This thesis explores the experiences of Canadian academic women in terms of location, space and voice. Within this qualitative study, the spaces of and for women within the university are examined by way of women's subjective experiences of 'value' and 'being valued'. Differences in experiences between women based on age, colour, tenure and academic rank are described through the voices of thirty academic women. The study argues that the "illusionary practices of equity" operating within the university milieu, exacerbate the tensions inherent in contradictory subject locations that women occupy within academe. The struggles of representation and identity within these contested spaces raise the challenges of whose voice will have space within the privileged locations of higher learning.

In India, the Hindu Succession Rights Act of 1956 allows the widow, the daughters, alongside the sons of the deceased senior male, to claim an equal share in familial property. By giving inheritance rights to daughters and widows, and not exclusively to sons, this Act proposes a radically different organization of the ideal patrilineal household, commonly referred to as "the Hindu joint family". The Act initiates a transformation of Hindu women's status through their rights to property, which implies the transformation of women's rights and duties in India. / Drawing on the analysis made during an extensive fieldwork period in a rural community and case studies in Pune tribunals, this thesis shows that women generally know that they have some rights to their father's and husband's property. However, for various reasons, they do not see any advantage in claiming their inheritance rights. Women often find it difficult to reconcile claiming rights with their duties as daughters (or daughters-in-law) and the social restrictions associated with widowhood. In addition, the complex relationships with the state bureaucracy often prevent them from their right to access property. In that context, before choosing a forum of justice, most women (and men) will first opt for conflict avoidance. / This socio-legal ethnography of women's succession rights, in the state of Maharashtra, is an anthropological contribution to the study of the dynamics of social cohesion in an environment where legal pluralism is itself in transition.

Paid domestic work is the most important occupation for urban Mozambican women after self-employment. Domestic workers perform the reproductive and productive functions necessary to keep households running and the economy growing. Despite the importance of this sector, it is characterised by low wages, long hours, rigorous schedules, and vulnerability to abuse. In 2008, Mozambique’s National Assembly passed Decree 40/2008, extending labour protections to domestic workers. There is significant debate however about whether labour protection can transform working conditions in such an intimate sector. Domestic work takes place in isolation, behind the closed doors and high walls of private homes; it consists of intimate tasks, adding a personalness to the employment relationship; and working conditions are negotiated one-on-one with employers. Drawing on historical research, primary observations and semi-structured interviews with key informants and domestic workers in Maputo’s central city, this study discusses the opportunities and limitations of legislating worker justice in an intimate profession. It explores how the institutional and regulatory framework both enables and prevents improvements in working conditions; how domestic workers leverage these institutions to advance their interests; and the informal strategies and tactics they use concurrently. The study suggests that Decree 40/2008 has had limited direct impact on working conditions. Its ambiguous language, poor dissemination, and weak regulatory structure, combined with the precarious nature of Maputo’s labour market and entrenched power relations between workers and employers, mean that domestic workers exhibit high levels of accommodation or patience, preferring to wait for conditions to improve or better options to surface, than to make outright demands from employers. However, this study also suggests Decree 40/2008 has galvanised domestic worker organising, creating a focus of mobilisation and advocacy with the potential to profoundly affect working conditions in this sector. In the context of a fractured labour movement however, domestic worker organising has become a battleground for autonomy, power, and resources. It is still too early to know whether domestic workers will ultimately benefit. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

No abstract available / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1976.

Dominant theories of aboriginal rights articulate the relation between rights and identity in terms of a logic which treats identity as an irreducible good and rights as the instrumental means of its protection. However, identity claims and legal claims emerge in our use of language. Identity and the institutions in which identities are expressed and experienced are constituted in speech. A close analysis reveals the degree to which law and identity are a systemic imbrication of normative claims characterized by an innate indeterminacy. This indeterminacy renders all rights and identity claims contingent on their reception and validation by others.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

The purpose of the study was to determine if the language of the negotiated agreements of Indiana School Corporations was reflected in professional growth and staff development activities. Collective bargaining agreements during 1982-1983 and 1988-1989 from 289 Indiana School Corporations were compared to identify the existence, if any, of (a) a trend in the acknowledgement of professional growth and staff development-related statements found in the contracts, and (b) policy statements delineating how staff development activities and curriculum-related activities were to be conducted in schools. Contract language in which comparisons appeared to be significant were subjected to the Friedman Two-way Analysis of Variance (Friedman ANOVA) to determine whether or not comparisons were statistically significant at the .05 level. Such statistically significant comparisons also helped to determine whether or not school corporations incorporated contract language, which gave instructional staff a legal position in decisions which affected teacher professional growth and participation in curriculum-related matters.Conclusions1. Compared to small enrollment Indiana School Corporations (3,000 students or less), large enrollment Indiana School Corporations (3,001 or more students) were more likely than statistically expected to provide salary compensation for higher levels of teacher education training and sabbatical leave compensation at statistically significant levels of .05 or less, based upon use of the chi-square statistic.2. The research findings failed to support movement toward greater Indiana School Corporation contract language in 1982-1983 and 1988-1989 in most of the specified staff development factors under investigation in the research. Therefore, contrary to the literature which claimed that collective bargaining would be used as a vehicle for staff development change, collective bargaining has not provided structural support for such change among Indiana School Corporations. / Department of Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of satisfaction of selected teacher spokespersons toward Indiana Public Law 217, the collective bargaining law for teachers.A survey instrument consisting of forty-six items in five Likert-response categories was mailed to 125 randomly selected teacher spokespersons in Indiana. Space was provided for respondents to write comments or rationale for their answers. Fifty-seven teacher spokespersons responded to the survey.The following rank order was utilized for each of the sections of Indiana Public j 217 ranging from (5) highly dissatisfied, (4) somewhat dissatisfied, (3) neutral, (2) somewhat satisfied to (1) highly satisfied based on the mean scores.Findings1. Selected teacher spokespersons rated four section items between 4.00 and 5.00.2. Of the forty-six section items that were surveyed, seventeen sections were rated between 3.00 and 3.99.3. Negotiators for the teachers ranked seventeen sections of Indiana Public L&7_ between 2.00 and 2.99.4. Eight section items were rated between 1.00 and 1.99 by the teacher spokesperson.Conclusions1. Teacher spokespersons were dissatisfied with the inability to strike and the penalities for unlawful strikes.2. Teacher spokespersons were dissatisfied with the procedures and restrictions governing bargaining and discussions.3. Teacher spokespersons were dissatisfied with the provisions and procedures of fact-finding, arbitration and maintaining a status quo contract.4. Teacher spokespersons were dissatisfied with the sections of the law dealing with the rights of the employer5. Teacher spokespersons were dissatisfied with the stated intent of the law.6. Teacher spokespersons were dissatisfied with the structure and powers of the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board.7. Teacher spokespersons were satisfied with the definitions of certificated employees and exclusive representative.8. Teacher spokespersons were satisfied with the procedures of unfair practices as stated in the law.9. Teacher spokesperson were satisfied with the procedures of dues deductions as stated in the law.

The focus of this study is on the criteria and processes used by the South African Revenue Services (SARS) in recognising spouses in permanent, unmarried unions. In theoretically positioning this focus, four possible areas of tax benefits were reviewed . These include: (i) donations tax, (ii) capital gains tax, (iii) estate duty tax and (iv) transfer duty. Also , the focus of this study was positioned relative to South African taxation acts. Specifically, three Acts were selected for review, viz.: (i) the Income Tax Act, No. 58 of 1962, the Estate Duty Act, No. 45 of 1955, and the Transfer Duty Act, No. 40 of 1949. These Acts may be understood relative to the South African Constitution's framing of notions like equality - given that these Acts signal the legislation's intention to honour the constitutional rights of its tax-paying citizenry. Furthermore, a theoretical framework that highlights official and espoused perspectives of practice is reviewed as it provides a theoretical frame for this study. Given this legislative and theoretical background the following aims were focussed: (1) To identify the official and espoused criteria used by the South African Revenue Services to recognise unmarried partners as spouses, and (2) To identify the official and espoused processes used b~ the South African Revenue Services to recognise unmarried partners as spouses. The chosen methodology is an explorative descriptive methodology, as situated within a qualitative framework. Data sources are described as constituting the three tax Acts, a senior SARS official, and SARS helpdesk personnel. Data selection criteria are described , and convenience and purposive sampling are the stated data selection techniques. Document analysis and interview schedules were used to collect data. Data was managed and analysed via the use of several data analysis techniques. Results are presented and discussed. Significantly, SARS has non-specific criteria that are nebulous, and open to interpretation. Furthermore, processes are poorly stated and provide insufficient guidance to the taxpayer. Given these outcomes, this study also offers two South African legal cases that cogently illustrate criteria and processes for recognising a spouse. Each of these cases are analysed regarding the criteria and processes used to determine the definition of 'spouse'. These cases, while dealing with issues of same-sex adoption and same-sex partner's rights to remuneration benefits serve to highlight factors that may be of use to SARS. Furthermore, international case exemplars are also discussed. Specifically, Canada's taxation laws were focussed. Canada's criteria and processes used to define common-law partners (read as spouse for purposes of this study) serves as an informative case exemplar, relative to other countries also investigated in this study, viz .: the United States of America , Belgium and other European countries. Finally, several recommendations are stated , and an evaluation of the study is provided. / Thesis (M.A.)-- University of Durban-Westville, 2002

Within the framework of international trade liberalization which has given rise to considerable thought about the fundamental contribution of cultural diversity to sustainable development, we explore the upholding of the educational rights of recognized linguistic minorities and of the aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations under the Constitution Act, 1982. We examine these rights in the light of relevant judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada in order to confirm our initial hypothesis that the highest court in the land can show governments here and abroad the steps to take to ensure that the cultural rights specific to some communities and the citizenship common to the population as a whole can coexist in a free and democratic nation. / Our analysis shows that, while relying on the historical, equality and cultural-based justification of the existence of these rights, the Court favours an approach centred on three fundamental principles: the duty of the State to act equitably in the "best interest" of cultural minorities through a flexible approach to the interpretation of established rights; a fair participation in the management of and access to resources by minority groups; and finally, the fostering of social cohesion in order for unity in diversity to be maintained through a reconciliation of existing rights which must be achieved, first and foremost, by political discussion aimed at finding durable solutions. / From a cultural sustainable development perspective, the specific cultural rights of minority groups must thus favour a common citizenship within a context of respect for cultural diversity, while still being compatible with and promoting the values of a liberal democracy.