IPH response to DSD consultation on proposed changes to the law regulating sale and supply of alcohol

This consultation was intended to test public opinion on proposed changes to the law regulating the sale of alcohol in Northern Ireland. The proposed changes relate to-    regulating the sale of alcohol in supermarkets and off-sales premises-    regulating the sale of alcohol in pubs and other on-sales premises-    regulating private member clubs-    codes of practice Key points from IPH response -    IPH welcomes the opportunity to submit our views on this review of regulations related to the sale and supply of alcohol in Northern Ireland. IPH notes that the reduction of alcohol-related harm is a stated aim of the review. -    International evidence clearly supports the role of regulation of the sale and supply of alcohol in reducing alcohol consumption and in reducing alcohol-related harm. -    The consultation document does not present any meaningful estimation of the scale or nature of potential positive or negative effects on alcohol-related harm arising from the proposed changes. On this basis, IPH recommends that a Health Impact Assessment should be conducted on the proposed regulations. -    IPH shares the concerns raised in respect of increases in the number of people drinking at home and the availability of large volumes of low cost alcohol in supermarkets. In this regard, we welcome the proposals to enhance the regulation of sale of alcohol in mixed trading premises by more stringent structural separation measures and restricted advertising. -    IPH wishes to emphasise the importance of the work underway to explore the introduction of minimum unit pricing of alcohol on the island of Ireland as this measure will be significant in enhancing the proposals on regulating sale of alcohol in mixed trading premises -    In light of evidence of increased alcohol consumption and harm associated with increased hours and days of sale of alcohol, IPH does not support the proposal to introduce additional late opening hours or extended drinking up time.

Promoting Good Nutrition

Guidance and resources to support the use of 'MUST' across all care settings

Promoting Good Nutrition (PDF 2MB)

Guidance and resources to support the use of 'MUST' across all care settings

RQIA Review of the implementation of Promoting Quality Care (PQC) Good Practice Guidance on the Assessment and Management of Risk in Mental Health and Learning Disability Services (PDF1.07MB)

Overview Report October 2012

Promoting Quality Care - Good Practice Guidance on the Assessment and Management of Risk & Dementia Toolset August 2012

Good Practice Guidance

Law and the practise of principle in diverse societies

Projecte de recerca elaborat a partir d’una estada a la London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom, entre 2007 i 2009. L’objecte principal del projecte ha estat analitzar les implicacions jurídico-polítiques i institucionals d’una teoria de la justícia i la igualtat liberals aplicada a societats multiculturals amb un marcat predomini de la diversitat cultural. L’anàlisi desenvolupa una línia d'investigació interdisciplinar - entre el dret i la teoria política - iniciada en una tesis doctoral sobre multiculturalisme i drets de les minories culturals (UPF, 2000) que va culminar en la publicació de Group Rights as Human Rights (Springer, 2006). La recerca adopta com a punt de partida les conclusions de l'esmentada obra, en especial, la rellevància del reconeixement de drets col•lectius; tanmateix, el tipus de qüestions plantejades, l’enfoc i la metodologia emprades són substancialment diferents. En concret, s'adrecen preguntes específiques sobre el model i aspiracions del constitucionalisme democràtic i el paper del dret en contextos multiculturals. També s’atorga un pes central a la dimensió institucional dels models de gestió de la diversitat que s’analitzen, prioritzant un enfocament comparatiu a partir de l’estudi de controvèrsies concretes. L’objectiu és superar algunes limitacions importants de la literatura actual, com ara la tendència a examinar en abstracte la compatibilitat de determinades demandes amb el constitucionalisme democràtic, sense abordar el funcionament d'estratègies de gestió de la diversitat cultural emprades en contextos concrets. Els treballs producte d'aquest projecte articulen les línies bàsiques d’un model pluralista, basat en principis més que en regles, que desafia els plantejaments dominants actualment. Aquest model es caracteritza pel compromís amb la legitimitat i igualtat comparatives, rebutjant el paternalisme i les visions liberals típiques sobre el paper de la regulació. La presumpció de l’“standing” moral dels grups identitaris és fonamental per tal de considerar-los interlocutors vàlids amb interessos genuïns. També s’argumenta que la integració social en contextos multiculturals no depèn tant de l’eliminació del conflicte sinó, sobre tot, d’una gestió eficient que eviti abusos de poder sistemàtics. El model defensa el rol del dret en la institucionalització del diàleg intercultural, però admet que el diàleg no necessàriament condueix a l’acord o a una estructura reguladora coherent i uniforme. Les aspiracions del ordre jurídic pluralista són més modestes: afavorir la negociació i resolució en cada conflicte, malgrat la persistència de la fragmentació i la provisionalitat dels acords. La manca d'un marc regulador comú esdevé una virtut en la mesura que permet la interacció de diferents subordres; una interacció governada per una multiplicitat de regles no necessàriament harmòniques. Els avantatges i problemes d’aquest model s'analitzen a partir de l'anàlisi de l’estructura fragmentària de l'ordre jurídic internacional i del règim Europeu de drets humans.

COAC "To Protect and to Serve" the separate representation of children in private law proceedings (PDF 379 KB)

Children Order Advisory Committee discussion paper on separate representation of children in private law proceedings

Hybrid Multiscale Finite Volume method for two-phase flow in porous media

We present a novel hybrid (or multiphysics) algorithm, which couples pore-scale and Darcy descriptions of two-phase flow in porous media. The flow at the pore-scale is described by the Navier?Stokes equations, and the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method is used to model the evolution of the fluid?fluid interface. An extension of the Multiscale Finite Volume (MsFV) method is employed to construct the Darcy-scale problem. First, a set of local interpolators for pressure and velocity is constructed by solving the Navier?Stokes equations; then, a coarse mass-conservation problem is constructed by averaging the pore-scale velocity over the cells of a coarse grid, which act as control volumes; finally, a conservative pore-scale velocity field is reconstructed and used to advect the fluid?fluid interface. The method relies on the localization assumptions used to compute the interpolators (which are quite straightforward extensions of the standard MsFV) and on the postulate that the coarse-scale fluxes are proportional to the coarse-pressure differences. By numerical simulations of two-phase problems, we demonstrate that these assumptions provide hybrid solutions that are in good agreement with reference pore-scale solutions and are able to model the transition from stable to unstable flow regimes. Our hybrid method can naturally take advantage of several adaptive strategies and allows considering pore-scale fluxes only in some regions, while Darcy fluxes are used in the rest of the domain. Moreover, since the method relies on the assumption that the relationship between coarse-scale fluxes and pressure differences is local, it can be used as a numerical tool to investigate the limits of validity of Darcy's law and to understand the link between pore-scale quantities and their corresponding Darcy-scale variables.

Racial Equality In Health and Social Care Good Practice Guide

Racial Equality In Health and Social Care Good Practice Guide

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells in melanoma: can we revert bad into good?

Tumor-infiltrating plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) promote an immunosuppressive milieu that drives tumor growth in melanoma. This phenomenon typically results from the lack of appropriate pDC activation signals in the tumor microenvironment, but it is also actively controlled by tumor cells, which have evolved strategies to inhibit type I IFN production by pDCs. In this issue, Camisaschi et al. identify a new mechanism in which tumors avoid type I IFN production by triggering LAG-3-dependent activation of pDCs. Combination therapies that restore pDC functionality and trigger innate activation to produce type I IFN should be envisaged to induce effective antitumor immunity.

NI Child Care Law - The Rough Guide (PDF 328 KB)

This document provides a practical guide to Northern Ireland child care law.