I've been resisting the urge to mention the Welfare Reform Bill for a while. Partly because it's a long way from concluding but mostly because I'm having trouble understanding it all.
As I write this it has been defeated six times in the House of Lords, but this doesn't seem to be fazing MP's who have already said all the amendments will be overturned when it reaches the House of Commons. So the next parliamentary debate will be tomorrow and I promise to watch Newsnight in an attempt to understand it better.
In the meantime, here is Maria Miller, Work and Pensions minister, being interviewed about proposed changes to the CSA which was one of the proposals which the Lords has delayed.
Oh, one more thing. I watched the 1st episode of the series following the newly qualified Social Worker last night and thought it was captivating. If you watched I'd be curious to know what you thought of it.
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Monday 30 January 2012
New TV programme on child protection
This one is a gift for anyone studying any aspect of child protection.
Tonight (Monday 31st January) is the first part of a three part series following a newly qualified social worker in her day to day activities. It's on BBC 2 at 9pm, but if this post doesn't reach you in time then you've always got BBC's iplayer as back up. There's some information on what the show contains (and how it got made at all) on the BBC website.
If you want to reference the programme in the future then ask me and I'll explain the format.
Let's hope the show is sympathetic to those who have to make tough decisions concerning children and families.
Tonight (Monday 31st January) is the first part of a three part series following a newly qualified social worker in her day to day activities. It's on BBC 2 at 9pm, but if this post doesn't reach you in time then you've always got BBC's iplayer as back up. There's some information on what the show contains (and how it got made at all) on the BBC website.
If you want to reference the programme in the future then ask me and I'll explain the format.
Let's hope the show is sympathetic to those who have to make tough decisions concerning children and families.
Thursday 26 January 2012
'Carers in Crisis' programme.
Hello. The only reason I'm blogging about this programme now is because one of you sent me an email and said is this worth a post? And the answer is a definite 'yes' in this case. The radio programme in question is an exploration of the various hoops that foster carers are required to jump through in order to offer their services.
It's a pretty sober look at the problems which can be faced by adults wishing to take on the role of fostering children. Just remember it's one account of a very complicated issue.
One more thing. I'd be very glad to receive other recommendations from you (it could be TV or radio programmes, even websites maybe?) which you'd like me to promote here. I can't guarantee I'll agree to share everything you send, but I'd be glad to get your suggestions nonetheless.
Monday 23 January 2012
The Cochrane database.
I've suggested before that reading the descriptions on the list of databases for your suject is a good idea. If you've ever done it you may have noticed that the Cochrane database is described as 'Gold Standard Research on Healthcare'. And that's exactly what it is.
It's a collection of evidence based systematic reviews on a wide range of health topics. Many of these are concerning clinical drug trials so will probably not be relevant to your subject area, but there are also reviews looking at illegal drug misuses, mental health issues, childhood obesity and child protection.
If you're lucky enough to find what you're looking for don't be surprised if the reports turn out to be quite big (100 pages is common) so you'll have plenty of references you can track down too.
One more thing; Cochrane isn't from Ebsco so you'll need to save what you find the old fashioned way with the save icon.
And that's it. You can start searching it from here! If you want to know more then you get hold of me via the usual methods.
It's a collection of evidence based systematic reviews on a wide range of health topics. Many of these are concerning clinical drug trials so will probably not be relevant to your subject area, but there are also reviews looking at illegal drug misuses, mental health issues, childhood obesity and child protection.
If you're lucky enough to find what you're looking for don't be surprised if the reports turn out to be quite big (100 pages is common) so you'll have plenty of references you can track down too.
One more thing; Cochrane isn't from Ebsco so you'll need to save what you find the old fashioned way with the save icon.
And that's it. You can start searching it from here! If you want to know more then you get hold of me via the usual methods.
Wednesday 18 January 2012
Hooray. Wikipedia is dead - for a day.
I know you don't put Wikipedia in your references, but you may well use it now and again to look up some background material for assignments.
Well not today you're not, because right now it looks like this.
If you want the background to this story then the BBC have done quite well to unpick the relevant details.
I don't really hate Wikipedia, I just think the people behind it have a hugely overblown opinion of themselves.
What they're mostly doing is having the longest argument in history but with fancy typewriters thrown in.
And 24 hours without that won't hurt anybody.
Well not today you're not, because right now it looks like this.
If you want the background to this story then the BBC have done quite well to unpick the relevant details.
I don't really hate Wikipedia, I just think the people behind it have a hugely overblown opinion of themselves.
What they're mostly doing is having the longest argument in history but with fancy typewriters thrown in.
And 24 hours without that won't hurt anybody.
Tuesday 17 January 2012
The National Student Survey
It may be the 17th of January already but happy new year. Sorry I've been a bit quiet since Christmas, but things have been somewhat hectic. I'm hoping 2012 calms down soon and I hope 2012 is kind and productive for you too.
This post is just to remind final year students of the importance of voting in the Nation Student Survey (NSS) this month.
Simply, my interest is in all of your experiences in using the library - that would include everything from the books on the shelves to the training and support you've received from me, and the survey is your chance to get those experiences recorded and seriously affect how the university is viewed in the future.
So if you know how things could be improved this is where you get to tell us, but equally if you feel that Learning Resources has supported you well in the past 2 and a bit years we really need you to tell us that too.
So here is the NSS survey - it'll be the most fun you have filling in a form all day. Promise.
This post is just to remind final year students of the importance of voting in the Nation Student Survey (NSS) this month.
Simply, my interest is in all of your experiences in using the library - that would include everything from the books on the shelves to the training and support you've received from me, and the survey is your chance to get those experiences recorded and seriously affect how the university is viewed in the future.
So if you know how things could be improved this is where you get to tell us, but equally if you feel that Learning Resources has supported you well in the past 2 and a bit years we really need you to tell us that too.
So here is the NSS survey - it'll be the most fun you have filling in a form all day. Promise.
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