3,238 research outputs found

    Spotlights and shadows: a social work perspective on information sharing to safeguard children

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    Information sharing has often been identified as an area of weakness in inter-agency practice (e.g. Lord Laming, 2003). Failures in inter-agency communication seem to haunt professional practice and are repeatedly cited in public inquiries and serious case reviews relating to harm to children (Reder &amp; Duncan, 2003). This is despite a long-standing governmental drive to improve the systems and practices of information sharing (Thompson, 2010). In considering the disparity between the attention received and improvements affected within the field of information sharing, this thesis suggests that the assumptions that have underpinned governmental responses to communication failures are problematic. Whilst policy makers have tended to assume that information sharing should be a straightforward matter, this research is grounded in a belief that, in fact, it is likely to be a highly complex task, affected by the emotional dynamics and contextual constraints of day to day child protection practice. Using a psycho-socially informed case study of three local authority children’s services teams, the research seeks a deeper understanding of what information sharing entails for front line children’s social work practitioners and how it is experienced at an emotional level. Findings from the research highlight the centrality of information work and the diversity and complexity of the tasks involved. Attention is drawn to a disparity between the resources, opportunities or skills described as necessary for the fulfilment of information tasks and those actually occurring within the context of 21st century welfare organizations. Findings suggest that the anxieties inherent within the research setting around lack of resource and high demand, have given rise to a number of socially structured defences against anxiety which influence the way in which work is carried out. The thesis concludes with a number of practical steps that could offer enhanced support for practitioners undertaking the complex and emotionally laden tasks of information sharing.<br/

    Getting beneath the surface: scapegoating and the systems approach in a post-munro world

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    The publication of the Munro Review of Child Protection: Final Report (2011b, Department for Education, London) was the culmination of an extensive and expansive consultation process into the current state of child protection practice across the UK. Despite the concern about ‘blame’ within the report, there is, surprisingly, at no point an explicit reference to the dynamics and practices of ‘scapegoating’ that are so closely associated with organisational blame cultures. This paper examines this gap in understanding of the recurrence of shortcomings in child care social work practice and suggests that unless the dynamics of scapegoating are more fully understood, new developments, such as the systems approach advocated by Munro, will fall short of their potential impact. A critical review of existing understanding of scapegoating is presented and the paper concludes by outlining initiatives to counter the detrimental effect of scapegoating of everyday practice

    On Cold Spring Lane

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    Group exhibition curated by Ella McCartney Hannah Less and Marianne Spurr. Including works by Victoria Adam, Rebecca Ackroyd, May Hands, Hannah Lees, Ella McCartney, Amanda Ross-Ho and Marianne Spurr The works included in this exhibition focus on the energy and frequencies inherent in all matter, the life cycles of objects and the complexity of preservation. Concerned with materiality, process and the re-presentation of matter, all the artists included are exploring relationships and tensions between the organic and synthetic, figuration and abstraction, and the found and made object

    Censorship and claims making regarding problem framing in 5 published RCT's on social anxiety (as identified by the author and Amanda Reiman, PhD).

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    <p>Censorship and claims making regarding problem framing in 5 published RCT's on social anxiety (as identified by the author and Amanda Reiman, PhD).</p

    Unveiling Melodies in Shadows: An Analysis of Swedish Female Composer Amanda Maier’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in B Minor

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    Amanda Maier (1853−1894), a pioneering Swedish violinist and composer of the late nineteenth century, holds a unique place in music history as the first-ever female music director in Sweden. Despite her significant achievements, her compositions have remained relatively unknown. Therefore, the document aims to illuminate Amanda Maier's violin works, focusing on investigating her violin sonata in terms of violin performance and pedagogy. Specifically, the study offers insights into the performance techniques employed and provides other pertinent pedagogical suggestions for each movement. The document features an introductory chapter and a review of the historical context of Maier's life and the violin sonata. Subsequent chapters shift the focus to performance practice and pedagogical suggestions with theoretical analysis. One distinctive feature of the study is the inclusion of practice exercises composed originally by the author, tailored specifically to the techniques found in the sonata. These exercises aid practitioners in incorporating Maier's violin sonata into their program. The study assists violinists in diversifying their performance and teaching literature. It seeks to inspire renewed appreciation for Amanda Maier's artistic legacy because it is important to recognize the remarkable contributions of women in the classical music industry, and Amanda Maier, an underrepresented composer, exemplifies this. The document not only contributes to music research but also enhances pedagogical practices, fostering a more inclusive and equitable environment for female composers in the classical music world

    Belonging: natural histories of place, identity and home

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    Canongate's synopsis: "Reflecting on family, identity and nature, Belonging is a personal memoir about what it is to have and make a home. It is a love letter to nature, especially the northern landscapes of Scotland and the Scots pinewoods of Abernethy – home to standing dead trees known as snags, which support the overall health of the forest. Belonging is a book about how we are held in thrall to elements of our past. It speaks to the importance of attention and reflection, and will encourage us all to look and observe and ask questions of ourselves. Beautifully written and featuring Amanda Thomson’s artwork and photography throughout, it explores how place, language and family shape us and make us who we are." Longlisted for the Highland Book Prize, 2023 Some of the reviews... Outstanding - ROBERT MACFARLANE Amanda Thomson’s new book manages to carve out a distinctive niche for itself . . . This is a passionate book and infused with a sense of rootedness - STUART KELLY, The Scotsman In recent years rural landscapes have turned into battlegrounds, and nature writing has become increasingly polemical. Belonging is a quiet book of questions in a genre full of answers, but it is all the more powerful and beautiful for this - PATRICK GALBRAITH, TLS One of the best things I have read in ages . . . Quiet and beautiful and powerful - ALYS FOWLER Thomson writes of the natural in a way I have yet to encounter before. There is no real hoo-haa, no flowery description of which to speak yet somehow, I came away with that ache inside me — that renewed obsession with the world that is only borne of a very particular kind of writing — poetic, loving, raw . . . Like no other - KERRI Ní DOCHARTAIGH, Caught by the River In strikingly original takes on Scottish history, environmentalism, Black feminist theory, artmaking, list-making, memory, and memoir, Thomson crafts a cadence that is as wise as it is vitally alive. - MARGOT DOUAIHY, author of Scorched Grac

    Interview with Amanda Huron, author, Carving Out the Commons: Tenant Organizing and Housing Cooperatives in Washington, D.C.

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    Is modern capitalism too far advanced in the U.S. to create common property regimes? Are there models for what an Urban Commons might look like? Join us as we speak with Amanda Huron, author of Carving Out the Commons: Tenant Organizing and Housing Cooperatives in Washington, D.C. (University of Minnesota Press, 2018). She’ll help us understand the theory and practice of Limited Equity Housing Cooperatives and the affordability, control, stability, and community they can provide to low-income communities and the people who live in them

    Kathleen Jamie, Chitra Ramaswamy & Amanda Thomson: Antlers of Water - Live Event

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    ‘When we read and write, when we love our fellow creatures, when we walk on the beach, when we just listen and notice, we are not little cogs in the machine, but part of the remedy.’ These luminous words by Kathleen Jamie form part of the introduction to Antlers of Water, an outstanding collection of contemporary Scottish writing about nature and landscape. The generosity of Jamie’s approach as editor of the collection goes beyond the stellar selection of contributors such as Amy Liptrot, Karine Polwart and Malachy Tallack: she also invokes the agency of readers to make a difference. ‘If, by reading, you are encouraged or confirmed in your love of the natural world, if you’re inspired simply to… look outside, then our job is done.’ In a discussion led by the BBC's Clare English, Jamie is joined by award-winning journalist Chitra Ramaswamy as well as visual artist and writer Amanda Thomson – both contributors to the anthology – to discuss Scotland, landscape and the more-than-human world around us. This is a live event, with an author Q&A. Part of the Edinburgh International Book Festival Making Climate Change Personal festival theme
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