Questions Thread

[Rincewind]

Gas central heating question,

On Monday a gas engineer called for the annual service check. (it was actually lomger than that. he said because they could not gain access the last time they had tapped off the meter which was apparently why my boiler had not been working) Anyway he got it working but I cannot get the radiators on. I have tried putting them on different settings as well as the thermostat in my hallway. I only wanted to try them out but do they not come on if the rooms are warm enough?

Over the months I have felt no need for CH. My shower is electric and I have few pots to wash being on my own and have ezpected the service at some point. Also it saves on my gas bill. I just wanted to see if it worked/ In the summer I dry my clothes on a skylite and in the winter use the radiators for a couple of hours.

[ozleicester]

14 hours ago, Buce said:

 

More specific, please: how is 'high' or 'many' defined?

 

For example the Politics thread has just become HOT. Why now and not before?

 

Edit: So has the Funny Pictures thread.

 

Edit again: Now Politics is not HOT.

 

Somebody please explain.

Its when i post in it

[DJ Barry Hammond]

 

Ok, a question mainly aimed at the learned folk that have gone to University on here. 

 

I've been set an entrance essay with the title "Define what is meant by ‘user generated content’and how its use is increasingly becoming a part of mainstream journalism." 

 

Now I have started mapping out ideas, picked out reading material, etc, etc, etc, but one area I am unsure on is what my conclusion should look like / centre around.

 

My current plan is to go something like this;

• Introduction
• define the term UGC (using 2006 OECD paper as a base)
• chart the growth of UGC into mainstream journalism (facts + figures from ONS, timeline)
• identify key influencers in this growth (two in mind are 'rise of the smartphone' and 'the use of UGC by terrorist groups')
• Look at current challenges mainstream journalism face in respect of UGC (trolling / fake news)

This path feels like it has a solid flow up to the point where I think what my conclusion should be, because I fear the danger of going over the points already discussed - as opposed to taking these sections and combining them a new idea to finish.  

 

Would the the logical conclusion on this be a 'projection forward of where UGC + mainstream journalism might go'? 

 

 

Now thats the longer question. The much simpler question on the same topic is;

 

"Am I allowed to insert pictures / graphs / things that are not words into an essay if they support my argument?" 

 

I am aware there could be added danger in this if I inadvertently use something that has copy rights to it without express permission, but there was a couple of downloadable ONS charts I came across that I thought would help break up my argument and appear 'free for reproduction'.

 

 

Any help offered will  be much appreciated - although it's worth baring in mind that I have until next Thursday to complete 1500 words so responses after this time will only be useful in hindsight.

[The Blur]

17 minutes ago, DJ Barry Hammond said:

 

Ok, a question mainly aimed at the learned folk that have gone to University on here. 

 

I've been set an entrance essay with the title "Define what is meant by ‘user generated content’and how its use is increasingly becoming a part of mainstream journalism." 

 

Now I have started mapping out ideas, picked out reading material, etc, etc, etc, but one area I am unsure on is what my conclusion should look like / centre around.

 

My current plan is to go something like this;

• Introduction
• define the term UGC (using 2006 OECD paper as a base)
• chart the growth of UGC into mainstream journalism (facts + figures from ONS, timeline)
• identify key influencers in this growth (two in mind are 'rise of the smartphone' and 'the use of UGC by terrorist groups')
• Look at current challenges mainstream journalism face in respect of UGC (trolling / fake news)

This path feels like it has a solid flow up to the point where I think what my conclusion should be, because I fear the danger of going over the points already discussed - as opposed to taking these sections and combining them a new idea to finish.  

 

Would the the logical conclusion on this be a 'projection forward of where UGC + mainstream journalism might go'? 

 

 

Now thats the longer question. The much simpler question on the same topic is;

 

"Am I allowed to insert pictures / graphs / things that are not words into an essay if they support my argument?" 

 

I am aware there could be added danger in this if I inadvertently use something that has copy rights to it without express permission, but there was a couple of downloadable ONS charts I came across that I thought would help break up my argument and appear 'free for reproduction'.

 

 

Any help offered will  be much appreciated - although it's worth baring in mind that I have until next Thursday to complete 1500 words so responses after this time will only be useful in hindsight.

 

When I went to Nottingham Trent and London South Bank after that,  they both have their own produced referencing/citing guide (you can usually find them if you root about library intranet) so if they have a guideline on referencing graphs which was the case for Nottingham Trent then it should be OK.  You can also email the uni librarian for advice as well.  

Edited 7 July 2017 by The Blur

[Kopfkino]

@DJ Barry Hammond

 

Maybe things are slightly different for this course but I shall share my knowledge/thoughts based on what I have to do.

 

It looks like you've got quite a lot there for 1500 words to me, it will soon evaporate. An academic conclusion should never introduce new points that you haven't already covered in the essay. Similarly, an introduction should accurately set out your essay.  You could add another paragraph to talk about that but as I say you're covering a lot in my opinion anyway. So for example, the conclusion from my last essay (self set title of Does EU regulation prevent the UK government saving the UK steel industry?) was: 

 

Over the course of this essay, we have seen that whilst EU state aid rules restrict the ability of a member state to intervene when an industry is struggling, it is not preventing the UK government from saving its steel industry. State aid rules have prevented the UK government nationalising the steel industry or providing it with favourable aid. To be able to do so, the government would have to satisfy MEIP, which it couldn’t have done in the case of the Port Talbot plant. However, we have seen that EU regulation does permit the government offering support to the steel industry, as France and Germany has. In fact, the UK’s permissible support for its steel industry has been weak, whilst it has also obstructed EU efforts to prevent China dumping steel in the EU - suggesting that it has little interest in helping the steel industry, but uses the EU as a political blame tool. I have suggested two reasons for this. First, its weak domestic policy is because supporting the Port Talbot plant doesn’t provide any electoral benefits, and therefore is an inefficient distribution of resources for winning elections. Finally, it has blocked EU measures because it does not wish to jeopardise Chinese investment in the UK economy. 

 

Reading that back now, it's not written as well as I would have liked and it's too long but you see that all I did was wrap up what was said in the essay by basically wrapping up each key point I made and sticking to the question set.

 

 

You can use graphs or data tables or whatever as long as you properly explain them and don't just leave them floating there with the idea they explain themselves.  And of course reference them. I assume the ONS or OECD etc gives permissions on their website/has common copyright kind of set up but it's always worth making sure. Obviously there's little that is going to happen as a result of flouncing copyright but you should be in the right practice from the start

[DJ Barry Hammond]

 

Thanks @KingGTF

 

Considering things even I know not to bring in a new argument within a conclusion - silly me. And you could be right about a quickly vanishing word count curtailing the current train of thought. 

 

Am I right in thinking the 'define' part will take care of itself at the top and my focus towards a conclusion needs to be on the second part (confirming it as an increasing part of mainstream journalism).

 

[Carl the Llama]

So I was under the impression that Cognac doesn't 'age' or go bad for a very long after being opened (indeed I just googled it to confirm as much) but I have a bottle of Courvoisier V.S. which I could swear has gotten sweeter and generally more drinkable since I first popped the cork the best part of a year ago.  Has anyone else experienced a similar phenomenon with Cognac/other brandies or is it all in my head?

[Kopfkino]

2 hours ago, DJ Barry Hammond said:

 

Thanks @KingGTF

 

Considering things even I know not to bring in a new argument within a conclusion - silly me. And you could be right about a quickly vanishing word count curtailing the current train of thought. 

 

Am I right in thinking the 'define' part will take care of itself at the top and my focus towards a conclusion needs to be on the second part (confirming it as an increasing part of mainstream journalism).

 

 

Yeah it should do. Tbh I have never done a define question (tho I have defined terms as part of an essay) but common sense suggests there's no point defining it again but you might say in the conclusion something about your definition and that dictating your essay

[Guest]

7 hours ago, KingGTF said:

@DJ Barry Hammond

 

Maybe things are slightly different for this course but I shall share my knowledge/thoughts based on what I have to do.

 

It looks like you've got quite a lot there for 1500 words to me, it will soon evaporate. An academic conclusion should never introduce new points that you haven't already covered in the essay. Similarly, an introduction should accurately set out your essay.  You could add another paragraph to talk about that but as I say you're covering a lot in my opinion anyway. So for example, the conclusion from my last essay (self set title of Does EU regulation prevent the UK government saving the UK steel industry?) was: 

 

 

Over the course of this essay, we have seen that whilst EU state aid rules restrict the ability of a member state to intervene when an industry is struggling, it is not preventing the UK government from saving its steel industry. State aid rules have prevented the UK government nationalising the steel industry or providing it with favourable aid. To be able to do so, the government would have to satisfy MEIP, which it couldn’t have done in the case of the Port Talbot plant. However, we have seen that EU regulation does permit the government offering support to the steel industry, as France and Germany has. In fact, the UK’s permissible support for its steel industry has been weak, whilst it has also obstructed EU efforts to prevent China dumping steel in the EU - suggesting that it has little interest in helping the steel industry, but uses the EU as a political blame tool. I have suggested two reasons for this. First, its weak domestic policy is because supporting the Port Talbot plant doesn’t provide any electoral benefits, and therefore is an inefficient distribution of resources for winning elections. Finally, it has blocked EU measures because it does not wish to jeopardise Chinese investment in the UK economy. 

 

 

Reading that back now, it's not written as well as I would have liked and it's too long but you see that all I did was wrap up what was said in the essay by basically wrapping up each key point I made and sticking to the question set.

 

 

You can use graphs or data tables or whatever as long as you properly explain them and don't just leave them floating there with the idea they explain themselves.  And of course reference them. I assume the ONS or OECD etc gives permissions on their website/has common copyright kind of set up but it's always worth making sure. Obviously there's little that is going to happen as a result of flouncing copyright but you should be in the right practice from the start

Interestingly, you reached the same conclusion as I did about the steel industry. I'm allowed to write that here as I haven't entered the twilight zone of what I shall call "that other place".

[DJ Barry Hammond]

6 hours ago, KingGTF said:

 

Yeah it should do. Tbh I have never done a define question (tho I have defined terms as part of an essay) but common sense suggests there's no point defining it again but you might say in the conclusion something about your definition and that dictating your essay

 

Well fortunately the pressure on this entry essay has been reduced considerably this afternoon by the news that one of my other choices has just accepted me (just need to find my grade certificates from years ago ?)

 

This resulted in some drinking and a radical change in direction on the essay as well... sod agreeing with the existing academic papers on this, I'm going full on attack mode - UGC isn't a new idea and it's not just internet based.

[Wymsey]

In today's climate, what's the best effective way to save and where would anyone recommend in terms of which brand to use? Want to save but unsure considering the economy currently.

Thanks.

 

 

Edited 10 July 2017 by Wymeswold fox

[sphericalfox]

43 minutes ago, Wymeswold fox said:

In today's climate, what's the best effective way to save and where would anyone recommend in terms of which brand to use? Want to save but unsure considering the economy currently.

Thanks.

 

 

[Kopfkino]

Does my GP have to print out/email my medical records if I ask them to? Am I able to then share these with whom I might choose, or is patient-doctor confidentiality  both ways?

[Jon the Hat]

On 7/10/2017 at 18:07, Wymeswold fox said:

In today's climate, what's the best effective way to save and where would anyone recommend in terms of which brand to use? Want to save but unsure considering the economy currently.

Thanks.

 

 

The short answer will be an employer backed pension, where they will match your savings.  Google workplace pension - you have a legal right to one.  You can also save tax free which is great.

Obviously this wont work if you need to save for a house deposit for example, in which case probably an ISA.

[ousefox]

On 10/07/2017 at 18:07, Wymeswold fox said:

In today's climate, what's the best effective way to save and where would anyone recommend in terms of which brand to use? Want to save but unsure considering the economy currently.

Thanks.

 

 

I have a few regular savers that bring in a decent exchange rate. I've also put some money into funding circle which is doing quite well at the moment - there's more risk with this so be careful if you want zero risk.

 

I really ought to learn about investing in shares as I have money doing **** all in an ISA with inflation rising.

[Jon the Hat]

On 7/5/2017 at 01:11, Rincewind said:

Gas central heating question,

On Monday a gas engineer called for the annual service check. (it was actually lomger than that. he said because they could not gain access the last time they had tapped off the meter which was apparently why my boiler had not been working) Anyway he got it working but I cannot get the radiators on. I have tried putting them on different settings as well as the thermostat in my hallway. I only wanted to try them out but do they not come on if the rooms are warm enough?

Over the months I have felt no need for CH. My shower is electric and I have few pots to wash being on my own and have ezpected the service at some point. Also it saves on my gas bill. I just wanted to see if it worked/ In the summer I dry my clothes on a skylite and in the winter use the radiators for a couple of hours.

Have you sorted this?  If the pump is running but the radiators are cold they are possibly full of air - you need to get a key or screwdriver and open the bleeding valve which will be at the top at one end - you will hear the air coming out until the water fills the radiator, then tighten it up again.  Have a cloth or something in hand under it to catch the water, which will be hot!  

[Carl the Llama]

54 minutes ago, KingGTF said:

Does my GP have to print out/email my medical records if I ask them to? Am I able to then share these with whom I might choose, or is patient-doctor confidentiality  both ways?

It's your health so it's entirely up to you who you choose to disclose your conditions to.  I would imagine the same applies to official paperwork released into your possession and in both cases it's more a question of determining if it's appropriate/helpful to do so, why do you ask?

[Buce]

4 hours ago, KingGTF said:

Does my GP have to print out/email my medical records if I ask them to? Am I able to then share these with whom I might choose, or is patient-doctor confidentiality  both ways?

 

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/records/healthrecords/Pages/what_to_do.aspx

[SystonFox]

Why do mobile numbers in the U.K. All start with 07?

 

and how long until we run out of numbers and have to start using a different prefix?

 

has anyone ever thought of this before?

[DJ Barry Hammond]

52 minutes ago, SystonFox said:

Why do mobile numbers in the U.K. All start with 07?

 

and how long until we run out of numbers and have to start using a different prefix?

 

has anyone ever thought of this before?

 

There's a lot of combinations in an 11 digit number so the chances of running out of numbers is slim for now at least, especially as phone companies will recycle previous discontinued phone numbers.

 

I'll see what I can find on the '07' part of your query...

 

So it looks like '07' was chosen by offcom as part of a big tidying up of mobile phone numbers as their use become more prominent;

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Number_Change#Mobile.2C_pager_and_personal_number_changes

 

Ofcom had already begun catorgorising number types via an opening 2 digit signifier (e.g. '08' is a free phone number, '09' a premium rate, '03' a local rate charged call) to make it clear to consumers what a phone number was.

 

The '07' designation was available at the time of change and I suspect it was deemed more attractive by mobile phone companies than using '04'! 

 

 

Edited 14 July 2017 by DJ Barry Hammond

[Rincewind]

20 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

Have you sorted this?  If the pump is running but the radiators are cold they are possibly full of air - you need to get a key or screwdriver and open the bleeding valve which will be at the top at one end - you will hear the air coming out until the water fills the radiator, then tighten it up again.  Have a cloth or something in hand under it to catch the water, which will be hot!  

Yes thanks. May have been the thermostat settings. Not really cold enough for them but needed to see if it worked. Do not have a key. Wont be home over the weekend but will try the bleeding when i get back

[Nalis]

So there has been a lot of movement/resignations in my relatively small department and there has been a suggestion (not to me directly, through a decent source) that my notice period might be extended from 2 months to 3 as a result. Is this normal for someone in a mid level position? I think this is too long and offers less flexibility for me if I was to move on.

 

My question - If/when this is suggested to me by my boss, how do I refuse a 3 month notice period without sounding like I'm doing it for the above reasons? Dont want it to create an atmosphere either.

[Buce]

1 hour ago, Nalis said:

So there has been a lot of movement/resignations in my relatively small department and there has been a suggestion (not to me directly, through a decent source) that my notice period might be extended from 2 months to 3 as a result. Is this normal for someone in a mid level position? I think this is too long and offers less flexibility for me if I was to move on.

 

My question - If/when this is suggested to me by my boss, how do I refuse a 3 month notice period without sounding like I'm doing it for the above reasons? Dont want it to create an atmosphere either.

 

Would you not also gain from an extended notice period?

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Nalis said:

So there has been a lot of movement/resignations in my relatively small department and there has been a suggestion (not to me directly, through a decent source) that my notice period might be extended from 2 months to 3 as a result. Is this normal for someone in a mid level position? I think this is too long and offers less flexibility for me if I was to move on.

 

My question - If/when this is suggested to me by my boss, how do I refuse a 3 month notice period without sounding like I'm doing it for the above reasons? Dont want it to create an atmosphere either.

Surely your notice period is part of your contract? Just refuse. It doesn't sound like they're going to be giving you notice any time soon.

Just say you're happy with your contract. Your employer is purely doing it for their benefit - it's not like they're doing it for your welfare is it?

Shouldn't be any guilt or atmosphere.

 

Edited 15 July 2017 by Guest

[The Guvnor]

On ‎13‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 11:25, KingGTF said:

Does my GP have to print out/email my medical records if I ask them to? Am I able to then share these with whom I might choose, or is patient-doctor confidentiality  both ways?

If you register at your GP for 'patient access'  , think it's a national roll out you can access all your medical records, make appointments, order prescriptions etc etc.