Good practice and the UK LLB degree or:how I learned to stop worrying and love the 21st century

Law schools have - unlike for example the arts or humanities - been resistant to change when it comes to progressive student pedagogies, preferring to hold on to traditional models of teaching and learning. This paper looks at what is considered to be good practice in the current higher education landscape broadly, and then develops what it considers to be good practice for law schools specifically. This law-specific definition of good practice encompasses both active as well as reflective learning that can be facilitated by means of a blended classroom. Whilst traditional pedagogies remain prevalent in law schools generally, this paper questions whether a teaching-intensive modern UK higher education institution like Abertay University is able to break the mould. To this end the paper explores to what extent this definition of good practice is reflected within Abertay University’s law school using as a case study the Public Law module of 2017/2018. It concludes by finding that, contrary to popular belief, there is much that ancient institutions can learn from modern establishments when it comes to the student experience

Austria\u27s National Holiday

Postcard from Jade Boyd, during the Linfield College Semester Abroad Program at the Austro-American Institute of Education in Vienna, Austri

No man is an island:a critical analysis of the UK’s implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty

The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled was signed on behalf of the European Union on 30 April 2014. On 13 September 2017, the European Union created a Directive (2017/1564) implementing its obligations under the Marrakesh Treaty. This Directive and corresponding Regulations came into force on 12 October 2018, which was the deadline provided to member states in implementing the Directive. On the 11th of September 2018, the United Kingdom made the Copyright and Related Rights (Marrakesh Treaty etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2018. The UK’s Marrakesh Regulations came into force the day before the EU deadline, and the lack of in-depth critical debate around this piece of legislation as well as the EU having initiated legal proceedings against the UK underscores the necessity of this paper. This paper seeks to assess the UK’s Marrakesh Regulations in light of both the EU legislation as well as non-EU international obligations to which the UK will remain bound beyond Brexit. This paper will ask: Can it be said that the UK in implementing the Marrakesh Treaty is fulfilling its obligations owed both to the EU as well as its own citizens?<br/

Strangers in the night:a comparative study on the socio-legal difficulties of importing America’s Bayh-Dole legislation to South African universities

In 2008, the South African parliament passed the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act, which came into effect on 2 August 2010. In doing so, South Africa sought to replicate the apparent success of the United States of America’s Bayh-Dole legislation. One of the express objectives of the Bayh-Dole Act is the increase in university-industry collaborations. Whilst U-I has not been expressly stated as a primary aim of the IPR Act, the legislative history has demonstrated that issues relating to U-I have permeated the political landscape from the inception of the IPR Act. It is therefore relevant - although hitherto unexplored - to consider whether South Africa’s IPR Act might have the same supposedly positive effect on U-I experienced by the Bayh-Dole Act. In answering this question, this paper chooses to focus on two factors which may be considered particularly pertinent in light of South Africa’s recent socio-legal landscape, namely (a) the lack of substantive patent examinations, and (b) government investment in higher education. To this end, it will be argued that the IPR Act will only serve to have a negative effect on U-I, if any at all

Expression and function of osteopontin variants in HCV-related liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Osteopontin (OPN) is a highly secreted multi-functional sialoprotein that is widely expressed in tissues, blood and urine. It is involved in a number of normal physiological functions, but is also significantly elevated in a number of cancers. While OPN is significantly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) little is known as to its role and if it is expressed in the pre-cancerous hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected liver. In this thesis we show that OPN is expressed in the liver and in HCC as three variants, the full-length protein OPN-A and two splice variants OPN-B and OPN-C. Through production of stable Huh-7 cells expressing the OPN variants, we show for the first time that all variants increase proliferation of a range of cultured hepatoma cell lines in a paracrine manner through interactions with the cell surface OPN receptor CD44. Similarly, OPN-A (and to a lesser extent OPN-B and –C) accelerated Huh-7 derived tumor growth in a nude mouse model. We also show for the first time expression of all three OPN variants in the non-diseased liver as it was previously thought that splicing was a feature specific for tumor cells. Clinically, OPN is known to be highly expressed in HCC, however, its expression in chronic hepatitis C is not well documented. In this thesis we show that OPN mRNA expression is elevated in the HCV-infected liver with a trend towards increased expression as liver disease progresses. Consistent with an increase in mRNA, serum OPN levels were also increased in the HCV-infected liver although we could find no correlation with degree of liver disease. However, our sample size was small and this section of the thesis needs repeating with a larger HCV-infected patient cohort. Furthermore, we show that elevated OPN expression is not specific to the HCV-infected liver as OPN is also elevated in the HBV-infected and alcoholic liver suggesting that HCV does not drive OPN expression but is more likely as a result of the inflammatory process in the viral infected liver. Interestingly we also show that there is a shift of OPN expression from bile duct epithelial cells in the non-diseased liver to the hepatocyte in the HCV-infected liver which raises the question as to the role of OPN in hepatocyte transformation to facilitate the development of HCC. Our evaluation of serum OPN expression also suggests that OPN has potential as both a diagnostic and potentially prognostic biomarker for not only HCC (arising from HBV and HCV infections and alcohol abuse) but also the earlier stages of HCV-related liver disease. This work for the first time characterises the expression of all OPN variants in the liver including HCC and may be useful for identifying targeted OPN-based therapeutic approaches for HCC and other cancers. Furthermore it also suggests that monitoring OPN in chronic hepatitis C may be useful in monitoring liver disease progression and early detection of HCC.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, 201

Investigating eating behaviours as predictors of body composition and dietary intake in New Zealand European, Māori and Pacific women - the women's EXPLORE study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Background/Aim: Internationally, eating behaviour has been linked with an optimal and adverse body composition in women. However no study to date has examined eating behaviour in female New Zealand ethnic groups. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate eating behaviours as predictors of different body composition factors and dietary intake in New Zealand European (NZE), Māori and Pacific women, aged 16-45 years, participating in the women’s EXPLORE study. Methods: Women (N=368) were assessed for basic anthropometry, total adiposity, regional adipose distribution and lean mass using height, weight, circumferences, dual x-ray absorptiometry and air-displacement plethysmography. Body composition profiles (normal-fat, hidden-fat and apparent-fat) were established using parameters of body mass indices and body fat percentages. The validated Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) and New Zealand Women’s Food Frequency Questionnaire were both used to examine eating behaviour and dietary intake, respectively. The TFEQ examined Restraint (Flexible and Rigid), Disinhibition (Habitual, Emotional and Situational) and Hunger (Internal and External). Combinations of behaviour (sub-groups) were established from the main categories and also examined. Results: Restraint was significantly higher in NZE than Pacific women (p = 0.015). Disinhibition was significantly higher in the apparent-fat profile than normal-fat profile (p < 0.001). Likewise, Hunger was significantly higher in Pacific (p < 0.001) and the apparent-fat profile (p = 0.034) than NZE women and women with normal-fat profile, respectively. Adverse tendencies of Habitual Disinhibition, and External Hunger were more prominent in Pacific and the apparent-fat profile than NZE women and normal-fat profile, respectively (all p < 0.05). External Hunger was more prominent in the hidden-fat profile than normal-fat profile (p = 0.001). When accounting for age and ethnicity the most significant predictors of BMI and BF % were Restraint (p = 0.007 and p = 0.005 respectively), Disinhibition (both p < 0.001), Habitual Disinhibition (both p < 0.001) and Emotional Disinhibition (both p < 0.001). Non-ideal behaviour combinations (Low Restraint High Disinhibition and High Hunger High Disinhibition) generally corresponded to significantly higher body composition markers and dietary intake (p < 0.05). Pacific women were three times more likely to have High Hunger High Disinhibition than NZE women (p = 0.004). Low Restraint High Disinhibition and High Hunger High Disinhibition increased by 12% and 11%, respectively from the normal-fat profile to hidden-fat profile (both p < 0.001). Conclusions: The TFEQ eating behaviour categories, sub-categories and sub-groups can significantly vary between ethnicities and body composition groups. Tailored interventions to promote Restraint (particularly Flexible Restraint) and counteract Disinhibition (particularly Habitual Disinhibition and Emotional Disinhibition), Hunger (particularly External Hunger), Low Restraint High Disinhibition and High Hunger High Disinhibition could enhance eating behaviour and dietary intake and help optimise weight management in young New Zealand women