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Reply | Why the fcuk would you want to kill a lion
at 18:38 5 Aug 2015
This is more of a neutral statement than an argument either way, but you raise some interesting subject areas in your post. A general point is that these subjects are actually a lot more complex than many think… for instance, in the UK the majority of halal food is stunned pre-slaughter. However, currently there isn't any way of telling the difference between (all labeled as halal), which is frustrating for the consumer. The actual practice of humane slaughter is hotly debated too - though I'll be honest I am not knowledgable enough on the subject area to comment further.
Regarding quality… what do you mean regarding hormones? Hormone use isn't a big issue in the UK, unless you also include fertility-related hormone usage. Antimicrobial usage is a BIG subject area! If you are worried about residues in meat, I wouldn't be overly concerned as all medicines etc. come with set 'withdrawal' periods which prevents an animal being slaughtered for a set period of time until the product has been cleared by the animal. Usage in terms of resistance is a very different matter, and the debate can and does fill books. Regarding the free range debates - I have seen excellent battery and free range farms; I have also heard of bad examples of both. Each have their pro's and cons…again, not very informative for the consumer!
On balance, I can't say I disagree with your principle of trusted, known source and high quality. Actually knowing exactly where your food comes from is something that removes the uncertainty of whether your product is ethical or not by your standards. Apologies for the ramble - just a bit of food for thought! |
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Reply | Budget hitting the young ?
at 18:51 9 Jul 2015
Hmm I agree and disagree. I think more important than the decision between a more generalised or specific degree is having a clear plan with what you might want to do with it afterwards. The people that I went to school with who have been doing well have all studied a vast array of subjects (both scientific and arts) but have all had a clear plan for beyond the degree. Getting to university isn't the end, it's the beginning. |
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Reply | Budget hitting the young ?
at 18:29 9 Jul 2015
Post-grads whilst you are still in education you don't pay back any tuition fees etc (I hope), but then you start at a higher salary so it kinda cancels out, really. I forgot to mention the bit about the govt picking up fees after 30 years - I wasn't sure whether it was 20 or 30 to be honest? I looked very quickly to see if anything confirms it, but couldn't find anything… I didn't look very hard though! This really highlights the secret debt hole idea, can the 'new wave' of 3-year degrees on ~£50k debt be expected to be fully paid up within 30 years?
Apologies I was thinking of 3 year degrees from the point I started uni (when it was £3k tuition fees), you are correct to say those actually graduating now would be higher. |
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Reply | Budget hitting the young ?
at 18:21 9 Jul 2015
Thanks, I wasn't sure how it worked now - these things change all the time! She just going to uni this sept/oct? Where is she going? Oncology is a tough career choice, both academically and emotionally… I know I couldn't do it, but I have immense respect for those who can. |
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Reply | Budget hitting the young ?
at 18:17 9 Jul 2015
Yup - 'cos I've been institutionalised and can't quite face leaving uni yet! Why do you ask? |
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Reply | Budget hitting the young ?
at 17:09 9 Jul 2015
You do raise an interesting point over repayments. At the moment it is 9% of anything over £1444 per month, or £17,335pa for myself. Anyone after 2012 is £21,000pa. However, you also have to consider interest which for me is 1.5% (variable), for those post-2012, it's inflation PLUS 3%. Effectively this makes it very difficult to predict how much you will actually repay.
To give a very basic idea of how this works out, post-PhD I could expect to start on £35k. My tax-paying career will be about 35 years long. If I'm to follow a vague average-good career path of post-doc on £35k for 5 years, lecturer for 10 years (£45k), senior lecturer for 5 years (£55k), reader for 5 years (£65k) and professor for 5 years (£75k) then I will start with repayments of £1600pa (£130pm). I will have therefore paid off £8000 by the time I am a lecturer, leaving £22-27k of debt. As a lecturer I will pay £2500pa (£210pm), so I should hope to have completely paid off my student debts by roughly the time I get made a senior lecturer, or by the age of 45… about halfway through my career.
Ok so now transfer this to the new system! Good news is I initially pay less, £1300pa, so £6500 by lecturer… leaving £83,500 of debt. Ten years of being a lecturer will repay £21,500, leaving £62,000.Five years senior lecturer, £49,000 left… 5 years of reader leaves £30,000 remaining and then finally 5 years of being a professor will leave £6,000 of loan being owed by the time I retire at 65. Obviously this has quite a few assumptions and ignores inflation, interest etc… but I think it demonstrates that under the new system it is perfectly possible to rise to the top of your chosen profession under a reasonable career progression, earn a salary than most would call good… and still be in debt by the time you retire.
An interesting additional point I noticed is that by the point I am 45 under the current scheme I will have paid ~£33,000 in debt. The new scheme at this point will be on £28,000. I would argue that the 'selling point' of £21k before you repay anything actually scuppers you in the long term as it would take someone even longer to repay.
To finish, if you extrapolate this idea to current student debts - student graduating now on a 3 year degree could expect to be £20k in debt, students starting now could expect to be in £45k debt.If you put this into my guesstimated career progression, student debts could at the moment expect to be paid off by the time you are about 35-40. New system, 50-55. That is a big difference. |
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Reply | Budget hitting the young ?
at 15:14 9 Jul 2015
I truly feel your pain. Out of interest, how is NHS funding during the clinical years looking - does it still exist, or have they scrapped that too? I know it's easier said than done, but don't let the money put them off… a vocation is a vocation and shouldn't be blocked by lack of finances… this being why this budget has made me so angry, it discourages those who have a true interest and calling to go down a particular career path and opens the way for those who can afford to do anything they want, regardless of whether they will actually be particularly interested in it. |
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Reply | Budget hitting the young ?
at 14:20 9 Jul 2015
Speaking personally, I have just finished uni (6 years of it) with a professional qualification and a Master's Degree. I come from a lower income background so was grant funded, and was lucky enough to have tuition fee loans at around £3,000. I have not yet been told precisely how much I will owe, but I expect it to be around £30-35,000. The last (labour) government encouraged further education in science, so I was lucky enough to be grant funded for my Master's - this got scrapped the year after I completed and now the course has essentially been scrapped as applications dropped like a stone because of lack of funding. I am now going onto yet more education as a direct consequence of this funding, something I would argue represents a 'good return' on government investment.
Now if I were starting university now, my tuition fees would be £9,000, so £45,000 over 5 years. My living loan would be £6,000 a year, so £30,000, and my Master's would have cost me around £12,000. So in total I would now be leaving with ~£90,000 of debt. I would challenge anyone to say they wouldn't think very carefully over willingly saddling themselves with this much debt in their early 20's. As for those who say it being a loan or grant makes no difference, it really does as the torries are essentially telling a massive political lie. The debt I actually owe I will probably pay back in full eventually, though it will take a sizeable portion of my working life to do so. It would be almost impossible for me to pay back my debts if I were starting uni now. This I'm sure will be reflected across the country, leaving a lovely, huge debt hole for some unfortunate bugger to have to deal with in the future. Why then bother with increasing tuition fees etc. when it seems to be false economy? To "reduce" the size of the deficit and to make people from lower income families think twice about university… this has the double advantage of making it look like they are improving the economy (actually just deferring the debt by 20 years) and also reducing the size of this deferred debt by limiting university as an option to only those who can afford it. |
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Reply | Oxbridge's unanswerable questions
at 21:28 25 May 2015
I would argue that a more correct answer to the population of Croydon would be asking them why they want to know... |
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Reply | What heights can Swansea realistically achieve?
at 20:04 25 May 2015
In the next few years continue to comfortably make the top 10, progress to the latter stages of the domestic cups and maybe even win ourselves another trophy… getting back into Europe either by cups or league position in 3-4 years would be perfect if the rate of development of the team continues at the pace it is currently. Then it will become about getting europe consistently whilst also maintaining league position - if we are on a parr with Tottenham in the next 5 years or so then we will have done very well. This would then give us the springboard for heightening our ambitions further. |
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Reply | Vets
at 16:19 22 Mar 2015
This is true - but not many jobs have the access and the knowledge of 'what would do the job' that being a vet has. There is also the fact that vets by nature have to be far more comfortable with the concept of euthanasia than most. Euthanasia literally means 'good death', and when you carry out these 'good deaths' every day, they start to appear more like a viable option if you are struggling a bit.
I think another factor is that becoming a vet is extremely competitive and generally, those who make it haven't experienced failure before. Unfortunately, being a vet is facing failure every day - things die regardless of what you can do about it… this can be hard to adjust to. Doctors encounter a similar paradox, though they are a bit more sheltered from 'direct failure' by the career structure until they have been in the profession for a number of years… a vet can be on their first night on the job and face a life-death situation where their actions alone will mean the difference between success and failure. Of course there is the argument that an animal's life is worth less than a human's… which is logically true; however, the concept of 'it's only a dog' isn't actually a concept which emotionally or practically features in the mindset of a veterinary surgeon. We feel failure just as hard.
Happy Sundays! :) |
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Reply | Vets
at 15:54 22 Mar 2015
A remarkable genius who is probably the best high profile example of the schizophrenic nature of veterinary practice. He is currently enjoying great success, but is actually a highly controversial figure within the veterinary profession. Why? Because he pushes boundaries beyond what many would consider to be appropriate animal welfare… amazing yes, but right? Debatable.
Add to this the fact that his organisation is becoming somewhat infamous for being a place the 'mad' work. He places himself on permanent on call and is known for deciding to do orthopaedic surgeries in the middle of the night. There are few true 'need to do now' orthopaedic ops, but he will… and he expects his staff to be just as committed. In short, he extends the public perception that every vet is available 24/7 for everything which actually is already true… but he takes it to a whole new extreme. |
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Reply | Vets
at 17:49 21 Mar 2015
Hmm in my opinion you don't really have to worry about that. I can't comment on yumove specifically as I don't know it's precise formulation etc., but most tablets of all types (human and veterinary) are designed to break down at the rough location where they would be best absorbed - that location changing depending on active ingredient etc. A number of tablets/capsules for instance are designed to withstand the acidic environment of the stomach as the active ingredient would be denatured/degraded by the acid - that's why you might have been advised in the past not to break a tablet or open a capsule as it will lessen efficacy. That doesn't mean that the metacam oral solution is any less effective either - just that each has been designed specifically to work 'best', within reasonable variable limits. [Post edited 21 Mar 2015 17:50]
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Reply | Vets
at 12:37 21 Mar 2015
Not exactly true. If vets truly charged an 'insurance price' and a 'non-insured price' for exactly the same procedure, they would be on a one-way route to being struck off. Insurance companies are extremely hot on this and will constantly question a vet on how 'necessary' a procedure is. However, what you might get is that when an animal is insured vets will know that for this condition they can spend up to whatever amount the policy allows. This is generally more (say £5000) than what a client might be able to afford (say £1000). Treatments for any one condition are not black and white - there can be a range of acceptable treatments, but in those there might be treatments that are better than others. The better treatments are generally newer and therefore more expensive. Insurance allows vets to provide the better treatments whilst still charging the same cost (the insurance excess) to the client. What you are describing is a vet adjusting their treatment plan to fit the budget of the client - a vet who truly didn't care would try to emotionally play you into going for the optimum most expensive treatment. |
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Reply | Vets
at 12:24 21 Mar 2015
No problem. Giving metacam as and when you think he is a bit painful is certainly an option… I would advise some caution though, particularly if there is more than one of you who does the caring for your dog. Remember that it is once a day, after food - I have seen it happen before where a dog is overdosed just because a couple of people in a house have the same thought and act without asking other's first… very easily done! If you do go for this strategy it's probably worth having a diary or something like that to keep track of how much is being given, and when.
Oils such as cod liver oil are another option, though perhaps more preventative than curative… but then they are pretty cheap so certainly worth a go. I understand with regards to tablets… I have no personal experience of yumove to know how palatable it is, and having a dog that hates being tableted can be a nightmare! Managing OA is very much a balance between what you can afford, what is good for the dog and what the dog will tolerate. Sure tablet 'X' might be great for him… but if it's a massive fight to get him to take it and he stops trusting you, it isn't really gonna work. However, it might be worth trying - particularly hidden in something really tasty - as an easy dog to tablet makes life easier generally… particularly if other health conditions crop up where a tablet is the only option. |
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Reply | Vets
at 23:18 20 Mar 2015
A balanced approach to OA is a decent one - it's a multifactorial disease which benefits most from multifactorial management. Metacam certainly has it's place, it is an anti-inflammatory/pain relief medicine similar to ibuprofen… but it is important to remember that it isn't a treatment as in it makes your dog more comfortable, but it won't solve the problem - that will unfortunately only get worse. It's been shown in the past that careful management of lifestyle and weight actually has a large bearing on how a dog copes with OA. Measured exercise is good, though obviously over-doing it has it's issues. Alternatively, there are a number of other medications available such as rimadyl (carprofen) or onsior (robenocoxib) which act in a similar manner to metacam but might have more/less efficacy - that is very much individual dog dependent. There is also cartrophen which has been suggested to be more of an actual treatment that a symptom-alleviator.
A slight word of warning on supplements/nutriceuticals. There are a number of products which come with big claims of 'natural' and 'holistic' and 'my dog turned from a 15 year old to a puppy in 3 days' - some will even claim to be 'scientifically tested'. This often actually means that someone has verified that it is 'safe' for a dog to consume the product, and actually has no bearing on whether it actually does any good! This does not actually really apply to yumove - in the limited number of studies addressing neutriceuticals in OA, chondroitin does seem to have a positive impact. Evidence for glucosamine and green lipped mussel is less, though cautiously positive. However, to find your 'good' nutriceutical amongst the crap can be challenging - even for the vets who's job it is to do so! |
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Reply | Dog vomiting blood
at 19:03 22 Feb 2015
Where exactly do you live? Do you qualify for PDSA treatment?
Use this website to find all vets local to you: http://findavet.rcvs.org.uk/find-a-vet/
This is the PDSA website: www.pdsa.org.uk/
On this website you can find information for if you are eligible for PDSA treatment, and where local PDSA practices are. It does sound like your dog needs a vet.
EDIT: Also from your description it could be any number of things at any level of seriousness - but it does sound vet worthy. [Post edited 22 Feb 2015 19:05]
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Reply | Re. Vegetarians
at 16:33 20 Jan 2015
Thanks for agreeing to talk - this topic is so wide and so emotive that a lot of people stay away from it altogether!
1. Animal rights - what then would you say is the distinction between animal rights and welfare? Correct me if I'm wrong but you seem to be describing more of a welfare-based point of view rather than going down the more hardline view of animals rights being considered completely equal to that of humans. You also raise an interesting point over the 'ability to care for its young' - what then is your opinion on dairy farming whereby calves are nearly always taken from their dams within a short period of birth?
2. Ok I'm going to be a bit devil's advocate on this point. How many farms of various sizes have you visited? It's a personal and not scientific view point but as part of my studies I have been to a lot of farms. I have noticed that quite often you go to a small farm where the farmer still names his cattle etc. etc… however, due to lack of funding caused by small size welfare standard are actually pretty shoddy - that is determined by objective measures of welfare. However, when you go to a farm of over 1000 cattle or (personal experience) 1,000,000 hens the level of funding afforded by size means that their welfare requirements are very precisely managed. there is a saying that you don't get good productivity without good welfare, to what extent would you agree/disagree with this?
3. I have no issue to raise with puppy farming, I think animal welfarists and ARA's can get equally angry over this!
4. Sorry further questioning! Do you disagree with ED/LD50 in principle, or particular usages of it? |
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Reply | Vegetarians
at 17:34 19 Jan 2015
Ok I'll let you know my personal perspective - I am coming to the end of my veterinary training and am supportive of animal welfare. I have previously tried vegetarianism and was one for a couple of years, at the moment I am not. Mind if I ask a few more questions/discuss? Mostly 'cos I'm interested… and it's always good to challenge your personal opinions as at the moment I work in a very scientifically-based environment; this can skew opinions etc.
1. What do you mean by animal rights?
2. What do you mean by factory farming? Is there a point where farm turns into factory farm, or do you mean all farms?
3. Force breeding - can you explain further?
4. The 50/50 test - are you referring to the ED50 and LD50?
I agree fully over the badgering people with violent photographs. I consider myself relatively well educated on this subject but find such leaflets to go further than simply being ignorant to being deliberate propaganda - I can usually literally point to the mistakes sentence by sentence. I don't think this helps either side of the debate, I'll try and find an example if you want. |
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Reply | Vegetarians
at 20:36 16 Jan 2015
Can you explain the politics side of your choice? If you don't mind of course |
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