I've seen a couple of you recently who were wrestling with the assignment on Welfare Systems.
Can I just remind you that the Dawsonera e-book catalogue is worth a look for this one.
If nothing particular is jumping out at you then try the search term 'welfare state' instead.
I promise you there are relevant books in there somewhere.
However, if you've reached the point of throwing the laptop out of the window then contact me for help. And do it soon because I'm off next week for a week of extended xbox sessions and planting fruit in the newly weeded allotment.
Monday 18 July 2011
Proposal for domestic abuse register.
I heard a discussion on the Today programme this morning concerning Clare's Law.
Former Home Office minister, Hazel Blears, is fronting a campaign to make it legal for police to share information with anyone who is concerned about an individual having convictions for domestic abuse. It is thought that it would be used by, for example, a woman beginning a new relationship with a man who exhibits unexpected violent behaviour to ascertain whether that man has previous convictions against women.
The campaign has been named after Clare Wood, who was murdered by an offender with a history of violence against women.
I suspect the immediate reaction of most people to this campaign would be that this is a good thing. However, the debate touches on issues around who will have access and how this information will be shared.
You can find more information on the history of this story on the BBC website.
Former Home Office minister, Hazel Blears, is fronting a campaign to make it legal for police to share information with anyone who is concerned about an individual having convictions for domestic abuse. It is thought that it would be used by, for example, a woman beginning a new relationship with a man who exhibits unexpected violent behaviour to ascertain whether that man has previous convictions against women.
The campaign has been named after Clare Wood, who was murdered by an offender with a history of violence against women.
I suspect the immediate reaction of most people to this campaign would be that this is a good thing. However, the debate touches on issues around who will have access and how this information will be shared.
You can find more information on the history of this story on the BBC website.
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Google Chrome is in a mood.
If you use Firefox or Internet Explorer then ignore this post.
My advice would be walk the dog/stroke the cat (delete as appropriate).
If you use Google Chrome (like me) then a word of warning. Basically, it's a bit twitchy at the moment and if you're using it to access any of the electronic resources then it may not be wholly reliable. If you find screens or links aren't opening properly then try a different browser: my advice would be go for Firefox.
My advice would be walk the dog/stroke the cat (delete as appropriate).
If you use Google Chrome (like me) then a word of warning. Basically, it's a bit twitchy at the moment and if you're using it to access any of the electronic resources then it may not be wholly reliable. If you find screens or links aren't opening properly then try a different browser: my advice would be go for Firefox.
Thursday 7 July 2011
Would you mind if I recommended a book?
I can't remember the last time I recommended a book to any of you but this one seems appropriate.
In honour of the news today involving The News of the World being unceremoniously wound up I'd like to suggest a book on sociology and the mass media. It's called Power Without Responsibility and is utterly brilliant from start to finish. The most recent edition is 2009 and is available as an ebook (don't let that put you off!) which you can link to from here.
There. Job done. Expect my next book recommendation in around 2013!
In honour of the news today involving The News of the World being unceremoniously wound up I'd like to suggest a book on sociology and the mass media. It's called Power Without Responsibility and is utterly brilliant from start to finish. The most recent edition is 2009 and is available as an ebook (don't let that put you off!) which you can link to from here.
There. Job done. Expect my next book recommendation in around 2013!
The Times warns of 'social worker apathy' and adoption.
If any of you break stuff after reading the title of the post then please don't send me the bill - I'm just doing my bit by highlighting the issues. And remember I'm on your side.
The Times (you know-the newspaper run by that oh so nice Mr Murdoch?) has been running a campaign for a while now to make adoption easier. Well the government this week appointed Martin Narey, former Bernado's boss, as 'adoption Czar'. His first act has been to produce an overview of the problems which the adoption service currently faces and The Times has used this to highlight what they refer to as 'social worker apathy'.
You may think that this isn't a great week to be publicising a moral campaign in a newspaper owned by News Corp and you may be right, but any of you dealing with children in the care system will probably be interested in the outcomes.
Because The Times is pay-per-view online I cannot provide a link straight to the articles but you can see them all by using our newspaper database called Newsbank. I used the keyphrase, "adoption czar" to find relevant results. If you need any help with using Newsbank then just ask.
The Times (you know-the newspaper run by that oh so nice Mr Murdoch?) has been running a campaign for a while now to make adoption easier. Well the government this week appointed Martin Narey, former Bernado's boss, as 'adoption Czar'. His first act has been to produce an overview of the problems which the adoption service currently faces and The Times has used this to highlight what they refer to as 'social worker apathy'.
You may think that this isn't a great week to be publicising a moral campaign in a newspaper owned by News Corp and you may be right, but any of you dealing with children in the care system will probably be interested in the outcomes.
Because The Times is pay-per-view online I cannot provide a link straight to the articles but you can see them all by using our newspaper database called Newsbank. I used the keyphrase, "adoption czar" to find relevant results. If you need any help with using Newsbank then just ask.
Monday 4 July 2011
Early Intervention: Smart Investment, Massive Savings.
I did warn you in my last post that there's been loads of reports written recently.
This one is too important to ignore so apologies if my last few posts are a bit similar. I may be forced to have a word with David Cameron this week and see if he can spread things out a bit in future.
And then I can get back to sharing funny things my kids say.
Anyhow. This new report (a mere 120 pages so they're hardly trying this time) is on the proposed benefits of early interventions. I suspect the media are going to ignore this one in favour of Dilmot, but this is equally important if you're studying 'early years' development.
The Early Interventions report is chaired by Graham Allen of the Intervention Review Team and takes an evidence based approach to measuring the effectiveness of interventions. I know a few of you are looking specifically at this issue for your dissertations so I hope you come across this report, one way or another.
This one is too important to ignore so apologies if my last few posts are a bit similar. I may be forced to have a word with David Cameron this week and see if he can spread things out a bit in future.
And then I can get back to sharing funny things my kids say.
Anyhow. This new report (a mere 120 pages so they're hardly trying this time) is on the proposed benefits of early interventions. I suspect the media are going to ignore this one in favour of Dilmot, but this is equally important if you're studying 'early years' development.
The Early Interventions report is chaired by Graham Allen of the Intervention Review Team and takes an evidence based approach to measuring the effectiveness of interventions. I know a few of you are looking specifically at this issue for your dissertations so I hope you come across this report, one way or another.
The Dilnot report.
Today saw the release of another really important report for any of you studying adult social care.
The Dilnot report suggests significant changes in how social care is organised and funded and will probably form a big part of your classroom discussions next year. And for those of you with older parents this may even affect you personally. My Mum has dementia and has been in a home since Christmas, so at some point I'll be going through the report to see what affect this has on her care.
Quite honestly, I've only read the summary so far, but even without going into detail you can quickly see this is going to lead to big changes.
Is it just me or has there been a lot of governmental reports issued in the last few months?
It certainly seems that way.
The Dilnot report suggests significant changes in how social care is organised and funded and will probably form a big part of your classroom discussions next year. And for those of you with older parents this may even affect you personally. My Mum has dementia and has been in a home since Christmas, so at some point I'll be going through the report to see what affect this has on her care.
Quite honestly, I've only read the summary so far, but even without going into detail you can quickly see this is going to lead to big changes.
Is it just me or has there been a lot of governmental reports issued in the last few months?
It certainly seems that way.
Sunday 3 July 2011
The Observer prints leaked letter on welfare reforms.
I blogged on Wednesday about the Shelter report warning of a projected rise in homelessness as a result of proposed changes in housing benefit. Well things have now got very interesting thanks to a leak from within the office of Eric Pickles, communities secretary. The letter is printed, in full, in today's Observer. The most worrying statistic is a projected 40,000 families losing their homes as a result of changes to welfare.
This whole story is building up into the most enormous row. I do wonder if this is going to be the policy that'll pull the coalition apart. What's worrying for the government is that major document leaks have usually been a very bad sign of disunity within departments.
Can't help but think this story is shaping up to be one of those turning points and I'd be amazed if this is the last time I mention it here.
This whole story is building up into the most enormous row. I do wonder if this is going to be the policy that'll pull the coalition apart. What's worrying for the government is that major document leaks have usually been a very bad sign of disunity within departments.
Can't help but think this story is shaping up to be one of those turning points and I'd be amazed if this is the last time I mention it here.
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