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January 2006 |
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Welcome to the first edition of Members' Update for the new year of 2006. I hope that the first days of this year have been happy for you. If yes, that the year continues in the same vein and if not that life improves – rapidly. On a personal note I think I'm in the latter category – hoping that life improves – since my recovery from "that operation" has not been as rapid as I had hoped.
This Members' Update is written primarily for information managers working in a careers guidance environment but many readers do not fall into this category – and yet these "many" find much to interest them between the covers of this publication. Dawn and I range far and wide, both physically and virtually, to ensure that we provide a service that appropriate – and we believe that we succeed most of the time. One of our weak points is information from the LSC. For example, an LSC press notice alert received in January, Apprenticeships campaign launched, is clearly a current story (already received through the Apprenticeships Newsletter) but the link given leads to a story dated 10.05.04 and LSC confers with Partners in Learning links to a story about "the second annual conference of the Association of Learning Providers, being held over two days and which opened this morning in Harrogate, North Yorkshire". Er? thought I, this needs to be checked. Google links to "The Partners in Learning Conference & Exhibition 2004, ALP's second annual conference, takes place on 19-20 May at the Harrogate International Conference Centre." If this were an isolated incident then a) it wouldn't matter too much and b) I wuldn't be telling you about it.
Reading Education & Training Parliamentary Monitor (Numbers 129 (December 2005) and 130 (January 2006)) shows that we haven't missed much on that front – but I came to these rather late in the month when we'd already used the Guardian and other mass media sources. I like the somewhat irreverent style of this publication and would prefer to use this as a source for stories where possible – but time is pressing and I must leave the CILIP Information Centre (off the Tottenham Court Road) for the wilds of Westminster.
I started reading the December issue of Butler Group Review (BGR) and realised that there was one question about content which I don't think has been resolved. How far down the technical route do we need to go in collecting stories relating to information? At one time information technology and information management were two clearly separate disciplines. Increasingly, however, the typical information manager needs to be aware of technological advances in systems and languages. So, to provide some awareness for you, I'll tell you that BGR predicts growth areas for 2006 as:
The Scottish Library and Information Council, Careers Scotland and 27 Local Authorities have joined in partnership to provide free public access to careers information and resources in Scotland's libraries.
Slainte website January
www.slainte.org.uk/news/Archive/0601/cips.htm
Update comment: Dawn investigated and says: "Seems like a comprehensive spread of access points. Access is available only in libraries, but it appears that the vast majority are equipped." Full list of locations, with maps, www.careerspoint.info/locations.cfm
A free phone service offering careers advice has been launched by the adult learning service, learndirect. The service will offer coaching for people wanting to get back into work or improve their job prospects, while advisers will work out individualised action plans to help callers plan their next career move. A limited advice service has existed on the same number since 1998 but a spokesperson for learndirect says the specially trained advisers will provide an enhanced service.
BBC News Online 2 January
Tel: 0800 100 900
Ewart Keep and Alan Brown, ESRC
The authors contest the notion that there has been a "paradigm shift" in the construction of careers. Conventional wisdom holds that the concept of "career" has been profoundly affected by changes in the labour market, advances in technology and globalisation. The "new economy" has brought with it greater job insecurity and changing skill requirements, and individuals are urged to focus on employability and transferable skills in order to enhance their job security. The authors argue that, while there have indeed been changes to the world of work, to describe this as a paradigm shift is largely unhelpful. They believe that the traditional idea of the bureaucratic career has not been entirely supplanted by the demands of the new economy. They also suggest that this traditional model has only ever been dominant for particular groups, and for relatively short periods of time in the twentieth century. Although individuals generally accept that there is a climate of job insecurity, and that employment is more about an economic exchange than a psychological contract, they are still more likely to regard themselves as having a career than not. The authors conclude that career paths in the twenty-first century cannot be characterised by a paradigm shift. Rather, what has emerged is a complex system of "choices, routes and transitions".
Career Research and Development Number 13 (Autumn 2005)
Michael White, Policy Studies Institute
This article counters the view that there has been a paradigm shift in career structures and paths. The author argues that career paths, particularly within organisations, have not been eroded. He highlights employer surveys which demonstrate a commitment to promoting from within. Many employers also believe that offering a clear career ladder is a key way to attract high-calibre employees. The author concludes: "The prevailing pessimism about the future of careers is not supported by recent evidence."
Career Research and Development Number 13 (Autumn 2005)
A response to a Guardian article (Segregation, 2006 style, Polly Curtis 3 January) counters the view that A-Level results, money and geography are the main culprits behind the under-representation of minority students at Russell Group universities. Oyinkan Johnson-Sherlock, a pupil at an independent school in Hertfordshire, argues that many minority students are simply not encouraged to apply to prestigious institutions. She writes: "Many ethnic minorities do not apply simply because they aren't encouraged to by their schools or colleges. … A lot of minority students simply do not receive enough information to make informed decisions. For instance, intelligent students at under-funded schools are not told by their teachers that taking certain subjects for A-level – for example, general studies, information technology or law – puts you at an instant disadvantage if you want to be considered for an academically intensive course at a top university. … The problem is that the schools that give less information are the schools that contain higher proportions of minorities, who are forced to rely on hearsay to form their decisions."
The Guardian 11 January
The Director-General of the CBI has criticised careers services for failing to provide young people with adequate, unbiased information. Speaking at the Institute of Career Guidance's annual conference, Sir Digby Jones said: "Informed careers advice is vital if young people are to realise their full potential and promise. This year's CBI/Pertemps Employment Trends Survey revealed that more than half of employers (56%) are dissatisfied with school leavers' knowledge about their job and career. And poor career advice or none sees over two-thirds (69%) of apprentices dropping out of training programmes. Every young person must be able to talk to knowledgeable advisers who understand how business works, what options are open to them, what business needs and where their talents would be best applied."
t Magazine December 05-January 06
Nearly half of those working in the UK performance industry earned less than £6,000 from the profession in the last year and most spent more time working outside the performance industry than they did within it. These findings come from new research by Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for audio-visual industries, and Equity, the British Actors' Union. Other key findings include:
SSDA Involve Issue 117 (31 January)
More information: http://tinyurl.com/cxguy
Update comment: No need now to say to the budding performer "It's a hard life out there" – you have the actual figures at your finger-tips.
This is a transcript of the speech made by Education Secretary Ruth Kelly to the BETT Conference on 11 January 2006. She talks about how e-learning will support the aims to improve young people's career aspirations and life chances by helping to provide the information, advice and guidance that they need to identify the right route for them.
Department for Education and Skills 11 January
URL (Word document 10pp) http://tinyurl.com/a8lmu
"There is only one you for all time. Fearlessly be yourself."
Anthony Rapp
e-skills UK has launched a website dedicated to the pioneering IT Management for Business (ITMB) BSc (Hons) Degree. The new site includes comprehensive information for current and prospective students, employers and Higher Education Institutes to find out more about the degree and a career in the IT industry. The benefits of the degree are outlined, along with the application process for prospective students.
SSDA Involve Number 116 (25 January)
URL: www.e-skills.com/cgi-bin/go.pl/itmb/itmb.html
In an article for Adults Learning (Volume 17 Number 5 (January 2006)), Martin Tolhurst argues that adult and community education (ACE) in the UK is suffering from the lack of an overarching strategy. Mr Tolhurst believes that the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), as well as the government, is wrong to place such a strong emphasis on meeting the needs of 16-19-year-olds, particularly when this is being met at the expense of other provision. He suggests that the impact of the LSC's funding priorities means that ACE provision is "premised on what resource is left over when you have met other needs". He says: "Secondary and higher education are not funded in this way, and no-one would dream of suggesting it. Surely something as important as the skills of the adult population of an economy as prominent as the UK's is deserving of a more considered, more strategic and planned response."
According to a poll conducted by the Association of Colleges, almost all institutions offering adult courses have been affected by a shortfall in funding of around £150 million. Many colleges have been forced to put up fees, make staff redundant or cancel courses. Julian Gravatt, Director of Funding at the AOC, said: "This is the time of the year that people want to sign up to courses, but they will find there is much less to sign up to. There will be 200,000 cuts in courses this year, but that will rise to half a million next year."
Anushka Asthana, Education Correspondent, The Guardian 8 January
The Basic Skills Agency has launched a new numeracy campaign in Wales to help the estimated one in five adults who struggle with maths. Numbers Count will encourage people to improve their own numeracy skills and to help them to help their children.
For more details, call 0800 123 123 or visit www.123.org.uk
Moira Sharkey, South Wales Echo 17 January
According to a new report from the Commons Public Accounts Committee, up to 16 million adults, nearly half the workforce, are holding down jobs despite having the reading and writing skills expected of children leaving primary school. The committee examined the progress of the Skills for Life scheme which was launched in 2001 with a target to improve the skills of 2.25 million adults by 2010. It concluded that the £6 billion scheme has so far been "ineffectual". The report claims there are about 12 million people in employment with literacy skills and 16 million with numeracy skills at Level 1 or below – equivalent to the levels of 11-year-olds and younger. The number of people under-skilled in both aspects is unknown. The report noted that the quality of learning is still too low and argued that a more skilled teaching workforce is the key to improvement. It also warned that much higher spending will be necessary if the scheme is to meet its targets.
Rebecca Smithers, Education Editor, The Guardian 24 January
Skills for Life: Improving adult literacy and
numeracy
(PDF 37pp) http://tinyurl.com/dynpt
Alan Wells, Director of the Basic Skills Agency, has hit out at a report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), in which it suggests that nearly half the national workforce is virtually innumerate and more than a third is practically illiterate. Mr Wells argues that the PAC has based its report on "very dodgy" figures which have been almost arbitrarily selected to enable the government to meet "easier" targets. He offers an analogy: "If you have a campaign to reduce obesity and you classify everyone who is a pound overweight as obese, then it is easy to hit whatever target you set. A day on just orange juice will bring many people down below your obesity limit. But those people who really are obese, you don't target them because that's a much longer-term problem." Mr Wells acknowledges that there has been much progress made as a result of the Skills for Life strategy. However, he is concerned that, now that the "low-slung fruit" has been harvested, it is likely that there will be a marked slowdown in the number of adults achieving literacy and/or numeracy qualifications. He calls on the government to step up its efforts to address the needs of older adults.
Peter Kingston, The Guardian 31 January
Full article: http://tinyurl.com/c9jor
Update comment: The problem is that the divide gets wider. Move the "easy target" to the right side of the dividing line and those that are left are even harder to reach.
The Public Accounts Committee has asked the DfES to hold an inquiry into why colleges are better at teaching basic skills than schools. A report from the committee showed that half of basic skills qualifications are taken by 16-18-year-olds, rather than the adults they were intended for. It asks why so many recent school-leavers are taking these courses when they "might reasonably have been expected to gain their qualifications in school". The report urges colleges and other adult learning organisations to disseminate good practice to schools. However, Alan Wells, Director of the Basic Skills Agency, said that the committee is mistaken in its belief that the teaching of basic skills is better in colleges. He said that, in his opinion, "the best teachers of literacy are in primary schools and the next best in secondary". He maintains that many of the 16-18-year-olds taking basic skills are already up to the required standard. He explained: "It's the equivalent of encouraging people to get their swimming certificates whether or not they can already swim competently or not, rather than developing courses to teach non-swimmers to swim and using the certificate to recognise a successful outcome."
Joe Clancy, The TES FE Focus 27 January
The National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education (NIACE) has launched an investigation into the quality of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) provision in the UK. Recent reports from OfSTED and the Adult Learning inspectorate suggest that around a third of provision is "poor" and that the delivery lacks national coherence. Learners are often entered for inappropriate qualifications, and significant numbers of learners are not entered at all. Moreover, unlike literacy and numeracy, there is no evidence that either provision or learner achievement is improving. The enquiry will consider the problems and challenges facing ESOL provision, including the quality of teaching, waiting lists for courses, the shortage of ESOL teachers and the lack of qualifications among the existing ESOL workforce. Interim findings will be published to coincide with Adult Learners' Week in May, and the final report is due in October 2006.
Adults Learning Volume 17 Number 5 (January 2006)
The 118118.com website offers full business and domestic listings. In addition, it offers direct links to train timetables and cinema listings.
URL: www.118118.com
Via Internet Resources Newsletter Number 137 (January 2006)
Update comment: Brilliant! Tell everyone! Dawn
More than half of secondary teachers do not believe that academies will improve educational standards, according to a survey by the Sutton Trust. The survey showed that 53% of teachers feel that the government's scheme to raise standards in deprived areas will fail. This is a considerable increase on the proportion who felt this way in a similar poll last year (37%). However, Sir Cyril Taylor, Chair of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, accused teachers of being "out of touch". He said: "I think this survey shows that a lot of teachers don't understand what this initiative is about. The academies opened so far are overwhelmingly popular with parents, and the teachers working in them have been extremely pleased with the changes. It is time for people to stop moaning and start appreciating the improvements."
Graeme Paton, The TES 6 January
An academy described by the Prime Minister as "the future of British education" has been told that it must improve or face closure. The Business Academy in Bexley was judged inadequate by OfSTED inspectors. They identified large numbers of unsatisfactory lessons which had contributed to poor behaviour among pupils.
Jon Slater, The TES 27 January
A US firm could become the first foreign company to sponsor a City Academy. Edison, the largest private sector operator involved with state schools in the US, is in discussions over whether to join Tony Blair's academies programme. The firm is also reported to be considering setting up a network of "trust" schools. However, the news has angered teaching unions, who feel that profit-making status has no place in the UK education system. Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, commented: "Edison's interest in running schools in this country will ultimately be to make a profit. That's not how we want our schools to be run. They should be run for the benefit of the children and not for the benefit of shareholders and company profits."
Richard Garner, Education Editor, The Independent 18 January
A page of utilities that help you do "stuff" from Phil Bradley. Includes more than 300 different applications, including: share photographs, webpages, bookmarks etc with other people; set up an online calendar; do things with multimedia; collect and store material that you find online; and have a bit of a laugh!
URL: www.philb.com/iwantto.htm
Neat New Stuff I Found This Week
http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
© Marylaine Block
1999-2006
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is soon to launch the Big Skills Campaign – a new strategy promoting the economic and social benefits of upskilling. Aimed at stakeholders, employers, providers and learners, the campaign will show the value of investing in learning and skills. The LSC will work with partners from across the sector throughout the campaign, including the Department for Education and Skills, the Sector Skills Development Agency, Sector Skills Councils, Regional Development Agencies and the Small Business Council. The Big Skills Campaign will be delivered over the next three years and will focus on different aspects of learning in turn, starting with the 14-19 age group and then "Train to Gain" – formerly the National Employer Training programme. Apprenticeships are at the heart of both these programmes and will be an integral part of the campaign.
Apprenticeships Newsletter Number 14 (November-December 2005)
Trials are under way to test out a programme for adult apprentices over the age of 22. Apprenticeships for Adults forms a key element of the government's Skills Strategy. The trials of Apprenticeships for Adults began in January 2005. More than 500 adults are already enroled, with an expectation that 600 learners will have completed Apprenticeships and Advanced Apprenticeships by March 2007. Learning and Skills Council Senior Policy Manager David Stephen, who is managing the Apprenticeships for Adults trials, explained: "Many people taking part in the trials are experienced in their industry, but either don't have the formal qualifications or haven't been working in the type of highly skilled job that an Apprenticeship would enable." The trials for the programme are being held in seven regions across England. They involve three Sector Skills Councils – SEMTA, the Sector Skills Council for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies, CITB-ConstructionSkills and Skills for Health. An evaluation report is scheduled to be completed by Summer 2006.
Apprenticeships Newsletter Number 14 (November-December 2005)
Psychologists have called for children's out-of-hours clubs to be more like home than school. A study of breakfast and after-school clubs reveals that most children are happy to attend, but only if the club is not viewed as an extension of the school day. The government wants more schools to open clubs between 8am and 6pm to help working parents.
The Scotsman 5 January
The government has published its 14-19 Implementation Plan, which sets out how it is tackling some of the weaknesses in the education system that lead to a significant number of young people not being motivated by the learning currently on offer. The Implementation Plan highlights the significant transformation still needed to ensure that all young people are offered courses, and ways of learning lead to greater interest and success. The main measures are as follows:
SSDA Intelligence, Issue 41 (January 2006)
14-19 Education and Skills Implementation
Plan
(PDF 100pp) http://tinyurl.com/cgldv
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has published the European industrial relations dictionary, a comprehensive collection of the most commonly used terms in employment and industrial relations at EU level. It contains almost 300 alphabetically listed entries, featuring concise definitions and relevant contextual information, with hyperlinks to EU legislation and case law. Background information is provided on the institutional framework, legal framework, collective industrial relations, individual employment, the enterprise, free movement of workers, discrimination and equality in employment, health and safety, and movement towards an EU system of industrial relations.
Bettina Brenner, ETV Newsletter Issue 6 (December 2005)
URL: www.eurofound.eu.int/areas/industrialrelations/dictionary/
A study of private nurseries published in The Telegraph reveals that childcare costs in parts of Britain are now so high that they match or even exceed private school fees. Indeed, some nurseries in London and the South East are charging as much as £15,500 a year.
Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent, The Telegraph 19 January
Herwig Immervoll and David Barber
Finding a suitable balance of work and family life is not an easy task for parents who face multiple, and potentially conflicting, demands. Childcare policies play a crucial role in helping parents reconcile care and employment-related tasks. But inconsistent or poorly implemented policies can also introduce additional barriers that make it harder for families to arrange and share their responsibilities according to their needs and preferences. This paper quantifies the net cost of purchasing centre-based childcare in OECD countries taking into account a wide range of influences on household budgets, including fees charged by childcare providers as well as childcare-related tax concessions and cash benefits available to parents. Building on these calculations, family resources are evaluated for different employment situations in order to assess the financial trade-offs between work and staying at home. Results are disaggregated to identify the policy features that present barriers to work for parents whose employment decisions are known to be particularly responsive to financial work incentives: lone parents and second earners with young children requiring care. (Original abstract)
OECD Social, Employment And Migration Working Papers, Number 31 (December 2005)
Full document (PDF 72pp) http://tinyurl.com/8lldc
Finding good-quality, affordable childcare can be one of the biggest challenges facing parents, but employers could be doing a lot more to lessen the hassle and ease the financial burden on employees, often at no great cost to themselves, claims the TUC. Launching a new childcare guide, Who's looking after the children?, to help unions find the best ways of encouraging employers to make workplaces better meet the needs of working parents, the guide says offering good childcare support often makes it easier for employers to recruit and retain staff. The guide argues that, despite considerable investment in childcare from the government in recent years, UK parents do not have at their disposal anything like the childcare enjoyed by workers in the rest of Europe. TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Good-quality, accessible and affordable childcare can go a long way towards making parents feel happier about coming to work. Employers who realise the benefits of offering childcare support to the mums and dads in their workforce are less likely to have stressed-out employees, and instead have productive staff who get more done. The business case for providing some form of childcare support for employees is overwhelming."
TUC press release 27 January
Who's looking after the children? A trade union guide to negotiating childcare (PDF 54pp) www.tuc.org.uk/extras/TUC_Childcare.pdf
Technology guru Bob Rankin has produced a number of articles about making the switch to Linux. He writes: "It used to be that Linux was just for geeks. But modern Linux variants are easy to install, have friendly graphical interfaces, and come with a full suite of software for word processing, spreadsheets, email, web browsing and more. Lots of people are switching because both the operating system and all the software you'll ever need is available for free. Others find it attractive because there are very few problems with malware or security. If you're curious these articles will help you get started":
Tourbus Volume 11 Number 33 (10 January)
Wi-Fi provider The Cloud is planning to launch city-wide Wi-Fi services this spring, installing wireless broadband in nine cities including London, Manchester and Birmingham. Hundreds of "hotzones" will be used to enable anyone with a Wi-Fi-enabled computer or mobile phone to access the internet from anywhere within the city. The networks will be available to users of BT Openzone, O2, Skype Zones and Nintendo Wi-Fi, but The Cloud hopes that other service providers will join.
Ken Young, VNUNET SME Adviser 4 January
A report from the House of Commons Administration Committee has described Parliament ICT provision as "inadequate". The report claimed that newly-elected "IT-literate" MPs were unable to access any ICT services because of a lack of suitable technology throughout the Commons. One new MP told the committee that he had to use a wireless connection from a nearby café if he wanted to go online. The report called for new wireless internet technology to be installed so that MPs can access the Commons' central network, regardless of where they are on the premises.
eGov Monitor Weekly Issue 197 (16 January)
Post–Election Services
(PDF 80pp)
http://tinyurl.com/bfbrr
Tips and tricks on solving a wide variety of tech problems. Recent offerings on display include how to make and hide a private profile on MySpace, close out a hotmail account, and use hyperlink command codes for MSM Messenger, etc. Archived, searchable, and browsable by category.
Neat New Stuff I Found This Week 3 February
http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
© Marylaine Block
1999-2006
Martin Butler may be, no is, a guru – founder of Butler Group and a leading IT analyst. Enough to put you off for life (except perhaps for one or two readers) until you read his Plain Speaking in Butler Group Review (Issue 34 (December 2005)). Mr Butler writes about the requirements for successful implementation of IT policies and structures with an organisation. He starts by saying that you do not need:
The essential ingredient is goodwill. The world of IT can become an end in itself and will do if IT managers are not involved in the management of the business – and not just in the "IT-Business Alignment" area. IT and business don't, or shouldn't, need aligning – they are part and parcel of the same thing. IT is a tool not a solution. An essential ingredient is a common understanding of what the organisation is and what it is trying to achieve.
Butler Group Review Issue 34 December 2005
Update comment: I like this man. Hazel
The feasibility of creating an IT system to support the government's identity card scheme has been called into question following new research which finds that the private companies being consulted on the identity cards database "have previously overseen disasters in public sector IT work". Researchers from Corporate Watch argue, however, that the companies are not all to blame, and some of the fault must lie with "the role of poor planning and mismanagement by government departments". The researchers also blamed "huge, over-complex schemes that fail to deliver promised benefits".
Michael White, Political Editor, The Guardian 18 January
Government departments are paying up to 50% more than they should for goods and services, according to Richard Abbott, the civil servant in charge of a campaign to cut £8 billion from the overall Public Procurement Bill. Mr Abbott claims that Whitehall departments are "pouring money down the drain" by paying private consultants to repeat work they have already done for other Ministries. He tells us that government departments spend £2 billion a year using outside consultancies. He said: "People working on similar projects are often using the same consultants to give them the same information – this has got to stop."
Brendan Carlin, Political Correspondent, The Telegraph 11 January
The identities of thousands of rail workers have been stolen by criminal gangs and used to steal millions of pounds from the Treasury. An estimated one in seven staff at Network Rail has been caught up in the tax credit fraud, less than a month after it emerged that 13,000 Jobcentre workers had also had their identities stolen. The news has prompted fears that insiders at HM Revenue & Customs are involved.
Angela Jameson, Industrial Correspondent, The Times Online 18 January
Some 10,000 businesses have been fined incorrectly by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for failing to submit a notice which provides for national insurance on taxable benefits to employees, such as company cars. Fines of £400 each were sent to companies by mistake, because of a basic flaw in the design of automatic systems that issue penalty notices.
Managing Information Newsletter: Issue 198 (18 January)
Update comment: Not having much luck at the moment, are they?
The government's tax credits system came under attack from anti-poverty groups who said thousands of claimants faced a further year of misery despite reforms promised by the Chancellor in his pre-budget statement. Presenting evidence to the Commons Treasury select committee, Citizens Advice said that moves by HM Revenue & Customs to recover overpaid tax credits were "scandalous" when it could plunge families on low-incomes into poverty. The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) added that the tax credit system "had been designed to suit Revenue & Customs and its computer system, and not claimants". A spokesperson for CPAG said that Gordon Brown was failing to keep his promise that repayment schemes would be "less draconian".
Phillip Inman, The Guardian 12 January
The Public Accounts Committee has warned that the tax credit system, which is expected to hand out £16 billion this year, could be responsible for one of the biggest frauds committed against the government. It is estimated that some 30,000 fraudulent claims have been made via a government website that was designed to streamline the process of applying for tax credits. Presenting evidence to the PAC, David Varney, the Chair of HM Revenue & Customs, said that preliminary investigations had show that HMCR had lost £15 million to bogus claimants. However, experts believe that the fraud could ultimately cost the taxpayer as much as £100 million.
Sam Coates, The Times Online 18 January
The Public Administration Select Committee has accused HM Revenue & Customs of "penny-pinching" over the promised reforms to the Tax Credit system. The committee said that HMRC had failed to consider the needs of low-income families "for whom regular and reliable payment is not a desirable budgeting convenience but a real necessity". The committee said: "We are concerned that the Revenue seems to suggest that protection of the public purse overrides other considerations, including fairness. Public services cannot be designed or delivered without regard to costs, but an unfair system, while it may well be cost-effective, cannot be said to constitute good public administration."
Phillip Inman, The Guardian 30 January
Update comment: "Leave your reliance on benefit behind you, join the working population, we'll give you Tax Credits to make up any shortfall in income" said the government. What wasn't said at the time was that you'd get "mucked about" in terms of payments which could be over or under what you expected at any given time nor did you know that overpayment would be zealously pursued for repayment even when it had been spent.
HM Revenue & Customs failed to close its online tax credit application facility for over a year, despite having identified more than 78,000 cases of fraud. In the 2004-05 tax year, 17,164 claims were stopped because of "suspected fraud and error". This more than doubled to 38,924 between April and November last year, and a further 22,284 claims already in payment were halted because of "serious fraud". However, HMCR only closed the website down on 2 December.
Alison Steed, Deputy Personal Finance Editor, The Telegraph 17 January
In an article for The Guardian (25 January) Michael Cross reviews the government's new central web portal, www.direct.gov.uk. The portal connects government departments, as well as all 388 of England's local authorities, meaning that users can access any area of government from a single web address. The site offers links to around 60 core local authority services and it is hoped that maintaining a central starting point will increase the generally low use of "transactional" e-government services.
Full article: http://tinyurl.com/9l4xp
Update comment: Moving WorkTrain to the DirectGov site will definitely increase the hit rate!
"We should distrust any enterprise that requires new clothes."
Henry David Thoreau
The Basic Skills Agency has launched a campaign to help adults in Wales improve their numeracy skills. Research revealed by the Basic Skills Agency shows that 18% of Welsh adults say they are not confident with their maths, 25% say they have trouble working out sums with decimal points, 36% struggle with fractions and 31% have difficulty with percentages. The Numbers Count numeracy campaign aims to encourage people to revise the maths they were taught at school because so many "have forgotten the basics".
Aled Blake, The Western Mail 19 January
New figures show a clear link between high numbers of people claiming incapacity benefit and deprivation. The research shows that as many as half of the most severe pockets of deprivation in England, Wales and Scotland are contained within the 100 constituencies that have the largest numbers of Incapacity Benefit claimants. People who live in these constituencies are five times more likely to live in pockets of severe deprivation than those in the rest of the country. Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton has written to MPs representing the 100 areas with the highest number of claimants. He wrote: "The clear link between benefit dependency and hardship shown in the figures I am releasing is striking. I do not believe we should accept a system that perpetuates hardship and denies people the opportunity to better their lives by accessing the world of work. The vast majority of people who start receiving Incapacity Benefit want to go back into work, but the system currently provides them with little help in doing so.
HRLook Daily News 3 January
Poor access to current accounts and high bank charges hurt low-income consumers, Citizens Advice has claimed. The charity said that banks were putting obstacles – such as tough identity checks – in the way of low-income people trying to open accounts. Nearly three million Britons do not have a current account; many have to rely on expensive high street cheque-cashing stores to obtain cash. Citizens Advice accused banks of "merely paying lip service" to helping vulnerable consumers.
BBC News Online 24 January
Update comment: Even for those who have a bank account the costs are often higher, with ATMs in outlying areas and public housing areas being of the "pay £1.50 to get your money out" type.
"You don't get paid by the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to an hour."
Jim Rohn, US motivational speaker, author
Butler Group Review Issue 34 December 2005
Keith D Denton
This paper discusses Darwin's Theory of Evolution in relation to the management of organisations. It finds that Darwin's Thoery has many applications in management. However, the ability to adapt also rests on other important organisational characteristics. It also takes a special kind of leadership which will accept a high level of failure while the organisation learns to adapt. Darwin's Theory shows the need to create opportunity and motive for change to be effective. (Original abstract)
Development and Learning in Organizations Volume 20 Number 1 (January 2006)
A damning report from the CBI maintains that the government's efforts to support SMEs have been a failure. Improving Government Services for Small and Growing Businesses says that the government continues to fail the UK's business community, despite pumping an annual £8 billion into 16 different support services. It highlights Business Link, saying that, although it received funding of £140 million each year, it was only used by around 14% of businesses. The CBI calls for a re-evaluation of SME support services to "reduce the confusion on the ground".
James Sherwood, VNUNET SME Advisor 1 February
Executive summary (PDF 10pp) www.cbi.org.uk/pdf/enterpriserev0106.pdf
Research from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has shown that businesses believe the government's network of Business Links and Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) are failing in their role as supporters and advisers. Just 16% of firms polled knew what RDAs actually did, and only 31% had any idea of the purpose of their local Business Link. Furthermore, 26% who had used Business Links in the past said they would not do so again due to dissatisfaction with the services received.
Marchmont Webflash Volume 9 Number 8 (January 2006)
The survey's results are summarised at http://tinyurl.com/8k6tc
Business groups are urging the government to introduce a new tax break for training, arguing that it would be the most effective way to raise the skills of the workforce. A survey of manufacturers by the EEF, the country's second largest employers' organisation, shows nearly three-quarters of companies want the government to provide tax credits for the money that businesses spend on training. EEF members said that the tax credit would help them to compensate for the failure of education to produce candidates of sufficient ability. This view was echoed by the British Chambers of Commerce. Bill Midgley, President of the BCC, said that, while employers were willing to contribute to skills training, they should not be expected to foot the bill for the shortcomings of schools.
Miranda Green, Financial Times 24 January
A Gurteen Knowledge Café will be starting up in Bristol in February. David Gurteen has been running Knowledge Cafés in London for the last two years and recently started additional "k-cafés" in NW England, New York and Adelaide. K-cafés are a means of stimulating conversation in the business community. Small groups of interested parties meet to discuss a mutually agreed topic. The session will usually be informal and no attempt will be made to record the discussion. The event simply facilitates conversation so that attendees can "gain a deeper collective understanding of the subject and the issues involved".
Managing Information Newsletter: Issue 198 (18 January)
More information: www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/kcafe-bristol
The Chancellor's efforts to boost enterprise have failed to increase the number of new businesses starting up, according to a new study. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, a report by the London Business School and Babson College of Massachusetts in the United States, shows that last year about 6.2% of the population started to set up a business or were running a company less than 42 months old, down from 6.3% in 2004 and 6.4% in 2003. Maria Minniti, GEM research director, said that, while the 0.2% decrease was not significant in itself, it was an indication that entrepreneurship in the UK is not growing.
Grainne Gilmore, The Times Online 16 January
"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings."
Eric Hoffer, author and philosopher
"No race can prosper till it learns there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem."
Booker T Washington, US educator (1856-1915)
The TUC has published an industrial strategy paper calling for the government to intervene in the market to support "national champions". To qualify as a national champion, a company must provide high value to the UK economy and provide capabilities that, if lost, would be difficult to recreate in the future. The company must also make "a major impact locally, demonstrating a high number of quality UK jobs and how these benefit a local or regional economy", while also demonstrating why a "one off" injection of government support is necessary. The TUC argues that the government's failure to offer French-style state backing to specific companies and sectors is one reason why British industry is not reaping the full benefits of the UK's relatively strong economic performance.
Jean Eaglesham, UK Business Editor, Financial Times 1 February
Jim Murphy, the Cabinet Office Minister, has declared that the Better Regulation Bill being introduced into Parliament is a "cornerstone in achieving essential and long promised reductions in unnecessary red tape". The Bill will make it easier for the government to axe or simplify regulations by amending the way in which such changes are dealt with in Parliament. It will also include powers to streamline regulators, paving the way for the consolidation of 31 national watchdogs into seven, as recommended in last year's review of red tape enforcement. Mr Murphy said: "At the moment, if you want to phase out a non-contentious piece of burdensome legislation, you have to go through a whole process of parliamentary procedure. Business doesn't understand it, it is not proportionate, it is very targeted, so in future if there is agreement we can move much more quickly on a business agenda which can get rid of unnecessary regulations and bureaucracy."
Jean Eaglesham and Christopher Adams, Financial Times 11 January
Update comment: I think this new initiative falls into the "not believed until seen" category.
The Equal Opportunities Commission has criticised the government's Work and Families Bill for a lack of extra financial help for small businesses facing the prospect of new maternity, paternity and flexible working rights. Jenny Watson, Chair of the EOC, argued that the government had failed to meet its side of the bargain of sharing the costs of extending childcare benefits, having pledged to do so in its election manifesto. She said: "If government expects small businesses to play a part in managing pregnancy in the workplace it needs to give them greater financial support."
Richard Tyler, Enterprise Editor, The Telegraph 24 January
An EU directive to retain internet and phone data to aid police investigations has been condemned as "misguided and intrusive" by privacy advocates. The directive, which must be implemented by all EU member states within the next 18 months, requires telephone companies and internet service providers (ISPs) to save call records and internet logs for up to two years. It is purported that this information will "aid law enforcement". The Home Office maintains that the directive "doesn't encroach in an unnecessary way on people's privacy". While it covers all traffic data, including numbers dialled, call duration and location (for mobile phones), websites visited and the header information attached to every email detailing sender, recipient, date, time, and the internet address you were assigned at the time, it does not include the content of calls or messages. However, privacy advocates say that such information can be "far more revealing" than the Home Office would have us believe. It can reveal patterns of communication, relationships and personal interests that users may not want exposed. They also question how useful two-year-old internet traffic data may be to the police, as changing email address and mobile phone number is a now straightforward procedure.
Wendy M Grossman, The Guardian 12 January
Full article: http://tinyurl.com/bzcw2
Peers in the House of Lords have called for amendments to the Terrorism Bill to protect workers in library and information services from wrongful prosecution. They expressed concerns that the bill will create "an atmosphere of fear in universities and libraries". Baroness Scotland, the Home Office Minister presenting the Bill to the House of Lords, said that it "was not the intention to criminalise academic teaching", and promised that she will table amendments as soon as possible.
Mark Chillingworth, Information World Review Number 220 (January 2005)
Universities UK has welcomed a resounding defeat in the House of Lords for the government over a clause in the terrorism bill that they feared would penalise lecturers and librarians. The clause would have made it an offence to "directly or indirectly encourage terrorist acts, or to be reckless as to whether an activity had that effect". Vivienne Stern, Senior Public Affairs Officer at Universities UK, said the organisation was "absolutely delighted" that the government's amendment leaving such a definition in place had been rejected by 100 votes.
Donald MacLeod, The Guardian 18 January
With barely a protest, Britain's liberties are being eroded in the name of a dubious campaign against terrorism and crime, writes Henry Porter (The Observer 22 January). Mr Porter highlights recent changes that have been introduced in order to protect the great British public from terrorism and crime, including:
He asks how far the government has to go in the erosion of civil liberties until someone finally says enough. He says: "We do not yet live in a police state, but we are certainly building a society where free speech, the right to protest and conduct our lives without scrutiny by a central authority could be seriously threatened. There is no government in the Western alliance, not even America, which has taken such a bewildering lurch to the authoritarian right since 11 September and met with such little opposition, either in the media or in parliament. It has been a stealth attack, similar to the approach the Chancellor has used to raise taxes without appearing to do so. While seeming to be friendly to the idea of personal liberty on such things as opening hours and gambling, the government has steadily pursued its campaign of social control."
Full article: http://tinyurl.com/d53yl
Social workers should only be told personal information about a child or young person if it is essential for them to do their job, say children asked for their views on the government's information-sharing proposals. Respondents to a survey conducted for the Children's Rights Director said that professionals should only pass on information if they have the child's permission, unless the child is too young to understand the issue.
Community Care 19-25 January
Passing It On: Views of Children and Young People on
the Government's Guidelines for Sharing Confidential Information about
them
(PDF 32pp)
www.rights4me.org.uk/guides/passing_it_on.pdf
One way of thwarting keystroke loggers is to store your account number and password in a secure, password-protected document that you save on a diskette or memory card. Instead of typing your account number or user name and password, you just copy and paste them. The keystroke logger can only record your mouse click instead of the keystrokes.
Internet ScamBusters Issue 162 (18 January)
Jan Brophy and David Bawden, Department of Information Science, City University, London
Purpose
The purpose of the study was to compare an internet
search engine, Google, with appropriate library databases and systems in order
to assess the relative value, strengths and weaknesses of the two sorts of
systems.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study approach was used,
with detailed analysis and failure checking of results. The performance of the
two systems was assessed in terms of coverage, unique records, precision and
quality and accessibility of results. A novel form of relevance assessment
based on the work of Saracevic and others was devised.
Findings
Google is superior for coverage and accessibility.
Library systems are superior for quality of results. Precision is similar for
both systems. Good coverage requires use of both, as both have many unique
items. Improving the skills of the searcher is likely to give better results
from the library systems, but not from Google.
Research limitations/implications
Only four case studies were
included. These were limited to the kind of queries likely to be searched by
university students. Library resources were limited to those in two UK academic
libraries. Only the basic Google web-search function was used, and only the top
ten records examined.
Practical implications
The results offer guidance for those
providing support and training for use of these retrieval systems and also
provide evidence for debates on the "Google phenomenon".
Originality/value
This is one of the few studies which
provides evidence on the relative performance of internet search engines and
library databases, and the only one to conduct such in-depth case studies. The
method for the assessment of relevance is novel.
ASLIB Proceedings Volume 57 Number 6 (2005)
Update comment: "Google leads to infobesity – library systems to a nutritious diet for the brain."
A group of newspaper, magazine and book publishers is accusing Google and other aggregators of online news stories of unfairly exploiting their content. They argue that news services link to original news stories and display only the headline and one paragraph of the story. For many users, this is sufficient, and the website is therefore deprived of traffic. Gavin O'Reilly, President of the World Association of Newspapers, which is co-ordinating the campaign, said: "We need search engines, and they do help consumers navigate an increasingly complicated medium, but they're building [their business] on the back of kleptomania."
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, Media Editor, Financial Times 31 January
Thomson Scientific announces the launch of Web Citation Index – the multidisciplinary citation index of scholarly content from institutional and subject-based repositories. Web Citation Index "transcends the capabilities of traditional web search engines, providing users with a robust citation-based discovery vehicle for preprints, technical reports, dissertations, proceedings, and other grey literature." James Pringle, Vice President of Development, explains: "We have integrated quality web content in a consistent way and combined it with the powerful ISI Web of Knowledge capabilities to create a new research approach. The ability to navigate citation pathways across multiple content types allows researchers to combine precise searching with truly serendipitous discovery."
Thomson Scientific press release 28 November 2005
Full release: http://scientific.thomson.com/press/2005/8298416/
Yaffa Aharoni, Gitter–Smolarz Library Tel Aviv University with
Ariel Frank and Snunith Shoham
both at Bar–Ilan University
The web is continuing to grow rapidly and search engine technologies are evolving fast. Despite these developments, some problems still remain, mainly difficulties in finding relevant, dependable information. This problem is exacerbated in the case of the academic community, which requires reliable scientific materials in various specialised research areas. We propose that a solution for the academic community might be a meta-search engine which would allow search queries to be sent to several speciality search engines that are most relevant for the information needs of the academic community. The basic premise is that since the material indexed in the repositories of speciality search engines is usually controlled, it is more reliable and of better quality. A database selection algorithm for a speciality meta-search engine was developed, taking into consideration search patterns of the academic community, features of speciality search engines and the dynamic nature of the Web. This algorithm was implemented in a prototype of a speciality meta-search engine for the medical community called AcadeME. AcadeME's performance was compared to that of a general search engine – represented by Google, a highly regarded and widely used search engine – and to that of a single speciality search engine – represented by the medical Queryserver. From the comparison to Google it was found that AcadeME contributed to the quality of the results from the point of view of the academic user. From the comparison to the medical Queryserver it was found that AcadeMe contributed to relevancy and to the variety of the results as well. (Original abstract)
First Monday Volume 10 Number 12 (December 2005)
Author: Elizabeth Orna
Publisher: Gower Publishing
Price:
£29.95
ISBN: 0-566-08563-1
This book makes the case that knowledge products, whether electronic or printed, are "the essential vehicles of knowledge without which communication and commerce cannot take place". It attempts to define and explain information products and their management as the missing link between knowledge and information strategy on the one hand and design and presentation on the other. It sets out what information products are and how they can add value if part of overall strategy; shows how to audit what they should be doing and what they actually are doing for the company; and presents a change programme for a better management approach which enables the company to get full value from them. Like Elizabeth Orna's book Practical Information Policies, it is destined to become the passport to clearer thinking on a usually woolly and neglected area of management.
Library and Information Update Volume 4(12) December 2005
JISC (the Joint Information Systems Committee) and CURL (The Consortium of Research Libraries) have joined forces to pilot a low-cost solution to maintaining long-term access to online journals. In LOCKSS (Lots Of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe), select universities will keep copies and ensure access indefinitely.
Library and Information Update Volume 4(12) December 2005
Update comment: Readers should note that, where we can download a journal article or a full publication, we keep it on CD for 2 years from the publication date of the Members' Update issue in which it appears.
The Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL) has agreed a scheme with the British Library to dispose of archive copies of niche academic journals and use electronic archives instead. A set of hardcopies, known as the National Research Reserve, will be kept at the British Library for referral on request.
Becky McCall, The THES 3 February
Update comment: Please define a "niche academic journal". There are now so many journals for, to my mind, so many different esoteric topic areas that most fall into the "niche" category.
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow."
Mary Anne Radmacher
The High Court has ordered ten internet service providers to hand over the details of 150 UK customers accused of illegally sharing software. ISPs include BT, NTL, Telewest and Tiscali, who will be required to provide the names, addresses and other personal details of the alleged file-sharers to the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST). A spokesperson for FAST said that the organisation will approach the police and Crown Prosecution Service once it has the personal information.
BBC News Online 31 January
The government has launched a review of intellectual property (IP) rights in the UK. The review will be headed by Andrew Gowers, former editor of the Financial Times. It will analyse whether the relationship between consumers and rights-holders can be improved. It will also consider how IP rights are awarded and administered, whether copyright laws are too complex and whether the current IP rights are "technically and legally" appropriate in the digital environment.
Mark Chillingworth, Information World Review Number 220 (January 2005)
This item in The Economist (17-23 December) considers the implications of the legal action against Research In Motion (RIM), the makers of the BlackBerry. RIM has been successfully sued by an organisation called NTP, which claimed that RIM is using patented information without an appropriate licence. RIM has been threatened with a legal injunction to close its American operations if it does not pay both the licence and an estimated $1 billion in backdated fees – an estimated 6% of its sales. While many have accused NTP of being a "patent troll", others believe that RIM has been "the author of its own fate". It made no effort to pay the licence, despite losing the original case and a subsequent appeal, and despite the exponential growth in its customer base. The author argues that RIM must pay up if the patents system – and thus the value of intellectual property – is to have any integrity. She writes: "The courts should protect intellectual property because it rewards inventors by conferring a real title to an intangible asset. Business requires confidence that IP will be respected and infringers brought to justice, regardless of whether the litigant it using the patent or not. Only with that security will firms patent and licence their inventions, thus allowing others to use their ideas."
Dick Kaser, Vice-President of content at Information Today Inc., looks at the camera on the phone, the phone on the computer, and the computer in his pocket and realises that, by being connected to everything all the time, he is less connected to anything in particular – including the current moment. It is good to remain connected to the things which might have prevented you from going to that conference on that day BUT there is a dim recollection of the time when going on a business trip meant leaving the office behind, not taking it with you. "The hurrier I go the behinder I get" – and you can't listen to the conference speaker whilst dealing with your emails.
Information Today Volume 23 Issue 1 (January 2006)
Tips on how to avoid drowning in a sea of work from The Mind Gym include:
Management Today December 2005
Update comment: Nothing new there – just a reminder of what you already know but, if you're like me, rarely put into action! So, Hazel, get on with it.
In an article for Management Today (January 2006), Octavius Black, founder of The Mind Gym, gives advice on how to stay motivated at work long after the New Year's resolutions have been made and broken. Key to ensuring success is, he argues, making sure that you have selected appropriate resolutions in the first place. They should not be "overly-ambitious, unhelpfully vague, tortuously complex, mutually exclusive or simply not worth the effort". Having decided on clear and reasonable goals, Mr Black offers a number of tips to maintain momentum, including:
Update comment : Relationships with customers have to be managed – and as with any business process, the system must be understood and accepted by the people operating it before it is based in (on?) technological solutions. Technology is a tool which may lead to an answer – it is not, of itself, an answer.
Butler Group Review Issue 34 December 2005
Government policy on education is stuck in a rigid rut, turning out passive children unable to think for themselves, writes Jenni Russell (The Guardian 14 January). She says that couching the policies in "almost evangelical" language that extols the virtue of "parent choice" is simply evidence that the government is passing the buck. By making education intrinsically responsive to parents, the government makes parents responsible for any future problems. She says: "This is the language of the market gone mad, as if schools were no more complex than stalls selling vegetables. Don't want cauliflowers? Next week we'll offer broccoli and asparagus. Don't like the look of the stallholder? We'll sack him. Think the produce has gone off? We'll shut the stall down, and you can run your own. Changed your mind? Going elsewhere? Certainly. Pleased to serve you. The customer is always right."
Full article: http://tinyurl.com/dhmsr
Update comment: It would be laughable if it weren't so serious.
This is a transcript of the speech made by Education Secretary Ruth Kelly to the New Heads Conference on 6 January 2006. She talks about creating conditions for success in children's centres, school, colleges and universities.
Department for Education and Skills 6 January
URL (Word document 19pp) http://tinyurl.com/7p4z5
In an article for Library and Information Update (Volume 4(12) December 2005), Kate Purcell looks at how mystery shopping is carried out in the banking and retail sectors and asks if other sectors could learn from this method of improving customer service standards. She highlights an eight-point process which helps to ensure that the exercise is conducted in a useful and ethical manner.
Resources: Mystery Shopping Providers Association
URL: www.mystery-shop.org
Advisory guidelines for mystery shopping in Europe
http://mspa-eu.org/pdf/guidelines.pdf
Update comment: Mystery shopping is now used to assess services in many different settings – including careers information and advice. This article is a clear and timely reminder of the requirements of a good scheme.
Predictions from a US-based management consultancy suggest that the traditional job description may eventually become a thing of the past. Researchers from The Herman Group argue that, as the working environment becomes more flexible, job descriptions have become "increasingly restrictive and awkward to manage". They predict that "role descriptions" based on much broader principles, such as, it is the employee's duty to do whatever it takes to serve customers, will supersede the job description.
StepStone Online January 2006
A new survey from the Post-it Notes people has revealed that employees are taking only 19 minutes 42 seconds for lunch on average. Even more worrying is that the same survey only six months ago came up with 26 minutes, meaning that people are now "lunching less than ever".
workSMART newsletter Issue 42 (January 2006)
A third of UK workers did not take their full holiday entitlement in 2005, despite complaints of being overworked, suggests research from Croner. This could mean more than £14.5 billion worth of unclaimed holidays went to waste in 2005, the HR consultancy said.
Changing Times News Number 68 (10 January)
More than one in four workers eat breakfast at their desks as well as missing their lunch break, according to a study of British workers. The study found adults eat nearly half their weekly meals at their desks, making them more likely to eat with work colleagues than with friends or family.
The Scotsman 19 January
Many UK employees are expected to take on the workload of more than one person and fewer than two-thirds believe the amount of work they are asked to do is reasonable. The figures, from a survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, suggest that many organisations are chronically under-manned and over-stretched.
Changing Times News Number 68 (10 January)
Most dog owners would be happy to spend more time in the office and earn less if they were allowed to bring their pooch to work, new research claims. More than 65% of dog owners would work longer hours and 32% would take a pay cut if they could bring their pet to the office, according to research carried out by Dogster, a community site for dog owners, and Simply Hired, an US jobs website.
Kerry Lee, People Management Online 27 January
The latest estimate puts the cost to the economy of absenteeism at around £12 billion per year, with absenteeism in the private sector making up around £8 billion of the total. Stress is among the biggest problems in British workplaces, with the cost to the British economy being estimated at £3.7 billion per year.
HRLook Daily News 2 February
"Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honour of a critic."
Jean Sibelius
Delegates at a conference of the British Psychological Society heard the results of a survey which suggests that being a librarian "induces more stress than working for the emergency services, driving a 125 mph express, or teaching a class of ill-behaved children". Respondents said that libraries are "dull and uninspiring places in which to pursue a career" and librarians suffer from very low levels of job satisfaction. They complain that there is not enough variety in their work, that they do not have enough control over their careers, and they are not allowed to put their skills to full use.
Alan Hamilton, The Times Online 12 January
Update comment: I'd dearly like to know more about who the respondents were, in what type of library they are working, and the questions that were actually asked. "Not enough variety" could apply to hundreds of different jobs as could the other factors mentioned, whilst I know many librarians who are highly satisfied with their work.
Stress in the workplace is a major factor in the development of heart disease and diabetes, a study published in the British Medical Journal says. The study of 10,000 civil servants found a link between stress and metabolic syndrome, which involves obesity and high blood pressure. Senior researcher Tarani Chandola said: "Employees with chronic work stress have more than double the odds of the syndrome than those without work stress, after other risk factors are taken into account. The study provides evidence for the biological plausibility of psycho-social stress mechanisms linking stressors from everyday life with heart disease."
BBC News Online 20 January
Update comment: Why is work stress any worse than non-work stress?
Research conducted by the Centre for the Human-Animal Bond reveals that "pet substitutes" can lower stress levels in the same way as the ordinary variety. The research concluded that robotic pets such as Tamagotchi and Furby can be a good companion for children and elderly people.
Iain Thomson, VNUNET Weekly News Review 1 February
Update comment: So, now you know!
A private detective has been given a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £1,200 by magistrates. He was charged with both obtaining and disclosing information relating to an individual's bank account details. The Data Protection Act 1998 makes it an offence to "knowingly or recklessly, without the consent of the data controller, obtain or disclose personal data". The Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, said that he was "delighted" with the outcome.
OUT-LAW News 13 January
The Information Commissioner's Office has issued its latest Good Practice Note, which exposes an unusual loophole in data protection legislation. The Note explains that an employer does not need to pass on a confidential reference that they have written about an employee if asked to do so by that person. However, if they hold a confidential reference they received from someone else, they generally need to disclose it upon request – unless the manner in which it is held is not covered by the Data Protection Act. To be covered, the information should be stored in "a highly structured manual filing system". Electronically stored data will almost certainly be covered, but physical information, including letters or notes, can be exempt if it is not kept in a filing system. As OUT-LAW notes: "Want to hide something? Shove it in a drawer!"
Struan Robertson, Editor of OUT-LAW, OUT-LAW News 16 January
The guidance note (PDF 2pp) is at http://tinyurl.com/8tvqd
Update comment: At last someone else is saying what I've said for years – and taught in workshops. "Stick all your daily records on a spike and enter onto the computerised database such information as will satisfy the statistical requirement without identifying an individual." Hazel
The UK's broadband "digital divide" – the gap between the fast internet haves and have-nots – is deeper than was thought and may be getting even deeper, newly published research has revealed. According to a study from Point Topic, all the top 10 local authority areas with the highest broadband density are in London and the home counties. The 10 with the lowest density are in the rural areas of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, along with West Somerset.
Robert Jaques, VNUNET Weekly News Review 18 January
A detailed analysis is available online at www.point-topic.com (free registration required)
Northern Ireland is the leading broadband region in Europe with 100% broadband access. Enterprise Minister Angela Smith said: "This is a significant achievement for Northern Ireland to lead Europe in broadband availability. Every household, business, school and library in Northern Ireland will be able to access broadband regardless of their location. Government has invested almost £10 million in delivering broadband across Northern Ireland and this provision is key to ensuring that the infrastructure, necessary to compete successfully in the global market, is in place."
eGov Monitor Weekly Issue 198 (23 January)
Update comment: Am I losing it? The VNUNET article above included Northern Ireland in with the "areas that haven't got it". Who is right?
According to new estimates from the Office for National Statistics, Britain's workforce is set to expand by about two million people over the next 15 years as people live longer and work longer. Current trends indicate that the workforce would rise 6.7% by 2020 to 32.1 million, from the current 30.1 million – of which more than 28 million are employed. The economic activity rate of working-age people is also likely to expand to just under 80% over the next 15 years, from 78.5% now. Within that, the activity rate for men was expected to remain static at around 91% while for women the figure was projected to rise to 76% from the current level of 73.4%.
Ashley Seager, The Guardian 13 January
Frédéric Gonand
This paper aims at assessing the robustness of demographic projections to different assumptions on mortality, fertility and migration. It builds on a small-scale simulation model for 23 OECD countries, which reproduces closely national projections under similar demographic assumptions. Up to 2020, projections are relatively robust to alternative hypothesis. However, uncertainty about future longevity gains and fertility rates accounts for a large range of results for dependency ratios by 2050. Eventually, a long-lasting surge in fertility may not be enough to fully offset the impact on dependency ratio of increases in longevity in line with past trends (i.e. around two years every decade).
OECD Economics Department Working Papers Number 464 (December 2005)
Full paper (PDF 49pp) http://tinyurl.com/bfxzh
Update comment: A very interesting read.
The Scottish Executive has been warned that Scotland's demographic time bomb will "explode in three years", when the number of pensioners north of the border overtakes the number of schoolchildren. Researchers from the Executive's Strategy And Delivery Unit said that, by 2009, the number of pensioners will exceed the 650,000 young people predicted to be in primary and secondary education.
Peter MacMahon, Scottish Government Editor, The Scotsman 29 December
NetLibrary, a platform for full-text digital content in libraries worldwide, has achieved a ground-breaking milestone in the eContent industry. NetLibrary is the first eContent platform to offer academic, public, special and school library users access to more than 100,000 full-text eBook and eAudiobook titles.
Managing Information Newsletter: Issue 197 (2 January)
John Montgomery, Urban Cultures Ltd
The author of this Viewpoint Article stresses that recent breakthroughs in "the dusty field of local economic development" show the key importance of creativity to city planning and wealth generation. In The Creative City Charles Landry argues that whether cities generate new ideas and processes is dependent on the existence or otherwise of "creative triggers"; that is, events, moments and influences that cause creative advances to occur at that point in time. These "triggers" can be shown, at their simplest, to involve the right people being in the right place at the right time having the right body of knowledge and skills, having access to the right technologies. These are not factors that can, as a whole, be legislated for – and areas of creativity beget further creativity through people with knowledge and skills being in a particular place. Around this creativity is then built the enterprise apparatus to manage the "product", and the city (and it usually is a city or an area of one) is in an upward spiral.
Local Economy Volume 20 Number 4 (November 2005)
Oliver Brittel, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialfõrschung (WZB), Berlin
The British Employment Service increasingly relies on private providers. Arguably, the Employment Zone initiative provides a radical example of contracting out. Since 2000, long-term unemployed people in 13 local areas have been receiving employment re-integration services through private providers. This article provides a comprehensive overview of this experience. It builds on existing evaluations and primary research through expert interviews and document analysis. It attempts to add new, original insights into the development of the market as well as the incentive mechanisms used to gear employment outcomes. It seems that the flexibility of private providers is indeed able to increase the effectiveness of placement services compared with Jobcentre Plus. Nevertheless, Employment Zones seem to suffer from the general deficiencies of "Work First" policies. (Original abstract)
Local Economy Volume 20 Number 4 (November 2005)
Registration and certification for childcare NVQs has rocketed over the last year, according to the latest government figures. The Department of Health's social care and health workforce group says that, from September 2004 to September 2005, registrations for all child and early years care and education NVQs and SVQs in the UK rose by 15% and qualification levels jumped by 19.4%.
Children Now 24-31 January
A document leaked from the Department of Work and Pensions reveals pressure to put large parts of the ministry's work off-shore to meet a £1 billion efficiency savings target. The document reads: "In line with the continuing need for government departments to reduce costs, proposals are being made by service providers (private firms bidding for government work) to undertake work for or on behalf of the department overseas. This could involve the transfer of part or even all of the functions of a DWP area of business that would have previously been located in the UK, to a centre located outside of the UK." A spokesperson for the DWP responded: "We have no plans to move any of our contact centres or any of our other services off-shore. Some of the suppliers for our support services such as IT may use off-shore sub-contractors. That is entirely a matter for them."
David Hencke, Westminster Correspondent, The Guardian 23 January
A new survey finds the drive to cut employment costs and tackle skills shortages in the UK has led to almost a third (30%) of organisations feeling under pressure to off-shore business activity. As a result of this pressure the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) estimates that 30,000 jobs have been off-shored each year since the turn of the century, although those losses have been partially offset by parallel job gains and have been more than compensated for by the underlying growth in jobs over the same period. Key findings include:
Considering the survey results in broader context, Dr John Philpott, CIPD Chief Economist, said:"On balance, if handled well, off-shoring is good news for UK consumers. The key requirement is to ensure that those workers that are adversely affected are given every help to find new jobs."
CIPD press release 26 January
The head of Lifelong Learning UK has warned that colleges may be forced to follow the NHS's example by recruiting lecturers from abroad, if measures are not taken to stem "a wave of departures" over the next five years. Presenting evidence to the House of Commons education and skills select committee, David Hunter, LLUK's Chief Executive, said that colleges will need to recruit around 135,000 lecturers by 2010 to tackle demand fuelled by the growth of the FE sector and an ageing workforce. He warned that Britain "just may not have the workforce available for these roles", and called for a national campaign to promote FE as "a career of first choice". A spokesperson for the Association of Colleges countered this by arguing that a recruitment drive will be largely unsuccessful unless steps are taken to improve pay and conditions for lecturers.
Joseph Lee, The TES FE Focus 13 January
A new dental school and 100 extra student places are to be created in England in response to a national shortage of dentists, the HEFCE has announced. The dental school will be established at the Peninsula Medical School, a partnership between the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth and the NHS within Devon and Cornwall. Additional graduate places will be based at outreach centres in Cumbria and Lancashire. The funding body also said that 108 additional places would be established for trainee doctors.
Liz Ford, The Guardian 26 January
Contrary to the EU's optimism about the opportunities of globalisation, a new report points to a weakening relationship between economic growth and employment growth. Global economic growth is increasingly failing to translate into new and better jobs that lead to a reduction in poverty, according to a new report issued by the International Labour Office (ILO). In the report, the ILO points out that within this global trend, different regions show mixed results in terms of job creation, productivity results, wage improvements and poverty reduction. Taking a global view, the 4th edition of Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM) says that currently, half the world's workers still do not earn enough to lift themselves and their families above the US $2 a day poverty line.
Bettina Brenner, ETV Newsletter Issue 6 (December 2005)
Key Indicators of the Labour Market (ISBN:
9-220-17568-1 price £30) is available from
the International Labour
Office
tel: +41 22 799 6853
email: MSU@ilo.org
Summary (PDF 10pp) http://kilm.ilo.org/2005/press/download/ExSumEN.pdf
High-flying vocational workers are set for generous wage rises in the next 15 years, says City & Guilds. According to the awarding body's Future Earnings report, "golden vocations", including IT workers, electricians and those in the building trade, already command salaries 30% above the national average. Nonetheless, by 2020 the fortunes of many more vocations will improve as their earnings climb at a faster rate than for most Britons, due partly to increasing demand for their skills. The fitness industry is set to become one of the biggest success stories over the next 15 years due to the population's higher disposable income. Instructors at the top of their profession are in line for an £80k salary – £28,000 more than the national 2020 average. Similarly, hairdressers and beauticians will reap the rewards of an increasing demand for more skilled leisure workers amongst consumers. Meanwhile, senior security guards could take home £70,500 a year on average – nearly £20k above the predicted UK norm. 24-hour drinking will lead to an increased demand in door security, placing qualified staff at a premium. As well as predicting growth, Future Earnings also examines how skilled workers are faring in today's economic climate. Not surprisingly, considering their 2020 earning potential, leisure, hair and beauty managers are currently enjoying an annual salary increase of around 6%; care assistants are also doing well, with an average 4.44% wage climb every year. The UK's ageing population and predicted shortages amongst doctors and nurses mean skilled care workers will only continue to reap the rewards in the years to come. Rail workers, security guards, chefs, plumbers, call centre operators and vehicle workers are all also basking in pay increases that buck the national trend.
HRLook Daily News 10 January
A copy of the report is available on request from City
& Guilds
tel: 020 7294 2800
email:
enquiry@cityandguilds.com
A CBI survey of firms finds a loss of 25,000 manufacturing jobs over the past three months. Ian McCafferty, the chief economic adviser to the CBI, said that the gap between price rises and manufacturing costs has risen to a "near-record" level. He said that job cuts could worsen if rising costs "continued to devastate profit margins".
Philip Thornton, Economics Correspondent, The Independent 25 January
This can be downloaded from www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/article.asp?id=1324
IDS Pay Report Number 944 January 2006
The latest Labour Force Survey, which covers September to November 2005, shows that there were 28.8 million people in work during this period, a rise of 221,000 on the same period last year, and one of the highest figures on record. But the latest quarter saw employment fall back by 22,000. Lower employment, when combined with further growth in the labour force, has been reflected in higher unemployment, with ILO unemployment up 111,000 this quarter, to 1.53 million. Claimant unemployment also rose by 7,200 in December, to 909,100, continuing a trend seen since the beginning of 2005.
HRLook Daily News 18 January
New figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that the unemployment level has risen by 111,000 in the three months to the end of November, the biggest such rise since August 1993. Commenting on the increase, Margaret Hodge, the Employment Minister, said that "the real challenge facing the labour market was to persuade more unemployed people to return to work rather than finding enough jobs for them."
Ashley Seager, The Guardian 19 January
The latest edition of this publication (Volume 114, Number 1) is now available. Contents include:
Items on: revisions to workforce jobs; revised LFS estimates; data on employment by occupation; labour market participation of older workers; and Employment in Europe 2005.
Projections of the UK labour force, 2006 to 2020: Results of the latest set of labour force projections produced by ONS (Vassilis Madouros, Labour Market Division, Office for National Statistics)
The most recent figures for employment, unemployment, economic activity and inactivity, earnings, claimant count, vacancies, redundancies, labour disputes and government employment and training measures plus enquiry points.
ONS website January 2006
Full publication (PDF 130pp) http://tinyurl.com/act8x
Virus traffic in 2005 halved, according to email monitoring company SoftScan. An analysis conducted by SoftScan found that virus emails accounted for just 1.4% of the total emails monitored. A spokesperson for the company said that phishing remained the greatest threat to users in 2006.
Iain Thomson, VNUNET Weekly News Review 4 January
The Department for Work and Pensions has published evidence from a literature review commissioned to assess the current state of knowledge about factors influencing work and retirement. The context for the study is the increasing rate of labour force participation of older workers and the narrowing of the gap in employment between those 50-plus as compared with younger age groups. This development is also reflected in changes in public policy with moves to encourage workers to consider extending their working lives. Against this background, the focus of the review is on exploring a range of questions concerned with understanding why some people remain in employment and why others leave ahead of State Pension Age (SPA). The review also identifies gaps in the research literature and policy issues to consider if the goal of extending working life is to be achieved.
Age Positive Update 9 January
Extending working life: a review of the research
literature
Full report (PDF 106pp)
http://tinyurl.com/9ahup
Summary (PDF 4pp) http://tinyurl.com/bse6w
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, more than 100,000 people aged over 60 found a new job in the year to November – a rise of 11% on the previous year. This means that around 1.1 million people over pensionable age are now working – or about 10% of the pensionable a