Promoting law student well-being through the curriculum

The Australian tertiary sector is becoming increasingly concerned about the psychological well-being of its students.Empirical research in Australia indicates that more than one-third of law students suffer from psychological distress, and the competitive, isolated, adversarial learning environment at law school has been suggested as partly responsible (Brain and Mind Research Institute, 2009). This fellowship program has mobilised strategic change to improve the psychological health of law students. It has lead and stimulated advancement in the legal curriculum, its pedagogy, and assessment practice to better engage, motivate and support student learning of law, focussing on the potential of non-adversarial legal practice. A new conceptual framework for legal education has been developed, demonstrating the pursuit of excellence in the teaching of law, and raising the profile of learning and teaching in Australian law schools. In addition the fellowship has created a national community of practice around this issue through the Wellness Network for Law, and made significant contributions to research and scholarship in the field.

Doctors' knowledge of the law on withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining medical treatment

Objectives To examine the level of knowledge of doctors about the law on withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from adults who lack decision-making capacity, and factors associated with a higher level of knowledge. Design, setting and participants Postal survey of all specialists in emergency medicine, geriatric medicine, intensive care, medical oncology, palliative medicine, renal medicine and respiratory medicine on the AMPCo Direct database in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Survey initially posted to participants on 18 July 2012 and closed on 31 January 2013. Main outcome measures Medical specialists’ levels of knowledge about the law, based on their responses to two survey questions. Results Overall response rate was 32%. For the seven statements contained in the two questions about the law, the mean knowledge score was 3.26 out of 7. State and specialty were the strongest predictors of legal knowledge. Conclusions Among doctors who practise in the end-of-life field, there are some significant knowledge gaps about the law on withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from adults who lack decision-making capacity. Significant consequences for both patients and doctors can flow from a failure to comply with the law. Steps should be taken to improve doctors’ legal knowledge in this area and to harmonise the law across Australia.

The rise and fall of the international law of maritime terrorism : the ghost of piracy is still hunting!

Maritime terrorism is a serious threat to global security. A major debate in this regard is the treating of acts of maritime terrorism as piracy by some scholars and a rejection of this view by others. Moreover, the international law of maritime terrorism suffers from fundamental definitional issues, much like the international law of terrorism. This article examines the current international law of maritime terrorism with a particular emphasis on the debate regarding the applicability of the international law of piracy in the case of maritime terrorism. It argues that the international law of piracy is not applicable in the enforcement and prosecution of maritime terrorists on the high seas. International treaties on terrorism and the post-September 11 developments relating to international laws on terrorism have created a workable international legal framework for combating maritime terrorism, despite some bottlenecks.

ABC Conversations with Richard Fidler & Dr Paul Bennett, a forensic podiatrist

Podiatry is the medical science of the bones, muscle and skin of the foot. Paul Bennett is sometimes called on by police to help solve crime. He can provide vital evidence by applying his medical expertise and extraordinary talent for pattern recognition to footprints left at crime-scenes. Paul is a senior lecturer at the Quensland University of Technology's School of Clinical Sciences.

An enhanced procedure for the rapid digestion of high silicate archeological specimens followed by ICP-MS determination of traces of rare earth elements (REE's)

A straightforward procedure for the acid digestion of geological samples with SiO2 concentrations ranging between about 40 to 80%, is described. A powdered sample (200 mesh) of 500 mg was used and fused with 1000 mg spectroflux at about 1000 degreesC in a platinum crucible. The molten was subsequently digested in an aqueous solution of HNO3 at 100 degreesC. Several systematic digestion procedures were followed using various concentrations of HNO3. It was found that a relationship could be established between the dissolution-time and acid concentration. For an acid concentration of 15% an optimum dissolution-time of under 4 min was recorded. To verify that the dissolutions were complete, they were subjected to rigorous quality control tests. The turbidity and viscosity were examined at different intervals and the results were compared with that of deionised water. No significant change in either parameter was observed. The shelf-life of each solution lasted for several months, after which time polymeric silicic acid formed in some solutions, resulting in the presence of a gelatinous solid. The method is cost effective and is clearly well suited for routine applications on a small scale, especially in laboratories in developing countries. ICP-MS was applied to the determination of 13 Rare Earth Elements and Hf in a set of 107 archaeological samples subjected to the above digestion procedure. The distribution of these elements was examined and the possibility of using the REE's for provenance studies is discussed.

Porohyperelastic finite element model for the kangaroo humeral head cartilage based on experimental study and the consolidation theory

Solid-extracellular fluid interaction is believed to play an important role in the strain-rate dependent mechanical behaviors of shoulder articular cartilages. It is believed that the kangaroo shoulder joint is anatomically and biomechanically similar to human shoulder joint and it is easy to get in Australia. Therefore, the kangaroo humeral head cartilage was used as the suitable tissue for the study in this paper. Indentation tests from quasi-static (10-4/sec) to moderately high strain-rate (10-2/sec) on kangaroo humeral head cartilage tissues were conduced to investigate the strain-rate dependent behaviors. A finite element (FE) model was then developed, in which cartilage was conceptualized as a porous solid matrix filled with incompressible fluids. In this model, the solid matrix was modeled as an isotropic hyperelastic material and the percolating fluid follows Darcy’s law. Using inverse FE procedure, the constitutive parameters related to stiffness, compressibility of the solid matrix and permeability were obtained from the experimental results. The effect of solid-extracellular fluid interaction and drag force (the resistance to fluid movement) on strain-rate dependent behavior was investigated by comparing the influence of constant, strain dependent and strain-rate dependent permeability on FE model prediction. The newly developed porohyperelastic cartilage model with the inclusion of strain-rate dependent permeability was found to be able to predict the strain-rate dependent behaviors of cartilages.

Repeatability or reproducibility in Australian Patent Law

This article considers the extent to which a claimed process must be repeatable or reproducible in order to be patentable according to Australian patent law. It asks whether a process must yield identical or near-identical results each time the process is invoked, or if not, what degree of repeatability is required. The question is relevant when considering, among other things, the patentability of some methods of medical treatment and diagnosis, biotechnology inventions and business methods.

Labour Law and Labour Market Regulation

The traditional boundaries of labour law are becoming outmoded in a modern world in which active labour market participants vastly outnumber “employees”, and the world of work extends way beyond the workplace gate. There is convergence with labour market regulation. The contract of employment remains central but is no longer the sole object of study.Labour Law and Labour Market Regulation reflects the dramatically different industrial, social, political and legislative contexts in which the law now operates and the intellectual revolution this is generating. Individual chapters contain studies of regulation within prescriptive government schemes, contract networks, specialist labour markets, the intersection between work and family, enterprise policies and practices, and the courts and tribunals. The book provides insights into areas that are, as arbitration declines, becoming increasingly important to their clients' interests. The most recent legislation and jurisprudence is discussed in many chapters including discrimination, dismissals, health and safety, immigration, social security, franchise, volunteer and contract law.

Work Health and Safety Law and Policy

The third edition of Work Health and Safety Law and Policy continues to provide a plain English approach to explaining and analysing the law which regulates work health and safety in Australia. Providing broad coverage, this book focuses on the role that legal regulation plays in preventing work-related injury and disease, as well as the way in which the law contributes to rehabilitating and compensating injured and ill workers. This third edition focuses on the national model Work Health and Safety Bill 2009. The provisions of the model Bill are outlined, along with court decisions and other documentation that help interpret the provisions in new legislation enacting the model Bill. There is also a chapter in the book examining the national model Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011, and model codes of practice. The book includes three chapters on common law, statutory workers’ compensation provisions and rehabilitation. Tables summarising the key legal provisions of the major Australian Commonwealth, State and Territory workers’ compensation statutes have been updated and give quick and easy reference to points of legislation.

Improving criteria and feedback in student assessment in law

Spurred on by both the 1987 Pearce Report1 and the general changes to higher education spawned by the “Dawkins revolution” from 1988, there has been much critical self-evaluation leading to profound improvements to the quality of teaching in Australian law schools.2 Despite the changes there are still areas of general law teaching practice which have lagged behind recent developments in our understanding of what constitutes high quality teaching. One such area is assessment criteria and feedback. The project Improving Feedback in Student Assessment in Law is an attempt to remedy this. It aims to produce a manual containing key principles for the design of assessment and the provision of feedback, with practical yet flexible ideas and illustrations which law teachers may adopt or modify. Most of the examples have been developed by teachers at the University of Melbourne Law School. The project was supported in 1996 by a Committee for the Advancement of University Teaching grant and the manual will be published late in 1997.3 This note summarises the core principles which are elaborated further in the manual.

Developing a Cross-cultural Law Curriculum

This work makes the case that cross cultural issues are central to the purposes of legal education, and no longer can such issues be seen as an add-on to the traditional curriculum. The authors argue instead for a critical multiculturalism that is attuned to questions of gender, class, sexuality and social justice, and that must inform the whole law school curriculum.

Whole-of-Curriculum Design in Law

In this book teaching professionalism is characterised by the scholarly underpinning of each contribution; and every contribution provides a rich resource for enhancing teaching practice. The critical concerns for legal education have been identified and discussed: curriculum design that includes graduate attributes; embedding specific attributes across the curriculum; empowering students to learn; academic teamwork to manage large student cohorts; first year and final year transition strategies; tracking students' personal development through the use of ePortfolio; assessment strategies; improving student well-being and promoting resilience; teaching practice to achieve deep learning; flexibility in delivery; the use of Web 2.0 technology; and understanding the 21st century student.