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Television is a universally popular medium that offers a myriad of choices to viewers around the world. American programs both reflect and influence the culture of the times. Two dramatic series, The Closer and Saving Grace, were presented on the same cable network and shared genre and design. Both featured female police detectives and demonstrated an acute awareness of postmodern feminism. The Closer was very successful, yet Saving Grace, was cancelled midway through the third season. A close study of plot lines and character development in the shows will elucidate their fundamental differences that serve to explain their widely disparate reception by the viewing public.

This thesis examines the legislative modernisation of Scots criminal law and justice through a feminist lens. The primary research question that it sets out to answer is whether the legislative modernisation of Scots criminal law and justice – understood as a process that involves increased reliance on legislation and a movement away from the Scottish common law tradition – can meet feminist aims. This thesis approaches this question from a theoretical and practical standpoint, and considers both whether individual, specific areas of Scots criminal law and justice (most notably the corroboration requirement and the partial defence of provocation) can be modernised in a way that is agreeable from a feminist perspective, and whether overall legislative modernisation is likely to be met with feminist approval. Particular attention is paid to feminist ideas about legislative reform, and to the work of feminist legal theorists who have challenged the 'traditional' presentation of law as neutral, autonomous, determinate and self-contained. The relationship between feminism, legal positivism and legal formalism is explored in detail. The central argument of this thesis is that feminist voices should be heard, accurately represented and responded to as the nature, content and form of Scots criminal law and justice continues to evolve and change. This thesis therefore also addresses how the Scottish Government has engaged with feminist ideas to date, and considers what formal policies or procedures are currently in place in Scotland that would facilitate, or hamper, the inclusion of feminist ideas as legislative modernisation continues to occur. In this regard, current 'mainstreaming' practices in Scotland are analysed in some depth. Ultimately, this thesis reaches conclusions that challenge assumptions about the progressiveness of legislative reform and the consequences of the Scottish Government introducing legislation in areas of paradigmatic feminist concern, and the extent to which across-the-board legislative modernisation will have a positive impact on the status of women.

in English The objective of this thesis is to trace and depict the beginnings of feminist thought in America. Its aim is to show how feminist thought was developed within the Puritan/Protestant community as well as its effect on the African-Americans who were integrated into the Puritan community as an inferior race through the slave trade. The thesis uses qualitative and quantitative methods of research. A variety of primary and secondary material is used to describe the beliefs of the people in the era, such as the division of the male and female spheres of influence. The views of both men and women are provided to create a more objective description of the era and its beliefs. In addition, the subject is considered from the American point of view as well as the point of view of foreigners, such as the French historian and political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville. Furthermore, feminism is depicted in various realms of the society - in literature, in the theatre, in the political and in the social life. The quantitative methods include statistical data on wages to prove women were not fairly treated in comparison to men, as well as data from the 1860 Census to prove the drastic effects of slavery upon African-American women and the immorality within the white society's marriage institution. The...

University of Macau / Faculty of Arts and Humanities. / Department of English

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 198-208). / Progress on women's equality in Japan is found to be constrained by state intervention in the women's movement. This intervention takes the form of regulations that limit the independence of women's group, as well as resources that aid and influence their activities. The result is a relationship between women and the state that is more cooperative than conflictual. For this reason, social change is necessarily slow, as it is achieved through constant consultation and compromise. These findings were reached through an examination of women's organizations, women's centers, and women's policy in Japan. Data collected on 889 women's organizations shows a vibrant and diverse women's movement. But Japanese government policies make it difficult for grassroots civic groups to gain legal recognition and develop beyond part-time voluntary associations into full-time professional organizations. At the same time, the Japanese government actively intervenes to aid women's organizations by providing various resources, such as direct funding, government offices for women's policy, and public women's centers. Data collected on 623 women's centers and analysis of various women's programs show how the provision of these resources allow the government to influence the women's movement. In this way, cooperation between the state and women's movement is institutionalized, minimizing social conflict and slowing social change. / by Miriam Y. Murase. / Ph.D.