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Book Review: Advance Directives Across Asia: A Comparative Socio-Legal Analysis, Edited by Daisy Cheung and Michael Dunn (Cambridge University Press, 2021)
No full textBook Review: The Medico-Legal Development of Neurological Death in the UK, by Kartina A Choong (Springer, 2023)
No full textUnified Search, Analysis, and Reporting Protocols in United States Policy Surveillance: A Guide and Call-to-Action
Full text linkMulti-jurisdictional legal research is an important area of study for understanding the United States’s (U.S.) legal landscape, including the impact of this landscape on social issues (e.g., overdose response, violent victimization). However, underexplored within the extant literature is unified and systematic guidance on conducting such research. Accordingly, the goal of the current paper is to construct a guide and call to action on bringing policy surveillance methods into focus. First, a systematized review of the extant empirical literature on multi-jurisdictional domestic violence policy surveillance is employed by inputting a search phrase—(statut* OR legisl* OR law* OR “policy” OR “policies”) AND “content analysis” AND “United States” AND (violen* OR abus*)—into three scholarly databases: Criminal Justice Abstracts, Academic Search Premier, and Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts. Second, a systematized review of the extant literature on policy surveillance methodology more broadly is employed by inputting a search phrase—“policy surveillance”—into the scholarly database, Web of Science. After inclusion/exclusion and data abstraction processes, as well as with the information gained from the systematized reviews more broadly, the current work (a) constructs a series of common methodological practices in policy surveillance and (b) develops a call-to-action on necessary future steps to ensure wide usage of unified policy surveillance guidance. Overall, the importance of the current work is embodied in an empirically-informed set of options for searching, analysis, and reporting of multi-jurisdictional policy surveillance research
How Will You Hear My Voice? The Development of Indigenous-Centred Supported Decision-Making for Mental Health Service Users in Aotearoa New Zealand
Full text linkThere is an urgent need in the delivery of mental health services to incorporate a more human-rights oriented approach, and promote supported decision-making, whereby individuals are supported their own mental health decisions based on their will and preferences. Aotearoa/New Zealand’s current Mental Health Act enables the use of compulsory treatment, which breaches both international obligations under the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi), the covenant between Māori and the Crown which demands partnership and equity and the principle of self-determination for Māori. Mental Health Advance Preference Statements (MAPS) have been identified as a tool to promote supported decision-making and allow people a voice in their own care. This paper examines the foundations of a new project which is Māori-centred and co-produced with stakeholders, including tāngata whaiora who experience mental distress and those who work and research mental health services. The aim of this project is to create and implement culturally appropriate and locally relevant MAPS-type tools and then evaluate the impact of implementation. It is posited this will lead to improvements in health and equity, particularly for Māori
Work-Life Balance in the IT Industries: A Comprehensive Study
Full text linkIn the IT industry, particularly experiencing dynamic and demanding operations, the concern about the quality of working life has become a predominant issue. They identified flexible work schedules as a trend that has been changed by COVID-19, leading people to transform from a well-structured work environment to working from home. Working from home has mixed up work and personal life, creating new mental and practical challenges. This research explores the shift to remote and hybrid work, flexibility of remote work on work-life balance in IT, using productivity, well-being, and socio-technical formations. IT professionals, in terms of productivity and flexibility, and, in contrast, some others experience elevated stress levels and isolation. For example, while some of the software developers noted that remote working had enabled them to avoid daily traffic and set flexible working hours, others reported distraction and poor working environments caused by ineffective domestic working stations led to stress on their health. In addition, existing studies reveal that personal preference for remote or office work can largely depend on factors such as family obligations, technical support, and available pro-organizational culture, suggesting that IT workers may require differential support to achieve work-life balance. This study emphasizes the challenges and factors affecting work-life balance in the IT industry. 
Strap in you’re at Banford now!
Full text linkAs higher education continues to reel from pandemic, austerity policies, generative AI (GAI) tools, and a war on DEI work, we are witnessing the impacts of polycrisis. Leaders across the sector have argued for snapping back to the powerful experiences of face-to-face (and the leveraging of the billions spent on infrastructure to sustain those experiences). In 2025 we continue to hear from venture capitalists selling digital tools that they say heralds “efficient” academic work, “the irrelevance of assessment”, and “the death of the essay”. Arguments about rigour in measuring a student’s learning, and the role of GAI tools in the workplaces of the future (or, now?) fuel calls for analogue assessment over digital flexibility.
This immersive and playful workshop is set in September 2025. We’ve been through some of the most disruptive times for education in a generation. Through that disruption we saw glimmers of the bright future that digital has been promising since we first had access to computers. Now those working at the forefront of online and digital are faced with demands for physical teaching and pen-and-paper exams. Voices of politicians, senior academics, and administrators are filled with reverie for an imperfect analogue past, railing against all that is digital, whilst simultaneously senior leaders, and governments pay homage to the silicon valley ideology, believing that “edtech will save us”.
Participants will assume the role of University of Banford staff, navigating a series of interactive, hyper-reality exercises over the course of the 90 minute workshop to:
Rethink curricula in response to sudden strategic pivots
Address the perceived tensions between analogue and digital practices and approaches to education
Co-create innovative and novel solutions to the challenges that are developed through the exercises.
Using hypothetical scenarios and gamified simulations, delegates will explore the implications of a fully analogue university. They will then work to rebuild a model for a digital-first university reconstructing staffing, skills, and strategic frameworks. Finally, they will experience a version of a postdigital, AI centred institution. Participants will work together to traverse the transitional, uncertain spaces of a post 2020 university using these hyper-realities, to develop a deeper understanding of strategic priorities, and gain insights into the pressure from real world situations. The use of time-limited activities and structured rules to the scenarios will immerse the participants in the imagined, but deeply real world of Banford, to help them navigate their own realities.
Aims and Outcomes
Participants will:
be able to identify the challenges and opportunities of the current higher education landscape, for learning designers, academics, educational developers and technology professionals, particularly in light of the pandemic and the emergence of new digital tools.
be able to co-design strategies for balancing digital and analogue teaching practices and ensuring that innovation in teaching and learning is deeply embedded in institutional strategy.
develop an understanding of the potential threats and opportunities that generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, pose to online pedagogy and assessment, and the roles of workers across the HE sector
Utilising Virtual Reality for Enhanced Police Training and Development
Full text linkUtilising Virtual Reality for Enhanced Police Training and Development
The use of Virtual Reality (VR) in policing degree programs offers a transformative approach to teaching various elements of modern policing, from digital investigations to domestic violence scenarios[1].
VR provides immersive, 360-degree environments that simulate real-world scenarios, allowing students to experience situations in a classroom they might encounter as police officers. This experiential learning enhances engagement and knowledge retention compared to traditional lectures or role-playing.[2]
VR can create simulated crime scenes involving digital devices, allowing students to practice forensic techniques in a safe and controlled environment. They can learn to identify, evaluate and collect, digital evidence, such as computers, mobile phones, USB’s, SIM cards and other digital devices.[3]
VR can simulate domestic violence scenarios, enabling students to practice de-escalation techniques, assess risk factors, and understand the dynamics of abusive relationships. This can be particularly valuable in developing empathy and improving decision-making in high-stress situations.[4]
One key aspect is a focus on the efficiencies of conducting VR in a simulated environment rather than a real-world setting. This eliminates physical room setup challenges and allows for individual participation at a time, which can be scaled to save time, space, and resources. Additionally, it supports reflective practice, as there is no requirement to be on location. However, it is important to acknowledge that this approach may not be suitable for everyone, and alternative options—such as a URL-based solution—should be available to ensure inclusivity.
In today's economic climate, cost and time efficiency are crucial. Solutions can significantly reduce training overheads by reducing the repetitive time instructors spend facilitating scenario-based role-play activities.
VR has the potential to transform policing education by providing immersive, realistic, and engaging learning experiences. By incorporating VR into their programs, universities can better prepare students for the challenges of modern policing and equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to serve their communities effectively.
The workshop will showcase how these VR scenarios provide a safe and controlled environment for students to learn and practice essential policing skills, enhancing their preparedness for real-world challenges. We are eager to gather feedback from participants on their experiences with these VR scenarios. This feedback will be invaluable in further refining and improving the use of VR technology within our policing education programs.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this all further through the workshop and explore how these approaches could be implemented effectively.
After a hands-on demonstration of the differing platforms and scenarios, we invite participants to engage in further discussion to explore the effectiveness and practicalities of implementing these approaches.
[1] College of Policing. (n.d.). Using virtual reality to educate students about staying safe. Retrieved from https://www.college.police.uk/support-forces/practices/using-virtual-reality-educate-students-about-staying-safe.
[2] Meyer, O., et al. (2019). Virtual reality for police training: A systematic review. Computers in Human Behavior, 92, 278-291.
[3] Jarmon, L., et al. (2021). Virtual reality training for digital forensics investigators. Digital Investigation, 36, 101062.
[4] Antser. (n.d.). Antser VR Programme for Frontline Policing. Retrieved from https://www.antser.com/antser-vr-programme-police/
Workshop: Strategic Development of AI in Teaching and Learning
Full text linkThe workshop session will allow participants to take a strategic view of the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in learning and teaching (T&L). No prior knowledge of artificial intelligence will be required, and a range of experience and knowledge will enhance the experience of participants. The workshop design is based on a new ‘lens’ tool which aligns to the Jisc Beyond Blended strategic pillars (Beetham, MacNeill & McGill, 2024). The tool includes prompt questions which will be used to stimulate discussions about AI in blended learning and teaching.
The AI in T&L Strategic Lens is a new adaptation of the existing Jisc Beyond Blended strategic lenses. The lenses are a tool which provide perspectives on designing blended learning and they are positioned within the organisational digital culture and knowledge development components of the Jisc Digital Transformation Framework (McGill, 2023). The lenses were developed by the Jisc Beyond Blended authors (Beetham, MacNeill & McGill, 2024) and include 6 perspectives: holistic strategic issues; learning space design; learning platform design and implementation; teaching time and workload; equality, diversity and inclusion; data collection and analysis. The new AI in T&L Strategic Lens has been created by the workshop facilitator, Alison Purvis, to supplement and complement the existing Jisc Beyond Blended lenses. The development is being shared with the original Beyond Blended authors. The lens been designed to explore strategic aspects of AI in blended learning and teaching. Participants will be able to contextualise their thinking and contributions to discussions based on their role and the strategic projects that they are involved with
Preparing Lawyers for Global Legal Practice - A Road Map for Introducing Mandatory Continuing Legal Education in India
Full text linkGlobalization has led to opportunities for legal professionals to engage beyond national boundaries in advising and representing their clients making legal practice a global affair. But the prospect of this global legal practice has met a strong protectionist counter as ‘Right to legal practice’ in a country has been conventionally right of its citizens only. To this extent the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of A.K Balaji v. Bar Council of India (2018) had held that right to practice of law in India including international law and matters concerning foreign laws should be exclusively limited to Indian citizens. However, some members of the legal and academic fraternity have expressed concerns about the competence of the Indian lawyers to meet the professional demands of global legal practice. It has also been widely canvassed that the restriction on foreign lawyers will cause a serious vacuum and strain on the legal system. In recent years the debate over entry of foreign lawyers have again come into prominence with the introduction of Bar Council of India Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022 and the draft bill for amendment of the Advocates Act (2025). Correctness and feasibility of allowing entry of foreign lawyers in India is subject of a separate debate, but in this paper the objective is to analyse the opening up of opportunity for Indian lawyers to engage in the global legal practice and preparing them to encounter its challenges. Introduction of an effective and mandatory system of Continuing Professional Legal Education (CLE) has potential to make Indian lawyers partake this new professional role. CLE is a recognized tool for professional development of lawyers. Its objective is to augment the information, integrity and confidence of lawyer to enhance new skills, knowledge and competence to cope with the changes in the legal order. The paper recommends design of an effective CLE curriculum to strengthen the skills and competence of Indian lawyers for meeting the demands of global legal practice