Reflection on group poster and presentation

The topic of our presentation and academic poster was looking at the effect Christianity had on views and laws on abortion in Northern Ireland. We found this topic to be broad in it's questions, however we slightly struggled in finding and conducting research around this area. We began by looking at secondary research such as journals and media coverage of abortion in Northern Ireland and through this we found lots of information, however we wanted to conduct our own primary research to gain an insight into the topic. 

The primary research was in the form of a survey we distributed online, which asked the participants questions about their religious views and upbringings, and their views on abortion as well as their knowledge of the abortion laws in Northern Ireland. We also realised our survey would not reach people in Northern Ireland, so decided we also wanted to look at the peoples opinions in England of abortion in relation to religion. We decided on the questions we wanted to ask together and then one member created the survey and we all distributed it online via Facebook and email. 

The research stage of our presentation was not too difficult, we divided the work load equally, and met regularly or emailed to keep updated on what we had found. Once we had done our research we individually wrote up our findings and also wrote up the other parts of our presentation. When we had all this together we worked on the poster, adding our results and conclusion, as well as objectives and methodology. Personally I am not a very creative person, and therefore the layout and design of the poster was delegated to another member who had skills in that area, although we did all contribute and help with the final design. 

When it came to the week before the presentation we met a few times to practice our presentation together, time it to make sure we weren't running over our allowed time, and finalised the poster before sending to the printers. This nearly became a problem as the printers couldn't guarantee it would be ready in time, however after speaking to a few members of staff we were told it would be ready to pick up. This was a stressful moment for the group as we were unsure if our poster would be ready, however we worked well as a team and kept each other calm, and then organised ourselves to meet the day of the presentation. 

Having worked with one of my group members before, and feeling comfortable with everyone I think our presentation went well. We had practiced multiple times and organised ourselves so we knew who was saying what in which order. I think this allowed our presentation to flow nicely and stay within the time allowed. Although I felt slightly nervous whilst doing the presentation, I was confident in our content and knew we were well prepared. 

I enjoyed working with my group as I got on well with both other members, and felt the work was evenly split and every put in an equal effort. I think this showed in our presentation as we had an equal amount to say and we were all confident in the results and conclusion of our topic. If we were to improve on our poster I think we would have tried to include a bit more content in the results section as long as this didn't overload the poster. For our presentation I felt we could have been more well rehearsed and relied on our notes less, however with a small group we had a lot to say and therefore a lot to remember. 

Overall I think our poster and presentation was successful and we worked well together as a group. 

Ethics in social research

Ethics are an important aspect when conducting social research. Assuring ethical and moral integrity is important for researchers, as it ensures to others that their research process and findings are trustworthy and valid (Bulmer, 2001). Researchers have a responsibility to not only seek out the truth and search for knowledge but also a responsibility to the subjects of their research, who need to be considered from an ethical perspective. Researchers actions, and the effect these actions will have on their subjects needs to be taken into account, so as to preserve the subjects rights and integrity (Bulmer, 2001). 

Ethical issues within social research became more prevalent after studies were carried out that had detrimental effects on the subjects being studied. This included the Tuskegee Syphillis study, where effective treatment was withheld from African-American participants who were infected. This trial led to the reexamination of ethical standards, and the need for protection of human subjects in scientific research (Trochim, 2006). 

The ethical involvement of participants involves two main areas; issues of privacy and confidentiality, and of giving informed consent. Ali and Kelly (1998) discuss the researches responsibility to protect subjects personal information, this is also inforced by the 1998 Data Protection Act which sets out the principles of good practice and highlights the need for care to be taken at all stages of research to protect the privacy and personal details of subjects involved. The principle of anonymity is also important within research as it allows for a stronger guarantee of privacy. However this can often be difficult to accomplish, especially when subjects have to be measured at multiple points during the study (Trochim, 2006).  

Informed consent and voluntary participation is also necessary within research, and it means that those who are being researched deserve to know that they are being researched and should in some way have given their consent (Bulmer, 2001). It is also suggested that an attempt should be made to explain to participants what the study is for, what the subject matter is, and what is expected of them (Bulmer, 2001) An issue with informed consent may be that a researcher might not want to fully disclose all information about their research as this may lead respondents to give answers they feel are expected of them, or that they believe the researcher is looking for (Ali and Kelly, 1998).

Another ethical issue facing researchers is the problem of covert research. This is when participants are not informed about the study and consent is not received prior to their participation. Methods can range from misrepresenting research to those involved, bugging conversations and covert participant observation (Ali and Kelly, 1998). Although the use of deception in research has been condemned there are situations where it is impossible to be completely open, and it is recognised that some degree of concealment is possible in social research (Bulmer, 2001).

Ethical conduct is incredibly important in social research and although there are guidelines and ethical committees to protect both the researcher and the participants, it is not always possible or reasonable to stick strictly to these rules, and ethical decisions need to be made throughout the course of research (Ali and Kelly, 1998). Ethical issues however can not be ignored and as stated by Bulmer (2001), ‘…there is not necessarily one right and one wrong answer, but this indeterminacy does not mean that ethical issues can be ignored. Far from it. The best counsel for the social researcher is to be constantly ethically aware.’ 

Ali, S. & Kelly, M. (1998) Ethics and social research. In: Seale, C. (ed.) Researching Society and Culture. 3rd Edition. London. Sage Publications. pp. 58-77

Bulmer, M. (2001) The ethics of social research. In: Gilbert, N. (ed.) Researching Social Life. 2nd Edition. London. Sage Publications. pp. 45-58

Torchim, W.M.K. (2006) Ethics in Research [online] Social Research Methods. Availbale from: <http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/ethics.php> Accessed: 13/05/14

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) when I was 17. PCOS is a condition that affects the ovaries, and the main features of it are; the development of cysts in your ovaries, your ovaries not regularly releasing eggs, and having a high level of “male hormones” in your body. The NHS (2013) explains the symptoms of PCOS as, irregular or no periods, difficulty getting pregnant, excessive hair growth, weight gain and oily skin or acne. This mainly focuses on the effect it has on your body, however PCOS can have a huge effect on your emotional well being as well. 

It is unknown what causes PCOS however the underlying problem is a hormonal imbalance, which therefore has an affect on the ovaries, and causes other issues such as hair growth, weight gain and acne.  This hormonal imbalance also has a huge effect emotionally, and it has been shown that women with PCOS experience psychiatric problems and mood dysfunctions to a greater degree than women without PCOS (Farrell & Antoni 2010, cited in Barry et al., 2011). This means PCOS women more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and mood problems, along with issues with body image, and a lack of self esteem and confidence. (Barry et al., 2011)

It has been shown by Jones et al. (2008, cited in Barry et al., 2011) that weight problems had the biggest impact on quality of life for those suffering with PCOS, and this is a leading contributing factor in causing psychological problems such as body dissatisfaction and depression (Karacan et al., 2014).  However other symptoms of PCOS can have a huge impact on emotional wellbeing and body image. Excessive hair growth is something I personally haven’t had an experience with, however it is something that many women with PCOS suffer from, and can have a huge effect on self esteem and body image. Compliance to a certain standard of beauty has become a moral obligation, and falling short of this is often seen as a failure in being a women (Dorenkamp et al., 1995, cited in Kitzinger & Willmott, 2002), and a study has shown that women experienced their excessive facial hair as a betrayal of their identity as a women and took all steps to remove it (Kitzinger & Willmott, 2002). 

During my personal experience of coping with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome I have struggled with many of the symptoms and side effects. However one of the main issues for me has been weight gain and the difficulty in loosing weight. As a teenager I already struggled with body image issues, a lack of self esteem, and mood problems, and my polycystics just made things worse. I’ve struggled through periods of mild depression, on an off anxiety, mood swings and a battle to love my own body. 

Weight gain wasn’t a massive issue, as before my diagnosis I’d been overweight and struggled with weight issues anyway. The problem for me was a lack of weight loss. No matter what I tried I’d struggle to loose weight, I would go to the gym 5 days a week, I’d attempt to eat as healthy as possible but with no weight loss, and in some cases a gain. It was hard seeing friends not trying as hard as me but loosing weight easily, my body didn’t work in the same way as other people’s but nobody understood that. Saying “it’s harder for me to loose weight than you” just sounded like an excuse, like I was really trying, but It was true, my body did work differently, and I hated it for it. 

Although I have come to terms with my body and how to cope with my PCOS it is still a struggle. It has been suggested by McFarlane et al. (1999, cited in Himelein & Thatcher, 2006) that overweight women suffering from PCOS who are urged to lose weight but are given no assistance or support are not only more likely to fail at their attempts to diet, but also to feel more dissatisfied with their bodies. It can therefore be said that it is more important to work on improving body image and self esteem than to to lose weight (Himelein & Thatcher, 2006).  It has also been suggested by Barry et al. (2011), that practitioners should be more aware of the higher probability of depression and anxiety in women suffering from PCOS, and should tailor treatments towards helping lower the risk of these occurring, and should also consider ‘talking treatment’ such as counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy.  I believe this is true, as I have received very little support with my condition, being told I should loose weight, and just ‘eat healthy and exercise’, although it was clear this wasn’t working. 

Research has shown that women with polycystic ovary syndrome can often be challenged in their perceptions of themselves as feminine and womanly (Kitzinger & Willmott, 2002),  and the symptoms and side effects of PCOS, such as weight gain, hair growth and acne can often lead to greater body dissatisfaction, depression and lack of self esteem than experienced by women not suffering from PCOS. On a personal level I believe PCOS needs to be better understood by doctors and practitioners, and more focus needs to be on the emotional well being of women suffering from this condition. 

Barry, J.A. & Kuczmierczyk, A.R & Hardiman, P.J. (2011) Anxiety and depression in polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Human Reproduction. 26 (9) 2442-2451

Himelein, M.J. & Thatcher, S.S. (2006) Depression and Body Image among Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Journal of Health Psychology, 11 (4) 613-625

Karacan, E. et al. (2014) Body Satisfaction and Eating Attitudes among Girls and Young Women with and without Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, 27 (2) 72-77

Kitzinger, C. & Willmott, J. (2002) ‘The thief of womenhood’: women’s experience of polycystic ovarian syndrome. Social Science & Medicine, 54 (3) 349-361

NHS (2013) Polycystic ovary syndrome [online] NHS <http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Polycystic-ovarian-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx> Accessed - 25/04/2014 

Group Research Project

Group research can be both difficult and rewarding. Joining together with other people can mean you gain new perspectives and different skills from individuals, it also means more work can be done, due to sharing the workload. Our group began as three people, and gradually became 6 through the inclusion of new people, however after a few weeks of struggling to all find time to meet we decided to split in to two groups of three, meaning we would have a better chance of everyone being able to attend meetings.

This change in groups has meant we’ve had to reorganise ourselves. An important part of working in a group is organisation, as well as establishing shared goals and shared responsibility (Kouzes & Posner 2008). To establish our goal, we decided on a topic to base our research around, and we decided on abortion and religion. After some initial research we made the decision to narrow down our research to look at ‘In what way is Christianity still concerned with the issue of abortion in the UK and Ireland’, this allowed us to focus on one religion in a smaller geographical area. Beckman & Cook (2007) stated that establishing clear goals and refining the question were a key step to the planning process, and now that we have established our question, we can begin more in-depth research. 

Meeting regularly to compare work is important in cohesive and productive group work (Huggett, et al., 2011), and is something that is now easier with the smaller group. As we are still in the researching phase we have yet to discuss roles or responsibilities, this may cause some disagreements as it can be difficult to separate responsibilities and workload equally. However, having only three people in the group should make it easier, although there may be more work to do. I hope that after we have brought together our independent research we can work as a team to make the poster and presentation, and therefore have an equal workload and commitment to the project.

Beckman T, Cook DA. 2007. Developing scholarly projects in education: A primer for medical teachers. Med Teach 29: 210–218.

Huggett, K., Gusic, M., Greenberg, R., Ketterer, J. Twelve tips for conducting collaborative research in medical education. Medical Teacher 33: 713-718

Kouzes JM, Posner BZ. 2008. The leadership challenge. 4th ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

International Women's Day 2014

The month of March has been host to events across the country celebrating women, with International Women’s Day on Saturday the 8th of March being central to this. This day has been celebrated in countries across the world since 1977 when it was proclaimed to be a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace. It is a day when women are recognised for their achievements, and an occasion to look back upon the struggles women have faced, and the accomplishments they have made. Importantly it is also an opportunity to look ahead to the future achievements, untapped potential and new possibilities open to future generations of women. (UN, 2014) 

Across the country during the week leading up to Women’s Day, events were held celebrating the achievements of women, however events were also hosted in a bid to raise awareness about the mistreatment of women. In Manchester students marched through the streets for Reclaim the Night, part of a global movement against sexual violence. These marches occurred across the country, with protestors taking a stand against a culture that blames victims of sexual violence, and tells women to stay off the streets at night in case they attract sexual harassment. (Abraha, 2014)

Violence against women is still a big issue across the world, with 1 in 3 women being beaten or raped during their lifetime, and 44% of all UK women having experienced physical or sexual violence, making Britain among the worst European countries when it comes to violence against women. (Morse, 2014) Reclaim the Night aims to generate awareness, and give women a voice and a chance to reclaim the streets at night, as well as demanded justice for victims of rape and sexual assault. (Reclaim the Night, 2014)

Rape culture is still a prevalent issue, with the focus remaining on the victim, and questions asked of how much they had drunk and what they were wearing, placing blame on the victim for seemingly provoking or encouraging sexual assault. (Kingston, 2013) Students can often be victim to sexual assault and harassment, with universities been seen as “petri dishes for both ‘rape culture’ and sexual assault”, (Kingston, 2013) and a survey focusing on female student’s experiences of sexual harassment, found that one in seven had experienced a serious physical or sexual assault whilst at university, and over two thirds had experience some kind of verbal harassment. (Bindel, 2011) 

This rape culture and violence towards women proves the relevance and need for International Women’s Day, with women facing mistreatment and inequality in both the UK and across the world. Movements and campaigns such as Reclaim the Night are raising awareness and making sure the voices of sexually harassed women are heard, as well as helping to improve the culture and society we live in for women now, and for future generations.

Abraha, M., 2014. Hundreds of students march through Manchester for Reclaim the Night. The Independent, [online] 12 March. Available at: < http://www.independent.co.uk/student/istudents/hundreds-of-students-march-through-manchester-for-reclaim-the-night-9184919.html> [Accessed 12 March 2014]

Bindel, J., 2011. Female students must be made safer. The Guardian, [online] 16 June. Available at: < http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/16/female-students-sexual-violence-harassment> [Accessed 12 March 2014]

Kingston, A., 2013. The real danger for women on campus. Maclean’s, [e-journal] 126 (47), 60-63. Available through: Academic Search Complete [Accessed 12 March 2014]

Morse, F., 2014. International Women’s Day 2014: The shocking statistics that show why it is still so important. The Independent, [online] 7 March. Available at: < http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/international-womens-day-2014-the-shocking-statistics-that-show-why-it-is-still-so-important-9177211.html> [Accessed 12 March 2014]

Reclaim the Night, 2014. Why reclaim the night?. [online] Available at: < http://www.reclaimthenight.co.uk/why.html> [Accessed 12 March 2014]

United Nations, 2014. History of International Women’s Day. [online] Available at: < http://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/iwd/history.html > [Accessed 12 March 2014]

My passion for travel, and the use of blogs.

Updated: 27/04/14

http://www.travelettes.net

My gap year between A Levels and University was spent working all possible hours, in an attempt to get together enough money to spend three months travelling the east coast of Australia. Fortunately I managed to find the money and hopped on a flight to the other side of the world, this experience gave me a love for travelling, and inspired me to want to travel the world. Travel blogs therefore became a slight addiction, both prior to leaving, and after returning to the reality of cold, rainy England. Travel blogs gave me advice and inspiration, they calmed my fears, and got me excited for what was to come, and when I returned they allowed me to reminisce in my memories whilst also leaving me itching to plan the next big trip. 

A travel blog I became interested in is travelettes, which is a travel blog written by and for women, obviously many of the posts can be useful to both men and women, but the tagline of ‘backpacking in heels’ shows the main focus is on women travelling. The blog features posts from a host of female writers and travellers, with posts on different subjects that could be of interest. One of the main reason I like this blog is the range of topics covered, obviously all with a travel basis. It offers posts on things to do in different countries or cities, such as ’15 fun things to do in Bangkok’ or ‘The top 8 water activities of Australia’, these posts can be useful when you have decided your destination, or when looking for inspiration of where to go next. The blog also offers advice on travelling as well as personal posts which have a autographical feel and allow you to read about things from a personal level. 

One of my favourite things about this blog is the posts that are less travel related, they can focus on personal stories, interesting news pieces, or art and culture, such as the post ‘Kesh Angels - the biker girls of Morocco’.  These give more substance to the blog, the posts are still enjoyable to read even if you’re not currently travelling, or planning to, and therefore are not looking for advice. Something I believe the blog could improve on is the layout and ease of navigating, although it does have a ‘tag’ section where you can browse through certain tags, it can be difficult to find specific types of posts without having to scroll through multiple pages. The layout and design is also quite basic, and this makes it feel less professional and therefore lowers the quality of the posts. 

All together I think travelettes is a great blog, the content is varied but still focused on the main subject of the blog, and the only area I would say needs improvement is the design and layout of the blog.

The use of blogs has increased throughout the twenty-first century due to more people having access to the internet and an overall increase in use. (Hookway, 2008) A 2005 survey found that ‘more than half of all teens who go online create content for the internet’, (Beer and Burrows 2007) this shows the importance of blogging, as the internet has become a place for user generated content, and has therefore shifted towards more dynamic, open, and personal content. There is also the opportunity for engagement of other users through commenting. (Beer and Burrows 2007) Blogs can be seen as persuasive because of their qualitative nature, the author writes from a personal perceptive, and this allows the reader to understand the individual and their views. 

From a social research perspective blogs offer great opportunities, they a publicly available, low cost, and allow for an instant collection of data. They are also naturalistic, and allow the creation of immediate text. The anonymous nature of blogs allows writers to be open in what they write and academic blogging is a platform for academics to communicate to a wider audience through attempting a less formal style of writing (Greggs 2006, cited in Lupton, 2014), and thus forcing academics to think about their research and writing in a different way, being more aware of the potential audiences and ways readers could respond to their content (Kitchin 2014, cited in Lupton, 2014). Academic Blogs are also beginning to challenge the previous styles of academic publishing, and blog posts are now being cited in other, more traditional academic publications, with some journals incorporating blogs (Lupton 2014). 

There is however a negative side to academic blogging. The availability of anonymity within blogging, along with the potential for a public audience can mean writers are not always truthful and this could affect the validity and trustworthiness of using blogs in research. (Hookway, 2008) Blogging as an academic also invites greater scrutiny, and the possibility for becoming a target of trolling and abuse (Logan, 2014).  Another issue faced by academic bloggers is the loss of control, with the possibility of an academic’s content being re-used and passed on via different forums, such as reblogging, excerpts on peoples blog, or small quotes published via twitter (Logan, 2014). Plagarism is also a risk faced by academic bloggers, something experienced by Williams (2013), whose work was plagiarised with no recognition or attribution to the original source, this resulted in Williams reconsidering her decision to post online via a blog.  

Although blogs can be a useful tool in research it has been a under examined area by social researchers, this may be because of some of the ethical and practical disadvantages in researching blogs. (Hookway, 2008) However blogs are great for public use as ‘online diaries’, or as a place to begin discussion or gather information together, there is also a great use for blogs within the academic field, and this is shown in the increasing popularity of blogs in all genres. 

BEER, D. and Burrows, R. (2007) “Sociology and, of and in Web 2.0: Some Initial Considerations”, Sociological Research Online, 12(5). Available from: http://www.socresonline.org.uk/12/5/17.html

HOOKWAY, N. (2008) ‘”Entering the blogosphere:” some strategies for using blogs in social research’ Qualitative Research 8(1) 91-113.

LUPTON, D. (2014) Research on academic blogging: what does it reveal? This Sociology Life. Weblog [online] 13/01/2014. Available from: <http://simplysociology.wordpress.com/category/social-media/> Accessed: 27/04/14

WILLIAMS, L. (2013). Academic blogging: a risk worth taking? The Guardian [online] 4/12/13. Available from: <http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2013/dec/04/academic-blogging-newspaper-research-plagiarism> Accessed: 27/04/14

My relationship with food; the good, the bad and the naughty.

Updated : 27/04/14

Food has always been a large part of my life from a young age, and has been something enjoyed as part of a family, food being a central part of birthdays, Christmas and any special occasion. I like to believe that I have always eaten healthily, and generally favoured healthy food, loving fruit and vegetables, and rarely choosing chips, crisps or fizzy drinks. However, although I have always had a love for fruit and vegetables, I also have a sweet tooth. 

Chocolate, cake, and biscuits are my addiction, they are what I constantly reach for, although it’s said you can’t be addicted to chocolate, I feel as if I am. Once its in front of me, or in the cupboard my self control disappears, chocolate bars are gone before they even make it home, whole packets of biscuits are destroyed in one sitting without me even noticing, and I will have my cake, and eat it too! This over indulgence on high calorie food has meant I have been slightly overweight for most of my life. 

My weight and size has been an issue for as long as I can remember, since around the age of 10 I have felt bigger than all my friends, and from about the age of 12 have been uncomfortable and upset with my size. Although I rarely experienced any bullying or negativity in relation to my size, i was always aware of looking different and bigger. These feelings led to low self confidence and a hate of my own body, I became more aware of what I was eating, and from the age of 14 I was constantly on and off diets. Although I was conscious of my weight, I never managed to loose a considerable amount, and never stuck to any healthy eating plan, always reverting back to old habits, and feelings of ‘I don’t care, Im fat anyway’. I tried multiple different things, calorie counting, not eating carbs, cutting down chocolate, drinking energy drinks and not eating whilst at college, however nothing ever worked and I would eventually become disheartened and turn to my chocolate covered comforts. 

Up until the age of 19 I had a strong dislike for my body, and even when I wasn’t trying to loose weight, and ate what I wanted I still disliked myself. However something happened to change my perceptions of myself, and that was travelling to Australia and spending three months of my gap year there. During this time I ate what I wanted, didn't care what people thought of me, and had some of the best experiences of my life, whilst at my highest ever weight. When I came back from travelling I made a promise to myself to loose weight and become more healthy, and this time I succeeded in loosing a considerable amount. My perceptions of myself were no longer negative, and although I am still in the process of becoming healthy I don’t hate myself, or my body anymore. 

However, my relationship with food is still something I struggle with, I have once again been through many stages of changing my diet. I have cut out types of food, spending one month as a vegetarian, I have also calorie counted, restricted food types, eaten whatever I wanted, and binged on chocolate goodies. Although I am happy with myself, I still want to be slimmer and a more healthy weight, and this has meant my focus on food has increased. I have a strong awareness of food, always checking calories, sugar and fat content, and arguing with myself over eating ‘naughty’ foods. However the naughty foods often find themselves in my possession, during all types of moods I can justify eating badly, happy, sad, angry, upset, bored, any time I can find a reason to eat unhealthy I will. Afterwards I always promise myself that I’ll change, ‘eat healthier tomorrow, ban chocolate, start dieting’, yet this never seems to last. 

Research has shown that children may model their parent’s food intake and copy what they eat, however they can also model their parents attitudes to food and their body dissatisfaction (Brown and Ogden, 2003). A study by Steiger et al. (1994, cited in Brown and Ogden, 2003) found a link between a mother and daughter’s concern over weight and body image, and Hill et al. (1990, cited in Brown and Ogden, 2003) reported a direct correspondence between a mother and daughter’s level of dietary restraint. Showing the role of observational learning and the influence of parental attitudes and behaviour on young girls (Brown and Ogden, 2003). 

I believe my relationship to food stems from my eating habits as a child, and also my mum’s feeling towards food and also to herself. Since I can remember my mum was always talking about loosing weight, starting diets, buying low fat options, and disliking her body. When I was a young teenager struggling with my weight, it became something my mum focused on too. She would tell me off for eating certain things, or make comments on what I ate, these comments made me see certain foods as bad. From a young age my mum had always restricted what I ate, we had a cupboard that locked that contained the biscuit tin. I remember climbing on a chair to try and reach the shelf where the key was hidden. I remember hiding wrappers in my room, or down the side of the sofa so mum wouldn’t know what I’d eaten.

Studies have shown that parent’s restricting access to food may promote and increase the intake of these restricted foods when given the option to freely consume, whilst also generating negative feelings about having eaten these restricted foods (Fisher and Birch, 2000). There is also evidence that children who experience restriction may see these foods a highly attractive and also may associate the consumption of these foods with parental disapproval (Fisher and Birch, 2000).

Hiding the ‘bad’ foods from me was something my mum did from a young age, and still does now. I believe this restriction on the ‘bad’ and ‘naughty’ foods made me crave them more, and when I managed to get my hands on some I binged. Eating lots in case I didn’t get the chance again and hiding the wrappers so no one would know. This is something that I still do now, binging on food when I get it, lying to people about what, or how much I’ve eaten,  and hiding the wrappers from everyone and also from myself. Even though I now live away from home and have total control over my food and eating, I still find myself uncontrollably eating, and lying to myself to justify what I’ve done. 

Parents restricting food therefore labels certain foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, this allows children to place a negative feeling towards eating certain foods, with the association of guilt for eating a bad food (Fisher and Birch, 2000). The level of restriction imposed by parents can also contribute to the development of restrained eating and dieting within young girls (Hill, 1999, cited in Fisher and Birch, 2000).

My relationship with food has been a struggle for most of my life, even though Im now confident and comfortable with my body, my eating habits, and how I see certain types of food are still an issue. I am hoping to change my thoughts and feeling towards food, and become more healthy in both what I eat and how I feel towards what Im eating. 

BROWN, R. and Ogden, J. (2003) Children’s eating attitudes and behaviour: a study of the modelling and control theories of parental influence. Health Education Research, 19 (3). 261-271

FISHER, J.O. and BIRCH, L.L. (2000) Parent’s restrictive feeding practices are associated with young girls’ negative self-evaluation of eating. J Am Diet Assoc, 100 (11). 1341-1346 

A brief article review.

A brief review of Article: ‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Hate Crimes and Suicidality Among a Population-Based Sample of Sexual-Minority Adolescents in Boston’ by Dustin T. Duncan, ScD, and Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, PhD

The theoretical approach taken was an examination of whether suicidality among sexual-minority youths was more common in certain areas of Boston, Massachusetts where there was a higher level of hate crimes recorded targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender society.

The concept of the journal article seems to have come from data indicating that suicide is second-leading cause of death amongst teenagers in the United States.

The data used in the research came from high school students in the Boston public school system who participated in the Boston Youth Survey from 2008. The survey provided the address of each student which in turn aided the research into the youth’s geographical areas, highlighting the different effects certain neighbourhoods had amongst those surveyed.

Emma Luxton & Hannah Johnson 

Doing Social Research

As I start my university module of Doing Social Research, I feel as if it could be the first module to challenge me in a different way to most of the other modules I have studied. Most of my assessments have been writing essays and studying for exams or making presentations, and therefore my main method of research has been through reading books, journals and similar sources. I have had little experience in any other form of research, and in this module I hope to learn more about other forms of research and how to best use them. I expect this module will help me learn more about researching, and hopefully help me in researching my dissertation, as well as allowing me to experience other forms of assessment such as blogging and making an academic poster, which I have never done before.

Through studying my degree subject of Human Rights I have become more aware of topics and become more interested in, as well as learning more about certain topics which I have a strong interest in and would enjoy researching. The main area that interests me is researching the treatment of, and inequality for women, I also have an interest in human rights abuses and researching countries suffering from poverty and war.

I currently feel slightly unsure about this module as I haven't done anything similar, nor do I know much about researching, the terminology used or social research as a topic, however I hope I can learn more and gain some skills. I do believe I will enjoy this module, especially the blogging aspect as it is a more relaxed and creative means of learning, and I hope through blogging I can become more aware of academic and informative content within blogs.