decision making

'Voice of the Child' Under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 : Giving Due Regard for Children's Views in All Matters that Affect Them : Volume 1

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 brings together aspects of family, child care and adoption law that affect children. The Act seeks to incorporate the 3 key principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) – i.e. non- discrimination; a child’s welfare as a primary consideration; and listening to children’s views, into Scottish legislation and practice.

Empowering communities to influence local decision making: evidence-based lessons for policy makers and practitioners

This report draws on a systematic review of published evidence to provide lessons on empowerment for policy makers and practitioners. It aims to enable the development of workable activities for empowerment underpinned by a sound evidence base. It focuses on six key mechanisms that facilitate empowerment: asset transfer; citizen governance; electronic participation; participatory budgeting; petitions; redress.

Social Work Intervention

Social Work Intervention is suitable for use once students have appreciated the basic structure and content of the legal rules, which can be applied to a case. Social Work Intervention will raise awareness of: the legal rules that create the framework for social work intervention; the different points of intervention: initial referral and screening, assessment and care planning; and review and re-assessment.

Management of risk in everyday life (Radio 4 series: Thinking Allowed)

This episode of Radio 4's Thinking Allowed series consists of a segment on the management of risk in everyday life. As almost every decision a person makes involves weighing up of the odds of success or failure and risk, risk management has become a popular area of sociological debate.

Host Laurie Taylor speaks with delegates at the British Sociology Association's conference in York to find out what aspects of risk they've been discussing. Dr. Iain Wilkinson, Professor Jane Lewis and David Denney join the discussion.

Managing Complexity: A Systems Approach - OpenLearn

This resource is part of the OpenLearn website, which is the online learning portal from the Open University. In order to understand Systems Practice it is first necessary to understand Systems Thinking. Systems Thinking enables you to grasp and manage situations of complexity and uncertainty in which there are no simple answers by looking at connected wholes rather than separate parts.

The public inquiry into the shootings at Dunblane Primary School on 13 March 1996

This report sets out the findings of the Cullen Inquiry following the shootings at Dunblane Primary School by Thomas Hamilton on 13 March 1996. The aim of the Inquiry was to clarify the exact circumstances leading up to and surrounding the incident, and to provide recommendations to safeguard the public against the misuse of firearms and other issues raised by the investigation.

Key recommendations include improved school security; the certification of firearms; and the vetting and supervision of adults working with children.

A missed opportunity?: community sentences and the mental health treatment requirement

The Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) is one of 12 options (‘requirements’) available to sentencers when constructing a Community Order or a Suspended Sentence Order. The MHTR can be given to an offender with mental health problems who does not require immediate compulsory hospital admission under the Mental Health Act. If they give their consent, the MHTR requires them to receive mental health treatment for a specified period.