Learning Lessons from the Past: Legal Issues Arising from Ireland\u27s Child Abuse Reports

Inquiries have played an important role in telling the stories of children abused and neglected in Ireland in situations of family abuse, clerical abuse and institutional abuse. The inquiries – associated with the name of the chairperson (Ryan) or by their geographical remit (Dublin, Ferns, Cloyne, Kilkenny and Roscommon) – serve to vindicate the rights of the children affected and to identify the failure of the authorities to protect children from harm. They also make numerous recommendations as to how children’s treatment can be improved. Although each inquiry had varying terms of reference, scope and status, together they address a wide range of issues of both specific and general significance to the issue of child protection. Focus is clearly placed on how child protection practice can be improved but many of the inquiries also comment on the legal framework and make recommendations for the reform of various aspects of child protection law and policy. This paper argues that the legal implications of these inquiries can be reduced to three overarching issues: the legislative provision for the mandatory reporting of child abuse; the need for robust and effective inspection mechanisms to ensure the protection of children, and the issue of constitutional law reform. The analysis shows that these measures are neither straightforward nor a panacea to the intractable problem of providing effective protection to children from abuse. However, taken with the other recommendations identified in the child abuse reports, they represent the beginning of a lasting legacy for the victims of abuse so tragically failed by their families, by the state and by society at large

The Association Between Knowledge and Confidence Related to LGBTQ+ Health Topics Among University Educators

Introduction: Many healthcare professionals may have inadequate knowledge or training to care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) patients. Educational curriculum based on LGBTQ+ populations has been found to be inadequate in higher education. Little is known about how university educators\u27 knowledge of LGBTQ+ topics or how that knowledge relates to their confidence in teaching this material. This study aims to explore how the healthcare educators\u27 knowledge of LGBTQ+ topics impacts their confidence teaching this material. Methods: Data was collected via an online survey sent to University of New Hampshire faculty. Respondents were asked to answer 12 knowledge and 19 confidence questions related to LGBTQ+ healthcare needs. Descriptive statistics were analyzed and t-tests were conducted to assess the relationship between variables. Results: A total of 14 participants were included in our analysis. No statistically significant result was found regarding the association between LGBTQ+ knowledge levels and the confidence in teaching these healthcare needs. However, it was found that educators have greater knowledge on LGB population healthcare needs compared to transgender population healthcare needs (t(11)=4.33, p\u3c0.01). Discussion: These findings support previous literature findings that university educators’ knowledge levels vary between different sexual and gender minority groups. However, these findings do not support previous literature that states higher levels of LGBTQ+ healthcare knowledge leads to more confidence with this material. Limitations for this study include a small sample size and self-rated confidence questions. This project exposed a gap in knowledge among university educators that may impact student learning experiences and should be rectified with increasing educator training regarding LGBTQ+ healthcare needs

Policing, young people, diversion and accountability in Ireland

The Irish police practice of diverting young offenders was placed within a statutory framework in 2001. The police discretion in the management of young offenders that had been a feature of the administrative process was retained at the heart of the new statutory programme although attempts were made to streamline the process. This article critiques the law, policy and practice underpinning the exercise of that discretion against the relevant international human rights standards on transparency, accountability and professionalism in juvenile justice. It reveals how the management of the programme in practice falls short of these standards and, in particular, the due process rights of the children who come within its reach. It argues that the root of the problem lies primarily in the lack of published criteria to guide the discretionary decision-making at several stages of the programme, and the lack of a credible complaint or review mechanism for the children affected. It recommends the publication of reasons for decisions taken in the exercise of Garda discretion in individual cases, together with provision for review or appeal of such decisions as well as regular independent monitoring of the operation of the programme as a whole

Mainstream culture and the inculturation of Catholicism in late Chosŏn Korea

This thesis attempts to apply inculturation theory to early Catholicism in Korea, focusing specifically on applying it in a way which recognises Korean society’s influence on the incoming belief system. Previous studies of the subject have tended to deal with Western influence on Korea’s society – my hope is to recognise and discuss the flow of influence in the opposite direction: how did mainstream Korean worldviews, including Confucianism, shape the Korean understanding and expression of Catholicism? The study period dates from 1784, when the first Korean was baptised into the Catholic church, to 1886, when France and Korea signed a treaty which gave the first official recognition to Catholicism within Korea. This work analyses the poems, letter, catechisms and writings of those involved with early Korean Catholicism to provide examples of points when a unique, syncretic form of Catholicism emerged, fusing Catholic beliefs with classical Eastern aesthetic forms and thought-modes

Promoting child-friendly approaches in the area of migration: standards, guidance and current practices

External research reportInstituut voor Privaatrech

Object-oriented representations

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1999.Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-59).The intention of this thesis is to investigate methods in which deficiencies in construction documents can be addressed through the application of digital technology. These deficiencies take two forms. The first form relates specifically to the limitations of a paper based documentation system with regard to accessing information. This is becoming increasingly prevalent due to the increasing amount of documentation required for complex building projects. The second set of deficiencies is directly related to the time consuming nature of the construction document production process, recognizing that the majority of time is spent reformatting and redrawing previous details and specifications. The concepts of object-oriented programming and levels of abstraction are used as organizational structures to address these deficiencies. While current methods of documentation utilize more traditionally based organizational system, this thesis explored the use of structures inherent to computational media. Additionally, database structures were explored as a key component to information reuse in the documentation process. Two prototype systems are developed to propose alternative methods of documentation using computational media. The Building Interface is an interactive system for information access that utilizes varying densities of information and multiple modes of representation. The Drawing Assembler is a graphic search engine for construction details that links a building component database with a construction detail database through the intersection of dissimilar objects.by Michael James Kilkelly.S.M

Children and police questioning: A rights-based approach

Copyright © The Author(s) 2023. Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children in conflict with the law are entitled to dignity and respect for their rights within a youth justice system adapted to their age and circumstances. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the necessity of ensuring that children’s rights are protected during the criminal process, emphasising the importance of legal advice, information and support to enable their participation in the process. Police questioning can be a particularly difficult experience for children, given their vulnerability and immaturity and yet it can have very serious consequences for children. This article examines the rights of the child during police questioning, from the perspective of children themselves. Presenting the findings of a study of children’s experiences of their rights when being questioned by the police (An Garda Síochána) in Ireland, the article highlights the need to adapt police questioning processes to the needs and circumstances of the child, while emphasising the powerful case for greater involvement of children in research about criminal justice and policing so that their experiences of their rights can be better understood.This study was funded by the Policing Authority (Ireland) Research Bursary Scheme. The details of the study were published by the Policing Authority as follows: Kilkelly U. & Forde, L, Children’s Rights and Police Questioning: A Qualitative Study of Children’s Experiences of being interviewed by the Garda Síochána (Dublin: Policing Authority, 2020) available at www.policingauthority.i