A Happy Christmas to all.

Today is my last day until 9th January, so I just wanted to say that I hope you have a good break and also find the time to do any academic stuff that's required.

Thanks to all of you that have read and interacted with the blog by sending messages and replying to requests. If my postings appear somewhat random at times it's because they are, but enough of you seem to like the approach so there'll be more of the same next year.

I hope 2012 is kind to you and that you're successful in your continued studies.

Alan

New e-book on the coalition government.

An e-book I ordered a while back to support any assignments based around the recent Conservative/Liberal  coalition is now available. I don't think it's on any of your reading lists yet, but it looks pretty good.

Access it through Dawsonera as usual (if Dawsonera is timing you out after 15 minutes of inactivity, be sure to click something on screen now and again which should stop this happening) and I look forward to seeing the statistics next week as to how many of you used it.

Reading the Riots: Full Report

As promised, here is the full findings of the investigation into the London riots co-authored by The Guardian, The London School of Economics and with support from Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

As always, examine the methodology, the tone, the threads and the summary carefully before coming to any of your own conclusions.

Panorama: The Truth About Adoption

This took me by surprise last night but there was a programme on BBC1 following 6 children awaiting adoption.

It focusses on the length of time the process takes and the recent increase in children being removed from their birth families - a legacy of the baby P case.

According to BBC's i-Player the programme will be available for a year (?) and just to make it absolutely clear you can reference it without having a copy saved.

For the sake of further clarity, this is what the format would look like in your reference list:

• Title of Programme (in italics) 
• Year of transmission (in round brackets)
• Name of channel
• Date of transmission (day/month)

The in text reference would just need to be (Panorama: The Truth About Adoption, 2011).

So now that's all clear, next stop iPlayer!

Possible changes to domestic abuse law.

I must admit I didn't know the current domestic abuse law was even under discussion, but this morning I heard a radio debate which said the government is considering whether to add 'psychological abuse' to the behaviours which count as domestic abuse.

I'm sure you've some experience of debating and hearing such issues, but the piece features an interview with a woman who was both physically and psychologically abused by her partner.

The interview is about 11 minutes in length and can be found on the Today Programme website.

Role Play resources

Occasionally I do things so you don't have to.

Let me explain. It came to my attention that we were somewhat lacking in books on how to conduct a role play. So I looked at what was available to add to stock. The answer was a frustrating 'not much' unless you fancy a career as a drama teacher. And who in their right mind wants to be a drama teacher?

So instead I turned to YouTube and here's where it got seriously weird.

Do me a favour? Don't type role-play into YouTube. It's not good.

When I'd finally recovered I tried again by typing 'role play' and added 'social work' as a safer option and it actually found something suitable. So although it's not ideal, if you want to look at some other people pretending to be clients/practitioners have a look at a couple of hundred of examples from YouTube to garner some ideas of what's expected.

Reading the Riots

Many of you have been waiting for some academic analysis of the Summer riots in the UK. I know this because you've been looking for such analysis in some of my training sessions, largely without success.

But that's soon to change as The Guardian, in conjunction with The London School of Economics (LSE) is about to publish a major report on December 14th looking into the causes of the riots called Reading the Riots. The Guardian today has a pre-report summing up of how the research was carried out and who was involved.

One more thing. Assuming this reaches your inbox in time, it might be worth watching Newsnight live tonight (Monday) on BBC2 at 10:30pm (remember that BBC iplayer is always an option too); they will also be covering the riots and broadcasting interviews with some of the young people involved.

Statistics published concerning UK based 'honour violence'

The Guardian reported this morning on a freedom of information request obtained from the Iranian and Kurdish Womens' Rights Organisation (IKWRO) concerning the reported number of 'honour violence' incidents in the UK.

The 39 police forces who were able to provide figures reported nearly 3000 incidents in 2010 alone. The Guardian, along with other support groups, have speculated that the actual number of incidents may be much higher due to an unwillingness to seek help. Whilst this seems likely, remember that conjecture doesn't usually make for a great dissertation.

I know students have come to me in the past to ask for advice on how to tackle this dreadful subject as a dissertation and have been hindered by a lack of statistical data. I hope the work that the IKRWO have carried out goes some way to readdressing this stumbling block.

A final word about referencing. Well, until the next time...

Referencing. It's a bit like cleaning the toilet or family get togethers - it's not pleasant but we have to do it now and again.

I am aware that I confused a few people recently by suggesting you could reference a TV programme (the confusion came from whether you needed to have a recording of said TV programme - and according to our Big Book of Referencing it turns out you don't), for which I apologise.

Look. Nobody likes referencing - well apart from one librarian I once met on a course who said a well constructed reference list was 'beautiful', but I suspect he needed help. I don't think anybody 'well adjusted' likes referencing. Just remember that anything can be referenced, be it an email, a tweet or a TV programme.

The bulk of your references will come from books (if you're year 1) or books and journals (if you're year 2, 3 or above), but there's nothing wrong with including other material so long as it's relevant to the overall point you're making. If you're really unsure about referencing try and secure yourself a copy of Cite Them Right which is the book I use.

But if you find yourself reading it for enjoyment only two explanations present themselves;

1) It's 3am, you've been awake for 30 hours straight and you've lost all sense of proportion
or
2) Your inner librarian is winning the battle for your soul.

I'll let you decide which scenario is more terrifying.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation reports on the 'forgotten' white working class.

As you may have heard me say before in training sessions, I'm a big fan of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). They publish well researched, robust and interesting reports which are highly respected by the sector. Their latest deals with the contentious issue of white working class attitudes towards community cohesion.

It may not make easy reading, but it is revealing so feel free to take a look at the full report or watch the BBC video covering the report's release.

Email is dead. Apparently.

I haven't blogged about technology for a while, but email is something that affects all of us and the latest proclamation by the inventor of Facebook predicting that email is soon to be replaced I found intriguing.

My work email regularly reaches 90% capacity (resulting in warning messages telling me to delete something  or else!), my personal Gmail account which I've had for about 10 years has over 5000 unread messages, as well as a work Gmail which exists somewhere, unloved and undisturbed.

So the news that email as a form is dying doesn't quite have the ring of truth about it when I encounter my own weight in BREO messages on a daily basis. I've had conversations with students who unsurprisingly are struggling under the sheer number of messages they receive and developing strategies to manage electronic correspondence can certainly make studying less stressful.

The evidence that emailing is on the wane is due to a decline in the number of emails sent by young people, who prefer to communicate via social networking sites. This may be true but with 3.1 billion email accounts currently live (it's expected to be 4.1 billion by 2015) email is clearly not going to be superseded any time soon.

And the irony of writing a blog post about email overkill which probably arrived to you by email is not lost on me, I assure you. My messages, as difficult as it is to admit it, cannot be separated from the overall issue.

Right. I'm going to try and get on with making those training videos I've promised you... although I suppose I'd better answer these emails first...

Topics for training videos.

I need help. This may not come as a surprise to any of you but it needs saying.

When I saw some of you in groups recently I mentioned that I was about to start making some simple training videos. Well I'm hoping to start playing with the software in the next couple of weeks. So I thought it only fair to ask you what you'd like the videos to be about?

These videos will be 'click here, now click here' style presentations. They won't be my usual 10 minute rambles about why YouTube videos make me cry, or how anonymity is killing online communication.

So what Id like you to do is put a comment at the bottom of this blog post. So to do that you'll need to visit the actual blog website which you can do by following this link. You don't have to put your name on the comment, all I want is a sentence from you about a library resource topic suitable for a 3 or 4 minute training video. It could be about access or searching or anything to do with finding resources.

Below every post I write there's a line that says 'posted by Alan' and then the time and then (usually) 0 comments. Click on the comments bit and tell me what you want.

Now if you really don't want to do it as a comment I will of course be glad of feedback via email as well. I just saw this as an opportunity to 'encourage' you to use the comments options on posts as well as the more typical email feedback.

The Criminal Brain

I was listening to the trailer for a radio show this morning on how some scientists are trying to 'cure' the criminal brain. It brought to mind the clip below from Frankenstein, where the pathologist is comparing a criminal brain with a 'normal' brain.

The radio programme, part of a month long series focusing on the human brain, is called 'Brain Science and the Law' and looks at the evidence for criminal behaviour being 'hard wired' and therefore touching on big philosophical questions relating to free will. The programme will also look into how brain scans could be used in court proceedings.

The show is on Radio 4 today (Tuesday, 15th) but you'll be able to catch it on the BBC iplayer listen again for the next week.

As someone who studied brain physiology for my psychology degree I find these ideas quite intriguing, especially when you hear debates in the media touching on criminal behaviour being passed on genetically.
Have a listen and let me know what you think?

Thinking Allowed

I'm a bit embarrassed.

I really should have mentioned 'Thinking Allowed' to you ages ago, but it kept slipping my mind. Anyway, I'm putting it right now. 'Thinking Allowed' is a programme on Radio 4 about new developments and research findings in the social sciences. When Radio 4 came to UoB a couple of years back 'Thinking Allowed' was one of the shows recorded on campus. The photo above is proof of this happening. It's fronted by the quite marvellous Laurie Taylor and if you ask me nicely I might even tell you about the time he spoke at a librarian conference I attended.
Yes, I'm afraid there really are librarian conferences.

The great thing about 'Thinking Allowed' and indeed many other Radio 4 programmes, is that there's a massive archive available online. The Thinking Allowed' archive is divided into the following searchable sections:

1. Sex and Death,
2. Politics and Economics, 
3. Work and Play, 
4. Men and Women, 
5. Crime and Deviancy, 
6. Race and Class 
7. Culture and Belief. 

There's some brilliant stuff in the archive. If you like what you hear and would like to subscribe to the podcast of the show, just email me and I'll explain the procedure.

All babies count

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) today released a report which will ruffle a few feathers. It concerns the use of 'early intervention' in cases of abuse or neglect.

As always, when approaching research, you need to think about the old favourites 'subjectivity versus objectivity'; the inherent issues of bias and what the research is actually trying to say. The NSPCC wears its heart on its sleeve - it's a charity whose primary purpose is to raise awareness of issues relating to child welfare. This clearly does not make it impartial, so your job, should you decide to include the report in an assignment, is to carefully read the methodology and make a judgement on whether it's robust or flawed.

I suspect the phrase from the report which will get the media talking is mention of a 'toxic trio' of parental risk factors - mental illness, substance misuse and domestic violence. I'd keep eyes and ears open for some lively debates over the next couple of days.

So the report is called All Babies Count and if you want to discuss any issues related to using (or indeed not using) the report in an essay, you know where I am.

A word about words.

I talk to you a lot about words; about getting the keywords right, about putting "speech marks around anything that moves", about sppelling thigs prooperly, about using keywords imaginatively and being succinct.

One issue that's come up a lot recently is the changing nature of words. Because you're all searching platforms (quick search box, database or web) of one kind or another this is an issue for all students.

Every time you search for information on a topic where the terminology changes quickly, such as race, sexuality, mental and physical illness or equality, then be aware that you might need to use search terms that are not currently acceptable. You really don't have to go far back in time before coloured replaces black or non-white, homosexual is more prominent than gay and so on.

Of course ultimately it's your choice on what keywords you choose for any search, but don't assume that just because the terminology isn't the most recent that the research is no good.

There. And I managed to get though this whole post without mentioning political correctness. Oh blast.
  

New research examining the 'NEET' problem.

It was pure coincidence, but I asked a group of students today what assignment they were 'supposed' to be working on and they mentioned an essay on the NEET (young people 'Not in Education, Employment or Training') issue.

Then this evening I was playing catch up on some listen again radio coverage and the NEET issue just happens to have been discussed in three reports on the Today programme. They're only short (about 3 minutes each) and bear in mind the links won't work forever but right now you can listen to them from here, here and here.

There's also been new work published on the NEET issue. Called 'The Forgotten Half', it examines, from a dual centre right/centre left perspective how the 50% of young people who are not destined for university are expected to cope in the short and medium term. Whilst the report isn't aiming to be objective, do bear in mind that it's coming from a political think tank. That doesn't mean you can't use it in an assignment, but it is important you acknowledge any bias in the writing style.

The unashamedly left-wing Guardian acknowledged the new report today which would suggest it's unlikely to be too far from the centre left ground.

As always, if you need help with referencing anything in assignments, just ask.

Referencing a TV programme.

Several students have contacted me after watching the Future State of Welfare with John Humphreys.

Firstly, I'm glad it was useful. This post addresses how to reference the programme in an essay.

This link here will take you to the referencing guidelines for film and TV programmes. Just copy the format for TV programmes and you'll be fine. Just remember that you need a mixture of references (books, e-books, journals etc) to write a good piece of work.

And if you missed the programme when it was first broadcast remember you can still watch it on BBC's iplayer until November 3rd.

Report highlights high number of ethnic minorities in young offender institutions

This post is aimed at anyone who's studying criminology or issues relating to young people and the criminal justice system.

A new report published jointly by the Chief Inspector of Prisons and the Youth Justice Board has shown that nearly 4 out of every 10 (39%) young offenders are black or minority ethnic. This figure has risen from 23% in 2006 and includes an alarming increase in young Muslim men being incarcerated.

If the full report seems somewhat daunting (ideally my advice would be to read the Foreword, Introduction and Conclusion) at 100+ pages then The Guardian has provided a good summary of the main points.

As always, if you'd like more information on the methodology of the report or any related information, just ask.

Researching the Welfare State question.

Occasionally when you're given assignments and projects to write it happens to coincide with the issue in question being particularly in the public eye. The welfare state is just such a topic at the moment. Whether you're currently studying the welfare state or not, I would like to recommend a couple of things which may help with getting to grips with what can be a tricky concept.

The first is a programme about the future of the welfare state being broadcast on BBC2 this Thursday (27th October) at 9pm. It's presented by John Humphreys, one of our more combative political journalists so it should be interesting TV. You can find a preview of the show on the BBC website.

Whilst you could reference a TV programme in an assignment if you wished, I would recommend reading a few books as well! We have a good selection of e-books that cover different aspects of the welfare state, but one in particular is well suited to an assignment asking you to compare welfare systems of different countries. 'Welfare States and the Future (2005) by Kurian and Vivekanandan is a good starting point for such an undertaking, although do bear in mind that it was written before the coalition government came to power. Click here to access the e-book login screen.

Let me know if you'd like more information on anything to do with getting the best from the e-books or referencing everything from a TV programme to a telephone conversation - I recently had to find out how to reference a Facebook update so now I know for certain that anything is possible!

A milestone worth marking.

Compared to the massive figures that get banded about in relation to huge internet hits (381,000,000 views for a baby biting his brother on YouTube or Gaga and her 15,000,000 followers on Twitter) 500 subscribers on a library blog might not sound like much.

But with your help in the inductions this year I now have comfortably broken the 500 subscribers barrier and I thought it worth celebrating. I consider the sharing of information with you to be a massively important part of what I do at the university and the blog gives me that opportunity. Therefore as a result I decided to reward the 500th subscriber with £10 of extra print credits. It has already been downloaded to their account.

So congratulations Eunice Asimba on being subscriber number 500 and I hope it comes in handy!

Survival Tips for Social Work Students.

As well as blogging myself I also subscribe to a number of other blogs that interest me.

One of these sources is the Joe Public blog, which you can find in the Society section of The Guardian. It covers any number of issues within the broad remit of 'social care'. You can sign up to it using something called an RSS feed. If you'd like to know more about RSS feeds then here's some information.

Anyhoo, I thought this post for new social work students jumped out as something I should really pass on to you.

So I am.

Shelter report highlights 'unaffordable' private rent increases.

You may well have heard about Shelter the housing charity in relation to their campaigns to help the homeless. However, Shelter also carries out research in other areas of the housing market. One such area is the private renting sector and how rent increases are outstripping wages.

The quality and quantity of affordable housing impacts on many other areas of social policy so this is something that I would strongly suggest you take a look at. The report summary gives you a short overview and from there you can access the full report by following the link called 'Private Rent Watch Report 1'.

This will be the first in a series of reports commissioned by Shelter leading up to Christmas.

New report on future household poverty.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), who I've mentioned before, have just released a new report on projected household poverty in the UK. To say their projection is bleak is Olympic standard under-statement.

It makes pretty grim reading but if you're interested in how cutting public finance and wages are likely to affect the so-called 'squeezed middle' then the report is well worth reading. If you can't face the full report then the BBC have a typically well presented summary of the debates complete with video and audio interviews.

And in answer to some of your questions from the last few days -YES this is the kind of academic report you can  reference in an assignment.

A hello to all the new subscribers.

Hello again.

Thanks for paying attention, clicking where I told you to in the training room and subscribing to my blog.

You've done your bit and now it's up to me to do mine.

There'll be plenty of news worth sharing in the next few weeks but for now can I direct you below to a video I made recently with my boss Jo Myhill. It's designed to guide you in the tricky decisions of which books to choose for your assignments.

In the video I play the part of a slightly naive student and Jo has a bit more of an idea than I do.
Which isn't hard.
Please remember I'm acting. Just.

New adoption figures released.

I know there are a number of students who are interested in issues surrounding adoption in the UK. The release of new adoption figures this week resulted in dismay in many parts of the media, as the statistics suggested a fall in the number of babies and children being adopted.

In amongst the general hubbub of strained and opinionated voices I enjoyed the approach of Polly Curtis in the Guardian. Her online debate ran for several hours on Thursday as people added statistics and opinions to her live Reality Check blog. It's fascinating and I'd love to steal the idea and use it here one day!

In addition, there was a piece on the adoption debate on the Today programme. It's worth sharing as it touches on the specific sticking point of black children being adopted by white families, something I know several students have made the subjects of their dissertations in recent years.

"The healing power of lust"

Firstly, notice the quotation marks in the title. I'll explain the title shortly.

I'm a white bloke. You may have noticed. My parents were white and their parents were white. As far as I know my genetic make up is wholly unremarkable. The reason for mentioning this is that the BBC are about to run a series of programmes on BBC2 concerning different aspects of what it means to be mixed-race.

There's a three part series coming up called Mixed Race Britain as well as programmes about specific aspects of growing up mixed-race. And in case you're still wondering the title of this post refers to something I heard Steven Jones, a world renowned expert in genetics, say this morning as a trailer for the series. He was interviewed, along with a woman who is mixed-race on the Today programme this morning. It's a great interview.

One more thing. If you're interested in reading more about issues around race we've loads of e-books on the subject. You probably know how to access the e-books already but if you need help you know where I am.

Google+

I haven't mentioned any new Web developments much recently. That's mainly because everything I've come across was just too sad to share - even for me! But now Google+ has arrived and it might just change things a bit.
Google+ is Google's attempt to muscle in on Facebook's action. The big selling point is that with Facebook you only have one category of contacts-you have to call everyone 'friends'. So everyone gets equal billing. Your sister, wife and some bloke you met once at a party 8 years ago who you got on with quite well are now all 'friends'.

Google+ offers more flexibility. You can customise different areas of your Google+ homepage and keep different areas of your social life separate. So, in theory you could even use it to organise yourself around projects which require groupwork. And that area could be just for academic information sharing. It's all in the very early stages but I wouldn't be surprised if you see lots of changes on Facebook in the next 6 months as they decide to steal lots of Google's features. That's what usually happens.

If you feel like learning a bit more about it, Rory Cellan-Jones is the technology correspondent for the BBC and he wrote a succinct piece about Google+ yesterday. Alternatively, there are already 1000's of video reviews on YouTube.

We've got a new psychology database.

It's called PsycARTICLES and I have to say it's a pretty impressive thing.

Before you email me to point out you're not studying psychology, can I just mention that amongst the 78 completely full-text journals are a number that cross over into a likely area of interest; mental health, child development, family studies and health are all represented.

It's another database that comes via ebsco so if you've created your own account you'll be able to sign in and use the folder as normal.
If you'd like a tutorial on how to get the best from the databases or just a refresher be sure to email and ask.

UNICEF report concludes that kids favour parental attention over material wealth

When I looked this week at the UNICEF report on child well-being I was reminded of why I'd first decided to call this blog 'Bedtimes and Deadlines'. If you've never heard me explain, it was so named as an acknowledgement of the problems I've had since 2001 in making time for study, children, work and relationships.

When I was trying to finish off my teaching qualification this year EVERYBODY in our house suffered. I was grumpy, unreasonable and tired. More than once as an apology for being unable to play with my boys I'd get them something from Amazon rather than find the time to just sit down and play.

The new UNICEF report is a follow up study to their 2007 offering which placed children in the UK at the  bottom of a 'well being scale'. The 2007 sample concentrated on developed countries. The new report compares the well being of children from Sweden, Spain and the UK. It's qualitative with a sample size of 250 children aged between 8 and 13. The issues discussed centre on materialism, the working week, social inequality and factors arising from parenting styles.

As always with research, it is crucial to be critical. Never accept any findings at face value. That said, I do think that the report is worth half an hour of your time today.

Things Evan says: No 2...

On seeing me go in the fridge for a beer...

Evan: Daaa-aaad? I keep telling you that beer will make you fat. You'll get fat and then you won't be able to play tennis and then you'll be grumpy.

Thomas, aged 10, walking past: Evan, you talk rubbish. And anyway you shouldn't say fat, you should say obese.

Evan: Daaa-aad? Thomas says if you drink beer you'll be a beast.


Cue suppressed sniggering from the living room where my wife was listening.

Did you hear John Humphries' piece on Luton?

John Humphries has been in Luton interviewing people as part of a series of reports commemorating the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. The broader scope is investigating how attitudes have changed towards muslims since 2001. I'm not sure how long the audio will be live for so follow the link here soon if you want to listen to it.

I think we should start reading other people

Do you follow any other blogs? I've recently picked up a 'follower' who is a fellow blogger and it made me think I should probably show you how to search specifically for blogs online.

Blogging is colossal in scope and size. People will blog about anything. And I mean anything. I tend to dip in and out of the political blogosphere but there are many professionals, authors and theorists within the social sciences who maintain blogs.

The easiest way to purely search for blogs is to use the Google filter to exclude other web sites. Just try some keywords and see what you find. If you do come across somebody whose blog you think is particularly good then by all means let me know.

"And now on BBC1 we go live to the Old Bailey to cover the sentencing of Coldplay for crimes against music"

I've probably just alienated the vast majority of you reading this but I just can't stand Coldplay.

Anyway, I was reading this morning about the proposal to televise court proceedings and it got me thinking. I appreciate this won't be relevant to everybody, but anyone who's studying criminology or is likely to end up as a witness as part of their job may have an opinion. My concern would simply be that being filmed changes people's behaviour. Always. The X-Factor would be a wholly different experience without the cameras in there to whip people up into a big, lumpy frenzy.

The argument that it would demystify the legal process might well be true, but surely there'd be some negative effects along the way.
There was a nice debate yesterday I heard between Clive Anderson, TV personality and ex-barrister, and crime writer M.R. Hall which you listen to again via the Radio 4 website.
As always, this is purely my opinion. If you'd like some other opinions to read I'd recommend Torin Douglas's piece on the BBC website.

Finally, if you've ever observed court proceedings and are prepared to share it I'd love to read it as I've never been in a courtroom.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.

When I see you for the new induction sessions in October/November time my role will have changed a bit so I thought I'd give you some information now to explain how things are likely to pan out.

As you may know I currently support applied social studies and human resource management. Well from the middle of October my subject responsibilities are being adjusted.

I'll still be responsible for applied social studies, but I'm gaining the major addition of psychology. I'll also be gaining criminology and social care whilst giving up human resource management.

You're unlikely to notice any difference at all in how I support you, but I may decide to broaden the scope of the blog to include both social and psychological issues. Or I may keep the focus of this blog as it is and do something separate for the psychology students. If you've an opinion on this then tell me.

As a psychology graduate this is all quite exciting, although don't think for a second I'll be favouring psychology over applied social studies! Never fear, you've been brilliant in helping me get this blog off the ground and just generally lovely, so I won't be getting distracted by the bright lights and shiny things that the psychology department are bound to offer.

When does an overweight family become a news story?

I was coming in on the bus this morning and trying to think of a blogging topic when I heard the story of the family in Dundee who have been threatened with having their obese children taken away from them. Surely, there'd need to be more going on here than just allowing their children to become overweight? 


The Today website on Radio 4 is playing up at present so I can't link to it (they had an interview with Hilton Dawson, the chief executive of the British Association of Social Workers) but to give you a sense (if sense isn't entirely the wrong word...) of how The Telegraph has been commenting on the story take a look at this. Warning: It's liberal-baiting craziness from the Jeremy Clarkson school of sensitivity.


I've read social work guidelines on how children come to be removed from parents and I'm sure I remember that it's more complicated than just putting kids on a weighing machine. 
But that doesn't make a good headline, does it?

The Class Ceiling.

Good morning. How's thing?

Have been on holiday in Dorset with the family fossil-hunting and trying to avoid hypothermia, hence the lack of postings. I know the point of holidays is to 'get away from it all' but a cottage with no mobile signal, electricity that you could charitably call wilful and a TV with three channels is pretty far removed from our usual situation. It was great!
Anyway, I digress.

I'd like to recommend a radio programme from earlier this morning (Monday the 1st) on Radio 4.
Polly Toynbee is a journalist who writes for The Guardian with an interest in social justice and politics who's presenting a 2 part series on how class is still a massive indicator of a person's social attainment. There's some more information on the BBC website and the first part of the series is already on BBC's i-player.

As the first person from his family to go to university and as someone who regularly wrestles with the notion of what class even means ( I have great problems with the idea that a university education and love of the arts automatically imposes a middle-class status on an individual), I really enjoyed the first episode. Me and my wife have been having the class 'debate' for 12 years now. Next time you see me in the university stop me and ask who wins the argument!

40 year anniversary of Zimbardo's Stanford Prison experiment

Earlier this week I was talking to a student about an infamous social psychology experiment from the 1970's that 'went wrong'. By coincidence, yesterday the Today programme had a short piece about the fall out that resulted from the experiment. It still sounds quite shocking, even now. If nothing else the study shows the dangers of what can happen when research is badly designed. If we go deeper it may demonstrate something about how societal roles can shape behaviour, a much discussed topic at present after the recent social unrest.

The BBC today have also commemorated the experiment with some fresh insights from the people involved.

Bill Bratton: Supercop?

You'll have probably heard a lot in the last few days about this American policeman who's about to turn up and 'sort out' everything that's wrong with the criminal justice system. As always with these contentious issues, what we're told arrives in our eyes and ears through the prism of political ideologies, whether that message is mediated by The Guardian, Fox News or Radio 5. The message is rarely, if ever, neutral.

To give you a flavour of what Bill Bratton is all about here's a video showing his talk from last year at the Policy Exchange, a right-wing charity who attempt to influence government policy. He starts talking 8 minutes into the video if you want to skip the introductions. It's a long talk and I wouldn't expect you to watch it all, but if you manage 15 minutes you'll get a taste of why he's being courted by certain interest groups.

Reported link between abuse in childhood and adult depression.

Heard yesterday of a new piece of published work claiming that individuals who have experienced abuse as children are twice as likely to experience depressive episodes as adults compared to those without such a history of mistreatment. The study also found that abused adults do not respond well to drug or psychological treatments. This study is important both in its findings and in its scale (over 20,000 participants).

We haven't access to the full-text of this study as it's published in a journal we don't subscribe to. However, if you're a 3rd Year undergrad or an MA student interested in this study you could always order it as part of your free allocation of Inter Library Loans. For more information on how and what you can order have a look on the document supply page.

Or if you need advice on how to get the best from this free service contact me via the usual routes.

New look to the university website.

This is a simple 'don't panic' post because by the time you read this the library website will have a new look. The content will be pretty much the same, it's simply that some things may have moved around the screen slightly and it'll look different.

I'll be receiving some more training soon on how to write new content for the web pages and overall the change is a good thing. The new system is easier to use so this will give me the confidence to update the web pages more often.

Great piece on the rioting by Zoe Williams in the Guardian today.

I would encourage you to read this piece from Zoe Williams on the current riots.

I don't expect everyone to agree with the sentiments expressed, it would odd if we did, but her conclusions are pretty close to my own. We're getting a lot of polemical opinions thrown at us by a 24 media at present (anyone who saw Newsnight last night will know what I mean) so quietly expressed voices of reason are in danger of being drowned out by calls for water cannons and worse. No matter what your opinion is, if you'd like to express it then I'd like to read it. After all, many of you already work with young people and have experiences and insights that I will never have. I'm a librarian who just wants a quiet life.

And finally, to any of you working or living in areas that have been affected I simply hope you're okay,

Alan

Broom army in full effect.

I know it's too early for analysis of any meaningful sort, but in amongst all the hand wringing and negative comments about social media being used to organise the disturbances, below is my favourite twitter picture I've seen all day.

The clean up army this morning 

Why YouTube is great, pt 28.

An unashamedly light-hearted post highlighting one of my favourite exponents of YouTube.
Dan and Dan have been making satirical films on topical news stories and posting them to YouTube for a few years now. I think they're brilliantly inventive, clever and funny.

If you have a YouTube account you can subscribe to anyone you like so that when they post new videos you'll be sent the details, much like you do if you've subscribed here. It only takes a minute to create an account but if you'd like some help with it you know where I am.

'Generations Apart' on Radio 4

As I'm typing this a new series is being broadcast on Radio 4 that I think will be worth a listen (or a 'listen again' via the BBC website). The series is called Generations Apart and is presented by Fi Glover. The show is looking at the lives and concerns of people from two distinct generations, the 'baby-boomers' born after World War II and the so-called Generation Y born into the age of the Web. This is the kind of programme that Radio 4 does so well - a programme where the voice is the most important element.

I should probably promote Radio 4 even more than I do. As far as I'm concerned it's one of the pinnacles of British culture and has given me more pleasure and knowledge than any other medium. If you're looking for something related to your subject then try 'Thinking Allowed', a programme presented by Laurie Taylor who's a sociologist. He actually presented an episode of the show from UoB when Radio 4 toured some of their shows in 2009.


And remember that all these programmes are available to hear online for a limited period after they've been broadcast. I'll happily give you more recommendations if you're interested.

Marriage and children: any advantages?

I read a report a couple of weeks ago from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS)  on whether children within marriage do better educationally. This is a hugely contentious issue and broadly divides along right wing/ left wing lines although it's clearly more complicated than that. In America this is a particularly polarizing argument with the Tea Party at one of the debate and the more liberal wing of the Democrats at the other. I haven't looked for the writing of this post, but I'd bet any money that the Daily Mail will have plenty of past articles proposing marriage as the cure for antisocial behaviour, any number of educational failings and probably the state of the English football team too.  

Anyway. I liked this debate on the Today programme as it was about not only the issue of marriage but also what you do with the data to arrive at your conclusions. This is hugely important as any of you that have studied research methods will know all too well. I'm not sure how long the live link to the radio show will work so I'd better include a link to the report which the IFS wrote too.

I know the topic is controversial (as so many social science topics tend to be) but that at least makes for lively conversations. If you've the time for a 'lively conversation' you know where I am.

Do you use Internet Explorer? Then you're stupid! Apparently.

Don't get cross with me if you're an Internet Explorer user - I'm just reporting the facts.

A survey looking at the connection between your intelligence (via an IQ test) and the internet browser you use has revealed that people who use Internet Explorer are significantly less intelligent than those who use Chrome or Firefox. The research, published on the Aptiquant website, has been reported in the UK press (Daily Mail) and across many web-based news services.

There is only one small problem with the research - it's all made up. There was no study and Aptiquant, the company behind the study, doesn't exist. If ever a news story highlights the dangers of taking research at face value then this is it. The single person behind the hoax is called Tarandeep Gill and I would suggest you read his explanation of how he did it.

Don't be surprised if I use this story again in group training sessions in the future. It's a brilliant example of what happens when you don't examine the small print of a source. Being critical/sceptical is a skill not a shortcoming and I'd encourage you to challenge me on my sources and data every time I see you.

In fact how do you even know I'm telling you the truth right now...?

Cottage cheese, Israel and why my wife is fed up.

Hello.

Haven't blogged for a while due to a week spent largely on the allotment and then returning to work and encountering an email inbox that's threatening to eat me.

So. What have I missed? The university seems to be awfully busy considering it's August. I've got loads on and this is usually the time of year when I get to think about those jobs I've been putting off for ages-you know, the academic equivalent of ironing?

Anyway, this is the story that I heard today on Radio 4 and it is particularly relevant to my life right now. It might sound nuts that the price of cottage cheese can spark a housing crisis, but it probably pays to remember that a few crates of tea led to the American war of independence.

The availability of affordable housing is a growing issue in this country too. I live in key worker housing in MK (my wife is a teacher) and we found out this week that collectively we make just a few hundred pounds too much a year and aren't eligible for any of the government schemes to help first time buyers. It's very disappointing. If you're looking for research on how housing has an affect on many aspects of social well-being the best place to look is the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. A good example of such a report is this one from May, 2011.

I'm in work for the next two weeks before going on holiday again so if you need help with anything don't put it off. Before we know where we are it'll be the new term and then things will really be busy...

Welfare systems essay.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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 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.

Response by Shelter to George Osborne's housing benefit plans.

The homeless charity Shelter today released a report showing possible consequences of the proposed changes in housing benefit. The report shows projected increases in repossession 'hotspots' from around the UK.

Although this type of forecasting is always going to be tricky (lots of variables and the economy less than predictable) it is an interesting piece of work and should be read. The reliability of the statistics, (always look at the statistics!) commissioned by the Ministry of Justice, isn't the issue. Predicting future outcomes when factoring unemployment and mortgage rates into the mix is the hard part. That said, Shelter are one of those organisations who make me feel grateful for what I've got and willing to give a little bit of it away.

There have also been details on the BBC claiming  the majority of coalition councillors aren't happy at the proposed changes (the figures suggest about two thirds are against it), which is also fuelling calls for a U-turn.

TED Talks.

TED talks is a website showcasing video presentations by influential and inspiring speakers across a whole range of subjects. I concede that you're unlikely to find anything that you can stick in a reference list but that's not what TED (which stands for Technology, Education and Design) is about. The ideas that you'll find being presented here are a mixture of practical projects with measurable outcomes and BIG ideas to change the world.

I've come across a number of thinkers here that have lead me to view issues in a slightly, or in a few cases completely, different way.

Have an explore on the TED Website and contact me with details of any presentations that you enjoyed.

Yet another thing that myself and Lady gaga have in common...

As you're well aware certain professions come with, shall we say, baggage.

I have on occasion lied in polite conversation as to what I do for a living. This is usually because when I tell someone what I do for a living their response is something like, 'Oh it must be nice being surrounded by those lovely books'. When I point out that weeks can go by before I even stand near a book they look somewhat disappointed. So I often lie and tell people I'm a dolphin trainer instead. Unfortunately I met a marine biologist once and had to have an argument with her about the ethics of my job. My made-up job. It got complicated.

But now things have changed. I will no longer be slightly embarrassed about what I do.

Because if it's good enough for Lady Gaga, it'll do for me.

Yes, everyone's favourite barmy pop princess thinks of herself as a librarian. I'm not making this up. She said so in this interview.

So as a sign of solidarity, for all my future training sessions I'll be wearing a dress made of chopped up journals and half finished assignments. Gaga would understand.

Dad, can I try your new home-brew? Erm...

This parenting business is terribly confusing. For a treat when I was little (about the age of Thomas, my eldest now, so 9-ish) my Dad would let me have a sip of his beer at home. It wasn't a regular thing which made it more special.
I mention this because a) I make homebrew (badly) and last week I let Thomas have a sip. And he hated it, of course. Quite right too.

This coincided with the national treasure that is the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) releasing a major new report called Young People, Alcohol and Influences. Specifically, it looks at how the drinking behaviour of parents can influence their offspring. It's interesting stuff and as usual for the JRF, incredibly well researched.

Maybe I should give the younger one the same beer in the hope of putting him off all alcohol in the future too...

Kinship care.

I heard mention of a new report this morning that's been compiled by Bristol University.

It's examining how many children are looked after by family members other than their parents.

The full report is available online and is called Spotlight on Kinship Care.

The data comes from the 2001 Census which at present is the most up to date statistics available to compile this kind of report. What it almost certainly means though is that the number of households where children do not live with parents will have increased from the figures presented.

What would happen if the Web was turned off?

I've been brooding about the future again.

The Internet is now the longest continually running machine ever built. It's been going since 1991 without a break, although I suppose it's only been considered a big thing for about 10 years. So the question I'm asking is - what would happen if The Web was turned off for any reason?

I'm not trying to freak you out or anything (well, maybe a little bit) but I've been reading stuff recently about cyber-attacks, machines which only talk to other machines,   and how weird things are generally.

I'll explain what I mean. The picture opposite is of a beach in  Cornwall. Don't bother trying to find the exact location on a map because it isn't marked. This is the place where a giant undersea cable 'lands' in the UK from  the US. In the cable, which is buried beneath the surface, is at least some data from the Web which you (yes, YOU) will have accessed. The amount of data running through this cable is beyond my comprehension. Trust me, it's a lot.

If someone really wanted to take the whole Web down you'd need to attack it on many, many fronts but what's interesting is that Web experts are starting to have these conversations at all. It's set up to be what's known as a 'help healing ring' (one bit gets hurt and another bit takes over) but nobody really knows how self healing it is yet.

So my question is this - how reliant on the Web are you and how would it affect you if Google wasn't there tomorrow morning?

E-book reference collection

I bang on a lot about e-books and how they mostly do good in the world.

But there's a collection of e-books that I quite often forget to mention. We have a general e-reference collection that is quite handy for researching the basics of a topic. Think of it as a reliable version of Wikipedia (although you do miss out on the fun of watching angry contributors slag each other off!) and that just about sums it up.

Anyhow. It's called Credo and it's pretty good if you're looking for definitions of ideas, theories or theorists within the social sciences sphere.

Things Evan says: Number 1 in on ongoing series...

Evan: Daa-add, what was it like being a little boy in a world where there was no computers...

Me: {sigh}.

Evan:...or games...

Me: {sigh}.

Evan:...or electricity?


Unbelievable.

Letting Children Be Children

The tabloids and broadsheets alike are currently full of stories involving 8 year-old girls wanting to mimic Rihanna. My first and entirely selfish reaction to this whole debate is I'm glad I've got sons! That aside, there's some new reports I'd like to share.

The first thing is a piece of work written by Reg Bailey of the Mothers' Union. You can find the full report on the Dept of Education website. It's an interesting read and I'm not the slightest bit surprised that the media have highlighted it.

This Youtube clips sets the scene for the report.

Poor kids on TV.

I've got some catching up to do as I was away for a nice week with the family in Suffolk. Hence no postings for a while. I'll put that right this week.

Had such a nice time whilst away, so reading this article in the Guardian on Saturday was even harder than it would've been otherwise.

I find it hard to deal with this stuff at the best of times but I'll try and watch the TV programme tomorrow (the 7th) on BBC1 at 10:35.

Sharon Shoesmith wins appeal.

I'm going to need your help with this one.

I heard the news announced earlier that Sharon Shoesmith had won her appeal against her sacking by Haringey council. Many of you will have discussed the ramifications of the baby Peter case in class and no doubt in private too. I'm sure that you'll know more of the details surrounding this terribly sad series of events than I do.

I'd like to know what this means? For those of you wanting careers in those areas where the fallout from this case is still being felt, what are the possible outcomes?

The BBC currently have videos online with both Sharon Shoesmith and Ed Balls, who originally made the ruling against Mrs Shoesmith, along with a detailed report of today's outcome.

No doubt the newspapers will have in depth features on this story tomorrow too. If you need me to show you how to view them online then just contact me.

I would very much appreciate your opinions on this story so either leave a comment or email me a response if you feel the need.

NSPCC reports new child sexual abuse statistics.

After being granted a freedom of information act request, the NSPCC has today released detailed figures showing the number of reported sex crimes against children in the UK.

The figures are revealing as it reports the ages of those abused and the abusers.

You can find the main details of the report, alongside an interview with Jon Brown of the NSPCC on the BBC website.

Do you think the NHS tried turning it off and on again?

I've been listening to the coverage recently concerning the NHS and their integrated computer system which isn't exactly integrated. It was a detail I heard this morning that amazed me. Namely, that many NHS hospitals already regularly contain 4 or 5 different on-line systems that can't 'talk' to each other.
It'd be like trying to put a multi-disciplinary team together who speak Latin, Chinese, Finnish and Hungarian and expecting them to work seamlessly together.

I thought it worth mentioning in the context of different governmental departments talking (or more specifically- not talking) to each other and how this has been seen as a factor in child protection issues.

There was a debate about it a few days ago on the Today programme. It's quite revealing.

Have you experienced that moment where you realise...

...that the person who's presenting a talk to you has written a Powerpoint that contains 235 slides and you wonder if faking your own death is an option?

Death by Powerpoint is probably recognised by coroners in certain US states. Okay, I jest but Powerpoint can certainly send students into a coma from which they may not recover in a hurry.

This message is just to point out that there are alternatives to Powerpoint which can present materials in a more visually interesting way. If you're prepared to try something new.

I've written a number of presentations using a web-based tool called Prezi. You may even have sat in on one.

To see what it can do, the introductory presentation on Prezi's own website is below.



It looks like it's going to be complicated to use but it really isn't. Promise.

Click here to sign up for a free Prezi account and feel free to show me any presentations you make.

The sound of silence?

Last week I attended two course committees. At both those committees the number one student complaint was that the silent study areas were seriously lacking the central feature which is supposed to characterise them - silence.

Every committee meeting I've ever attended has at some point included a student rep passing on concerns about the library being too noisy. We know. This is why we have silent areas. If you ask 10 different people how they define 'quiet' you'll get 10 different answers. But silence means silence. An absence of noise. Simple.

And if we (by we I mean the librarians) hear you talking in the silent study areas we'll address it. Politely. If you're a repeat offender then you may notice a rapid drop-off on the whole politeness thing.

But we need your help too. If you're being disturbed by students who are talking in the silent study area and the hard stare you're throwing them isn't working, then you're well within your rights to get assistance. You can ask a security guard to pay your area a visit or tell a reader services person and they will pass on your concern to the right person.
And if you can think of another way to deal with it (which doesn't involve a croquet mallet and a good long run up) then leave a comment here or email me directly.

It's a serious issue and I know how important study time is, especially to those of you who live in houses full of noise and joyful chaos. If you have any ideas on this issue do let us know and I'll pass them on.

And if you're an ASS student sitting in the silent study area and you see me, feel free to smile and wave-but don't say hello or I'll be forced to shush you and believe me when I say that's an experience you don't want!!!!

Proposed changes to the social care system.

It's been a busy week for new reports after the release yesterday of the Munro review.

Today the Law Commission has proposed wide ranging changes to how Social Care is organised in the UK.

This is obviously a very important document for any of you dealing with Social Care on your course.

Clicking here will take you to a debate on the changes aired this morning (May, 11th) on Radio 4. The link will be live until May 18th.

The 'Adult Social Care Report' is available in full from here.

Munro review of child protection.

Today, May 10th 2011, sees the release of the Munro report investigating child protection issues in relation to practice and frontline services.

Click here to see the BBC coverage this morning including an interview with Eileen Munro.

In addition, go straight here to view the report.

"It's political correctness gone mad"

One of my favourite philosophers is Michel Foucault. Some of you may already have come across him on your academic travels. Interesting man, although I appreciate he isn't everyone's idea of a good time.

Anyhoo. Foucault often wrote about the way discourse is used to support a particular scientific approach or political system. I mention this because every now and then we hear about a new kerfuffle which usually begins with the Daily Mail reporting on some specious piece of inconsequential fluff like this. Personally, I'm with Foucault on this one, but the day I start seeing eye to eye with The Daily Mail will be the day I pack it in.

I mention all this because when conducting searches to find journal articles you really need to think about the changing nature of language. I believe the words do shape the reality around a topic and those words can change fast. For example, when researching in the areas of ethnicity or mental health be aware that if you wish to be comprehensive (even if it only means going back 5 years or so) then you may need to choose terminology that would be deemed problematic in 2011.

And if you'd like a great introductory book which delves into language, reality and meaning then try the Vivien Burr book. You can link from here straight to the e-book.

My month of blogging dangerously.

Yesterday marked the end of my one month of blogging at a fairly intensive rate in support of my action research. To all of you who volunteered for the project I say thank you. Your final act of support is to fill in the questionnaires I sent out yesterday. I know some of you have already filled them in so a further thank you to those individuals.

Some of you have asked me via email if the end of the project will make any difference to your Feedburner subscriptions. The answer is no. You'll still get updates to your email.

Just don't expect things to arrive which such regularity. My aim is to post twice a week. If I don't keep up that schedule then you have my permission to hassle me.

Now stop reading this and fill those questionnaires in!

How to view sections of new books free online.

This takes a bit of work on your part but let me explain;

Some publishers now put previews or 'tasters' of academic books on their websites.

One publisher who does this regularly is Learning Matters who publish plenty of material on social work practice, youth studies, counselling and social policy. If you visit their website there are many books where you can view a 'sample chapter'. Quite often this is chapter one; a general introduction to a topic so may prove useful.

















Click here to begin and choose a subject area that you're interested in.

Then, when you've chosen a specific title you'll notice a link that says 'sample chapter'. Follow the link and hopefully the sample chapter will be relevant.

Other publishers you could visit online are Russell House and Ashgate who both offer similar previews. As more publishers follow suit I'll let you know about it.

One more thing-because in many cases the sample chapters put online are uncorrected proofs (ie early drafts)  you should use what you find as background reading only. You shouldn't reference this material directly as the final published versions may alter from what you've used. However, it is still useful as a source and at the very least will give you ideas or keywords which you can use elsewhere.

If you get a bit lost and need some help just let me know.

A message from Thomas, my 9 year-old son.

Because I've talked to some of you before about the way young people view technology, the generational divide this can create and how some of you have been helped by your own children to find material for your assignments, I've asked my eldest son, who's 9, to describe his relationship with technology.
I promise the next post (which will be the last in the month-long trial) will be resource related.
His post below is all his own words which is why some of it is somewhat random! 

I don't think I would be able to live without the wonders of technology floating right under my nose. Every day I use up valuable electricity that powers our light bulbs, our game consoles (thank God for that), even the computer I am writing on right now! What we should be thinking about really when we use all this technical gear is where it came from  (O.K, I admit it, I am not really concerned about that. Really, I am being honest). It all probably started with a ape that got struck by lightning, which helped primates create a wheel, because the thunder strike created more brain cells. It does seem quite probable, to be honest.

Now I am going to stop all this and tell you what I actually think about all this techy stuff. I do love my technology as you will find in the first line in this blog post. But I also like the fact that it all joins together, E.G, the world wide web. I also like the fact you can take messages miles and miles away from where you are sitting/standing.What I mean is I like the very idea of the phone. The glorious,wonderful, remarkable phone. I really like my dads' android phone because it can do loads of stuff. Texting, game-playing (I  like alchemy the best) and lots, lots more. And that is the sort of stuff I like about technology.

By Thomas   

           

The pros and cons of Groupwork.

I recently took part in a group project for a qualification I'm studying.

The lecturers who compiled the groups deliberately put them together to make it as tricky as possible for us to meet. They admitted this after we'd handed in our reports, of course. I have done group projects before. During the second year of my undergraduate degree I was part of a group who decided to dress the same way during a group presentation we made. One lecturer commented that we looked like the gang in reservoir dogs!

There are a number of important books we have in the library for anyone studying the pros and cons of Group work. Some of these are electronic (such as 'Groupwork practice in social work' by Lindsay) and others are paper only. You can also find a lot of articles on the databases about what makes successful groupwork so you shouldn't be struggling for materials.


That said, if you do need some guidance on how to find resources then let me know.

Sage Premier: the unloved database.

A lot of you use the ebsco databases. I know this because I get sent statistics every month as to how many searches have been done. It's also the main database I demo to you in training sessions so it gets plenty of publicity.

We do have other databases though that are also well worth exploring.

One such database is called Sage Premier and is just as important as the Ebsco options.
Sage offers access to nearly 500 e-journals across a range of subjects including criminology and sociology.
Also, there's quite a lot of journal articles on there that are full-text. Full-text is the magic phrase, I know!

Click here to go straight to the Sage log-in page. The screen looks a bit different but the principles of using it effectively are the same as ever;

• be smart with your keywords
• make a record of what you find
• don't turn into a zombie by searching for 3 hours without a break

I tend to need more search boxes than the one it initially offers so I change it to 'advanced search by discipline' which you'll find at the side of the main search box.

If you'd like some guidance on how to navigate around Sage you've only to ask, but if you find it useful leave a comment/reaction at the bottom of this post.

Now go and share your love with Sage as the Ebsco databases have been saying nasty things about it behind its back!