Design and development of a complex narrative intervention delivered by text messages to reduce binge drinking among socially disadvantaged men

Background: Socially disadvantaged men are at high risk of suffering from alcohol-related harm. Disadvantaged groups are less likely to engage with health promotion. There is a need for interventions that reach large numbers at low cost and which promote high levels of engagement with the behaviour change process. The aim of this study was to design a theoretically and empirically based text message intervention to reduce binge drinking by socially disadvantaged men. Results: Following MRC guidance, the intervention was developed in four stages. Stage 1 developed a detailed behaviour change strategy based on existing literature and theory from several areas. These included the psychological theory that would underpin the intervention, alcohol brief interventions, text message interventions, effective behaviour change techniques, narratives in behaviour change interventions and communication theory. In addition, formative research was carried out. A logic model was developed to depict the pathways between intervention inputs, processes and outcomes for behaviour change. Stage 2 created a narrative which illustrated and modelled key steps in the strategy. Stage 3 rendered the intervention into a series of text messages and ensured that appropriate behavioural change techniques were incorporated. Stage 4 revised the messages to ensure comprehensive coverage of the behaviour change strategy and coherence of the narrative. It also piloted the intervention and made final revisions to it. Conclusions: The structured, systematic approach to design created a narrative intervention which had a strong theoretical and empirical basis. The use of a narrative helped make the intervention realistic and allowed key behaviour change techniques to be modelled by characters. The narrative was intended to promote engagement with the intervention. The intervention was rendered into a series of short text messages, and subsequent piloting showed they were acceptable in the target group. Delivery of an intervention by text message offers a low-cost, low-demand method that can reach large numbers of people. This approach provides a framework for the design of behaviour change interventions which could be used for interventions to tackle other health behaviours

Productivity and Internationalization A Micro/Data Approach

An appropriate analysis of the effects of globalization requires a careful analysis of the various ways in which different firms operate in international markets. Micro data at the level of individual firms and employees can enhance our empirical understanding of the relationships between internationalization, firms, jobs and employees. These micro data become increasingly available. This paper provides an introduction to this special issue that illustrates the wide variation, richness and policy relevance of the emerging micro data driven research on the effects of internationalization and productivity. © 2011 The Author(s)

Organic solar cells using inverted layer sequence

We report on a concept for organic solar cells where the layer sequence is inverted compared to the conventional setup. In such a configuration a conducting polymer layer is used as the transparent anode which is able to transport the photocurrent laterally to a metal grid. For the anode a low sheet resistance and a work function matching approximately the chemical potential of the holes of the illuminated photoactive layer is required. We showed that the poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(styrenesulfonate) fits to these requirements. In our setup an aluminium cathode was used. It turned out that for the inverted setup the interface between aluminium and the photoactive layer has to be protected against oxidation. Our investigations show that with a thin layer (20 nm) of electron-beam deposited titanium between aluminium and the photoactive layer the electrical contact is drastically improved. A solar cell efficiency of (1.4 ± 0.3)% was reached in this case. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Reducing disaster risk to life and livelihoods by evaluating the seismic safety of Kathmandu’s historic urban infrastructure:enabling an interdisciplinary pilot

Kathmandu’s cities are exceptional architectural and artistic achievements, underpinned by centuries of seismic adaptation. They represent portals where heavens touch the earth and individuals commune with guiding deities; their tangible and intangible values promoting community cohesion. Kathmandu’s skyline was dramatic-ally altered by the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake as almost 9,000 people died. Hundreds of monuments were damaged or collapsed, resulting in the cancelling of 32 per cent of tourist visits, a major GDP source. Following ODA pledges of US$2.5 billion, Nepal’s Government approved the rehabilitation of many but there are tensions between interpretations of Sendai’s ‘Build Back Better’ framework and the preservation of the authenticity of Kathmandu’s UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our interdisciplinary North–South partnership piloted the integration of archaeology and geoarchaeology with 3D visualisation, geotechnical and structural engineering to co-produce methodologies to evaluate and improve the seismic safety of historic urban infrastructure, reducing direct risk to life and livelihoods, while respecting and preserving authenticity and traditions and, in some cases, revitalising them.</p

The contribution of ANN's simple perceptron pattern to inequalities measurement in Regional Science

The present paper presents a synthetic approach to the XOR operation structure combining the cognitive matter of different fields of scientific study in order to elect further utility of this operation for the inequalities measurement in Regional Science. The observation of structural similarities, between the simple perceptron pattern, in artificial neural networks (ANN), and an XOR binary logic gate, in Digital Electronics Theory authorizes these two models to be considered identical for inequalities detection, under the presumption that both of them can provide a solution for the XOR problem. The solution of the XOR problem for a simple perceptron pattern introduces a new inequalities index, aroused as a generalization of the XOR problem's solution for the ANN simple perceptron model. The new index appears to operate satisfactorily in Regional Science's inequalities research, providing a significant similar behavior in comparison with the Theil index and performing better in cases that the Theil index calculation presupposes transformation treatment