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picture of carved pumpkins for post A History of Halloween

A History of Halloween

31/10/2024 / / 0 Comments

A History of Halloween

Are you sitting comfortably? If so, let me begin with a fascinating history of Halloween.

People trace the origins of Halloween back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated around 2,000 years ago. This festival marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. During this time, the Celts believed that the boundary between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. To ward off ghosts and malevolent spirits thought to roam the earth, they lit bonfires and wore costumes. Moreover, the festival provided an opportunity to honour ancestors and seek their guidance for the coming year.

As Christianity spread, followers gradually incorporated Samhain into their traditions. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1st as All Saints’ Day, a day to honour saints and martyrs. This day was soon followed by All Souls’ Day on November 2, dedicated to praying for the souls of the deceased. Consequently, the Christian influence on Halloween led to the practice of trick-or-treating, which originated from the medieval practice of “souling.” In this practice, poor people went door-to-door on All Souls’ Day, offering prayers for the dead in exchange for food.

Despite the Christian influence, many people continued to practise the pagan traditions and beliefs associated with Samhain, especially in Ireland and Scotland. Notably, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought Halloween to the United States in the 19th century. Today, many countries around the world celebrate Halloween, embracing various customs and traditions that reflect its diverse origins. Ultimately, the holiday has become a time for dressing up in costumes, carving pumpkins, and indulging in sweet treats.

Halloween Traditions

The Halloween holiday, as people celebrate it in the West today, features unique traditions that have developed over time. Celebrations often include bobbing for apples, trick-or-treating, making Jack-o’-Lanterns, wearing spooky costumes, and telling scary stories.

While some of these traditions originate from ancient practices, others have adapted and evolved over time. For example, people trace the tradition of bobbing for apples back to a Roman festival honouring Pomona, the goddess of agriculture and abundance. Similarly, the practice of carving pumpkins into Jack-o’-Lanterns evolved from the original custom of carving turnips and other root vegetables. Personally, I would advise against trying to carve a turnip, as it proves nearly impossible and takes forever!

Halloween Celebrations Around the World

Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday that takes place on November 1st and 2nd. This vibrant festival allows families to remember and celebrate their loved ones who have passed away. Many believe that on these days, the souls of the departed return to the world of the living to be with their families. The holiday features colourful parades, elaborate costumes, and offerings of food and drink for the deceased. While people often compare Dia de los Muertos to Halloween, it undeniably holds its own unique traditions and cultural significance.

Guy Fawkes Night

Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night or Fireworks Night, is a British holiday that takes place on November 5th. You can read all about it in our article here. This holiday commemorates the failed attempt by Guy Fawkes and his associates to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. People celebrate with bonfires, fireworks displays, and the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes. While it is not directly related to Halloween, this holiday shares some similarities in its focus on fire and celebration.

World Festivals

Additionally, many countries around the world host Halloween-like festivals. Each of these festivals features unique traditions and cultural significance. In Romania, for example, people celebrate the Day of Dracula instead of Halloween. This event includes costume parties and reenactments of scenes from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In Hong Kong, the Hungry Ghost Festival takes place in August and September, where families offer food and drink to appease the spirits of the dead. While these festivals may share some similarities with Halloween, they stand as distinct celebrations that reflect the unique cultural traditions of their respective countries.

Want to learn more about spooky history? Why not check out our resources on Librarysearch.napier.ac.uk

By Juliet Kinsey

Image: Photo by David Menidrey on Unsplash

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Merchiston book stock

Construction Information Service (CIS)

29/10/2024 / / 0 Comments

Construction Information Service (CIS)

 

The Construction Information Service (CIS) is a major database for anyone working in architecture, civil and structural engineering, building control, mechanical and electrical engineering, surveying, building contracting and other areas within the construction industry.

The CIS database is updated daily and covers every phase of the construction process. It is an online tool which provides access to current construction regulations, construction standards, technical advice, construction project management tools, and industry news on building, engineering, design, and construction processes in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

Construction Information Services and You

The CIS database has over 20,000 documents from over 300 publishers. And contains essential sources providing the most up-to-date information from within the construction industry.

You can find CIS by clicking on the Databases tab within LibrarySearch and then searching for Construction Information Service. Two options will appear.  Namely Knowledge Workspace: Occupational Health and Safety Information Service (OHSIS): and Environmental Management and Construction Information Service (CIS). Select Construction Information Service (CIS).

The database provides access to a wide range of content that is not available anywhere else. Users can conduct a standard search or use the Advanced Search option to find information. Using keywords relevant to your topic will help to narrow down the number of results and there are filters available to help you narrow your search further and find relevant content.

CIS provides access to a wide range of UK construction catalogues. As well as equipment information and CAD drawings as well as access to product catalogues from manufacturers both within the UK and overseas. CIS offers a single search point for the widest set of Eurocodes, UK National Annexes and Non-contradictory Complimentary Information (NCCI) material. Users can also have direct access to other publications. As well as extensive coverage of healthcare building and construction information. CIS Building Regulations Interest areas are available covering Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to help with compliance.

Using CIS will help users to create designs and construction methods, and keep up with advances in new technology. And ensure that their designs are compliant and sustainable. The entire construction process from beginning to end is supported which will help projects to be completed precisely within designated time frames.

Through LibrarySearch 

By Sharon McMichael

Read about previous databases 

Clocks go back

Clocks go back

28/10/2024 / / 0 Comments

Clocks go back

 

I dread this weekend all year: the weekend the clocks go back to Greenwich Mean Time. In case you’ve forgotten, time will move back by one hour at 2am on Sunday 27th October. In this way, we “rob” an hour of daylight from the morning and add it to the end of the day. The concept has been around since the late 1700s, but it was only introduced in the First World War as a way of saving the nation’s energy.

It’s been with us ever since and yes – it’s nice to get an extra hour on Sunday, but that’s little consolation for the now rapid descent into winter.

If, like me, you already struggle with the long hours and weeks of darkness, it’s worth noting the wealth of research that suggests that changing the clocks can have a serious effect on our health. It can knock out the alignment of your body’s natural rhythms and leave you more accident-prone, more vulnerable to lower cognitive performance, mood disruption and other debilitating effects.

Perhaps the biggest problem is a potential disruption to your sleep pattern. Well-managed sleep hygiene is crucial to general good health and well-being, and The Sleep Charity has published a guide to minimising the disruption:

How To Minimise Sleep Disruption When Clocks Go Forward – The Sleep Charity

Along with your physical health, it’s important that you take special care of your mental wellbeing in winter.  Look out for signs of SAD – seasonal affective disorder.

Overview – Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

And don’t forget that we have a well-resourced Wellbeing Collection which we hope will help you transition to the shorter days and the darker nights.

Sleep well!

Learn to sleep well kit

Winter blues

By Lesley McRobb

 

Photo source Alex Krivec

Take some time out with our virtual relaxation space

Black History Month: Joseph Knight

Black History Month: Joseph Knight

24/10/2024 / / 0 Comments

Black History Month: Joseph Knight

This October we’re celebrating Black History Month at Edinburgh Napier. And as part of this, we’d like to take a quick look at the case of Joseph Knight  v. John Wedderburn,  a historic legal case from the 1770s that saw the Scottish Court of Session officially declare that slavery laws were not applicable under the Scottish legal system.  It marked the first official condemnations of slavery to come from a court in Britain.

 

Joseph Knight

Joseph Knight was a man born in West Africa around 1750. He  was sold into slavery as a young boy and sent to the British colonies in Jamacia. As such, a great deal about his early history is unknown to us now, having been erased due to the colonialism of the era. What we do know is that when Knight was 12 or 13 years old he was purchased by a man named John Wedderburn, a plantation owner from Scotland. In a rarity for the era, Knight was taught how to read and write by Wedderburn. He planned to take Knight with him back to Scotland once he returned in 1769. In Scotland, Knight met and married Ann Thompson, another servant of the Wedderburn family. But when he asked to be able to live with her, he was refused by Wedderburn. Wanting to be with his wife, Knight left Wedderburn’s service. Wedderburn responded in a way that is reflective of the paternalistic racism of the era. Feeling that Knight owed him service due to the “gift” of education that he bestowed upon Knight and angered by what he saw as the loss of his property, Wedderburn had Knight arrested.  A court in Perth ruled that Knight was to be considered Wedderburn’s property as per his slave contract. However, the Sheriff of Perth, a man named John Swinton, argued that the slavery laws of Jamaica, where Knight was purchased, held no sway over Scots Law.  Knight should now be considered a free man in Scotland.

Court Battle

Following the ruling, Wedderburn launched a second appeal to the Court of Session in Edinburgh, the highest civil court in Scotland. He argued that Knight’s slave contract was still in effect and that Wedderburn had the right to separate Knight from his family and take him back to Jamaica. The case rested on Scotland’s ties to the British Empire and its slave trade. Wedderburn’s lawyers argued that Scotland had greatly benefitted from the slave trade, with the so-called “Tobacco Lords” of Scotland bringing a great deal of money to the country. As such, Wedderburn felt that it was in Scotland’s financial interests  to give preference to the laws of slave colonies.
Knight’s case rested on the argument that the laws of slavery were unnatural and unjust and that Scotland could not be expected to uphold such laws just because they were in place elsewhere. Furthermore, it was argued that Knight should be protected under Scottish laws against unlawful imprisonment. They cited a similar English court case in 1772, Somerset v Stewart, which declared that the institution of slavery was never formally protected under the law, arguing that this meant that slaves brought to Scotland were not beholden to their slave contracts.

Court Decision

After deliberating on the arguments, the twelve judges in the Court of Sessions voted eight to four in favour of Knight. They officially ruled that the slave laws of the colonies were not recognised under Scots Law, and in fact, were incompatible with the principles that Scottish laws were founded upon. One of the judges of the Court of Sessions, Alexander Boswell, was quoted as saying:

“Is a man a slave because he is black? No. He is our brother, and this is a man. Although not our colour, he is in a land of liberty, with his wife and child, let him remain there.”

It was a landmark ruling in the history of the Scottish legal system, resulting in what is one of the first legal rulings against slavery. The case struck a  blow to the institution of the British slave trade and is now looked on as a significant case in the cause to abolish slavery.

By Matthew Ferrie

Please visit Black History Month.Org

Library and Black History Month 2024

Photo by Wesley Tingey

Library Books

Introducing CINAHL (With Full Text)

23/10/2024 / / 0 Comments

Introducing CINAHL (With Full Text)

 

CINAHL, standing for Cumulated Index in Nursing and Allied Health Literature, is one of our most popular databases used widely among school of health and social care students within our student community at Napier. It covers literature on various areas of healthcare including nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, nutrition and many more health-related professions. The research database itself is very comprehensive and offers the full texts of various nursing and allied health journals. Some additional online resources which CINAHL also contains ranges from a variety of quick lessons, ongoing education modules and full-text evidence-based care sheets.

 

Who uses, and would benefit from using CINAHL?…

 

CINAHL is one of the key databases utilised by SHSC (School of Health and Social Care) students and academics at Edinburgh Napier University. The most frequent users of this specific database are nurses (including nursing students), allied health professionals, nurse educators and researchers. CINAHL Ultimate is also used widely by nursing students to learn about specific healthcare techniques and practices through the instructional videos it offers, as well as to improve their knowledge of best practices and procedures when caring for patients. So not only does CINAHL offer a range of helpful resources that can be used for written assignments – it’s wide variety of instructional videos and tutorials, guides and lessons can also offer our SHSC students a range of useful advice and information that can be applied when on placements and further on into their careers in healthcare.

 

Pros of using CINAHL…

 

One of the ways in which CINAHL surpasses other databases is by offering full-text access to a considerable amount of the most consistently cited journals, along with thorough curation and indexing of these open-access journals. In total, CINAHL contains just over 1,300 journals featuring searchable citations and references. Because it is a targeted resource which specialises in healthcare, you can find a range of very specific scholarly material about Nursing and Allied Health as well, meaning search results have a significantly higher change of being diverse and relevant. Some other benefits of using CINAHL include:

  • The user-friendly and accessible interface of CINAHL makes it easy for uses to make effective searches to retrieve relevant information about specific healthcare topics and subjects.
  • The structure of the Medical Subject headings (MeSH) which the National Library of Medicine uses is also implemented by CINAHL Subject Headings, which enables researchers to come across newer subjects such as social distancing, vaping and COVID-19.
  • Search results are usually of a very high quality as they are indexed with great care and with accuracy and sophistication in mind once put through a thorough validation and certification process.
  • With its comprehensive indexing and the precision and directness of CINAHL’s full text linking, users can quickly and efficiently build up a relevant search criterion and find a wide variety of related search results with ease.
  • Qualitative as well as quantitative studies are covered and included in the CINAHL database, as well as a variety of nursing and healthcare subjects such as occupational therapy. Materials are extremely diverse and varied.
  • Since it is primarily focused on academic sources and literature on nursing and allied health, this eliminates the possibility of generating any search results which are completely irrelevant to these subject areas and topics.

 

More information…

 

Not only does our Libguide feature a direct link to the CINAHL database – it comes with both written guidance and recorded, visual tutorials on how to effectively utilise nursing and allied health databases such as CINAHL and their different search features and functions. This includes both a virtual, recorded tutorial on conducting basic and advanced searches within these databases. Find out more in our LibGuide.

 

By Rachel Downie

 

Read about other databases

 

Referencing libraries

LibGuides and Referencing

22/10/2024 / / 0 Comments

LibGuides and Referencing

What are LibGuides? Simply LibGuides are beloved by librarians. All 22 of them. A crucial tool in helping you through your studies. They are designed to “help you find out more about the resources and support available from the library”.

They can be divided into two features:

  1. Subject Guides
  2. Research Guides

 

LibGuides: Subject Guides

Subject Guides are designed by our team of specialist subject librarians who have handpicked key resources such as databases, readings and more. You will find a guide for each subject area available at Edinburgh Napier.  Subject librarians constantly update these guides to help you get the most relevant and useful information available for your topic.

Your subject librarian is available to go through these guides with you.

 

LibGuides: Research Guides

Our Research Guides are outlines that help you develop research and digital skills, including writing, referencing, data collection, and much more.

 

LibGuide: Referencing

 

One of our most popular guides is our reference guide. Referencing is a must-skill in academia. You will expect to be able to reference all your sources in academic work. Referencing helps us avoid plagiarism, shows that read sources, be able to back up arguments. We have two guides, one for reference management software which are tools to help you. And a guide on APA 7th Style.

Please remember if you are stuck, you can contact your subject librarian or programme leader.

Our Reference Management guide goes over Endnote and Mendeley. Both are software that collect references and PDFS of papers, organises references and automatically outputs a bibliography. Our guide breaks down which one might be better suited to you. And how you can install and use it.

Additionally, we have a deep dive into APA 7th referencing. This guide details how citations work. Always double-check which referencing style you are expected to use for your course and if you are unsure, please speak to your programme leader.

 

 

Wellbeing

We can’t end this post without the mention of our Wellbeing Collection. We also have our Wellbeing Collection featured on our LibGuides. University life can be stressful. The collection covers a range of topics and guided self-help approaches to help University life a little bit easier.

We will leave you to enjoy the world of LibGuides.

A bit stuck on assignments, have a look at Academic Skills. 

Picture of books for blog post Returning borrowed items

Returning borrowed items

21/10/2024 / / 0 Comments

Returning borrowed items

It’s almost the end of term and time to take a break from studies and relax. You may be planning to return home, go on holiday or do some work experience, but before you go-just a quick reminder to return the books, laptops and ergonomic equipment which you might not need to use over the summer. It’s time to return borrowed items to the library.

Information on returning borrowed items

Books and laptops can be returned even when the helpdesks are closed, as long as there is access to campus. Ergonomic equipment should be returned to the helpdesks during staffed hours.
Libraries will be open throughout the summer should you wish to bring items back later in the summer. And if you have any questions, you can always ask. 
If you have fines which you would like to query, you can submit a fine appeal form along with any supporting evidence, and you will receive an answer promptly. Information on fines and charges can be found here.
We hope you enjoy your summer break and look forward to seeing you again in September. Remember- it’s never too late to return items to us! One book was returned over a hundred years later to a San Francisco public library. And you can read about  some rather valuable late returns

Good luck with your exams and final assignments

Also, remember we have our virtual relaxation space  

Additionally, our online wellbeing area. 

Each campus library has a relaxation space and wellbeing areas too

By Vivienne Hamilton

photo source: unspash Kimberly Farmer  

Coworking Collective (L)

Co-Working Collective

21/10/2024 / / 0 Comments

Co-Working Collective

 

Well done on reaching week 7. By now you’re no doubt up to your neck in work: all those pesky assignments, all that reading and note-taking, the class discussions, the late nighters. It can be hard to stay organised and keep on top of it all. The Library is here to help you with all that.

We’re excited to bring back our Co-Working Collective, following on from our successful introduction last semester.

Working together has been shown to beat procrastination, help you stay motivated, work on individual goals, increase time efficiency and become more productive.

We’ll be meeting every Wednesday, starting October 23rd until mid-December, between 2pm and 4pm in Study Room 7, Merchiston library, and we’d love you to join us.

There is no need to book, just come along. All we ask you to do is bring some work materials and a commitment to spend the two hours with like-minded people who want to work quietly in a supported environment.

The sessions are open to all, regardless of which campus you’re based in or what level of study you’re at. If you’ve any questions, email us library@napier.ac.uk or disabilityinclusion@napier.ac.uk, and let the library be your study buddy.

More information on the library calendar. 

By Lesley McRobb

Read our previous posts on study skills. 

Laptop Loans

14/10/2024 / / 0 Comments

Laptop Loan

Continuing with our induction, we are going to look at laptop loans.

If you don’t have access to a laptop for your studies here at Edinburgh Napier there are laptops which can be borrowed from our lapsafe lockers. Lapsafe lockers exist in all 3 campus libraries, in the JKCC and at Bainfield student accommodation. They are self-service, so as long as the premises are open and a laptop is available, you can borrow a laptop.

Accessing a laptop

You can check the availability of laptops at each site using the tile on your account.

Laptop tile mynapier

All laptop cabinets have a coloured light to indicate availability.

Light colour What it means
Blue Laptop available
Red Laptop updating, available soon
Purple Laptop in repair
No light Laptop is on loan

 

You will need to have your plastic student card or digital student card on your phone to swipe on the lapsafe reader, then follow the on-screen instructions. Once you have swiped your card the lapsafe will allocate a laptop to you and the cabinet door will unlock. A charger is also provided don’t forget to take this. Only one laptop can be borrowed at a time so you must return one before borrowing another.

Loan Period

Laptop loans are for 2 weeks and are on a first-come, first-served basis. After 2 weeks laptops should be returned to the lapsafe locker they were borrowed from. You will be able to take another one if one is available, or if not you can wait for the one you have returned to become available (the cabinet light will be red whilst the laptop updates). If you don’t return the laptop, it will be locked making the laptop unusable. Full terms and conditions for laptop loans can be found on our webpage

Saving work

Work should not be saved on the desktop, instead, save to One Drive.

 

Digital Access Scheme

The Digital Access Scheme (DAS) is a service which provides long-term laptop loans to students who are having difficulty accessing appropriate IT resources. The loan is for the academic year and will be renewed for each year you are returning to study. To find out more and if you are eligible check the DAS webpage

If you have any questions regarding laptop loans please don’t hesitate to ask us in the library and staff will do their best to assist you.

By Vivienne Hamilton

 

Mer wellbeing Mental Health Awareness Week

World Mental Health Day 2024

10/10/2024 / / 0 Comments

World Mental Health Day 2024

It’s World Mental Health Day 2024.  Celebrated every October 10th. Everyone is encouraged to come together and talk, showing that mental health matters. Check in on the people in your family and how they are doing.

Mental Health Support at the Library

“Here in the Library, we believe that looking after your physical and emotional health is just as important as your studies. We are committed to supporting positive mental health and wellbeing, and believe that the key to wellbeing is the care and balance of different aspects of our lives.” We have curated a collection of books and other resources to support the different areas of your well-being.  “Our collection covers a range of topics and includes guided self-help approaches to supporting mental health, personal development and achievement. You’ll find stories of resilience and recovery, discussions of family matters, and practical tools to help with the everyday realities of University life, such as finance and exam stress.”

Our wellbeing collections are available online

And on each campus library, all books are loanable.

Mental Health Support at the University

At Edinburgh Napier University, we understand things might not be “plain sailing”.

“Being at University is about finding your own way – but that doesn’t mean you have to go it alone” especially when things get difficult.  The Wellbeing and Inclusion team at the university are incredible. A team of  “professional staff are here to listen, offer support and guidance, and aim to point you in the right direction at every turn so you feel safe, supported, healthy and able to fulfil your potential”. The Counselling and Mental well-being team would like to highlight that “Our goal is to help you feel content, healthy, and well-supported. If you are facing challenges with your mental health, we are here to help.”

There is also free, online and anonymous support available through Togtherall and Silver Cloud.

The myNapier webpages provide information about all the services and support available to staff and students. And how to contact them.

More Information

Look at all the amazing work, the Mental Health Foundation are doing.

We have a wide range of articles on the importance of wellbeing. 

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