This June will be focused on promoting ORCID at ESL. EUR researchers are encouraged to register for ORCID and populate their record. These efforts are rewarded with the ORCID June Lottery! Researchers can submit their 16-digit ORCID iDs here to participate in the ORCID Lottery draw.
ORCID iDs will be collected throughout the month and three lucky winners will be announced on June 30th. Don’t miss out on the chance to win a prize!
ORCID Support
Do you need help registering for or using your ORCID iD?
Book an individual appointment with a member of the Erasmus Library ORCID Team and receive one-on-one guidance on how to make the most of your ORCID record. Find the available timeslots here.
Join one of the Library’s ORCID workshops for a walkthrough the most significant features of the ORCID record. Register here.
For the self-starters, check our EUR ORCID LibGuide for easy step-by-step tutorials. Topics covered include registering, adding publications, and tips & tricks.
ORCID Lottery
We hope to see many ESL researchers participate in the June lottery draw, sign-up and help us turn this summer ORCID green. Join the lottery here. [https://www.eur.nl/en/library/orcid-lottery]
More information about ORCID can be found on the EUR ORCID Webpage [https://www.eur.nl/en/library/research-support/orcid]
Ebook available at EUR: Being well in academia : ways to feel stronger, safer and more connected
Review by: Stephanie Triefus
There are many challenges to working in an academic setting, and rates of mental ill-health are disproportionately high in both student and university staff populations. Fortunately, universities are increasingly acknowledging and tackling this issue, and more resources are becoming available to help those who work in academia to be well and advocate for their mental health. Erasmus University Library recently acquired Being Well in Academia: Ways to Feel Stronger, Safer and More Connected by Petra Boynton. This book is an excellent resource for everyone who works in academia, whether they are struggling with well-being themselves or wish to support someone who may be struggling. A member of the LGBTIQ* community herself, Boynton takes great care to be inclusive of different backgrounds, noting the unique experiences of and providing resources for people of colour, disabled people, neurodiverse people and the LGBTIQ* community and those with intersectional identities. Importantly, Boynton accounts for structural causes of mental and physical ill-health such as racism, poverty and trauma, referencing the ‘Unrecovery Star’ developed by Recovery In The Bin (p 77). For those who may be triggered by some of the content, Boynton includes passages on staying safe as you read, self-care and a detailed table of contents so that parts can be avoided if necessary.
After the book is introduced in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 is dedicated to the critical process of creating and maintaining your support network, taking an expansive view including pets, social media and your doctor. Chapter 3 explores the notion of giving and receiving care, providing a loose template for a care plan and step-by-step guide to seeking help. Information on helping others includes a detailed list of practical suggestions for how to effectively help others without sacrificing your own wellbeing, how to spot if a friend or colleague is in a crisis, and how to be an active bystander to address unacceptable behaviour in the workplace. Chapter 4 contains a detailed checklist of things readers may desire, require or be entitled to in the way of help, such as reasonable accommodations, financial information and assistance and training, followed by suggestions for how to help yourself. Chapter 5 is a glossary of ‘threats to your wellbeing’ with suggestions for strategies and resources to try. A handy table of warning signs and symptoms is provided in Chapter 6 to identify if you or another person are in distress, followed by suggestions of how to deal with distress. The question of how to look after yourself is covered in Chapter 7, including practical tips on what to do when you are overwhelmed, how to craft everyday rituals and routines, maintaining boundaries, nourishing yourself and connecting with nature. Finally, Chapter 8 considers future plans, including whether leaving academia is right for you, how to make a skills inventory, and how to reflect at the end of the work day.
Being Well in Academia is structured in an accessible, easily digestible format with bite-sized pieces of information and handy cross-referencing of themes in the margins. While it is not a workbook, the author has provided space for readers to note their responses or fill in further information in some sections. Short exercises are dotted throughout, inviting the reader to do written or mental exercises such as writing a list of all their positive personal characteristics. Each short section is followed by a ‘find out more’ section with links to relevant resources, though these tend to be websites from the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Being Well in Academia is not necessarily a book to read from beginning to end, but rather to dip into as the various challenges of academic life arise. Students, teachers and support staff alike would benefit from sharing this resource widely and normalising conversations about taking care of ourselves and one another at university.