NGRF Site Editors' Weblog

The following is a list of all links that for some reason or another did not return 'OK' response code. Some of these are completely broken, but some return 'Object Moved' which usually means they will open an error message briefly then redirect to the new location.

1. EG/impprac/ImpP4/favorites/Esect
   www.ltsn.ac.uk/genericcentre/index.asp?id=17641
   ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
   
2. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/global/usa/Link.2004-06-22.5827
   www.middlesex.cc.ma.us
   ---- Reponse Code = Object moved
   
3. EG/impprac/ImpP4/ImpP4v/indexfolder.2004-08-25.3654480759/csu
   www.prospects.csu.man.ac.uk/
   ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
   
4. EG/impprac/ImpP4/ImpP4v/indexfolder.2004-08-25.3654480759/nya
   www.nya.org.uk/what-is-NYA.htm
   ---- Reponse Code = Object moved
   
5. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/europe/finland/Link.2004-06-22.2301
   finland.cimo.fi/links/content/links_education.htm
   ---- Reponse Code = Not Found
   
6. EG/impact/measuring/copy_of_other/brief_summary/links/Link.2004-06-25.4349
   www.doh.gov.uk
   ---- Reponse Code = Document follows
   
7. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/uk/england/Link.2004-06-22.5136
   www.careersportal.co.uk
   ---- Reponse Code = Redirect
   
8. workgroups/editorialWG/ft/ft-dev/sector-template/equal-op/women/Stemreport
   www.semta.org.uk/semta.nsf/589488a8ea53efb080256c3200402c26/d1b231fdd8ccc9cd80256c56004c2251/$FILE/Stemreport.doc
   ---- Reponse Code = Not Found
   
9. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/global/general/Link.2004-06-22.4018
   www.oecd.org
   ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
   
10. EG/impact/measuring/copy_of_other/brief_summary/links/Link.2004-06-25.3708
    www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
11. EG/impact/measuring/xxxxximpactevent/DfES%20report
    www.guidance-research.org/collaborate/discussions/weblog.entries/4481160190
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Temporarily
    
12. EG/impprac/ImpP4/ImpP4v/indexfolder.2004-08-25.3654480759/job_plus
    www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/
    ---- Reponse Code = Object moved
    
13. EG/equal-opps/gender/EOG3/bibliography/gender-equ/equ-opps-web
    www.eoc.org.uk/cseng/news/press_releases_2000_2.asp
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
14. EG/ip/ip/lessons-international/ElectronicSources/Link.2004-06-21.3255
    www.centrorisorse.org/en
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
15. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/global/turkey/Link.2004-06-22.5645
    www.kariyer.net
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
16. EG/ip/ip/lessons-international/ElectronicSources/Link.2004-06-21.3934
    www.erc.ie/pisa
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
17. EG/ip/ip/lessons-international/ElectronicSources/Link.2004-06-21.2739
    www.praca.gov.pl/nczpz
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
18. EG/impprac/ImpP1/training/ipgptrcpd/ImpP3/indexfolder.2004-08-25.3053482503/PAjobinformation
    www.cnxsnfk.co.uk/pa/guidance/CSNUguidance/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=2114
    ---- Reponse Code = Not Found
    
19. EG/ip/ip/lessons-international/ElectronicSources/Link.2004-06-21.3046
    www.stat.fi/edufinland
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
20. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/global/australia/Link.2004-06-22.4717
    www.fed.gov.au
    ---- Reponse Code = Found
    
21. EG/impact/retention/IndexFolder.2004-06-23.3209/lsc
    www.lscdata.gov.uk/benchmarking
    ---- Reponse Code = Not Found
    
22. EG/ip/ip/lessons-international/ElectronicSources/Link.2004-06-21.1649
    www.lsda.org.uk/research
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
23. EG/impact/measuring/copy_of_other/brief_summary/links/Link.2004-06-25.3849
    www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0902/n1_v26/20565427/p1/article.jhtml
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
24. EG/ip/ip/lessons-international/ElectronicSources/Link.2004-06-21.1531
    www.oecd.org
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
25. EG/ip/ip/lessons-international/ElectronicSources/Link.2004-06-21.1244
    www.iaevg.org
    ---- Reponse Code = Object moved
    
26. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/global/general/Link.2004-06-22.4411
    www.oecd.org/infobycountry
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
27. EG/equal-opps/EOD1/EOD/links/Link.2004-08-13.5405
    www.disability.gov.uk/dda/index.html
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Temporarily
    
28. EG/equal-opps/so/EOSOR/eer
    www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2003/20031661.htm
    ---- Reponse Code = Error
    
29. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/uk/england/Link.2004-06-22.4846
    www.bbc.co.uk/education/work/careers/index.shtml
    ---- Reponse Code = Found
    
30. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/uk/england/Link.2004-06-22.4729
    www.basic-skills.co.uk/
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
31. EG/impprac/ImpP4/ImpP4v/indexfolder.2004-08-25.3654480759/lsc
    www.lsc.gov.uk/
    ---- Reponse Code = Object moved
    
32. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/uk/england/Link.2004-06-22.0003
    www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk
    ---- Reponse Code = Object moved
    
33. EG/ip/ip/lessons-international/ElectronicSources/Link.2004-06-21.5326
    www.lsc.gov.uk
    ---- Reponse Code = Object moved
    
34. EG/equal-opps/so/EOSOR/bullying
    www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
35. EG/equal-opps/EOD1/EOD/contactlist/Link.2004-08-13.0222
    www.arthritiscare.org.uk/
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
36. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/uk/england/Link.2004-06-22.4958
    www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/essentials/work/
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
37. EG/equal-opps/EOD1/EOD/contactlist/Link.2004-08-13.0542
    www.cftrust.org.uk/
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Temporarily
    
38. EG/impprac/ImpP4/ImpP4v/indexfolder.2004-08-25.3654480759/derby_uni
    www.derby.ac.uk/cegs
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
39. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/uk/scotland/Link.2004-06-22.0851
    www.scotland.gov.uk
    ---- Reponse Code = Found
    
40. EG/ip/ip/lessons-international/ElectronicSources/Link.2004-06-21.4348
    www.europa.eu.int/eures
    ---- Reponse Code = Found
    
41. EG/LLLtop/lllwkex/lllwkexpres/support4learning
    www.support4learning.org.uk/jobsearch/index.htm
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Not Found
    
42. EG/impprac/ImpP4/ImpP4v/indexfolder.2004-08-25.3654480759/jobcentres
    tap.ccta.gov.uk/es/findjobcentres.nsf?opendatabase
    ---- Reponse Code = Not Found
    
43. EG/equal-opps/so/EOSOR/lager
    www.lager.dircon.co.uk
    ---- Reponse Code = Not Found
    
44. EG/ip/ip/lessons-international/ElectronicSources/Link.2004-06-21.3245
    www.trainingvillage.gr/etv
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Temporarily
    
45. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/europe/italy/Link.2004-06-22.3520
    www.centorisorse.org/en/chi/chi.htm
    ---- Reponse Code = Not Found
    
46. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/global/canada/Link.2004-06-22.5001
    crccanada.org/crc
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
47. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/europe/germany/Link.2004-06-22.2638
    www.arbeitsamt.de/hst/international/ausbstudausl/
    ---- Reponse Code = Object moved
    
48. EG/impprac/ImpP4/favorites/ecctis
    www.ecctis.co.uk/
    ---- Reponse Code = Error
    
49. Members/jbimrose/jbblog/blog_links/top_links/jbhmpg
    www.guidance-research.org/Members/jbimrose
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Temporarily
    
50. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/europe/switzerland/Link.2004-06-22.3750
    www.s-o-l.ch
    ---- Reponse Code = Found
    
51. EG/equal-opps/EOD1/EOD/contactlist/Link.2004-08-13.5956
    www.rnib.org.uk/
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
52. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/global/canada/Link.2004-06-22.4806
    www.careerccc.org/ccc
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
53. EG/impprac/ImpP4/ImpP4v/indexfolder.2004-08-25.3654480759/cuco
    www.cvcp.ac.uk/Links/LinkedActivities/CUCO/cuco.html
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Not Found
    
54. EG/impprac/ImpP4/ImpP4v/indexfolder.2004-08-25.3654480759/internet_rec
    www.wotson.net/
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
55. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/uk/scotland/Link.2004-06-22.0736
    www.careers-scotland.org.uk
    ---- Reponse Code = Object moved
    
56. EG/ip/ip/lessons-international/ElectronicSources/Link.2004-06-21.3753
    www.dfes.gov.uk/research
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
57. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/europe/general/Link.2004-06-22.1533
    www.eurodesk.org/new
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
58. EG/ip/ip/lessons-international/ElectronicSources/Link.2004-06-21.2554
    europa.eu.int/ploteus
    ---- Reponse Code = Found
    
59. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/global/chile/Link.2004-06-22.5141
    www.mineduc.cl
    ---- Reponse Code = Found
    
60. EG/impprac/ImpP4/ImpP4v/indexfolder.2004-08-25.3654480759/mod_app
    www.dfee.gov.uk/mapintro.htm
    ---- Reponse Code = Not Found
    
61. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/europe/slovak/Link.2004-06-22.3646
    www.saaic.sk/nrcg
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
62. EG/impprac/ImpP4/favorites/Esect_tools
    www.ltsn.ac.uk/genericcentre/index.asp?docid=20473
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
63. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/global/australia/Link.2004-06-22.4541
    jobsearch.gov.au
    ---- Reponse Code = Found
    
64. EG/impprac/ImpP4/ImpP4v/indexfolder.2004-08-25.3654480759/prospects
    www.prospects.csu.ac.uk/about/index.htm
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Not Found
    
65. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/europe/general/Link.2004-06-22.1727
    www.trainingvillage.gr
    ---- Reponse Code = Object moved
    
66. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/uk/wales/Link.2004-06-22.1049
    www.wales.gov.uk
    ---- Reponse Code = Moved Permanently
    
67. EG/impprac/ImpP4/favorites/vcl-lon
    www.careers.lon.ac.uk/ocl
    ---- Reponse Code = Redirect
    
68. EG/impprac/ImpP4/ImpP4v/indexfolder.2004-08-25.3654480759/jobseekers
    www.dfee.gov.uk/emp/normal_text/about/charter.htm
    ---- Reponse Code = Not Found
    
69. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/uk/england/Link.2004-06-22.5440
    www.derby.ac.uk/cegs
    ---- Reponse Code = Object Moved
    
70. EG/ip/ip/network_sharing/BD/europe/germany/Link.2004-06-22.2741
    www.arbeitsamt.de
    ---- Reponse Code = Object moved
    

This is just a reminder that Mike has posted copious instructions on the quick, dirty and general ( ie useful ) way to pull bookmarks from del.icio.us into any content you can edit.

The editors of the NGRF site have been 'getting' the power of social-bookmarking lately, and have started to assemble a useful resource at their del.icio.us account. While drafting an email to them about options for leveraging that resource within the NGRF site, it occurred to me that a very easy technique already exists for bringing 'live' links lists into discursive site content, using the javascript linkroll feature from del.icio.us itself. This post explains how to do that

Please let Mike know if you have any problems with those instructions ( maybe join and comment at his blog - or just post here with a trackback link to his how-to entry; using the bookmarklet it's easy to blog about other content :o)

I was googling ngrf in an idle moment (as I'm keen to get it up to the top of the UK rankings) and came across a reference to it within Thames Valley University Careers and Employment Service website.  They suggest the LMI section of the NGRF site under 'useful websites' linked to investigating the labour market, commenting 'Sometimes it can be useful to find out about the job market that you will be entering into when you graduate. There's plenty of information out there.' and mention the NGRF website with some explanatory text:

The National Guidance Research Forum is an interactive website for guidance which contains comprehensive labour market information. http://www.guidance-research.org/future-trends/indexfolder_view

From the outset, this project was not envisaged as a site that would necessarily be helpful for direct use by clients, more for informing practice by engaging with practitioners, policy makers, researchers, managers and others.  However, it is interesting that this know that as the site developes different potential user groups are emerging.  Perhaps we should think about widening the loop, after all, if one institution has apparantly voluntarily identified the site as useful for their students, then that's good enough for me!  From my perspective as an HE practitioner, I do sometimes refer students to the LMI section myself - though usually within a context of helping individuals to navigate the information it provides, rather than as part of an unannotated list.  (I suppose this re-opens the debate about the role of information in guidance - are we gate keepers/enablers/context givers). 

Anyway, this is all a rather roundabout way of saying, does anyone have any objection to my sending something round through AGCAS link, inviting higher education careers services to add a link from their careers home page in relation to the LMI section.  This would perhaps help raise awareness of the site amongst a user target group (practitioners in HE and their managers), offer a potential resource to a particular client group (who can after all access it anyway if they choose to do so), and have the added bonus that it might perhaps improve the NGRF website rankings in google.

Does anyone raise any objections to this?  And also is the site stable enough to encourage that linking or do we need to hold fire until the technical changes put forward at the last steering group meeting have been carried out?

PS - sorry for repeating myself - I did send out an email about this, and then I thought perhaps it would be more in the spirit of the NGRF site to use this discussion section so everyone involved can express a view if they wish!

Have a nice day, Lucy.

Yesterday seemed to be something of a watershed for the project.? For the last few months we've been preoccupied with developing the group discussion features, and have been working hard at encouraging and supporting participants to make contributions on line.? The session with UEL students provided the same messages:

• The website is a hugely rich resource which they can make good use of.
• Students are impressed and supportive of the concept of knowledge creation (though an ex-librarian was totally bemused by the notion that knowledge-sharing was in any way innovative or cutting edge, because he comes from a professional culture where this is routine!)
• At the workshop it became evident, as with the Scottish group - that a significant proportion of users are still having problems understanding how to add a comment or reply to a comment.
• Some confusion was evident among users about where a comment would appear on the site once saved.
• A dyslexic student made a passionate plea for a spell check because she felt she cannot imagine loading a comment unless she is able to check it.? This would be of benefit for all users because it would give a more professional look to published commend and instill confidence in potential contributors.
• It was disappointing that the on site technology at both dissemination events to date was rather slow in moving between pages on the website.? Although this is beyond the control of the website developers, it is a consideration in terms of future dissemination events.? Perhaps it also reflects the potential frustration of individual users who may have home computers with slow internet connections.? One student reported that she was unable to open files on her home computer but during the event was able to do so easily using the UEL computer lab (which was very hot!)
• Categories: it would be helpful to give clearer explanation about the use of categories. ? working shoulder to shoulder with users this could be explained but it isn't obvious.? It would also be useful to indicate how more than one category can be selected from the drop down list.
• The list of options within categories is limited to very few, all around equal opportunities.? An outstanding task for the editorial team is to add to this list so the technical team can upload them.
• LMI Future Trends: A couple of students have tried to search on 'psychology' and 'law professions' (e.g. solicitor, barrister) and were disappointed to find nothing.? There is a sound rationale for this, but perhaps it needs to be made explicit somewhere on the front page of LMI Future trends?? Re 'psychology', this is not an occupational sector, rather an entry requirement for many.? Re professions, e.g. law, again, these are not generally represented by sector skills councils, so the collection and dissemination of LMI is rather ad-hoc and patchy.?
• The two of us have had some off line discussion about what our expectations are/were in terms of building traffic on the discussion parts of the site.? It's clear that users are impressed, even enthused by the interactive technology when demonstrated at events.? However, post the events the site can seem very quiet.? Is this typical of how communities of interests evolve - especially those who are perhaps niaive users of ICT?? What are reasonable expectations and over what time frame?
• Encouragingly, one or two participants expressed a willingness to put up on site? some of their own work and assignments, generated as part of the student assessment process.? This is excellent news and something to be encouraged.? However, it raised a couple of practical considerations.? Firstly, how do we ensure that users are alert to the need to convert e.g. word documents into 'read only' pdf files, and that they have the technical expertise and facility? to do this.? Secondly, if their work contains e.g references to case studies on placement, or statistical data gathered from employing organisations, is this a potential minefield re confidentiality?
• As more users come on board, do we need to remind members not to put their personal emails within any postings because of the danger of spam?? Alongside this, do we need to provide and facilitate (though probably not promote) direct email contact between site members where it might be appropriate.? e.g. seeking a placement opportunity.

In conclusion, feedback continues to be very positive, but making the leap to a sense of ownership amongst new users remains a huge challenge.? What are the thoughts of other members of the editorial team.

As I understand it the current state of play is this:

• It may not be 'good practice' but there is nothing to prevent a user joining the site with a fictitious name or pseudonym, in order to preserve anonymity on the site
• An alternative is that users can email the team using the 'email us' or 'contact us' facility and at the discretion of the editorial team the posting can be made on behalf of that site member
• there is discussion about incorporating a 'post anonymously' feature on the site, whereby the site would record the members details but this would not be made visible on the site

These options raise interesting questions.  In an ideal world users should feel able to stand publically by what they have to say, however, if individuals feel vulnerable and therefore unable to voice their views my preference would be that this site offers anonymity as an option so that discussion isn't hampered for fear of reprisal.  On the other hand, it might be important to give guidance about when to use an 'anoymous option' perhaps by having a pop up box that asks users before they make a posting in this way to reflect on whether or not it is the most appropriate option.  What do other members of the team think?

The event was set up for a group of about 40 QCG students, some had already used the website and for some it was an entirely new concept. The objectives of the session were to:

• familiarise QCG students with the content and interactive features of the NGRF website
• facilitiate on-line participation by students in a dedicated discussion space
• get feedback from students as representatives of one of the target user groups

The session took place in a computer lab, so the intention was that students should get as much hands on experience as possible. Unfortunately, there were a few technical problems (a double whammy as the NGRF site was uncharacteristically down and the Paisley computer technician said they'd been having local network problems that day as well). Fortunately, the mutually reinforcing paranoia of the presenters meant that we'd bought handouts and a powerpoint presentation of what we were hoping to cover with us 'just in case', and this came in handy whilst we were waiting for the site to come back on line.

In honesty, I was initially concerned that the technical hiccups might deter some potential users, however, I left feeling reasonably confident that we were able to give students a flavour of what the site offers already in terms of content, and potentially in terms of interactivity. In particular, through discussion, students identified topics of that they were interested in finding materials on, and in most instances we were able to identify where resources were on the site. Speaking personally, it reinforced for me just how rich the content is already - this is afterall a site that is still under development - and yet on the whole the topics identified are already covered (asylum seekers, third age clients, labour market information re land based industries). Of course gaps were identified too, (hearing impaired clients, young offenders) and that is as it should be - the site is set to continue to grow.

It was a lively and engaged group who gave really useful feedback and had lots of creative ideas about what they'd like to see covered on the site, and some expressed a genuine enthusiasm for getting stuck in on line, and could see the interactive potential as a useful (and powerful) tool for networking with others. (Mike, Steve and all - your ears should have been burning, all those nice things that were being said about how fantastic the site is - really!). The test will be whether or not those users do log in and use the site over the next few weeks, and it is a challenge for the editorial team to take on board the useful feedback and incorporate it into features that are not only user friendly but relevant and stimulating for students, reflecting the actual agenda of that user group, not an editorial teams imaginings about what they think students might like!

The particular issues that came up in discussion were many but to summarise:

• There was a real enthusaism for finding out more about 'what next' in terms of linking with recently qualified QCG holders about their experiences of the probationary year. What was it like, what support was available, what were the challenges? It was hoped representatives from Careers Scotland as an employer - might be encouraged to join in such a discussion to outline what support the company claimed to offer. Is there the option of linking up with alumni of the course centres to help with these discussions?
• Students also saw mileage in having a forum to share experiences on placement, not just for Scottish students but from England, Wales and Northern Ireland (and anywhere else) as well. This would be away of building a broader picture of what the reality of the job was like, perhaps some peer mentoring, and getting a sense of regional variation. (It was recognised that this is a public forum and students would need to have an awareness about this if they wanted to make constructive criticisms (!) about their placements when reflecting on those opportunities).
• Performance related pay - came up as a huge issue. This is apparantly a feature of Careers Scotland and there was some anxiety about how this might impact on practice.
• Case studies - within the context of client confidentiality
• Practical skills - split into sections on interviewing and dealing with group work, including resources and lesson plans as well as materials concerning managing groups and challenging behaviour.
• Making sense of (learning outcomes - Help!) - possibly individual blogs linked to specific assignments if there is a demand for this from students (though there is nothing preventing students from setting this up within existing blogs).
• There was a lot of discussion around 'anonymity' in postings. This is an issue for the editorial team to address. The sense I had was that there are some burning issues that users can't wait to start discussing, but to do so candidly there may be a need to allow for anonymous postings. This is a feature under development, but perhaps we should have our own separate editorial discussion on this topic).
• Personal Development Profiles - how to approach, and use as part of professional development?
• Huge enthusiasm for finding out more about working abroad and networkign with those who had. Opportunities overseas and input from international colleagues would be very welcome (quite a tall order, but perhaps more realistic given the increasing european dimension of the website)
• Sources of funding (not sure if this is for clients or for projects - can you remember and clarify Jenny?)
• Case studies from individuals looking at career trajectories - (I'd like to start a blog for students inviting them to give a comment on their motivation for doing the QCG to kick start this process - shall I just try it and see if we have any takers?)

On a different but related note, one student asked me if using this website would make their views known to policy makers. I was delighted this question came up, as for me it encapsulated so perfectly the stated ethos of the website which is to start to build links between the different groups (managers, policy makers, researchers, practitioners, students and so on). It was a timely reminder to me that it is important to continue to emphasise that whatever it's shortcomings the website is at least an opportunity to have a voice. There can be no guarantees that policy makers (or anyone else for that matter) are listening, but it has to be better than continuing in silence. I'd like to start making more of this point in future dissemination events.

I can think of no other platform whereby anyone can log on and make a statement without it being edited or screened, directly onto such a potentially huge platform. Obviously contributions will be subject to editing inasmuch as libelous, mischievious or malicious postings might be removed, but the heartfelt question, observation or truthful account will not. Perhaps our strapline at future events should be along the lines of 'Make Yourself heard' What do other members of the editorial team think?

Sorry for going on - thats reflective blogging in action with a touch typist at the other end of it I suppose!