This book is an outcome of a two-day international conference convened to discuss the changing notion of human rights from different perspectives. While focusing on the increasing relevance of human rights in an era of globalization, the book analyses the various legal-political, socio-economic, gender, ecological and international dimensions of this issue. From the large number of papers presented at the conference, sixteen articles have been selected for this volume. These are presented in four parts: namely, politico-legal, socio-economic, ecological and gender, and the transnational. The introductory section presents the major issues and concerns highlighted by the editors and carries the keynote address by Professor Yogesh Atal. Written by both young and veteran social scientists, the book presents a unique combination of theoretical and practical studies of human rights in comparative perspectives. The book will attract readership from the academe, human rights activists, and the concerned citizenry, and will be useful to students of law, political science, public administration, and sociology.

This book, a statement of genuine concern on the state of the school curriculum in Hong Kong by a veteran educator, forms a comprehensive account of current curriculum development, implementation and interpretation. Kennedy invites the reader to critically examine how local and global issues influence the way the Hong Kong curriculum has been constructed. Against this theoretical background, he maintains a clear, practical focus on present policies of the educational authority and suggests a new curriculum in various fields. This book sheds light on recent pressure for curriculum change and reform in Hong Kong, offering fresh insights to those concerned with the state of education in both Hong Kong and cities around the world.

Does the increasing prominence of Asia also mark a new era for human rights in the region? This timely book uncovers the political drivers behind both recent regional and country-based changes to the recognition, promotion, and protection of rights. Human Rights in Asia focuses on the relationships between political regimes, institutions and cultures, and external actors, such as international organisations, NGOs, and business. The contributing authors provide important discussions on Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Phillipines. Thematic chapters then go on to frame these individually focused contributions, by examining the international pressure to 'normalise' rights regimes, and the relationship between Islam and rights in the region. Providing a unique combination of country-specific and thematic analysis, this book will be a fascinating and beneficial read for postgraduate and undergraduate students in human rights and international relations, as well as scholars in politics, human rights, international relations and government and NGO analysts.

This book examines how media have brought about or paced dramatic political events in Southeast Asia over the last two decades. It highlights a situation where media dynamics are no longer a simple formula of state control versus media resistance. The state can propel its own media-liberalizing programme; civil society can be an enemy of press freedom; market forces and cultural mindsets are sometimes more potent agents of change than state-appointed media custodians. Practitioners, scholars and activists have come together in this volume to provide a diversity of narratives on subjects as varied as powerful politicians and marginalized transsexuals.

Brazilian Foreign Policy in Changing Times contributes both empirically and theoretically to the study of international relations. The book illuminates Brazilian foreign policy in the democratic era, a subject scarcely touched on elsewhere. This book also offers a new conceptualization of the debate on the path to an autonomous foreign policy.

Based on topics that frame the debate about the future of professional music education, this book explores the issues that music teachers must confront in a rapidly shifting educational landscape. The book aims to challenge thought and change minds. It presents a star cast of internationally prominent thinkers in and beyond music education. These thinkers deliberately challenge many time-worn traditions in music education with regard to musicianship, culture and society, leadership, institutions, interdisciplinarity, research and theory, and curriculum. This is the first book to confront these issues in this way. This unique book has emerged from fifteen years of international dialog by The MayDay Group, an organization of more than 250 music educators from over 20 countries who meet yearly to confront issues in music teaching and learning.

How can we interpret and respond to the rise of populist regimes that infringe on human rights? This incisive book analyses illiberal, repressive, and patriarchal logics of rule, identifying critical catalysts in the meteoric growth of populist agendas. Contributors scrutinise the records of authoritarian and nationalist leaders in Brazil, Hungary, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Turkey and the United States.

This book provides the first comprehensive account of the role played by the European Convention on Human Rights during the conflict in Northern Ireland from 1968. Brice Dickson studies the effectiveness of the Convention in protecting human rights in a society wracked by terrorism and deep political conflict, detailing the numerous applications lodged at Strasbourg relating to the conflict and considering how they were dealt with by the enforcement bodies. The book illustrates the limitations inherent in the Convention system but also demonstrates how the European Commission and Court of Human Rights gradually developed a more interventionist approach to the applications emanating from Northern Ireland. In turn this allowed the Convention to become a more secure guarantor of basic rights and freedoms during times of extreme civil unrest and political turmoil elsewhere in Europe. The topics examined include the right to life, the right not to be ill-treated, the right to liberty, the right to a fair trial, the right to a private life, the right to freedom of belief, the right to freedom of expression, the right to freedom of assembly, and the right not to be discriminated against. The book argues that, while eventually the European Court did use the applications from Northern Ireland to establish important human rights principles, their development was slow and arduous and some gaps in protection still remain. The book illustrates the limits of the European Convention as a tool for protecting human rights in times of crisis.