Disability,right to culture and copyright: which regulatory option?

Access to knowledge and participation in cultural life for persons with disabilities has always constituted a tough challenge. Recent studies show that only 5% of published works are available in accessible format, and the number plummets to 1% in developing countries. Coupled with the high costs of production and distribution, and the full reliance on public funds and intervention of public or non-profit organizations, copyright has traditionally represented an additional obstacle on the path for a broader availability of accessible works. Recently, the situation has worsened with the tilting in the balance between rights and exceptions caused by the legislative response to digital threats, when the unprecedented opportunities offered by new technologies to foster accessibility have been largely trumped by copyright law. Still, the last decades have witnessed the beginning of a paradigm shift, originating from the human rights arena, and moving towards a new definition of the interplay between authors’ rights and the right to take part in cultural life, both at a general level and with particular regards to persons with disabilities. This article offers a diachronic overview of the path that, from the rediscovery of Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights through its General Comments to Article 30 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, has led to the adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty. It then analyses, with a focus on the European Union and its Member States, the national and regional responses to the new human rights obligations, looking at the relations between legislative exceptions and model or collective license agreements. The assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the two main regulatory options lays the groundwork for proposals of further areas of intervention, necessary to fully comply with the international human rights obligations and to achieve the fullest access to and participation in culture possible for persons with disabilities, by using the tools offered by international and national copyright law.     

Linking past and future: cross-border development and quality of life in the Badakhshans

The 1895 Pamir Convention divided the mountainous region of Badakhshan into separate entities under Russian and British/Afghan influence, leading to a remarkable divergence in the development fortunes of a people once united by kinship. For those in today's Gorno-Badakhshan in Tajikistan, incorporation into the Soviet Union brought investments in education, health, physical infrastructure, and the economy. People living in Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province retained more political freedom but lived remotely within a feudal state where development investment was limited. In recent decades, both regions have experienced conflict that has affected their development. In this article, we use findings from quality of life assessments carried out by the Aga Khan Development Network to illustrate the stark differences between the Badakhshans. We discuss ongoing efforts to implement cross-border development programmes to improve quality of life in both Badakhshans, while noting that their success depends on a stable security environment in the region.     

Trends and mechanisms of corruption in South Korea

Corruption remains one of the key obstacles to democratization and good governance. Given the nature of the subject, corruption is notoriously difficult to study. International comparisons and rankings of good governance such as the World Bank World Governance Indicators, the Bertelsmann Sustainable Governance Index, or Transparency International's Global Corruption Index are very useful for providing the big picture on corruption. To understand trends and mechanisms of corruption, however, it is necessary to conduct case studies on both successful and failed cases of anti-corruption policies. This paper investigates the successes and challenges of the fight against corruption in South Korea since the beginning of democratization in 1987. The investigation shows that Korea has generally been successful in controlling corruption. The paper argues that the remaining problems can be largely explained by the legacy of authoritarian rule and the undermining of state autonomy through the concentration of economic power.     

French Enlightenment: truth and life

This paper considers the relations of truth, life and norm in the work of Georges Canguilhem and Michel Foucault argued that in France it was in the philosophy of science that one finds the clearest formulations of the problems of rationality and the sovereignty of reason. This distintive confrontation can be termed French Modern. For Canguilhem, an ontological and existential pathos arose from the fact that living beings were fated to struggle in the face of circumstances. For Foucault, this ontology became historical and political. For both, the key question was the relationship between life itself and the understanding of life. The paper concludes by reflecting upon some implications of the ways in which the relation between life and lived experience is posed today.     

论善的功能

善作为处理人与人、人与社会关系中所呈出的正向的、有益的价值范畴, 它在历史发展、社会生活和立体完善中所发挥的功能及作用无疑是积极的、有益的。大致而言,善在社会进步中表现出规范的功能、创造的功能以及整合的功能等主要功能。善的主要功能, 旨在弘扬善的有益的积极的方面, 为市场经济条件下的道德建设提供一定的思路和启示。     

论公共安全危机事件中公安机关与媒体的良性互动关系

我国当前正处于经济转轨和社会转型的关键时期,因人为的、社会的或管理的等因素引发各种社会矛盾和社会问题接连不断,由此导致公共安全危机事件日益凸显。由于民主政治建设的需要,保障和实现公众知情权,特别是公共安全危机事件的特点和媒体的特性,决定了媒体必然介入公安机关应对公共安全危机事件中。公安机关为及时有效地应对、管理、处置公共安全危机事件,提高公安机关驾驭社会治安能力和水平,履行好公安机关的任务和职责,必须与媒体建立良性互动关系。     

公安工作与民俗

民俗具有社会性、模式性、传承性和变异性。其形成以社会生活为基础 ,其发展与社会生活相适应 ,对社会生活具有教化功能、规范功能和调节功能。民俗全面渗透于社会环境之中 ,对公安工作有各种影响和作用。公安工作应严格依法尊重民俗 ,充分开发利用民俗资源。     

文化新世纪与人类新千年

人类文化的发展,从宏观上看已经历了自然文化和科学文化这两个文化千年.在21世纪的今天,人类极有希望建构以生命为核心的文化新千年,从而实现人类文明的整体性跃迁.     

论群众路线的成因及其理论与实践特色

群众路线作为毛泽东思想活的灵魂 ,其形成有着特定的理论来源、社会条件、根本依据和民族土壤 ,由此而形成了独特的理论与实践特色 :牢固的理论基石 ;事关中国革命和建设全局的性质 ;党的生命线的作用 ;中国作风和中国气派以及创造精神     

对夫妻同居义务的立法探讨

针对是否有必要在法律上规定夫妻同居义务 ,作者通过对婚姻的自然与社会属性以及生活上的考察 ,认为 ,如果明确规定 ,有可能带来①夫妻一方不愿意时法律无能强制 ;②婚内强奸但求救无门和无法 ,③协议分居期间一方的性侵犯如何认定等困难处境。要维护婚姻关系 ,关健是在立法上规定“夫妻共同婚姻生活”和“夫妻双方共负贞操义务