The public library, exclusion and empathy: a literature review

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the literature within the fields of public librarianship, social exclusion and empathy. Design/methodology/approach – The cross-disciplinary review involved the consultation of material from disciplines including library and information management, politics, social policy and social sciences, cultural studies, psychology, management and organizational theory. It was structured according to the following themes: exclusion, inclusion and social policy, social inclusion in public services and the cultural sector, the role of public libraries in social inclusion and professional empathy and the public library service. Findings –The concept of social inclusion remains at the core of public library policy and strategy, and is embedded in contemporary social theory. Conflicting views have emerged as to the perceived and actual role of the public library in combating social exclusion, with a need expressed for research to be conducted that bridges the gap between the “philosophical” interpretations of community librarianship and the more practical, “real world” studies, in order to fully understand the concept of community librarianship. A critical link is made between social inclusion and public librarianship to professional empathy. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides an edited version of the overall literature review, yet it is felt that it would be of theoretical and practical relevance and value to the professional and academic communities. Originality/value – Empathy is a relatively new concept in librarianship research, and prior to the study of which this review forms a part only limited findings have been available

A qualitative study of parents' experiences using family support services: applying the concept of surface and depth

UK policy and practice endorses family support for child well-being. Achieving such support requires multi-agency approaches, that consider all aspects of parents’ and children’s lives and which offer practical, social and emotional help. The potential for services to make a positive impact on parents and their families will depend in part on the level and nature of engagement. In this paper a case is made for the application of the two-part ‘surface and depth’ concept for understanding how practitioners engage with families and how they might improve the chances of supporting sustainable differences for parents and families. To illustrate, qualitative data from a review of family centre support provided by a north of England local authority, are presented. The review was commissioned to explore why families often need to re-engage with intensive support services. Data are drawn from interviews with parents (n=18, recruited following a survey of all those registered with the service during April – May 2009) and discussions with family centre support workers (n=4) and following thematic analysis three dominant themes emerged: ‘resources available’, ‘staff approach’ and ‘real life’, were appraised in light of the ‘surface and depth’ concept. Much of the work with parents effectively dealt with pressing needs. This felt gratifying for both parent and worker and supported immediate service engagement. However, each noted that the more complex issues in parents’ lives went unchallenged and thus the sustainability of progress in terms of parenting practice was questionable. A ‘strengths focused’ approach by staff, that understood needs in the context of parents’ ‘real life’ circumstances was important to parent engagement. Thus, longer term benefits from family support requires practitioners to work with parents to problem solve immediate issues whilst also digging deeper to acknowledge and seek to resolve the more complex challenges parents face in their real lives

If you sing me a lullaby I will sing you a song about war : exhibition report presented in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Maori Visual Art 2013

I grew up in a crack between cultures that broadened briefly with the acceptance of mixed marriages only to shrink back into a more elaborate and toxic packaging ready for the free market. No apologies, no paradoxes, just blatant contradictions, and perfect copies, a world of simulated realties and parasitic realty’s, just like England’s Dickensian1 past, we wallow in squalor, conflicted, for what exactly are we buying into when we are buying, and who do we become? This exhibition report explores the thinking behind my Masters exhibition “if you sing me a lullaby I will sing you a song about war.” It is specifically about the English colonisation of the Highlands and the Pacific and relates directly to my own family story. It highlights the disconnecting effects of colonisation on the psyche of the individual and the wider ethnic groups

Developing an Ecologically Valid Measure of Creativity for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Overview: The subject of this thesis is creativity in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Part 1 provides a literature review of studies measuring creative thinking and the quality of creative ideas in children and adults with ASD. Both meta-analytic and narrative techniques are used to synthesise a profile of creativity in ASD. Recommendations are made to address the methodological limitations of the studies and more comprehensively and validly study creative performance in individuals with ASD. Part 2 presents an empirical paper describing the development and piloting of a new ecologically valid measure of creativity in children with ASD. Three tasks are investigated in relation to their psychometric properties: interrater and test-retest reliability; criterion and construct validity; and measure acceptability. Preliminary between-group comparisons are made to explore creative performance in children with and without ASD and observe how task conditions moderate these effects. A critical appraisal of the research project is put forward in Part 3. It offers a number of reflections on the process of developing the creativity tasks and scoring criteria as well as expanding upon limitations of the study. Further, it considers broader conceptual themes relating to research in the fields of creativity and ASD and the parallels with engaging in a creative research process. Finally, recommendations for future development of the task battery are made

Heavy mineral stratigraphy of the Unayzah Formation and Basal Khuff Clastics (Carboniferous to Permian) of Central Saudi Arabia

A study of heavy mineral assemblages in the Unayzah Reservoir sandstones of central Saudi Arabia has identified successive changes in provenance signature. These define four heavy mineral units that are of regional extent and largely coincident with the four main depositional units defined by previous authors: Unayzah C, Unayzah B, Unayzah A and the Basal Khuff Clastics. Sandstone bodies with anomalous mineral signatures also occur, however, especially within the Unayzah B Member. These are attributed to local supply of sand from pre-Unayzah Paleozoic sandstones exposed on the Central Arabian Arch and on intrabasinal highs. The stratigraphic changes in mineralogy reflect successive developments in the geography and climate of the region and in the pattern of sand sourcing and transport. The Unayzah C sands and the majority of Unayzah B sands were derived from the south but whereas the southerly derived Unayzah C sands appear to have been derived from pre-existing mature sandstones, those of Unayzah B were sourced from a wider range of rock types including crystalline basement. This contrast is interpreted as indicating that a significant hiatus may separate the two units. The Unayzah B sands are also characterised by the common presence of apatite, indicating that the source rocks were relatively unweathered. This observation is compatible with the glacial origin attributed to many of the Unayzah B sediments. A further change in provenance signature takes place at the base the newly recognised ‘un-named middle Unayzah member’, equivalent to the base of Unayzah A of previous authors. This is associated with the onset of red-bed sedimentation throughout the area. Unayzah A sedimentation was terminated by a fall in sea level that led to the formation of a widespread unconformity and to the development of deeply incised valleys along the western basin margin. In most of the study area this unconformity corresponds to the base of the Khuff Formation, but in the east of the area, where the succession is more complete, it is believed to occur within the Unayzah Formation, at a level equivalent to the base of the Upper Gharif Member of Oman. By identifying lateral and vertical changes in sand provenance, heavy mineral analysis provides an important additional tool in the stratigraphic analysis of the Permian sandstone succession of Saudi Arabia, both at the regional scale and wand at the scale of individual reservoir sandstone successions