Edinburgh Napier University

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A Guide to Beating Exam Stress

A Guide to Beating Exam Stress

It might be hard to believe, but exams are nearly here and 2022 is nearly over. I know, right!?

The exam period can be a highly stressful time, and it’s understandable you may be feeling overwhelmed, stressed or unsure about how to manage yourself and your time. If you’re looking for help, there are a number of places you can go to find it.

Our libraries are open to you for individual and group study. We’ve got a great variety of resources if you’re in need of some study tips, no matter where you are in your academic journey. Pop on over to our exam support reading list for resources on studying smart, mindfulness, taking successful exams, study skills, and beating stress.

Here are our top tips to help get you through.

Top Tips for Beating Exam Stress

1. Timetable and prepare a study plan.

2. Create a study space that is comfortable, quiet, well-lit, organized, and has no distractions nearby.

3. Put your information into a format that allows you to absorb it best.

4. Take regular study breaks. Alternating subjects you’re studying will also help.

5. Remember self-care!

6. Schedule fun activities to reduce your stress.

7. Eat nutritious foods and exercise regularly to keep your brain power and energy up!

8. Make sure you have all the items you need for any exams. Get them ready the day before to avoid rushing on the day.

9. Remove anything distracting to help you focus. Try putting your phone in a different room when revising.

10. Write down revision targets for the day, review your progress, and update your revision timetable and targets appropriately.

Most of all:  Remember to rest – get a good night’s sleep – and also relax! Check out our Virtual Relaxation Space, Or one of our special exam chillout areas in all our Libraries. You can find them next to the relaxation zones.

Keep an eye out on our Digital screens for more exam tips. Here’s a taster:

Further Support

Please do remember that if you’re experiencing difficulties, get in touch with Napier’s Counselling & Mental Wellbeing service. Drop them an email at counselling@napier.ac.uk or call them on 0131 455 2459.

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

Scottish Traditions: Burn’s Night

Burns 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

Library Welcome Week

welcome sign outside library

Welcome to the Library!

Hello and a very warm welcome to all students joining us this trimester from all of us in the Library. We wish you all the best with your studies and look forward to meeting many of you soon.

Whether you are on campus or studying online, if you are looking for information on how to use the Library services the Introduction to Computing and Library Services module on Moodle is an excellent starting point.

Introductory Sessions

We will be holding quick and friendly online introductory sessions to both the Physical Library and the Online Library during the first few weeks of the trimester. You can sign up for these and many other library skills sessions using the Training and Events Calendar.

Information on Library opening times, how to access or borrow the resources you need for your studies, accessing reading lists, and many more library services can be found on the Library webpages. If you need any further support, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0131 455 3500 or email us at library@napier.ac.uk . We are here to help you!

Keep up to date on all the latest news from the Library on Instagram and Twitter.

International Games Week 2021-coming to a campus library near you!

International Games Week logo

International Games Week 2021-coming to a campus library near you!

22nd November – 28th November

Do you like playing games?  Would you like the chance to win an Amazon voucher?

Well, you’ll be pleased to hear that for the 3rd year running the Library is participating in International Games Week, this time with fantastic prizes!  Furthermore we’re sure you are going to have some fun with the games we’ve created

You’ll find links to the activities where prizes are on offer below.

Crossword puzzle

https://puzzel.org/en/crossword/play?p=-MLNhjbHtSqbRO5e_V7F

Jigsaw puzzle

https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=28a27c52ebad

Wordsearch

https://thewordsearch.com/puzzle/1601428/edinburgh-napier-library

How to enter

Just take a screenshot of your completed activity and email it to library@napier.ac.uk from your Edinburgh Napier email address.  Alternatively, pick up a paper entry for the Crossword and the Wordsearch at any of our campus libraries.  All entries will be entered into a prize draw to win an Amazon voucher!  The closing date for entries is 30th November 2021.

Good Luck everyone!

Find out more by following us on Twitter @EdNapLib and Instagram @enu_library

Get more ideas for relaxing here

by Cathryn Buckham

Black History Month

Black history month banner 2021

Black History Month 2021 runs throughout October and is a celebration of the often-overlooked contributions made by Black people to our shared history. It allows us to celebrate Black people and Black culture. This year the campaign is called “Proud to Be” and encourages Black and Brown people to share what they are “proud to be.”  

Here at the Library, we understand the importance not just of Black History month but also of continued action to tackle racism, reclaim Black history, and ensure Black history is represented and celebrated all year round. We are working hard to grow our collections so that they become more inclusive and diverse. 

Black history Month Image

What we are doing 

We have compiled two fantastic reading lists for you to enjoy filled with books, eBooks, films, and articles you can access not just this month but all year round. 

Links here: 

Black History 365 

Black History, Voices, and Innovation 

 Don’t forget you can use LibrarySearch to find even more sources, just log in and start searching. There is a useful guide available here 

Wear Red Day Icon

Wear Red Day

We will also be supporting Wear Red day on October 22nd – Show Racism the Red Card – Wear red day is a National Day of Action encouraging schools, businesses, and individuals to wear red and donate £1 to help fund anti-racism.

 

Displays

We will have displays on all our campuses, full of information and celebration of Black History and Culture, so keep an eye out when you visit us in person.

 

Walking Tour

The University group BAMEish will be running Black History Walking Tours with Lisa Willams. These will be running Thursday 14 October & Thursday 4 November.

Book here: Black History Walking Tour Eventbrite

Here are some useful Websites for you to look at:

There is also a brilliant reading list of books by CILIP which you can check out online here

There are some amazing talks from the British Library throughout October, which you can find here

Check out the official Black History Month site here

More Information on Black History in Scotland can be found here

Finally here is a link to what’s going on in Scotland this coming month.

 

Also, don’t forget to follow us on social media to see more of our Black History Month material

Instagram Twitter

You can read last year’s Black History Month post here.

 

 

Welcome back to campus

Picture of Library staff

Welcome back to our returning students. We hope you enjoyed your summer and are ready for the new academic year. You will find there are still some covid-19 precautionary measures in place in the library and here is a short guide to let you know what has changed and what has stayed the same:

The Library opening hours can be viewed here.

Hand sanitisers are still at library entrances, and sanitizing stations are still positioned throughout libraries.

We are still operating social distancing measures, so some study spaces are unavailable. Where spaces are not in use you will see a cross on the desk and the chair will be covered up.

Group study rooms must be booked using Resource Booker, but individual spaces do not need to be booked.

Our Click and collect service continues, and you can still request books from your home campus.

Books and Lapsafe laptops which have been on loan over the summer will be due back by 1st October. After that, books will have a loan period of up to 4 months providing they are not requested by another user. Lapsafe laptops will be 14-day loans.

From 14th September you will be able to make requests for items that are out on loan.

Soft furnishings have been returned to the libraries allowing social spaces and relaxation spaces to be opened up.

The SCONUL access scheme is set to re-start in November.

If you have any questions, you can contact the library at any time.

By Vivienne Hamilton

Introducing a new database: IBISWorld

IBISWorld

Are you a student or member of staff looking for UK Industry Market Research data? Well the good news is that the Library now subscribes to the research industry database IBISWorld.  Covering a wide range of topics from accommodation and food service activities, to construction and transportation, it’s sure to have what you’re looking for!

The database has an easy-to-use and intuitive layout.  Each industry report has the same menu options; covering a variety of topics, including industry at a glance, industry performance, operating conditions and key statistics. In addition, you can create your own presentations with access to easily downloadable formats including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF.  Whats more there are also new interactive charts allowing you to manipulate the data to work for you!

Interested? Access the database from the link on Keith Walker’s Business School Subject Guide or go to LibrarySearch  and navigate to it from the Databases link.

As a starting point I’d suggest going to your profile in the top right-hand corner of the screen.  You’ll find FAQs, useful tutorials and a short video to help you make the most of IBISWorld.

Right, I’m off to find information on the chocolate and biscuit production in the UK!

By Cathryn Buckham

 

🏳‍🌈 Celebrating Pride Month at Edinburgh Napier University

The month of June is Pride Month and here at the Library we “pride” ourselves on being an inclusive and welcoming place to visit. We thought it might be interesting to share with you some history about Pride Month and show you some resources for learning more about LGBTQ+ culture.

The reason that Pride occurs in June is because it marks the date of the Stonewall riots in America. This was a significant turning point in LGBTQ+ rights, galvanising movement towards greater equality. The first Pride parade occurred a year later on the anniversary of the riot, and parades around the world have marked the occasion ever since.

Pride Month is a celebration of how far LGBTQ+ rights have come and about bringing attention to work that still needs to be done. It’s also about having a lot of fun and some truly fabulous parades!

If you are an LGBTQ+ student you can join Edinburgh Napier’s LGBTQ+ Society or find out more about the student LGBTQ+ community on the Queer Napier site. Staff can join the University’s thriving LGBTQ+ Network or visit our web pages to learn more about becoming an ally.

The Library has a wealth of books and articles on the subject. From the history of LGBTQ+ rights to current Legal information to keep you informed. Use LibrarySearch to find what you are looking for, or contact us for help with any of your research needs. 

Here are some items available through the Library to get you started: 

Same-sex, different politics: success and failure in the struggles over gay rights

Lgbt Activism and the Making of Europe A Rainbow Europe  

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people (LGBT) and the criminal justice system

Happy Pride Month 2021! 🏳‍🌈🌈🏳‍🌈

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