This collection of five papers explores the validity of exam accommodations in Ireland, in particular the spelling and grammar waiver, an accommodation unique to Ireland. A review of the literature relating to each accommodation is followed by two papers investigating the validity of the spelling and grammar waiver. A spelling and grammar waiver can be granted to a student with a specific learning disability who attains a standard score of 85 or below on a spelling test. Two groups of students were compared- those who had or had not been granted a waiver, Mock exam scripts of both groups were marked both with and without a spelling and grammar waiver by experienced markers. When a spelling and grammar waiver was applied, the scores of both groups significantly increased. The ‘boost’ received by students who had been granted a waiver was not significantly higher than the ‘boost’ received by the other students, suggesting that the spelling and grammar waiver gives an advantage to all who receive it. Examiner markings were re-examined in a follow up study to investigate possible examiner bias. Results found that elements of the marking scheme, which should not have been affected by a spelling and grammar waiver, were marked more leniently when the examiner marked students’ scripts which had a spelling and grammar waiver applied to it. These studies suggest that the spelling and grammar waiver is not a valid accommodation. In the following study, three spelling tests commonly used by teachers to apply for accommodations were compared. Significant differences were found among the scores. Students scoring below the cut off point for a spelling and grammar waiver ranged from 5.8% to 43.8% depending on the test used. These significant differences in scores across the three tests highlighted the need for an Irish normed spelling test. The final paper details the creation and standardisation of a spelling test in the Republic of Ireland. Limitations to each study and areas of further research are addressed. Suggestions to improve the validity of the spelling and grammar waiver by using an alternative marking scheme and teacher training are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to uncover a new level of thinking regarding the discourse and debate around the standard of reasonable doubt and how it is used in our court rooms. The current argument surrounding the reasonable doubt standard has become circular and reached an impasse. By introducing the lens of social control and using the writings of notable French philosopher Michel Foucault, this paper looks at the origins and development of the reasonable doubt standard and links it with the increasing methods of social control present in punishment as well as evaluating the cultural narrative around its origin and assessing why this standard was permitted to continue to be a cornerstone of the Anglo-American judicial system.

台灣的外交處境向來艱困，一方面在爾虞我詐的現實國際政治環境求生存原本不易，復以我國駐外人員相較於歐美等先進國家駐外人員而言，駐外工作更為艱辛。為能提供駐外人員相當的奧援與誘因，讓正在前線服務的駐外人員全心投入拓展我國際生存空間、維持國家利益的外交工作，亦為吸引優秀人才投入外交行列。惟有公平合理的待遇制度，不但可以吸引及留住人才，並且可以滿足工作者在生理、安全和社交上的需求，甚至提升自尊的感覺和自我實現的機會。 我國駐外人員的待遇除了無法適時隨國外政經條件而調整外，薪俸結構本身亦缺乏調整匯兌風險之設計，使得我國駐外人員待遇產生種種不合理現象，近年來由於駐地生活環境變遷及國際油價波動劇烈，造成通貨膨脹等因素，部分駐外館處所在之駐在國之經濟、社會、民生等發展現況或生活艱困程度均產生變化，為合理反映各駐地之實際生活現況，宜建立彈性調整機制，以檢視各駐地地域加給支給數額合理性之必要。 鑒於上述研究動機，本論文藉由文獻分析及德菲法為研究方法，經由專家一致性意見，探討「我國駐外人員待遇制度」之合理性，發現我國駐外人員待遇結構、待遇調整、地域加給標準及匯兌損失等方面的問題，並據以提出相關建議，期使我國駐外人員待遇制度更臻於合理。 / Taiwan's diplomatic situation always encounters with difficulties. For one thing, it is not easy to survive in the international political environment of reality. For another, our diplomats confront more frustration than their counterparts of the Western countries. We should provide more supports and incentives to propel the frontline diplomats to concentrate on the expansion of our international space and the protection of our national benefits, and additionally, to recruit more outstanding diplomatic potential elites. Justly and reasonable compensation system not only attracts and retains talents but fulfill the workers’ physical, security and social needs. The self-esteem can be promoted and the self-realization can be also achieved. The compensation system of our diplomats stationed abroad is not adjusted in accordance with overseas political and economic situations conditionally, and the compensation structure lacks in readjustment to the risk in currency exchange fluctuations, resulting in various unreasonable phenomena. In recent years the station environments have been changing and the oil price has been swaying, causing the inflation as well as the vicissitudes economically, socially, and in livelihood. Thus, we should build a flexible mechanism in inspection of compensations and bonuses to reasonably reflect real life conditions at stations. Based on the research motivations mentioned above, this paper investigates the reasonableness of our Compensation System of Diplomats Stationed Abroad by the literature review and the Delphi method with the experts’ unanimity. Besides, it also seeks to disclose the problems in the compensation structure, adjustment, bonuses and exchange losses, and to propose suggestions to improve the system.

George Klosko attempts to solve a problem put forth by Rawls, namely how to create a persisting, just and stable liberal democracy in light of pluralism. He believes Rawls has failed at this task through the employment of political constructivism. Klosko claims that since Rawls does not utilize actual views within the existing public to form principles of justice, his method would fail to reach an overlapping consensus. As an alternative, Klosko proposes the method of convergence, which utilizes actual societal views to find overlapping concepts that inform the principles of justice. My argument is that Klosko misconstrues the method and aims of political constructivism. Klosko seems to incorrectly believe that stability is primary to establishing a liberal democracy, whereas it is secondary to the achievement of justice. Because of this error, Klosko’s method of convergence potentially has the consequence of creating a society which is stable but unjust.

Summary According to Ferris & Judge(1991), Ferris & Mitchell(1987), the policies of human resources such as promotion, selection, rotation and etc. are affected by political behaviors. As Gandz & Murray (1980) proved, political behaviors indeed exist in different kinds of organizations and groups, especially in public sectors. The study tested the formal employees in Kaoshiung County Government. Those employees are from passing the official examinations or other departments. The rank and classification of the jobs in the organization are complete; employees have many chances to get promotion and rotation. Therefore, it is a good case for examining how often political behaviors being used and how their effects are. The study distributed 410 questionnaires; there are 225 back, and 185 effective samples. Analyzing data and proving the hypotheses through SPSS, there are several findings as follows: 1. Civil servants think that to have the chance of promotion or rotation, to use ¡§having good relationship with important persons¡¨ is necessary. 2. Civil servants think that to have the chance of promotion or rotation, to use ¡§recommendation from the supervisor¡¨ is necessary. 3. The upward political behaviors that civil servants mostly used are:(1) Provide precedent or some ideas that other county governments do. (2) Ask instructions from supervisors, and discuss the solutions. (3) Provide some relevant references that support his viewpoints to the supervisor. 4. The upward political behaviors that civil servants think most effective are same as the behaviors mostly used. Through analysis, the relationship between the using frequency and the using effectiveness of the upward political behaviors are positively related. In other words, the higher the using frequency, the better the using effectiveness. 5. Male subordinates think that using ¡§expert authority¡¨ and ¡§reasonable defense¡¨ would increase not only the chance of promotion and rotation, but also increase the satisfaction of promotion and rotation system. 6. Male subordinates in higher level think that using ¡¨social intercourse and social party¡¨ and ¡§reasonable defense¡¨ can increase the speed of promotion and rotation. As to male subordinates in lower level, they think that using ¡§expert authority¡¨ can increase the speed of having promotion and rotation. 7. The subordinates in higher level think that using ¡§affective strategy¡¨ and ¡§social intercourse and social party¡¨ would cause the unfairness of promotion and rotation and decease the satisfaction of promotion and rotation system. 8. Seniority, higher-educated subordinates think that using ¡¨expert authority¡¨ and ¡§reasonable defense¡¨ of the upward political behaviors would increase the speed of promotion and rotation and the satisfaction of promotion and rotation system. However, for those who have less years spent on the job think that using ¡§social intercourse and social party¡¨ of the upward political behaviors would cause the unfairness of promotion and rotation and decease the satisfaction of promotion and rotation system. 9. The marriage of supervisors significantly moderates the relationship between the frequency of using upward political behaviors and the speed of promotion and rotation. When supervisors use ¡§political strategy¡¨ of the upward political behavior, those who unmarried has more significant effect on increasing the speed of promotion and rotation than those who married. 10. The marriage of supervisors significantly moderates the relationship between the frequency of using upward political behaviors and the satisfaction of promotion and rotation system. When supervisors use ¡§affective strategy¡¨ of the upward political behavior, those who unmarried has more significant effect on increasing the satisfaction of promotion and rotation system than those who married.

Following American legal sources, I argue that the use of the reasonable person standard in criminal law is inaccurate and unfair, and, therefore, inconvenient to evaluate human behaviour based on three arguments which address flaws of the standard under analysis. Firstly, this standard is  by definition  abstract, theoretical  and  general, not  reflecting appropriately the person’s sensory and ideational perception of the situation. Secondly, the trend in American legislation and case-law is to apply, in criminal cases, e.g., self-defence, a hybrid criterion, which consists in the consideration of a person’s belief and the correspondence of such a belief to what a reasonable person would believe under the circumstances, as opposed to a purely objective standard. The principle of individual criminal culpability underlies this. Thirdly, the reasonable person standard imposes a sort of majority’s dictatorship by perpetuating a predominant culture disregarding the viewpoints from minority groups. / Siguiendo fuentes jurídicas americanas, sostengo que el uso del estándar de la persona razonable en derecho penal es inexacto e injusto y, por lo tanto, inconveniente para evaluar conducta humana sobre la base de tres argumentos que abordan las imperfecciones del estándar bajo análisis. Primero, este estándar es por definición abstracto, teórico y general y no refleja apropiadamente la percepción sensorial y cognitiva de la situación. Segundo, la tendencia en legislación y jurisprudencia americanas, en casos penales, por ejemplo, defensa propia, es el uso de un criterio híbrido, el cual consiste en la consideración de la creencia de la persona y la correspondencia de dicha creencia con lo que la persona razonable creería bajo las circunstancias, lo que es opuesto a un estándar puramente objetivo. Tercero, el estándar de la persona razonable impone una suerte de dictadura de la mayoría al perpetuar una cultura predominante sin considerar los puntos de vista de los grupos minoritarios.

The term "suitability" is understood as the correspondence between what a consumer expects and what he actually receives. In that sense, to clarify what is meant by "duty of suitability" it is necessary to analyze theconcept of "consumer” as well.However, when it comes to our consumer protection system, can we say it is protecting the reasonable consumer, the average consumer or the negligent consumer? In this regard, what are the implications of opting for the protection of one or the  other?  In this article, the author seeks to answer these questions through an analysis of national jurisprudence regarding consumer protection. / Se entiende por “idoneidad” la correspondencia entre lo que un consumidor espera y lo que en efecto recibe. En ese sentido, para dilucidar qué debe entenderse por “deber de idoneidad” no puede dejarse de analizar lo relativoal concepto de “consumidor”.Ahora bien, en nuestro sistema de protección al consumidor, ¿se protege al consumidor razonable, al consumidor promedio o al consumidor negligente? Al respecto, ¿cuáles son las implicancias de optar por la protección del uno o el otro? En el presente artículo, el autor busca responder a estas preguntas a través de un análisis de la jurisprudencia nacional deprotección al consumidor.

The thesis discusses deadlines for decisions issuing in proceedings on international protection, especially within the frame of procedure for granting of international protection status. This analysis compares current legal situation with the situation before the amendment to the Asylum Act by the Act No. 314/2015 Coll., effective from December 18th, 2015, which reflects jurisprudence, literature and administrative practice in the field. It further elaborates interpretation of certain vague legal concepts which manage the international protection of vital importance, such as "reasonable period", "without undue delay", "factual and legal complexity." The study discusses -from the applicant's perspective - means of the protection against inactivity and compares their efficiency. The thesis aims to monitor and evaluate a common phenomenon of the administrative practice, the failure to meet deadlines, altogether with extension of the deadline in the application proceedings due to the exceptional circumstances, which has become the standard procedure rather than an exception. My goal is also to raise a question whether the fundamental rights of the applicants for the international protection (who are considered to be vulnerable individuals in a difficult life situation), guaranteed by the Charter and...

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2016-05-12T17:43:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcelo Alves Nunes.pdf: 983327 bytes, checksum: 867fe7eac9d8f63ba9c7a5163a2f0fbd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-12T17:43:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcelo Alves Nunes.pdf: 983327 bytes, checksum: 867fe7eac9d8f63ba9c7a5163a2f0fbd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-12-10 / The proposition of constitutional guarantees in the criminal investigation stage is undoubtedly a significant progress in building a more ethical and fairer criminal case, consistent with republican values embodied in the Constitution of 1988. Thus, as an Estate institution, the Judicial Police has been ideologically remodeled, assuming a more guaranteed conformation in this constitutionalist era of law. This is because, in the early stage of the police investigation, the investigated might suffer serious restrictions on their nuclear legal heritage, as an example of dignity, freedom, intimacy and equity. Indeed, the choice of the legislature by the rule of non-term research officer [not only] demands immediate review, since the lack of regulatory control over the investigative acts fosters abuse of the Estate-police rather than expensive state values of the human person. As a reaction, the guarantee of reasonable duration of administrative procedures, constitutionally erected a fundamental right by EC 45/2004 (CF, art. 5th, inc. LXXVIII), points to the urgent need for critical revisiting of the criminal investigation, taken as a whole, since the delay in the completion of the procedure exacerbates feelings of distress and unfairly stigmatizes the investigated person, on whom an anticipated punishment, that cannot be confirmed by the State court, in a subsequent procedural step of the persecution criminis. Using the timing of the criminal investigation as its centerpiece, this study was initiated, from elementary concepts, positive legislation (ordinary and constitutional), the case law, the phenomenon of constitutionalization of law and specialized doctrine. In the exploration of the object of knowledge, related juridical aspects of sensitive relevance to the subject have not been left aside, especially the unintended consequences of investigation for the penal action, the possible defenses of the subject of prosecution, and the liability of the State and its agents, complementing and enriching excessively theoretical arguments submitted to reflection. / A proposição de garantias constitucionais na fase de investigação criminal constitui, sem dúvida, significativo avanço na construção de um processo penal mais ético e justo, consentâneo com os valores republicanos materializados na Constituição Federal de 1988. E assim, como instituição de Estado, a Polícia Judiciária vem sendo ideologicamente remodelada, assumindo conformação mais garantista nesta era constitucionalista do direito. Isso porque, na prematura fase do inquérito policial, é possível o investigado sofrer sérias restrições em seu patrimônio jurídico nuclear, com afetação de sua dignidade, liberdade, intimidade e patrimônio. Com efeito, a opção do legislador pela regra do não-prazo em matéria de investigação policial [e não só] reclama imediata revisão, vez que a ausência de controle normativo sobre os atos investigatórios fomenta abuso do Estado-polícia em detrimento de caros valores da pessoa humana. Como reação, a garantia da duração razoável dos procedimentos administrativos, constitucionalmente erigida à categoria de direito fundamental pela EC n. 45/2004 (CF, art. 5º, inc. LXXVIII), aponta a premente necessidade de revisitação crítica da investigação criminal, considerada em seu conjunto, posto que a demora na conclusão do procedimento agrava o sentimento de angústia e estigmatiza injustamente a pessoa investigada, a quem é infligida antecipadamente uma pena que poderá não ser confirmada pelo Estado-juiz, em etapa subsequente da persecutio criminis. Tomada a tempestividade da investigação criminal como eixo central, foi desenvolvido o presente estudo acadêmico, a partir de conceitos elementares, da legislação positivada (ordinária e constitucional), da jurisprudência, do fenômeno da constitucionalização do direito e da doutrina especializada. Na exploração do objeto de conhecimento, não foram olvidados aspectos jurídicos correlatos, de sensível relevância para o assunto, notadamente as consequências da investigação intempestiva para a ação penal, as possíveis defesas do sujeito da persecução, e a responsabilidade civil do Estado e de seus agentes, complementando e enriquecendo sobremaneira os argumentos teóricos submetidos à reflexão.

no / Singapore commercial contract law has taken an Asian perspective in respect of express terms of good faith in the negotiation of contract. In general, however, it adheres to the English contract law orthodoxy regarding good faith. More specifically, Singapore, like England, does not recognize a general duty or principle of good faith and it is reluctant to imply a duty of good faith into a contract. However, as a hub of international trade and a rising forum for commercial dispute resolution, Singapore will have a stronger need to reconcile the differences in good faith in contract law between the English/Commonwealth and the European-Asian legal traditions. Conventional wisdom and international commercial law instruments in this respect are not as helpful as one would expect for such a need. Instead, to an enlightening but limited extent, the “organizing principle” approach in Bhasin v Hrynew could be useful for setting up a framework for reconciling the differences. This framework could consist of an organising principle of (honouring) reasonable expectations, a duty of honesty, and a duty of fair dealing. The framework realistically concretises good faith into the three components, all of which are essentially objective and ascertainable in specific factual matrix and are well-recognised in both common law and civil law.