China and Climate Change Governance: A Golden Opportunity

Climate change is a threat to all of humankind, yet there is still a leadership vacuum on climate governance. At the same time, the deepening climate crisis also presents a golden opportunity for Beijing to assume the role of a global leader. China has the capacity to do it in a way that the United States, Russia, India, and the European Union do not. Taking swift climate action is in Beijing’s interest. Greater contributions to climate governance will certainly help advance China’s long-term political interest in both raising its political status and demonstrating the claimed superiority of its system of government. Positive rhetoric and robust action by China are likely to have a disproportionate effect on the rest of the world. Policy adjustment and implementation by Beijing will bring benefits to the rest of the world. Climate policy options that Beijing may take in the future are not mutually exclusive. The policy shift on climate change could also be attached more firmly to the idea of sustainable development as a defining factor of China’s approach to tackling the climate change threat.

Health Literacy and Digital Communication

The SARS-COV-2 pandemic has placed the entire planet under a global health threat, but it has also provided a golden opportunity for us to make the digital transition. With the successive confinements and restrictions on circulation and communication to which we were subjected, we had to look for other models of relationships, work, and learning. In a few months, the Portuguese went from an essentially playful and informative use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to an intensive work, academic, and communicational use.

Diskursus Gender dan Dakwah di Era Revolusi Industri 4.0

The Industrial Revolution 4.0 Era is a golden opportunity for woman to develop their potential to be equal to men in various fields. This paper aims to discuss the history of feminists in fighting for gender equality both globally and in the development of gender discourse in Indonesia. In realizing gender equality, women empowerment programs need to be presented in unique, innovative, and creative way according to women’s needs. Gender and Da’wah Discourse in the Industrial Revolution 4.0 Era can be realized in the form of da’wah for the women empowerment through education or training with community-based, so that women can carry out their roles proportionally and professionally. Da’wah for the women empowerment in the industrial revolution 4.0 era is expected to be able to invite, foster and guide women to develop their potential to be able to be productive, creative and financially independent without having to leave their roles as an individual, wife and mother. Da’wah for women empowerment as an effort to achieve gender equality need to pay attention to the segments and needs of each group of women being fostered, such as the community of young women, the community of housewives and the community of career women.

In the Name of Living with Virus: Enforcement of (Hidden) Agenda to Throttle Idea of Inclusive Education and Development

Inclusive idea of education in India though implied in the Indian constitution, has always been looked upon with suspicion by the privileged castes, classes, gender, and ethnic groups. The reason was apprehension of undoing of the status quo that has had remained primordial and backed by religious sanctions for social stratification. Therefore, idea of affirmative action towards disadvantaged sections in education in general and higher education in particular has faced stiff resistance by the conservative (status quoist) forces with ideas such as merit, efficiency and promotion of liberalization. However, with the limited implementation of the affirmative action policies such conservative idea was challenged, and representation of the disadvantaged sections was ensured, albeit partially. As a result, glimmerings of hope could be seen alongside with the amelioration of the disadvantaged statuses and (partial) inclusive development. But the present government with their covert strategies has always wished to hamper such inclusive idea in education. And amidst the present pandemic COVID-19 situation, they have found the golden opportunity to blow such development by arbitrarily shifting the policies pertaining to education to cause subtle exclusion of the disadvantaged groups. Such a shift in the policies is deliberate as has been proposed as universal and non-temporary change especially in higher education, that is, changes have been introduced with post-pandemic effect. Also, this change that has tendency for leaning towards liberalization/privatization can be seen as a logical continuation of their policies for withdrawal of the state from providing (higher) education in terms of continuous reduction in allotment of budget towards education. Interestingly, to divert attention and avoid critical reflection the change in policies are conveniently placed under the guise of (forced) living with the virus that has caused pandemic COVID-19.

A MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO SETTLE THE LAW ON DNA TESTING IN PATERNITY DISPUTES YD (now M) v LB 2010 6 SA 338 (SCA)

On 17 September 2010, in (YD (Now M) v LB (2010 6 SA 338 (SCA)), the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) unanimously delivered what should have been a ground-breaking decision in the use of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing for paternity disputes. This was an appeal against the decision of Murphy J, in order to determine the child’s paternity. An order for DNA tests was granted by the court a quo against the mother and her daughter, Y, to determine whether Mr LB (B) was the biological father of Y in the case of unmarried persons. If the tests proved that he was the father, he would then be entitled to full parental rights. This judgment should have been ground-breaking for two main reasons. First, YD was the first SCA judgment dealing with the use of scientific tests in paternity disputes. Until then, different provincial divisions had reached different conclusions on the court’s power to compel either a minor or an adult to submit to the tests. Thus, YD was an ideal opportunity for the SCA to unify “the provincial divisions”, that is, to bring certainty of law regarding DNA testing for paternity disputes. Second, the decision came at a time of the constitutional era and the era of the Children’s Act (38 of 2005) with its section 37, which deals with parties not willing to submit to DNA testing in paternity disputes. In particular, section 37 is meant to be a statutory intervention seeking to achieve a compromise position where the court is faced with the evil of having to force a recalcitrant adult to submit himself or the minor child, against his or her will, for testing where paternity is disputed. Hence, this was an opportunity for the SCA to put section 37, which had not been tested before a court of law, into perspective. However, the court missed this golden opportunity. Therefore, the purpose of this note is to provide a critical analysis of the SCA’s decision of YD. It begins with a brief overview of the legal position prior to the judgment of YD and concludes by reviewing the possible effects of the YD judgment.

School Nurses’ Experiences With Health Dialogues: A Swedish Case

The aim of this study was to describe school nurses’ experiences with health dialogues and elicit their thoughts about how schools can reach the full potential in promoting students’ health literacy and learning. The phenomenological analysis resulted in four themes: (i) A golden opportunity…or not, (ii) Like a double-edged sword, (iii) Able or unable organizations, and (iv) Visions of good conditions for health and learning. School nurses’ experiences revealed that health dialogues are beneficial and can be valuable tools in promoting health and learning when (1) the health dialogues are an important part of the educational assignment, (2) school nurses are valued for fulfilling the educational assignment, and their work conditions are reasonable, (3) the results from the health dialogues and health questionnaires are used systematically to promote health and learning, (4) a “whole-school approach” is used to build enabling relationships among all school staff and students.