Community Institution Building: A Response to the Limits of Litigation in Addressing the Problem of Homelessness

This article draws upon the experiences of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School to argue that, while litigation has a place in addressing both the problem of homelessness and the problems of the homeless, it must be placed within a broader context and supplemented by other, non-litigious, legal activity. Using as an example a lawsuit brought on behalf of homeless families in Connecticut, this article makes four observations which support the conclusion that litigation, used alone, is an ineffective means of addressing the problem of homelessness

Socio-Economic Rights and the South African Transition: The Role of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

This article examines a part of a foundational principle of the South African Bill of Rights that individuals are entitled to a range of rights that ensure individual security, freedom, and well-being, and that these rights are interdependent and the crucial role of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (the TRC ) in laying the groundwork for the fulfillment of those rights

Human Rights in Theory and Practice: A Review of On Human Rights

One of the most important issues facing the international human rights movement is the claim that human rights values are universal and not culturally specific, and thus can be used to understand, evaluate, and influence global actors. This claim has obvious political and philosophical dimensions. That the concept of international human rights is being taken seriously by both governmental and nongovernmental actors is a sign of the importance of human rights today. The number of countries ratifying the basic international human rights treaties has reached an all-time high. Nevertheless, current events are drawing into question the universality and efficacy of the human rights regime. These events include women’s rights violations and genocide in Bosnia- Herzegovina, genocide in Rwanda, violation of the humanitarian laws of war in Chechnya, and the increased use of the death penalty in the United States. It is a tribute to the resiliency and appeal of the human rights idea that efforts to address these situations have begun to attract some of the most thoughtful advocates and philosophers of the twentieth century. On Human Rights is a collection of essays that addresses both the philosophical and political dimensions of the human rights debate, and provides useful guidelines for further advances in international human rights theory and practice. The seven essays in the collection range from philosophical inquiries concerning the source of international human rights norms to powerful critiques of our current understanding of the content of these norms and suggestions about how to create, support, and sustain an international human rights culture. The essays were presented over the course of a year at Oxford University, England, as part of an annual series of lectures sponsored by Amnesty International. It appears that the only thematic demand made of contributors was that they address a subject related to human rights

International Law, Human Rights Beneficiaries, and South Africa: Some Thoughts on the Utility of International Human Rights Law

This article uses the case of South Africa to illustrate four effects of international human rights law on human rights beneficiaries. First, international human rights law acts as a constraint on state action. Second, it is a source of norms that can be incorporated into, and thus interpreted and implemented by, domestic legal institutions. Third, it acts as a direct or indirect constraint on the actions of international governmental and non-governmental organizations. Fourth, it directly empowers individual victims. The Article also uses the South African example to provide suggestions for additional areas of research and advocacy for international human rights scholars and advocates

UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS STUDENTS’ CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THEIR GROUP HOMOMORPHISM AND LINEAR TRANSFORMATION CONCEPT IMAGES

It is well documented that undergraduate students struggle with the more formal and abstract concepts of vector space theory in a first course on linear algebra. Some of these students continue on to classes in abstract algebra, where they learn about algebraic structures such as groups. It is clear to the seasoned mathematician that vector spaces are in fact groups, and so linear transformations are group homomorphisms with extra restrictions. This study explores the question of whether or not students see this connection as well. In addition, I probe the ways in which students’ stated understandings are the same or different across contexts, and how these differences may help or hinder connection making across domains. Students’ understandings are also briefly compared to those of mathematics professors in order to highlight similarities and discrepancies between reality and idealistic expectations. The data for this study primarily comes from clinical interviews with ten undergraduates and three professors. The clinical interviews contained multiple card sorts in which students expressed the connections they saw within and across the domains of linear algebra and abstract algebra, with an emphasis specifically on linear transformations and group homomorphisms. Qualitative data was analyzed using abductive reasoning through multiple rounds of coding and generating themes. Overall, I found that students ranged from having very few connections, to beginning to form connections once placed in the interview setting, to already having a well-integrated morphism schema across domains. A considerable portion of this paper explores the many and varied ways in which students succeeded and failed in making mathematically correct connections, using the language of research on analogical reasoning to frame the discussion. Of particular interest were the ways in which isomorphisms did or did not play a role in understanding both morphisms, how students did not regularly connect the concepts of matrices and linear transformations, and how vector spaces were not fully aligned with groups as algebraic structures

A Model for Transformational Change: Linking the Modern Workforce with Modern Adolescence

Two unprecedented and profound change cycles are currently occurring in the 21st century. The first is that the modern workplace is rapidly changing due to globalization and automation. This change is impacting how humans participate in the future of work. The second is that scientific evidence now supports that the extension of adolescence prolongedly occurs between ages 10 to 26 (Steinberg, 2015). This last formative period of development is marked by increased brain malleability offering the opportunity to hardwire critical knowledge and adaptive life skills (Steinberg, 2015). These two cycles: one driving the global workplace and the other, impacting adolescent development, can be harnessed and linked together to produce transformative results, especially for adolescents from isolated or disadvantaged backgrounds. Developmentally, youth require “access to safe places, challenging experiences and caring people on a daily basis” (Zeldin, Kimball, & Price, 1995). Caring non-parental adults in the form of mentors can provide adolescents with “developmental networks” (Kram & Ragins, 2007). These networks are so potent that they have been called “invisible colleges” offering increased access, exposure and opportunity through informal relationships connections (Cooper, 2010). A daily habit-forming virtual curriculum based on structured positive principles and critical life skills applied with the support of mentors can institutionally transform future workforce outcomes for mentees. Purposeful symbiotic positive change cycles that allow shift in mindsets, acquisition of relevant skills and expansion of networks create self-directed opportunities for adolescents to participate in the future of work rather than be left out or left behind

The Legitimacy of Amnesties under International Law and General Principles of Anglo-American Law

This article discusses what makes an amnesty legitimate. The author does this by evaluating amnesties in light of international law critiques of amnesties for human rights violations and from principles of both Anglo-American and international law. First, the author breaks the international law critiques into three schools: the obligation to prosecute, the fundamental rights of victims, and the social stability. From these schools, the author derives principles to evaluate the legitimacy of amnesties. After establishing that the doctrine of non bis in idem is not a barrier to evaluating the legitimacy of foreign amnesties, the author selects areas of law that reflect policies and principles applicable to amnesties, including international refugee law, extradition law, underlying immunities, statutes of limitation, laches, and pardons to argue against a liberal acceptance of amnesties. Finally, the author outlines a typology of amnesties in order to illustrate the difference between amnesties; the author divides amnesties into four general categories: amnesic, compromise, corrective, and accountable. Using this typology, the author concludes that to date, there is only one amnesty that comes close to qualifying as legitimate: the 1995 South African Amnesty

Apartheid as a Crime Against Humanity: A Submission to the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission

This submission made to the TRC by the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Law Clinic, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, and twenty-one international law professors regarding apartheid as a crime against humanity (reproduced below) grew out of the debate within South Africa concerning apartheid, crimes against humanity, genocide, and Nazism. This submission is an authoritative statement by experts in international law concerning the legal status of apartheid and was drafted in part to clarify the relevant issues for a legal evaluation of apartheid-not only within the TRC, but also in broader South African and international society. The submission argues that apartheid does qualify as a crime against humanity under international law, even though it may not qualify as genocide, and even though there may be important differences between the policies of apartheid and Nazism

International Law, Human Rights Beneficiaries, and South Africa: Some Thoughts on the Utility of International Human Rights Law

This article uses the case of South Africa to illustrate four effects of international human rights law on human rights beneficiaries. First, international human rights law acts as a constraint on state action. Second, it is a source of norms that can be incorporated into, and thus interpreted and implemented by, domestic legal institutions. Third, it acts as a direct or indirect constraint on the actions of international governmental and non-governmental organizations. Fourth, it directly empowers individual victims. The Article also uses the South African example to provide suggestions for additional areas of research and advocacy for international human rights scholars and advocates