Implementing the self-management threshold learning outcome for law : some intentional design strategies from the current curriculum toolbox

There is a growing awareness of the high levels of psychological distress being experienced by law students and the practising profession in Australia. In this context, a Threshold Learning Outcome (TLO) on self-management has been included in the six TLOs recently articulated as minimum learning outcomes for all Australian graduates of the Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB). The TLOs were developed during 2010 as part of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council’s (ALTC’s) project funded by the Australian Government to articulate ‘Learning and Teaching Academic Standards’. The TLOs are the result of a comprehensive national consultation process led by the ALTC’s Discipline Scholars: Law, Professors Sally Kift and Mark Israel.1 The TLOs have been endorsed by the Council of Australian Law Deans (CALD) and have received broad support from members of the judiciary and practising profession, representative bodies of the legal profession, law students and recent graduates, Legal Services Commissioners and the Law Admissions Consultative Committee. At the time of writing, TLOs for the Juris Doctor (JD) are also being developed, utilising the TLOs articulated for the LLB as their starting point but restating the JD requirements as the higher order outcomes expected of graduates of a ‘Masters Degree (Extended)’, this being the award level designation for the JD now set out in the new Australian Qualifications Framework.2 As Australian law schools begin embedding the learning, teaching and assessment of the TLOs in their curricula, and seek to assure graduates’ achievement of them, guidance on the implementation of the self-management TLO is salient and timely.

GHG emissions standard on its way

Throughout the world, there is increasing pressure on governments, companies,regulators and standard-setters to respond to the global challenge of climate change. The growing number of regulatory requirements for organisations to disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and emergent national, regional and international emissions trading schemes (ETSs) reflect key government responses to this challenge. Assurance of GHG emissions disclosures enhances the credibility of these disclosures and any associated trading schemes. The auditing and assurance profession has an important role to play in the provision of such assurance, highlighted by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB) decision to develop an international GHG emissions assurance standard. This article sets out the developments to date on an international standard for the assurance of GHG emissions disclosures. It then provides information on the way Australian companies have responded to the challenge of GHG reporting and assurance. Finally, it outlines the types of assurance that assurance providers in Australia are currently providing in this area.

Valuable learning, unwelcome assessment : what LLB and JD students really think about group work

This article contributes to current debates about the appropriate role of group work in legal curricula by providing insights into the attitudes of Bachelor of Laws (‘LLB’) and Juris Doctor (‘JD’) students towards such tasks. It begins by reviewing arguments for incorporating group work in legal education, both as a result of the recognition of its educational benefits, and as a response to increasing regulatory expectations regarding student collaboration skills. The article then reports the findings of a UNSW Law School Student Assessment Survey designed to determine how law students perceive group work and its assessment in law. One of the most striking findings is that many of the law students surveyed recognise and appreciate the learning and skills development benefits of group tasks, but are resistant to summative assessment of group work. Moreover, there are marked differences in attitude between LLB and JD students, and across year cohorts within those degrees. These findings suggest that further thought needs to be directed towards the specific purposes underpinning the choice of group work as a pedagogical tool, and assessment that is congruent with those purposes, taking into account the varying needs and experiences of different cohorts of students. The article concludes by considering whether meaningful group work can exist without summative assessment.

The desirability of depoliticization: Compliance in the international climate regime

The Kyoto Protocol is remarkable among global multilateral environmental agreements for its efforts to depoliticize compliance. However, attempts to create autonomous, arm’s length and rule-based compliance processes with extensive reliance on putatively neutral experts were only partially realized in practice in the first commitment period from 2008 to 2012. In particular, the procedurally constrained facilitative powers vested in the Facilitative Branch were circumvented, and expert review teams (ERTs) assumed pivotal roles in compliance facilitation. The ad hoc diplomatic and facilitative practices engaged in by these small teams of technical experts raise questions about the reliability and consistency of the compliance process. For the future operation of the Kyoto compliance system, it is suggested that ERTs should be confined to more technical and procedural roles, in line with their expertise. There would then be greater scope for the Facilitative Branch to assume a more comprehensive facilitative role, safeguarded by due process guarantees, in accordance with its mandate. However, if – as appears likely – the future compliance trajectories under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will include a significant role for ERTs without oversight by the Compliance Committee, it is important to develop appropriate procedural safeguards that reflect and shape the various technical and political roles these teams currently play.

Enhancing the auditor's report : to what extent is there support for the IAASB's proposed changes?

This article outlines proposed reforms to auditor reporting currently being considered by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), and other key national and transnational standard-setters and regulatory bodies. It adds to recent academic contributions on reforming the auditor’s report by analyzing the 165 stakeholder responses to the IAASB’s 2012 Invitation to Comment: Improving the Auditor’s Report to determine levels of support for the IAASB’s proposed reforms, and the differences, if any, between the views of various respondents based on stakeholder groups (e.g. audit and assurance firms, users, preparers, regulators, etc.) and regional classifications. Guided by insights from communication theory, our results show the levels of stakeholder support for the IAASB’s proposed reforms addressing auditors’ expectations, information and communication gaps are mixed. The strongest overall support was for enhanced auditor reporting on other information attached to, or intended to be read with, the financial statements, and the least supported initiative was including additional information in the auditor’s report about the auditor’s judgements and processes. Whilst overall there is generally consensus across both stakeholder groups and regions concerning the various questions investigated, we highlight where statistically significant differences between groups do exist. Notably, North American respondents were less likely to support a number of the IAASB’s proposed reforms than their counterparts from other regions.

The competitive market for assurance engagements on greenhouse gas statements : is there a role for assurers from the accounting profession?

In response to current and increasing demand for assurance on greenhouse gas statements, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) released an exposure draft of a new assurance standard, ISAE 3410 'Assurance on a Greenhouse Gas Statement' (IFAC 2011), to provide comprehensive guidance on these types of greenhouse gas (GHG) assurance engagements. Internationally, approximately 50 percent of GHG statements are independently assured. The related assurance market is competitive, with the accounting profession and those outside the profession currently holding approximately equal shares. This paper highlights the characteristics of GHG assurance engagements that warrant multi-disciplinary teamwork, the unique and interdependent skill-sets that different practitioners bring to these engagements, and the market forces that create a demand for diverse providers.

Developing an international assurance standard on greenhouse gas statements

Worldwide public concern over climate change and the need to limit greenhouse gas (hereafter, GHG) emissions has increasingly motivated public officials to consider more stringent environmental regulation and standards. The authors argue that the development of a new international assurance standard on GHG disclosures is an appropriate response by the auditing and assurance profession to meet these challenges. At its December 2007 meeting, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (hereafter, IAASB) approved a project to consider the development of such a standard aimed at promoting trust and confidence in disclosures of GHG emissions, including disclosures required under emissions trading schemes. The authors assess the types of disclosures that can be assured, and outline the issues involved in developing an international assurance standard on GHG emissions disclosures. The discussion synthesizes the insights gained from four international roundtables on the proposed IAASB assurance standard held in Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe during 2008, and an IAASB meeting addressing this topic in December 2008.

Autonomy supportive curriculum design : a salient factor in promoting law students' wellbeing

There is increasing awareness and concern about law students' elevated distress levels amongst members of the Australian legal academy and the broader legal community. Disproportionately high levels of psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, have been consistently documented in decades of research on American law student samples. Questions about whether these trends were an American phenomenon, and due to 'differences in demographics, pedagogy and culture' may not apply to Australian law students, began to be empirically addressed with the publication of the Brain and Mind Research Institute's Courting the Blues monograph in 2009. Amongst other findings, the comprehensive research in this monograph indicated that more than one-third of the surveyed law students from Australian universities experience high levels of psychological distress. Recent empirical research at a number of individual Australian law schools reveals similar trends, suggesting that aspects of the legal education experience may contribute to widespread distress levels amongst law students in Australia, as in the United States.

Protecting World Heritage sites from the adverse impacts of climate change : obligations for States Parties to the World Heritage Convention

Through its mandate to protect and preserve places of ‘outstanding universal value’, the World Heritage Convention provides an unlikely yet effective tool in global efforts to mitigate climate change. The practical efficacy of the Strategy to Assist States Parties to Implement Appropriate Management Responses (‘the Strategy’), which represents the World Heritage Committee’s primary response to the threats posed by climate change to World Heritage sites, is undermined by its weak stance on mitigation. This paper argues that the World Heritage Convention imposes stronger obligations on States Parties than those contained in the Strategy, including a duty on States Parties to commit to ‘deep cuts’ in greenhouse gas emissions. In order to ensure the continuing success of the World Heritage Convention States Parties must engage in extensive mitigation strategies without delay.

The Threshold Learning Outcome on self-management for the Bachelor of Laws degree : a proposed focus for teaching strategies in the first year law curriculum

The Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Discipline Scholars for Law, Professors Sally Kift and Mark Israel, articulated six Threshold Learning Outcomes (TLOs) for the Bachelor of Laws degree as part of the ALTC’s 2010 project on Learning and Teaching Academic Standards. One of these TLOs promotes the learning, teaching and assessment of self-management skills in Australian law schools. This paper explores the concept of self-management and how it can be relevantly applied in the first year of legal education. Recent literature from the United States (US) and Australia provides insights into the types of issues facing law students, as well as potential antidotes to these problems. Based on these findings, I argue that designing a pedagogical framework for the first year law curriculum that promotes students’ connection with their intrinsic interests, values, motivations and purposes will facilitate student success in terms of their personal well-being, ethical dispositions and academic engagement.

Is climate change litigation an effective strategy for promoting greater action to address climate change? What other legal mechanisms might be appropriate?

In recent times a widespread consensus on the reality and gravity of anthropogenic climate change has emerged. Perceived inadequacies in the Australian government’s legal and policy responses to climate change issues have resulted in environmental activists increasingly turning to the courts as a strategy to promote greater action to address adverse climate impacts. The efficacy of this strategy for achieving climate goals is limited by the time and expense of litigating, the restrictions inherent in environmental law administrative challenges, and the possibility that judicial decisions may be overruled by the legislature. To date, climate change litigation in Australia has met with varied success, yet its significance extends beyond the court room as an important mechanism for raising public, political and commercial awareness about climate change issues. Ultimately, however, the types of far-reaching changes needed to mitigate and manage adverse climate impacts require strong regulatory backing. The most effective approach to addressing the complex challenges posed by climate change is a coordinated suite of regulatory measures spearheaded by the Federal Government.

Incremental and inevitable: Contextualising the Threshold Learning Outcomes for law

This article situates the development of the Threshold Learning Outcomes for law in relation to broader national and international trends in legal education and higher education regulation. It also addresses the significance of recent changes to the Australian higher education regulatory landscape catalysed by the current Government's commitment to reducing regulation and red tape for the sector.

Integrated reporting and assurance: Where can research add value?

This paper provides insights into salient issues in the development of the Integrated Reporting () Framework, and emerging issues in the implementation of this Framework, with the aim of identifying opportunities for future research. The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) has recently produced a reporting framework for the preparation of a concise, user-oriented corporate report which expands the scope of a company’s reporting using a multiple capitals concept and requires a description of a company’s business model, allowing a better communication of its value creation proposition. To gain international acceptance, the market-based benefits of adopting the framework must be demonstrated.

Integrated reporting and directors’ concerns about personal liability exposure: Law reform options

Integrated reporting () holds significant promise as a new reporting paradigm that is holistic, strategic, responsive, material, and relevant across multiple time frames. However, its uptake in Australia is being hampered by directors’ concerns about personal liability exposure, particularly for forward-looking statements that subsequently prove to be unfounded. This article seeks to illuminate the bases for these liability concerns by outlining the similarities between and the operating and financial review requirements under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), and the relevant grounds for liability for misleading and deceptive disclosures, and breach of directors’ duties. In light of this discussion, this article proposes four possible reform options, ranging from minor adaptations to the Framework to far-reaching reforms of the Corporations Act. As assurance is desirable to ensure that reliance can be placed on integrated reports, the development of a legal safe harbour for auditors of forward-looking information is also canvassed.

Teaching independent learning skills in the first year: A positive psychology strategy for promoting law student well-being

Empirical evidence in Australia and overseas has established that in many university disciplines, students begin to experience elevated levels of psychological distress in their first year of study. There is now a considerable body of empirical data that establishes that this is a significant problem for law students. Psychological distress may hamper a law student’s capacity to learn successfully, and certainly hinders their ability to thrive in the tertiary environment. We know from Self-Determination Theory (SDT), a conceptual branch of positive psychology, that supporting students’ autonomy in turn supports their well-being. This article seeks to connect the literature on law student well-being and independent learning using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as the theoretical bridge. We argue that deliberate instruction in the development of independent learning skills in the first year curriculum is autonomy supportive. It can therefore lay the foundation for academic and personal success at university, and may be a protective factor against decline in law student psychological well-being.