RSS Feed of news Items http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk (C) University of Stirling  TITLE: Music Therapy in Therapeutic Environments     HOSTS: SASS Seminars. SPEAKER: Eoin Coughlan began his professional career as a full-time musician, composer, and community-outreach music teacher. He features as a session musician on various albums and film scores along with releasing his own critically acclaimed albums. Following on from his role as the first Musician-in-Residence in Limerick (2006) and his first-class MA in Traditional Irish Music Performance (2006), Eoin developed his academic and practical interest in working with marginalised groups and, in particular, with clients in addiction treatment. The MSc in Drug and Alcohol Policy (2010) offered Eoin the opportunity to marry his previous experience and skills with academic, research and professional training in the area of addiction treatment. Eoin is currently studying for a PhD at Trinity College Dublin.   ABSTRACT: This research project explores the possibility of using music as an intervention within therapeutic environments. The study is situated in the context of current literature in the fields of music therapy, addiction studies, psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry and ethnomusicology. The tool used were, song writing and lyric analysis. The participating clients in this research clearly saw the value of music relative to their own situations and indeed findings from this research indicate that such clients are unreservedly positive about the therapeutic value of music as therapy. The findings suggest that while music is welcomed and valued in a therapeutic environment by both professionals and clients, music therapy, in its clinical form, is not a discipline that has entered the sphere of addiction treatment in Ireland in any significant way. The findings also suggest that music offers motivation and proves to be a tool for retaining clients in treatment.   DATE: Thursday, 31st May 2012 VENUE: DASS Common Room, Colin Bell Building TIME: 12.30pm - 2.00pm  Related Links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6lhjLelS0Y http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/irish/blas/blasceoil/series1/eoin_coughlan.shtml       http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=158 Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Stirling academic role in Scottish Governments private rented housing strategy Text: The Scottish Government has just announced that a consultation paper on the development of a strategy for the private rented sector has been published and can be accessed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/04/5779.   Professor Douglas Robertson of the School of Applied Social Science chaired the group who drafted this consultation document. Private rented housing has expanded by 100 percent in the last 10 years, mainly through the introduction of 'buy to let' mortgages during the last housing market bubble. The sector is now surprisingly as large as the local authority or housing association sector (all account for 10 per cent of Scotland's total housing stock). With the 'global banking crisis' impacting on mortgage availability, and also cutting public expenditure, so that little social housing will be produced in the next few years, private renting is where more people, and especially those under 30, will be looking for their accommodation. In the last two years the number of under 35 year olds renting privately has risen from 10 to 33 percent. Under current arrangements the tenancy period offered is only a maximum of 6 months. Will people who did not expect to be in this tenure, and in particular those with children, be happy with such short tenancy arrangements? Professor Robertson's introduction to the report details both opportunities and concerns for this growing sector. Staff and students will have views about the issues raised in this consultation, and these views are now being sought by the Scottish Government.    http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=157 Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT ESRC Collaborative PhD STUDENTSHIP (+3) ‘Understanding the Impact of User and Community Involvement on Local Public Service Outcomes’   The School of Applied Social Science, University of Stirling invite applications from prospective PhD students for an ESRC-funded +3 studentship commencing in Autumn 2012.   The proposed study will be supervised by Richard Simmons and Professor Johnston Birchall at Stirling University, and the successful applicant will work collaboratively with Dr Mark McAteer and other staff at the Improvement Service. This studentship includes fees and the standard maintenance grant, currently circa £13,590 pa, plus a research training and support grant of up to £750 per annum. For further details of the proposed project and an informal discussion, please contact Richard Simmons on 01786 466314 or r.a.simmons@stir.ac.uk.   Prospective applicants must satisfy the research training and eligibility requirements set out by the ESRC in the Postgraduate Funding Guide. See http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/looking-for-funding/studentship-faq.aspx     How to apply Applications should comprise: i) A full CV (including details of your master’s dissertation) ii) A 500 word summary of your reasons for applying for this area of research and how your skills and knowledge equip you for it. iii) Two references, at least one of which should be an academic reference.     Completed applications should be returned to Linda Campbell, School of Applied Social Science, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA (l.c.t.campbell@stir.ac.uk) by 31st May 2012. Short-listed candidates will be invited for interview in the week commencing 2nd July (tbc). http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=156 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT The School of Applied Social Science is very pleased to announce that the Dementia Services Development Centre has been shortlisted in the Times Higher Education Leadership & Management Awards 2012 in the Outstanding Library Team category. The DSDC Library is a unique service that offers an open access dementia library and information service. The service not only supports students of the University of Stirling distance learning undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, but also provides open access information support to anyone who contacts the Centre. Anyone can visit the collection in Stirling or join the library on-line and search the catalogue, which has a unique feature of listing journal articles individually, to make information easier to access. Users of the service come from a wide variety of backgrounds and include journalists, academics, professionals, health care providers, architects and manufacturers.  Part of the service includes the Design and Technology Suite which exhibits dementia friendly design concepts and equipment including the recently created architect designed on-line virtual Dementia Care Home. http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=155 Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT Two of Stirling’s Housing Studies graduates received awards at this year’s Chartered Institute of Housing conference in Glasgow in March.   Anila Ahmad won the Malcolm Smith Award for the best assignment from a housing student in Scotland. Anila won the award for a closely argued piece on the opportunities and constraints facing individuals and non-governmental groups in influencing outcomes in housing policy.   This year's winner of the Robina Goodlad Award for Women Achievers in Housing was presented to Rohini Sharma Joshi of Trust Housing Association. The award celebrates women who have broken new ground in Scotland's housing sector.   Rohini, a graduate of the part-time Housing Studies programme, leads Trust Housing Association's award winning Equal Opportunities Programme. The programme - which has received major recognition across the UK and Europe - encourages take-up of housing, benefits and related services by black and minority ethnic older people. http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=152 Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT  TITLE: Care: A Critical Review of Theory, Policy and Practice     HOSTS: SASS Seminars. SPEAKER: Kirstein Rummery is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Stirling, and has written critically about social care policy in the UK and comparatively, focussing particularly on its impact on disabled people, older people and women. This seminar draws together feminist and disability rights perspectives on 'care', and examines how to balance 'ethics' and 'justice' in a policy area fraught with conflict.'   ABSTRACT: A critical review of theory, policy and practice “Care” is a source of critical tension in current social theory, and the policy and practice implications of that tension are evidenced in its current prominence on the political agenda of developed welfare states. This seminar will critically appraise current developments in the theory, policy and practice of care, drawing on interdisciplinary developments in political theory, sociology and social policy. Developing feminist and disability-rights theories, it will explore a critical synthesis of conflicting normative and theoretical positions regarding the giving and receiving of care, and of the ethics and justice of care. It will examine case studies of current comparative policy developments across a range of different welfare regimes, including the marketisation/commodification and de/re-familiaisation of care, exploring ideological and normative trends in the design of contemporary policies. It will discuss the impact of theory and policy on the practice of care, looking particularly at the issue of long-term care for disabled and older adults. It will conclude with an argument for the development of a citizenship-based approach to care that decouples it from individualistic and paternalistic paradigms that disempower those who give and receive care.   DATE: Wednesday, 2nd May 2012 VENUE: DASS Common Room, Colin Bell Building TIME: 12.30pm - 2.00pm  Related Links: http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/staff/Prof-Kirstein-Rummery/54       http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=150 Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT  TITLE: Bourdieu (Inc.)     HOSTS: SASS Seminars. SPEAKER: Bill Munro – Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology, University of Stirling.   ABSTRACT: The seminar will examine the work of Pierre Bourdieu. In particular it will look at problems of interpretation/misinterpretation relating to the incorporation of his work from the French theoretical field to an Anglo-American one. The paper will situate these problems within a more general account of what Bourdieu calls ‘allodoxic’ distortions caused by the international travel of theory (see Bourdieu, 1997). In order to counter misinterpretation, the paper offers a brief contextualization of Bourdieu’s theory and asks the question: What specific conditions existed within the French intellectual/academic field that allowed Bourdieu’s economy of social being to be possible?   DATE: Wednesday, 25th April 2012 VENUE: DASS Common Room, Colin Bell Building TIME: 12.30pm - 2.00pm  Related Links: www.dass.stir.ac.uk/staff/Dr-Bill-Munro/146 www.guardian.co.uk/news/2002/jan/28/guardianobituaries.books www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/bourdieu.htm     http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=149 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT  TITLE: Seminar - Multi-level Models                   HOSTS: SASS Seminars and AQMeN. SPEAKER: Vernon Gayle – Beloved of this Parish ABSTRACT: Multilevel models, missing data, latent classes and geographically weighted regression – what have we learned? A light-hearted review of 2011. DATE: Wednesday, 15th February 2012 VENUE: DASS Common Room, Colin Bell Building TIME: 4.00pm - 5.00pm  Related Links: http://aqmen.ac.uk/node/1107     http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=148 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT  TITLE: Workshop/Masterclass - Costing & Pricing               HOSTS: SASS Seminars. SPEAKERS: Daniela Bolle & Debbie Miller – Research & Enterprise Office, University of Stirling. Daniela is the RDM aligned to SASS and supports you with reviewing your research applications, costing and pricing and the preparation of tenders. Prior to joining the University, Debbie Miller was a senior management and economics consultant for over 10 years, four of these in Scotland, firstly for ekosgen and then as Managing Consultant for Fraser Associates. Her areas of expertise extend to feasibility studies, business development, strategy and action plan development, evaluation studies, project management and facilitation. In these roles, she has written a number of successful funding applications and won tenders.   ABSTRACT: There has been some debate in the School recently about whether we are simply too expensive to win tenders. Over the last year, we have lost some tenders but we have also been successful in winning some. This masterclass will explain the difference between costs and price and what income the School requires to generate from research projects. It will provide an overview of what price certain funders expect to pay for our work and then focus on tenders in particular. With Debbie’s past experience, she will be able to provide an insight into how consultancy firms would price for tenders and how tenderers will assess applications and make their value for money calculation. We will end by looking at an example of a successful tender and how the work was priced.   DATE: Wednesday, 22nd February 2012 VENUE: DASS Common Room, Colin Bell Building TIME: 12.30pm - 2.00pm  Related Links: http://www.research.stir.ac.uk/supporting/research-office/contact/profiles.php     http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=147 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT WANT TO WIN £100 TICKETMASTER VOUCHERS? TAKE PART IN THE NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY If you are a final year undergraduate student (or part-time undergraduate in your 4th year of study) the National Student Survey is your chance to tell us what you liked and didn’t like about your learning experience during your time at Stirling. The results will be made publicly available to help prospective students make informed choices about which university or college to apply to; the results will also be used to enable the University to make improvements for future students. By responding online by 30 April 2012, you will be entered into a draw to win a £100 Ticketmaster voucher. A total of 3 such prizes will be awarded to randomly selected Stirling students. You can enter the survey by clicking the image above or the link below: http://www.thestudentsurvey.com/ http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=146 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT The School of Applied Social Science is pleased to accept applications for the post of Professor of Dementia Research within the School. Further details of the post and how to apply can be found at: http://www.stir.ac.uk/about/jobs/list.php. Informal enquiries may be directed to Professor Alison Bowes, Head of School of the School of Applied Social Science Tel; 01786 467695 email a.m.bowes@stir.ac.uk or Professor June Andrews, Dementia Services Development Centre Director, Tel: 01786 467740 email june.andrews@stir.ac.uk. The closing date for applications is 17th February 2012. http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=143 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT  TITLE: Talking Mats   SPEAKER: Joan Murphy After graduating as a Speech and Language Therapist Joan worked for the NHS for a number of years and in 1989 began working part time as a researcher in the Psychology Department at the University of Stirling. She has worked on over 30 research projects focusing on communication disability and has always been determined to use her research in a practical way and, together with colleagues, has developed training and resources for practitioners looking at various aspects of communication One of those resources is a low-tech communication tool called Talking Mats® which is a visual framework that uses picture symbols to help people with a communication difficulty understand and respond more effectively. Joan has led a number of related and interlinked projects using the Talking Mats framework with different client groups and for different purposes. The findings from these projects have been published widely and the Talking Mats framework is now used increasingly by clinicians and other researchers world-wide. In 2009 Joan gave up her clinical work with the NHS to concentrate on moving Talking Mats towards becoming a Social Enterprise and on 1st September 2011, together with Talking Mats colleagues, she left the University when Talking Mats Limited was registered with Companies House. In 2010 she received her PhD in Medical Sciences at Radboud University, Nijmegen in the Netherlands. In 2011 she was appointed as Honorary Senior Research Fellow with the School of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Stirling. DATE: Wednesday, 1st February 2012 VENUE: DASS Common Room, Colin Bell Building TIME: 12.30pm - 1.30pm ABSTRACT:  Talking Mats® a visual framework that uses picture symbols to help people with a communication difficulty understand and express their views. It is being used increasingly by researchers as a way to include children and adults in research and clinical work. It is now being considered as a ‘thinking tool’ as well as a communication tool. My work has relevance for a wide range of people, including children, adults with learning or cognitive impairments, disabled people, older people, those with mental health issues, vulnerable adults etc. I am looking forward to running an interactive seminar for the School to introduce and explain my work that will hopefully connect with researchers. The seminar will include the following:         the development of Talking Mats & the research evidence underpinning it hands-on demonstration of Talking Mats discussion of the skills needed to use Talking Mats and why it works uses in research and clinical work discussion about possible collaboration           Related Links: http://www.talkingmats.com                   http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=144 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT  TITLE: Writers' Retreat   CONVENOR: Rowdy Yates Rowdy Yates has worked at the School of Applied Social Science for almost two decades. Prior to that he was founder-director of an innovative treatment service. As a manager and academic, he has been responsible for writing a varied range of publications from client pamphlets to journal articles. He has extensive experience of writing to order and to tight timescales. This is a two-and-a-half day writing event for staff and research postgraduate students using peer-support and focussing techniques to encourage a positive writing environment. DATE: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 10th, 11th, 12th February 2012 VENUE: Room 3S27, Colin Bell Building TIME: See Below DETAILS:  As part of this Semester’s seminar series, I will be running a Writers’ Retreat on the weekend of 10th, 11th and 12th February. The Writers’ Retreat will use a similar approach to that used by Rowena Murray during her writing weekends. In broad outline the idea is to offer a group collaborative and peer support element to the writing process with writing being undertaken to specified goals within a clear timeframe. The Writers’ Retreat is open to all SASS staff and research post graduate students and is offered free of charge. It will be held in the School over the weekend and will be of particular value to those feeling unsure about their REF submissions; to those with half written articles on the “back-burner”; to those struggling to find time to complete elements of a research report or dissertation. Timings are provided below but you should note that commitment should be for the whole retreat and places will be quite limited (although if this initiative proves successful, we may offer further retreats later in the year). Friday, 10th Feb 17.30-18.30 Introductory session and welcome 18.30-19.00 Writing plan and commitment Saturday, 11th Feb 09.30-09.45 Mapping 09.45-11.15 Writing 11.15-12.15 Coffee & Tea 12.15-12.30 Mapping 12.30-13.30 Writing 13.30-14.30 Lunch 14.30-14.45 Mapping 14.45-15.45 Writing 15.45-16.15 Coffee & Tea 16.15-16.30 Mapping 16.30-17.30 Writing 17.30-17.45 Mapping 17.45 Close Sunday, 12th Feb 09.30-09.45 Mapping 09.45-11.15 Writing 11.15-12.15 Coffee & Tea 12.15-12.30 Mapping 12.30-13.30 Writing 13.30-14.30 Lunch 14.30-14.45 Mapping 14.45-15.45 Writing 15.45-16.15 Coffee & Tea 16.15-16.30 Mapping 16.30-17.30 Writing 17.30-17.45 Mapping 17.45 Close All lunches and refreshments will be provided free and more detailed instructions will be provided on registration. Timings are exact and timekeeping is considered to be an intrinsic part of the process. Only a few places left. Register with Sharon Day. More details and information on registration. http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=145 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT The University is pleased to announce that applications are now welcome for our ESRC-funded PhD studentships. The University excels in a range of Social Science research areas, and provides a stimulating and supportive environment for its PhD students. The University of Stirling is a member institution of the ESRC Scottish Doctoral Training Centre (www.socsciscotland.ac.uk). The Scottish DTC is the largest consortium in the UK and offers a wealth of supervisory expertise across the social sciences as well as numerous training opportunities. Stirling students will be part of a Scottish postgraduate community and will have a range of opportunities to develop their expertise and their networks, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary. for further information please see http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/show_content.php?id=22 http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=142 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT   TITLE: Counselling the Elderly - A Focus on the Elderly Addict   HOSTS: SASS Seminars & University of Stirling. SPEAKER: Chris Johnson, Professor of Gerontology and Sociology, University of Louisiana at Monroe, USA Chris is currently on sabbatical from his post as Professor of Gerontology and Sociology at the University of Louisiana and a part time Licensed Professional Counsellor and a Licensed Marriage and Family therapist in Monroe, Louisiana. His previous employment includes running Male Addiction and Anger Management groups for the YWCA, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome groups for Viet Nam Era Veterans and doing training in Addiction and Recovery for various in-patient Addiction Treatment Centres in the United States. He has special training in sex addiction treatment and Marriage and Family Therapy for Addicted Couples.   DATE: Wednesday, 16th November 2011 VENUE: Common Room (3S15), Colin Bell Building TIME: 12.30 pm - 2.00pm ABSTRACT:  Gero-counseling is a growing field, requiring knowledge of both counselling techniques and of unique issues of addictions in elderly. This seminar will cover the specific addictions found in senior populations, with attention to some ideas concerning the aetiology and treatment procedures currently being used by gero counsellors. This presentation offers introductory information about senior adults and their special mental health concerns as they relate to addictions. Information will be offered about the unique aspects of senior populations that make them different than working with younger groups. At the same this presentation will show counsellors how older people are people (i.e., they have many of the same wants and needs of people of all ages etc.) that should be free of stereotypes. Special counsellor skills will be shown which are needed to counsel elderly addicts.  Counsellors issues of transference and counter transference often stand in the way of good therapy are addressed. Some coverage of family systems approaches and cognitive behavioural strategies gero-counsellors use with this population will be inspected.  This presentation reviews different predictors and patterns present in lifelong and late onset alcohol abuse by senior adults. Factors associated with drug abuse in older adults include female sex, social isolation, history of a substance-use or mental health disorder, and medical exposure to prescription and/or illegal drugs with abuse potential. The presentation looks at late life illegal drug abuse as a growing worldwide problem among the “Baby Boomers.” The author points out that no validated screening or assessment instruments are available for identifying or diagnosing drug abuse in the older population. Special approaches may be necessary when treating substance-use disorders in older adults with multiple comorbidities and/or functional impairment, and the least intensive approaches should be considered first.  The treatment of drug abuse in elderly may involve family and carers, and should take into account warning signals accounting for the unique physical, emotional, and cognitive factors of aging as they apply to each individual’s situation. Finally, this presentation inspects issues counsellors should be aware of concerning diagnosis and treatment of gambling, sex, co-dependency and other addictions common in elderly, as well as the development of appropriate screening and diagnostic tools to be used by general practitioners and geriatricians who see this population. Related Links: http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/news/show_news.php?id=140 Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT