Posts

Sustainable solutions to Human-Elephant conflict: a coproductionist approach

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One of the greatest conservation triumphs of the era is an upturn in African elephant populations in several countries. Kenya in particular has seen its elephant population more than double over the last 30 years . After facing heavy threats to the species globally from poaching and habitat lost from human development, conservation scientists are jumping for joy as efforts to increase populations have proved successful in many regions.  There are 3 main species of elephants , most people are familiar with the African and Asian elephant, but the former can actually be split into two genetically different types: the African bush elephant and the smaller African forest elephant. As a keystone species elephants are a vital part of their natural ecosystems. Many plant species depend on forest dwelling elephants to spread their seeds through their digestive system. They also act as gardeners for forest regions, uprooting trees with their trunks and leaving micro ponds with their footsteps wh

I Know What You Binned Last Summer

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By KF When we throw away various pieces of waste and unloved rubbish, we don’t tend to think too deeply about what actually happens to them. Even if we do, our thinking only extends so far. Say you throw something into your big green waste bin. You wave a loving goodbye from the pavement as your beloved cast-offs are carted away by the timely binman and… never think about it again.  While the curtain has fallen on the story of you and whatever particular piece of rubbish you’re thinking of, there’s a whole encore going on behind the scenes. Most likely your item has ended up in landfill. Here is generally what the imagination whips up: an image of your discarded item (be it sock, nappy or old microwave) on top of an enormous and precariously stacked tower of other people’s crap. Sentenced to live out its days circled by gulls and playing host to a proud dynasty of rats. Forever.  Not necessarily, I’m afraid. Yes, after industriously quarrying the life out of the country, lots of enormo

The Human Cost of Modern Architectural Megaprojects

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By Dylan Freestone Dubai’s Burj Khalifa currently stands as the world’s tallest building at 828 metres tall, which is roughly three times the size of the Eiffel tower. Its design saw many breakthroughs in architectural engineering allowing it to withstand extremes of heat, wind and sandstorms and soar to such a height that it is possible to watch the sun set twice if one takes the rapid elevators to the top.  Unfortunately there is a darker side to this record-breaking skyscraper.  During its 6 year construction, only one death was officially reported, when a man fell in 2007. However, a Human Rights Watch study concluded that there were many deaths which were omitted relating to “heat exhaustion, overwork and suicide.” Furthermore, 95% of the workforce in the United Arab Emirates are migrants who are exploited and many of the workers involved in the Burj Khalifa earned the equivalent of under $10 a day. The Human Rights Watch report made reference to a psychiatrist in Dubai, Dr Shiv

The 2019-2020 Australian Bushfire Season: Causes and Effects

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By Connie Chandler Global warming is one of the biggest threats to currently face our planet. Each decade since the 1980s has been warmer than all preceding decades on record with a global average temperature 0.61(±0.05) °C higher in the 2010s than the 1961-1998 average (Osborn & Jones, 2020). 2016 holds the record for the hottest year on record with a global average temperature 0.94 °C higher than the 20th century average of 13.9 °C (NOAA, 2017). 2020 only narrowly missed out the record by having an average temperature 0.02 °C cooler than that of 2016 (Thompson, 2020).  An increase in global temperature by less than one degree may not sound like a huge change, but it takes a huge amount of heat energy to heat up all the oceans, atmospheres and land by this much. For perspective, in the 17th century, global average temperatures were between 1 and 2°C colder than the period between 1951-1980 and this caused the ‘Little Ice Age’. During this time ice was extremely prevalent in the no

What is Endometriosis: An Interview

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By Sophie Hopkins in Collaboration with the UEA Bloody Good Society Endometriosis UK defines endometriosis as a ‘condition where cells similar to the ones in the lining of the womb (uterus) are found elsewhere in the body.’ More simply, this means that these cells build up, then break down and bleed like the cells within the uterus do. The blood from these cells has nowhere to go, unlike the uterine cells that leave the body during a period, and it can be incredibly painful, causing inflammation and sometimes even the formation of scar tissue. It often causes heavy and painful periods. Affecting 1 in 10 women in the United Kingdom, 1.5 million women are currently living with endometriosis. Its side effects include fatigue, infertility, and bladder and bowel problems. Endometriosis can affect all women and girls that experience a menstrual cycle regardless of race or ethnicity. The impact can be felt for life. I spoke to a student, Maisie*, from the University of Cambridge about her exp

Happy 2nd Birthday InTuition!

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 KF- Writer and Chief Editor In a year quite unlike any other, InTuition is turning 2! I would like to thank all of our writers and readers for continuing to support us- without you we could not continue. Since our first birthday a lot has changed. We've had many new writers, even a new Editor, had a couple of facelifts and found our new style. We've introduced our YouTube Channel , launched InTuition Revisited and we've begun our first collaborative article series with a university society.  We've split the blog into two main themes, starting a Wider Interest section to go alongside our classic  Academic content. We've added new categories like Society , Health , Natural World and University to better accommodate the amazing range of articles we publish.  We're excited to see what the future holds, but for now here's a look at some of our favourite articles from our second year: Drag: Theatrical Queer Performance Against Marginalisation in the Eighteen

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: The What and the Why

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By Emma Fosker-  UEA Bloody Good Society collaboration Many of us may have heard of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) whether that be on the front of one of many leaflets on the wall at the GP surgery (the front being as much as you have ever read) or from one of those posts on Facebook, with an image of a ribbon, raising awareness for yet another disease you have barely heard of. However, few of us may know what PCOS actually is.  What is it? In short PCOS is a condition affecting how the ovaries work due to abnormal hormone levels. It is a very common condition affecting as many as 1 in 10 women, although not everyone shows symptoms therefore some women do not even know they have it. For the women that do show symptoms possible symptoms include irregular or no periods, acne, weight gain, excessive hair growth on the body, thinning of hair on the head and difficulty getting pregnant. Different women experience different severity of symptoms meaning everyone has an individual experience