IB Core Collection 2023

Godolphin&Latymer

CASEEToK

CORE COLLECTION 2023

CASEEToK Welcome to our ninth edition of Core Collection!

Our Class of 2023 were the first class to go back to a normal examination schedule last summer after the pandemic and they showed nothing less than absolute determination and resilience in all they undertook during their two year DP journey. Once again this year, students have achieved stellar results and more importantly have all gained access to their first choice universities. We have no doubt they are all thriving on the next stage of their learning journey.

The Core is made up of three elements: CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service), the EE (Extended Essay) and ToK (Theory of knowledge). All three elements allow us to consolidate the holistic approach the IBDP offers our students. The IB team wanted to give the school community the opportunity to witness what amazing achievements the IB girls have completed in the Core of the IBDP. Looking at our current IBDP cohorts it has been a very busy start of term and both year groups have made a productive start to the term as they embark on or carry on with their Core journey.

In CAS, the Lower Sixth girls will all be involved in the LSE mentorpreneurship programme this year in a view to complete their CAS project whilst the Upper Sixth continue to reflect on their CAS experiences, looking at bringing their CAS programme to a close.

In the Extended Essay, our EE Celebration evening was yet another success with many commenting on the level of ease with which all Upper Sixth students were able to articulate their thoughts on what is undoubtedly an incredibly impressive range of topics.

In Theory of Knowledge our new Lower Sixth cohort have been very busy engaging in some writing tasks as well as discussing the ethics of funding in Natural Sciences or the role of material tools in the Arts. Our Upper Sixth students have produced some stunning work for the ToK exhibition last Summer Term and are currently working on completing their essay this term.

It is, as always, a real pride to share a few of the Core work from our May 2023 class and I hope you enjoy reading these incredible essays and CAS achievements.

Happy reading!

Audrey Dubois IBDP Coordinator.

December 2023

CAS

Creativity, Activity, Service

CAS CLASS OF 2023 Creativity, Activity and Service, or CAS, is found at the heart of the IB Core and focuses on developing our IB students through experiential learning. Students at G&L are known to throw themselves into a multitude of opportunities on offer, and through CAS, and the diverse extracurricular activities our students engage with, students are able to develop a range of characteristic we can all admire; determination, curiosity, compassion, and a deep rooted concern for the world around us.

Every student must complete at least one project as part of their CAS programme, where they show initiative and leadership, often opting to work together on a project of their choosing.

Isabelle Davies and Helena O’Neill organised a school supply drive for the Rugby Portobello Trust. The Rugby Portobello Trust is a children’s, youth and family support charity that has been supporting the local community for over 135 years. They provide a range of activities to help the youngest members of the community build confidence, expand their horizons and realise their potential.

Through educational support, art sessions, music programmes, sporting activities, mental health support, mentoring programmes, employment hubs and more, the Rugby Portobello Trust supports children, young people and mums to be happy, healthy and engaged members of society.

Isabelle and Helena organised a supply drive for the programmes the Trust runs on and offsite every weekday during the day and late into the evenings, throughout the summer holidays.

Henrietta Fernandez, Maya Ristvedt, and Alexandra Lahnborg showed great dedication to tackling litter pollution along the River Thames. Although they had to come up with imaginative solutions, when their initial plan was unable to proceed. Alex, Henrietta and Maya, identified a local issue, which they encountered regularly as rowers on the Thames, and came up with a solution that benefited the whole community.

As always, with CAS, it has been a real privilege and pleasure to work with the IB students of the Class of 2023, to work collaboratively on a local issue to the benefit of our local community. I have so much enjoyed working with you outside of the context of the classroom and seeing you engage in your passions and interests. Well done everyone!

Miss. Graham CAS Coordinator

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Creativity, Activity, Service

CAS PROJECTS CLASS OF 2023 Summer School Supply Drive for the Rugby Portobello Trust Isabelle Davies and Helena O’Neill

We have decided to organise a school supply drive for a charity called the Rugby Portobello Trust. Izzy’s mum has been involved with this charity for years and in recent years, Izzy has been as well. The Rugby Portobello Trust (RPT) operates primarily in North Kensington, very close to our school community.

We made a plan which involved communicating with both school stakeholders here, and also with the RPT to check what items they are most in need of for the upcoming summer school. We will take this into consideration when promoting the drive within school. Following this, we have checked with Miss.Graham that this project seems feasible and meets the requirements of CAS. Our next step is to email our contact from the charity and then start to brainstorm the time period we would like to do the drive and also how we are going to transport the donations to the charities headquarters.

This week our drive is running. It has been a pretty stressful experience as recently we have had a lot of deadlines and work due so it has been difficult to balance everything. We have been emailing people from our school and people from the charity we are working with over the past month to try and get everything sorted. The lady from RPT that we spoke to gave us a list of things that she wanted us to bring so we compiled this into an email and sent it out to the school to ask for donations. As we were worried that we wouldn’t get enough donations and because we wanted lots (to support RPT as much as possible), we also messaged many of our mum’s friends to see if they had anything. We also emailed the year rep and asked her to send an email to all the parents in our year asking for donations and we strongly encouraged our friends to bring things in.

It has worked and we have got donations and Izzy’s mum has kindly agreed to drive the donations to the charity on Wednesday so that they don’t have to come to school and pick up the donations.

On July 3rd we finished our drive. We collected up all of the donations at school and then drove it down to the RPT headquarters in Kensington, where we were also able to meet the lady we had been communicating with via email. They were very appreciative of all the donations we had collected.

If we did it again, we would have started the drive sooner so our fellow students could have more time to collect donations and we could have had more time to spend on promoting the drive. It was overall a very gratifying experience, and we would like to do it again, especially as it helped our local community.

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Creativity, Activity, Service

Thames River Clean Up Henrietta Fernandez, Maya Ristvedt, and Alexandra Lahnborg As rowers, we are constantly rowing past trash in the River Thames that has been discarded. Therefore, we came up with a plan to do a river cleanup. We hope to be able to complete this in a kayak, and if we attach a net to the back of the kayak we will be able to travel down the river and collect any rubbish floating in the water. If this doesn’t work, we can resort to reaching out of the kayak and collecting rubbish this way, however we will need to test to make sure we don’t capsize from reaching out. We are planning on going to Fulham Reach Boat Club in Hammersmith to ask about their kayaks and find out how we may be able to rent or borrow them for this project. We also hope to complete this before it gets too cold, as kayaking may become too dangerous if the water is cold!

We went to the Fulham Reach Boat Club in Hammersmith after school and asked about their kayaks to get more information on renting some for our projects. We were hoping that it would be simple to request three kayaks and use them for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon. However, we were told that they only offered kayaking lessons in groups and didn’t rent their kayaks to non-club members. We asked if there were any other places along the river that rented out kayaks, and they informed us that as we didn’t have the appropriate licences and training, it would be very difficult to use kayaks for our projects. After brainstorming solutions and other possibilities we decided that instead of picking up rubbish from the river itself, we would do a cleanup in an area of London that was the most littered. To do this we will have to choose locations, about three, and go there to assess the litter on the ground. Finding ways to measure this litter will be difficult so we have decided to just decide which location looks the most littered from just looking at it. However, if the areas appear quite similar in litter content, this could be a problem. This week we will choose the three locations and visit them together on a weekend.

On Friday we discussed three locations that we will visit to assess for litter content. As Maya was away on a hockey tournament over the weekend, we will have to visit these locations this coming weekend

instead. Because we originally wanted to clean up to be in the river, one of the locations we have chosen is along the river bank on the footpath, as there are many pedestrians and pubs that will cause litter in the area. The second location is Bishops Park, as we pass it most days going to rowing, and there are usually quite a few people there, however we are not sure how much litter it could contain as we haven’t spent any time in this particular park. The third and final area we will assess is the area outside Hammersmith Broadway, which is a very busy area so we are expecting it to be quite littered. After visiting these three locations this weekend, we will conclude which one we will carry out our cleanup project in.

This past weekend, we visited the three locations of the Thames footpath in Hammersmith, Bishops Park, and the area outside Hammersmith Broadway. We thought it might be difficult to determine which of the three was the most littered as we didn’t have a quantitative way of measuring it, however it was very easy. Hammersmith Broadway almost had no litter outside on the ground, and we think it is because of the council street cleaners that make sure there is no litter. Bishops Park had a few pieces of litter, however because there were many bins in this park

CAS

Creativity, Activity, Service

there was less litter.

When we visited the Thames footpath in Hammersmith we immediately noticed the litter.

It wasn’t lying on the pavement, but it was very clearly lining the sides of the footpath, in the bushes and off onto the grass. It was easy to conclude that the Thames footpath would be our cleanup location from this initial observation.

After school, we went to Tesco in Hammersmith Broadway and purchased the items we had written down in our plan to buy, such as rubber gloves to protect us from any glass we might pick up as well as any bacteria. We also purchased trash bags to collect our rubbish in and disposed of the litter after the cleanup inside the trash bags. Once we reached the start of the Thames footpath, we started collecting the litter. We made sure to complete the cleanup on a day when there was no forecasted rain, as this would have made us rush and made it difficult.

The majority of the litter we came across was cans, bottles, or the casings for these cans and bottles.

This was expected as the river banks are used as a social space in this area, and we passed four pubs in total during the cleanup project. In total, we managed to collect 9 trash bags of litter and dispose of these.

Having finished the trash clean up, we have noticed how the main exposed areas of London like the centre of Hammersmith have a minimal litter due to council cleaners. However, the areas along the river that have fewer pedestrians are cleaned up a lot less, and the litter we found looked like it had been there for more than a few weeks. Moving forward, we would like to participate in more litter pick-ups especially in our own local communities to make sure it is taken care of. Although we went into this project with the idea of cleaning up the river in kayaks, which we unfortunately weren’t able to do, we feel that this project has been equally successful.

We have had a positive impact on the community and learnt a lot about perseverance and resilience in the process!

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Foreword for Extended Essay 2023 Many great Extended Essay titles led to great results; the range of subject areas was impressive for the cohort of 2023’s independently researched 4,000 word essays. To select just three for you here: Sophie Rennie writing in Spanish on a Spanish film, Stella Lucano using Philosophy to resolve an ethical concern, and Valentina Lesmes’ World Studies essay on the highly topical issue of type 2 diabetes.

Sophie watched and researched Emilio Martinez-Lazaro’s film ‘The Thirteen Roses’, about 13 young women killed by a Francoist firing squad immediately after the Spanish Civil War and asked herself: in what ways were the political and social beliefs of the protagonists compromised in order for the film to reach a wider audience? Naturally she had to research the topic thoroughly in order to answer her own question, and she wrote most cogently in Spanish, achieving just one mark short of the possible maximum for the Extended Essay.

Next up is Stella with a fascinating investigation into the ethics of the non-consensual use of individuals in the 1960s Milgram Shock experiment, where those answering a question incorrectly were given painful punishments. Using both Utilitarian and Kantian ethics, she came to a surprising conclusion. Read Stella’s great Philosophy Extended Essay to discover what it was!

Lastly Valentina, keen to focus on health and development, looked into the significant global issue of type 2 diabetes for her World Studies Extended Essay, using two disciplines, Biology and Economics, to answer her question: to what extent do average income, diet and ethnicity affect the prevalence of this disease in the London boroughs of Harrow, with one of the highest rates, and Westminster, with one of the lowest?

We hope you enjoy reading these Extended Essays and join with us in congratulating the whole year group on their very successful and interesting outcomes.

Happy reading!

Sarah Vantini Extended Essay Coordinator

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La Representación de las Creencias Políticas y Sociales de las Protagonistas en la Película “Las Trece Rosas”

¿De qué manera la película “Las Trece Rosas” de Emilio Martínez-Lázaro compromete las creencias políticas y sociales de las protagonistas para atraer a un público más amplio?

Número de palabras: 3992

Español B, Grupo 2, Categoría 2b

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Tabla de Contenidos

Introducción …………………………………………..…………………………..…………… 3

La Despolitización de las Trece Rosas en la Película ...……………………………….…. 5

El Papel de la Mujer en la Sociedad Española durante la Guerra Civil y la Posguerra 11

El Juicio y el Encarcelamiento de las Trece Rosas ……...……………..….………….…. 14

Conclusión ……………………………………………………………………………..….….. 18

Bibliografía …………………………...……………………………………………..………… 20

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Introducción El 5 de agosto de 1939 trece mujeres fueron fusiladas en el cementerio de la Almudena de Madrid cerca de la cárcel de Ventas, donde habían sido encarceladas.1 Su ejecución fue uno de los eventos más crueles de la represión de Franco en España. Este grupo de mujeres recibió el nombre “Trece Rosas” de otras prisioneras. La rosa es un símbolo de poder, coraje e inmortalidad y estas mujeres, después de su ejecución, se convirtieron en una representación de la lucha contra el régimen franquista.2 Sesenta y ocho años más tarde, en 2007, la película “Las Trece Rosas”, de Emilio Martínez-Lázaro, se estrenó para dar vida a su historia.

Mientras la película tiene la oportunidad de preservar y diseminar la memoria de las trece mujeres, tales producciones culturales pueden ocultar o simplificar la complejidad de los contextos ideológicos y sociales del tiempo. En este ensayo, exploraré de qué manera la película compromete las creencias políticas y sociales de las mujeres para atraer a un público más amplio, cuando en realidad las mujeres tenían creencias fuertes por las que lucharon. Lo que hace que su historia sea todavía más conmovedora es que en aquellos años las mujeres españolas cumplían su mayoría de edad a los 23 años, y por eso nueve de las Trece Rosas eran menores, siendo fusilada la más joven con tan solo 18 años.

Después de la muerte de Franco en 1975, la transición a la democracia fue un proceso gradual que influenció sobre la discusión sobre la Guerra Civil y la dictadura

Casas, M., (2020) La historia de “Las Trece Rosas”, mujeres que plantaron cara al franquismo, Disponible en: https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/junior-report/20200805/482683292771/la-historia-de-las-trece-rosasmujeres-que-plantaron-cara-al-franquismo.html (Consultado el 15 de mayo 2022) 1

Manuel Rodríguez Otero, L., (2013) Estatuto Jurídico Del Menos, Evolución Histórica, Disponible en: https://trasosdigital.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/articulo-mayoria-de-edad1.pdf (Consultado el 5 de marzo 2022) 2

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franquista, incluyendo la memoria de las Trece Rosas. Durante las primeras etapas del gobierno democrático, ni la población ni el gobierno mencionaba públicamente las atrocidades del pasado. Sin embargo, durante la década de los 90, la democracia se fortaleció y el gobierno, junto con la población, estaban más dispuestos a hablar del pasado. El conocimiento de las Trece Rosas solo llegó a un público más amplio al principio del siglo XXI y tras el éxito de otras publicaciones sobre las Trece Rosas, Emilio Martínez-Lázaro capitalizó su popularidad con la película “Las Trece Rosas” que ganó varios premios Goya.3

Para llegar a una conclusión de la pregunta de investigación, me referiré a otras publicaciones de la historia de las Trece Rosas junto con los relatos publicados con los testimonios de sobrevivientes, incluyendo el estudio histórico de Carlos Fonseca, “Las Trece Rosas Rojas”, publicado en 2004. Este libro ofrece una descripción profunda de los motivos de la lucha que las mujeres tenían, la represión a la que se enfrentaron y los momentos finales de su vida ante su ejecución.

La involucración de mujeres durante la Guerra Civil y su rol de promover el cambio social se integran en las obras de Fonseca y Martínez-Lázaro. Sin embargo, los diferentes planteamientos crean resultados distintos. Mientras Fonseca se enfoca en los hechos y enfatiza la injusticia de su fusilamiento, Martínez-Lázaro mezcla los hechos con la ficción para expresar una interpretación apolítica y más entretenido de los eventos. No obstante, Martínez-Lázaro asegura que su película genera conciencia de las Trece Rosas y destaca la injusticia de la ejecución. Asimismo,

3 Premios Goya 2008, Disponible en: https://www.premiosgoya.com/pelicula/las-13-rosas/ (Consultado el 5 de marzo 2022)

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incluiré también citas del director justificando su planteamiento cinemático. Creo que su película principalmente estaba destinada a llegar a un amplio grupo demográfico, con el objetivo de obtener beneficios, en vez de reflejar totalmente los valores verdaderos que las Rosas defendieron. Para atraer a las espectadores femeninas, las emociones y la empatía creadas en la película son estereotípicas de las dirigidas a mujeres e ilustraré como creo que el director decidió enfocarse en estas en vez de la fidelidad histórica.

La Despolitización de las Trece Rosas en la Película Para entender quiénes fueron las Trece Rosas y su lucha es útil comprender por qué estaban luchando. Después de que la monarquía española fuera abolida en 1931, se instaló la Segunda República española que dio a las mujeres una amplia gama de derechos como el sufragio, el derecho de divorciarse y más acceso a la educación y oportunidades laborales.4 Algunos vieron esto como una amenaza a la España tradicional que deseaban y cuando Franco llegó al poder, quitó a las mujeres todos los derechos que habían ganado. Les dijo a las mujeres que su lugar en la sociedad era quedarse en casa, servir a Dios y a su país, criando hijos con los valores tradicionales de la Iglesia y España. Por el contrario, las creencias políticas de las Rosas se centraron en la igualdad de género y la lucha por derechos de la mujer que ahora damos por hecho.

Garrido Martínez, R., (2021) Los Derecho de la Mujer Durante la II República y la Dictadura Franquista, Disponible en: https://www.memoriahistoricaregiondemurcia.com/los-derechos-de-la-mujer-durante-la-iirepublica/ (Consultado el 9 de abril 2022) 4

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Antes de su encarcelamiento, las mujeres fueron acusadas de diseminar propaganda izquierdista y generar apoyo para las organizaciones comunistas como las Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas, JSU, y el Partido Comunista de España, PCE. Las mujeres estaban atraídas a estas organizaciones por las oportunidades de crecimiento personal que ofrecían, incluyendo la educación, empleo, deporte y posibilidades culturales. El libro de Fonseca demuestra el deseo de las Rosas para que los hombres y las mujeres pudieran trabajar juntos políticamente para mejorar la vida de los españoles, especialmente para los de origen de la clase obrera. Las JSU y el PCE estaban luchando contra Franco y los nacionalistas durante la Guerra Civil Española que duró desde julio de 1936 hasta abril de 1939. Las Rosas fueron ejecutadas seis mese después de la victoria de Franco, quien continuó gobernando en España hasta su muerte en 1975.

Sin embargo, las fuertes creencias políticas de las Rosas no están reflejadas en la película ya que Martínez-Lázaro quizás consideró que la referencia al comunismo podría ser malinterpretado por la sociedad a principios del Siglo XXI, cuando se estrenó la película. Hoy en día, el comunismo tiene connotaciones más radicales. La falta de detalles políticos de las Rosas retrata la visión nacionalista de la mujer durante la Guerra Civil y posguerra - que las mujeres no deberían tener opiniones políticas – por lo que las Rosas arriesgaron todo para luchar en contra. Demostraré como considero que algunas escenas en la película minan el activismo político, incluso sugiriendo que las Rosas comprometieron sus creencias para su propia comodidad.

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Es relevante que Martínez-Lázaro eligiera solo cinco protagonistas para representar a las Trece Rosas en la película – Blanca Brissac Vázquez, Carmen Barrero Aguado, Julia Conesa Conesa, Adelina García Casillas y Virtudes González García – sin duda por brevedad. De las protagonistas, Blanca era la más madura con 29 años y la única madre Rosa que no estaba involucrada políticamente en la Guerra Civil. Carmen era una militante del PCE y, tras el final de la Guerra Civil, se convirtió en la responsable femenina del partido en Madrid.5 Julia tenía 19 años e ingresó en las JSU en 1937, que le permitió seguir con sus cursos de deportes.6 Adelina, también con 19 años, era militante en las JSU, mientras Virtudes era la rosa menor con 18 años uniéndose a las JSU en 1936, y explicando su razón por la que luchar, siendo citada diciendo “es mejor morir estando de pie que vivir de rodillas” en el libro de Fonseca.7 Las otras Rosas están omitidas de la película completamente, incluyendo las más involucradas políticamente – Pilar Bueno Ibáñez y Dionisia Manzanero Salas. Pedro Montoliú en su libro “Madrid en la posguerra, 1939-1946: Los años de la represión” discute el rol de las Rosas y confirma que “habían intentado reconstruir las JSU en la clandestinidad”, corroborando su fuerte dedicación y creencias políticas.8 Aunque las mujeres sabían que habían perdido la Guerra Civil, no querían rendirse.

En esta película hay muchas oportunidades en que el director podría hacer referencia a la política. Por ejemplo, al principio de la película, una escena muestra

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Fonseca, C., (2017) Trece Rosas Rojas y la Rosa 14, página 295

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Fonseca, C., (2017) Trece Rosas Rojas y la Rosa 14, página 296

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Fonseca, C., (2017) Trece Rosas Rojas y la Rosa 14, página 297

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Montoliú, P., (2005) Madrid en la posguerra, 1939-1946: Los años de la represión

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aviones de las fuerzas nacionalistas soltando paquetes de pan con la frase “En la España Nacional “Una, grande y libre” no hay un hogar sin lumbre ni una familia sin pan”.9 Es verdad que durante la Guerra Civil, aviones nacionalistas solían tirar hogazas de pan y tabaco para burlarse del hambre de los Republicanos y alardear de la prosperidad prevalente entre los Nacionales.10 En la película, Adelina anima a la gente a no comer el pan diciendo, “no lo comas” y “no lo cojáis, es pan fascista”.11 Esto alinea con sus pensamientos antifascistas. Sin embargo, Adelina, cuando se da cuenta de que todo el mundo la está ignorando, empieza a comerlo y compromete su integridad política.12 La escena mina las creencias políticas que Adelina mantenía para proveer el entretenimiento desenfadado en vez de mostrarla permaneciendo fiel a sus valores.

Otra escena muestra a algunas de las Rosas repartiendo propaganda antifascista en una cola de gente esperando por comida.13 Los folletos, que dicen “Menos Franco, más pan blanco”, proveen pocos detalles sobre creencias políticas, y no representan la propaganda que se habría distribuido por antifascistas en ese momento. Sin embargo, en vez de enfocarse en el mensaje de los folletos, la escena cambia rápidamente para mostrar la persecución de la policía mientras las Rosas huyen.14 Esta escena añade drama y suspense, temas comunes

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Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (00:07:23 – 00:08:14)

10

Allende, I., (2019) Largo Pétalo de Mar, página 23

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Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (00:07:58 – 00:08:02)

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Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (00:08:11)

13

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (00:43:26 – 00:44:08)

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Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (00:44:08 – 00:46:24)

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encontrados en las películas de ficción y acción, sin embargo quita méritos a los mensajes políticos de las Rosas.

Las escenas finales de la película también omiten referencias políticas cuando las mujeres están de camino a su fusilamiento. Muestra a las Rosas cantando “La Joven Guardia”, el himno oficial de la Unión de Juventudes Comunistas de España.15 Sin embargo, la película no incluye las frases que destacan el comunismo y las creencias políticas de la organización : “Somos los hijos de Lenin, y a vuestro régimen feroz el Comunismo ha de abatir con el martillo y con la hoz”.16 Es más, durante esta escena la cámara enfoca a Blanca, la única Rosa que no canta, reforzando su inculpabilidad y falta de involucración política.

Antes de su ejecución, a todas las Rosas les permitieron escribir una carta a su familia. Sin embargo, Martínez-Lázaro usa la carta de Blanca para despolitizar aún más la película.17 Blanca lee la parte más emocional que está dirigida a su hijo: “Querido, muy querido hijo de mi alma. En estos últimos momentos tu madre piensa en ti … Recibe después de una infinidad de besos, el beso eterno de tu madre”. La carta es seleccionada por el director y leída para provocar empatía y conmover a la audiencia. A las cartas escritas por otras Rosas no se les ha dado la misma prominencia quizás porque no evocarían la misma emoción para la audiencia.

Fonseca, en su libro, incluye una colección completa de las cartas de las Rosas. En una de ellas, Dionisia Manzanero escribió “Tened en cuenta que no muero por 15

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (01:50:50 – 01:51:45)

16 La Caja de Herramientas, Biblioteca Virtual de la Unión de Juventudes Comunistas de España, Disponible en: https://archivo.juventudes.org/ujce/la-joven-guardia (Consultado el 9 de abril 2022) 17

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (01:57:44 – 01:59:07)

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criminal ni ladrona, sino por una idea”.18 Al enfocarse en la carta escrita por Blanca, la película compromete las creencias políticas fuertes por las que las otras Rosas murieron.

Además, la película muestra a las Rosas alzando la voz contra el régimen de Franco, haciendo campaña contra el hambre y las condiciones de vida difíciles durante la posguerra, pero una vez más omite referencias a sus ideologías comunistas o sus motivos por la libertad femenina y para que los derechos de la mujer y el obrero se restablecieran.19 Virtudes y Carmen están mostradas discursando a una muchedumbre en la que hablan del “fascismo” pero no mencionan el comunismo ni los otros motivos por su lucha. La película omite las referencias a las JSU o el PCE, a las cuales todas las Rosas, menos una, pertenecían. Estas organizaciones eran integrales de su identidad y al excluirlas niega contar la historia completa de las mujeres.

Para resumir, la despolitización de la película sirve para atraer a un público más grande a expensas de destacar las convicciones personales de las Rosas para la igualdad de género. Todavía hoy, muchos españoles no están dispuestos a hablar abiertamente del tema de la Guerra Civil y la dictadura franquista en gran parte debido al Pacto del Olvido - un acuerdo entre élites políticas y legalizado por la ley de amnistía de 1977,20 que explicaba que era mejor olvidar el pasado y enfocarse

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Fonseca, C., (2017) Trece Rosas Rojas y la Rosa 14, página 318

19

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (00:02:58 – 00:03:48)

20 Pacto del Olvido, Disponible en: http://personal.denison.edu/~alvited/memoria/Soldados_de_Salamina/pacto.html (Consultado el 5 de marzo 2022)

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en la paz, el orden y la estabilidad del presente y futuro.21 Concluyo que MartínezLázaro quitó los elementos políticos para evitar la polémica y para que la película tuviera más éxito comercial.

El Papel de la Mujer en la Sociedad Española durante la Guerra Civil y la Posguerra Las Rosas luchaban para mantener los derechos que la mujer había alcanzado durante la Segunda República que los franquistas querían quitar. Para los franquistas, el papel femenino era el de una mujer humilde que cuidaba la casa, su familia, y se ocupaba de las tareas domésticas en vez de salir a trabajar como los hombres. Al contrario, las Rosas querían los mismos derechos que los hombres y no ser limitadas a puestos considerados adecuados para mujeres, por ejemplo la enfermería y la enseñanza.

Blanca era la Rosa menos política, quedó confirmado por su hijo cuando explicó que “dijeron que [mi madre] era de las JSU, y yo sé que no militaba. Lo puedo jurar”.22 En la película, Blanca es la protagonista principal y está retratada con características asociadas con el papel femenino tradicional; el rol exclusivamente maternal. Un rol en contra del que las JSU y sus miembros estaban luchaban.

Blanca es la única Rosa que está casada y que es madre. También está retratada

Sevillano Calero, F., (2003) La construcción de la memoria y el olvido en la España democrática, página 297319, Disonible en: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41325244#metadata_info_tab_contents página 297-319 (Consultado el 15 de mayo 2022) 21

Huete Machado, L., (2017) El País Semanal, La corta vida de trece rosas, Disponible en: https://elpais.com/diario/2005/12/11/eps/1134286010_850215.html (Consultado el 5 de marzo 2022) 22

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con una fe católica muy fuerte, cuidando a su hijo y marido en casa.23 Por lo tanto, está representada como una mujer que posee las ideales franquistas. El hecho de que el director decidiera centrarse tanto en Blanca significa que le resta importancia a la lucha de las otras Rosas. En este respecto, Martínez-Lázaro compromete las creencias de las protagonistas para provocar la empatía con Blanca y producir una película más comercializable porque es una madre católica y esposa especialmente debido a que 73,8% de la población española se identificaba con el catolicismo en 2007, cuando se lanzó la película.24 No cabe duda de que la perspectiva de la película hubiera sido diferente si otra Rosa hubiese sido la protagonista principal. Sin embargo, el director quizás podría haber pensado que la audiencia no conectaría emocionalmente con una mujer más involucrada políticamente. Hablando de Blanca, Martínez-Lázaro articuló que evoluciona políticamente como personaje cuando dijo "Blanca se va uniendo a las chicas de las Juventudes Socialistas y al final se ve que se ha integrado completamente”.25 En la película, sin embargo, la integración de Blanca se muestra solo por las amistades que desarrolla mientras está en la cárcel y a la espera de juicio, y como tal, no estoy de acuerdo con la justificación de Martínez-Lázaro, especialmente porque Blanca no aparece cantando “La Joven Guardia” de camino al cementerio como he destacado previamente.

23

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (00:17:25 – 00:17:32)

24 La Voz de Galicia, (2007) El 36,3% españoles son católicos practicantes y el 37,5% sólo creyentes, Disponible en: https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/sociedad/2007/08/16/363-espanoles-catolicos-practicantes-375solo-creyentes/00036F3EA963D4A6BC8401923926DFC41D63.htm (Consultado el 17 de septiembre 2022)

Bender, R., Las 13 Rosas: La mitificación de la madre tradicional y apolítica en el cine española contemporáneo, Disponible en: https://rebeccambender.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/las-trece-rosas_apa_presentacion-corta.pdf (Consultado el 9 de abril 2022) 25

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La película también fabrica relaciones románticas entre dos de las Rosas con hombres que apoyan a Franco - una trama secundaria típica para el entretenimiento del público general.

Una escena desvela a Julia siendo despedida de su trabajo como cobradora de tranvías, reflejando la situación común para las trabajadoras bajo de la autoridad de Franco.26 Sin embargo, la película no da mucha importancia a esto y en lugar de eso se enfoca en el romance inventado entre Julia y Perico, un nacionalista. La escena dura dos minutos. No obstante, solo se hace un comentario breve sobre el motivo por el qué Julia perdió su trabajo, “por pedir que nos pagarán un sueldo” y el resto se centra en su romance. Durante una escena más tarde, Carmen desafía a Julia sobre su relación, pero Julia le dice sin rodeos, “tú también deberías dejarlo peque”, remitiendo a las JSU y su activismo político.27 La película le da más importancia a un romance inventado que a las creencias personales de Julia que una mujer tenía un derecho y una necesidad económica de trabajar y, a tal efecto, considero que sus creencias han sido comprometidas. Si el personaje de Julia hubiera sido fiel a su posición en las JSU, seguramente no flirtearía con un partidario nacionalista.

El segundo romance que está retratado en la película es entre Adelina y Eutimio, un simpatizante nacionalista al que conoce en un pueblo en las afueras de Madrid.28 Cuando la policía madrileña pide interrogar Adelina, su padre la anima a regresar a

26

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (00:26:48 – 00:29:05)

27

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (00:37:22 – 00:37:44)

28

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (00:52:07 – 00:54:58)

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la ciudad para que puedan hacerlo. Sin embargo, Eutimio le suplica que no se vaya, diciendo “para eso soy combatiente de la zona nacional” y “quédate conmigo, yo te protegeré”. Adelina obedece a su padre, sugiriendo que no es una mujer fuerte e independiente, luchando por la igualdad de derechos, sino una hija sumisa. La película muestra falsamente que si Adelina no hubiera rechazado la protección no habría sido detenida, lo que le lleva también a su fusilamiento. Durante la despedida entre ellos, Adelina es retratada mirando con añoranza por la ventana del autobús para un mayor efecto dramático para el público.

Sería poco probable que simpatizantes Republicanos se involucraran románticamente con simpatizantes nacionalistas y por lo tanto las relaciones en la película socavan las fuertes ideologías políticas que las Rosas mantuvieron.

Martínez-Lázaro justifica su objetivo de proveer entretenimiento y crear empatía en vez de ser fiel a exactitud histórica. Explicó “pero el cine es espectáculo, y esta obvia realidad ha comportado algunas concesiones para evitar que la fidelidad histórica impida la empatía del público con las protagonistas”.29

El Juicio y el Encarcelamiento de las Trece Rosas Un componente clave en los relatos de las Trece Rosas es su juicio y encarcelamiento. Sin embargo, la película no presta mucha atención al juicio ni revela las condiciones terribles a las que las Rosas se enfrentaron en la cárcel.

Considero que el juicio es una parte integral para entender su historia, aunque la

Larson, K., (2012) Remembering the Thirteen Roses: Blurring Fact and Fiction, Disponible en: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=naeh (Consultado el 3 de abril 2022) 29

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película dedica menos de 3 minutos de duración a la escena del juicio.30 Esto es comparable con la escena cuando Julia y Perico van al cine juntos.31 Parece que Martínez-Lázaro da la misma importancia al romance y la frivolidad que las Rosas recibiendo su pena de muerte.

Las condiciones en cárceles por toda España en aquellos años eran extremadamente severas debido a la superpoblación, la enfermedad, la inanición y la privación. Algunos informes declaran que durante el encarcelamiento de las Rosas, había 4.000 reclusas en las Ventas, una cárcel diseñada para 400 prisioneras.32 Las mujeres sabían los riesgos que corrían al tener afiliación con una organización comunista y que si les detenían les encarcelarían y tendrían que aguantar las condiciones inhumanas. Al omitir estos detalles, la película disminuye el coraje y fuerza de las Rosas. Por el contrario, la película saca una representación más alegre y gozosa de vida en la cárcel, lo que devalúa su lucha. En una escena, las Rosas juegan con agua, salpicándose entre ellas mismas y una guardia.33 Durante otra escena, en la misa, varias Rosas sueltan ratones para causar un alboroto resultando en su diversión.34 Por eso, están presentadas como personajes femeninos infantiles y traviesos, socavando su valentía peleando contra los nacionalistas.

30

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (01:33:39 – 01:36:18)

31

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (00:33:52 – 00:37:00)

Huete Machado, L., (2017) El País Semanal, La corta vida de trece rosas, Disponible en: https://elpais.com/diario/2005/12/11/eps/1134286010_850215.html (Consultado el 5 de marzo 2022) 32

33

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (01:14:39 – 01:14:55)

34

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (01:24:29 – 01:24:43)

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Las cárceles también trataron a las mujeres con poco respeto y mucha deshumanización. Era obligatorio para las mujeres encarceladas raparse el pelo, sin embargo, solo una mujer aparece de vez en cuando con la cabeza rapada, pero ninguna de las protagonistas.35 Martínez-Lázaro tenía el propósito de proveer entretenimiento, y sin duda consideró que la imagen de todas las prisioneras con cabezas rapadas hubiera sido incómoda para los espectadores.

Además, la película enfatiza la camaradería de las mujeres en la cárcel en vez de la falta de confianza entre ellas. Mari Carmen Cuesta, encarcelada junto con las Rosas, ilustra la desconfianza entre las reclusas. Mari recuerda que “No te fiabas de nadie porque se decía que los franquistas habían metido chivatas dentro”.36 Otros recuentos hablan de las dificultades de la vida y la habilidad de sobrevivir. Una sobreviviente recuerda que “nos trataban de lo peor, muchas palizas, muchas vejaciones” y comenta de las “penurias” y que “sólo se comían ‘lentejas de Negrín’ ”.37 Sin embargo, en vez de exponer estos detalles severos, se muestra las prisioneras bailando, cantando y riendo con sus compañeras.38 La mayoría de las escenas en la cárcel están situadas afuera en el patio y es aquí donde cantan sobre las terribles condiciones en la cárcel. Esta yuxtaposición, de estar al aire fresco riendo y bailando mientras la letra de la canción describe dormir en el suelo y comer

35

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (01:16:58)

Huete Machado, L., (2017) El País Semanal, La corta vida de trece rosas, Disponible en: https://elpais.com/diario/2005/12/11/eps/1134286010_850215.html (Consultado el 5 de marzo 2022) 36

37 Huete Machado, L., (2017) El País Semanal, La corta vida de trece rosas, Disponible en: https://elpais.com/diario/2005/12/11/eps/1134286010_850215.html (Consultado el 5 de marzo 2022) 38

Las Trece Rosas, [DVD], (01:16:52 – 01:17:26)

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cemento en vez de pan, resta importancia al sufrimiento que las Rosas tenían que aguantar.

Martínez-Lázaro justifica la omisión de los detalles sobre las condiciones inhumanas en las cárceles, diciendo “La auténtica represión, de la crueldad de los franquistas aquellos primeros meses, sólo hay una centésima parte de lo que pasó. No contamos que a una de las chicas la violaron ocho veces en comisaría antes de llevarla a la cárcel, ni cómo las pegaron … Lo que se cuenta es ridículo respecto a lo que pasó. Sólo hay apuntes, porque tampoco quiero echar leña al fuego”.39 Esto implica que el director no quiere causar polémica entre los espectadores. Incluso hoy en día muchos españoles no hablan abiertamente de lo que pasó durante el franquismo y las atrocidades del pasado. También, la película compromete la lucha de las mujeres porque se enfoca en las emociones del espectador para conseguir una producción entretenida. Martínez-Lázaro, es un director mejor conocido por comedias románticas en vez de tragedias históricas, no quería producir una película que mostrara la severidad de la vida en cárcel que aislaría al público de lo que estaban viendo; quería que los espectadores se conectaran emocionalmente y disfrutaran de lo que veían.

Larson, K., (2012) Remembering the Thirteen Roses: Blurring Fact and Fiction, Disponible en: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=naeh (Consultado el 3 de abril 2022) 39

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Conclusión De mi investigación, considero que las Rosas eran mujeres que sabían lo que hacían y, con gran coraje, eligieron luchar contra el régimen antidemocrático que venía, arriesgando sus propias vidas. Mientras el libro de Fonseca enfatiza la historia de las Rosas como un símbolo de la resistencia comunista, la representación de Martínez-Lázaro hace poca referencia al comunismo y se enfoca en la represión de la posguerra causada por Franco.

La representación de las Rosas por Blanca como heroína, y la falta de detalle sobre su experiencia en la cárcel y el juicio, ilustran como la película se desvía de la historia verdadera de las Rosas. Eso lleva al espectador a creer que las Rosas no fueron tan motivadas políticamente y que se inclinaron a comprometer sus creencias para su propia comodidad. Además, la falta de detalle sobre el comunismo y la involucración de las mujeres en organizaciones comunistas como las JSU o el PCE intenta asegurar que la película atraerá a un público más amplio sin disuadirles por motivos políticos.

La despolitización de la película de las Trece Rosas y la inclusión de escenas ficticias, mientas finalmente trata de asegurar el éxito comercial de la película, compromete las creencias por las que cada una de estas mujeres luchó y murió.

Martínez-Lázaro fue citado diciendo que usó “pequeñas traiciones de historia” para enfocarse no en la acción sino en los personajes y la psicología.40 Smith, P. J., Winners and Losers in Cinema and Memoirs: Emilio Martínez Lázaro’s Las 13 Rosas and Esther Tusquets’ Habíamos ganado la guerra, página 259, Disponible en: https://psi329.cankaya.edu.tr/uploads/files/Smith%2C%20Winners%20and%20Losers%20in%20Cinema%20an d%20Memoirs%20Emilio%20Mart%20nez%20L%20zaro%20s%20Las%2013%20rosas%20and%20Esther%20Tus quets%20Hab%20amos%20ganado%20la%20guerra.pdf (Consultado el 15 de mayo 2022) 40

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Mientras Martínez-Lázaro apoya su derecho a reconocimiento, ha mostrado un deseo de mantenerse neutral en el debate público. Dijo “yo no soy nada partidario del cine de denuncia; es más, me horroriza, creo que para eso están los periódicos y los libros de historia”.41 Sin embargo, creo que la película presenta las Rosas como víctimas, provocando empatía de la audiencia, y no antifascistas comprometidas y valientes. El rol de Blanca como heroína atenúa la historia brutal de estas trece mujeres, minimizando el activismo y creencias políticas de las otras Rosas. Las Trece Rosas luchaban contra un régimen que consideraron injusto.

Arriesgaron todo por los derechos de la mujer y el obrero, pero el argumento de la película se inclina más hacia a una imagen tradicional y nacionalista de mujeres, en vez de una identidad más revolucionaria. Como consecuencia, considero que las creencias de las Trece Rosas han sido comprometidas sin duda. No hay enjundia política para que el público pueda reflexionar y debatir. Queda para los libros como el de Fonseca, y otras publicaciones históricamente fieles, servir como el verdadero legado duradero de las Rosas.

Ruiz Mantilla, J., (2007) El País Semanal, 13 Rosas para una leyenda, Disponible en: https://elpais.com/diario/2007/09/30/eps/1191132946_850215.html (Consultado el 30 de junio 2022) 41

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Bibliografía

Película

Las Trece Rosas, (2007) [DVD] Vídeo Mercury Films, dirigido por Martínez-Lázaro, E.

Libros Allende, I., (2019) Largo Pétalo De Mar Fonseca, C., (2017) Trece Rosas Rojas y la Rosa 14 Montoliú, P., (2005) Madrid en la posguerra, 1939-1946: Los años de la represión

Fuentes en línea Bender, R., Las 13 Rosas: La mitificación de la madre tradicional y apolítica en el cine español contemporáneo, https://rebeccambender.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/las-trecerosas_apa_presentacion-corta.pdf [9 de abril 2022]

Casas, M., (2020) La historia de “Las Trece Rosas”, mujeres que plantaron cara al franquismo, https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/juniorreport/20200805/482683292771/la-historia-de-las-trece-rosas-mujeres-queplantaron-cara-al-franquismo.html [15 de mayo 2022]

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Garrido Martínez, R., (2021) Los Derecho de la Mujer Durante la II República y la Dictadura Franquista, https://www.memoriahistoricaregiondemurcia.com/losderechos-de-la-mujer-durante-la-ii-republica/ [9 de abril 2022) Huete Machado, L., (2017) El País Semanal, La corta vida de trece rosas, https://elpais.com/diario/2005/12/11/eps/1134286010_850215.html [5 de marzo 2022] La Caja de Herramientas, Biblioteca Virtual de la Unión de Juventudes Comunistas de España, https://archivo.juventudes.org/ujce/la-joven-guardia [9 de abril 2022]

La Voz de Galicia, (2007) El 36,3% españoles son católicos practicantes y el 37,5% sólo creyentes, https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/sociedad/2007/08/16/363espanoles-catolicos-practicantes-375-solocreyentes/00036F3EA963D4A6BC8401923926DFC41D63.htm [17 de septiembre 2022]

Larson, K., (2012) Remembering the Thirteen Roses: Blurring Fact and Fiction, https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=naeh [3 de abril 2022] Manuel Rodríguez Otero, L., (2013) Estatuto Jurídico Del Menos, Evolución Histórica, https://trasosdigital.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/articulo-mayoria-deedad1.pdf [5 de marzo 2022]

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Pacto del Olvido, http://personal.denison.edu/~alvited/memoria/Soldados_de_Salamina/pacto.html [5 de marzo 2022]

Premios Goya 2008, https://www.premiosgoya.com/pelicula/las-13-rosas/ [5 de marzo 2022]

Sevillano Calero, F., (2003) La construcción de la memoria y el olvido en la España democrática, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41325244#metadata_info_tab_contents [15 de mayo 2022]

Ruiz Mantilla, J., (2007) El País Semanal, 13 Rosas para una leyenda, https://elpais.com/diario/2007/09/30/eps/1191132946_850215.html [30 de junio 2022]

Smith, P. J., Winners and Losers in Cinema and Memoirs: Emilio Martínez Lázaro’s Las 13 Rosas and Esther Tusquets’ Habíamos ganado la guerra https://psi329.cankaya.edu.tr/uploads/files/Smith%2C%20Winners%20and%20Loser s%20in%20Cinema%20and%20Memoirs%20Emilio%20Mart%20nez%20L%20zaro %20s%20Las%2013%20rosas%20and%20Esther%20Tusquets%20Hab%20amos% 20ganado%20la%20guerra.pdf [15 de mayo 2022]

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Title: The Ethics of the Milgram Experiment

RQ: Was the non-consensual use of individuals within the Milgram Shock Experiment ethical?

Subject: Philosophy Word Count: 4,000

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Table of Contents

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………

3

The Utilitarian Approach ……………………………………………………………..

5

Kantian Ethics …………………………………………………………………………

13

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………..

17

Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………

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Introduction

Stanley Milgram was a psychologist at Yale University who ran one of the most famous obedience studies in the field of psychology: The Milgram Experiment. Conducted during the 1960s, the experiment controversially investigated the conflict between compliance to authority and personal conscience.

Milgram commenced his experimentations in 1961, following the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a World War II Nazi criminal. In a letter dated May 29,1962, Eichmann stated: “There is a need to draw a line between the leaders responsible and the people like me forced to serve as mere instruments”1. His defence outlines that he was merely following instructions from his superiors; this claim inspired Milgram’s research. According to Eichmann, obedience was what compelled him to commit such heinous crimes. Stanley Milgram explains obedience as: “the dispositional cement that binds men to systems of authority.” 2 He explained that, “for many persons obedience may be a deeply ingrained behaviour tendency, indeed, a prepotent impulse overriding training in ethics, sympathy, and moral conduct.” 3 4

In order to explore this phenomenon, Milgram devised this experiment: volunteers are recruited to partake in a study they are told concerns ‘learning’.

Unbeknownst to them, they were actually participating in a behavioural Kershner, I. (2016). Pardon Plea by Adolf Eichmann, Nazi War Criminal, Is Made Public. The New York Times. [online] 27 Jan. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/world/middleeast/israel-adolf-eichmann-holocaust.html [Accessed 10 Jun. 2022].

2 Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioural Study of Obedience. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), pp.371–378. doi:10.1037/h0040525.

3 ibid^ 4 opentext.wsu.edu. (n.d.). 2.2 The Basics of Power – Fundamentals of Leadership. [online] Available at: https://opentext.wsu.edu/organizational-behavior/chapter/13-2-the-basics-of-power/ [Accessed 13 Jun. 2022].

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experiment – hence the non-consensual element. There are three roles, only one of which are assigned to random volunteers: the teacher (T) is the only role taken up by volunteers; the learner (L) and experimenter (E) is taken up by actors.

The experimenter acts as the figure of authority and orders the teacher to ask the learner questions. They must ‘shock’ the learner if they answer the question incorrectly – in reality there is no electric shock, and the learners are only acting as though they are in pain. The learner would give primarily wrong answers on purpose to compel the teacher to administer the ‘increasingly high voltage shock’. When the teacher begins to display discomfort or unwillingness to continue, the experimenter was only permitted to say statements of this nature: “please continue”, “the experiment requires you to continue”, “it is absolutely essential that you continue”, “you have no other choice but to continue” 5. This would put the teacher under the pressure of authority to explore how they would react and behave.

The experiment revealed shocking data showing that 65% of participants continued the experiment until they reached the ‘highest voltage’ possible (450 volts), and 100% of participants continued to a minimum of 300 volts.6 The results unveil how the effect is so impactful that it causes people to override their better conscience and morals in the name of obedience.

The way this experiment was conducted however, has incited many concerns regarding its morality. There are multiple issues that critics raise when arguing against the correctness of the Milgram Experiment. The main points regard the fact that the teacher was oblivious to the true intentions of the experiments in addition to being deceived throughout its process. People Mcleod, S. (2008). The Milgram Experiment. [online] Simplypsychology.org. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html#exp [Accessed 10 Jun. 2022].

6 ibid^ 5

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have argued that this is wrong not only in the way it treats people, but also in the fact it neglects and actively restricts one's autonomy.

By adopting three primary philosophical perspectives, which will be discussed in this essay, I can evaluate these claims and come to the conclusion that, despite its externally appearing moral ambiguity, the use of individuals within Milgram's experiment was ethically justifiable.

There are multiple issues that critics raise when arguing against the correctness of the Milgram Experiment. Many ethical philosophers have concerned themselves and debated on some of the issues raised within the Milgram Experiment – namely the issues concerning the harm it causes to individuals by way of deception. This essay will evaluate the Utilitarian moral philosophy of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill and compare that to Kantian Ethics in order to come to the conclusion that the deceptive actions displayed against the individuals within the Milgram Experiment, was not immoral and were in fact acceptable.

Utilitarian Approach Utilitarianism continues to be one of the most well known moral theories, first formally introduced in the 19th Century, and has had influence on all areas of ethical debate. It is one of the most powerful and persuasive perspectives on normative ethics to exist presently.

This philosophy is essentially a form of consequentialism, a teleological moral argument, which concerns itself with the idea that actions are defined as morally right or wrong based solely on the outcome that they produce. It ties one's moral virtue with the degree of goodness or benefit one's actions produce. Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill

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(1806-1873), are generally regarded as the founders of modern classical Utilitarianism. They both identify good with pleasure, thus were hedonists in nature. They maintained that goodness and pleasure ought to be maximised, and that every action should endeavour to do so in order to bring about “the greatest amount of good for the greatest number” 7. However, though they both adhered to the general consensus of utilitarianism, they differed slightly in how they judged the value of the quantity versus the quality of pleasure and pain.

Jeremy Bentham was the first notable person to be associated with the modern, secular and systematic utilitarian theory. He argued that, fundamentally, humans seek pleasure, thus for an action to be considered morally correct, one must act to please the highest number of people: this he suggested to be quantifiable in an almost formulaic manner.8 For this, he devised something known as the ‘hedonic calculator’, a theoretical measure of the overall good or evil tendency of an action based on the total pleasure or pain it produces.9 It consists of seven variables that Bentham uses, and names ‘circumstances’, in order to describe the dimensions of ‘pleasure’ and ‘pain’ and ultimately be able to rank their value. 10

This essay will focus on the ‘circumstances’ of: 1. Intensity – how strong is the produced sensation of pain or pleasure?

2. Extent – how many were affected by the pain or pleasure produced by the action?

3. Duration – how long does the pain or pleasure last? 11

Driver, J. (2014). The History of Utilitarianism. [online] Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy.

Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/ [Accessed 11 Jun. 2022].

8 Bentham, J. (1970). An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and legislation. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.

9 Vardy, P. and Vardy, C. (2012). Ethics matters. London: Scm Press, p.89.

10 Crimmins, J.E. (2020). Jeremy Bentham. Summer 2020 ed. [online] Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bentham/#FelCal [Accessed 11 Jun. 2022].

11 ibid^ 7

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Each condition selected is the most relevant, when applied to the circumstances of the Milgram Experiment, in ranking the alleged pain caused.

I will first discuss the imposition of the first circumstance mentioned: intensity. It is almost undeniable that the Milgram Experiment did cause short term emotional distress and psychological pain. In this account from Milgram's original experiment, Milgram describes the physical distress one of his subjects were facing during the experiment: “I observed a mature and initially poised business-man” “ rapidly approach[ing] a point of nervous collapse.” “At one point he pushed his fist into his forehead and muttered: ‘Oh God, let's stop it.’ And yet he continued to respond to every word of the experimenter, and obeyed to the end.12” The volunteers were under the impression that they were actually harming the learner and causing immense physical pain to another. The distress of believing this, alongside the conflict between one's conscience and obedience, would have been enough to potentially cause very heightened emotions of immediate pain in all 40 of the volunteers. Not only this, but since the individuals did not consent directly to this particular experiment, as they were deceived from the offset, the pain caused was not only unexpected but also not agreed upon by the individual as a potential consequence of their participation.

With these parameters, it could be argued that the results of this experiment did cause much more pain than pleasure or good, thus would indicate its unethical nature. However, though the intensity of the pain seems quite severe in the case of the individual documented, out of the 40 participants, this was only one person who experienced extreme physical and mental 12 Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioural Study of Obedience. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), p.p.377. doi:10.1037/h0040525.

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distress. Pain is subjective and changeable between people, so it is entirely possible that no other individual experienced the same intensity of pain. We cannot work under the assumption that even though the experiment had the potential to cause that level of harm to everyone, that it actually did cause that level of harm to everyone. It does not seem substantial enough to view purely the intensity of the pain of the individual, but the overall pain felt by the collective.

The parameter of extent takes into account the number of people actually affected by the ‘pain’ of the Milgram Experiment, in comparison to the ‘good’ the experiment may cause. If we take into account solely the original experiment (1961), evidence collected that each volunteer was under quite extreme stress and conflict.13 This documentation would initially allow for the comfortable conclusion that the extent of pain caused was initially large and thus indicates that the experiment would be considered unethical in nature.

However, results of a survey conducted by Milgram could counteract this claim. Of the 92% who partook in the survey, 83.7% reported that they were either ‘glad’ or ‘very glad’ that they had partaken in the experiment. Another 15% maintained that they felt ‘neutral’ about their participation, which would leave only 1.3% of participants who regretted their involvement.14 Though this doesn't necessarily show the amount of pain that the participants were in throughout, it gives an indication of the extent to which the pain was experienced and disseminated in the participants as a whole.

livewordcanada (2011). Milgram Obedience Study. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCVlI-_4GZQ [Accessed 11 Jun. 2022].

14 McLeod, S. (2017). Milgram Experiment | Simply Psychology. [online] www.simplypsychology.org.

Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html#ref [Accessed 11 Jun. 2022].

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There is even record of one of the later participants of 1964 writing to Milgram about the effects the experiments had on them as a person: “While I was a subject in 1964, though I believed that I was hurting someone, I was totally unaware of why I was doing so. Few people ever realise when they are acting according to their own beliefs and when they are meekly submitting to authority” and it made “me frightened of myself” (1970) 15 16 The participant’s full statement expresses the way the experiment impacted how they wish to act in order to stay faithful to their conscience, and try to avoid repeating the actions displayed during the experiment. This actually indicates a positive outcome on one of the volunteers that has come from the experiment's deceptive process. So, though first impressions might suggest that all the participants, at least initially, felt a certain level of anxiety, any alleged ‘pain’ was so minimal to certain people that it had no tangible impact or visible repercussions in the long term. There is evidence to show that the aftermath created some positive changes to certain people's mindsets. This would lead us to the conclusion that the Milgram Experiment does not display unethical practices when placing it under this judgement.

The last thing to consider would be the duration of any ‘pain’ that could have been caused.

This aspect has been touched upon: the results shown by the survey (above) could be one factor in arguing against any long term duration of pain. Follow up research was performed into the wellbeing of the volunteers which indicated that no long term psychological effects were evident on any of the participants.

Milgram, S. (1974). OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY: An Experimental View. S.L.: Harpercollins.

Raiten-D’antonio, T. (2010). Ugly as sin: the truth about how we look and finding freedom from self-hatred. Deerfield Beach, Fla: Health Communications, p.p. 89.

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It is possible that the results of this research could have been down to the fact that Milgram reportedly debriefed and showed the participants that the confederate had not been harmed.

However, though Milgram’s intention was to “defuse their distress by telling them that things were not as bad as they might have seemed”, he reportedly did so “while withholding the truth of the experimental setup.” 17 Nevertheless, though he remained untruthful, that action would be ethically defensible under Bentham's Utilitarianism as it was done to reassure participants to the fullest extent possible and reduce their ‘pain’. When considering the way the participants were treated, along with the results from further investigation, it can be deduced that the extent of pain caused was not extended in duration enough to maintain that the experiment's use of the participants was wrongful.

By applying some of Bentham's most relevant variables of the theoretical Hedonic Calculator, despite initially appearing unscrupulous, the experiments use of the individual does not display: intense enough pain caused, enough overall pain extended to each participant, or a long enough duration of the distress; in order to consider the pain to be relevant. This would suggest therefore that the experiment does not display any immorality.

Despite these compelling arguments, there is still a problem with how Bentham’s utilitarianism deals with this moral argument. Whilst Bentham's philosophy acknowledges that the experiment did not cause any affliction to 98.7% of the participants, it actively ignores the intense and long-lasting suffering of the 1.3%. This instinctively feels very wrong to accept – neglecting that specific pain does not erase the fact that the pain is still being caused and inflicted upon others. This critique is one that can be mitigated by John-Stuart Mill with his Harm Principle theory, a development on Bentham's work in utilitarianism.

Perry, G. (2013). Deception and Illusion in Milgram’s Accounts of the Obedience Experiments.

Theoretical & Applied Ethics, [online] 2(2), p.p.82. Available at: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/536095/pdf [Accessed 8 Jun. 2022].

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John-Stuart Mill was one of the most well known and influential British philosophers of the 19th Century impacting multiple areas of philosophy, most notably: utilitarian ethics.18 Mills stipulates an argument known as The Harm Principle, which can be used as a judgement for the morality of individual action. The simplest explanation of the Harm Principle would be that people are free to act as they wish, and are morally justified in doing so, insofar as they are not harming others. Similarly to Bentham, Mills is essentially promoting the most amount of pleasure – by virtue of trying to minimise harm. However, unlike Bentham, Mill’s does not focus on the amount of harm, but on the quality of the harm.

He explains this clearly in his example of the Sadistic Guards: imagine three guards finding immense pleasure in torturing a wrongly imprisoned man. Applying Bentham’s Hedonic Calculator seems unacceptable as it would suggest the action to be ethically defensible since the total amount of pleasure produced is higher than the total amount of pain. Mill recognised that there is variability between different pains and pleasures: some had higher values (the pain of the prisoner) than others and some were more necessary than others. Mills recognises that flaw in Bentham's work, which allowed for the well-being of the minority to be excluded by the will of the majority.

This can be applied to the Milgram experiment in much the same way. Whilst Bentham critically neglects the suffering of the 1.3% of participants, Mill’s principle does not. No matter how small the percentage of those tormented by the experiment, the Harm Principle dictates that since harm was inflicted, the action cannot be moral. In addition to this, his Brink, D. (2018). Mill’s Moral and Political Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy). [online] Stanford.edu. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mill-moral-political/#MilUti [Accessed 11 Jun. 2022].

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doctrine is not based on any longevity of pain – though no visible harm was reported to have occurred post participation, the distress felt throughout the experiment is enough to constitute as harm, thus making the experiment inherently immoral.

However, whilst this is all true, a concretely causal link cannot be created between the harm caused and the actual act of deception within the experiment. The debrief, though masking some truths, allowed people to reflect more on their behaviour. Once they understood that no harm had come to the learner, some subjects reported feelings of shame in the way they behaved. This psychological damage and painful emotion of shame was not however caused by the experimenter's deception – the subjects were suffering from the realisation that, had the apparatus been genuine, their decision to continue could have actually damaged or even killed someone. There is no proof that, had there been transparency, they would not have made the same decision, thus we cannot know whether deception had a role to play in their choices. If anything, you would imagine that the deceptive acting of the learner, despite the encouragement from the experimenter, would be enough of an incentive to defy the orders given.

Given this, we cannot therefore say that Mill’s Harm principle applies. Harm was caused, but not by consequence of the nature of Milgram’s experiment, instead was inflicted by something known as ‘inflicted insight’ – it is emotional pain caused by a subject being exposed to their flaws through their participation in an experiment.19 Thus, by using Mill’s principle, though quite different to Bentham, the same conclusion is still drawn: that the use of individuals without their full understanding and consent, was indeed ethically justifiable in the name of science.

Levine, R.J. (1981). Ethics and regulation of clinical research. Baltimore Munich Urban And Schwarzenberg, p.p.225.

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Both Bentham and Mill endorse the conviction that the ends always justify the means; even though it is to different degrees, it is accepted by both nonetheless. So, if the outcomes are morally defensible, the means to reaching that result would be irrelevant. This appears somewhat illogical, particularly when dealing with acts such as deception and lying, like in the Milgram Experiment. Perhaps, to overcome this, a deontological view on ethics is required: one which can be provided by Immanuel Kant.

Kantian Ethics Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) adopted a very differing form of moral philosophy to what Bentham and Mill propounded. What Kant proposed was a deontological ethical theory which judges an action's virtue by evaluating it through a series of rules rather than outcome.

Kant theorised a set of objective, unconditional rules known as ‘Categorical Imperative’ the two most notable formulations, and those most relevant to this essay, are ‘The Universalizability Principle’ and ‘The Formula of Humanity Principle’. I will argue that due to their limitations and contradictions, Kant’s formulations are implausible and weak notions of morality, thus implying that, once again, no unethical behaviour was displayed by this experiment.

Kant's first formulation of his Categorical Imperative, ‘The Universalizability Principle’, reads as such: “act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law”20. A ‘maxim’ is defined as a principle of action, Kant, I. and Korsgaard, C.M. (1998). Immanuel Kant: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. [online] CAMBRIDGE TEXTS IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY. Available at:

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which in this case is judged by a ‘universal law’, a rule that one must abide by irrespective of circumstance or desire. What he intends by this formulation is that, if you are willing to allow an action, or maxim, to be a binding universal law and there is no contradiction when doing so, that maxim is morally permissible.

If we look at this postulate through the lens of the Milgram Experiment, the maxim of the action would be deception, or lying. Universalising deception would be to say that lying is acceptable all of the time. Not only would this contradict itself in our will for it to be acted upon, since we do not want to accept being lied to all of the time, but it also contradicts itself in its conception, since the meaning of truth will be totally lost. Since the maxim of deception fails to pass this postulate, immediately, Kant's philosophy would dictate that the non-consensual use of individuals by Milgram was immoral.

His second, and arguably most important formulation, The Formula of Humanity Principle, reads: “act so that your treat humanity” “always as an end and never as a mere means”21, or, in other words, for your personal benefit. A central component to what Kant believes is necessary to make moral decisions and to judge a decision's morality, is by the idea that we must act freely and allow others the same courtesy. Autonomy, Kant argues, is what makes us dissimilar to other things – it imbues us with an absolute moral worth which cannot be violated. This would therefore make any form of manipulation, deception or lying unequivocally wrong.

https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/blog.nus.edu.sg/dist/c/1868/files/2012/12/Kant-Groundwork-ng0pby .pdf [Accessed 11 Jun. 2022].

21 Kant, I. and Korsgaard, C.M. (1998). Immanuel Kant: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. [online] CAMBRIDGE TEXTS IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY. Available at: https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/blog.nus.edu.sg/dist/c/1868/files/2012/12/Kant-Groundwork-ng0pby .pdf [Accessed 11 Jun. 2022].

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This aligns itself with the ‘manipulation’ present in the conduct of the Milgram Experiment.

The fact that the experimenter lied to the participants meant that not only were they used as a ‘mere means’, for scientific research, without any consideration for their humanity, but they were also stripped of their right to act freely as they could not make the fully informed decision on their participation beforehand. Every choice they made was manipulated as it was based on a lie.

However, there are some obvious critiques which may render both of Kant's arguments weak in providing evidence for the experiment's immorality. When focusing mainly on the first formulation, there is a fundamentally contradictory nature to certain scenarios, creating conflicts between maxims which cannot be ignored. This was illustrated by Philosopher Benjamin Constant, who stated that a strict adherence to Kant’s categorical imperative, when faced with contradicting duties, forces one moral code to be broken for the sake of adhering to another. He is thus suggesting that Kant’s moral code neglects the complexity of human decision making – his theory only deals with banal, hypothetical situations that could not be applied to more complex scenarios. The lying present in the Milgram Experiment is much more complex than Kant would allow. The act was not malicious in intent, in fact, you could argue its intention was to create long term benefits to the field of psychological research.

With that, we can see the two conflicting maxims: in order to benefit scientific development, this test must be performed with the cost of lying to the participants in order to reach a viable outcome. If what Kant suggests is strictly accepted, no one person could ever be considered to be moral because, when dealing with intricate scenarios, there will always be exceptions in which the outcomes outweigh the means and violating one ‘moral law’ in order to upkeep another is necessary.

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Another critique of Kant suggests that the participants of the Milgram Experiment did not need full autonomy or complete knowledge to make the best moral decision. Firstly, the right to withdraw from the experiment at any point remained open, whether that be at the start when the process of events was ‘revealed’ to them, or throughout. The falsification of the scenario has no implication on whether or not they could or would want to withdraw. If anything, the scenario presented to these people would have served as more of an incentive to withdraw since the methods of investigation would, more likely than not, go against most people's moral standards. Secondly, the manipulation would in no way, like described by Kant, cause a change in what the participants would have chosen whilst knowing the full scenario. Though we cannot know for sure what the participants would have chosen if given the full truth, we can evaluate what they ought to have chosen given the scenario. Regardless of the fact the simulation was false, most of the participants, by any moral standard outlined in this essay, acted unethically. Them not only initiating the experiment, but also continuing, was not contingent on any lie told by the experimenter – those decisions were made internally with the information available. It would be imprecise to say that the deception itself was wrong, if it had no sizable impact on the autonomy of the person to make the most moral decision possible. In reality, it was the participants' own immorality that caused their adverse effects in the moment, because as soon as they realised they were no longer liable to damages and had not caused any injury, most were reassured and left with no long term emotional consequences.

With such critiques, we can see how Kant's argument retains quite an inconsistent narrative which renders his argument much weaker when trying to prove the deceptions' inherent wrongness. Since Kant does not think through human complexities and exceptions to

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absolute rules, his theory is unable to substantially provide evidence for the Milgram Experiment’s incorrectness.

Conclusion: It is clear that when trying to answer the question of whether the non-consensual use of individuals is ethical, the conclusion that both utilitarian theories and Kant’s postulates come to is that it is morally permissible. When applying three of Bentham’s main 'conditions’, the Milgram Experiment passes each one; and when dealing with Mill’s ‘improvement’ on Bentham with his Harm Principle, no real link between the act of deception had directly harmful consequences. Both teleological arguments seem to permit an act that instinctively appears wrong, but, when applying Kant’s deontological argument, the conclusion remained the same. A strict adherence to Kant’s argument, when applied to this scenario, is counter-intuitive. This permits us to accept the experiment's morality, similarly to utilitarianism, and allows us to comfortably, or perhaps uncomfortably, accept and conclude that the non-consensual use of the participants within the Milgram experiment is ethical.

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World Studies Extended Essay: Biology and Economics

To what extent do average income, diet and ethnicity affect the prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes in London?

A Case Study of London: Harrow and Westminster

Word count: 3998 words

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Contents:

Introduction

2

What is Type 2 Diabetes?

4

Methodology

5

Average Income

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Food

6

Exercise

10

Education

12

Diet

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Ethnicity

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Conclusion

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Bibliography

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Appendix

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Introduction

Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is a chronic condition and a growing concern globally as the ninth leading cause of mortality 1. Currently, more than 460 million individuals worldwide have T2D2 with nearly 4 million of those being in the UK.

Globally, T2D is rising but at a faster rate in developed regions such as western Europe (despite having more advanced healthcare measures). It must be noted that increased access to being diagnosed could play a role in this3. This clear influence of socio-economic factors in the prevalence of the disease prompted me to think if a similar pattern could be seen on a smaller scale in cities. To explore this, I based my case study in London as some of its boroughs have some of the highest and lowest prevalence rates in England4.

I’ll be exploring diet, exercise and average income (which is commonly overlooked) to see if there’s a reason why the latter is less recognised as a factor of T2D. New research suggests that disturbed sleep or having a sleep disorder may affect T2D risk but I’ve chosen not to analyse this as it would be very difficult to obtain sufficient, detailed data on this on the London population.

I’ll be combining the disciplines of Economics and Biology to use my knowledge on various topics such as biological molecules and elasticities of demand. Through this interdisciplinary approach, I'll

1 World Health Organization (2021). Diabetes. [online] World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes.

Khan, M.A., Hashim, M.J., King, J., Govender, R.D., Mustafa, H. and Al Kaabi, J. (2020). Epidemiology of Type 2 Diabetes – Global Burden of Disease and Forecasted Trends. Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health, 10(1). doi:10.2991/jegh.k.191028.001.

2

Diabetes UK (2019). New Figures Show Rise in Diabetes Rates across London. [online] Diabetes UK. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/in_your_area/london/london-region-news-/new-figures-rise-diabetes.

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Diabetes UK (2019). New Figures Show Rise in Diabetes Rates across London. [online] Diabetes UK. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/in_your_area/london/london-region-news-/new-figures-rise-diabetes.

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be able to see if the same prevalence pattern seen globally (higher prevalence in more economically developed regions) will be the same on a city scale.

To answer my research question, “To what extent do average income, diet and ethnicity affect the prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes in London?”, I chose to compare 2 boroughs in London: Harrow, which has the highest rate with 9.58%, and Westminster with one of the lowest rates at 4.02%5.

Through my analysis, I hope to raise awareness of the factors that contribute most to high prevalence rates and use the knowledge I find to evaluate the UK government’s current actions and policies, like the sugar tax6, which seem inefficient in reducing the prevalence of the disease in the UK.

The majority of my research for this essay has come from reliable online resources such as government reports, academic papers and health websites but I have also used physical resources such as textbooks.

Diabetes UK (2019). New Figures Show Rise in Diabetes Rates across London. [online] Diabetes UK. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/in_your_area/london/london-region-news-/new-figures-rise-diabetes.

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HM Treasury (2018). Soft Drinks Industry Levy comes into effect. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/soft-drinks-industry-levy-comes-into-effect.

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What is Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is a serious, lifelong condition which affects more than 95% of diabetics. For a non-diabetic glucose levels rise after eating and tend to deplete as time after food intake increases. If blood glucose levels fall below a set point, pancreatic alpha cells secrete glucagon which encourages the breakdown of glycogen energy stores in the liver to glucose - increasing the blood concentration.

If glucose levels go above the setpoint, then the beta cells in the liver synthesise insulin which encourages tissue cells to intake glucose and convert it to glycogen - decreasing the blood concentration7.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when a person is unable to sufficiently produce or respond to insulin as the body cells become less responsive to the hormone. This leads to long-term excessive glucose levels that further worsen the responsiveness of the cells. Over time, diabetes can damage important organs and tissues such as the cardiovascular system, eyes, kidneys and nerves8.

The main demographic affected is middle-aged people because of a general decrease in physical activity and a decrease in function of the pancreatic islet9 which helps control blood glucose levels.

However, in the past 20 years, there has been a significant increase in cases in children and young adults which is probably because of the availability of foods with little nutrition and sedentary lifestyles - challenging the significance of age as a factor of prevalence10. You can also be more at risk

Allott, A. and Mindorff, D. (2014). Biology : Oxford IB diploma programme. Course Companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.329, 330–331, 511, 659, 664–666.

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8 World Health Organization (2021). Diabetes. [online] World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes

Kirkman, M.S., Briscoe, V.J., Clark, N., Florez, H., Haas, L.B., Halter, J.B., Huang, E.S., Korytkowski, M.T., Munshi, M.N., Odegard, P.S., Pratley, R.E. and Swift, C.S. (2012). Diabetes in Older Adults. Diabetes Care, [online] 35(12), pp.2650–2664. doi:10.2337/dc12-1801.

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Khan, M.A., Hashim, M.J., King, J., Govender, R.D., Mustafa, H. and Al Kaabi, J. (2020). Epidemiology of Type 2 Diabetes – Global Burden of Disease and Forecasted Trends. Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health, 10(1). doi:10.2991/jegh.k.191028.001.

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if you have immediate family with the disease or are of certain ethnic groups, as this can affect your insulin resistance.

Methodology

To effectively evaluate the factors, I used educational resources such as academic journals and textbooks to gain factual knowledge on how my chosen factors affect the body (specifically insulin regulation). I also learnt about different elasticities of demand, that I hadn't learnt about before in my lessons, to provide a thorough analysis. To evaluate the two boroughs, I used many primary and secondary data sources. I emailed schools to access their lunch menus and searched through UK government databases and websites to find data that I could use. Finally, with the theories and knowledge I had learnt, I analysed my data to identify and explain trends. The majority of my resources are reliable as they’re published by institutions; however, there are a few websites I used which did not have an author or date published - therefore being unreliable - to carry my investigation through as I couldn’t find the information they provided me elsewhere.

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Average income

It’s recognised that 3 important factors responsible for developing T2D are diet, exercise and education. However, an important umbrella factor that can impact the type and extent of these 3 factors is average income. As well as differing T2D prevalence rates11, Harrow and Westminster also have a significant difference in average resident income with Harrow’s being £136.8/week less than Westminster's12.

Average Income: Food

Some action has been taken to combat the problem of cheap unhealthy food (UK sugar tax in 2014) but it’s usually insufficient and doesn’t address the bigger problem: healthier food being more expensive than unhealthy food.

Figure 1 11 London Diabetes Centre. (n.d.). What is type 2 diabetes? [online] Available at: https://londondiabetes.com/type-2/ [Accessed 14 Jun. 2022].

London datastore. (2002). Earnings by Place of Residence, Borough – London Datastore. [online] Available at: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/earnings-place-residence-borough.

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Figure 113 from the Food Foundation shows food and nutrient data from Public Health England’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey from 2010-2021. 79 food and drink items were categorised as either ‘more healthy’ (rich in protein, fruit, vegetables, fibre, nuts) or ‘less healthy’ (rich in saturated fats, salt and sugar) using the nutrient profiling model developed by the FSA14. The graph shows how little change has been made to combat the worrying price gap between healthy (top line) and unhealthy foods (bottom line) as healthy foods remain around 3x more expensive throughout the last decade. From this alone we can already see how income likely has a big role in the prevalence of T2D. The poorer you are, the less able you are to afford healthy food and protect yourself from the disease.

This is evident in research from the Food Foundation that states that “The poorest fifth of UK households would need to spend 40% of their disposable income on food to meet Eatwell Guide costs.

This compares to just 7% for the richest fifth.”15. This explains why poorer households rely more on unhealthy food for consumption than richer ones, as they try to minimise costs.

From the data above and knowledge that treating diabetes is a cost to the NHS, we can deduce that nutritional food is a normal good ( a good where its demand increases as income increases) and that unhealthy food is a demerit good. A demerit good creates a negative consumption externality (the consumption of the good harms a third party) and harms the consumer. By eating unhealthy food, consumers increase their likelihood of developing health problems like T2D which would then cost the NHS for treatment, specifically, 10% of its budget16.

Public Health England (2014). Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. Practical Diabetes International, [online] 18(8), pp.263–264. doi:10.1002/pdi.261.

13

Food Standards Agency. (2017). Nutrient profiling model for children. [online] Available at: https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/nutrient-profiling-model-for-children.

14

The State of the Nation’s Food System Ten vital signs documenting the health of our food system, how it impacts on our lives, and why we must change the food environment so that it delivers healthy and sustainable diets for everyone. (2021). [online] Available at: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-10/FF-Broken-Plate-2021.pdf.

15

NHS England (2022). NHS England» NHS Prevention Programme cuts chances of Type 2 diabetes for thousands. [online] www.england.nhs.uk. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2022/03/nhs-prevention-programme-cuts-chances-of-type-2-diabetes-for-thousands /.

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As healthy and unhealthy foods are substitutes we can look at their cross elasticity of demand to analyse how the changes in the price of one affects the demand for the other and how effective governmental policies are. Cross elasticity of demand can be calculated with the formula:

XED = ( Change in Quantity Demanded of Good A) / ( Change in Price of Good B )

We can expect XED to always be positive since an increase in the price of one will increase in demand for the other and vice versa. This is seen in Figure 2 which represents current policies in place to address excessive sugar consumption (like the sugar tax) and shows how they are impractical considering the economic motives for consuming unhealthy food. The price of unhealthy food increases from P1 to P2 which causes Demand for healthy food to increase from QD1 to QD2. In theory, this sounds beneficial but when we consider the fact that low-income households consume unhealthy food as it's more affordable you can see how making it more expensive wouldn’t help lower-income groups at all. Instead of healthy food being made more accessible, the cheaper unhealthy food which they relied on would be even less accessible than before.

Figure 2

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Only when the price of healthy food decreases, in Figure 3, does the Quantity Demanded of unhealthy food then decrease, although the same amount of people can have it fewer are willing now. This is the optimal result that the government should be hoping to achieve because when the price of healthy food decreases, demand for it will increase as more people are willing and can consume it.

Figure 3

From these graphs, we can see how important the price of different foods and the income available are to be able to have a healthy diet. They prove that to promote healthy eating for low-income groups, and to tackle health problems like T2D, the price of healthy food needs to come down.

Current policies like the sugar tax only promote healthier consumption for a higher-income demographic who are willing and able to consume healthy food regularly. These policies are also regressive in nature as lower-income groups become even poorer because they’re more pressured to consume these more expensive unhealthy goods. To tackle the prevalence of T2D in poorer boroughs in London like Harrow, healthy food needs to be subsidised instead.

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Average Income: Exercise

Public access to exercise is important for combating health problems, especially diabetes and obesity, as it improves cardiovascular health and mental health. Exercising regularly can prevent or control the onset of T2D which is why easy accessibility is important. Income can be a factor for exercise as those who can not afford private gyms rely on outdoor spaces like parks or council sports facilities.

However, these areas are predominantly run by local councils so the total tax revenue (influenced by income of residents) for the borough has a strong role in determining the availability of these spaces17. Therefore, we can predict that Westminster will have more open spaces and sports facilities as its council is likely to receive a lot more revenue than Harrow’s and will then be able to dedicate more funding to sports and leisure.

This is true as across England, ‘the most affluent 20 % of wards … have five times the amount of green space as the most deprived 10 %’ 18. A microcosm of this can be seen in London. While Westminster has 80 parks and gardens and 16 leisure and sports centres, Harrow has 28 parks and gardens and 4 centres. I disregarded the idea of population and area being variables in the number of facilities available as the populations of each borough don’t differ significantly - only by around 10,ooo19 - and Westminster is actually smaller than Harrow by 29km² 20 21.

Nrpa.org. (2015). Local Government Officials’ Perceptions of Parks and Recreation | Research | National Recreation and Park Association. [online] Available at: https://www.nrpa.org/publications-research/research-papers/local-government-officials-perceptions-of-parks-an d-recreation/.

17

House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee Public parks Seventh Report of Session 2016-17 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report. (2017). [online] Available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmcomloc/45/45.pdf.

18

Harrow Council London (2020). Harrow Local Economic Assessment 2019 - 2020 Population. [online] Available at: https://www.harrow.gov.uk/downloads/file/27931/population.

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20 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d.). City of Westminster | borough, London, United Kingdom. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/place/City-of-Westminster.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d.). Harrow | borough, London, United Kingdom | Britannica. [online] www.britannica.com. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/place/Harrow-borough-London.

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An associative relationship is evident between activity levels and exercise areas available as 31% of adults in Harrow and 21.8% in Westminster are classed as physically inactive under the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines22 23. This could be explained by how Westminster's council likely receives a lot more in tax revenue which means that it can fund its leisure and sport infrastructure more than Harrow’s council. However, in terms of number of areas to exercise in, Harrow does not perform poorly in regard to other boroughs so availability isn’t the focal point here, accessibility must be. The fact that Westminster is half the size of Harrow but has 3x as many green and sport spaces shows us that Harrow’s parks and centres are much less concentrated than in Westminster 24. This makes it harder for Harrow’s residents to access places to exercise than Westminster’s residents and explains why Harrow’s population is more likely to be unhealthier, have higher sustained blood glucose levels and develop T2D.

Overall, this proves that average income is a significant factor in prevalence of T2D as it affects the availability and, most importantly, accessibility of areas to exercise in.

22 Activate Your City, Lives and Neighbourhoods Physical Activity, Leisure and Sport Strategy Activate Your City, Lives and Neighbourhoods Physical Activity, Leisure and Sport Strategy. (2018). [online] Available at: https://active.westminster.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ActiveWestminster-Strategy-2018-2022.pdf [Accessed 14 Jun. 2022].

Active Harrow -Harrow Physical Activity and Sports Active Harrow Harrow Physical Activity and Sports Strategy 2016-20. (2016). [online] Available at: https://www.harrow.gov.uk/downloads/file/23316/physical-activity-and-sports-strategy-2016-to-2020.pdf.

23

ugeo.urbistat.com. (n.d.). Demographic statisticsMunicipality of WESTMINSTER, population density, population, average age, families, foreigners. [online] Available at: https://ugeo.urbistat.com/AdminStat/en/uk/demografia/dati-sintesi/westminster/138/4 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2022].

See 21, 22, 23 24

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Average Income : Education

Education on health and wellbeing is vital to increase awareness of the causes and effects of Type 2 diabetes, especially for children so that they grow up and live with knowledge of the right habits that could prevent them from developing the disease. I wanted to analyse education in each borough to see if it was a significant factor in the prevalence rates. To analyse education holistically I decided to look at three different aspects: the boroughs’ education quality of life index, Ofsted rating, and Attainment 8 Score (score based on how well pupils have performed in up to 8 qualifications including English, maths, sciences, humanities, languages, and others). Originally, I wanted to analyse the proportion of government-funded or private schools; however, there weren’t sufficient, accessible resources to find data. This would have been helpful as in a borough where the majority of schools are state-funded the average income could greatly affect the quality of education.

Figure 4

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If we look at Figure 425 which shows the Quality Of Life Index (average of three statistics: basic literacy rate, infant mortality, and life expectancy at age one. Ranging 0-1) for education in London’s boroughs we can see that Harrow receives a positive index of 0.6-0.8 26 whereas Westminster has a lower index of 0.4-0.627. This may seem surprising as a general hypothesis would be that the poorer borough has a worse standard and rating of education; however, we can start to see that there may not be as strong of a relationship between education quality and average income as previously hypothesised. This is supported by looking at further data from the UK Government which shows that at the end of Key Stage 4, in 2019, Harrow had an Attainment 8 Score of 50.9 - only 2.5 lower than Westminster - and, overall, schools in both boroughs had an average Ofsted rating of 2/Good out of 4/Inadequate 28.

Although there's a sizable difference in average income, this isn’t seen to negatively impact the standard or quality of education in each borough as the differences in Attainment 8 Scores are insignificant. We can assume that as long as education is to a good standard there will be sufficient education on health including diabetes given that all schools are required to teach about physical wellbeing 29. This is confirmed by research where “More than half of the participants demonstrated adequate or good knowledge and awareness about the symptoms, risk factors and lifestyle choices,

25 Higgins, P., Campanera, J. and Nobajas, A. (2012). Quality of life and spatial inequality in London. European Urban and Regional Studies, 21(1), pp.42–59. doi:10.1177/0969776412439201.

Government Digital Service (2019). All schools and colleges in Harrow. [online] Find and compare schools in England. Available at: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=default&table=schools®ion=31 0&geographic=la&for=secondary.

26

Government Digital Service (2019b). All schools and colleges in Westminster - GOV.UK. [online] Find and compare schools in England. Available at: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=default&table=schools®ion=21 3&geographic=la&for=secondary.

27

See 28; See 29 Department for Education (2019). All pupils will be taught about mental and physical wellbeing. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-pupils-will-be-taught-about-mental-and-physical-wellbeing.

28 29

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commonly associated with T2D”30 where participants were from 4 different London boroughs with highest prevalence of the disease, including Harrow. This shows that education isn’t a factor in prevalence of T2D.

Since the diabetes prevalence rates still differ a lot, although the education quality is very similar in the two boroughs, I wondered if school lunches could play a role in these rates. Although the children are educated on diabetes, school lunches help shape the dietary habits of children which could affect their future lifestyles and possible risk of diabetes. I contacted a primary school from each borough, randomly chosen from the councils’ official websites, and accessed the school menus (shown in the Appendix) so that I could analyse them. However, the number of days with meals with a main protein counterpart differed only by 1 between the menus and there were vegetables available on all days, both which are key in decreasing diabetes risk. This suggests that schools don't play a role in the prevalence of diabetes - both through education and meals - although analysing more school menus would increase the validity of this conclusion.

Diet

Given that T2D is a disease of mis-production of insulin levels and is propagated by increased glucose levels, some of the main factors of the disease’s prevalence are unexpectedly diet-related. Specifically, when the diet negatively impacts the production of insulin, increases glucose levels above a normal limit or exacerbates these effects.

Kayyali, R., Slater, N., Sahi, A., Mepani, D., Lalji, K. and Abdallah, A. (2019). Type 2 Diabetes: how informed are the general public? A cross-sectional study investigating disease awareness and barriers to communicating knowledge in high-risk populations in London. BMC Public Health, [online] 19(1). doi:10.1186/s12889-019-6460-7.

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Fats consist of three fatty acids and a glycerol molecule (shown in Figure 5 31). Recent research has shown that the total quantity of fat intake does not affect glucose homeostasis or T2D risk; however, the type of fatty acid has a strong role in whether it has a positive or adverse effect on T2D32 . This fact which isn’t very publicly known raises concerns over the accessible information about treating T2D as many health websites such as the NHS33 include only vague suggestions such as “reduce consumption of fats'' which can misinform the public since this isn’t ideal for treating diabetes.

Figure 5

Mills, Charlotte & Hall, Wendy & Berry, S. (2017). What are interesterified fats and should we be worried about them in our diet?. Nutrition Bulletin. 42. 10.1111/nbu.12264.

31

32 Ardisson Korat, A.V., Willett, W.C. and Hu, F.B. (2014). Diet, Lifestyle, and Genetic Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes: A Review from the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study 2, and Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study. Current Nutrition Reports, 3(4), pp.345–354. doi:10.1007/s13668-014-0103-5.

NHS Choices (2019a). Food and keeping active - Type 2 diabetes. [online] NHS. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/type-2-diabetes/food-and-keeping-active/.

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Figure 6

Figure 7

The two types of fats that have the most impact on T2D risk are trans fats (when Hydrogen atoms across a double bond are on opposite sides, shown in Figure 7)34 35 and polyunsaturated fats (more than 1 double bond between Carbon atoms, shown in Figure 6). While polyunsaturated fats have a positive effect by reducing risk of T2D, trans fats have a negative effect as they reduce cells’

milk & health. (2020). Fatty acids in all shapes and sizes. [online] Available at: https://www.milkandhealth.com/en/2020/06/14/fatty-acids-in-all-shapes-and-sizes/.

34

Allott, A. and Mindorff, D. (2014). Biology : Oxford IB diploma programme. Course Companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.329, 330–331, 511, 659, 664–666.

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membrane permeability, which reduces the cells’ insulin sensitivity - a key factor of T2D 36. Therefore, to reduce T2D risk, one should eat food high in polyunsaturated fats - like fish high in Omega, nuts and avoid food high in trans fats - like baked or processed goods, red meat.

Carbohydrates is another example of a macronutrient for which the type has more of an impact on diabetes risk rather than total quantity. An important classification is the glycaemic index (GI) which shows the relative ability of the carbohydrate to increase blood glucose levels. This value depends on how easily the carbohydrate can be broken down and therefore how quickly the blood sugar levels rise after digestion. As Type 2 diabetes can be caused by prolonged, elevated glucose levels then naturally a diet with high glycemic index would increase risk of T2D. This explains why those who consume sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) 1-2 times a day have 26% increased risk of T2D than those who drink less than one a month. A key ingredient in SSBs is high fructose corn syrup which has an extremely high GI of 73 37 . However, there are some unhealthy foods with a low GI and vice versa.

Diets which include complex carbohydrates such as wholegrain foods (that have low GI) have a strong association with risk reduction. For example, studies have concluded that “white rice was positively associated with an 17% increased risk of T2DM [type 2 diabetes] whereas brown rice was associated with an 11% risk reduction” proving that diet can affect one's likelihood of developing the disease. Furthermore, while vegetables are seen as healthy, the GI of different types is important to note. Pulses and leafy greens have a low GI and a “protective effect” against the disease 38 ; however, potatoes are an example of a vegetable that has a significant association with risk of T2D39.

36 Ardisson Korat, A.V., Willett, W.C. and Hu, F.B. (2014). Diet, Lifestyle, and Genetic Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes: A Review from the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study 2, and Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study. Current Nutrition Reports, 3(4), pp.345–354. doi:10.1007/s13668-014-0103-5.

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See 33

See 33 ; NHS Choices (2019b). What is the glycaemic index (GI)? [online] NHS. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/what-is-the-glycaemic-index-gi/.

38

Muraki, I., Rimm, E.B., Willett, W.C., Manson, J.E., Hu, F.B. and Sun, Q. (2015). Potato Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Results From Three Prospective Cohort Studies. Diabetes Care, 39(3), pp.376–384. doi:10.2337/dc15-0547.

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It can be concluded that diet has a strong impact on T2D prevalence as it's clear that one who eats whole grain foods rich in vegetables, protein, nuts and complex carbohydrates will be significantly less at risk of T2D than others. However, it’s important to note that the foods I've just listed tend to be more expensive than other foods rich in fats or sugars. Therefore, although diet has the most impact we must consider how average income then affects the accessibility of a healthy diet which I will elaborate on later.

Ethnicity

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Type 2 diabetes is strongly associated with genetic factors like age and ethnicity but I’ll focus on the latter as the average age in Harrow and Wetsminster differs minutely 40 so it probably has a small role to play in the contrasting prevalence of T2D in these boroughs.

Generally, all minority ethnic groups (except Irish) have a higher risk of developing T2D and having an earlier onset age too41. The highest risk factor is if you have a member of the immediate family with T2D as this can increase your risk by 2-6 times42 . Moreover, people of South Asian, African-Caribbean, Chinese or black African descent can be affected up to a decade or more earlier than white Europeans43. Furthermore, in the UK, South Asian groups with a BMI of 22kg/m2 have an equivalent diabetes prevalence to white groups with a BMI of 30kg/m2. As Asians and people of African descent have different staples in their diet to white people, such as white rice in Asia which increases diabetes risk, it’s possible that the ethnic disparities of T2D risk could be explained by diet or lifestyle; however, the size of the role that this could play would be hard to estimate and I couldn't find any resources that explored this cause44 .

A difference in the likelihood of developing T2D can also be seen between different sexes both in general and in different ethnicities. For example, as shown in Figure 8 below, men (at birth) in

Siebrits, J. (2016). London living 2016 A borough by borough review 2-3 CBRE Residential London living 2016. [online] Available at: https://www.cbreresidential.com/uk/sites/uk-residential/files/CBRE0352%20%20Borough%20by%20Borough %202016.pdf.

40

Public Health England (2014). Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. Practical Diabetes International, [online] 18(8), pp.263–264. doi:10.1002/pdi.261.

41

Diabetes UK (2017). Diabetes risk factors. [online] Diabetes UK. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/preventing-type-2-diabetes/diabetes-risk-factors.

42

Public Health England (2014). Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. Practical Diabetes International, [online] 18(8), pp.263–264. doi:10.1002/pdi.261.

43

Ardisson Korat, A.V., Willett, W.C. and Hu, F.B. (2014). Diet, Lifestyle, and Genetic Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes: A Review from the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study 2, and Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study. Current Nutrition Reports, 3(4), pp.345–354. doi:10.1007/s13668-014-0103-5.

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England are more likely to have T2D45. Yet, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian men are 3-4 times more likely to have T2D compared to male population. Relative to the biologically female population, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and black Caribbean women are 3-5 times more likely to have the disease 46.

Figure 8

45 London Diabetes Centre. (n.d.). Risks of type 2 diabetes. [online] Available at: https://londondiabetes.com/type-2/risks/ [Accessed 14 Jun. 2022].

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See 40

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Figure 9

Figure 9 above47 shows the general ethnic makeup of the London boroughs in 2020. We can see that Westminster has a significantly bigger white population (58,000 more) than Harrow which may contribute to its low diabetes prevalence rates as ethnically white people have much lower risks and a later average onset age. The only ethnic minority Harrow has more of is Asian and by nearly 100,000.

Knowing that both Harrow and Westminster have similar proportions of male and female sex and that male and female asians are similarly more at risk of T2D, we can see how Asian ethnic groups play a role in Harrow’s higher prevalence rates. The greatly contrasting prevalence rates in Harrow and Westminster - 4.02% and 9.58% respectively48 - and proportion of non-white ethnic groups

London.gov.uk. (2011). Ethnic Groups by Borough – London Datastore. [online] Available at: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/ethnic-groups-borough.

47

Diabetes UK (2019). New Figures Show Rise in Diabetes Rates across London. [online] Diabetes UK. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/in_your_area/london/london-region-news-/new-figures-rise-diabetes.

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compared to the population confirm that ethnicity could have a significant role in affecting rates of T2D in London.

The causes for the ethnic differences in susceptibility for T2D are most likely because of different insulin resistances or levels of insulin secretion as these are key factors in T2D prevalence. This is proven by studies that show that Mexican Americans and Asian Americans who have increased insulin resistance49. There are theories that there could be genetic differences across races; yet, although 40 genes have been identified for diabetes susceptibility, they don’t vary across ethnicities or races50. Considering the wide variety of ethnicities, there is worryingly little information on diabetes in minorities and is mostly due to a lack of wide-scale research into diabetes in ethnic minorities.

Spanakis, E.K. and Golden, S.H. (2013). Race/Ethnic Difference in Diabetes and Diabetic Complications.

Current Diabetes Reports, [online] 13(6), pp.814–823. doi:10.1007/s11892-013-0421-9.

49

50

See 46

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Conclusion It can be argued that the factor that affects prevalence of Type 2 diabetes the most is average income as it’s an umbrella factor that impacts the diet choice and exercise of people which are both important determinants- this shows how important an interdisciplinary approach is. Analysing the cross elasticities of demand was important in determining that decreasing the price of healthy food was the best method to encourage healthy eating and should be more focused on by the government when making policies. I don’t think the few unreliable resources I used impacted my investigation as there wasn’t any data that seemed anomalous and could have changed the course of my essay. Regarding the global pattern of T2D prevalence, a contrary pattern was seen in London where poorer regions displayed higher prevalence. This could be because the healthcare standards, and therefore number of T2D diagnoses, would differ far more between richer and poorer countries than between 2 boroughs in London. Where in London, poorer populations rely more on unhealthy foods, the opposite trend might be seen globally which could explain the global trend as poorer countries will have less access to processed foods with trans-fats. As London living standards are relatively high compared to the rest of the UK, a more informative investigation could have been conducted between districts across the UK as healthcare standards might differ a lot more than between Harrow and Westminster.

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Active Harrow -Harrow Physical Activity and Sports Active Harrow Harrow Physical Activity and Sports Strategy 2016-20. (2016). [online] Available at: https://www.harrow.gov.uk/downloads/file/23316/physical-activity-and-sports-strategy-2016-to-20 20.pdf.

Ali, O. (2013). Genetics of type 2 diabetes. World Journal of Diabetes, [online] 4(4), p.114. doi:10.4239/wjd.v4.i4.114.

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Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.329, 330–331, 511, 659, 664–666.

Ardisson Korat, A.V., Willett, W.C. and Hu, F.B. (2014). Diet, Lifestyle, and Genetic Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes: A Review from the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study 2, and Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study. Current Nutrition Reports, 3(4), pp.345–354. doi:10.1007/s13668-014-0103-5.

Department for Education (2019). All pupils will be taught about mental and physical wellbeing. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-pupils-will-be-taught-about-mental-and-physical-wellbei ng.

Diabetes UK (2017). Diabetes risk factors. [online] Diabetes UK. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/preventing-type-2-diabetes/diabetes-risk-factors.

Diabetes UK (2019). New Figures Show Rise in Diabetes Rates across London. [online] Diabetes UK. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/in_your_area/london/london-region-news-/new-figures-rise-diabetes.

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FitnessGenes (2020). Your Saturated Fat Response (APOA2) Trait | FitnessGenes®. [online] FitnessGenes official website. Available at: https://fitnessgenes.com/blog/your-saturated-fat-response-apoa2-trait/.

Food Standards Agency (2017). Nutrient profiling model for children. [online] Food Standards Agency. Available at: https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/nutrient-profiling-model-for-children.

Government Digital Service (2019a). All schools and colleges in Harrow. [online] Find and compare schools in England. Available at: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=default&table=scho ols®ion=310&geographic=la&for=secondary.

Government Digital Service (2019b). All schools and colleges in Westminster - GOV.UK. [online] Find and compare schools in England. Available at: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=default&table=scho ols®ion=213&geographic=la&for=secondary.

Harrow Council London (2020). Harrow Local Economic Assessment 2019 - 2020 Population. [online] Available at: https://www.harrow.gov.uk/downloads/file/27931/population.

Higgins, P., Campanera, J. and Nobajas, A. (2012). Quality of life and spatial inequality in London.

European Urban and Regional Studies, 21(1), pp.42–59. doi:10.1177/0969776412439201.

Hill, J. (2013). Understanding the Social Factors That Contribute to Diabetes: A Means to Informing Health Care and Social Policies for the Chronically Ill. The Permanente Journal, [online] 17(2), pp.67–72. doi:10.7812/tpp/12-099.

HM Treasury (2018). Soft Drinks Industry Levy comes into effect. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/soft-drinks-industry-levy-comes-into-effect.

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Kayyali, R., Slater, N., Sahi, A., Mepani, D., Lalji, K. and Abdallah, A. (2019). Type 2 Diabetes: how informed are the general public? A cross-sectional study investigating disease awareness and barriers 25

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to communicating knowledge in high-risk populations in London. BMC Public Health, [online] 19(1). doi:10.1186/s12889-019-6460-7.

Khan, M.A., Hashim, M.J., King, J., Govender, R.D., Mustafa, H. and Al Kaabi, J. (2020).

Epidemiology of Type 2 Diabetes – Global Burden of Disease and Forecasted Trends. Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health, 10(1). doi:10.2991/jegh.k.191028.001.

Kirkman, M.S., Briscoe, V.J., Clark, N., Florez, H., Haas, L.B., Halter, J.B., Huang, E.S., Korytkowski, M.T., Munshi, M.N., Odegard, P.S., Pratley, R.E. and Swift, C.S. (2012). Diabetes in Older Adults.

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London datastore. (2002). Earnings by Place of Residence, Borough – London Datastore. [online] Available at: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/earnings-place-residence-borough.

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London.gov.uk. (2011). Ethnic Groups by Borough – London Datastore. [online] Available at: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/ethnic-groups-borough. milk & health. (2020). Fatty acids in all shapes and sizes. [online] Available at: https://www.milkandhealth.com/en/2020/06/14/fatty-acids-in-all-shapes-and-sizes/.

Mills, Charlotte & Hall, Wendy & Berry, S. (2017). What are interesterified fats and should we be worried about them in our diet?. Nutrition Bulletin. 42. 10.1111/nbu.12264.

Muraki, I., Rimm, E.B., Willett, W.C., Manson, J.E., Hu, F.B. and Sun, Q. (2015). Potato Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Results From Three Prospective Cohort Studies. Diabetes Care, 39(3), pp.376–384. doi:10.2337/dc15-0547.

NHS Choices (2019a). Food and keeping active - Type 2 diabetes. [online] NHS. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/type-2-diabetes/food-and-keeping-active/.

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NHS Choices (2019b). What is the glycaemic index (GI)? [online] NHS. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/what-is-the-glycaemic-index-gi/.

NHS Digital. (2020). Part 5: Physical activity. [online] Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-obesity-physical-a ctivity-and-diet/england-2020/part-5-adult-physical-activity-copy.

NHS England (2022). NHS England» NHS Prevention Programme cuts chances of Type 2 diabetes for thousands. [online] www.england.nhs.uk. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2022/03/nhs-prevention-programme-cuts-chances-of-type-2-diabetes -for-thousands/.

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Public Health England (2014). Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. Practical Diabetes International, [online] 18(8), pp.263–264. doi:10.1002/pdi.261.

Saravanan, N., Haseeb, A., Ehtesham, N.Z. and Ghafoorunissa (2005). Differential effects of dietary saturated and trans-fatty acids on expression of genes associated with insulin sensitivity in rat adipose tissue. European Journal of Endocrinology, [online] 153(1), pp.159–165. doi:10.1530/eje.1.01946.

Siebrits, J. (2016). London living 2016 A borough by borough review 2-3 CBRE Residential London living 2016. [online] Available at: https://www.cbreresidential.com/uk/sites/uk-residential/files/CBRE0352%20%20Borough%20by% 20Borough%202016.pdf.

Spanakis, E.K. and Golden, S.H. (2013). Race/Ethnic Difference in Diabetes and Diabetic Complications. Current Diabetes Reports, [online] 13(6), pp.814–823. doi:10.1007/s11892-013-0421-9.

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d.). Harrow | borough, London, United Kingdom | Britannica. [online] www.britannica.com. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/place/Harrow-borough-London.

The State of the Nation’s Food System Ten vital signs documenting the health of our food system, how it impacts on our lives, and why we must change the food environment so that it delivers healthy and sustainable diets for everyone. (2021). [online] Available at: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-10/FF-Broken-Plate-2021.pdf. ugeo.urbistat.com. (n.d.). Demographic statisticsMunicipality of WESTMINSTER, population density, population, average age, families, foreigners. [online] Available at: https://ugeo.urbistat.com/AdminStat/en/uk/demografia/dati-sintesi/westminster/138/4 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2022].

World Health Organization (2021). Diabetes. [online] World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes.

Appendix

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Lunch Menu from website of Glebe Primary School in Harrow

Lunch Menu from website of Christ Church Bentick CE Primary School in Westminster

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Theory of Knowledge

Theory of Knowledge - The Spine of the IB Theory of Knowledge, or ToK, lies at the heart of the IB Diploma programme: it provides students with an opportunity to explore and reflect on the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing.

By exploring different types of knowledge and the different means by which they are acquired, ToK seeks to answer the fundamental question: how do we know anything? It does this by looking at a range of subjects students will study as part of their IB Diploma. Consequently, it is stimulatingly cross-curricular, linking ideas across several disciplines and comparing one discipline’s methods of obtaining knowledge with another’s. It is an invigorating challenge for all IB students, particularly following the clear demarcation of GCSE subjects.

The assessment is divided between an exhibition and an essay. Towards the end of the Lower Sixth year students are asked to select a prompt question from 35 available titles and to identify three objects that they deem useful real life manifestations of their chosen prompt; each object is accompanied by a short written explanation. In the Autumn Term of the Upper Sixth year, students are presented with six ToK essay questions from which they select one title; their completed 1600 word essay is a culmination of their ToK study and approaches an intriguing knowledge question by looking at two contrasting academic fields. The following exemplar essays (from Alexandra Bobokalis, Mina Jankovic and Maya Ristvedt) give a flavour of the impressive extent of knowledge students themselves acquire!

Ms Butterworth ToK Coordinator

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For artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained? Discuss with reference to the arts and natural sciences.

Word Count: 1599

Within different disciplines, the motivations for producing knowledge vary. The knowledge that is investigated and formed is affected by what drives producers of knowledge, and how they can use prior understanding. When discussing what is ‘more important’ in areas of knowledge, we are considering what influences its creation more, and how individuals are prompted to pursue this (whether based on what we already understand, or curiosity). In this context, being able to explain means linking new information or concepts to the existing body of knowledge. These definitions limit the exploration of this question to solely the production of knowledge, rather than the interpretation, as we are focusing on people who develop knowledge. It is also important to distinguish the nature of what is ‘more important’ for producers of knowledge between the disciplines that will be discussed (art and natural science). In the arts, we can talk about what is more powerful in providing artists with the inspiration to express an idea. Contrastingly, in the natural sciences, what is ‘more important’ is more relevant to driving the pursuit of knowledge and providing scientists with the curiosity to seek it.

The production of knowledge can often be driven by a lack of understanding in an aspect of a discipline, and curiosity to explain how a phenomenon works. Knowledge itself can be seen as an understanding of how anything behaves, and can suggest a familiarity or experience with a concept. So an individual will be motivated by an unexplored notion or something they cannot explain about the world around them and subsequently pursue knowledge. This can be

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seen clearly in many aspects of natural science. For example, a great deal of investigation has gone into understanding how our universe came to be formed. The most widely accepted theory of this in Physics is the Big Bang Theory, first suggested by Georges Lemaître in the 1920s1, but later developed by Edwin Hubble (and others). The theory claims that the universe started as a small, hot, dense mass which expanded rapidly, releasing energy and matter and creating what we know as our universe. However this theory was only investigated after scientists observed other galaxies rapidly moving away from ours in all directions, suggesting that a force had pushed them outwards from a single point. This example shows how many investigations in the natural sciences originate from observed phenomena. The production of knowledge was driven by a desire to understand and explain the origins of the universe, after observing certain factors that the scientists were unable to explain, demonstrating that what cannot be explained will often encourage the pursuit of knowledge in natural science.

However, there are instances in which the individual producing knowledge does so based on concepts that we can already explain. Rather than pursuing knowledge due to curiosity or a desire to expand our understanding of an idea, an individual may be triggered to produce knowledge to create useful applications of a theory. This can be seen in natural science, where scientists use the process of cloning to produce stem cells. This is done through implanting a human body cell into the membrane of an unfertilised egg cell2, causing the production of stem cells. As stem cells are unspecialised, they can later differentiate into

Greshko, M. (2017). The origins of the universe, explained. [online] National Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/origins-of-the-universe [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

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Tate, K. (2013). How Stem Cell Cloning Works (Infographic). [online] Live Science. Available at: https://www.livescience.com/32079-how-stem-cell-cloning-works-infographic.html [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

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other types of cell - genetically identical to the patient’s - to replace damaged ones. In this example, the motivation for the scientist to produce knowledge was not an inability to explain phenomena or concepts, but was instead motivated by a potential application (i.e. patients with damaged cells in need of a transplant). In this case, what was more important for the scientist was developing and furthering the knowledge based on concepts that could already be explained. Therefore we can see that the motivations of scientists will differ within natural science. Whilst some pursue knowledge through investigations in order to turn the unexplained into the explained, others seek to develop prior understanding to widen the scope of existing knowledge through application. What is more important to a scientist depends on what they are individually encouraged by and their particular goals or intentions.

The production of knowledge within art is often associated with expression or representation, and artists generally use their art form as a way to express what cannot be seen through other forms. However while an artist seeks to express, they do not need or aim to ‘explain’ in the strict sense. In this context, we are not referring to the interpretation of the art by its viewers, but rather the driving force of its creation. An example of this is Pablo Picasso, notably in his piece ‘Guernica’. Picasso was known for expressing complex emotions through his artworks, and the oil painting ‘Guernica’ (1937), is known as one of his most emotionally powerful works. It is an expression of tragedy of the bombing in Guernica that happened in the same year as it was painted, illustrating the horror and fear of the Spanish Civil War3 through his shocking depiction of the abstract figures. Although it was created to be presented at the International Exposition in Paris, the motivations behind this emotional piece were the traumatising events of the war and bombing. Picasso translated his sentiments into symbolic images, illustrating the terror of the situation in visual form. This is an example of how artists Leal, P.E. (2019). Guernica. [online] Museoreinasofia.es. Available at: https://www.museoreinasofia.es/en/collection/artwork/guernica [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

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may transform ideas that cannot be expressed verbally into a visual representation. What prompts artists to create pieces similar to this is the desire to understand and express feelings, provoking them to produce this knowledge through images.

From a slightly different perspective, the production of knowledge typically requires a foundation of understanding of the discipline in order to be pursued. Without a grasp of the processes and limitations of producing knowledge within a certain area, it is rare that an individual will be driven to seek it. Scientists would not be inspired to develop scientific knowledge without a basic understanding of processes and methodology within natural science. Similarly, artists are limited to producing knowledge by their ability to represent it.

In many disciplines within art, the ability to manipulate the art form is necessary in the creation. An example of this is the French artist Georges Seurat. Although the underlying messages of his pieces were motivated by social ideologies that reflected his views towards society, Seurat was able to represent this due to his detailed understanding of technical approaches to art (e.g. the composition of scenes to represent separation between figures).

What was most important to the representation of his ideas was his technical ability - a motivation derived from what could already be explained. This idea isn’t limited to visual art; composing music also requires understanding of music theory in order to convey ideas effectively. This perspective implies that whilst concepts that cannot necessarily be explained are at the core of artists’ motivations, what may be more important in allowing them to produce knowledge is their understanding of what can already be explained.

Exploring the above concepts further, we can look at what is more important for artists involved in different aspects of production. The idea of an artist communicating inexplicable concepts through their work is not unique to visual arts, in the composition of music the artist

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often translates incomprehensible ideas into an art form in order to pursue their representation. Within music, there are different musicians involved in the process of creating this knowledge - the composer and the performer (which do not have to be the same person).

As an example, consider Robert Schumann’s ‘Kinderszenen’. Translated to ‘Scenes from Childhood’, it is a collection of piano pieces created as a reflection of a child’s emotions and an expression of the incomprehensible nature of nostalgia4. What was most important for the process of creating were these emotions that he could not explain, and only attempted to express through audible representation. Whilst for the composition of the music the artist found more importance in what he could not explain, the performance of the music differs.

For a performer, what is more important could be both the inexplicable emotions trying to be expressed through the music, but also the technical understanding of the piece required in order to perform. The production of this form of knowledge is limited by the performer’s ability to interpret the music, suggesting that what can be explained is important to this.

In conclusion, whether what can or cannot be explained is more important to artists and scientists will depend on the motivations for the production of the knowledge (true for both disciplines). For scientists, they are typically driven by curiosity that promotes research and development into natural science, suggesting that what cannot be explained is more important to their intentions, however in many cases scientists are prompted to explore through prior understanding. What is more important to an artist depends largely on the nature of their work. Whether they are inspired primarily by emotions or sentiments that they can only explain through the art form and whether the expression of these ideas is limited by the nature of their art itself will distinguish whether what can or cannot be explained is more important to their goal. The ambiguous nature of art suggests that artists could be driven by any concept Hollywood Bowl. (n.d.). Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (Robert Schumann). [online] Available at: https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/musicdb/pieces/2145/kinderszenen-op-15 [Accessed 11 Dec. 2022].

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and create art from it. There is a suggestion however that an artist’s purpose is to provide perspectives on the incomprehensible essence of the world, suggesting that what is most important conceptually is the inability to explain. It is difficult to debate what is definitively ‘more important’ as what individuals are driven by relies on their intentions and goals.

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Bibliography

Greshko, M. (2017). The origins of the universe, explained. [online] National Geographic.

Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/origins-of-the-universe [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

Hollywood Bowl. (n.d.). Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (Robert Schumann). [online] Available at: https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/musicdb/pieces/2145/kinderszenen-op-15 [Accessed 11 Dec. 2022].

Leal, P.E. (2019). Guernica. [online] Museoreinasofia.es. Available at: https://www.museoreinasofia.es/en/collection/artwork/guernica [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

Tate, K. (2013). How Stem Cell Cloning Works (Infographic). [online] Live Science.

Available at: https://www.livescience.com/32079-how-stem-cell-cloning-works-infographic.html [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

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Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge?

Discuss with references to the human sciences and mathematics.

Word count: 1430

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To outline the meaning of this question, this essay will consider ‘visual representations’ to include diagrams, charts and models and the phrase ‘communication’ to signify the presentation, passing on and transfer of knowledge to other knowers. The argument for visual representations being helpful will mean that visual representations aid and support the understanding of the particular piece of knowledge being communicated and the argument against visual representations being helpful will mean that the visual representations did not contribute to the overall gain of knowledge during the communication of it. However, it is important to address the use of the word ‘always’ in the title question, which deems the affirmative argument to the question to be absolute. In reality, this will not consistently be the case due to the fact that knowers cannot be generalised and that there will inevitably be exceptions, given the distinct ways in which different types of people best absorb new knowledge as well as the general individuality of the knower and the personal experience of receiving knowledge that is being communicated.

Therefore, in this essay I will explore, through examples within the Human Sciences and Mathematics, the ways in which visual representations are absolutely helpful in the communication of knowledge, ways in which they provide no further value to the communication of knowledge and also cases in which the use of visual representations can sometimes be helpful in the communication of knowledge, depending on specific circumstances.

In the Area of Knowledge of the Human Sciences, there is the discipline of Economics which withholds a multitude of diagrams to model theories. For example, the Milanovic elephant graph models the percentiles of global income distribution

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depending on changes in real income1 and can be used as an example for the perspective of visual representations being absolutely helpful in the communication of knowledge.

Figure 1. The Milanovic elephant graph.2 It can be argued that without the graph and figures extracted from the graph, the otherwise verbal or written communication of this knowledge would be incoherent and would not convey the continuity of global income distribution with real income changes as the diagram visually portrays. In this case, the graphical representation of this knowledge is helpful in the communication and dissemination of it as it provides a concise and clear outlook on the relationship being conveyed. This is because the diagram itself does not require further explanation and therefore helps in the communication of the knowledge it represents. This is also because diagrams can be better interpreted by more cultures due to their universality, where some key Corlett, A. (2016). Examining an elephant Globalisation and the lower middle class of the rich world. [online] pp.5. Available at: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/app/uploads/2016/09/Examining-an-elephant.pdf [Accessed 29 Oct. 2022].

2 Corak, M. (2016). The winners and losers of globalization, Branko Milanovic’s new book on inequality answers two important questions. [online] Economics for public policy. Available at: https://milescorak.com/2016/05/18/the-winners-and-losers-of-globalization-branko-milanovics-new-bo ok-on-inequality-answers-two-important-questions/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2022].

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factors regarding this economic relationship could otherwise get lost in translation without the aid of the diagram. The Milanovic elephant graph is helpful when communicating the particular knowledge it illustrates because the diagram can be used as a tool to directly compare the different percentiles that it presents, for example. Therefore, the diagram is a way of objectively and unambiguously modelling the economic theory and is helpful because as a result, the relationship modelled can be better understood and therefore communicated more efficiently.

Additionally, the diagram makes the information more memorable for the purpose of further dissemination and communication of the knowledge.

Another example within the Human Sciences is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs diagram in the field of Psychology, depicting the progression of needs from survival to emotional-based demands.

Figure 2. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs diagram.3 The visual representation may aid some knowers who prefer absorbing new knowledge in the form of diagrams, however the absence of the visual 3 McLeod, S. (2018). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. [online] Simply Psychology, Simply Psychology, pp.1–16. Available at: https://canadacollege.edu/dreamers/docs/Maslows-Hierarchy-of-Needs.pdf [Accessed 28 Oct. 2022].

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representation of the pyramid would not have otherwise impeded communication of knowledge due to the diagram being predominantly text-based. In fact, it has been criticised4 that the use of the diagram may hinder communication as people may misunderstand what it represents due to the lack of specificity of the research represented in the diagram such as the meaning of each layer in the structure of the diagram. Additionally, the diagram likely needs clarification itself when communicating it due to the possibility of multiple interpretations among knowers as individuals and as distinct communities. This therefore deems the use of the visual representation of the knowledge unhelpful regarding its communication. As a result, within the Area of Knowledge of the Human Sciences, visual representations can be appreciated however may not further support the communication of the knowledge and may even miscommunicate the knowledge. Thus, it cannot be said that visual representations are always helpful in the communication of knowledge. Despite this, in most cases within the Area of Knowledge of the Human Sciences, graphs and charts particularly (as mentioned in the example within Economics) can provide further useful material when knowledge is being presented and is therefore helpful in its communication.

In the Area of Knowledge of Mathematics, visual representations can be helpful to depict laws and concepts such as circle theorems5, so that the knowledge is communicated more explicitly. More widely in the field of Mathematics specifically, research has been proven that “diagrams can support students to represent a

Horton, M. (2022). A Critique of Maslow Hierarchy of Needs. [online] www.linkedin.com. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/critique-maslow-hierarchy-needs-mark-horton-mba?trk=pulse-article_ more-articles_related-content-card [Accessed 12 Dec. 2022].

5 Bolter, J., Linsky, J., Tanner, K. and Western, B. (2011). GCSE Mathematics Edexcel 2010. Pearson Education.

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situation”6 which therefore suggests that diagrams provide a helpful means of transferring or communicating knowledge to other knowers.

Figure 3. Diagrammatic representation of the circle theorems.7 In this example, the visual representation is helpful in communicating circle theorem knowledge because without the drawn-out shapes, other descriptions of the circle theorems, when passing the knowledge on to others, would potentially be less explicit and less lucid. Whilst the implication of the knowledge itself could still be passed on without the diagram, the visual aid is helpful nonetheless and using it undoubtedly has the potential to assist its communication to other knowers. For instance, when I was taught the circle theorems in class, having the theory being represented in diagrams personally aided me in understanding it better and therefore its communication to me as a knower was beneficial and therefore helpful.

www.education.vic.gov.au. (2019). Drawing a diagram. [online] Available at: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/english/literacy/Pages/l im_drawingdiagram.aspx [Accessed 11 Dec. 2022].

7 www.onlinemathlearning.com. (2005). Circle Theorems (examples, solutions, videos, worksheets, games, activities). [online] Available at: https://www.onlinemathlearning.com/theorem-circle.html [Accessed 10 Dec. 2022].

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Another example within the Area of Knowledge of Mathematics is probability tree diagrams.

Figure 4. An example of a probability tree diagram. 8 The visual representation of probability theory shown in Figure 4 can sometimes be helpful in the communication of knowledge as the diagram provides further means to communicate the knowledge being presented. Whether the representation of the theory as a diagram is helpful or not depends on how the new knowers can comprehend such information but regardless, the presence and availability of using the diagram to communicate the knowledge is useful and can provide further aid in the dissemination of the knowledge. In this case, visual representations such as diagrams may be helpful as an alternative presentation and communication method of such concepts in order to provide a supporting perspective when communicating the knowledge, although the extent to which the visual representation tool is helpful depends on the knower.

Although, this is where the limits to the title question and therefore each perspective become apparent because the use of the word ‘always’ sets absolute terms to each Third Space Learning. (n.d.). Probability tree diagram. [online] Available at: https://thirdspacelearning.com/gcse-maths/probability/probability-tree-diagram/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2022].

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argument when in reality, different communities of knowers can never be referred to as a collective unit. Different knowers have different preferred learning techniques, where some may prefer the aid of a visual representation whilst some may learn best with a more text-based or word-based approach. This therefore inhibits us from promoting the affirmative argument due to the absolute term, ‘always’, since visual representations of knowledge are just tools that some people may prefer or may disregard under various circumstances. Visual representations cannot be definitively and objectively helpful for every real-world case of knowledge communication and may in fact, play a role in the miscommunication of knowledge.

Overall, it is impossible to state that visual representations are always helpful in the communication of knowledge because this depends on the specific knowledge being communicated as well as the receiver of the knowledge and whether they are naturally more visual learners or more auditory or logical learners. Knowledge can sometimes be displayed in the form of a visual representation and then whilst being communicated, it can act as a tool for better understanding as the knowledge is broken down into smaller details, which maps out the entire piece of information.

However, if the knowledge being communicated is more complex, visual representations may not be helpful and may in fact inhibit the knowledge being transmitted and communicated successfully. Furthermore, the nature or presentation of the visual representation may impede the efficacy of the communication of the knowledge due to the different forms ‘visual representations’ can take, as explored in this essay (i.e. models, graphs or drawings). As a result, visual representations may be helpful in the communication of knowledge but will not ”always” be the case due to the limiting factors involved such as the recipient of the knowledge, the type of visual representation and any alternate means of communication involved.

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Bibliography 1. Bolter, J., Linsky, J., Tanner, K. and Western, B. (2011). GCSE Mathematics Edexcel 2010. Pearson Education.

2. Corak, M. (2016). The winners and losers of globalization, Branko Milanovic’s new book on inequality answers two important questions. [online] Economics for public policy. Available at: https://milescorak.com/2016/05/18/the-winners-and-losers-of-globalization-bra nko-milanovics-new-book-on-inequality-answers-two-important-questions/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2022].

3. Corlett, A. (2016). Examining an elephant Globalisation and the lower middle class of the rich world. [online] Available at: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/app/uploads/2016/09/Examining-an-elep hant.pdf [Accessed 29 Oct. 2022].

4. Horton, M. (2022). A Critique of Maslow Hierarchy of Needs. [online] www.linkedin.com. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/critique-maslow-hierarchy-needs-mark-hortonmba?trk=pulse-article_more-articles_related-content-card [Accessed 12 Dec. 2022].

5. McLeod, S. (2018). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. [online] Simply Psychology, Simply Psychology. Available at: https://canadacollege.edu/dreamers/docs/Maslows-Hierarchy-of-Needs.pdf [Accessed 28 Oct. 2022].

6. Third Space Learning. (n.d.). Probability tree diagram. [online] Available at: https://thirdspacelearning.com/gcse-maths/probability/probability-tree-diagram / [Accessed 10 Dec. 2022].

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7. www.education.vic.gov.au. (2019). Drawing a diagram. [online] Available at: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline /english/literacy/Pages/lim_drawingdiagram.aspx [Accessed 11 Dec. 2022].

8. www.onlinemathlearning.com. (2005). Circle Theorems (examples, solutions, videos, worksheets, games, activities). [online] Available at: https://www.onlinemathlearning.com/theorem-circle.html [Accessed 10 Dec. 2022].

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To what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use? Discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge.

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Methodology can be defined as the manner in which knowledge can be acquired.

This differs from one area of knowledge to another, and from one example within each area to another. I will focus on the areas of knowledge of History and Natural Science, interweaving this with the framework of methods and tools. These areas arguably hold similar motivations - to attain a greater understanding of the world that surrounds us, as well as (for the historians, scientists and the governments they work for, as we will analyse in later examples) the cultivation of a narrative that suits their political context and enhances their power, soft or hard. Soft power is that of persuasion, and can be greatly affected by alterations in history, whereas hard power is the use of violence and material weapons to gain control. Additionally, while each area produces knowledge through a different methodology, both use technology as a tool to carry out their methodology, and, in both areas, technological advancements have correlated with advancements in the production of knowledge.

History can be defined as the study of the recorded past1. We can only study time periods where records are available for analysis; historical knowledge can never be obtained from events which were never documented. By its nature, narration of historical events takes place at a completely different time period than when the events actually took place. With different time periods, follows shifts in opinion and belief. Therefore, the context in which the historians live, rather than the methodology they use, can have an effect on the historical knowledge produced. The arc of historical methodology is the selection of a subject, the identification of relevant sources and ideas, the reflection on the accessibility of these sources, the Gulinck, An. “History.” TOK 2022: THEORY of KNOWLEDGE WEBSITE for the IBDP, 2019, www.tok2022.net/history.html.

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synthesis of these sources to one principle conclusion, and finally, the presentation of this conclusion to other historians. With an agenda in mind, historians may follow this formula, but choose their sources selectively to fit a predetermined narrative. For example, since the growth of the civil rights movement in the USA, as textbooks expanded their reportage of slavery, ‘white authors downplayed the role of slavery in the North, suggesting it was a regional rather than a national concern’2. In a modern context, where slavery is detested, this served to free the North of blame and secure its status as the liberators of slavery in the USA. In this case, methodology did not determine the production of knowledge, but rather the end goal of how a region’s image wanted to be portrayed did. Indeed, many textbooks failed to point out that the first colony to legalize slavery was not Virginia but Massachusetts3. These omissions alter our historical knowledge, casting the North as intrinsically democratic, and slaveholding a temporary aberration, in an attempt to increase its soft power in today’s world. Modern culture, where the USA hugely values its democratic principles in an increasingly polarised political climate, determined this knowledge, arguably using the methodology formula, but in a calculated way, only selecting the sources that fit its narrative.

Another essential component of the historian that influences knowledge produced is their background. Since subjectivity and bias is an unavoidable reality for a historian, their origin will influence their perspective and the lens at which they view historical sources. The most significant barrier to the production of historical knowledge is accessibility of sources. While some sources may be deemed unreliable, they do 2 “The Problem of Bias in US History Textbooks and Curriculum.” Soeonline.american.edu, May 2021, soeonline.american.edu/blog/bias-in-history-textbooks/.

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Ibid.

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provide us with knowledge on the entity that created the source, so are not entirely irrelevant. But the complete absence of information provides no information, and leaves a gap in our historical knowledge. However, historians from certain beliefs or nationalities where there exists a gap in historical knowledge, may undergo historical methodology to explore their under-researched background. For example, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is ‘dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide’4. This institute was created to uncover previously ignored Jewish history. Therefore, all research is done under a Jewish lens, all the knowledge produced is geared towards a specific perspective, with a specific purpose other than simple historical curiosity. It is not used to neglect other perspectives but to highlight one that is often ignored. This purpose, rather than the use of methodology, is the determining factor for the production of knowledge. Therefore, it is important, when analysing sources, to examine the historian as well, to fully understand the motivation and purpose of their research that could influence their perspective.

However, advancements in the tools used to carry out historical methodology show the large impact enhanced methodology has on producing knowledge. These have helped historians overcome obstacles to produce more extensive and accurate studies. For example, until recently, the bodies of Pompeii were trapped by thick plastic casts, preventing close examination. But with the help of new CT scanning, the preserved contents can be revealed. Furthermore, with the combination of specialist software, 3D reconstructions of the body are being created. Early results

“YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.” YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, www.yivo.org.

Accessed 17 Nov. 2022.

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have surprised historians, revealing residents to have a similar life expectancy to populations today5. This indicates how an improvement in historical methodology the step of identifying sources - is positively correlated with improvements in historical knowledge. With tools being the mechanism that carries out methodology, this shows how, with the absence of an agenda, methodology can truly determine the production of knowledge.

Unlike history, natural sciences is often viewed as an objective, quantitative discipline. It is concerned with facts independent from human beings and uses reasoning and observation to explore the natural world around us. The arc of natural science methodology is: a scientist making an observation, then devising a theory and using this theory to make a prediction, testing this prediction with the use of experiments, using peer review as validation. If the prediction is wrong, the theory is discarded and a new one is devised, if the prediction is correct, the theory is accepted. However, similar to history, the production of scientific knowledge can also be determined by political context, rather than methodology. This being a factor does not change the methodology, but it changes the motivation for the production of scientific knowledge. For example, during the Space Race of the Cold War, the 1957 success of Russian satellite, Sputnik, led to a boost in American aerospace science.

As a result, NASA and the Explorer 1 satellite were created 6. In this case, scientists produced knowledge due to the tangible pressure placed on them by the

5 Bacino, Lorenza. “New Technology Helps Pompeii Rise from the Ashes - Positive News.”

Positive News, 19 July 2016, www.positive.news/science/new-technology-helps-pompeii-rise-ashes/.

Launius, Roger D. “Sputnik and the Origins of the Space Age.” Nasa.gov, 2019, history.nasa.gov/sputnik/sputorig.html.

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government, who themselves were feeling pressured by the Russians to keep up in the race. This indicates how an international conflict rather than methodology can determine knowledge production. Scientific innovation was a show of soft power, while the potential weaponised uses of satellites was a threat of hard power. This cultivation of power was the motivating factor for scientific invention during the Cold War. The shifting power dynamic between nations motivated the production of scientific knowledge. Methodology was used to attain this knowledge, but was not the principal determining factor.

On the other hand, similar to history, advancements in technology have led to huge advancements in natural science. Scientific methodology is inhibited when experiments to test theories cannot be done. The improvement of a tool overpowers this barrier, therefore improving upon scientific methodology, ensuring it can provide more accurate and comprehensive scientific knowledge. A prominent example where a tool led to progress in knowledge is the creation and development of the microscope, which overcame the limitations of our naked eye. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created a microscope that solved issues of image blurring (spherical aberration) and colour separation (chromatic aberration)7. So, from the 1830s, cell theory became the focus of biological research, thanks to the central role of the microscope8. Scientists could now, at the most important and foundational step of methodology, make further and more exact observations allowing for more hypotheses to be devised. On top of observations, microscopes can lead to more experiments being done (with the obstacle of the microscopic level being overcome) 7 Science Museum. “The Microscope.” Science Museum, 19 Aug. 2019, www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/medicine/microscope.

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Ibid.

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and so more theories can be tested right or wrong. This indicates how improvements in methodology positively correlate with advances in scientific knowledge; methodology can determine scientific knowledge produced to a large extent.

In conclusion, in both History and Natural Science, methodology can be a determining factor in the production of knowledge, although it is not the only factor.

This is most clearly seen where tools, as a mechanism of methodology, have undergone advancements to improve methodology and, as a result, there have been huge developments in the production of historical and scientific knowledge. The examples of CT scanning in Pompeii and the creation of the microscope enhance the identification and observation stage of each methodology, resulting in increased production of knowledge. However, political context can also play a part in the production of knowledge in both areas. Altering history textbooks and boosting efforts in the space race were both done by the US government to convey a positive image of tolerance and power respectively. This agenda, rather than methodology used, was the determining factor in the production of knowledge. Additionally, the role of the historians in harnessing their methodology to highlight an ignored group is also a factor in producing knowledge. Overall, methodology determines knowledge produced in History and Natural Science to a limited extent. Other motivations play a significant role in its employment, yet, without the use of methodology and its advancements, historical and scientific knowledge today would be extremely narrow, leaving the population with little understanding of their past, and little hope for their future.

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Bibliography: Bacino, Lorenza. “New Technology Helps Pompeii Rise from the Ashes - Positive News.”

Positive News, 19 July 2016, www.positive.news/science/new-technology-helps-pompeii-rise-ashes/.

Gulinck, An. “History.” TOK 2022: THEORY of KNOWLEDGE WEBSITE for the IBDP, 2019, www.tok2022.net/history.html.

“History - TOK.” Theory of Knowledge, 19 Feb. 2021, tok2022.com/history/.

Launius, Roger D. “Sputnik and the Origins of the Space Age.” Nasa.gov, 2019, history.nasa.gov/sputnik/sputorig.html.

“Natural Sciences - TOK.” Theory of Knowledge, 19 Feb. 2021, tok2022.com/natural-sciences/.

Science Museum. “The Microscope.” Science Museum, 19 Aug. 2019, www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/medicine/microscope.

“The Problem of Bias in US History Textbooks and Curriculum.” Soeonline.american.edu, May 2021, soeonline.american.edu/blog/bias-in-history-textbooks/.

“YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.” YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, www.yivo.org.

Accessed 17 Nov. 2022.

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