Using the theory of planned behaviour and implementation intentions to reduce binge drinking in new university students

© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Objective: Excessive alcohol consumption, including binge drinking, increases when students enter university. This study tests whether combining messages targeting theory of planned behaviour (TPB) constructs with if-then plans (i.e. implementation intentions) to avoid binge drinking reduces binge drinking in new university students. Design: One month after starting university, students (N = 407) were randomly assigned to condition in a 2 (TPB messages) × 2 (implementation intentions) factorial design. Main Outcome Measures: Cognitions about binge drinking were assessed immediately post-intervention. Frequency of binge drinking was assessed at one-month follow-up (n = 205). Results: Participants who viewed the messages had significantly weaker intentions to engage in binge drinking and less favourable cognitions about binge drinking (affective attitude, descriptive norms, and self-efficacy) than those who did not view the messages. In addition, participants who formed an implementation intention to avoid binge drinking reported significantly fewer instances of binge drinking at follow-up. Conclusion: The findings provide some support for the use of interventions based on the TPB to reduce intentions to engage in binge drinking and for forming implementation intentions to reduce the frequency of binge drinking in new university students. No evidence was found for the synergistic effect of combining the two interventions

Italy’s Path to Very Low Fertility: The Adequacy of Economic and Second Demographic Transition Theories: Le cheminement de l’Italie vers les très basses fécondités: Adéquation des théories économique et de seconde transition démographique

The deep drop of the fertility rate in Italy to among the lowest in the world challenges contemporary theories of childbearing and family building. Among high-income countries, Italy was presumed to have characteristics of family values and female labor force participation that would favor higher fertility than its European neighbors to the north. We test competing economic and cultural explanations, drawing on new nationally representative, longitudinal data to examine first union, first birth, and second birth. Our event history analysis finds some support for economic determinants of family formation and fertility, but the clear importance of regional differences and of secularization suggests that such an explanation is at best incomplete and that cultural and ideational factors must be considered

The MEG detector for μ+→e+γ decay search

The MEG (Mu to Electron Gamma) experiment has been running at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), Switzerland since 2008 to search for the decay mu(+) -> e(+)gamma by using one of the most intense continuous mu(+) beams in the world. This paper presents the MEG components: the positron spectrometer, including a thin target, a superconducting magnet, a set of drift chambers for measuring the muon decay vertex and the positron momentum, a timing counter for measuring the positron time, and a liquid xenon detector for measuring the photon energy, position and time. The trigger system, the read-out electronics and the data acquisition system are also presented in detail. The paper is completed with a description of the equipment and techniques developed for the calibration in time and energy and the simulation of the whole apparatus