Institutional Obligations Research Articles

Shaping Minds and Societies: The Legal History of Education in China

This paper seeks to present a legal study of the educational systems in China as well as to establish legal developments of laws and policies and its reforms within China’s educational systems. Starting with the imperial education laws based on the Confucianism which largely stressed the imperial order and helped to select bureaucratic officials, the discussion proceed with the education laws of the republican era, with founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, and with the modern legal changes for education aimed at extending, equalizing and enhancing education. In the case of education, laws were passed and implemented mainly as social engineering policies to fight illiteracy; to incite an increased enrolment of children into primary schools, and to address inequity. Another major step was made in 1986 when the National People’s Congress adopted the Education Law regulating compulsory education as the right of every citizen, establishing nine year compulsory education, and placing education at the priority level of the state. In 1990s and 2000s, educational reform aimed at the improving parity between urban and rural schooling, development of technical and vocation education and training (TVET) higher education and private sector education (PSE). At the same time, curriculum content was made standardized to improve its quality, including rules for enhancing the quality of the teaching staff and for determining the rights and obligations of educational institutions. The government’s more recent of the Double Reduction Policy of 2021 is an attempt at relieving academic pressure and tackling the socioeconomic issues surrounding private tuition.However, the following factors are attained hence a mode of concern; There has been a continued trend in inequalities between the urban and the rural areas, education has not been universal and is still indifferent between the quality it provides to the students now and then, laws remain to be enacted due to China’s orientation of becoming more international and technologically intelligent. Thus, in the course of this paper, these current issues are discussed and the prospects for future development of education law in China are analyzed, focusing on the fact that, while maintaining the proper balance of state regulation, the state’s goals should correspond to the various orientations for the development of education for the population.

A Just Genomics Needs an ELSI of Translation.

The rapid advances in genomics over the last decade have come to fruition amid intense public discussions of justice in medicine and health care. While much emphasis has been placed on increasing diversity in genomics research participation, an overly narrow focus on recruitment eschews recognition of the disparities in health care that will ultimately shape access to the benefits of genomic medicine. In this essay, we suggest that achieving a just genomics, both now and in the future, requires an explicit ELSI of translation-normative and pragmatic scholarship that embraces the interconnectedness of research and clinical care and centers the obligations of researchers, institutions, and funders to mitigate inequities throughout the translational pipeline. We propose core principles to guide an ELSI of translation and to ensure that this work balances the value of the generalizable knowledge that genomics research generates and the value of the individuals and communities who make this research possible.

Juridical Analysis of the MBKM Internship Program from the Perspective of Employment Law and Constitutional Law: Between Fulfilling Student Rights and Obligations of Educational Institutions

This research aims to analyze the impact of the Freedom to Learn-Independent Campus (MBKM) Program on students' rights in the context of higher education in Indonesia. The MBKM Program is expected to bridge the gap between education and industry, providing students with opportunities to develop practical skills. However, this research identifies several challenges faced by students, particularly concerning their legal status as interns and the protection of their labor rights. The research employs a qualitative analysis method with a case study approach, which includes interviews and the collection of secondary data from relevant documents and reports. The findings indicate that although the MBKM Program offers significant benefits in enriching students' learning experiences, the current regulations remain unclear and lack sufficient oversight, which may lead to exploitation. Therefore, this research recommends the need for harmonization between educational and labor regulations, as well as strengthening oversight systems to ensure the protection of students' rights. This study aims to contribute to the development of fairer and more sustainable education policies in Indonesia.

FEATURES AND ADVANTAGES OF THE DUAL FORMOF HIGHER EDUCATION

The advantages and possibilities of a dual form of higher education as a symbiosis of theoretical and professional-practical components of education are considered. In this case, the applicant receives all the necessary knowledge on the basis of a higher education institution (university or college), and practices them at an enterprise or company with which the institution cooperates. This system is currently being implemented in all European countries. Modern professional education, including higher education, lacks practical content. Instead, the dual form involves constant communication between the educational institution and the employer. Enterprises reserve the required number of training places for future specialists in higher education institutions. Students work in their chosen specialty during the entire period of professional training. There are various options for combining training and practice: three days at the enterprise and three days at the institution; classes in the morning, and work in the afternoon or vice versa. Depending on the chosen program and the agreement with the employer, applicants can spend a week studying theory and a week gaining practical experience, or two months attending lectures and the next two months working, developing and improving the acquired skills and abilities. Undoubtedly, the introduction of dual education requires adjusting industry standards and revising educational programs, designing learning outcomes that are required by the labor market. The concept of training specialists under the dual form of education, approved in Ukraine, regulates the rights, interests and obligations of educational institutions, employers, and students. Dual education makes it possible to turn students into mobile, competent, dynamic and experienced professionals who know what they want to achieve. It opens up new opportunities for professional training. At the same time, in the authors’ opinion, it is inappropriate to transform all professional education into dual education; this is a form of education for those who are able to combine study and work experience.

Re]Integrating a dispersed agenda: advancing archaeological research in Central Eurasia

Amid resurgent geopolitical fissures and in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a growing awareness in the sector of the need for, and concern about, national and international collaboration in archaeological projects. This article reflects on present-day challenges for international collaboration in central Eurasian archaeology and furthers a much-needed discussion about (re)integrating local narratives with inter-regional trends in future research. Responsible and practical proposals for bridging collaborator differences in institutional or publishing obligations, language capacities and access to resources are discussed.

MEDICAL PERSONNEL AS THE KEY TO SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE GREEN TRANSITION IN THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR

To implement the socially responsible green transition in the Healthcare sector, it is essential to involve competent and educated personnel/staff. Article 48 of the Medical Treatment Law (Ārstniecības likums) of the Republic of Latvia stipulates that a medical practitioner has a duty to regularly improve his or her professional qualifications. Article 1 also defines improvement of professional qualifications as part of post-graduate education in a specific profession or specialty, which occurs in accordance with a freely selected education program, though the content and time of acquisition of which is not regulated. However, it must be noted that almost all programs offered by the Ministry of the Health of the Republic of Latvia for the improvement of practitioners’ professional qualifications refer to the acquisition of skills and knowledge necessary to improve the process of treating patients. Although various international and national regulatory acts determine the obligations of state institutions to include the green transition into their operations, the involvement of the institution’s employees is not discussed. This study aims to analyze and reflect on the competence of medical personnel and students regarding patient treatment and to analyze the compliance of the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers with international and national regulations related to the creation of a socially responsible and sustainable state. UN Sustainable Development Goal Nr.4 “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” includes the necessity to ensure that all trainees acquire the knowledge and skill needed to promote sustainable development, including education regarding sustainable development and sustainable lifestyle. Within the scope of the research examples of positive foreign green transition practices will be evaluated. The results obtained within the framework of the research indicate the need to develop specific guidelines for the education of medical personnel, regarding the implementation of a socially responsible green transition in the healthcare sector, ensuring quality education in terms of promoting sustainable development.

Inclusive Teaching in Higher Education: Challenges of Diversity in Learning Situations from the Lecturer Perspective

This paper contributes to the dialogue around how to increase inclusion in higher education, taking the lecturer perspective as the point of departure. Theoretically, disability is understood as an interaction, which means that lecturers partake in the constitution of dis/ability in learning situations. Two qualitative interviews were conducted with an interdisciplinary lecturer employed in an institution of higher education in Norway. These data are used for this single case study to illustrate and reflect on the challenges of diversity in learning situations. Findings suggest that the lecturer struggles to encounter an increasingly diverse student population inclusively. Overall, her experiences unpack the outcome of a structural lack of prioritization to ensure accessibility for disabled students at an institutional level at the university where she is employed. This article emphasizes that the responsibility to ensure an inclusive teaching practice in higher education must be recognized and treated as an institutional obligation. To signal its priority, all institutions of higher education should make inclusive training obligatory for lecturers, as well as assigning hours to work on enhancing the development of inclusive skills in this group.

The Contents of Indonesian Muslim Academics’ Psychological Contract

This case study describes the dynamics of psychological contracts within the academic environment, with a focused examination on the experiences of academics at the University of Darussalam Gontor. Eight distinct psychological contracts emerge, encompassing appropriate compensation, fair distribution of workload, flexible working hours, attention from the university, organisational support, clear systems and rules, quick movement, and good culture. Each represents a unique set of expectations and obligations. Additionally, the study sheds light on the development of these contracts, highlighting how prior experiences, interactions within the university, institutional policies, and organizational culture collectively shape and influence academics’ perceptions of their roles and responsibilities. The findings provide invaluable insights into the nuanced interplay between individual expectations and institutional obligations, offering a deeper understanding of the factors that underpin a thriving academic community. Moreover, this study serves as a foundation for fostering an environment that supports the holistic development of both academics and the institution.

The Right to (Not) Appear: A Conversation on Institutional Obligations and Ethics of Care in Researching Illiberalism

As other papers in this special issue highlight, researchers of far-right movements have always been faced with the need to carefully balance visibility and invisibility to protect both their academic and personal selves. In this conversation, we share our experiences of what happens when preoccupations with dissemination and impact occlude the need for the right of research and researchers not to appear. This right touches upon a series of ethical questions and obligations that extend beyond simply our formal legal obligations to funding agencies and employers. As scholars arguing for a situated and participatory ethics have argued, ethical obligations must always be attuned to the affective entanglements that impact (in every sense of the word) both research subjects and researchers themselves, and that unfold often in unexpected fashion. How, then, can we reconcile such situated ethics and an ethic and culture of care with institutional obligations, and the requisites of an academic career? The conversation forum presented here draws on multiple exchanges the four authors had over the course of 2023 to 2024, edited for continuity and clarity.

“The language is very formal and appropriate”: L2 learners’ in/appropriateness evaluations and metapragmatic judgments in student-faculty emails

The present study examines Greek, EFL learners’ pragmatic judgments and metapragmatic explanations in relation to student-faculty emails. It aims to shed light on their pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic considerations relevant for their perceptions of email in/appropriateness, and to identify email features (linguistic and/or contextual) which are most salient to them and hence influence their pragmatic judgments. Using qualitative and quantitative data from perception questionnaires, the study found that learners demonstrated low sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic awareness when evaluating status-incongruent emails. They were overall unable to acknowledge and balance the importance between email content and email form, as their evaluations focused primarily on email framing devices and formality relevant to forms of address and sign-offs. They paid little attention to the various content moves pertaining to the presence or absence of status-preserving pragmalinguistic strategies, and to sociopragmatic and contextual considerations such as the involved institutional rights and obligations, or the acknowledgement of imposition. Overall, findings indicated that the learners saw the email domain more as a system of structural rules that need to be adhered to through specific framing devices, and less as a system of communication where social relationships are established and maintained though the selection of appropriate content moves.

Rights of Students and Expectations of Schools: A Guide to Educational Law

Objective: An effective framework to balance the rights of students and the obligations of educational institutions is necessary since education plays a crucial role in moulding persons and society. This research emphasizes the need to comprehend, apply, and uphold these legal parameters in order to cultivate equitable and efficient educational settings. Student rights, access to quality education, and fostering an environment conducive to learning and development are among the many of the issues examined in this research. At the same time, it deals with issues like balancing discipline, meeting the needs of students with varying backgrounds, and protecting students' right to free speech while adhering to educational requirements, all of which pose difficulties for schools navigating a complex legal landscape.
 
 Method: The paper presents the concept of inclusive mobile integration learning education (IMILE) and offers practical recommendations for educators, administrators, policymakers, and legal practitioners by integrating legal analysis, case studies, and comparative frameworks. This method provides a wealth of resources for avoiding legal conflicts, fostering an inclusive learning environment, and correctly interpreting and applying the laws governing education.
 
 Result: In addition, the research uses simulation analysis to foresee the probable results of various legal scenarios, giving stakeholders a head start in foreseeing and comprehending the effects of their decisions and actions within the legal framework. This research aids in a better understanding of the interdependence of students' rights and schools' obligations by integrating theoretical underpinnings, empirical evidence, and expert opinion.
 
 Conclusion: The results could be used to guide policymaking, teacher training, and other institutional practices, all of which contribute to making schools places where students not exclusively exposed to new information, however where they can grow into independent thinkers and contributing members of society.

From Colleagues to Critical Friends: Exploring Avenues of Professional Learning to Support Equity-Based Pedagogies in Mathematics Education

ABSTRACT This article describes a collaborative self-study of seven early career mathematics teacher educators. Our collective group sought to improve our practice in, and enhance transparency around, supporting prospective teachers as they engaged in equity-based mathematics pedagogies. The collaboration evolved into a critical friendship and provided a space to study, reflect and supportively challenge our practices. We found that self-study methodology matched our motivation to improve our practice as teacher educators, while recognizing the contexts of our other professional and institutional obligations and upholding our own values. We draw upon a traffic roundabout as a metaphor for our experience in self-study, noting the ways it provided professional learning and moved our work with prospective teachers forward.

Legal Security of State Support of Innovative Activities

Legal Security of State Support of Innovative Activities

Institutional and Legal Frameworks Supporting the Digitisation of Records and Archives at Two Selected State Universities in Zimbabwe

This study seeks to examine the institutional and legal frameworks supporting the digitisation of records and archives at two selected state universities in Zimbabwe. The digitisation of records and archives has become a de-facto process at all state universities around the world as the move from paper-based to cloud-based records storage takes centre stage. In Zimbabwe, state universities, apart from their own legislative Acts, operate under the statutory requirements of the National Archives of Zimbabwe Act (Chapter 25:06) of 1986 as amended by Act 22 of 2001. It is a fact that the digitisation of records and archives is a new concept to most records officers and archivists at state universities. This paradigm shift of moving from paper-based to digitised records management has been coded as a revolution which—whether we like it or not—has dominated and challenged traditional paper record-keeping systems. The first objective of the study is to find out the institutional obligations of state universities in digitising records and archives. The second objective is to ascertain the legal framework for the digitisation of records and archives. The study adopts a qualitative research design. It draws data from interviews with key participants at the two selected state universities. Qualitative data were organised into broad themes, and the content was reported in a narrative form. The study used an emergent framework to code and categorise the data and group them into themes. A myriad of challenges was unearthed, which were found to potentially inhibit the digitisation of records and archives. The study, therefore, concludes that although state universities have taken steps towards supporting the digitisation of records and archives, more still needs to be done for an effective digitisation process. It recommends that state universities should first address issues of legislation, policies and skills for the effective digitisation of records and archives.

Influence of Authentic Leadership on Employee Performance: Ethical Climate as a Moderating Variable

In the environment of State Universities in the City of Bandar Lampung, the ethical climate is a major concern considering the duties and obligations of institutions that are bound to ethics. The existence of ethical weaknesses in each State University can lead to weaknesses, namely the lack of high level of authentic leadership as it will arise that only leaders with the mind, not with the heart, causing a lack of communication between staff and leaders with procedures that are still not right and a lack of focus results, causing a lot of less work to be completed on time. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of authentic leadership on employee performance. The effect of ethical climate as a moderating variable, this study used the Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA) analysis tool. The empirical findings obtained are that authentic leadership has a significant positive effect on employee performance and an ethical climate that is not met moderates the effect of authentic leadership on employee performance. Some things are suggested in order to consider all options and counter views before taking a series of actions with good planning thinking and discussing openly, focusing on others is expected to increase awareness around ethics according to morality and honesty, especially superiors so that they can set an exemplary role model or role model for subordinates, as well as increasing responsibility and creating order to others so that it can run well.
 The entire population of State Universities is 1650 employees, with a sample of 174 respondents came from employees at State Universities in Bandar Lampung City. The data collection used is by distributing questionnaires. Based on the results of Multiple Regression Analysis, it is known that the sig values of the Authentic Leadership variables (X), Ethical Climate (M) are sig values of 0.900, a significant level of > 0.05 indicates that authentic leadership, if moderated by an ethical climate, does not have a positive and significant effect on employee performance.

‘Language’, power and liberty: Discursive constructions of Ghanaian glossolalic speeches

Unlike xenoglossia ( xenolalia), which involves speaking a language one has neither learned nor could have acquired naturally, glossolalia ( ecstatic speech) is the uttering of ‘incomprehensible’ stretch of utterances while in a state of trance. Using transcripts of recorded glossolalic utterances and of interviews collected over a 3-month period as our data source and working within the frameworks of language and power, and language and liberty we demonstrate that there is a strong link between glossolalic performance and the concepts of power and liberty. Thus, we establish that one’s ability to use glossolalia and another’s ability to interpret them are constituents of power. Also demonstrated is the use of specific linguistic (phonetic, syntactic, and pragmatic) resources to seek liberty for self or deny others liberty. We show further that individuals’ institutional obligation of regulating turns and determining turn duration of glossolalic interactions constitutes power and has relevance for liberty contestation, gain or loss. Finally, we prove that the performance of power and its interpretation are tools for exhibiting liberty.

The Moral Career of Soldiers’ Identity: A Norwegian Case

Military service can require soldiers to act beyond their moral beliefs, something that can impair soldiers’ mental health. However, little is known about the shaping of soldiers’ moral identity within their institutional context. This article explores how the moral identity of 20 experienced Norwegian soldiers is (re-)shaped in the Army. Findings from unstructured interviews suggest that they accept compromising their moral beliefs and give priority to an institutional obligation to follow orders. They present three mediating arguments justifying such a compromise and one effort to reduce the potential burden of carrying out illegal or immoral orders. I argue that these compromises are made possible through a shared belief they are socialized into through interactions in their military context. The study complements our knowledge of socialization processes in the military and identifies two theoretical concepts useful to gain knowledge about the (re-)shaping of soldiers’ moral identity.

On the Duty of Scholars to Aid Their Persecuted Peers

ABSTRACTGlobal threats to academic freedom are multiplying not only in an era of authoritarian resurgence, but also – less overtly – in an era of increasingly managerial governance of higher‐education sectors in democratic nations, where protection of institutional revenue streams, and of institutional reputation, may take priority over protection of scholars' and students' academic freedoms. In such circumstances, justifications for rendering aid to at‐risk scholars and students have become obscured. This article argues that the Kantian concept of imperfect duty can be adapted to theorizing collective, institutional obligations to aid those scholars and students, undertaken in light of academic freedom as a constitutive institutional value.

Aktuelle Fragen des Bankgeheimnisses

Current issues of Austrian Banking Secrecy. An article on the topic of information obligations of credit institutions, on the implementation of the Directive (EG) 2021/2167 on credit servicers and credit purchasers, and a food for thought on possible amendments to Section 38 Austrian Banking Act.

Taxation obligations of government institutions in Indonesia: Is it mandatory for government institutions in Indonesia to engage with taxable entrepreneurs?

This article examines the mandatory requirement for government agencies to transact with taxable entrepreneurs and its significant implications. It explores the impact of errors made by government agencies, acting as tax collectors, when engaging with non-compliant partners. The violations of regulations and potential consequences on state revenue are discussed, emphasizing the substantial influence of tax policy on the national economy. The study aims to provide an analysis of the obligations of government agencies as tax collectors and their effect on state revenue, along with the facilitation of business operations for Small and Medium Business Taxpayers (SMBTs). This article examines the mandatory requirement for government agencies to transact with taxable entrepreneurs and its significant implications. It explores the impact of errors made by government agencies, acting as tax collectors, when engaging with non-compliant partners. The violations of regulations and potential consequences on state revenue are discussed, emphasizing the substantial influence of tax policy on the national economy. The study aims to provide an analysis of the obligations of government agencies as tax collectors and their effect on state revenue, along with the facilitation of business operations for Small and Medium Business Taxpayers (SMBTs).