1,720,956 research outputs found
Beyond the written dissertation: empowering communities and gaining practical skills through final-year LLB projects
Full text linkThis paper aims to explore the transformative potential of replacing traditional dissertations with community-based projects for law students. It examines how these projects empower both communities and students by addressing key challenges, such as the need for work experience among new graduates and the development of essential skills for the next centuries such as project management, entrepreneurship, problem solving and critical thinking. These skills are crucial for diverse career paths, including roles in non-governmental organizations, academia, management, public service, and entrepreneurship. This study drew on an interdisciplinary approach within a Master\u27s in Law Social Justice program offered by the University of Cape Town. The student utilized non-traditional research methods in law, including job shadowing, interviews, questionnaires, and workshops, to identify and implement impactful solutions for the realisation of the right to health within the Hawston Community in Cape Town. The chosen project which was aimed ensuring the enjoyment of the right to health by residence of the Hawston Community involved palliative care training and fundraising for personal protective equipment and bicycles for caregivers at the Overstrand Care Centre in Hawston, South Africa. The findings of the project demonstrated that law students if empowered with both qualitative and quantitative research methods can use their legal knowledge to conceive projects that result in transformative outcomes which are informed by legal principles and values advocated and advanced throughout their legal studies. The palliative care training which fostered the enjoyment of the right to health significantly improved caregivers\u27 ability to support their communities, addressing gaps in access to healthcare and building a solid foundation for the enjoyment of the right to health provided for in section 27 of the South African Constitution. For the student, the initiative offered practical experience in project management, interdisciplinary research, and community engagement. It also highlighted the value of experiential learning as a pathway for developing entrepreneurship, leadership, and professional skills. The conclusion by the student was that, practical community-based projects as final assessments in legal education can create both theoretically grounded graduates who are socially responsive and can directly address community needs. Compared to writing a dissertation, this approach which will include a writing component of a literature review fosters a new generation of lawyers equipped with practical skills, a commitment to social justice, and the potential to drive entrepreneurship as well as sustainable initiatives. By integrating such projects into legal education, the author recommends institutions to offer an alternative of community projects as opposed to dissertation writing to cultivate future leaders who are both community-sensitive and practice-ready, bridging the gap between academia and societal impact
The Scope and Content of Section 75(1)(a) of the Zimbabwean Constitution: An International Law Approach
No full textExploring the purpose and evolution of education: from informal learning to formal schooling, challenges, international legal frameworks and recommendations for the future
Full text linkEducation has transitioned from an informal, community-driven process rooted in family and tribal collectivism to a formalized system of structured learning within schools. This paper explores the historical evolution of education, beginning with its early roots in natural, informal interactions within communities and the pivotal role of parents and families in shaping foundational learning. It examines the shift to formal education, driven by the advent of written symbols and societal complexity, and highlights the critical functions of schools in socialization, skill acquisition, and cultural preservation. Foundational theories on education are discussed, emphasizing its social embeddedness and collective purpose. The paper further addresses contemporary challenges in formal education, including issues of accessibility, quality disparities, systemic discrimination, and the selective nature of assessments. These challenges are analyzed through the lens of international legal frameworks, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Convention Against Discrimination in Education (CADE), which provide a normative basis for addressing inequities in education systems. The methodology taking a doctrinal approach involves a critical review of historical accounts, theoretical perspectives, and legal instruments, to uncover both cultural nuances and global legal standards relating to education. The findings underscore the transformative potential of education when it is inclusive, adaptable, and aligned with societal, cultural and legal contexts. Recommendations include improving accessibility and quality. By emphasizing the role of law in advancing these objectives, the study calls for systemic reforms to achieve universal access to quality education and highlights the necessity of aligning education with the broader goals of societal equity and development
A HEXAGON RIGHT: THE SIX DIMENSIONS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN RIGHT TO BASIC EDUCATION
No full textNotwithstanding the enactment of the South African Constitution in 1996, 23 years later, the need to determine the scope and content of the right to basic education has been a battlefield for authors. Whilst authors battle, complaints are made about the South African government charging school fees for basic education, decreasing pass thresholds for matriculants, students learning in dilapidated classrooms, non-delivery of text books, unqualified teachers and many complaints reminiscent of a failing basic education system. Despite citizen attempts to take the government to court for specific violations relating to the provision of basic education, in the absence of a law of general application specifically unpacking the scope and content of the right to basic education in South Africa, an ultimate question remains, what is the scope and content of the right to basic education for the purposes of its implementation in South Africa? This paper attempts to determine the scope and content of section 29(1)(a) using an international law approach. After engaging the provisions of international law as well as writings by other authors, the conclusion is that, in relation to its scope and content, section 29(1)(a) is a hexagon right that is, a right comprising of six interrelated dimensions. The six dimensions are that, the right to basic education includes primary and secondary school attendance, the right to basic education includes compulsory and free attendance of both primary and secondary school and the right to basic education is an unqualified right. Further, the right to basic education is a minimum core content of the right to education, the right to basic education must be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable and the quality standard of the right to basic education is explained by the World Declaration on Basic Education for All, 1990
Comprehending education: a compelling case for prioritizing education within national and international development agendas
Full text linkEducation is widely acknowledged as a fundamental socio-economic right that can transform lives, alleviate poverty, and drive social mobility. This paper explores education’s dual role as a process with defined aims and benefits and as a mechanism for achieving broader human rights. It highlights how education equips individuals with skills and knowledge that enhance employability, increase earning potential, and improve overall quality of life. Education’s contribution to national development is underscored through its role in building a skilled workforce, fostering innovation, and driving economic growth. International law recognizes education as a cornerstone for realising other rights, emphasizing its interrelated, interconnected, and interdependent nature. The paper examines the critical relationship between education and other socio-economic rights, such as the rights to work, health, and adequate living standards, arguing that individuals struggle to fully enjoy these rights without education. It also discusses the unique categorization of education within socio-economic rights and the historical evolution of their recognition and justiciability across legal systems. The role of schools in shaping education is explored, emphasizing their importance in fostering critical thinking and preparing individuals to navigate and transform their social and economic realities. Special attention is given to marginalized groups, particularly women and children, highlighting how education empowers them to challenge systemic discrimination and inequality. By presenting education as an essential tool for achieving dignity, equality, and empowerment, this paper makes a compelling case for prioritizing education within national and international development agendas
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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