15 May 2020

“Global Health: Issues, Individuals and Organisations”

According to the World Health Organisation the most deaths in the world is caused by high blood pressure. In 2004 there were “7.5 million” deaths reported (World Health Organisation, n.d.). Not only this but millions of individuals die from other global health issues such as: 

• Smoking 
• Alcohol use
• High total cholesterol 

Several factors can lead to high blood pressure:

• Smoking 
• Being overweight/obese 
• Too much salt in diet 
• Stress

(For more factors visit https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/blood-pressure-causes#1)

Throughout the years people with high blood pressure has increased, this may be due to the many fast food chains around the globe causing unhealthy diets which may be leading to these individuals gaining weight and eventually becoming overweight or it may be the amount of stress being put onto employees from work/workload being put onto students in their A-level year or university students. Whatever the matter may be I believe we should increase awareness towards this health issue and improve our blood pressure levels as much as we can all in our own abilities. 

As a community we should create more awareness towards global health issues as such. Perhaps we can start working out to the best we can, activities such as daily walks can help lower blood pressure but also for those younger taking part in regular exercise would be beneficial. The generation we live in is very lucky to have platforms such as youtube where fitness gurus post workout videos or create apps to help us. Taking part in veganuary or just in general having a healthier diet can help reduce your blood pressure, there are many recipes on BBC Good Food.

The list goes on for ways to improve your blood pressure, for more advice visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/high-blood-pressure-hypertension/treatment/

References – 

Lee, K., 2019. [image] Available at: <https://dailycampus.com/stories/2019/3/8/global-health-literacy-advocacy-and-action-in-a-modernizing-world&gt; [Accessed 15 May 2020].

World Health Organisation, n.d. GLOBAL HEALTH RISKS Mortality And Burden Of Disease Attributable To Selected Major Risks. [online] p.11. Available at: <https://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GlobalHealthRisks_report_full.pdf&gt; [Accessed 15 May 2020].

10 May 2020

“Wars and Social Unrest, Individuals and Organisations” 

Many refugees face complex problems when trying to begin new lives in host countries. To make matters worse The UK in place things like Immigration bill or the EU settlement scheme to be able to have more control on our boarders. 

Refugees tend to leave their country for “reasons of fear, persecution, conflict, generalised violence or other circumstances” (Definitions, 2020). With the UK placing the Immigration bill this puts more difficulties on these individuals by making it harder to enter counties like ours that aren’t facing problems that their countries face. Although the immigration bill and EU settlement scheme is in place the current coronavirus pandemic going on has “changed public attitudes towards those considered “unskilled”” (Flagship immigration bill returns to Commons, 2020). Those classified as ‘unskilled’ tend to be refugees as ‘skilled’ workers are “those doing jobs that require A-levels, Scottish Highers or  technical equivalents”(What’s a skilled worker? And other immigration questions, 2020). 

With a change in public attitude towards immigration and those considered ‘unskilled’ has cause changes to The bill, with it now becoming “effectively impossible” for individuals paid under £20, 000 to receive a UK work visa however “there will be an exemption for those wishing to work in the NHS”. This pandemic has brought many the sense of importance to “other low-paid sectors such as social care, delivery drivers and supermarket workers” (Ward, 2020)

References – 

BBC News. 2020. Flagship Immigration Bill Returns To Commons. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52701843&gt; [Accessed 13 May 2020].

BBC News. 2020. What’s A Skilled Worker? And Other Immigration Questions. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-uk-leaves-the-eu-51572789&gt; [Accessed 10 May 2020].

BRC Site name. 2020. Refugees And Asylum Seekers: Facts And Figures. [online] Available at: <https://www.redcross.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/how-we-support-refugees/find-out-about-refugees&gt; [Accessed 10 May 2020].

Refugees and Migrants. 2020. Definitions. [online] Available at: <https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/definitions&gt; [Accessed 8 May 2020].

Ward, E., 2020. [image] Available at: <https://www.lbcnews.co.uk/politics/uk/immigration-bill-migrants-low-skilled-workers/&gt; [Accessed 12 May 2020].

Ward, E., 2020. Mps To Vote On Immigration Bill Which Will Bar Low-Skilled Migrants. [online] LBC News. Available at: <https://www.lbcnews.co.uk/politics/uk/immigration-bill-migrants-low-skilled-workers/&gt; [Accessed 12 May 2020].

6 May 2020

“An introduction to Brexit – What is it? What does it mean for us?”

The big question everyone is wanting to know is, ‘Is Brexit still on?’. For many of us the truth is we don’t really know whats going on with Brexit as of right now. Currently the UK is in the transition period until 31st December 2020, however with covid-19 going on we haven’t heard much on the news about our Brexit plans and to what will happen. 

Back in 2016 a referendum was set on whether the UK should remain or leave the European Union, the outcome of this was “52 percent in favour of leaving”(Brexit: A brief history of Britain and the EU – CBBC Newsround, 2020). Ever since this the news has been pact with information on Brexit, strategies on Brexit, delays to Brexit, deals and much more. Beginning of 31st January 2020 we have not been apart of the EU, there have been many unfinished negotiations, one to be the Free Trade Agreement. “UK is gearing up preparations to walk away from Brexit trade negotiations”(Boscia, 2020). Due to a huge pandemic arising Brexit has not been the most important topic within the government, “We’re not in a place where we’re even thinking about”(Stone, 2020). Ever since this pandemic many businesses have had to close. some even shutting for good as they aren’t able to retain enough profit to stay open. As a result of businesses being affected by having to close this has impacted the UK’s economy with the “Pound plunging to its lowest level in over 30 years”(Pound plunges to its lowest level in over 30 years, 2020). 

To conclude the government are putting most of their focus and attention on the pandemic going on as they need to prepare for whats to come next when we eventually starting coming out of this lockdown and how to build back up our economy. Who knows when we will discuss Brexit again? 

References – 

Bbc.co.uk. 2020. Brexit: A Brief History Of Britain And The EU – CBBC Newsround. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/50166269&gt; [Accessed 12 May 2020].

BBC News. 2020. Pound Plunges To Its Lowest Level In Over 30 Years. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51921922&gt; [Accessed 12 May 2020].

Boscia, S., 2020. Brexit Trade Negotiations: UK Increases Preparations For No-Deal. [online] CityAM. Available at: <https://www.cityam.com/brexit-trade-talks-uk-increases-preparations-for-no-deal/&gt; [Accessed 10 May 2020].

Riddell, C., 2020. The Monster Lurking Behind Coronavirus – Cartoon. [image] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2020/mar/14/the-monster-lurking-behind-coronavirus-cartoon&gt; [Accessed 12 May 2020].

Stone, J., 2020. How Coronavirus Is Affecting Brexit Talks. [online] The Independent. Available at: <https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-brexit-talks-eu-boris-johnson-a9508856.html&gt; [Accessed 11 May 2020].

5 May 2020

Recently there have been so many new trends such as dietary trends or health and fitness trends however the biggest one yet is the app TikTok. This app has become a huge platform during this lockdown for individuals to socialise, keep up to date with one another, find new songs and much more and no one can get enough of it. 

With most of the world being in lockdown TikTok has remained to keep us all together through amazing content posted by many users “800 million”(Mohsin, 2020) to be exact, including some of the biggest influencers and celebrities such as Kylie Jenner and Addison Rae. The amazing content includes viral challenges such as dances to lip syncing. It has helped bring individuals together as they can share these videos amongst their friends and on social media, this viral social platform has given many people something to talk about and entertained during these hard times of staying in. Many individuals have been able to achieve a large amount of views and followers by their videos going viral.

Personally I have been able to keep up to date with what is going on during my friends’ lockdown period through watching the short videos they post on the platform of their daily activities such as dying their hair or redecorating their garden etc. “teenagers on TikTok are bringing people together with memes about coping during the coronavirus pandemic”(Paul, 2020)

TikTok has not only been a great platform for entertaining but it has also been great advertising especially for artist to promote their songs through viral dances that people can make content to. As a result many songs from TikTok has made it into the charts, such as:

• Say So (Doja Cat)
• Tootsie Slide (Drake)
• Blueberry Faygo (Lil Mosey) 

(For more visit https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWY4lFlS4Pnso?si=wA40TE-vQ2SBEe5rSxwenQ)

Will your video be the next to become viral?

References – 

Mohsin, M., 2020. 10 Tiktok Statistics That You Need To Know [Updated April]. [online] Oberlo. Available at: <https://www.oberlo.com/blog/tiktok-statistics&gt; [Accessed 11 May 2020].

Paul, K., 2020. ‘It’s Corona Time’: Tiktok Helps Teens Cope With The Coronavirus Pandemic. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/12/coronavirus-outbreak-tik-tok-memes&gt; [Accessed 12 May 2020].

Tik Tok, 2020. A Screenshot. [image] Available at: <https://www.tiktok.com/trending?lang=en&gt; [Accessed 11 May 2020].

1 May 2020

During these times of uncertainty with a pandemic going on we have had measures set to stay at home and to only leave our houses for necessary activities. Many jobs have been put on hold, however not for those amongst the NHS. Doctors, nurses, care workers and many more have had to continue working especially on the frontline during these times.

There has been a huge amount of support towards all those workers within the NHS working hard to ensure all of us are safe but especially those who have caught the virus. Their amazing commitment to continue to do their job with a worldwide pandemic going on has shown their bravery and dedication to fight this pandemic. In other words these health care workers have been putting their lives on the frontline for all of us, as superheroes are seen to do. As a result of this the world is thanking our new superheroes for their courageous acts. 

Banksy’s latest art piece left in Southampton General Hospital has shown this “spirit of gratitude” (van Hagen, 2020) towards the new superheroes of our generation. As Banksy has, we shall also continue to show our appreciation towards these key workers on the frontline through clapping on a Thursday night and many more activities. Another individual who has gone above and beyond for our NHS is Captain Tom who has raised a “staggering £32, 795, 065” (Hunt, 2020). Lets continue to beat this pandemic by following the government guidelines (For the guidelines please visit: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus)

References – 

Gompertz, W., 2020. [image] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52556544&gt; [Accessed 8 May 2020].

Hunt, A., 2020. How Much Has Captain Tom Raised To Date For The NHS?. [online] GoodtoKnow. Available at: <https://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/entertainment/how-much-has-captain-tom-raised-to-date-539039&gt; [Accessed 12 May 2020].

van Hagen, I., 2020. ‘Superhero’ Health Workers Hailed In New Banksy Painting. [online] NBC News. Available at: <https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/superhero-health-workers-hailed-new-banksy-painting-n1201816&gt; [Accessed 14 May 2020].

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
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The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

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• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

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