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May 2005 |
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Libraries are not a new phenomena, and in my early learning about managing information I was told about monks classifying and cataloguing their libraries. Further back in history I like to think that Ptolemy's library in Alexandria was well "classed and catted" – with 400,000 "books" there must have been a system. So, there's a modern system which has its roots well into antiquity. Now I find, in the rather dull-sounding Shared quality uncertainty and the introduction of indeterminate goods, a reference to economic thought in the writings of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). He was concerned about quality judgements being made by a purchaser when the seller of the goods has all the knowledge about the goods. The purchaser may suffer loss through paying too much or be harmed through the product being defective. Just think of buying a used car! The saint was somewhat ahead of his time methinks! Anyway, the article continues this theme of purchase when ultimate quality value is unknown. Dull? No. Dense – as in tightly packed text? Yes. Academic? Definitely. I'd really like to see this re-written in "Clapham omnibus" language for those of us who did not go to university let alone studied economics whilst there.
I'm sitting here reading the National Institute Economic Review (Number 192 (April 2005)) and thinking that an article on The Stability and Growth Pact and Slow Growth in Europe should be an interesting topic. Do I kid myself? Interesting? To whom? If I was still a busy employment adviser I'd be paying expletive deleted attention to the European or even the British economic position – what I need to know is whether Joe's soap factory is recruiting unskilled operatives and how I'm going to fill the vacancies at Josie's Fashions manufacturing operation when she pays the worst rates in the area. So, if Europe or the world is what you want to know about I'll tell you where to find it (and include some articles in the body of Members' Update). What I can't do, however, is sort out Joe's soap factory or Josie's Fashions for you! Local labour market information has to be collected locally or extrapolated from national or regional information with local knowledge as a guide.
Language is the basis of all communication and if, as I mentioned earlier, someone is communicating using a vocabulary which is broader than mine then I have difficulty. This is not a problem with CentrePiece, a quarterly from the London School of Economics and Political Science, which I find extremely readable. I am, consequently, disappointed to receive an email telling me about problems and that "The first issue of 2005 will be distributed in June."
Another readable journal on economics is the Journal of Economic Perspectives. I finally managed to finish reading the Fall issue – I've still got the Winter one to do. There's some interesting comment on social economics. How do you pay for "the common good", and, perhaps more importantly, who decides what is "for the good of the people"? Is this a national problem or an international one?
The debate going on about "purchasing power parity" appears to be coming down on the side of international – particularly when you can relate the purchasing power of different currencies in terms of a globally available product. The Economist has, for some time, been looking at purchasing power in terms of a "Big Mac" and has recently added a tall latté from Starbucks to compare salaries and other economic indicators across borders.
Hazel Edmunds, Editor
Louis Kaplow, Harvard Law School and National Bureau of Economic Research
This is a fascinating article which looks at the basic economic principles of government policy assessment. The principle is that "a public good should be provided if, and to the degree that, its benefits – the sum of all individuals' benefits – exceed its costs", in accordance with what is known as the "Samuelson Rule". Professor Kaplow takes as his "thesis in this essay, that the asserted difficulties [with basic economic principles] do not have the commonly assumed implications". Fifteen pages later I (Hazel) am realising that public good financing is not merely a question of "pensions cost £x therefore the government needs to tax the population £x in order to pay pensions". There are moral issues involved as well as economic ones – and the answers will be influenced by the political impetus of the government in power. Is it based on Robin Hood or the Sheriff of Nottingham? And if you tax those on lower incomes too heavily household income will fall below welfare rates – ergo no point in going to work – ergo no tax being collected – ergo someone else has to pay more money to make up the short-fall.
Journal of Economic Perspectives (Fall 2004)
Responding to the Queen's Speech 2005, British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Director General, David Frost, said: "This Queen's Speech will get a lukewarm reaction from business at a time when the economic climate remains worrying. We have damaging work/life balance proposals coming forward while still waiting for real action on regulatory reform. The UK economy is facing a number of serious threats. Our businesses need flexibility, not more burdens. We need to promote enterprise and growth, not restrict our firms as they compete in the global market."
British Chambers of Commerce press release 17 May
There was a broad thumbs-up from the TUC for the post-election Queen's Speech, which set out the government's programme of business. Legislation on corporate manslaughter, smoking at work, and rights for working parents were particularly welcomed.
The TUC's response is at www.tuc.org.uk/newsroom/tuc-9879-f0.cfm
In ToUCh Number 8 (24 May)
"Could we make our lives happier? The tentative answer, based on the evidence at hand, is this. Most people could increase their happiness by devoting less time to making money and more time to non-pecuniary goals such as family life and health."
Richard A Easterlin, Daedalus Spring 2004
Respect and reform emerged as the key themes of Labour's third term in office, as the Queen unveiled the government's programme for the next 18 months. A total of 45 bills were set out for the coming parliamentary session, which lasts until next November. The programme shows a strong emphasis on low-level crime, on terrorism and on continuing health and education reform and expansion. Proposed legislation includes:
Matthew Tempest, Political Correspondent, The Guardian 17 May
Full text of the Queen's Speech: http://tinyurl.com/cokfy
Chancellor Gordon Brown has promised to bring in new laws to cut the burden of red tape on business. In an article for The Financial Times, Mr Brown said that he has committed the government to a new bill which will replace unnecessary rules with a "risk-based" approach. He wrote: "Under a risk-based approach, there is no unjustifiable inspection, form-filling or requirement for information. Not just a light touch but a limited touch. Instead of routine regulation trying to cover all, the risk-based approach targets the necessary few." In addition, Mr Brown said that the government will introduce legislation early next year to reduce the number of regulatory bodies from 29 to seven, with a bill to remove unnecessary and outmoded laws following later.
BBC News Online 24 May
Update comment: When it happens I'll believe it – not before. Hazel
The Institute of Business Advisers (IBA) has launched a new service, Adviser Locator, which aims to help small firms locate the right business adviser to suit their needs by searching a comprehensive online database of IBA members.
Marchmont Webflash Volume 8 Number 12 (May 2005)
"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win it you're still a rat."
Lily Tomlin, US comic actress (b.1939)
Speaking at the launch of Adult Learners' Week, Education Secretary Ruth Kelly said that colleges are responsible for axing their courses, not the government. Ms Kelly insisted that colleges made the final decisions about how they spend their money. She argued that, while it is "absolutely right" that the government sets out its priorities, colleges are "free to make their own decisions on which courses to provide". She said: "Individual colleges will always make decisions about which courses they want to fund, what courses they feel they don't need to subsidise quite as much, and how they meet the learning priorities. Just because the Learning and Skills Council may decide that it's going to fund different priorities doesn't mean that a college necessarily stops funding a particular course." She reminded listeners that colleges waive some £100 million of fees each year. John Brennan the Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges, accused the minister of "ignoring the reality facing adult learners". He said: "Many of the individuals affected by the cuts are low-earners, which is why colleges so often waive their fees. For ministers to say that colleges must ask them to pay the full costs is to ignore the reality of many people's lives."
Joe Clancy, The TES FE Focus 27 May
Further education colleges are expressing concern that lower than expected funding increases and the enforcement of centrally dictated funding priorities on courses for particular groups, will mean colleges will either have to cancel courses for other adults or raise their fees. It would appear that colleges have misunderstood the "grant letter" issued to FE providers in January of this year. While colleges interpreted the letter to mean that, if they agreed development plans with their local LSCs, they would be awarded a 5% increase in funding, early indications seem to suggest that increases will be around a third lower than projected. Colleges which have already made cuts to their provision so that they can cater for the government's priority groups are now finding that they must trim their subject offerings even further. Moreover, many colleges are not following the option recommended by the government of raising fees to keep their adult courses, saying that demanding 100% of the fees required would only really be appropriate for "holiday Spanish for the moneyed middle classes". In response to growing concerns about the direction colleges are taking, NIACE recently set up a committee of inquiry into the state of adult education.
Peter Kingston, The Guardian 26 April
More information about the NIACE Committee of Enquiry into the State of Adult Learning in Further Education is at http://tinyurl.com/ax9ch
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has today (23 May) explained why, after a 29% increase in funds since 2001/02, there is now pressure on colleges. Rob Wye, LSC Director of Strategy and Communications, said: "The Learning and Skills Council acknowledges that the 2005/06 funding round for further education will be very tight and that colleges will have to face some tough choices. This is in spite of the funding for FE in 2005/06 being some £170 million more than in 2004/05. Colleges are feeling the funding pressure in part because of their success in driving up rates of participation, retention and achievement among students – we now have the highest ever level of participation of 16-18-year-olds in education and training. Funding these rising numbers is putting a big strain on the FE budget, leaving less for other areas. Funding is also being squeezed because we are asking colleges to concentrate core funding on four key priority areas that we have agreed with the government to deliver the Skills Strategy. They are: education and training for the 16-18 age group; young people taking apprenticeships; people who need to improve their basic skills of literacy and numeracy; and people undertaking their first Level 2 qualification. This inevitably means that areas of education and training outside our priority areas – such as part-time courses for adults – will feel the funding pressure. We acknowledge that some colleges are planning to cut such courses in 2005/06. We understand why they feel this is unpalatable. But it is not correct to say that such courses are being cut because the LSC has reduced its adult and community learning budget, which is separate from the further education budget. This is being maintained in 2005/06 at the same level as 2004/05, although we acknowledge we have not built anything in for growth. In order to help relieve the funding pressure and maintain provision of adult education courses, colleges can develop new funding streams; for example, some are raising course fees for individuals with higher-level qualifications and for employers."
Colleges are turning adult students away or putting them on waiting lists as they struggle to recruit staff to meet skills targets, according to a survey conducted by the TES and NIACE. The survey revealed that:
Alan Tuckett, Director of NIACE, said that colleges should look to train in-house. He said: "Colleges have no choice but to invest in this area. … There's a shortage of people out there, so growing your own is very important."
The TES Adult Learners Supplement 20 May
Training providers have accused the Learning and Skills Council of trying to implement a "plan for success on a budget for failure", after learning that they will receive just half of the cost of teaching the apprentices they have recently taken on. The LSC has told training companies that much of the additional £38 million in funds it has produced for apprenticeships must be spent on recruiting yet more young people to meet the government's target rather than to pay for those already on the programme. A successful marketing campaign by the LSC, coupled with improved retention rates, means that the apprenticeship scheme has not been allocated enough money to meet its commitments. The Association of Learning Providers (ALP) has warned that this 50% cut in funding will force some providers out of business. Graham Hoyle, Chief Executive of APL, said: "The LSC must accept that it has fully to fund the apprentices that it has asked providers to find and train, and cannot unilaterally cut their support by 50% part way through the year while asking providers to go out and sign up even more."
Peter Kingston, The Guardian 3 May
The Association of Learning Providers (ALP) is reported to be taking initial steps towards legal action against the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) over its proposals for apprenticeship funding for the 2004/05 intake. While the ALP welcomed the announcement that the LSC had allocated an extra £38 million to the scheme, work-based learning (WBL) providers say that this is not enough. They claim that more than £100 million is needed to complete the training of existing apprentices, while still meeting government targets for recruitment. Moreover, WBL providers maintain that the LSC proposes that existing apprentices can only be funded at 50% of the nationally agreed rates. In the view of the ALP, this indicates that the LSC miscalculated the original budget. The association argues that its members are being asked "to carry the financial implications of these miscalculations", prompting the ALP to seek legal advice over the funding shortfall.
t magazine May 2005
The Learning and Skills Development Agency is researching how apprenticeships are perceived by people from ethnic minority groups. The research will also look at the career trajectories of former apprentices to identify actual progression paths.
For more information, contact Maria Hughes
email:
mhughes@LSDA.org.uk
LSDA Briefing May 2005
The Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) has published a new report on best practice in the delivery of apprenticeships. The report contains the findings of a survey of learning providers which offer training for government-supported apprenticeship programmes. While the findings were largely positive, the research identified three areas where more work is needed:
LSDA Briefing May 2005
Identifying Effective Practice in the Delivery of
Apprenticeships by Maria Hughes and Helen Monteiro is available free of
charge from LSDA Information Services
tel: 020 7297 9144
email:
enquiries@LSDA.org.uk
This year's Adult Learners' Week survey of adults taking part in learning offers mixed messages. The survey, commissioned by NIACE, shows that, while there has been an increase in the number of adults participating in learning, the overall number of learners has fallen. The report, Better News This Time?, also shows that social class has a marked impact on participation. Professional and managerial groups (56%) are twice as likely to participate as unskilled and unwaged groups (26%), although the participation of skilled workers (40% up from 32% in 2004) is encouraging news. As in previous years the age divide in participation is clearly shown, with a marked drop for people over 55 (22%). Given the demographic change facing the UK, this is worrying news. A reduction in the number of young people means they can fill only one in three vacancies for new and replacement jobs over the next decade. The other places will need to be filled by people currently outside the labour force, and by older people taking on new roles. Alan Tuckett, Director of NIACE, said, "The results of this survey present some comfort for the government but also a real challenge in securing a step-change in participation. The reverse in the decline in participation is welcome, but we will need to take active measures to sustain it. The current economic pressures on publicly-funded adult learning opportunities make it likely that this trend will be difficult to reverse in the next three years."
NIACE press release 23 May
Better News This Time? - The NIACE survey on Adult
Participation in Learning 2005
Authors: Fiona Aldridge and Alan Tuckett
ISBN: 1-86201-238-5 Price: £8.95
Contact Publication Sales,
NIACE, 21 De Montfort Street, Leicester, LE1 7GE
tel: 0116 204 4216
email: orders@niace.org.uk
This year's Adult Learners' Week is not just a time to celebrate, but a warning of what could be lost, says the Director of NIACE, Alan Tuckett (The Guardian 24 May). Mr Tuckett argues that the government's laudable commitment to widening and increasing participation in education does not seem to sit well with the knowledge that colleges across the country are being forced to reduce their provision. He tells us that there are severe pressures on the FE funding "pot":
Mr Tuckett says: "As a result, this year there will be tens of thousands fewer opportunities for adults outside the priority areas of basic skills and "full-width level 2 programmes". This is a year of relative plenty – budgets will be tighter in 2006-07, and prospects for adult learners wanting anything outside the priority programmes promise to be much worse."
Full article: http://tinyurl.com/7vnrx
Learners have firmly endorsed colleges and other post-16 learning providers in the LSC's third National Learner Satisfaction Survey. The 2003/04 survey shows that overall satisfaction with the learning experience across the sector remains very high. Moreover, overall satisfaction with the quality of teaching and learning continues to be high and more learners said they got a "buzz" from learning than in previous years. A higher percentage of learners also said they had greater enthusiasm for their subject, and had developed skills they could use for their jobs.
Survey highlights (PDF 24pp) are at http://tinyurl.com/72nf9
More detailed analyses of the results will be published shortly.
LSC Update May 2005
In an article for The Times (10 May), Emma Burns reports on a new retirement concept that is growing in popularity in the USA. A number of retirement homes have established links with universities, and there is now a network of some 60 university-linked retirement communities. The communities take different forms. Some are open to all, while others require that residents have taught or studied at the partner university. One community, however – Lasell College in Boston – requires that residents undertake no less than 450 hours of learning activity each year. As well as attending formal classes, many residents teach or mentor students.
Full article: http://tinyurl.com/ckmuk
Fran Bennett and Jane Millar
The growth of wage supplementation through in-work benefits and tax credits has been one of the most fundamental recent developments in the UK social security system. Broad statements of policy aims such as "making work pay" and providing "support for work" are superficially simple and clear. In practice, however, they cover a complex variety of goals and policy instruments. This article outlines the main policy measures introduced since 1997, discusses the different policy goals and highlights some of the major limitations of the current policy approach.
Benefits Volume 13 Number 1 (February 2005)
Dan Finn
This article assesses the impact and limitations of the first wave of measures that, since 1997, have involved the introduction of New Deal employment programmes, tax and benefit reforms to "make work pay" and mandatory work-focused interviews for working-age claimants. The reform process has now accelerated and key elements of a New Labour third-term strategy are already clear. They involve full implementation of the new front-line "employment first" system delivered by Jobcentre Plus, radical reform of the Incapacity Benefit system and new Pathways employment programmes aimed at lone parents and people claiming disability benefits. There will also be renewed efforts to enable skills acquisition by those without qualifications and improve "employment retention and advancement" among those moving into jobs. Effective implementation presents a major challenge and other reforms may prove necessary if New Labour is to realise its ambition of an 80% employment rate.
Benefits Volume 13 Number 2 (June 2005)
Anne McGuire, Work and Pensions Minister, and Rhodri Morgan, First Minister, today (18 May) launched a new £21 million initiative to reduce economic inactivity in some of the most deprived areas in Wales. The initiative called "Want2Work" aims to help thousands of people on sick and disability benefits return to work. It will be delivered in partnership with Jobcentre Plus and the Welsh Assembly Government. This initiative follows the successful Pathways to Work Pilot in Bridgend Rhondda Cynon Taf, where nearly 2,000 people have come off benefits and into work.
Welsh Assembly press release 18 May
Employers need to change their attitudes towards disabled people and make more of an effort to recruit them into the UK workforce, TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O'Grady told a TUC disability conference. Ms O'Grady said that although disabled people who are treated unfairly at work can now have legal protection against their discriminating employers, it can still be extremely difficult for disabled people to find work in the first place. Ms O'Grady said: "Until employer attitudes change, no law is going to prevent a prejudiced employer deciding not to employ a disabled person. And even when a disabled person has been successful at interview, the odds still stack up against them. … New disability legislation has put the onus on local councils and health authorities who now have a duty to do all they can to promote equality towards disabled people and prevent harassment and discrimination whenever it occurs. If the same legal duty were also to apply to private sector firms, discriminating bosses would find themselves with nowhere to hide."
TUC press release 25 May
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Alan Johnson has confirmed that schools in England will not be exempt from key duties under disability rights legislation. Mr Johnson said that schools will be subject to specific duties to promote disability equality. These duties will require schools to take action to close the attainment gap and improve outcomes for disabled children. He said that schools have "an especially significant bearing on the life chances of disabled people". To exempt them would, he argued, "be to fail on the promise of full civil rights and a more equal society".
Working Brief Number 164 (May 2005)
The government has confirmed plans to scrap the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission and replace them with the Commission for Equality and Human Rights. The Queen's Speech confirmed the intention to re-introduce the Equality Bill, which ran out of time in the last session of parliament.
OUT-LAW.COM 20 May
This guide explains the context in which discrimination law operates in the UK. It covers all aspects of the legislation, including the law as it relates to race, gender, disability, equal pay, sexual orientation, religion and age.
It can be downloaded (PDF 171pp) from www.tuc.org.uk/extras/equalitylawguide.pdf
Equal Opportunities Review Number 140 April 2005
Discrimination against deaf workers includes isolation, bullying and a lack of proper communication support, according to mental health and deafness charity Sign. As part of the Reaching Deaf Minds In The Workplace campaign, Sign argues that this discrimination creates barriers to progression and promotion, and often compromises deaf workers' health and safety in the workplace. To help employers maximise the potential of deaf employees, Sign has published a guide to best practice. Creating A Deaf-Friendly Workplace suggests simple steps that employers can take to "make a huge difference to current and potential deaf employees".
Labour Research Volume 94 Number 5 (May 2005)
More information: www.reachingdeafminds.org.uk
A new online database to help organisations meet their disability access needs has been launched by the MLA. The database contains records for over 200 disability trainers auditors and consultants who specialise in working with museums, libraries and archives. Disability Experts offers "the latest step towards reducing access barriers in heritage organisations".
Managing Information May 2005
URL: http://disabilitydatabase.mla.gov.uk
Groundbreaking research by web usability expert Jakob Nielsen could mean that library websites may have to be redesigned to make them more accessible to low-level readers. The research showed that, when looking at a website, high-level readers can quickly scan through the page to find the information that interests them. They are able to "de-code" the main text, images and navigational menus rapidly and efficiently. In contrast, low-level readers "plough" through the main text, reading it line by line. They are less able to use other literacy "searchlights" or look outside the main flow of text to make sense of what they see. Consequently, locating interesting or relevant information is a laborious process. Mr Nielsen's research showed that re-writing and simplifying a webpage can help low-level readers improve their experiences and performance by as much as 135%. Moreover, since the content remains much the same, these improvements are not gained at the expense of high-level readers.
Library and Information Update Volume 4(5) May 2005
More information: www.useit.com/alertbox/20050314.html
"Write the vision and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. Where there is no vision the people perish."
Habakkuk 2: 2
The first steps towards the development of a British Standard for web accessibility have been taken by the British Standards Institution, with the release of a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) for consultation. The guidelines will attempt to:
The consultation will be open to government departments, manufacturers and industry bodies, and a final review process could see the guidelines qualify to become a fully-fledged British Standard in two to three years' time.
E-Access Bulletin Issue 65 (May 2005)
The Accessibility of museum, library and archive websites: the MLA audit, carried out by City University for the Museum, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), looked at 300 museum, library and archive websites in England. The sites were surveyed using automated testing for compliance to the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG1). The report concluded: "The current level of accessibility of museum, library and archive websites is not high. Less than half the sites audited met the most basic technical accessibility guidelines and a User Panel of disabled people did not find them particularly easy to use. However, the number of different technical checkpoints and user problems that need addressing is not exceptionally high … museums, libraries and archives need to engage with the WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. They also need to engage directly with users to understand their needs and to ensure that disabled people can use their sites."
Info@UK Issue 50 (May 2005)
Full report (PDF 39pp): www.mla.gov.uk/documents/mla_web_accessibility.pdf
BECTa (the British Educational Communications and Technology agency) has produced a guide to website accessibility. It covers "basic concepts through to detailed, practical guidance about how to assess and ensure that a website is accessible".
Marchmont Webflash Volume 8 Number 12 (May 2005)
The BECTa Website Accessibility Guide (PDF 84pp) is at http://tinyurl.com/a8mxx
"Bore: A man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company."
Gian Vincenzo Gravina
In an article for OUT-LAW.COM (5 May), Trenton Moss, of usability and accessibility specialists WebCredible, offers advice to website developers on how to meet the needs of screen magnifier users. He suggests six basic principles for improving services for screen magnifier users:
Full article, with "how-to" and "why" tips, is at http://tinyurl.com/cexk2
The government's Strategy Unit led a cross-departmental piece of work to establish a digital strategy for the UK. Information and Communication Technology has become all pervasive in our working lives and increasingly in our homes as well. How we adopt and use this technology will be crucial for our future prosperity. But there is evidence of a digital divide with some groups largely excluded from benefiting from access to the internet. This joint report with the Department of Trade and Industry sets out the digital strategy for the UK and details the crucial role that ICT will have for our future prosperity.
Strategy Unit website March 2005
Full publication (PDF 60pp): http://tinyurl.com/63yzj
Users of computer accessibility products from Dolphin Computer Access will be able to load their preferred settings for screen readers and magnifiers onto any PC using a new memory "pen" device. The Dolphin Pen is similar in appearance to memory sticks commonly used to store content or applications, and plugs into a computer's Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. To ensure full compatibility with the stick, computers need to be loaded with Dolphin's Interceptor software, which is available free on the company's website.
More information: http://fastlink.headstar.com/dolphin1
E-Access Bulletin Issue 65 (May 2004)
The Equal Opportunities Commission has launched a new interactive website to help young people find out about "the full range of career options", without gender bias.
URL: www.works4me.org.uk
"Whoever said: 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts' probably lost."
Martina Navratilova, Czech-born US tennis player (b.1956)
A new report from the Adult Learning Inspectorate has criticised the construction industry for its continued failure to widen its employee base. While construction remains that UK's largest industry, barely 10% of the workforce is women. Of these, around nine out of ten are concentrated at the "professional" end of the industry, in occupations such as management and architecture. Less than 1% are at the "trade end", working on sites as bricklayers, carpenters or labourers. The ALI report criticises training provision in the construction industry. In a bid to address this gap, CITB-ConstructionSkills, the industry's Sector Skills Council, has launched a £1 million campaign, Positive Image, to attract women and those from ethnic minority groups into the industry. The campaign aims "to communicate the benefits of a construction career to those most discouraged by its image of 'blokes, bums and bricks'".
Peter Kingston, The Guardian 3 May
The final report from the Equal Opportunities Commission's investigation into gender segregation in training and work concludes that young people are not being given access to careers advice, work experience placements, and training opportunities that would help them enter non-traditional sectors. Free to Choose reports that 80% of girls and 55% of boys would like to explore non-traditional sectors and jobs. However, just 15% of those questioned said that they had been given advice or information on work experience in a sector dominated by the opposite sex. In addition, 67% of girls said that, if they had known more about the gender pay gap, they would have made different career choices.
Newscheck May 2005
Free to choose: Tackling gender barriers to better jobs
A UK university is trying to persuade women to apply for a computer games programming degree. The University of Derby was concerned that all 106 applicants to its new programming course were men. It is therefore making greater efforts to encourage women to explore this avenue as a career. A spokesperson for the university said that an initial step will be to hold some all-female summer schools, while scholarships are also being explored.
BBC News Online 10 May
A report from the National Guidance Research Forum (NGRF) Strategic Group, entitled Setting the Agenda for Career Guidance Research, was published in March. The report was based on a consultation, held late last year, on what practitioners, trainers of practitioners, policy-makers and researchers in the field of careers development and career guidance believe are the main issues and gaps in research relevant to their work.
Newscheck May 2005
Setting the Agenda for Career Guidance Research - Research Issues and Research Gaps (PDF 43pp): www.crac.org.uk/nicec/publications/ngrf_agenda.pdf
Jinfo (pronounced Jin-fo) is a database of information-related job vacancies recently launched by Free Pint Limited. In addition to the database, a free newsletter, Jinfo Newsletter, is available and is published twice-monthly, by email. The Jinfo Newsletter lists the latest job vacancies, along with career advice and job searching tips, from information-industry recruitment consultants.
Penny Hann, FreePint
D-Lib Magazine April 2005
URL: www.Jinfo.com
Update comment: This appears to be completely free to use for job-seekers. There is a charge for advertising vacancies.
Nobody likes to be pigeon-holed, particularly graduates, according to research by leadership development organisation Common Purpose. The research found that one in five "high-fliers" feel that they have been forced to specialise too early in their careers by their employers. This is a view shared by global HR consultancy DDI. Lucy McGee, Director of DDI UK, argues that graduates should gain a good mix of experience when trying to reach the top. Ms McGee believes that today's university-leavers need a "360-degree vision", which enables them to "gain experience on all key functions before progressing to leadership status". She said: "If companies can work this kind of knowledge into people's careers as they move up the business – moving them across functions as well as up – they reduce the risk of people having a blinkered view of the integral functions on which the success of the business depends."
Kate Hilpern, The Independent 5 May
"Desire is one of the immense advantages that the underdog often has: simply wanting to win more than the top dog does."
William Bridges, US engineer, researcher, educator (b.1934)
Since concern was raised about the levels of personal borrowing and a general lack of understanding about financial services, the Basic Skills Agency and Financial Services Authority have worked together to devise a Financial Literacy Capability Framework. The Framework gives learners the opportunity to become more aware of the products and services on offer so that they are more easily able to make judgements and choices.
Marchmont Webflash Volume 8 Number 12 (May 2005)
More information: http://tinyurl.com/ajy9y
ISBN: 0-11341-302-5
Price £9.99
This "compendium of useful information" was compiled by a sub-committee of the Life in the United Kingdom Advisory Group with the help of the Citizenship Foundation. It is not intended for new arrivals, unless they have good English already, but rather to help ESOL teachers, mentors and other helpers of immigrants. Applicants for naturalisation who already have ESOL entry level 3 will soon be required to take a test based on indicated sections of this compendium, which also contains some of the historical background helpful to understand this country.
Basic Skills Bulletin Number 33 May 2005
Publisher: The Stationery Office
tel: 0870 600 5522
email: customer.services@tso.co.uk
Figures released by the DfES indicate that the government is in danger of missing its target for the educational achievements of looked-after children, despite small improvements made last year. The DfES aimed to reduce the proportion of looked-after children not sitting a GCSE or equivalent exam to 10% by 2006. However, the latest figures show that 41% did not sit an exam in 2004 – a reduction of just 2% from the previous year's figure. Felicity Collier, Chief Executive of BAAF Adoption & Fostering, said: "There has been very little progress and it does not look like there is any chance of meeting the targets by 2006. The wasted potential of looked-after children is extreme and very sad."
Ruth Smith, Children Now 3 May
Full release (PDF 8pp): http://tinyurl.com/ardbb
More than 55,000 crimes are committed in Scotland each year by people released on bail, according to research from the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS). The figures dwarf statistics released last year by the Scottish Executive which said the number of crimes committed by bailed suspects across Scotland amounted to just 4,000.
Liam McDougall, Home Affairs Editor, Sunday Herald 1 May
Paul Dornan
Of New Labour's policy agenda, that relating to child poverty is among the most impressive. Here the government recognised a social ill, set out to tackle it and delivered real gains. Yet after that effort we have, on latest available evidence, a child income poverty rate of 28%, double the rate of 1979 (National Statistics, 2005). The timeline of New Labour's policy on child poverty is divided by a speech given by Tony Blair on 18 March, 1999, when he promised to eradicate child poverty. This bold step caught the cynics off guard and forced poverty into the political mainstream. Yet before that March speech New Labour was timid, sticking to the previous administration's spending plans, missing an opportunity to get cracking and taking a backward step by cutting the lone parent rate of Income Support. This article assesses policy to deliver the pledge, the impact of measurement change and tensions in those areas whereby more effort is needed.
Benefits Volume 13 Number 2 (June 2005)
ISBN: 9-28715-618-2 Price: 19 Euros
Social security is an important tool to reduce poverty and to promote social and economic development. It is also a necessary complement to globalisation and structural adjustment policies. This publication contains the proceedings of the Mediterranean Conference which took place in Limassol in May 2004.
Council of Europe Publishing email update 3 May
Robert Strathdee
ISBN: 0-75463-815-4 Price £50
Published by: Ashgate Publishing Ltd
How do young people make effective transitions into work? This question has occupied the minds of parents and young people, and also researchers and policy-makers, as they face up to challenges presented by globalisation and technological change. The foremost governmental response to this challenge has been to expand training systems to improve young people's qualifications. However, it is clear that for many this response has failed to deliver the promised rewards and the legitimation of this strategy has been exhausted. This book explores developments in training and in social welfare to show that third way administrations in England and New Zealand are reconnecting young people to the labour market through creating social networks. It also describes how networks are being remade by the state in commodified forms.
Marchmont Webflash Volume 8 Number 12 May 2005
Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Gower House, Croft Road,
Aldershot, Hampshire GU11 3HR
tel: 01252 331551
URL:
www.ashgate.com
The Literacy and Social Inclusion Project has produced Every which way we can, a position paper based on its findings two years into a three-year project. The purpose of the paper is to review the evidence gathered, and to provide a resource for those concerned with issues, in this field. It raises some of the challenges in the current policy climate, and proposes a "literacy vision", outlining the "perfect literacy system" that best supports those of all ages most at risk from their poor or underdeveloped literacy or language skills. Key factors for successful literacy practice with adults and children most at risk are identified. The paper also provides a model for building parental skills.
Full paper (PDF 80pp): http://tinyurl.com/dsjft
Summary (PDF 5pp): http://tinyurl.com/97dbw
Literacy and Social Inclusion News April 2005
SEMLAC, the South East Museum, Library and Archive Council, commissioned a report on libraries and community cohesion. The report examines the concepts of community cohesion, social inclusion and exclusion, the impact on library services and how the sector fits into national and regional developments.
SEMLAC website May 2005
Full report: (PDF 130pp): http://tinyurl.com/8y654
Council on Library and Information Resources, Washington DC
What is the role of a library when users can obtain information from any location? And what does this role-change mean for the creation and design of library space? Six authors explore these questions in Library as Place: Rethinking Roles, Rethinking Space. In their essays, the authors challenge us to think about new potential for the place we call the library and underscore the growing importance of the library as a place for teaching, learning, and research in the digital age.
D-Lib Magazine April 2005
Full report (PDF 89pp) www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub129/pub129.pdf
Research based partly on an ICM poll has discovered "a worrying trend among the public of a greater use of least-trusted information sources when seeking information in libraries". The poll found that much of the British public goes to the source it trusts least – tabloid newspapers – for its most crucial everyday information on politics and society. This is largely because the sources that the public trusts the most, notably public libraries, are closed when it most needs them. Tim Coates, a leading independent analyst and critic of the library service, said that despite improvements, annual figures showed "there are still only 62 libraries out of 4,800 open more than 60 hours a week – which is the normal opening period of most shops".
John Ezard, The Guardian 23 May
The South West Observatory Skills and Learning Module has recently completed its ninth learning theme on Age and Employability. The theme examined labour market forces affecting the employment prospects of the over-50s, with a focus on initiatives to improve access to, or enhancements in, work for this diverse age group.
Executive Summary (Word document 4pp): http://tinyurl.com/9edf5
Full report (Word document 70pp): http://tinyurl.com/bqr6z
SWSLIM letter May 2005
Recent research by the Campaign for Learning suggests that one of the key demotivators for employees is the perception that learning and training opportunities are available to others within their organisation and not them. The Campaign for Learning believes all employees deserve equal opportunities, but this is far from the reality in the workplace. All too often staff that could benefit most are overlooked. Research shows that a learning divide still persists in many organisations, with those who have few or no qualifications and older workers least likely to be offered training opportunities. Linda Siegle, Chief Executive of the Campaign for Learning, comments: "This divide in training can have far-reaching consequences for organisational performance. Not only do employers miss out on developing talent within their own workforce, but it can also have a detrimental effect on the business through demotivated staff."
HRLook Daily News 16 May
Responding to the news that the Joint Council for General Qualifications has proposed a "sliding scale of generosity" for bereavement, illnesses and other stressful situations, Celia Brayfield argues that not all stress is bad for your health. Ms Brayfield refers to a report from the Anti-Ageing conference which concluded that the right kind of stress can yield positive results, by giving the "stressee" a real sense of achievement. She suggests that offering to compensate students who sit their exams while coping with external pressures is cushioning them from the realities of life. She writes: "As we live in a despicable compensation culture, scamming the system is a useful skill but whingeing as a way of living is highly unsatisfying; better to learn to let go of an injustice, master your distress and move on to the real deal. … In life, sod's law applies and it never rains but it pours. In life, the odds are that you will experience such major anxieties as pet bereavement, childbirth or redundancy. Furthermore, you may well suffer them all on the same day and, to top it all, some swine will steal your mobile phone as well. Life will include days when you are so stressed you won't have time to ask yourself if you've got a headache or not."
Times Online 9 May
The Equal Opportunities Commission has criticised the government's plan to permit mothers to transfer some of their maternity leave to fathers, saying that it reinforces the assumption that it is "the mother's natural role" to care for a young child. In its submission to ministers consulting on rights for working parents, the EOC argues that the plan undervalues the role of fathers in the care of young children. The Commission is calling for the government to reclassify the second six months of maternity leave as "shared parental care", to be divided as couples choose. It is also calling for paternity leave to be extended to four weeks at 90% of pay. Paternity leave is currently two weeks paid at £106 a week.
Lucy Ward, Social Affairs Correspondent, The Guardian 24 May
From April 2006 those on low wages will get more help from the government when the proportion of childcare costs covered by the Working Tax Credit will increase from 70% to 80%. This means that many lower-paid employees would be better off staying on, or taking up, tax credits than buying childcare vouchers (even with the good tax and NI breaks they offer).
Employee Benefits April 2005
If Adviser says "the rules are complex and often confusing", my advice is – don't try and sort it yourself – get help! And where better to find that help than through the Business Advisory Service – available free with your ADSET membership.
Adviser Number 109 (May/June 2005)
Employers must include pay rises in calculations for maternity leave following a European Court of Justice ruling. The ECJ ruled in Michelle Alabaster v DWP that any pay rise awarded to a pregnant woman between the beginning of the pay reference period and the end of maternity leave should be included when the amount of maternity pay was calculated. The Court of Appeal also removed the need for a male comparator. It said it was not needed if it could be shown that the reason for not paying the increase was because of the woman's pregnancy.
People Management Online 19 May
The median settlement level for the three months to the end of April 2005 is just ahead of inflation at 3.3%. Public sector pay rises are lower than those in the public sector. So says the cover of IDS Pay Report (Number 926 (April 2005)). However, the cover of Number 928 (just four weeks later) says that the private sector median increase is now 3.5% while the public sector median increase is 3.0%.
The average income of men in Britain is almost double that of women, according to the latest statistics from the DTI. The figures, for the period from 1996/7 to 2003/4, show that while women are slowly narrowing the income gap – with single mothers moving fastest of all – the sexes remain far apart. According to the data the median weekly total individual income for all women in 2003/4 was £161, just 53% of that for men at £303. However, women's median weekly income has gone up 31% between 1996-97 and 2003-04, while men's income has only risen by 13%. Perhaps not surprisingly, the smallest gap is for single women without children, whose income stands at 93% of that for single childless men.
Lucy Ward, Social Affairs Correspondent, The Guardian 18 May
The full National Statistics/DTI report, Individual Incomes of Men and Women 1996/97-2003/04, (PDF 145pp) is at http://tinyurl.com/av54m
The World Economic Forum has launched a new "gender gap index", measuring how countries perform on pay equality, economic opportunity, political empowerment, educational attainment and access to reproductive healthcare. The UK was rated a fairly respectable eighth after Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand and Canada. However, no country was rated as having total gender equality. On a scale of 1 to 7, Sweden came first with 5.53.
The F-Word website 16 May
Women's Empowerment: Measuring the Global Gender Gap (PDF 23pp) http://tinyurl.com/a5pma
Update comment: I am constantly amazed by Dawn's ability to find a good/interesting story in the most odd places. Not that "The F-Word" website will be odd now that we know what's there! Hazel
The new junior women's minister, Meg Munn, will have to work unpaid, according to an article in The Daily Telegraph (Andrew Sparrow, 16 May). Under the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975, only 109 ministerial salaries can be paid at any time. The late appointment of Ms Munn means that she cannot have her £59,000 backbencher's salary boosted to the £88,000 received by other junior ministers. That Ms Munn will have to forego her junior minister's salary has led to rather understandable accusations that the government is not taking women's rights seriously. Conservative shadow women's minister Eleanor Laing asked: "How can Meg Munn stand up in the House of Commons and argue for equal pay for women when she's not being paid the same as her ministerial colleagues? This is an insult to women."
The UK's lowest-paid clerical and secretarial workers saw their median starting salary rise by 5.2% in 2004 compared with 5.4% in the previous year, according to IRS Employment Review. The IRS survey also found that the median starting salary for the lowest-paid clerical position in 2004 was £12,000. This marks a continued decline in the rate of salary increase for clerical and secretarial staff. Working hours for clerical and secretarial staff remain in the region of 35 to 37 hours per week.
HRLook Daily News 9 May
The GMB has published a National League of average gross annual salaries for all 342 occupational groups in Great Britain. The table reveals that the top group is 16 times higher than the lowest group. The top ten occupations (with mean annual salary) are:
The bottom ten occupations are:
HRLook Daily News 24 May
Full table of statistics (PDF 7pp): http://tinyurl.com/b8xv6
SEMT – the Sector Skills Council for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies – and Metals Industry Skills and Performance (MetSkill) have announced their intention to merge, forming an enlarged Sector Skills Council for the metals, engineering and science sector. The merger will create one of the largest Sector Skills Councils in the Skills for Business network. A target date of 30 June 2005 has been set for completion.
SSDA INvolve Issue 84 (10 May)
Ignoring diversity can reduce productivity and performance, but badly managed efforts to introduce diversity run the risk of creating conflict and doing just as much to undermine business performance. Managers need to work to ensure diversity drives inclusiveness and cooperation, and is about more than just box-ticking and employment quotas. According to a new report from the CIPD, Managing diversity: linking theory and practice to business performance, managing diversity is about achieving a balance between different forces and challenges, therefore employers should also consider the areas that prevent diversity generating benefits to the organisation. These include the following:
Debate continues over whether or not there is a business case for diversity despite the huge amounts of anecdotal evidence indicating the benefits. Measurement will enable employers to move forward and help them understand what characteristics their employees possess. The new CIPD report suggests using a diversity-balanced scorecard as one form of measurement as a model for measuring the success of diversity within the workforce. CIPD research suggests that measuring the contribution employees make to a business significantly improves decision-making.
CIPD press release 11 May
Managing diversity: linking theory and practice to business performance (PDF 26pp): http://tinyurl.com/72fpn
According to a survey conducted on behalf of the CIPD, most UK employers believe that much employment legislation is necessary and can actually help them achieve their business goals. Almost two-thirds of employers feel that existing employment legislation has helped them earn the trust of their employees and ensure that they feel fairly treated. Four-fifths find it helpful in influencing managers to adopt positive employment practices, and 50% believe that it provides an essential standard. The survey reveals that many concerns associated with employment law are caused by "poor consultation, clumsy drafting of legislation and inadequate guidance". Examples of good employment legislation cited by employers include the Disability Discrimination Act, the Race Relations Act, the Sex Discrimination Act and the Right to Request Flexible Working legislation. Many employers identified these as necessary and more than half believe they help them to meet their strategic and business goals.
HRLook Daily News 10 May
Efforts by signatory countries to create the European Higher Education Area by 2010 would intensify the already fierce competition faced by British universities competing for students from around the world. Roderick Floud, President of London Metropolitan University, argued that the Bologna Process, an attempt by more than 40 European countries to create degrees that are easily comparable and transferable between them, could undermine the attractiveness of UK universities.
Jon Boone, Financial Times 16 May
Dropout rates on some foundation degree courses have reached up to 55%, according to a report from the Quality Assurance Agency (QCA). The report found that, while the degree courses are largely successful, "a high proportion of students on some foundation degree programmes withdraw prematurely and do not complete their studies". It showed that, on average, the withdrawal rate for full-time students is about 21% and about 29% for part-time students.
Phil Baty, The THES 20 May
In an article for The Independent (5 May), Andrew Oswald, Professor of Economics at Warwick University, and Jacob Wertheim, Fellow at Harvard University, argue that emulating the "sensible Scots and Americans", by moving away from three-year degrees, could be beneficial to higher education in the UK. He believes that, as people are living longer, it makes sense for them to invest more in their education. Moreover, he feels that a four-year degree course will help to broaden the minds of students who are currently "narrowly trained by the standards of a genuinely liberal education". A longer period of higher education, during which undergraduates should study a mixed curriculum, will help students to develop a broad range of skills and knowledge. Professor Oswald also argues that encouraging students to take on a mixture of science and arts subjects will help to prevent the closure of less popular subjects, such as chemistry and languages. He suggests: "I think that most people are against the closure of these small departments because, deep down, they intuitively sense that there is more to university education than knowing a vast amount about rather little."
"Man – despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments – owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains."
Author Unknown
Further education colleges are to be given extra time to decide whether to charge top-up fees for higher education courses, amid concerns that fees might deter working-class students from enroling on degrees. All colleges that receive some direct funding for higher education will be given until January 2006, rather than September this year as originally planned, to make their submissions. The announcement was welcomed by further education leaders, who had been concerned that colleges would not be given enough time to determine the impact of fees on the FE sector.
Tony Tysome, The THES 20 May
Figures released by the Scottish Executive show that the gender gap between the number of Scottish males and females entering higher education is at "an all-time high". While the number of women entering higher education over the past five years has risen by around 10%, the number of men has risen by just 2% over the same period. Women now make up 54% of all students at Scottish Universities. John Field, Professor of Lifelong Learning at Stirling University, blamed "complacency", and argued: "The current trend is not sustainable and we have to find out why some males are choosing not to participate in higher education."
Kevin Schofield, Education Correspondent, The Scotsman 12 May
The Computer Clubs for Girls (CC4G) initiative for schools across England is to be launched in June by e-Skills, the Sector Skills Council for IT, telecoms and contact centres. CC4G aims to encourage more girls to get involved in ICT, to help address the gender imbalance in the industry.
E-Learning Age May 2005
More information: www.e-skills.com/CC4G
Data retrieved under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that there is a growing gender divide between the educational achievements of boys and girls in UK schools. Examination results for 2004 show that girls attained more A and B grades in their A-levels than boys, in both the independent and state sectors. Indeed, girls are 115% more likely to gain a grade A or B than boys. Ralph Lucas, Editor of the Good Schools Guide, which requested the data from the DfES, said that parents should take this discrepancy into account when considering where to educate their boys.
Amelia Hill, Education Correspondent, The Observer 15 May
Muslim students at the University of London (UL) are outraged over plans to close the campus's only single-sex hall of residence. College Hall, the university's women-only hall, is to close in July, leaving hundreds of students whose beliefs prevent them from living in mixed halls with no alternative but to seek private accommodation or to live in the university's less desirable flats. The university said that the decision to open as a mixed-sex hall was based on falling demand for single-sex accommodation. However, College Hall residents are angry that the changes have been implemented without consultation, and called the UL "culturally out of touch".
Christina Okoli, The Guardian 12 May
Bill Rammell, the new Higher Education Minister, has played down the threat of university course closures, saying that they will "not be as widespread as some fear".
Mr Rammell said that he was "not convinced" that a number of subjects deemed by the government to be of national importance – such as chemistry – were vulnerable to disproportionate cuts. He said: "I'm not convinced that the evidence is there… but that's not to say that if evidence comes to light I won't respond to it."
Paul Hill, The THES 27 May
The University of Central Lancashire is planning to reopen the chemistry department it closed six years ago, bucking the national trend to cut provision in the field, writes Caroline Davis (The THES 13 May). Ms Davis tells us that UCLan is now recruiting chemists and other scientists and plans to admit the first cohort of 20 chemistry undergraduates in 2007 – a decade after the department closed.
Vice-chancellors have been accused of "making social engineering part of the admissions process" after it was revealed that some élite institutions are setting targets that favour state pupils over independent pupils. Despite clear guidance issued to the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) from the government that it should have "nothing to do with admissions", a number of institutions, including Cambridge, Exeter and Durham, have agreed to admit more state school pupils in return for being able to set higher fees.
Tony Halpin, Education Editor, Times Online 9 May
"There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them."
Denis Waitley, author and speaker
(Council of Europe higher education series No. 2)
Editors: Luc Weber and Sjur Bergan
ISBN: 9-28715-679-4 Price: 23 Euros
The public responsibility for higher education and research is a cornerstone of the European university heritage. Yet our societies are changing rapidly, and clinging to old solutions will not further the very values that these solutions were originally designed to protect. The claim on public attention and public funds is growing, but public funds are not, or at least not at the same rate. While public funding of higher education and research is still important, the concept of public responsibility must be understood much more widely. It must also be nuanced by looking more closely at different degrees and levels of public responsibility as well as at the instruments available for exercising such responsibility. The book, which builds on a Council of Europe conference, aims to explore what public responsibility means in the complex societies that have just crossed the threshold to the 21st century, by examining both overall higher education policies and specific aspects of it such as higher education for a democratic culture, access to research results, financing, equal opportunities, the approach to regulation and new trends in higher education.
Council of Europe Publishing email update 14 May
Government officials are refusing to reveal which 11 universities they have been monitoring because they are "at risk" of financial failure. The Higher Education Funding Council for England turned down an appeal to reveal which universities are on the "institutional risk monitoring" documents, which it released last month under the Freedom of Information Act, with the names and identifying factors blanked out. The Guardian newspaper, which made the original application for the information, believes that students have a right to know if the institution they are applying to is having financial difficulties. However, David Young, Chair of the HEFCE, claims that the disclosure of the institutions on the list "might well lead to closures of institutions" as they struggle to recruit students. He said: "The overall public interest … must lie in maximising the stability of HEIs [higher education institutions] and their provision of higher education, and in minimising the extent of adverse impact from financial risk situations on the public, specifically adverse impact on the public purse, and on students and those employed by the HEIs."
Polly Curtis, The Guardian 19 May
Academics at Nottingham University have accused their bosses of employing "underhand tactics" after admissions tutors were sent bogus emails purporting to be from prospective students and then ranked on their responses. Central administration sent five emails from made-up applicants in January to all 32 academic departments asking them about how they get a place to study at the university and including questions such as "Why should I come to Nottingham?" Heads of departments were then called into a meeting where they were given marks for their responses ranging from excellent through satisfactory to poor.
Polly Curtis, Education Correspondent, The Guardian 11 May
Update comment: Isn't this just standard quality control? "Mystery shoppers" are commonplace in other industries and sectors. Why shouldn't they be used to see how staff are performing at universities? Poor "customer services" could end up costing a university dearly.
In an article for The Guardian (3 May), Donald MacLeod examines conditions for staff on "the higher education shop floor". Mr MacLeod finds that, while great strides have been made to ensure that students are treated equitably, university staff "still face sexism, racism and homophobia on campus". A two-year study, commissioned by the funding councils of England, Wales and Scotland, has produced "a mixed picture and uncovered a lot of anger among staff". It found that those in senior management believe their institutions are committed to equality of opportunity. However, academic staff feel that they are treated less favourably than students, and believe that most initiatives and policies are in place to placate the student body, rather than support the development of staff. Unfortunately, as Mr MacLeod points out, the case study report was released on the eve of the election, guaranteeing "the minimum of publicity".
Full article: http://tinyurl.com/dsosj
Analysis by The Times Higher suggests that young academics may soon enjoy "a boom in job opportunities not seen for a generation" as thousands of staff retire. The analysis reveals, however, that there is a divide across the HE sector, with former polytechnics having higher proportions of staff nearing retirement than old research universities. Many universities, including Manchester Metropolitan, London Metropolitan, and Leeds Metropolitan, have more than one in five full-time staff aged 55 or over. In contrast, just over one in ten full-time academics at Bristol, Southampton, Sheffield and Nottingham universities are aged 55 or over. At Imperial College London the figure is just 9% among full-time academics.
Alison Goddard, The THES 27 May
According to the Global Higher Education Rankings, students in the UK pay, on average, around £7,000 a year to study and live. This figure makes Britain the third most expensive country in the world for study, being behind New Zealand and Japan. However, the introduction of the £3,000 top-up tuition fees in September will make it the second most costly, with Japan being the most expensive. Currently, Japanese students pay an average of £8,930 a year and receive no grants. Moreover, the UK grants system was found to be "at best, average", and the financial support offered to students described as "scrawny".
Amelia Hill, Education Correspondent, The Observer 8 May
Students in England graduating this year will owe a combined £2.46 billion, according to new figures. A report by Barclays shows that the average graduate debt is £13,501, an increase of more than 10% in the past year. However, the number of graduates with debts has fallen from 80% to just under 75% in the same period of time.
The Independent 5 May
Update comment: The poor get poorer?
Universities plan to spend less than a third of their income from higher tuition fees next year to help poorer students, according to an analysis conducted by The Times Higher. Almost £430 million will be raised when annual fees rise to £3,000 at most institutions next year. However, figures from the Office for Fair Access show that only £132 million, or 29%, is being earmarked for bursaries and outreach work with students from under-represented groups. More than £300 million will be used to support improvements to teaching facilities and academic pay. The analysis also revealed wide variations in the proportion of top-up fee income to be used for bursaries and outreach. Spending plans ranged from a 55% commitment from the University of Central Lancashire to just 11% at Anglia Polytechnic University.
Alison Goddard, The THES 6 May
Welsh students may be exempt from paying top-up fees wherever they study after the Welsh Assembly Government was defeated in a vote on the issue. The motion was accepted by Assembly members by 30 votes to 29. The members said it was expected that fee exemptions proposed in the motion would take the form of full-cost bursaries that students could take with them wherever they studied. The Assembly Government is seeking an emergency meeting with opposition members to discuss the outcome of the vote.
Tony Tysome, The THES 27 May
The vast majority of corporate computer hacking is performed by current and former employees, according to the head of the Metropolitan Police Computer Crime Unit. Addressing the InfoSecurity Europe conference in April, Detective Inspector Chris Simpson of the Unit argued that "in the vast majority of cases, … the culprits are current or former employees. They are not hacking into systems using flaws in software. Instead they are using flaws in the security procedures of the company to carry out their attack."
NFP Techno Number 75 May 2005
The FBI has announced that a Swedish teenager is under investigation for an attack which penetrated US computer systems, including those of the US military and NASA. A search is also under way elsewhere in Europe for possible accomplices. Alan Paller, Director of Research at the SANS Institute, a cyber-security training organisation, said the internet attacks demonstrated "the continuing vulnerability of seemingly closely guarded websites". He commented: "The dirty little secret of security is that even in organisations that have high security, operational problems cause those organisations not to patch."
Julian Borger, The Guardian 11 May
A unique new kind of malicious threat which locks up files on a PC then demands money in return for unlocking them has been identified. The program, Trojan.Pgpcoder, installs itself on a vulnerable computer after users visit certain websites. Once installed, it downloads an encoder application which searches for common types of files on a computer and networked drives to encrypt. The Trojan replaces files with locked ones, so that they are inaccessible. It then leaves a "ransom note" in a text file. Instructions to release the files are only handed over when a ransom fee is paid. Kevin Hogan, senior manager at web security firm Symantec, commented: "This attack is yet another indicator of the growing trend of criminals using technology for financial gain. This Trojan horse … is the equivalent of someone coming into your home, locking your valuables in a safe and refusing to give you the combination."
BBC News Online 26 May
The latest variant of the Sober worm has spread rapidly and now makes up as much as two-thirds of virus traffic on the internet, say security experts. Sober.P now accounts for 77% of all viruses detected by Sophos' threat-monitoring stations worldwide. In Western Europe, the spread of the worm has been described as an "epidemic" by security firm Kapersky Lab.
Dawn Kawamoto, News.com
via ITProPortal Midweek Roundup 4 May
The Metropolitan Police Service has launched a campaign to highlight the growing problem of "company hijacking" – where criminals fraudulently change a company's official registration details with Companies House. The fraudsters can then use and abuse the firm's credit rating, leaving the victim struggling to clean up its record. The police service has teamed up with Companies House to highlight the issue. In a campaign leaflet it sets out four simple steps that can be used to counter the fraud:
OUT-LAW.COM 11 May
Campaign leaflet (PDF 2pp): http://tinyurl.com/73s2w
Concerns about identity theft are beginning to put people off shopping and banking online, according to a survey commissioned by software firm Intervoice. The survey showed that 17% of people have stopped banking online while 13% had abandoned web shopping. Consumers are also concerned about the potential for offline ID theft, with 36% placing technologies such as credit card readers and online checkouts highest on their list of worries. A further 25% are concerned about paper receipts, while 14% said they worry about shop employees. Despite online concerns, it is an offline solution that is seen as the best way to tackle identity fraud, with 57% believing that ID cards are the best way to protect themselves against identity theft.
BBC News Online 25 May
The United States Congress has passed a law that threatens to pave the way for a US identity card. The Real ID Act, which was tagged on to a military funding bill, passed both the Senate and House of Representatives without full debate [editor's emphasis]. The Act will create a federally approved driver's licence which must be produced by anyone wishing to fly, enter federal buildings, or open a bank account. Privacy campaigners say that the Act paves the way for "a national ID card, and a "show us your papers" society.
OUT-LAW.COM 16 May
The government has underestimated the running costs of its ID card. New projections show that the cost will be around £5.8 billion over its first 10 years. This is almost twice the original projection. As a result, the Home Office has announced that the cost to the public will be around £93 – an increase on the £85 estimated six months ago. However, as this "unit cost" figure was calculated at 2005-06 prices, the price may reach £100 when cards are rolled out in 2008. In addition, the Home Office has also revealed that the technology which has underpinned a pilot project to test biometric verification is not as reliable as it should be. Fingerprint verification was successful in 81% of the sample. Iris verification worked in 96% of trials, although there was a lower success rate for black people and older people. However, facial verification took satisfactory images in just 69% of cases.
Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent, The Independent 26 May
Staff at the UK Passport Service (UKPS) are to be given access to births, deaths and marriages data, while banks will be able to verify identities by using UKPS information. UKPS staff will use data from the Office of National Statistics and the General Registry Offices in Scotland and Northern Ireland to check the identity of passport applicants. In addition, UKPS will offer a "passport verification service" to banks and other financial institutions, although the service will consist of a simple confirmation that the information presented is correct or otherwise. Bernard Herdan, Chief Executive of UKPS, said that the new arrangements, which will be in place by early 2007, are part of the agency's work to combat identity fraud.
Government Computing Volume 19 Number 5 (May 2005)
Personal information for 600,000 current and former Time Warner employees has been lost, the company has announced, potentially setting the stage for one of the largest cases yet of identity theft. A spokesperson for Time Warner said that the information was stored on back-up discs. The discs were being transported to a storage facility away from the office. However, they were lost in transit.
Dawn Kawamoto, Silicon
via ITProPortal Midweek Roundup 4 May
New rules on the security of information to be held in the new NHS Care Records Service have been published by the government.
The document is available (PDF 8pp) from http://tinyurl.com/aalye
OUT-LAW.COM 25 May
A survey conducted by AOL reveals that one in 20 UK internet users says they have lost money through online scams. Almost half say they have received phishing emails purporting to be from banks and building societies, while other notable frauds include paying for items which never arrive and sending cash following a demand from a bogus email. Of the 1% who had lost money through phishing, 53% were not compensated by their bank. A further 11% say they are still waiting for compensation.
BBC News Online 4 May
Software used to catch student cheats may soon be employed by journal publishers to help detect duplication and plagiarism by researchers. Two major academic publishers, Elsevier and Blackwell, claim that there has been a rise in academic plagiarism in recent years. They both announced plans to combat this issue, which may include using plagiarism detection software to check submitted research papers.
Phil Baty, The THES 27 May
There is considerable scope for libraries to exploit Weblogs:
In the case of librarians/information professionals Weblogs have a number of applications, such as:
A list of typical library and information science (LIS) Weblogs is included, together with notes on promotion and marketing, legal implications, corporate Weblogs and feeds.
Paul Pedley, Economist Intelligence Unit
Business Information Review
Volume 22 Number 2 (June 2005)
"I had a linguistics professor who said that it's man's ability to use language that makes him the dominant species on the planet. That may be. But I think there's one other thing that separates us from animals. We aren't afraid of vacuum cleaners."
Jeff Stilson
The Financial Ombudsman Service has awarded a woman £3,000 in compensation after a bank's clerical error led to the woman's whereabouts being discovered by her violent former partner, who subsequently assaulted her. According to the FOS, the customer explained to her bank that she had left her partner as a result of his increasingly violent behaviour. She asked them to change the address on her accounts, and stressed that the bank should not give her former partner her new address. However, when the bank changed the address on the accounts, a link on the computer system meant that the address on the joint account she held with her ex was also changed. He spotted the alteration when he came into the bank a few weeks later looking for a loan, and then proceeded to deliver a vicious attack.
OUT-LAW.COM 10 May
British schools should allow parents to take photos of their children at sports days and during nativity plays, according to new "common sense" guidance issued by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). At present, some schools do not allow photos or video recordings to be taken by parents because they fear that the taking of such pictures will breach the Data Protection Act. Not so, says the ICO. Photographs taken purely for personal use are exempt from the Act. This means that parents, friends and family members can take photographs of their child and friends participating in school activities for the family album and can film events at school. Only photos taken for official school use, such as identity passes, are covered by the Act, says the ICO, which warns that pupils and students should always be made aware as to why the photographs are being taken. Photographs taken by the media are usually exempt from the Act. "Our good practice guidance gives clear advice to schools about when data protection does and doesn't apply," said Assistant Commissioner Jane Durkin. "It is common sense that parents should be able to take photographs of their child at sports day."
OUT-LAW.COM 24 May
A survey of UK banking customers by Fujitsu Services has revealed strong support for biometric security. One in three respondents said they would like their bank to start using biometrics. The firm, which has already piloted palm-reading technology in Japan, suggests that concerns over PINs and phishing are undermining consumer confidence. Fujitsu claims to have had reasonable success in Japan with trials of biometric cashpoints where customers' palms are read.
Will Sturgeon, Silicon
via ITProPortal News Roundup 9 May
Microsoft is to launch an anti-virus and security service for PC users. The service will be offered on a yearly subscription basis, and will be called Windows OneCare. The system is currently being tested by Microsoft employees, before a trial release to the public later this year.
BBC News Online 16 May
More information: www.microsoft.com/windows/onecare/default.mspx
The Prime Minister's commitment to "Digital Britain" has been called into question by the All Party Internet Group (APIG). The APIG has been lobbying parliament for support to instigate a review of the Computer Misuse Act. The Act was first drafted in 1990, and is the UK's primary piece of legislation for addressing internet crime. However, the APIG maintains that the Act uses too narrow a definition of the term "computer". As such, it fails to include new technology, such as mobile phones and PDAs. Despite such glaring omissions, the APIG has been unsuccessful in securing high-level government support, and was forced to petition parliament under the 10-minute rule. Simon Perry of Computer Associates commented: "Efforts to re-start a debate … are to be applauded, but a paltry 10-minute slot is not enough time or attention to give to such an important issue. This lack of interest is an insult to British businesses, which are most at risk from cyber attacks."
Information Age April 2005
A report from the Commons Science and Technology Committee urges the government to bring in independent auditors to scrutinise the management of the UK's DNA database. The Committee is concerned that, despite recommendations from experts on genetic issues, the Home Office has no plans to used external auditors. The report states: "We have not heard any form of commitment by the Home Office to establish an independent body with full ethical and lay input to oversee the workings of the database. Failure to do so at this juncture would be a wasted opportunity."
Government Computing Volume 19 Number 5 (May 2005)
The British Computer Society has introduced e-Citizen, a 10-week course through which individuals can learn to perform routine tasks using the internet. Participants can learn how to use the internet to shop, bank, book a holiday or email friends. It also teaches participants how to protect themselves and their equipment.
More information: www.ecitizen.co.uk
Newscheck May 2005
This publication provides an update on the development of mobile phone technologies with the potential for supporting and delivering some elements of teaching and learning processes. The report also outlines the key findings of the m-learning research and development project.
LSDA Briefing May 2005
Mobile technologies and learning - A technology
update and m-learning project summary by Jill Attewell is available free of
charge from LSDA Information Services
tel: 020 7297 9144
email:
enquiries@LSDA.org.uk
Media lecturers at Coventry University have launched an "m-learning" teaching technique. Students can download course material and can listen to lectures via their mobile phones. Lecturers send video clips, still images and sound clips to students, and material from lectures is available for the web or mobile phones. Founders Eduardo Carrillo and Harold Fricker have secured a grant to develop m-learning further, with an aim to establish international links and gain the support of industry.
Christina Okoli, The Guardian 12 May
The Training Foundation is helping to raise the skills levels of young people through the launch of its Ready For Work online training programme. Free to students in full-time education, the course aims to prepare young people to become "responsible" employees. Ready For Work comprises 12 courses which build the participants' awareness of key employment issues, including:
For more information, visit: www.trainingfoundation.com
E-Learning Age May 2005
Nina Timmermans
ISBN: 9-28715-720-0 Price: 17 Euros
There is an estimated one million deaf people in the member states of the Council of Europe. Sign languages are the indigenous languages of deaf people. In addition, many of their family members and friends use sign language as a second or foreign language, as do some hearing-impaired people. This report, based on information provided by member states' governments and by NGOs, gives an overview of the recognition of sign languages in twenty-six European states. It also summarises policies and programmes which have been developed by member states to ensure sign language users have access to their political, social and cultural rights.
Council of Europe Publishing email update 29 April
Authors: Jayne Taylor, Darcy Vasickova, Andy Byrom and Jenny Dickson
ISBN: 1-86201-245-8 Price: £24.95
The provision of information, advice and guidance (IAG) for learning and work is critical to the government's achievement of key targets relating to skills development, training and employment – and therefore to the nation's future productivity and economic success. So what do adults in England think about the IAG services available to them? In 2004, MORI asked a nationally representative sample of 1,548 people for their views on the relevance and perceived benefits of accessing IAG services, and also how satisfied they were with services received. The aim was to explore the experiences and attitudes of both users and non-users of IAG, to inform the development of future services. This report builds on the baseline study commissioned by the Guidance Council, and also conducted by MORI (Demand for Information, Advice and Guidance) in 2000. The present study has been expanded to look in more detail at:
A Summary Report highlighting key issues for information, advice and guidance policy makers and practitioners is also available, priced £8.95
NIACE website May 2005
Contact Publication Sales, NIACE, 21 De Montfort Street,
Leicester, LE1 7GE
tel: 0116 204 4216
email:
orders@niace.org.uk
Practitioners in careers guidance, employment advice or related fields frequently see the "final output" from companies downsizing – getting rid of surplus people. Some may well have experience of being made redundant. This article in IDS HR Studies Plus (Number 797 (May 2005)) sets out the management process from the viewpoint of the management team. Managers must consider the obligation to consult, the nature of consultation, announcing the redundancies, communicating with staff, limiting redundancies, identifying the pool for selection, selection criteria, enhanced redundancy payments, and outplacement support. Case studies of seven large employers (including DWP) are followed by a "Guide to Suppliers". This looks at the role of outplacement specialists, and provides details of the services offered by 16 outplacement suppliers.
Update comment: None of the 16 is a public sector organisation. An oversight or a misunderstanding? And, not a single mention of matrix as a standard!
Thomas J Nechbya, Duke University and
Randall P Walsh, University of Colorado
Modern usage of the term "sprawl" was coined in 1937 by Earle Draper – one of the first city planners in the south-eastern United States. The major themes that characterise the current debate over sprawl and its connections of transportation and income had already emerged by the end of World War II. These issues were summarised in the 1940s by the British advocate of city planning F J Osborn. "These new forms of transportation… were used … to facilitate the sprawling of suburbs, a type of urban growth wasteful from the economic standpoint and disadvantageous socially. Coupled with the rise of real incomes, rapid transport has enabled the people moving out from the centres to find the open residential surroundings they desired. But they, and the numerous immigrants from rural areas, have obtained these surroundings at the expense of long and costly daily journeys to and from work. Local community life has been weakened or destroyed, and access to the country made more difficult for the large numbers of residents still left in the city centres." "Sprawl" = lower city densities and an expanding city footprint. Most people living in the "Sprawl" are better off financially but gains are not without cost. Four issues raise efficiency and equity concerns:
Journal of Economic Perspectives (Fall 2004)
Update comment: It is, of course, not only in the city centres that there are pockets of poverty. There was, during the latter half of the last century, a deliberate policy of providing public housing "out of town" but those who have an income which precludes their buying their own home are likely to reap all the disadvantages of sprawl with none of the benefits.
This guide will help identify terminology which is broadly acceptable and which promotes best practice and professionalism. The information contained in the guide is intended to help avoid the unintentional offence caused by unthinking use of language and to improve relationships across the whole of our communities.
TUC email update 21 May
Full publication (PDF 52pp): http://tinyurl.com/867jg
Mike Cole (University of Brighton) and Janet S Stuart (University of Sussex)
In this article the authors report on part of a small-scale study into the experiences of 28 British-born Asian and black, and overseas student teachers, who were following both Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and school-based routes to qualified teacher status (QTS) in Sussex and Kent. The results indicate worrying degrees of racism, xenophobia and general ignorance in schools in South-East England, a finding underscored by some recent interviews undertaken by a local council in the same region. The authors conclude that, in order to challenge this racism, xenophobia and ignorance, there is an urgent need to be proactive in undermining racism. This should include the full implementation of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act in all educational institutions and the endorsement of the Stephen Lawrence Enquiry (Macpherson) Report's recommendation for the amendment of the National Curriculum to provide an education which deals with racism awareness. (Original abstract)
British Educational Research Journal Volume 31 Number 3 (June 2005)
Women from ethnic minorities are poorer, less educated and more poorly represented in the ranks of decision-makers in the UK than their white counterparts, according to research from the Fawcett Society. While the research revealed a varied picture of experience among ethnic groups, the commonality is one of continuing disadvantage and discrimination. Kate Rake, Director of the Fawcett Society, said that the experiences of women from ethnic minorities have been largely overlooked, since most studies focus on either race or gender, but not both. She said: "Our report reveals the terrible impact that multiple discrimination … can have on black and minority ethnic women, who continue to be excluded from positions of power."
Equal Opportunities Review Number 140 (April 2005)
Black and Minority Ethnic Women in the UK is
available, price £5, from The Fawcett Society
tel: 020 7253 2598
email: info@fawcettsociety.org.uk
More than half of overseas students in the UK are being denied overdrafts vital to their financial well-being, according to a national survey. The National Union of Students survey also found that 27% had not been given a debit card. Many respondents complained that they had experienced discriminatory attitudes from bank staff.
Adults Learning Volume 16 Number 9 (May 2005)
Men gain 83% of new board appointments and dominate two-thirds of company boards, according to research from the Centre for High Performance Development. The research found that, while there is no significant difference in the competencies of men and women aiming for a directorship, men tend to overrate their own abilities and downplay those of women. The Centre's Chief Executive Chris Parry explained: "Men are much more comfortable with the political dynamics in organisations, and focus on being visible and confident. They find ways of getting themselves in front of senior executives and making sure their contribution is valued. Women, on the other hand, dislike this, and believe that keeping their heads down and doing a good job should be sufficient. This is definitely a factor in explaining the glass ceiling."
IRS Employment Review Number 821 (15 April)
Update comment: Ah, so it's women's own fault that they don't gain promotions, then? Well, I'm glad we've sorted that little one out. Dawn
A study published in the British Medical Journal suggests that the difference in life expectancy between the richest and poorest people in Britain is now "more pronounced than in Victorian times". Researchers examined progress towards a government target introduced in February 2001 to raise life expectancy in the most deprived areas faster than other areas by 2010. However, the findings show that the gap has widened. Among men, the gap between the local authority with the lowest life expectancy (Glasgow) and the one with the highest (East Dorset) rose from 10 to 11 years over the period from 1995-97 to 2001-03. Among women, the gap increased from 7.8 to 8.4 years. The researchers argue that this is a direct reflection of wealth and income inequality, which have also become more pronounced.
Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, The Independent 29 April
To maintain the present ratio the US will have to absorb an average of 10.8 million immigrants annually through to 2050. At that point, however, the US population would total 1.1 billion, 73% of whom would be immigrants who had arrived in the country since 1995 or their descendants.
Journal of Economic Perspectives (Fall 2004)
Kirklees Libraries in Yorkshire offer a bibliotherapy service. Bibliotherapists work with health professionals, encouraging the use of books to help people suffering from stress, anxiety and depression. They have promoted the idea of a "book prescription", and hold "reading pharmacies" for users in the library setting.
Info@UK Issue 50 (May 2005)
The UK has come bottom in a survey of take-up of eGovernment services by businesses within the 25 EU Member States. According to the European benchmarks on eGovernment and internet usage 2004, less than a third of businesses in the UK used basic eGovernment services compared to the European average of 45% and 90% in Sweden. Key findings include:
eGov Monitor Weekly 16 May
In an article for the New York Times (19 May), David Pogue reviews the latest incarnation of the Palm computer – the LifeDrive. PalmOne (formerly Palm Computing) has given the palm computer a one-inch, four-gigabyte hard drive. The device can be hooked directly into a PC, and can be filled with whatever files or applications you want to carry. It can also be used as a "data bucket" to carry files that the LifeDrive does not recognise and cannot open from one computer to another. Other features include:
However, Mr Pogue warns that there is a 6-second delay when switching between screen views, which may be frustrating to some users. He comments: "If you have the patience for those little six-second lapses, then this device could replace a laptop during many of your out-of-office experiences. Otherwise, though, try before you buy. If you're a busy person you'll be tempted to rename this palmtop the Life'sTooShortDrive."
If you want to find out what makes your computer tick (or not), check out PCTechGuide, an understandable guide to PC technology. There are two main sections: "Guides" and "Tutorials". Guides consists of components, storage, multimedia, input/output, and communications. Tutorials covers commonly performed PC tasks. Terms in blue link to the glossary whilst the green hyperlinks take you to sponsored sites.
URL: www.pctechguide.com
Tips and Advice Internet Year 9 issue 4 (25 February)
The Scottish Parliament has set up an online log of all the "information which has been released in response to requests for information under the FOI (Scotland) Act 2002 since January 2005". Scotland has a similar Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to that of the rest of the UK. The log also provides links to useful sources of information such as the Scottish Information Commissioner.
URL: www.scottish.parliament.uk/cnPages/foi/log05.htm
Info@UK Issue 50 (May 2005)
The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers has adopted a declaration to set standards for human rights and the rule of law in today's information society. But a digital rights group complains that it fails to say anything new. The declaration is the first international attempt to draw up a framework on the issue and breaks ground by updating the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights for the internet-age. It also looks at how all the stakeholders – such as ISPs, hardware and software manufacturers, governments and civil society – can co-operate both nationally and internationally on the issue.
OUT-LAW.COM 25 May
The government is planning to offer citizens low-cost digital certificates to give them more convenient and secure access to online government services. Under the plans, digital certificates allowing individuals to prove their identity online – which today cost around £25 – could be made available for as little as £5. With the launch of its Government Connect initiative, the government is in discussions to obtain cheaper digital certificates by pointing out that its plans for online authentication could open up a potentially huge new market.
eGov Monitor Weekly 23 May
More information: www.egovmonitor.com/node/1024
Pupils at a Leicestershire secondary school are to pilot a fingerprint payment scheme for school meals. Pupils will place their fingerprints on a digital pad in the dining room, which links them to their "account". Accounts can be topped up through a cash machine, or parents can send cheques directly to the school. Parents will also be able to request itemised food bills and will also be able to apply limitations on their child's account regarding what they can spend on food at breakfast, break or lunch.
E-Government Bulletin Issue 186 (13 May)
Linux is becoming increasingly popular. Have you wondered whether Linux is for you, or your organisation? Installation is not easy but you can now try the system without installing anything at all. Linux Live is downloadable and can then be burned to a CD. You don't overwrite anything! The best-known Linux live distribution is Knoppix <www.knoppix.org>. Follow the on-screen instructions remembering to click on the UK/US flag to get the English version.
Two warnings:
Warning one! Don't download with a dial-up connection.
Warning two! Don't do anything drastic with any data – this is a demo version and works on read-only.
Tips and Advice Internet Year 9 issue 4 (25 February)
A survey commissioned by the Financial Times reveals that many local authorities and public bodies plan to increase their use of open source software (OSS). The UK public sector spent around £12.4 billion on Microsoft products during 2003-04. However, more than 60% of respondents said they intended to increase their use of OSS, which is free or much cheaper than Microsoft's programmes. More than three-quarters using it plan to expand their use over the next three years, while two out of five who do not yet use it plan to do so. These findings pose "a serious threat to Microsoft's UK public sector monopoly".
Roger Blitz, UK Affairs Editor, Financial Times 9 May
Primary schools could cut their computer costs by nearly half if they stopped buying, operating and supporting products from Microsoft and other commercial programs, according to research conducted by BECTa. The research also found that secondary schools could save around a quarter by switching to open source software.
The TES 6 May
Research conducted by The Training Camp suggests that it is possible to identify the area of technology a person works in simply by examining their facial hair. The study found that Linux enthusiasts are most likely to sport a "sculpted goatee", while database experts favour the "chin-strap" beard. For CEOs, the preferred style is a simple moustache. A spokesperson for The Training Camp said: "The face of the IT industry remains overwhelmingly male and bearded."
Information Age
Update comment: So there you have it, ladies. If you want to get ahead in IT, get a face-full of hair!
Subjects as varied as plumbing and philosophy could be on the timetable for more Scottish pupils, thanks to a strategy to forge closer links between schools and colleges. In a Scottish Parliament debate today (12 May), Education Minister Peter Peacock outlined details of Lifelong Partners – the school-college partnership strategy – which will be backed by an extra £41.5 million investment.
Scottish Executive press release 12 May
Lifelong Partners: Scotland's Schools And Colleges Building The Foundations Of A Lifelong Learning Society - A Guide for Schools, Colleges and Local Authorities (PDF 81pp): http://tinyurl.com/8nl5f
The Scottish further education college that is credited with pioneering the private finance initiative model is more than £4 million in debt. According to a report from the Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC), without "adequate funding" West Lothian College may soon be unable to meet its contractual commitments under the PFI project. Robert Black, the Auditor General, said the SFEFC had commissioned an appraisal of the options available to "secure the college's long-term financial position".
Raymond Duncan, The Scottish Herald 3 May
The Higher Education Funding Council for England has announced that there has been a 60% response rate to the National Student Survey. This means that the results can be regarded as "statistically reliable", and results will be published on the Teaching Quality Information website shortly. The aim of the survey is to give applicants for 2006 more information about what students think of their course and institution.
Paul Hill, The THES 20 May
URL: www.tqi.ac.uk
The First Minister today (11 May) warmly welcomed a report on the possible future shape of higher education provision in South East Wales. The report is published by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) which commissioned the report against the background of the terminated merger discussions between the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC), and the current potential merger discussions between UWIC and the University of Wales, Newport. The report invites UWIC, the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport to consider the possibility of merging into a single institution. It argues that this would lead to a distinctive new university being created of national standing, world class in selected domains, serving the needs and aspirations of students and the economy.
Welsh Assembly press release 11 May
In an article for The TES (13 May), Joseph Lee questions the panic surrounding the literacy levels of children taking their Key Stage 2 SATs. Mr Lee points out that, while there has been a national outcry about the revelation that some 20% are expected to miss the government's target for reading, this does not mean that 20% of the nation's 10- and 11-year-olds are illiterate. What it means is that 20% will not reach Level 4. However, the majority of these children will reach Level 3, which is still a reasonable level of competence. As one dismayed headteacher said: "To read some of the papers, Level 3 is akin to scratching in the ground with a stick, which is not true."
Update comment: Nice to see someone else saying what Alan Wells has been saying for several years!
A leading education expert has warned that pushy, middle-class parents may be harming their offspring by "hot-housing" them with private tutors, extra lessons and too much pressure to succeed. Margaret Sutherland, a Glasgow University lecturer specialising in children's learning, argues that "common sense techniques" such as reading with children and spending time with them, are far more beneficial than "trendy and expensive" practices. She said: "There are lots of parents who think their child should learn how to speak French one night, have ballet lessons the next, and then do sport for a couple of days until they have extra maths revision at the weekend. It's not because their kids have an aptitude for it, but because parents want them to do it. Many of the kids who are pushed beyond their peer group become burned out."
Arthur Macmillan, Scotland on Sunday 15 May
Speaking at the annual conference of the National Association of Head Teachers, CBI Director General Sir Digby Jones attacked the trend towards schools refusing to organise out-of-school activities for fear of being sued. Sir Digby argued that Britain is creating "a nation of victims" who are "ready to claim compensation at a moment's notice". He called on schools to teach pupils to be taught more about risk-taking than their rights, and added: "We're teaching them that risk doesn't exist. … I want sports days where there are firsts, seconds, thirds and prizes given out for winning. I want exams that you can fail."
Richard Garner, The Independent 3 May
Children are spending so much time in the city and losing touch with nature that they are unable to identify the leaves of trees such as oak and ash, according to a survey from conservation charity the Woodland Trust.
Edinburgh Evening News 29 April
Researchers delving into today's complicated range of family set-ups must recognise that "brother and sister" relationships are now about far more than blood ties and living in the same home, warns a new study sponsored by the ESRC. As 21st-century children and young people create their own, complex understandings of who and what is a sibling, the important social implications need to be taken on board, says a working paper from a team led by Professor Rosalind Edwards of the London South Bank University. The study found that, for many, the definition of brothers and sisters has less to do with biology and living arrangements than with their own circumstances and experiences. It suggests that, while the question of who is a brother or a sister may seem to have a simple answer – siblings are related by biology, through their parents, or at least one of them – children's own answers to the question are more complex. Professor Edwards explains: "The increasing diversity of family structures in most western societies raises a number of issues around the technical fact of who is a sister or brother. Rising rates of divorce and separation, re-partnering and step-families, mean that children may now have full siblings (sharing both biological parents), half siblings (sharing one) and step-siblings (who are not related by blood, but each has a biological parent in a relationship)."
ESRC press release PR34/05 18 May
According to a study from the National Family and Parenting Institute, the "traditional path to adulthood" is being eroded, as parents are expected to provide continuing economic support during their children's increasingly lengthy transitions into independence. The study found that the drive to increase participation in higher education, coupled with high house prices and fewer jobs for young people, is forcing them to remain dependent on their parents until "well into their 20s". Professor Gill Jones, the report's author, said that young people are "caught between family law, which regards parental responsibility as ending at 16 or 18, and a state safety net which denies young people full support until they are in their early or mid-20s".
Lucy Ward, Social Affairs Correspondent, The Guardian 10 May
Young adults and the extension of economic dependence in youth: Implications for families (PDF 16pp): www.nfpi.org/data/research/docs/YouthDep.pdf
"Never eat any place where they mark the restroom doors in any way but 'Men' and 'Women' or 'Ladies' and 'Gents'. Especially don't eat in a restaurant that specialises in seafood and marks its restroom doors 'Buoys' and 'Gulls', because they have been too busy thinking up cutesy names for the restroom doors to pay attention to the food."
Louis Grizzard
New research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows that employers are reliant on migrant labour to fill professional and skilled trade vacancies. The CIPD's quarterly Labour Market Outlook, which reports the results of a survey of 1,300 employers, reveals:
Dr John Philpott, Chief Economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, commenting on the implications of the research for the government's proposals, warned that any efforts to limit immigration must meet the needs of employers reliant on migrant labour to plug skills gaps and resolve recruitment difficulties.
HRLook Daily News 18 May
A report published by City and Guilds of London shows that the next generation of vocational college graduates and school-leavers will be in a prime bargaining position as companies compete to recruit fresh talent. The report, Missing Generation, suggests that by 2020, declining birth rates and longer periods in learning will mean that young people (16-25-year-olds) will comprise just 11% of the workforce, compared to 16% today – a fall of nearly one million. Chris Humphries, Director-General of City & Guilds, said: "As young talent becomes scarcer, employers will need radically to rethink their recruitment and management strategies, focusing on empowerment and respect of young workers. Managing such a newly empowered workforce will inevitably present an unexpected management challenge."
David Rose, The Times Online 23 May
Full report (PDF 18pp): http://tinyurl.com/bk8qn
This document sets out guidance for providers about self-assessment and quality improvement. It aims to support the government's vision of a learning and skills sector that is able, by 2008, to meet its own priorities and targets for improvement, drawing effectively on the findings of inspection and annual self-assessment.
LSC email update 21 May
Quality Improvement And Self-Assessment (PDF 24pp): http://tinyurl.com/786x3
A study comparing current teens and early twentysomethings with their counterparts from 10 years ago finds that there have been substantial moves away from binge-drinking and clubbing, towards "a new mood of maturity, sophistication and even abstinence". The Right of Admission Reserved survey, conducted by media agency OMD and Channel 4, identifies a hard line among today's 15- to 24-years-olds towards social issues. They are more likely to call for tougher laws on immigration and a return to capital punishment and are broadly in favour of identity cards. However, they have a more relaxed attitude to their finances than 10 years ago. Other findings include:
Lucy Ward, Social Affairs Correspondent, The Guardian 11 May
More information: www.roar.org.uk/
Students facing end-of-year exams have abandoned the practice of replacing sleep with sugar and are turning to lightly grilled fish and fresh fruit, according to two of Britain's biggest supermarkets. Tesco and Sainsbury's are attributing a significant increase in sales of fish, which is rich in Omega 3 oils, and fruit to an exam-time demand for "brain food". A Tesco spokesman said: "It doesn't fit the retail patterns for diet sales, and the rise is greatest in university towns."
The Guardian 11 May
Glasgow City Council has introduced a healthy eating scheme for secondary school pupils that rewards them for making good food choices. The scheme is similar to a supermarket loyalty system, in that pupils are given a swipecard which accumulates points for buying healthy food. The points are traded in at the end of term for a variety of rewards, ranging from cinema tickets and book tokens to iPods and Xbox consoles. Gillian Kynoch, the Scottish Executive's food and health co-ordinator, is said to be monitoring the scheme with, potentially, a view to implementing it across the country.
Stephen Stewart, The Scottish Herald 19 May
The government's lack of "joined-up thinking" over decisions affecting international students is risking the reputation of UK universities around the world, according to the chair of Universities UK's international strategy group. Speaking at an event organised by UK Visas, Professor Robert Boucher said the higher education sector was being "buffeted by an onslaught of different impositions" that could force overseas students to look elsewhere to study. He called for "an efficient, effective and fair immigration service".
Liz Ford, The Guardian 24 May
Full text of Professor Boucher's speech: http://tinyurl.com/7evu6
More than one in five overseas student applicants are abusing the UK visa system, according to a Home Office survey. The survey, which investigated more than 3,000 students at 18 different institutions, found evidence of "forged documentation, false identities, bogus references and sponsors, visa recycling, bribery and students disappearing after arrival". The Home Office and UK Visas, which runs the visa service, argue that a fee rise from £35 to £80 this summer is needed to cover the costs of combating the abuse.
Tony Tysome, The THES 27 May
Jo Morrison et al
This article considers how well international students in the UK perform academically, seeking to identify factors which affect their ability to fulfil their potential. It provides a short survey of the literature and summarises the findings of a research project commissioned by UKCOSA: The Council for International Education. The research analysed data collected centrally by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on the class of degree obtained by undergraduate students from different countries. Although there is some variation, the HESA data on which the analysis was based do not allow the causes of the differences to be identified confidently.
Studies in Higher Education
Volume 30 Number 3 (June 2005)
Figures released by the Independent Schools Council show that the number of pupils at independent schools has fallen by more than 3,000 this year, the first time the figures have fallen for a decade. Independent school heads believe that much of the fall is due to new visa charges for overseas children, which have more than doubled since last year. Overseas families have to pay £255 for a postal application for a visa and £500 for an application in person. This has to be renewed at ages 8, 13, 16 and 18.
Richard Garner, Education Editor, The Independent 10 May
According to a study conducted by Manchester university and recruitment analyst John Howson, of Education Data Surveys, experienced teachers from Commonwealth countries are being "exploited and underpaid". The study reveals that, while teachers from EU member states are automatically granted Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) on entry to the UK, staff from other countries, including Australia and New Zealand, are required to undergo a training programme to gain QTS. Overseas teachers are permitted to work in the UK without QTS for up to four years, However, they are paid at a considerably lower rate than those with QTS. The researchers found that the QTS programme was being shunned by most overseas teachers who considered it "time-consuming, onerous and demeaning".
Graeme Paton, The TES 6 May
A survey by recruitment agency Select Education has found that the number of unqualified teachers in UK schools has risen by 500% since 1997. The survey shows that many schools have witnessed a jump in "instructors", graduates and foreign teachers, none of whom has UK teaching qualifications. Bob Wicks, chair of Select Education, said the teacher shortage was most acute in maths, science and IT. Responding to the findings, a spokesperson from the DfES said: "Just 4% of teachers do not have UK Qualified Teacher Status. These teachers are either qualifying through graduate training programmes, are instructors who bring specialist knowledge to the classroom or are from countries overseas such as Australia, Canada or New Zealand and are fully qualified in their own country."
Matthew Taylor, Education Correspondent, The Guardian 11 May
The NHS is heading for a staffing crisis as overseas nurses prepare to quit Britain for better-paid jobs in the US, according to a report from the King's Fund, an independent health thinktank. Researchers for the Fund found that around 40% of overseas nurses who are registered to work in the UK are considering taking up posts in other countries. Among Filipino nurses, who make up the largest faction, this figure rises to 60%. Niall Dickson, the Fund's Chief Executive said: "We've got to find a better way of treating this vital group of workers … unless we address this issue fast those nurses thinking of moving to another country are more likely to make the move and that could have serious consequences for the NHS."
John Carvel, Social Affairs Editor, The Guardian 18 May
Ombudsmen aim to ensure that their services are accessible to all. However, for many people, particularly those who are less confident or have literacy problems, the prospect of making an official complaint can be extremely daunting. This article looks at the work of two Ombudsman schemes:
An article in the next issue of Adviser will cover:
Each of the Ombudsmen describes the practical steps involved in making a complaint and explains how the Ombudsman then investigates it and notifies the parties of the decision. The article also considers the role of the adviser, either in dealing with a complaint on the client's behalf or empowering the client to pursue the complaint his/herself.
URLs: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Adviser Number 109 (May/June 2005)
The TUC has accused the CBI of exaggerating the problem of sick-leave. The CBI has accused the TUC of down-playing the problem of sick leave. So, no change there then.
Ashley Seager, The Guardian 11 May
The current debate between the CBI and TUC about sickies is muddle-headed and manages to miss the point. Mud-slinging over whether we're a nation of "work-shy sickie throwers" (according to the CBI) or "saints who turn up for work despite being at death's door" (according to the TUC) are failing to recognise that reducing absence is about work organisation and good job design. The cost to the economy is not from the odd "extended" weekend but employees who end up "on the sick" for months on end. Long-term absence represents 75% of the average £400 per employee per annum cost of absence. Bright ideas and schemes will cut down on the irritation factor of staff throwing "sickies", but it won't necessarily cut down on the overall costs of managing absence by that much. Most disturbingly, every week approximately 3,000 people move from long-term sickness to ongoing incapacity benefit. Of the 2.7 million people now receiving incapacity benefit, only 30 people rejoin the workforce each week. Nevertheless, it is important that employers have effective policies and procedures in operation to tackle absenteeism. Even more critical is a commitment to address the root causes of sickness absence – although this is a significant challenge, demanding a willingness to reorganise work, redesign jobs and raise management standards.
Work Foundation press release 11 May
The Work Foundation report, Attendance Management, (PDF 35pp) is at www.theworkfoundation.com/pdf/Attendance_Management_research.pdf
Agreement has been reached with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to establish a new European top level domain (TLD) of .eu. This will not replace existing national TLDs, e.g. .uk, but will offer an alternative option for organisations that want to have a pan-European internet identity. EURid, the European Registry of Internet Domain Names, will run the .eu TLD for the next five years. The first phase of registration is planned for later in 2005.
Info@UK Issue 50 (May 2005)
Responding to an email request for information on Oxford University's plans to restructure its library service, a member of staff inadvertently pressed "Reply", rather than "Forward", thereby revealing her concern about "sending [the enquirer] any information that could be used against us".
The Guardian 10 May
Update comment: Oops!
OfCOM is considering proposals to introduce a common classification scheme for media content in all formats. The communications watchdog believes that a single labelling system for all medial content will help to curb "the distribution of harmful or inappropriate material". If the proposal is accepted by leading media companies, Britain could become one of the first countries to introduce a uniform classification system for the audio-visual industry.
Tim Burt, Media Editor, Financial Times 3 May
"Alarming" research conducted by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) finds that 74% of UK companies would not report to the police employees caught downloading indecent images of children. Moreover, nearly 40% of companies would not even take steps to discipline or dismiss such an employee. The research was published in conjunction with the launch of the IWF's Wipe It Out campaign, which aims to stamp out the downloading and distribution of indecent images of children in the workplace. Peter Robbins, CEO of IWF, explains: "The research has confirmed our expectations that a majority of IT managers are in fact uninformed of the correct procedure to follow, rather than being unwilling to sit up and act."
HRLook Daily News 11 May
More information: www.iwf.org.uk/public/page.139.htm
Chris Awre, Integration Architect, e-Services Integration Group, University of Hull
The JISC-funded Contextual Resource Evaluation Environment (CREE) project is exploring how users wish to make use of internet- and library-based search tools within a variety of environments. The University of Hull is working with the Universities of Oxford, Edinburgh and York, as well as Newark & Sherwood College and instructional media + magic inc. in Washington DC, to examine how search tools can be presented to the user in different contexts, offering search functionality in relation to learning, teaching and research activities. The project has been approaching this work through two tracks of activity: user requirements assessment via a national UK survey, and technical development. Results from this research have led to the development of a series of interactive search interface demonstrators that are being used to test user reaction to the presentation of search tools within different environments and contexts. The project runs to the end of July 2005 and full results will be reported thereafter.
D-Lib Magazine April 2005
More information (PDF 3pp): http://tinyurl.com/adl84
Goretti Considine, City Business Library, Corporation of London
Comments are presented, based on the experiences of the City Business Library (CBL), a major public business library serving the City of London and other users, on selected results and conclusions of the Business Information Resources Survey 2005 (Foster and Foster, 2005), the annual survey of UK business libraries and information resources. These results have pointed to the declining demand for the services of public business libraries generally, particularly since the advent of business information services on the internet. The CBL appears to have escaped some of these trends, with both visitor numbers and enquiry figures increasing.
Business Information Review
Volume 22 Number 2 (June 2005)
The University of Manchester's careers service has been voted the best in the country for the third consecutive year. In a survey of more than 120 graduate employers for the annual AGR/Barkers National Graduate Media Audit, the university beat Cambridge and Oxford into second and third place respectively. Chair of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) Alison Hodgson said: "University careers services play a vital role in preparing students for the transition from the world of education to the world of work."
Liz Ford, The Guardian 24 May
The inspection of nine academies has been delayed for a year, prompting accusations that the government changed the rules to prevent OfSTED from evaluating its "controversial education policy" before the election. OfSTED has inspected just one academy as yet, although it should have inspected up to 12 by now. Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, believes that the government reneged on its promise to inspect academies within two years of their opening. He said: "My hunch is that inspections would show that academies' performance is not different from that of other schools."
Jon Slater, The TES 20 May
One of the government's city academies is set to be failed by OfSTED inspectors, putting pressure on ministers to justify the programme which is expensive but has so far failed to deliver significant improvements in results. The Unity City Academy in Middlesbrough, visited by inspectors in March, was found to be "failing to provide a good education". The academy is likely to be placed in special measures.
Sarah Cassidy, Education Correspondent, The Independent 16 May
Update comment: Special measures were confirmed in news bulletins today (27 May). Hazel
The number of failing secondary schools in England rose last term, according to figures published by OfSTED. Inspectors reported that 96 schools had been put in "special measures" – the last stage before closure – by the end of March. This figure is two higher than at the end of the previous term. However, OfSTED reported an overall drop in the number of schools "causing concern" which included those in special measures, those deemed to have "serious weaknesses" or categorised as "under-achieving".
Matthew Taylor, Education Correspondent, The Guardian 17 May
The vast sums of money invested in children's education since Labour came to power in 1997 have resulted in only "modest" gains in terms of attainment, according to a study carried out by the Curriculum, Evaluation and Management Centre at Durham University. The study suggests that, although there have been some clear gains since 1997, these have been overstated in official statistics and there has been very little growth since 2000. Researchers concluded that "too many changes were put into place without sufficient evidence of their effectiveness before they were released into schools". They called for ideas and initiatives to be more rigorously tested before they are allowed to become policy.
Zero2Nineteen Bulletin 4 May
Failing schools in England are being closed at the rate of one every eight days, according to official figures released by OfSTED. The figures show that 46 schools were closed last year, after poor inspection reports. The Queen's Speech outlined plans for a more streamlined approach to shutting under-achieving schools. The government proposes that OfSTED should be able to close failing schools directly.
BBC News Online 17 May
Policies to attract more working-class students into higher education may be based on "flawed" research with incomplete data or suspect methodology, researchers have told the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The interim report of a review of the evidence about widening participation warns that conclusions drawn about the impact of new admissions policies or outreach work may not be reliable. The review team examined initiatives such as the Sutton Trust Summer Schools Scheme, and concluded: "There are three general flaws that characterise research concerning widening participation in education. These are the lack of controlled interventions, the lack of appropriate comparator groups and the lack of proportionate analyses of the figures involved. So common are these flaws that they are not generally remarked on, not picked up in peer review, and not taken into account when attempting to draw warranted conclusions from one or more studies."
Paul Hill, The THES 6 May
More information: www.york.ac.uk/depts/educ/equity/barriers.htm
Labour's manifesto pledge to send 50% of young people into higher education risks "obscuring" the government's wider aim of encouraging learning from infancy to retirement, the Education Secretary said in her first interview about higher education. Speaking to The Times Higher, Ruth Kelly said: "In a way it's a funny measure 18 to 30, and to stop at 30. I don't think [the target] is artificial, but I do think that it obscures some underlying ambitions that we have – that everyone engages in a culture of lifelong learning. There's a danger of losing sight of the bigger picture. We need to think about how we manage to communicate our ambition to have a lifelong learning culture; it's not necessarily about targets – it's about reflecting the fact that there are real opportunities for people out there."
Paul Hill and Alan Thomson, The THES 20 May
Workers in the 10 new EU member states work on average 112 hours – or almost three working weeks – more per year than workers in the EU15, according to a new report. The European Foundation's European Industrial Relations Observatory's (EIRO) annual update on working-time developments found that in the EU25 average usual weekly hours were 40.2 in 2003, compared with an average collectively agreed weekly working time of 38.6 hours in 2004. Within the EU15 countries, the United Kingdom stands out with the longest full-time hours (43.1) and a 5.9 hours gap between agreed and usual hours. Norway has the lowest hours of all the countries examined.
Changing Times News Number 58/17 May
The full report, Working time developments - 2004 is at http://tinyurl.com/a8pp4
Research conducted by the Helsinki Department of Public Health has concluded that overworked and stressed employees are more likely to put on weight. The research found that exhausting work coupled with problems balancing career and family put employees at risk of gaining weight. A senior researcher explained: "After a tough day at work, it is very easy to grab some fast food and treat yourself to something sweet, although you know it's not good for you. Working long hours also means you have less time to exercise."
Changing Times News Number 58 (17 May)
The Archbishop of Canterbury has delivered a strong condemnation of British work habits, saying the pressure to work long hours risks turning parents into "abusers of children by default". Rowan Williams suggested that the culture of work was "rewarding neglect by offering incentives for the breakdown of family environments". He said: "In a setting where relentless productivity is overvalued, we forget what is needed to produce functioning human beings."
Changing Times News Number 57 (26 April)
An international survey of attitudes to aging and retirement by HSBC has found that most workers expect to carry on working beyond their official retirement age. The survey revealed that three-quarters of respondents said they were prepared to work "well into their 60s and 70s". Most said they wanted to mix periods of full-time work with "leisure, learning and rest". However, respondents from Britain were more likely to prefer working part-time for as long as they felt able.
Phillip Inman, The Guardian 11 May
Update comment: No-one can afford to retire anyway!!
"A new £1 million initiative to help academics with their struggle against data deluge will be launched on 21 March at Manchester Town Hall. The National Centre for Text Mining (NaCTeM) is a collaboration between the Universities of Manchester, Liverpool and Salford. Funding is provided by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), the Biotechnology and Biological Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)."
More information: http://tinyurl.com/d32w6
D-Lib Magazine April 2005
March 2005 marks the tenth anniversary of the Dublin Core, after the OCLC/NCSA Metadata Workshop that took place in Dublin, Ohio, 1-3 March 1995. The DCMI Directorate wishes to "thank and congratulate all participants of the Dublin Core community at this milestone".
More information: http://dublincore.org/news/#10yearsDC
D-Lib Magazine April 2005
Update comment: It simply does not seem possible that it's ten years since several of us sat around and said "What's this Dublin thing?" Now, even if you don't what this Dublin thing is, chances are that you use it in one form or another.
Oxford University Press has announced that it is to widen its trial of open access publishing. Oxford Journals, part of OUP, gave authors in participating journals the option to pay for articles to be freely available online as soon as they are published. It also changed its rules so published authors can put their articles on their own websites a year after publication. In a separate move, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) announced a deal with the British and Irish Legal Information Institute to produce Open Law, an online repository of about 200 of the most cited judgments in core areas of the law syllabus.
Richard Wray, The Guardian 6 May
The first stage of YourLondon – "the official online guide to London's public and community services" – has been launched. This phase includes:
Other options will be added throughout 2005.
Info@UK Issue 50 (May 2005)
Most readers will be aware of Wikipedia, the online collaborative encyclopaedia. However, a number of sister projects have emerged since Wikipedia launched in 2001.
URL: http://wikiquote.org
URL: http://wikibooks.org
Tips and Advice Internet Volume 9 Number 2 (28 January)
The European Library has now had its official launch, following months of testing. The portal offers information about collections and treasures, both digital and non-digital, held in EU national libraries. It offers a free search facility that links to digitised material, some which is free, and some which is priced.
URL: www.theeuropeanlibrary.org
Information World Review Number 213 May 2005
Details of hundreds of community broadband projects developed in the UK are now available through an online database. The resource is the work of the government-supported Community Broadband Network, containing information on over 550 broadband initiatives operating in town and villages throughout the UK. The CBN estimates that some 50,000 homes and businesses are supported by these local projects, many of which are located in rural areas and less than two years old.
More information: www.broadband-uk.coop/
eGov Monitor Weekly 16 May
The "do-it" website claims to be "the only national database of volunteering opportunities in the UK". It is split into two sections: one for volunteers and one for people who need volunteers. Opportunities can be searched by category, and links are provided for volunteering outside the UK.
URL: www.do-it.org.uk
Tips and Advice Internet Volume 9 Number 2 (28 January)
"According to a study, common words used by happy people are, 'joy', 'love' and 'hopeful'. It also found common words used by other people to describe happy people. 'Annoying', 'irritating' and 'obnoxious'.
Jay Leno
The Liberal Democrat education spokesperson has hit out at the "massive" cost of administration at the Learning and Skills Council. Speaking at a Commons Budget Debate before the election, Mr Willis said that, while the front-end "struggles for resources", there has been no break in the "spiralling costs" of administration. He said: "There is no-one else in the Chamber at the moment who sat on the Learning and Skills Bill Committee, but we were told at the time that huge savings would be made by moving from the Further Education Funding Council and the Training and Enterprise Councils to the new Learning and Skills Council. However, in 2000 – the last year in which they operated – the FEFC spent £29 million and the TECs £118 million on administration costs. Yet, four years later, the administration costs of the LSC have spiralled to £330 million. … We were told that there would be a £50 million reduction as a result of the introduction of the LSC."
Education and Training Parliamentary Monitor Number 121 (April 2005)
The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) with responsibility for co-ordinating policy standards on the re-use of public sector information is launched today (16 May). OPSI will lead the public sector to provide consistent and transparent processes for potential re-users to gain access to public sector information. OPSI has been formed from the resource of Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). It has an extended remit to advise on and regulate the operation of the re-use of public sector information. HMSO continues to exist and fulfil its core activities including responsibility for the publication of legislation and the management of Crown copyright operating from within OPSI. The Office of Public Sector Information will be attached to the Cabinet Office and under the ministerial control of the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office.
Further information is available at the new website www.opsi.gov.uk launched today.
Cabinet Office press release ref CAB 025/05 16 May
The government's decision to rename the Department of Trade and Industry to the Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry (DPEI) has received a mixed reaction from business. The DPEI said it would be "refocused and reinvigorated" to play a greater role in productivity, but could not clarify what it would be doing differently. Richard Wilson, Head of Business Policy at the Institute of Directors, called for the focus of the newly named department to be clarified, while John Philpott, CIPD Chief Economist, welcomed the change. Mr Philpott said the change could mean the department taking an active role in improving productivity.
Katie Hope, People Management Online 19 May
Lifelong Learning UK and ENTO have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding for future development work. The Understanding establishes the respective roles of the two organisations in taking forward the standards development agenda for the lifelong learning workforce. LLUK, the Sector Skills Council for the lifelong learning sector, and ENTO, the body formerly responsible for setting standards for work-based training, are jointly committed to the continued development of the core teaching skills and competence of those who train others in the workplace. At present the Learning and Development National Occupational Standards and their related qualifications are nationally recognised as the appropriate benchmark for those delivering learning in the workplace. LLUK has now assumed ownership of these standards but will collaborate with ENTO to ensure the provision of any necessary support for the implementation of the standards within the national qualifications framework, until their replacement by a new suite of standards and awards in 2007. LLUK is committed to the development of a set of generic standards, related qualifications and career pathways which ensure that individuals are able to use their accredited skills to extend their expertise across the different areas of teaching and training within the lifelong learning sector. It will also seek to ensure that those holding recognised qualifications have a clear route to further learning and career opportunities.
ENTO press release 13 May
Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries covering broadcast, film, video, interactive media and photo imaging, has published its Sector Skills Agreement. The agreement sets out wide-ranging collaborative solutions to skills issues facing each of the sectors and was developed by Skillset in partnership with employers, unions, trade organisations, colleges and universities, and funding and qualifications bodies. Three sector agreements and nine regional strategies have been produced based on detailed research and consultation to ensure they are tailored and responsive to specific needs.
Skillset press release 18 May
More information: www.skillset.org/strategy
SkillsActive, the Sector Skills Council for active leisure and learning, has launched the first ever National Occupational Standards for yoga in the UK. SkillsActive is also developing National Occupational Standards for Pilates and is currently undertaking an industry-wide consultation.
More information: http://tinyurl.com/8xums
SSDA INvolve Issue 86 (24 May)
To support the government's vision of a high-quality and self-improving learning and skills sector, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has published Quality Improvement And Self-Assessment, new self-assessment guidance for learning providers. The publication has been produced in partnership with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the Adult Learning Inspectorate, OfSTED and Jobcentre Plus, and is designed to ensure progress towards an overall goal of consistently high-quality, responsive and improving learning providers.
LSC email update 21 May
Quality Improvement And Self-Assessment (PDF 24pp): http://tinyurl.com/786x3
The new Ministerial team was confirmed today (10 May) at the Department for Education and Skills.
DfES press release (applies to England)
ref 2005/0051 10 May
Update comment: The press release has an annex with biographies of the people mentioned above – not included here for reasons of space.
Derrick Purdue, a Research Fellow at the University of the West of England
Community participation is now highly valued in urban regeneration partnerships in Britain. The major current policy innovation is a National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal, which set up Community Empowerment Networks to engage communities. This article describes the Performance Management Framework produced for these networks, and examines themes from practitioners' responses to the draft framework, against a wider context of New Public Management and performance management. The article addresses the important question of whether the framework acts as a learning tool for those directly involved in organising community participation or as a control mechanism applied to them by more powerful actors. (Original abstract)
Public Money & Management
Volume 25 Number 2 (April 2005)
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing slower growth in both employment and average earnings in the first quarter of the year indicate that any threat of inflationary pressure from the labour market is receding. This suggests that interest rates will peak at 4.75% and increases the chances of a rate cut later this year, according to John Philpott, Chief Economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Dr Philpott said: "Although employment is still growing, the pace of job growth in the first quarter was much slower than in the second half of 2004. The level of unfilled vacancies has also fallen. And while the renewed fall of 15,000 in the Labour Force Survey measure of unemployment is welcome, this is almost exactly matched by a rise in the number of economically inactive people. Claimant unemployment, by contrast, has been rising consistently, albeit modestly, since the turn of the year."
HRLook Daily News 19 May
The latest edition of this publication (Volume 113, Number 5) is now available. Contents include:
Items on: new data on Nomis®; Social Trends 35; Trade Union Membership 2004; and international labour market trends in 2004.
Disabled people in public sector employment, 1998 to 2004
Recent trends in the employment of disabled people in the public sector in Great Britain are described (Michael Hirst and Patricia Thornton, Social Policy Research Unit, University of York)
Two methods of defining employment in childcare and social care are compared. (Antonia Simon and Charlie Owen, Institute of Education)
The effects of this year's review are explained. (Nimmy Vijayakumar, Labour Market Division, Office for National Statistics)
The most recent figures for employment, unemployment, economic activity and inactivity, earnings, claimant count, government employment and training measures, vacancies, redundancies and labour disputes plus enquiry points.
ONS website 25 May
Full publication (PDF 144pp): http://tinyurl.com/bpk3t
Public sector settlements effective in April 2005 are closely centred around the 3% level. The median settlement level in the private sector has risen to 3.5%, but with a much wider spread, from pay freezes to rises of over 10%. These are among the findings from the latest analysis by Incomes Data Services, the pay, HR and employment law specialists. Commenting on the current pay picture, Alastair Hatchett, Head of Pay Services at IDS, said: "Private sector pay increases have risen in response to higher inflation, but settlements remain modest given tight labour markets. Employees may well be prepared to accept modest pay increases in the here and now if the employer is simultaneously paying substantial sums to secure the future of the pension fund."
HRLook Daily News 10 May
The Federation of Master Builders and the TGWU have agreed increases of over 10% for skilled craftsmen and qualified operatives in an effort to encourage apprentices to gain the qualifications so badly needed in the industry. New rates effective from 13 June 2005, are:
The Building and Allied Trades Joint Industrial Council agreement covers around 250,000 operatives in small- to medium-sized building firms in England, Scotland and Wales. It closely follows the main Construction Industry Working Rule (CIWR) agreement. This covers around 600,000 workers employed by the large construction companies. The craft rate under the CIWR is set to rise to £9 an hour from 27 June 2005.
IDS Pay Report 926 (April 2005)
Smaller manufacturers faced tough trading conditions over the past quarter, with output, orders and employment all falling, according to the quarterly CBI survey of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector. The survey shows 20% of firms saw orders rise over the past three months but 39% saw them fall. The balance of minus 19% compares with a balance of plus 3% in the previous survey. Moreover, numbers employed by SMEs fell over the past three months, with 17% of firms taking on more staff and 25% taking on fewer, a balance of minus 9% (rounded).
HRLook Daily News 20 May
"In ancient times they had no statistics so they had to fall back on lies."
Stephen Leacock
Former OfSTED chief Chris Woodhead has told a conference of private school head teachers that in his opinion the government will never be able to make the state education system work. Speaking at the annual Brighton College education conference, Mr Woodhead also criticised the scheme to "partner" independent schools with failing state schools. He said: "Why the hell have we got to do that? The more time you spend partnered with a failing state school, the less time you have got to devote to the education of your own children. I think that is a dereliction of duty. I think it is propping up a failing system, and the sooner the system fails completely the better."
Rebecca Smithers, The Guardian 13 May
The most prestigious independent schools should take in disruptive pupils who have been expelled from the state system, according to a senior government adviser. Speaking at the Brighton College education conference, Sir Cyril Taylor, chair of the Specialist Schools Trust, called on the independent schools sector to break the "cycle of disruption" by giving places to pupils who are repeatedly excluded from state schools. Sir Cyril said: "I'm not asking you to accept a large proportion of disruptive children which would affect your other children. But I do think one or two in each year group could be a very interesting possibility."
Sarah Cassidy, Education Correspondent, The Independent 13 May
Update comment: What would Mr Woodhead make of this idea?
A headmaster has introduced isolation rooms for disruptive pupils, in a bid to restore order in the classroom. Sir Dexter Hutt introduced the rooms into three schools in Birmingham where he is executive headteacher. Pupils are confined to the room during school hours and are only permitted to leave them for meal and toilet breaks. Sir Dexter said: "For some students, social interaction is more important than work. If they are socially isolated, they miss that outlet."
Geraldine Hackett, Education Correspondent, The Sunday Times 15 May
Update comment: Eh? Is this supposed to be a new idea? We used to have "iso" rooms at my old school! Dawn
"The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any."
Fred Astaire
"It doesn't matter what he does, he will never amount to anything."
Albert Einstein's teacher to his father, 1895
The leader of the National Association of Headteachers has criticised the government's plan to increase "parent power" in schools, saying that it is akin to "putting an alcoholic in charge of a bar". David Hart, General Secretary of the NAHT, argued that the plan offers parents power, but says nothing about parental responsibilities. He called for a greater emphasis to be placed on urging parents to teach their children social skills before they enter school. He said: "Many of the children are not toilet-trained and they don't know how to hold a knife and fork. Teachers and support staff have got to spend their time sorting them out, which diverts them from their prime job."
Richard Garner, Education Editor, The Independent 3 May
It would seem that school league tables are of interest to more than just parents looking for the best school. According to Professor Alan Smithers, teachers scrutinise league tables when they are making decisions about where to work. Professor Smithers reveals that teachers consider exam results to be an indicator of how keen children are to learn. High-performing schools are considered to be the kind of place where a teacher will be valued and supported. He said that, while there will always be a "strong sub-group" that enjoy the challenge of a difficult school, more teachers are using the information to choose schools which will "advance their careers".
Dorothy Lepkowska, The TES 27 May
Cheating in schools has become "institutionalised", teachers claim. In an open letter to the Education Secretary Ruth Kelly, contributors to The TES website suggest that staff are bending the rules on GCSE and A-level coursework because of pressure to improve exam results. The problem has found its way into primary schools, with teachers breaking test regulations. The letter said the situation is now so serious that consideration should be given to scrapping coursework.
Warwick Mansell, The TES 20 May
One of Scotland's leading teaching unions has launched an attack on bureaucracy and political meddling in schools. Speaking at the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA) annual conference, David Eaglesham, General Secretary of the SSTA, voiced frustration and disappointment at the continuing interference from both the government and its regulatory bodies. He said: "The showcase mentality is upon us and is now fully established throughout the system. Everything must be seen to be presented so as to have the greatest effect, not on the pupil, but on the beholder, whether that be HMI, local authorities or the media."
Alan MacDermid, The Scottish Herald 13 May
Editors: Jim Crowther, Vernon Galloway and Ian Martin
ISBN: 1-86201-209-1
Price: £18.95
Published by NIACE
This book brings together a collection of both experienced and new writers examining the relationship between popular and higher education. It shows how university-based teachers and researchers can use their work to support and resource popular struggles for democracy, equality and social justice – at a time when all the demands being made upon them are towards institutional disengagement from social and political action. Exploring how many of the current trends in intellectual and institutional life can be challenged and changed, the book considers, amongst other themes, the hegemony of technical rationality and the new managerialism, the construction of higher education as a competitive market place and the dominance of individualised models and modes of learning and achievement.
Adults Learning Volume 16 Number 9 May 2005
Contact Publication Sales, NIACE, 21 De Montfort Street,
Leicester, LE1 7GE
tel: 0116 204 4216
email:
orders@niace.org.uk
In the next few months, six UK institutions are hoping to be granted university status, bringing the total number to 116. This will be the biggest expansion of the sector since 1992, when all the polytechnics were brought into the university "fold". The new universities will be:
All changes are dependent on the decision of the Privy Council.
Lucy Hodges, The Independent 12 May
Update comment: I have read and re-read this article several times and I can only find reference to five of the six – sorry. Dawn
If you go back to The Independent of 22 March then you also get Winchester. Hazel
The software firm Adobe Systems has acquired multimedia company Macromedia, in a deal designed "to add multimedia capabilities to the document and graphics software company". The company said it hoped to create an "industry-defining technology platform" through the merger.
David Teather, The Guardian 19 April
Update comment: Will Flash now be called Adobe Flash rather than Macromedia Flash?
An international charity, well known for providing aid to impoverished groups in developing countries, has now set its sights on helping deprived Londoners. Médecins du Monde, a Paris-based humanitarian agency, is concerned that people are missing out on access to vital healthcare services in the capital. The agency will introduce teams of volunteers to provide advice, practical support and some basic medical care to marginalised groups, initially in the East End of London, an area with high levels of deprivation. One clinic focusing on vulnerable migrants will open in the summer, with another two in 2006/2007.
Hélène Mulholland and agencies, The Guardian 23 May
Children in care should be sent to the best schools to boost their chances of overcoming child abuse and neglect, researchers claim. A study from the Institute of Education suggests that young people who have been placed in care because of abuse or neglect are being "let down" by councils that fail to support them. It found that fewer than one in 100 care-leavers goes on to university. The researchers concluded that carers should receive funding to support foster children through university. In addition, it called for looked-after children to be enroled in "high-achieving schools".
The Guardian 19 May
Going to University from Care by Sonia Jackson, Sarah Ajayi and Margaret Quigley is published by the Institute of Education
A flagship programme encouraging more young people to become involved in volunteering has been launched by the Scottish Executive. ProjectScotland offers 16- to 25-year-olds the opportunity to be full-time volunteers for up to a year. In return for volunteering their services, participants will be given a £55-a-week living allowance and travel expenses. On completion of their stint, they are eligible for an end-of-project grant enabling them to study or set up in business for themselves. Ministers hope it will become a career launchpad for young Scots and improve lives and communities across the country.
Lucy Bannerman, The Scottish Herald 18 May
For more information, visit www.projectscotland.co.uk or telephone 0845 8416225
Vodafone is launching a "back-to-basics" mobile phone in response to customer demand for simplicity. Vodafone Simply will be available in two handsets offering just voice and text services. The pared-down phones represent "a backlash against the drive to create more and more advanced services". A pre-paid handset will cost £80 while people opting for a monthly price plan will get the handset free.
BBC News Online
Update comment: About time too! Whatever happened to consumer choice?
It is at this point in "putting this publication together" that I have to make a decision about how many "interesting but not vital to anyone" articles to include. Dawn and I have noticed that most "back page trivia" in other publications is actually a miscellany of weird news stories rather than the jokes and silly stories which have entirely taken over our BACKPAGE. So, we'll start with "Back News" stories and then move on to the very silly. If you've worked backwards to this point – and I know many people who, rather than rewarding themselves for ploughing through the hard work, start with the froth – then you'll realise what I've done! And, says she starting a sentence with a conjunction, if you come across any "silly/odd and related to work" stories or are amused by yet another email joke going around, please forward the "offending article", so long as it isn't really likely to offend, to Dawn <dawn.chambers@ntlworld.com>.
An interesting tool that allows you to find information about known blogs' originators, traffic, and "neighbourhoods" of related blogs. Also includes lists of top blogs by category (check out the library blogs), top 100 by traffic, top 100 by influence. An RSS generator allows you to create a feed for blogs that don't have them.
Neat New Stuff I Found This Week 6 May
http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
© Marylaine Block, 1999-2005
Update comment: I think I may have at last found something "bloggy" that I like! I really enjoyed the "neighbourhood" feature and, as a result, I have found about six readable and interesting blogs on one of my favourite pastimes – knitting! Dawn
Hey, I knew something would hit the right button – just proves that you have to start with an area of interest before using new techniques in a work context! Hazel
Classic FM is linking up with children's charity Youth Music to develop a special programme for babies and toddlers. The station hopes to "open the ears of under-fives" to classical music. Classic FM Station Manager Darren Henley explained: "We know that the creative arts have the power to transform lives. By capturing the imagination of children and engaging them with the arts at a young age, we can make a real difference to them and to society as a whole."
Matthew Moore, The Western Mail 12 May
A new website that checks the ethical status of different brands of goods. Ethiscore "names and shames brands that have dubious ownership or poor records on workers' rights, while rewarding those that have the correct green credentials with a place at the top of the ethical league table."
Maxine Frith, The Independent 19 May
URL: www.ethiscore.org
WOW! A "must visit" – and bookmark – and subscribe to – website. Dawn
Unfortunately there are many people for whom ethical is important but for whom price is an even more important factor. Hazel
Gillian Swan, a final year design student at Brunel University, has invented "the ultimate incentive to get kids exercising" – a shoe that controls the amount of TV they watch. The Square-Eyes health monitoring insole counts the number of steps that a child takes over a day. The insole is then "plugged in" to a base station connected to the TV, which calculates the amount of TV time they have earned. When the time runs out, the TV switches off.
BBC News Online 19 May
Update comment: Why is this just for kids? I know a few adults who would benefit from this invention too! Dawn
The piece in this story which caught my (Hazel's) eye was not the share save scheme with 20% discount on Wal-Mart Shares but the method used to ensure that all staff are aware of the scheme. "People don't necessarily look at notice boards, so we thought we would put the ads in a prominent place that nobody can miss," said Meriel Aspinall, Shares Administrator. Like where? On the inside of staff toilet cubicle doors!
Employee Benefits April 2005
To mark the centenary of the publication of Einstein's equation E=mc2 the editors of Spiked asked over 250 renowned scientists, science communicators and educators what one thing they would most like to teach people about science. The responses are published online here.
URL: www.spiked-online.com/Sections/science/sciencesurvey/
Neat New Stuff I Found This Week 6 May
http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
© Marylaine Block, 1999-2005
A Spanish designer has created a washing machine that is controlled by fingerprint recognition. The machine, called Your Turn, will not permit the same person to use it twice in a row. Designer Pep Torres said that he hoped his invention would "finish with macho man from the ice age who doesn't do anything around the house except drink beers."
Virginia Phillips, BBC News Online 2 May
Update comment: Want one!
UKWebcameras lists over 450 webcams. The top five favourites are: Portsmouth Harbour, Fistral Surf, Loch Ness, Minack Theatre and Falmouth. According to [names withheld] "the website design is among the worst we've seen, but the (addictive) content counts!"
Tips and Advice Internet Year 9 issue 4 (25 February)
Tips and Advice Internet (Year 9 issue 4 (25 February)) compares four "hire a DVD online" options.
The conclusion is that Tesco DVD Rental is unbeatable on price (£7.97 a month) and selection but filmbuffs may prefer settling down in front of Screen Select at £9.99 which has more classics in its catalogue. The other two are more selective – and may fit your requirements for a specific genre.
June 24th is "Take your dog to work day".
www.petsit.com/dogday/about.asp
The census of 1861, which includes famous entries like Lewis Carroll and Thomas Hardy, is the latest population survey to go on to the internet. The five censuses taken between 1861 and 1901 are at URL: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/census
Daily Telegraph 19 May
From the BBC, free downloads of books of the cult classic show. "All feature brand new artwork and extensive notes by the original authors."
URL: www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/ebooks/index.shtml
Neat New Stuff I Found This Week 20 May
http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
© Marylaine Block, 1999-2005
In his regular column for The THES, Laurie Taylor tells of a new professional development course at the University of Poppleton:
Followership is designed for academics who failed last term's leadership course. Attendees will be introduced to the concept of being a positive Follower and receive training in Basic Dependence, Leaving Decisions to Others, Escaping Responsibility, Passing the Buck, and General Servility.
The THES 13 May
Update comment: Laurie always amuses and sometimes has us all laughing out loud. Poppleton University, if it actually existed, would be one to avoid at all costs!
An Oxford academic has launched a new science consultancy to help rid the movie industry of "bad science". Biochemist Lizzie Burns, in partnership with Harvard University mathematician Jonathan Farley, hopes that Hollywood Math and Science Film Consulting will see an end to "mangled science and inaccurate maths". Moreover, she hopes that it will help to get rid of the "hunchbacked mad scientist" image that typifies such roles. Professor Farley added: "More and more Hollywood producers are seeing that the public does have an appetite for things as foreign as maths and science. If they are going to make these films, they may as well make them right."
Anna Fazackerley, The THES 13 May
Westminster Council has sold its second abandoned car via online auction site eBay for £4,000. The sale, of a 1965 Rover P5 previously owned by a countess, is part of a council initiative to cut auction house fees.
E-Government Bulletin Issue 186 (13 May)
"A new study shows that large doses of Vitamin E do not protect against heart attacks and cancer, and might actually raise the risk of heart failure. The study was published in this month's Journal of Things that Scientists Told You to Do Last Month That Turned Out to Be Harmful This Month."
Dennis Miller, Clean Laffs
Cassie walked into a gift shop that sold religious items. Near the cash register she saw a display of baseball caps with WWJD printed on all of them. She asked the cashier what the letters were supposed to mean. The cashier replied that the letters stood for What Would Jesus Do?, and was meant to inspire people to not make rash decisions, but rather to imagine what Jesus would do in the same situation.
Cassie thought a moment and then replied, "Well, I don't think Jesus would pay £17.95 for one of these caps."
Clean Laffs
A sales rep, an administration clerk and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out in a puff of smoke.
The Genie says, "I usually only grant three wishes, so I'll give each of you just one." "Me first! Me first!" says the admin clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Poof! She's gone. In astonishment, "Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of pina coladas and the love of my life." Poof! He's gone.
"OK, your turn," the Genie says to the manager.
The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."
Moral of the story:
Always let your boss have the first say.
I used to work in an art supply store. We sold artists' canvas by the yard, and you could get it in either of two widths: 36 inches or 48 inches.
Customer: "Can you please cut some canvas for me?"
Me: "Certainly, what width?"
Customer: (confused and slightly annoyed) "Scissors?"
Clean Laffs
A lecturer teaching medicine was giving a class on observation. He took out a jar of yellow liquid. "This," he explained, "is urine. To be a doctor, you have to be observant of colour, smell, sight, and taste."
After saying so, he dipped his finger into the jar and put it into his mouth. His class watched in amazement, most in disgust. But being the good students that they were, the jar was passed, and one by one, they dipped their finger into the jar and put it into their mouths.
After the last student was done, the lecturer shook his head. "If any of you had been observant, you would have noticed that I put my second finger into the jar and my third finger into my mouth."
Kenfuny.com
The new employee stood before the paper shredder looking confused. "Need some help?" a secretary asked.
"Yes," he replied. "How does this thing work?"
"Simple," she said, taking the hefty report from his hand and feeding it into the shredder.
"Thanks," he said, "but where do the copies come out?"
alt.jokes
Shamelessly stolen from Usenet
Appeared in my inbox
A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his best suit, she warned, "Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit."
"And why not, darling?" he asked.
"You know that it always gives you a headache next morning," she replied.
From mistupid.com
Clean Laffs
From slinkycity.com
Shamelessly stolen from Usenet