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Important library resource to continue

A service called the Access to Research initiative is to continue after a two year pilot scheme.

Jubilee Library
Jubilee Library

This means that users of public libraries will get free access to over 10 million academic articles.

The service which was launched by the Universities and Science Minister in 2014 has been hailed as a success by the Publishers Licensing Society and the Society of Chief Librarians.

The Jubilee Library in Brighton is one of the top performing libraries in terms of people using the service. Two years on since the pilot started there have been over 3,000 hits from library customers in the city.

Cllr Alan Robins
Cllr Alan Robins

Cllr Alan Robins, Deputy Chair of Economic Development and Culture Committee, said: “It is wonderful to see the Access to Research initiative being so well received by the libraries and residents of Brighton and Hove and the fact we will be able to continue providing this service is great news. It is a brilliant resource that provides people with information they might not otherwise have access to.”

The Access to Research initiative is just one of the many online services that people with a library card can access. It is available, not only in the Jubilee Library, but in libraries across Brighton & Hove.

To view results and check journal titles from home, click here:

To access full articles library customers need to log in to a library computer.

There is currently an online consultation on Brighton & Hove’s library services. It will end on February 16.

To have your say, click here: 

Average life assurance sum increases for those with HIV

A new survey by Unusual Risks, Mortgage and Insurance Services shows the average amount that HIV Positive men and women are insuring themselves for has substantially increased.

Unusual RisksCurrently HIV Positive people who are taking out Life Assurance in the UK are insuring themselves for an average of £137,192. This latest survey was conducted as a follow-up to a similar survey that was released last year where the average figure was only £114,607.

The substantial increase this year is mainly due to some of the insurers increasing the maximum amounts of Life Insurance they’re now prepared to offer someone living with HIV.

Chris Morgan
Chris Morgan

Chris Morgan, from Unusual Risks, said; “Initially when HIV life Assurance was launched the amounts of cover were limited to below £250,000. It is wonderful news that Insurance Companies are now starting to offer larger policies that can be used to back large mortgages, commercial mortgages and private equity business deals”.

“Although the ongoing development of HIV Life Assurance products has been wonderful for both the insurance industry and HIV Positive people, we would like to take this opportunity of highlighting that Income Protection and Critical Illness Cover policies are still unavailable to people living with HIV.”

Chris lead the campaign back in 2009 that resulted in changes within the insurance industry that meant those with HIV could get life assurance. He was also responsible for the removal of the Gay Question from Life Assurance proposals back in 2005.

Unusual Risks continue to campaign to ensure that those with the virus will also be able to get Income Protection and Critical Illness Cover.

 

Local author is ‘New Writer in Residence’ at Coleridge Cottage

Rose Collis is the new writer in residence at Coleridge Cottage in Somerset as part of the Writing Places project.

Rose Collis
Rose Collis

Rose is the first writer in residence at the cottage in 100 years of National Trust care.

The Writing Places project is a partnership between The National Trust, Literature Works and The Poetry Archive. It aims to broaden audiences for literature events and to encourage creative reading and writing allowing would-be and more established writers to engage with some of the very places that inspired some of our greatest writers.

Rose follows in the footsteps of Samuel Coleridge known for his work in the Romanticism movement. He lived at the cottage which now bears his name, between 1797 – 1798.

Rose brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge as a writer, performer and alternative historian. Her work covers many genres, including theatre, biography, journalism, short-fiction, radio and literary talks amongst her many talents.

Rose is also a member of the Society of Authors and of Equity and has written a number of books including Death and The City, The New Encyclopaedia of Brighton and A Trouser Wearing Character: The Life and Times of Nancy Spain.

Rose said of her upcoming residency; “The Writing Places Residency provides the opportunity to dig more deeply into the inspirations and legacy of a poet who has had such an impact on our culture and who continues to be relevant today.”

Stephen Hayes, National Trust Property Administrator, who along with the team at Coleridge Cottage selected Rose, said that all the staff and volunteers were really excited about having their first ever Writer in Residence in over one hundred years of National Trust ownership at Coleridge Cottage.

He said; “Rose is an amazing person and we’re so looking forward to working with her to bring the stories of Coleridge’s time in the West Country involving spies, addiction and revolutionary poetry into the spotlight to a much wider audience as part of the Writing Places project.”

Rose started her residency at Coleridge Cottage in August. She has begun programming a series of talks, workshops and events at the house including an open day for the general public to find out more about the Writing Places project and how they can get involved, as well as creative writing workshops and masterclasses and Rose will also be writing a blog about her experiences for the Writing Places website.

For more information, click here: 

 

Ombudsman report highlights Health Service failures in South East

A new Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report shows the impact of public service failures and poor complaint handling in the NHS in England and UK government departments can have on the public.

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The report contains a snapshot of complaints investigated between December 2014 and January 2015.

It includes the cases of three people whose deaths could have been avoided, nine asylum seekers who waited years for a decision on their application, multiple examples of inadequate end of life care and seven cases of poor care during pregnancy and maternity.

During the period of the report the Ombudsman made final decisions on a total of 556 complaints, of which 201 were upheld or partially upheld and 300 were not upheld.

The investigations into the avoidable deaths that feature in the report found that lives could possibly have been saved if doctors and nurses had taken more time to act in line with guidance and good practice, and if they had provided better care to their patients.

In one example of poor end of life care a woman in her twenties had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, but her palliative care was badly managed at a hospital in East Sussex. In particular, nursing staff did not respond quickly enough when she was distressed. She suffered unnecessary levels of pain and sickness at the end of her life as a result, which was also very upsetting for her family

Julie Mellor
Julie Mellor

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor, said; “Often people complain to us because they don’t want someone else to go through what they or their loved one went through. This report shows the types of unresolved complaints we receive and the human cost of that poor service and complaint handling. Many of the complaints that come to us should have been resolved by the organisation complained about. Complaints provide an opportunity for learning and improvements and should be embraced at all levels of the organisation from the Board to the frontline.”

Approximately 80% of its investigations are about the NHS in England and 20% are about UK government departments and their agencies. Almost half of all complaints about the NHS in England were about or partially about dissatisfaction in how complaints were handled.

 

PREVIEW: Superbia: Transcript

Corrie and Cucumber writers to discuss the development of trans characters at Manchester Pride event.

Coronation Street

Manchester Pride has announced the next of its Transcript events in the run up to the big weekend which runs from Friday 28 – Monday, August 31.

Transcript is part of Manchester Pride’s cultural programme called Superbia, a word deriving from the Latin word meaning Pride.

Soap fans can join writers and actors from the popular TV series Coronation Street and Cucumber writers and actors discuss the concept and development of transgendered characters in television and how the story moves from script to screen.

Julie Hesmondhalgh
Actor Julie Hesmondhalgh will be speaking at Transcript on Tuesday, August 25 at Black Dog NWS

Writers Damon Rochefort and Ben Tagoe, and actors Bruno Langley, Julie Hesmondhalgh and Bethany Black will all be speaking at this ticket only event.

Trailblazing events from Superbia earlier this year included the partnership with Queer Contact Festival, which ran from February 5-15, including British soul sensation David McAlmont and music partner, pianist Guy Davies making a welcome return to Manchester to present Fingersnap Live; the UK premiere of Love is Crazy – a Valentine’s concert celebration from New York cabaret star and Tony nominee Justin Vivian Bond; and a day of short films and in-conversations from over 25 guests working in the media at the Queer Media Festival.


Event: Transcript

Where: Black Dog NWS, New Wakefield Street, Manchester M4 1PW.

When: Tuesday, August 25

Time: From 6.30pm

Tickets: £7.50 (booking fees included)

To book online, click here:

Black Dog Ball Room will be offering half price food for everyone attending the event.

For more information about Superbia, click here:

For information about Manchester Pride, click here:

 

 

Registration for Brighton’s Artist Open Houses Christmas Festival 2015 now open

Artists and makers will be showcasing a diverse selection of unique artworks and Christmas gifts, all available to buy from the artists themselves.

Open House

Those wishing to take part in this year’s Artist Open Houses Christmas Festival can now register online until September 21. Around 60 houses and studio spaces will throw their doors open to the public across Brighton, Hove and the South Downs village of Ditchling.

The Festival will take place during the last two weekends of November and the first two weekends of December, starting November 21. Special Early Bird rates are available until August 27.

Previous festivals have seen artists selling a wide range of works including paintings, prints, sculpture, jewellery, homewares, photography, ceramics, crafts, toys and textiles along with a great selection of Christmas cards, wreaths, tree decorations and foodie gifts.

To find out more information on how to open your house or studio for the festival or how to register as a Guest Artist in someone else’s home, click here: 

To register for the festival, click here; 

Barnardo’s calls for 20,000 apprenticeships for those leaving the care system

Following the Government’s pledge to create three million new apprenticeships for young people, Barnardo’s is calling on them to reserve 20,000 for 16-18 years olds leaving the care system.

Barnardos

Recent unemployment figures show that young people are three times more likely to be unemployed, with care leavers being twice as likely to not be in education, employment or training.

Javed Khan, Barnardo’s Chief Executive, said; “Young people leaving the care system have ambition and talents. They want to work, to be financially independent and contribute to the country’s economy. But too often, care leavers find the door to employment is closed. Getting an apprenticeship and proving themselves in work can open up the door to a successful career instead of a dependence on benefits. Young people are the future of Britain’s economy. They must be invested in and given the right support to get into work.”

Ahead of GSCE results this week, those in the care system moving between family placements three or more times a year disrupts their education, so care leavers can struggle to perform well at school. Barnardo’s say that instead of apprenticeships depending on entry qualifications only, care leavers potential also needs to be taken into account. Intensive support throughout an apprenticeship would help them get the qualifications they need and go on to successfully establish a career. If the apprenticeships were earmarked for care leavers it would give them a fairer chance of getting on the job ladder.

Young Adult Book Tour Comes to Brighton

Egmont Publishing’s dedicated Young Adult (YA) imprint, Electric Monkey, teamed up with David Fickling Books, Quercus and Waterstones to organise book tour inspired by the increase in YA books exploring real social issues teenagers face, including ones surrounding sexuality and gender identity.

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The tour called New Day New Normal features three ground-breaking writers dealing with a range of once taboo subjects to critical and commercial acclaim.

The authors are David Levithan, (Every Day and Another Day); Lisa Williamson, (The Art of Being Normal); and Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year Louise O’Neill, (Only Ever Yours). All three authors will be in conversation, chaired by James Gilmore of Wizard Radio.

Gary Deane, Waterstones Events Manager, said; “We’re thrilled to be offering our customers such a remarkable opportunity to hear three such talented authors speak about their work.  It’s exciting to see the variety of topics that YA fiction is beginning to cover in more depth and we’re pleased to see publishers working together to bring such great events to readers.”

The New Day New Normal tour comes to Brighton on Wednesday, August 19, 7.30pm at Waterstones, Brighton, 71-74 North Street.

 

New Jersey Governor vetoes Transgender Bill for second time

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has vetoed for the second time a bill which would have eased access to accurate birth records for transgender people in the State of New Jersey.

Governor Chris Christie
Governor Chris Christie

Nine States in the US, including the District of Columbia have already taken action to allow transgender people to access accurate birth certificates. Governor Christie’s second veto of the bill is despite overwhelming support in the New Jersey General Assembly for the Birth Certificate Modernisation Bill.

A spokesperson for the US National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), said; “For the second time, Governor Chris Christie has elected to allow his state’s birth certificate laws to deteriorate despite the overwhelming majority of support from the New Jersey legislature to modernize. His veto on this bill keeps in place outdated and burdensome requirements that make it incredibly difficult for transgender people to get birth certificates that match who they are. Birth Certificates play an enormous role in transgender people’s ability to live their life as the person that they are.”

NCTE has pledged along with Garden State Equality, Gender Rights Advocacy Association, ACLU of New Jersey, and other activists to ensure the bill becomes law.

 

PREVIEW: Queer Show and Tell: What does it mean to be queer in 2015?

Cutting edge venue, the Hackney Showroom in London E8 is presenting in September 12 works that span both theatre and film to shine a new light on LGBTQ issues.

Hackney Showroom

The venue wants to provide a platform for writers and performers to test out raw work in development with a few of the plays being rehearsed readings of work in progress. The productions are more than affordable to see with a few of them being completely free of charge.

The programme includes plays of inter-generational stories of sexuality across the decades, experimental works, monologues, and fusions of real and imagined scenarios. There are a variety of films with a focus on drag, transsexuality and politics.

The objective of this short season which runs between September 8-12 is to attempt to overturn what the venue terms as “apathy and to dig out some clarity” in light of the gains made for the LGBTQ community in terms of tolerance, for example marriage equality in the US. Yet, there is still a long way to go in other countries of the world who are introducing new draconian anti-queer laws.

To view the full programme, click here:

 

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