Compulsory HIV testing for all. Is this is a good thing?

The government have unveiled new plans to introduce compulsory HIV testing into GPs surgeries over the next few years.

Currently over a quarter of the population may be carrying the HIV virus without realising. Interesting statistic - there is no reference as to where they got the data though. Saying that, I did a quick PubMed search and found this abstract that looks as though it may be the source - it seems as though there is a big push to 'normalise' HIV testing.

Of course there is a moral imperative to provide early diagnosis and treatment of HIV infection, this isn't in dispute. I know first hand what it is like to see a family member die from AIDS and it's pretty horrific. For the record, this instance involved an NHS blunder where a relative was given a blood transfusion after he was hit by a teenage joy rider. The blood was infected with HIV. So I understand the need for treatment, I really do.

But to be forced into having an HIV test has serious implications in terms of insurance and I feel it could encourage discrimination. Possibly.

Currently, if someone chooses to have an HIV test, insurance companies can argue that your lifestyle is dangerous - even if the test is negative - and they can invalidate your insurance. This approach is currently being looked at on account of it being a bit on the draconian side.

But what if everyone was forced to have regular HIV tests? What would happen to those who opted out or refused? Will that effect their insurance adversely?

Secondly, this pilot scheme will initially target at-risk populations - people who are black, people who are gay, etc - but will this lead to discrimination?

I'm unsure what I think about this - I know there's a desperate need for early diagnosis, but it's the 'compulsory' bit that jars I guess...

R-R-R-Radio!

This Wednesday I had the pleasure of interviewing the Urban Folk Quartet when they played The Grand in Clitheroe live for The Drift on BBC Radio Lancashire.

They raised the roof and managed to convert half the audience into full on folkies. People walked into the the room reasonably trendy and came out telling people to 'Folk off and get yer own ale mug!' Such was the power of the band.



Anyway, the recording of their live performance will go out on The Drift next Friday from 8pm. But in the meantime you can listen to my take on the gig on BBC iPlayer (the piece starts at 21.30 mins into the programme)...

Enjoy!

Sian xx

Shoplifters of the World Unite: My morning rant

Has anyone seen this article about the rise of the middle class shoplifter? In a nutshell, the recession has hit middle class households in the South a lot harder than everyone else - because let's face it, they and the ultra rich bankers (and MPs) seem to be the only people who benefited from the 'Good Times'. Those in the lower socio-economic strata can't lose what they never had.



I can back up my statement with my own experience in London. I was earning a decent living as an editor, but was crippled by back-breaking debt. Like many people my age and in my situation (there were a lot of us) I couldn't afford to live anywhere half decent, so I paid stupid rent to live in Dickensian slums - with other professionals. The last house I was in looked like Fred West's from the outside (minus the corpses), the landlord was probably a criminal, and no matter how much you cleaned it, it always looked grimy and filthy. Everything was broken, the carpets were worn through and tatty, the curtains were older than my parents and the plaster work was crumbling off the walls. It stank of dirt and poverty. Yet my housemates included an architect, an environmental health officer and a camera woman. This wasn't unusual - educated, professional young people in ridiculous amounts of debt (thanks to student loans, tuition fees and a government-approved credit card culture that drove the economy up until the Credit Crunch) all living in slums. Very Victorian.

Anyway, I digress...

Why did this article get me thinking? Well, these people who were 'hit hard' by the recession have been shoplifting to maintain their affluent lifestyle. Favourite target stores probably include Waitrose, M&S and Sainsburies. Items no doubt include Tesco's Finest Caremalised Onion Chutney, a selection of olives and cheesy bread sticks, any mid-range perfume and/or Max Factor make-up and probably a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio.

For me, this could be seen as an interesting metaphor for our approach to environmentalism. I was talking to my parents last night about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Ever heard of that one? It's an island made of the world's refuse, larger than Continental America, slap bang in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Sailors try to avoid it.



I also read about the Government's plans to force 10 new nuclear power stations onto the UK, whether we want them or not. NO plans for veto from local people and no substantial research by independent bodies (and let's not forget the 'research' that resulted in the Iraq War - I don't trust these politicians as far as I can throw them). And what for?

Fair enough, we need energy to heat out homes and provide electricity and to produce more stuff. Heat and electricity, fine. Producing more stuff though? How much more stuff do we need? We have a continental floating dustbin on our planet full of the stuff we didn't want. Can we afford to produce more? Why not re-use, re-use and re-use? It's what generations did up until around 40 years ago. Forty years of planetary insanity.

So like these middle class shoplifters who steal to maintain their unsustainable lifestyle, we buy into a society that steals resources we can ill afford to keep producing stuff we don't need. And we're going to use the most dangerous, most polluting, uranium-cancer-causing way to do it. At least in the UK. Horrific isn't it.

Twitter tutorial

As promised, here is an online Twitter Tutorial which is very useful for getting started!

How To Use Twitter on Howcast

You can also find out all sorts of interesting hints, tips and tricks at the Twitter How To blog.

So when you're ready to get started, go to www.twitter.com sign up and get started!

And as I mentioned in the presetation, Twitter isn't the only tool out there - there is so much to choose from that will suit you and your business...

Enjoy!

Sian xx

UNIQUE Women in Business presentation

Today I had the pleasure of giving a presentation about Web 2.0 and social networking to the UNIQUE Women in Business Lunch & Learn session at the Eagle in Barrow, Lancs. A very lovely venue!

I was pleased to be presenting alongside some real movers and shakers in North West Media-land - namely Ziplah Hartley, TV presenter of C4's 'A Place in the Sun' and Director of Raising the Roof Productions, and Richard Slater, Director of Slater PR and former heavy-weight journalist (The Independent, the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, and more).

The theme of today's presentation was Communication. Ziplah kicked off the series of presentations with an insightful talk about the power of body language, giving us some powerful examples of the importance of visual communication. I really enjoyed her use of multimedia during her presentations - with videos from her production company (V. impressive!), and learned that I really need to watch what I do with my hands when I talk!

Richard gave a useful introduction on how to write effective press releases and place your story into the press. Top tips include the following:

• Use the '5 Ws': Who, what, where, why, and when. I would deign to add 'How' - which isn't a 'w' but there you go;
• Follow the 'Inverted Pyramid' style of writing (i.e., all the important elements of the story are introduced at the start of the article, and the less important, fluffy parts get mentioned towards the bottom); and
• Limit your opening sentence to around 24 words. It's harder than you think...

And my presentation was about the joys of social networking. Unfortunately the computer crashed and I was denied the opportunity to show off my new Prezi presentation (a Flash-based application that effectively animates your slides). Ah well, these things happen!

But as promised to those who were present, here is my presentation - just click on the tab in the center and then click on the presentation for it to take you through the animation. You might want to take a sea-sick tablet before doing so, there's a lot of zooming!


You can see the larger version here, it might be a bit more workable!

I'd also like to take this opportunity to reiterate my main points from my talk:

• Social networking is can be a very powerful tool if used in the right way;
• You really need to have something to say, and know your audience in order to reap the benefits;
• Twitter can be used as a platform for calls to action, as well as a way to communicate directly with your target audience and to find out what people are Tweeting about.

I hope this information is useful, I certainly felt that the other presentations were worth while!