To what extent is degrowth relevant to sub-Saharan Africa?
DEGROWTH: A FOCUS ON SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
To what extent is degrowth relevant to sub-Saharan Africa?
Introduction
• Why Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)? (Under researched, the need for alternatives that are sustainable)
• Degrowth looks at plurality of development indicators as against the SDGs framework
• Degrowth advocating for the use of alternative indicators and pathways.
• Degrowth- advocating for shift in practices.
• Justification: there isn’t much research in this area. Although there are critics of degrowth from the global south, there are perspectives which have tried to clarify what is meant by degrowth for developing countries. Where consumption and production is carried out with environmental and ecological justice in mind. That is achieving a steady state growth without increasing carbon footprints or harm to the environment. Proposals to developing countries have been to enact policies that leads to urban sustainability, improves the lifestyle of the citizens, grows the economy but not harming the climate (reduce Co2 emission). According to escobar 2015, it does not mean the Europe and north America needs to degrow and poorer countries need ‘development’ a term which he has made clear should be scrapped. As it widens inequality gaps. There is emerging literature on sustainable degrowth
• What initiatives are taking place in ssa? Sustainability alternatives in ssa. Which cases show elements of degrowth (bearing degrowth values in mind: sufficiency and efficiency are degrowth values) Encourage the inclusion of of degrowth within social and environmental sustainability maps of policy makers.
• Make a link to Sub-Saharan Africa (diversity, poverty level, wellbeing and shared climate change consequences, cheap labour and the transfer of carbon emissions for poor countries). The need for SSA to grow but a sustainable rate hence alignment to sustainable degrowth.
• Nigerian context; introducing the case study Nigeria and the Attainment of Sustainable Development in the 21st Century | Vincent | Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences (mcser.org) ; Transforming Nigeria’s Economy on the Path of Sustainable Development in the 21 st Century: Challenges and Reflections | Mgbakoigba: Journal of African Studies (ajol.info) ; Economic Development in Nigeria on JSTOR
• Nigeria’s economic recovery and growth plan (2017-2020) ERGP-CLEAN-COPY.pdf (nationalplanning.gov.ng) set the tone for the new climate change policy for the pursuit of climate-resilient and climate-compatible initiatives. (NCCP_NIGERIA_REVISED_2-JUNE-2021.pdf (climatechange.gov.ng)
• More recently, the medium term National development plan Nigeria-MTNP-2021-2025-Overview-of-Draft-Plan.1.pdf (nationalplanning.gov.ng) this will be analysed
• ( another option is to Analyse nigeria’s recent climate commitment policy and see if it has tenets of degrowth in it. Is this an example of sustainable degrowth?)
Objectives of the study?
• Are SSA policy makers already including degrowth in the map. It is true that intellectuals and activists have confirmed that degrowth practices already exist in African(Ubuntu), latin American(Buen Vivir) countries and South Asian Countries (Ecoswaraj in India). However, inclusion into policy will ensure sustainable degrowth and tangible widespread results
• Prospects of degrowth for sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on Nigeria
• What practices exists in SSA that have elements of gegrowth? Ubuntu in South Africa will be used as an expose of the existing practices in SSA and
• How has Nigeria embraced the Sustainability/ or the new term sustainable degrowth
• How has the government helped in the achievement of sustainability in Nigeria: Nigeria’s recent national development plan will be analysed to see elements of degrowth in SSA policies
Possible outcomes?
• Answer the research question. Can elements of degrowth be found? How does degrowth become a globally acceptable concept? Acceptability by the Washington consensus? What are the potentials of degrowth characteristics in support of social and environmental sustainability? Encouraging local innovation through finance?
Sample Papers for Introduction and writing guide
• Frontiers | Technological Innovations and Degrowth Opportunities From Urban Egypt: Initiating the Discourse | Sustainable Cities (frontiersin.org)
• Crisis or opportunity? Economic degrowth for social equity and ecological sustainability. Introduction to this special issue (sustainable degrowth refer to reference list for more papers)
• What’s the future of economic growth in Africa? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
• The Next Economy: Why the growth and degrowth debate misses the point – Rethink Disruption
• Post-Development Theory and the Question of Alternatives: A View from Africa (jstor.org)
• Economic Development in Nigeria (jstor.org)
• The Maasai’s New Clothes: A Developmentalist Modernity and Its Exclusions (jstor.org)
• What is green growth and how can it help deliver sustainable development? – OECD
• Zero growth: A grand challenge for the Asia-Pacific region – Martin Groen, 2019 (sagepub.com)
• Recognizing the “De” in Degrowth – Undisciplined Environments
• Post-Development Perspectives – ReviseSociology
Methodology
• How will I carry out this research?
• Web of science search of degrowth as topic and limit to most cited literature
• I will begin by conducting a literature review of degrowth theory, this will be conducted systematically and using forward and backward snowballing techniques (basically using reference lists). This will help to identify the key tenets and broad themes in degrowth. From these key themes, I will define a number of evaluative criteria which will be used to apply degrowth to a contextual situation, that of Sub-Saharan Africa to analyse whether this theory is appropriate for the region. This will be conducted using primary and secondary qualitiative and quantitative data (i.e. world bank data, development data) to analyse degrowth in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Possibility of including grey literature???
• Review literature and outline themes **** Use degrowth as the framework of analysis
Literature review?
• Literature review of degrowth
• Articulate the theory/concept. What is degrowth?
• What is degrowth? (Demaria et al) 49723c2ff2366f421c6c9db2fc6e37d650dc.pdf (semanticscholar.org)
• Web of science search limiting to most cited literature
• Identify key themes and create table
• Papers that have extracted core themes of degrowth: Assessing the degrowth discourse: A review and analysis of academic degrowth policy proposals | Elsevier Enhanced Reader ; Not So Natural an Alliance? Degrowth and Environmental Justice Movements in the Global South – ScienceDirect ; Frontiers | Technological Innovations and Degrowth Opportunities From Urban Egypt: Initiating the Discourse | Sustainable Cities (frontiersin.org)
• Complementarity between the EJ movement and degrowth on the European semiperiphery: An empirical study – ScienceDirect
• Literature review of any papers that mentions degrowth in SSA. Or in the context of Africa
• African alternatives to development Ubuntu and the postdevelopment (slidetodoc.com)
• 11.pdf (scielo.org.za)
• Use world bank data to back up claims
• Which papers made explicit reference to SSA and which gave it a casual mention with reference to the global South?
Analysis
• Using the key themes focus on relating it to the different aspects of life in Africa
• How are these themes manifested and how does it make sense
• What practices in SSA relate to degrowth? The Sustainable Development Goals viewed through Gross National Happiness, Ubuntu, and Buen Vivir | SpringerLink (sussex.ac.uk) (refer to reference list on Ubuntu practices and how it relates to sustainability)
• 11.pdf (scielo.org.za) Ubuntu as a moral theory
• What is literature saying about growth in Africa? Advocates and critics(protagonists and antogonists).
• Not So Natural an Alliance? Degrowth and Environmental Justice Movements in the Global South | Elsevier Enhanced Reader look at reference list
• What are academics saying about degrowth in SSA/ How degrowth is discussed in relation to SSA
• Policy elements of policy in SSA that align with degrowth proposals Nigeria-MTNP-2021-2025-Overview-of-Draft-Plan.1.pdf (nationalplanning.gov.ng)
• After analysis create a table to summarise key degrowth themes vis a vis degrowth elements identified
Discussion
• Is degrowth appropriate or relevant given i.e. levels of poverty in SSA, poor health outcomes, lack of critical infrastructure that’s available, low levels of consumption, etc Or maybe SSA can benefit from aspects of degrowth (although they might be in practice, they have to be formally institutionalised and included in policy making)
• Is there a specific way to address challenges in SSA? Is degrowth an appropriate concept for achieving sustainable development in the global South?
• Is degrowth already taking place is SSA without a name. has Africa designed its undocumented development pathway?
• Possibility of alternative theories? Way forward? Degrowth: from theory to practice | Elsevier Enhanced Reader (refer to reference list in paper)
Other References
Asara, V., Otero, I., Demaria, F., & Corbera, E. (2015). Socially sustainable degrowth as a social–ecological transformation: repoliticizing sustainability. Sustainability Science, 10(3), 375–384. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-015-0321-9
Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4BWZpwAACAAJ
Cosme, I., Santos, R., & O’Neill, D. W. (2017). Assessing the degrowth discourse: A review and analysis of academic degrowth policy proposals. Journal of Cleaner Production, 149, 321–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.02.016
Demaria, F., & Kothari, A. (2017). The Post-Development Dictionary agenda: paths to the pluriverse. Third World Quarterly, 38(12), 2588–2599. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2017.1350821
Demaria, F., Schneider, F., Sekulova, F., & Martinez-Alier, J. (2013). What is degrowth? from an activist slogan to a social movement. Environmental Values, 22(2), 191–215. https://doi.org/10.3197/096327113X13581561725194
Dengler, C., & Seebacher, L. M. (2019). What About the Global South? Towards a Feminist Decolonial Degrowth Approach. Ecological Economics, 157(August 2018), 246–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.11.019
Escobar, A. (2015). Degrowth, postdevelopment, and transitions: a preliminary conversation. Sustainability Science, 10(3), 451–462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-015-0297-5
Gerber, J. F., & Raina, R. S. (2018). Post-Growth in the Global South? Some Reflections from India and Bhutan. Ecological Economics, 150(January), 353–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.02.020
Illich, I. (1973). Tools for Conviviality (1st ed.). Harper & Row, Publishers Inc. https://monoskop.org/images/2/24/Illich_Ivan_Tools_for_Conviviality_1973.pdf
Martinez-Alier, J. (2016). Socially sustainable economic degrowth. Beyond Uneconomic Growth: Economics, Equity and the Ecological Predicament, 40(6), 280–301. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781783472499.00024
Martínez-Alier, J., Pascual, U., Vivien, F. D., & Zaccai, E. (2010). Sustainable de-growth: Mapping the context, criticisms and future prospects of an emergent paradigm. Ecological Economics, 69(9), 1741–1747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2010.04.017
Meadows, D. H., Randers, J., & Meadows, D. L. (1972). The Limits to Growth. In S. S. and P. W. Libby Robin (Ed.), The Future of Nature: Documents of Global Change (pp. 101–116). Yale University Press. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300188479-012
Research & Degrowth. (2010). Degrowth Declaration of the Paris 2008 conference. Journal of Cleaner Production, 18(6), 523–524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2010.01.012
Rodríguez-Labajos, B., Yánez, I., Bond, P., Greyl, L., Munguti, S., Ojo, G. U., & Overbeek, W. (2019). Not So Natural an Alliance? Degrowth and Environmental Justice Movements in the Global South. Ecological Economics, 157(August 2018), 175–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.11.007
Discuss Positive Psychology Applied to institutions
o Write a description of the specific environment you are discussing and why you believe positive psychology principles could be of use in it. Include details of who is in the environment, where it is, and what people are doing in that setting.
• Applications of Positive Psychology
o Write a detailed explanation of principles (for example, positivity, happiness, well-being) and concepts (for example, character strengths, flourishing, flow, gratitude) from positive psychology that are most relevant to the selected environment, and explain why.
• Strengths and Limitations of Positive Psychology Applications in this Setting
o Write an assessment of the strengths and limitations (advantages and disadvantages, pros and cons) involved in the application of positive psychology principles and concepts in this setting.
• Research Supporting the Application of Positive Psychology in the Setting
o Cite and apply scholarly research that supports the application of positive psychology principles and concepts in this setting.
• Conclusion
o Write a conclusion in which you summarize how the use of positive psychology principles and concepts in this setting may affect your current and future work life, health, education, or family.
Additional Requirements
Your paper should meet the following requirements:
• Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Your paper should be formatted according to current Evidence and APA guidelines.
• Number of References: Your paper should include a minimum of 3 properly cited professional resources (such as a textbook and peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles from the Capella library).
• Length: 4–6 double-spaced pages of content in addition to the title page and reference page.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.
Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence
Describe the Flourishing Scale for this assessment.
Summarize and explain your personal reflections and insights to demonstrate what you learned from this experiential learning activity. What did you learn about yourself or others?
Relationship to Positive Psychology
Explain how this experiential activity or the character strength it represents is related to optimal human functioning. How does this activity demonstrate the principles and concepts of positive psychology?
Application to Social Issues
Summarize how what you learned from this activity and the study of character strengths for this assessment may be applied to social issues such as aging, mental health versus mental illness, and happiness and well-being.
Analyze the strengths and limitations (advantages and disadvantages, pros and cons) of applying what you learned or the character strengths studied to social issues.
Include supportive research findings related to these topics (at least one scholarly peer-reviewed article in addition to supporting information from a textbook or a professional source). Be sure to cite all scholarly sources where appropriate.
Additional Requirements
Your paper should meet the following requirements:
Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Your paper should be formatted according to current Evidence and APA guidelines.
Number of References: Your paper should include a minimum of two properly cited professional resources (such as a textbook and a minimum of one peer-reviewed scholarly journal article from the Capella library).
Length: 3–4 double-spaced pages of content in addition to the title page and reference page.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.
Critically explore the power dynamic between researcher(s) and research participant(s) in qualitative investigations involving children and young people.
Critically explore the power dynamic between researcher(s) and research participant(s) in qualitative investigations involving children and young people. In particular, examine the impact different methods or methodological approaches can have upon this dynamic relationship.
In your answer refer to a minimum of three research sources including either Pincock and Jones (2020) or Horgan (2017).
Main sources
The main sources of material for this assignment are:
Block 2, Units 7–12 (including relevant audio-visual materials)
Module Reader Chapter 6 ‘Research design’ by Martyn Hammersley – cite as (Hammersley, 2014) in your assignment
Module Reader Chapter 7 ‘Participant observation’ by Heather Montgomery – cite as (Montgomery, 2014) in your assignment
Module Reader Chapter 8 ‘Interviews’ by Rosie Flewitt – cite as (Flewitt, 2014) in your assignment
Module Reader Chapter 9 ‘Working with texts, images and artefacts’ by Helen Hearn and Pat Thomson – cite as (Hearn and Thomson, 2014) in your assignment
Module Reader Chapter 10 ‘Methodological ideas’ by Martyn Hammersley – cite as (Hammersley, 2014) in your assignment
The articles included in the Research Articles Collection for Block 2.
show how the country addresses the different Social Determinants of Health or fails to address them.
write an individual 2500-word Essay
Please see the university guidelines regarding word limit. The country will differ from the country you have presented on. The essay will focus on that country’s Health System. You will have to show how the country addresses the different Social Determinants of Health or fails to address them. Pick one specific non-communicable and one communicable disease, show how they are influenced by the SDH and how the government addresses them. Despite that some of you have the same country, it is not allowed to work together on this essay.
The essay should consist of:
• A short introduction of the country. Explain where the country is, it’s demographic and it’s GDP. (200 words)
• An explanation of the healthcare system. Features like ‘out-of-pocket spending’, inequalities, privatization or nationalization and its leadership etc. (800 words)
• A brief explanation of the non-communicable disease you choose. (200 words)
• In this section you explain how the country addresses this disease or fails to address them; the influence of the SDH and via the policies and laws addressing the different underlying SDH. (500 words)
• A brief explanation of the communicable disease you choose. (200 words)
• In this section you explain how the country addresses this disease or fails to address them; the influence of the SDH and via the policies and laws addressing the different underlying SDH. (500 words)
• Conclusion: a brief and concise conclusion based on your assessment on what you have written (100 words) Make sure to be critical, read different academic sources and governmental papers. Write concisely.
Evaluate the effectiveness of integrated care for service users affected by common physical and/or mental health conditions
What is an E-portfolio?
A collection of digital files (artefacts) that are shared electronically for the purpose of reflection, comment and evaluation.
It’s quite simply a website that enables you to collate digital evidence of your learning.
Your e-Portfolios can contain a wide range of digital files, including but not limited to, text or PDF documents, videos, sound files, images that are evidenced based.
Rationale for assessment design: This approach to assessment has been chosen for a range of reasons:
You are already familiar with identifying the patient pathway, so this extends your knowledge and skills further.
The Nursing Associate curriculum framework highlights the importance of Nursing Associates to be digitally literate. Using an e-portfolio helps to develop and demonstrate those skills.
The Nursing Associate must be able to work across all clinical settings. By having a clear, evidence based understanding of the integrated approach to care and the different services patients use, this develops your transferable skills.
The e-portfolio will be created in My showcase.
You can be creative with the structure of your portfolio in My showcase, but details of what to include in your portfolio can be seen in this example: This is an academic E-portfolio and must be supported by evidence .
The portfolio should be the equivalent of 5000 words. Level 5 academic study. Level 5 written CRG.pdf
Links to module learning outcomes:
1: Demonstrate an understanding of the research/audit/evaluation/service improvement processes and their relevance to the delivery of high quality care.
2: Evaluate the effectiveness of integrated care for service users affected by common physical and/or mental health conditions.
3: Demonstrate an understanding of the evidence in relation to nursing and bio-psychosocial frameworks and tools that underpin effective, inclusive, and person-centred assessment, planning and evaluation of care.
4: Discuss the pathophysiology related to changes in an individual’s health.
Discuss and evaluate theories, approaches and strategies of effectively managing and leading teams and individuals, including leading multiple and virtual teams, to achieve success.
Introduction
The Development of Self module introduces students how to be the best leaders and managers they can be, in an increasingly turbulent world. You must focus on what drives you and your values and reflection around this in relation to becoming an ethical, values driven leader and manager. The
ability to focus on both the theoretical and practical approaches to developing, leading, and managing teams and how to respond to the challenges of modern-day workplaces, (for example, leading multiple and remote teams), is an essential element to you being successful as a business and people leader.
Assessment Task
Using your knowledge and skills built from throughout the module, the task for this assessment is to prepare an individual essay (with appendices) which will:
Discuss and evaluate theories, approaches and strategies of effectively managing and leading teams and individuals, including leading multiple and virtual teams, to achieve success.
Review tools and techniques for assessing and developing current and future team capabilities, requirements and balance of skills and experience and highlight best practices in both areas.
Finally reflect on how you will/have shaped your own core values as ethical and values based leader and manager of the future. You will be able to illustrate application
theories and techniques to achieving a balance of skills and experience in teams
Illustrate evaluation of techniques for leading individuals and teams to achieve success
You will have undertaken analysis of your own ‘Self-Management’ skills and how this will drive
your development as an ethical, values driven manager.
With reference to the appendices, this can include how you have built knowledge and application
to enable you to be an ethical and values-based leader and manager of the future. This can include
evidence of personal development tests from various tools used.
Students will be required to investigate and research additional information to that covered in
lectures and seminars to undertake a critical review, whilst also demonstrating the application of
relevant concepts, theories, tools, techniques and processes, supported by a wide range of credible
academic sources.
Formative assessment opportunities will be provided during the seminars through the completion of case study exercises, presentations, draft online submissions etc.
This must be your own work i.e. you cannot submit work that is the same as other students or those that you may be working with for other assessments. If you do so, then any such work will be subject to our academic misconduct guidelines & procedures.
3
Please note that there is only 1 assessment for this unit, which you will need to pass otherwise risk not proceeding onto Level 6 or gaining your Honours degree. You will have been supported through formative/summative assessment checkpoints. Activities are interwoven throughout the
module, so it is vital to engage in all activities and ask questions.
What are the ways victims of domestic violence are given shelter at Hope House?
Purpose Statement
Hope House shelter program has operated as a short-term shelter program providing shelter for the women for a short period of time and has effectively performed its duties into ensuring that women in the shelter program not only receive security but also treatments of various mental and physical conditions that accrue as a result of domestic violence.
As a short-term shelter program, Hope House may not effectively serve the community, especially the victims of domestic violence. The women sheltered in the program may become homeless. The women may suffer more injuries when they return to their homes and sometimes live their entire lives in poverty due to lack of financial support and adequate resources to keep their family and themselves from moving on with quality life. Therefore, the Hope House shelter program in Kansa city, Mo, may need to become a long-term shelter program to assist these women. By becoming a long-term shelter, they can provide services to women who are victims of domestic violence adequately until they are financially stable. Hope House as a long-term shelter program will benefit the women and eradicate the cases of domestic violence in Kansas City, Mo. Which would help stakeholders find jobs for the women to become financially stable and help them afford homes. Also, by offering long-term shelter for the women, Hope House will help them get guidance on their legal rights without worrying about where they have to go next. Thus empowering the women and giving them freedom of expression and claim what is rightfully theirs. In addition, the victims of domestic violence shall receive mental, physical, and emotional treatment that would help their recovery from the previous symptoms such as PTSD.
The purpose of the research that is being undertaken is to engage in an need assessment of how Hope House, a shelter home for victims of domestic violence in Kansas City, Mo, can turn into a long-term shelter for victims of domestic violence. Providing them with the help, care and assistance that they need in order to emerge as an essential shelter base for such victims, now as well as in the future.
The purpose of this Qualitative study is to propose a professional administrative study for the Firehouse Ministries of Birmingham by studying employee retention during the pandemic. This qualitative study is to research important ways in which the Firehouse Ministries can implement new policies and strategies to ensure the safety of staff and volunteers. Also, this research study is to learn the appropriate elements that should be included in a volunteer safety plan as well as create a draft plan for the Firehouse Ministries.
Research Questions
Some of the key research questions that are to be addressed in this study are as follows –
RQ 1 – What are the ways victims of domestic violence are given shelter at Hope House?
RQ 2 – How effective is Hope House in providing shelter and protection for victims of domestic violence?
RQ 3 – What are the administrative steps that need to be taken by Hope House in order to become a long-term shelter for victims of domestic violence?
(1) What long term safety measure(s)/policies can be created for Firehouse Ministries that may be implemented to safeguard the health of staff and volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as future health-related challenges?
(2) What has been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Firehouse Ministries?
prepare and write a ‘literature review’ in legal studies, of a kind suitable for incorporation into LLM essays
1. This third task is concerned with how you prepare and write a ‘literature review’ in legal studies, of a kind suitable for incorporation into LLM essays (and later your LLM dissertation). The skills required will bring together work we’ve done under several different headings already:
➢ searching for, browsing, and seeing the significance of materials including legal authorities and research articles to be found in the library and online
➢ summarising the essential legal elements of reported cases and other materials including: highlighting what is significant, leaving out what is unnecessary or extraneous; and joining up such mini-summaries coherently with material that precedes them and comes next in an essay (i.e. work we did on case notes)
➢ providing correct and sufficient references for material you mention (i.e. work we did on the OSCOLA referencing system, which is the system you must follow in this coursework – don’t just paste in references in different formats)
2. What you have to do is to write a short literature review, building on the template and guidance we provide below.
3. This task is primarily concerned with the scope, structure, coherence and accurate presentation of a “literature review” in legal studies – concerned with whatever legal topic they are about. You can only review a relevant body of legal materials once you’ve decided what the literature is relevant to. So your literature review must be about a given topic. You are free, in this task, to choose your topic (which must however be explicitly delineated in the title of the piece of work you submit). Choose between the two following general headings:
3.1 You can write a literature review that could be used to support investigation of any topic you’ve addressed in an LLM module this term (so long as you do not repeat material you’ve used in any piece of submitted assessed work). You must ensure that the topic you’re providing the literature review of is clearly stated in the title of the piece of work you submit.
Or
3.2 You can write a literature review that supports early investigation of a topic you wish to research as your LLM dissertation. Such a literature review would serve as a sort of ‘scoping exercise’. Again, however, you must ensure that you state the topic you’re providing a literature review of in the title of the piece of work you submit.
4. Here are some key elements you should keep in mind in writing your literature review. There are of course other ways of writing a literature review, and where a piece of work is submitted that goes beyond the essential elements we outline below that may be reflected in a higher grade. But the guidance that follows should ensure you are able to incorporate legal authorities and scholarship appropriately into essays assessed throughout your LLM programme, and that is our aim.
4.1 In legal studies, you need to keep in mind both the distinction and also the connection between (i) professional sources and (ii) academic literature. These two kinds of material have different statuses and play different roles. But they work closely together in legal-academic writing. This is part of what makes writing a ‘literature review’ in the academic study of law different from writing a ‘literature review’ in social science or natural sciences. (In some of those other fields, a literature review is a highly standardised, separate section in a written report, essay or thesis; it usually isn’t in law.)
4.2 In practical terms, a literature review embedded in a law essay must do the following:
• it should refer to the main legal sources (hence why the literature review stage of this module follows on from work we did on case notes , case commentary and case summary);
• it should mention, where appropriate, other kinds of institutional and public document (such as policy or committee reports, including preparatory documents discussing law reform or leading towards legislation);
• it should offer a descriptive overview of relevant academic books and journal articles (How many? This will vary but will be more than 2-3 but not so many that you don’t have space to discuss any of them – the literature review is not a list.)
4.3 Typically, in a law essay or dissertation the literature review is not titled as such and presented separately. It doesn’t usually stand alone as an essay section, as it would in a sociology or natural sciences essay. Rather, a literature review in law is likely to be woven into an essay: as (i) part of the introduction and description of context; or (ii) within a section dealing with defining the problem to be addressed, etc. For instructional purposes only, for this task we’ve separated out the literature review, in order to look more closely at its purpose and main features. That’s slightly artificial, but pedagogically essential.
4.4 A literature review serves a purpose and contributes to an overall argument. It is not just a list or summary. It has to show development if it is to achieve that purpose. The overall aim is to situate a project that an author is developing in his or her essay or dissertation within the larger context of existing legal scholarship.
4.5 To this end, a ‘review of the literature’ is needed as part of the process of defining a topical research issue/question. That’s why you’re not asked in this task to write a freestanding ‘literature review’ of a given topic: simply ‘the death penalty’, ‘breach of confidence’, ‘exemplary damages’, or ‘vertical and horizontal effect’. Each of these would require a neutral report or reference-material approach, or a whole textbook (or many textbooks). By contrast, as you will see from the guidelines above, you’re being asked to write a literature review that would support a particular essay topic containing an interpretive, critical or evaluative dimension: i.e. by serving as a contribution to an essay in which you develop an argument or point of view based in part on the account you offer of the currently available materials.
4.6 Your literature review is likely to begin with a short general statement of how the issue/question you’re writing about is commonly perceived or approached: this is your ‘way in’. You identify some unresolved dimension or aspect that makes your chosen topic worth writing about. This introductory overview is usually placed in a (necessarily simplified) historical context (time, jurisdiction, social climate of opinion, etc.). But it must be historicised in this way: a literature review is the published story of how people have engaged with, investigated, and constantly redefined a topic.
4.7 The main body of the literature review introduces key sources and works, briefly highlighting not only their scope and content but also their type (are they legally authoritative sources, academic reference works, partisan or even polemical arguments?). Where significant, you should indicate how particular documents or publications have been received by other professionals, scholars and/or the wider public, including what influence they may have had (distinguishing for instance between a widely acknowledged study in the field and a relatively unknown article you may have discovered almost by chance).
Describe and evaluate the business financial context, including business structures, financial stakeholders and information, and the accounting profession and financial governance.
Aims of this Unit
Managers are responsible for the performance of their business units within their organisations and financial performance forms part of that responsibility. This unit aims to provide students with the foundations of Financial Management so as to equip them to be able to more effectively meet their responsibility for financial performance. This includes being able to understand and evaluate the financial impact of decisions and activities within
their organisations, and also be able to use financial information more effectively when making decisions.
Students will be introduced to terminology, principles, frameworks and models that underpin Accounting and Finance. These include the structure and content of financial reports, techniques and principles of budget development and control, costing principles and models, techniques for making capital investment decisions, and funding structures and decisions within organisations.
In this unit, theoretical frameworks and models are provided as the foundation for learning, and from there theory is embedded within practical applications – both within students’
organisations and in other practical case studies.
One of the aims of the unit is for students to understand how financial principles and information can be used to better inform their operational and strategic decisions, and to understand how applying these principles ethically underpins responsible financial management and helps build sustainable enterprises.
Knowledge and Understanding
This unit is designed to provide students with an understanding of:
• The business context and its impact and relationship to financial information and practice
• General Purpose Financial Statements (GPFS); including key accounting concepts, terminology and disclosure practices
• Financial analysis techniques and their application to interpreting financial
information on GPFS
• Approaches for analysing costs and examining cost behaviour, and how this applies to effective cost management, including budgeting
• Principles and techniques for adopting a structured approach to making capital expenditure (investment) decisions
• Principles of business financing and its organisational impact
Manging Financial Resources: Unit Guide
Following completion of this course, participants should:
1. Describe and evaluate the business financial context, including business structures, financial stakeholders and information, and the accounting profession and financial governance.
2. Interpret and critically analyse the information contained on financial statements.
3. Demonstrate the use of costing concepts and principles to improve decision making.
4. Develop and manage budgets and associated financial resources to support business objectives.
5. Demonstrate appropriate financial methodologies to evaluate and make decisions in relation to Investment options.
6. Understand the impact and cost of financing decisions and identify sources of financing.
7. Critically consider the potential impact of contemporary business context on financial information.
8. Demonstrate a high order of skill in analysis, critical thinking, communication and professional application.
9. Demonstrate creativity and flexibility in the application of knowledge and skills to new situations, to resolve problems and to think rigorously and independently.
