Things in the library 13th April...

Things up North...
A report from the Children's commissioner 'Growing up North - Look north: a generation of children await the powerhouse promise' has been published. This report is not seeking to reinforce old narratives of wholesale northern decline. However, it is also important to understand that a disproportionate number of children in the North are growing up in communities of entrenched disadvantage which have not enjoyed the financial growth or government energy and spotlight that have so boosted opportunities in other areas of the country – London and the South East in particular.
As a result, too many disadvantaged children in the North are being left behind.

This report sets out starkly what this means:

• Too many children starting school far behind where they should be. Often with special educational needs no one has picked up.
• Children from disadvantaged backgrounds facing an education gap that starts before schools and widens throughout education
• More than half of the secondary schools serving the North’s most deprived communities are judged to be less than good.
• Large numbers of children dropping out of education before they reach 18.
• Lack of confidence amongst children that economic regeneration will mean more jobs or opportunities. 

Things to read...

The next Reading group will be on 2nd May at 17:15 in the Illingworth Library. The book we will be discussing is Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author’s most popular work. Of Dorian Gray’s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.”

Come and join us after work for a relaxed chat about books - along with drinks and nibbles.

.....and things to buy

We have just refilled our 'books for sale' trolley with  old editions that we have replaced recently. Many of these are well worth buying at a fraction of the cost of the new editions so come up and browse or ask us to send you the list of titles available.

Things about our health...

The Health Foundation ( an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and health care for people in the UK) has published a quick guide: 'What makes us healthy? : an introduction to the social determinants of health' - this has been written for anyone with an interest in people's health and well-being.

Things to attend...

A lecture on about patient choice on Thursday 19th April 13:00 at the University of Sheffield  Elmfield Building, Lecture Theatre 1, S10 2TU given by Merran Toerien, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of York. In this talk, she engages critically with the RCS guidelines on consent on the basis of her analysis of over 200 recorded neurology outpatient consultations together with self-report data collected pre- and post-recording. Her aim is not to suggest a return to a paternalistic conceptualisation of the doctor-patient relationship, but rather to highlight some problems inherent in proposing ‘informed choice’ as necessarily the best alternative to paternalism. Further information

A lecture on well-being in organisations on 18th April 17:00-19:00 Middleton Lecture Theatre Sheffield University Management School. The aim of organisational interventions is to improve employee health and well-being through changing the way work is organised, designed and managed. Controversy exists as to the effectiveness of this type of interventions as some argue interventions targeting the individual may be more effective. Professor Nielsen argues that in order to understand how these interventions work we need to move beyond the question of “what works?” to “what works for whom under which circumstances?”. In doing so, we need to focus on the processes of such interventions and the conditions in the context that may support these processes. Further information.

Things to eat...

I have been without a kitchen for the last 2 weeks so I am having to be inventive with a microwave! I think I shall be trying this Microwave jambalaya out next week - don't expect it will be as good as 'proper' cooking but surely better than a ready meal!