Edinburgh Napier University

Author: julietkinsey (Page 8 of 15)

Pi Anyone? International Pi Day

Pi Anyone? International Pi Day

The 14th of March is International Day of Mathematics and International Pi Day.

What is International Mathematics Day?

On the 26th of November 2019 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation) decided March the 14th should be declared the International Day of Mathematics.

The main purpose of the day was to celebrate and highlight the importance of Mathematics. Making people aware mathematics is everywhere and used in everyday life, as well as in specialist industries.

Prior to the birth of International Mathematics Day, the 14th of March was International Pi Day. Continue reading

Neurodiversity Celebration Week

Neurodiversity Celebration Week

Neurodiversity Celebration Week is on the 13th – 19th of March this year and is a wonderful chance to embrace and learn about neurodiversity.

The term Neurodiversity encompasses a wide variety of neurological differences. The brain can be wired in a multitude of ways. This leads to many variable and complex possibilities for processing and understanding information. Although the use of labels is not always important, many in the community use the term “neurodiverse” to refer to people who may identify as having Dyslexia, DCD (Dyspraxia), Dyscalculia, Autism and ADHD.

Although often the focus is on the challenges associated with being Neurodiverse, there are also many strengths. Therefore, Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a chance for us to focus on the fantastic talents and special gifts that Neurodiversity can also give individuals.

Did you know people with ADHD are often highly creative and great at thinking outside the box? Autistic individuals can be incredible at spotting patterns and details often missed. Oh and we can be funny. Check out comedian Hannah Gatsby and her incredible standup. Not to mention fantastic actors, The renowned Anthony Hopkins is Autistic. Oh and don’t forget the incredible Chris Packham who not only has a brilliant career working with animals but does amazing work helping others in the community. This week join us outside of the box and learn about how great being neurodiverse can be!

Continue reading

Celebrating International Women’s Day

 Celebrating International Women’s Day

Inspiring women of Scotland

Celebrating International Women’s Day in Scotland,  we thought it might be nice to pay homage to some incredible Scottish women both alive and sadly gone. We can only fit in a few here so if you are interested in learning more, why not look up some more information at librarysearch.napier.ac.uk

Christina Miller

Photo of Christina Miller

Source: Heriot Watt University

One little know Scottish woman whose story deserves to be better remembered is Christina Miller. Despite being born female and hearing impaired in 1899, and later losing her sight in one eye, she battled against the norms of the time to become a respected analytical chemist. In addition, she was an inspirational teacher and mentor to generations of students.

Miller was awarded the Keith Prize by the Royal Society of Edinburgh for her scientific paper on phosphorus trioxide. She became one of the first 5 women to be elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. There is even a building at the University of Edinburgh named after her.

Photo of Mukami McCrum

Source: British Library

Mukami McCrum

An all-round amazing person, Mukami McCrum has lived in Scotland most of her life. Mukami fights for women’s rights, in particular BAME and LGBT women who need support from domestic abuse. Furthermore, she is one of the founders of Shakti Women’s Aid and campaigns to end Female Genital Mutilation.

She was the chief executive of Central Scotland Racial Equality Council and has brought her deep commitment to race and gender justice to many organisations, including Akina Mama wa Afrika, World Council of Churches, and Responding to Conflict Trust. She has an MBE for her community and human rights work.

Continue reading

Pets of the Library Part 2

Pets of the Library Part 2

After the last few years of remote working and with staff working more from home now, meeting their feline companions during online meetings has been so much fun. Little furry faces and tails have often popped up mid-way through a very important discussion. Many of our staff have loved being able to spend more time with their creatures of choice; I know I love having a friendly work buddy to hang out with at home during the workday.

So to celebrate this year’s International Love your pet day we think it would be nice to introduce you all to some of our furry friends.

Continue reading

RSPB Garden Birdwatch

RSPB Garden Birdwatch

This year we’re promoting the RSPB Garden Birdwatch in our relaxation spaces. The birdwatch has been running since 1979 and it’s very simple to take part in. All you need to do is count the maximum number of each type of bird you see in an hour either in your garden, from a balcony or in a park. Your results can be entered online. This year the birdwatch runs from 27-29 January. It’s a good way to take a break from your studies and you are contributing to a valuable citizen science project. The results are published later in the year and are useful for conservation projects and make interesting reading about the state of our garden birds.

“I think the most important quality in a birdwatcher is a willingness to stand quietly and see what comes. Our everyday lives obscure a truth about existence – that at the heart of everything there lies a stillness and a light.” – Lynn Thomson, Birding with Yeats: A Mother’s Memoir.

All the information you need can be found at Big Garden Birdwatch or scan the QR code on the posters in the relaxation spaces.

You can use Library Search to find books and articles on birds, conservation and citizen science which are in our collection.

By Vivienne Hamilton

Image by Marko from Pixabay

read more about the power of nature in our article  on “thriving in nature”

Scottish Traditions: Burn’s Night

Scottish Traditions: Burn’s Night

Burns Night is a traditional celebration of Scotland’s national bard, or poet, Robert Burns. It is held on 25th January, Burns’s birthday, when Burns suppers are held. They consist of a meal, poetry recitals and songs. The first supper was held at Burns Cottage by his friends on 21st July 1801, the fifth anniversary of his death.

If you think that you don’t know any of Burns’s work, ask yourself if you have ever sung Auld Lang Syne on Hogmanay/New Year’s Eve or used the lines “My love is like a red, red rose” on a Valentine card. If you have then you are familiar with some of his best-known work. Burns wrote his first poem aged 15 and in his short life wrote a vast number of songs and poems that can be accessed here. He wrote in a light Scots dialect which was easier for those outside Scotland to understand and often wrote about very humble subjects, for example, his poem “To a Mouse” is inspired by the field mice Burns saw while ploughing on his farm.

The Life of Robert Burns

Burns was born on 25th January 1759 in Alloway south of Ayr, the son of poor tenant farmers. He received little regular schooling, but his father taught him to read and write along with arithmetic, history and geography. He was also taught Latin, French and maths by John Murdoch.

For much of his life Burns, like his father, was a tenant farmer, all the while writing poetry and songs. But he struggled to make a living from farming and when he was offered a position on a plantation in Jamaica, he decided to emigrate. He could not afford the passage and a friend suggested he try to publish some of his work to raise the funds. In 1786 Poems in the Scottish Dialect was published and became an immediate success. Later that year Burns left for Edinburgh to publish a second edition which again was successful and earned him a substantial sum of money. He was well received in Edinburgh, often a guest of aristocracy, and made many friends, some becoming sponsors.

In 1787 Burns returned to southwest Scotland taking a lease on a farm in Dumfriesshire, but he also trained as an exciseman in case the farm was unsuccessful. He gave up farming in 1791 and moved to Dumfries where he made contributions to several volumes of songs, sometimes adding his own lyrics to traditional folk melodies and composing his own melodies from fragments of tunes. He continued to write poetry too, some advocating reform such as “The Slaves Lament”.

He continued to work as an exciseman, often making long journeys on horseback in all weathers and this may have contributed to his ill-health at a rather young age for the time. On 21st July 1796 Burns died aged just 37.  His body lies in the Burns Mausoleum is St. Michael’s Kirkyard, Dumfries along with that of his wife at the time, Jean Armour.

Burns is renowned for having had many romantic relationships which resulted in several children being born, although not all survived infancy. Today over 900 people worldwide claim to be descendants of Burns.

Host your own Burns Night

Due to covid-19 restrictions, many Burn’s suppers will be cancelled this year, but you could host your own with your household.

Need some inspiration to host your own Burns Supper? Why not try out some Burns Night recipes here. Penguin books have a guide on how to run your night and for inspiration, you can listen to or read some of Burns’s work through our Library.

By Vivienne Hamilton

Learn about other World traditions on our blog by reading:

New Year Traditions from Around the World

Spanish Christmas Traditions

Come visit our Library and see…

Come visit the libraries and see…

 

What delights lie behind the cover of an unopened book?

What adventures could you embark upon, and what new things you will learn, by simply turning the pages one by one?

Who’ll be hiding there amongst the pages, friend or foe you’ve never seen or met before, or someone that seems a little familiar to you, someone you know?

What places will your imagination create and visit? what other delights

and challenges will you overcome and experience?

OR will you just delve into something academic?

To learn and expand your understanding & knowledge of your subject area?

But this can be done in so many ways, by firing your imagination and taking the plunge outside of your comfort zone.

Working together in a group study area or having a quiet conversation, exchanging ideas whilst searching the web to cross-reference.

Will you delve into something new, or just dip in your toe?

There’s so much to choose from, drama, thriller, horror, fantasy or an autobiography and maybe even a little poetry, to mention a few.

Then there’s all the academic books and journals, shelf help and DVDs too. The list is pretty much endless I believe.

Will you find an interesting new genre to read, a new favourite writer, who knows?

Will you carry your books in your bag remembering to self-issue them?

Or choose to read them online instead?

Will you use the library catalogue with exact search terms to narrow and focus your search?

Or maybe not to broaden the results to see what else comes up or falls into that category of yours?

Will you ask for help if you’re unsure of what to do, to find what you’re looking for?

We promise we’ll do our best to assist.

Will you chop and change your study environment, find what suits you best, or choose to work from home?

I’ll leave that decision up to you.

But do come to visit the library and see what you could read to broaden your mind and how the environment has changed and is different from a long, long time ago.

Links

https://my.napier.ac.uk/library

Read more on our blog:

Such as how to use LibrarySearch, our online Catalog in our article: A Quick Guide to finding a book with LibrarySearch or how to find a book on the shelf in our article: The Dewey Decimal Classification System

Places to Visit in Lesser Known Edinburgh

Places to Visit in Lesser Known Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyrood and Greyfriar’s Bobby statue are some of the most popular attractions for visitors to Edinburgh.  However, there are lots of other attractions which are less well-known but just as interesting and pleasant to visit. Here are a few of them:

Museum of Childhood

This can be found on the Royal Mile but is often overlooked by guidebooks. A treasure trove of old children’s toys, games, clothes and playthings.

The People’s Story

Housed in the Canongate Tolbooth at the bottom of the Royal Mile it houses collections which tell the stories of the working-class people of Edinburgh from the late 18th century to the present day using oral history, reminiscence and written sources.

The Pentland Hills Regional Park

Just south of Edinburgh these hills are the highest points around the city and are often covered in snow in the winter. There are many walks over the hills with an abundance of wildlife. There is also a dry ski slope should you want to try out a new pastime. Easily accessible on public transport.

Dean Village

Situated five minutes away from Princes Street, visitors can find the Dean Village, a beautiful oasis right by the Water of Leith. In the past the village housed mills of various kinds, and the remnants of the industry can still be seen today. Look out for mill stones and carved stone plaques with baked bread and pies. Follow the walkway along the Water of Leith and you will come to the impressive Dean Bridge designed by Thomas Telford, and the classical temple of St Bernard’s Well.

Places to visit in Edinburgh Dean Village

Surgeon’s Hall Museums

Just a short walk from the Royal Mile, the Surgeon’s Hall Museums are a unique collection. Full of surgical tools, fascinating paintings and more than a few body parts in jars. Learn about the evolution of surgery throughout the ages and find how great Scottish minds brought us some of the medical breakthroughs we take for granted today. The present Surgeon’s Hall was designed by William Henry Playfair and completed in 1832. It is a category A listed building.

Gardens Dr. Neil’s Garden

This is located beside Duddingston Kirk on the lower slopes of Arthur’s Seat. Created from a wilderness by Drs Nancy and Andrew Neil. Two features of particular interest are the physic garden, which grows medicinal plants, and Thomson’s Tower. It was constructed in 1825 and was originally built for the Duddingston Curling Society. This was back when frozen lochs were the grounds for curling and other winter sports.

Kyoto Friendship Garden

This Japanese garden can be found in the grounds of Lauriston Castle in the Edinburgh suburb of Cramond. With bamboo shelters to picnic in, breath-taking views over Cramond Island to the Firth of Forth, avenues of blossom trees and calming water features. It’s no surprise that it is rated one of the top three Japanese gardens in Britain. The garden was created to celebrate the twinning of the towns of Edinburgh and the prefecture of Kyoto in Japan. It was opened in 2002. Its official name is ‘Castle Garden to Water and Beyond’. Continue reading

Black History Month

Black History Month

October marks Black History Month in the United Kingdom.

Known as the ‘Father of Black History, Carter Godwin Woodson brought forward the celebration of Black History in 1926 in the United States. Initially, it was the second week of February, as Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass celebrated their birthdays. But in February 1969, at Kent State University, it was proposed that it should be a whole month and the first Black History Month was celebrated at Kent State a year later.  President Gerald Ford became the first President to recognise Black History Month in 1976.

Black History Month in the United Kingdom

Black History Month was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in October 1987. That year marked the 150th anniversary of Caribbean emancipation, the centenary birth of Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey and the 25th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity. October also coincides with the start of the Academic year. It was seen as an opportunity to bring in mainstream education. As organiser Akyaaba Abdai-Sebo recalled

I was stirred up in the mid-1980s by the identity crisis that Black children faced. A crisis of identity faced us squarely despite the Race Awareness campaigns of the Greater London Council and the Inner London Education Authority. More had to be done and so I conceived an annual celebration of the contributions of Africa, Africans, and people of African descent to world civilisationSource Link

At first, there was a focus on Black American History, but the emphasis shifted to ‘recognise the contributions and achievements of those with African or Caribbean heritage in the UK (BBC)

Decolonising our Collections

Here at the Library, all our Librarians are working hard to decolonise and improve the diversity of our Library collections. We realise the importance and significance of the work we need to do here at the Library. Not just when celebrating Black History Month but all year round to make our Library inclusive to all.

You can see some newly added books on our BIPOC virtual bookshelf.

More Information

Remember to check out our library/book displays at each campus site.

You can find out more including details on all the events that are taking place across the country at:

https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/

Also, check out our Library catalogue for more information on Black history and to see new titles we have added.

By Maya Green

World Heart Day 2022: Defibrillators

World Heart Day 2022: Defibrillators

Awareness of the importance of defibrillators has become much more prevalent in our society. So much so that they have been placed around the country in useful places. The university has Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) available on all our campuses.

Why have AEDs?

Portable AEDs are lightweight devices that are relatively easy to operate and are intended for use in emergency situations. They can be used when a casualty has a serious cardiac rhythm disturbance causing unconsciousness, such as a heart attack. AEDs are not effective for all cardiac emergencies, but they are of benefit in a small proportion of acute emergencies.

An AED acts to correct abnormal heart rhythms by applying an electric shock to the chest. It detects the electrical activity of the heart and gives automated instructions to the operator on what to do. The automatic diagnostic sequence ensures that they will only operate under appropriate circumstances thus preventing their incorrect use. The quicker lifesaving first aid and a defibrillator are used on a casualty, the better the outlook for survival. The Resuscitation Council (UK) guidelines strongly promote the availability of AEDs and the fact they can be operated by any person is widely publicised.

Is an AED difficult to use?

The type of AED installed by the University has been chosen as a type that is suitable for any person to use. It will not apply an electric shock to a casualty unless it is appropriate. At every stage the equipment talks to the user, instructing them on what to do. Whilst many First Aiders have also received additional training in the use of AEDs, training is not a pre-requisite for use.

Do you know where they are situated?

AEDs are provided by the University at the following points:

  • Merchiston Campus: adjacent to disabled toilets – bottom of stairs
  • Sighthill Campus: left of reception outside lift
  • Craiglockhart Campus: left of the reception desk

In addition to the above locations, AEDs are also located in several other areas throughout the University.

  • [EN]GAGE, Sports Centre, Sighthill Campus – located behind the reception desk
  • School of Applied Sciences, Sighthill Campus – outside room 3.C.13
  • School of Applied Sciences, Sports Centre, Sighthill Campus – 0.F.07
Next steps

Should an emergency occur and you are using the AED, ask someone else to contact (0131) 455 4444 (Security Control available 24/7) giving precise details of the location – building, floor and room number and they will call for an ambulance. If you are alone with the casualty, you will need to do this yourself.

If you wish to familiarize yourself with some common first aid techniques, there are books available in the library for you to read:

First aid manual: the authorised manual of St John Ambulance, St Andrew’s First Aid and the British Red Cross.

Practical First Aid

New First Aid in English

Written By Vivienne Hamilton

Learn more about our Campuses below:

Merchiston

Craiglockhart

Sighthill

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