The first book I have chosen to discuss further is "Alcohol Problems and Alcohol Control in Europe" by Phil Davies and Dermot Walsh.
One thing that is important to note is that concerns over the over-indulgence of alcohol are nothing new, "Robinson (1977:63) notes that an inscription near the stadium at Delphi, dating from 5BC forbids the carrying of wine into the stadium on pain of a 5 drachma fine." [Page 1]
Different cultures and different times have tried various methods of dealing with the problem: in 1920s America alcohol itself was demonised which resulted in the total prohibition of it. As history shows, this did not eradicate the problem, only hide it under the carpet and produce more problems besides. I found this book helps to demonstrate the ways in which alcohol can be identified as a main instigator for the acceleration of crime rate, particularly in Europe.
[page 49] "About one third of all deaths from road traffic accidents in Belgium each year are attributed to excessive alcohol use." This is a significant problem across all European countries and in France alcohol is thought to be a major factor in 40-45% of all road accidents. This suggests the importance of warning people not to drive after they have been drinking and the extent to which it affects people. It is a common misconception amongst drinkers to underestimate the adverse effect that alcohol has on our physcial reflexes and the speed at which we react. By presenting these facts to the drinker they may think twice about driving a car after drinking. It would be worthwhile for the government to finance an advertising campaign to try and reduce alcohol consumption and binge drinking because of the money they could potentially be saving if it was successful as there are hundreds of millions of pounds spent every year treating alcohol related illnesses and alcohol related injuries from crimes and traffic accidents. Therefore not only would we be improving our health, the economy would benefit as well.
Norway can be used as an example of how strict measures controlling alcohol consumption and rigorous health education have been effective in both reducing the consumption of alcohol and reducing alcohol related problems. Strict government controls have directly reduced alcohol consumption in Norway, hence proving that a combination of education and government measures can affect people's drinking habits. This book is full of interesting and informative facts and the authors have made a fascinating comparison of drinking patterns, legislations and health policies implemented in various countries. However, much of the information is presented in a dry, scientific and not terribly user-friendly manner. Also, the information is not completely up to date and patterns and policies will almost certainly have changed since this work was written.
The second book I have chosen to discuss is "Alcohol Problems in the Community" edited by Larry Harrison.
[page 5] "The fact that it is possible for front-line professionals to succeed in influencing the smoking habit (tobacco is, after all, the most addictive substance on earth) suggests that there is considerable potential to modify high risk drinking behaviours at a local level". This suggests to me that giving advice on alcoholic drinking and warning of the dangers of alcohol abuse should result in the same reduction in alcohol consumption as tobacco consumption. We have already been familiarised with the effects and dangers of alcohol consumption and therefore if the same measures taken to reduce tobacco consumption were enforced on alcohol companies I believe we would see a dramatic reduction in alcohol related crimes and deaths. By depicting graphic images of alcohol related diseases etc. on alcohol bottles people would become more aware of the risks they are putting themselves through and therefore may be more sensible when in pubs and clubs.
The source I am looking at stresses again the extent to which crime can be a direct result of alcohol consumption. The majority of violent crimes are committed by males between the ages of 16 to 24 years and the majority of victims of violent crime also fall into this category. Although alcohol is not necessarily a constant in all those crimes its prevalence is such that the importance of reducing alcohol consumption cannot be overstated.
[page 66] "Evidence from Sweden (Lenke 1990) has indicated that rates of homicides tend to change in accordance with fluctuations in alcohol consumption in Swedish society." Again the point is exemplified that alcohol is one of the main instigators of numerous crimes. Hence I feel that is is very important to implement a system or means of advertising which is going to educate communities and individuals on the potential risk which they are putting both themselves at, and the people who surround them.
[page 62] "The survey by Marsh et al (1986) indicated that youthful intoxication was commonplace. Amongst 13 year olds in England and Wales 39 per cent of boys and 40 per cent of girls reported having been drunk before; 24 per cent of boys and 14 per cent of girls have been drunk more than once."
Although the age group I am predominantly looking at is that of students and people who are more likely to use pubs and clubs as a social scene, I feel that this again demonstrates the severity of the problem in Britain and the importance to begin educating youths, perhaps at a younger age, about the dangers that run parallel with binge drinking. Schools do not tend to offer much advice about drinking and the majority of children tend to learn from older siblings or parents. This way, if a shocking depiction of someone affected by alcohol abuse was used on alcohol bottles, this would more likely scare younger children away from the idea of binge drinking, and therefore cause them to think more responsibly as they grow older.
Although this book helped me in researching statistics and facts about alcohol abuse, I feel that I would also have benefited from looking into the publicity surrounding alcohol and where the media stands in promoting it. The book was written in 1996, although fairly recent it is possible that statistics may have changed as a result of changes in the licensing laws which have been enforced since September 2009. These laws forbid the sale of alcohol on a one day promotion : a promotion now has to be on-going for at least 3 days, which would probably cause businesses to lose money and therefore I would expect promotions to be drastically reduced which would be a good thing in combating binge drinking.
However, at the other end of the spectrum, pubs and clubs who do run 3 day promotions could be seen as encouraging the binge drinking ethic amongst students. This is why I feel further measures should be installed not just in an attempt to cut down on binge drinking but to educate people of the dangers of it.
Overall, both sources were helpful but I feel I would learn more about the subject by looking more in depth into the legislations passed, news articles and more up-to-date books on the subject.
Bibliography
Davies, Phil & Walsh, Dermot "Alcohol Problems and Alcohol Control in Europe" Gardner Press Inc. N.Y. 1983
Chafetz, Morris E. & Demone, Harold W. "Alcoholism and Society" Oxford University Press 1962
Harrison, Larry (ed.) "Alcohol Problems in the Community" Routledge, London 1996
Monday 7 December 2009
Sunday 6 December 2009
Assignment 3:
Cecile A Marczinski, Estee C. Grant, Binge Drinking in Adolescents and College Students, April 2009, Nova Science
This book is a successful source in drawing the distinction between social drinking and binge- drinking. It highlights the realities of drinking in exess and informs us of the dangers of teenage drinking as it can be more damaging to the brain.
The book provides us with hard facts and statistics so is therefore very informative. It is also a recent book, published in 2009, suggesting all the information should be up to date. The source seems to base itself in America, this may be irrelevent in that the medical information e.g the consequences binge drinking has on our brain and our body would be the same, however, to be helping the problem of binge drinking in Britain it may be more effective to use examples closer to home. Quoting British doctos etc so we can gage an aqurate estimation of the severity of the problem in Britain.
www.oxfordreference.com. concise medical dictionary.
Fetak alcohol syndrome: " A condition of newborn babies that results from the toxic effects on the fetus of maternal alcohol abuse. Babies have a low birth weight and growth is retarded; there may be head and facial abnormalities and possibly mental retardation. The greater the alcohol abuse, the more severe the fetal manifestations. "
Although this is not the most substantial source being a dictionary definition, I found it one of the most successful at familiarising me with the problems surrounding alcohol abuse. Despite being simply a definition, it informs us of the facts as they are, and reminds us that by abusing alcohol we could potentially damage the life of another. Although this source mainly addresses women, I feel that informing us that alcohol has the potential to disfigure aunborn child, it obviously isn't doing us any good. The main downfall to this source is the length but otherwise i found it very informative.
Mark Sweeny, Guardian Newspaper, Sep 2009
This article discribles the coalition of 45 companies in order to campaign against binge drinking. It describes the action needed to be take to begin to control the problem. It talks about the British drinking culture in a way that doesn't just describe the issue and deaths caused, but shows that companies are working together and taking the initiative to do something about it by bringing light of the subject to the public eye through imagery and slogans. Althouh this article is usefull in providing us with various solutions to the drinking problem in Britain, it doesn not show us any examples which makes it more difficult to envisage how successful their campaign will turn out.
Mark Sweeney, Brown: Drink Industry Must Learn Lessons, Guardian.co.uk, Wed 21 Nov 2007
This article mainly discusses Gordan Browns motives for reducing binge drinking in the U.K. It describes it as a "cultu issue" which exemplifies the emornity of the problem. The article shows the ways in which Brown questions the alcohol industry and gives us examples on ways in which we could begin to control the situation e.g. no alcohol advertisments on the television before 9pm. The article mainly talks about a meeting which was held "examining the role of marketing in underage alcohol consumption", which is uful in informing us who surrounds the problem and reassures us that steps are being taken against it. However the source is mainly an account of what happened at the meeting and who attended, it does not present us with many facts relating to the topic nor do we get a full insight into the steps planned to be taken. Another problem with the article is that it is from 2007, meaning it is not up to date.
Cecile A Marczinski, Estee C. Grant, Binge Drinking in Adolescents and College Students, April 2009, Nova Science
This book is a successful source in drawing the distinction between social drinking and binge- drinking. It highlights the realities of drinking in exess and informs us of the dangers of teenage drinking as it can be more damaging to the brain.
The book provides us with hard facts and statistics so is therefore very informative. It is also a recent book, published in 2009, suggesting all the information should be up to date. The source seems to base itself in America, this may be irrelevent in that the medical information e.g the consequences binge drinking has on our brain and our body would be the same, however, to be helping the problem of binge drinking in Britain it may be more effective to use examples closer to home. Quoting British doctos etc so we can gage an aqurate estimation of the severity of the problem in Britain.
www.oxfordreference.com. concise medical dictionary.
Fetak alcohol syndrome: " A condition of newborn babies that results from the toxic effects on the fetus of maternal alcohol abuse. Babies have a low birth weight and growth is retarded; there may be head and facial abnormalities and possibly mental retardation. The greater the alcohol abuse, the more severe the fetal manifestations. "
Although this is not the most substantial source being a dictionary definition, I found it one of the most successful at familiarising me with the problems surrounding alcohol abuse. Despite being simply a definition, it informs us of the facts as they are, and reminds us that by abusing alcohol we could potentially damage the life of another. Although this source mainly addresses women, I feel that informing us that alcohol has the potential to disfigure aunborn child, it obviously isn't doing us any good. The main downfall to this source is the length but otherwise i found it very informative.
Mark Sweeny, Guardian Newspaper, Sep 2009
This article discribles the coalition of 45 companies in order to campaign against binge drinking. It describes the action needed to be take to begin to control the problem. It talks about the British drinking culture in a way that doesn't just describe the issue and deaths caused, but shows that companies are working together and taking the initiative to do something about it by bringing light of the subject to the public eye through imagery and slogans. Althouh this article is usefull in providing us with various solutions to the drinking problem in Britain, it doesn not show us any examples which makes it more difficult to envisage how successful their campaign will turn out.
Mark Sweeney, Brown: Drink Industry Must Learn Lessons, Guardian.co.uk, Wed 21 Nov 2007
This article mainly discusses Gordan Browns motives for reducing binge drinking in the U.K. It describes it as a "cultu issue" which exemplifies the emornity of the problem. The article shows the ways in which Brown questions the alcohol industry and gives us examples on ways in which we could begin to control the situation e.g. no alcohol advertisments on the television before 9pm. The article mainly talks about a meeting which was held "examining the role of marketing in underage alcohol consumption", which is uful in informing us who surrounds the problem and reassures us that steps are being taken against it. However the source is mainly an account of what happened at the meeting and who attended, it does not present us with many facts relating to the topic nor do we get a full insight into the steps planned to be taken. Another problem with the article is that it is from 2007, meaning it is not up to date.
Design idea:
I've decided to develop a service design which would help reduce crime as a direct result of binge drinking. It is well known that Britain's "drinking culture" exeeds the majority of other European countries and i intend to look into why this may be and what can be done to reduce the present rate of binge drinking. My idea is to produce labels for alcohol bottles and posters for bars depicting shocking images of people who fall victem to alcohol abuse, crime and injuries as a result of drink driving. I would then juxtapose these graphic and unsettling images with slogans associated with alocol brands, such as the popular "my goodness, my guinness" which was used to promote the beverage. As well as this i would put facts on the bottles about the dangers of over drinking, similar to that of cigarette packaging. Although this is a somewhat simple design, i feel that it would be effective in bringing home to people the grim statistics and facts and therefore help to reduce the crime rate and the huge cost to the national health service.
I've decided to develop a service design which would help reduce crime as a direct result of binge drinking. It is well known that Britain's "drinking culture" exeeds the majority of other European countries and i intend to look into why this may be and what can be done to reduce the present rate of binge drinking. My idea is to produce labels for alcohol bottles and posters for bars depicting shocking images of people who fall victem to alcohol abuse, crime and injuries as a result of drink driving. I would then juxtapose these graphic and unsettling images with slogans associated with alocol brands, such as the popular "my goodness, my guinness" which was used to promote the beverage. As well as this i would put facts on the bottles about the dangers of over drinking, similar to that of cigarette packaging. Although this is a somewhat simple design, i feel that it would be effective in bringing home to people the grim statistics and facts and therefore help to reduce the crime rate and the huge cost to the national health service.
Tuesday 17 November 2009
Wednesday 14 October 2009
Wednesday 30 September 2009
After much confusion and forgetting both which site i had joined and my password, i have finally become part of the blog scene. An achievement for me as i am both hopeless with technology and have been adament in the past that i would never join a blogging site, alas here i am!
Its been an interesting start to second year, changing courses from art and philosophy to textiles was a bit of a culture shock but i'm finding it alot more productive, and its a nice change being encourraged to paint and draw as apposed to collect objects from the street and relating it to something profound and inspiring. Not for me.
So for textiles our current brief is Culture. My first thought was to explore pop culture, the ways in which artists can become iconic to the extent that society can be minipulated into dressing a certain way, acting a certain way or even rebelling against the government etc. Mainly focusing on the punks and ideas of anti-establishment and deconstruction from both political and the way they dress- rips and safetly pins barely holding their clothes together. However, after researching into the subject it seemed far too brod and quite a cleched subject. I then began to think about communication within cultures. The ways in which we communicate has changed over time and the means in which we can communicate has developed and expanded. People can vocalise their thoughts through music, ideas and personalities can be conveyed through words and writing, as with art etc.
I wanted to explore both this and the ways in which what we see and here can be manipulated and misinterpreted, what someone may think about a piece of music for example, another person might interpret it in a completely different light. This is where different personalities come into play.
To begin my reasearch i've gathered books, maps, letters and i'm trying to get ahold of a type writer (its not overly important but i think its an interesting object from a texture prespective and want to type some things up for my sketch book).
I'm just going to start the process by drawing, taking photos, and mucking about with mark marking. All things research related. Hmm, thats all my thoughts for just now, will keep the blog updated as a start producing more work!
Its been an interesting start to second year, changing courses from art and philosophy to textiles was a bit of a culture shock but i'm finding it alot more productive, and its a nice change being encourraged to paint and draw as apposed to collect objects from the street and relating it to something profound and inspiring. Not for me.
So for textiles our current brief is Culture. My first thought was to explore pop culture, the ways in which artists can become iconic to the extent that society can be minipulated into dressing a certain way, acting a certain way or even rebelling against the government etc. Mainly focusing on the punks and ideas of anti-establishment and deconstruction from both political and the way they dress- rips and safetly pins barely holding their clothes together. However, after researching into the subject it seemed far too brod and quite a cleched subject. I then began to think about communication within cultures. The ways in which we communicate has changed over time and the means in which we can communicate has developed and expanded. People can vocalise their thoughts through music, ideas and personalities can be conveyed through words and writing, as with art etc.
I wanted to explore both this and the ways in which what we see and here can be manipulated and misinterpreted, what someone may think about a piece of music for example, another person might interpret it in a completely different light. This is where different personalities come into play.
To begin my reasearch i've gathered books, maps, letters and i'm trying to get ahold of a type writer (its not overly important but i think its an interesting object from a texture prespective and want to type some things up for my sketch book).
I'm just going to start the process by drawing, taking photos, and mucking about with mark marking. All things research related. Hmm, thats all my thoughts for just now, will keep the blog updated as a start producing more work!
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