Lost in translation? Teaching law to non‐lawyers: Reviewing the evidence from social work

Abstract

This paper considers pedagogical questions surrounding the teaching of law to non‐lawyers. It draws on research into the teaching, learning and assessment of law in social work education. The research comprised a systematic review of international literature, a practice survey, focus groups with students and practice teachers, and two stakeholder conferences. The evidence suggests that law teaching in social work education is of particular interest in highlighting key dimensions of education practice that affect students’ learning. The paper provides some signposts towards research‐informed organisation of teaching, learning and assessment, and highlights important areas for further study.     

Book notes

Political Participation and Democracy in Britain by Geraint Parry, George Moyser and Neil Day. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Pp.xviii + 510; index, bibliography, three appendices. £60 (hardback); £17.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 521 33298 2 and 33602 3

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The Use of Scale‐Invariance Feature Transform Approach to Recognize and Retrieve Incomplete Shoeprints

Shoeprints left at the crime scene provide valuable information in criminal investigation due to the distinctive patterns in the sole. Those shoeprints are often incomplete and noisy. In this study, scale‐invariance feature transform is proposed and evaluated for recognition and retrieval of partial and noisy shoeprint images. The proposed method first constructs different scale spaces to detect local extrema in the underlying shoeprint images. Those local extrema are considered as useful key points in the image. Next, the features of those key points are extracted to represent their local patterns around key points. Then, the system computes the cross‐correlation between the query image and each shoeprint image in the database. Experimental results show that full‐size prints and prints from the toe area perform best among all shoeprints. Furthermore, this system also demonstrates its robustness against noise because there is a very slight difference in comparison between original shoeprints and noisy shoeprints.     

Topological Variability of Fingerprint Ridge Density in a Sub‐Saharan Population Sample for Application in Personal Identification

Variability in ridge density in a sub‐Saharan population sample was studied by counting ridges in three fingerprint areas (two distal regions, radial and ulnar, and one proximal region) on the epidermal surface of the distal phalanx. Study material was obtained from the fingerprint impressions of 100 male sub‐Saharan subjects aged between 18‐ and 48‐years old. The results were compared with those obtained from a Spanish population sample. Sub‐Saharan males presented lower ridge density than Spanish males in the distal regions (radial and ulnar) of all fingers, whereas differences in the proximal region were only observed on some fingers. Using the differences observed between these populations, the likelihood ratio for inferring membership of one of the populations from a fingerprint of unknown origin was calculated; therefore, a ridge density of 14 or less for both areas (ulnar and radial), support an origin sub‐Saharan versus Spanish population.     

Analysis of Bone Healing in a Postoperative Patient: Skeletal Evidence of Medical Neglect and Human Rights Violations

This study highlights complexities associated with postsurgical trauma interpretation of a 76‐year‐old female patient from a psychiatric institution in Mexico. The skeletal analysis identified complications from an unsuccessful surgical operation for an intertrochanteric fracture of the femur. An improperly placed surgical plate resulted in nonunion due to limited contact between fracture margins. However, it is unclear whether this resulted from surgical complications, ineffective postoperative care, or from the decedent's limited ability to follow postoperative care instructions. Additionally, failure of the plate resulted in degenerative changes to the acetabulum. These complications, associated with degenerative changes to upper limb joints, suggest significant mobility issues. The pattern of antemortem trauma and contextual information support a conclusion of postoperative medical neglect, a documented problem in psychiatric institutions in Latin America. This study provides insight into the relevance of detailed trauma assessment of skeletal remains in cases where neglect and human rights violations are suspected.     

Novel Classification System of Rib Fractures Observed in Infants

Rib fractures are considered highly suspicious for nonaccidental injury in the pediatric clinical literature; however, a rib fracture classification system has not been developed. As an aid and impetus for rib fracture research, we developed a concise schema for classifying rib fracture types and fracture location that is applicable to infants. The system defined four fracture types (sternal end, buckle, transverse, and oblique) and four regions of the rib (posterior, posterolateral, anterolateral, and anterior). It was applied to all rib fractures observed during 85 consecutive infant autopsies. Rib fractures were found in 24 (28%) of the cases. A total of 158 rib fractures were identified. The proposed schema was adequate to classify 153 (97%) of the observed fractures. The results indicate that the classification system is sufficiently robust to classify rib fractures typically observed in infants and should be used by researchers investigating infant rib fractures.     

Member States of the Commonwealth – Their Relationship with the International Court of Justice

The removal of judicial independence from the motherland for several Commonwealth countries was fraught with difficulties. The determination of where final national appeals would lie has had a most colourful history in the Commonwealth. An extension of judicial dependence may arguably be expressed in the manner in which a state address disputes of international law and its choice of the appropriate tribunal for redress. It is argued in this article that independence did not seem to indicate that some Member States were willing to relinquish their desire to move too far away from the family of the British Commonwealth. Consequently, in accepting the Option Clause of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a number of Commonwealth Member States entered a reservation which, inter alia, excludes disputes with the government of any country that is a Member of the British Commonwealth. Although today only eight Commonwealth Member States (including Britain) maintain this exclusionary clause, to the extent that these eight may find themselves bound by this clause presents some difficulty when there are disputes among these Member States. The author highlights these difficulties by examining the case of Mauritius and the Chagos Archipelago. Ultimately, the present day Commonwealth seeks dispute settlement through peaceful means, with an absolute respect for the rule of international law governing relations within and among its Member States.     

Banking sector reforms in Nigeria: legal implications for the banker–customer relationship

In 2005, the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced a programme of reforms which created a new minimum paid‐up capital for all banks, from two billion Naira to 25 billion Naira; with a compliance deadline of 31 December 2005. This reduced the number of banks operating in Nigeria from 89 to what is now the 25 mega banks. However, the process equally threw up a major legal issue in terms of the impact on the bank‐customer relationship. This article analyses the new reforms, their implications for the banker–customer relationship and concludes with proposals towards better achieving the objectives of the reforms.     

Books received

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