Blogs

The Pulse's Blog The Pulse

The Plight of Women Across the World: Malala Yousafzai

posted 12.11.13 at 7:31pm

Today on the Pulse we took an in-depth look at the plight of women and girls across the world. We looked at the case of Malala Yousafzai, the young girl who was shot by the Taliban in Pakistan on her way to school last year. Today we were looking at the impact this had had and what it has done for the promotion of education for women and girls worldwide.

We can hear an account given by Malala about the day she was shot by the Taliban. This is Malala speaking on the Andrew Marr show.

Esther Akanya is a PHD student at the University of Nottingham, who specialise in the rights of women across the world, spoke to URN and offered some interesting insight in to the issues we were discussing on the show.

We spoke to some students about their views of Malala and her campaign for education worldwide.

Malala Yousafzai spoke at the United Nations Youth Assembly earlier this year and explained the need for increased education across the world.

Anniesa Hussein is a student at the University of Nottingham and is originally from Pakistan. She spoke to us about the impact Malala has had in the country and whether she thinks Malala’s actions have produced positive change in the country.

Dr. Anjula Mutanda talks phobias, fears and superstitions this Halloween

posted 31.10.13 at 5:46pm

tagged

For Halloween we spoke to celebrity doctor Anjula Mutanda about children's phobias, superstitions and how Halloween can help or hinder fears.

We first asked what are children's biggest fears? And were surprised by the results!

Dr. Anjula then explained how and why children's fears have altered over time.

We questioned whether childhood fears typically continue on to adulthood.

There is a significant difference between a fear and a phobia; we ask how severe fears can be and how much this can affect everyday life.

Dr. Anjula Mutanda tells us if there is a therapy to overcome phobias.

She also informs us about some rare superstitions and tries to convince us to ditch them!

Finally, we found out where Halloween fits into fears and phobias, and whether it's beneficial or detrimental to children's outlook.

If you were surprised by any of these results or have any comments then do post below.

Are You Missing Lectures Today?

posted 30.10.13 at 7:54pm

tagged

Lecturers are on strike throughout the countryLecturers are on strike throughout the country

Academic and administrative staff from institutions across the UK, including the University of Nottingham, are set to strike on Thursday, 31st October. The University and College Union (UCU), alongside unions Unison and Unite, have planned the strike as part of an ongoing row with employers over pay.

These unions have rejected a pay increase of 1%, which they say means there has actually been a 13% pay cut in real terms since October 2008.

The head of higher education at UCU, Michael MacNeil, said "Staff have suffered year-on-year cuts in the value of their pay. Quite simply, enough is enough."

The UCEA (Universities and Colleges Employers Association)has expressed disappointment at the rejection of the offer.

We spoke to Maria Ryan, a lecturer from the Department of American Studies, about her reasons for taking part in the strike.

Then we went out and about to find out what students here think about their lecturers walking out.

If you have any thoughts about this, let us know by leaving your comments below.

Are universities doing enough to support students with eating disorders?

posted 23.10.13 at 6:22pm

B-eat are working to improve university support for sufferers of eating disordersB-eat are working to improve university support for sufferers of eating disorders

The eating disorder charity B-eat has urged Universities to offer more help to students with eating disorders, as many students struggle to get the treatment they need. They want universities to take part in a leafleting campaign, warning that without help, students with eating disorders are at risk of dropping out of University.

Beat conducted a survey of over 200 students with eating disorders, findings included:
• 32% were diagnosed after starting their course
• 18% said their condition had forced them to drop out of University
• 39% had to take a break my from their studies
• And 52% said that their University was not doing enough to support students

Six months ago Miranda and Genie interviewed two students, Jess and Mel, here at The University of Nottingham about how they coped with their eating disorders whilst being at univeristy And today I caught up with Mel, who has just graduated, to hear her thoughts on B-eat’s campaign;

Facebook Condones Videos of Execution

posted 22.10.13 at 7:15pm

Facebook decided to ban videos of people being beheaded after complaints were raised that the clips could leave viewers with long-term psychological damage. However it has since retracted the decision claiming instead that viewers should watch clips of this nature and make up their own minds. Facebook originally condemned videos of this nature after the Family Online Safety Institute – a member of its Safety Advisory Board – complained that Facebook had “crossed a line”.

Ben explained the controversy on The Pulse earlier today:

David Cameron even got in on the Debate. Hear what he said here:

The story shocked the rest of the panel. They had this to say:

An interesting twist in this story is Facebook’s decision to continue to ban naked breasts with the exception of women who are breast-feeding. Ben explains this:

The reporters react:

The story brought up issues such as censorship and freedom of speech. The listeners were equally riled up by the debate. A few of the texts sent in to the show can be seen below:

I definitely agree you shouldn't be allowed to post violent video's on facebook From Sophia, Wimbledon

Can men put their nipples on Facebook?