academic and careers

Interim Director appointed

Bob Parry, previously Associate Director at NHS Education for Scotland (NES), has taken up the post of interim Director at Iriss following Jackie McKenzie's departure in March 2016. Bob has held a number of senior positions latterly in the NHS in supporting workforce development and education, and leading work in supporting the integration of health and social care and in academia as Dean, Faculty of Health and Social at University of Hull. 

Bob took up post on 2 May 2016 and will be with us as plans for the recruitment of a new Iriss Director get underway. 





academic and careers

Peer support roles in mental health services

We've published Insight 31 - Peer support roles in mental health services - which was written by Louise Christie, Network Manager (Policy and Development) at Scottish Recovery Network. 

The print version has been newly designed to reflect our new brand and colours. I think you'll agree that it looks rather lovely. Print copies are available on request

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academic and careers

A snapshot of our work for 2015-16

We've published an annual activity review for 2015-16, which will give you a snapshot of all of our work for the year.

Introduced by Peter MacLeod, Iriss Chair, it includes a summary of our project work, lessons learned from it and what we aspire to going forward. 




academic and careers

It's SDS Awareness Week! Read the latest on Pilotlight

It's SDS Awareness Week (#SDSBlether) so we want you to know the latest about our Pilotlight project. 

Pilotlight is working with co-design teams of people who use and deliver services across Scotland to design pathways to self-directed support. 

read more



  • Self-directed support

academic and careers

Write an Iriss Insight!

15th July is the closing date for the submission of any ideas you have for writing an Insight.

Provide a brief sketch of your idea by the closing date. We will provide a response to all ideas and commission those we want to take forward by the end of August 2016.

Here’s a quick reminder of what we are looking for in an Insight….

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academic and careers

Bring Your Own Enquiry (BYOE)

We are seeking partners to work with around an explorative approach to organisational enquiry and action. 

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academic and careers

Ministerial visit to Iriss

On 20th July, Mark McDonald, the Minister for Childcare and Early Years paid us a visit at our offices in Glasgow.

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academic and careers

iamsocialwork SUPER:vision Tour Glasgow

iamsocialwork, is a concept that was created by Zoë Betts in 2012, as a newly qualified social worker. It started out as a small, local event in London and has grown into a series of UK-wide events, which offer opportunities for student, recently qualified and qualified social workers to come together to strengthen professional links, peer networks and practice.

read more




academic and careers

Learn about co-design tools

We would like to invite you to a free event on Monday, 3rd October to learn about co-design, and tools that can support it. We’ve run two recent co-design projects - one with older people and practitioners who worked together to improve the pathway from hospital to home; and the other with people who access (or may in the future access) self-directed support (SDS), and practitioners from the Pilotlight project.

read more




academic and careers

Join Iriss as a Project Manager

We're looking for a talented Project Manager with excellent facilitation and design skills to join the Iriss team.

For more information about the specific role, please visit the Vacancies page. 




academic and careers

Staf to manage Relationships Matter website

Relationships Matter was a project led by the Relationships Matter Collective, a group of inspirational practitioners and young people who were brave enough to challenge, and confident enough to promote, continued relationships between practitioners and young people as they leave care.

read more



  • looked after children

academic and careers

Understanding, celebrating, sharing. Be part of it!

Iriss is working to raise the profile of the social services workforce by sharing practitioner experiences of working in care and support. We know that often, research about the social services workforce fails to reach those who work most closely with those supported by services, so we need your help to make sure that your voice is heard.

read more




academic and careers

Can SDS support recovery from substance misuse?

Pilotlight says 'Yes!'.

Using a design approach, Pilotlight aims to demonstrate how to design support for seldom heard groups, provide more personalised and appropriate services and increase the marketplace of support providers.

read more




academic and careers

We're seeking Iriss Associates

We wish to build up a bank of expertise and skills that we can call on to support our work in evidence-informed practice, innovation and improvement, and knowledge media. We would love to hear from you whether you’re interested in a short, one-off piece of work, or joining us for the longer term. 

At present, we’re particularly interested in hearing from:

read more




academic and careers

10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits (Portrait Photography Guide)

The post 10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits (Portrait Photography Guide) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.

How do you do portrait photography that has the wow factor? Capturing stunning portraits often seems difficult, but it’s actually pretty easy once you know a few tips and tricks. Below, I share my 10 absolute favorite techniques for shooting portraits, including tips for lighting, composition, perspective, and much more. I’ve also included plenty of […]

The post 10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits (Portrait Photography Guide) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.




academic and careers

The Essential Guide to Low-Light Landscape Photography

The post The Essential Guide to Low-Light Landscape Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Natalie Denton (nee Johnson).

Low-light landscape photography offers a unique challenge for photographers. On the one hand, a landscape lit by softer, subtler light can result in the kind of magical shots that go beyond more conventional photos. On the other hand, capturing these scenes requires a careful approach and a keen understanding of camera settings. But don’t fret! […]

The post The Essential Guide to Low-Light Landscape Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Natalie Denton (nee Johnson).




academic and careers

17 Beginner Photography Tips (How to Get Started)

The post 17 Beginner Photography Tips (How to Get Started) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lea Hawkins.

Talk to an experienced photographer, and they’ll tell you that photography is both incredibly fun and extremely rewarding. When you’re just a beginner, however, it’s easy to become overwhelmed; after all, you have to understand so many details, covering gear, camera settings, post-processing, lighting, and more. But don’t worry! I’ve been exactly where you are, […]

The post 17 Beginner Photography Tips (How to Get Started) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lea Hawkins.




academic and careers

7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photography

The post 7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

When the weather gets rainy, most photographers put away their gear – but in my view, that’s a mistake! There are literally hundreds of great rainy day photography ideas. They don’t take great technical expertise, fancy equipment, or waterproof housing; in fact, all of them can be done from the comfort of your own home. […]

The post 7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.




academic and careers

How to Use a Graphics Tablet to Edit Photos: 10 Powerful Tips

The post How to Use a Graphics Tablet to Edit Photos: 10 Powerful Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

Photo editing is simpler than ever thanks to the power of a graphics tablet! Explore our top 10 tips to level up your skills. If you’re just getting started with post-processing and retouching, you’re probably using a mouse and keyboard combo. You can get by with this setup, sure. But when the tasks become more […]

The post How to Use a Graphics Tablet to Edit Photos: 10 Powerful Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.




academic and careers

Keep Your Camera Safe While Traveling: 13 Essential Tips

The post Keep Your Camera Safe While Traveling: 13 Essential Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Peter West Carey.

Photographing the wide world can be thrilling, but it’s also not without its dangers. Whether you’re strolling down the streets of Paris or trekking the mountains of Nepal, the threat of losing your cherished (and costly) gear to theft is real. And let’s face it: Losing your gear doesn’t just hurt your wallet. A moment […]

The post Keep Your Camera Safe While Traveling: 13 Essential Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Peter West Carey.




academic and careers

Smartphone Photography: The Essential Guide (+ 15 Tips)

The post Smartphone Photography: The Essential Guide (+ 15 Tips) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.

These days, you don’t need professional photography equipment to take stunning photos. The smartphone in your pocket has the power to capture the kind of high-quality shots you can find in magazines – and it’s extremely easy to use, too! That said, smartphone photography involves more than grabbing that iPhone or Google Pixel, turning on […]

The post Smartphone Photography: The Essential Guide (+ 15 Tips) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.




academic and careers

12 Tips for Self-Portrait Photography (+ Examples)

The post 12 Tips for Self-Portrait Photography (+ Examples) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Guest Contributor.

Starting a self-portrait project? Want to capture beautiful portrait photos using nothing but a camera, a tripod, and your own ingenuity? Self-portrait photography can be an outstanding creative outlet, and it can be a lot of fun, too. But it can also be very challenging; you have to deal with a variety of factors, including […]

The post 12 Tips for Self-Portrait Photography (+ Examples) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Guest Contributor.




academic and careers

12 Tips for Stunning Urban Landscape Photography

The post 12 Tips for Stunning Urban Landscape Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Leanne Cole.

Urban landscape photography is all about taking the chaotic complexity of a city and turning it into well-ordered, beautiful compositions. But if you’re just a beginner – or even if you’re a more experienced city shooter – you may struggle to get solid results. After all, cities are often messy, unstructured, and full of movement; […]

The post 12 Tips for Stunning Urban Landscape Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Leanne Cole.




academic and careers

Depth of Field: The Essential Guide (+ Tips)

The post Depth of Field: The Essential Guide (+ Tips) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Bruce Wunderlich.

You may have heard the term depth of field (DoF), but what actually is it, and why does it matter for photographers? Regardless of your skill level or the type of camera you possess, comprehending depth of field is essential to expanding your photographic horizons. It applies to every aspect of photography, from macro close-ups […]

The post Depth of Field: The Essential Guide (+ Tips) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Bruce Wunderlich.




academic and careers

Intel 2024 = Sow's Ear




academic and careers

Intel Floundry -> Solyntel




academic and careers

The FTC comes after neobank Dave for misleading marketing, hidden fees




academic and careers

Yet another danger of cryptocurrencies ...




academic and careers

LA man wearing GPS ankle monitor is accused of a robbery string. Officials can't track him




academic and careers

Law enforcement operation takes down 22,000 malicious IP addresses worldwide




academic and careers

SF Muni finally ditching floppies




academic and careers

Tribal digital sovereignty in today's dystopia




academic and careers

AI frisking




academic and careers

AI decodes oinks and grunts to keep pigs happy




academic and careers

Anthropic Wants Its AI Agent to Control Your Computer




academic and careers

Missing Author




academic and careers

Microsoft, Google and Amazon turn to nuclear energy to fuel the AI boom




academic and careers

Nobody wants Copilot Pro AI for Office365, so Microsoft will force-bundle it and raise the price?




academic and careers

When Google's AI agent messes with ya'




academic and careers

AI in radio: A Polish interviewer fired




academic and careers

FBI says hackers are sending fraudulent police data requests ot tech giants to steal people's private information




academic and careers

Annoyed Redditors tanking Google Search results illustrates perils of AI scrapers




academic and careers

Election Officials Are Prepared for a Lot More Than You Might Think




academic and careers

Missing Author




academic and careers

Man who made 'depraved' child images with AI jailed




academic and careers

Australia plans social media ban for under-16s




academic and careers

X is the latest social media site letting 3rd parties use your data to train AI models




academic and careers

Username Over 52 Characters with No Password says Okta