South Africa's first democratic elections were held in 1994. Since then, the government has engaged itself in a process of reconstruction and development through the formulation of policies and legislation which are in line with the country‟s Constitution of 1996. Some of these policies and legislation pertain to the issue of children‟s human rights. This study, firstly, sought to analyze key South African policies and legislations related to children‟s rights that have emerged since 1994. These documents include, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996; the Children‟s Act 38 of 2005; Education White paper 6: Building an Inclusive Education and Training Systems (Department of Education, 2001), the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996; and the National Policy on HIV/AID for learners and educators in public schools and students and educators in further education and training institutions (1999). Secondly, the study aimed to explore whether children‟s rights are a myth or reality in South Africa by analyzing secondary data gathered from a large scale research project conducted in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, titled “Mapping the Barriers to Basic Education in the context of HIV/AIDS”. The data were collected from teachers, learners in grade 3, 6 and 9; School Governing Bodies, parents, and organizations - non governmental and community based organisations working in the district. The study used an in-depth qualitative case study approach. The study involved formal and non-formal centres of learning and their communities from four community contexts: rural, deep rural, urban and peri-urban. The data set provides insight into the lives of children in these contexts. The findings suggest that several barriers experienced by children and their families to accessing their social rights embedded in key South African policy documents related to key themes that emerged in the study: risks and vulnerabilities; control, regulation and powerlessness; the commitment of quality education not being met; and childhood poverty. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

This research set out to ascertain whether the employers of domestic workers within the Msunduzi Area do comply with the requirements of Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector. For domestic workers who were exploited during the apartheid era, this determination was perceived as a mechanism that would liberate them (Department of Labour, 2005, p.7). Trade unions use collective bargaining as a tool to fight for employee rights. Domestic workers are unionised, but their trade unions are not as powerful as their counterparts in the private sector (Department of Labour, 2005, p.7). According to Huber (2001, p.20), one of the reasons domestic workers were excluded from most labour laws was the belief that it would be difficult to check whether or not each individual employer complied with the laws. This problem still exists and needs to be solved. Government laws were meant to protect vulnerable workers from exploitation (mainly farm and domestic workers), but what is actually happening is that, rather than protecting employees from exploitation, they serve as corrective action. They are only implemented when there is a case between an employee and the employer. The government has a responsibility to protect vulnerable employees such as domestic and farm workers. The mechanism instituted by the government to protect domestic workers was through the promulgation of Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Service Sector, which lays down minimum working conditions for domestic workers (Department of Labour, 2005, p.9). The main aim was to alleviate exploitation of domestic workers by the employers due to the power imbalance between these two parties (Department of Labour, 2005, p.9). This study compares what the employer offers to an employee in terms of wages, working hours, meal intervals and leave. From the observation of the research, little research has been done on the compliance or non-compliance with Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Service Sector, within the Msunduzi Region. The outcome of the findings from this research were that the minimum salary for those employees who work more than five days are R727,60 instead of R861,90 and for those domestic workers who work for five days a week it is an average of R528,93 instead of R567, 79. The results indicated that many of the standards set down by the government are clearly not being met by the employers of domestic workers, for example minimum wages are not being paid and maximum hours are being exceeded. The determination stipulated that the maximum hours that should be worked a week is 45 hours and a maximum of nine hours per day; this was not in line with the standards, seeing that the average amount of time worked per week by respondents was 46.9 hours and 9.3 hours per day. As far as meals are concerned Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector, indicated that the standard should be an hour meal interval for every five hours worked. Respondents from this study disagreed that they were given an hour-long lunch time and reflected that the average time taken for meals was only 30 minutes. Finally, domestic workers need to have annual leave of 21 consecutive days (Department of Labour, 2005, p.9). This standard was not being met, as the average number of days being given for annual leave is 16.5 days. Maternity leave should be given as four consecutive months for domestic workers. It was found that 89,3% of domestic workers were given maternity leave of less than the stipulated four consecutive months. Domestic workers should be given five days' leave for family responsibility (Department of Labour, 2005, p.9). The respondents indicated that this was not adhered to, as the average number of days being given to the domestic workers for family responsibility was 1.4 days. Only 13,8% of domestic workers were granted five days' family responsibility leave and approximately 67,6% received less than five days for family responsibility leave. The study recommended that there should be some kind of government policy of doing consistent spot checks in different areas in the Msunduzi Area and possibly the rest of the country. This will require the Department of Labour to increase its manpower. More labour inspectors will be needed to ensure that this whole area is sufficiently monitored. The study revealed that union officials need to devise means and ways of coming into contact with domestic workers. Employers were expected to have a copy of Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Service Sector available, within easy access of domestic workers. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Is it possible to redefine Aboriginal title? This study intends to answer this question through the construction of an integral doctrine of aboriginal title based on a detailed analysis of its criticisms. The author uses international law to show a possible way to redefine this part of Canadian law. After a careful review of the most important aspects of aboriginal land in international law, the author chooses the law of the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights as its framework. Using the decisions of this Court he produces an internationalized redefinition of Aboriginal title.

This research study was designed to determine the attitudes, and perceptions of Indiana high school principals concerning implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The sample consisted of Indiana high school principals who held membership in the Indiana Association of School Principals. There were 222 high school principals who were requested to complete an on-line survey; 105 principals responded, which generated a response rate of 47 %.The Section 504 on-line survey was modified from an instrument in California in which the researcher studied the attitudes and perceptions of elementary school administrators (Williams, 2003).The data were analyzed, depending upon the variable, with a standard analysis of variance (ANOVA) or t-test design. Demographical data and survey responses were subjected to statistical analyses based upon the research hypothesis being examined. Demographical data collected from high school principals were degree earned, type of license, years of experience, gender, size of the school, whether the principal was responsible for implementing Section 504 plans, and if the principal categorized his school as rural, suburban, or urban.Results showed significance for high school size and whether the high school principal was responsible for implementing Section 504 plans. As high schools increased in the number of students, there was a need for principals to have additional training in implementing Section 504 plans. Another significant finding was that principals believe students with disabilities benefit educationally from having Section 504 plans at minimalcosts to their school corporations. However, principals also have a slightly negative attitude towards implementing Section 504 plans. Possible reasons for these results were discussed and a need for further research was offered. / Department of Educational Leadership

Anthropologists have long recognized the central role of social systems in enhancing environmental sustainability, but few have attempted to accurately assess the conditions under which traditional social institutions can equitably and effectively manage access to natural resources for the purposes of their use and conservation. By failing to look closely at how resource management practices are shaped both by local-level cultural institutions and the political and economic forces of government policies and markets, anthropologists have compounded the confusion surrounding the functions and capacities of traditional resource management institutions. / This dissertation examines the connections between institutional and economic incentives and resource use and management decisions among the Naso indigenous people in Bocas del Toro, Panama. The study incorporates insights from development anthropology, common property systems and political ecology to develop a multi-sited approach that uses multiple research methods. A detailed household survey (n=54 or 18% of Naso households located within the eight villages surveyed in 2004) was used to obtain socio-demographic data and to establish patterns of land tenure and resource use. Preliminary and follow-up interviews were also conducted with community leaders, government officials and representatives of various national and international organizations with a stake in the conservation and/or development of the Naso region. / As a group, the Naso were found to use both indigenous and imported technologies to manage a wide range of natural resources towards ensuring the economic, cultural and ecological viability of their communities. However, recent legislation intended to recognize Naso land rights and a hydroelectric project nearing construction on Naso lands have sought to modify the formal rules and organizations that have traditionally served to order local resource tenure and management practices. This thesis analyses the guidelines and criteria invoked by the various stakeholders involved with these projects in order to assess the equity of the distribution of their social and environmental impacts. It highlights the need to become more sceptical and sophisticated when assessing the objectives and justifications provided by the academics, government agencies, local authorities and private companies involved in the conservation and development of indigenous peoples' territorial resources.

Plant Breeders' Rights (PBR) are a form of intellectual property rights enabling breeders of new plant varieties to have the exclusive right to produce and sell propagating material of their new plant varieties. The existence of effective property rights has been pointed to as a stimulus of increased R&D and productivity. Canada has had legislation to provide PBR protection for about two decades, and is considering further strengthening of the regulatory framework. However, there are few studies that have examined the effectiveness of the legislation on crop productivity. This thesis investigates the hypothesis that the adoption of wheat varieties qualifying for Plant Breeders' Rights has increased overall wheat yields and rate of yield increase. The yield response function models are applied to industry data for western Canada and Alberta, respectively. The empirical results show that the PBR Act had a relatively small impact on wheat yields. Among wheat classes, it had a positive impact for Durum wheat in Alberta.

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