Older people tend to be viewed negatively ‐ as being needy, dependent and frail. Such assumptions may be reinforced by policies that, despite good intentions, focus on the consequences of physical and mental decline. This paper argues for a more balanced and positive view. Ageing is associated with increased diversity, creativity and continuing psychological development and sexual activity. The wisdom and experience of older people is a vital, and as yet largely untapped, resource for UK society.
Studies have consistently found that prisoners who undertake education while in prison are less likely to reoffend, and return to prison. However, in an environment where post-secondary education is increasingly being offered via online delivery, prisoners with no access to the internet are experiencing barriers to education offered by non-prison providers. This study examines the Australian prison environment, the education needs of prisoners, and their current access to education, information technology and the internet. Recent and future Australian and international developments in delivering online education to prisoners are examined.
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Old age can be a challenging time for people. It brings with it changes which include losses as well as opportunities for shifting one’s focus. Societal perceptions of ageing and projections of negative values associated with being old can act as a further blow to peoples’ general resilience. This chapter explores some of these societal projections over the centuries, in public and political life and in the arts. It examines how these influences may impact on women personally as we get older, including how we become ill psychologically and how we react to illness. What the authors consider to be important is that in late life, opportunities for restoration of the self still exist. People can and do recover from mental illness and older women can and do contribute to the wider social world in ways other than as mothers and carers.
Escaping into a book is an experience valued by readers everywhere. Inhabiting the stories, being exposed to the knowledge we find in books, and being in the libraries that provide us access to these books are common ways to experience an "escape" from unpleasant or difficult realities. What then is the experience of escapism provided by books and libraries for one specific community, with vastly restricted access to leisure activities, media, and family? Through a phenomenological analysis of data gathered from Australian prisoners, it is found that prisoners are also able to experience a form of escape through reading and using their libraries, and that this is a highly valued experience in their lives. The importance of access to a library and reading for prisoners is discussed with reference to existing knowledge regarding the relationship between libraries, books, reading, and escapism for communities living in difficult circumstances.
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Minimum Standard Guidelines for Library Services to provide guidance on the establishment, operation, and evaluation of library services to prisoners in Australia. The Standard Guidelines for Corrections in Australia (2012) state that: Prisoners should have access to a library, adequately stocked with both recreational and information resources, which is operated according to standard library practice. should be encouraged to make full use of the library. All people - including prisoners - have a fundamental right to read, learn and access information. Prison libraries play a pivotal role in supporting constructive educational, recreational and welfare programs. These Guidelines are a practical resource for prison librarians, prison authorities and other institutions responsible for administering prison library facilities. The original Australian Prison Libraries: Minimum Standard Guidelines were released in 1990. The current version has been substantially revised and is partly based on the Guidelines for Library Services to (3rd ed.), developed by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (Lehmann & Locke, 2005).
Introduction: Ethnography has increasingly been utilised by social science researchers outside of social and cultural anthropology. We report here an analysis of the extent and nature of its use in library studies research over the past decade.Method: Our study adapts and extends a content analysis of library studies literature conducted by Khoo, et al. (2012), using a systematic search process to identify potentially relevant studies published since 2011.Analysis: We coded the resulting corpus to establish whether articles were ethnographic using two interpretations of the term (one broad, one narrower). We also coded other aspects, including specific ethnographic methods used, library sector, country of research, and time in the field. Results: While there remains interest in ethnography, its growth appears to have slowed. We note also that the term ethnographic has been used in this corpus to describe research involving participant observation (the narrower definition) only in 55% of cases. Conclusion: Ethnography remains underutilised in library studies research, particularly in the context of public libraries.
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