Dear all,

We wanted to email everyone to remind people of one of the key changes we have made at YNiC recently, and the rationale for doing this. We used to always provide two YNiC staff as operators during any bookable "operator covered hours". Some labs provided at least one level 0 operator, which meant that sometimes YNiC only needed to provide one operator but the default was always two operators unless otherwise arranged. This resulted in YNiC staff time being inefficiently used, for example they would learn last minute that they weren't required for a specific scan.

We have now moved to a system where the default assumption is that you provide a level 0 operator during any bookable "operator covered hours". We have trained as many people as possible since this change, supporting labs when needed to provide this cover. This has allowed us to increase the number of bookable hours and provide YNiC staff with more certainty in relation to when they are scanning.

Critically, we do not want these changes to prevent people from using YNiC. One of the key reasons for making this change is that it frees up resource to allow us to support those who need it. Instead of providing support for labs that are able to support themselves, we can now use YNiC resources in a more effective, efficient, and equitable manner. The key point here is that if you want to use YNiC facilities and need support, we are here to help. If that means providing two YNiC staff during scanning then that is possible. Come talk to us and we will do whatever we can to get your project up and running - we want YNiC used more often by a more diverse set of researchers.

As always, get in touch with either me, Beth, or Andre if you have any questions.

Best wishes,
Aidan & Beth

-- 
*I work 0.8FTE and my working days are Monday-Wednesday and Friday*

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Dr Aidan J Horner

Associate Professor in Psychology & Cognitive Neuroscience

Co-Director York Neuroimaging Centre (YNiC)

Department of Psychology
University of York
York YO10 5DD

https://www.aidanhorner.org/
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