Towards an ethical jewellery business

This report presents the results of phase 1 of research which is intended to identify the main social, environmental and ethical issues in the jewellery sector and to assist industry bodies in identifying how to integrate ethical considerations into their activities. The phase one report is based on an extensive review of literature related to ethical issues in the jewellery sector, covering ethical issues throughout the jewellery supply chain, from extraction of jewellery materials by mining processes, through to the retail of finished jewellery. In addition to highlighting established existing knowledge and literature in this field, our report highlights gaps in the literature and understanding that will influence the form and focus of more applied research to be proposed for phase two of the project

\u27What’s on your mind?\u27 The only necessary question in spiritual care

Around the world, chaplains provide specialist spiritual care for people with complex healthcare needs. If the nature of chaplain interventions was better understood then multidisciplinary colleagues could both improve their own skills in spiritual care and better understand when to refer people to chaplains. A survey was constructed to establish what aspects of the chaplain/patient relationship were most important for patients in Scotland and Australia. Outcomes were measured with the Scottish Patient Reported Outcome Measure (Scottish PROM©). Results from 610 respondents showed the strongest correlation was between ‘being able to talk about what is on my mind’ and the Scottish PROM (rs(452) = .451, p \u3c .0005). ‘Being able to talk about what is on my mind’ proved more important than being listened to, having faith/beliefs valued, or being understood. Given the importance placed on listening and understanding by clinicians, this original and counterintuitive finding goes some way to explaining the unique role and function of healthcare chaplaincy

‘Taking care of the small: Article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and childhood accidental injury claims in Scotland’

This article addresses the right to life, survival and development, guaranteed to every child by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, article 6, within the context of childhood accidental injury in Scotland. It is argued that Scots law fails to meet the obligations incumbent on States Parties to provide a safe and supportive environment that recognises the special position of the injured child claimant. The nature of the obligation that article 6 imposes upon States Parties, and upon Scotland in particular, is discussed before certain significant legal difficulties facing Scottish child claimants are analysed. That analysis demonstrates that a mechanistic application of the doctrine of contributory negligence in cases concerning children is conceptually flawed and has produced inconsistent and inequitable outcomes. In conclusion, a way forward is proposed in the form of three strategies which might be employed to generate an article 6 compliant approach within the existing legal framework

‘Taking care of the small: Article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and childhood accidental injury claims in Scotland’

This article addresses the right to life, survival and development, guaranteed to every child by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, article 6, within the context of childhood accidental injury in Scotland. It is argued that Scots law fails to meet the obligations incumbent on States Parties to provide a safe and supportive environment that recognises the special position of the injured child claimant. The nature of the obligation that article 6 imposes upon States Parties, and upon Scotland in particular, is discussed before certain significant legal difficulties facing Scottish child claimants are analysed. That analysis demonstrates that a mechanistic application of the doctrine of contributory negligence in cases concerning children is conceptually flawed and has produced inconsistent and inequitable outcomes. In conclusion, a way forward is proposed in the form of three strategies which might be employed to generate an article 6 compliant approach within the existing legal framework

Rethinking Childhood Contributory Negligence: 'Blame', 'Fault' - but what about Children's Rights?

Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child provides that the child’s ‘best interests… shall be a primary consideration’ in all actions concerning the child. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has indicated something of the magnitude of the concept of best interests, describing it as ‘a substantive right’, ‘a fundamental interpretative legal principle’ and ‘a rule of procedure’. In many areas of domestic law the child’s best interests are discernible as a consideration when decisions are made that have an impact on children. However, the child’s best interests are not recognised as being of primary, or indeed of any, consequence in determinations about childhood contributory negligence. Further, judgments about the contributory negligence of the young often indicate inconsistent, and unpredictable, approaches and outcomes concerning children. This article contextualises the issue of childhood contributory fault within wider UK law and analyses the position of children in the field of delict/tort with reference to two high profile decisions, Probert v Moore and Jackson v Murray. A number of options for reform of the law, practice and policy are proposed – including a Children’s Civil Injuries Compensation Scheme – that would render the way the legal systems in the United Kingdom address the contributory negligence of children more compliant with Article 3

A critical evaluation of the rights, status and capacity of distinct categories of Individuals in underdeveloped and emerging areas of law

The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate how my research promotes knowledge exchange about my overarching research theme: the rights, status and capacity of distinct categories of individuals in underdeveloped and emerging areas of law.These categories include disempowered individuals (namely young people and transsexuals) and persons of reduced or questionable legal capacity (to date, children and disabled people).The thesis is in two parts. Part 1 (Volume I) is a reflective commentary and Part 2 (Volume II) comprises the published work submitted. In the reflective commentary, my published work is critically appraised and placed within a wider legal and thematic framework. My overarching research theme is summarised and evaluated with reference to the legal premises, methodology and the research outcomes of mypublished work. In particular, I present a critical reflection of eight of my publications, each of which is concerned with the impact of the law, and issues surrounding legal reform, upon the young and certain disempowered adults. I demonstrate that this body of work forms a contribution to interdisciplinary sharing of novel and meaningful research outputs both (i) within the academic arena and (ii) throughout the widerprofessional community. I argue that my published work is original, because it is concerned with important, but largely neglected, areas of Scottish (and often wider UK) law. Furthermore, I argue that my publications are independent and significant in that they provide a distinct and critical evaluation of existing law and seek to promote the growth of individual status and capacity. This, in turn, often generates greater provision for individual rights, and the imposition in law of private law and state remedies

A critical evaluation of the rights, status and capacity of distinct categories of Individuals in underdeveloped and emerging areas of law

The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate how my research promotes knowledge exchange about my overarching research theme: the rights, status and capacity of distinct categories of individuals in underdeveloped and emerging areas of law.These categories include disempowered individuals (namely young people and transsexuals) and persons of reduced or questionable legal capacity (to date, children and disabled people).The thesis is in two parts. Part 1 (Volume I) is a reflective commentary and Part 2 (Volume II) comprises the published work submitted. In the reflective commentary, my published work is critically appraised and placed within a wider legal and thematic framework. My overarching research theme is summarised and evaluated with reference to the legal premises, methodology and the research outcomes of mypublished work. In particular, I present a critical reflection of eight of my publications, each of which is concerned with the impact of the law, and issues surrounding legal reform, upon the young and certain disempowered adults. I demonstrate that this body of work forms a contribution to interdisciplinary sharing of novel and meaningful research outputs both (i) within the academic arena and (ii) throughout the widerprofessional community. I argue that my published work is original, because it is concerned with important, but largely neglected, areas of Scottish (and often wider UK) law. Furthermore, I argue that my publications are independent and significant in that they provide a distinct and critical evaluation of existing law and seek to promote the growth of individual status and capacity. This, in turn, often generates greater provision for individual rights, and the imposition in law of private law and state remedies

Patrick v Patrick and Re A letter to a Young Person : Judicial Letters to Children – an Unannounced, but not an Unwelcome, Development

"A letter", Nietzsche once wrote, "is an unannounced visit, the postman the agent of rude surprises". Given the extremely personal nature of many family law judgments, it is rare and rather surprising when parties, their children or, indeed, the judiciary set out their views in the form of a published letter. Two recent cases in which courts have communicated their decision by letter (Patrick v Patrick and Re A letter to a Young Person) are therefore worthy of note. In each case, the letter was addressed to the children in respect of whom orders were sought. The children ranged in age from six to fourteen years.Patrick, a decision of Sheriff Anwar at Glasgow, concerned a “bitter and acrimonious dispute” regarding whether a father should be entitled to “contact, in any form” with his three children described as being “aged between 12 and 6 years”. In Re A letter to a Young Person, Mr Justice Peter Jackson determined a relocation dispute involving a fourteen year-old boy who had been the subject of repeat family court orders since he was one year old. Both judicial letters received publicity, with excerpts from each being published in national newspapers

An exploration of evidence-based policy in Ireland: health and social inclusion

Ireland is a small country with a history of a social partnership approach to policy making. This paper considers how the ambition of government to utilise an evidence-based approach to policy making plays out against this partnership agenda. Drawing on the authors\u27 experiences and personal reflections, the paper considers how these issues operate within a number of health and social inclusion policy areas, and it explores the role of stakeholders\u27 expectations and involvement in generating evidence for policy