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204 Educators providing Advocate courses delivered Online

The Software Sustainability Institute

the software sustainability institute

About the Software Sustainability Institute Better software better research The Software Sustainability Institute motto. Cultivating research software to support world-class research Software is fundamental to research: 7 out of 10 researchers report their work would be impossible without it. From short, thrown-together temporary scripts to solving a specific problem, through an abundance of complex spreadsheets analysing collected data, to the hundreds of software engineers and millions of lines of code behind international efforts such as the Large Hadron Collider and the Square Kilometre Array, there are few areas of research where software does not have a fundamental role. Since 2010, the Software Sustainability Institute has facilitated the advancement of software in research by cultivating better, more sustainable, research software to enable world-class research (“Better software, better research”). In 2018, we were awarded funding from all seven research councils. Our mission is to become the world-leading hub for research software practice. The Institute is based at the Universities of Edinburgh, Manchester, Oxford and Southampton, and draws on a team of experts with a breadth of experience in software development, training, project and programme management, research facilitation, publicity and community engagement. The importance of sustainability Sustainability means that the software you use today will be available - and continue to be improved and supported - in the future. Expert knowledge Securing a future for research software requires more than just quality code, which is why, over the years, we have striven to help researchers build and use better software through better practices, and advocate for culture change within their communities and institutions. Building on our experience and expert understanding of the state of research software in the UK, our work focuses around four objectives: nurturing the growth of communities of practice to foster the sharing of expertise across the entire research community, conducting research to provide insight into the use of software in research, continuing enabling widespread adoption of research software practices, and offering training and guidance to help build a capable researcher community and increase the recognition of software in research.

Higher Plane Health Coaching

higher plane health coaching

As a teenage gymnast, my weight was constantly being monitored by well-intentioned coaches and I started to develop a very unhealthy relationship with food; periods of eating very little, followed by uncontrolled binge eating. It took nearly a decade for me to completely heal my relationship with food. This long and arduous struggle is what inspired me to study clinical nutrition at Cornell University. As a dietician in a hospital setting 30+ years ago, I cared for many very sick patients who were often unwittingly sabotaging their health with their lifestyle choices. Now, thankfully, we know the monumental impact of nutrition on the prevention and reversal of chronic disease, but at the time, medical nutrition therapy was not considered an evidenced based science. lt was terribly frustrating to witness the patient disconnect with regard to their own lifestyle choices and their health. Consequently, I left the field and returned to school to study pharmacy. During my 20 years of hospital pharmacy practice, I have observed an incredible rise in the rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and I was again feeling frustrated and dissatisfied. I really wanted and needed to put health into my practice as a healthcare professional! My final wake-up call came a couple of years ago, when two of my colleagues (very close to my age) tragically died of cancer. They were only 58 and 62. It really forced me to look at my life and ask the questions-- What really matters to me and what do I want my life to stand for? During this same period, I completed a pharmacy continuing education module in health coaching, and I knew I had found the path to fulfill my potential as a true health advocate. I then applied to one of the best programs in the country, and completed my certification in Integrative Health Coaching at Duke Integrative Medicine.

Dumfries Community Choir

dumfries community choir

Dumfries

We’re one of the biggest community platform in the South of Scotland, and we work with our partners to use culture as means to improve the lives of our community who are experiencing high levels of social and rural isolation. As a unique social co-operative, we have over 170 voluntary members who contribute to our social model through volunteering, sponsorship or advocacy. Anyone can join our membership organisation. We have just taken over the Loreburn Hall in the centre of Dumfries which is a temporary cultural space, including an 80 seat cinema, 50 seat cabaret lounge, 50 seat black box theatre and a main hall with a capacity of 1200 Our work takes place in schools, residential homes, cafes, car parks, swimming pools and in all sorts of locations throughout our region. We believe that there are barriers that prevent members of our community taking part in culture and we do everything we can to deliver socially driven projects that help to improve the cultural health of our region through our seasons of projects which aim to increase resilience by connecting our community through our cultural programmes and services. Our signature projects include a diverse range of community arts based programmes and iconic place-making projects including our annual winter festival, Carlisle Fringe, Dumfries Carnival, Le Haggis, High Tea, Queer Haggis, Dumfries Youth Theatre, Dumfries Community Choir and Producers of the Future. Every year we deliver more than 300 shows across our festival programmes, as well as weekly community arts sessions to over 100 participants, creative industry training for emerging artists and the sector across Dumfries & Galloway, and traineeships in producing across our major projects. Our cultural skills development programme is one of the largest of its kind in the UK. At the centre of our work is the belief that we can use culture to connect people, we advocate that culture is good for our wellbeing and health, and that art is a form of human expression and creativity. Our network of over 100 associate artists and producers includes performance makers, producers, artists and collaborators who believe in the power of social change.

Autism Voice

autism voice

London

Autism Voice is a parent-driven not for profit organization set up in 2013, by parents of an autistic child who struggled to get acceptance and recognition from members of their community in South London. Autism Voice aims to end stigma and discrimination attached to Autism. Our VISION Autism Voice envisions a society in which people with autism and co-occurring conditions and their families are supported by a society that works to ensure they can live with dignity, participate in a quality of life, and strive for a brighter future. Our MISSION Autism is still poorly understood by many people in different communities in the UK. Our mission is to educate the public about the condition, give and advocate for support and protection of people within the spectrum and help in enhancing autistic people and their families to live a happy and fulfilling lives. Our Values Reliable (always doing what we say we will) Excellence (striving for excellence and quality) Honesty (in all our dealings and maintaining the highest integrity) Equality (all stakeholders are respected) Culture of learning (we value learning and feedback for service improvement) Forward thinking (endurance and innovation in our practice) From these core values, we ensure: Integrity and respect in reputation Innovation and excellence in practice A positive and passionate organization Inspiring leadership Consistency and endurance in adversity Goals Be the association and voice for Autism in the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic community in the UK. Forge a better cultural understanding between the autistic community in BAME and professionals. Work in partnership with a range of voluntary, private, and statutory agencies to improve access to services for autistic people and their families. Encourage research into Autism in the BAME community. A better understanding of ASC particularly among members of the BAME community in the UK. People with ASC from mainly the BAME community having access to relevant services. Autistic children having access to appropriate intervention, services and resources immediately following diagnosis. People with ASC and their families have transition plans that result in more independent adult life that is meaningful to the individual. Individuals with ASC will have effective interventions, services and supports throughout their lifetime.

Vanessa Potter

vanessa potter

London

Thanks for finding me here. I’m a self-experimenting author, speaker and wellness advocate, but it wasn’t always that way… On October 1st 2012 I sat in a hospital waiting room staring at a white notice board. When I’d arrived, the letters had been visible, but over time they’d started to fade. Punctuation marks dissolved, as if wiped off by a zealous cleaner. Every blink washed away more of my sight. Within 72 hours I was blind and paralysis had snaked up my body, leaving numbness in its wake. Losing two of my senses was terrifying and I didn’t know if I’d see my children again. For a while I lost connection with the outer world and my future was uncertain. Slowly my visual system rebooted, but the world didn’t look like it should. Grey wispy shapes swirled and eerie lines jiggled on the horizon. None of it made any sense. Over time I listened to the more subtle cues my body transmitted and learnt new ways to adapt. Months later when I started to feel, rather than see, the colour red and when blue objects fizzed and spat like a lit sparkler, my curiosity was ignited. I set out on a mission to better understand the incredible resilience and healing power of my mind. It was a journey that led to collaborations with scientists, my first book, Patient H69: The Story of my Second Sight, a TEDx talk and then a second book, Finding My Right Mind: One Woman’s Experiment to put Meditation to the Test. Nature played a huge part in my year-long recovery, so in 2021 I co-founded ParkBathe, a citizen science, green health initiative in collaboration with Derby University. The project encourages people who are wellness sceptics to experience a 1-hour version of forest bathing in urban parks and is funded by the National Lottery. Forest bathing is simply walking mindfully in nature while absorbing the woodland atmosphere via the senses. As the project is part of a research study, walkers are invited to wear heartrate (HRV) monitors which record their stress levels before and after each session. This provides each person with an individualised measure of the wellbeing benefits. Get the whole story and listen to interviews with walkers, scientists and nature guides on the ParkBathe podcast. I am partially sighted and live in London, UK, with husband and two children.

FGM Specialist Network

fgm specialist network

In 2013, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and our partners (Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association (CPHVA), Royal College of Nursing (RCN), Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG), Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health (RCPCH), Human Rights Organisations such as Equality Now, FORWARD and other charities, activists and survivors) came together to produce the Intercollegiate Recommendations for identifying, Recording and Reporting in the UK which formed the basis for government actions to End FGM. Since then, we continue to work with our partners to lobby the government for services and support for survivors of FGM, raise public awareness and advocate for training and support for health and social care professionals and those who work with women and children. Some of these initiatives aim to support health professionals and build links with communities where FGM is practised, so that we can highlight the health and psychological impact of FGM. They also include training such as e-learning modules, and a variety of FGM related resources and tools specifically aimed at Specialist Midwives. With funding from the Department of Health and NHS England, we have jointly developed this discrete e-platform aimed at Specialist FGM Midwives, doctors, health visitors, nurses, students and relevant health and social care professionals, as a means of creating a virtual forum of support where relevant resources can be accessed, including links to appropriate data on FGM. The e-network would also act as a confidential platform for discussion of issues or specific problems, and for sharing information and best practice in a safe space There are also discussion groups available to non-health professionals involved in the campaign against FGM. It is hoped that members would come together at least once a year for a conference or workshop. Why you should be a member Membership of the e-platform enables you to be part of a virtual community of health and social care professionals, working to support girls and women at risk of FGM, gives you access to evidence abased resources and experts. You will be part of the discussion groups and can participate in subject matter discussions, share your expertise and information. Seek help and support and gain access to tools and learning resources. Once a year, you will be able to present your work at the annual event and be part of a larger strategic network