Webwatch

Digital and social media offer new and creative ways to conduct, as well as share, research. Capitalising on this is a team of researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow that has developed an enterprising initiative - a website resource for anyone with an interest in using digital media for research, consultation or participation activities with children and young people.

It is argued that welfare reform will have a significant impact on benefit claimants and the supports that vulnerable people in society receive. Access to quality and consistent information will be important in ensuring that people are prepared for the changes that will ensue.

The advent of self-directed support and personalised care will mean that over time, more and more individuals will have control of, and choice around, their own care and support, and this will include where and how they want to live. Housing Options Scotland is a public service organisation that provides a public access service to all people with disabilities throughout Scotland. It does not directly provide housing, but offers detailed information and advice that will enable people to find the right home.

The Changing lives: Report of the 21st century social work review (2006) stressed the need for clear leadership and effective management at all levels within the workforce. While it is important that individuals take responsibility for the development of their own leadership skills, employers need to provide support for them to do so. The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) has recently launched a new web resource - Step into Leadership - to promote and encourage effective leadership within the workforce.

The Multi-Agency Resource Service (MARS) and the Scottish Child Care and Protection Network (SCCPN) have recently joined forces and renamed themselves WithScotland. The merging of the two organisations has led to the development of a new website - a national resource for the benefit of everyone in Scotland involved in protecting children.

Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), with the support of Voice, the Who Cares Trust and the Fostering Network, has produced a website that informs looked-after children and young people on what care, supports and choices are available to them. Info 4 Care Kids has been developed in partnership with children and young people, so the voices of these individuals underpin the shape and content of the resource.

It's a subject that not everyone wants to embrace or give due consideration to in life, but most people would agree that dying is a natural part of life, and is something that all of us, perhaps, should consider and plan for appropriately. An initiative that recognises the importance of celebrating life and making decisions about death is Final Fling, a website recently launched by Barbara Chalmers of Plan B Collective.

In today's information rich world finding your way around can be daunting and you can easily become disoriented or lost. Here is quick guide.

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) is developing a website that will help people to make choices about care. It will cover all types of care and support for adults including regulated and unregulated services in England, and will provide links to specialist websites, including local services, specialist and independent financial advisers.

Reshaping Care and Support Planning is a nationally approved, awareness raising resource for outcome-focused care and support planning within adult registered services in Scotland. It was devised, developed and published in a partnership between the Iriss, Care Inspectorate, Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability (SCLD), Joint Improvement Team (JIT) and Scottish Care.