Identification of dyes on ancient Chinese paper samples using the subtracted shifted Raman spectroscopy method

The Stein Collection in the British Library contains the Diamond Sutra, the world's oldest, dated, printed document. The paper of the Diamond Sutra and other documents from the Stein collection is believed to be dyed yellow by a natural extract, called huangbo, from the bark of Phellodendron amurense, which contains three major yellow chromophores: berberine, palmatine, and jatrorrhizine, Conservation of these documents requires definite information on the chemical composition of the dyes but no suitable, completely noninvasive analytical method is known. Here we report resonance Raman studies of a series of prate dyes, of plant materials and extracts, and of dyed ancient and modern paper samples. Resonance Raman spectroscopy is used to enhance the spectra of the dyes over the signals from the paper matrixes in which they are held. The samples an give resonance Raman spectra which are dominated by intense fluorescence, but by using SSRS (subtracted shifted Raman spectroscopy) we have obtained reliable spectra of the pure dyes, native bark from the Phellodendron amurense, modern paper dyed with huangbo extracted from this bark, and ancient paper samples. For both ancient paper samples whose pigment bands were detected, the relative intensities of the bands due to berberine and palmatine suggest that the ancient paper is richer in berberine than its modern counterpart, This is the first nondestructive in situ method for detection of these pigments in manuscripts, and as such has considerable potential benefit for the treatment of irreplaceable documents that are believed to be dyed with huangbo but documents on which conservation work cannot proceed without definite identification of the chemical compounds that they contain.

Work-life Conflict and Social Inequality in Western Europe

Recent debates on time-use suggest that there is an inverse relationship between time poverty and income poverty (Aguiar and Hurst in Q J Econ C(3):969-1006, 2007), with Hammermesh and Lee (Rev Econ Stat 89(2):374-383, 2007) suggesting much time poverty is 'yuppie kvetch' or 'complaining'. Gershuny (Soc Res Int Q Soc Sci 72(2):287-314, 2005) argues that busyness is the 'badge of honour': being busy is now a positive, privileged position and it is high status people who work long hours and feel busy. Is this also true of work-life conflict? This paper explores the relationship between work-life tension and social inequality, as measured by social class, drawing on evidence from the European Social Survey. To what extent is work-life conflict a problem of the (comparatively) rich and privileged professional/managerial classes, and is this true across European countries? The countries selected offer a range of institutional and policy configurations to maximise variation. Using regression modelling of an index of subjective work-life conflict, we find that in all the countries under study, work-life conflict is higher among professionals than non-professionals. Part of this is explained by the fact that professionals work longer hours and experience more work pressure than other social classes, though the effect remains even after accounting for these factors. While levels of work-life conflict vary across the countries studied, country variation in class differences is modest. We consider other explanations of why professionals report higher work-life conflict and the implications of our findings for debates on social inequality.

Social Work Students Learn about Social Work Values from Service Users and Carers

Teaching on social work values is centrally important in social work education as a core aspect of underpinning knowledge in preparing students for practice. This paper describes an innovative project occurring within the first year of the degree in social work, where service users and carers have assisted students with their understanding of social work values. The positive contribution of service users and carers in facilitating students to make links between theory and practice is now well documented. Applying this user perspective to the educational domain of values, however, is relatively uncharted territory given the challenges that have traditionally accompanied the teaching of values. Importantly, this paper describes the ‘value talk’ which occurred when first-year students sought further meaning from service-user and carer groups in their community settings following classroom teaching on values. The paper not only discusses the detailed preparations involved in the project but also the learning which resulted, drawing on the evaluation findings from the students and participating groups. Whilst the findings show that the students' understanding of social work values has been most significantly influenced by the contributions from service users and carers, it is recognized that further research is needed to monitor the longer term impact on social work students' practice after they qualify.

Social work research: the state we’re in

This paper presents an argument in favour of a particular research strategy as the basis for evidence-based practice in social care. It presents some grounds for optimism and reviews the difficulties that need to be overcome if this model of evidence-based practice is to prevail over other, more laissez-faire, versions.

The Right to Work in the ECHR

The European Convention on Human Rights does not explicitly protect the right to work; nevertheless the ECHR case law protects aspects of this right. The paper summarises the content of the right to work and then demonstrates how the case law protects aspects of it. Article 8 can be used to protect the right to seek employment, while Articles 6 and 8 can be used to combat unfair dismissal. Other ECHR Articles prohibit discrimination. The paper concludes with some suggestions as to how to develop this trend in the case law. First, Article 8 should be recognised as protecting the negative aspects of the right to work. Second, the relationship between Article 8 and Article 14 needs clarification. Third, there is scope to develop positive obligations in relation to the right to work.

Developing Social Work Education: Academic Perspectives

During the past decade, a new culture of pedagogic research has emerged in social work in the UK. A succession of child-care tragedies that have led to government and public criticism of social work have highlighted the need for improvements to professional standards and stimulated renewed interest in social work education. Research aimed at developing knowledge of ‘what works’ in the educational process have included studies of student experiences and the perspectives of other stakeholders including service users and practice teachers. However, there has been little systematic investigation of the role of academics in social work education and their perceptions of what needs to be done to improve the quality of provision. This paper aims to address this gap in research by examining the perceptions of academics about their work. The authors utilise an adaptation of the conceptual model developed by Fraser and Bosanquet (2006) as a theoretical framework for analysing the findings and exploring the complex interrelationship between academic perspectives and the variety of concepts, ideas and stakeholder expectations that shape pedagogical practice. The findings should provide important lessons of relevance to educators in the UK and in other countries seeking to develop social work education.

Evidencing reflective practice in social work education: Theoretical uncertainties and practical challenges

Reflective practice has become an increasingly influential idea in social work education and, in the UK context, it has recently been acknowledged as key to ensuring that social workers are better equipped to engage in complex decision making and effective practice. However, there remains a lack of clarity about how this concept is defined and operationalised in teaching and learning and there has been little systematic empirical examination of its utility in facilitating professional development. Drawing on research with undergraduates at Queen's University Belfast, this paper aims to develop understanding of students' experience of reflective practice. The results suggest that agency systems that have become over-reliant on rules and procedures present formidable obstacles to learning both at an individual and at an organisational level. The paper argues that the relationship between how reflective practice is taught and how it is enacted in practice needs to be better understood if such obstacles are to be overcome. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the findings for developing reflective practice in social work education and practice and highlights the challenges that need to be addressed if reflection and critical thinking are to become more firmly embedded within agency systems and practice cultures.

Social work education and political conflict: preparing students to address the needs of victims and survivors of the Troubles in Northern Ireland

This paper reports on the evaluation of a European PEACE III sponsored teaching and learning project that was designed to enable social work students to better understand the needs of victims and survivors of the conflict in Northern Ireland. The paper begins with an introduction to policy, practice and educational contexts before reviewing the literature on social work, conflict and trauma. It also summarises key, innovative pedagogical approaches used in the teaching, including the use of ground rules, teaching teams consisting of lecturer and service user dyads, learning exercises and case studies. The paper then explains the evaluation methodology. This involved two surveys which returned 144 student and 34 practice teacher questionnaires. The findings revealed that
students were generally committed to this form of teaching and engagement with victims and survivors of the conflict, although some students reported that their attitudes towards this subject had were not changed. Some students also discussed how the conflict had affected their lives and the lives of families and friends; it is argued that such biographical details are crucial in developing new pedagogical approaches in this area.
Practice teachers who supervised some of these students on placement reported general levels of satisfaction with preparedness to work with conflict related situations but were less convinced that organisations were so committed. The paper concludes with a discussion of the study limitations and a recommendation for more robust methods of teaching and evaluation in this area of social work education and practice.

Enabling Social Work Students to Deal with the Consequences of Political Conflict: Engaging with Victim/Survivor Service Users and a ‘Pedagogy of Discomfort’

This paper describes the evaluation of an educational project, delivered in a Bachelor in Social Work degree (BSW) program in Northern Ireland. The project aimed to equip social work students to be more culturally competent in this divided society, with a central focus on including victim/survivor service users in social work training. A number of pedagogical approaches are noted, with particular consideration of Boler's ‘pedagogy of discomfort’ as a model that includes the multidimensional nature of the learning process when topics carry a high emotional tariff. The evaluation of the students' experience indicated that: there was strong support among students for the project; the unique contribution of service users was affirmed; and the project appeared to increase students' awareness and capacity to practice in a divided society. The evaluation of the trainers' experience highlighted key processes in the delivery of collaborative training. The authors argue that the lessons learned are broadly applicable to other forms of service user and carer involvement in social work training and in other societies in which health and social care professionals have to deal with the legacies of political conflict.

Developing a social work curriculum on political conflict – Findings from an IASSW funded project

This paper presents the findings from an innovative project funded by the
International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) and undertaken by
an international team of academics investigating the development of a global
curriculum for social work in the context of political conflict. Coupled alongside
the emerging research and literature on the subject, our small-scale survey
findings indicate support for the need for social work educators to address
political conflict more systematically within social work curricula at both
undergraduate and post-qualifying levels of social work education. The paper
illuminates the opportunities for creative pedagogy whilst also examining the
threats and challenges permeating the realisation of such initiatives. In this way,
the implementation of a proposed curriculum for political conflict is given meaning within the context of IASSW’s Global Standards for social work education. Given the exploratory nature of this project, the authors do conclude that further research is warranted in regard to potential curriculum development and suggest using a comparative case study approach with more in-depth qualitative methods as a way to address this.

‘Reforming Social Work Education: Some Reflections on the Contribution of Practice Learning’

Social work in the UK is currently undergoing a process of major reform and a wide range of recommendations have been made aimed at improving practice and education. This paper focuses on the Social Work Reform Board's proposals for improving practice learning in qualifying level social work education. It examines how recommendations for better partnership working between Higher Education Institutions and employers and developing critical reflection in agencies are likely to impact on student learning. Drawing on experience of social work education in Northern Ireland it considers the potential of the Reform Board's proposals for improving the quality of practice learning and enhancing students' preparedness for employment. The paper concludes that differences in educational aims and priorities, resistant practice cultures and cut-backs in resourcing could present major obstacles that must be overcome if this potential is to be realised.

Swarm scheduling approaches for work-flow applications with security constraints in distributed data-intensive computing environments

The scheduling problem in distributed data-intensive computing environments has become an active research topic due to the tremendous growth in grid and cloud computing environments. As an innovative distributed intelligent paradigm, swarm intelligence provides a novel approach to solving these potentially intractable problems. In this paper, we formulate the scheduling problem for work-flow applications with security constraints in distributed data-intensive computing environments and present a novel security constraint model. Several meta-heuristic adaptations to the particle swarm optimization algorithm are introduced to deal with the formulation of efficient schedules. A variable neighborhood particle swarm optimization algorithm is compared with a multi-start particle swarm optimization and multi-start genetic algorithm. Experimental results illustrate that population based meta-heuristics approaches usually provide a good balance between global exploration and local exploitation and their feasibility and effectiveness for scheduling work-flow applications. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Does intergenerational contact reduce Ageism: When and How Contact Interventions Actually Work?

Although the past two decades have seen concrete attempts to reduce ethnic and racial prejudice, relatively little has been done to diminish age related prejudice. In this paper, we review intergenerational contact interventions have been applied in a real world setting, the results are mixed. While contact interventions are not a panacea, they do constitute a main plank in efforts to redress ageism. We, therefore, examine the types of interventions that are effective, the processes underlying their enhanced impact, and clarifying when and how intergenerational contact can predict more positive attitudes towards the elderly. Finally, we highlight ways in which findings might be applied to the development of more effective interventions aimed at combating a pervasive stereotype of aging, drawing out lessons for theory and implications for practice.