AA MINORITY REPORT 2017 (revised)

Click here

Saturday 31 January 2015

Alcoholics Anonymous (Great Britain) and Diageo (Distillers)


Continuing our investigation (here and here) into how AA somehow decided to go into the distilling (and brewing) business with a sideline in tobacco manufacture and marketing …....

We are informed that the official investment policy at AA HQ (General Service Office) is that NO investments should be made in companies involved with the alcohol trade. According to the 'party line' our original investment brokers Morgan Stanley ended their involvement with the charity side of their business and sold it to Credit Suisse. In the course of the transfer someone (?) forgot to mention the bit about not investing in booze (the tobacco trade is fine apparently. After all what's a 100,000 deaths a year (in the UK alone) matter!). Thus AA ended up with a modest investment in Diageo (one of the world's biggest distillers). Apparently some kind of meeting has been held to discuss the matter but nothing has been announced so far.

But here's some suggestions:

Get rid of the booze shares with immediate effect (at a loss if necessary)

Get rid of the 'coffin nail' shares while you're about it. If we've got to have investments (a question to be investigated) then let's try and not have them in companies whose products kill millions of people every year

While we're about it maybe we shouldn't put members' money (Yes! It comes out of OUR pockets!) into dodgy companies which engage in aggressive tax avoidance scams (Google, Starbucks, Amazon, eBay, Vodafone, British American Tobacco (there they are again!), Tate and Lyle (sugar – the new heroin!), Vedanta, nPower...... the list goes on and on and on ….). Why should we subsidise their profits with our taxes!

The General Service Board need to admit this error publicly and make an apology to the fellowship for bringing the name of AA into disrepute

That should do ........ for now

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous … and no friend of any of the above companies!)

To be continued

And yeah we know our blog is hosted on Google - and just as soon as  a credible alternative appears we'll be off like a shot!

Friday 30 January 2015

Al-Anon Family Groups (UK/Eire)



Al-Anon Family Groups provide support to anyone whose life is, or has been, affected by someone else’s drinking, regardless of whether that person is still drinking or not. For some of our members, the wounds still run deep, even if their loved one may no longer be a part of their lives or have died.

We believe alcoholism affects the whole family, not just the drinker. We are an international organisation with over 800 support groups in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Al-Anon is a fellowship of relatives and friends of alcoholics who share their experience in order to solve their common problems”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Al-Anon Family Groups




At Al Anon Family Group meetings, the friends and family members of problem drinkers share their experiences and learn how to apply the principles of the Al Anon program to their individual situations. Younger family members and friends attend Alateen meetings.

They learn that they are not alone in the problems they face, and that they have choices that lead to greater peace of mind, whether the drinker continues to drink or not.

Sponsorship gives members an opportunity to get personal support from someone more experienced in the program. These relationships are voluntary. Members ask another member to be their Sponsor when they believe that person will be suitable as a mentor in applying the program”

Comment: Alcoholics Anonymous might do well to follow the example of Al-Anon when it comes to the question of sponsorship (see above). Also from the site we quote: “In Al-Anon/Alateen, members do not give direction or advice to other members. Instead, they share their personal experiences and stories, and invite other members to “take what they like and leave the rest”—that is, to determine for themselves what lesson they could apply to their own lives.”

This seems to reflect a far healthier respect for newcomers' dignity and autonomy of action than that frequently displayed in AA

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Thursday 29 January 2015

Bill and Bob's Excellent Adventure! (contd)


A wildly imaginative dianoetic rambling concerning the the “basic text” of Alcoholics Anonymous (viz. the Big Book) (our comments in red print)

Chapter 3 More About Alcoholism (pp. 30-35)



Chapter 3

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics [ie. chronic alcoholics]. No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death.

We learned [the definition raises the question of whether this knowledge - or insight - is effectively acquired through instruction or, in our view, more likely experience. From this it follows that NO amount of study (of the Big Book or any other text for that matter) will be sufficient in itself to effect the required 'psychic' transformation. See for example Rowland Hazard III on the limitations of the purely cognitive approach] that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed.

We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking. We know that no real alcoholic ever recovers control. All of us felt at times that we were regaining control, but such intervals—usually brief—were inevitably followed by still less control, which led in time to pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization. We are convinced to a man [and woman!] that alcoholics of our type are in the grip of a progressive [ie. chronic] illness. Over any considerable period we get worse, never better.

We are like men who have lost their legs; they never grow new ones. Neither does there appear to be any kind of treatment which will make alcoholics of our kind like other men [but the research looks promising]. We have tried every imaginable remedy. In some instances there has been brief recovery, followed always by a still worse relapse. Physicians who are familiar with alcoholism agree there is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic. Science may one day accomplish this, but it hasn’t done so yet [“yet” being the operative word].

Despite all we can say, many who are real alcoholics are not going to believe they are in that class. By every form of self-deception and experimentation, they will try to prove themselves exceptions to the rule, therefore non-alcoholic. If anyone who is showing inability to control his drinking can do the right-about-face and drink like a gentleman, our hats are off to him [although definitionally (AA) he/she is probably not an alcoholic or alcoholic of our type ie. “real” or chronic]. Heaven knows, we have tried hard enough and long enough to drink like other people!

Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums—we could increase the list ad infinitum.

We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself [this is the basis of AA's principle of self-diagnosis. Each individual decides for themselves on the basis of their OWN experience and their OWN judgement whether they are alcoholic or not. NO member has to provide evidence of this or in any way 'qualify' themselves in order to participate in AA. That is THEIR business!] Step over to the nearest bar-room and try some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try it more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of jitters if you get a full knowledge of your condition [in other words direct experience is usually the deciding factor when it comes to taking Step One – not study (of the Big Book or for that matter any other text) or bare cognition].

Though there is no way of proving it, we believe that early in our drinking careers most of us could have stopped drinking. But the difficulty is that few alcoholics have enough desire to stop while there is yet time. We have heard of a few instances where people, who showed definite signs of alcoholism, were able to stop for a long period because of an overpowering desire to do so. Here is one.

A man of thirty was doing a great deal of spree drinking. He was very nervous in the morning after these bouts and quieted himself with more liquor. He was ambitious to succeed in business, but saw that he would get nowhere if he drank at all. Once he started, he had no control whatever. He made up his mind that until he had been successful in business and had retired, he would not touch another drop. An exceptional man, he remained bone dry for twenty-five years and retired at the age of fifty-five, after a successful and happy business career. Then he fell victim to a belief which practically every alcoholic has [therefore implicitly not all] —that his long period of sobriety and self-discipline had qualified him to drink as other men. Out came his carpet slippers and a bottle. In two months he was in a hospital, puzzled and humiliated. He tried to regulate his drinking for a while, making several trips to the hospital meantime. Then, gathering all his forces [ie. will-power], he attempted to stop altogether and found he could not. Every means of solving his problem which money could buy was at his disposal. Every attempt failed. Though a robust man at retirement, he went to pieces quickly and was dead within four years.

This case contains a powerful lesson. Most of us have believed that if we remained sober for a long stretch, we could thereafter drink normally. But here is a man who at fifty-five years found he was just where he had left off at thirty. We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again: “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.’’ [ie. chronic alcoholism] Commencing to drink after a period of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever. If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol.

Young people may be encouraged by this man’s experience to think that they can stop, as he did, on their own will power. We doubt if many of them can do it, because none will really want to stop, and hardly one of them, because of the peculiar mental twist [delusional state] already acquired, will find he can win out. Several of our crowd, men of thirty or less, had been drinking only a few years, but they found themselves as helpless as those who had been drinking twenty years.

To be gravely affected, one does not necessarily have to drink a long time nor take the quantities some of us have. This is particularly true of women. Potential female alcoholics often turn into the real thing and are gone beyond recall in a few years. Certain drinkers, who would be greatly insulted if called alcoholics, are astonished at their inability to stop. We, who are familiar with the symptoms, see large numbers of potential alcoholics among young people everywhere. But try and get them to see it!*

As we look back, we feel we had gone on drinking many years beyond the point where we could quit on our will power. If anyone questions whether he has entered this dangerous area, let him try leaving liquor alone for one year. If he is a real alcoholic and very far advanced, there is scant chance of success. In the early days of our drinking we occasionally remained sober for a year or more, becoming serious drinkers again later. Though you may be able to stop for a considerable period, you may yet be a potential alcoholic [ie. progressing towards the chronic condition]. We think few, to whom this book will appeal, can stay dry anything like a year. Some will be drunk the day after making their resolutions; most of them within a few weeks.

For those who are unable to drink moderately the question is how to stop altogether. We are assuming, of course, that the reader desires to stop [a key feature of recovery – alcoholics generally cannot be persuaded to stop or for that matter compelled – even by other AA members would you believe! Employing AA parlance they have to reach their own 'rock bottom']. Whether such a person can quit upon a non-spiritual basis depends upon the extent to which he has already lost the power to choose whether he will drink or not [this might be considered a rather contentious statement depending on one's definition of the term “spiritual”. It is already evident that agnostic/atheist/secular members can get and remain sober without any kind of belief in God. The term “spiritual” (a somewhat vague concept at the best of times) clearly is not necessarily synonymous with any kind of adherence to a theistic religion]. Many of us felt that we had plenty of character. There was a tremendous urge to cease forever. Yet we found it impossible . This is the baffling feature of alcoholism as we know it—this utter inability to leave it alone, no matter how great the necessity or the wish [from this it may be seen that until an alcoholic has developed the necessary experience-based insight into his or her own condition they will not stop drinking].

How then shall we help our readers determine, to their own satisfaction [NOT someone else's!], whether they are one of us? The experiment of quitting for a period of time will be helpful, but we think we can render an even greater service to alcoholic sufferers and perhaps to the medical fraternity. So we shall describe some of the mental states that precede a relapse into drinking, for obviously this is the crux of the problem.

__________________
* True when this book was first published. But a 2003 U.S./Canada membership survey showed about one-fifth of A.A.’s were thirty and under.”

(our emphases)

Note: the frequent repetition of the word "control"

Coming next – Chapter 3 More About Alcoholism

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Wednesday 28 January 2015

Alcohol research – Smart Recovery




SMART Recovery is the leading self-empowering addiction recovery support group. Our participants learn tools for addiction recovery based on the latest scientific research and participate in a world-wide community which includes free, self-empowering, science-based mutual help groups”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Alcohol research – National Association on Alcohol, Drugs, and Disability




The National Association on Alcohol, Drugs and Disability Inc., (NAADD) promotes awareness and education about substance abuse among people with co-existing disabilities. The mission of NAADD is to create public awareness of issues related to alcoholism, drug addiction, and substance abuse faced by persons with other co-existing disabilities, and to provide a peer approach to enhance access to services, information, professional helping facilities such as a drug rehab, education and prevention through the collaborative efforts of interested individuals and organizations nationwide”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Tuesday 27 January 2015

Alcoholics Anonymous goes into the DISTILLERIES business!


As we revealed yesterday it seems that the fellowship has gone into the booze business! Now we're not suggesting for a moment that one of our humble servants went completely mad (or at least not more so than usual), driven over the edge by the realisation that membership numbers are static or even declining, and that he (or she) woke up one morning and thought: I know what! We'll buy some shares in a distillery (and sundry tobacco companies to boot). That should do the trick! No. Not at all. This is more in the nature of what is technically known as a massive “COCK UP”! Now we're not entirely clear which genius decided to stick some of our prudent reserve (currently standing at about £1.6 million. Yes! You heard right! …. £1,600,000) into the aforementioned companies but you can be damn sure that someone did. And if that someone is employed by either Credit Suisse or Morgan Stanley (financial services) then it's probably better we don't do business with them anymore. On the other hand if it's someone (or someones) in the General Service Board (or GSO) that should be carrying the can then similarly we think the fellowship can quite easily dispense with their services! But what's that high pitched whooshing noise we hear ripping past our ears? Ah yes! That would be the sound of the buck being passed with great rapidity. But undaunted we are determined to get to the bottom of this!

To be continued ….

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Monday 26 January 2015

Alcohol research – American Medical Association




Mission:

To promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

You're not going to believe this but …..


.... we're informed that Alcoholics Anonymous (Great Britain) has (or had) as part of its investment portfolio (Morgan Stanley Funds (UK) - Global Brands) shares in Diageo, one of the world's largest …..... DISTILLERS ….. including amongst its brands Smirnoff Vodka, Johnnie Walker Whisky, Gordon's Gin, Guinness … the list goes on ad …... (or nearly) … more than enough to keep the average alcoholic well stupefied for a considerable number of years. Not content with ploughing money into these worthwhile products the portfolio also includes Philip Morris Inc and British American Tobacco plc, two outstanding contributors to over 100,000 deaths a YEAR in the United Kingdom alone

more, as they say, will be revealed!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Alcohol research – National Institutes on Mental Health




"NIMH Mission

The mission of NIMH is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure.

For the Institute to continue fulfilling this vital public health mission, it must foster innovative thinking and ensure that a full array of novel scientific perspectives are used to further discovery in the evolving science of brain, behavior, and experience. In this way, breakthroughs in science can become breakthroughs for all people with mental illnesses”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Sunday 25 January 2015

Wayne B – another fast buck to be made!


From Perth (Australia) we quote:

Hi all

Wayne B returned to Perth last week to host another of his "Big Book" study workshops and is speaking at the WAYPAA (Western Australia Young Peoples in AA) convention being held this weekend. Last night (05/12/2014) he delivered a talk on the history of AA and it's evolution from the Washingtonians, Emmanuel Movement and Oxford Groups which was informative but was constantly interjected with statements like "rumour has it" when defending himself and also made reference to aacultwatch. Methinks he doth protest too much and as the saying goes: 'where there is smoke, there is fire.'

For all his stated loved for AA and the 12 Steps, I doubt anyone attending last night (other than his inner circle) is aware of his efforts to monetize and trivialise the 12 Steps by means of his Life's In Session board-game (http://www.lifesinsession.com/Home_Page.html). This violates the spirit and the letter of Traditions Six and Eleven. A cursory glance at his Facebook profile also leaves one in no doubt that he is a member of AA, thus violating Tradition Eleven. Tradition Eleven was written well before the advent of Facebook but it is my opinion that it could be extended to cover social media along with press, radio and films.

He also proceeded to extol the virtues of his sponsor and his grand sponsor and his great grand sponsor who was an eminent personality in AA. So much for placing principles before personalities (Tradition 12). He stated that he was here 'on vacation' and that he had been invited to speak at the convention and was not being paid. When a person is invited to do service in AA, it is customary to cover the person's travel expenses so he is here on a paid vacation...a subtle but important difference. As for the issue of his remuneration, as the CEO and President of his Last Mile Foundation (http://www.thelastmilefoundation.org/) he is no doubt drawing a salary and it would be interesting to see if the entity received funds from WAYPAA or any of the groups here in Perth, something for the CSO to look into.

On that subject, he has operated several foundations and legal entities including Step'n Ahead and Emotional Sobriety 101 (http://emotionalsobriety101.com/) which is identical to the Last Mile Foundation website. Both websites are a single page affair, clearly done in haste and poorly written with a nebulous mission statement. Granted, both are still under construction but the only professional aspect of either is the PayPal link.

pp. please see the attached screenshot as evidence of his association with this abominable board game:” [edited]



Comment: And he likes Tom Cruise …. say no more! (see Scientology – now there's a business model for making money!)

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcholics Anonymous)

PS Our thanks to our contributor

Saturday 24 January 2015

Alcohol research – National Institutes of Health



The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency—making important discoveries that improve health and save lives.

Thanks in large part to NIH-funded medical research, Americans today are living longer and healthier. Life expectancy in the United States has jumped from 47 years in 1900 to 78 years as reported in 2009, and disability in people over age 65 has dropped dramatically in the past 3 decades. In recent years, nationwide rates of new diagnoses and deaths from all cancers combined have fallen significantly”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Alcohol research – International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research



Aims

As the official journal of the Kettil Bruun Society for Social and Epidemiological Research on Alcohol (KBS), the overall goal of the International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research (IJADR) is to further the main aims of the Kettil Bruun Society which are to promote social and epidemiological research on alcohol and foster a comparative understanding of alcohol use and alcohol problems in a spirit of international cooperation.
In furtherance of this overall goal, the aims of the International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research are to:
  • publish high quality, peer reviewed articles addressing substance use and substance-related problems, as well as addictive behaviours generally, from an international perspective,
  • increase international knowledge and understanding about substance use and substance-related problems by providing mentoring and other assistance to research colleagues in countries where there are fewer resources and less infrastructure and traditional support of research on alcohol and drugs,
  • promote involvement of early career researchers and researchers from less resourced countries in all aspects of the journal operations, and
  • provide an open access online journal accessible to the research community, educators, policy makers and others interested in the area of substance use and substance-related issues”
Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Friday 23 January 2015

Yet more misquotes of Tradition Four


(see AA Document Library – Guidelines Handbook)

From Chapter Nine: Probation/Criminal Justice Service of the above Handbook under “9:3 Groups”:

Here we are informed that: “ Each group is autonomous and how it chooses to co-operate (if at all) with Probation/Criminal Justice Service is for the group conscience to decide.”

Incorrect: What Tradition Four actually states is:

Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or AA as a whole” (our emphasis)

and in the long form:

It is clear from the above that each group is (contrary to the information provided in the AA handbook would you believe!) NOT unconditionally autonomous and therefore it is NOT simply down to the group conscience to decide whether it does or does not participate in the 'chit' (or court mandated attendance) system.

This misinformation is repeated in a later section (9:5 Setting up a Confirmation of Attendance/Chit System):

Each group, intergroup or region is autonomous and free to use any method it sees appropriate.”

At this point we refer you to the Bill Wilson's discussion of this tradition in the 12 and 12 in particular the example (imagined) he cites of a particularly ambitious “promoter” in AA. We would suggest that the current ambitions demonstrated by some in the fellowship move well beyond cooperation with the probation service taking us in the process into some very treacherous territory indeed. We are not and never should be an adjunct of the sentencing system. If people are referred to us (or even compelled to attend) by the courts that's the courts' business not ours. But it is NOT OUR BUSINESS to facilitate this process beyond mere cooperation. The provision of chits etc in whatever form means we are quite literally endorsing government policy in this area – again something we're not supposed to be doing (see Preamble and relevant traditions). No matter how the system is designed no group, intergroup or region can implement such a system without breaching these principles. And as we've pointed out before the whole point of principles is you're supposed to observe them especially when it's most inconvenient …... otherwise they AREN'T principles! To act otherwise simply makes us hypocrites!

We don't often suggest revisions to AA literature but we believe there's one amendment to the above tradition which would do much to eliminate this form of error. Not exactly a rewording - more a re-ordering!

Except in matters affecting other groups or AA as a whole each group should be autonomous”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS See here for more discussion on the chit system both in Great Britain and the US

PPS These misrepresentations are carried over into proposed revisions included in the following document:

Thursday 22 January 2015

Alcohol research – Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation



PIRE is an independent, nonprofit organization merging scientific knowledge and proven practice to create solutions that improve the health, safety and well-being of individuals, communities, and nations around the world”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Alcohol research – Sage (open access journals)




SAGE is the world’s largest independent academic publisher and is committed to global dissemination of research. We have published open access journals for a number of years with the goal of disseminating vital research to the broadest community. SAGE’s mission is founded in the belief that education is intrinsically valuable, and the dissemination of useable knowledge is a key foundation in building a healthy society.”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Wednesday 21 January 2015

Ernie Kurtz



We were sorry to hear today that Ernie Kurtz, an historian specialising in the study of AA and addiction, has died of pancreatic cancer

A time for reflection

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Tuesday 20 January 2015

Alcohol research – Highwire - ePublishing Solutions for the Scholarly Community



About HighWire


A leading ePublishing platform, HighWire Press partners with independent scholarly publishers, societies, associations, and university presses to facilitate the digital dissemination of more than 3000 journals, books, reference works, and proceedings. HighWire also offers a complete manuscript submission, tracking, peer review, and publishing system for journal editors, Bench>Press. HighWire provides outstanding technology and support services, and fosters a dynamic and innovative community, enhancing the strengths of each of its members. HighWire plays a unique role in the online publishing business: affiliated with an academic library, a first-class research institution, and partner and colleague to scholarly societies who value the high quality and content of their journals, books and other materials. By working with HighWire, publishers gain the economies of scale and networking opportunities of working collaboratively in their business technology.

HighWire has been affiliated with Stanford University since 1995, with the launch of the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC Online). Science, the Journal of Neuroscience, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) soon joined with HighWire to become pioneers who defined today's online journal. HighWire quickly became known for combining cutting-edge technology with long-term organizational stability and has maintained a leadership position in the industry ever since.”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Alcohol research – Ethos – British Library (e-theses)




About EThOS


EThOS is the UK’s national thesis service which aims to maximise the visibility and availability of the UK’s doctoral research theses.

It demonstrates the quality of UK research, and supports the UK Government’s open access principle that publications resulting from publicly-funded research should be made freely available for all researchers, providing opportunities for further research. EThOS helps institutions to meet the expectation of the UK Research Councils that PhDs supported by a Research Council Training Grant should be made freely available in an open access repository, as indicated in its Training Grant Terms and Conditions (Paragraph 104).

EThOS aims to provide:
  • A national aggregated record of all doctoral theses awarded by UK Higher Education institutions
  • Free access to the full text of as many theses as possible for use by all researchers to further their own research.
There are approximately 380,000 records relating to theses awarded by over 120 institutions. Around 120,000 of these also provide access to the full text thesis, either via download from the EThOS database or via links to the institution’s own repository. Of the remaining 260,000 records dating back to at least 1800, three quarters are available to be ordered for scanning through the EThOS digitisation-on-demand facility.

Records are held for all UK PhD-awarding institutions, but we do not (yet) hold all records for all institutions. Every month around 3000 new records are added and an additional 2000 full text theses become accessible. Access routes to the full text are determined by the individual institution and may depend on:
  • Mandatory electronic deposit of newly awarded theses by its students
  • Availability of its theses in the institutional repository
  • Its level of repository development
  • Digitisation priorities for its print theses
The digitisation on demand facility is a unique feature of EThOS and brings new e-born theses and older print content together into a single place. Users ordering a copy through digitisation on demand may experience a turnaround time of up to 6 weeks. There may also be a charge for the scanning process (currently £44.37 + VAT £8.87 = Total £53.24). Details are provided within each record.

There is a continuous programme of improvement and enhancement of the EThOS service, both for participating institutions and for users of the service. The EThOS Toolkit provides further information about all aspects of the service.

View a list of participating institutions

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here