Protocol for a national monthly survey of alcohol use in England with 6-month follow-up: 'The Alcohol Toolkit Study'.

Timely tracking of national patterns of alcohol consumption is needed to inform and evaluate strategies and policies aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm. Between 2014 until at least 2017, the Alcohol Toolkit Study (ATS) will provide such tracking data and link these with policy changes and campaigns. By virtue of its connection with the 'Smoking Toolkit Study' (STS), links will also be examined between alcohol and smoking-related behaviour

Calculating the random guess scores of multiple-response and matching test items

For achievement tests, the guess score is often used as a baseline for the lowest possible grade for score to grade transformations and setting the cut scores. For test item types such as multiple-response, matching and drag-and-drop, determin-ing the guess score requires more elaborate calculations than the more straight-forward calculation of the guess score for True-False and multiple-choice test item formats. For various variants of multiple-response and matching types with respect to dichotomous and polytomous scoring, methods for determining the guess score are presented and illustrated with practical applications. The implica-tions for theory and practice are discussed

Improving seabed cable plough performance for offshore renewable energy

Seabed ploughing plays an important part in providing protection to subsea cables that connect offshore renewables, and the process represents a significant portion of the overall installation cost. Current models for predicting the required tow forces for seabed ploughs are based on semi-empirical methods as conventional geotechnical finite element analysis is not suited to modelling this process due to the large de-formations involved. The project described in this paper aims to develop a new material point method numerical modelling software to predict seabed plough response, which will enable new designs to be optimised. This will be validated against physical modelling, a part of which is the focus of this paper. This includes both 1g and centrifuge testing as well as new techniques such as 3D soil surface scanning. The testing also provides insights into share geometry influences on plough behaviour, and will allow improvements to existing empirical models

The impact of promoting revised UK low-risk drinking guidelines on alcohol consumption: interrupted time series analysis

Background: The UK’s Chief Medical Officers revised the UK alcohol drinking guidelines in 2016 to ≤ 14 units per week (1 unit = 10 ml/8 g ethanol) for men and women. Previously, the guideline stated that men should not regularly consume more than 3–4 units per day and women should not regularly consume more than 2–3 units per day. Objective: To evaluate the impact of promoting revised UK drinking guidelines on alcohol consumption. Design: Interrupted time series analysis of observational data. Setting: England, March 2014 to October 2017. Participants: A total of 74,388 adults aged ≥ 16 years living in private households in England. Interventions: Promotion of revised UK low-risk drinking guidelines. Main outcome measures: Primary outcome – alcohol consumption measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test – Consumption score. Secondary outcomes – average weekly consumption measured using graduated frequency, monthly alcohol consumption per capita adult (aged ≥ 16 years) derived from taxation data, monthly number of hospitalisations for alcohol poisoning (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision: T51.0, T51.1 and T51.9) and assault (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision: X85–Y09), and further measures of influences on behaviour change. Data sources: The Alcohol Toolkit Study, a monthly cross-sectional survey and NHS Digital’s Hospital Episode Statistics. Results: The revised drinking guidelines were not subject to large-scale promotion after the initial January 2016 announcement. An analysis of news reports found that mentions of the guidelines were mostly factual, and spiked during January 2016. In December 2015, the modelled average Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test – Consumption score was 2.719 out of 12.000 and was decreasing by 0.003 each month. After the January 2016 announcement, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test – Consumption scores did not decrease significantly (β = 0.001, 95% confidence interval –0.079 to 0.099). However, the trend did change significantly such that scores subsequently increased by 0.005 each month (β = 0.008, 95% confidence interval 0.001 to 0.015). This change is equivalent to 0.5% of the population moving each month from drinking two or three times per week to drinking four or more times per week. Secondary analyses indicated that the change in trend began 6 months before the guideline announcement. The secondary outcome measures showed conflicting results, with no significant changes in consumption measures and no substantial changes in influences on behaviour change, but immediate reductions in hospitalisations of 7.3% for assaults and 15.4% for alcohol poisonings. Limitations: The pre-intervention data collection period was only 2 months for influences on behaviour change and the graduated frequency measure. Our conclusions may be generalisable only to scenarios in which guidelines are announced but not promoted. Conclusions: The announcement of revised UK low-risk drinking guidelines was not associated with clearly detectable changes in drinking behaviour. Observed reductions in alcohol-related hospitalisations are unlikely to be attributable to the revised guidelines. Promotion of the guidelines may have been prevented by opposition to the revised guidelines from the government's alcohol industry partners or because reduction in alcohol consumption was not a government priority or because practical obstacles prevented independent public health organisations from promoting the guidelines. Additional barriers to the effectiveness of guidelines may include low public understanding and a need for guidelines to engage more with how drinkers respond to and use them in practice. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN15189062. Funding: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full in Public Health Research; Vol. 8, No. 14. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

The impact of promoting revised UK low-risk drinking guidelines on alcohol consumption: interrupted time series analysis

Background The UK’s Chief Medical Officers revised the UK alcohol drinking guidelines in 2016 to ≤ 14 units per week (1 unit = 10 ml/8 g ethanol) for men and women. Previously, the guideline stated that men should not regularly consume more than 3–4 units per day and women should not regularly consume more than 2–3 units per day. Objective To evaluate the impact of promoting revised UK drinking guidelines on alcohol consumption. Design Interrupted time series analysis of observational data. Setting England, March 2014 to October 2017. Participants A total of 74,388 adults aged ≥ 16 years living in private households in England. Interventions Promotion of revised UK low-risk drinking guidelines. Main outcome measures Primary outcome – alcohol consumption measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test – Consumption score. Secondary outcomes – average weekly consumption measured using graduated frequency, monthly alcohol consumption per capita adult (aged ≥ 16 years) derived from taxation data, monthly number of hospitalisations for alcohol poisoning (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision: T51.0, T51.1 and T51.9) and assault (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision: X85–Y09), and further measures of influences on behaviour change. Data sources The Alcohol Toolkit Study, a monthly cross-sectional survey and NHS Digital’s Hospital Episode Statistics. Results The revised drinking guidelines were not subject to large-scale promotion after the initial January 2016 announcement. An analysis of news reports found that mentions of the guidelines were mostly factual, and spiked during January 2016. In December 2015, the modelled average Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test – Consumption score was 2.719 out of 12.000 and was decreasing by 0.003 each month. After the January 2016 announcement, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test – Consumption scores did not decrease significantly (β = 0.001, 95% confidence interval –0.079 to 0.099). However, the trend did change significantly such that scores subsequently increased by 0.005 each month (β = 0.008, 95% confidence interval 0.001 to 0.015). This change is equivalent to 0.5% of the population moving each month from drinking two or three times per week to drinking four or more times per week. Secondary analyses indicated that the change in trend began 6 months before the guideline announcement. The secondary outcome measures showed conflicting results, with no significant changes in consumption measures and no substantial changes in influences on behaviour change, but immediate reductions in hospitalisations of 7.3% for assaults and 15.4% for alcohol poisonings. Limitations The pre-intervention data collection period was only 2 months for influences on behaviour change and the graduated frequency measure. Our conclusions may be generalisable only to scenarios in which guidelines are announced but not promoted. Conclusions The announcement of revised UK low-risk drinking guidelines was not associated with clearly detectable changes in drinking behaviour. Observed reductions in alcohol-related hospitalisations are unlikely to be attributable to the revised guidelines. Promotion of the guidelines may have been prevented by opposition to the revised guidelines from the government's alcohol industry partners or because reduction in alcohol consumption was not a government priority or because practical obstacles prevented independent public health organisations from promoting the guidelines. Additional barriers to the effectiveness of guidelines may include low public understanding and a need for guidelines to engage more with how drinkers respond to and use them in practice. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN15189062. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full in Public Health Research; Vol. 8, No. 14. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

Effects on alcohol consumption of announcing and implementing revised UK low-risk drinking guidelines : findings from an interrupted time series analysis

Background: In January 2016, the UK announced and began implementing revised guidelines for low-risk drinking of 14 units (112 g) per week for men and women. This was a reduction from the previous guidelines for men of 3–4 units (24–32 g) per day. There was no large-scale promotion of the revised guidelines beyond the initial media announcement. This paper evaluates the effect of announcing the revised guidelines on alcohol consumption among adults in England. Methods: Data come from a monthly repeat cross-sectional survey of approximately 1700 adults living in private households in England collected between March 2014 and October 2017. The primary outcomes are change in level and time trend of participants’ Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test—Consumption (AUDIT-C) scores. Results: In December 2015, the modelled average AUDIT-C score was 2.719 out of 12 and was decreasing by 0.003 each month. After January 2016, AUDIT-C scores increased immediately but non-significantly to 2.720 (β=0.001, CI −0.079 to 0.099) and the trend changed significantly such that scores subsequently increased by 0.005 each month (β=0.008, CI 0.001 to 0.015), equivalent to 0.5% of the population increasing their AUDIT-C score by 1 point each month. Secondary analyses indicated the change in trend began 7 months before the guideline announcement and that AUDIT-C scores reduced significantly but temporarily for 4 months after the announcement (β=−0.087, CI −0.167 to 0.007). Conclusions: Announcing new UK drinking guidelines did not lead to a substantial or sustained reduction in drinking or a downturn in the long-term trend in alcohol consumption, but there was evidence of a temporary reduction in consumption

Effects on alcohol consumption of announcing and implementing revised UK low-risk drinking guidelines: findings from an interrupted time series analysis

Background: In January 2016, the UK announced and began implementing revised guidelines for low-risk drinking of 14 units (112 g) per week for men and women. This was a reduction from the previous guidelines for men of 3–4 units (24–32 g) per day. There was no large-scale promotion of the revised guidelines beyond the initial media announcement. This paper evaluates the effect of announcing the revised guidelines on alcohol consumption among adults in England. / Methods: Data come from a monthly repeat cross-sectional survey of approximately 1700 adults living in private households in England collected between March 2014 and October 2017. The primary outcomes are change in level and time trend of participants’ Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test—Consumption (AUDIT-C) scores. / Results: In December 2015, the modelled average AUDIT-C score was 2.719 out of 12 and was decreasing by 0.003 each month. After January 2016, AUDIT-C scores increased immediately but non-significantly to 2.720 (β=0.001, CI −0.079 to 0.099) and the trend changed significantly such that scores subsequently increased by 0.005 each month (β=0.008, CI 0.001 to 0.015), equivalent to 0.5% of the population increasing their AUDIT-C score by 1 point each month. Secondary analyses indicated the change in trend began 7 months before the guideline announcement and that AUDIT-C scores reduced significantly but temporarily for 4 months after the announcement (β=−0.087, CI −0.167 to 0.007). / Conclusions: Announcing new UK drinking guidelines did not lead to a substantial or sustained reduction in drinking or a downturn in the long-term trend in alcohol consumption, but there was evidence of a temporary reduction in consumption

Reviews

The Christian Goddess: Archetype and Theology in the Fantasies of George MacDonald. Bonnie Gaarden. Reviewed by Scott McLaren. Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson\u27s The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy. Janice M. Bogstad and Philip E. Kaveny, eds. Reviewed by Emily E. Auger. Good Dragons are Rare: An Inquiry into Literary Dragons East and West. Fanfan Chen and Thomas Honegger, eds. Reviewed by David D. Oberhelman. Critical Perspectives on Philip Pullman\u27s His Dark Materials: Essays on the Novels, the Film and the Stage Productions. Steven Barfield and Katharine Cox, eds. Reviewed by Amy S. Rodgers. From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring Invented Languages. Michael Adams, ed. Reviewed by Harley J. Sims. Mythopoeic Narnia: Memory, Metaphor, and Metamorphoses in The Chronicles of Narnia. Salwa Khoddam. Reviewed by Holly Ordway. Abiding in the Sanctuary: The Waite-Trinick Tarot: A Christian Mystical Tarot (1917-1923). Tali Goodwin and Marcus Katz. Preface by Mary K. Greer. Reviewed by Emily E. Auger. Tolkien and Wales: Language, Literature, and Identity. Carl Phelpstead. Reviewed by Sara Brown. North Wind: A Journal of George MacDonald Studies. #29 (2010). Edited by Fernando Soto and John Pennington. Reviewed by Janet Brennan Croft. VII: An Anglo-American Literary Review. #28 (2011). Edited by Marjorie Lamp Mead et al. Reviewed by Janet Brennan Croft. Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review. #8 (2011). Edited by Douglas A. Anderson, Michael D.C. Drout, and Verlyn Flieger. Reviewed by Janet Brennan Croft

Conceptual learning : the priority for higher education

The common sense notion of learning as the all-pervasive acquisition of new behaviour and knowledge, made vivid by experience, is an incomplete characterisation, because it assumes that the learning of behaviour and the learning of knowledge are indistinguishable, and that acquisition constitutes learning without reference to transfer. A psychological level of analysis is used to argue that conceptual learning should have priority in higher education

Neoliberalisation and 'lad cultures' in higher education

This paper links HE neoliberalisation and ‘lad cultures’, drawing on interviews and focus groups with women students. We argue that retro-sexist ‘laddish’ forms of masculine competitiveness and misogyny have been reshaped by neoliberal rationalities to become modes of consumerist sexualised audit. We also suggest that neoliberal frameworks scaffold an individualistic and adversarial culture among young people that interacts with perceived threats to men’s privilege and intensifies attempts to put women in their place through misogyny and sexual harassment. Furthermore, ‘lad cultures’, sexism and sexual harassment in higher education may be invisibilised by institutions to preserve marketability in a neoliberal context. In response, we ask if we might foster dialogue and partnership between feminist and anti-marketisation politics