society and lifestyles – Page 2

Module Assessment

This week’s lecture was an assessment briefing. We were able to discuss the best way to approach the seen question for the exam and aspects that we should take into account when tackling this type of question. At first, I found the seen question quite daunting but after discussing where the marks are awarded I feel a lot more confident in how I will be approaching this question. Starting from now, I need to begin to manage my time effectively, plan ahead and prepare for this exam. I feel like I need to start practicing past paper questions, plan essays as well as further research into each topic we have learned about. I hope to gain 40% or more in order to pass the exam and achieve a good grade in this module.

Society and Lifestyles – At risk behaviours

This week we discussed at risk behaviours and effects on society. At first, we had a quiz which was to do with the life expectancies of both genders. The average life expectancy of a woman is 81.1 years and a man is 77.1. These can be varied due to behavioural and hereditary reasons. We also … Continue reading Society and Lifestyles – At risk behaviours →

The Glasgow Effect

‘The Glasgow Effect’ is a term scientists came up with to investigate why Scotland – and in particular the areas around Glasgow – has a higher death rate than other parts of the United Kingdom. The ‘Glasgow Effect’ outlines the most probable causes that could cause this higher death rate. The report compared Glasgow with … Continue reading The Glasgow Effect →

This trend has been increasing over time and is found throughout all of the adult age groups – but especially that of the younger working age and is seen more within the people from a poorer social background, which is of course very concerning.

The death rates in Glasgow show that the leading cause of mortality is suicide, which when compared to Liverpool and Manchester, is almost 70% higher! The deaths linked to drugs and alcohol misuse is almost 50% higher in Glasgow . This is linked to my earlier post where I talk about Scottishness and Scottish culture. With the rise of binge drinking and party drugs in urban areas, the death rate has also risen. This could explain why he death rate is more predominant in the younger working class. Linked with a poor diet and lack of exercise, causing obesity, heart disease and diabetes. This Scottish Culture is killing us.

Scotland’s nickname within Europe is ‘The sick man of Europe’ which is quite shocking in itself. Does this mean that just because I am Scottish, I will get sick? That I will die earlier than young people elsewhere? The Scottish Culture and lifestyle plays a huge role in this young mortality, but it is indeed also related to our socio-economic status.

In order to ensure we live longer – we must make conscious changes to the way we live our life.

Are Scottish People ‘Unhealthy’?

Are Scottish people ‘unhealthy’? A question posed to me in this mornings lecture. My immediate response was, perhaps we are unhealthy. But how is it possible to generalize with so many factors impacting on this decision. With factors ranging from education, to wealth to socio-economic factors. When we think about the concept of ‘Scottishness’, We … Continue reading Are Scottish People ‘Unhealthy’? →

When we think about the concept of ‘Scottishness’, We think of things like ‘Irn Bru’, ‘Haggis’ and deep fried … well – anything. When we look at this we can probably tell that Scottish people are not known to have the healthiest of diets. The Scottish Government has found that 28% of children are at risk of being ‘overweight’.

Also, compared to the rest of the UK and the rest of Europe – Scotland is deemed ‘less healthy’. This again could be because of our Scottish culture. But there are other factors influencing this too!

Hereditary health conditions – passed down through family genes – could be one such factor to this. Things such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease can run through a family’s blood. Combined with the typical ‘unhealthy’ diet and lack of exercise that us Scots tend to have – can amplify the severity and fatalities linked to these diseases. According to data publishes by the World Health Organisation – heart disease accounted for 9.66% of total deaths in France during 2014. The UK however, 17.21% of the total deaths were labelled to heart disease. Although the change is less that one percent, it is possible that this is down to the healthier diet that French people are known to have.

So although many cases of these diseases could be hereditary – I think it is fair to say that Scottish people could be labelled as ‘unhealthy’ due to the factors of a poorer diet, and a lack of exercise. However, in retrospect – It is my firm opinion that it would be unfair, and also uneducated to presume this when there are so many factors that influence this argument.

So my answer? It is my opinion that Scottish people could be considered ‘unhealthy’.

At Risk Behaviours and Society

Today’s lecture focused on how at risk behaviours and the society and culture that a child is brought up in can impact on their future and development. I found this lecture extremely interesting, relevant and important. As a student teacher, it is crucial that we inform our young people of the types of behaviours that can put them at risk and how it is so important that they are able to make their own choices but hopefully ones that ensure that they are protected, healthy and safe in order for them to flourish in life. The six at risk behaviours that we learned about were: lack of physical activity, diet, injuries, use of tobacco, sexual behaviours and alcohol and drug use. It is said that these at risk behaviours can put an individual into serious danger and therefore it is extremely important that we as educators are aware of these behaviours and the consequences that follow.

The society and culture that a child is brought up in can have a serious impact on their behaviour. For any person, the area that they are brought up in is part of who they are as it can impact on their choices, career and future life. For example, if a child is brought up in an area where there are very little job prospects, low income, drugs and alcohol misuse is common then this will have an impact on their health and wellbeing. There has been links between deprivation and health and therefore enhances the fact that society and culture plays a crucial role in a child’s development.

Furthermore, we had to read and analyse “The Glasgow Effect” in relation to the question we were earlier asked “Are Scottish people healthy?”. The study compared Glasgow and two other main cities: Liverpool and Manchester. They choose to compare these three cities because the levels of deprivation in each city were very similar. The study looks into how morality can be linked to poor health and income. From the study, we have concluded that Scotland, in particular Glasgow are more unhealthy than the rest of the UK. However, premature deaths were in Glasgow are more than 30% higher as well as all deaths being around 15% higher than the other cities. I think from doing some further reading I have discovered that there must be other factors contributing to morality other than just poor health and income, factors such as alcohol and drug consumption should be taken into account. In relation to the question “Are Scottish people healthy?” I think it is clear to see that currently we are not a healthy country however, we are improving year by year but a lot still needs to be done to improve the overall health statistics. It showed me that we as educators can act as a role model to children and encourage them to make better decisions for them to have a healthier and better future. Its important to want to be that person who can help change society and it is best to start with the newer generation because they can be that change.

At Risk Behaviours

The Glasgow Effect This weeks input focused on risk behaviours and how the impact on society and lifestyles. The first aspect we were to take away from this input, was to read the Glasgow Effect Document. The Glasgow Effect was … Continue reading →

Inclusion and Equality: Focus on Disability

This input looked a little closer at inclusion and equality through the lens of disability. We were encouraged to consider how inclusion and equality relates to disability and how the areas covered would also relate to other protected characteristics. Disability … Continue reading →

Inclusion and Equality: Focus on Disability

According to the Equality Act 2010, a person has a disability if s/he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on that person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. As part of our tutorial we were given different scenarios which had occurred within a school environment and […]

At Risk Behaviour’s in Society

In this week’s input, we focused on the behavioural risks of individuals. We started the lecture by being active and moving around. From this I learned that you should only stay seated for about 20 minutes at one time. During this … Continue reading →

The Glasgow Effect

The Glasgow Effect covers deprived UK cities which experience different health outcomes such as Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool. Within deprived neighbourhoods in Glasgow, premature deaths were more than 30% higher with all deaths about 15% higher than Liverpool and Manchester. This high amount of mortality was seen across the whole population, excluding the very young people but … Continue reading The Glasgow Effect →