Equality Together Bradford is getting involved with this initiative. Sarah Champion is the MP responsible for this. 86% of the cost of Tory tax and benefit changes fall on women’s shoulders.
She spoke in Parliament about why the Treasury must honour their public sector duty and carry out equality impact assessments on their policies, just as Labour has committed to. https://www.sarahchampionmp.com/news/2018/1/11/sarah-champion-calls-for-equality-impact-assessments
It’s a video world these days, and we have been thrust into it, with very little preparation. What was previously the domain of Hollywood, celebrities and politicians is now commonplace for all of us at work and play. Here are a few tips for becoming a video conferencing star or at least avoiding some of the common mistakes.
Family Cyber Clinic is a YouTube channel to help parents enhance their skills so that they are up to speed with the rest of the world and the younger generation.
It is by a Cyber Security Expert; Lawrence Idem, a Pastor who loves God and married with three children/daughters, that hosted the Zoom meeting. He also uses Skype and Microsoft Teams. However Skype has been more popular pre-pandemic.
Etiquette
• Know when your microphone is muted and when it’s not. Even when you’re not speaking an open (not muted) microphone injects noise into the sound track. Mute when you are not talking!
• Try not to interrupt or talk over someone else. The result is often unintelligible.
It’s all about effective communication! With a little bit of planning and attention, the results will be
immediate, and your techniques will become second nature.
Looking Good on Web Cams
Furthermore, avoid Backlight – An open window behind you, with daylight streaming in, and
insufficient light on your face will create a dark silhouette that obscures your face.
Actually, any overly bright background can cause this problem.
Solutions:
• Close the curtains, shade or move the Computer/Webcam to a new location.
• Add some front lighting such as a lamp or general room lighting.
• Use that problem window by facing toward it.
• The screen of a Laptop or Tablet will actually light up your face, but the screen contents may be
colours, and be changing constantly.
Takeaways:
• Avoid bright lighting behind you
• Soft (diffused) light is better than hard, focused beams of light
• Bright ambient light is good, but Fluorescent lighting is often unflattering for humans. Warm
lighting is best.
Frame Yourself Correctly
Video Conferencing is normally about people’s faces. Correct framing will maximize expressive delivery of what you have to say and minimize distractions.
Adjust the camera (if it can be done) or move physically closer to produce a chest to hair closeup. Unless of course a wider or specialized shot is specifically required. Do not leave too much headroom and centre yourself in the frame.
The Eyes Have It!
“The eyes are the mirror to the soul” and eye contact is critical to engagement with your audience. To achieve that in video conferencing set up your web cam/yourself so that you can speak to it the same way you would address a person in front of you.
Imagine the web cam is a face. Then use direct eye contact as much as you can.
Background Replacement
Most modern video conference offer the ability to replace your background with a picture or even a video, without a traditional “Green Screen”. This allows you to present yourself in any environment that you have a photo of, and additionally avoids revealing the state of your housekeeping. If you use a virtual background, use a green screen.
• Tip – Avoid waving your hands around to avoid distracting video artifacts.
• Tip – Slow movements track well and fast movement increase bandwidth requirements.
• Tip – Light yourself properly.
• Tip – Do not use wardrobe colours that blend into your environment. The A. I. gets fooled and does not do a clean cut-out.
Clothing
• Avoid intense colours and in particular, avoid bright red or hot pink. These colours can blur and bleed with some cameras.
• Fine grained patterns, complex prints and fine horizontal lines can also cause problems in some
situations.
• Always wear pants in case you have to stand up!
Sounding Good in a Video Conference
Generally, web conference sound leaves much to be desired. Hears a few tips for sounding good.
Choose the Best Location
• Avoid environments that are noisy – close your eyes and really listen.
• Shiny smooth walls, ceilings and floors often make your voice sound “hollow” because of echoes and “boomy” resonances.
• Control interruptions – silence your cell phones and let the people around you know you are “ON AIR”.
Microphone Technique
• Know where the microphone is located if it is embedded in your Computer/Laptop/Tablet/Phone.
• Staying physically close to the microphone is good. Too far away sounds faint, hollow and noisy.
• Speak clearly, articulate, and don’t turn away from the microphone.
• Maintain a good volume – Don’t shout and don’t whisper.
• Consider using a headphone/microphone combination.
Why Zoom?
Zoom is now more popular because of the pandemic and Microsoft teams is enterprise/business bound. He stated that virtual meetings/events are an immersion of the real thing/scenarios which cuts down on actual time that was supposed to be spent. As such social interaction requires respect, etiquette, manners, undivided attention, mental resilience, and concentration.
However, over 80% of people who attend Zoom meetings, don’t come on camera and this not fair on the host because Zoom meetings lay down ground rules. If you don’t follow ground rules, you tell the host you don’t care about them. Zoom fatigue is a thing. We don’t like the format of the meeting hence we’re tired.
Therefore, he stated that we need mental resilience. Preparation is key. Be presentable. For example, if you don’t want to be recorded you leave the meeting. Imagine going to a party and leaving your head behind?
Choose a good background so we can see you. It’s disrespectful when you eat, drink and don’t look presentable on a Zoom meeting. Give undivided attention. Don’t fall asleep. Try not to multitask. When you multitask, you’re not giving your undivided attention.
If you’re not prepared to speak, don’t attend the meeting. It creates a bad host-guest relationship.
If you want to sound your best use a speaker phone, especially if you’re using your phone instead of your laptop. Get close to your microphone if you’re using a laptop.
Update tools you use to deliver meetings. If you host a Zoom meeting, don’t do it without a waiting room, breakout room or password. This will prevent lateness.
Don’t put meeting ID or password on a flyer. Zoom bombers can ambush the meeting and disturb it. The wrong people may attend your meeting. The host will be upset by uninvited guests crashing the meeting. Zoom etiquette demands that you show your screen. Don’t wear your pyjamas to a Zoom meeting, even if it’s at night.
If you don’t follow these rules, it will impact interviews and business meetings. You must prepare. Bad habits become bad behaviour!
However, in-person meetings are different. You wouldn’t multitask if you are in person.
Virtual events can never replace in person events!
Here in the UK, we have ‘The Disability Confident Scheme.’ The Disability Confident scheme helps employers recruit and retain great people, and to:
It also helps identify those employers who are committed to inclusion and diversity in the workplace.
The scheme has 3 levels designed to support employers on their Disability Confident journey, these are:
All employers join the scheme at Disability Confident Committed (Level 1), and progress through the levels to achieve the one that’s right for their organisation.
For more information about signing up for the Disability Confident scheme, and how it can help your business check out the detailed guidance on gov.uk.
Ebony Ambassadors CIC Mental Resilience Workshops on Zoom was a huge success and well attended.
The FIRST SPEAKER was QUEEN ESTHER OSAKWE, A Community activist, founder of Life improvement consults, Miss Commonwealth for Africa 2021/2022 as well as Project Manager for Ebony Ambassadors (voluntary role).
Esther’s history is one that will inspire you. She was born with Spina Bifida Occulta (hidden) which she only discovered when she was a teenager. She was sexually abuse at a young age and deeply wounded by the trauma she experienced so much so she rejected herself, her roots was severely depressed and very combative in nature.
However, despite having survived sexual abuse, homelessness, domestic violence, shame and trauma that comes with having a child out of wedlock, and then a failed marriage, Esther proved what it means to be mentally resilient as she strived against all odds.
She is currently dating and lives alone with her three daughters.
The SECOND SPEAKER was ANTONIA ADEBISI ADEBOWALE who is women development specialist, health champion for women, and a Mary Kay independent Consultant. She said during her speech that “Her past does not define who she is”. She reminds herself of who she is no matter what she goes through.
She was originally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, in 2015. When Antonia got diagnosed, she was scared.
Fibromyalgia is an invisible and chronic illness that causes pain, fatigue and trouble in sleeping. It can cause depression, whole body is sensitive to pain, migraines and brain Fog.
Actual cause of Fibromyalgia is not yet known and there isn’t a particular cure for it yet. Although there has been some link between Fibromyalgia and stress.
We were encouraged to go to the doctor, to get checked if we notice any change in your body. Regular check-ups will help you to understand what is happening when you sense change in the body or experience symptoms you are not familiar with.
She also spoke on symptoms to look out for during pre- Menopause and Menopause as well as what to do to help reduce the stress that come with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RRw6Xd1oVA
http://www.ebonyambassadors.org
Did you know that, there are 1 billion disabled people living in the world today, and 12 million in the UK (18% of the population)? Statistics show that globally a disabled person is more likely to live in poverty and isolation and to be a victim of crime and discrimination. They are less likely to be in employment and have less access to education, transport, appropriate housing and the internet (Office of Disability Issues). The cost of bringing up a disabled child is three times greater than bringing up a non-disabled child (Scope).
Through the Roof is a registered charity that exists to ‘transform lives through Jesus with disabled people’.
The charity’s name comes from the Bible account where some men break through the roof to help their disabled friend meet Jesus according to Luke 5. We recognise that every person is made in the image of God and has inherent value and worth, which includes people who have personal experience of disability.
“they went up on the roof and lowered the paralysed man on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus”-Luke 5
Many of our dedicated trustees, staff team, volunteers and donors have personal experience of disability and seek to make a positive difference to the lives of disabled people and their families by:
We achieve these aims by delivering three activity programmes:
Through the Roof is part of the Churches for All network. Follow this link to find out more about CFA.
According to the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, “90% – 95% of the world’s disabled people never hear the Gospel“. It is vitally important that our churches and ministries include them.
This ministry is the brainchild of Joni B. Eareckson Tada. She is an international author and speaker and the founder and Chief Executive of Joni and Friends International Disability Centre in the USA. We are privileged at Through the Roof to be an affiliate of JAF since being founded in 1997, after Joni’s European speaking tour in 1994.
At the age of 17 a diving accident left Joni quadriplegic and in a wheelchair. She founded Joni and Friends in 1979 to provide Christ-centred programmes to families with disabled children, as well as training to churches. Joni and Friends serves thousands of families with disabled children through Family Retreats, and has delivered over 100,000 wheelchairs and Bibles to disabled people in developing countries, as part of their Wheels for the World programme, which Through the Roof UK ‘imported’ in 1997. Joni’s lifelong passion is to bring the Gospel to the world’s one billion disabled people. What a great way to Deal with Disability in the Church!
Joni survived stage 3 breast cancer in 2010, yet keeps a very active ministry schedule. She and her husband Ken were married in 1982 and reside in California.
You can learn more about Joni’s ministry at www.joniandfriends.org or can write to her at response@joniandfriends.org.
“Pressure ulcer prevention and management is an art as well as a science.Different people with similar conditions need different care and that care should be holistic and tailored to the individual.”
Linda Nazarko OBE Consultant Nurse West London NHS Trust
Before the pandemic, I never got home visits, because I’m not bed-ridden. Previously, only people who are bed-ridden got home visits. Nowadays, I’ve been getting home visits from carers and district nurses, since the pandemic. I even received my Covid-19 vaccination, Astra Zeneca, by way of home visits.
“Pressure ulcers remain a concerning and mainly avoidable harm associated with healthcare delivery.”
National Pressure Ulcer Prevalence and Quality of Care Audit, November 2020
I became a PURSUN researcher during the pandemic in 2020. I used to attend annual Spina Bifida Clinics before the pandemic from 2013. However, since the pandemic, I’ve had no success in booking Spina Bifida Clinics, due to the surge and resurge of Covid-19 cases. In addition to the PURSUN research, the Spina Bifida Clinics also help me to improve the way that I take care of myself.
“The overall prevalence of PUs recorded, in terms or proportion of patients with 1 or more PUs, was 9.04%…The audit sought to understand not just the number of pressure ulcers that were present, but the care that was being delivered to the patients to prevent pressure ulcers occurring….Findings regarding implementation of preventative actions vary considerably between organisations and even between sites within organisations. Identification of these areas is important to the individual organisations as it allows them to focus quality improvement efforts into the areas that may make a difference.”
Stop the Pressure: National Pressure Ulcer Prevalence and Quality of Care Audit 2020
By December 2020, concerns about foot amputation were being raised by District Nurses, Tissue Viability Nurse and Podiatry. Since then, I’ve been wearing splints and callipers to protect my feet from any further damage. My feet have been x-rayed and scanned. I’ve also been prescribed antibiotics for my infected heel bone. Before the pandemic, I used to order and pick up my prescriptions from the Lloyds Pharmacy but ever since the pandemic they’ve been delivered to my house.
I received assistance from my sister with groceries because online shopping was fully booked during the first three months of the pandemic.
She stayed with me for three months but then had to leave after that because I was at risk of losing my Housing Benefit under assisted living, if she stayed any longer. Carers have been restricted on admission. There is more chance of emergency admission to the hospital.
“A phased approach will be used to develop Pressure Ulcer surveillance in the NHS.. Clinicians with responsibility for Pressure Ulcer reporting (most likely tissue viability nurses) will need to ensure their organisations are aware of and prepared for the new surveillance system. As part of this, systems will need to understand the difference between surveillance reporting and clinical incident reporting. The purpose of surveillance reporting is to capture the full incidence and prevalence of Pressure Ulcers across a system to drive quality improvement at organisational level. The purpose of clinical incident reporting is to support learning from mistakes so action can be taken to keep patients safe.”
A new national Pressure Ulcer Surveillance system using The Model Hospital System, November 2021
Pressure ulcer prevention in a pandemic taught me how to:
“We continue to have a challenge with patients developing pressure ulcers, and also a challenge with having some standardisation and consistency of care. There is considerable variation of about what happens in practice, in particular, underuse of evidence based care and overuse of ineffective interventions.”
Jacqui Fletcher OBE Clinical Lead, The National Wound Care Strategy Programme, November 2021
http://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk
After 50 years of service, The North and West Yorkshire ASBAH had their first ever Community Conference. It was held on the 16th of October, at Hollins Hall Hotel, Golf and Country Club in Bradford. This was a day planned especially for people in the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus communities to come together and celebrate. There was lots of information on continence care, PIP and DLA form advice, education, and pressure ulcer prevention and cure.
During the first workshop, I joined the PURSUN Group from Leeds, to do a presentation on Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Cure. It was very good to meet Delia Muir and share my experiences on the subject.
Heather Chapman was at the ASBAH Charity conference, talking to wheelchair users about nutritional therapy by Wheely Therapy. Nutritional therapy is the application of nutrition science in the promotion of health, peak performance and individual care.
Nutritional therapy practitioners use a wide range of tools to assess and identify potential nutritional imbalances and understand how these may contribute to an individual’s symptoms and health concerns. This approach allows them to work with individuals to address nutritional balance and help support the body towards maintaining health.
Nutritional therapy is recognised as a complementary medicine. It is relevant both for individuals looking to enhance their health and wellbeing and for those with chronic conditions wishing to work with or ‘consult’ a nutritional therapist in collaboration with other suitably qualified healthcare professionals.
I also learned about SEND. This presentation workshop was about guidance on the special educational needs and disability system for children and young people aged 0 to 25, which started on 1 September 2014. The questionnaire that the presenter gave out, was a very good teaching tool.
Additionally, there were stalls and activities for the children. There were free prizes and charity merchandise on display as well. One of our sponsors, Irwin Mitchell, provided bags with freebies inside too. They also support the SHINE Charity.
Dr. Kate Wildig was the guest speaker who ended the whole conference. North and West Yorkshire ASBAH has a good support group. Use It!
https://form.jotform.com/katyravenasbah/conference-registration-form
https://www.linkedin.com/company/north-and-west-yorkshire-asbah/
https://www.nwyasbah.org/nwyasbah
http://www.wheelyhealthy.co.uk
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
https://www.hollister.co.uk/en-gb/products/ostomy-care-products
Web accessibility, or e-Accessibility, is the inclusive practice of ensuring there are no barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, websites on the World Wide Web by people with physical disabilities, situational disabilities, and socio-economic restrictions on bandwidth and speed.
Misconception #1: web accessibility is about disability.
It’s not. Web accessibility is about universality. It’s about making something that can be used by as many people as possible. Different environments, different devices, elderly, different cultural backgrounds, non-English speakers and impaired abilities. 11.2 million people in the UK, are registered as having a disability. Eighty-three percent of disabled people acquire a disability during their working life.
Disabled people in the UK are estimated to have the spending power of at least eighty billion per year. The majority of disabilities are not visible. Less than eight percent of disabled people use a wheelchair. We need to make our websites easy to use for everyone, including the hearing impaired, those with limited mobility, those with reading difficulties and anyone using hand-held devices.
So why do we do it?
By making your content more accessible more people in more locations can read your information and they will understand it more easily.
After all, you want everyone to get your message, right?
Accessibility is also a legal requirement under the Equality Act of 2010.
Misconception #2: web accessibility is not my problem.
It is. Web accessibility is everyone’s responsibility. We’re all in this together what you do makes a difference.
So what do people need?
People need information that is easy to read that works on different devices and that is easy to navigate. It also needs good design and colour contrast, images and graphs that are described well, has video captions or transcriptions, has documents and attachments in a format that can be used by everyone everywhere. Remember what you do at the start makes it easier at the end and your content gets published faster.
Misconception #3: web accessibility is hard.
It’s not. Web accessibility is easy to learn.
For more information about accessibility visit http://www.abilitynet.org.uk.
Manningham Housing Association has a new project called Building Bridges Bradford Project of which aims to bring diverse groups and voices together during the Pandemic. Besides building the community, the project aims to tackle mental health. As has been highlighted by the experts and in the media, with the pandemic, some cases of mental health have been raised.
The new project by the Association therefore aims to build bridges between its residents in the community in various ways.
In the next year, between January to March, we would be delighted if you could deliver a confidence building/ awareness workshop on the disabled group.
Our aim to activate community conversations and bring different communities together. For you, how you deliver the session/s is up to you (to be discussed).
Information useful for the project:
As you may have gathered, we are very flexible on your delivery. Our main aim is to positively impact as many people as possible. It’s however not about numbers, you might propose to work with few individuals of whom you can truly positively impact…impact is better than numbers.
As of Covid-19 , all sessions will run online ( over Zoom/other) unless Covid-19 Tiers allow otherwise.
If you have any more queries, please send these or send a time of your availability so that we can discuss this further.
https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/1e05b983451d484fb7ad920ee2aa01f9
When buying a new wheelchair, there are many types to consider. Wheelchair assessments can be quite stressful when applying for a new wheelchair as frequent as every four years. It makes it worse when able bodied assessors are trying to tell what you need and don’t need. In fact the only reason why I got one in the first place is because the college I attended, made it mandatory for me to have one in order to study there. I was told that Bradford was too hilly so I got a motorised wheelchair to get through college. This is one of the many times that a wheelchair user has to advocate for themselves.
One of the most popular varieties is an electric wheelchair. Before you commit to this purchase, make sure it is the right option for you. Here are some pros and cons to help you decide.
PROS
Pro: They are more comfortable
One of the top reasons people choose an electric wheelchair over a manual one is that they tend to be more comfortable. These chairs are often custom-made to fit the person’s size and body shape. You will find that the seat of the chair is cushioned to provide extra support and has a headrest at just the right height. It might also have additional back support. Also, the pads of the seat sit more securely than manual wheelchair seat pads. In general, electric wheelchairs will have more custom options for comfort than the manual wheelchairs have.
Pro: There are a lot of great features
You also have a wider range of features when you choose an electric wheelchair. Not only is the wheelchair motorized so you can go farther faster, but you can go in reverse without too much effort. You can also add a lot of different features since the larger wheelchairs provide ample space for extras. For example, if you don’t have good use of your arms and hands, you can get an electric wheelchair that moves when you change your head positions or get a voice-controlled wheelchair. Some models also add built-in heat just in case you are out on a cold day. You can get one with a seat that rises to help you get items on a higher shelf. This feature encourages pressure relief and independence. The newer models even have extra security features to prevent it from being stolen.
Pro: You have more independence
Perhaps most of all, you have more independence with an electric wheelchair. As someone who is a wheelchair user, it can be hard requiring someone to move the wheelchair for you, even when you do not have the energy to use your arms for turning the wheels of a manual chair. If you want to be able to get around freely without someone else’s help, an electric wheelchair is your best option.
CONS
Con: The wheelchair is large and heavy
On the downside, electric wheelchairs are large and bulky, not to mention heavy. Nobody will be able to lift this chair on their own to get it into a vehicle or into your home. You must have a proper ramp or a wheelchair-friendly vehicle. Manual wheelchairs are light enough to lift and fold to fit just about anywhere.
Con: They are more expensive
Naturally, electric wheelchairs are considerably more expensive. You are paying for all those extra features, the motorized function, and the overall size of the new chair. It is possible that your insurance policy will cover some of the costs, so you should check with them before you decide not to get this type of wheelchair. Charities, government and personal fundraisers may help but there’s no guarantee they will cover the costs.
Con: It impedes on your cardiovascular strength.
Upper body strength is important for a wheelchair user, especially when you have little to no use of your lower extremities.
Con: It is hazardous to use them in rain, ice, mud, sand and snow.
The traction from the wheels gets stuck in ice, mud, sand and snow. It can also be slippery when it rains. It is also tricky to charge them in a power cut.
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