Health warning labels and alcohol selection: a randomised controlled experiment in a naturalistic shopping laboratory

Abstract: Background and aims: Health warning labels (HWLs) on tobacco products reduce smoking. There is an absence of evidence concerning the impact of alcohol HWLs on selection or purchasing in naturalistic settings. Using a commercial‐standard naturalistic shopping laboratory, this study aimed to estimate the impact on selection of alcoholic drinks of HWLs describing adverse health consequences of excessive alcohol consumption. Design: A between‐subjects randomised experiment with three groups was conducted: group 1: image‐and‐text HWL; group 2: text‐only HWL; group 3: no HWL. Setting: A commercial‐standard naturalistic shopping laboratory in the United Kingdom. Participants: Adults (n = 399, 55% female) over the age of 18 years, who purchased beer or wine weekly to drink at home. Interventions: Participants were randomised to one of three groups varying in the HWL displayed on the packaging of the alcoholic drinks: (i) image‐and‐text HWL (n = 135); (ii) text‐only HWL (n = 129); (iii) no HWL (n = 135). Participants completed a shopping task, selecting items from a range of alcoholic and non‐alcoholic drinks, and snacks. Measurement: The primary outcome was the proportion of alcoholic drinks selected. Secondary outcomes included HWL ratings on negative emotional arousal and label acceptability. Findings: There was no clear evidence of a difference in the HWL groups for the percentage of drinks selected that were alcoholic compared to no HWL (44%): image‐and‐text HWL: 46% (odds ratio [OR] = 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.82, 1.42); text‐only HWL: 41% (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.67, 1.14). Concordant with there being no difference between groups, there was extreme evidence in favour of the null hypothesis (Bayes factor [BF] < 0.01). Negative emotional arousal was higher (P < 0.001) and acceptability lower (P < 0.001) in the image‐and‐text HWL group, compared to the text‐only HWL group. Conclusions: In a naturalistic shopping laboratory, there was no evidence that health warning labels describing the adverse health consequences of excessive alcohol consumption changed selection behaviour

Decision Making and Problems of Evidence for Emerging Educational Technologies

Appears as chapter 10 of the book The Best Available Evidence: Decision Making for Educational Improvement.With the ever-expanding range of emerging educational technologies that could be introduced to learning environments, making evidence-informed decisions about whether and how to effectively use e-learning tools for pedagogical purposes is a critical yet challenging task. How can educators, learners, and administrators make informed decisions about the use of particular emerging technologies to achieve desired pedagogical transformation when, due to their relative newness, there is often a perceived lack of available and “up-to-the-minute” research on the latest technological trends that may impede evidence-based educational practice? This is a key problem of evidence for technology use in higher education. This chapter discusses several exigent problems of evidence for decision making regarding emerging technologies, particularly for higher education, beginning with a brief overview of evidence-based practice (EBP) and twenty-first century learning. We reflect upon strategies that educational practitioners may employ when facing a perceived lack of up-to-date evidence to support their decision-making processes. By discussing strategies for identifying affordances and employing environmental scanning, we describe approaches for mitigating potential research gaps when considering use of emerging technologies within academic learning contexts

Panel II: Options for U.S. Strategy and Policy in the Middle East

Panel presentations and discussion on developments in United States involvement in the Middle East. Appearing: Bruce R. Kuniholm (Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy), moderator ; Stephen Grummon (U.S. Department of State), Rand Beers (John F. Kennedy School of Government) and Peter Feaver (Duke University), panelists

Superelasticity and Stability of a Shape Memory Alloy Hexagonal Honeycomb under In-plane Compression

International audienc