Ethnicity and alcohol: a review of the UK literature

This literature review draws together recorded drinking patterns among minority ethnic groups in the UK over the last 15 years and considers the evidence for service provision and support. A recommendation in implementing the Government’s alcohol strategy, Safe. Sensible. Social. is to assess the need for and develop provision for black and minority ethnic groups. This need is heightened by the growing minority ethnic population and changes in consumption levels that may emerge over generations. The review explores differences in drinking patterns by ethnicity and the cultural and social contexts around which the use of alcohol is established and maintained. This review: • describes drinking levels as reported in national surveys and local research; • considers processes and infl uences that help to explain why drinking rates among ethnic groups in a new country may change over time; • examines help-seeking, support and service provision for minority ethnic groups; • examines the extent to which services are equipped to respond to the needs of minority ethnic groups

"But no one told me it’s okay to not drink": a qualitative study of young people who drink little or no alcohol

Young people’s drinking is a matter of social, media and political concern and the focus of much policy activity within the UK. Little consideration has been given to the fact that some young people choose to drink little or not all and our knowledge and understanding of their choices and how they manage not drinking is limited. Nor has much attention been paid to the possibility that the insights of young light and non-drinkers could be useful when thinking about how to change the prevailing drinking culture, but if we are to gauge and engage with the current culture of consumption then we need to understand all parts of it (Pattenden et al., 2008). This qualitative study of young people (aged 16-25) who drink little or no alcohol aimed to further understanding of their lives and choices. The results highlight that choosing not to drink or drink lightly is a positive choice made for diverse reasons with the strongest messages and influences coming from real life observations. Young people develop strategies to manage not drinking or drinking lightly. Alcohol education messages need to present not drinking as a valid option to young people, parents and society more broadly

Teenage drinking and interethnic friendships.

This report explores the links between young people’s interethnic friendships and their drinking patterns and behaviours. Britain is a multicultural society, but little is currently known about if, and how, young people mix with friends from different ethnic backgrounds and the potential impact of this on drinking attitudes and behaviours. Research was undertaken to examine these links using quantitative and qualitative methods among a sample of 14-and 15-year-olds in diverse locations in London and Berkshire. The report: • explores the intra- and interethnic mix of young people’s friendship groups as described by young people in questionnaires and interviews; • analyses how drinking patterns vary by ethnicity, religion and gender; • investigates the links between young people’s background characteristics, their friendship groups (including the ethnicity of friends) and their reported drinking rates; and • looks at the implications of the findings, including recommendations for harm reduction based on education and peer support programmes

A positive choice: young people who drink little or no alcohol

This study examined the lives and choices of young people (aged 16-25) living in the UK who drink little or no alcohol. Current policy is directed at young people who drink alcohol with little attention paid to the insights of those who drink lightly or not at all. The influences that shape young people’s decisions and how their choices and patterns of consumption affect their lives were explored through interviews. The report: • examines current drinking patterns and identifies five ‘drinking types’; • highlights that choosing not to drink alcohol or to drink lightly is a commonplace and positive choice; • explores the influences and experiences that led young people to their choices and identifies three ‘narratives’ encapsulating their journeys; • considers the strategies and responses young people employ to manage not drinking or drinking lightly; and • critically examines the widely held assumption that drinking is part of‘growing up’ and discusses how ‘not drinking’ could be supported as a valid choice

Digital interaction in the exhibition ' Whitehorse Hill: A Prehistoric Dartmoor Discovery' - how Prehistroy met the gamers and scanners

This is the author accepted manuscriptIntroduction – Background to the Exhibition Whitehorse Hill: A Prehistoric Dartmoor Discovery was a temporary exhibition at Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery, open from 13 September 2014 to 13 December 2014. The exhibition displayed finds of national and international importance, which were excavated from an early Bronze Age burial cist, constructed c. 1730-1600 BC. [...]The research which informs this paper owes its thanks to a broad set of people: EPSRC-AHRC network cluster grant Touching the Untouchable and the AHRC development grant Touching the Past along with the Openarch EU funded project and the REACT HEIF University of Exeter grant – all contributed to the development of the ideas and eventually the installation