Last week I managed to get a late cancellation on a two-day course: 'Writing a journal article and getting it published' run by Mark Pickin Training. 

After day one, I wondered why I hadn't come across this years ago. It's a treasure trove of practical ideas and tips. It's revelatory and confounds how you might have thought about journal writing previously. Although the whole of the day proved to be highly useful, here's what struck me most:

• Structure and plan: the breakdown of structuring and planning a journal article was amazing. The structured plan left me with a tremendous feeling of  - 'this is manageable and achievable' - and ready to get on with it. 
• Doing free writing: the timed exercise made us all put pen to paper. It's satisfying and enjoyable seeing what can come out of some focused attention. 

• Slot in daily: one of the takeaway messages for me is about setting aside some time on a daily basis for writing a journal article. I'm scheduling 15 minutes daily over the next month to help make this a routine for me. 

Mark Pickin knows his stuff - combining theory with the practice and first hand experience along with excellent course delivery. 

The course also reminded me of the pleasure of writing - how writing can help to make sense of ideas and help to make connections. 

With huge thanks to Mark, fellow course participants and to colleagues in ScHARR for making this possible. 

Find out about the course and Mark Pickin Training at: http://markpickin.co.uk

Image citation: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Art and Artifacts Division, The New York Public Library. (1935 - 1943). The Writing Lesson Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/531c32d0-2892-0132-4433-58d385a7bbd0

...and thanks to Austin Kleon for his latest newsletter sharing a link to the New York Public Library who have released 180,000 public domain images and is encouraging use of these. Great to come across this resource!

Do you do a review of your year? 

It is the last day of my holidays before going back to work tomorrow and I'm in the last vestiges of the precious Christmas and New Year break. A time which for me very much signifies the warmth and cosiness of our family get togethers. For years I've been keeping a notebook where I scribble some of my reflections of the past year. It isn't systematic but I attempt to distill some of the following: 

• highlights from the year
• anything particularly proud of
• things looking forward to in the coming year
• any aspirations

Although I write this in my notebook, I usually ask each member of our family for their thoughts. 2015 has been dominated for us by an unexpected health issue affecting one of our children. This is still on-going. In the throes of managing the impact of illness, the process of writing and recording some of the details and incidents which have made up 2015 made me realise that in spite of significant setbacks there is lots to treasure in the year as a whole. Although there have been some very big and significant events, it is the accumulation of all the small and some very ordinary incidents which began to make a huge difference in my appreciation of the past year. I'm grateful for this.

Shoes in the hallway

A colleague at work had said to me some time ago that one of the things she missed when her three children left home was the shoes in the hallway. I now know what she means. The stack of shoes when everyone is home spills over and almost blocks the route through the house. I like seeing the shoes in the hallway. They're home. 

Marvel jigsaw

Our daughter has been given a 1000 piece jigsaw over the past few years as a Christmas gift. I like seeing her quietly doing these by the Christmas tree. Here's her 2015 Marvel jigsaw. 

Suilven and family walks

Are you involved in encouraging involvement with Parliament? Earlier this week, I took part in the 'Train the Trainer' course run by the Parliamentary Outreach team to see how they suggest we can make interacting with Parliament more effective.

I applied to take part partly because I'm keen to encourage greater interaction with Parliament in my work setting, to potentially enable a wider range of views, evidence and experience to be considered in decision-making processes. My previous experience of this work was as part of the KT-EQUAL programme  - a consortium focused on how research can be used to improve the lives of older people. I was involved with a series of events at Westminster that led to some rewarding dialogue and debate. It's a fascinating arena and there are myriad ways to get involved. 

The course attracted a diverse group and I worked alongside participants from other universities, staff from youth services, voluntary and community sector organisations and independent interests. 

Our trainer, Clare Mullin was impressive both for her depth of knowledge and understanding of Parliament but also for the enthusiasm she instilled and the encouragement she gave us to get involved ourselves. 

Day one: Train the Trainer - what's it all about

An impressive set of resources accompanies the training and day one consisted of a whole series of modules covering democracy, how Parliament is made up, the difference between Parliament and Government, how the legislative process works and ways of getting involved. The day allowed for plenty of scope for questions and although the content was detailed and covered lots of new material for most participants, Clare's guidance and reassurance about what to do with specific queries and where to get help was invaluable. 

Day two: Train the Trainer - over to you

On day two it was our turn in small groups to deliver a topic from the resource pack.  Although we were initially unnerved by the short timescale available for preparation, working in a group and sharing out the tasks led to a lively and stimulating series of group presentations. Everyone on the course was extremely supportive and encouraging of each other. I gained insights from every presentation and came away with useful ideas for designing follow-on activities in my workplace. 

Next steps

One of the services I haven't used before is the Parliamentary Information Office as an initial port of call for queries. The House of Commons Information Office details are here: http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/offices/commons/hcio/contact-us/

I am looking forward to receiving the hard copy of the Resources Pack and to adapting this in my university. With all the routes and opportunities open to us - I am expecting to undertake some involvement with Parliament over the coming year. 

How can you join the programme?

The training course is free to attend. I would recommend it for anyone keen to work more with Parliament in their settings. For dates of future courses and details of how to apply, go to: http://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/outreach-and-training/train-the-trainer/

The Parliamentary Outreach webpages also include details of other events and resources for you to use:

A big thank you to Clare Mullin for an enjoyable and hugely informative training course and all the best to fellow participants in the next stages. 

Image from the Train the Trainer webpage at www.parliament.uk, reproduced under the Open Government License

'The patient will never care how much you know, until they know how much you care.'

[Terry Canale in his American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Vice Presidential Address]

As a child growing up in Nottingham, I remember our family doctor came to our house during times of illness. Living and working in Sheffield, the only time I can recall a doctor seeing me at home was after childbirth. I am sure this is not unusual as general practice has been undergoing significant changes. 

In this context, it was surprising to discover that the initial patient experience for first year medical students at the University of Sheffield consists of an opportunity for students to meet patients in their own homes. It is part of the 'Community Attachment Scheme' and provides a unique opportunity for students to meet patients at an early stage of the pre-clinical course. It is not intended as a clinical placement, the idea is to find out about the patient and the impact of illness in the context of their lives. 

How does the community attachment scheme work?

I took part in the programme this year acting as a tutor, working alongside a General Practitioner (GP),  for two groups of eight medical students.

This is my first year as a tutor and although initially apprehensive about who I would be working with, I was pleased to be paired up with an experienced GP who had been involved with the programme previously. 

We ran three tutorials between October 2014 and February 2015 with presentations forming a part of the assessment process at the third and final tutorial. 

Working in pairs, the students make three visits to the patient and are asked to find out about the patient, their medical condition and the impact of this on the patient's life and others in their wider community. 

Confidentiality forms a key component of the visits to patients, tutorial sessions and assessment requirements.  

Reflections

Taking part as a tutor has been a stimulating and illuminating experience. Reflecting on the involvement, what struck me most is:

• Time with the patients - the three visits to the patient gave a chance for students to talk with the patient and to find out about their illness in the context of their lives.  Being in a home setting, lends both intimacy and an insight into the patient's life. The students are guided to allow up to an hour for each visit. With the patients agreement they can do more than three visits if they wish to. This is a rare opportunity. Typically, a patient-doctor consultation in a general practice lasts for ten minutes.  

• Patient commitment - each of the patients give their time on a voluntary basis and thanks are due to each of them. The University runs a 'Patients as Educators' programme which provides opportunities for patients to get involved. 

• The hunger of starting out - the community attachment takes place very early on in the course. Students are going through many adjustments which can include: getting used to a new city, living away from home, making new friends, as well as the excitement of starting out on becoming a medical professional. The tutorials for the community attachment scheme all take place in the evening during the winter months. The students usually have a full programme of lectures/placement experience during the day. Ours were all between 19.00 - 21.00. I was thinking what it must be like to go into this intensity at the beginning of your studies and decided to take some homemade provisions to the tutorials. I took homemade cakes (baked mostly by my wonderful daughter) to the first two tutorials . The GP treated us all by providing homemade samosas and pakoras for the last tutorials (which were delicious!). 

• Learning about the patient's story - it has been a privilege to hear about the patients. 

It has been a memorable experience for me and I've really enjoyed meeting with the medical students and working with the GP. I imagine that these first experiences with patients have left an impression upon the students. 

_______

For more information about the University of Sheffield medical course go to:

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/prospectus/courseDetails.do?id=A1002016

If you'd like to take part in the 'Patients as Educators' programme, you can find further information here: 

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/aume/pae_dept

Terry Canale in his American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Vice Presidential Address: http://healthcarecomm.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Tongue-2005-.pdf

Photo credit: Neil Moralee under a Creative Commons licence.

_______

'Everywhere I see the mistake of ignoring that people have priorities in their lives besides merely surviving another day. Even in severe illness or frailty, people desire connections to others and to purposes of their own choosing.'

Dr Atul Gawande's BBC Reith Lectures 2014 on 'The Future of Medicine' have been compelling to listen to. Atul Gawande is a surgeon, writer, and public health researcher. The lectures explore the many challenges and complexities of modern medicine - outlining the limits to what medicine can do, the role of healthcare professionals, and providing insights into what is needed to improve health and healthcare systems. 

Charlotte Higgins writing in The Guardian about the Reith Lectures ('Just close your eyes and listen') comments that they are perfect for their form as podcasts. 

'Why would you want to see the Reith lectures on television? The only way we can visualise the little girl trapped under the ice, her discovery, the ambulance, the CPR by the water’s edge, the theatre, the surgeon’s cut through her chest, is through the imagination.'

It is also fascinating to hear about India and the context of healthcare - how healthcare is changing, the advances that have been made and continue to be made.  

Inspired by the lecture series, I read Atul Gawande's latest book Being Mortal – Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End.

Previously, I worked as part of the KT-EQUAL research programme - which focused on improving the quality of life of older and disabled people. KT-EQUAL's emphasis on valuing older people and their needs and wishes formed an integral part of developments. One of the recurring themes was to counter the problematising of older age and to consider ways that ageing and health can be improved. 

Both the lectures and this book explore what it means to age and what is needed in later life. Atul Gawande acknowledges advances that have been made and that 'people live longer and better than at any other time in history' but also that ageing and dying represent challenges for medicine. 

In considering conditions and treatment options, he describes the benefits of using an approach which draws from palliative care:

‘Whenever serious sickness or injury strikes and your body or mind breaks down, the vital questions are the same: 

• What is your understanding of the situation and its potential outcomes? 
• What are your fears and what are your hopes? 
• What are the trade-offs you are willing to make and not willing to make? 
• And what is the course of action that best serves this understanding? 

He emphasizes that this is about having the conversation and not about a tickbox approach to the questions. 

The lectures and the book left me with a sense of hope - hope that even in the most challenging of circumstances people can be enabled to live their lives as meaningfully as possible.

Links: 

BBC Reith Lectures 2014: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/reith
Atul Gawande's website: http://atulgawande.com
Being Mortal - Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End: http://atulgawande.com/book/being-mortal/
'Just close your eyes and listen' article: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/14/reith-lectures-radiotopia-serial-resurgence-of-sound
Interesting comments and useful history of end of life care:  http://endoflifestudies.academicblogs.co.uk/atule-gawande-being-mortal-and-the-2014-reith-lectures-by-david-clark/

Photo credit: Tim Llewellyn

I was a student at High Pavement Sixth Form College in Nottingham. Local author, Mr Stanley Middleton taught at the college. Holiday in 1974, was awarded the Man Booker prize, jointly with Nadine Gordimer. This affectionate obituary to Mr Middleton in The Guardian written by Philip Davis particularly resonated with me.

At college, my friend, Michele Charlton and I were privileged to carry out an interview with Mr Middleton. At the time, I wasn't fully aware of the significance of the Man Booker, I was awestruck that a published writer lived and worked locally  - the extraordinary amongst the everyday. I am thankful to Mr Middleton for his generosity, kindness and wisdom. 

The interview, reproduced below, was published in our college magazine, 'The Pavior' in May 1979.

Mr Middleton and an admirer. 

Anthea Sutton, reflecting on her experience on the ScHARR Library blog says that she almost cancelled before going. I was the same. Cancelled. Almost. 

Why? I'd not done the preparation that I wanted to do beforehand and the idea was to write not to research. 

I had a file of some notes/articles for a piece I thought I'd do 'at some point' tucked away in a filing cabinet and I retrieved these for the session. 

Grabbing a cup of tea (obligatory), laptop and the file of notes, I headed over to the library to join six others intent on some focused writing tasks. Our session was facilitated by Andy Tattersall, Information Specialist and ran to a structured format: 

• Welcome and Introductions - and saying what we were planning to work on.
• Writing - 50 minutes.
• Break - brief check-in with each other about how's it going/comfort break.
• Writing - 50 minutes.
• De-brief - reflections, how did it go?

Stating our plans and knowing that we'd be reporting on progress through the session to each other gave some impetus to get on with it.  I'd already started to write before the introductions began. 

Initially, I ended up working on something different to what I said I'd do. I had started on an item the evening before and it was almost complete. It made more sense to finish that first.  In reality, it was much easier to get going on something that was already underway rather than starting a brand new piece. 

I really enjoyed the second half of the session. I thought that I would be using some of it to re-read the articles and notes that I'd brought with me. Instead, I just wrote from my head. A couple of times, I paused and looked up around the room but although I was aware of other people around me, I was oblivious to everyone. The absorption felt wonderful. Cocooned in this space for a short while. What surprised me most was being able to write an initial draft without referring to the papers and notes that I'd brought with me (I will be doing this as I continue to draft the piece). 

De-briefing with each other, everyone felt that they had been able to use the session productively. Some of the helpful aspects included: 

• structured, scheduled time to write.
• time constraints built in (not too long, not too short).
• being away from your own desk, but not too far away so that it becomes inconvenient.
• encouragement of being in the company of others - doing the same thing.
• being not too far apart from each other - working in a connected hub. 
• it is silent - no talking to each other.

Even in structured settings, it can still be challenging to produce as much content as we'd like. As one person said, 'it's a marathon not a sprint.' 

By the end of the session, I was reminded of the pleasure that writing brings. I am planning to schedule writing sessions on a regular basis. 

With thanks to colleagues in the Information Resources Group for co-ordinating these sessions. It would be great to continue these throughout the year.

 Photo credit: Karin Dalziel, adapted under a Creative Commons license. 

The start of 2015 has been dominated by the assault on the office of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine on Wednesday 7 Jan 2015 and the unfolding of events over the ensuing days. 

On Sunday 11 January 2015 rallies were organised in major cities to commemorate those who lost their lives and to show unity. I went to the Sheffield event held at Barkers Pool.

I heard Kenan Malik being interviewed on BBC News on Weds 7 Jan on the need to defend freedom of speech and how in a pluralistic society it is inevitable that some people will be offended. He warns against increasing self-censorship. 

Here are some articles which provide an analysis of the issues: 

Pandemonium: 'Je suis charlie? it's a bit late' by Kenan Malik

Spiked: 'In solidarity with Charlie Hebdo: fight for the right to be offensive', by Brendan O'Neill

The Conversation: 'Charlie Hebdo offends - and we must defend its right to do so' by Bill Durodie

As 2015 begins, I am taking up the opportunity once again of writing in an online format. 

I have been contributing to project sites over the last few years, for the KT-EQUAL ageing research programme and now as part of the online presence for the School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield. 

This space is a scrapbook for my own writing, work in progress, things that interest me. I was prompted by blog posts from Iain Broome and through his blog to reading Austin Kleon's book Show Your Work! - to write and share more of what I do. 

QR codes seem to be popping up everywhere and you may have seen some of them – these small black and white boxes that you can scan using a QR reader on your mobile phone.

[QR code for Wikipedia piece on QR Codes, created using goo.gl]

QR stands for ‘Quick Response’: when you scan them they convey information, often a website address, as an alternative to entering it manually.

The technology behind these seems amazing. Originating in Japan where they are used extensively they are becoming more commonplace in the UK. 

In practice, I’m not yet convinced about how easy they are to use and also how convenient compared to other ways of getting to information.

Not all QR codes are created equal

Using QR codes on my iPhone I’ve come across some codes that work and some that don’t. This is frustrating and means that I’m left thinking it’s unreliable to scan a QR code when it’s offered.

For example, I’ve had the experience of scanning a QR code on my iPhone which didn’t take me to a website as it was supposed to do – instead I had a text link for a website – which was inactive. Other people using different mobile phones  were able to scan the same code and get to the website address directly.

QR code generators, it turns out, need to be chosen carefully when codes are created – they can and should work across all devices. 

Scanning

To get to the QR reader on my iPhone, I need to flip through several pages to find the right app. Once opened, the app displays the view from the phone’s camera, overlaid with a box to indicate the scanning area. Positioning the phone to view and scan the code gets easier with practice, but can be fiddly. 

I use QR Reader – but I had to find and download this app – it would also be good to have a QR scanner included as one of the built-in apps – again across all platforms.

I’m also not keen on flipping through several pages on my iPhone to get to the QR reader app – okay I could have this appear earlier -  but at the moment I’m not using it enough to warrant that.

How about if this could be integrated into an existing app, such as the camera?

Scan or search?

I work in a university setting where QR codes are starting to be used as part of marketing materials and appear on brochures, leaflets and pull-up banners. 

Would I scan a QR code in preference to using a search engine? Currently, my preference is to search – for the things I’m looking for it often seems more convenient. Usually, where a QR code is included the website address also appears on the same material. As things stand, it can be quicker and easier to type in the web address on my iPhone rather than going through the steps involved in scanning.

Where I’ve found that I have made the effort to scan is where the QR code is linked into some offer or promotional benefit. Even then, if it’s taken too long, I’ve given up using the QR code thinking that I might check out the website later for any offers that I’m particularly keen to make the most of. 

On Twitter, I think it could make a difference to scan a QR code which would take you to someone’s Twitter address – partly because in my experience it’s not as easy to search for some names on Twitter as it is on a web search. 

QR codes as badges

Does the appearance of a QR code on its own convey being up-to-date – whether it ever gets used at all? Anecdotally, a few people have said that they think it can make a difference to prospective students to have a QR code appear on promotional literature – ‘we’re modern’. 

I like the idea of QR codes and using them initially enjoyed the feeling of zapping a code with the red line that appears on the QR reader and the way in which the ‘picture’ becomes active by taking you directly to some other place, such as a web address. 

At the moment, there still seems to be a few too many steps to make using QR codes quick and easy. I’d like to see more being made of this wonderful technology. 

A couple of links which may be of interest:

http://www.whatisaqrcode.co.uk – a straighforward explanation about QR codes

Why QR Codes Don’t Work, Alex Kutsishin, 8 March 2012, guest post: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/08/03/why-qr-codes-dont-work/

Create your own QR code using Google’s url shortener (click on ‘Details’ to get the QR code image): http://goo.gl

I like working with audio content and have been doing so for over 5 years. Hearing someone’s voice can bring an intimacy, a connection, a tone.

Recently I’ve changed from using the M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 and bought the Sony PCM-M10 handheld digital recorder. I’ve been working with this since March 2012 – it’s fantastic.

I love the new recorder as it is. Easy to use. Portable. Beautifully simple.

Something else changed. I’ve started to use a small tripod as part of my set-up to record speakers at conference events and for audio interviews.

Here’s what it looks like.

It’s neat and dinky, suitably out of the way, placed on a table close enough to the speakers.

The tripod elevates the recorder physically – that’s all it does. Or does it?

It’s made me think about what effect knowing that a recording is taking place has on those present and whether this has changed at all over the last few years with the increasing ubiquity of photo, video and audio and live broadcasting.

Using the recorder with the tripod does seem to make a difference. Here’s how:

Curiosity

People are asking – ‘what’s that? how does it work? what happens with it?’ It does look aesthetically pleasing which also helps to arouse interest. This curiosity may just be an initial novelty factor.

It’s the second element which is interesting.

Purposefulness

Using the tripod makes it seem much more purposeful. Having the recorder lying flat on a table somehow seems passive – it may or may not be doing something.

On a tripod – it’s definite, it’s active – it’s there for a purpose.

Which can have a knock-on effect for the people involved.

I’m curious to explore how use of the equipment will develop over future recordings. It’s emphasised for me that a small adjustment can go a long way.