The Limits of an Ostrich Policy for Resolving Dialectical Conflicts

In this paper, we analyze the introduction of the Australian Integrated Cargo System (ICS) in order to improve our understanding of eCustoms innovations in Europe, primarily Single Window services. We combine the case study with a theorization based on socially constructed change in networks. The development and diffusion of eCustoms solutions takes place within an elaborate network of businesses, government agencies, and technology providers. We focus on the ongoing dialectics during change in such a network. This means we zoom in on the constant confrontations and conflicts of both interests and understandings of contents, processes, and outcomes of change. These conflicts potential shift change in unintended and unwanted directions, resulting in perceived failure. We critically reflect on the practical lessons that surfaced from the Australian ICS-Import case, where we observed a tendency to avoid facing conflicts, ignoring them, or dismissing them as not important. Our analysis demonstrates that using a dialectic approach can provide substantial insights in eCustoms innovation. We offer a characterization of conflicts and we contribute to the discussion of eCustoms in Europe

Reverse Incorporation of State Constitutional Law

State supreme courts and the United States Supreme Court are the independent and final arbiters of their respective constitutions, and may therefore take different approaches to analogous state and federal constitutional issues. Such issues arise often, because the documents were modeled on each other and share many of the same guarantees. In answering them, state courts have, as a matter of practice, generally adopted federal constitutional doctrine as their own. Federal courts, by contrast, have largely ignored state constitutional law when interpreting the federal constitution. In McDonald v. Chicago, to take only the most recent example, the Court declined to adopt the state courts’ near-unanimous conclusion that the proper standard of review for regulations of the “individual” right to bear arms is intermediate scrutiny. In an age of growing international comparativism, this lack of intranational borrowing is striking, especially since state constitutions served as the template for the federal constitution and generally protect the same rights as are found in the federal Bill of Rights. In a constitutional system that claims to be committed to federalism and respect for the states, why is it that state constitutional law has had such a slight impact on federal constitutional doctrine? This Article seeks to answer that question, and suggests that in certain circumstances federal courts should look to state constitutional law when faced with analogous federal constitutional controversies

Assembling The Future: The Role Of Transactive Planning Theory In Generating Alternative Urban Strategies

Conditions of uncertainty, rapid change and heightened social, economic and spatial inequalities are symptomatic of an Increasingly Internationalised and urbanised world system. These issues correspond to the emergence of an urban problematic that requires the requalification of planning’s tools and techniques. Within this context: How does planning go about assembling the future? The Mont Fleur civic scenarios undertaken in South Africa (1991-1992), the Toekomstverkenningen Amsterdam (1998-1999), and the Bishopsgate Methodology Statement proposed for an inner-city development site in London (2002), are presented as illustrative examples of how, planning connects knowledge to action in the public domain, translates complexity, deals with the future; Do the tools and processes used in the examples, extend or limit the possibility of alternative urban strategies? These questions, are a starting point from which to explore John Friedmann’s theory on Transactive Planning (1973). This theory is defined as a normative response to improving the practice of plannirig through a dialogical process that combines various forms of technical and experiential knowledge, through which a deeper understanding of issues surrounding a particular problem, is achieved. Within the present research framework. Transactive Planning is used to formulate the principles, tools and techniques of an approach corresponding to the conditions of an urban problematic. The final question: ‘What kind of future do we want to assemble?” opens the discussion towards considering the role, not only of Transactive Planning, but of an urban imaginary as a way of rephrasing the urban problematic. The endgame is to refunction the notion of the future, not as “uncertainty” that has to be resolved, but as a creative process that generates innovative urban strategies

State Rejection of Federal Law

Sometimes the United States Supreme Court speaks, and states do not follow. For example, in 2003, the Arizona Supreme Court agreed to reject a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, because no sound reasons justif[ied] following it. Similarly, in 2006, Michigan voters approved a ballot initiative that, according to the legislature that drafted it, sought at the very least to freeze\u27 the state\u27s ... law to prevent state courts from following a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court. Surprising though this language may be, there is nothing nefarious about these cases. Cooper v. Aaron this is not. Unlike more notorious attempts by states to reject or nullify federal court decisions, these state laws and decisions remain in effect. How can this be? The reason is simple enough: the Supremacy Clause is not a binary switch. Without complete preemption, our system of federalism leaves room for state law to supplement or stand alongside federal law. States often use that freedom to depart from federal law by passing laws or issuing judicial opinions that explicitly reject specific opinions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court. This Article documents and analyzes that phenomenon of state rejection of federal caselaw, which has not received systematic scholarly attention. Analyzing states\u27 reactions to three federal cases-Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois, Kelo v. City of New London, and Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife-allows for a novel analysis of the causes and consequences of this phenomenon. These varied examples show that there is no single explanation for state law rejecting federal law, nor is it even always carried out by the same institutional actor. Similarly, the pathologies and virtues that result from divergent state and federal law vary considerably across legal contexts. That states reject the decisions of federal courts has both practical and theoretical consequences for our understanding of federal courts\u27 influence on state law. As a practical matter, the examples comprise a playbook for state decisionmakers seeking to extend, supplement, or transcend the limitations of federal law. In an era of increasing and anticipated clashes between courts and legislatures, rejecting federal caselaw is one way that democratic majorities can reduce the practical impact of federal court decisions. More broadly, this phenomenon resonates with theoretical accounts of how legal systems\u27 rejection of precedent from other jurisdictions can shape domestic law. The act of defining law aversively to that of another sovereign leaves a lasting mark. States that reject the decisions of federal courts exhibit difference from federal law as an important strain of state law. Rejection of federal law therefore sows the seeds of its own future growth

Discovering aspects of the multicultural character of Québec and Canada through language : designing task-based learning situations for the adult education course, Discovery and Challenges-ENG P 104-4

Abstract : This essay follows Paillé’s (2007) methodology to design two learning situations for the course “Discovery and Challenges- ENG P104-4” that I often teach to adult language learners at the EMSB. This is a course in the area of citizenship in the adult education sector where “Using language to discover Québec and Canada and their multicultural character” (BIM, 2013, p. 2) is the purpose of the course. The learning situations follow Douglas Brown's (2015) task-based teaching and learning approach in order to cover the four language competencies where the student: “Reads simple, everyday texts adequately; Understands simple, everyday oral texts adequately; Writes simple, everyday texts adequately; and Interacts adequately in everyday situations using simple oral texts” (BIM, 2013, p. 2). The task-based activities for each competency match with the compulsory elements; I follow the Ministry's conceptual framework to design material for the course. The first learning situation is entitled “Applying for Canadian Citizen” where students accomplish tasks that inform them about the requirements and steps to apply. The second learning situation is entitled “Discrimination against the LGBT community” and introduces topics such as discrimination in the work place and the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizens. After creating the learning situations and trying them out with my students, I gather and analyze feedback from two colleagues and 12 students. The essay ends with a reflection on the process, provides recommendation for teachers, indicates limitations as well as possible future directions; it presents the concept of senti-pensar by Galeano (2003) and explains how it can be integrated with Difrasismo, a dialectic from the Aztec and Mayan civilizations as a way of framing the emotional-language experience of immigrants who are learning to navigate language structures and cultural concepts.Cet essai suit la méthodologie de Paillé (2007) pour concevoir deux situations d'apprentissage pour le cours « Discovery and Challenges- ENG P104-4 » que je donne souvent à des apprenants adultes à la CSEM. Il s'agit d'un cours dans le domaine de la citoyenneté dans le secteur de l'éducation des adultes où l'objet du cours est d’ « utiliser la langue pour découvrir le Québec et le Canada et leur caractère multiculturel [ma traduction] » (BIM, 2013, p. 2). Les situations d'apprentissage suivent l'approche d'enseignement et d'apprentissage par les tâches de Douglas Brown (2015) afin de couvrir les quatre compétences langagières où l'apprenant adulte : « lit des textes simples et quotidiens de manière adéquate ; comprend adéquatement des textes oraux simples et quotidiens; rédige adéquatement des textes simples et quotidiens; et interagit adéquatement dans les situations de la vie quotidienne en utilisant des textes oraux simples [ma traduction] » (BIM, 2013, p. 2). Les activités axées sur les tâches pour chaque compétence correspondent aux « compulsory elements » ; je suis le cadre conceptuel du ministère pour concevoir le matériel du cours. La première situation d'apprentissage est intitulée : « postuler pour la citoyenneté canadienne » où les apprenants accomplissent des tâches pour s’informer sur les exigences et les étapes à suivre pour obtenir la citoyenneté canadienne. La deuxième situation d'apprentissage s'intitule : « discrimination contre la communauté LGBT » et présente 3 des sujets tels que la discrimination en milieu de travail et les droits et responsabilités des citoyens canadiens. Après avoir créé les situations d'apprentissage et les avoir testées avec mes étudiants, je recueille et analyse la rétroaction de deux collègues et de 12 étudiants. L'essai se termine par une réflexion sur le processus, fournit des recommandations pour les enseignants, indique les limites ainsi que les orientations futures possibles et présente les concepts de senti-pensar par Galeano (2003) et Difrasismo, une dialectique des civilisations aztèque et maya pour encourager une révision des paradigmes d'enseignement et d'apprentissage

From Constitutions to Constitutionalism: An Opportunity for Arab States, Not a Paradox

The paradox of modern constitutionalism resides in having two imperatives, apparently irreconcilable, i.e. a governmental power generated from the ‘consent of the people’ and, in order to be sustained and effective, that power must be divided, constrained and exercised through distinctive institutional forms. This paradox reflects the dilemma arising from the dialectical interaction between constituent power and constitutional form. I will argue that constitutionalism, as a limited government, does not contradict with Arab and Islamic legal culture. While modern constitutionalism, as a normative order, requires the adherence to the rule of law and the protection of human rights, it is in the name of national, religious, historic or cultural particularities that modern constitutionalism is discredited, as being essentially ‘Western’, not appropriate for Arab-Islamic culture. This paper challenges this rejection and argues for the possibility, and the necessity thereof, of applying modern constitutionalism in contemporary Arab states

From Constitutions to Constitutionalism: An Opportunity for Arab States, Not a Paradox

The paradox of modern constitutionalism resides in having two imperatives, apparently irreconcilable, i.e. a governmental power generated from the ‘consent of the people’ and, in order to be sustained and effective, that power must be divided, constrained and exercised through distinctive institutional forms. This paradox reflects the dilemma arising from the dialectical interaction between constituent power and constitutional form. I will argue that constitutionalism, as a limited government, does not contradict with Arab and Islamic legal culture. While modern constitutionalism, as a normative order, requires the adherence to the rule of law and the protection of human rights, it is in the name of national, religious, historic or cultural particularities that modern constitutionalism is discredited, as being essentially ‘Western’, not appropriate for Arab-Islamic culture. This paper challenges this rejection and argues for the possibility, and the necessity thereof, of applying modern constitutionalism in contemporary Arab states