The role of assessment in the continuing professional development of lawyers in England and Wales*

The University of Western Australia (UWA) has recently undertaken a restructure of all its courses. Under the new courses structure, law at UWA is offered at postgraduate Masters level only, as a three-year professional Juris Doctor (JD) degree rather than as an undergraduate Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB). In planning and preparing for the transition from teaching at an undergraduate Bachelor level to teaching at a postgraduate Masters level, the Law Faculty undertook a major review of its curriculum. An important objective of the review was to ensure that the new JD curriculum satisfies the current learning outcomes standards recently adopted by the Australian regulatory framework. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, the article provides a brief background to the changing legal education environment in Australia in the twenty-first century and considers some of the reasons for the adoption of the JD degree at UWA. Second, the article outlines from a practical perspective the planning, implementation and review processes that have been undertaken by the Faculty in meeting the challenges presented by the transition to the JD degree. The article concludes with a brief comment on the future challenges for the Faculty in implementing and maintaining the renewed curriculum.     

Internal and External Determinants of Formal Plans in the Nonprofit Sector

ABSTRACT

The study of formal planning in nonprofits and the public sector is thriving, with management gurus providing abundant advice on its value and proper execution. We address a related, but broader issue: why has the management tool of formal planning become prevalent in organizations with a public goal in the first place? To answer this question, we draw on insights from institutional theories of organization, bringing a fresh perspective to the increasingly common practice of formal planning in the administration of public entities. Using a unique dataset constructed from interviews with a random, representative sample of the leaders of 200 nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay Area, we analyze the factors associated with the presence of a formal plan. We combine the interview data with details on organizational characteristics from tax reports and consider the features of nonprofits that plan using logistic regression. The findings reveal that size and capacity are important, but links to an external, rationalized environment dampen the effects of both. Thus, functional factors, while important, are insufficient to explain why nonprofits engage in planning. For those interested in promoting formal planning as a management tool, our findings provide insight into other organizational features that promote the use of planning. And for those concerned with the potentially deleterious effects of this tool in the nonprofit sector, we show that certain types of organizations seem adept at maintaining a less formal structure.     

The Relationship Between Anxiety Disorders and Substance Use Among Adolescents in the Community: Specificity and Gender Differences

Using a sample of 781 adolescents (ages 13–17, 52.8% male) from a community survey, this study examined gender differences in the co-occurrence of specific anxiety disorders with substance use in adolescents. The associations between anxiety disorders and substance use differed according to the particular anxiety disorders and forms of substance use being examined, as well as by gender. Social phobia was associated with cigarette smoking among boys only. For girls, social phobia appeared to be negatively associated with drug use. For the other anxiety disorders, the associations with substance use tended to be stronger among girls. These findings highlight the need to improve clinical recognition of the anxiety disorders and to improve treatment access for afflicted adolescents. Future studies based on longitudinal data could further elucidate the relationships among anxiety disorders, gender, and substance use.     

Citizenship controversies in Germany: The twin legacy of Völkisch nationalism and the Alleinvertretungsanspruch

For many Germans, citizenship is a problematic and emotive issue, as is demonstrated by the controversies generated around current attempts to modernise and ‘normalise’ German citizenship law. This article looks to German history to account for the failure of successive governments to effect such change. It asserts that two key historical developments have been decisive in stalling a ‘normal’ western European pattern of policy development in this field. First, the concept and law of citizenship in Germany were originally formulated in the context of nation‐state development based on cultural or ‘völkisch’ nationalism. Second, West German governments subordinated the development of citizenship policy to the aim of upholding the West German claim to be the sole legitimate representative of the Germans, thereby denying the legitimacy of the GDR. The unification of Germany in 1990 removed the specific constraints which had brought about the stalled citizenship policy. The article contrasts a Kulturnation (ethno‐cultural) stance on citizenship issues with a Verfassungsnation (civic‐territorial) understanding, and identifies contemporary partisan positions within this conceptual framework.     

A discrete choice experiment investigating preferences for funding drugs used to treat orphan diseases: an exploratory study

Policy debate about funding criteria for drugs used to treat rare, orphan diseases is gaining prominence. This study presents evidence from a discrete choice experiment using a convenience sample of university students to investigate individual preferences regarding public funding for drugs used to treat rare diseases and common diseases. This pilot study finds that: other things equal, the respondents do not prefer to have the government spend more for drugs used to treat rare diseases; that respondents are not willing to pay more per life year gained for a rare disease than a common disease; and that respondents weigh relevant attributes of the coverage decisions (e.g. costs, disease severity and treatment effectiveness) similarly for both rare and common diseases. The results confirm the importance of severity and treatment effectiveness in preferences for public funding. Although this is the first study of its kind, the results send a cautionary message regarding the special treatment of orphan drugs in coverage decision-making.     

Back from the future: did the LETR really prepare us for the future?

The eagerly awaited outcomes of the Legal Education and Training Review provide a richness of data on the nature and content of legal education which is invaluable for legal education researchers. However, it is argued here that in so far as the Review was concerned with context and with preparing providers of legal services for a more challenging future, it neglected or understated some key issues. The extent of change in terms of the growth in the unregulated sector and in the way services are delivered, along with significant change in the way legal education and training itself is provided were perhaps all underestimated. Importantly, it is argued that the regulatory framework of the EU and its current developments and controversies were barely touched on yet not only is that framework directly relevant but it also has much to offer in terms of experience and ideas.     

Untangling Social and Political Capital in Latin American Democracies

Robert Putnam extolled the virtue of social capital by arguing that social networks, civil society, and trust contribute to democracy. Subsequent research, however, identified a weakness in the social capital “model” in its underspecification of the mechanisms by which social capital affects political systems. This article proposes the concept of political capital as a likely product of social capital that links civil society participants to the political system. The article tests this two‐stage model of social capital and political capital and their effects on democratization using survey data from eight Latin American nations. Results find that civil society engagement in 2004 affected political capital variables, which, in turn, had positive effects on system‐level democracy measures in 2010. The article thus shows that political capital serves as an intervening variable between social capital and democracy and democratization.     

Massive systemic fat embolism detected by postmortem imaging and biopsy*

Postmortem computed tomography (pmCT) and pmCT angiography (pmCTA) provide a minimally invasive method to determine the cause of death. Postmortem image-guided biopsy allows for precise sampling of histological specimens. This case study describes the findings of lethal systemic fat embolism (FE) on whole-body unenhanced pmCT, pmCTA, and image-guided biopsy, with autopsy and histopathologic correlation. Unenhanced pmCT revealed a distinct fat level on top of sedimented layers of corpuscular blood particles and serum in the arterial system and pulmonary trunk. Subsequent pmCTA showed reproducible results, and image-guided biopsy confirmed fatal FE. pm CT/pmCTA combined with image-guided biopsy established the cause of death as right heart failure as a result of systemic fatal FE prior to autopsy. All imaging findings were consistent with traditional autopsy and histological specimens. This unique case demonstrates new imaging findings in massive, fatal FE and highlights that postmortem imaging, supplemented by image-guided biopsy, may detect the cause of death prior to traditional autopsy.