Dr Lynne Wrennall - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Dr Lynne Wrennall
Don't Give Them Bread, 2024
DGTB provides a practical plan to: • Meet the challenges that threaten our species and our planet... more DGTB provides a practical plan to:
• Meet the challenges that threaten our species and our planet.
• Intervene strategically in polycrises and contribute to positive social change from a position of maximum leverage.
• Change the lives of the project’s immediate participants in ways that give sovereignty to their needs as producers, consumers and service users.
• Design the decision-making processes about the products and services that are produced, the ways in which they are produced and how they are distributed.
• Develop the social relationships and organisational forms which release people's potential, maximise their productivity, are more able to produce positive social impacts, reduce moral hazard and combat negative externalities.
• Construct the social architecture which extensive research has shown provides the basis of human happiness and fulfilment.
• Intervene at the larger scale of developing organisations which can buttress the social organisation of democracy itself.
• In other words, the scope of this ambitious project is nothing less than to change the course of history.
This paper belongs to an embryonic body of scholarship that documents the camouflaging of politic... more This paper belongs to an embryonic body of scholarship that documents the camouflaging of political, economic and commercial agendas under the rhetoric of Child Protection. The Trojan Horse theory of Child Protection, as this scholarship may broadly be termed, alleges the misuse of Child Protection powers for ulterior motives. Years of struggle against the Law and Order, Psychiatric and other discourses have won a raft of Civil and Human Rights protections. Bypassing these protections, Child Protection provides a rhetoric that disguises surveillance and disarms opposition, because a justifiable and apparently benign pretext has been found in the ostensible and entirely laudable, aim of protecting children. The paper collates widespread evidence of how the pretext of Child Protection has been used to extend surveillance and disarm populations. Through the discourse of Child Protection, children are propelled through various constructions from 'child in need', to 'child at...
BMJ, Jun 24, 2004
How electronic communication is changing health care Usability is main barrier to effective elect... more How electronic communication is changing health care Usability is main barrier to effective electronic information systems Editor-Jadad and Delamothe celebrate "the return of the human" to health informatics in their editorial asking what's next for electronic communication and health care. 1 The question is not whether we need to merge human centred and technology centred approaches: the question is how to do it. If electronic resources are to improve health they have to be accessible, reliable, and usable. More than 80% of websites are currently not accessible by all, including most primary care trust and healthcare charity sites. 2 And according to our unpublished in-house survey, few electronic resources are subject to the rigour we would expect of reliable, evidence based publications, and many of the high quality resources that exist are prohibitively difficult to use in everyday practice. Usability concerns whether an information system is structured so that users can get an answer to fit their purpose. The solution to this problem is user centred design. 3 So why isn't it happening in health care? In spite of considerable evidence that user centred design results in cost savings downstream, and a clear need to assess the usability of information systems, 4 the perception remains that it is too expensive. A good first step is the creation of effective, free tools that help us assess the usability of electronic resources quickly, such as our LIDA tool (www.minervation.com/ downloads.html). These are needed to show where the problems are in resources that already exist. Once the usability problem has been identified and defined and both users and commissioners have been educated to expect better from information technology systems, momentum will be gathered towards genuinely high quality electronic information systems.
Crime and Justice, Jun 1, 2010
‘Bent judges’ have long assumed an entertaining place in popular culture, though ‘black collar cr... more ‘Bent judges’ have long assumed an entertaining place in popular culture, though ‘black collar crime’ has not been widely covered in academic scholarship. Given the central importance of judges in the justice system, it is surprising that judicial misconduct has not received more attention. Judicial misconduct is an important form of corruption with potentially serious sequelae. When judicial decision-making is corrupt, the office of judge is misused. Decisions are made to serve private interests, rather than the greater good..
Victoria’s suffering epitomises the failure of the UK Child Protection system to adequately focus... more Victoria’s suffering epitomises the failure of the UK Child Protection system to adequately focus on the need to protect children from abuse and neglect. In this paper, we consider what is wrong with the UK Child Protection system and question why, even after such extreme human tragedy it has still not been put right. We map out the processes to undertake the necessary reform.
The paper outlines some of the major problems that have arisen in the role of experts in the just... more The paper outlines some of the major problems that have arisen in the role of experts in the justice system, with a particular emphasis on the troubled relationship between the theories and practice of expert witnesses and Miscarriages of Justice, both false positives and false negatives. The purpose of the paper is to marshal the existing evidence, to develop a sense of the nature, scope and extent of the problems associated with expert witnesses. The evidence demonstrates that the problems associated with expert witnesses are serious and extensive. The paper concludes that expert witnesses do not legitimate the episteme claims of the justice system. On the contrary, the role of expert witnesses has been one that has demonstrated the contentiousness, partisanship and precariousness of the knowledge upon which decision- making in the justice system has been based.
The growing use of new forms of surveillance technology across the day-to-day lives of children a... more The growing use of new forms of surveillance technology across the day-to-day lives of children and the spaces they inhabit brings with it potential changes to childhood experience. These technologies may change the way children interact with others and the way they come to understand the world around them. This article investigates the nature of these changes by looking at the impact of new surveillance technologies on a child’s experience of trust. It aims to show that an increased surveillance presence across a child’s everyday activity may be denying children important opportunities both to trust others and to be trusted.
Repository Citation Bache, B., Barnes, P., Beech, B., Bellone, F., Bohan, T. L., Bonnell, H. J., ... more Repository Citation Bache, B., Barnes, P., Beech, B., Bellone, F., Bohan, T. L., Bonnell, H. J., Cohen, M., Contostavlos, D. L., Dale, P., Davidson, L., Gabaeff, S., Gardner, H., Gardner, M., Golding, J., Guthkelch, A. N., Harvey, C. M., HaywardBrown, H., Hemming, J., Hunsaker, J. C., Hyman, C., Leestma, J., LeFanu, J., Lloyd, J., Miller, M. E., Mills, C., Nichols, G. R., Nott, M., Plunkett, J., Pragnell, C., Robinson, J., Rothfeder, R. K., Scheimberg, I., Uscinski, R., Weinraub, M., Willey, E., Wright, R. K., & Wrennall, L. (2015). Open Letter on Shaken Baby Syndrome and Courts: A False and Flawed Premise. Argument & Critique. https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/pediatrics/81
Medical Hypotheses, 2007
The discourse of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy/Fabricated and Induced Illness posits the widesprea... more The discourse of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy/Fabricated and Induced Illness posits the widespread incidence of a highly dangerous form of child abuse in which illness and developmental delay in children, is caused by their parents or carers. The discourse has been linked to false allegations of child abuse, hostile adoptions and miscarriages of justice. It has also stimulated concerns that the children's real medical and developmental needs are neglected when their conditions are misdiagnosed as child abuse. This study examines the critical claims that have been levelled against the Munchausen discourse. They provide explanations of the children's problems that compete with the discourse. The claim of the discourse to scientific validity is thereby shown to be questionable. The explanations have been distilled into specific hypotheses, to stimulate further research. The literature from which the hypotheses were derived, identifies problems in the MSbP/FII discourse in five broad areas of science, regarding: the test validity of techniques; construct validity; statistical methods; evidentiary standards and adverse impacts. The main conclusion is that the detailed critical hypotheses, cohere around the central claim that the discourse of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy/Fabricated and Induced Illness serves economic vested interests, rather than the interests of children. The hypotheses predict adverse health and social outcomes, as a result of the discourse. Consequently, the continued deployment of the discourse would probably be "unsafe and therefore unwise".
Abstract--- La Carta Abierta sobre el Sindrome del Bebe Sacudido y los Tribunales ha sido prepara... more Abstract--- La Carta Abierta sobre el Sindrome del Bebe Sacudido y los Tribunales ha sido preparada bajo los auspicios del International Public Health Research Group [IPHRG] (Grupo Internacional de Investigacion sobre Salud Publica). Los primeros borradores fueron elaborados por Bill Bache y Charles Pragnell. La redaccion final y la correccion fue de la Dra Lynne Wrennall, Directora Ejecutiva del International Public Health Research Group y Editora Gerente de Argument & Critique. El proceso de escribir la carta conto con investigaciones publicadas en este area, en muchos casos, investigaciones publicadas por los firmantes de la carta. Durante la redaccion tambien se aprovecho la reiterada contribucion de las reflexiones de los firmantes de la carta. A los efectos de la elaboracion de la carta abierta, el International Public Health Research Group funciono como un grupo Delphi, aconsejando en el proceso y contenido relativo a la carta. La lista completa de los expertos internacionale...
As members of Clinical Commissioning Groups established by the Health and Social Care Act 2012, U... more As members of Clinical Commissioning Groups established by the Health and Social Care Act 2012, UK doctors will now play a crucially important role in determining the services that are commissioned to meet the needs of vulnerable children. Very generous financial support is currently expended on out of home placements for children in ‘Care’, whereas by comparison, very little social and economic support is given to children at risk of abuse, neglect and developmental delay who are living with their organic families. This inequitable distribution of resources acts as a confounding variable that can bias evaluations of the two types of placements for children at risk. Further research that overcomes this element of bias needs to be conducted, to strengthen the evidence base regarding appropriate ways to address the needs of children at risk. The out of home care system produces very poor outcomes for children, despite expensive financial cost. Cost-benefit analysis and threshold analy...
Journal of Social Criminology
The paper outlines some of the major problems that have arisen in the role of experts in the just... more The paper outlines some of the major problems that have arisen in the role of experts in the justice system, with a particular emphasis on the troubled relationship between the theories and practice of expert witnesses and Miscarriages of Justice, both false positives and false negatives. The purpose of the paper is to marshal the existing evidence, to develop a sense of the nature, scope and extent of the problems associated with expert witnesses.
Argument & Critique, 2015
The paper documents how and why, Britain’s first Paediatric Neurosurgeon, Dr Norman Guthkelch who... more The paper documents how and why, Britain’s first Paediatric Neurosurgeon, Dr Norman
Guthkelch who wrote the seminal paper, from which the concept of Shaken Baby Syndrome [SBS] originated, became aware of how the concept was being deployed to imprison innocent parents and caregivers and honours the principled stand that he took in objecting to the unjust purposes to which his work was being applied.
The paper focuses on problems within the concept of Shaken Baby Syndrome and its variants, which Dr Guthkelch has chosen to emphasise. These include the epistemological and unscientific practices that are implicit in the concept of SBS; the failure to properly advise relevant parties that SBS and its variants are simply hypotheses; the incorporation of the discourse into harsh, unjust and punitive practice such as in the imprisonment of the innocent; and uncivil conduct towards to those who critique the SBS discourse.
Journal of Social Criminology, 2010
The paper outlines and assesses some of the major responses to the problems surrounding expert wi... more The paper outlines and assesses some of the major responses to the problems surrounding expert witnesses in the Justice System. Most of the solutions that are
proposed in current literature and that have been implemented thus far, fall within what
may broadly be termed a Quality Assurance approach. This paper argues that the
Quality Assurance approach does not adequately grapple with the deeper
epistemological and sociological problems facing the Justice System. There is a need to
approach the problem from a broader angle of jurisprudence. The problem of expert
witnesses belongs in a larger context of questions about what is knowledge and what
aims do we want social institutions to serve.
Parliamentary Paper, 2004
This paper addresses the questions: what is wrong with the Child Protection system? What are the ... more This paper addresses the questions: what is wrong with the Child Protection system? What are the indicators of the need for change? Which changes will solve the problem?
In this paper, I intend to argue that the Child Protection system is harming children, families and communities. The failure to appropriately act on genuine reports of abuse and the pursuit of false allegations, are seen as two sides of the same coin. This is the problem of too many false positives and false negatives. The causes are inter-related and the solutions must focus on both sides of the problem.
Argument & Critique, 2015
The Open Letter on Shaken Baby Syndrome and Courts has been prepared under the auspices of the In... more The Open Letter on Shaken Baby Syndrome and Courts has been prepared under the auspices of the International Public Health Research Group [IPHRG]. It was developed from initial drafts by Bill Bache and Charles Pragnell. Final drafting and editing was by Dr Lynne Wrennall, Executive Director of the International Public Health Research Group and the Managing Editor of Argument & Critique. The process of writing the letter has relied on the published research in the field, much of it, published research by the signatories to the letter. The process has also drawn on the iterative contribution of insights by the signatories to the letter. For the purpose of developing the letter, The International Public Health Research Group has functioned as a Delphi group, advising on the process and content relating to the letter
Don't Give Them Bread, 2024
DGTB provides a practical plan to: • Meet the challenges that threaten our species and our planet... more DGTB provides a practical plan to:
• Meet the challenges that threaten our species and our planet.
• Intervene strategically in polycrises and contribute to positive social change from a position of maximum leverage.
• Change the lives of the project’s immediate participants in ways that give sovereignty to their needs as producers, consumers and service users.
• Design the decision-making processes about the products and services that are produced, the ways in which they are produced and how they are distributed.
• Develop the social relationships and organisational forms which release people's potential, maximise their productivity, are more able to produce positive social impacts, reduce moral hazard and combat negative externalities.
• Construct the social architecture which extensive research has shown provides the basis of human happiness and fulfilment.
• Intervene at the larger scale of developing organisations which can buttress the social organisation of democracy itself.
• In other words, the scope of this ambitious project is nothing less than to change the course of history.
This paper belongs to an embryonic body of scholarship that documents the camouflaging of politic... more This paper belongs to an embryonic body of scholarship that documents the camouflaging of political, economic and commercial agendas under the rhetoric of Child Protection. The Trojan Horse theory of Child Protection, as this scholarship may broadly be termed, alleges the misuse of Child Protection powers for ulterior motives. Years of struggle against the Law and Order, Psychiatric and other discourses have won a raft of Civil and Human Rights protections. Bypassing these protections, Child Protection provides a rhetoric that disguises surveillance and disarms opposition, because a justifiable and apparently benign pretext has been found in the ostensible and entirely laudable, aim of protecting children. The paper collates widespread evidence of how the pretext of Child Protection has been used to extend surveillance and disarm populations. Through the discourse of Child Protection, children are propelled through various constructions from 'child in need', to 'child at...
BMJ, Jun 24, 2004
How electronic communication is changing health care Usability is main barrier to effective elect... more How electronic communication is changing health care Usability is main barrier to effective electronic information systems Editor-Jadad and Delamothe celebrate "the return of the human" to health informatics in their editorial asking what's next for electronic communication and health care. 1 The question is not whether we need to merge human centred and technology centred approaches: the question is how to do it. If electronic resources are to improve health they have to be accessible, reliable, and usable. More than 80% of websites are currently not accessible by all, including most primary care trust and healthcare charity sites. 2 And according to our unpublished in-house survey, few electronic resources are subject to the rigour we would expect of reliable, evidence based publications, and many of the high quality resources that exist are prohibitively difficult to use in everyday practice. Usability concerns whether an information system is structured so that users can get an answer to fit their purpose. The solution to this problem is user centred design. 3 So why isn't it happening in health care? In spite of considerable evidence that user centred design results in cost savings downstream, and a clear need to assess the usability of information systems, 4 the perception remains that it is too expensive. A good first step is the creation of effective, free tools that help us assess the usability of electronic resources quickly, such as our LIDA tool (www.minervation.com/ downloads.html). These are needed to show where the problems are in resources that already exist. Once the usability problem has been identified and defined and both users and commissioners have been educated to expect better from information technology systems, momentum will be gathered towards genuinely high quality electronic information systems.
Crime and Justice, Jun 1, 2010
‘Bent judges’ have long assumed an entertaining place in popular culture, though ‘black collar cr... more ‘Bent judges’ have long assumed an entertaining place in popular culture, though ‘black collar crime’ has not been widely covered in academic scholarship. Given the central importance of judges in the justice system, it is surprising that judicial misconduct has not received more attention. Judicial misconduct is an important form of corruption with potentially serious sequelae. When judicial decision-making is corrupt, the office of judge is misused. Decisions are made to serve private interests, rather than the greater good..
Victoria’s suffering epitomises the failure of the UK Child Protection system to adequately focus... more Victoria’s suffering epitomises the failure of the UK Child Protection system to adequately focus on the need to protect children from abuse and neglect. In this paper, we consider what is wrong with the UK Child Protection system and question why, even after such extreme human tragedy it has still not been put right. We map out the processes to undertake the necessary reform.
The paper outlines some of the major problems that have arisen in the role of experts in the just... more The paper outlines some of the major problems that have arisen in the role of experts in the justice system, with a particular emphasis on the troubled relationship between the theories and practice of expert witnesses and Miscarriages of Justice, both false positives and false negatives. The purpose of the paper is to marshal the existing evidence, to develop a sense of the nature, scope and extent of the problems associated with expert witnesses. The evidence demonstrates that the problems associated with expert witnesses are serious and extensive. The paper concludes that expert witnesses do not legitimate the episteme claims of the justice system. On the contrary, the role of expert witnesses has been one that has demonstrated the contentiousness, partisanship and precariousness of the knowledge upon which decision- making in the justice system has been based.
The growing use of new forms of surveillance technology across the day-to-day lives of children a... more The growing use of new forms of surveillance technology across the day-to-day lives of children and the spaces they inhabit brings with it potential changes to childhood experience. These technologies may change the way children interact with others and the way they come to understand the world around them. This article investigates the nature of these changes by looking at the impact of new surveillance technologies on a child’s experience of trust. It aims to show that an increased surveillance presence across a child’s everyday activity may be denying children important opportunities both to trust others and to be trusted.
Repository Citation Bache, B., Barnes, P., Beech, B., Bellone, F., Bohan, T. L., Bonnell, H. J., ... more Repository Citation Bache, B., Barnes, P., Beech, B., Bellone, F., Bohan, T. L., Bonnell, H. J., Cohen, M., Contostavlos, D. L., Dale, P., Davidson, L., Gabaeff, S., Gardner, H., Gardner, M., Golding, J., Guthkelch, A. N., Harvey, C. M., HaywardBrown, H., Hemming, J., Hunsaker, J. C., Hyman, C., Leestma, J., LeFanu, J., Lloyd, J., Miller, M. E., Mills, C., Nichols, G. R., Nott, M., Plunkett, J., Pragnell, C., Robinson, J., Rothfeder, R. K., Scheimberg, I., Uscinski, R., Weinraub, M., Willey, E., Wright, R. K., & Wrennall, L. (2015). Open Letter on Shaken Baby Syndrome and Courts: A False and Flawed Premise. Argument & Critique. https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/pediatrics/81
Medical Hypotheses, 2007
The discourse of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy/Fabricated and Induced Illness posits the widesprea... more The discourse of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy/Fabricated and Induced Illness posits the widespread incidence of a highly dangerous form of child abuse in which illness and developmental delay in children, is caused by their parents or carers. The discourse has been linked to false allegations of child abuse, hostile adoptions and miscarriages of justice. It has also stimulated concerns that the children's real medical and developmental needs are neglected when their conditions are misdiagnosed as child abuse. This study examines the critical claims that have been levelled against the Munchausen discourse. They provide explanations of the children's problems that compete with the discourse. The claim of the discourse to scientific validity is thereby shown to be questionable. The explanations have been distilled into specific hypotheses, to stimulate further research. The literature from which the hypotheses were derived, identifies problems in the MSbP/FII discourse in five broad areas of science, regarding: the test validity of techniques; construct validity; statistical methods; evidentiary standards and adverse impacts. The main conclusion is that the detailed critical hypotheses, cohere around the central claim that the discourse of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy/Fabricated and Induced Illness serves economic vested interests, rather than the interests of children. The hypotheses predict adverse health and social outcomes, as a result of the discourse. Consequently, the continued deployment of the discourse would probably be "unsafe and therefore unwise".
Abstract--- La Carta Abierta sobre el Sindrome del Bebe Sacudido y los Tribunales ha sido prepara... more Abstract--- La Carta Abierta sobre el Sindrome del Bebe Sacudido y los Tribunales ha sido preparada bajo los auspicios del International Public Health Research Group [IPHRG] (Grupo Internacional de Investigacion sobre Salud Publica). Los primeros borradores fueron elaborados por Bill Bache y Charles Pragnell. La redaccion final y la correccion fue de la Dra Lynne Wrennall, Directora Ejecutiva del International Public Health Research Group y Editora Gerente de Argument & Critique. El proceso de escribir la carta conto con investigaciones publicadas en este area, en muchos casos, investigaciones publicadas por los firmantes de la carta. Durante la redaccion tambien se aprovecho la reiterada contribucion de las reflexiones de los firmantes de la carta. A los efectos de la elaboracion de la carta abierta, el International Public Health Research Group funciono como un grupo Delphi, aconsejando en el proceso y contenido relativo a la carta. La lista completa de los expertos internacionale...
As members of Clinical Commissioning Groups established by the Health and Social Care Act 2012, U... more As members of Clinical Commissioning Groups established by the Health and Social Care Act 2012, UK doctors will now play a crucially important role in determining the services that are commissioned to meet the needs of vulnerable children. Very generous financial support is currently expended on out of home placements for children in ‘Care’, whereas by comparison, very little social and economic support is given to children at risk of abuse, neglect and developmental delay who are living with their organic families. This inequitable distribution of resources acts as a confounding variable that can bias evaluations of the two types of placements for children at risk. Further research that overcomes this element of bias needs to be conducted, to strengthen the evidence base regarding appropriate ways to address the needs of children at risk. The out of home care system produces very poor outcomes for children, despite expensive financial cost. Cost-benefit analysis and threshold analy...
Journal of Social Criminology
The paper outlines some of the major problems that have arisen in the role of experts in the just... more The paper outlines some of the major problems that have arisen in the role of experts in the justice system, with a particular emphasis on the troubled relationship between the theories and practice of expert witnesses and Miscarriages of Justice, both false positives and false negatives. The purpose of the paper is to marshal the existing evidence, to develop a sense of the nature, scope and extent of the problems associated with expert witnesses.
Argument & Critique, 2015
The paper documents how and why, Britain’s first Paediatric Neurosurgeon, Dr Norman Guthkelch who... more The paper documents how and why, Britain’s first Paediatric Neurosurgeon, Dr Norman
Guthkelch who wrote the seminal paper, from which the concept of Shaken Baby Syndrome [SBS] originated, became aware of how the concept was being deployed to imprison innocent parents and caregivers and honours the principled stand that he took in objecting to the unjust purposes to which his work was being applied.
The paper focuses on problems within the concept of Shaken Baby Syndrome and its variants, which Dr Guthkelch has chosen to emphasise. These include the epistemological and unscientific practices that are implicit in the concept of SBS; the failure to properly advise relevant parties that SBS and its variants are simply hypotheses; the incorporation of the discourse into harsh, unjust and punitive practice such as in the imprisonment of the innocent; and uncivil conduct towards to those who critique the SBS discourse.
Journal of Social Criminology, 2010
The paper outlines and assesses some of the major responses to the problems surrounding expert wi... more The paper outlines and assesses some of the major responses to the problems surrounding expert witnesses in the Justice System. Most of the solutions that are
proposed in current literature and that have been implemented thus far, fall within what
may broadly be termed a Quality Assurance approach. This paper argues that the
Quality Assurance approach does not adequately grapple with the deeper
epistemological and sociological problems facing the Justice System. There is a need to
approach the problem from a broader angle of jurisprudence. The problem of expert
witnesses belongs in a larger context of questions about what is knowledge and what
aims do we want social institutions to serve.
Parliamentary Paper, 2004
This paper addresses the questions: what is wrong with the Child Protection system? What are the ... more This paper addresses the questions: what is wrong with the Child Protection system? What are the indicators of the need for change? Which changes will solve the problem?
In this paper, I intend to argue that the Child Protection system is harming children, families and communities. The failure to appropriately act on genuine reports of abuse and the pursuit of false allegations, are seen as two sides of the same coin. This is the problem of too many false positives and false negatives. The causes are inter-related and the solutions must focus on both sides of the problem.
Argument & Critique, 2015
The Open Letter on Shaken Baby Syndrome and Courts has been prepared under the auspices of the In... more The Open Letter on Shaken Baby Syndrome and Courts has been prepared under the auspices of the International Public Health Research Group [IPHRG]. It was developed from initial drafts by Bill Bache and Charles Pragnell. Final drafting and editing was by Dr Lynne Wrennall, Executive Director of the International Public Health Research Group and the Managing Editor of Argument & Critique. The process of writing the letter has relied on the published research in the field, much of it, published research by the signatories to the letter. The process has also drawn on the iterative contribution of insights by the signatories to the letter. For the purpose of developing the letter, The International Public Health Research Group has functioned as a Delphi group, advising on the process and content relating to the letter