Lifeline for missing people

The national charity which helps missing people reconnect with their loved ones has received Scottish Government funding to increase the help available to missing people in Scotland.

There are more than 30,000 reports of missing people in Scotland each year, with nearly two-thirds of incidents involving a child or young person. Missing People runs a helpline which provides free, confidential advice to missing adults and children, and their families, connecting them with the support that they desperately need.

The charity has received more than £90,000 over two years to connect with more children and young people in Scotland and help them find safety and support. The funding will also help make sure the right support agencies and professionals are linked into the helpline.

At the same time the government is working with partners including Police Scotland, local councils, Shelter, Barnardo’s and Missing People to develop a National Missing Persons Framework, to reduce the harm related to people going missing and raise awareness of the many causes of going missing and the associated dangers.

Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, Annabelle Ewing, said:

“There are many reasons why people go missing and we know they can be particularly vulnerable when missing, potentially finding themselves in situations of real risk. We want to improve access to the support available for those who go missing  in Scotland which is why we are supporting Missing People to expand on their vital helpline.

“It is particularly important that our children and young people who go missing or are at risk of going missing know how to find the help they need to ensure safety and address the reasons behind why they went or want to go missing.

“When someone goes missing it is also a terrible experience for their loved ones and Missing People also provides much-needed support to the families of those who are missing.

“As we work with partners to try and prevent people going missing, and reduce the harm when they do, we will not forget the real impact that going missing has on people and their loved ones.”

Susannah Drury, Director of Services and Advocacy at the charity Missing People, said:

“We are delighted that the Scottish Government has renewed its commitment to supporting vulnerable missing children and young people with this funding.

“By building key partnerships with Police Scotland, other charities and local councils, the charity is committed to finding and supporting more missing children and young people across Scotland.

“When a child goes missing it is nearly always a sign that something is very wrong. These funds from the Scottish Government will help ensure that we can be here for free, 24/7 without judgement at the end of the phone when a missing child needs to talk through their options or get help to stay safe.”

Freeman urges Westminster rethink on latest welfare proposals

Welfare changes ‘damaging’ to low income families

Minister for Social Security Jeane Freeman has expressed strong opposition to the UK Government on its proposal to limit the number of children in families who can qualify for Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit. Continue reading Freeman urges Westminster rethink on latest welfare proposals

And Edinburgh’s most borrowed book in 2016 was …

Edinburgh’s most borrowed books of 2016 have been published, revealing a penchant for crime and mystery amongst city readers. Psychological thriller The Girl on the Train topped the list of fiction books borrowed from the capital’s libraries last year, followed closely by Ian Rankin’s Even Dogs in the Wild and Peter May’s Coffin Road. Continue reading And Edinburgh’s most borrowed book in 2016 was …

The Forth dimension

3D scans of Forth Bridges to power educational games and learning

Incredibly detailed 3D scans of the Forth Bridge will form the basis for interactive games promoting engineering skills for school children, it was announced yesterday.

First announced in 2014, the £300,000 scanning project was one of the most challenging and complex 3D scans undertaken anywhere in the world. It has amassed a data-cloud of many billions of dimensionally accurate points on the structures of the Forth Bridge, Forth Road Bridge and the partially built Queensferry Crossing.

Now a further grant of £425,000 from Transport Scotland has enabled Scottish digital heritage experts to start work on learning games, augmented reality apps, real-time interactive models for virtual headset tours and video fly-throughs for release in 2018, all aimed at developing STEM skills among pupils in Scottish schools.

In the meantime, the project has released a stunning animation of the “point cloud” data of the Forth Bridge and Forth Road Bridge:

 https://youtu.be/ikLjgXXAMas

Transport Scotland funded the project on behalf of the Forth Bridges Forum and the laser scanning and digital development work has been carried out by the Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation (CDDV), a partnership between The Glasgow School of Art’s School of Simulation and Visualisation and Historic Environment Scotland.

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: “The Forth Bridges represent Scotland’s industrial past, creative present and our dynamic and innovative future. They are the pinnacle of world-leading design and engineering and it’s right that we conserve and protect them and also seek to inspire and educate the young engineers of the future.

“If the bridges are a globally unique showcase of Scotland’s world-class engineering skills, this amazing 3D scanning project also showcases the world-leading design, research and innovation in our Higher Education institutions.

“The possibilities for this comprehensive digital data are almost endless. It allows the production of detailed information and tools for conservation, educational resources, improving accessibility and delivering virtual records to help health and safety training as well as promoting tourism.

“It is already delivering early benefits. Our commitment to the work was a crucial element in securing World Heritage status for the Forth Bridge last year (2015). In addition, the Forth Road Bridge scans had only just been undertaken when maintenance issues forced the prolonged closure of the structure last winter. I understand the engineers were able to use the scans as part of diagnosing and solving the problem with the truss-end links.

“But now, rightly, our focus is education and creating learning tools to educate and inspire the young engineers of the future.”

The laser scanning work began in May 2015 and involved a total of 90 days digitally documenting the bridges on foot, from ropes, vehicles and boats. Mobile mapping was undertaken in partnership with Leica Geosystems UK. It has created a huge point cloud mapping the structures and their overall physical footprint over 3.6 square kilometre.

It has also been one of the most complex 3D scanning projects undertaken anywhere in the world given the vagaries of the three different structures and physical and environmental challenges faced by the team.

Alastair Rawlinson, Head of Data Acquisition at The Glasgow School of Art and CDDV said: “Laser scanning each of the three bridges has posed unique challenges for our team. We have had to use our combined experience, gained through digitally documenting globally iconic structures such as the Sydney Opera House and Mount Rushmore to create innovative methodologies to allow us to capture these incredible bridges in great detail.

“We will now use this specialised 3D dataset to develop interactive learning resources based on advanced gaming technologies and virtual reality to make the information accessible to school children across Scotland and beyond.”

Miles Oglethorpe, Head of Historic Environment Scotland’s Industrial Heritage team responsible for preparing the successful World Heritage nomination of The Forth Bridge, said: “Having such an extraordinary, detailed and accurate 3D record of The Forth Bridge is a tremendous advantage for us as we set about sharing Scotland’s sixth World Heritage Site with the World.

“UNESCO expects us to celebrate our World Heritage, and to convey it to as big an audience as possible. The latest digital technologies not only make this possible, but also allows us to consider ways of tackling some of the wider recording issues facing other World Heritage Sites across the world.”

A panel of experts, including school teachers, Napier University and the Institute of Civil Engineers, is helping CDDV develop options for the data. The work is now focusing on highly detailed models of the bridges and a suite of education materials including two digital learning games based on building the Forth Bridge for school children, an augmented reality app to showcase the industrial heritage of the bridges and a virtual reality headset-based “virtual tour” of the Forth Bridge and Forth Road Bridge. The materials are expected to be rolled-out in mid-2018.

 

New Year, new opportunities: Dads Rock seeks new members

Thank you for supporting our work so far.  From 2017 we’re going to improve how we engage with our members and we’d love others to sign up to be new members.  Please forward this onto any interested individuals, see below for more details and click on this link to complete the application process:

http://www.dadsrock.org.uk/component/content/article/2-uncategorised/13-join-us