Impact Conference 2011 - 16:00 - Session C: Knowledge transfer and the role of research mediators
Investigating Academic Impact. A conference at the London School of Economics on Monday 13 June 2011. Academics are increasingly being pressed to provide evidence of impact from their research on the world outside academia. And universities will have to provide evidence of impact as part of the new Research Excellence Framework. But there is confusion about the different definitions of impact that exist amongst funding bodies and research councils, and also about methods of measuring impact. Thi
3.2 Guided participation – a cultural perspective So far, we've looked at some of the key concepts of a socio-cultural approach to teaching and learning, and explored various ways of analysing the interaction sequences on the video. While scaffolding and the ZPD, levels of control and contingency have provided a powerful framework for research in this area, Hoogstedder et al. draw attention to the possibility that the styles of interaction reported from empirical research, and illustrated in the video, reflect particular cultural practices i
3.1 Introduction Read Chapter 9 of Cultural Worlds of Early Childhood, ‘Aspects of teaching and learning’, by David Wood, attached below. In this reading Wood addresses three main issues. First is the concept of gro 4 Why do social workers need to know about the law? From our discussion of social work and the meaning of law you will already have some answers to this question. We will now bring them together and relate them to wider debates about the content of the social work curriculum. We have seen that there are few right answers in social work. However, if practitioners do not know where they stand legally they cannot begin to do their job properly because they will not be able to give appropriate advice and support to service users. They will a 2.2 Finding out about social work There is evidence that public knowledge about social work in Scotland is ‘fairly low’, with apparent confusion between social services and welfare benefits – ‘the social’ – and over the boundaries between social work and social care. The MORI survey also reported that those most likely to be in need of social support – older people, lower social income and minority ethnic groups – were particularly ill informed about availability and access to services (Davidson and 2.3 Social work and social change 2.2 Finding out about social work 3.3 Summary of part C What the courts have established in the cases we have looked at is not a hard and fast privacy doctrine, but a situation in which each case is decided by individual judges on its particular merits. There is no free-standing right to privacy for individuals to enforce. However, where individuals have a strong countervailing interest to protect, the courts are willing to uphold their right to confidence. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones successf 3.3 What were the fundamental human rights which required protection? Earlier in this unit you explored why certain rights were considered to be basic human rights. These can be described as those rights of individuals or groups relating to human dignity and fundamental freedoms, which require legal protection from adverse interference by the state, where those rights derive from the fact of being human. Such rights can be traced back to two aspects of international law, namely customary international law and treaty law. The former derives from the customs adop 4.1 Introduction You cannot cite precedents to a judge and ask him or her to follow them if you don't have a good record of all the earlier cases and how they were decided. The operation of binding precedent, therefore, relies on the existence of an extensive reporting service to provide access to previous judicial decisions. This section will briefly set out where you might locate case reports on particular areas of the law. This is of particular importance to advocates (usually barristers but s 3.5 Summary of Part B In Part B you have learned that: the system of precedent requires later courts to use the same reasoning as an earlier court, where two cases raise the same legal issues; the contents of a case report can be divided into two categories:
ratio decidendi – the statement of legal principles essential to the decision. The ratio is the binding element of the case 3.4.3 Summary of binding precedent In this section you have seen: that not everything in a court case sets a precedent the difference between ratio decidendi (the statement of legal principles material to the decision) and obiter dictum (the discussion of legal principles raised in argument but not material to the decision) that the binding element in a future case is the ratio and that, while the obiter will never be bindin 3.4.2 Distinguishing In comparison with the mechanism of overruling, which is rarely used, the main device for avoiding binding precedent is that of distinguishing. As has been previously stated, the ratio decidendi of any case is based upon the material facts of the case. This opens up the possibility that a court may regard the facts of the case before it as significantly different from the facts of a cited precedent, so it will not find itself bound to follow that precedent. Judges use the device of dis 3.4.1 Overruling Overruling is the procedure whereby a court higher up in the hierarchy sets aside a legal ruling established in a previous case. It is strange that, within the system of stare decisis, precedents gain increased authority with the passage of time. As a consequence, courts tend to be reluctant to overrule longstanding authorities even though they may no longer accurately reflect contemporary practices or morals. While old principles are not usually good in dentistry or computer sci 3.4 Binding precedent Not everything in a court case sets a precedent. The contents of a case report can be divided into two categories: 1. The reason for the decision – ratio decidendi The ratio decidendi of a case is not the actual decision, like ‘guilty’ or ‘the defendant is liable to pay compensation’. The precedent is set by the rule of law used by the judge or judges in deciding the legal problem raised by the facts 3.3.6 Summary of the system of precedent The basis of the system of precedent is the principle of stare decisis and this requires a later court to use the same reasoning as an earlier court where the two cases raise the same legal issues. For example: House of Lords’ decisions are binding on all other courts in the legal system, except the House of Lords itself. The Court of Appeal is bound by previous decisions of the House of Lords. The Court of Appeal generally i 3.3.5 The High Court The High Court is also bound by the decisions of superior courts. Decisions by individual High Court judges are binding on courts inferior in the hierarchy, but such decisions are not binding on other High Court judges, although they are of strong persuasive authority and tend to be followed in practice. It is possible, however, for High Court judges to disagree and for them to reach different conclusions as to the law in a particular area. The question then becomes – how is a later High Co 3.3.4 Divisional courts The legal terminology for these courts is not very straightforward! The High Court is divided into three ‘divisions’, each one dealing with different sorts of cases – the Family Division, the Chancery Division (that deals with property and money cases) and the Queen's Bench Division (that deals with cases involving things like contracts and negligence). Each of these divisions, however, also has the capacity to act as a court to hear appeals from lower courts and, when the judges s 3.3.3 The Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal is always bound by previous decisions of the House of Lords. The Court of Appeal generally is also bound by its own previous decisions. There are, however, a number of exceptions to this general rule. Lord Greene MR listed these exceptions in Young v Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd (1944). 3.3.2 The styling of legal cases Activity 8 asks you to read Reading 1 – a short extract from The English Legal System (Slapper and Kelly, 2003) – and identify what you consider are the advantages of allowing the House of Lords to overrule its previous decisions. This extract provides you with examples of instances when the House of Lords has not followed its own previous decisions. This may be the first time you have read the name of a legal case. Case names are written in a particular style. For example, t
Reading 3
Social work is a dynamic profession that is undergoing a period of significant change in Scotland. Social workers have the power to make assessments and decisions that radically alter people's lives. This unit introduces the law as it relates to social work and encourages an understanding of the context of the law in order to make sound decisions.
Social work is a dynamic profession that is undergoing a period of significant change in Scotland. Social workers have the power to make assessments and decisions that radically alter people's lives. This unit introduces the law as it relates to social work and encourages an understanding of the context of the law in order to make sound decisions.
