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A History of St Andrew’s Day

A History of St Andrew’s Day

Today is St. Andrew’s Day, Scotland’s patron saint’s day! Although November 30 isn’t a national holiday, celebrations are held across Scotland with events like ceilidhs and fun runs.

The History of St. Andrew’s Day

St. Andrew was born around 5 AD in Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. He became a fisherman, like his brother, who later became St. Peter. Initially, Andrew followed St. John the Baptist, but he later joined Jesus as one of the twelve apostles. Tradition holds that he travelled widely, preaching in places like Scythia, Thrace, the Black Sea, and along the Dnieper River, reaching as far as Kyiv and Novgorod. His legacy made him a patron saint of Ukraine, Romania, Russia, and Scotland.

A 4th-century account describes Andrew’s crucifixion on an X-shaped cross, or saltire, which he requested, feeling unworthy of a traditional cross. Patras, Greece, claims his crucifixion took place there. St. Jerome noted that Emperor Constantius II moved Andrew’s relics from Patras to Constantinople in 357 AD. Later, the relics went to Amalfi, Italy, in 1208, and his head reached Rome in the 15th century. In 1964, Pope Paul VI returned Andrew’s head to Patras as a goodwill gesture.

In Scotland, the town of St. Andrews, located in Fife, is connected to legends about Andrew. One legend says Andrew came there to build a church that attracted pilgrims from across Britain. Another tale suggests a bishop named St. Rule brought Andrew’s relics from Patras to this town.

St. Andrew as Patron Saint of Scotland

Legends also surround how Andrew became Scotland’s patron saint. A 16th-century text recounts that Oengus II, King of the Picts, vowed to make Andrew the patron saint after seeing him in a vision before a battle against the Angles. Andrew appeared in a vision, and a saltire-shaped cloud in the sky became a sign of victory for Oengus’s outnumbered forces. Following their win, the Picts chose to venerate St. Andrew.

Scotland’s Flag

Scotland’s flag, the Saltire, displays a white cross on a blue background, which may symbolize the clouds against the sky in Oengus’s vision. This design has represented Scotland for centuries. In 1385, the Parliament of Scotland declared that all Scottish and French soldiers should wear the Saltire as a sign when fighting the English. Today, Scotland continues to honour St. Andrew and remembers him every November 30.

By Vivienne Hamilton

Read more Posts by Vivienne such as: The Bridges of Scotland

A Quick Guide to Finding a Book with LibrarySearch

Finding a book with LibrarySearch


Are deadlines coming up? Assignments due? And Google just won’t do. Our quick guide to finding a book with LibrarySearch that will save the day!

There are books, journals, peer-reviewed articles and much more. We have over 225 databases, 33 000 journals, 100 000 books and well over 300 000 e-books all available at your fingertips at LibrarySearch. We can’t sing the praises of LibrarySearch enough!!

That’s all great and everything but the question now is how does it work?

Simply go to librarysearch.napier.ac.uk, access it through our web pages or click the shortcut here.

Don’t forget to sign in the right-hand corner to give you full access.

librarysearch screenshot

In the search bar, type the book title. If you don’t have any books in mind, you can type the keywords for your subject area and let LibrarySearch do its magic. There are filters on the side to narrow down your search for example if you only want books and books for a certain decade and books from a certain campus.

Librarysearch screen shot

Once you’ve spotted a book that looks useful click on the link. You will be able to see if it’s available online or in one of our Campus Libraries. If it’s available online just click on the links to take you right on through to your book. If the book is on one of our shelves note down the Dewey Decimal number. It will tell you where your book is positioned. Afterwards, If you get stuck check out our guide or ask one of our lovely Librarians who will be happy to help!

All there to make life easier. Like we said LibrarySearch is there to save the day

By Maya Green

 

Discovered your book on LibrarySearch, but need help spotting it on the shelf? Try our Guide to the Dewey Decimal System here!

Still stuck finding something useful then why not check out our LibGuides

Finding your book with Dewey Decimal Shelf Marks

Finding your book with Dewey Decimal Shelf Marks

HELP! How do I find my book?

Finding your book with Dewey Decimal Shelf Marks may seem confusing at first but really it is very straightforward. First off, make sure you have checked your book is available by looking it up on our Library Catalogue: LibrarySearch

For help using LibrarySearch read our quick guide here: Quick Guide to LibrarySearch

Not only will you find the shelfmark that will help you locate your book, but it will also show you if copies are available.

Screenshot for a book on Librarysearch

What’s it all mean?

Green means go! So if you see the words “available at” like in the above picture. You know you should be able to find the book on the shelf.

Here you can see that there is an available copy of this book. The word “available” is green (for yes we have it) and it is located at Merchiston Library shelfmark: 891.7342 BUL

Hurray! But now what?

Now you can go find your book!

The shelfmark is your book’s location so you will need to find it (kinda like a very simple treasure hunt!)

Start by matching the first part of the number: 891

891.7342

Once you have located the 891’s it’s time to delve deeper. Now you need to match the digits after the 891.

891.7342

That’s the 7342 after the decimal point. These numbers help narrow down the subject.

Once you have all the numbers matched you look at the Letters, in this case, BUL.

891.7342 BUL

The letters usually refer to the author or editor, not the title.

The author of this book is Bulgakov, so BUL are the letters to match.

These go in alphabetical order so work your way along till you find your book.

Quick synopsis:

  1. Match the first 3 digits
  2. Match the digits after the decimal point
  3. Match the letters

—————————————————————————–

It’s as simple as that…ok maybe not that simple!

If you have any problems a member of the Library staff will be happy to help! Also you can read more on the History of the Dewey Decimal system here on the blog in the article The Dewey Decimal Classification System

Movember: Supporting Men’s Health

Movember: Supporting Men’s Health

Calling all our Mo Bros! It’s that time of year again. We want you to embrace your facial hair and grow a moustache for a month. Movember is the global phenomenon that has put men’s health firmly on the agenda and hair firmly on their faces.

History

It’s a movement that started 20 years ago in Australia when two mates met up for a beer and joked about reviving the out-of-fashion moustache. Why not combine their challenge with raising money for charity, they asked themselves. And why not make it a men’s health charity? After all, men are notoriously reticent in talking about their health – mental or physical.

The movement was born, and since then campaigns across the world have been fund-raised for prostate and testicular cancer research and treatment, poor mental health and physical inactivity. Perhaps more importantly, it has created a fundamental shift in the way we talk about men’s health and asks the questions that were previously unuttered. Why, for example, do Black men have twice the risk of prostate cancer diagnosis than other men? Why are first responders (emergency service workers and military veterans) at increased risk of poor mental health and suicide? Why do men find it more difficult than women to make social connections and how have the COVID-19 lockdowns affected that?

Get Involved this Movember in Supporting Men’s Health

There are all sorts of ways you can support Movember. You can grow a moustache, of course, but you can also host a mo-ment – an event that raises awareness. You can fundraise at work or among classmates and friends. Or maybe you’d like to buy some Mo merch.

However you do it, we’re sure you’ll mo your own way.

See here for details on this year’s happenings:

Movember – Changing the face of men’s health – Movember

By Lesley McRobb

Image Source: Photo by Alan Hardman on Unsplash

Read more articles on Mental Health such as World Mental Health Day.

A Quick Guide to Using Boolean: Top 5 Tricks

A Quick Guide to Using Boolean: Top 5 Tricks

Improve your search results with Boolean search operators.

Introduction to Boolean

First off, what the heck is Boolean you may be asking? Boolean search operators are simple terms like AND, OR and NOT or modifiers like quotation marks “”, parentheses () or an asterix*. You use these in conjunction with your search terms to help narrow down your search.

Most search engines, databases and of course library catalogues allow you to use these when looking for books or articles.

Top Tip 1: AND

This makes sure that your search results include all the words you need.

e.g. Zombies AND Aliens

It will remove any results that do not contain all these terms.

Top Tip 2: NOT

This is a great option for editing out results when searching.

e.g. Apocalypse AND Zombies NOT Aliens

Top Tip 3: Quotation marks “”

Quotation marks are one of my favourite search modifiers. Use them to make sure you have an exact match returned. This can be handy for a book or article title if you know exactly what you are looking for.

e.g. “Brave new world”

Top Tip 4: Asterix *

This little “star” is better known as a wildcard and is a pro tip for those who struggle with spelling or want to find results with a variation of the keyword.

e.g. If you use it with say the word Develop* it will return results including “development,” “developer,” and “developing.”

Top Tip 5: Parentheses ()

This is where you can start to get fancy! Use parentheses to group together keywords and control the order they will be searched for.

e.g. (Alien OR Zombie) AND Apocalypse

Now there is another Boolean operator OR (seen above helping out the zombie and alien search) which didn’t make the top 5 but is definitely top 6. Use OR to allow results using multiple keywords.

e.g. (Aliens OR Zombies OR Kittens) AND Apocalypse.

Combining Terms

The best thing about Boolean is it allows you to combine all these operators to make highly specific searches saving you time and effort trawling through pages of results.

e.g. (Aliens OR Zombies) AND Apocalypse AND “Tuesday Morning” Start*

LibrarySearch

Our LibrarySearch Library catalogue helps you to get started with this. Simply click on “Advanced Search” and you will see options to use Boolean operators.

Screenshot of Librarysearch Boolean search operators

So why not give them a go today!

By Juliet Kinsey

Read more study tips in our article on preparing for exams.

 

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

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

Edinburgh Napier’s Repository – a home for the university’s research

Edinburgh Napier’s repository – a home for the university’s research

A repository is a kind of digital archive for storing all the research outputs created by a university’s academics and researchers. Most importantly, it also makes much of this research publicly available for everyone to read and download. The Edinburgh Napier Research Repository is the home for Edinburgh Napier’s research. We moved to the current repository platform earlier this year, so it might look a little different now if you were familiar with the old one.

Open Access

Making research open access in the repository benefits researchers whose work can be more widely read and cited. It’s also great for students who can access research much more easily. Almost every university has a repository now.  so you can use aggregator services like CORE to find research from around the world. CORE includes the 20,000+ outputs from Napier’s repository and millions more as well. Take a look at our open-access LibGuide with more tips for finding open-access research.

 

 

Screen shot of the University Research Repository

Screenshot of the University Research Repository

 

 

WorkTribe

For Edinburgh Napier academics and researchers who want to curate their own profile or add new research outputs to the repository, just log in to Worktribe using your usual university credentials. If you need any help, check out the support pages on the intranet or feel free to email repository@napier.ac.uk with any questions about open access – including publishing open-access journal articles using one of the library’s publisher deals.

The repository is not just for academic staff though. In fact, Research students can be set up with a profile if they have publications to share. Furthermore, all postgraduate theses awarded by Edinburgh Napier are made available in the repository and then included in the British Library’s national thesis collection for anyone to read.

And that’s what repositories are all about. Making it easier for everyone to find and share the knowledge our universities create.

 

By Stuart Lawson

 

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

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

Libraries Week 2022

Libraries Week 2022

Libraries Week is an annual event held to celebrate the best that libraries have to offer. This year, Libraries Week takes place between the 3rd and 9th of October and will focus on the vital role libraries play in supporting individuals of all ages to access lifelong learning.

As part of Libraries Week, Edinburgh Napier Libraries and the University’s Special Collections are offering tours of the War Poets Collection led by our Special Collections Curator, Laura Cooijmans-Keizer.

The War Poets collectionLibraries week 2022

War Poets Collection 

It was at Craiglockhart War Hospital during the First World War, that Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) and Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) first met and where some of their greatest poetry was inspired and written. As a tribute to these and other WWI poets, the University established the War Poets Collection in 1988, on the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice. Since then, the collection has grown to include other histories, incorporating items from the building’s first establishment as a Hydropathic – the predecessor of a modern Spa – up to its current use as a campus of Edinburgh Napier University.

If you’d like to come along and learn more about this fascinating collection, Laura will be providing 30-minute tours of the War Poets Exhibition at Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart campus on the 6th and 7th of October. The exhibition provides a glimpse into the daily lives of the poets, patients, and medical staff at Craiglockhart during the time when the building was used as a war hospital. The collection features contemporary photographs, books, film, audio, and memorabilia, and offers visitors a unique insight into the important personal, social, and medical achievements that occurred within the walls of Craiglockhart War Hospital.

Book a tour

To book a place on one of the tours visit our Training and Events Calendar.

You can read previous blog articles on the War Poets Collection:

The Poet and the Doctor, Craiglockhart War Hospital 1917 (War Poets Collection)

War Poets Collection: Remembering Siegfried Sassoon

Visit our website to find out about all our Special Collections.

By Sarah Jeffcott

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