的实施绩效。弃婴与收养的潮起潮落,不仅折射出村落生育文化的转变,更裹挟着国家与农民关系的转型意味。在这个意义上,计划生育政策背后所隐藏的实际上是国家与农民关系问题,亦即国家权力该如何与数量众多且又高度分散的小农相对接的问题。由此,国家计划生育目标的实现不仅依赖于政策制度的设计,而且要充分考量政策运行的社会基础。     

The ‘wanted’ children. Experiences of Hungarian children living with Belgian foster families during the interwar period

Transnational adoption and child migration are often regarded as recent phenomena, yet there is a long history of children travelling without their families, settling and integrating in a foreign culture and environment. In the 1920s, thousands of Hungarian children went to Belgium for a six-month holiday within the framework of a humanitarian project. Although they were supposed to return to Hungary after their vacation, some of them stayed indefinitely with their Belgian families. By analyzing oral testimonies of the now elderly ‘children’ about their migration and childhood experiences in Belgium, we explore how they construct and reconstruct concepts such as childhood, vulnerability, and loyalty commitments, and show the crucial importance of maintaining birth family ties for the future development of transnationally adopted children.     

State sponsored large scale technology transfer projects in a developing country context

Technology transfer can be seen as an effective mechanism to advance the flow of technological development in a developing country’s economy. Though normally small-scale technology transfer projects are initiated and managed by private organizations, the large-scale technology transfer projects in a developing country are sponsored by the state itself, given the complexity level of and resource requirements for such projects. The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the critical elements of a successful large-scale technology transfer process framework in a developing country context. Four components are highlighted that facilitate a successful large-scale technology transfer process. These are: (i) understanding and selecting technology components; (ii) selecting a technology transfer mode; (iii) negotiating effective process; and (iv) developing capability. Aspects of negotiation and adoption/assimilation capability development are stressed in this paper, which is commonly missed out in conventional technology transfer framework. Accordingly a comprehensive and goal oriented technology transfer framework has been presented in the paper linking all the core elements. A Libyan case study is discussed to illustrate the framework.      

Judicial conformity versus dissidence: an economic analysis of judicial precedent

The individual decision made by a judge does not only reflect his personal preferences about a case but also the expected response of the judicial community to the decision. We propose an analysis of judicial attitudes towards precedent based on the adoption externalities associated with legal rules. The situation is modelled as a coordination problem within a sequential game of two periods in which judges play a bandwagon strategy.     

Establishing Identity: How Direct‐to‐Consumer Genetic Testing Challenges the Assumption of Donor Anonymity

The rise of direct‐to‐consumer genetic testing is challenging the rules and expectations of the fertility industry concerning donor anonymity. While ethicists debate whose rights should prevail, many donor conceived people, recipient parents and donors are currently sharing their genetic information, along with methods to identify genetic links, in vast online communities, invalidating donor anonymity and providing a platform for those who advocate globally for legislative change to support donor‐linking practices. This article looks at why it is important to access this information in relation to identity and kinship formation and how the Family Court Community can apply this knowledge in order to achieve better outcomes for children and families.     

Court Considerations in the Termination of Parental Rights: A Comprehensive Analysis of Israeli Court Decisions

Court decisions to terminate parental rights (TPR) have a major impact on parents and children, but the decision‐making process is unclear. Analysis of 261 Israeli TPR court cases indicated the dominance of considerations relating to normative parental functioning, the parents' ability to change, the impact of separating a child from his family, the parents' social normativity and educational ability. The legal considerations relate to the importance of the biological family, the necessity of adoption and the importance of a fair legal process. Insufficient consideration is accorded to cultural differences in parenting practices and the voice of the child.     

Let's Make a Brand New Start of it in Old New York: Using Mediation to Resolve Open Adoption Disputes

There is no general consensus of how to handle disputes arising from open adoption agreements. Some states have statutes mandating mediation, but New York does not. This Note proposes that New York enact a statute that mandates adoptive and birth parents use mediation for disputes arising from open adoption agreements. The proposed statute provides a comprehensive approach to mediation by setting forth when mediation is appropriate and when it is not. The statute will also provide when the child's preference can be taken into consideration, and who will pay for mediation.