The UK government has invested 2.5m in a video games centre at Abertay University, Dundee. How did the city became a centre for the industry?… From BBC News. Full story

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Big screen close up, originally uploaded by Envisage Photo.

Another photographer’s capture of Big Angus.
Sharing Science DVD courtesy of Welcome Trust Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, College of Life Science.
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Craig Levein

Dundee Utd manager Craig Levein

The bookies favourite and my personal number one choice. Levein has proved successful throughout his managerial career, building a strong team at Heart then Leicester and now on a limited budget, he has produced a Dundee United team that look capable of upsetting the Old Firm for the title. He would bring a fresh new look to the squad and starting XI where players are selected on merit, rather than the usual reputation based picks, which usually means an Rangers or Celtic player. We have for too long now deployed the dull 4-5-1 system and Dundee United have filled their team with young Scots and a reject, ageing Everton reject and are somehow playing stylish 4-4-2 football. Beats me how he’s done it, but let’s hope he can do it with Scotland.

David Moyes

 Yes, I know he is Everton manager, and I know that means he’s unlikely to take it, but this is my outside shout. Everton have enjoyed very little about their start to the season and after midweek defeat to lowly Hull City, they now sit 14^th in the table. 8 years in the job, has Moyes done all he can with the Merseyside club. Now that Liverpool have given them a doing, lets hope Moyes gets the boot and fancies a go at the Scotland job. Unlikely, but you never know.

                                                                                                                                                                      Graeme Souness

Please, no. Just no. Scotland will become a Rangers B side if he takes over. Thought by many to be one of the players of his generation but now a managerial duffer. When trying to spot a player he couldn’t tell an arse from an elbow as he expertly proved at Newcastle. Been out of a job now for almost 4 years and hasn’t budged from his seat in the sky sports studio. Doubt he’s watched anything but a Rangers game in this time and probably couldn’t name you all 12 SPL clubs. If my tone here seems short, it because I’m getting pissed off even thinking about the possibility. I’ve never prayed before, but I will now. If there is anyone up there, God…Buddha…whoever, please don’t let it be Souness.

Jim Jeffries

 The longest serving manager in the SPL currently with Kilmarnock but would be another daft appointment. Has achieved bugger all with them in his 8 years apart from mid-table mediocrity, fair enough on a budget of £50 or so, and has a board who sell at the first sniff from Rangers, but even still I think he’d struggle. We often talk about players being bigger than a club, but with the inflamed ego’s some of our national team seem to be sporting, they seem to think they are bigger than the country and as much as I’d love to see some of them get dropped, we need them, and I don’t know if Jeffries would be up to the task of managing them.

Jimmy Calderwood

Another no-no. Out of a job currently which will be appealing to cash stricken SFA but they must look beyond this. Part of the laughing stock of Scottish football on Only an Excuse, he’s more famous for his ‘Bernie Winters’ lookalike skills than any of his managerial achievements. Lacking in experience of dealing with real pressure would be  another major negative and he doesn’t appear to be a strong enough character not to fold under the pressure from the SFA to edge towards the Old Firm players. I really hope he doesn’t get it, but it wouldn’t at all surprise me if he did.

Walter Smith

January is fast approaching and Rangers appear to be showing no signs of offering him a new contract. He has already ruled himself out, but with a little persuasion and a decent wage, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him change his mind. I think even if the Ibrox club do offer him a new deal, he will probably decline it and pass over the reins to his apprentice in waiting, Ally McCoist. This leaves him with two options really – either get this job back, a job he had relative success with before quitting, or retire. Whatever he chooses to do, I won’t really be bothered, unless Souness gets picked ahead of him.

Gordon Strachan

If Burley had been sacked a game earlier, the job would have probably been his. But he’s Middlesborough manager now. So it won’t be him. End of.

John Collins

Another man not in a job so he’ll not cost very much but another lacking in managerial experience. He was in the squad the last time we qualified so he knows what it takes but brief spells with Hibs and Charleroi isn’t exactly the CV you would expect a Scotland national manager to have.

Other candidates have come forward such as Dan Petrescu and Csaba Laszlo and are thought to be amongst the 20 managers the SFA revealed have applied for the job. They are however unlikely to choose a foreign manager after the Berti Vogts saga.

That’s the list. If they aren’t on the list then they aren’t in with a shout. If there is someone I’ve forgotten about and the SFA come out with a surprise choice, I’ll apologise if it’s a good one, and I’ll slate them.

Hey out there!

How’s things? Been dragged forcibly into the Christmas spirit yet?
Things have been very busy for us here. We’ve been filming at a couple of fashion events as well as pulling together our entry for this year’s Comedy Smalls competition…

Sadly, we didn’t win this time, but here’s the vid for your viewing pleasure…

I think it was way better than our winning entry from last year, but feel free to give us constructive criticism, so long as it’s disguised by tons of flattery.

I promise I’ll get those last few notes from the BBC Writersroom seminar up soon too, but not today, as we’re getting ready to go film a panto tonight.

Take it easy for now!

L.

Last Friday I made a copious amount of food to help introduce my friends and classmates to the really spiffy holiday that is Thanksgiving. (Which, for the record, most of the non-Americans don’t understand in the slightest). My cooking menu was

• pecan praline cheesecake
• stuffing/dressing
• a roasted vegetable and rice salad for the gluten free/dairy free folks
• mashed potatoes
• a pear and cranberry dessert for the gluten free/dairy free folks

Before we kick off what will likely be a pretty long post, here is the page from my field notebook that I scribbled the notes from my recipes.

The cheesecake went something like this:

The cheesecake is not my recipe. It’s actually just an aggregation of three recipes–the Joy of Baking’s recipe for shortbread, Emeril Legasse’s recipe for creamy pecan pralines, and adapted from Epicurious’s recipe for New York Cheesecake. Some general notes–pecan pralines are intensely sweet, so you can almost assuredly get away with less sugar in the other components. I already reduced the sugar in the cheesecake by 1/4 cup–I think it could probably go as low as 1 cup and still be fine. I’m not 100% sure on the quantities for the praline part. I quadrupled the recipe to make extra to give as gifts… However, I had so much praline that I wouldn’t be surprised if that quantity is just perfect. If you’re feeling unsure, double that part. Extra can be spooned on to parchment paper and eaten out of hand. I used dark brown sugar, which in the UK is MUCH more molassesy than dark brown sugar in the US. I would probably go with light brown sugar the next time. But the molassessy flavor kind of works–it almost makes it a little bacony. It’s up to you. I will measure the vessels that I used to give you an idea of the volume needed for this recipe. Also, if you’re going to spoon them out into pralines candies, wait until it’s cooled down significantly and the candy is pretty viscous and gloopy. You don’t want to do it while they’re still runny, or you’ll have very flat, very fragile pralines. The candy will get more opaque as it cools. Try a couple and you’ll get a feel for spooning them out.

Shortbread crust:

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (60 grams) sugar [Joy Of Baking calls for powdered--I used granulated with excellent results]
1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

Praline layer

1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons water
1 cup pecan halves

Cheesecake

5 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks

The Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 177 C.

2. Line one really large or two smaller cheesecake-shaped vessels with parchment paper. (You can do this properly, like Alton Brown does, but cutting out a circle for the bottom and a strip to make a collar around the edges, but just squishing the parchment paper in there works just as well if beauty is not important to you. And cheesecake, my friends, is form independent.)

3. Combine the ingredients for the shortbread crust. (You can do this properly, by creaming the butter until smooth, and then creaming the sugar and butter until smooth, and then blending in the vanilla or whiskey, and then cutting in the flour…. but I just mixed it all together all at once and it was still delicious.)

4. Fill the bottom of the parchment lined cheesecake vessels with shortbready goodness and press it down until all nooks and crannies are appropriately filled and it’s more or less even. I used my hands–the butter in the dough was sticking to the glass I tried to use.

6. Pop the crusts into the preheated oven and bake them until they’re lightly golden brown. Take them out to cool.

The Praline:

7. Chop up your pralines into sizes you wouldn’t mind appearing in your mouth. Toast them if you like.

8. Combine the brown sugar, white sugar, butter, water, and cream in a LARGE pot on the stove. I cannnot stress enough that it should be MUCH larger than you think it needs to be–when the sugar starts boiling, it’s going to expand a lot. There is nothing more annoying than having to switch praline pots mid-boil. I should know–the first three times I made these things I had to change pots. It’s a great way to get boiling sugar all over yourself. So, if I were you, I would use your largest stockpot. Just to be on the safe side.

9. CONSTANT VIGILANCE! STIR FOR ALL YOU’RE WORTH. You want to put the pot over medium-high heat and stir until the mixture hits 238 F to 240 F degrees on a candy thermometer. That’s the soft ball stage, and you can totally do it by dropping a drizzle of praline in cold water… but I MUCH prefer the thermometer method. Less guesswork and worry that the pralines won’t set up. A praline cooked to 239 F will set up just right every time.

10. Once you’ve reached the soft ball stage, pull the pralines off the heat and add the pecans. Keep stirring! I found it useful to place the hot pot on the cold floor (laminate or concrete–would’t try that on carpet or tile.) The cold, cold floor here pulls the heat right out of the pot. Once a spot on the floor has warmed up too much to pull the heat out of the pot, you move the pot to a new cold spot and warm your feet on the warm spot left where the pot previously was!

11. Stir until the pecans are suspended in the praline, then pour into the cooled crusts.

The Cheesecake:

12. Preheat the oven to 550 F/288 C. Cream the cream cheese until it’s smooth. Do not kip this step if you’re working by hand, or the batter will never come out smoothly.

13. Cream the cream cheese and the sugar.

14. Mix in the eggs and yolks one at a time, waiting until each is completely incorporated before adding the next.

15. Pour the batter over the cooled praline in the parchment lined cheesecake vessels.

16. Put the cheesecake in the middle of the very hot oven. Place another oven safe vessel at the bottom of the oven and fill it with boiling water.

17. Bake the cheesecake at 550 F/288 C for 12 minutes, until the centers are pleasantly puffed. Then reduce the heat to 200 F/93 C and bake for another hour or so until set. The center will be slightly wobbly.

Now, really, you should put these in the fridge for eight hours to set up properly. I am never that patient; 3 hours in the freezer will do the same job.

This initial offering from Scottish band ‘Dave?‘ is a lithe little number clocking in at a slight 2;50.

As it contains nought but guitar bass drums and vocals you might be forgiven for thinking that it conforms to the template which has seen various east coast rock band’s releases savaged in the anglocentric music press of late, but this is an altogether different kettle of fish.

An ode to inadequacy written from the perspective of a solitary drinker, the song starts rather abruptly and rattles through a wiry, cribsy first verse (featuring some clever drumming) before kicking into a rather beautiful chorus.  From here it falls down only to pick its self up and charge through an excellent finale, the chiming minor chords and shouted backing vocals perfectly matching the melancholy mood of the lyrics.

All in all an excellent song, well worth 79p. Released December 14th.

4/5

It’s Saturday night at a nameless pub in Dundee. A group of unremarkable looking middle aged men are churning out FM radio rock hits for an indifferent crowd. They’re currently playing ‘Sing’ by Travis, a song about as stimulating as tap water. The people in the bar are a fairly typical looking bunch. Short hair and sensible clothes for the guys, dresses, heels and fake tan for the women. They’ll probably end up dancing to Beyoncé/Akon/Tinchy (there is no excuse for this man’s success) Stryder in some shite nightclub before going home, throwing up a mix of blue wkd and half digested kebab then sleeping through church.

And there’s nothing wrong (potential damnation of the eternal soul aside) with that, except…

…on the other side of town a very different sort of band are taking to the stage. They are a local group named Hanney. There are seven of them but it’s difficult to tell because a; the lineup changes from song to song and b; they’re nearly all wearing crazy flourescent make up and are festooned with glow sticks. This makes it rather hard for the uninitiated to tell them apart, particularly in a crowd as energetic as the one which greets them. The audience are covered with glow sticks too and the effect of this coupled with the onstage UV lights (the rest of the venue’s lighting has been turned off) is a sight to behold.

Hanney include two vocalists, two guitarists, bass, drums and a synth/sampler/turntables man at the back. The music is electro meets baggy meets metal with a political slant- sort of like the Happy Mondays crossed with Rage Against the Machine- with all of the anger, energy and funk which that implies. It takes a couple of minutes but when

Hanney

Five minutes away from these chaotic scenes our nameless cover band are taking to the stage for the second half of their gig. They’ve spent the 15 minutes between sets hanging around outside smoking staring at the floor in true clubby fashion, avoiding the drunks and wishing that they were almost anywhere else. A fight breaks out outside the door. Singer and guitarist exchange looks, squeeze past the bouncers and wander over to the stage. Looking for all the world like they’ve just heard of the death of a beloved family pet they start playing ‘Sex on Fire’ by Kings of Leon, possibly the most overplayed piece of guitar music of the past decade except for… that other one they did, mind? It went oh-ooh-oh, oh-ooh-oh… no? Ach it was pish anyway.

Hanney are nearing the end of their set, but the crowd shows no sign of letting up. A wee stocky english guy is walking up to people and asking them if they have any ecstasy in a manner which screams ‘undercover police officer’. The band are halfway through pulsating techno finale ‘This Is Our Day’ when their equipment gives up and the drummer (now playing guitar) calls a halt to proceedings. It seems bizarre that anyone would willingly watch a cover band when there is the option to witness something as downright mental as this.

This isn’t the review that I wanted to write. Promising start, eh? Seriously though, on Friday the 20th of November 2009, the one and only Blazin’ Squad were scheduled to play a gig at the Landmark Hotel in Dundee. Unfortunately they cancelled (the good Lord having apparently seen fit to strike them down with a bout of swine flu, probably because of ‘flip reverse‘), so here’s a review of a credible band who actually play their own instruments and stuff instead.

Actually, credible might be the wrong word to describe the Paddingtons. The Hull five piece first rose to prominence in 2005 as part of the post Libertines surge in forgettable gutter punk bands and were deemed thoroughly unremarkable then. Even the positive review of their first album in NME acknowledged the fact that they were rather less than original, more a

The Paddingtons at the old Doghouse on their previous visit to Dundee.

‘crystallisation’ of the zeitgeist than anything new and exciting. That designer Hedi Slimane picked up on their ‘look’ for a range of clothing for Dior illustrates well how right on the money they were… not exactly punk though, is it?

They take to the stage right on time having hung around the venue beforehand watching the supports (an act of impressive humility from a touring band). That they are playing Dundee’s 300 capacity doghouse must be a bit galling for a group who were playing at high end fashion shows in Paris a few years back, but not this nor the fact that the venue isn’t particularly busy seems to put them off. They jitter about the stage like a group of children awaiting their Ritalin, the singer doing his best Johnny Lydon while the band play… yeah it’s still scratchy lofi indie punk, but it’s much more compelling live. The musicianship isn’t too special; there is the odd flashy guitar lick here and there while the drummer thumps his kit with that precise gleeful violence the best rock drummers share.

However, even though the playing isn’t exactly mind blowing and the songs and style are derivative they’re still somehow quite good. They’re more than competent and clearly doing what they love. For a group who seem over their peak commercially, playing smaller venues and to less people than they have in the recent past, they’ve lost little hunger. There is a hint of weariness in the bass players voice as he announces their second single (and still best song) Panic Attack as ‘Our Summer of 69′, but when they play it they do so with gusto, like they’ve got a job to do and they want to do it as well as they can. I don’t mean to sound patronising in an ‘aw bless they’re still trying’ sort of way (and i should note that their music doesn’t appeal to me at all personally) but they are a good live band and if you want to go and see them you will definitely not be disappointed.

Will write a little about my thoughts on last night’s show tomorrow but in the meantime here are some pics of the bands performing:

Su, Panda Su

David and Kate, Kid Canaveral

Ashley and Mark, Saint Jude’s Infirmary

Graeme and Andy, Hookers for Jesus

If you’ve been wondering what I have been working on like a madwoman, now is your chance to see. These are the fruits of our efforts to make Capability Scotland’s volunteering more sustainable.

Here is our group presentation, which I presented.

I haven’t made a true slidecast with audio or anything yet, but here is what I planned to say with the slides (only reviewing the video will tell me how close I got!)

Slide 1:

Good morning, everyone! Thank you for coming out in the face of such fierce weather to be here for our presentation. On behalf of the 2010 Design Ethnography program, I want to thank you for opening up your organization to us and offering us this tremendous opportunity for learning and growth. It has been a month long wild ride and a great pleasure coming to know the volunteers, staff, and service users of Capability. Thank you for that. Now, I’m going to give a broad overview of what we all did–our initial brief, how we approached the project, and the highlights of our findings. Each individual team will be giving a more in-depth look at their segment of the project in short order.

Slide 2:

You asked us to make it easier to recruit and retain volunteers. This is a significant challenge for an organisation as diverse as Capability. To ensure that we addressed the issue in appropriate depth, and to avoid redundant work, we decided to have each team focus on a subsection of the volunteer force. One group is focusing on the young volunteers–17 to 25 year olds. Another group is focusing on best utilizing the corporate volunteers. We have a group focusing on older volunteers, who make up the bulk of Capability’s volunteer force and name recognition. Finally, we have a group looking into the assessment volunteers, the MIND panelists and 1 in 4 poll takers who help steer capability in disability issues.

Sustainability means something different to each of these groups.

Slide 3:

For young volunteers, sustainability requires making the benefits of volunteering very clear.

Slide 4:

For corporate volunteers, it’s about finding the right volunteer at the right time.

Slide 5:

For older volunteers, sustainability requires facillitating usefullness within the Capability community

Slide 6:

For the asssessment volunteers, sustainability requires inspiring and motivating volunteers to continue to contribute their ideas.

Slide 7:

We all made these discoveries using similar methods–the standard toolkit of an ethnographer. After our brief four weeks ago today, we dove into fieldwork. We interviewed and observed volunteers, staff, and service users in their natural environments at Capability. We did a little talking, and a lot of listening. We then took all of the information from that distilled it. This part of the process involves a lot of Post-It notes. Secretly, they’re kicking us money for product placement. Once we have the insights down, we organized them, and reorganized them. We used the POINTs brainstorm that we did with you several weeks back, among other methods, until the themes and patterns that emerged in our interactions fell out into insight.

Slide 8: While each group has insights that are specific to their volunteer subset, four broad insights were constant across all groups. We found that all volunteers need awareness–about what

Capability does and what their role and responsibilities are within Capability.

All volunteers need support from Capability, in the form of unified training and consistent supervision and feedback.

All volunteers need recognition for their vital contribution to the organization.

And finally, volunteers need to understand the impact of their contribution. They want to see how what they are doing is furthering the mission of Capability Scotland.

Those are the broad strokes, the big four needs that Capability volunteers have. We’re going to follow that up, now, with an in depth look at the needs of each of the four groups of Capability Volunteers. So fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen, and let’s rock and roll.

And here’s what I presented for my team. I don’t have a completed speaking plan written out for this assignment, but I have part of it.

Slide 1: Sustainable Youth Volunteering

Our group, Neha, Ilya, Leanne, and I, focused on young volunteers. 17 to 25 year olds. The iPod generation. The Facebook status updating, blog writing, youtube video uploading generation. One would think, with all the me-focused communicating that these young’ens do, that they are all about themselves. And in some ways, they are. If they can’t see the immediate benefits of an action, they often won’t take it. But inside the technology bubble, this generation is tremendously empathetic. They want to make a difference. They want social change. They just need some help seeing how their work has impact.

Slide 2: Why Capability Scotland Needs Young Volunteers

So why invest the time? Why does Capability need these volunteers?

Because if you build a solid relationship with them while they are still forming their identities, they will incorporate Capability into themselves. They will internalize their experience here, make it a part of their identity, and then stick around. They will finish school or university and become corporate volunteers, or perhaps even staff members. They will eventually retire and become part of Capability’s formidable older volunteer force. They will stay around and play many different roles as the grow and change alongide the organization.

Young volunteers also bring with them fresh perspectives. They are steeped in the latest technologies, and can pass on those technologies to Capability to harness. They are also unafraid to take risks. Young people are doing a lot of exploration at this point in their lives, and Capability can benefit from their risk-taking.

Finally, young people are the best advertising engine you could hope to harness for free. If a young person really loves something, they’ll share it. With one Facebook status update, you can reach hundreds of other people–a pool of potential volunteers. This generation is globally connected. They crave travel, and develop international connections that they utilize to pass on their thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Young people are connected in a way no previous generation has been. If you hook a few vocal young people, you have open access to hundreds of their friends.

Slide 3: Young People Need Capability So They Can Contribute

But now why do young people need Capability?

In spite of the seeming self-absorption that young people you may have met or raised seem to exhibit, young people desperately want to contribute. One only has to look at Facebook pages for causes to be convinced of that. They are hungry for ways to make a difference, correct injustice, help the helpless. They’re just not sure how to do that in a way that actually has impact, so instead they sign Facebook petitions. They enjoy helping people–they just have to be shown how their help has impact.

Slide 4: Young People Need Capability So They Can Gain Experience

Young people also need Capability to gain experience. They need to learn skills that can help them later in life. They need to try things that will challenge and stretch them and cause them to grow. Your teenager is not going to come to you and say, “Mom, what I really need it so be challenged so that I can grow as a person,” but all the exploration that young people do speaks for itself. Capability can help young people with that growth.

Slide 5: Young People Need Capability So They Can Build Community

And finally, young people need Capability to help them build community. They want to meet new people, make new friends, and have a vehicle for connecting with old friends in new ways.

Those are the reasons why young people need Capability–now let’s talk about what they consider when they’re thinking about volunteering.

Slide 6: Volunteering Considerations

There are 4 key areas that young people contemplate when they’re thinking about volunteering. They are concerned about time commitment. Young people have a lot of demands on their time, from their school to their work to their Facebook farm. So they are looking for engagements that are flexible and conventient.

Young people want to work for causes that resonate with them. They want to feel connected to a mission, something greater than themselves. Whether it’s a personal connection to the cause, a general belief in the mission, or just a convergence of opportunity and personal interest, young people want something that fits them.

Career benefits are a huge issue for young people. They want to see how their volunteering will further their career goals.

Finally, they want it to be social. Everything about this generation is connected, and they want their volunteering to be rich with connection as well.

Slide 7: Overview of Fieldwork

How do we know all this?

We talked to a lot of different people. We talked to Capability volunteers and staff. We talked to volunteers from other organizations. We talked to people who had volunteered, and those who had never volunteered. We talked to those were looking to volunteer, and those who couldn’t be bothered. All told, we interacted with 49 people in our quest to understand the youth perspective on volunteering.

All of their stories, however, are too much to present here. We wouldn’t just be here all day–we’d be here for three weeks. So we’ve taken all of that information and condensed it into personas. A persona is a tool that vividly demonstrates the themes and patterns in our data. We create characters from our rich fieldwork that illustrate the key points that we came across. So we’re going to introduce you to a few of our personas, and walk you through their process of considering capability.

The presentations themselves went well. There were some technical difficulties with my presentation of the iVolunteer project–the projector cut off the right edge of the slides and the mouse I was using as a clicker ran out of battery halfway through the presentation, but all in all it was all right. I do not feel that I put on my best performance, but I was certainly solidly in the adequate territory.

It was what happened after the presentation that was really glorious. We had a structured workshop in which we brainstormed with our clients the ways in which they can implement our recommendations. It was amazing to see them incorporate everything so quickly. It was a glorious thing to behold, their new ownership of our ideas. I feel that we really revolutionized their organization. It was a totally different high than a computer science project high. We have just set in motion changes that will impact thousands of volunteers, staff, and service users, that will in turn improve the lives of the people they touch… It was very cool. “Bloody magical,” was the phrase in my head at the time.

I will have a full run down of my thoughts on the subject later, as well as a comparison of the computer science project emotional curve to the design ethnography emotional curve. This was my first real project, and dang it all, if I don’t really love it.

By Michael MacLeod

BLUBBING Scots telly babe Lorraine Kelly was in floods of tears yesterday as celebrities from across the globe wished her a happy 50th birthday.

Stars including film hunk Gerry Butler, The Bee Gees, Peter Andre and Ricky Gervais sent surprise messages while she presented yesterday morning’s GMTV.

Looking wholesome as ever in revealing tartan dress, the big-hearted Dundee mum couldn’t hold back the tears as youngsters from the Black Watch Army Cadets also passed on their best wishes.

In a morning packed full of surprises, Lorraine was relieved from her usual presenting duties by another TV queen, Paul O’Grady, with the set adorned with balloons.

The camp star leapt onto the GMTV set and whipped off his bowtie, treating Lorraine to an impromptu birthday strip-show.

He told her: “You’ve been on telly almost half your life Lorraine, so there’s no way we could let your fiftieth go by without embarrassing you.”

A host of famous faces

Fellow Scot turned Hollywood hero Gerard Butler said: “Lorraine is 50? I can’t believe it.

“If it’s true, happy birthday.”

Hit boyband JLS joined them on the GMTV sofa to get Lorraine’s pulse racing.

Other well-wishers on the show included Doctor Who star David Tennant, singers Will Young and Leona Lewis and rockers Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.

Even the footballers from Lorraine’s beloved Dundee United sent a special message from their changing room.

Producers then showed a an impressive montage of celebs Lorraine has interviewed, including Elton John, Kylie Minogue, George Clooney, Joan Collins and Hugh Grant.

She was in Dundee at the weekend where husband Steve – also 50 – put on a big birthday bash along with Lorraine’s friends and relatives.

While she commutes to London every Sunday night to present the morning show, Lorraine said home is firmly where her heart is.

“A brilliant start to being 50″

She jets home to Dundee to be with Steve and their daughter Rosie every weekend.

Lorraine credited her own mum, Anne, for her youthful looks.

She said: “It’s all thanks to my mum that I have my legs and my cheekbones.”

But O’Grady said her “best assets” were neither her legs nor her cheekbones.

He said: “You’re most famous for your amazing bosom Lorraine, it goes before you.

“But it’s great you’ve done so much to raise awareness of breast cancer.”

Closing the show with a personalised cake featuring her famous bust and pink champagne, she said: “I’ve been welling up all morning.

“I had a fantastic night on Saturday and I’ve been totally spoiled today.

“It’s been a brilliant start to being 50.”

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

Earlier this week, the government rejected Everton’s proposal to move to a new custom-built stadium in Kirby. This rejection was seen as a shattering blow by many as the club look to move out of the relatively dilapidated Goodison Park. However, just as many people are rejoicing at the decision which will surely ensure that the famous old club stays within the city boundaries.

Now, it would appear the Everton board are proposing a ground-share with their old rivals across the city. Despite how close the two current grounds are, a ground-share appears to be a controversial call, but in a time of financial crisis, is it not just good economics?

Ground-sharing is common on the continent, with Italy being the best example. If two clubs the size of the Milan duo can share the San Siro, surely anybody can share a stadium? Same goes for Roma and Lazio and the Stadia Olympico. Or maybe not.

Whilst economics would certainly play a part towards the building of the stadium, both Everton and Liverpool would be realistically hoping to spend the next 100 years in their new home. Of course, football grounds are more than just stadiums these days, with many being used to house concerts, meetings and banquets. In one stadium, both clubs would have to share these potentially huge profits, which is highly unattractive long-term.

However, surely the most important factor is the feeling between both sets of fans. On a recent survey, it is painfully evident that neither Everton fans or Liverpool supporters fancy sharing their home with the other, despite the relationship between both clubs being known as the ‘Friendly Rivalry’. Indeed, my own favourite thing about the game is seeing the two groups of supporters sat-side-by-side in the stands. That being said, the fans have made it clear they would neither welcome nor support having both clubs under one roof.

I think the issue here is the size of both clubs. In smaller cities, I think it is much more appropriate. Indeed, the city of Dundee has recently made a similar proposal. For anybody who is unsure on the distance between the two stadiums, they are both on the same street, literally a stone’s throw away. Neither club gets gates over 15,000, and so a shared stadium would be ideal. Indeed, United manager Craig Levein has suggested a brand new 20,000 capacity ground shared by both clubs would be brilliant, and he’s quite correct.

To expand on this, I believe it would be appropriate in many Scottish cities, and would perhaps provide much-needed revenue for clubs outside the Old Firm. A shared 30-40,000 ground for Hearts and Hibs would certainly help bridge the gap between the Old Firm. However, I do not believe that as a proposal many ‘big’ clubs would accept it. I’d be surprised if it was accepted in any English city, to tell you the truth.

Can you imagine the Manchester clubs, the North London clubs or the Old Firm in shared stadia? Neither can I. There is just too much to lose, and not least home advantage in local derbies. It is for this reason why i think the Everton board are barking up the wrong tree here.

Surely the Everton support will be even more against this than the move outside the city limits? I’d be interested to hear how you would react if your club issued the same proposal with your nearest-and-dearest.

As always, all comments are appreciated.

This is an essay I wrote for my Strategic Design Thinking class. It is a reflection on four assignments that we did that I will post as soon as I get them scanned. The first assignment that we did is described pretty well in the essay, but the second assignment is somewhat glossed over. Basically, the second assignment was to take four recently completed projects, describe them, give them a success rating from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best, analyze our motivations for doing the project, and then analyze what we could have done to make it more successful. The third assignment was to plot a knowledge, network, and skill development strategy to attain a goal in 2012. The fourth assignment was to map our project process. And without further ado…

“It’s… a bit hippy-dippy for my tastes,” I wrote home after my first Strategic Design class. “We were given these big sheets of paper and told to write our definition of “ethnography”, what an ethnographic perspective is, and the ten key skills of an ethnographer. Then we hung our sheets up on the walls and talked about them. Like show and tell, only I’m paying thirty grand for it.” My skepticism dissolved, however, as soon as I began to read the other papers hanging on the walls. My first impulse was to envy the works posted around me. Two of my fellow design ethnographers had included “fearlessness” on their lists of key skills and I wished that I had thought to incorporate that in my own list. As I continued reading, though, even the envy dropped away. After all, the purpose of the exercise seemed to be to learn from each other’s perceptions. I could pick and choose my favorite viewpoints and presentations from my classmates’ papers and fold them into my own, a variation of the theft that Picasso attributed to great artists.

I had come to Dundee having only the vaguest of notions what an ethnographer was, and an even vaguer perception of what a design ethnographer did. It was the topic of discussion in our first Design Ethnography lecture of the semester, held the day before we wrote our definitions. My own increased clarity was apparent in my definitions, and the similarity of our papers spoke volumes about the information relayed the day before. As I walked around the room, moving from ethnographers to designers, the interaction between ethnography and design became much more apparent to me. I was stunned by how similar the definitions were. Design, it seems, is for a purpose. It solves a particular problem. Ethnography, by contrast, is about locating purpose from the environment. Designers see the world as it should be–ethnographers see the world as it is. Design is beautiful, but ethnography is real–and it is at the intersection of those two, this place where design ethnographers sit, that a particular kind of magic can happen.

But while the definitions exercise provided me with clarity, it was the Drivers exercise that impacted me the most. I had chosen my most recent projects, which were completed under a great deal of stress. In fact, the period of their completion was among the most miserable in my entire life. While I wonder if there is a correlation between my perception of the success of a project and the motivation for that project, it was the drivers themselves that gave me most pause. Often I take up projects to prove that I can do them, or to prove that they can be accomplished at all. I will do projects simply because I think I can do them better than they have been done. I will do projects because no one else is willing to take them on.

These motivations, I have concluded, are not a good reason to do anything. What am I trying to prove, after all, and to whom? This is clearly a problem in my project adoption process, which was further illuminated by my process diagram. When presented with a new project possibility, I am often inundated with ideas–each more exciting and promising than the last–that tumble over each other in a hurry to get out and implemented. This excitement often cools some short while later, when the realities of the workload of a project sink in. It is generally at this point that I realize that I have taken on a project that I have no real interest in beyond that I wanted to prove something.

This insight has led me to implement a few new measures in my life. The first of these measures is a time management data collection system, so that I can develop an idea of how much time I am presently devoting to specific tasks and therefore how much time I have available to adopt new projects. The second is a mandatory project incubation period of at least 24 hours, in which I assess my motivations for taking on a project as well as the necessary resources that project completion will require. Those factors will be balanced against the benefits of successful project completion before a project is accepted. Hopefully, this process will prevent me from over-committing myself and will allow me to devote myself to projects that truly resonate with me.

This is an essay I wrote for my Strategic Design Thinking class. It is a reflection on four assignments that we did that I will post as soon as I get them scanned. The first assignment that we did is described pretty well in the essay, but the second assignment is somewhat glossed over. Basically, the second assignment was to take four recently completed projects, describe them, give them a success rating from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best, analyze our motivations for doing the project, and then analyze what we could have done to make it more successful. The third assignment was to plot a knowledge, network, and skill development strategy to attain a goal in 2012. The fourth assignment was to map our project process. And without further ado…

“It’s… a bit hippy-dippy for my tastes,” I wrote home after my first Strategic Design class. “We were given these big sheets of paper and told to write our definition of “ethnography”, what an ethnographic perspective is, and the ten key skills of an ethnographer. Then we hung our sheets up on the walls and talked about them. Like show and tell, only I’m paying thirty grand for it.” My skepticism dissolved, however, as soon as I began to read the other papers hanging on the walls. My first impulse was to envy the works posted around me. Two of my fellow design ethnographers had included “fearlessness” on their lists of key skills and I wished that I had thought to incorporate that in my own list. As I continued reading, though, even the envy dropped away. After all, the purpose of the exercise seemed to be to learn from each other’s perceptions. I could pick and choose my favorite viewpoints and presentations from my classmates’ papers and fold them into my own, a variation of the theft that Picasso attributed to great artists.

I had come to Dundee having only the vaguest of notions what an ethnographer was, and an even vaguer perception of what a design ethnographer did. It was the topic of discussion in our first Design Ethnography lecture of the semester, held the day before we wrote our definitions. My own increased clarity was apparent in my definitions, and the similarity of our papers spoke volumes about the information relayed the day before. As I walked around the room, moving from ethnographers to designers, the interaction between ethnography and design became much more apparent to me. I was stunned by how similar the definitions were. Design, it seems, is for a purpose. It solves a particular problem. Ethnography, by contrast, is about locating purpose from the environment. Designers see the world as it should be–ethnographers see the world as it is. Design is beautiful, but ethnography is real–and it is at the intersection of those two, this place where design ethnographers sit, that a particular kind of magic can happen.

But while the definitions exercise provided me with clarity, it was the Drivers exercise that impacted me the most. I had chosen my most recent projects, which were completed under a great deal of stress. In fact, the period of their completion was among the most miserable in my entire life. While I wonder if there is a correlation between my perception of the success of a project and the motivation for that project, it was the drivers themselves that gave me most pause. Often I take up projects to prove that I can do them, or to prove that they can be accomplished at all. I will do projects simply because I think I can do them better than they have been done. I will do projects because no one else is willing to take them on.

These motivations, I have concluded, are not a good reason to do anything. What am I trying to prove, after all, and to whom? This is clearly a problem in my project adoption process, which was further illuminated by my process diagram. When presented with a new project possibility, I am often inundated with ideas–each more exciting and promising than the last–that tumble over each other in a hurry to get out and implemented. This excitement often cools some short while later, when the realities of the workload of a project sink in. It is generally at this point that I realize that I have taken on a project that I have no real interest in beyond that I wanted to prove something.

This insight has led me to implement a few new measures in my life. The first of these measures is a time management data collection system, so that I can develop an idea of how much time I am presently devoting to specific tasks and therefore how much time I have available to adopt new projects. The second is a mandatory project incubation period of at least 24 hours, in which I assess my motivations for taking on a project as well as the necessary resources that project completion will require. Those factors will be balanced against the benefits of successful project completion before a project is accepted. Hopefully, this process will prevent me from over-committing myself and will allow me to devote myself to projects that truly resonate with me.

Fiona Clason

By Cara Sulieman

 

FRIENDS have paid touching tributes to a young woman who died after being hit by a car at the weekend.

Fiona Clason died at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh on Monday, the day after she was struck by a car on the capital’s waterfront.

The family of the 24-year-old were too upset to speak yesterday (Thurs) but friends of Ms Clason left touching messages on her social networking profile.

The University of Dundee graduate described herself as a fan of Hibs, Formula 1 racing and American Wrestling on her Facebook page.

“Love you”

Friends left messages praising Ms Clason, saying that she had been taken “too soon” and that “the world has become a darker place without you”.

Claire Sharkie wrote: “Love you Fi. So many amazing times and memories. Truly a great friend. Miss you so much.”

And another friend, Philip McKinstrey, added: “You always knew what to do and say to cheer up the whole room. I’ll miss you always.”

Police said Ms Clason was hit by a silver Volkswagen Golf on Waterfront Avenue at around 8pm on Sunday night.

Witness appeal

A 20-year-old was arrested and charged in connection with the incident, but has since been released pending further inquiries.

Lothian and Borders Police said that “further lines of inquiry” were being pursued and appealed for witnesses.

In particular, they are asking for passengers who were travelling on a Lothian number 38 bus which was in Waterfront Avenue at the time of the accident.

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

If you’ve been wondering what I have been working on like a madwoman, now is your chance to see. These are the fruits of our efforts to make Capability Scotland’s volunteering more sustainable.

Here is our group presentation, which I presented.

I haven’t made a true slidecast with audio or anything yet, but here is what I planned to say with the slides (only reviewing the video will tell me how close I got!)

Slide 1:

Good morning, everyone! Thank you for coming out in the face of such fierce weather to be here for our presentation. On behalf of the 2010 Design Ethnography program, I want to thank you for opening up your organization to us and offering us this tremendous opportunity for learning and growth. It has been a month long wild ride and a great pleasure coming to know the volunteers, staff, and service users of Capability. Thank you for that. Now, I’m going to give a broad overview of what we all did–our initial brief, how we approached the project, and the highlights of our findings. Each individual team will be giving a more in-depth look at their segment of the project in short order.

Slide 2:

You asked us to make it easier to recruit and retain volunteers. This is a significant challenge for an organisation as diverse as Capability. To ensure that we addressed the issue in appropriate depth, and to avoid redundant work, we decided to have each team focus on a subsection of the volunteer force. One group is focusing on the young volunteers–17 to 25 year olds. Another group is focusing on best utilizing the corporate volunteers. We have a group focusing on older volunteers, who make up the bulk of Capability’s volunteer force and name recognition. Finally, we have a group looking into the assessment volunteers, the MIND panelists and 1 in 4 poll takers who help steer capability in disability issues.

Sustainability means something different to each of these groups.

Slide 3:

For young volunteers, sustainability requires making the benefits of volunteering very clear.

Slide 4:

For corporate volunteers, it’s about finding the right volunteer at the right time.

Slide 5:

For older volunteers, sustainability requires facillitating usefullness within the Capability community

Slide 6:

For the asssessment volunteers, sustainability requires inspiring and motivating volunteers to continue to contribute their ideas.

Slide 7:

We all made these discoveries using similar methods–the standard toolkit of an ethnographer. After our brief four weeks ago today, we dove into fieldwork. We interviewed and observed volunteers, staff, and service users in their natural environments at Capability. We did a little talking, and a lot of listening. We then took all of the information from that distilled it. This part of the process involves a lot of Post-It notes. Secretly, they’re kicking us money for product placement. Once we have the insights down, we organized them, and reorganized them. We used the POINTs brainstorm that we did with you several weeks back, among other methods, until the themes and patterns that emerged in our interactions fell out into insight.

Slide 8: While each group has insights that are specific to their volunteer subset, four broad insights were constant across all groups. We found that all volunteers need awareness–about what

Capability does and what their role and responsibilities are within Capability.

All volunteers need support from Capability, in the form of unified training and consistent supervision and feedback.

All volunteers need recognition for their vital contribution to the organization.

And finally, volunteers need to understand the impact of their contribution. They want to see how what they are doing is furthering the mission of Capability Scotland.

Those are the broad strokes, the big four needs that Capability volunteers have. We’re going to follow that up, now, with an in depth look at the needs of each of the four groups of Capability Volunteers. So fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen, and let’s rock and roll.

And here’s what I presented for my team. I don’t have a completed speaking plan written out for this assignment, but I have part of it.

Slide 1: Sustainable Youth Volunteering

Our group, Neha, Ilya, Leanne, and I, focused on young volunteers. 17 to 25 year olds. The iPod generation. The Facebook status updating, blog writing, youtube video uploading generation. One would think, with all the me-focused communicating that these young’ens do, that they are all about themselves. And in some ways, they are. If they can’t see the immediate benefits of an action, they often won’t take it. But inside the technology bubble, this generation is tremendously empathetic. They want to make a difference. They want social change. They just need some help seeing how their work has impact.

Slide 2: Why Capability Scotland Needs Young Volunteers

So why invest the time? Why does Capability need these volunteers?

Because if you build a solid relationship with them while they are still forming their identities, they will incorporate Capability into themselves. They will internalize their experience here, make it a part of their identity, and then stick around. They will finish school or university and become corporate volunteers, or perhaps even staff members. They will eventually retire and become part of Capability’s formidable older volunteer force. They will stay around and play many different roles as the grow and change alongide the organization.

Young volunteers also bring with them fresh perspectives. They are steeped in the latest technologies, and can pass on those technologies to Capability to harness. They are also unafraid to take risks. Young people are doing a lot of exploration at this point in their lives, and Capability can benefit from their risk-taking.

Finally, young people are the best advertising engine you could hope to harness for free. If a young person really loves something, they’ll share it. With one Facebook status update, you can reach hundreds of other people–a pool of potential volunteers. This generation is globally connected. They crave travel, and develop international connections that they utilize to pass on their thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Young people are connected in a way no previous generation has been. If you hook a few vocal young people, you have open access to hundreds of their friends.

Slide 3: Young People Need Capability So They Can Contribute

But now why do young people need Capability?

In spite of the seeming self-absorption that young people you may have met or raised seem to exhibit, young people desperately want to contribute. One only has to look at Facebook pages for causes to be convinced of that. They are hungry for ways to make a difference, correct injustice, help the helpless. They’re just not sure how to do that in a way that actually has impact, so instead they sign Facebook petitions. They enjoy helping people–they just have to be shown how their help has impact.

Slide 4: Young People Need Capability So They Can Gain Experience

Young people also need Capability to gain experience. They need to learn skills that can help them later in life. They need to try things that will challenge and stretch them and cause them to grow. Your teenager is not going to come to you and say, “Mom, what I really need it so be challenged so that I can grow as a person,” but all the exploration that young people do speaks for itself. Capability can help young people with that growth.

Slide 5: Young People Need Capability So They Can Build Community

And finally, young people need Capability to help them build community. They want to meet new people, make new friends, and have a vehicle for connecting with old friends in new ways.

Those are the reasons why young people need Capability–now let’s talk about what they consider when they’re thinking about volunteering.

Slide 6: Volunteering Considerations

There are 4 key areas that young people contemplate when they’re thinking about volunteering. They are concerned about time commitment. Young people have a lot of demands on their time, from their school to their work to their Facebook farm. So they are looking for engagements that are flexible and conventient.

Young people want to work for causes that resonate with them. They want to feel connected to a mission, something greater than themselves. Whether it’s a personal connection to the cause, a general belief in the mission, or just a convergence of opportunity and personal interest, young people want something that fits them.

Career benefits are a huge issue for young people. They want to see how their volunteering will further their career goals.

Finally, they want it to be social. Everything about this generation is connected, and they want their volunteering to be rich with connection as well.

Slide 7: Overview of Fieldwork

How do we know all this?

We talked to a lot of different people. We talked to Capability volunteers and staff. We talked to volunteers from other organizations. We talked to people who had volunteered, and those who had never volunteered. We talked to those were looking to volunteer, and those who couldn’t be bothered. All told, we interacted with 49 people in our quest to understand the youth perspective on volunteering.

All of their stories, however, are too much to present here. We wouldn’t just be here all day–we’d be here for three weeks. So we’ve taken all of that information and condensed it into personas. A persona is a tool that vividly demonstrates the themes and patterns in our data. We create characters from our rich fieldwork that illustrate the key points that we came across. So we’re going to introduce you to a few of our personas, and walk you through their process of considering capability.

The presentations themselves went well. There were some technical difficulties with my presentation of the iVolunteer project–the projector cut off the right edge of the slides and the mouse I was using as a clicker ran out of battery halfway through the presentation, but all in all it was all right. I do not feel that I put on my best performance, but I was certainly solidly in the adequate territory.

It was what happened after the presentation that was really glorious. We had a structured workshop in which we brainstormed with our clients the ways in which they can implement our recommendations. It was amazing to see them incorporate everything so quickly. It was a glorious thing to behold, their new ownership of our ideas. I feel that we really revolutionized their organization. It was a totally different high than a computer science project high. We have just set in motion changes that will impact thousands of volunteers, staff, and service users, that will in turn improve the lives of the people they touch… It was very cool. “Bloody magical,” was the phrase in my head at the time.

I will have a full run down of my thoughts on the subject later, as well as a comparison of the computer science project emotional curve to the design ethnography emotional curve. This was my first real project, and dang it all, if I don’t really love it.

If you’ve been wondering what I have been working on like a madwoman, now is your chance to see. These are the fruits of our efforts to make Capability Scotland’s volunteering more sustainable.

Here is our group presentation, which I presented.

I haven’t made a true slidecast with audio or anything yet, but here is what I planned to say with the slides (only reviewing the video will tell me how close I got!)

Slide 1:

Good morning, everyone! Thank you for coming out in the face of such fierce weather to be here for our presentation. On behalf of the 2010 Design Ethnography program, I want to thank you for opening up your organization to us and offering us this tremendous opportunity for learning and growth. It has been a month long wild ride and a great pleasure coming to know the volunteers, staff, and service users of Capability. Thank you for that. Now, I’m going to give a broad overview of what we all did–our initial brief, how we approached the project, and the highlights of our findings. Each individual team will be giving a more in-depth look at their segment of the project in short order.

Slide 2:

You asked us to make it easier to recruit and retain volunteers. This is a significant challenge for an organisation as diverse as Capability. To ensure that we addressed the issue in appropriate depth, and to avoid redundant work, we decided to have each team focus on a subsection of the volunteer force. One group is focusing on the young volunteers–17 to 25 year olds. Another group is focusing on best utilizing the corporate volunteers. We have a group focusing on older volunteers, who make up the bulk of  Capability’s volunteer force and name recognition. Finally, we have a group looking into the assessment volunteers, the MIND panelists and 1 in 4 poll takers who help steer capability in disability issues.

Sustainability means something different to each of these groups.

Slide 3:

For young volunteers, sustainability requires making the benefits of volunteering very clear.

Slide 4:

For corporate volunteers, it’s about finding the right volunteer at the right time.

Slide 5:

For older volunteers, sustainability requires facillitating usefullness within the Capability community

Slide 6:

For the asssessment volunteers, sustainability requires inspiring and motivating volunteers to continue to contribute their ideas.

Slide 7:

We all made these discoveries using similar methods–the standard toolkit of an ethnographer. After our brief four weeks ago today, we dove into fieldwork. We interviewed and observed volunteers, staff, and service users in their natural environments at Capability. We did a little talking, and a lot of listening. We then took all of the information from that distilled it. This part of the process involves a lot of Post-It notes. Secretly, they’re kicking us money for product placement. Once we have the insights down, we organized them, and reorganized them. We used the POINTs brainstorm that we did with you several weeks back, among other methods, until the themes and patterns that emerged in our interactions fell out into insight.

Slide 8:

While each group has insights that are specific to their volunteer subset, four broad insights were constant across all groups. We found that all volunteers need awareness–about what Capability does and what their role and responsibilities are within Capability.

All volunteers need support from Capability, in the form of unified training and consistent supervision and feedback.

All volunteers need recognition for their vital contribution to the organization.

And finally, volunteers need to understand the impact of their contribution. They want to see how what they are doing is furthering the mission of Capability Scotland.

Those are the broad strokes, the big four needs that Capability volunteers have. We’re going to follow that up, now, with an in depth look at the needs of each of the four groups of Capability Volunteers. So fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen, and let’s rock and roll.

And here’s what I presented for my team. I don’t have a completed speaking plan written out for this assignment, but I have part of it.

Slide 1: Sustainable Youth Volunteering

Our group, Neha, Ilya, Leanne, and I, focused on young volunteers. 17 to 25 year olds. The iPod generation. The Facebook status updating, blog writing, youtube video uploading generation. One would think, with all the me-focused communicating that these young’ens do, that they are all about themselves. And in some ways, they are. If they can’t see the immediate benefits of an action, they often won’t take it. But inside the technology bubble, this generation is tremendously empathetic. They want to make a difference. They want social change. They just need some help seeing how their work has impact.

Slide 2: Why Capability Scotland Needs Young Volunteers

So why invest the time? Why does Capability need these volunteers?

Because if you build a solid relationship with them while they are still forming their identities, they will incorporate Capability into themselves. They will internalize their experience here, make it a part of their identity, and then stick around. They will finish school or university and become corporate volunteers, or perhaps even staff members. They will eventually retire and become part of Capability’s formidable older volunteer force. They will stay around and play many different roles as the grow and change alongside the organization.

Young volunteers also bring with them fresh perspectives. They are steeped in the latest technologies, and can pass on those technologies to Capability to harness. They are also unafraid to take risks. Young people are doing a lot of exploration at this point in their lives, and Capability can benefit from their risk-taking.

Finally, young people are the best advertising engine you could hope to harness for free. If a young person really loves something, they’ll share it. With one Facebook status update, you can reach hundreds of other people–a pool of potential volunteers. This generation is globally connected. They crave travel, and develop international connections that they utilize to pass on their thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Young people are connected in a way no previous generation has been. If you hook a few vocal young people, you have open access to hundreds of their friends.

Slide 3: Young People Need Capability So They Can Contribute

But now why do young people need Capability?

In spite of the seeming self-absorption that young people you may have met or raised seem to exhibit, young people desperately want to contribute. One only has to look at Facebook pages for causes to be convinced of that. They are hungry for ways to make a difference, correct injustice, help the helpless. They’re just not sure how to do that in a way that actually has impact, so instead they sign Facebook petitions. They enjoy helping people–they just have to be shown how their help has impact.

Slide 4: Young People Need Capability So They Can Gain Experience

Young people also need Capability to gain experience. They need to learn skills that can help them later in life. They need to try things that will challenge and stretch them and cause them to grow. Your teenager is not going to come to you and say, “Mom, what I really need it so be challenged so that I can grow as a person,” but all the exploration that young people do speaks for itself. Capability can help young people with that growth.

Slide 5: Young People Need Capability So They Can Build Community

And finally, young people need Capability to help them build community. They want to meet new people, make new friends, and have a vehicle for connecting with old friends in new ways.

Those are the reasons why young people need Capability–now let’s talk about what they consider when they’re thinking about volunteering.

Slide 6: Volunteering Considerations

There are 4 key areas that young people contemplate when they’re thinking about volunteering. They are concerned about time commitment. Young people have a lot of demands on their time, from their school to their work to their Facebook farm. So they are looking for engagements that are flexible and conventient.

Young people want to work for causes that resonate with them. They want to feel connected to a mission, something greater than themselves. Whether it’s a personal connection to the cause, a general belief in the mission, or just a convergence of opportunity and personal interest, young people want something that fits them.

Career benefits are a huge issue for young people. They want to see how their volunteering will further their career goals.

Finally, they want it to be social. Everything about this generation is connected, and they want their volunteering to be rich with connection as well.

Slide 7: Overview of Fieldwork

How do we know all this?

We talked to a lot of different people. We talked to Capability volunteers and staff. We talked to volunteers from other organizations. We talked to people who had volunteered, and those who had never volunteered. We talked to those were looking to volunteer, and those who couldn’t be bothered. All told, we interacted with 49 people in our quest to understand the youth perspective on volunteering.

Slide 8: Personas

All of their stories, however, are too much to present here. We wouldn’t just be here all day–we’d be here for three weeks. So we’ve taken all of that information and condensed it into personas. A persona is a tool that vividly demonstrates the themes and patterns in our data. We create characters from our rich fieldwork that illustrate the key points that we came across. So we’re going to introduce you to a few of our personas, and walk you through their process of considering capability.

The presentations themselves went well. There were some technical difficulties with my presentation of the iVolunteer project–the projector cut off the right edge of the slides and the mouse I was using as a clicker ran out of battery halfway through the presentation, but all in all it was all right. I do not feel that I put on my best performance, but I was certainly solidly in the adequate territory.

It was what happened after the presentation that was really glorious. We had a structured workshop in which we brainstormed with our clients the ways in which they can implement our recommendations. It was amazing to see them incorporate everything so quickly. It was a glorious thing to behold, their new ownership of our ideas. I feel that we really revolutionized their organization. It was a totally different high than a computer science project high. We have just set in motion changes that will impact thousands of volunteers, staff, and service users, that will in turn improve the lives of the people they touch… It was very cool. “Bloody magical,” was the phrase in my head at the time.

I will have a full run down of my thoughts on the subject later, as well as a comparison of the computer science project emotional curve to the design ethnography emotional curve. This was my first real project, and dang it all, if I don’t really love it.

The folks at Piece A Cake Bakery are cooking up something special. Roger and Diane Ahrens, both former Marines, bake delicious cookies, cakes and pies to satisfy any sweet tooth. You can visit their bakeries in East Dundee and in Gilberts, Illinois. They also support our troops year round through Operation Sweet Tooth. For just the cost of shipping, about $20, you can send a sweet care package to a friend or loved one serving in our military overseas. The Ahrens will whip up a large box filled with cookies carefully wrapped to prevent damage and ship the package to our troops. The boxes are filled with plenty of cookies to share. The couple has donated and shipped over 10,500 cookies in 7000 boxes since they started Operation Sweet Tooth in 2004.

Click here for more information, drop by their stores or call them at 847.836.6703 (East Dundee) or 847.426.1104 (Gilberts).

David, Kate and Rose, Kid Canaveral

Ahead of Sunday night’s gig at the Westport in Dundee, Kate from  Kid Canaveral is the first to respond to the MPT Inquisition:

The burfly photography wordpress blog is now closed.

Continue to follow Burfly Photography over at our newly revamped website and direct at tumblr

you can also keep up to date with us on flickr, twitter, model mayhem and deviantart.

Thanks for your support

Alan