This thesis interacts with the cultural values and societal expectations behind Japan’s overtime work ethic, and attempts to examine whether a universal human rights perspective can interact with the deeply rooted Japanese cultures and values. This is done with the help of previously conducted research and semi-structured interviews, which then allows for a better understanding of why overtime work is deeply rooted within Japanese culture, and why the application of human rights due diligence at the workplace is difficult to obtain. A qualitative study of semi-structured interviews has been conducted with 12 ethnic Japanese participants. The findings showed several connections between the participant’s answers, such as overtime work being an unwritten rule, and an expectation as a service to the society, to the previously conducted research. Although overtime work may change and differ in ratio depending on which company you are working for, it still is prevalent within Japanese society as a norm.Whether this is a human rights concern was debatable, since some participants argued it to be a vital part of the Japanese commitment to society, while other participants believed that it becomes problematic when personal choice and opinions are shunned or overlooked. These in turn result in other consequences such as depression, isolation, and even death. The thesis concludes that universal human rights values may not always go hand in hand with cultural values, but may allow new light to be shed on a contested phenomenon.

Women’s rights advocacy is as multifaceted and as intricate as women’s position in society. Their fundamental human rights are frequently challenged in the name of religion and culture. In this paper I explore how women’s rights advocates are seeking to find footing between endorsing sovereignty and religious rights within today’s multicultural societies within the theories of universalism and cultural relativism. For many, it is out of the question to separate religious- and women’s rights, therefore navigating between the two, and hence, the two theoretical standpoints become a fundamental principle for those who work within that space. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews, this thesis analyses the main navigational strategies and negotiations of the global movement Musawah to further explore the tensions of the two theories and ways in which to work within them. Musawah is a global movement for justice and peace initiated by the Malaysian based organization Sisters in Islam (SIS). It aims to promote an egalitarian Islam, with a focus on women’s rights within the Global South, by reforming Muslim family law and advocating for Islamic feminist voices. This research paper identifies the challenges and navigational strategies of Musawah’s advocacy within both a Muslim and non- Muslim context. It also aims to pinpoint the theories’ main influence within the challenges and strategies of Musawah’s work. I conclude that their advocacy is influenced by both theories as their knowledge-building is founded on a universalist standpoint, and its distribution is based on a cultural relativist stance.

Die Johannese geskrifte (Evangelie en Briewe) word veralgemenend binne die Christendom gelees en die uniekheidsbeklemtoninge ten opsigte van Jesus as enige Verlosser word ook so verstaan. Hierdie hoofsaaklik sosiaal-wetenskaplike ondersoek was gefokus op Johannes se aansprake ten opsigte van Jesus en is gedoen om bewus te maak van die sosiaal-kulturele onderbou van die geskrifte. As sodanig is dit bedoe! om heuristies in te werk ten einde bestaande hermeneuse beter te dien sodat die boodskap van die Nuwe Testament effektiewer oorgedra kan word. Dit is ook gepoog om bevindinge uit die studie deur te trek na die gesekulariseerde samelewing en pluralistiese religieuse standpunt wat te Iande bestaan. Die teksgedeeltes wat eksegeties ondersoek is, bevat die aspekte van aanvaarding of verwerping van Jesus as die unieke Godsagent wat ewige /ewe meedeel. Dit het geblyk dat die begrip in Johannes nie net op oneindigheid in die hiemamaals dui nie, maar veral op kwaliteit in die hede. Johannes se postulaat is dat Jesus konstant hierdie lewe meedeel aan hulle wat in Hom glo. Die vraag na relevansie van 'n religie uit Judaistiese oorsprong in 'n AfroWesterse samelewing en kultuur is vanuit die aspekte van kulturele relatiwisme en relatiwiteit hanteer. Dit word aanvaar dat die ingrype van God deur Jesus Christus binne die Israelitiese volksmilieu en Mediterreense kultuur plaasgevind het, maar dat dit wat Johannes aan sy lesers herbevestig het, vir aile mense relevant is. Jesus is die unieke Godsagent wat ewige lewe meedeel, wat, as sodanig, nie menslike sterflikheid negeer nie, maar dit transendeer. / The social-scientific research for this treatise concentrated on John's assertion of Jesus' uniqueness. The selected Scripture portions for exegesis contain the aspects of receiving or rejecting Him as God's Agent who bestows eternal life. Eternal lifo in John does not so much denote never ending life, but rather excellent quality of life in the present. The relevancy of a religion from a Judaistic origin in an Afro-Western cultural society was treated on the aspects of cultural relativism and cultural relativity. The conclusion accedes to the fact that God's interaction with man in the person of Jesus Christ took place within an Israelite national milieu and Mediterranean culture, but what John reasserted is relevant for all time- the life that Jesus bestows does not negate mortality, but transcends it. / New Testament / M. Th. (Nuwe Testament)

Die Johannese geskrifte (Evangelie en Briewe) word veralgemenend binne die Christendom gelees en die uniekheidsbeklemtoninge ten opsigte van Jesus as enige Verlosser word ook so verstaan. Hierdie hoofsaaklik sosiaal-wetenskaplike ondersoek was gefokus op Johannes se aansprake ten opsigte van Jesus en is gedoen om bewus te maak van die sosiaal-kulturele onderbou van die geskrifte. As sodanig is dit bedoe! om heuristies in te werk ten einde bestaande hermeneuse beter te dien sodat die boodskap van die Nuwe Testament effektiewer oorgedra kan word. Dit is ook gepoog om bevindinge uit die studie deur te trek na die gesekulariseerde samelewing en pluralistiese religieuse standpunt wat te Iande bestaan. Die teksgedeeltes wat eksegeties ondersoek is, bevat die aspekte van aanvaarding of verwerping van Jesus as die unieke Godsagent wat ewige /ewe meedeel. Dit het geblyk dat die begrip in Johannes nie net op oneindigheid in die hiemamaals dui nie, maar veral op kwaliteit in die hede. Johannes se postulaat is dat Jesus konstant hierdie lewe meedeel aan hulle wat in Hom glo. Die vraag na relevansie van 'n religie uit Judaistiese oorsprong in 'n AfroWesterse samelewing en kultuur is vanuit die aspekte van kulturele relatiwisme en relatiwiteit hanteer. Dit word aanvaar dat die ingrype van God deur Jesus Christus binne die Israelitiese volksmilieu en Mediterreense kultuur plaasgevind het, maar dat dit wat Johannes aan sy lesers herbevestig het, vir aile mense relevant is. Jesus is die unieke Godsagent wat ewige lewe meedeel, wat, as sodanig, nie menslike sterflikheid negeer nie, maar dit transendeer. / The social-scientific research for this treatise concentrated on John's assertion of Jesus' uniqueness. The selected Scripture portions for exegesis contain the aspects of receiving or rejecting Him as God's Agent who bestows eternal life. Eternal lifo in John does not so much denote never ending life, but rather excellent quality of life in the present. The relevancy of a religion from a Judaistic origin in an Afro-Western cultural society was treated on the aspects of cultural relativism and cultural relativity. The conclusion accedes to the fact that God's interaction with man in the person of Jesus Christ took place within an Israelite national milieu and Mediterranean culture, but what John reasserted is relevant for all time- the life that Jesus bestows does not negate mortality, but transcends it. / New Testament / M. Th. (Nuwe Testament)

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 176-181). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Social work can be perceived as a global profession, built upon a certain foundation of global values and ethical principles - like human rights, social justice, equity and empowerment - that are applicable everywhere regardless of context. In contrast, it can also be perceived as a locally based profession that needs to take local-specific conditions – such as culture and indigenous traditions – into account. Regardless, it is a profession that exists all over the world, due to globalization having spread both social issues and profession itself across national borders. From a postcolonial perspective, contemporary international social work is equivalent to a new form of imperialism, i.e. that what started out as a western profession has now spread its values and methods to non-western contexts where they are not as well suited. This puts the profession in an almost paradoxical situation, as social work’s aim is to help socially vulnerable people improve their living situations and inspire them to self-actualization and empowerment, but by advocating this in the non-western world, western social work imposes ideas and methods onto contexts where they do not occur naturally. This brings a dilemma for social work regarding how to deal with global issues. One option is to acknowledge social workers’ role as ‘helpers’ and strive to help people regardless of context, using existing methods and values. Another option is to acknowledge the West’s historic role as imperialists trying to take over the world, and thus let the third World solve their own issues without further involvement in order to avoid contemporary colonialism. By interviewing Swedish social work students - whom all have completed educational field placements in non-western countries - this study strives to analyse how social work students that have experienced social work in non-western contexts relate to international social work and issues that come with it. This includes theoretical understanding, the role of social work education and their own roles as future professionals. The results show that the students found it frustrating to simultaneously want to help out and not be perceived as imperialistic. The conclusion was that the most important contributions western social workers can make in non-western contexts is to be aware of historical events and the contemporary part they play in global power structures, as well as try to humbly adapt to foreign cultures and accept differences rather than assume your own culture as automatically normative.

The thesis studies the human rights in Islam and evaluates them in concrete comparison of Muslim women's position in two different Muslim countries. It approaches two main human rights concepts: universalism and cultural relativism and describes the system and structure of Islamic law which determine all Muslims and Muslim society and therefore human rights perception itself. The diploma work follows two main goals:1) analysis of human rights from Islamic perspective, namely by its confrontation with prevalent universal model of human rights and 2) comparison of the status of Muslim woman in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The thesis is logically divided into four consequential parts. First two chapters introduce to theoretical issues of human rights and Islamic religion, the two other pivotal parts are concentrated on the above mentioned set goals. The objectivity of the thesis should be ensured by using various foreign-language sources of information from which studies and reports of international organizations such as United Nations, Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International form a considerable part.

This thesis focuses on the rights of the child in respect to the inter-country adoption. It aims to seek the notions of cultural relativism within those fundamental rights which are immediately applicable on the process of adoption. The thesis bases its theoretical framework on the current discourse on the universality of human rights. The theory of the three levels of cultural relativism is applied on the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption to demonstrate the cultural relativism of the Convention itself.

This paper discusses if Margin of Appreciation is compatible with the idea of universal human rights. Through the case of Negative freedom of association in Sweden, it studies the phenomenon that Giorgio Agamben has called the State of exception. The questions that are discussed and answered are 1) How does the rights theories of Jack Donnelly and Ronald Dworkin relate to Margin of appreciation, and 2) How has Margin of appreciation been applied in cases concerning the negative freedom of association in Sweden, in the European court for human rights. These questions and answers are then used in the discussion on how Margin of appreciation affects the concept of universal human rights. / Denna uppsats diskuterar frågan om Margin of Appreciation är förenligt med tanken om universella mänskliga rättigheter. Genom studier av den negativa föreningsfriheten i Sverige, så undersöks doktrinen Margin of appreciation och hur den förhåller sig till tanken om universella rättigheter. Frågorna som diskuteras och besvaras är 1) hur förhåller sig Jack Donnellys respektive Ronald Dworkins rättighetsteorier till Margin of appreciation, samt 2) Hur har Margin of appreciation tolkats i europadomstolens i fall gällande den negativa föreningsfriheten i Sverige. Dessa frågor tas till hjälp i diskussionen kring hur Margin of appreciation påverkar tanken om universella mänskliga rättigheter.

This MA thesis is focused on discovering the literary motif of journey in selected works defined by Australia. These works also share the interest in shaping Australian identity. A socio-historical background of colonisation and the first settlement in Australia is provided and the key terms of cultural anthropology are further elaborated on. The thesis depicts traditional Aboriginal culture and focuses especially on its earthbound philosophy. Special attention is paid to the differences among various literary approaches towards the subject matter, to the application of cultural anthropology findings, to the depiction of clashes between different cultures and possibilities of their reconciliation. Furthermore, the works of selected authors are closely characterised from the point of view of their degree of authenticity and the genre specifics. Various treatments of the literary motif of journey are compared and critically analysed. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)