Applying the lessons learnt: community involvement in regeneration

Community involvement is now seen as central to regeneration policy and practice. Yet it is by no means easy to achieve. This article explores the popularity of community involvement and points to some of the key lessons that can be drawn from recent, and past, research on the topic. I suggest that many of these lessons are not being applied and provide some suggestions for why this may be the case. I conclude that central government could do a lot more to enable the application of both individual and organizational learning

Erroneous error correction

[FIRST PARAGRAPH] Libraries have been using computers for years now. Many librarians are not mystified by mega-byte-sized jargon and take MOP-buckets in their stride. Nonetheless those black boxes can still come up with a surprise or two. I know a library which has just installed a new issue system (it hardly matters which brand, since this is just a cautionary tale). This computer has been told to capitalise each word in the book-title (machines don’t have to write in CAPITALS now), which looked a little odd when it came to Richard Iii. It was also given a list of stop-words (The, A, Le, La … ) which are not searchable, frustrating anyone looking for titles like A B C of … or A E Houseman or books by Mr Das or Ms Lo. On one occasion the index ‘slipped’ overnight and to look up SMITH one actually had to enter TNJUI

Citation Counts [Letter to the Editor]

[FIRST PARAGRAPH] One measure by which the central funding agency for universities in the United Kingdom is seeking to assess appropriate levels of support for various disciplines is that of citation counts. The first subject area in which this has been applied is the earth sciences. A questionnaire sent to relevant academic departments included a request for information on citation or ‘impact’ counts, and forthcoming reviews of chemistry and physics may be expected to do the same. It is therefore appropriate that attention should be drawn to some of the dangers inherent in the use of this form of bibliometrics as a ‘research indicator’

Erroneous error correction

[FIRST PARAGRAPH] Libraries have been using computers for years now. Many librarians are not mystified by mega-byte-sized jargon and take MOP-buckets in their stride. Nonetheless those black boxes can still come up with a surprise or two. I know a library which has just installed a new issue system (it hardly matters which brand, since this is just a cautionary tale). This computer has been told to capitalise each word in the book-title (machines don’t have to write in CAPITALS now), which looked a little odd when it came to Richard Iii. It was also given a list of stop-words (The, A, Le, La … ) which are not searchable, frustrating anyone looking for titles like A B C of … or A E Houseman or books by Mr Das or Ms Lo. On one occasion the index ‘slipped’ overnight and to look up SMITH one actually had to enter TNJUI

The Third Sector, regeneration and sustainable communities: 'rolling' with the New Labour agenda

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ways in which concepts of regeneration, sustainability and the Third Sector (TS) are understood and expressed in the policy priorities of the Labour Government in the UK. The paper locates this discussion in the context of a small community action group in Nottingham and seeks to explore the ways in which the experience of activists and practitioners see their “world” as being congruent with that of the “world” represented in the policy literature. Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines an analysis of the policy literature and a discussion on the theoretical and conceptual ideas implicit in the programmes with data collected through observation and interview of key activists involved in the group. Findings – The paper suggests that while small-scale TS organisations can play an important part in the regeneration/sustainability agenda as a result of their size, values and flexibility it is these values which are at risk given the underlying ideological approach of the reform agenda. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides a snap shot of experience and situates that practice in the theoretical/conceptual literature and so raises some important questions for practitioners as well as researchers. Practical implications – The paper has direct relevance for TS agencies and researchers. Originality/value – The paper points to the conflict and tension between local/community-based organisations in which ideas of trust and ethical decision making are negotiated differently compared to public sector agencies

The Empathy Imbalance Hypothesis of Autism: A Theoretical Approach to Cognitive and Emotional Empathy in Autistic Development

There has been a widely held belief that people with autism spectrum disorders lack empathy. This article examines the empathy imbalance hypothesis (EIH) of autism. According to this account, people with autism have a deficit of cognitive empathy but a surfeit of emotional empathy. The behavioral characteristics of autism might be generated by this imbalance and a susceptibility to empathic overarousal. The EIH builds on the theory of mind account and provides an alternative to the extreme-male-brain theory of autism. Empathy surfeit is a recurrent theme in autistic narratives, and empirical evidence for the EIH is growing. A modification of the pictorial emotional Stroop paradigm could facilitate an experimental test of the EIH