Irina McLean, Project Leader with NHS Research Scotland Management Team, is currently leading the development of a Research Governance Framework (RGF) which will meet the needs of Scotland’s Social Care Services employers, staff, and service users and their families.

The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 sets the context for the integration of adult health and social care within Scotland. Underpinning the introduction of the Act was a commitment to ensure the consistent provision of quality, sustainable care services for the increasing numbers of people in Scotland who need joined-up support and care.

The Scottish Government recognises that for successful reform and effective integration of health and social care sectors collective ethical and accountable research practices are required.

The new RGF is currently being defined through a process of engagement.

In this episode, Irina tells us more about the work she is doing. If you would like to follow up with Irina about the RGF or speak to her about research you're involved in, you can contact her direct at: irina.mclean@nrs.org.uk.

Transcript of episode

Music Credit: Make your dream a reality by Scott Holmes

The newly qualified social worker conference titled, Shaping our future: relationships matter, was held on 31 May 2019 in at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. 

Iona Colvin, Chief Social Work Adviser at Scottish Government, spoke about the importance of relationships at strategic level, within and across government, and how the role of social work has changed to be located within organisational partnerships with the aim of delivering more seamless services for people.

She also talks about the unique contribution of social work as a holistic relationship-based profession, what they are doing with others to raise its profile, plan for the future and support newly qualified social workers.

Transcript of episode

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

The newly qualified social worker conference titled, Shaping our future: relationships matter, was held on 31 May 2019 in at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

Jackie Irvine, Chief Social Work Officer at Edinburgh City Council and past President of social work Scotland, takes some time to reflect on how the practice environment in which social work operates has changed. She provides advice on making the most of relationships at work, as well as self-care strategies.

Transcript of episode

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

Hannah Tweed from the ALLIANCE and Dianne Theakstone from Self-directed Support Scotland spoke to Iriss about the joint research they are undertaking on user experiences of self-directed support in Scotland.

This Scottish Government funded research intends to encourage and develop policy and best practice across the social care landscape.

Transcript of episode

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.

Transcript of episode

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.

Indepen-dance creates opportunities for disabled and non-disabled people to enjoy, express and fulfil their potential through dance.

Michael McEwan interviews one of the founding members, Karen Anderson, as well as Adam, a dancer involved in the project.

Transcript of episode

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

ARE THE GIRLS INCLUDED? if so, let's have a blast!

read more

During the 2017 Conference & Expo in Boston, the Standards Quest took participants through a journey of the Standards Development Process.  Participants answered questions on the Public Input, Public Comment, Technical Meeting (NITMAM), and

NFPA's 2017 Conference & Expo features presentations informed by research and practice and reflect thought leadership in the field. Sessions address new areas this year such as: effective and efficient enforcement, building electrical safety

  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 sky above the roofs of Zell am See and Kaprun is sure to wear its most colourful gown. At the 29th 'BP Gas Alpine Balloon Trophy' starting on 20th January 2008, about 40 international teams of balloonists will literally be up and away. Anyone who prefers to stay on the ground can look forward to enjoying a unique colour
spectacle! And there is even more: an exciting supporting programme with events about balloon travel and aviation makes sure that boredom doesn't stand a chance!

The first winter competition for hot-air balloonists took place as early as 1979. The pioneers of the aviation club 'Team Polar', Josef 'Joschi' Starkbaum and his partner Gert Scholz, didn't want to accept the unfounded assertion that 'hot-air balloons are just not made for travelling in the Alpine regions'. And now watch and learn: until today the event lures participants from all around the globe to Zell am See-Kaprun - and not even once has there been as much as a hitch. But nevertheless it is always a thrilling experience to mount the baskets. Since it is not possible to steer the balloons directly, your journey takes you into the unknown once you have lost touch with the ground. You can aim for your destination only by descending and rising and making use of the winds.

To judge who is best at this art, the BP Alpine Balloon Trophy has organized many adventurous competitions which are true challenges for the participants. But the visitors of the event don't have to limit themselves to watching either. And for small guests, the event has a special treat up its sleeve: On Monday 21st January, one day after the ceremonious opening on the old runway of the airfield of Zell am See, there is the start of the captive balloons. From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. children can get into the baskets of the huge balloons which are tied to the ground. If the weather doesn't cooperate, the start will be postponed until Wednesday.

On Monday evening, the event 'Fire & Ice' promises to be an optical highlight: fire shows, hot-air balloons, and illuminated sculptures made of ice will light up the night. From 8 p.m. visitors can choose from a large variety of delicious drinks. Wednesday and Thursday, 23rd and 24th January, will definitely be as breathtaking as the preceding days have been. From 8 p.m. visitors are invited to come to the valley station of the cityXpress in Zell am See and to Lechnerberg in Kaprun where hot-air balloons are making the sky of the region their canvas. This colourful happening has always been a major event in the programme of the BP Gas Alpine Balloon Trophy. Fireworks and DJ music will make visitor marvel in amazement. And, of course, we mustn't forget to mention the show of the motocross and snowmobile drivers who perform daredevil acrobatics and breathtaking stunts!

For more information on the 29th Gas Alpine Balloon Trophy in Zell am See and Kaprun please visit us at www.zellamsee-kaprun.com.


Contact within the region
Guest Service Zell am See-Kaprun
Phone +43 (0)6542 - 770 0
welcome(at)zellamsee-kaprun.com
www.zellamsee-kaprun.com

Press contact
knoefler-journalist . media + communications GmbH
Mr. Benjamin Knöfler
Phone +49 (0)6028 - 80729 0
zellkaprun(at)kj-media.com
www.knoefler-journalist.com


Information summary
The holiday region Zell am See-Kaprun with its 14,000 beds and two million overnight stays every year is one of the most important holiday destinations in Austria. During the summer months you can enjoy a variety of outdoor activities like rafting, golf and hiking. And also in the cold season there is never a dull moment thanks to sleigh rides and hiking tours in snowshoes. Skiers can comfortably reach the 132 kilometres of slopes with powder snow with one of the 56 lifts. Snowboarders enjoy the perfect conditions of the Snowpark on the 2,600 metre high glacier plateau. Even in the summer you can swish down the slopes here. The renowned German publishing house of 'Falk Verlag' awarded Zell am See and Kaprun the decoration of the most family-friendly holiday region in Europe.

Contact Information:
knoefler-journalist . media + communications GmbH

A flight of fancy for a wayward hot air balloon
by Julia Tosti
Special to The Friday Flyer

It was a beautiful morning, one of those mornings where the fog had rolled in sometime prior and settled, nestled in the valley and hugging the lake, giving it a mystical feel.
My husband and I enjoy a beautiful view from Tuscany Hills. We moved here two years ago from Orange County and have never tired of the endless beauty that surrounds our home.
From the back of our home, we have views of Canyon Lake, Mount San Jacinto, Big Bear and, far to our left, Mount Baldy. We watch hawks soar high and ducks and white cranes take flight from Canyon Lake to Lake Elsinore. It seems every morning the view is visited by a new guest that perpetuates this never-ending cascade of attractions. Today was no different.
We sat sipping on our coffee chatting and discussing the day’s tasks. We conversed about the beauty of the mountains, the mystical feel to the lake and today’s surprise guest, a hot air balloon. Typically balloons float toward Menifee, hovering high above the valley east of Canyon Lake, but today’s visitor seemed to be moving in our direction, approaching the lake.
Our excitement heightened as we watched the balloon, seeing the colorful fabric come into clearer view. At this point I decided to document this visitor and ran to get our camera. As the balloon continued to move our way it seemed to be picking up momentum; all the while, I was clicking away with our camera.
The balloon sailed over the lake, coming closer and closer and losing altitude. Our chatter turned to silence as we watched, stunned by the sight. Slowly at first, but then more rapidly, the balloon started to descend until it looked as though it was sitting on the lake. We strained to see if it had actually landed on the lake, wondering out loud if we should call 9-1-1 or the lake “coast guard” or someone! Just as we were about to dial the phone, the balloon started to rise. Slowly at first, then faster and faster until it was high in the sky. Up, up and away it went over our house, continuing to float until it was out of our sight.
Wow! We love this area – what a great place to live! It seems we are always seeing something of beauty or excitement outside our back view – and this was the icing on the lake, I mean, cake!

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - A gust of wind slammed a hot-air balloon into the ground as it was preparing to land near Austria's border with Germany on Saturday. Police said five people were injured, one seriously.
The accident happened around 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) about five kilometers (3 miles) outside the Bavarian town of Koessen as the balloon was about to touch down.
Authorities said the wind drove the basket into the ground and caused it to overturn.
One occupant suffered serious injuries, and four others were less severely hurt, Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported.
Koessen hosts a popular annual series of balloon races.

Little is known about the effects of repeated imprisonment. Very few research studies have examined how those who are punished by the criminal justice system experience and interpret their sentences. Research that does exist, like my PhD, has largely focused on one single sentence. But people who have served many sentences (in other words, who have long punishment careers), are likely not to experience criminal punishments in isolation, but in the context of their wider lives and previous sentences. The aim of the Lives Sentenced project is to address this gap in the knowledge base by examining the life stories of 35 people with long punishment careers

This is a paper produced as part of the PROP2 (Practitioner Research: Outcomes and Partnership) programme, a partnership between the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR) at the University of Edinburgh and IRISS that was about health and social care in Scotland. This paper was written by Elaine Monteith from ENABLE Scotland who participated in the PROP2 programme. What this research paper explores: All women are asked to go to the doctor every few years to get a check for cancer but women who have a learning disability don’t go for these checks as often as other women. The paper explore what barriers there are for women attending for checks and also looks at what could be done to encourage women them to attend.

Short breaks are among the most fundamental services for supporting families with disabled children. By providing breaks from caring and positive experiences for children and young people, they allow parent carers to focus on relationships with other children, or to have time to themselves or with their partner, leading to lower levels of psychological distress, higher levels of life satisfaction and better health. As a result, fewer parent carers reach ‘breaking point’ and fewer children require access to emergency provision or enter the looked after system. This report, commissioned by Every Disabled Child Matters, looks at the current provision of short breaks to families of disabled children in England.

Report 69 published by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) in November 2014. This research, commissioned by the Department of Health (DH), set out to identify what could be learned about current policy and practice in self-neglect, experienced as a highly challenging aspect of contemporary adult social care.

This is a paper produced as part of the PROP2 (Practitioner Research: Outcomes and Partnership) programme, a partnership between the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR) at the University of Edinburgh and Iriss that was about health and social care in Scotland. This paper was written by Geraldine Ditta from Alzheimer Scotland who participated in the PROP2 programme. People living with dementia are at risk of becoming socially isolated and disconnected from their local communities. Reactions from others on being told someone has dementia can have a significant impact on the person with dementia’s sense of self. This study sought to explore the perceptions of people with dementia in relation to attitudes within their communities and how they subsequently respond. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to examine how they feel about their lives with dementia.

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises.

In 2006 Mencap produced a comprehensive review of short break provision. Now, 10 years on, they are revisiting the support available for family carers to see whether recent policy initiatives and investment have delivered the much-needed change. A total of 264 family carers responded to their survey on short breaks provision and experiences of caring. They also sent Freedom of Information requests to all 152 local authorities in England that provide social care services. This report looks at short breaks provision in a climate of cuts to central and local government budgets. It examines the extent to which these cuts have impacted on the lives of people with a learning disability and their family carers. It also looks at the state of affairs for family carers of children and young people across the full spectrum of learning disability; from people with mild and moderate learning disabilities, to people with severe and profound disabilities.

The 10th international short break conference took place in Edinburgh from 13 to 15 September 2016. This conference report explores the barriers experienced in accessing short breaks and how these have been overcome.

Mike Pence has been heavily meme'd and that level of memery is only growing. The most recent addition to the line of Pence memes has been this 'Fake History' take on Jonny Quest, which features Baron Trump and Pence in place of Jonny and his dad, in a fight against the gays and immigrants. 

These are basically an extension of Trump Memes, as Mike Pence is his Vice President and joke that poke fun at one is the same as poking fun at the other.

These people are not afraid to carry on hilarious protest signs and tell the world what they really think of Donald Trump's Presidency. Via: Sad and useless  

During a meeting to discuss Syria, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was photographed assertively pointing a finger at Donald Trump. Trump later tweeted the photo with the caption, "Nervous Nancy's unhinged meltdown!" the photo has inspired a whole host of memes from every political angle. 

Whether you're a Trump supporter or a Pelosi fan, we think you'll find these trending memes amusing. Or maybe you hate both of them equally! That's certainly an option too!

We've been seeing these Bernie Sanders memes practically everywhere on the internet lately, and they don't appear to be stopping any time soon! Here's our last gallery in case you missed 'em. 

We sincerely hope you're not sick of political memes yet, because we've still got far to go before the 2020 presidential elections, so buckle up!

While we would love for election season to be over right about now, we've gotta admit that the resulting political memes have been top-notch. The internet has been loving this particular dank meme, which shows Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ripping up Donald Trump's State of the Union speech.

Last night Americans tuned in to watch the audience-free live democratic debate between remaining candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. Topics of discussion included the Green New Deal, Donald Trump, and of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. You can watch the debate here to decide for yourself who won, and click here for more political memes!

PotterCast meets to discuss and theorize old and new information in one of three new volumes from J.K. Rowling and Pottermore.

Pottercast is back for conclumdrum conjuration as they attempt to answer your burning questions from the Wizarding World!

Episode 268 — Conjuring Conclumdrums

Pottercast is hosted by Melissa Anelli, John Noe, Frankie Franco, and Zack Luye.

Find the latest episode and explore Pottercast interviews, discussions and more at Pottercast.com

Visit the-leaky-cauldron.org for the latest and greatest from Harry Potter's Wizarding World.

We are isolating together for this freewheeling hour of silliness where we take your Harry Potter questions and have some fun.

ALSO, SOME NEWS: Now there are TWO Patreons: One for just PotterCast, one for Roll 9 3/4 and all the other Mischief Media shows. BOTH get you access to our discord, where there are Harry Potter, gaming, television, movies. cooking, crafting, and a ton of other amazing conversations happening. PLUS lots of amazing bonus content updated weekly.

PotterCast's Patreon
Mischief Media Patreon

Also visit Mischief Merch!  We have so much cool swag there.

Also, there is a LOT of content to entertain you on your quarantine on the Mischief twitch channel — and there will be PotterCast streaming there soon. Watch the hashtag #MischiefFromHome for more!

The overused understatement of the decade is, “This is an unprecedented time.” While the coronavirus outbreak has turned our lives into something none of us likely ever imagined, one fundamental life safety truth remains: THERE IS NO

Late last month, CBS News in New York reported that 911 dispatchers in that beleaguered hub have received, on several occasions, more emergency calls than they took on September 11, 2001. Call volume in the most populated city in the US typically ranges

Last week, my teenage son came to me and said, “Yo, Mom. Can we get some baby ducks?” No joke. He really said “Yo, Mom.” (Cue the eye roll.) And he really asked for ducks. (Cue the eyebrow lift.) I quickly brushed off this request

Current job opportunities/vacancies at CELCIS as well as jobs with other organisations and agencies working in residential child care.

Early Years Practitioner: Location: Banff; Salary: £7,541 - £8,192 per year; closing date: 12/09/2016 https://t.co/THFViQaVmi

The judges have now submitted their scores, they have been counted and verified and we can now reveal the 2016 Self Management Shortliste

Social Care Worker (x2) - Crookston Care Home and Day Centre: Location: Tranent; Rate: £11.05 - £12... https://t.co/uK9f06XYCS #mjsjobs

People Powered Health and Wellbeing (PPHW) are asking people to share their experiences of co-production in their survey.

Stream Taking the #RightApproach with the Health and Social Care Alliance by SCVO from desktop or your mobile device

The new ‘national living wage’ has seen the sector’s pay bill rise by 6.9%, and further promised increases will add a total £2.3bn to wage costs

A new tax is urgently needed to fund the NHS and social care system, according to a Tory docto