Humansolutions Bulletin - July 27th 2016

The sixth edition of the bestselling textbook Anti-Discriminatory Practice has now been published and the second edition of The Professional Social Worker  Anti-discriminatory Practice The Professional Social Worker Other titles by Neil Thompson are available from here Neil Thompson Amazon author page

To hear people talk about willpower you would think it was some mystical power that we all have to varying degrees. Those with a lot of will power are able to do difficult things like give up smoking or lose weight, while – or so it would seem – those with a low level of willpower are doomed to continue smoking or continue to be overweight. The reality is not so simple. As human beings we are complex creatures, and part of that complexity is facing conflicting desires. I want to lose weight, but I also want that extra portion of potatoes and a piece of cake to follow it. I can’t have it both ways, so what happens? Well,…

History was made ... as the top human rights body at the United Nations voted to create the world’s first global-level envoy position focused on the human rights of LGBTQ people. In a resolution passed ... a plurality of members of the U.N. Human Rights Council voted to establish the position of independent expert with a groundbreaking mandate to combat violence and discrimination against LGBTQ people around the world. While this resolution is the third passed by the council concerning sexual orientation and gender identity since 2011, it is the first to create such a position and institutionalize this mandate. Click here to read more

Social scientists have long known that women working in numerically male-dominated occupations like physics and firefighting report experiencing workplace stress, but men who work in numerically female-dominated occupations like nursing and child care do not. But why? Is it something about women or something about the workplace? A study by an Indiana University sociologist suggests it's the latter. Click here to read more

It’s been 15 years in the making but the Babayagas’ House, a name taken from Slavic mythology meaning “witch”, has just been inaugurated in Montreuil, on the east side of Paris. It’s a self-managed social housing project devised and run by a community of dynamic female senior citizens who want to keep their independence, but live communally. “To live long is a good thing but to age well is better,” says 85 year old Thérèse Clerc who dreamt up the project back in 1999. “Growing old is not an illness,” says the elegant, feisty Clerc. “We want to change the way people see old age,” and that means “learning to live differently.” Click here to read more

Every day, we change. We move (slowly) toward the person we'll end up being. Not just us, but our organizations. Our political systems. Our culture. Are you more generous than the you of five or ten years ago? More confident? More willing to explore? Have you become more brittle? Selfish? Afraid? ... Click here to read more