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2020 was a challenging year for us all. During the lockdown, we spent countless hours with our loved ones. However, for some, they experienced not only domestic violence but also emotional and mental abuse.  Being locked up with family members for an extended period is hard to deal with. However, for some, it was a lot harder. During the lockdown, many lost their job, which caused stress and pressure. As well as this, many were irritated as the lockdown meant that you were not allowed to go out. All of the frustration created from the lockdown triggered an outburst on loved ones. Even though some might not have meant to, it caused a strain in their relationship and the victim’s well-being.  The police recorded 206,492 violence against the person offences flagged as domesti...

During 2020 it became easier to focus on the negatives and to become lost among global pandemic news consuming media, government and public attention.  It was also the year that saw ‘Black Lives Matter’ (BLM) protests gain international media traction, another increase in reporting on the continued repression of Uighur Muslims in Xinjang China, and a refocus on the achievability of the upcoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). These are few of many important human rights discussions taking place across the global stage, and some of which caused a subsequent surge in the use of social media for activism.  What this transcended into was an increased attention on human rights campaigns and organisations facilitating them, including Amnesty International and the Unite...

Charis Owen One of the greatest Christmas traditions at this time of year should be the Netflix films that come out, from the middle of November onwards there is a wide variety of trashy romantic comedies to be watched. This year a new one came out; Operation Christmas Drop. And it is not like the others, it is still a romantic comedy and it still can be cheesy and over the top but what makes this one different is the story that it is based around. Operation Christmas Drop is a real operation performed by the US Air Force from 1952 onwards and watching this film can teach the importance of giving back and never taking advantage of how lucky we are. Every year the Air Force flies over the islands in Micronesia and drops items that are needed such as fishing nets, rice, clothing and s...

Courtney Bridges ‘Fast Fashion’ is a term used to describe a new accelerated fashion business model that has evolved since the 1980s. It involves increased numbers of new fashion collections every year, quick turnarounds and often lower prices. Reacting rapidly to offer new products to meet consumer demand is crucial to this business model.‘Fixing Fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability’, House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee ‘Thegoodtrade’ also effectively summarises this market to be one which ‘utilises trend replication, rapid production, and low-quality materials in order to bring inexpensive styles to the public’.  Fast Fashion has evolved due to traditional ‘seasonal’ production models of larger brands, or catwalk producers, to adopt bi-weekly merchan...

James Bowers When Boris Johnson unveiled his ten-point plan to lead a ‘green industrial revolution’ for Great Britain, one of the most headline-grabbing statements from the announcement was that the sale of new petrol and diesel-engined cars and vans would be prohibited by the year 2030. The UK Prime Minister revealed that this deadline was part of a £2.8 billion investment into the further development of electric vehicle technology, with much work still needing to be done to make the EV infrastructure viable for mass use.  Importantly, Johnson has promised to ‘lace the land’ with charging points for electric vehicles, something which will be much-needed if electric propulsion is to rival the ease and accessibility of fossil fuel motoring.  After all, the widespread ...

James Bowers Climate change is unquestionably one of the largest threats to the society of tomorrow, and to a certain extent, to the society of today as well.  As science has been telling us for years, the need to reduce our carbon emissions must be seen as a top priority in order to mitigate the damage which has already been done to our planet, and to prevent the situation from worsening further still. After all, on our current trajectory, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that global warming could cause around 200 million people to become climate refugees by the year 2050. Despite this, there are still segments of society who refute the idea of global warming; an ideology which has only been strengthened in recent times by the reluctance and apa...

Beginning tomorrow, Monday 30th November, Royal Holloway will be offering students and staff access to asymptomatic Covid-19 testing in order to allow those who wish to, to travel home safely for the winter holidays. Tests are voluntary, but highly recommended- it’s a great opportunity to feel at ease travelling home to see family members, and allows us as students to play our part in keeping everyone safe. Tests will take place in the Picture Gallery and can be booked here, as well as hall-departure slots for those who live on campus. On the website you will be able to find more information about when you should book your tests depending on your living situation.  The testing process consists of two lateral flow tests taken three days apart. Lateral flow tests consist of a ...

Charis Owen The coronavirus pandemic has been an experience for all, something that was unprecedented and has completely taken control of our lives. It is a time where everything is questioned and simple things such as going to the supermarket requires adequate planning. This has made life exponentially harder. Students’ lives have been massively uprooted and from what has been reported in the media they seem to be the group that is most absent from the conversation. Every student has their own experience, varying between universities and the different age groups as to how they feel that it has been dealt with. However, what is clear is that students feel forgotten and that more attention is paid to other areas instead. The University and College Union (UCU) has asked that all teach...

Courtney Bridges The wearable health market has seen a significant influx in sales over recent years, with the market worth originating at  $2 billion , in 2014, to now see continuing growth. With this increased use, and increased media exposure to the fitness industry, discussions on the effects of wearable fitness trackers are more frequently being highlighted. Grazia Maria Lally’s article in 2016 is one that alludes to points of this discussion that seem even more relevant today.  Main themes include whether they complement the progression of fitness habits, or hinder the mental health of its user, as Matt Roberts states ‘it is the fine line between health awareness and health obsession’, with voiced concern about ‘over-reliance’.  This has developed further ...

James Bowers Over the course of the pandemic, we have had to make plenty of sacrifices for our own physical health, and the physical health of others. But, as research from MIT and Harvard University shows, many people’s mental health has also suffered as a result. Using machine learning, researchers from the two universities conducted a textual analysis of over 800,000 messages posted onto the social media platform, Reddit. The study showed that during the first wave of Covid-19 from January to April, significant changes occurred to the tone and content of users’ language, with discussions ranging from anxiety to suicide all on the rise. At the heart of the study, the researchers were particularly interested in how certain sub-groups of people reacted to the pandemic in comparis...