Diana Nicoll
Genealogical researcher, particularly interested in Somerset, Citizens Advice project officer, keen karateka!
Location North Somerset, England
Activity
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I think many of the poll answers could be considered correct, at least partially so. The phrase that particularly resonates with me is "moments of invention". [I went for nobody knows...]
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I can't remember my trips to the cinema as a young child (I'm sure there were some) but I can very clearly remember taking my 5 yo daughter to see Happy Feet (so she would have been quite a seasoned tv watcher by then) and her being absolutely entranced and involved in the picture and shouting "Noooooo" and jumping up into the aisle as the skua tried to catch...
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One of my favourites is the zoetrope. I was particularly aware of Eadweard Muybridge and his galloping horse which he showed on his "zoopraxiscope" but wasn't aware of the development of the zoetrope which involved lots of variations and inventors - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoetrope. [as an aside there's a very interesting biography "The scoundrel Harry...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I think a lot of our perceptions of the Victorians are from images, film, TV, photos. I was astounded to read Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde and the sheer wealth of description of streets etc which Robert Louis Stevenson used as he was describing scenes that his readers would not have "seen".
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I have looked longingly at the catalogue and website but got stymied by the pandemic! On my list for when things open up!
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
key words - industrialisation, smog, crowded cities, disease, rural poor, rich elite, innovation, Empire, excitement, trains.
people - Brunel, Queen Victoria, Charles Darwin, Disraeli, Florence Nightingale, agricultural labourers
environment – rapid change, pollution, tourism becoming a thing
influences – books, history, TV & film, family history research -
Diana Nicoll made a comment
I don't think there's a film archive closed to me in Bristol, but I have been to the wonderful Moving Image Archive at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow for a behind the scenes visit. Extraordinary amounts of film there and not all of Scotland - worth a subject search. https://www.nls.uk/collections/moving-image-archive/
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Hi - I'm researching an ancestor who was a stage actor and early pioneer of Australian cinema. He was born in London and would have been a teenager at the time of the Living Picture Craze so I'm interested in how he would have viewed cinema and its interaction with theatre and music hall.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
There's a disconnect between how I am and how I would like to be, i.e. process, idea, action scored highly, people low. I would rather be more people oriented but find this difficult.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I found that really tricky. The binary yes/no was difficult. I would be interested in getting someone else to fill it in as they view me as I suspect a disconnect between how I would like to be and how I actually am!
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I too tend to be direct with my emails and can have the same reaction. I probably tend to be reactive rather than respond. I definitely need to work on this! Sometimes I will write a particularly difficult email one day and revisit it in the morning before pressing send.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Hello I'm from south west England and I'd like to be more proactive with my finances. Professionally I'm interested from a financial capability perspective.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I have done a food diary with my daughter before but we found this very difficult to keep on top of. I very much like the modimed checklist and have printed this off. It's simple and keeps an overall track on how things are going. I think keeping it simple is key for me! However I notice that the worksheet doesn't give space to record the unhealthy things you...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
The UK guidelines have been posted by several others so I won't, but I would make the comment that it is far easier and cheaper to find ready meals and processed foods than good quality fruit and veg - they're in every petrol station, corner shop, vending machine and I think many people don't know what to do with fresh veg any more. Despite the number of...
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Diana Nicoll replied to Rachel D
Absolutely agree with you Rachel - cakes, biscuits and chocolate have all become staples!
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I have found thinking about this has brought up issues that I hadn't thought of in relation to food. My mum was a good cook and provided us with lovely meals growing up. As a young adult I usually ate well and mostly cooked from scratch rather than convenience. But the last ten years have been difficult as my daughter had dietary problems - first we thought...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Lots of mixed messages and seemingly contradictory statements make it difficult to keep on track sometimes.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I work for Citizens Advice and many of our clients are struggling with issues which exacerbate mental health issues and vice versa. An understanding by upstreamers of the impact on people's lives of mental health might be a good place to start...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I think environmental factors are modifiable but at different scales. Some require a small individual change of behaviour whilst others require a significant societal change .
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I think it is a good working definition. However I think the concept of a continuum is very important and/or helpful but this is not included in the definition
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Type 2 diabetes without a doubt is well on the way to bankrupting the NHS. Definitely related to diet and accessibility of processed foods courtesy of the food industry. And the relative inaccessibility of healthier foods.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Excellent ideas. Agree with Marcus. Getting involved stops you feeling isolated, encourages you to finish the course and broadens your understanding of the subject.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Hello I'm from North Somerset in England. I love sugar but I am aware that it affects my mood. I'm looking to find out more and maybe finding some strategies to help. Also my daughter has anxiety and I'm wondering what might help in terms of diet.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I try and walk to the local shops rather than drive. I drive part of the way to work and cycle the rest sometimes (could do more of this). I spend a lot of time working at a computer at home and I used to use the Pomodoro technique - i.e. 25 mins of work followed by 5 min break where I clean or vacuum the house or do sit ups or something, but have got out of...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I feel exhausted reading the comments posted to date! I have good intentions, but I don't do nearly as much as those who have already commented.....
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I'm really enjoying it. I found some of the information quite surprising and am looking forward to the next two weeks.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
My mum died at 95 but she was determined to keep independently mobile as long as possible to the extent that she wouldn't use a walking frame, just a walking stick, which led to her being unbalanced and hence to have back pain and terrible sciatica. When she became even less mobile, she became socially isolated so I think keeping mobility is hugely important....
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Diana Nicoll replied to Diana Nicoll
Thanks both - I am very careful with my running. 3-5k suits me well. I don't like pavement pounding and prefer a variety of surfaces and speeds. Good advice about increasing slowly. I am not desperate to do a 10K, but I would like to be better at orienteering (which is why I run)! I love yoga which I think would help enormously but struggling to find the right...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I do recognise the challenges that Robin highlights. Particularly shoes - I don't wear heels. I have used barefoot shoes in the past and like them for everyday use but can't run in them. I also think we stiffen our hips, knees and ankles and hold our centre of gravity too high which affects balance and gait.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I've taken running more seriously in the last couple of years and can run 5k fairly easily. However, several attempts to step up to 10k have been thwarted by sore tendons in my legs, both Achilles and behind my knee - this article might explain why.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
My mum used to go walking in a group into her 80s but did start falling regularly, sometimes quite spectacularly, but usually without breaking any bones (she did break her wrist once).
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Yes it does change my perception - I thought that environmental factors accounted for a smaller percentage than 75% which suggests that we have more control/input over our own ageing than I thought. Ageing is a series of processes which link and affect each other, rather than one streamlined process/event.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Foods - those containing calcium are "good" (e.g. dairy, broccoli, greens, sardines); sugary, refined foods are "bad"
Vitamins & supplements - very confusing, don't like taking them as lots of contradictory evidence and always feel I am boosting Holland & Barrett's profits rather than helping my body
Exercise - weight-bearing cardio exercises are good, but... -
Diana Nicoll made a comment
Hi - I'm in North Somerset in England, approaching 60, reasonably fit and active; wanting to stay that way! I would like to know more about what I could/should be doing and getting the motivation to do it.
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Diana Nicoll replied to Wendy A
I think most people don't know what they are, hence the number who get scammed to use an intermediary when applying for things like passports, driving licences etc and end up paying through the nose.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Measuring KPIs should enable you to see if you're meeting your objectives and using your time/resources in the most effective and efficient way. They can have a tendency to take over - must keep in mind that they are tools and not an end in themselves!
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You can certainly do that, but I think you'd have to use the paid-for version. I've just come across this blog https://iag.me/socialmedia/reviews/7-reasons-not-to-use-hootsuite/ which gives a good list of pros and cons.
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Hi Michael I've used Hootsuite at work and it worked well - simple, free (you can pay for enhanced features but I found the free features were enough) and I am going to use it for my self-employment.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
As a one-person band, this is not directly relevant to me - I need to be spending most of my time doing the work that brings in the money. However, it does give a good idea of the tasks to be scheduled regularly in order to keep the social media meeting my objectives. Just needs to be kept in perspective.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I use social media. It was very useful when there was a family illness - we were able to keep everyone up to date (on a closed group) with what was going on without having to continually repeat ourselves. Also for finding events locally and for information about genealogy. Not so keen on the posts which make me feel my life isn't that great in comparison!
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Managing social media presence - I can find this a struggle at times!
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
P1: 50% of the ten lollipops in this jar are red
P2: I have taken 6 lollipops from the jar
Therefore
C1: At least one of these lollipops are redCan you think of a reason why we might sometimes be interested in how strong an argument is without being particularly worried (at the time) about whether the premises are true?
Confirmation bias.
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Diana Nicoll replied to Steph Notrouble
I think I prefer your argument to mine - I think I have mixed up two arguments. Putting the letter into argument form does make a stronger, clearer message.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I agree with Patrick that this is not an argument. It is made up of a number of statements - there are no premises. I can see there's an argument in there struggling to get out, something along the lines of:
P1: Auckland Transport wants to fell the pohutakawa trees and says it has the right to do so
P2: Auckland Council has failed in its statutory duty... -
Diana Nicoll made a comment
I've just written a questionnaire where I tried hard to pose unbiased questions (if there is such a thing) but I suspect that there was still framing effect.
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Diana Nicoll replied to Diana Nicoll
Certainly is Richard! Small world!
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I'm from North Somerset in the UK and just starting a masters research project. My critical thinking skills are a bit slack and need sharpening! I am also interested in the ad hominem fallacy which seems to dominate so much of social conversation.
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Diana Nicoll replied to Rachel Gee
I would thoroughly recommend the FutureLearn Writing Research course (which deals with the literature review) - I'm about to start my masters project as well and found this very helpful!
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The Citizen Curator Programme sounds really good - hope it goes well!
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I came across a register of workhouse apprentices (about 250 of them between 1850 & 1870) which has set all sorts of questions running in my head. There is a whole section of primary material relating to this workhouse. My issue is working out what is feasible within the time (this is for a Masters project) and ensuring I have excellent research questions. My...
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I have started writing a blog about my family (primarily for my own benefit) and find the act of writing a blog about a particular family member and constructing a story about some aspect of their life is really useful in getting me thinking about ways round brick walls. Also, I have been contacted from someone who lives in the house where my great-grandfather...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I haven't done a lot of literature research yet, but mine will possibly be:
1. What was the background of the children and why were they in the workhouse?
2. How were the children selected to be apprentices?
3. What became of the apprentices?(my subject is the Apprentices of Flax Bourton Workhouse).
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I would recommend the FutureLearn course on Research Writing which is about literature review and goes into this in great detail.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Some very useful sources here. I would also like to mention Kelvin Hall in Glasgow https://kelvinhall.org.uk/ and its incredible Moving Image Archive https://www.nls.uk/collections/moving-image-archive which I visited last year - another treasure trove!
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Diana Nicoll replied to Rowena Grant
I am similarly addicted to the British Newspaper Archive!
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I definitely think they add to genealogical research - accents/dialects to give you some idea of what ancestors sounded like from different parts of the country. I found a recording made of a man who was born in 1904 and brought up in a very similar manner to my grandfather - interesting to give context, or some insight into how life might have been for him.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I would certainly use oral history if it was available. My granddad recorded a series of tapes about his childhood and family history in the 1970s which has proved invaluable in my research about my family and it is great that his voice is preserved - brings back other memories as well. It is interesting to work out what the "truth" is in a family story. I...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Thinking about how we deal in the UK with welfare benefits currently compared with the era of the Poor Law and workhouses, there is a change in the level of abject poverty and cruelty that were part of that system, but many of the same issues and viewpoints still exist. Much has changed, but much has stayed the same.
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I agree - that's a really good use of maps!
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Hi Stephen - that just means when you enter the text in the general search box, so it could be in any field, rather than limiting to a field such as "subject", "author" or "keyword".
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Some very interesting comments here, but one thought that springs to mind is copyright if people are going to publish or use images/maps/photos - do the Lead Educators have any thoughts on this?
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I will certainly be using images in my work on workhouse apprentices, if I can find them. I need to apply some lateral thinking, which I like doing!
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It's always worth typing the phrases/part-phrases into Google as the same phrases tend to crop up in many legal documents.
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Diana Nicoll replied to Nick Ellis
I agree with the difficulty of getting hold of books. I live in North Somerset and we're part of the LibrariesWest group which means I can get free of charge (at the moment) any book from the catalogue covering Somerset, CUBA (counties which used to be Avon!) and Dorset which is a great facility.
Worldcat is also useful as it can show you in which libraries... -
Diana Nicoll replied to Chris Sutton
Trove is fantastic!
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Ian mentions using bibliographic tools such as Endnote. I would like to put in a plug for Zotero https://www.zotero.org/ which is free to download - I really like using this tool to store my references.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Searching on "workhouse" as free text returns 550 articles
Subject="workhouses" returns a more manageable 114 articles
Interestingly, subject="workhouse" returns only 88 articles.....I find Worldcat very useful if you're trying to locate a book - https://www.worldcat.org/ . For instance, it shows me that the book I have just found on my Explore search...
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Accessibility means that I often turn to online resources first. Google is always worth a punt, particularly for an obscure string of text; Google Scholar; archive.org. Maps are increasingly available digitised, e.g. British Library, National Library of Scotland. It is important to understand the cataloguing, even with digitised content, to find...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Very interesting article and some good examples shown here.
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That is a really interesting article. I note that the author refers to Mark Monmonier's book "How to lie with maps" which I have now ordered from my library. https://www.amazon.com/How-Lie-Maps-2nd-Edition/dp/0226534219
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
What information would I look for? Who made the map, who paid them to make the map. For instance Humphrey Repton's Red Books (more visualisations than maps) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphry_Repton). He was a landscape gardener and produced these wonderful books to show what the remodelling of your stately home grounds would look like. However, often...
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Diana Nicoll replied to Diana Nicoll
Yes the KYP website is really good. I have just done a project looking at this issue and there isn't really an easy answer. You can download historical boundaries and put them in your own GIS map, but it is a bit of a minefield!
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
With my research into workhouse apprentices, I will certainly be using contemporary maps (1850-1880) to understand where these children were coming from and where they went. These will include ordnance survey and street directories, possibly also maps of poverty (a la Booth maps of London). I would like to make my own map to document these events; which brings...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Firstly, I was struck in the video by the sentence "... the rise to power of the Nazis coincides with the medium of photography really taking off" and how you could rewrite that as ".. the rise to power of Trump coincides with social media really taking off".....
Anyway, my granddad was in service and I often think that the photos that you see of houses...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I came across a register of apprentices in my local record office when looking for something else. I didn't realise that children as young as 12 were "apprenticed" from the workhouse to local employers. There were in fact 153 between 1853 and 1867. I am looking at this from a genealogical point of view. How did they come to be in the workhouse? What happened...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I will be using Union Workhouse records, in conjunction with census, BMD registers and newspapers. I would think the workhouse records are likely to have a bias in favour of employers over the apprentices (or is this me being biased?) and it will be more difficult to get the viewpoint of the apprenticed children.
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I agree that the new GDPR regulations have been immensely damaging for historical documents which have been destroyed unnecessarily as a result of misunderstanding the legislation.
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I am looking at workhouse apprentices. The attitude to poverty and paupers prevalent then (that they bring it on themselves, criminals, etc), has changed to some extent, but I worry that it if you scratch the surface, those old attitudes are still there.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
The concept of welfare (from a UK perspective), from outdoor relief to workhouses to the welfare state.
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And the concept of gravestone has changed through time - particularly with type of inscription.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Hmmmm. What a tricky question. I have read the previous comments with great interest - fascinating to see all the different thoughts. So, I will go for
Di, friendly, human (probably with a cup of tea in my hand!)
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I'm also interested in the context of family history and in the idea of trying to understand history through their eyes, rather than through modern ones if you see what I mean! My current interest is looking at the children who were "apprenticed" from my local workhouse and finding out what that actually meant, and what happened to them.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Hello from North Somerset in the UK. I am interested in the overlap between family and local/social history. Fascinated by maps as well! I'm about to start an MSc project looking at workhouse apprentices from the Bedminster Union Workhouse and thought this course would be useful. Also very keen to understand the British Library holdings in more detail.
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Hi Celeste - your reply is very inspiring! I shall keep going and try to persuade him otherwise!
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
This has been really helpful. In particular, using a blog as a learning log; annotating sources in terms of synopsis, what I think about the source and how it relates to my research project; the symbiosis between the lit review and the research project; concept mapping; academic writing. Thank you.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
This course has been really helpful. I can see very clearly where I went wrong with my diploma project and literature review and I have a very clear understanding of what I'm going to do for my masters project - and I'm really looking forward to starting my literature review!
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
When you’re drafting a text, do you find it difficult to control the flow of information you are presenting?
Not if I have put together a storyboard and am confident in what I'm saying (which I haven't always done) - I prefer to write more than is required and then edit it to distill out the actual important information. Much easier than trying to do it the... -
Diana Nicoll made a comment
I have not managed to do the assignment due to time (and trying to enjoy what's left of our summer) but I have thoroughly enjoyed commenting and receiving comments. I think it's really important to get peer review even when the peers don't know about the subject as they may well come up with the "stupid" question which is actually very pertinent. On my...
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Hi Sam - no I haven't read Harold Mytum but have just looked him up and I definitely need to do so! I am doing a Masters dissertation. My tutor doesn't like this topic at all and needs persuading that there's a succinct research topic in there. Which I'm struggling with as well. By different types of graveyards, I'm thinking that a parish church in a village...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Yes - I was aware of the value of planning before doing this course, but now I am even more convinced of its value, but also of the need to have the foundations and content solid in your own mind before starting.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I am thinking very differently about the lit review now. I really understand its purpose much more clearly and the way it can be used to define a research project as well as support a research project which makes me a lot more confident about undertaking a worthwhile dissertation, rather than one which is ultimately frustrating.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
What do I find most challenging about the writing process? Well, in the past, putting it into my own words and being coherent. By following the ideas presented here that will no longer be a problem. The use of detailed notes and concept map should make it flow pretty well. Also, I think I don't know when to stop reviewing and rewriting the lit review - if the...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
This course has helped me to see how my lit review for my diploma project could have been so much better. I did not have a clear enough idea of the questions that needed answering and I never quite got there.
Similarly, I have been struggling with my chosen topic for this course (graveyards and family history) - to find what and how I can do research for my...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I do feel comfortable ‘critiquing’ the work of more experienced researchers? Because it is critiquing, not criticising which feels much more negative and personal. It is their ideas not the person that you are commenting on. This is an important difference.
I am definitely thinking about my literature review in terms of how it can justify doing further...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
Most definitely - helps with the flow and getting thoughts into an order that can be communicated effectively.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I have used mindmaps (coggle) in discussion with my supervisor, but not concept mapping. Definitely the way to go for me.
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I like Genevieve's comments and her strategy - will try this out. I have used mind maps (on paper and Coggle) and find them very useful. I haven't tried concept mapping before (have now downloaded Cmap) although I do use a storyboard with links to write my lit review and I think there is probably some overlap here. I think it is useful to have a toolbox and...
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Diana Nicoll made a comment
I did find it easy to match my readings with specific questions, once I had those questions sorted, with my recent literature review, but I would like to do this from my notes/extracts rather than from the original papers as the tendency to pseudo-plagiarise is too likely working from the paper.
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How about who are the people who go missing (e.g. age, gender, profile)?
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A very interesting topic. The thing that struck me is that you ask "whether they perceive themselves to be less able to provide holistic care..." rather than how they provide holistic care now and how that has changed since they first started hospice work?