Stirling Literary Society Discuss the Canongate Classics
Critical Debates with Young People
Graduates to Curb Growing Waiting Lists
Stop the 21st Century Killing You
Stirling Literary Society Discuss the Canongate Classics
Date released: Tuesday 11 January 2005
Roderick Watson, poet and Professor of English at the University of Stirling, will give a talk on the Canongate Classics Series on Monday 17 January at the Smith Art Gallery & Museum. The event, organised by Stirling Literary Society, will commence at 7.30pm.
Professor Watson has been general editor of the Canongate Classics since they began in 1987. The series, which has re-published 116 Scottish literary classics to date, aims to represent authors and books that have been neglected while also re-introducing internationally renowned favourites.
In his talk, Professor Watson will offer lively insights into the publishing scene in Scotland, the authors who have and have not been published, and the ones that got away. He will also discuss the Canongate series’ history, its difficulties, accomplishments and future plans, not to mention the sometimes controversial definition of a ‘classic’.
The talk is open to the public and tickets cost £3 (£2 for members), payment at the door.
Lesley Pollock
Media Relations Manager
(01786) 467058
Critical Debates with Young People
Date released: Tuesday 11 January 2005
Are socially excluded young people becoming an ‘underclass’ expecting everything but doing nothing to help themselves? Or are adults the problem, ignoring and exacerbating the real issues facing young people today?
A new book edited by Dr Monica Barry of the University of Stirling’s Social Work Research Centre critically examines discriminatory attitudes towards young people. Rather than focusing on the problems that young people present to others in society, Youth Policy and Social Inclusion: Critical Debates with Young People published by Routledge emphasises the problems that young people face from others.
Dr Barry said: “Many young people lack status, rights and power because they fall between the two stools of protection and dependence as children and autonomy and self-determination as adults. They are also often considered by their elders to be rebellious and troublesome, and labelled with phrases such as ‘dangerous youth’.”
Youth Policy and Social Inclusion asks searching questions about society’s capacity and willingness to be more socially inclusive of young people in terms of policy and practice, and explore the extent to which young people have access to status, rights and responsibilities as young adults. Themes covered include citizenship, drug use, education, homelessness, rights, teenage pregnancy, unemployment, youth offending and youth transitions. The book is unique in that young people have also contributed their views on the issues and on the chapters in this book. In postscripts to each chapter, young contributors describe their direct experiences and draw out the key issues from the academic contributions, suggesting ways forward for a more inclusive society in the future.
The book will appeal to a wide audience including practitioners, policy makers, students and academics in the fields of social policy, social work, sociology, youth and community work, criminology, economics, education, housing and politics.
Lesley Pollock
Media Relations Manager
(01786) 467058
Graduates to Curb Growing Waiting Lists
Date released: Monday 17 January 2005
In conjunction with NHS Education for Scotland (NES), NHS psychologists and NHS Scotland, the Universities of Stirling and Dundee have developed a new training programme aimed at cutting growing waiting lists for psychological services in Scotland.
The 12-month MSc in Psychological Therapy in Primary Care will equip trainees with the competence to assess and treat adult patients who are suffering from a range of common mental health disorders. The programme will have a strong emphasis on developing the competence to deliver evidence-based psychological treatments as part of the tiered model of Mental Health Care provision.
The course will be jointly delivered by the University of Dundee and the University of Stirling with NHS Psychological Services providing on-site clinical training for the trainees.
Project Manager Dr Will Goodall said: “In 2003 honours graduates in Psychology formed 14% of the total psychology workforce in Scotland as Assistant Psychologists. They receive varied experience and support across services and have no formal post-graduate training. This course will provide the graduates with the training they need to assist a service which faces growing demands from Primary Care Teams and their patients.”
All twenty-six-student places on the course, which was launched 10th January 2005, have been filled with placements distributed across Primary Care psychological services in Scotland.
Dr Ann Smyth, Director of Training for Psychology Services at NHS Education for Scotland added: “Graduate psychologists represent a large and virtually untapped pool of potential workforce for NHS Scotland. The obstacle to date has been access to training. There is ample evidence of the effectiveness of psychological interventions and demand for psychology services is growing. There is a real challenge in ensuring that the right number of staff with the right level of training are available in the right place at the right time to meet those needs.
“This course is valuable in offering a means of training psychology graduates to apply their knowledge and skills in a way which will allow them to make an effective contribution to the delivery of psychological interventions within primary care teams.”
Lesley Pollock
Media Relations Manager
(01786) 467058
For further information contact Dr William Goodall wg1@stir.ac.uk on +44 (0)1786 466839 or +447966802229
or Jennifer Petrie j.b.petrie@dundee.ac.uk on +44 (0)1382 632410
Stop the 21st Century Killing You
Date released: Thursday 20 January 2005
Visiting fellow in Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Stirling, Dr Paula Baillie-Hamilton will launch a new book today (Thursday) highlighting the link between toxic chemicals and ill-health. Stop the 21st Century Killing You, published by Vermilion, is aimed at alerting people to the invisible dangers they face from their food and lifestyle.
Dr Baillie-Hamilton said: “Our highly evolved natural body systems are being poisoned by the ever-increasing levels of toxic chemicals that we now encounter in our everyday lives. These chemicals are widely present as food pollutants, as toxic metals such as mercury in dental fillings and lead dust from houses painted with old paint. Dangers also lurk in everyday places such as plastic food storage containers and hair dye. Whilst we cannot avoid them all, knowledge of their presence and health-damaging abilities can help us prioritise our avoidance and removal of the most harmful ones.”
Research by Dr Baillie-Hamilton shows how these toxic substances appear to underlie most of the common 21st century disease epidemics such as cancer, autism, diabetes, asthma, heart disease and depression.
Dr Baillie-Hamilton said: “The number of once uncommon diseases now prevalent in 21st century life is staggering. Many of us are risking our health and failing to control problems such as obesity, whilst the number of childhood disorders is on the rise. Our ever increasing exposure toxins appears to be a leading factor behind many of the common diseases we face today.”
Stop the 21st Century Killing You offers practical advice on how to avoid bringing toxins into the home – including natural alternatives to items such as washing powders and household poisons. In addition to cleaning up your home, garden and office, Dr Baillie-Hamilton cites re-evaluating your diet and attempting to reduce toxicity as the single most important step in improving your chances of good health and longevity. The book contains a simple seven-day detox plan to fortify the body’s natural detoxification systems. Diet advice is coupled with recommendations for exercise, vitamin and mineral supplements, essential oils, homeopathy and massage to compliment the changes being made. There are also recommendations on how to boost your immune system and raise your energy levels and tackle issues of specific illnesses and conditions.
Lesley Pollock
Media Relations Manager
(01786) 467058
For further information: Dr Paula Baillie-Hamilton +44 (0) 1877 331445