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Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Be Lucky

Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Be Lucky

I’ve never given any credence to the idea that you ‘make your own luck’, as if chance in life can be ruled out in some way. But there is a very real sense in which we can affect the luck we have. We can’t stop chance occurrences from happening, but there is much we can do about how such matters affect us. The Ancient Greeks spoke of the constant tension in life between Cosmos (order) and Chaos (disorder). Many things happen along straightforward lines. They are regular, predictable and orderly – natural processes, for example. But that is only half the story. There are also things that happen at random, in unpredictable, disorderly ways ... Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
March 3, 2016
Everyone should have friends and support – Social care has a role in tackling isolation

Everyone should have friends and support – Social care has a role in tackling isolation

Too many people are lonely. And isolation is very bad for our health and wellbeing. That's according to experts and academics. With the recent John Lewis 'man on the moon' advert, we have also seen the issue achieving ‘cut through’ - as advertisers and pollsters like to say - so now a lot of people are talking about it. There is, thankfully, a growing body of evidence, not just on the nature and prevalence of the issue, but on what to do about it. SCIE’s guide on social isolation is a good place to start if you want to find out more about what works. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
March 3, 2016
Challenging retail companies and what they consider the norm

Challenging retail companies and what they consider the norm

The disability market is worth billions of pounds - and companies are coming up with ever more "disruptive" ways to break into it. Last summer was one of those rare occasions on Dragons' Den when someone pitches, nails the numbers and watches the Dragons try and outbid each other. Then in a twist, the business owner rejected an offer of £70,000 for 35% of the company. The deal collapsed and she walked away with nothing. Ellen Green from Blue Badge Company, which makes stylish accessories for disabled people, forged ahead anyway and now plans to expand internationally. "It started because my friend, who was in her 30s and very stylish, had just received her first blue badge for the car.…
Dr Neil Thompson
March 3, 2016
Poor communities are being taken for a ride by our transport system

Poor communities are being taken for a ride by our transport system

Over the past 20 years, the richest 10% have had their transport subsidised 4 times more than the poorest 10%. And yet it's the poorest who rely on public transport most. The Campaign for Better Transport yesterday reported that Councils throughout the United Kingdom are being left with little option but to slash funding for local buses, and in some cases, to withdraw subsidy altogether. These decisions spell disaster for many communities,  and are contributing to an explosion in levels of transport poverty – something which has repercussions for wider inequality across the UK. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
March 3, 2016
Spotlight – Procrastination: Putting things off and how not to do it

Spotlight – Procrastination: Putting things off and how not to do it

Putting things off is something we all do from time to time and is not necessarily, in itself, a problem. However, it can become a problem if we get into the habit of procrastinating regularly as a way to avoid what we don’t want to face, or if we don’t realise that we are consistently letting some things fall to the bottom of the priority pile. In this guide we explore the problems that procrastination can cause and offer suggestions for doing something about it in order to help make our work and home lives more organised and productive. Procrastination: Putting things off and how not to do it by Sue Thompson available for just £1.99 Click here to read…
Dr Neil Thompson
February 18, 2016
Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Don’t Procrastinate

Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Don’t Procrastinate

Why put off until tomorrow what you can put off to the day after?, as the old joke goes. But the price we pay for procrastination is no laughing matter. We have known for a long time that one of the key elements that contributes to stress is not having a sense of control. The more out of control we feel, the more stressed we are likely to get, and that can then have all sorts of detrimental effects. A common reason for procrastinating in the first place is anxiety – for example, putting things off that we don’t feel comfortable or confident about doing (the things we do feel comfortable and confident about are likely to be the things…
Dr Neil Thompson
February 18, 2016
Social work in 40 objects – Request from Professor Mark Doel

Social work in 40 objects – Request from Professor Mark Doel

I’m looking to create a book that tells social work’s story – in 40 objects. Is it possible to represent social work through a collection of objects and what would these be? For this project I’m looking to choose forty objects that, taken together as a collection, give us a vision of social work – facets of its past, present and possible future ... My aim is to tell social work’s story in 40 of these objects (though I will make sure that all the objects and their proposers are included in the book). In addition, a photo of each proposer with a brief pen picture will remind us that, as interesting and illuminating as the objects are, social work is actually about people. I hope the personal stories…
Dr Neil Thompson
February 18, 2016
Motivational interviewing: “Now I listen more before jumping in with a possible solution”

Motivational interviewing: “Now I listen more before jumping in with a possible solution”

You are the first person to really listen and not criticise me” This is a comment a social worker halfway through a motivational interviewing programme received from a young person in Merton. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a structured approach to direct work that can help individuals to want to change behaviour. It is shaped by an understanding of what triggers change and is designed to be a non-confrontational way of helping someone to recognise and do something about their present or potential behaviour concerns. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
February 18, 2016
House of Lords votes to keep income-related child poverty measures

House of Lords votes to keep income-related child poverty measures

The House of Lords has voted to keep targets aimed at reducing child poverty, forcing the government to reconsider its plan to abolish them. The bishop of Durham, supported by Labour and the Liberal Democrats, led the effort to retain the targets, which measure material poverty, and were set to be scrapped under the welfare reform and work bill. Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, announced the proposals in July, prompting dismay among child poverty charities. He said the government would scrap its measurement of child poverty and the aim to eradicate it by 2020, while replacing it with a new duty to report levels of educational attainment, worklessness and addiction. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
February 18, 2016