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Alcohol consumption has demonstrated substantial temporal trends, with some evidence suggesting strong birth cohort effects. The identification of at-risk birth cohorts can inform the interpretation of alcohol trends across age, time, and demographic characteristics such as gender. The present literature review has two objectives. First, we conduct a cross-national review of the literature on birth cohort differences in alcohol consumption, disorder, and mortality. Second, we determine the consistency of evidence for birth cohort effects on gender differences.
A search was conducted and key data on population characteristics, presence and direction of cohort effects, and interactions with gender compiled. Thirty-one articles were included.
Evidence suggests that younger birth cohorts in North America, especially those born after World War II, are more likely than older cohorts to engage in heavy episodic drinking and develop alcohol disorders, but this cohort effect is not found in Australia and Western Europe. Cross-nationally, substantial evidence indicates that women in younger cohorts are at especially high risk for heavy episodic drinking and alcohol disorders.
Younger birth cohorts in North America and Europe are engaging in more episodic and problem drinking. The gender gap in alcohol problems is narrowing in many countries, suggesting shifting social norms surrounding gender and alcohol consumption. These trends suggest that public health efforts to specifically target heavy drinking in women are necessary.
The World Health Organization has called for the development of global strategies to reduce alcohol consumption (Casswell and Thamarangsi 2009), noting the high social, medical, and economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption worldwide (Rehm, Mathers et al. 2009). A greater understanding of temporal and geographic variation in key indicators of alcohol consumption (e.g., incidence of heavy episodic drinking, development of alcohol disorders, and alcohol-related mortality) is critical to achieving such a reduction. The assessment of birth cohort effects in these indicators can serve three important purposes. First, the identification of birth cohorts at high risk for alcohol-related problems can inform research on etiology by suggesting exposures specific to particular birth cohorts that can be investigated. Second, cohort effects are important to identify for methodological reasons; if time trends are attributable to birth cohort effects, then alcohol trend data should be aggregated and presented by cohort rather than the traditional aggregation by time period. Finally, identification of increased alcohol consumption and related problems in more recently born birth cohorts is important for public health planning and resource allocation.
Concerning etiologic research, birth cohort effects suggest unique social, political and environmental factors to which members of each birth cohort are exposed as they progress through the life course impact health in potentially important ways (Keyes, Utz et al. 2010). Skog and others have written about the “collectivity” of drinking cultures that is both geographically and temporally defined (Skog 1985; Room and Makela 2000; Ahern, Galea et al. 2008), creating the emergence of group-level variation in alcohol use that is distinct from individual-level variation in risk factors for alcohol use. Individuals within certain birth cohorts come of age during specific socio-political moments, sharing experiences that impact health and well-being at critical periods of the life course. Economic fluctuation, political instability, policies and laws, and social norms are group-level exposures that can vary between time periods and countries, potentially impacting particular birth cohorts in ways that affect their risk for problematic alcohol consumption and disorder. Identifying group-level exposures that impact the alcohol outcomes of certain birth cohorts may thus have substantial public health relevance for future prevention efforts.
Cohort effects are also important to identify for methodological reasons, as the presence of these effects obscures the interpretation of age-related trends in alcohol and drug outcomes. For example, cross-sectional studies consistently find that the prevalence of current alcohol consumption and disorders is lower among older individuals compared to younger individuals (Grant 1997; Johnson, Gruenewald et al. 1998; Hasin, Stinson et al. 2007). Prospective studies, however, show mixed results; while some studies demonstrate drinking reductions with age (Adams, Garry et al. 1990; Fillmore, Hartka et al. 1991; Caetano and Kaskutas 1995; Eigenbrodt, Mosley et al. 2001), many others show no change or even increases (Gordon and Kannel 1983; Klatsky, Siegelaub et al. 1983; Glynn, Bouchard et al. 1985; Hubert, Eaker et al. 1987; Neve, Diederiks et al. 1993; Levenson, Aldwin et al. 1998; Wilsnack, Wilsnack et al. 2009). The discrepancy between cross-sectional and prospective findings could be a result of birth cohort effects. Individuals in cross-sectional studies represent many different birth cohorts; thus, age effects are difficult to separate from cohort effects. Conversely, individuals studied prospectively typically include only one or a few birth cohorts of individuals, making cohort effects difficult to detect because of a lack of adequate data across multiple birth cohorts. Examining findings from datasets with various sampling strategies and the estimation of formal age-period-cohort models may shed light on these seemingly discrepant results.
Differences in the effect of birth cohort on demographic risk factors may necessitate the replacement of old assumptions with new information. An important example concerns gender and alcohol. Greater risk in males is well-documented across countries and cultures (Brady and Randall 1999; Nolen-Hoeksema 2004; Nolen-Hoeksema and Hilt 2006; WHO 2011). However, recent evidence suggests a diminishing gender gap in the prevalence of alcohol use and disorders among more recently born cohorts (Grucza, Norberg et al. 2008; Keyes, Grant et al. 2008; Seedat, Scott et al. 2009; Wilsnack, Wilsnack et al. 2009). A cohort-specific increase in female drinking would signal the need for increased prevention and intervention efforts to address drinking problems in the birth cohorts identified at heightened risk. Further, if gender differences are truly diminishing, the paradigm of alcohol problems being a male-dominated health outcome will need to be shifted. Critical, careful review of the consistency of these findings across study designs and samples is therefore crucial, as the public health implications of such a major change are substantial.
To date, there have been no systematic reviews of information available regarding cohort effects on alcohol indicators across time, geographic location, and gender. This report aims to review and synthesize the existing population-based information on cohort effects for three alcohol consumption indicators: 1) lifetime prevalence of alcohol consumption; 2) current prevalence of alcohol consumption; and 3) lifetime prevalence of alcohol disorders, problems, and alcohol-related mortality. These outcomes were chosen to reflect key indicators of alcohol use across the life-course: initial use as represented by lifetime any alcohol consumption, regular patterns of alcohol consumption in terms of quantity and frequency, and alcohol-related problems such as alcohol use disorders and alcohol-attributable mortality. The review addresses three questions with respect to each of these outcomes: a) Is there evidence for a cohort effect, with risk higher in more recently born birth cohorts? b) Does the cohort effect vary cross-nationally? and c) Is there evidence for differences in the cohort effect across gender?
Materials for this review were primarily identified through searches of three electronic databases for peer-reviewed published papers: the MEDLINE/Pubmed, PsychInfo, and Scopus. Search terms were selected based on initial review of relevant subject headings across databases that were likely to yield relevant results. Using MEDLINE/Pubmed, initial search terms included: “age-period-cohort” or “birth cohorts” and “alcohol” (N=47), “liver” (N=47), “cirrhosis” (N=21), “substance use” (N=10). We then added a search term for “gender” (N=2) and “women” (N=18). Using PsychInfo, initial search terms included: “cohort analysis”, “time trends” and “alcohol drinking patterns” (N=27), “liver” (N=26), “cirrhosis” (N=24), and “substance abuse” (N=15), and a search terms for “gender” (N=27) and “women” (N=13). Using Scopus, initial search terms included: “age-period-cohort” and “alcohol” (N=20) “liver” (N=18) “cirrhosis” (N=6), “substance abuse” (N=1) and additional search terms for “gender” (N=1) and “women” (N=1). A search of related articles in these databases, references in relevant papers, and consultation with recognized experts yielded additional 8 papers for review.
Figure 1 details the process of article refinement for inclusion in the review. After duplicate articles were removed, an initial set of 151 papers was reviewed. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) published in the last 20 years (i.e., after 1988, in order to focus the review on the most recent information regarding birth cohort effects); (2) written in English; (3) peer-reviewed; (4) original research (i.e., no review articles); (5) population- or community-based sample; (5) directly assessed possible cohort effects by comparing at least two birth cohorts; (6) included alcohol use, alcohol use disorder, or alcohol-related mortality as an outcome.
The final number of papers included was 31. Four articles included more than one outcome that was relevant to the present review (Grant 1997; Levenson, Aldwin et al. 1998; Keyes, Grant et al. 2008; Zhang, Guo et al. 2008); these outcomes were considered separately, for a total of 31 papers and 35 outcomes assessed.
Lifetime prevalence of alcohol use was defined as either the lifetime proportion of alcohol use (percentage of population who have ever used alcohol) or as the incidence density of alcohol use (percentage of new alcohol users per unit of person-time at risk of alcohol).
Prevalence of current alcohol use was defined as the proportion of alcohol users in a specified time frame (e.g., past week, month, or year).
Alcohol disorders/problems included any prevalent DSM (substance abuse or dependence) or ICD (harmful substance use or substance dependence) defined alcohol disorder, chart review for alcohol problems, or scales capturing alcohol-related impairment in social, occupational, or physical domains.
Alcohol-attributable morbidity/mortality was included as an outcome for papers that examined morbidity and mortality that is solely caused by alcohol (e.g., ICD-10 codes F10 [mental and behavioral disorders due to use of alcohol], X45 [accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol], and Y15 [poisoning by alcohol, undetermined intent]), or for which alcohol is a primary contributing case (e.g., ICD-10 code K70 [alcoholic liver disease]).
We separated the studies into three quality levels of evidence, hierarchically organized by the rigor of the statistical modeling and the appropriateness of the dataset to answer age-period-cohort research questions. For convenience, we labeled these as Levels 1, 2 and 3.
Studies given a (1) provided the most rigorous evidence. These include cross-sectional studies repeated over time as well as panel designs (longitudinal follow-ups of sequential cohorts), and formal statistical modeling to decompose variance in trends over time into components that can be attributed to age, period, and cohort. We note that modeling of APC effects remain an ongoing statistical debate (Keyes, Utz et al. 2010), full elaboration of which is outside the scope of this review. All articles included in this review utilize common and well-documented methods for APC analysis.
Those studies given a (2) provided an intermediate level of evidence in terms of methodological rigor. These include longitudinal cohort studies with a limited number of birth cohorts (as opposed to panel designs with a greater number of birth cohorts), with and without statistical age-period-cohort models. While longitudinal studies offer more rigorous evidence for cohort effects than single time point cross-sectional studies, period and age effects are difficult to unconfound with cohort effects in the longitudinal design due to the often restricted variation in birth cohorts, and the fact that the cohorts age simultaneously with time so age and period effects cannot be disentangled.
Those studies given a (3) are those providing the least rigorous evidence, and for which the most caution should therefore be taken during synthesis and inference. Cross-sectional studies make up the majority of this category, since they offer the advantage of readily-available data. However, one-time cross-sectional studies rely heavily on retrospectively reported information, raising methodological issues in the validity of retrospective recall. Further, age and cohort effects cannot be rigorously disentangled in the cross-sectional design, as respondents’ current age at the time of the survey determines birth cohort. However, cross-sectional studies often control for a collection of important confounders, thus, we include these types of APC analyses in this review, but use caution in interpreting the results. We included only those cross-sectional studies that report on birth cohorts, rather than cross-sectional studies that report differences across age alone. While age can be used as a proxy for cohort in the cross-sectional design, we focused on studies that explicitly aimed to estimate parameters for birth cohorts.
Seven studies examined cohort effects in the lifetime prevalence of alcohol use (Grant 1997; Johnson and Gerstein 1998; Degenhardt, Lynskey et al. 2000; Johnson and Gerstein 2000; Degenhardt, Chiu et al. 2007; Keyes, Grant et al. 2008; van Heerden, Grimsrud et al. 2009). Only one study of the lifetime prevalence of alcohol consumption had a level (1) (i.e., most rigorous) methodology to examine evidence for cohort effects in the lifetime prevalence of alcohol use (Johnson and Gerstein 2000). This study did not find evidence for cohort effects in the incidence density of alcohol initiation among repeated assessments of young adults aged 10–24 in the U.S. Measures of incidence and population at risk were reconstructed through retrospective reports. Restricted age range of this study could account for the lack of a demonstrated cohort effect for alcohol initiation, although cohort effects were detected for other outcomes (i.e., marijuana) in the same sample.
The remaining six studies (four based in the U.S., one in Australia and one in South Africa) were level three (i.e., cross sectional) studies, using questions on whether the respondent has ever consumed alcohol as a measure of lifetime prevalence. Of these six, Grant (Grant 1997), Keyes et al. (Keyes, Grant et al. 2008), Johnson & Gerstein (Johnson and Gerstein 1998), van Heerden et al. (van Heerden, Grimsrud et al. 2009) and Degenhardt et al. 2007 (Degenhardt, Chiu et al. 2007) report that the cumulative proportion of lifetime alcohol use has increased in younger cohorts in the U.S., especially those born after World War II.
Five of the seven studies examining lifetime prevalence of alcohol use were conducted in the U.S., and of these, four reported a cohort effect with the highest risk in the latest born cohort (Grant 1997; Johnson and Gerstein 1998; Degenhardt, Chiu et al. 2007; Keyes, Grant et al. 2008). Van Heerden et al. (2009) reported a similar effect in South Africa. In contrast, Degenhardt et al. 2000 (Degenhardt, Lynskey et al. 2000) reports no similar cohort effect in Australia. Explanation for the discrepancy can be drawn from different drinking patterns between countries; 27.2% of individuals in the oldest cohort of a U.S. sample (born 1894–1937) were lifetime abstainers (Grant 1997), while less than 3% of individuals in approximately the same birth cohort (born 1904–1932) were lifetime abstainers in the Australian sample (Degenhardt, Lynskey et al. 2000).
The four studies that assessed lifetime alcohol use by gender all reported converging rates across successively more recent birth cohorts, including the level (1) methodology study (Johnson and Gerstein 2000); male to female ratios approached 1.0 in the most recent cohorts in Johnson & Gerstein (1998), 1.2 in Grant (Grant 1997), and 1.0 in Johnson & Gerstein (2000). A significant interaction between cohort and gender was reported in Keyes et al. (Keyes, Grant et al. 2008), with the gender ratio in lifetime initiation of alcohol decreasing from 1.94:1 to 1.54:1.
Table 1 shows selected information on the 15 studies that assessed the prevalence of alcohol consumption. Five studies were level (1) methodology, indicating the most rigorous evidence for cohort effects. All five reported evidence of a cohort effect, and three studies report reported that youngest cohort was at the highest risk for heavy episodic drinking (Kemm 2003; Kerr, Greenfield et al. 2009) or high household alcohol expenditure (Aristei, Perali et al. 2008). A fourth study reported that that youngest cohort consumed the highest quantity of alcohol, although this effect was restricted to women (Bjork, Thygesen et al. 2008). Kerr et al. (Kerr, Greenfield et al. 2004) is the only study to examine beverage specificity; this study reported birth cohort variation in type of beverage consumed, with spirit consumption highest in older born U.S. cohorts (those born before 1940). Beer and wine consumption was highest in cohorts born 1965–1976 (men) and pre-1940 (women), respectively.
Among the four studies at an intermediate level of rigor (level (2)), three studies reported that a cohort effect was observed, but the youngest cohort was not at the highest risk for the outcome (Menard and Huizinga 1989; Moore, Gould et al. 2005; Zhang, Guo et al. 2008); cohorts found to be at high risk were primarily those born from around 1900–1920. One study reported no cohort effect (Karlamangla, Zhou et al. 2006).
Finally, among those studies with the lowest level of rigor in assessing cohort effects (level (3)), five studies found evidence of a cohort effect (Black and Markides 1994; Johnstone, Leino et al. 1996; Levenson, Aldwin et al. 1998; Bachman, Freedman-Doan et al. 1999; Gilhooly 2005). Studies varied in the identified cohort with the highest alcohol consumption, but there was a general tendency toward younger cohorts consuming less mean alcohol than older cohorts per time period studied.
Nine of the fifteen studies examining current prevalence of alcohol use were conducted in the U.S., and of these, eight reported a cohort effect. Only two studies found that risk was highest in the latest-born cohort (Black and Markides 1994; Kerr, Greenfield et al. 2009), and one of these two only found highest risk in the latest-born cohort among Cuban Americans (Black and Markides 1994).
Studies in Great Britian (Kemm 2003), Scotland (Gilhooly 2005), Italy (Aristei, Perali et al. 2008), and Denmark (Bjork, Thygesen et al. 2008) have all documented cohort effects in alcohol consumption; the study in Italy found risk was highest in the latest born cohorts, and the studies in Denmark and Scotland found risk was highest in the latest born cohorts only in women. Two did not find evidence for a cohort effect; one in the Netherlands (Neve, Diederiks et al. 1993) and one cross-nationally (Johnstone, Leino et al. 1996).
Evidence for a narrowing of gender differences is mixed, although the strongest methodological studies all document convergence in gender differences in the U.S., Britain, and Denmark. Among level (1) studies, three studies document gender convergence (Kemm 2003; Bjork, Thygesen et al. 2008; Kerr, Greenfield et al. 2009); the remaining two studies did not assess gender differences. Among level (2) studies, two studies did not find evidence of a gender convergence (Moore, Gould et al. 2005; Karlamangla, Zhou et al. 2006), and the remaining two studies did not assess gender. Among level (3) studies, two studies found evidence of gender convergence (Neve, Diederiks et al. 1993; Gilhooly 2005), one did not (Johnstone, Leino et al. 1996), and the remainder did not assess gender differences.
Studies of alcohol disorder, problems, and mortality are reviewed in Table 2. Of the twelve studies identified with alcohol disorders/problems as an outcome, ten found evidence of a cohort effect (Burke, Burke et al. 1991; Grant 1997; Heath, Bucholz et al. 1997; Levenson, Aldwin et al. 1998; Holdcraft and Iacono 2002; Rice, Neuman et al. 2003; Grucza, Bucholz et al. 2008; Keyes, Grant et al. 2008; Zhang, Guo et al. 2008; Seedat, Scott et al. 2009), and nine found a step-wise increase in risk with each successively younger cohort (Burke, Burke et al. 1991; Grant 1997; Heath, Bucholz et al. 1997; Levenson, Aldwin et al. 1998; Holdcraft and Iacono 2002; Rice, Neuman et al. 2003; Grucza, Bucholz et al. 2008; Keyes, Grant et al. 2008; Zhang, Guo et al. 2008; Seedat, Scott et al. 2009). The studies that did not find cohort effects (Kendler, Prescott et al. 1997; Dube, Felitti et al. 2003) were level (2) and (3) studies.
Two level (1) studies examined age, period, and cohort effects in directly measured alcohol-associated mortality. Rosen & Haglund report that alcohol-attributable mortality is lower among more recently born cohorts in Sweden (Rosen and Haglund 2006). Corrao et al. (Corrao, Ferrari et al. 1997) reported substantial cross-region differences in the emergence of a cohort effect for liver cirrhosis mortality. Younger birth cohorts in Eastern and Northern European countries evidence higher risk of cirrhosis mortality, whereas younger birth cohorts in Southern and Western European countries are at slightly lower risk of cirrhosis mortality. Neither study found evidence for a converging gender gap.
Nine of the twelve studies assessing cohort effects in alcohol problems have been conducted in the U.S. All studies but one (Dube, Felitti et al. 2003) document a cohort effect, and all but two (Dube, Felitti et al. 2003; Keyes, Grant et al. 2008) document that risk is highest in the most recently born cohort. Cohort effects with the youngest cohort at risk are documented in an Australian sample (Heath, Bucholz et al. 1997) and across fifteen different countries as part of the WHO-WMH surveys (Seedat, Scott et al. 2009).
One level (2) study (Zhang, Guo et al. 2008) found no convergence in rates of gender differences in alcohol-related mortality. The remaining studies documenting gender convergence were level (3) studies (Grant 1997; Holdcraft and Iacono 2002; Rice, Neuman et al. 2003; Keyes, Grant et al. 2008; Seedat, Scott et al. 2009). We note that these samples were primarily drawn from the U.S. However, Seedat et al. (Seedat, Scott et al. 2009) reported data from 15 countries, documenting the greatest reduction in the gender gap among countries where women’s roles have evidenced the greatest shift from traditional to autonomous.
First, the most methodologically rigorous studies provide substantial (though not universal) evidence of a cohort effect in alcohol consumption, with younger birth cohorts consistently consuming more alcohol than older cohorts. Second, consistent evidence suggests increased risk of heavy episodic drinking and alcohol disorders in younger born cohorts compared to older cohorts. Third, studies are relatively consistent in demonstrating a narrowing of the gender gap for heavy drinking and alcohol disorders, whereby women in younger birth cohorts evidenced increasing prevalence of these outcomes over time while men did not. However, we note that most studies showing a converging gender gap are cross-sectional in design, indicating that caution should be taken when synthesizing this evidence due to the possibility of recall bias and the inability of these studies to separate cohort from age effects. Further, the predominance of evidence is from the U.S. and other English-speaking countries; these trends may not apply cross-nationally. Evidence is less consistent for gender gap narrowing in mean alcohol consumption. Fourth, substantial cross-cultural and demographic variation is evident in the emergence of cohort effects. Australia and Western European countries have little evidence of cohort effects, whereas Northern and Eastern European countries have increases in drinking, household expenditures on alcohol, and alcohol-related mortality. In summary, the picture that emerges is one in which younger birth cohorts, particularly in the U.S., Northern, and Eastern Europe, and increasingly women, consume consumer more alcohol, engage in more episodic drinking and evidence more alcohol problems.
Taken together, the present review indicates substantial evidence for cohort effects in various alcohol indicators including lifetime use, consumption, and alcohol problems, suggesting that alcohol use across the life-course aggregates within cohorts. However, we note that synthesis of this evidence is limited by a reliance on cross-sectional designs. Of those studies with the most rigorous methodology, the evidence for cohort effects in lifetime any alcohol use is weak (only one study rigorously assessed cohort effects and found none), the evidence for cohort effects in prevalent alcohol consumption across the life-course is strong (although variation in the cohort assessed, the measure used, and the geographic location of the sample make synthesis a challenge), and the evidence for cohort effects in alcohol problems/disorder is limited by the fact that no strong rigorous studies have been conducted (although less strong study designs predominately support evidence for a cohort effect across many countries).
While the identification of at-risk cohorts provides an initial characterization of drinking patterns over time, cohort analysis does not typically test the mechanisms through which birth cohorts collectively change in their drinking patterns. Neve et al. (Neve, Diederiks et al. 1993) divides potential mechanisms for changing alcohol consumption patterns into ‘endogenous’ and ‘exogenous’ mechanisms. ‘Endogenous’ mechanisms for changing drinking patterns are characterized by social norms and social transmission of alcohol consumption behavior at the population level. Using the example of the U.S., scholars have noted rapid social change among younger generations in the latter half of the 20th century (Traub and Dodder 1988) whereby the social norms of the older generation are not transmitted to the younger generation. Historical analyses suggest that cohorts following those with permissive norms regarding alcohol and drug use will have more restrictive norms (Musto 1999). These shifting social norms across generations could potentially account for the observed decrease in mean drinking but the suggestive increase in heavy episodic drinking.
‘Exogenous’ mechanisms, on the other hand, are characterized by policies, laws, and economic factors that affect the availability of and consequences from alcohol consumption. Substantial evidence documents an ecological association between alcohol policy and consumption (Leifman and Romelsjo 1997; Henderson, Liu et al. 2004; Norstrom and Ramstedt 2005; Andreasson, Holder et al. 2006); countries with stricter policies have less per capita consumption (Brand, Saisana et al. 2007). In the U.S. in the 1980’s, policies increased the minimum drinking age (O’Malley and Wagenaar 1991) and penalties for driving after drinking (Tippetts, Voas et al. 2004), with simultaneous decreases observed in traffic-associated alcohol-related mortality. However, the studies presented in this review suggest that problems are increasing among the more recent cohorts at the same time as increasingly strict policies. Thus, it is possible that policy changes could be an effect rather than a cause of change across cohorts, although more empirical data is necessary to formally disentangle these relationships. Data on the interplay between legal policies and age-specific drinking patterns would be helpful in understanding the underlying mechanisms driving these trends. Of course, endogenous and exogenous mechanisms are not independent; social norms drive the acceptability of policies and laws regarding alcohol use, and vice versa (Musto 1999).
Multiple lines of evidence suggest that gender differences in the prevalence of heavy episodic use and alcohol disorders are narrowing. Several studies reported here present a 1:1 ratio in the gender difference in initiation of alcohol among adolescents (Johnson and Gerstein 1998; Johnson and Gerstein 2000), and multiple lines of cross-national evidence suggest substantial increases in the prevalence of alcohol disorders among women in more recently born cohorts. Given that evidence suggests greater long-term health risks among women with chronic alcohol disorders compared to men (Klatsky, Armstrong et al. 1992; Deal and Cavaler 1994; Urbano-Marquez, Estruch et al. 1995; Key, Hodgson et al. 2006), these trends suggest that public health efforts to specifically target heavy drinking in women are necessary.
As with the emergence of cohort effects more generally, the mechanisms through which this gender by cohort interaction arises remains unclear. Taking the example of the U.S., the 20th century was a period of substantial change in the societal structuring of gender roles. Women in the latter part of the 20th century entered higher education in high proportions, entered the workforce in record numbers, and delayed childbearing. Inglehart (Inglehardt 1977; Inglehardt 1990; Inglehardt and Baker 2000) has noted that economic prosperity and increased educational possibilities in the U.S. after World War II and extending into the 1970s, especially for women, provided a political framework in which norms and values could be shifted to more permissive attitudes toward drinking. International evidence from Seedat et al. (Seedat, Scott et al. 2009) suggest that these factors may have contributed to the increased risk of problematic alcohol consumption, in that gender-by-cohort interactions were much stronger in countries where these changes in gender roles were operative. Further, recent evidence indicates that differences in average frequency of drinking in certain venues between men and women can be partially explained by variation in economic participation and opportunity of women, above and beyond the influence of overall country wealth (Bond, Roberts et al.). Though speculative, the results of this study suggest that perhaps improvements in economic conditions for women over time may contribute to potential convergences in gender differences. A full explanation for these patterns, however, is unlikely to be straightforward. For example, there is evidence of socio-economic interactions with the effect of workplace on drinking in women (Brady and Randall 1999). Working outside the home is a protective factor for excessive alcohol consumption among women of lower-SES, and a risk factor for women of higher-SES (Brady and Randall 1999), suggesting that the web of competing risks for alcohol problems operate in a complex way in the development of drinking problems (Brady and Randall 1999; Nolen-Hoeksema 2004; Nolen-Hoeksema and Hilt 2006). Data from Gender, Alcohol, and Culture: An International Study (GenACIS) suggest that, cross-nationally, women who are paid for labor are more likely to engage in risky drinking compared to women who are not paid for labor, but that engagement in more than one life role (e.g., paid for labor but also in a partnership with children) is protective against risky drinking in both women and men (Kuntsche, Knibbe et al. 2009). Taken together, the role of the workplace on female drinking patterns remains understudied, yet important as an explanation for the patterns observed here.
Cross-national comparisons are limited due to the predominance of evidence from the U.S. (19 of the 31 papers reviewed in this article are based on U.S. samples). While studies in additional countries are needed to provide a more complete global picture of time trends in alcohol use, available evidence indicates cross-national variation in some alcohol outcomes but not in others. Cross-national variation is most striking in the age-period-cohort analysis of cirrhosis mortality in Europe conducted by Corrao et al. (Corrao, Ferrari et al. 1997), whereby later born cohorts were at increased risk in Eastern and Northern European countries only. Also striking is the lack of cohort effects in the Australian data, due to the near-ubiquitous lifetime alcohol consumption across time (Degenhardt, Lynskey et al. 2000). There is also, however, some cross-national convergence in the emergence of cohort effects. For example, later-born cohorts are at higher risk for heavy drinking in the U.S. (Kerr, Greenfield et al. 2009), Britain (Kemm 2003), and Denmark (Bjork, Thygesen et al. 2008), with a narrowing of the gender gap documented across these countries as well. Cross-national variation for some alcohol indicators is unsurprising; countries differ substantially in the per capita alcohol consumption (WHO 2011) and in maturational norms with respect to drinking. Thus, the emergence of cohort effects in alcohol consumption and other alcohol outcomes is bounded by the level of drinking in each country, making cross-national comparisons difficult and convergence in the effect unlikely.
Population-level policies and laws that differ between countries are likely to contribute to cross-national variation in alcohol patterns (Casswell and Thamarangsi 2009). As a case study in the effects of these policies and laws on a particular country, consider the recent changes in population-level alcohol consumption in Finland. While per capita consumption is higher than the world average (Rehm, Mathers et al. 2009), Finland has relatively low consumption compared to other European countries, with strict government control of the production and distribution of alcohol (World Health Organization: alcohol control database). Finland’s entry into the European Union in 1995 required de-monopolization of many aspects of alcohol production and trade policy. In response to increasing international pressure, Finland substantially lowered alcohol taxes in 2004. In the following year, alcohol sales increased by 50% and per capita consumption rose by 10% (Anderson, Chisholm et al. 2009). This example highlights how local and international politics and history align to shape alcohol consumption patterns within and across geographic localities.
This review also highlights some methodological issues that should be considered in future research on alcohol consumption patterns over time. We will focus on four primary recommendations for future research.
First, the lack of any standardization of alcohol quantity and frequency measures creates ambiguity in the synthesis of research on trends over time. This is difficult for practical purposes, as standard drink sizes and drinking practices vary across countries. However, most studies included in the present review reported only a single measure of alcohol consumption, typically either drinking quantity or drinking frequency. While different measures of quantity and frequency each provide unique and important information about changing alcohol consumption patterns, more research that reports multiple quantity/frequency measures within a single study (where standard drink size would be controlled) would be beneficial for drawing conclusions. An example of the utility of cross-measure comparison is seen in Kerr et al. (Kerr, Greenfield et al. 2009), where in a single study it was reported that younger cohorts were at higher risk for heavy episodic drinking but were consuming fewer monthly drinks. Moreover, the quality of the data ranges across studies in potentially systematic ways; for example, there may be cross-cultural variation in the extent to which alcohol consumption is validly reported on surveys, limiting the validity of cross-national differences observed here.
Second, limited data are available from prospective studies on cohort effects in the incidence of alcohol-related phenomena. Studies identified in this review either used the lifetime proportion of alcohol users or retrospective age of onset reporting to estimate some measure of incidence. While these studies provide important information, the potential for selection bias, confounding of age and period effects, and recall bias (Rehm, Irving et al. 2008) limit the ability to draw conclusions. While incidence data is difficult to collect on a large scale due to practical difficulties of time and expense involved in prospective data collection, it is critical for the tracking of trends over time in order to design and implement public health programs when necessary.
Third, data on cohort effects generally and cohort effects on gender differences from a broader cultural framework are needed. As noted, most studies in this review are based on U.S. samples; the remaining countries included in these papers are also predominately high-income western countries, save for Seedat et al. (2009) and van Heerden et al., (2009). The data from Seedat et al. (2009) indicate substantial cross-cultural variation in the effect of birth cohorts on gender differences, suggesting that further data from a wider cross-section of countries could reveal important patterns that are obscured in the present published literature focused on Western countries. Emerging evidence suggests that young people, and especially girls, in many countries, and especially Eastern Europe, are increasing in the frequency of drunkenness faster than boys and girls in other countries, suggesting that data on cohort effects in these countries is urgently needed (Kuntsche, Kuntsche et al. 2011).
Finally, most studies included in this review are based on self-report of respondents via surveys. Those studies that did not collect data from self-report (Corrao, Ferrari et al. 1997; Kendler, Prescott et al. 1997; Rosen and Haglund 2006; Aristei, Perali et al. 2008; Zhang, Guo et al. 2008) did not consistently document cohort effects, raising questions about the validity of the self-report data. Survey data is an imperfect tool for gauging the total amount of alcohol consumed (Del Boca and Darkes 2003), and the validity of self-reported alcohol consumption is likely subject to some of the same social norms identified above as a potential mechanism driving cohort effects in alcohol consumption. Thus, to at least some extent, the cohort effects in alcohol consumption could arise from cohort effects in the reporting of alcohol consumption only. Age-period-cohort models using diverse data sources such as reported expenditures and alcohol-associated mortality would be beneficial to disaggregate cohort effects in consumption from those due to reporting.
The identification of at-risk cohorts provides crucial information on the dynamics of ever-changing societies. As each cohort progresses through life, they are collectively faced with different social, economic, and political barriers and resources that may impact health in significant ways. Birth cohort analyses can be used to predict future alcohol-associated harm and disability for public health planning and intervention by identifying the structural and societal-level forces that shape trends over time in alcohol phenomena. Collectively, the studies presented above suggest that drinking patterns aggregate in a cohort-specific manner, with variation in alcohol consumption over time that is best understood when incidence, consumption and disorder over time are modeled as a function of birth cohort. An especially important observation from this literature is that women in younger cohorts increasingly engage in risky drinking practices, challenging the paradigm of alcohol consumption as a male-dominated health issue, and suggesting a substantial role for population-level social norms in shaping consumption patterns.
This research was supported in part by funding from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (F31 DA026689, K. Keyes), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (K05 AA014223, Hasin; R01AA09963, Li) and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. We thank Dr. William Kerr for feedback on earlier drafts of this manuscript.
The authors report no conflicts of interest.


text:
The Venezuelan opposition assigns full responsibility for the crisis in Venezuela to the Maduro government but in reality it is a question of shared responsibilities, since the main leaders of both the Right and the Left are great financial operators benefiting from the situation.
Delivery companies exploit an invisible precariat. Now, against all expectations workers are mobilizing across borders to claim their rights.
International finger-pointing exacerbates rising tensions. Only a thorough investigation can reveal those responsible for the chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoum.

domain: news


text:
Gasoline retailer Sonol will put convenience stores in city centers next year, TheMarker reported today. Many gas stations across the country have convenience stores nowadays - combinations of corner stores and cafes that seek to solve all our problems. But in effect they replace the privately-owned restaurants and kiosks that once were the norm.
The first convenience stores were built a decade ago, but in the last three years their numbers have reached 600 nationwide, virtually all under the ownership of four big gasoline companies. Business writers use terms like "investment," "growth" and "expansion" to describe them. These labels are surely fitting for gas companies, which make considerable money from these stores, at which profit margins are often 30 to 70 percent. I fear, however, that for those Israelis who do not own gas companies, these stores are hardly convenient at all.
First of all, the advent of convenience stores clearly does not pay off for the business owner who has lost his business. It's also less than advantageous for the workers, who previously toiled for an owner responsible for them and have now lost their jobs. Most convenience-store employees are very young, earn minimum wage and are easily coerced or manipulated. The stores don't even help the consumers paying the stores' particularly high prices.
Now convenience stores are infiltrating cities, as did the chain stores that "sprouted up" in every neighborhood at the expense of privately owned kiosks, many of which saw their profits plummet and were forced to close.
Why should a gas company, whose business is selling fuel, even bother with selling food and drinks rather than leave it to others? Alas, profits in the gas business are limited, business newspapers assure us empathetically. "Limited" in this case refers gas firm Paz's NIS 602 million in profits last year. Yes, turnover was NIS 17 billion, but NIS 300 million was distributed as dividends - that is, the CEO received a bit more than NIS 150 million. Limited profits indeed. Let's not forget that the industry's revenues are assured - the four major gas companies operate almost all Israel's filling stations, and it's almost impossible to put up a station that is not affiliated with them.
Of course there are some for whom convenience stores are indeed more convenient, a place where it's pleasant to spend money and the bathrooms are clean. But the price of this comfort is high - independent small business owners are replaced by weaker, dependent employees, and unique restaurants are replaced by identical food services. And then there is the greatest loss of all, solidarity. In place of the kiosk owner you got to know is a faceless procession of workers with whom you have no connection. Nor do you care about their fates.
It wouldn't even help if convenience stores could be prohibited by law - the greed that drives a corporation to continue increasing profits at any price would find another way of achieving the same result. Gas tycoons apparently feel no moral obligation to allow their employees to work honorably, or to allow others to earn their livelihoods while not under their control.
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domain: finance


The Apple TV has gained four new channels: ABC News, PBS Kids, AOL On, and Willow TV. Unlike the Watch ABC app, which requires a cable or satellite subscription, the ABC News app is free to all. PBS Kids is free, but requires online activation. AOL On is also free, but the Willow TV app, which features live cricket broadcasts, costs $15 a month. Finally, the Flickr app has been redesigned to allow account logins and offer vastly better photo discovery.
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As of Monday, June 21, 2021, Cheshire Medical Center is operating under a GREEN risk level Visitor and Caregiver Policy.
Cheshire Medical Center is using three visitation risk levels — red, yellow and green — to protect patients, caregivers or visitors, and our staff and limit the spread of COVID-19. The visitation risk levels are based on the number of COVID-19 cases in the community, as well as hospital conditions. Risk levels are assessed weekly.
You can learn about the visitation levels by using the links below:
YELLOW – Limited visitors >
GREEN – More open to visits >
These procedures apply to all Cheshire Medical Center facilities, including Walpole Family Practice, Winchester Family Practice, and satellite offices such as our Audiology, Dermatology, Ophthalmology departments and Optical Shop.
Everyone is screened when entering Cheshire Medical Center and all D-HH patient care facilities. We screen for COVID-19 symptoms, diagnosis within 10 days, and possible exposure. Our screening procedures may change based on current guidelines.
- COVID-19 symptoms: Patients experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms must notify their provider before they arrive for an appointment. If the provider has not been notified, patients will need to call Cheshire’s COVID-19 nurse line at 603-354-5400 ext. 6844 for further information about their scheduled appointment. Emergency Department patients experiencing COVID-19 symptoms may be escorted to a different entrance for isolated care.
Masks are mandatory for everyone at ALL times within Cheshire Medical Center facilities.
- If you do not have an approved mask of your own, you will be provided one when you enter our facility.
- If you refuse to wear a mask, you will be asked to leave our facility.
Caregiver screening procedures
- No minors permitted as caregivers.
- Caregivers or visitors who have COVID-19 symptoms or who have had a known COVID-19 exposure in the past 14 days may not enter a Cheshire Medical Center facility.
- Caregivers or visitors are required to keep a mask on at all times, including when with the patient in the room.
- Anyone accompanying patients who is not allowed into the building will be directed to parking areas on the campus where they should remain until called to assist the patient.
- Visitors, when allowed, must enter via the Main Entrance.
Virtual Visits for hospitalized patients
We encourage family members and friends to use their telephone or video calls to stay in touch with inpatients. Please reference our Virtual Visits with Friends and Family in the Hospital (PDF) to connect with loved ones using a personal device. For patients who may not have a device or need help connecting, our inpatient staff can facilitate virtual visits for you.
How can you connect with patients?
- Call or video chat on their personal phone
- Call 603-354-5400 for the patient's room and phone number
- Make a staff-assisted Virtual Visit. Contact the patient's health care team to arrange a Virtual Visit.
- Send mail to this address:
Patient's Full Name
Cheshire Medical Center
580 Court Street
Keene, NH 03431

domain: medical


text:
PHOENIX — The political fortunes of Katie Hobbs, the Arizona secretary of state, have risen unlike any other Democrat in the country in the tumultuous aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. Now running for governor, she has emerged as a high-profile defender
Senate Democrats have begun privately weighing a sprawling economic package as much as $6 trillion — including $3 trillion that is paid for — even as a bipartisan group of senators works to draw support for a much narrower infrastructure plan that
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in favor of two American corporations accused of complicity in child slavery on Ivory Coast cocoa farms. The decision was the latest in a series of rulings imposing strict limits on lawsuits brought in
President Biden is scheduled on Thursday to sign legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday, the day after the House voted overwhelmingly to enshrine June 19 as the national day to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. The Senate rushed
The Democratic candidates for mayor of New York were asked during Wednesday’s debate how they would address mental health and homelessness. Andrew Yang’s response differed from his rivals.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled that Philadelphia may not bar a Catholic agency that refused to work with same-sex couples from screening potential foster parents. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for six members of the court,
Good morning. It was after 9 p.m. on Sunday when I heard two big booms within five minutes. In this part of West Los Angeles, the sounds aren’t so familiar — and two in quick succession had me wondering: fireworks or gunshots?
BILLINGS, Mont. — From the moment Silver Little Eagle decided to run for Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council, people dismissed her as too young, too green. But she was determined. Wooing voters with coffee, doughnuts and vows of bringing new energy to tribal
A Honolulu police officer has been charged with second-degree murder in what prosecutors called the unjustified fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy after a high-speed chase in April. Two other officers have been charged with second-degree attempted murder for their roles in
Many Republicans — and some Democrats — are likely to resist. “We want to keep the 2001 one,” said Senator James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. If the 2001 authorization is maintained, Mr. Inhofe

domain: law


text:
About This Event
Guy Parker-Rees is one of our most loved and prolific children’s illustrators, with titles such as Giraffes Can’t Dance and Dinosaurumpus to his name. Guy will be introducing us to his newest character, Dylan the exuberant stripy dog, who just loves to play! Come along and hear what Dylan is up to today and see how Guy creates his lovable dog!
Under 12s must be accompanied by a ticket-holding adult

domain: library


text:
Story courtesy of Coastal Carolina Athletics
CONWAY – The Coastal Carolina Department of Athletics announced David Anderson (baseball), Marie Matrka (women's tennis), Anthony Meo (baseball), Josh Norman (football) and Frank Talotta (baseball) as the members of the George F. "Buddy" Sasser Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2017. The induction ceremony will be Nov. 11, prior to the Chanticleers' home football contest with Troy.
Lexington, S.C. (White Knoll HS)
Voted to the Big South All-Decade Team (2000-09).
Named third team All-American in 2009 by Collegiate Baseball, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), CollegeBaseballInsider.com and Ping! Baseball.
Selected Big South Baseball Player of the Year in 2009 and earned a total of four All-Big South honors (2007, 1st team as a relief pitcher and 2nd team as a DH; 2008, 2nd team at first base; 2009 1st team at first base).
Tabbed NCAA Conway Regional co-MVP and the 2009 Big South Tournament MVP.
Led the Big South in home runs in both 2008 (20) and 2009 (21).
Owns the CCU all-time record with 50 home runs, which ranks second in Big South history. Set the CCU single-season mark with 82 RBI, which ranked seventh in the NCAA for the 2009 season. Currently ranks third on the CCU all-time RBI list (184, which was second on the list when Anderson completed his career). Also on the CCU all-time lists, ranks third in career total bases (438), third in career slugging percentage (.624) and sixth in career saves (12).
His 10 saves in 2007 ranks sixth on the CCU single-season list, but was third at the time. Led the team with a .377 batting average in 2009 and his .343 career batting average ranks 18th in school history.
Women's Tennis, 2001-05
Wilmington, Ohio (Wilmington HS)
Voted to the Big South All-Decade Team (2000-09).
Was the 2005 Big South Women's Tennis Player of the Year.
A three-time All-Big South selection in singles and four-time All-Big South honoree in doubles.
Earned third team CoSIDA Academic All-America in 2004 and was a four-time ITA All-Academic Team member.
Was the Big South Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year in both 2004 and 2005.
Ranks third on the Coastal Carolina all-time singles wins list with 91 and is tied for second for all-time doubles wins with 92.
Cranston, R.I. (Cranston West HS)
Drafted in the second round (63rd overall pick) of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mickey Brantley (35th overall pick in 1983) and Kirt Manwaring (35th overall pick in 1986) are the only Chants drafted higher than Meo.
As a sophomore in 2010, was a finalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, Golden Spikes Award and College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year. Also named an All-American by the NCBWA (first team), Collegiate Baseball (second team), Ping! Baseball (second team) and American Baseball Coaches Association (third team). Voted the NCBWA District IV Player of the Year and was named the Big South Conference Pitcher of the Year.
Was named a Freshman All-American in 2009 by Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball, Ping! Baseball and the NCBWA.
A three-time, first team All-Big South selection.
His 32 career wins ranks fourth in Big South history while is 2.52 career ERA ranks seventh. His 2.52 career ERA is second-best in the Division I era by a Chanticleer and the best by a starter.
Ranks in the CCU all-time top 10 in ERA (3rd), wins (5th), strikeouts (7th), lowest opponent batting average (7th) and games started (10th).
Tied a then Coastal Carolina single season record with 13 wins as a sophomore in 2010.
Was voted to the NCAA Clemson Regional All-Tournament Team as a senior in 2011 and the Big South All-Tournament team a freshman and sophomore in 2009-10.
Is the only player in Big South history to throw a no-hitter at the conference tournament.
Greenwood, S.C. (Greenwood HS)
Was drafted in the fifth round (143rd overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers, a team he helped lead to Super Bowl 50. Was also voted first team All-Pro and to the NFL Pro Bowl for the 2015 season.
Second player in CCU and Big South history to play in Shrine Game (Jerome Simpson), the first CCU and second Big South player to play in Senior Bowl (Liberty's Rashad Jennings 2009) and the only Big South Player to play in both all-star games.
As a senior in 2011 was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the most outstanding defensive player in NCAA Division I FCS.
Named first team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, Phil Steele, The Sports Network, College Sporting News and College Sports Journal as a senior in 2011.
As a sophomore (2009), tabbed third team All-American by the Associated Press and named to the College Sporting News All-American team.
A three-time, first team All-Big South honoree.
Set Coastal Carolina and Big South records with 48 career passes defended, which also ranked sixth in NCAA FCS history when he finished his career. Also set CCU and Big South record with 35 career pass break-ups and ranked second on the CCU and Big South lists for career interceptions (13).
In the CCU career record book, ranks in the top 10 in blocked kicks (t-1st), forced fumbles (t-4th), solo tackled (4th) and total tackles (8th).
Pittsburgh, Pa. (Chartiers Valley HS)
Drafted in the 20th round (503rd overall) of the 1983 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros.
Among Coastal Carolina's all-time career leaders, ranks fourth in batting average (.390) and sixth in triples (10). Overall, played in 107 career games and accumulated 24 home runs, 118 RBI and 53 stolen bases.
Helped Coastal reach the 1982 and 1983 NAIA College Worlds Series. Voted to the 1982 NAIA World Series All-Tournament Team after tying for the 12th-highest batting average (.417) in the tournament.
Over the 1982 and '83 seasons, Coastal was 85-25-1 and won NAIA District 6 and Area 7 championships each season.

domain: sports


text:
At the end of February a special event took place in Bridgetown, Barbados. I was part of a British Council supported contribution to the Tilting Axis conference organised by Fresh Milk in collaboration with ARC Magazine, Res Artis and the Pèrez Art Museum Miami.
It was the first time for me in Barbados, although over the past years I have developed a keen interest in and was able to travel throughout the Caribbean region regularly. Ending up in Barbados to start talking, exchanging and speculating about how a region could develop its artistic climate and potential is somewhat peculiar. It perhaps instigates one of the core problems the Caribbean as an imaginative region (it's still a loose political entity without clear borders, except for the CARICOM economic unity) that exists foremost in the minds of tourists and off shore financial services. A more complex understanding of the very patchwork of social, colonial, spiritual and linguistically rich area the Caribbean might entail beyond our exotic minds, is harder to advocate for.
An access to such imaginative, but also real knowledge, is precisely what the conference tried to tackle in its agenda, its invited speakers and targeting of supporters in making this gathering financially possible. Fresh Milk and collaborators have worked literally for many years in making this gathering of people in a simple space possible. It needs to say that by making this possible new friends have been made and perhaps lost as well, as it makes the urgency and political need visible to people from the outside.
We gathered in the small library of Fresh Milk, situated on a former plantation now in service as a dairy farm and hospitality platform in the arts. Some of us were branded as outsiders, like ourselves, coming from Glasgow not working directly in the Caribbean. This might sound aggressive at first, but in fact the organisers had carefully considered this as a vital position from which to come up with ideas that not always align directly with the urgencies of the 'insiders'. I had no problem being called the outsider, as it truly reflected our position as well as giving me a free opportunity to speak about ideas that could become relevant in situations outside of my daily reality. Furthermore, I would argue that this is the basis of a true and equal exchange; accepting one's unequal position and start speaking from it.
Before coming into such a space, there is a history to remind our selves of. There are geographical tensions between former colonisers like the UK; American led invasions in Grenada; tax developed communities in the Cayman Islands; French culture in Martinique; Dutch languages across the Antilles and Suriname; oil revelation in Trinidad and Tobago; diaspora realities of The Bahamas and everything that is between. This is even before we can consider talking about art and its relation to these notions, if we think they should be connected and responsive of each other at all.
The question put on the table was straightforward, simple in its formulation, but enormously complex in its extraction and execution. So much was clear from the start. The conference asked the question of how to sustain and connect Caribbean art practices through and from a larger global field.
To start asking such a question, one can see that there is an urgency to connect; to not feel locked up; to have freedom of expression; to be able to travel freely without restriction;, to have access to funds and education; to speak together and to enjoy the same opportunities that seem to be normal in the global North- if we consider the Caribbean as being part of the global South. How to access? is perhaps the most abbreviated formulation of the agenda of the conference.
One of the first statements to surface is 'how to access power?' It's an intriguing question that shows the experience of marginality, inaccessibility and inequality that has been felt throughout the artistic field in the Caribbean. Definitely there is a feeling of not having enough access to the opportunities existing in much of Europe and North America. A strong response on how to access and regulate that power comes from N'goné Fall from Dakar explaining how in an African context certain strategies have worked in order to assert power.
Although there is a certain sympathy in making transparent such strategies and to make right what is yet not, I would like to see an undermining of the very forces that constitute that power or a growing disbelief that the existing Western force of power will become less powerful as soon as we all have less need for them to be used. It goes to the core of the problem for me, which is not only about the inequality of access, but more so undermining the very structures of power by perhaps saying no. Obviously this is much harder to achieve than finding your way to the hands that feed, but still I think the Caribbean holds potential in offering new ways to go around such power. Especially, it is the rich cultural life spanning from literature, politics and visual arts that can hold a key in offering new solutions.
From Martinique, what is raised is the essential question around what an artist might be. In its simple statement, a question the outsiders can relate to, as this is a familiar notion to engage with. How to make more complex the role of the artists, instead of looking for ways to simplify their role more and more? This is an exciting promise, exactly because the accepted role within society of the artist in the region of the Caribbean is often simplified to a labour of craft, if understood at all. It means that any reflective role that the artist, let's not even speak about a curator, can play has to be negotiated every time these relationships are shown in an exhibition or stimulated during a residency. To me this holds strong connection with the complex fabric the Caribbean in itself holds. Where many social issues and relations are not yet resolved and under constant change, from the development of gay culture, to post-colonial trauma to political activism- they might benefit from non-straightforward and imaginative approaches.
These forms of social development within the Caribbean is also noted through the reality of a place such as Grenada, where 'forgetting is not an option', as we hear from Groundation Grenada's Malaika Brooks-Smith-Lowe. In a place where the revolution (which accumulated in 1983 by a US led invasion) still bears it marks, this memory helps put ideas forward on how change would look. It's interesting to see here that a political proposal, or event is not directly used by unpacking the context and reasons why the revolution happened, but to understand better its tactics in order to make them viable and usable within artistic practices. What is the inner-life of rebellion that still exists?
From Jamaica the idea of hospitality is raised. How welcoming should a residency be? Micro-residencies that have happened in a small room or for a very short time have happened in NLS in Kingston, Jamaica and have proven to be successful. It perhaps brings together the reality of infrastructure and resources the Caribbean often has to deal with, but also the hospitality so known in the tourist industry. What to draw and extract from this industry of competition? How to see platforms existing beyond the exhibition alone?
Non-alignment springs to mind as a possibility to think about generosity and alternative approaches. From Trinidad and Tobago we learn how Alice Yard, a programme that has been running for the last eight years, has operated as a non-profit without a budget, in and 'on their own terms’. It is where generosity of people is measured by freeing up family property, personal time and funds for the sake of keeping information and programming free. It's this independent thought that shows how entangled personal relations are in forming stable bodies that speak out in the voice of art. It's perhaps something that is completely lost elsewhere but still very much active in the Caribbean where these values have more value and are often the only currencies to use. It's also here that the first critical approaches appeared as warnings. Warnings that would brake an overenthusiasm toward artistic models in Europe, and instead focus on fields of politics, writing and sociology produced within the Caribbean as sources that are already there, perhaps more usable, more close and more creative in challenging systems of marginality.
It seems another central example in our discussion is Curacao and the Instituto Buena Bista, founded by David Bade and Tirzo Martha. They have been creating an alternative school of sorts that, from a practical point of view, offers opportunities of producing and thinking about visual art. What can this idea of support be about? What does it mean to study in the region? Within their platform, housed in a psychiatric ward, they have been working on removing the idea that there can be one Caribbean art, that borders and exclusions exist for mainly young students and that inclusion and support are the main issues to consider at all times far beyond curatorial and artistic concerns alone.
Both my report, as well as the conference seem to be incomplete, for me- a positive conclusion. Where things are missing on the table, conclusions are incomplete and ideas are still developing, the further need of physical meetings become more and more relevant. This is not only to have the opportunity to actually be able to speak in a time and geography where this is still difficult (the Caribbean is poorly but expensively connected internally) but also to show through the simple fact that meeting is possible, challenging the necessity of it and showing that this is possible.
This is the first 'win' situation that the conference has made possible, it’s not to be underestimated how important it is to have organised a gathering of people sharing ideas in a room. It's even interesting to put that in the times of now, where we think a global reality speaks to us in a digital form.
But, there is more that has been 'won' here. It's definitely the concentration, commitment and ambition that sparked off this meeting in the first place. Not only were we able to share ideas on all of our spaces, environments and concerns, we were also asked to transform these speculations into tangible proposals. It's where we as CCA have been talking about supporting a mentorship programme together with Mother Tongue and David Dale Gallery. For us this hits the core of being able to sustain a long-term commitment, rather than understanding and dividing into projects with clear borders and ends. Others have been talking about writing residencies, setting up libraries, mapping the institutions in the region, offering job opportunities in the arts, etc.
Where the borders of projects are being marked, we can equally talk about the more physical border of the Caribbean itself. These borders are still enormous hurdles in terms of funding, mobility and exchange and the conference has made clear that this is something to continuously challenge.
For me however this challenge does not lie in understanding how to pass these borders in the most efficient way, whom to talk to and how to divert power to make the Caribbean a more powerful engine in the visual arts. The real challenge lies in a better unpicking of these borders, its operation and its potential. I don't think we should put too much energy in developing techniques to get the Caribbean into a better position, it is to say the Caribbean is already in an amazing imaginative and strong position, steering away from victimising one’s role.
These ideas come from my own current personal distrust in Europe's politics and social reality. In both Europe and Northern America we are still seeing a real deconstruction in governance and reliable political atmosphere under the name of democracy. The conference had some belief in changing the position of the Caribbean in such a way that finally Europe and America will see us, but I am not so sure about Europe's value in any case, advocating that Europe is exactly not the way to look. Also, we have to imagine that whilst writing this report Cuba is still on the list of terrorist supporting nations, Puerto Rico is still a colony of the US, we can still pay with Euros in French Guyana and the Panama Canal has only been in Panamanian hands for 14 years.
I think this alignment with political but also artistic ideas coming from Europe, should be criticised. If we really want to consider the Global South, as this is a form we so easily talk about also in curatorial practices, we need to get rid of its imagination as a place always in lesser order than the north, a place that has not been in the light before and needs to be put in the centre. It's a form of neo-exotisation that for me feels unproductive and in fact dangerous. For me, the argument needs to take place in not wanting to move towards the centre and reclaim a rightful place, it's to partly ignore the power relationship that has made us talk and think as if there is always a centre and a periphery.
If we can challenge that very thought from artistic work, we might move to a much more balanced notion of the Caribbean, a notion that is sustainable and speaks of connection by analysing and speculating about the very infrastructure that has made up the complex Caribbean. It's a form of criticality that does not simply accept 'the global south' as a term and is able to find exciting new ways we cannot yet think of, out of this unequal human relation. The conference has made me confident that it needs a lot of long-term committed work still, but as long as people can meet in a hot, small library, we will be just fine and great things might happen.

domain: politics


text:
It seems just about everyone in Hollywood is pregnant! Blake Lively, Coco Rocha, Neve Campbell and more recently showed off their burgeoning baby bumps. Here's a roundup of celebrities who are expecting!
It seems just about everyone in Hollywood is pregnant! Blake Lively, Coco Rocha and, most recently, Neve Campbell showed off their burgeoning baby bumps. Here’s a roundup of celebrities who are expecting!
Blake Lively posted a photo of her baby bump on her website, Preserve!
Model Coco Rocha gave a 360 CGI video to announce her big news!
If anyone knows how to rock maternity fashion, it's Kourtney Kardashian!
Gone Girl star Rosamund Pike glammed up her baby bump for the red carpet.
Zoe Saldana recently announced she's expecting not one but TWO babies!
In a rare appearance, Vanessa Lachey showed off her pregnant belly in a denim shirt.
Liv Tyler didn’t let maternity fashion scare her from wearing a bold print.
Kristen Bell is expecting her second child!
Rachel Bilson, fully embracing maternity fashion, in a mumu.
Hayden Panettiere was glowing at the 2014 Emmys--and it wasn't just her dress!
Alicia Keys is a mom-to-be in a rockin leather jacket!


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US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St dips as earnings season begins
NEW YORK Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday at the start of an earnings season that is expected to show sluggish corporate growth.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 26.42 points, or 0.20 percent, at 13,357.87. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2.23 points, or 0.15 percent, at 1,459.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.94 points, or 0.03 percent, at 3,097.87.
- Obama and Castro shake hands, Zuma humiliated at Mandela memorial |
- Google bus blocked in San Francisco gentrification protest
- Reporter can keep sources secret in Colorado theater shooting: court
- Thai PM urges protesters to take part in election |
- U.S. regulators seek to curb Wall St. trades with Volcker rule


Trentina is slightly shimmering and has a straight fall. Trentina is suitable when fire safety, ease of care and colour durability are priorities. We also have a heavier version of Trentina in the same colour range – Torino.
Please be aware that screen colours, printer colours and fabric dye batches may all vary.
Note! We are rearranging our colour system to a uniform version, thereby different colour codes to the pictures than in our sample collections. Please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.org or call us at +46 8 667 15 33 for translation.
|Composition:||51% Polyester FR 49% Polyester|
|Shrinkage after washing:||Warp 1% Weft 2%|
|Colour fastness to artificial light:||5|
|Colour fastness to washing:||4-5|
|Environment:||Produced in Italy. Complies with REACH regulation.|


People from around the world, of all ages and backgrounds, join Earthwatch Expeditions. One thing unites them: a passion for protecting our planet and its wealth of species.
On an Earthwatch Expedition, you’ll help find solutions to some of today’s most pressing environmental challenges.
Join respected scientists in the field where they’re investigating critical environmental issues. Our volunteers make hands-on contributions to research while experiencing the cultural and natural wonders of places around the globe.
Travel the world while saving the planet.
Where would you like to go? How would you like to get involved? Explore our more than 50 scientific research expeditions below.
How can we profit from the world’s forests without destroying them? This beautiful Caribbean island may hold answers.
Read More +
Help gather critical information to protect leopards and monkeys under threat in South Africa. Read More +
How do beavers shape Germany’s Lower Rhine—and can we keep them from clashing with the people who live there? Read More +
How can we improve the odds for brown hyenas and other carnivores in South Africa’s Pilanesberg National Park? Read More +
What archaeological treasures await researchers at the Ikh Nart Nature Reserve in Mongolia?
What caused the biggest shift in human history: from hunting and gathering to farming? Dig into the ancient past for clues. Read More +
Join an archaeological excavation near Hadrian’s Wall to discover how the Romans lived in northern England. Read More +
What can we learn about Italy’s ancient people from the ruins they left along the coast of Tuscany? Help us dust off clues. Read More +
What happens when wetlands get too wet? Uncover the impact of rising sea levels in South Carolina.
How is climate change shaping Oxfordshire's Wytham Woods? Spend a day among the trees to find out. Read More +
How much can the lowly caterpillar tell us about the world we live in? More than you might imagine. Read More +
How can we conserve one of the most species-rich rainforests on the planet? Read More +
Help Earthwatch scientists monitor the health of the coral reefs that form Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Why have Pacific leatherback sea turtles almost disappeared? Look for answers and solutions on Costa Rica’s beaches. Read More +
What can we do to make the Adriatic Sea safer for dolphins? Take to the waters in Slovenia to help this charismatic mammal population. Read More +
Climb aboard a motorboat and sail a tropical “inner sea” in search of endangered dolphins and whales in Costa Rica. Read More +
Where do endangered sea turtles thrive? Help scientists find out and protect these critical habitats.
What’s swimming in Walker Bay? Get to know the sharks that live there so that we can better protect their habitat.
How do two forces of nature—wolves and fire—shape the landscape? Explore this burning question in Canada’s wilderness.


A 35-year old Nigerian was arrested on Sunday outside his home on Ko Pha Ngan. Police found 10 grams of cocaine as well as cash and notebooks containing details for his drug network. The arrest of Ezihe Collins in the beautiful island in Surat Thani province followed the arrest there on October 23rd of 39-year-old Italian Naomi Cometto also for drug dealing. Mr Collins has reportedly being transferred to Bang Kwang Prison in Bangkok while awaiting criminal trial.
Following a string of arrests involving foreigners involved in criminality on Thailand’s popular southern islands, the Head of Thailand’s immigration Bureau announced this week that a renewed campaign against foreign nationals breaking Thai laws has begun and will be escalated to protect the country’s tourism industry.
Thai police authorities have, in recent days, renewed their drive to detect and remove foreign criminality in the country with a hard-hitting statement from the Head of the Immigration Bureau Lieutenant General Sompong Chingduang on Tuesday. He warned that the current ramping up of police activity was only the beginning.
Focus on Thailand’s popular southern tourist islands
The focus of the campaign seems, at least at the outset, to be on the south of the country, in particular, the popular island destinations with western foreigners of Ko Samui, Koh Pha Ngan and Ko Tao.
In the last week or so there have been a number of high profile arrests involving western foreigners involved in crime including an Italian arrested for drug dealing after drugs were found at his traditional raised home on Ko Pha Ngan.
Days earlier Thailand’s postal service in Bangkok intercepted 500 ecstasy pills mailed to him in consumer package from the Netherlands. There was also the arrest in early October of a Dutchman living in Ko Samui involved in petty theft on the island of Ko Tao.
46-year old Dutchman arrested outside a resort
These arrests were followed on Monday by the arrest of Dutchman found walking on the street Ko Samui. 46-year-old Alexander de Rooij was approached by immigration police outside the outside Big Trees Village a popular resort on the island. When asked or his passport, police discovered that his permission to stay in Thailand expired on July 21st last.
The Dutchman had entered Thailand for Malaysia in Narathiwat province as a tourist in June. He was later paraded in front of the media where he hid his face using a sheaf of paper and sent to Bor Phut Police Station where legal proceedings were processed against him for overstaying his visa which is a criminal offence.
European will be banned from Thailand for 5 years
After this matter is finalised whether, through a fine or prison sentence, the Dutchman will be subsequently deported from Thailand and will be subject to a 5-year ban from entry into the kingdom. Thailand’s borders are now monitored and guarded by its biometric system making enforcement of such a ban quite certain.
Nigerian stopped on a motorbike outside his home
On Sunday, the bay before the Dutch man’s arrest, a Nigerian national was arrested by police on a motorbike outside his home on the island of Ko Pha Ngan where Italian drug dealer Naomi Cometto was arrested on Wednesday 23rd October.
36-year-old Ezihe Collins was found to have neither a passport nor permission to be living in Thailand. His Nigerian passport had expired on September 28th last.
Six bags of cocaine found at the African man’s home
Police Colonel Sathit of Ko Pha Ngan police said that a later search of his home unearthed six bags of cocaine with a weight of 10 grams.
Police also found ฿34,000 in cash and two notebooks believed to contain the contact details of his drug-using clientele
Transferred to Bang Kwang Prison in Bangkok
Police took the drug dealer to Ko Pha Ngan Station where charges were pressed against him or possession if illegal narcotics with intent to sell as well as immigration offences.
It was later reported that the Nigerian was being transferred to Bangkok’s infamous Bang Kwang Prison pending his criminal trial. It is understood that he may be facing up to 5 years in prison.
New war on foreign criminality in Thailand
Meanwhile, this week the Immigration Bureau boss Lieutenant General Sompong Chingduang of ‘Big Oud’ at a press briefing at the Bangkok headquarters of the police division in Suna Phlu gave notice of an escalation in the war against foreign nationals in Thailand linked with crime and who are disrupting Thailand’s legitimate tourism industry with their activities.
The police chief clarified that he was talking about transnational crime groups engaged in a range of criminal enterprises in Thailand which posed a danger to Thai people and tourists alike.
They included pickpockets gangs as well as those involved in fraud and theft. The bureau boss explained that these groups are taking advantage of tourism to Thailand and posing as tourists to get into the country.
Orders from the Chief of Police, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister to get tough
He said that orders to renew the campaign which has been ongoing under his predecessor Lieutenant General Surachate Hapkarn or ‘Big Joke’ and saw tens of thousands of foreign nationals arrested and deported from Thailand.
He confirmed he had received orders to mount the campaign from Thailand’s Chief of Police Chakthip Chaijinda as well as the Prime Minister Prayut Chan ocha and the Deputy Prime Minister for security affairs Prawit Wongsuwan.
At the press conference, he announced 15 more arrests of foreign nationals found to have overstayed their visas most of them having entered the country as a tourist. These included 8 Somali nationals, 4 Chinese and 3 Syrians.
Nigerian and Thai wife arrested by police after online romance fraud costs woman ฿1.5 million


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We’ve shared a list of 10 great Netflix movies to watch for Valentine’s Day 2020, including To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, The Kissing Booth, and more!
Valentine’s Day 2020 is almost here! Fortunately, Netflix has tons of great movies to watch this year! To celebrate the holidays, we’ve listed our 10 favorite Netflix movies.
Let’s start the list with A good person !
10. Someone Good
A good person stars Gina Rodriguez, Lakeith Stanfield, Dewanda Wise and Brittany Snow. It was added to the streaming service in the spring of 2019. It was written and directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, the creator of Sweet/Vicious.
In the film, Jenny, played by Rodriguez, is offered a job at a music magazine. The only problem is that the work is located across the country. When she tells her boyfriend, Nate, played by Stanfield, about her job, he breaks up with her. Jenny tries to move on, with the help of friends, Blair and Erin, played by Snow and Wise, but things don’t go so well.
This movie might be a little too deep for Valentine’s Day, but it has a great message.
9. The Perfect Date
Netflix has invested a lot of money in teen rom-coms, and The perfect date is one of the best. The film has an awesome cast with by Riverdale Camila Mendes, Noah Centineo de To All the boys I’ve loved before, Laura Marano, Odiseas Gerorgiadis and Matt Walsh.
In the film, Brooks, played by Centineo, invents an app to sell himself as a date. Anyone can book Brooks’ service for a night out or any occasion, and he shows up to go on the date. He does this to earn some money so he can go to school. The only problem is that Brooks and one of his “dates” are starting to have feelings.
You’ll have to watch to see what happens next!

domain: artistic


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This logo tote features two non woven 75 gram polypropylene handles and preprinted in a colorful design.

domain: design


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Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder, it turns out there’s a Trump gargoyle in existence.Ancient stone carving with striking resamlance to Trump found inside a UK churck in Southwell Minster at Nottinghamshire Cathedral. Tourists have been flocking to the Southwell Minster church in Nottinghamshire ever since the 700-year-old sculpture was spotted last year by British journalist Samira Ahmed who instantly recognized the similarity, reported by the Nottingham Post .
The 14th century sculpture is one of 280 carvings at the cathedral.
The Reverend Canon Nigel Coates, who is based at the Minster, said:
“We knew the head well, but none of us had spotted the Donald Trump hairstyle before. It’s really the hairstyle that is similar.
“He’s among the ‘lower level’ of heads, not among the kings and queens and merchants. So Donald Trump might be flattered that he features in 14th century Mansfield stone – but not that he’s not among the kings and queens.”
— Samira Ahmed (@SamiraAhmedUK) August 22, 2016
The grotesque was spotted – and tweeted – before Mr Trump became President last year.


CAIRO (Reuters) - The United Nations health agency urged local and international media on Tuesday to boost coverage of bird flu and avoid misleading information about the disease.
“We are appealing to the media to make people more aware. We need awareness, not panic,” said Ibrahim el-Kerdany, a World Health Organization (WHO) regional media adviser.
“Just this morning on one of the television stations we saw wrong messages being transmitted, people talking about vaccines when there are no yet available. The vaccines are for birds not for humans,” he told reporters.
He was speaking at the start of a three-day WHO conference on Global Pandemic Influenza Communications in Cairo.
The conference brings together officials from governments and international organizations to tackle issues including how to send out important information in case of a pandemic.
“During a human influenza pandemic, production and delivery of vaccines will take time, and antiviral medicines will be limited in supply,” said Hussein A. Gezairy, the WHO Regional Director for Eastern Mediterranean.
“The single most important tool available to all countries will be communications,” he told the participants.
Bird flu awareness campaigns in the Middle East mainly coincide with the seasonal outbreaks of the virus, with television and newspaper advertisements warning people against direct contact with live birds.
Egypt, the most populous Arab country, has the largest bird flu cluster outside Asia, with 12 human deaths out of 20 cases.
The fatal H5N1 virus has killed 166 people worldwide since it re-emerged in Asia in 2003, the WHO says.
Kerdany said the media faced an uphill task especially in a country like Egypt, where raising poultry at home is a key source of income and nutrition for millions of households.
“Egypt lives off poultry to a very large extent. There is a very large population living in a very small area of land, so infection can be easier,” he said, standing near a painting of an Egyptian woman carrying a basket of live birds, decorating a hall at the five-star hotel that hosted the conference.


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Sweat, sweat and more sweat; a basic summary of my night at the Wavves gig.
The night kicked off with the almighty power trio Wet Lips. Giving us their version of up-tempo surf-punk with a refreshing version of Aussie accented vocals and lyrical content; their performance was very concerned with the local happenings around Melbourne’s very own Fitzroy. Drenched in attitude and a whole lot of grunge, Wet Lips delivered in rearing the crowd up for the night to come; a nice opener for a male lead bill.
Next up was The Babe Rainbow and their Tame Impala-esque, folk disco. Think a power trio of the ‘70s, and you might dream up the old era type collective. Decked out in ‘70s attire and performing Beach Boys inspired solos reminiscent of Hawaii Five-0, the band were brilliant; musically delivering on all fronts and demonstrating their musicianship to a tee. It was especially refreshing to see the drummer act as the lead singer in a Phil Collins type vein. Their song arrangement was irregular and deviated from the standard functioning of verse, chorus, bridge structure, rather focusing on the extended guitar and drum solos for majority of their set. This provided an endless length of beachy-surf beats for the crowd to dance to. Improvisation within their set was evident too, which was extremely nice to see and just pertains to their musical abilities even more. Furthermore, the artists kept on-stage banter to a minimum; giving us the music we came there to see.
Finally in true punk-like manner, the moment Wavves graced the stage limbs began to fly, heads whipped back and forth and bodies were thrown in every direction. Playing a broad range of songs from their older catalogue alongside their newest album, Wavves gave the crowd exactly what they wanted to see; a large quantity of #NoFucksGiven. Stylistically, the band portrayed their new album as something more punk to their last, in compared to – of course – their surf pink hits, ‘King Of The Beach’ and ‘Green Eyes’. When performing these tracks without the luxury of production and rich harmonies, this possibly alleviated them of their surf-style persona we know them for. However, whatever they played regardless of drum-pattern repetition, the guys could do no wrong.
Overall, the night was a success; a packed room, a thick aroma of marijuana filling the air and music making everyone move in hypnotic motion. Check out their track ‘Way Too Much’, to help us out with the surf vs. punk genre debate between their newest material and older tracks.


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LaDawnna explains what she would say to a woman who is struggling with addiction and is afraid to change her life.
A woman that’s struggling with addiction and she is afraid to make a change in her life, first of all with addiction you just can’t do it by yourself.
You have to have someone that will hold you accountable, which is one of the things that I do when I help women that are trying to get off of whatever addiction they have, whether it’s drugs or sex or food.
I hold them accountable, which it takes a while to do and it takes a lot of time but it’s worth it when the woman comes out on top.
So one of the things that I tell them is never quit quitting. When I used to smoke and I used to smoke weed and I used to pop pills and I was high all the time, but when I decided to stop I didn’t stop right away.
I stopped and I would go back. Something would happen, a tragedy in my life and I would go back to cigarettes, I would go back to drugs.
And I didn’t really drink a lot but I still had an alcohol problem. But I said, I just don’t want this in my life. I don’t want my children doing it.
So the things that I could not do in front of them I didn’t want to do at all. So I just kept doing it. I kept quitting and each time I would go through something and I would smoke and go, I am quitting. I am smoking today but I am quitting tomorrow.
And when I quit, I quit right then. I don’t finish the pack. I quit once I finish that cigarette. I throw whatever I have left away and then I just go from that point.
But I never just say you know what, I am going to always be a smoker. I am going to always be an alcoholic. I am going to always do drugs, and I didn’t. I don’t do any of those things anymore. I have been clean.
Even when I got a physical they couldn’t believe that I ever smoked because there’s no sign that I smoked.
I smoked since I was a kid but there’s no sign that I ever smoked, that I even got high because I am in such great physical shape because I have a made-up mind.
I am not going to let that get my body down. I have to move forward. So exercising is always good when someone that’s addicted to eating and they are obese, overweight, they just need to…the bottom line is don’t eat as much and you have to exercise, which is the hardest thing to do, making the first step.
You have to make the first step, and sometimes you have to make the first five steps and you have to do it knowing that you are going to probably do this on your own.
It’s nice to have someone backing you up in the beginning but just know that they are not going to be there all the time.
At some point they have to back off and let you do it on your own and you may fail, but if you have in mind, okay, how many times I fail I am going to do it again.
And people always just say, well you quit smoking, how long is this going to last?”
A year, couple of months – no matter how long it does I am going to quit the next time again. I am not going to stop quitting until it’s done, and that’s what I do. That’s what I encourage women to do.
About LaDawnna Hudson:
Pastor LaDawnna Hudson is the CEO and founder of Women of Power International as well as the first lady and pastor of Shield of Faith Christian Center in Mesa, Arizona. LaDawnna's desire to help women stems from her early years of abuse, depression and poverty. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan in the late 50's, the fourth of nine children, she saw firsthand the struggle of her mother and other women being undereducated, suffering with low self-esteem and being abused by men who treated them more like property than wives. She too suffered hard times, she was raped, beaten, strangled, suffocated, ran down by a car and married to a man who tried to kill her twice. LaDawnna's journey through her troubled past motivates her to help other hurting women change their lives.

domain: sociology