Mission impossible? Identity based incompatibilities amongst academic job roles relate to wellbeing and turnover.

Academic staff experience high levels of work-related stress and poor mental health. As a result, many institutions face high staff turnover. These outcomes may be driven by the complexity and, at times, apparently oppositional objectives academics need to meet around research and teaching. These factors may present both practical and social identity-based incompatibilities. The current study tested the role of these incompatibilities upon mental well-being and turnover. A sample of 141 UK resident academics completed scales measuring levels of social identification with being an academic, an educator and a researcher, identity based and practical incompatibility, mental health, experience of the workplace and turnover intention. No direct links were found between practical incompatibility and outcomes. However, higher identity incompatibility was related to poorer mental health. Identity incompatibility was also related to turnover intention, mediated by both mental health and workplace experience. Contrary to predictions, these effects were not moderated by identity difference or identity strength. The current findings present evidence that role-based incompatibilities have both practical and identity-based foundations and highlight important caveats to the benefits of multiple identities on well-being observed in other domains. The findings also suggest practical steps through which complex occupational roles can be best structured to improve mental health and reduce turnover

When ingroup identities “clash”: The influence of beliefs about incompatibilities between being a Christian and a drinker affect motivation to change drinking behaviour.

Whilst research has demonstrated the influence of individual and social identities on drinking-related beliefs and behaviours, none evaluates how identities’ incompatibilities are associated with mental health, current drinking status nor intentions and motivations to change drinking behaviour. The current study explored how variability in incompatibilities between the social identities of being a drinker and a Christian related to mental health, alcohol use behaviour and intentions to change drinking behaviour. A cross-sectional online survey (via a recruitment platform, Prolific) recruited n = 180 US resident Christians who drank alcohol (56.4% male, 46.6% female, mean age = 37 years). Increased incompatibility between identities moderated the effect of current Christian identity on drinking change motivations – with the strongest links amongst those with the highest levels of incompatibility. A similar effect was also shown for increasing incompatibility between perceptions of the self as an individual and drinking behaviour (self/drinker incompatibility). The relationship between Christian identity on current drinking behaviour was also shown to be moderated by decreased Christian/drinker identity incompatibility but not self/drinker incompatibility. No effects were shown for general mental well-being. The study highlights that differences in the protective role of religious identities likely depend on how they relate to others, and the key role of identity incompatibility

Comparison of Allen Carr's Easyway programme with a specialist behavioural and pharmacological smoking cessation support service: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A combination of behavioural and pharmacological support is judged to be the optimal approach for assisting smoking cessation. Allen Carr's Easyway (ACE) is a single-session pharmacotherapy-free programme that has been in operation internationally for 38 years. We compared the effectiveness of ACE with specialist behavioural and pharmacological support delivered to the national standard in England. DESIGN: A two-arm, parallel-group, single-blind, randomized controlled trial. SETTING: London, UK, between February 2017 and May 2018. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 620 participants (310 in ACE and 310 in the combined behavioural and pharmacological support condition) were included in the analysis. Adult (≥ 18 years) smokers wanting to quit were randomized in a 1 : 1 ratio. Mean age for the total sample was 40.8 years, with 53.4% being male. Participant baseline characteristics (ethnicity, educational level, number of previous quit attempts, nicotine dependence) were evenly balanced between treatment groups. INTERVENTION AND COMPARATOR: The intervention was the ACE method of stopping smoking. This centres on a 4.5-6-hour session of group-based support, alongside subsequent text messages and top-up sessions if needed. It aims to make it easy to stop smoking by convincing smokers that smoking provides no benefits for them. The comparator was a specialist stop smoking service (SSS) providing behavioural and pharmacological support in accordance with national standards. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was self-reported continuous abstinence for 26 weeks from the quit/quit re-set date verified by exhaled breath carbon monoxide measurement < 10 parts per million (p.p.m.). Primary analysis was by intention to treat. Secondary outcomes were: use of pharmacotherapy, adverse events and continuous abstinence up to 4 and 12 weeks. FINDINGS: A total of 468 participants attended treatment (255 ACE versus 213 SSS, P < 0.05). Of those who did attend treatment, 100 completed 6-month measures (23.7% ACE versus 20.7% SSS). Continuous abstinence to 26 weeks was 19.4% (60 of 310) in the ACE intervention and 14.8% (46 of 310) in the SSS intervention [risk difference for ACE versus SSS 4.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) = -1.4 to 10.4%, odds ratio (OR) = 1.38)]. The Bayes factor for superiority of the ACE condition was 1.24. CONCLUSION: There was no clear evidence of a difference in the efficacies of the Allen Carr's Easyway (ACE) and specialist smoking cessation support involving behavioural support and pharmacotherapy

Impact of alcohol-promoting and alcohol-warning advertisements on alcohol consumption, affect, and implicit cognition in heavy-drinking young adults: A laboratory-based randomized controlled trial

$\textbf{OBJECTIVES}$: There is sparse evidence regarding the effect of alcohol-advertising exposure on alcohol consumption among heavy drinkers. This study aimed to assess the immediate effects of alcohol-promoting and alcohol-warning video advertising on objective alcohol consumption in heavy-drinking young adults, and to examine underlying processes. $\textbf{DESIGN}$: Between-participants randomized controlled trial with three conditions. $\textbf{METHODS}$: Two hundred and four young adults (aged 18-25) who self-reported as heavy drinkers were randomized to view one of three sets of 10 video advertisements that included either (1) alcohol-promoting, (2) alcohol-warning, or (3) non-alcohol advertisements. The primary outcome was the proportion of alcoholic beverages consumed in a sham taste test. Affective responses to advertisements, implicit alcohol approach bias, and alcohol attentional bias were assessed as secondary outcomes and possible mediators. Typical alcohol consumption, Internet use, and television use were measured as covariates. $\textbf{RESULTS}$: There was no main effect of condition on alcohol consumption. Participants exposed to alcohol-promoting advertisements showed increased positive affect and an increased approach/reduced avoidance bias towards alcohol relative to those exposed to non-alcohol advertisements. There was an indirect effect of exposure to alcohol-warning advertisements on reduced alcohol consumption via negative affect experienced in response to these advertisements. $\textbf{CONCLUSIONS}$: Restricting alcohol-promoting advertising could remove a potential influence on positive alcohol-related emotions and cognitions among heavy-drinking young adults. Producing alcohol-warning advertising that generates negative emotion may be an effective strategy to reduce alcohol consumption.This work was jointly funded by the National Institute for Health Research School for Public Health Research, and by the Department of Health Policy Research Program (Policy Research Unit in Behaviour and Health [PR-UN-0409-10109])

A pragmatic trial of an Artificial intelligence DRiven appOInTment maNagEment SyStem (ADROITNESS) in NHS outpatient departments

DrDoctor is an artificial intelligence system that seeks to predict the probability of outpatient not attending their appointment (phase 1) predicting linked clinics (phase2a) and predicting out of sequence linked appointments (phase 2b). LSBU were commissioned by NHS England to evaluate the use of the DrDoctor system in two NHS trusts to see if it is accurate, safe, effective provides value and explore person centred aspects. Phase 1 of the evaluation examines the accuracy of the model in predicting those most likely not to attend outpatient appointments – Do Not Attend (DNA) probability. Report covers approach to evaluation detailed findings, conclusions and recommendations. Phase 1 work stream 3 examined How effective is the DrDoctor AI system? covering rationale, objectives, hypotheses, methods and results for this work stream. The Phase 1 technology appeared to be accurate in terms of DNA prediction and was safe and mostly acceptable to patients. Phase 2a of the evaluation examines the process adopted in identifying clinics with the same specialisms so that patients can be offered greater appointment choice. It is recognized that some trusts have built digital hierarchies that show this but other trusts have not and it is for the latter category that this phase provides potential benefit. Report covers approach to evaluation detailed findings, conclusions and recommendations. The Phase 2a report was not able to evaluate outcomes (and therefore overall accuracy) due to the delays in the DrDoctor system development. A key recommendation is that a clinical review of accuracy of the predicted linked clinics is undertaken. Phase 2b evaluated the process adopted for identifying out of sequence linked appointments. For example a diagnostic test appointment occurring after the clinician review. Report covers approach to evaluation detailed findings, conclusions and recommendations. This report considered the process adopted for phase2b. Due to delays in DrDoctor Phase 2b development the report excluded consideration of outcomes. A key recommendation was the clinical review of its predicted linked appointments out of sequence for their accuracy and also consideration of missed out of sequence linked appointments

Re-entrant hidden order at a metamagnetic quantum critical end point

Magnetization measurements of URu2Si2 in pulsed magnetic fields of 44 T reveal that the hidden order phase is destroyed before appearing in the form of a re-entrant phase between ~ 36 and 39 T. Evidence for conventional itinerant electron metamagnetism at higher temperatures suggests that the re-entrant phase is created in the vicinity of a quantum critical end point.Comment: 8 pages, including 3 figures (Physical Review Letters, in press) a systematic error in the field calibration has been fixed since the original submission of this manuscrip

Universal magnetic structure of the half-magnetization phase in Cr-based spinels

Using an elastic neutron scattering technique under a pulsed magnetic field up to 30 T, we determined the magnetic structure in the half-magnetization plateau phase in the spinel CdCr$_2$O$_4$. The magnetic structure has a cubic $P4_3$32 symmetry, which is the same as that observed in HgCr$_2$O$_4$. This suggests that there is a universal field induced spin-lattice coupling mechanism at work in the Cr-based spinels.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Differences in digital health literacy and future anxiety between health care and other university students in England during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: This study investigates university students' digital health literacy and web-based information-seeking behaviours during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in England. It compares undergraduate and postgraduate students in non-health related subjects with health care students, many of whom were preparing for, or working in, frontline roles. The survey was conducted as part of a wider study by the COVID-HL research consortium. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among n=691 university students aged ≥18 years from 25 universities across England using an adapted digital survey developed by COVID-HL. Data were collected regarding sociodemographic characteristics and specific measures drawn from the Future Anxiety Scale and the Digital Health Literacy Instrument (DHLI). These had been adapted for use in an English setting and to the specific context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other data collected included students’ anxiety or worries about the future using the Dark Future Scale as well as behaviours in online information-seeking. Data were analysed using correlations to test for relationships between constructs and also between group comparisons to test for differences between students studying health and non-health related subjects. Results: Across digital health literacy dimensions, there was no significant difference between students studying health-related subjects and other students. Health care students did report greater difficulties in relation to how to behave online. They also relied less on public body sources for information about the pandemic. A significant difference was found between the two student populations in relation to their anxiety about the future with health care students reporting fewer fears about the future. Conclusions: Although digital health literacy is well developed in university students, a significant proportion of students still face difficulties with evaluating online information which may frustrate public health efforts. This could be addressed by ensuring health students’ curriculum in particular encompasses digital health literac

Impact of alcohol promoting and alcohol warning advertisements on alcohol consumption, affect, and implicit cognition in heavy drinking young adults: a laboratory-based randomized controlled trial

Objectives: There is sparse evidence regarding the effect of alcohol advertising exposure on alcohol consumption among heavy drinkers. This study aimed to assess the immediate effects of alcohol promoting and alcohol warning video advertising on objective alcohol consumption in heavy drinking young adults, and to examine underlying processes. Design: Between-participants randomized controlled trial with three conditions. Methods: Two hundred and four young adults (aged 18-25) who self-reported as heavy drinkers were randomized to view one of three sets of 10 video advertisements that included either: (i) alcohol promoting, (ii) alcohol warning, or (iii) non-alcohol advertisements. The primary outcome was the proportion of alcoholic beverages consumed in a sham taste test. Affective responses to advertisements, implicit alcohol approach bias, and alcohol attentional bias were assessed as secondary outcomes and possible mediators. Typical alcohol consumption, internet use, and television use were measured as covariates. Results: There was no main effect of condition on alcohol consumption. Participants exposed to alcohol promoting advertisements showed increased positive affect and an increased approach/reduced avoidance bias towards alcohol relative to those exposed to non-alcohol advertisements. There was an indirect effect of exposure to alcohol warning advertisements on reduced alcohol consumption via negative affect experienced in response to these advertisements. Conclusions: Restricting alcohol promoting advertising could remove a potential influence on positive alcohol-related emotions and cognitions among heavy drinking young adults. Producing alcohol warning advertising that generates negative emotion may be an effective strategy to reduce alcohol consumption