CJS Daily email 19 November

 Jobs

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust is seeking a Land Management Officer

Based in Horncastle, Lincolnshire

Fixed term contract

Do you want more, bigger, better and joined areas where wildlife thrives in Greater Lincolnshire?  Do you want to be part of a team that helps inform the building blocks for the next Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) in England? We are seeking two people with excellent communication skills and an entrepreneurial spirit to work with land managers and other sectors across the Humberhead Levels and South Lincolnshire Fens.  We have secured two of the national ELMS Tests and need people to facilitate and deliver these two landscape-scale explorations into what the scheme might look like in the future.

Details.

 

Curlew LIFE Project Officer for RSPB
Location: Northumberland
Hours: Full time
Contract: 4 Years

Are you passionate about inspiring people to save nature? Curlew are rapidly declining across the UK and could be lost in some places unless action is taken now. Northern England remains a stronghold for the species so we are looking for a dynamic project officer to enable farmers, volunteers, communities and local partners to successfully deliver a major new project funded through the EU LIFE programme.

Details.

 

Redditch Borough Council has an opening for a Parks Development Officer

37 hours per week - Permanent

We are seeking a high performing, knowledgeable, intuitive & progressive individual to work as part of our Parks and Events Team. Do you have the skills to work and think in face paced environment? Are you keen to upskill develop and work in a variety of areas within Parks Management? If yes? We are keen to hear from you. The role will support wider initiatives and programmes within a number of partnerships across the county. The role will support the Service Manager in providing strong effective and cohesive departmental management by using a transformational ‘systems thinking’ approach to ensure efficient and effective service delivery is implemented for our users, residents and customers.

Details.

 

Access & Recreation Officer vacancy with Elan Valley Trust

15 hours per week

2.5 year fixed term

For the: Elan Links Landscape Partnership Scheme

Details.

Single use or bags for life?

A new charge on single use disposable plastic bags comes into force today in Scotland, 5p per bag. It's been widely welcomed and we've had comments from Scottish Wildlife Trust and Marine Conservation Society on our headlines today.  Northern Ireland introduced the charge in April 2013 and bags have not been free in Wales since October 2011 which resulted in an 80% reduction in usage in the first year.

"80% of British shoppers used to put everything into free shopping bags. UK shoppers could go through as many as 60 bags a month. That’s 720 bags a year or more than 43,000 in an average lifetime!"  Carrier Bag Charge Wales website.

It sounds wonderful, decrease use of carrier bags, decrease the amount that is thrown away, decrease the number of bags flapping in trees, decrease the amount that ends up in our seas (and marine wildlife).  However, I am not sure it is entirely without its problems. Many people re-use their single use bags for lots of things particularly as bin-liners, in fact this was considered in a report by the Welsh government

"Impact of the charge on how people handle household waste Three in ten (30%) Welsh and more than four in ten (46%) Scottish respondents indicated that they do actively use Single Use Carrier Bags (SUCB) as bin liners, whilst 83% Welsh and 75% Scottish households [also] use purpose made bin liners. Prior to the introduction of the SUCB charge in Wales, 46% of Welsh households used SUCB as bin liners and 74% used purpose made liners. Therefore it can be seen that use of SUCB for waste purposes has decreased (by 15%) since the charge (although a causal effect is unproven), whilst the purchase of purpose made bin liners has increased."  Read the report in full (PDF)

It's this additional manufacture and usage of purpose made bin liners that concerns me.  At Tesco today everyday liners are 1p each, significantly cheaper than a 5p SUCB but they're made of new plastic, standard liners are 4p each again cheaper than SUCB and also from new plastic, the only small biodegradable ones are 12p each - more than ten times the cost of the cheapest. Many major supermarkets use oxo-degradeable / recycled / biodegradable plastic for their SUCB, so those which are reused as liners are more landfill friendly (can there be such a thing) although are less climate friendly*  than the standard liners and even after the introduced charge are cheaper than equivalent purchased options.  

Bags for life are not without their problems either, the energy and raw materials used in their production often far outweigh the benefits accrued during their life time. According to research by the Environment Agency (pdf here), a simple plain cotton bag needs to be used nearly 200 times to be less environmentally damaging than a standard SUCB, I couldn't find any figures for those plastic lined or coated heavy linen or woven ones.

Ultimately an overall decrease of use of plastic bags is the aim and perhaps simply breaking the habit of picking up a bag at the checkout will be enough to instill new behaviours and use of more sustainable, friendly alternatives along with a new or increased awareness of the issues surrounding energy and resource use and reuse.

So what do I use to transport my shopping? I grew up packing shopping into cardboard boxes carefully chosen from the heap by the door by my Dad whilst Mum was picking over the veggies.  So today I have two large plastic crates, each has been in use for over twenty years, they're fast to fill at the check out, slide easily into the boot, I don't worry about the bottoms falling out or handles breaking and if there's a spillage a quick rinse round fixes the problem. And for smaller purchases I have an old, patched, washed and repaired cotton bag from the local bakery, it must be about five years old and is used every morning to bring home the daily papers plus whatever small shopping (milk, honey, firelighters - the usual countryside mix!) is required that day.

Charging for single use bags is not perfect, but it's a start.  It's what happens next that will really make a difference.

Notes:
* Standard bags with a prodegradant additive use slightly more energy and materials in their production, starch-polyester mix bags are heavier again, use more ingredients and produce methane in their breakdown. From the Environment Agency report

England is still to introduce a charge.

What's in a name?

Does a baby's name affect its chances in life? writes William Kremer in the the BBC online News magazine.

It seems that CJS has always specialised in the less common names with our founders being Anthea (often addressed as Andrea and always corrected) and Niall (frequently referred to, even by himself, as Neil).

However, even the more frequently encountered names can be problematic, how many different ways are there to spell Amy?  Apparently multiple - ranging from Aimee to Ami and Tracey is frequently addressed without the 'e'.

I have an unusual name, my parents came up with Kerryn.  Both were teachers and every name one thought of the other had an associated naughty / bad pupil memory.  It was a family friend who actually suggested Kerryn, as an amalgamation of Keith and Carolyn.  It's been a blessing and a curse but it's me so I'm not changing; although I did disavow my middle name as soon as I could, and no I'm not telling anyone what it was!  I'm used to Karen, Kerry, Keiran and even on one occasion Kevin, I gently correct the error but don't worry about it, unlike my mum who gets all hot and bothered about people using the wrong name.

Blessing?  

Well it means I'm usually remembered if only because "you're the one with the odd name - what is it again?" .  Which also means that my name stands out on applications and paperwork and creates a feeling of familiarity because it's remembered boosting it to the top of the heap (with luck the yes heap!).  

It's human nature to associate words including names with memories. Having an unusual name means that you can genuinely create a first impression, a more regular one may already have a memory, an archetype or even a caricature linked to it. What do you think of when I say Vicky Pollard? or George Osborne (If like me you immediately thought of the Chancellor it's worth noting that he actually changed his name from Gideon, which would have been even more memorable and archetypical).

Today names are easy to find and histories checked, if you google me (I wouldn't recommend it, it's all really boring) you immediately find me, first page is all me (I just checked and it's quite scary being so easy to find) and some of it even leads back to CJS which is good for us. Whereas if you google Amy she doesn't appear in the first several pages of results.  Neither of us are particularly active on social media, if I was there may even be more results returned which is an even more worrying thought.  Which leads to....

Curse?

Well, because my name is so easily remembered (or at least recognised) and found.  If I'd posted anything embarrassing or incriminating it was there highly visible for all to see.  In the pre-IT era it was always my name that was remembered and then my cohorts got pulled in by association it's just that google makes it so much easier.

So why is this a CJS muse?

Mainly because of the ease of being remembered and found.  In our helpful hints we recommend cleaning up your online profile because the majority of employers, whether they admit it or not, will check your online status.  But until now we never thought about the ease of being found; that's not to say being Fred Bloggs gives you a license to post anything whilst Fiametta  Bassingthwaighte has to watch every word and image. Fiamatta could use it to her advantage by creating a unique positive online presence but Fred has to work that much harder to get his online content more easily found.

So do names help or hinder?

Probably both.

A how not to guide for recruiters and candidates.

This week the Huffington Post has picked up on a tweet from an applicant who has lambasted her potential employer for the rejection email she received, read their report here.

Unfortunately this is all too common although rarely played out on the internet for all to see.

Regularly we receive enquiries such as this from potential applicants which on first look would appear to be the right thing to do, all the advice on how to get a job says do your research.  However, from CJS’s point of view we only have the information in the advert, in other words the same as you and thus we must direct enquirers back to the advert and ultimately to the employer.
Of course it is right that applicants seek further information especially if the advert says apply by CV, you need more information to tailor your CV and covering letter to the post ensuring that you highlight the correct skills and experience for this exact post thereby giving yourself the best possible chance.  Background research and a demonstrable familiarity with the employing organisation is always an advantage when it comes to filling in application forms or at interview when answering questions and often a targeted question from an interested applicant at interview can be the one thing that tips the balance.
However, what is not so appropriate is taking the short cut and immediately emailing or phoning the employer, they may be a large organisation with an HR department which is able to spare the time and resources to answer all your queries but, especially in the countryside sector, just as likely they may be a smaller group unable to do so and your query could be diverting them from their 'real' work, exactly that for which they need the additional help.  In the case quoted in the article a full job description was available online and apparently found within a few minutes searching.  Yes, we appreciate that you may be applying for tens, if not hundreds, of jobs each week but likewise the employer may be dealing with hundreds, if not thousands, of candidates, do you really want you first impression to be a ‘lazy’ one?  Do your own research and then if absolutely necessary approach the employer; but remember many more general questions can be answered at the interview stage should you be fortunate enough to get that far.

We’re not exonerating the employer here either.  We all have a bad day but the tone of the email was not exactly the most professional.  Additionally, the information was available on their website, so why was the link not included in the advert?  Some advertisers place smaller adverts and want the candidates to find the information themselves deliberately including only the basics, however if advertisers are going to use this tactic they should have a standard, polite, response ready to reply to enquiries.  Keep the details and exclude the candidate from the shortlisting if that’s part of your criteria but do be prepared for multiple candidates asking for more information.

For this candidate it’s even more unfortunate that this ‘went viral’ her name will forever be associated with this failed application, a quick search for her and the Huffington Post report  is the fourth item on google.  Which brings up another consideration.  Before you post something think about the ramifications. Many, if not most, employers and agencies check your details online and something like this (or worse) is not what you want to be popping up on the first page of the results, and remember it might not just be your profile, have your friends got embarrassing pictures from last New Year?  Get those taken down too!

In conclusion neither party comes out of this smelling of roses but it does raise interesting points about the problems faced by both employers and candidates.

Holding back the flood.

Flooding in England, monstrous snow storms in America, overbearing baking heat in Australia and that's just in the last few months. I don't think anyone can deny (although some may try) that our climate is changing. The climate has always been fluctuating, never static, history recounts frost-fairs held on the Thames 200 years ago when the ice was thick enough to support printing presses, elephants and didn't melt under day long bonfires but then was warm enough for thin muslin empire line dresses in Jane Austen's time (think back to Pride and Prejudice) and don't forget the Romans had vineyards across the country as did many abbeys in the middle ages. You don't need the backing of mountains of data to accept these as truths or to understand that our climate is fickle, subject to many influences some of which we understand, some we've just discovered and others which are, as yet, totally beyond our ken. Climate change is constant but I question what proportion of that change is down to man's activities. As climatology is a relatively new science with only a very small dataset, in comparison with the scope of global climate in geological time, any predictions and forecasts no matter how complex the programme are only estimates based on what we know - which is relatively little. Thus, until time passes and can be proven with ever larger datasets, any conclusions reached must be understood to hold a large degree of error, however, this is not always the case, many are taken as absolute fact as if set in stone only to be disproved not many years later. In the sixties we were heading to a new ice age, in the late eighties it was a dust bowl and gardeners were told to plant gravel gardens and desert plants, now Waterworld? Man has certainly added to and changed the gaseous environment but to what extent? Enough to cause the cataclysmic events of the past year? I don't believe so. Neither do I believe that man’s impact since he first set foot on the planet has had a major role in shaping the climate, environment - yes, individual ecosystems - definitely, local microclimate - possibly but not enough of a significant impact on global climate to have made sufficient difference to alter the course of our changing climate to a detectable degree.
What I do believe is that we've wasted decades trying to stop the inevitable by reducing carbon emissions, cutting methane, making energy efficiency measures compulsory to reduce emissions (energy efficiency is generally a good idea but we're approaching it from the wrong standpoint - and that's a whole different blog or should that be rant?) when what we should be doing is to prepare. Getting ready for longer, colder winters and longer, more severe wetter times (whenever) and drier periods too, instead of investing in emission reduction we should be using technology to ensure that our homes, work places and lives in general are fit to withstand more snow, more or less water, greater extremes in temperature. Working with the land instead of against it making use of centuries old techniques that have been proven to work with our predominantly man-made landscapes; with people helping them to understand why they should use the best methodologies possible instead of enforcing them through pointless decree; with business to encourage sensible long term solutions of redevelopment, of not building on flood plains, looking at use of permeable hard standing; with innovators to consider ways to deal with wide ranging temperature, water storage and flood prevention, not to mention ensuring longer term food sustainability.
So stop being Canute and be more of a Da Vinci, Newton, Einstein or even a Dyson!

A few bytes of geekiness

Last week there was a post doing the rounds on tumblr, "Reblog this if you're older than Google" which, according to the post, is 13, so I suppose I should reblog 3 times then!

But it got me thinking about how much IT we use and how things have changed.  My first computer was a sinclair XZ81 about the size of an ipad but with less juice than a pocket calculator never mind a basic mobile phone. To make it work you had to programme it (code it) - no nice easy already installed software, you want to use it? then write your own.  Programmes were stored on cassettes which produced lovely white noise if you got them confused with your mix tapes of music recorded from the radio (the first playlists of 'illegal' downloads) to make them work you started your programme by typing in CLOAD followed by the line numbers and then went away to make a cup of tea whilst the tape machine whirred away and the cursor on the black and white (or green and white if you had a 'proper' monitor instead of the portable TVs most people used) screen flickered away - which come to think of it isn't that dissimilar from turning on my office desktop, waiting for windows to open and to log onto the office server (currently running at 20 minutes... time for a tune up).  We spoke such strange things as "if, then, else" and "let x=x+1"  which totally bamboozled the maths teacher.  Then the BBC microcomputer arrived and now you could buy programmes but we still spoke in code only now it was BASIC and reasonably universal although I did manage to write one programme in two halves, one part for the graphics and one a series of education questions for primary pupils, in different 'modes' which even the IT dept at the local university couldn't marry up so my poor guinea pigs got the answers right (or wrong) but never saw the crying teddy bear or blasting off rocket.  BBCs were the first readily available machines which used a floppy disk storage system (the really big, truly floppy ones which melted if you left them on the windowsill in the sun - oops) and wouldn't have been able to store the plain text draft of this blog post never mind all the formatting and tags.  When we asked HB's children what was the picture on Word's save icon they hadn't a clue they just knew it was for saving what they'd done; they've never seen a floppy disk and once upon a not so long ago they were the greatest innovation.

When I first started at CJS we used put into the BUT section that people should be 'computerate' our abbreviation for computer literate.  It was quite rare; now we don't bother because it is simply assumed that everyone can use computers; now only certain, usually specialist, software is listed.  Likewise, the majority of people received CJS by post and a handful by fax (the time that a subscriber asked us to fax the 'list' the other way around "because the pages came out upside down" has gone down in CJS folklore) - no such thing as email.  Job ads came by post or fax and artwork as 'bromides' by registered delivery.  There was a general look of confusion when an agency asked it we could accept artwork as a PDF - a PF what? was the response.  We soon learnt.  And then the internet arrived in all its blocky technicolour million pages of (let's be honest) time wasting content - and that was before google (so more than 13 years ago then) when to find the right information was, shall we say, time consuming at the very least.  But it changed the world and made life different if not easier, if only so that we can transfer things from a computer on one side of a 12foot square office to another on the other side - that totally blew Niall's mind the first time we did it when the network cable literally broke.  Over the years we've become more tolerant of it's vagaries, when email was new and it stopped working it was met with disbelief now we just shrug our shoulders and say let me know if it's not there when it's back up.

I now think more easily at the end of my fingers via a keyboard than at the end of a pen but the office staff giggle at me signing and proofing documents with a fountain pen in hand!

On the flip side IT is ever present and can become an overwhelming presence.  Here at CJS we've found that email can be an annoyance, when you're working on a project or dealing with various tasks to have to keep breaking off to check, respond and reply to every email as it arrives interrupts the flow and distracts from the task in hand.  Thus, along with other companies we've instigated a new email policy; the email inbox is checked hourly and all correspondence is dealt with in one fell swoop, there is an autoresponder which lets emailers know and gives them the option of calling us if it's more urgent.  If you've sent us a message in the last month you may be aware of the new policy.  For the CJS Team it took a little getting used to, the urge to keep checking the inbox took a little while to simmer down but now we find that it's working well and we're generally more productive.

You can't escape IT either, it's infiltrated every corner of our lives. My Dad was a big Tomorrow's World fan and we sat down together to watch, one episode looked at the house of the future where as you put your canned goods into the cupboard the bar codes were scanned onto your database, they were scanned again as you took them out to use; thus your household inventory was always up to date, the presenters speculated that one day your cupboard could even order more food when there was none of a certain type left.  Tescos little scanning app is just about there.

Why is prevention now not better than cure?

I have little people and have to take them uphill and downdale to nursery, now I am not old but what is going on with the state of the winter roads. I remember when you could get about even if it had snowed. On Friday I barely got to nursery due to the fact that it was below freezing. I know there has been a lot of rain everywhere and therefore the roads are wet and this then turns to ice. Due to the lack of funds our local Council is unable to grit any minor roads, so it follows surely that they should make sure that all gutters and drains are clear to carry all this extra water off the roads in to the streams rather than have it running down the road to turn to ice.

I know the country is in trouble and Councils have to save money somewhere but how many deaths are we going to see over the winter because of road accidents due to the ice?

We need to bring back lengths men (or should I say people!) to look after the roads, ditches, gutters and drains. I would enjoy an outside physical job but apparently if you can't sit on a digger and do it, no-one wants to do the work. Perhaps we could get offenders to do it as part of community service, now that would be some good payback.

The Council re-tarmaced a small section of our very rural road this year and in the recent downpours I watched the water spewing out of the ditch over the new tarmac because it couldn't head down the blocked drain. So precisely the reason the road needed new tarmac. Why is prevention now not better than cure?