Library E-Resources Sessions For New Students

If you're a new Applied Social Studies student beginning your course in 2012, then you have an upcoming session on using the library's e-resources to look forward to!

Criminology &Sociology BA - Wednesday 26th September 2012. Room P2.35, 11.00 - 11.50. E-books & DISCOVER.

Social Work BSc

• Tuesday 2nd October, Library IT Training Room 2, 11.00 - 12.00. E-books.
• Tuesday 9th October, Library IT Training Room 2, 11.00 - 12.00. Using journals & finding journal articles.
• Tuesday 16th October, Library IT Training Room 2, 11.00 - 12.00. Using DISCOVER and the Internet for academic study.
• Tuesday 23rd October, Library IT Training Suite 2, 11.00 -12.00. Using Microsoft Word (with Linda Martin).
• Monday 29th October - Friday 2nd November. READING WEEK.
• Tuesday 6th November, Library IT Training Suite 2, 11.00 -12.00. Using Microsoft Powerpoint (with Linda Martin).
• Tuesday 13th November, Library IT Training Suite 2, 11.00 -12.00. Using RefWorks.

Welcome To All New Students, 2012 & Welcome Back To All Returning Students

A big welcome to all new Department of Applied Social Studies students at the Bedford, Polhill campus. I hope you enjoy your time with us - and that goes for all returning students too!

As you settle in over the next few weeks there are few things you can do to help yourself get the best out of the Library service. Below are my top tips for all new students:

• Go for a Library tour - tours are available on request for the first 3 weeks of term. Just go to the Library Ground Floor Enquiry Desk and ask.
• Pick up a copy of the Library Handbook. It'll be very useful.
• Try borrowing / returning a book to make sure you can use the self issue machines
• Try logging on to a PC with your netwoek username & password
• If you intend to use your own laptop or other mobile device try connecting to the University's WiFi network.
• Check your UoB Student Gmail account for important messages from the University.
• Try logging onto BREO and see if there are any announcements for the units you're taking
• Try printing from a PC to make sure your account works.
• Try searching the Library Catalogue to find items on reading lists.
• Check out John Smith's bookstall in the Campus Centre for books on your reading lists at a 10% discount
• Go the LR Feedback Blog and leave a comment. You'll be entered into a free prize draw and if selected you'll win £20 of printing credits.
• Subscribe to this blog! I post useful support for your course here including recommended readings for assignments, 'how to' videos, new resources, useful websites, new research, upcoming workshops etc. Remember you can post a comment & give me feedback if you wish.

'Drop-in' Workshops For Semester 1

My new programme  of 'Drop-in' workshops for Semester 1 is now available here: Workshops at Polhill. There's no need to book; just 'drop-in' if you're interested. Any questions, please contact me at: sally.fensome@beds.ac.uk

Life Made Easier With DISCOVER!

DISCOVER is the University's new single search software. It allows you to search most of the University's electronic resources + the Library Catalogue all at the same time. This means no more searching individual databases to find journal articles - or the frustration of searching Google Scholar only to find that the perfect article you've isn't available in full text.

DISCOVER is made by Ebscohost so the interface will be familar to anyone who's ever used Ebsco. Results from any electronic source can be saved to your personal Ebscohost folder and all your saved preferences are available using DISCOVER.

For help with using DISCOVER please contact me, your Academic Liaison Librarian or come along to one of my workshops. Dates & times for Semester 1 will be published shortly on this blog.

Latest British Social Attitudes Released

The latest British Social Attitudes Survey was released today and is now available to read online here: 29th British Social Attitudes Report.

Headlines include a further hardening of attitudes to welfare.

Learning Hub Closure

The Learning Hub at the Bedford, Polhill Campus will be CLOSED for clearing & registration until 12th October 2012.

Trafficked Children In The UK Care Sector Go Missing

A new report from the Council of Europe says that some children trafficked into the UK are going missing from local authority care. 

It says there are indications that increasing numbers of people are being brought into the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour. The council raises particular concerns over a lack of secure and suitable accommodation for trafficked children who end up in local authority care. It calls for better trained supervisors or foster carers for them.

The Council of Europe's Greta (Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings) says reports suggest a "significant" number of trafficked children in local authority care go missing and some end up rejoining those who exploited them in the first place. Its report says hundreds of people have been identified as victims of trafficking in the UK but only 56 people were convicted of human trafficking in 2009 and 29 the following year.

The common countries of origin were China, Vietnam, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Albania, Nigeria, Uganda and India, the report says. Children tended to be brought in for the purposes of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, benefit fraud, cannabis farming and forced begging and stealing.

Greta acknowledges good work is going on around the UK but it found inconsistent approaches in different areas.

Greta also highlights what it describes as a significant intelligence gap on trafficking, saying the levels of trust and co-operation between victim support services and law enforcement agencies need to be improved.
The Council of Europe says on its website that it aims to "develop throughout Europe common and democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the protection of individuals".

This is its first assessment of human trafficking in the UK since the anti-trafficking convention came into force in the UK in April 2009.As well as improvements regarding care of trafficked children, Greta recommends a number of actions:

• More needs to be done to separate the identification of trafficking victims from decisions on immigration or asylum and it points out that quick decisions on immigration status can prevent victims being recognised
• Victims of human trafficking need assistance and support regardless of when the trafficking actually took place
• Prosecutors across the UK need guidance to ensure trafficking is considered as a serious violation of human rights and victims of trafficking should not receive penalties for their involvement in illegal activities carried out under duress
• The assisted voluntary return programmes should be reviewed to check whether they are appropriate for victims of trafficking.

UK Schools "Most Socially Segregated"

A new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operations and Development (OECD) claims that schools in the UK are among the most segregated in the developed world.

The report: Education at a Glance 2010 (the latest figures available) warns that disadvantaged children are too often concentrated together in schools.This applies both to the children of poorly educated parents and to those of immigrant families. The OECD's Andreas Schleicher says this is the "biggest challenge" for schools.

The Education at a Glance report from the OECD is the leading publication of international education statistics - comparing the performance of education systems among developed countries.

These latest figures, which are from 2010, reveal the UK has unusually high levels of "segregation" in terms of poorer and migrant families being clustered in the same schools, rather than being spread across different schools.

It looks at where the children of "low-educated" mothers are going to school - which in the UK means the children of mothers who did not achieve five good GCSEs - and found that in the UK they were much more likely to be taught in schools with high numbers of disadvantaged children.

Among the children of immigrant families in the UK, 80% were taught in schools with high concentrations of other immigrant or disadvantaged pupils - the highest proportion in the developed world.

The significance of this, according to Mr Schleicher, is that the social background of a school's intake exerts a strong influence on the likely outcomes for pupils.

The report did however show that the UK was proving a success in harnessing education for social mobility - particularly in getting young people into higher education. The chances of poorer children in the UK getting into university are "relatively high", in comparison with other developed countries. It highlights the progress between generations - with 41% of 25 to 34-year-olds in the UK achieving a higher level of education than their parents - above the OECD average.

The international statistics showed that in some countries social mobility could also go in reverse. In the US, almost one in five young adults faced "downward mobility" - such as not going to university when their parents had.

How Much Does A Child Cost in 2012?

The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has published a new report on how much it costs to bring up a child with a minimum level of participation in society, as well as catering for their needs in terms of food, clothes and shelter.

The main findings from the report are:

• It costs £143,000 in total to bring up a child to age 18 and meet their minimum needs, which is around £150 a week (averaged for a child across all ages and including childcare costs and housing). (Chapter 5)

•  The basic cost of raising children has risen faster than inflation (CPI) in recent years, meaning that with wages falling behind and benefits being cut, Britain is moving backwards for the prosperity of our children. (Chapter 7)

• Childcare can add as much as £60k to the total cost of childhood. Childcare is one of the factors most responsible for the costs of children’s needs rising faster than inflation. The main state support for childcare costs is through tax credits and it was cut by 12.5% in April 2011. (Chapter 5)

• State support fails to ensure basic physical needs are met, leaving many families lacking sufficient funds for a healthy diet for the whole family and living in unhealthy housing conditions with problems like overcrowding and damp (Chapter 3). The maximum support available only meets between 73% and 94% (depending on family composition) of basic costs for children. (Chapter 6)

• A full-time job on National Minimum Wage is not enough to meet minimum costs for children.  For single parent families, NMW leaves them with 89% of the basic requirement; and for couple families it is just 82% of the basic requirement (this is after benefits and tax credits have been included). (Scorecard and Executive summary)

• Child Benefit meets only 20% of childhood costs on average for couple families and just 18% for single parent families. Child Benefit has been frozen since 2010 and will have lost 10% of its value by 2014. Since the war, universal support with the cost of a child, first through family allowances and then child benefit, has been our national public commitment to all children. This universal arrangement will come to an end next year. (Scorecard and Chapter 6)

• Having children leaves adults on benefits worse off. Additional state support for families with children is lower than a child’s minimum needs, so families face a growing shortfall with each child. Parents react by spending less money on themselves; in some cases parents will even skip meals so that their children don’t go without. If a single parent of three children used his/her adult benefit income to top up the child-related benefits so the minimum needs of the children are met, they would have just £12 a week to meet their own basic needs. (Chapter 6)

• The cost of a child rises as they get older (excluding childcare costs). This is because of increased consumption needs – e.g. more food – and also because people believe children are less able to share a room with younger siblings once they reach adolescence. (Chapter 5)

• Costs are higher for single parents and, since cuts were implemented in 2010, the deterioration in income for single parents is worse than for couple families. A single parent has £107 less than they need and £166 less if they have three children. (Chapter 5)

• Parents have modified their own expectations since the recession with fewer meals out and fewer presents for each other. Parents clearly prioritise children’s needs over their own. All acknowledge that life changes when you have children, you make more sacrifices, eat out less, life is less spontaneous and holidays abroad often come to an end. Parents also have less time available. (Chapter 4)

The full report is available to download on the CPAG website here. 

Middle-Aged Men At Highest Risk Of Suicide

Statistics reveal that middle-aged men are now the group at highest risk of committing suicide in England. 

Key reasons could be job or money worries due to the recession, says a new government strategy to reduce the number of suicides. Suicide rates among young men - previously the most at-risk group - have fallen. There was a total of 4,215 suicides recorded in 2010.

Charities said better support was key to cutting rates further. It is 10 years since the government published its last strategy to tackle suicide rates. Overall the rate of suicides has fallen - but there has been a slight increase in recent years.

The strategy says the current economic problems are likely to have a bearing on rates. particularly in middle-aged men.

"Previously, periods of high unemployment or severe economic problems have had an adverse effect on the mental health of the population and have been associated with higher rates of suicide," it stated.

"Evidence is emerging of an impact of the current recession on suicides in affected countries."

The most recent figures show that in 2008-10 the three-year average suicide rate for 35-49 year old males was the highest of any group, at 20.8 per 100,000 population. However, suicide risk is recognised as being complex, and most often a combination of factors.

The government is promising £1.5m for research into how to tackle suicide in at-risk groups. Aside from middle-aged men, these include people with mental health problems and those with a history of self-harm.
Strategies to reduce the risk of suicide include reducing access to suicide-related internet sites for children and reducing the opportunity for suicide for people in prisons or mental health facilities.

The government has also promised better information and support for those bereaved or affected by suicide.

You can read more on this story on the BBC News website here.

"It Shouldn't Happen Here" , Save The Children Launches Its First Appeal To Help UK Children

The charity Save the Children, best known for helping some of the world's poorest families, has launched its first appeal to help UK children. 

The charity says the UK's poorest children are bearing the brunt of the recession, with some missing out on regular hot meals or new shoes.The campaign urges the government to focus on benefits for low-paid families and ask employers to pay a living wage.

Researchers for Save the Children surveyed more than 1,500 children aged eight to 16 and more than 5,000 parents, focusing on the lowest income groups.

The study draws on Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) figures which estimate that there are 3.5 million children living in poverty in the UK and predict a steep rise in the numbers in coming years.The charity defines living in poverty as having a family income of less than £17,000 a year.

More than half the parents in poverty surveyed (61%) said they had cut back on what they ate and more than a quarter (26%) had skipped meals in the past year.Just under a fifth (19%) said their children sometimes had to go without new shoes when they needed them.

The report, It Shouldn't Happen Here, also reveals the extent to which children are aware of how much financial strain their parents are under with more than half (58%) saying they thought it was getting harder for their parents to pay for everything.

Some 52% of the poorest children agreed that not having enough money made their parents unhappy or stressed and 43% 'strongly agreed' that their parents were cutting back on things for themselves such as clothes or food.