InTuition

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 ...

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...

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...

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 e...

KF- Writer and Content Editor Depression is a word that has skyrocketed into familiarity over the last decade. While this widespread issue can take many forms in different people and is slowly, ever so cautiously starting to gather the recognition it deserves, there are still plenty of misconceptions about depression.  I often hear it said (particularly by the older generation) that such things simply did not exist back in the golden age of their memories. These people often say similar things about autism or dyslexia, speaking with an edge of suspicion as though these conditions simply manifested into existence the day the first millennial was born. To this argument, I find myself frequently reminding that we also used to believe that certain children were ‘born sickly’- whatever that catch-all term is supposed to mean?  It wasn’t for centuries later that we became aware of congenital heart conditions, growth malformations in utero or the plethora of other things we are now a...

By Annabel Purdy- UEA Bloody Good Society collaboration When you think of single use plastics, what comes to mind? Plastic straws, cups, toothbrushes and water bottles, most likely. The discourse surrounding environmentalism seems to routinely ignore menstrual waste as an issue, despite it being a largely contributive factor in the polluting of our planet.  It’s time we address it. The History of Plastic in Menstrual Products The original method for collecting menstrual blood was to use miscellaneous objects such as cloths and rags, which had to be washed and dried publicly. To remedy this, Earle Haas invented the first tampon in 1933. However, Haas, alongside many doctors and members of the public at the time, became “squeamish” at the thought of menstruators having to touch their genitals when inserting a tampon, and potentially experiencing sexual pleasure as a result.  Plagued with this distressing image, the plastic applicator was created in 1973, to ensure that menstruat...

By Niamh Brook Body Image. The dreaded conversation. I'm so glad to see that slowly but surely we are discussing and opening up about how not everything we see both online and in the media is always what it seems. I do, however, feel like there aren't that many personal discussions on body image and how to come out of the other side, so here's mine. Grab a cuppa and get ready for a bumpy ride.  My issues surrounding my body image started at around 10 years old. For context, I looked like this:  Also, please note the addition of bucked teeth and a severe lazy eye (which I still have to this day) which are not featured in this picture. When I look back at this picture obviously I cringe, as we all do when we look at old photos. But when I find myself looking back at this photo, I'm not horrified- I actually think I look quite sweet. The girl in the picture however, would definitely not agree.  Children all over the world, both male and female, are exposed at a young age t...

By Cameron Jones So, this isn’t the usual post that is somehow related to economics, this is a bit personal to me. On the 13 th of February 2020 I was diagnosed with a Grade 3 Anaplastic Astrocytoma: a brain tumour. What followed was 7 weeks of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and intensive physical therapy, followed by double-dose chemo lasting up until November. Needless to say, I have not had the best 2020 out there, and this has been a rubbish year for all of us (rubbish year is putting it mildly).  Yet, through it all, I have learnt some valuable lessons that I thought could be of some use to you, the reader, to apply in everyday life. This is not a self help book or anything like that, you can choose to ignore it, but just have a read through and see what you think. The Value of Relationships Firstly, the true meaning of relationships and how they can really be a crutch for you when you are feeling at your lowest. To start off with, my every relationship became about the brain tu...