Thursday 24 September 2009

Latest from CEBM




The Centre for Evidence Based Medicine now have their own education channel on You Tube. You can find teaching clips from one of their workshop courses, for example:

“Evidence-Based Medicine in Practice - Appraisal of Clinical Trials #1”

www.youtube.com/user/cebmed

The full versions of the lectures are available on their website http://www.cebm.net/

Health Services Research Programme Seminars

Posted by Andy
Photo by by Seattle Municipal Archives

6th October

Patient and public involvement in health research design: A review of the evidence.

Dr Jonathan Boote, Research Fellow, Research Design Service for Yorkshire and Humber, ScHARR, University of Sheffield

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13th October

Talking to machines: Speech technology in rehabilitation, health and social care.

Professor Mark Hawley, Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Research Group, Health Services Research, ScHARR, University of Sheffield.

20th October

The relationship between Research Design Services and Clinical Trials Units with examples from our own experience.

Professor Elaine McColl, Director of Newcastle CTU, University of Newcastle.

27th October

Half Term – No Seminar.

3rd November

Recruitment projections and Lasagna's Law: Literature review and qualitative research.

Daniel Hind, Research Fellow, Clinical Trials, Research Unit, HSR, ScHARR, University of Sheffield.

10th November

Rethinking informed consent: Why do patients enter clinical trials?

Dr Clare Relton, Honorary Research Fellow, Public Health, ScHARR, University of Sheffield.

17th November

Watching them grow and knowing you have done that: A qualitative study of well- being and allotment gardening.

Professor Nigel King, University of Huddersfield

24th November

Pilot studies and feasibility studies: Their definitions and uses in practice and policy.

Dr Cindy Cooper, Senior Research Fellow, Clinical Trials Unit, HSR, ScHARR, University of Sheffield.

1st December

Improving care for older people who fall: A programme of research in emergency care.

Professor Helen Snooks, Professor of Health Services Research, Centre for Health Information Research and Evaluation, Institute of Life Science, School of Medicine, Swansea University.


All the seminars will be held on Tuesday lunchtimes, in the Lecture Rooms 1&2 on the First Floor of ScHARR at Regent Court (Regent Street entrance) at 12.30pm. Coffee will be provided and you are welcome to bring your own sandwiches. All staff and students welcome


Seminars organised by Annette Haywood, ScHARR

( For further information please contact Joanne Turner on 0114 222 0751 or e-mail j.e.turner@sheffield.ac.uk


Wednesday 23 September 2009

Health Care Overhaul (Summarized Via Massive Pig)



Posted by Andy

Here's an interesting take on The U.S health care reforms.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Picture and posted by Andy


A million thanks to everyone who sponsored me, my wife, little girl and Thatcher the dog for the Alzheimer's Society Memory Walk on the Monsal Trail .
Thanks to your overwhelming generosity we were able to raise over £300 and with gift aid, it's £375!


The Justgiving page is still live, so if you would still like to give to a great charity and support those working to support an illness that will affect a lot of us directly and indirectly, you can do so by going to http://www.justgiving.com/andrewtattersall/


Luckily for us it was lovely weather and we managed to undertake the six mile walk - three there and three back in about two hours, walking at a toddler's pace. Despite still not being two years old, Isobel managed to walk the majority of the three miles, and probably walked even further due to her keep going back to pick sticks up. We employed the buggy for the return journey.


We set off at the back of the walk and within ten minutes had been left behind as various scooters, walkers and pets disappeared down the track, thanks to the three Ladies who kept holding back to check we were OK. About 70 people attended the walk on the lovely Monsal Trail from the Hassop Book Shop for a brilliant cause.



Thursday 17 September 2009

NEW: Research Funding Update Projects and Programmes


Photo by orangeacid
Post by Anna


Latest edition of Research Funding Update: Projects and Programmes

For more information about the funding service please visit our Research Funding page or contact me on 0114 2220894 or by email a.j.cantrell@sheffield.ac.uk

Monday 7 September 2009

Learn how to use uSpace



For members of staff and students at ScHARR, we are running a few short one hour sessions on how to get started with The University's new collaborative, document creating, blogging tool; uSpace. The question you want to ask yourself is:
Do you want to work in new ways?

Do you want better collaboration with your colleagues?
Do you want to teach using discussion forums, blogs, videos and images?
Do you want to work on shared documents, complete with hyperlinks?

The dates of these sessions are:
15th September 3-4
18th September 10-11
25th September 10-11
25th September 2-3
28th September 10-11

Each session is limited to six participants – first come first served.
You can book on one of the courses here

more about uSpace

uSpace is the University’s own social web service. It offers a collection of social web tools for communication and collaboration amongst students and staff. uSpace is available through MUSE and hosted at the University so there are no difficult security or intellectual property issues.

Students are casually using a variety of social web services to interact with each other. Staff have also been quick to use different social web services to engage students and collaborate in research. CiCS has implemented uSpace to bring the two communities

together with a common set of social web tools, available from a single University environment.

uSpace is similar to students’ social environment so it seems familiar and allows them to

capitalise on their existing skills. However, as it is clearly a University service, separate from their social environment, students can begin to develop more sophisticated social web skills, evaluating and citing information in accordance with academic practice.

Staff can also experiment with a range of secure social web tools based at the University. Staff can use these tools to collaborate, develop ideas, and jointly author papers free from the difficult questions of intellectual property often associated with external services.

Taken from the latest issue of myCICSnews

Welcome to ScHARR Library



Posted by Andy

I made this short introductary video of our library using the free video creating software xtranormal. I stumbled on xtranormal after my colleague Mark Morley in CICS created a short video on flat structures versus folder hierarchies using it.

Don't be put off trying it, Xtranormal is very easy to use. You simply drag the action and camera icons onto the script you've written to change camera angle, place pauses, change expressions of your chosen character, or make the character move. You can have either one or two actors in your scene, hopefully other characters and actions will be added later.

The rendering can take a little while, and you need to register to save and publish your final video. That done and you’re supplied with a URL and embed code. Also, put in your YouTube account details to enable a one click upload to YouTube. It is a great piece of software if you want to make short, snappy films to advertise a course, explain a service or just tell a joke.

Friday 4 September 2009

NEW: Research Funding Update: Fellowships and Studentships


Photo by Shane Rounce
Post by Anna

Latest edition of Research Funding Update: Fellowships and Studentships

For more information about the funding service please visit our Research Funding page or contact me on 0114 2220894 or by email a.j.cantrell@sheffield.ac.uk

Thursday 3 September 2009

Alzhiemer's Society - Memory Walk



Photo and Posted by Andy

Many of you know that I bring my dog Thatcher (yes her real name) into work each year to raise money for The Blue Cross Pet Charity. This year, I can't bring her in due to work commitments on the 16th, so instead will be taking her, and my wife Suzanne and two-year-old Isobel on The Alzheimer's Society's Memory Walk in aid of those caring for people with dementia. I'm also aware you can only ask for money once a year, unless you are Bob f'ing Geldof.

We will undertake one of the many Memory Walks taking place this month organised by The Alzheimer's Society - and will be doing the organised three mile walk from Hassop Station along the Monsal Trail. To be honest, it is not much of an ordeal is it? but I will ensure that my little girl walks the three miles there and back, or I will carry her - I promise not to use a buggy. If I think of any other ways to make it harder for myself I will - suggestions on a postcard please.

I know we are on hard times, but this is a truly great cause, that may affect some of us directly or indirectly as we get into the later years of our lives. Please give what you can spare :-)

http://www.justgiving.com/andrewtattersall/

As for why I am doing this.

My own father fell to this horrible disease in February 2008 and I cannot express what an awful and devastating illness it is for the sufferer and loved ones around them. Luckily my father receives excellent specialist care 24 hours a day, but many people are not so lucky. I want raise something in gratitude to those who look after my father and those who need care - the statistics speak for themselves.

According to The Alzheimer's Society

* There are currently 700,000 people with dementia in the UK.
* There are currently 15,000 younger people with dementia in the UK.
* There are over 11,500 people with dementia from black and minority ethnic groups in the UK.
* There will be over a million people with dementia by 2025.
* Two thirds of people with dementia are women.
* The proportion of people with dementia doubles for every 5 year age group.
* One third of people over 95 have dementia.
* 60,000 deaths a year are directly attributable to dementia.
* Delaying the onset of dementia by 5 years would reduce deaths directly attributable to dementia by 30,000 a year.
* The financial cost of dementia to the UK is over £17 billion a year.
* Family carers of people with dementia save the UK over £6 billion a year.
* 64% of people living in care homes have a form of dementia.
* Two thirds of people with dementia live in the community while one third live in a care home.

Tuesday 1 September 2009

September edition of Take Five


Photo by lant_70
Post by Anna
September edition of Take Five

The latest edition of Take Five is packed full of new websites, research funding opportunities,training courses and current awareness.

To join the Take Five distribution list please contact me, Anna Cantrell by email a.j.cantrell@sheffield.ac.uk or phone 0114 2220894