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...

In a short preprint The super-Sasaki metric on the antitangent bundle, I explicitly show how to lift a Riemannian metric and an almost symplectic two-form on a manifold $latex M$ to a Riemannian metric on the antitangent bundle $latex Pi T M$, which is, of course, a supermanifold. This example was first given in Modular...

The short preprint The super-Sasaki metric on the antitangent bundle, has now been extensivly rewriten and improved. I wrote about the first draft here. One of the major improvments is that I now clearly link the construction to almost Hermitian manifolds, although the almost complex structure plays no direct role in the lifting the metric...

Just finished reading an excellent and provocative book: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. The image is a fantasized depiction of me discussing the physics of this book, which is based on the concept that we live in a multiverse, with three of my doppelgangers. What would be appealing would be a work of science fiction...

Analytical derivation of relativistic velocity, mass, momentum and kinetic energy of an accelerated object. For Special relativity the momentum of an object of rest mass m0 and velocity u is expressed by equation (1) which is infinite when u equals c. Is it physically meaningful that the momentum of an object becomes infinite while its...

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 speaks to Ryan Fleming about growing up with a 'hidden disability'.

Ryan is on the autistic spectrum and tells us about the challenging, as well as positive experiences he has faced from childhood right through to adulthood.

He talks about how he sees the world, how he interacts in social situations, his support network and his hopes for the future.

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Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free

Michael McEwan speaks to Joseph Delaney about growing up with a 'hidden disability'.

Joseph is on the autistic spectrum and tells us about his life experiences, and his journey to getting his music degree at university and working at Limelight Music.

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Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free

Our roving reporter on disability issues, Michael McEwan, speaks to Jodie Wilkinson, the Public Engagement Coordinator of Access Film Club which is hosted at Glasgow Film Theatre. She speaks about the purpose and aims of the club and the types of films screened.

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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

Paisley Disability Resource CentreThe Paisley Disability Resource Centre actively promotes independent living through various leisure, social, educational and employment activities and services. It aims to be a welcoming, supportive and inclusive place, where people come to socialise and network, as well as taking part in activities.

Michael McEwan speaks to Kevin Cantwell, the arts group facilitator at the Centre, as well as a number of people who take part in the activities which include painting, photography and dancing.

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Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free

The Paisley Disability Resource Centre actively promotes independent living through various leisure, social, educational and employment activities and services. It aims to be a welcoming, supportive and inclusive place, where people come to socialise and network, as well as taking part in activities.

In this second of two episodes, Michael McEwan speaks to Jim Thompson, the web design and movie maker co-ordinator, as well as Duncan Tomlinson, a participant in the activities.

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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

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

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

Michael McEwan speaks to Jill Keegan, Community Development Adviser with Outside the Box, an equalities charity that focuses on community development support across Scotland and the UK.

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Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

Michael McEwan speaks to Ian Buchanan about Disability Equality Scotland, focusing more specifically on Disability Access Panels.

As the umbrella body for Access Panels in Scotland, Disability Equality Scotland offers support and training opportunities to help Access Panels operate efficiently, link together as a network and learn from each other.

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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

Michelle Drumm interviews Ben Farrugia, Director of Social Work Scotland.

Ben held a variety of policy roles down in London (with a particular interest in education and children's services). In 2009, he moved up to Scotland to work in the government’s Looked After Children team and in 2011 moved to the University of Strathclyde to join the team that would soon after become CELCIS.

In his own words, he is 'now very proud to be leading Social Work Scotland’s small Edinburgh based team, which provides support to various committees and groups, and represents members in discussions with Parliament, Government and other partners'.

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

Gig Buddies is a project that matches people with a learning disability with a volunteer who shares similar interests to engage in nightlife activities together.

Michael McEwan interviews the Scotland project manager, Samuel Maggs and also speaks to a user of the service, Kerry Ferguson. 

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

Ensemble is a Loretto Care project that supports young people out of homelessness through song writing and music.

On 19 September, Michelle from Iriss travelled to Stirling to speak with Michael Timmons, Community Engagement Lead for the project, and Andrew Sinclair a participant and volunteer. Ensemble received ‘A 'different approach’ award at the Scottish Social Services Awards 2019.

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

Include Me 2 Club aims to change the face of social care in East Renfrewshire, by taking a person-centred, community asset-based approach.

Michael McEwan interviews Paul McIlvaney, the Chair of the project.

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

Michael McEwan interviews Michael Byrne, the founder of LETS (Lived Experience Trauma Support) and author of Poems From A Mod: My Journey Through Trauma, Recovery And Survival. 

Michael was diagnosed with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder based on many traumatic events in his life, including abuse as a child, the murder of his father and surviving the Clutha disaster. In April 2017 he had a devastating breakdown which was complete in late January 2018. Since then he has been in recovery.

Health warning: This episode describes scenes of traumatic events that listeners may find disturbing. 

Transcript of episode

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.

Transcript of episode

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

Cumbernauld Action for Care of the Elderly or CACE is an organisation that supports improved wellbeing and quality of life for older people in Cumbernauld.

We spoke to Margaret Riley, Chief Executive of CACE about how the organisation is managing in the Coronavirus outbreak.

Transcript of episode

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

Creative Commons has joined forces with other legal experts and leading scientists to offer a simple way for universities, companies, and other holders of intellectual property rights to support the development of medicines, test kits, vaccines, and other scientific discoveries related to COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic. The Open COVID Pledge grants the … Read More "Open COVID Pledge: Removing Obstacles to Sharing IP in the Fight Against COVID-19"

The post Open COVID Pledge: Removing Obstacles to Sharing IP in the Fight Against COVID-19 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.

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.

On September 29th, 1918, months before the end of World War I, a freshly assigned physician at Camp Devens military base in Massachusetts wrote the following letter to a friend and fellow doctor, and described a terrifying influenza epidemic that was now killing hundreds of his camp’s soldiers each day. The death toll in this

Dear all, It gives me untold amounts of pleasure to announce that the Letters of Note website has been given its first facelift since I naively launched it in 2009 using a bog-standard Blogger template. I would like to thank, profusely but from a very safe distance, the patient team of wizards over at Automattic

BAD PHOTOSHOPPING you're doing i9t awesome

SALLY BANGS THE CLOWN not that there's anything wrong with that

BRING YOUR KID TO WORK DAY "but Dad, I wanted to be a rebel!"

BARF THE MAWG he's his own best friend

B*TCH PLEASE

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As most of us know, states across the U.S. can no longer rely on a defined fire season. This sobering truth is especially evident in California where the fire season is 70 days longer than it was 40 years ago, and fire ignitions in the state have greatly

  These were the words of Captain Peter Berger of Hallandale Beach Fire Rescue as he spoke to a full house of fire service industry leaders — along with his partner Captain Greg Moulin of DFW Airport Fire Services — on the topic of

The wildfire disaster that struck Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada in May 2016 destroyed more than 2,400 structures and created insured losses of more than $3.5 billion. The incident captured the hearts and minds of the media and citizens the world over,