At What Point is the Label ‘Type 2 Diabetes’ Valid?

Individual’s diagnosed as having diabetes either: Have symptoms that need treating; or They have a risk state that might need treating. However, an individual’s overall risk does not begin with any particular level of fasting blood sugar or glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), or an abnormal glucose tolerance test. A new pooled analysis of 96 population based studies… Read More

Type 2 Diabetes & Beverages: Any Connection?

Research Paper Title Consumption of Sugar Sweetened Beverages, Artificially Sweetened Beverages, and Fruit Juice and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes: Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Estimation of Population Attributable Fraction. Objectives To examine the prospective associations between consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, artificially sweetened beverages, and fruit juice with type 2 diabetes before and after adjustment… Read More

New Page: An Overview of the (Military) Staff Officer

A new webpage has just been uploaded ‘An Overview of the (Military) Staff Officer’ which can be found here. A downloadable PDF version can be found here. What does the article contain? What is a staff officer? Command officer versus staff officer. How to become a staff officer. Staff officer grades. Staff assistants. The role… Read More

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Game-based Training in the ADF

Research Paper Title Evaluating the Effectiveness of Game-Based Training: A Controlled Study with Dismounted Infantry Teams. Executive Summary Computer games are increasingly being used by armed forces to supplement traditional methods of military training. While the potential benefits of these games are well documented; there is little objective evidence to support their perceived training benefits,… Read More

Prejudices, Stereotypes & Discrimination: Individual, Group & Social Foundations

I recently read an article by David Amodio (2015), a professor of psychology and neural science at New York University, in the New Scientist writing about prejudices which made for fascinating reading. Although the ‘case study’ material is not immediately relevant to the world of recruitment and training (white US police officers shooting black US… Read More

US Army: Enlisted Soldiers, Mental Health & Suicide Risk

Enlisted soldiers in their first tour of duty are the most likely to attempt suicide, says an analysis of US Army data published in JAMA Psychiatry (Ursano et al., 2015). The risk was particularly high among soldiers with a recent mental health diagnosis, the longitudinal retrospective cohort study found. In recent years the rate of… Read More