Number 5: It's impossible to overwater terracotta pots. READ MORE...

The rainbow eucalyptus may look like a digital rendering of a kid’s drawing, but it’s 100% real. These trees (also known as rainbow gum, Mindanao gum, and Eucalyptus deglupta) have brown bark that peels away, revealing layers of color across the ROYGBIV spectrum.Rainbow eucalyptus are native to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines, but you can also find them in the United States, in places including Hawaii, Florida, and San Diego. READ MORE...

Even if Fabuloso is the staple of your cleaning routine, there are probably a few tricks you didn't know you could try. READ MORE...

Relativistic length contraction is theoretically predicted but not directly tested, which lead to incorrect interpretation of the theory illustrated by Bell’s spaceship paradox and Ehrenfest paradox. But these paradoxes can help us designing experiments to test length contraction. Ideal direct experimental proof should contain the following steps: 1. Measure the tested object’s length at rest,...

Ride like the wind! This song reminds me of taking a long trip on a big V4 motorcycle, V-Max, it stands up on it’s center stand chrome sparkling in the street lights, it has a physical presence almost deadly, it radiates power, four chromed exhausts a huge 1800cc V4 just waiting for you to climb...

I have seen this question asked (or its fraternal twin, “when does the new decade begin”) in a number of places, and my response is this: That’s a lousy way to phrase the question.   I will remind folks that I work at the Naval Observatory, but this blog in no way represents the official position of...

The “Long Earth” is a name given to a possibly infinite series of parallel worlds that are similar to Earth, which can be reached by using an inexpensive device called a “Stepper”. The “close” worlds are almost identical to “our” Earth (referred to as “Datum Earth”), while others differ in greater and greater details. Click...

The theory of Time relativity explains well the weird behavior of the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua. I find that the real solar mass is slightly higher than today’s value, which caused the mysterious Speed Boost of which the value should be 0.217 mm/s above the prediction at perihelion. Time relativity confirms that ‘Oumuamua should slow down...

Michael McEwan speaks to Chris Creegan, Chief Executive of the Scottish Commission for Learning Disability (SCLD) about Learning Disability Week 2017.

The theme for this year is: 'Looking back, thinking forward', which will celebrate achievements, ask searching questions about what needs to happen going forward, and engage the general public on the subject, in the hope of changing attitudes. Chris also gives us some information on SCLD - its ambitions, and current and future focus.

What's on over Learning Disability Week.

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Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free

As part of Learning Disability Week 2017, we held a roundtable discussion on the topic of parents with learning disabilities to coincide with the launch of our new Iriss Insight on the topic. The discussion highlights how best we can support families where one or both parents have learning disabilities, raises awareness of the key issues, and promotes debate and progress.

It involved Bianca Wood, People First Scotland; Gillian McIntyre, University of Strathclyde; Andy Miller, Policy and Implementation Officer at Scottish Commission for Learning Disability (SCLD); Amanda Muir, Development Manager at Equal Say; and David Barr, Assistant Director at Aberlour.

Bianca is chairperson of the People First (Scotland) Parents' Group, a self-advocacy group of parents with learning disabilities.

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Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free

The first of two episodes to celebrate the Festival of Residential Child Care 2017.

In this episode Debbie Nolan and Kristina Moodie (Centre for Youth & Criminal Justice) introduce the rationale behind, and findings of their 2016 research 'Between a rock and a hard place': responses to offending in residential childcare.

This enabled discussion with Sheila, Duncan, David and David, all of whom are residential childcare workers, on how far these findings aligned with their experiences of practice.

Key themes discussed:

Complexity in responding to offending in residential child care Supports to staff in doing so The dilemmas and tensions faced The recommendations made in the research to change practice.

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Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free

Michael McEwan has a conversation with Greg Campbell, a support worker who works with vulnerable adults.

Greg speaks about his motivations for pursuing a career in care, the transition from education to practice and the positive and challenging experiences.

It's an inspiring message for others, and particularly men, who may be considering a career in care.

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Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free

Michael McEwan speaks to Evan Rae about his experiences as a support worker with Sense Scotland.

Evan talks about what motivated him to get into care, the challenging and rewarding parts of working in care, some of the issues that need to be addressed, and the importance of self-directed support.

He provides encouragement and information to those who might be interested or considering a career in care.

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Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free

Learning Disability Week will take place from 14 to 20 May 2018.

Michael McEwan speaks to Linda Mitchell from the Scottish Commission for Learning Disability (SCLD) about the week's activities.

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Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free

At the Social Work Scotland AGM 2018, John Devaney, Centenary Chair of Social Work, spoke about social work in Scotland today.

He focused on three key themes:

The nature of modern social work and contribution of social workers to civil society The role of leadership in social work How to raise or sustain profile of what social work does and its value to wider society.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Building the future: shaping our social work identity newly qualified social worker conference was held on 31 May 2018 in Edinburgh. Delivered with the University of Edinburgh (in partnership with the Higher Education Heads of Social Work Group), Iriss, Scottish Social Services Council, the Scottish Association of Social Work, Social Work Scotland and the Scottish Government, it provided an opportunity for newly qualified social workers to come together to connect and reconnect.

In this episode, Martin Kettle of Glasgow Caledonian University gives an overview of research on newly qualified social worker perceptions of social work education and practice.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Building the future; shaping our social work identity newly qualified social worker conference was held on 31 May 2018 in Edinburgh.

Delivered with the University of Edinburgh (in partnership with the Higher Education Heads of Social Work Group), Iriss, SSSC, SASW, Social Work Scotland and the Scottish Government, it provided an opportunity for newly qualified social workers to come together to connect and reconnect.

Viviene Cree introduces the conference, and is followed by a presentation by Jane Johnstone who provides some thought provoking asks of attendees.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Our roving reporter on disability issues, Michael McEwan, attended a number of events over Learning Disability Week 2018 (14-20 May) and spoke to the organisers.

We hear about 'Be the Change' campaign created by Enable Scotland, Project Ability and Mind the Gap theatre performance organised by the Scottish Commission for Learning Disability (SCLD).

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

This is one of seven stories, showcasing what service user and carer (SUAC) involvement in social work education looks like, what makes it work and what benefits it brings. It has a significant role to play in shaping the next generation of practitioners.

SUAC involvement in social work education has been mandatory for 15 years now, so there is a lot of learning to share with others who can learn from this - transferrable to educators and practitioners working across public services, and relevant to policy-makers committed to mainstreaming person-centred – or person-led – approaches based on real partnership working between those who use and those who deliver services.

Summary
This story is based around role play sessions that are held between social work students at the University of Strathclyde and members of the service user and carer group. The role play is part of an exercise called Fitness to Practise, so students have to take part in a role play before they go out on placement (this is done with second year undergraduate students on the BA course as well as first year students on the Masters course). Previously these sessions were carried out solely between students, but that didn't seem to be working, with it being much harder for students to imagine each other as service users and to use that experience to inform their future work.

In this episode, Michelle from Iriss speaks to Tommy Whitelaw, who was a full-time carer for his late mother Joan who had vascular dementia. In 2011, he embarked on a walk around Scotland's towns and cities to collect hundreds of life story letters detailing the experiences of individuals caring for a loved one living with dementia.

Since then, Tommy has engaged with thousands of carers through his 'Tommy on Tour' blog and as UK Project Engagement Lead with the Alliance's Dementia Carer Voices Project. He gives talks to health and social care professionals and carer organisations across Scotland, to raise awareness of the impact of dementia on families and the importance of empowering carers in carrying out their difficult but vital role.

Freshly Squeezed aims to 'squeeze' information and inspiration from key influencers in social services in Scotland.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Roddy Samson, Kate Burton and Karen Carrick. A roundtable discussion on the embedding of welfare advisers in health and social care services, as an effective response to the impact of welfare reform.

The discussion involved Kate Burton, Public Health Practitioner at Scottish Public Health Network; Roddy Samson, Welfare Advice Service Facilitator at the Improvement Service; and Karen Carrick, Project Manager at the Improvement Service.

They discuss what a welfare adviser is, and detail the embedded model - its effectiveness, challenges and plans for it going forward.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Michael McEwan speaks to Gerry Tougher, Public Engagement Officer at East Renfrewshire Council about Talking Points, a new approach to providing information and support to people in their local communities.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

In this episode, Michelle Drumm speaks to Ian Welsh, Chief Executive of the Health and Social Care Alliance.

Ian has been Director of UK Services for the Rehab Group, leading charities working in care, supported employment, rehabilitation and training.

In his time as Chief Executive and Board member of Kilmarnock Football Club, he led the club through business and footballing success, building a number of innovative community programmes. He also served as a non-executive Director of Glasgow Prestwick Airport and as Executive Director of Human Resources and Public Affairs.

He has spent time in politics as an elected member leading first Kyle and Carrick District Council and then South Ayrshire Council before serving briefly as MSP for Ayr.

Freshly Squeezed aims to 'squeeze' information and inspiration from key influencers in social services in Scotland.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Write to Recovery is celebrating four years in 2018.

Erin Crombie (Group work facilitator) and John McCormack (Project Manager) from the Scottish Recovery Network give an update on the project four years on.

We also hear from Audrey and Dorothea, who share their experiences of using Write to Recovery.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Talking Social Work was an event held on 13 September 2018 to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 - to celebrate, reflect on the journey so far and look to the future.

Claire Ferrier, social worker with Perth and Kinross Council within the Adult Care Team talks about the risk of not demonstrating care, the risk of not demonstrating trust and the culture of social work and relationships with service users.

Claire won the Jo Campling Memorial essay prize from the journal of Ethics and Social Welfare. The award was for Claire's practice study on 'risk' in social work which was subsequently published in the journal.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Talking Social Work was an event held on 13 September 2018 to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 - to celebrate, reflect on the journey so far and look to the future.

Jane Martin, Chief Social Work Officer at Dundee City Council reflects on her social work journey, the changes she's seen and her views of the future. Jane is a qualified social worker with over 35 years experience, mainly within children's services and community justice, having worked mostly in Fife and Dundee.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Talking Social Work was an event held on 13 September 2018 to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 - to celebrate, reflect on the journey so far and look to the future.

Colin Turbett, qualified as a social worker in 1978 and spent the next 37 years in urban and rural front line fieldwork settings in the west of Scotland, finishing his career as a children and family team manager in North Ayrshire.

He is the author of the recent publication, Community social work in Scotland: a critical history 50 years after the Social Work Scotland Act 1968. He reflects on social work work from the early 1960s to the present day.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

On 24 October, Iriss attended Navigating Troubled Waters: Women in social work education in Scotland seminar, where we heard from Emeritus Professor Viv Cree and Dr Mary Mitchell about a study funded by the Carnegie UK Trust, which began with the realisation that women in the academy fare less well than men across all disciplines: they are less likely to be promoted, they earn less pay, and they are much less likely to become professors.

What this means for the discipline of social work education is explored.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Iriss.fm is delighted to broadcast an episode on the work of Plumtree, an Australian not-for-profit organisation that provides support for young children from birth to 8 years old with a developmental delay or disability and their families.

Sylvana Mahmic (CEO) and Dr Melanie Heyworth (Peer Worker) tell the story of Now and Next, a project that has been successful at involving families as peer workers in early childhood intervention.

Three key messages:

Peer workers offer unique benefit to families of young children with disabilities that are not available through existing services, but which are complementary to them. Benefits include feelings of leadership, agency and community. Learning from mental health practice could be applied to the disability sector, so there was no need to spend time reinventing the wheel. It made it cost effective, quick and provided maximum benefit. Implementation of peer work into any existing organisation will face challenges and barriers, but these can be mitigated by pre-emptive organisational action.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Michelle Drumm interviews Lynn Williams, an unpaid carer and activist, providing practical care and support to her husband Derek. Derek has a high level spinal injury and other linked, complex needs.

Lynn is on the board of Engender, a national woman's organisation and on the board of her local Carers Centre. She also works on a part-time basis in health and social care policy with Glasgow Centre for Voluntary Services.

Freshly Squeezed aims to 'squeeze' information and inspiration from key influencers in social services in Scotland.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Co-production Week (#CoProWeekScot) was held from the 19-25 November and provided an opportunity to learn, discuss and celebrate how co-production puts people and communities at the heart of the support and services they're part of.

Iriss.fm spoke to Sam Jordan from the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) about what Co-production Week is and some of the activities that took place over the week.

Kieran and Abbie from Young Moversor Yo Mo talk about the work they do to involve children and young people in co-production and the event they led for co-production week.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

For the launch of Learning Disability Week 2019, Michael McEwan spoke to Libby Clement from Scottish Commission for Learning Disability (SCLD); James Morton, Bake Off finalist; and Jonathan McKinstry, a nominee in the 2018 Learning Disability Awards.

This year's theme is 'community'. Communities are at their best when everyone is active in their community, connected to people within their community, and feels included by their community.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

On 8 February 2019, Michelle from Iriss had a conversation with Kate Samuels from Generations Working Together about the work it does to promote and support intergenerational practice.

She also chatted to Keith Mitchell and Natalie Stewart from Glasgow's Golden Generation; and Charlotte Craig from Impact Arts about their intergenerational work.

Generations Working Together is holding its annual conference on 6 March in Glasgow. You can book a place on their website.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

On World Social Work Day, Michelle Drumm interviews David Williams, Chief Officer of Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership.

David qualified as a social worker in 1988 and worked for two years in Easterhouse and then for seven years in Drumchapel as a social worker and senior social worker.

He subsequently held various roles in charities over the years and was appointed formally to the chief officer position by Glasgow City Integration Joint Board at its first meeting on 8 February 2016

Freshly Squeezed is an Iriss podcast which aims to 'squeeze' information and inspiration from key influencers in social services in Scotland.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Michael McEwan, our roving reporter on disability issues, chats to Ruth Foster, a tutor at Waterbaby Arts and two of the dancers involved in the Dirty Feet programme, Sandy and Maureen Graham.

We hear about the work of Waterbaby Arts and the experiences of Sandy and Maureen.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Michelle Drumm interviews Calum Glasgow. Calum is currently studying social work at the University of Strathclyde and received an award for Student Social Worker of the Year at the SASW Social Work Awards 2019.

Calum's placement was with the British Red Cross, based in their psychosocial team, which provides holistic support for refugees and asylum seekers. The work ranged from completing initial assessments, providing emotional support, accompanying people to legal (and other) appointments and helping alleviate their levels of destitution. In his words, he describes the experience as 'a real eye-opener'.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes.

On 16 September 2019, Iriss attended the launch of the SSSC's Careers in Care website which was created to highlight the wide variety of career opportunities available in the sector.

The resource demonstrates how people can build a career working with children and young people, in social services and healthcare settings, or as a social worker.

We spoke to social services practitioners who shared their career stories for use on the website. 

In this final episode of three, we hear from Rowena McIntosh, a social worker; John McVeigh, an academic; and John Stewart, an inspector with the Care Inspectorate, who talk about their journeys into the profession and the skills required to be a social worker.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes.

The Life I Want is a partnership project in Greater Glasgow and Clyde that includes people with disabilities in the design of services.

Michael McEwan speaks to Donna-Marie Speir, the co-ordinator of the project. 

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes.

An interview with Alistair Brown, National Director of the Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW). 

Alistair grew up in Falkirk and has been practising in Scotland in statutory roles and as a Mental Health Officer and independent social worker over the last 10 years. Prior to this he practised in and managed youth mental health services in New Zealand for nine years.

He has had many voluntary roles at SASW over recent years as a member/practitioner including chair of MHO Forum, Chair of SASW governance committee and SASW representative on the British Association of Social Work board of directors. He remains on shift duty occasionally as an emergency social worker and is a member of the Mental Health Tribunals for Scotland.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes.

Is use of language something you carefully consider as a social worker?

And is language important to social work practice?

Sara Hitchin, Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Stirling certainly thinks so and has written an article about it for the Scottish Organisation for Practice Teaching or Scopt.

Michelle from Iriss went along to University of Stirling to have a conversation with her about the importance of language and its relationship to social work values.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes.

Dr. Ossie Stuart is an academic researcher and an independent equalities consultant, who has written key works on race, disability and social care. He is a wheelchair user and firmly believes that we are all entitled to fully participate in society and have control over our own destinies. These two ideas have heavily influenced everything he has done, and will do, in his working life.

Ossie receives a direct payment and uses it to employ personal assistants. Michelle from Iriss had a conversation with him about how he’s managing in the current crisis.

He offers some helpful advice and has also created a blog, titled Social care: a user's voice to share his views.

Transcript of episode

Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes.

You’ve heard the stories: engineers 3D printing face shields in their basements; do-it-yourself hobbyists sewing face masks; and fashion designers crafting personal protection gowns.  Globally, people are trying to help fill the medical supply gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic through open-source medical hardware. It’s a heartwarming display of global ingenuity, innovation, and collaboration. In this … Read More "Open-Source Medical Hardware: What You Should Know and What You Can Do"

The post Open-Source Medical Hardware: What You Should Know and What You Can Do appeared first on Creative Commons.

New beginnings at WIPO  On March 4, Daren Tang was nominated director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations agency dealing with intellectual property matters. Tang is currently the chief executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and his six-year term as top WIPO official will start on October … Read More "Does WIPO’s New Leadership Have the Vision to Shake Up Global Copyright Policy-Making?"

The post Does WIPO’s New Leadership Have the Vision to Shake Up Global Copyright Policy-Making? appeared first on Creative Commons.

The benefits of open access (OA) are undeniable and increasingly evident across all academic disciplines and scientific research: making academic publications1 freely and openly accessible and reusable provides broad visibility for authors, a better return on investment for funders, and greater access to knowledge for other researchers and the general public. And yet, despite OA’s obvious … Read More "Why Sharing Academic Publications Under “No Derivatives” Licenses is Misguided"

The post Why Sharing Academic Publications Under “No Derivatives” Licenses is Misguided appeared first on Creative Commons.

Since the founding of Creative Commons (CC) in 2001, we’ve been supported by like-minded organizations and individuals who value open access, the open community, and the global commons as much as we do. As we near our 20th anniversary, we are reflecting on the past and planning for the future. What better way to do … Read More "Open Access in Practice: A Conversation with President Larry Kramer of The Hewlett Foundation"

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Thousands of strangers working together, almost entirely online, to effectively solve an urgent, global challenge is remarkable—and it’s happening, right now. Recently, we published a post titled, “Open-Source Medical Hardware: What You Should Know and What You Can Do” examining the collaborative efforts by volunteer groups, universities, and research centers to solve the medical supply … Read More "Just One Giant Lab Co-Founder Leo Blondel on the Power of Community and Open Source During COVID-19"

The post Just One Giant Lab Co-Founder Leo Blondel on the Power of Community and Open Source During COVID-19 appeared first on Creative Commons.

The CC Certificate aims to increase our global community’s expertise in open licensing and awareness of our shared, digital commons.  Our first goal is to train at least one person interested in open licensing in every country and territory, around the world. So far, we have CC Certificate graduates from 44 countries and counting! One … Read More "Creative Commons Welcomes Our 2020 CC Certificate Scholarship Recipients!"

The post Creative Commons Welcomes Our 2020 CC Certificate Scholarship Recipients! appeared first on Creative Commons.

In 1983, at the end of an amazing career during which she was nominated for a then-record breaking ten Academy Awards for acting, two of which she won, Hollywood actress Bette Davis was diagnosed with breast cancer. Surgery followed, as did a number of strokes which left her partially paralysed. Then, in 1985, her daughter,

On October 31st, 1918, as the First World War neared its end, celebrated war poet and officer of the Second Manchesters Wilfred Owen wrote home to his mother. Sadly, this would be his last letter. Four days later–exactly a century ago–Owen was shot dead as he led his company across the Sambre–Oise Canal. His mother