The Cultural Defence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Dundes Renteln
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Cultural Relativism ◽  
Civil Litigation ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Culture Conflict ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Irreparable Harm

This chapter considers how arguments based on cultural traditions and customary law influence the reasoning of judges in various jurisdictions through the use of cultural defences. A survey of cases reveals that judges consistently refuse to allow the introduction of evidence concerning litigants’ cultural backgrounds in legal proceedings. As explained here, the prescriptive version of cultural relativism calls attention to the context in which individuals act under cultural imperatives. It is the underlying theory that justifies culturally specific notions of reasonableness in criminal law and civil litigation. Although the defence is sometimes understood as limited to criminal cases, the chapter demonstrates how cultural factors also figure in cases involving exemptions and calculating damages in civil litigation. The chapter identifies several types of culture conflict, considers a theoretical framework for analysing cultural defences, and discusses practical difficulties associated with the implementation of the cultural defence policy. Anthropologists are often asked to serve as expert witnesses in these cases. How their involvement in the justice system may affect their professional reputations is also assessed. The final section offers suggestions as to likely new areas where cultural defences will be raised, such as military tribunals and educational systems. While proponents of the strategy contend that the courtroom door should be open to cultural argumentation, this does not mean the cultural factors should necessarily influence the disposition of the cases, particularly if the customs central to the dispute involve irreparable harm.

Individualism and Collectivism: What Differences between Portuguese and Romanian Adolescents?

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 555-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Ciochinã ◽  
Luísa Faria
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Anonymous Questionnaire ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Individualism And Collectivism ◽  
Two Independent Variables

This article presents the results of a series of preliminary comparisons, between the Portuguese and Romanian cultural contexts, on the individualism-collectivism (IND/COL) cultural dimension. The IND/COL was evaluated with the Individualism-Collectivism Questionnaire – ICQ –, constructed in New Zealand by Shulruf, Hattie and Dixon (2003, Anonymous Questionnaire of Self-Attitudes –AQSA), and adapted to the Portuguese and Romanian contexts by Ciochină and Faria (2007), using studies of confirmatory factor analysis. The ICQ composed by 26 items, 15 evaluating the IND scale– with three subscales (Uniqueness, Competition and Responsibility) –, and 11 evaluating the COL scale – with two subscales (Harmony and Advice) –, was administered to 395 subjects, 200 Portuguese and 195 Romanian, 10th and 12th graders. On the whole, in the Portuguese and Romanian samples, the multivariate and univariate statistical analyses evidenced the existence of two independent variables – gender and cultural context –, with significant effects, main and of interaction, on the scales and subscales of the ICQ. The results were discussed taking into consideration the specificities of the educational systems in the two cultural contexts, which are inevitably shaped by socio-cultural factors characteristic of the two countries considered in the present study – Portugal and Romania.

Multiculturalism and Canadian Psychiatry: Opportunities and Challenges

1986 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 681-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsung-Yi Lin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Ethnic Differences ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Cultural Relativism ◽  
Cultural Relevancy ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Causative Factors ◽  
Scientific Attention

In this lecture, the writer calls the attention of Canadian psychiatrists to the unparalleled opportunities the national policy of multiculturalism has for clinical and research activities. Using illustrations from three important fields in psychiatry — epidemiology, psychopharmacology and psychotherapy, he points out the roles socio-cultural factors play in generating ethnic differences which deserve to be given serious scientific attention for both the understanding of causative factors and the treatment of mental disorders. He emphasizes that medical universalism and ethnocentricism have no place in Canadian psychiatry, and that the next phase of Canadian psychiatry should focus on cultural relevancy based on cultural relativism and equal participation of all cultures and ethnic groups.

scholarly journals The Cultural Factors in the MOOC Design in China from Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 13201325
Author(s):  
Xin Yang
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Hofstede’S Cultural Dimensions ◽  
High Power Distance ◽  
Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Cultural Features

With their massiveness and openness, Moocs have become one of the most widespread and influential online learning forms, which leads to the fact that more and more designers with different cultural backgrounds are getting involved in the course design. As a result, the Mooc design such as the styles of the organization and presentation may correspondingly be influenced by cultural values of the designers, and then become barriers for learners. In order to locate the cultural influence reflected in the Mooc design in China, the introductory videos of three courses published on Coursera, which are designed by three well-known universities in China, are sampled for analysis from the aspects of power distance, individualism/collectivism and masculinity/femininity within the framework of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. The findings indicate that the cultural features of the high-power distance, collectivism and femininity have shown their influence on the designing of these courses.

The Influence of National IT Policies, Socio-economic Factors, and National Culture on Network Readiness in Africa

2012 ◽  
pp. 97-119
Author(s):  
Airi Ifinedo ◽  
Princely Ifinedo
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Information And Communication

This study examines the influence of national IT policies, socio-economic and cultural factors on the network readiness of African countries. The capability and level of preparation of a nation to participate in and benefit from information and communication technologies (ICT) for socio-development is assessed by the network readiness index. Prior studies have shown that such factors have a significant influence on how a country benefits from its use of ICT products for development. Research on this topic with data from the African continent is rare. This study serves to fill this gap. It is based on data from a cross-section of twenty diverse African countries. The data suggested variability in the use of ICT for developmental purposes among the sampled countries. To that end, Africa should not be viewed as monolithic in such respects. The study showed that all the measures used to operationalize national IT policies, socio-economic and some cultural factors are positively related to the network readiness of the sampled African countries. Importantly, the quality of each country’s educational systems, its transparency (corruption) levels, its ICT regulatory framework, and its cross-cultural dimension of power distance (PDI) were found to have significant relevance to its network readiness. The implications of the study’s findings for research and policy making are discussed.

Adaptation-Oriented Culturally-Aware Tutoring Systems

2010 ◽  
pp. 413-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel G. Blanchard
Keyword(s):  
Distributed Applications ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Tutoring Systems ◽  
Difficult Time ◽  
Culturally Adapted ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Specialized Education ◽  
Network Technologies ◽  
Globally Distributed

Modern societies have a growing need for highly specialized education and traditional educational systems have a difficult time providing solutions. E-learning applications could become an important part of the solution. With improvements in network technologies and systems’ scalability, more and more globally-distributed applications are now available. Opportunities for people from varying societies to learn synchronously have thus multiplied. This being said, systems developed in a particular cultural setting and distributed around the world without taking into account variations in learners’ cultural backgrounds pave the way for potential misunderstanding and failure of adequate teaching. How might learners’ cultural background be adequately taken into consideration? How can content displayed to learners be culturally adapted? How can the most suitable strategies of interaction in accordance with learners’ cultural specificities be selected? These are some of the questions that will be addressed in this chapter.

The Influence of Christianity on the Development of Institutions of Crime and Punishment in Russia

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Наталия Акимова ◽  
Nataliya Akimova
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Spiritual Support ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Crime And Punishment ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
Criminal Legislation ◽  
The Church

The article deals with the issues, related to the problem of correlation between law, religion, morality and cultural traditions in the context of criminal behavior. The article analyses tendencies in determinism of philosophical-religious beliefs developed on the basis of centuries-long experience of Christianity, and their influence on the formation and development of the domestic criminal legislation. In her research the author founds upon such sources as the Statute of Prince Vladimir, the Russian Truth, the Code of Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich. The author draws the conclusion that throughout the whole period of the Christian religion existence, the church and the state have never stayed apart from each other. The church has had a major impact on various aspects of social life, including formation of the customary law, which was one of the factors that seriously affected the development of the modern criminal legislation. Criminal law and the legislation of the pre-revolution Russia had gone hand-inhand with the Christian religion all the way up through the October Revolution of 1917, always finding from its ally spiritual support and canonic recipes to criminalize certain socially dangerous actions, and also to differentiate responsibility and individualize punishment.

Directive Approach to Telephone Counseling in the People’s Republic of China

2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yihong Gao
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Change ◽  
Telephone Counseling ◽  
Cultural Relativism ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Interactive Relationship ◽  
Directive Style ◽  
Cross Cultural Counseling

In the People’s Republic of China, telephone psychological counseling is a new phenomenon that appeared in the late 1980s, following a social transition toward a market economy. Such counseling by paraprofessionals often adopts a directive style in that the counselor gives direct advice pertaining to what the client should do on a particular issue. After a brief description of its features, this article examines factors of cultural traditions and transitions underlying the directive counseling and the interactive relationship between counseling and culture. Analysis is made regarding traditional and transitional values, social networks, and personality types. It is further argued that research and training in cross-cultural counseling should go beyond static cultural relativism and adopt an emic view of cultural change.

scholarly journals Customary Institutions in the Kei Indigenous Community Against Criminal Case Resolution

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-35
Author(s):  
Rudini Hasyim Rado
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Legal Research ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Level ◽  
Traditional Institutions

This research is focused on exploring the values of Kei customary law on the settlement of criminal cases that are resolved through customary institutions, by proposing 2 (two) problems, First, how is the existence of the law customary criminal Kei? Second, what is the role of customary institutions in the settlement of criminal cases? This research uses non-doctrinal legal research methods with interviews and observations as primary data. Meanwhile, data analysis is inductive and qualitative. It can be concluded that (1) the formal customary law of Kei is the values that live in the community that are agreed upon and are binding on the community, where the settlement of customary Kei crimes is taken in stages starting from the family level, customary institutions (Soa, Orang Kai and the last tier of Rat). (2) the role of traditional institutions in the settlement of criminal cases is starting to strengthen in society, this is indicated by the level of compliance with decisions and sanctions that are stipulated. People believe that customary cases are resolved by “insiders” (customary institutions) through deliberation (dok Tasdov) with a local wisdom approach to create social justice.

scholarly journals FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI PELAKSANAAN ACARA PEMERIKSAAN CEPAT DI PENGADILAN NEGERI BANGLI

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Desyanti Suka Asih K.Tus ◽  
I Gede Putu Mantra ◽  
Ni Wayan Ardani
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Criminal Code ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
District Court ◽  
Legal Certainty ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Community Facilities ◽  
Examination Process

<p>The court is obliged to uphold justice regardless of one’s social status. Resolving criminal cases is carried out through the courts with various types of examination processes. The examination process is referred to as a normal examination, a short examination, a quick examination in accordance with the Criminal Code. Therefore, it is necessary to know whether the implementation of the rapid inspection program has been carried out in accordance with the<br />applicable rules both in the Criminal Code and other legal rules. The implementation of the quick inspection program at the Bangli District Court can be carried out effectively and efficiently so that the achievement of legal objectives, namely justice and legal certainty for the entire community. It is inseparable from the factors that influence its implementation. So that in this<br />study the author discussed what are the factors that influence the implementation of the rapid inspection program in Bangli District Court and whether there are any factors that become obstacles in the implementation of the rapid examination program at Bangli District Court. The results of the study are as follows: Factors that influence the implementation of the rapid inspection<br />program at Bangli District Court namely; law enforcement, community, facilities and facilities as well as cultural factors.</p>

scholarly journals UPAYA PERDAMAIAN UNTUK PENYELESAIAN PERKARA PIDANA Reaktualisasi Kearifan Lokal dalam Hukum pidana Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 171
Author(s):  
Rusjdi Ali Muhammad
Keyword(s):  
Islamic Law ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Private Law ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
Positive Law ◽  
Peace Settlement ◽  
Rape Case ◽  
Settlement Of Disputes

One characteristic of Islamic law is not explicitly distinguished between the domain of public law with private law. Sanctions for deliberate murder is Qisas for example, where the victim's heirs have more permanent role to choose the death penalty imposed (Qisas) or give forgive me by asking Diyat (compensation). Amount number of Diyat is also can be negotiated through a kind of mediation method called Shulh (peace). So here the element of private law is more dominant. Even Diyat can be released at all heirs of the victim initiatives. In this last case the State may punish the offender with ta'zir, so here its public law elements recur. This idea is not unknown in Indonesian positive law provisions. The victim had usually been involved as a witness in his father murder case or rape case against her. In customary law in Aceh there are several institutions in efforts to realize peace for criminal cases, namely in the form of adat meulangga, dhiet, sayam or takanai (South Aceh). Principles of peace settlement of disputes may also be considered not only for civil cases but also in criminal cases. Thus the doctrine that says the criminal nature of a case will not remove although there is peace agreement, would need to be revisited. However it is important also to restrict that not every criminal case could be solved by peace agreement. Criminal cases like premeditated murder and rape should be excluded from the possibility of peace agreement. 

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