From consumerism to citizenship: a journey of involvement

The level of interest in sustainability, amongst the general public and within the media, is growing week by week, giving rise to initiatives from numerous stakeholders, public and private, to inform, educate and facilitate behaviour change at the level of individual households – customers and final consumers. In this paper we argue that in order to achieve this behavioural change, the ‘sustainable shopper’ must be targeted in a meaningful and relevant manner and their motivations for purchasing more or less sustainable foods be thoroughly understood in order to maintain the momentum that govt and industry have created in shifting the balance in our lifestyles from consumerism to citizenship. Different groups of shoppers behave in different ways and for different reasons, which has important implications for policy makers, NGOs, food manufacturers and retailers seeking to stimulate a change in purchasing behaviour towards more sustainable foods. In exploring the journey which the sustainable shopper makes, from consumer to citizen, we highlight the importance of ‘involvement’ - of the individual and in the product – in shaping the marketing, merchandising and communication strategies to speed up the journey and ensure more people arrive at the desired destination

The Holy Grail? Designing and Teaching an Integrated Doctrine and Drafting Course

I’ve long considered teaching doctrine and skills together in a single course to be the holy grail of legal education. If we could do so successfully, we might make significant strides in providing a legal education that better prepares our students to be practicing lawyers. In spring 2016, my colleague Professor April Cherry and I took the plunge and collaboratively offered a course titled Estates and Trusts: Doctrine and Drafting at our institution, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. This essay describes our experience and lessons learned pursuing the holy grail

Barriers to the growth of artificial intelligence within the NHS

Publisher PD

Preaching to the converted: the value of organisationally supported carbon reduction initiatives

Organisation led carbon reduction initiatives are bridging the gap between purely individual environmental action and higher level intervention and regulation. This research looks into one of those initiatives aimed at engaging employees in carbon reduction. We adopt a single case study approach following learning activities of volunteers within a UK organisation over four months. Observations of their activities were conducted, in addition to interviews with participants and organisers. Our core findings are, firstly, that rather than engaging a wide range of employees, only a very narrow group chose to participate. This group bears similarities with Barr and Gilg’s (2006) classification of ‘committed’ environmentalists which suggests that those willing to participate in these initiatives may be those for whom environmentalism is personally relevant. That there was little evidence of the initiative engaging a broader network of employees raises questions on the effectiveness of these activities in the wider population of employees. Secondly, we identified attitude behaviour gaps to varying degrees among participants who still made carbon intensive choices especially in relation to air travel, for example. We conclude by analysing the effectiveness of the intervention and the associated challenges. Recommendations are made covering several dimensions such as the potential role of technology in facilitating behaviour change, and organisational policy making with regards to employee engagement to carbon reduction

Ethical barriers to artificial intelligence in the national health service, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Risk eDecisions: Online Behaviour and Decision Making from the iGeneration to the Silver Surfer

Since the inception of the Internet there has been immense growth in the number of internet users worldwide, and the integration of social media in our daily lives has become commonplace for many. Yet, alongside the many benefits of this global connectivity come numerous risks. Research shows that individuals of all ages are exposed to, and engage in, risky activities online, despite numerous campaigns to highlight the perils of risky online behaviour. Although the rates of victimisation increase year-on-year, surprisingly little is known about the psychological mechanisms underlying online risk-taking. The work in this thesis aimed to address this gap in the psychological literature by conducting empirical research focussing on online risky behaviour and decision making across the lifespan. Four studies, conducted with individuals ranging in age from 13- to 79-years-old, investigated two online risk-taking behaviours, personal information disclosure and friending strangers, within the framework of Fuzzy Trace Theory. A further study investigated the posting of risky and inappropriate content online in British and Italian students, examining the role of self-monitoring and impulsivity. The work in this thesis reveals that Fuzzy Trace Theory is able to predict risk-taking and risk-averse behavioural intentions, and that the retrieval of gist-based, intuitive beliefs and values about online risk reduces risk-taking behaviour and intentions, whereas representing risk in a quantitative-based, verbatim manner leads to increased risk-taking intentions. The ability to reason using gist representations increases with age. Additionally, high self-monitoring was found to predict risky posting behaviour across different cultures. These findings offer a novel and important contribution to our theoretical and practical knowledge about risky online behaviour, and have the potential to inform the development of more effective online safety intervention programmes

Chronic crude garlic-feeding modified adult male rat testicular markers: mechanisms of action

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Antimicrobial stewardship knowledge and perception among physicians and pharmacists at leading tertiary teaching hospitals in Zambia: implications for future policy and practice

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is a key strategy promoting rational antimicrobial use. In Zambia, information on health professionals’ knowledge, attitude, and practice of AMS is limited. This study was undertaken to address this at Zambia’s leading specialized teaching hospitals. Descriptive, cross-sectional study involved 137 physicians and 61 pharmacists. AMS knowledge was relatively low among physicians (51%) and pharmacists (39%). Few physicians (9%) and pharmacists (20%) demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the basic principles of AMS. Physicians’ and pharmacists’ knowledge levels were significantly associated with years of practice, job position or practice rank, and previous AMS training. The majority (95%) perceived AMR as a current problem in their practise. Most physicians (92%) and pharmacists (86%) had not undertaken AMS training before. All indicated the need for context-specific educational interventions to promote AMS in Zambia. Despite positive perceptions, basic knowledge of AMS was relatively low. Context-specific educational interventions and capacity building are needed to address AMS gaps

Training of pharmacists in Zambia: developments, curriculum structure and future perspectives

In Zambia, local training of pharmacists commenced in 2001. Development of pharmaceutical education in Zambia has been largely influenced by the national need for pharmacists in the healthcare sector. Training institutions offer the Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm.) degree programme which follows a four-year curriculum structure. The B.Pharm. programme aims to produce pharmacists with requisite competences to practise pharmaceutical care and sustain the development of pharmacy in Zambia. Seventeen years down the line, Zambia continues to advance local pharmaceutical education programmes. Over 700 pharmacists have graduated from the national training programmes in Zambia which continue to address the pharmaceutical workforce needs. Pharmaceutical education in Zambia offers a number of career prospects in hospital, community, pharmaceutical manufacturing, medicine regulation, public health administration, and progression to academia. Positive transitions made to advance pharmacists’ training in Zambia give a positive outlook for the future