By Chris S Carrington, on 30 July 2010
This will be my last post on this blog, as today is my last day at the UCL Language & Speech Science Library. I have had an immensely interesting and rewarding 12 years here and enjoyed learning so much about the fascinating subject of human communication it all its various forms. So, it’s goodbye from me, and hello and welcome to whoever takes over the library and its web presence!
Stevie Russell
By Chris S Carrington, on 30 July 2010
Thanks to Breege Whiten, LaSS Issue Desk Head, the library is now on Twitter. Follow us at http://twitter.com/UCL_LaSS_Lib for regular updates and latest news about the service.
By Chris S Carrington, on 23 July 2010
Images from ww.bodleyhead.co.uk
Music is a basic form of human communication, one that this blogger certainly could not live without. Philip Ball, freelance writer and consultant editor for Nature magazine, seeks to understand why it is such an essential part of human nature. In this book he has combined philosophy, mathematics, history, neurology and psychology to produce the first study of its kind. His multidisciplinary yet accessible approach makes this a fascinating read for both academic and layperson alike, although he focuses only on the Western classical tradition as opposed to popular music. His findings would apply equally to either genre, as he seeks answers to the puzzle he poses in his Prelude:
“why these complex mixtures of acoustic frequencies and amplitudes make any sense to us, let alone why they move us to joy and tears. ..When we listen to music, even casually, our brains are performing clever feats of filtering, ordering and prediction, automatically and unconsciously. ..It is the most remarkable blend of art and science, logic and emotion, physics and psychology, known to us.”
The Music Instinct (an intentional reference to Steven Pinker’s The Language Instinct) can be found in the psychology of music section at 153.35 BAL.
By Chris S Carrington, on 23 July 2010
RECENT ACQUISITIONS : items added to LASS Library stock in June 2010
By Chris S Carrington, on 8 July 2010
RECENT ACQUISITIONS : items added to LASS Library stock in May 2010
By Chris S Carrington, on 7 July 2010
Jacket image from www.harpercollins.co.uk
John Suchet, broadcaster and journalist, tells the intimate story of his marriage to Bonnie, and of her gradual and devastating decline into dementia. It is a lover’s story and a carer’s story, and pulls no punches in the description of the “living death” that can steal a person’s entire memory, identity and character while they are still alive.
Suchet gives a heartfelt description of the distress of caring for a loved one with dementia. When the task eventually required professional help, support arrived in the form of an Admiral Nurse. The experience led Suchet to establish the charity Dementia UK, which supports the work of Admiral Nurses and aims to improve the lives of all those affected by dementia.
My Bonnie is shelved with other books on dementia, including carers’ stories, at 618.97 SUC
By Chris S Carrington, on 5 July 2010
Please note that most UCL Libraries, including LaSS, will be CLOSED ALL DAY this Friday, 9th July for the annual UCL Library Services Staff Conference. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
By Chris S Carrington, on 1 July 2010
28th June to 4th July 2010 has been designated Deaf Awareness Week by the UK Council on Deafness. This year’s theme is “Look At Me” and intends to highlight the diversity within the deaf community, and the different means of communication used (e.g. signed languages, lipreading). See here for a diary of events throughout the UK.
By Chris S Carrington, on 18 June 2010
Until the end of June 2010, the Alexander Street Press are providing a free trial of their online counselling and therapy videos and transcripts. To take advantage of this very special offer, go to http://ctiv.alexanderstreet.com for videos, or http://psyc.alexanderstreet.com for the transcripts, and log in with username reviewer and password: 4filibusters356.
By Chris S Carrington, on 15 June 2010
The field of speech and language therapy (SLT) in the UK has not had a specialist book publisher since Whurr was bought by Wiley in 2005. Following the merger of Wiley with Blackwell, the speech therapy list was dropped, leaving a gap in the market. J & R Press have now stepped forward to fill this gap. Formed by the team of former Wiley commissioning editor Rachael Wilkie, and designer Jim Wilkie, J & R are in an ideal position to meet the need for a specialist publisher in SLT. Rachael brings her experience of publishing the former Whurr titles at Wiley, whilst Jim brings his extensive expertise in printing and design to the project. Four new titles have already been commissioned and are due for publication in 2011, using the economical print-on-demand model, and prospective authors are invited to contact them. We look forward to collaborating with this exciting and important new venture.
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