Supporting local data users in the UK academic community.

Data collection in the UK can be traced back to Roman times with the introduction of 5-yearly population censuses however it is only in recent history that the acquisition, distribution and analysis of quantitative data in digital format has been possible. 1967 saw the establishment of the SSRC Data Bank at the University of Essex. The 1970s and 1980s saw the emergence of ‘data laboratories’ within a number of UK tertiary education institutions. This evolution continued with the formation of Edinburgh University Data Library (1983) and Oxford Data Library (1985) and more recently the London School of Economics (LSE) Data Library and the LSE Research Laboratory Data Service. Based at tertiary education institutions these specialised libraries have developed independently to assist researchers and teachers in the use of quantitative data for analysis and research purposes. With Web technology and advances in telecommunications this role has continued to develop to include support for a whole range of digital data resources via National Data Centres. Thus in this digital age with increased IT literacy, technological exposure and expectancy the data librarian’s role is ever more confusing and difficult to identify. This paper will discuss the differing areas of expertise within the UK data libraries with particular reference to their relationship with National Data Centres, the role of the Data Information Specialists Committee – UK (DISC-UK), in addition to the role played by other information staff which identify them as potential data librarians from ‘non-data library’ institutions

Social Host Policies and Underage Drinking Parties

Social host policies focused on underage drinking parties are implemented to reduce social availability of alcohol and high-risk drinking by adolescents in private locations. We examined the policies’ relationship with drinking location, peer-group drinking size, heavy episodic drinking, and nonviolent consequences. Cross-sectional data from 11,205, 14–20-year olds, were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Policies were not associated with drinking location, decreased heavy episodic drinking, or nonviolent consequences. However, adolescents from communities with a preexisting policy had lower odds of drinking in large peer groups compared to those from communities without a policy at baseline. Additional research is needed to examine their effectiveness. The study's limitations are noted

A Probabilistic Study Of Safety Criteria For Design

National Science Foundation Under Grant GK-1812

An Examination of Social Host Policies: Relationship with Social Drinking Context and Alcohol Use among Adolescents

Underage drinking continues to be a major public health concern, partially due to the ease in which adolescents obtain alcohol and consume it in private locations. States and municipalities have implemented a variety of strategies to counteract this, including adopting public policies focused on underage alcohol use in residential settings, termed social host policies. The purpose of this study was to 1) conduct a critical analysis of social host policies and the factors they are intended to change; and 2) examine social host policies focused on hosting underage drinking parties as an environmental predictor for drinking location, peer drinking group size, heavy episodic drinking and associated non-violent consequences. Three waves of cross sectional data from 11,205 14-20 year olds, nested within 68 communities in five states, who participated in the national evaluation of the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Randomized Community Trial (EUDL-CT), was analyzed using multi-level modeling. Social host policy status was categorized as passed prior to the EUDL-CT intervention, passed during the intervention, or no policy. Pre-existing social host policies or policies passed during the intervention were not associated with drinking location, decreasing heavy episodic drinking or decreasing alcohol related, non-violent consequences among adolescents. However, youth from communities that had a pre-existing social host policy had lower odds of drinking in large groups compared to youth from communities without a policy at baseline (OR=0.827, CI:0.69-0.99; p=0.04). At follow-up, youth from communities that passed a social host policy during the intervention had higher odds of drinking in large groups compared to youth from communities without a policy (OR=1.26; CI=1.05-1.51; p=0.009) and youth from communities with a pre-existing policy (OR=1.23; CI=1.01-1.49; p=0.034). Findings suggest that these policies require additional attention before conclusions can be drawn about their effectiveness. Additional research should focus on the differences in state versus local policies, liability associated with the policies, as well as the intensity of policy implementation by local communities. Future studies should also consider behavior change, not just of adolescents, but of other stakeholders, such as parents and local law enforcement

Review of Michigan's EUDL program

Includes bibliographical references (p. 36)Michigan’s Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) program for Fiscal Years 2000 -2004 is reviewed through a process evaluation of funded activities, an examination of EUDL strategies and programs in 17 other states, and an assessment of the extent to which Michigan EUDL program can be evaluated with respect to changes in underage drinking behavior. The process evaluation Michigan’s EUDL program indicates that the focus of the program has been on SPOTLIGHT, Operation LOOKOUT, and Party Patrol, through grants which fund these overtime police enforcement activities in a large number of Michigan communities. Program activities, for the most part, were carried out as planned. The review of EUDL strategies and programs in other states shows a wide variety of approaches. However, most states stress the importance of fostering collaboration at both the state and local level, and having a support network in place at, with all of the various involved agencies working together toward a shared and clear vision of what is to be accomplished. The assessment of the extent of “evaluability” indicates that the current mix of EUDL activities in Michigan makes it difficult to identify behavioral changes in drinking because the grants are awarded to a large number of jurisdictions spread across the state for narrowly focused, short term activities. Furthermore, while the data collected on these activities are useful for process evaluations, information is lacking on the underage drinking population and other exposure measures. It is recommended that future EUDL efforts be planned and implemented in concert with appropriate evaluation designs so that impacts of the programs on the amount and frequency of underage drinking and perceptions about alcohol use can be measured in addition to changes in the levels of enforcement activity.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/13908/2/99304.pd

Analysis of Strategies Designed to Reduce Sales of Alcohol and Tobacco to Underage Persons: A Preliminary Report

Alaska has one of the highest per capita alcohol consumption rates in the nation, and the prevalence of alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse at 14 percent is twice the national average of seven percent. Of special concern is the prevention of alcohol use by adolescents. This study, prepared for the Alaska Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC), focuses on identifying ways that enforcement practices for alcohol sales could be modified to achieve higher compliance rates with age-of-sale laws, comparable to those seen in tobacco enforcement. Recommendations are made in the areas of enforcement efforts, funding and resources, enlisting a multiple-pronged strategy, and onging data collection and evaluation.Alaska Alcoholic Beverage Control BoardTable of Contents / Executive Summary / Introduction / Problem Statement and Background / Adult Consumption Data / Adolescent Consumption Data / Prevention and Intervention Efforts / Recommendations and Conclusions / Resources / Appendi

Steel Plate Girder Bridge Design Using Indian Standard Method And British Standard Method

This paper compares the Indian Standard Method and British Standard Method in designing a steel plate girder bridges. From the comparison, the author comes out with a design example for both design method. By using excel spreadsheet, the author compares the weight of the plate girder bridge designed using both codes as the span increases with a fixed yield strength used. The design codes used for this study is BS 5400, IS 800:1984, Railway Bridge Rules, and Steel Construction Institute (SCI) Publication

Centralization and Accountability: Theory and Evidence from the Clean Air Act.

This paper studies fi scal federalism when voter information varies across regions. We develop a model of political agency with heterogeneously informed voters. Rent-seeking politicians provide public goods to win the votes of the informed. As a result, rent extraction is lower in regions with higher information. In equilibrium, electoral discipline has decreasing returns. Thus, political centralization efficiently reduces aggregate rent extraction. The model predicts that a region' s benefi ts from centralization are decreasing in its residents' information. We test this prediction using panel data on pollutant emissions across U.S. states. The 1970 Clean Air Act centralized environmental policy at the federal level. In line with our theory, we fi nd that centralization induced a differential decrease in pollution for uninformed relative to informed states