Health Inequalities and People with Learning Disabilities in the UK

This briefing paper will assist Primary, Acute and Specialist NHS Trusts in fulfilling their responsibilities. In this report we summarise the most recent evidence from the UK on the health status of people with learning disabilities and the determinants of the health inequalities they face. Later in the autumn, IHaL will be producing a briefing for GP Commissioning Consortia and PCTs on practical commissioning actions to help address the issues identified in this report

Exploring The New Urbanist Legacy In Cornell, Markham

This research paper examines how the principles of New Urbanism were incorporated into the planning and design of the Cornell community in Markham, Ontario. Master Planned as a multi-phase development in the 1990s by some of New Urbanism's biggest proponents - Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Cornell was intentionally designed around the principles identified in the Charter of the New Urbanism (2000). Through a detailed study of the various literature on New Urbanism in Canada and the United States, this paper identifies some of the important principles of New Urbanism and explores how the principles were incorporated into the policies, design guidelines, and other planning documents that directed the development of Cornell. This research paper finds that some principles and design elements of New Urbanism were successfully implemented in Cornell (i.e., walkable streets and diverse and affordable housing options), while others were not (i.e., mixed-use). Based on a review of critical literature on New Urbanism, personal observations, and interviews, this research paper finds that the New Urbanist vision for Cornell was generally realized. Although adaptations have been made to recent plans and design guidelines to reflect current and future planning challenges, the New Urbanist framework remains relevant in guiding the future development of Cornell

Business, Human Rights, and Corporate Social Responsibility

This presentation is a review of the literature on business and human rights and Corporate Social Responsibility. Globalization has lead to human rights and business being a combined topic. The United Nations and other countries have began to recognize human rights with labor regulations due to the misconduct in applied legislation. Our research focuses on the country of Myanmar also known as Burma. The United States in particular has had a long history working with Myanmar. During the 2000\u27s American companies have been developing strict labor policies. Through research, companies discovered that implementing business policies and labor regulations programs increase the community\u27s development. A case study shows how Coca-Cola worked in Myanmar to form a strategic plan assisting Myanmar\u27s community. Through corporate responsibility and labor solidarity, companies can work in high-risk environments and achieve positive outcomes

In hindsight: the challenges of virtual mentoring the future higher education leaders of Afghanistan

This article, written in hindsight, is a personal account of a British Council and Afghan Ministry of Higher Education project that sought to establish mentoring relationships between the next generation of leaders in Afghanistan and volunteers from UK higher education. Several learning points have emerged: the need for a simple programme design; the inappropriateness of mentoring to develop management and leadership skills at this time; a desire to formalise inputs; a necessity for face-to-face input and the difficulties of establishing mentoring relationships virtually. These findings contribute to understanding of the difficulties of implementing virtual mentoring within a challenging post-conflict environment

A Legal and Psychological Critique of the Present Approach to the Assessment of the Competence of Child Witnesses

The Canada Evidence Act requires an inquiry to determine whether a child has the requisite moral and intellectual capacity to testify. Caselaw suggests that a child must demonstrate an understanding of abstract concepts like truth and promise to be competent to testify. This article reports on a survey of Ontario justice system professionals, revealing significant variation in how judges conduct competency inquiries. Children are often asked about religious beliefs and practices, and are frequently asked developmentally inappropriate questions. The authors also report on their experimental research which indicates that children\u27s ability to explain such abstract concepts as truth, lie, and promise is not related to whether children actually tell the truth. Child competency inquiries are demeaning to children, do not promote the search for the truth, and result in unnecessary appeals. The child competence inquiry should be abolished, though a judge should give a child simple instructions about the importance of truth telling, and ask the child to promise to tell the truth

A Legal and Psychological Critique of the Present Approach to the Assessment of the Competence of Child Witnesses

The Canada Evidence Act requires an inquiry to determine whether a child has the requisite moral and intellectual capacity to testify. Caselaw suggests that a child must demonstrate an understanding of abstract concepts like truth and promise to be competent to testify. This article reports on a survey of Ontario justice system professionals, revealing significant variation in how judges conduct competency inquiries. Children are often asked about religious beliefs and practices, and are frequently asked developmentally inappropriate questions. The authors also report on their experimental research which indicates that children\u27s ability to explain such abstract concepts as truth, lie, and promise is not related to whether children actually tell the truth. Child competency inquiries are demeaning to children, do not promote the search for the truth, and result in unnecessary appeals. The child competence inquiry should be abolished, though a judge should give a child simple instructions about the importance of truth telling, and ask the child to promise to tell the truth

The Participation of Trans Women in Competitive Fencing and Implications on Fairness: A Physiological Perspective Narrative Review

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Debate has surrounded whether the participation of trans women in female sporting categories is fair, specifically the retained male physiological advantage due to increased testosterone compared to cisgender females. Recently, individual sporting organisations have been investigating and assessing policies regarding trans women athlete participation in female categories, resulting in several banning participation. This review aims to discuss the scientific evidence and provide appropriate guidance for the inclusion of trans women in elite competitive female fencing categories. Fencing is an intermittent sport, where competitions can span 1 to 3 days. The lunge is the most common movement used to attack opponents, where a successful hit relies on the speed of the action. Male puberty induced increased circulating testosterone promotes a greater stature, cardiovascular function, muscle mass, and strength compared to cisgender females, culminating in a ~12–40% sport performance advantage. Elite cisgender male fencers perform significantly higher, ~17–30%, jump heights and leg power measures compared to elite cisgender female fencers, resulting in faster lunges. Trans women receiving androgen-suppression therapy for 12 months showed significant reductions in strength, lean body mass, and muscle surface area, but even after 36 months, the measurements of these three indices remained above those for cisgender females. Previous male muscle mass and strength can be retained through continuation of resistance training. The literature reviewed shows that there is a retained physiological advantage for trans women who have undergone male puberty when participating in the elite competitive female fencing category. A proposed solution of an open or third gender category for elite fencing competition promotes fair competition, while allowing trans women to compete in their chosen sport.Peer reviewe