Tuesday, August 25, 2020

To what extent does research on past tense morphology suggest that Paper

How much does on past tense morphology propose that youngsters are brought into the world with inborn information on linguistic standards - Research Paper Example As per the exploration discoveries the territory of language procurement in kids is brimming with contentions and counterarguments among significant etymologists. Ordinarily, the perspective either bunch expect totally negates the opposite group’s contention. The hypothetical methodology is in wide utilization in understanding phonological and semantic obtaining of phonetic capacities in kids, and significant contentions are perceptible along this measurement. Significant supporters of this discussion are Pinker and his partners on one side, and McClelland and their associates on the opposite side. McClelland and Patterson are generally thoughtful to the recommendation of connectionists concerning securing of phonetic information. In any case, the points of view of either group of sociolinguists are especially disparate with respect to procurement of past tense morphology in kids. This debate is of much enthusiasm to language specialists, and requires further testing and asses sment of the precepts on which either philosophy rests. The motivation behind this paper is to discuss the degree to which the two gatherings of scientists talk about the event of inborn information on linguistic principle s in kids. Prior examinations on the securing of past morphologies gave knowledge into various variables influencing the procedure of past tense verbal affectation in youngsters. Kuczaj’s study was one of the spearheading deals with language obtaining of language in youngsters as to past tense intonation. Not at all like earlier assumptions about past tense emphasis in youngsters, the examination demonstrated that the normal standard of ‘ed’ isn't bound to be overgeneralized to unpredictable structures, for example, ‘hit’ than different types of sporadic structures. Moreover, there was a halfway legitimacy of the one of the study’s speculations that the two sorts of overgeneralization blunders featured by the examination had inquisitional pertinence. Thusly, constrained utilization of standard action words was noteworthy in diminishing the quantity of overgeneralization mistakes. In synopsis, Kuczaj (589) backs the hypothesis that securing of past tense morphology in youngsters is reliant on learning condition. Subsequently, past tense expression isn't an inborn procedure however a standard put together procedure put together with respect to information with respect to words and rules for preparing past tense verbal affectations. Natural Understanding of Past tense with respect to Rule-Based model of language obtaining with all due respect of the standard based model, Pinker and Ullman seem to contradict the recommendation that the comprehension of past tense morphology is in any case inborn in children’s securing of language. As indicated by Pinker, youngsters depend on figuring out how to get information on the utilization of past tense types of action words. Youngsters gain proficiency with t he utilization of past tense from regular types of past tenses, explicitly the utilization of ‘d’ and ‘ed’. Kids at that point make rules dependent on these standards, which likewise clarifies why most slip-ups made with respect to past tense morpho

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Marketing Pillars - Segmentation free essay sample

While there might be hypothetically perfect market portions, as a general rule each association occupied with a market will create various methods of envisioning market fragments, and make item separation techniques to abuse these sections. The market division and comparing item separation system can give a firm an impermanent business advantage. Rules for Segmenting A perfect market portion meets the entirety of the accompanying rules: * It is conceivable to quantify. It must be sufficiently enormous to win benefit. * It must be steady enough that it doesn't disappear after some time. * It is conceivable to arrive at potential client by means of associations advancement and dispersion channel. * It is inside homogeneous (potential clients in a similar portion incline toward a similar item characteristics). * It is remotely heterogeneous, that is, potential clients from various sections have distinctive quality inclinations. * It reacts correspondingly to a market upgrade. * It can b e reached by advertise intercession in a practical way. Helpful in settling on promoting blend Market division is an advertising technique that includes isolating an expansive objective market into subsets of purchasers who have regular needs and applications for the important products and ventures. Contingent upon the particular qualities of the item, these subsets might be separated by rules, for example, age and sexual orientation, or different qualifications, similar to area or salary. Showcasing efforts would then be able to be planned and executed to focus on these particular client sections. Reason for sectioning shopper markets Geographic division The market is fragmented by geographic criteriaâ€nations, states, locales, nations, urban areas, neighborhoods, or postal districts. Geo-bunch approach joins segment information with geographic information to make an increasingly precise profile of explicit. Regarding district, in blustery areas you can sell things like waterproof shells, umbrellas and gumboots. In sweltering districts you can sell summer wear. In cool locales you can sell comfortable garments. Segment Segmentation Segment division comprises of isolating the market into bunches dependent on factors, for example, age, sex, family size, salary, occupation, instruction, religion, race and nationality. As one would expect, segment division factors are among the most famous bases for dividing client gatherings. This is mostly on the grounds that client needs are firmly connected to factors, for example, pay and age. Likewise, for handy reasons, there is frequently considerably more information accessible to help with the segment division process. Psychographic Segmentation Psychographics is the study of utilizing brain research and socioeconomics to more readily get purchasers. Psychographic division: purchasers are isolated by their way of life, character, values. Outsiders inside a similar segment gathering can display altogether different psychographic profiles. Positive market division Market portioning is partitioning the market into gatherings of individual markets with comparative needs or needs that an organization isolates into unmistakable gatherings which have particular needs, needs, conduct or which may need various items administrations. Comprehensively, markets can be isolated by various general measures, for example, by industry or open versus private. Albeit modern market division is very unique in relation to shopper advertise division, both have comparable targets. These strategies for division are only intermediaries for genuine sections, which dont consistently fit into advantageous segment limits. Purchaser based market division can be performed on an item explicit premise, to give a nearby match between explicit items and people. Nonetheless, various conventional market portion frameworks additionally exist, e. . the framework gives a wide division of the number of inhabitants in the United States dependent on the measurable examination of family unit and geo-segment information. The procedure of division is particular from situating (structuring a proper promoting blend for each section). The general plan is to distinguish gatherings of comparative clients and potential clients; to organize the gatherings t o address; to comprehend their conduct; and to react with suitable promoting techniques that fulfill the various inclinations of each picked fragment. Incomes are therefore improved. Improved division can prompt fundamentally improved showcasing adequacy. Unmistakable portions can have distinctive industry structures and along these lines have sequential appeal Once a market section has been distinguished (by means of division), and focused (in which the reasonability of overhauling the market planned), the fragment is then liable to situating. Situating includes determining how an item or an organization is seen in the psyches of buyers. This piece of the division procedure comprises of drawing up a perceptual guide, which features rival products inside ones industry as per saw quality and cost. After the perceptual guide has been concocted, a firm would consider the advertising correspondences blend most appropriate to the item being referred to. Conduct Segmentation In social division, purchasers are separated into bunches as indicated by their insight into, demeanor towards, utilization of or reaction to an item. It is really founded on the conduct of the buyer. Events Segmentation as indicated by events. We fragment the market as indicated by the events of utilization. For instance, regardless of whether the item will be utilized alone or in a gathering, or whether it is being bought as a present or for individual use. Advantages Segmentations as indicated by benefits looked for by the shopper. Utilizing Segmentation in Customer Retention The essential way to deal with maintenance based division is that an organization labels every one of its dynamic clients with 3 qualities: Tag #1: Is this client at high danger of dropping the companys administration? One of the most well-known pointers of high-hazard clients is a drop off in utilization of the companys administration. For instance, in the charge card industry this could be motioned through a clients decrease in spending on their card. Tag #2: Is this client worth holding? This assurance comes down to whether the post-maintenance benefit produced from the client is anticipated to be more noteworthy than the expense brought about to hold the client. Overseeing Customers as Investments. Tag #3: What maintenance strategies ought to be utilized to hold this client? For clients who are esteemed â€Å"save-worthy†, it’s fundamental for the organization to realize which spare strategies are well on the way to be effective. Strategies regularly utilized range from giving â€Å"special† client limits to sending clients interchanges that fortify the incentive of the given assistance. Procedure for labeling clients Niche Marketing A specialty is an all the more barely characterized client bunch who look for an unmistakable arrangement of advantages. Recognized by isolating a section into sub-portions, unmistakable and exceptional arrangement of necessities, requires specialization, and isn't probably going to pull in an excessive number of contenders. Nearby Marketing programs custom-made to the necessities of neighborhood client gatherings. Value segregation Where an imposing business model exists, the cost of an item is probably going to be higher than in a serious market and the amount sold less, creating restraining infrastructure benefits for the dealer. These benefits can be expanded further if the market can be sectioned with various costs charged to various portions charging more significant expenses to those fragments willing and ready to pay more and charging less to those whose request is value flexible. The value discriminator may need to make rate fences that will forestall individuals from a more significant expense section from buying at the costs accessible to individuals from a lower value fragment. This conduct is normal with respect to the monopolist, yet is frequently observed by rivalry specialists as a maltreatment of an imposing business model position, regardless of whether the restraining infrastructure itself is endorsed. Regions in which this value separation is seen extend from transportation to pharmaceuticals. Focusing on: Targetingâ is the second phase of the STPD process. After the market has been isolated into its sections, the advertiser will choose a fragment or arrangement of portions and target it/them. Assets and exertion will be focused at the fragment. Target Marketing encourages the advertisers to isolate the market into little units including similar individuals. Such division encourages the advertisers to plan explicit methodologies and procedures to advance an item among its objective market. An objective market alludes to a gathering of people who are slanted towards comparable items and react to comparable advertising methods and limited time plans. For Instance, Kellogg’s K Special chiefly targets people who need to eliminate their calorie consumption. The objective market in such a case would be people who are stout. The procedures intended to advance K Special would not be the equivalent if there should be an occurrence of some other brand say Complan or Boost which significantly take into account adolescents and children to help them in their general turn of events. The objective market for Kellogg’s K Special would completely be not the same as Boost or Complan.

Monday, August 10, 2020

Staying in Touch with Hometown Friends in College

Staying in Touch with Hometown Friends in College Something I worried about a lot near the end of my senior year of high school was the idea of leaving my longtime best friends behind for college. While some of my friends back home I had known for only a few years, I met most of them when we attended the same elementary school. There’s something special about still being in touch with people who knew you back when you went through your pre-college education track. I have to begin this post by saying yes, you will make new friends in college, and it’s okay to do so. But sometimes, there’s nothing quite like calling up a friend from your hometown. You might want to talk about a memory you just rediscovered from when you were both in the fourth grade, or to talk about the differences in your college experiences, or to reminisce about the less strenuous days of high school. Regardless of why you want to stay in touch with your friends from back home, it’s always a good idea to keep in contact with those you love. While these may not work for everyone, here are the tips I’ve created that seem to work the best for me and my group of friends. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to take these tips and make falling out of touch with hometown friends a thing of the past. If you don’t already have a group chat, start one! If you have a group of friends that are also all mutual friends, starting a group chat can be a fun and easy way to make sure everyone stays in the loop. Texting a quick hello! in a larger group chat is sure to get everyone talking every day. Use apps like FaceTime or Skype to make the distance between you and your friends seem smaller.  I FaceTime my best friend from first grade all the time. Sometimes, you just have too much to talk about to put it all in a text. Feeling like youre talking to someone face-to-face is a much better alternative. Also, you get instant feedback from the person instead of waiting for a text back.   Communicate when both you and your friends will be back home at the same time, and make plans to do something at least a few weeks in advance.  This can get a bit tricky! If youre like me, you may have some hometown friends that dont even live in the same state as you anymore. Your hangout weekends may depend mostly on their schedules. For example, this past semester, my friends and I werent all back in our hometown at the same time until winter break. But, it was so rewarding to make sure we all scheduled time to hang out with each other over break, and to share stories we specifically waited to tell until we could all be together again. Make sure you plan ahead, because as college students and young adults, we all have busy lives and our own schedules to follow. Planning ahead will make sure everyone can free up their time and happily hang out! If you use social media, share with your friends what you’ve been up to, and look for the same.  While I dont currently use social media anymore, when I did/when I do in short bursts, I like to see what my friends have been up to. Seeing pictures of them enjoying their time at their own universities makes me smile. I try to update friends on what exciting things are going on in my life as well. Try not to fall back on this as your only form of staying in touch with friends, because social media can often be misleading! Genuinely messaging a friend and asking how they are doing is always the more sincere option. When in doubt, there’s nothing like a quick phone call or text to tell them you care.  I love all my friends, and sometimes a quick, Thinking about you! I hope youre having a great day! makes sure that my friends still know I care about them. I suggest that everyone does the same! If you’re a current high school senior, college may seem like a scary world of the unknown. But, if you choose to stay in touch with your high school friends (not everyone does, and that’s perfectly okay, too), they may help make your college of choice seem that much smaller. I hope you’ve enjoyed my quick tips! Until next time, I-L-L! Lydia Class of 2021 My major is Instrumental Music Education within the College of Fine and Applied Arts. I'm also part of the Marching Illini! Before moving to Urbana, I lived in Collinsville, Illinois, where we are known for some killer Italian food and the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Biology Key Questions Essay - 675 Words

Biology Key Questions – Lesson #1 1. How many electrons does Mg2+ have? Answer: Mg2+ has 10 electrons. A Magnesium atom has 12 electrons, 2 of which are valence electrons. The atom will lose the 2 outermost electrons in order to stabilize its electron shell. The nucleus maintains its 12 protons and becomes a Mg2+ ion. 2. Given that the half-life of the radioisotope carbon-14 is 5730 years, how useful do you think this isotope would be for dating bones that are over a million years old? Answer: Carbon-14 is incorporated in the tissues of plants and animals through their environment. When they die the incorporation of carbon-14 ends, and what remains in the specimen decays at a constant rate, with a half-life of†¦show more content†¦When the two smaller reactants join together, water is produced and removed during the synthesis of the larger molecule. This is also called Dehydration Synthesis. For example, molecules with projecting Hydrogen atoms bond with molecules with projecting Hydroxyl groups (-OH), forming water. The water molecule then leaves the reactants, allowing them to bond to form a larger, more complex molecule. This type of reaction occurs continuously throughout the body in the joining of amino acids to form protein. Amino acid + Amino acid ïÆ'   Protein + Water Oxidation and Reduction (Redox) A chemical reaction involving the transfer of electrons rather than molecules is classified as a Redox reaction. A reaction involving the loss of electrons is called Oxidation, and a reaction involving the gain of electrons is called Reduction. Oxidation and Reduction always occur together, as one reactant loses electrons, and the other gains them. This exchange often effects the physical states of molecules, as their solubility is changed with their charge. *Zn(s) + Cu2+ ïÆ'   Cu(s) + Zn2+(aq) Cellular respiration is a redox reaction that combines glucose oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water, and energy. Neutralization: Neutralization reactions are those that involve the reaction of an acid and a base to form water and salt. A solution with a high hydrogen ion concentration is acidic, and a solution with a high concentration of hydroxide ions isShow MoreRelatedUnit 1 Lesson 1 Key Question Biology SBI4U Essay1283 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Unit 1 Lesson 1 Key Question Biology SBI4U-C ILC 1) Mg2+ Has 10 electrons. 2) Carbon -14 would not be effective at dating bones that are millions of years old. Carbon -14 is effective at dating to a maximum of 40 000 to 50 000 years old. The isotope decays over time and would not be present on bones that are millions of years old. 3) Hydrolysis - Water used to breakdown molecules. Hydro means water and lysis means to breakdown. An example of hydrolysis in action within our bodies is how ourRead MoreWhy I Am Interested Of Taking The Chromatin, Epigenetics, And Gene Expression Course995 Words   |  4 PagesChromatin, Epigenetics, and Gene Expression course. I have always had a lifelong thirst for knowledge. As a child I was always asking questions about why or how things worked. I would always tinker with things, taking them apart and reassembling them. I questioned pretty much everything and longed to be able to do experiments and find solutions to unanswered questions on my own. In high school, I volunteered, participated in athletics, held leadership roles in several clubs, and also worked part-timeRead MoreThe Research Methods Of Internet Articles1554 Words   |  7 PagesThere were four research methods that were used in this research question. The use of internet articles, email interview, library books and visits to the museum. Out of all those research methods, the most effective was the internet articles and the visits to the SA museum. In this evaluation the four research methods will be discussed in details along with their pros and cons. Internet articles were one of the main research methods, and it was chosen because using search engines such as googleRead MoreBiology : Evolution, Energy, Information, And Systems1436 Words   |  6 PagesBiology, the study of life and living organisms, is complex and encompasses a multitude of theories and ideas. In AP Biology, the fourth unit covered was genetics. Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 18 in the textbook, Campbell’s Biology in Focus, not only discusses the four main ideas of biology: evolution, energy, information, and systems, but it also gives examples of each in order to help guide the reader’s understanding of the concepts. The first big idea of AP Biology is: â€Å"the processRead MoreReflection On Metacognition799 Words   |  4 Pagestime for friends and family, this song has given me motivation like no other. There were MANY times where Ive felt unmotivated and this song has lifted me right back up. In particular, I took this class without having too much of a background in biology. However, I needed to take this class as a pre-requisite for medical school. And it was important that I thoroughly understand all the content in order to succeed in this class as well as in medical school. The textbook itself looked daunting whenRead MoreImportance Of Cell Biology1122 Words   |  5 Pagesruns the gamut of activities expected in a cell biology lab: feeding, passaging, expanding, and freezing cell strains grown in our lab; FACS sorting cells based on lineage specific surface markers; immunofluorescence imaging; gene expression analysis. As a research associate, I also make stock solutions and provide support for the staff scientists, post-docs, and graduate students that work in the lab. I work to help them find the answers to the questions they wish to ask about the biological systemRead More Daniel Dennetts Darwins Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life1022 Words   |à ‚  5 Pagesinferior, it just happened that way because of social circumstances. It has nothing to do with biology. So what! Science here offers no ethical insight; it only prompts indifference. Even if Darwinism is no justification for social injustice, it does nothing to suggest that there is an urgent need for social change. At worst, if one does not take away from this a warning not to mix ideas about society and biology lightly, it might lead one to think that social circumstances are just another random differenceRead MoreThe Role Of The Circulatory Systems And Defense Systems1712 Words   |  7 Pages1. Relation to the Alberta Program of Studies. Unit D: Human Systems in Biology 20 is one of the main sections that becomes relatable to the Program of Studies (POS) for the Heart Rate and Exercise LabQuest activity. General Outcome #2 focuses on how students will explain the role of the circulatory systems and defense systems in maintaining an internal equilibrium. This further goes into measuring the students level of understanding the concepts of heart rate and the factors that affect it (AlbertaRead MoreDevelopmental Psychology : Psychology And Psychology943 Words   |  4 Pagescurrent major in biology are Developmental Psychology, Neurological Psychology, and Clinical Psychology; they have influenced me by Developmental Psychology relating to my future goal to work with pediatrics, Neurological Psychology relating to both biology in a general sense and also my potential interests in the neurology field, and Clinical Psychology relating to being a doctor in general. 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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Rag Pickers in India Free Essays

Sustainability of Human Rights with Special Reference to Child Rights: A Case Study of Rag Pickers in Cuttack City Abstract Dillip Kumar Mallik The discourse on rights is evolving with time. The rights of the Rag Pickers as part of the broad rights discourse have assumed significance in contemporary times. My Ph. We will write a custom essay sample on Rag Pickers in India or any similar topic only for you Order Now D research is located within the rights framework. Rag Pickers are those children we can find out them in railway station, municipality areas, bus stand, industries areas, garbage and household areas with having a heavy gunny bags and collected and sorted: plastic, paper, bottles, bones and metals. Diferent plans outlined by Government Agencies have rolled out government has taken lot of initiative for empowering the childhood. For example, policies like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the free mid-day meal programme and many others have been there for a long tyime. But the question is if they are successful, then why there is early drop out of students and more significantly, why children belonging to poor sections in urban areas have turned into rag pickers. The metro cities have the largest number of rag pickers in the country. It would be difficult to ascribe any particular caste or any other form of identities to these children. The central question of this research is whether Government policies are inadequate to respond the needs and requirements of this group of children. Along with this central question the study also looks at other related questions. Whether the rag pickers belong to marginalised groups? Do these rag pickers constitute a majority of school drop outs? The research revolves round these questions. Some of the key objectives of the research are 1) to study and understand the socio-economic condition of the rag pickers, Second is To know the impact of the rag pickers on the society, Third, to provide proper education as well as health awareness for the children. Fourth, to make assessment the changing behavioural pattern of the children of rag pickers, and finally To improve the nutritional health status of children. The researcher choose Cuttack district of Odisha will the area of study because it is one of the oldest cities, better known as the Business Capital of Orissa. The study was concentrated slums, railway stations, medical, municipality area and most important industrial estates where these children were picking more rag. In the present study the researcher employed interview schedule and group discussion as the tools for data collection. Both primary and secondary sources of data will employ for this research. The primary data are collected from the respondents of Cuttack district of Orissa. The secondary data are based on books, journal, article, guides, magazine, newspaper, and statistical report, published and unpublished document and mostly from internet sources. In the present study the researcher will employ two types of method for data analysis: qualitative and quantitative. Both the methods are correlated with each other, though qualitative method is little prior than quantitative methods. Qualitative method is a raw material for any type research, by which we know the details about the theoretical aspect, but by using of quantitative method we would able to manipulate and evaluate the statistical analysis of the data through the helps of advanced computing package like SPSS. How to cite Rag Pickers in India, Papers

Saturday, May 2, 2020

A Fiery Grave The dropping of the Atomic Bomb Essay Example For Students

A Fiery Grave The dropping of the Atomic Bomb Essay The atomic bomb was developed in numerous places, however the bulk of it was created in Los Alomos. Los Alomos is a small town in New Mexico. Before the research began, there stood a small all-boys Catholic school. After months of low flying planes, armed marine surveillance and many interrogations about the area, the school received a notice that said the school would be knocked down for government use. Two months after the destruction of the school, there stood a huge top-secret research facility that no one was quite sure what it used for where a small school had once been. The facility was so secretive, there was a sign posted outside that said What you see here, What you do here, What you hear here, Let it stay here. (Wheeler 24) Another research facility that played a major role in the production of the atomic bomb was a large lab in Manhattan where the Manhattan Project took place. Here they tested the power of Uranium and Plutonium. With this research, they could plan out the effectiveness of the bomb used in Hiroshima. Without the Manhattan Project, the U.S would have no clue about the power of Plutonium and Uranium. The researchers and scientists worked day in and day out trying to successfully harness nuclear energy. Albert Einstein helped with the Manhattan Project by using his theory that E=MC2 also proved to be helpful in the development of the atom bomb. To test the power of an atomic explosion, the United States Government came up with explosive devices that were equal to the power of the atomic bomb. These tests were some of the best kept secrets of World War II. The first experiment was a test in which scientists would drop Uranium slugs into piles of radioactive materials. When a pure Uranium hits radioactive material it could very easily cause a nuclear explosion. This project was so dangerous, they called it Tickling the dragons tail. Another test to determine the power of the atomic bomb was a test that involved over fifty tons of T.N.T, a highly explosive material. The plan for this experiment was to take the T.N. T out to the middle of the desert and detonate it. When they put the T.N.T into the crates, they added plutonium rods so they could see the effects of a radioactive fallout. When they detonated the bomb, it was easily seen over sixty miles away. The entire time these tests were going on, the Germans were trying to unlock the key to atomic energy. The United States was aware of the situation so they sent spies to Germany. These spies missions were to watch German nuclear advancements and then report their findings back to the United States. Moe Berg was a famous catcher for the New York Yankees during the time of nuclear developments in the United States. What his fans didnt know was that he was also a nuclear spy sent to Germany to spy on Germanys nuclear advancements. His mission was to go to Edward Heisbergs, a German nuclear physicist, lecture on nuclear energy. If Heisberg even hinted he knew anything about the United states development of atomic bombs, Berg was to kill him. Berg attended the lecture. Luckily Heisberg never mentioned anything about American nuclear bombs. No one knew about Bergs secret life until it was declassified long after the war had ended. The plans for the dropping of the atomic bomb were very complex. The United States had come up with six different locations for the dropping of the atomic bomb. These locations were: The Kokura Arsenal- a large port city that produced most of Japans planes. .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c , .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c .postImageUrl , .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c , .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c:hover , .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c:visited , .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c:active { border:0!important; } .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c:active , .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud4d8b1a5481210827ff6defe6b76680c:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Gender Equality In Sports Essay Nigiita- a city that had a very large population and would contain radiation well. Hiroshima- A large city in which Japanese ships were made Emperors palace- This was an alternative that would only be used to show the aggressiveness and superiority of the United States. It was in a bad location that would not hold radiation well. Nagasaki- This was a port city that produced artillery. It had a large population and held radiation well. Kyoto- It had a large population and .

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Health benefit costs

It is important for employers to eliminate the benefits drawn by retirees to maintain the benefits of current employees. A number of companies are taking into consideration the changes they are likely to experience as a result of increasing health care costs and the dire economic situation.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Health benefit costs specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Employers are therefore looking for the most effective ways to reduce such costs (C C H, Incorporated 2003). Elimination of benefits for retirees is a sure way of reducing the costs incurred by an organization, such elimination should be directed to the retirees due to their diminishing role within an organization and their financial position that come about as a result of accumulation of funds during the period of employment. Retirees also draw benefits from organizations that carry out social work. Current employees do not enjoy such a feat . It is however important to reinstate that the reason for the elimination of retirees benefits is the amount of contribution drawn over time that is higher than that of current employees thus a need for employers to create a balance. Employees should be charged more for health benefits as opposed to reducing their contribution to pensions. The reason is that pensions is a mode of saving that caters for the needs of such employees upon retirement while costs incurred as a result of health are termed as recurrent. It is unwise to feel comfortable meeting the health needs which will always form a part of an employee’s life. Pension benefits do not conform to such an ideology. It is worth noting that public employees pay a small percentage of their pension’s costs. This is usually a third or less of the total cost. According to experts this contribution is quite low. It is actually less than 30% of the total cost of the annual pensions plan stated contributions. This mean s reducing the contributions to pension will impact minimally on the overall costs incurred by an employer. In an effort to improve employee satisfaction, it is necessary to study and analyze their expectations especially in terms of finances and motivation. This lays the ground work for initiating corrective measures in case something is a miss. It is inappropriate for employers to reduce employee’s incentives during tough economic times. This only serves to reduce employee loyalty and morale. Employers therefore need to provide channels for employees to voice their concerns in case such an activity is taking place; this is an important way to propagate job satisfaction. The bottom line is that the benefits drawn by employees should not be reduced (Lundy Janes 2009).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More After taking into consideration the above mentioned concepts. An emp loyer should create a strategic plan in an effort to balance between the needs of the employees and their own needs. It is through employers performing their duties efficiently that employees can pick up the trend. These duties include provision of benefits appropriately. Employers can therefore take advantage of new tools related to electronic planning and offer benefits which are timely and accurate. Strategic plans are useful in providing controlled budgets. An employer can achieve such a feat by evaluating the present benefit plans, identification of the goals and objectives of the company, determining strategies that relate to the culture of the company, coordinating the benefit strategies in reference to human resource programs, designing a communication plan and establishing a budget that fully supports this plan. This will be useful in ensuring that employees receive their benefits as planned thus increasing the levels of satisfaction (Lundy Janes 2009). References C C H, I ncorporated. (2003). United States master employee benefits guide. Los Angeles, CA: CCH Incorporated. Lundy, S. Janes, S. (2009). Community Health Nursing: Caring for the Public’s Health. New York: Jones Bartlett Publishers. Sims, R. (2002). Organizational success through effective human resources management. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group. This essay on Health benefit costs was written and submitted by user Ciara W. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Friday, March 6, 2020

vector lab essays

vector lab essays The apparatus used in this lab is a circular table with degree marks around the edge. There are three pulleys attached to the table. Weight hangers are attached to a central ring with string and run over the pulleys. The central ring is centered around a central pin. 100cos30= 86.6=x-component 100+86.6=186.6=x 100sin30=50=y-component 173.21+50=223.21=y 200sin60=173.21=y-component =50.10+180=230.10 150cos45=106.07=x-component 106.07+-173.205=-67.135 150sin45=106.07=y-component 106.07+-100=6.07 200cos210=-173.205=x-component C=67.4085 200sin210=-100=y-component =-5.16245 100cos20=93.9643=x-component 93.9643+-76.6044=17.3599 100sin20=34.202=y-component 34.202+64.2788=98.4808 100cos140=-76.6044=x-component C=99.999 100sin140=64.2788=y-component =80.003+180=260.003 With this lab we were able to estimate the magnitude and direction of the resultant vector. We then used vector addition to find the magnitude and direction and compared the findings. Our estimates and calculations were very close. The experiment helped us to better understand vectors and their properties. We used trigonometric equations to find the x and y components of the given vectors. y-component=magnitudesin x-component=magnitudecos We then used vector addition to find the x and y components of the resultant vector. With the x and y components we used the equation magnitude ²=(x-component) ²+(y-component) ² to find the magnitude of the vector and the equation ...

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

The Goal novel - Supply Chain Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Goal novel - Supply Chain Managment - Essay Example The other way is to identify the hidden capacity within the plant be it in the machineries or the workers and utilize them. Alex identified that the goal of the plant and which he has to attain is to make money (Goldratt & Cox 46). In order to meet his goal, he will need anything that will bring him closer to attain it that is anything productive and identify all the bottlenecks preventing the attainment of the goal and do away with them. Managerial decision making is not an easy chore and it requires patience and a lot of team work. The manager also needs to seek advice from those with experience and try an all rounded approach for better results. Jonah was giving advice that was far too difficult and technical for Alex and it made him work even harder to figure it out, run the plant in the meanwhile and all these at the expense of his family. The more time he took to figure out Jonah’s advice, the more time his personal life

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Write a 500 word Market Research Brief from behalf of a company of Essay

Write a 500 word Market Research Brief from behalf of a company of your choice. The brief can be developed on any kind of problem the company has or may have - Essay Example He is known to push people to accomplish goals and objectives more than they thought they could achieve. He also stretched the possibilities of hardware and software design that yielded revolutionary products of which we enjoy today that often drove his people nuts(time). He was known to become rude, [slave driver at times], unreasonable, fickle, arrogant and even took credit for other’s ideas. But despite these seeming weaknesses, Job’s leadership have undeniably drove the company from near bankruptcy to become one of the most envied companies in the world. This management style of Steve Jobs however is no longer emphasized in the present leadership of Apple. Being such, Apple is bound to have problems without a leadership that is driven to innovate because such leadership and organizational discipline that was instilled by Steve Jobs was the main factor that drove the company to excellence that produced radical innovation. Its new CEO Tim Cook did not have the same drive towards excellence nor have the genius of Jobs to think of revolutionary products that would shake the industry. And due to this shortcoming, he is more predisposed towards what he calls as â€Å"incrementalism† which is essentially just to make things better what Steve Jobs already did. And this new leadership is dangerous to the company because it is one of the management traps that lead a company into a downfall. This is the management leadership trap that Robert Schaeffer articulated in the article â€Å"Mistakes Leaders Keep Making† of failing to pu sh for significant improvement for fear that people are already overwhelmed (2010). As a result, Apple is no longer growing and its former competitive edge of being radically innovative is no longer there. In an industry where change happens at a dizzying pace and products become obsolete overnight, doing the same thing even better is problematic because it

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Why did jammu and kashmir conflict start

Why did jammu and kashmir conflict start Since 1989 Jammu and Kashmir has been the most important issue in the Indias internal security scenario. Jammu and Kashmir was a major site of the extremely bloody 1947 war. The first few years saw a relative domination by terrorist group when the casualties were mainly civilians. Jammu and Kashmir which lies in the northwest of the subcontinent bordering china. At the time of partition -the British provinces divide two countries India and Pakistan the Hindu majority on the side of India and the Muslim majority on the side of Pakistan and j s k one such a rich pricey and nature rich state had a vesicular problem. Because its the state is in India at the time of partition means under Hindu majority but having Muslim population. In 1947 the population of Kashmir is 77% of Muslims and 20 % of Hindu. After the partition both the country claims that J and k is theirs country state but the result they had wars with each others many times over this region. In 1987 the alliance won and Faroo q Abdullah was the chief minister of the Kashmir. The relation between India and Pakistan is soured. They fought three times in 1947 to 1948, in 1965 and in 1971.so in this quarrel then United Nations invited. From the Indian side it instead that the no referendum could occur until all of the state had been cleared of irregulars. The Jammu and Kashmir are has been administrated by both India and Pakistan .The insurgency was first predominant in Srinagar when militants were largely Kashmirs youth. Muslims are majority in poonch, rajouri, kisth, and doda. And the Shia Muslims make for majority in kargil region. The definition of insurgency means is an armed rebellion against a authority (for ex- which recognised by the United Nations) those who taking part in this rebellion are not recognised by any nation. Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir existed in various forms. It includes, civilians, Kashmir are, Indian armed forced and foreign militants etc. Kashmir has been the target by all the sides in the conflict. After the elections of 1987 some of the state legislative assembly formed groups or militant wings and further more that has started a catalyst for the insurgency. And it was the starting point of the insurgency in j and k .According the press release there were 3,400 cases of disappearances. U.S intelligences also believes that the al-Qaeda and Taliban are helping to organizing terror camps in Kashmir to foment conflicts it has left more than 4.7000 people dead till 2009.and in the year of 2000 because of insurgencies 31,000 Indian civilians lost their lives .terror camps play a central role in this Insurgencies. The Pakistans inter services intelligence has been accused by India many times to supporting and training terrorists. Like between India and Pakistan. The government believes that the terrorists groups from Afghanistan entered in to this region with the help of isi (Pakistans intelligence).since then the violence has increased significantly in stre ngth. Some parties which are present in the j and k are demanding for an independent Kashmir these parties names are hurriyat conference and Jammu and Kashmir liberation front. Other militant groups favour as a Pakistani Kashmir. It is hard to determine the total numbers of casualties. Because in Jammu and Kashmir it is very common after the partition. Kashmir continuous to remain at the highest volatile region in the world with a highest average of 2,500 every year. Every individual has his or her own ideology so some fight in the name of the religion and some are for independent Kashmir. Several new groups and organisation have also emerged. India claims that the there are also other afghan, Egyptian and Bangladeshi terror active in Jammu and Kashmir. And Is I is the main suppliers of funds and support these groups. But the Pakistani government always denied these type of statements to India. Richer Bennett, a British intelligence analyst that the isi helped these militant groups and has many of their attacks both within the Kashmir and the other major big cities of India. There are between 2,600 to 3,600 militant camps across Pakistan and Pakistan administrated Kashmir. The FBI has also produced images of camps which are located in pok. India claims that the every year thousand of armed and terrorists cross the loc and enter into the Indias administrated Kashmir and spread the terror. During a piece summit between Pakistans former president pervej Mushrraf and Indias former president Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Jan 2004.pakistan assured that they would do everything possible to curb the activities any training camps on its territory. But the violence has continued despite three year long peace process between India and Pakistan. In 2005 there were 166 incidents in the result 201 people are died. So all the problem faced by both the country people. Islamabad has done little to stop the training camps on its soil it was the statement by p. mussaraf the former pri me minister of Pakistan the statement was a truly fake or false statement. Covered by the media. However India claims that the Islamabad supports these terror groups. Thousand of pandits move from Kashmir because of terror. Not much about these groups some says that they collaborate and they are the members of an alliance known as united jihad council. the two groups which India says they were behind the attack in parliament in New Delhi .they are known as jaish -e-Mohammed and lashkar -e- toiba. They are in the favour of Pakistans Kashmir. They are believed to be the members of u g c. In a letter to American people written by Osama bin laden he stated the reasons that why he was fighting against America is because of her support to India on the Kashmir issue. The u .s secretary of defence on a trip to New Delhi in 2002 suggested that al-Qaeda was active in Kashmir. India says that the it was jaish e Mohammed who hijacked the Indian airline flight I c 814 to Kandahar and to force th e Indian government to release the commander of Jaish e Mohammed named Maulana Masood azhar and also attacked the assembly of Kashmir in 2001. All the support or you can say the arms given to them by Pakistan military or i s i. Between august 1988 and at the end of 1989 JKLF was the only terrorist group present in insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir. Later the I s I promot them. The main work of I s I is to give arms to the militants and help them to shifted them to Indians administrated Kashmir. Because of terrorism the state, tourism has been badly affected. Insurgency is the most threatening attempt by Pakistan. It has used to seize the state. Pakistan knows that it this phase of insurgency does not flair up into an open war. The situation came closer in june1999 in the Kargil region when Pakistans army regulars were detected holding positions in peaks of loc. India frequently warned many a times to Pakistan that finish that terrorists camps but Pakistan government always indulged th e statements that their country is peaceful and no terror activities involved by their country. Some of Pakistans Organistaions report that Indian armed forces have been responsible for the death of 4,500 Kashmiri. So Pakistan have also point out India many time In the year of 1990 to 1999 there are 4,242 cases of rape of womens in Kashmir. Another reason of dispute over Kashmir is water. Jehlum and Chenab which flows in Pakistan and the three river ravi , Sutlej and beas irrigate in northern India. In 1960 the Indus water treaty signed to resolved the most of dispute over the sharing of water. But the Pakistan raised the issue when India constructed the dams on its side and which limit water to Pakistans side. How to control the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir? There is a possibility of changing everything for the good. Religious terrorism is a major part of today. Both the countries should take steps for remove the terrorists parties from their country specially for Pakistan. Pakistan needs to destroys all the camps of terrorists. Because it is the time to finish the issue not to make the issue. So, it is our responsibility to stop the terrorist attacks and to fight with terrorists. .We had already soft on the terror. There are only four or five countries which fight like a child war for states. We have done nothing except kill our men and people of the other countries. Both the countries India and Pakistan have same religions , currency and etc so we are the two faces of one coin. Respect the other religions. I DREAM THAT THE INDIA WE LEAVE BEHIND WILL BE MUCH MORE WONDERFUL THAN THE INDIA WE INHERITED. I SINCERELY HOPE YOU SHARE MY DREAM.THANK YOU

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Henry Tam and Mgi Team

The third founder Alexandra (Sash) Compelling) is a 1987 MBA graduate from HOBS. Other MGM' members include Dana Seaman (HOBS MBA student), Dave Clark (MIT graduate student), and Alexandra Jan Sarasota (Boston Berkeley College Music Business Management and Music Production and Engineering student). The founders are all Russians who are trying to create, produce, and sell a unique computer-based music game where through the game play user can both learn and enjoy music. Within a short time frame these diverse members assembled to compose a business plan for the company. Meg's Founders believe.The product should be marketed as a game and ant to focus on the entertainment market while the HAS student believes it should be marketed toward the education industry. Also, the team struggles to identify their responsibilities, define their roles, make decisions together, and resolve conflicts. Arguments and tension started to build as the team produced a variety of ideas about how to promote their product, but had difficulty agreeing on which ideas to pursue. The team had very little success in working together. Discussion MGM' appears to be an excellent company and their software music product seems to have great potential.In addition, the team is comprised of diverse members who share a strong commitment to the Business, and the founders of the company have a strong passion on their product. To completely understand MGM and provide recommendations as to working effectively, we will start by analyzing the Issues that MGM has experienced. There are numerous issues building within the MGM team from the very start. Provided below is a breakdown of our understanding of MGM and its internal issues. * The MGM founders (Sash Compelling, Igor Toothache, and Roman Yak) are all Russians whose vision is to target their product towards the entertainment industry.The HOBS students believe that the product has a greater chance of success towards the education industry. This indicate s that there is a strong disagreement in terms of the company's vision for the product between the founders and HOBS students. * The product Just missed a Christmas holiday season. The founders believe the product lacked a focus on sales. This is a clear sign the MGM team needs skills to appropriately promote their product. * There are various differences between the MGM founders. Igor and Roman are from Ukraine.They're both creative and established International musicians but lack business skills. Sash is from Russia and is considered the primary business person because he is a college graduate wit n Dustless acumen Ana Tolerance Skills. Mess's student team Includes: Henry Tam (HOBS MBA student with experience in investments); Dana Seaman (HOBS MBA student with experience in banking); Alex Jan Sarasota (Boston Barley College Music student); and Dave Clark Coins the team in the third meeting and is an MIT graduate student with experience in software development and music). Henry and Dana believe Sash has a tendency to Jump from ideas to ideas, and seems unclear. Also, Sash's resume indicated that he has limited accomplishments since he has Jumped from industry-to-industry. * The MGM' founders share a different viewpoint for the HAS students. Igor considers Dana and Henry a critical part of Meg's success while Sash is thinking of the students as interns. Henry and Dana see themselves as creating a business plan. There's a clear conflict with role establishments and expectations. * A new student â€Å"Alex† is added in the second meeting.Alex has experience in music, has worked with Meg's founders in the past, and has an understanding for business. According to Alex, MGM' has a great product UT the company lacks in organization. * As the group continues to meet, prejudices toward one and another are formed. Dana sees Sash as a salesperson and believes that leadership is needed from within MGM'. Roman and Sash believe that Dana has a very broad view of thi ngs. Sash lacks in interpersonal communication skills. Alex sees Dana as aggressive and strong-minded. * Dana and Sash had constants disagreements.Anything that Dana would present Sash would reject. * In the third meeting, Dave was introduced. Dave also Joined MGM' to represent the company at the MIT Business Contest. Dana and Henry were unconcerned by the recruitment of Dave and made them question whether MGM' was using the students to get into the business contest. * At the third meeting, Dana and Henry presented their ideas that outlined the work completed to date. Igor and Roman were impressed by the presentation but Sash expressed frustrations and felt that he is being alienated by the group. Dave believes the group is impacted due to the cultural differences. Alex believes the people are from different experiences and skill levels. * Alex is somewhat a mediator who's got music skills which are similar to Igor and Roman; however, he is close to Dana and Henrys age. Alex views t he major difference or point of conflict as that between the creativity of Igor and Roman and business sense of Dana and Henry. * As the team progresses, issues regarding how to market the MGM' product arise.After compiling a heavy amount of research data, Henry and Dana believe they should market the product to teachers and education market. However, according to Roman, education market is small in comparison to the entertainment market. Additionally, Sash feels that they would set themselves for a failure since they have no interest in the education market or have the experience. But, Henry thinks it would suitable to start off with the education market since Meg's product is in development and MGM' should consider a shorter and long-term viewpoint. There is no clear leader. Per Henry, the leader was that person who at the time had the most energy to give to an issue. Based on our observations of the case, we believe the team had good debates about the direction of the company but they were disorganized, unstructured and did not lead any final result of plan. At the end of the day, the team was surely behind schedule in development of the business plan. Henry and Dana were the mainly contributing to outcome; tender were no Inhalations AT work contributed Trot toner team members. The team did not work well together.They had conflicts, frustrations, and tension among each other. Also, the team members did not share a common goal. Dana and Henry wanted to test their abilities for the HOBS contest, so their goal was to develop business plan in time for the competition. The MGM' founders wanted to develop their vision into a viable business. Alex was assisting MGM' market the game, and Dave was pulled in at the last minute as way to participate in the MIT business contest. MGM' did not divide the task into sub tasks; there seemed to be a main group and subgroups with no integration.Additionally no team leader was officially appointed or nobody was empowered to de fine the role structure, the decision- making process and assessing team performance. We also feel the team did not spend time developing a good working culture from the start. Recommendations After directly observing the company's internal issues and based on our analysis, we provide the following recommendations for Henry and the MGM' team: * The very first thing Henry needs to do is to volunteer to serve as a team leader for MGM'.MGM' is n need of a transformational leadership and this is the style, which is the most appropriate for Henry. A person using the transformational leadership style has competencies such as integrity, sets clear goals, clearly communicates a vision, expects the best from the team, encourages and supports the team, provides stimulating work, and helps people see beyond their self-interests and focus more on team interests and needs (Leadership Styles, 2011). Transformational leaders are exceptionally motivating and they're trusted (Leadership Styles, 2011 ).When your team trusts you, and are enthused by the way you lead, one can achieve great things. Observing Henrys behavior throughout the case and MGM' circumstances, he appears to be trustworthy, enthused about the MGM' product, confident, good listener, highly analytical, and remained calm throughout the meetings. Most importantly, all the members of MGM' team seem to like him and have demonstrated respect for Henry. We believe he would be a suitable leader; hence, he needs to volunteer to serve as the MGM' leader.A leader is an important function of management which helps to maximize efficiency and to achieve organizational goals. Having a leader at MGM' will help in communicating policies and plans to subordinates from where the work actually starts. A leader will motivate the employees, provide guidance, create confidence, and help in building a work environment (Importance of Leadership, 2011). * We strongly advise and recommend that the members of the MGM' team learn about di versity management within workplace since the MGM' team was compromised of people from different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences.Having a good understanding of diversity is quite crucial to Meg's success. Most successful teams and managers, deal with multicultural challenges in one of four ways: adaptation, structural intervention, managerial intervention, and exit (Brett, Bear, and Kern, 2006). Adaptation involves acknowledging cultural gaps openly and working around them (Brett, Bear, and Kern, 2006). Structural intervention involves changing the shape or makeup of the team (Brett, Bear, and Kern, 2006).Managerial intervention is setting norms early or bringing in a higher-level manager (Brett, Bear, and Kern, 2006). Exit involves removing a team member when other options have failed (Brett, Bear, and Kern, 2006). Also, it would be extremely Dentally Tort Henry to Locus systematically WI TN Dana now to acclimatize to sauna's style in order to avoid conflicts. Henry needs to identify norms and values for the team. Their decision making process was extremely slow. Someone would always oppose whenever the team was about to come to a decision.This would cause the process to start all over again. Henry would benefit by setting deadlines on tasks, defining each member's role and contributions, and utilizing a voting system for decision-making. Utilizing the egalitarianism value system would be quite beneficial. Egalitarianism is a moral principle. It is the belief that all people should be equal and that values should be split evenly (Importance of Philosophy, 2011). Time management is highly needed. Henry needs to write the meeting objectives prior to starting every meeting.

Friday, January 10, 2020

A Review of Qualitative Research on Teenage Smoking Habits

A Review of Qualitative Research on Teenage Smoking Habits Grand Canyon University: NRS-433V-O103 Introduction to Nursing Research September 20, 2012 Introduction The purpose of this document is to summarize the contents of the research article, explain the research methods implemented, and offer insight on how the findings contribute to nursing practice. Second, there will be an explanation of ethical considerations associated with the conduct of nursing research. Finally, the source document, â€Å"What Determines Teenagers' Smoking Behaviour? : A Qualitative Study† will be attached for review. SummaryThe articles purpose was to study smoking behavior among Malaysian teens. The specific areas of interest included: smoking initiation, cigarette consumption, intention to stop smoking, and attempts to stop smoking. The first stage of teen smoking behavior begins with casual experimentation and is followed by the maintenance phase when everyday ritual smoking is present. The fut ure dependence on smoking can be predicted by the individual’s actions during experimentation with cigarettes. Curiosity, peer pressure, and parental smoking were all reported reasons that teens decided to try cigarettes.In children less than thirteen year old, it was concluded that parental smoking played the largest role in behavior choices. This finding suggests that children are modeling the parents’ smoking behavior. However, older teens in secondary school reported peer pressure to be the reason for choices regarding cigarettes. Seventy-four percent of the participants reported that they smoked less than five cigarettes daily. This same portion or participants admitted that they smoked because they experienced physical symptoms of nicotine withdraw when they didn’t smoke daily.Consumption of cigarettes in this group was reported as a social activity among friends but mostly in secluded areas, to avoid getting caught. Most all adolescents that were active i n this study reported that they had intended to quit smoking in the future. The majority of participants had no clear plan on how they were going to stop and most had admitted to several failed attempts to stop smoking without help. Aspects to consider: relationships, athletic involvement, health concerns, lack of finances, and parental concern are all reasons that would cause a teen smoker to consider quitting.The participants that were able to stop smoking had a plan and picked a specific quit date. Methods of Study This information was collected and processed through a qualitative study. Specifically, it involved twenty-six teens from three public schools. Twenty-thee members of this sample group were smokers while three of the members had stopped smoking. Information was gathered through three focus group interviews, three in-depth interviews over twenty months, and questionnaires.The questions were asked in a non-formal conversational manner with important points or answers rec orded on a document designed to evaluate and sort information (site). The Social Cognitive Theory was used to organize collection of information and analysis. This theoretical framework was chosen based on the need for an explanation of teen smoking related to individuals, heath behaviors, and environments. The expectation is that Social Cognitive Theory would offer more insight on how these three elements would interact with each other simultaneously.Contribution to Nursing Smoking tobacco continues to be one of the top causes of preventable causes for death in America. There are 430,000 deaths, one point five million years of potential life lost, and fifty billion of lost medical debt related to tobacco use (Hollis, J. , Pollen, N,†¦ 2005). Nurses that identify younger clients at risk for tobacco can contribute to decline in morbidity related to smoking and assist in the decrease of medical debt. â€Å"The younger that youth are when they start using tobacco, the more likely they'll be addicted (CDC, 20012). The study offers insight to nursing practice for specific tailoring of a care plan for teens who smoke, parents who smoke, and how to target the education for quitting. The areas that affected teen’s interest in quitting included: athletic improvement, parents disapproval, health concerns, and lack of finances. Nurses can use the information from this study to reinforce the health promotion and benefits of being a non-smoker. The recognition of how parents affect smoking behaviors will aid the nurse in preparing education that is directed at the entire family to deter childhood and teen smoking.The contribution to patient care can be seen with health promotion assessment use. The conclusions were clear about teens needing a plan to quit after they reached the maintenance phase of smoking. This result alerts nurses to assess smoking in younger adolescence and offer assistance with smoking cessation. Ethical Issues First, The Research and Ethi c Committee of University Kebangsaan Malaysia gave approval before the study was started. Second, The Ministry of Education Malaysia offered authorization for interviews in the school system for children who were not involved in some type of major examination.Third, all of the teens along with parents provided a written and signed consent for participation. The confidentiality of current smoking status was kept intact and privacy was maintained. Lastly, at the conclusions of each interview the teens were offered smoking cession counseling at a doctor’s clinic. To ensure reliability of the study, several schools were used and different types of data collection utilized. There was self-reflexivity in minimizing opinions of the researchers. Validation was offered by minimal prompting, statement clarification, and rephrasing of questions. ConclusionThe study identified factors like nicotine addiction, personal, and environmental issues that influence of smoking behaviors in teens . These areas should be of great priority when developing smoking cessation programs for teens. The Social Cognitive Theory utilized in this study is an aid that helps nurses to understand smoking behaviors in teens and how to address barriers to break those influential factors. Since this study was done in one region of Malaysia, it may not apply to all areas outside of it. This was a very small study that cannot be applied to all cultures, geographic locations, and race.A better perspective would have been attained by selecting a wider group with random geographic location and equal gender participation. The male to female ratio for the study was unequal and this causes a shift in the standard deviation when scrutinizing the study from a statistical view. Having unequal gender numbers could cause a type I or II error which makes the information not entirely reliable (Grove, S. , 2012). References Center for Disease Control. (2012, January). We can make the next generation tobacco- free. Retrieved from http://www. cdc. gov/Features/YouthTobaccoUse/ Grove, Susan K. (2012).Statistics for Health Care Research: A Practical Workbook [1] (VitalSource Bookshelf), Retrieved from http://pageburstls. elsevier. com/books/978-1- 4160-0226-0/outline/11 Hollis, J. , Polen, M. , Whitlock, E. , Lichtenstein, E. , Mullooly, J. , Velicer, W. , & Redding, C. (2005). Teen Reach: outcomes from a randomized, controlled trial of a tobacco reduction program for teens seen in primary medical care. Pediatrics, 115(4 Part 1), 981-989. Tohid, H. , Ishak, N. d. , Muhammad, N. , Hassan, H. , & Omar, K. (2011). What determines teenagers’ smoking behavior? : A qualitative study. International Medical Journal, 18(3), 194-198. 194PSYCHIATRY Article Ititernational Medical Joumal. Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 194 – 198 , September 2011 What Determines Teenagers' Smoking Behaviour? : A Qualitative Study Hizlinda Tohid†, Noriah Mohd. Ishak^', Noor Azimah Muhammad†, Hasliza Abu Has san^', Farah Naaz Momtaz Ahmad†, Khairani Omar'* ABSTRACT Objective: The study aimed to explore smoking behaviour among Malaysian teenagers that were related to their smoking initiation, cigarette consumption, quit intention, and quit attempts. Methods: It was a qualitative study that used multiple case study design, involving 26 teenagers (23 smokers and three former smokers) from three public schools.Data was collected via questionnaires, three focus group interviews and three in-depth interviews over 20 months, A standardised semi-structured interview protocol was utilised. Results: Among the participants, 74% of them started smoking after the age of 12 years old. The majority (20/23) of the teenage smokers admitted to smoking every day and 74% of them smoked not more than 5 cigarettes a day. All of the smokers had the intention to quit but only 22 out of the 23 teenage smokers had attempted quitting. Sixty percent of these teenagers had more than three quit attempts.In gen eral, this study captured the complexity of the teenagers' smoking behaviour that could be influenced by multiple factors, including behavioural (e,g, nicotine addiction), personal (e,g, conception of smoking and quitting, curiosity, sensation seeking, knowledge about smoking cessation, stress, maintaining athletic performance, and finance,) and environmental (e,g, socialisation, peer pressure, parental smoking, parental disapproval, and boy- or girlfriend aversion) factors. Conclusions: This study described the complex and multidimensional nature of teenage smoking behaviour.The findings also correspondingly matched the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), therefore suggesting the theory's suitability in elucidating smoking behaviour among the Malaysian teenagers, KEY WORDS smoking, teenagers, smoking initiation, cigarette consumption, quit smoking INTRODUCTION Adolescence is a crucial time in which a relatively dependent child transforms into a relatively independent adult. During this transitional period, many teenagers often experiment risky behaviours as a proclamation of their autonomy.This risky behaviour includes cigarette smoking, using illicit drugs and cirinking alcohol. (Epps, Manley, & Glynn, 1995; Kulig, & American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Substance Abuse, 2005) Experimenting with cigarette smoking is an initial stage of teenagers' smoking behaviour before it becomes established. (Nichter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Seguire, & Chalmers, 2000; Curry, Mermelstein, & Sporer, 2009) This smoking initiation predicts their long-term tobacco use and heavier levels of dependence. (Breslau, & Peterson, 1996; Escobedo, Marcus,Holtzman, & Giovino, 1993; Chen, & Millar, 1998) Their experimenting behaviour may be influenced by various factors including curiosity, peer pressure, parental smoking, sensation seeking, social norms for smoking, and misconception of smoking (e. g. belief that smoking provides benefits, such as coping, sense of belon ging, style, relaxation, and coolness). (Dijk, de Nooijer, Heinrich, & de Vries, 2007; Naing et at. , 2004; Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Vuckovic, Polen, & Hollis, 2003; Nichter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997) These factors could cause teenagers to continue smoking.Teenage smoking maintenance is also influenced by nicotine addiction. It has been shown to be substantially significant among teenagers even with low cigarette consumption. (The National Health and Morbidity Survey, 2009; Hammond et al. , 2008; Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Naing et al. , 2004; DiFranza et at. , 2007; Balch et al. , 2004; Amos, Wiltshire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006) This may be due to a very rapid loss of autonomy over tobacco even with minimal exposure to nicotine in adolescents, as demonstrated by the DANDY study. (DiFranza et al. , 2007; DiFranza et al. , 2002)Consequently, majority of teenage smokers struggle to quit smoking. (Balch et at. , 2004; McVea, Miller, Creswell, McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009; Amos, Wiltshire, Haw, & MeNeill, 2006; Seguire, & Chalmers, 2000) Thus, smoking behaviour among teenagers is a complex phenomenon, since it is influenced by multiple factors. This complexity requires great understanding of the behaviour from those who are involved in the care of these teenagers. This comprehension would certainly help the care providers to curb teenage smoking, which is a dangerous, addictive and destructive behaviour. US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004) Therefore, many studies have Received on Augtist 28, 2010 and accepted on November 29, 2010 1) Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lutnpur, Malaysia 2) Pusat PERMATApintar Negara, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Bangl, 43600 Selangor, Malaysia 3) Setapak Health Clinic, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Correspondence to: Hizlinda Tohid (e-mails; [email  protected] com) 2011 Japan International Cultural Exchange Foundation & Japan Health Sciences UniversityTobitJ H, et al. 195 Table 1. Participants' gender, status of smoking and types of interviews TYPES OF SCHOOL MALE GENDER FcEeM. . AALIEE SMOKERS STATUS OF SMOKING NON SMOKERS FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW TYPES OF INTERVIEWS IN DEPTH INTERVIEW SCHOOL 1 URBAN 9 3 9 3 1 3 SCHOOL 2 SEMI-URBAN 7 7 1 SCHOOL 3 RURAL 7 7 1 TOTAL 3 23 3 23 3 3 3 been carried out to examine the phenomenon of teenage smoking. In Malaysia, majority of such studies were quantitative studies. (Naing et al. , 2004; Hoi, & Hong, 2000; Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Zulkifli, Rogayah, Razian, & Nyi Nyi, 2001)Nevertheless, studies that qualitatively describe Malaysian teenagers' smoking behaviour are still lacking. This deficiency may affect our understanding of the matter in great depth and holistically. Thus, this study aimed to explore smoking behaviour among Malaysian teenagers related to their smoking initiation, cigarette consumption, quit intention, and quit attempts. This information could provide us with better conception about their smoking behaviour, and subse-‘ quently eould help us to identify areas for improvement. METHODSThis study used a multiple case study design, involving 26 teenagers (23 smokers and three former smokers) from three public schools (urban, semi-urban and rural). Data was collected via selfadministered questionnaires, focus group interviews (FGI) and indepth interviews (IDI) over a period of 20 months, between 2008 until 2010. Theoretical framework This study utilised the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to guide the researchers in data collection and analysis. The SCT was also used for ‘analytieal generalisation' in which findings of the study were mapped against the theory.It was chosen as the study's theoretical framework due to its appropriateness and comprehensiveness in capturing a complex phenomenon of eigarette smoking that is influenced by multiple factors. (Baranowski, Perry, & Parc el, 2002) The SCT describes how individuals, environments and health behaviour interact with each other simultaneously (reciprocal determinism). (Baranowski, Perry, & Pareel, 2002) Study population Twenty six teenagers (23 boys and three girls, as shown in Table I) were selected via purposive and snowballing sampling, based on predetermined criteria.The teenage smokers and former smokers were sampled because their experience in cigarette smoking and smoking cessation was crucial for this study. These teenagers were 16 years old Malays, recruited from three different (urban, semiurban and rural) public schools from 2 states in Malaysia. Recruitment of teenagers Teenagers were recruited with the assistance from school counsellors from eaeh sehool. An agreement for no disciplinary action against teenagers who were willing to participate in this study was made with the counsellors prior to the recruitment.The students' smoking status was also eoneealed from other school staff to avoid s tigmatisation. Twelve teenagers who were selected from one of the schools were introdueed to the main researcher during an informal meeting for study briefing (refer to Table 1). The teenagers were invited to participate and were given parental packages, which comprised of an acknowledgement letter to parents, the study's information sheet, and a parental consent form. Subsequently, dates for tbe FGI and IDI were set. The completed parental eonsents forms were eolleeted prior the interviews by the school counsellor.The other 14 teenagers (7 students from each remaining school, as shown in Table 1) were reeruited by sehools' counsellors, who had training in qualitative research and were well informed about the study. Similar method of obtaining eonsent from their parents was carried out by these counsellors. Data collection Three in-depth interviews and three focus-group interviews were carried out (refer to Table 1). Prior to the interviews, all participants were given a brief overv iew of the study and the process of the interviews. Written eonsents from eaeh partieipant were also obtained.They were then required to answer a brief self-administered questionnaire on their socio-demography, smoking status and smoking behaviour (age of initiation, cigarette consumption, quit intention and quit attempts). The interviews were conducted in Malay language and eaeh interview lasted less than two hours. A semi-structured interview protocol was used to guide interviewers in questioning the participants. Anti-smoking posters and pamphlets were also used to facilitate discussion. Data analysis During eaeh interview, the conversation was recorded using digital voice recorders.The voice recording was subsequently transeribed into text by using Microsoft Office Word 2007. The transcribed text was reviewed against the audio-recordings for several times until the accuracy of the transcripts was ensured. Any uncertainty during the transcription, assistance from other researeher s was sought to ascertain its accuracy and reliability. (Yin, 2003; Yin, 1994) The transcribed text was then imported into NVIVO 7. The main researcher then analysed the data to identify themes and categories (‘thematie analysis') that would explain patterns of pereeption related to teenagers' smoking behaviour.In order to ensure high reliability of the eoding proeess, tbe coded data was eross-checked by two experts in adolescence health. Kappa was calculated by using the Cohen kappa formula to determine the reliability index, which was maintained above 0. 8. The process of transcription and analysis was repeated for every interview and ‘cross-case conclusion' was drawn between the analyses of eases. Findings of the study were also mapped against the SCT for ‘analytical generalisation'. Ettiical issues, reliability and validity Approval from the Research and Ethic Committee of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia was obtained prior to the study.Authorisation for intervie wing teenagers from the schools was also acquired from the Ministry of Education Malaysia that limited interviewing students who were not sitting for any major examination (i. e. exeept students aged 15 and 17 years old). Apart from these, all of these teenagers and their parents were required to provide written eonsents for their participation. The confidentiality of the participants, e. g. obscuring teenagers' status of smoking from the knowledge of their parents and other sehool staffs, was also guaranteed throughout the study.Finally, medical responsibility of the main researcher in preventing smoking-related illnesses, as she was also a medieal doctor, was realised by offering teenagers consultation for smoking eessation at her clinic. This was done at the end of each interview to prevent any biased answers from the partieipants. Validity and reliability of the study were ensured via a number of methods, ineluding; (1) triangulation of sourees of data (teenagers from three diff erent sehools), as well as methods of data collection 196 What Determines Teenagers' Smokitig Behaviour? Table 2. Smoking behaviour of the teenagers who smokedTEENAGERS WHO SMOKED (N = 23) AGE OF INITIATION (YEARS) NUMBER OF CIGARRETTES SMOKED/DAY STAGE OF CHANGE NUMBER OF QUIT ATTEMPTS FGD(n = 21) IDl(n = 2) TOTAL < 12 5 1 6 > 13 16 1 17 20 2 1 3 PRE COMTEMPLATION 5 1 7 CONTEMPLATION 4 4 PLANNING II 12 0 1 1 1-3 7 1 8 S4 13 1 14 (questionnaire, three FGI and three IDI), (2) self reflexivity in minimising biases that the researchers may bring into the study due to our previous involvement in managing problematic teenagers and chronic smokers, (3) ‘procedural validity' via rephrasing of questions, elarifying of statement and minimal prompting as ecessary,(Fliek, 2009) and (4) inter-coder agreement or reliability index of above 0. 8. RESULTS Twenty three boys and three girls were interviewed (referred to Table 1), in which two of the boys and one of the girls were former smokers . The remaining 23 teenagers were smokers at the time of the interviews. These teenagers' smoking behaviour (age of smoking initiation, cigarette consumption, intention to quit and history of quit attempts) is summarised in Table 2. Age and reasons of smoking initiation Six of the 23 (26%) teenage smokers in this study started smoking during primary school (before the age of 13).The youngest age of smoking initiation was 10 years old. Nevertheless, 74% of these teenage smokers started smoking when they were in the secondary school. Most of the teenagers admitted that curiosity [â€Å"Felt curious to try (smoking)†], sensation seeking [â€Å"Just for fun†], parental modelling of smoking [â€Å"Sinee my father smokes†¦ I always watch him smoking. When he smokes, it looks pleasurable†¦ gratifying†], peer pressure [â€Å"Peer influence†], and misconception of smoking [â€Å"Style (because of smoking). Siyle†] were common factors for them to e xperiment with smoking.The teenagers who started smoking before the age of 13 claimed that curiosity and smoking modelling by parents were their main reasons for experimenting with smoking. This is contrary to those who started smoking at the age of 13 years or older. These teenagers admitted that peer pressure was the major factor for them to start smoking. Cigarette consumption Majority (20/23) of the teenage smokers in this study admitted to smoking every day and 74% of these teenagers smoked not more than 5 cigarettes a day.The teenagers believed that their daily smoking behaviour was mainly due to nicotine addiction in which they described substantial physical (e. g. tiredness, lethargy, flu-like symptoms) and psychological (e. g. slow thinking, depressed, craving) withdrawal symptoms that they experienced during smoking abstinence [â€Å"My brain feels slow†; â€Å"(If I stop smoking) I feel restless. â€Å"]. The daily smokers also admitted to smoking when they were with their friends. They claimed this behaviour could be due to a number of reasons: a) sharing the cost of cigarettes with their friends, thus tend to smoke together, as explained by a teenager: Between 14 of us. we shared RMI per person, we can get 2 big boxes of cigarettes. † b) socialisation, as one teenager noted: â€Å"When we hang around (with friends), we smoke, sis† c) peer pressure, as a teenager claimed: â€Å"When we see our friends smoked, the desire to smoke is too intense. † d) sense of belonging, for example: â€Å"We all belong to a gang who shared our cigarettes together† However, three of the current smokers admitted to smoking only once a week. They stated that they particularly smoked during stressful period [â€Å"Especially when I am doing something. When it's hard then I'll smoke. ]. A few of the teenagers reported that the national anti-tobacco policy, as well as the school regulations had restricted their smoking behaviour. These teenagers admitted to commonly smoke in secluded areas outside of public view, such as in school toilets and stairways of shopping malls. The restrictive environment for public smoking was believed to influence tbeir cigarette consumption. Intention to quit All teenage smokers in this study had the intention to quit smoking. However, 7 of them (30%) did not plan to quit within the next 6 months (in the pre-contemplation stage).Twelve of them (52%) were in the planning stage, but none had set their quit dates. The smokers diselosed that a number of factors could influence tbeir desire to quit, which included: a) impaired athletic performance, as one of the teenagers claimed: â€Å"When (I) sprint†¦ I will hecome breathless† b) boy- or girlfriend aversion, for example: â€Å"Maybe (I get the desire to stop smoking) from my girlfriend. If she said â€Å"If you do not stop smoking, we should break-up†. Huh. (I feel like to quit smoking)† c) parental disapprova l, as noted by one boy: If mother scolded me for smoking, until she cried.. I would feel ? ike I want to quit, but it was temporary only. Afterwards.. I continue smoking† d) concern about health, shown by one of the teenagers' excerpt: â€Å"Smoking can make me feel breathless, sis (that's why I feel like to quit)† e) finaneial problems, as a teenager stated: â€Å"(I) think about my parents, sis. My mother and my father are not wealthy, (when I) think about that, it could (trigger my desire to quit)† Similar motivating factors were also reported by former smokers in this study prior to their successful smoking cessation.Nevertheless, these former smokers admitted that only personalised motivating factors could render them to quit successfully. Their personalised motivators were parental disapproval [â€Å"(Parental disapproval) effective, it's effective. I've stopped smoking. â€Å"], maintaining athletic performance [â€Å"(I) stopped smoking (for athletic p erformance). I got selected (to play football for my district) afterwards†]. and saving money /†/ stopped (smoking) to save money to buy a motorbike†]. Previous quit attempts Almost all (22/23) teenage smokers in this study had attempted smoking cessation prior to the interviews.The teenagers deseribed that quitting was very difficult because of withdrawal symptoms that they experienced during the quit attempts [â€Å"(If I stop smoking) I feel restless†]. Sixty percent of the teenage smokers had actually attempted to quit four times or more. All of the teenagers claimed that they never reeeived any professional helps when they made their attempts to quit in the past. Majority of them declared that they sought their friends' advice on how to quit and among the common methods that they had tried were drinking a lot of water, chewing gums and taking sweets, as one of the teenagers said:Tohid H. et al. 197 â€Å"Usuatty (I) asked my friends how to quit. They a dvised me to drink a tot of minerat water. † DISCUSSION In Malaysia, the mean age of smoking initiation among teenage smokers is between 12-14 years old, (The National Health and Morbidity Survey, 2009; Hammond et at. , 2008; Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Naing et at. , 2004) whieh is concurrent with the findings of this study. The common reasons for smoking initiation, such as curiosity, peer pressure, and parental smoking, reported by tbe participants in tbis study were similar to otber studies. (Naing et at. 2004; Kbairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004) This study also suggested that curiosity and parental modelling of smoking bebaviour could be teenagers' main reasons for experimenting smoking at younger age (less tban 13 years old). In contrary, peer pressure was found to be a major factor for teenagers wbo started smoking at seeondary sehools. However, the significance of tbese associations should be confirmed by future quantitative studies. Cigarette consumption reporte d by teenagers in this study was found to be lesser tban tbose of Malaysian adults, who averagely smoke between 11 to 14 cigarettes per day. World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, 2010) Tbis may be due to a number of factors as suggested by tbese teenagers, such as; (a) insufficient fund to purchase cigarettes, (b) ‘occasional' smoking, and (c) restrictive environment for smoking. Nevertheless, underreporting of smoking behaviour by these teenagers may also explain the lower estimated number of cigarettes smoked by them. Tbis is because teenagers have a tendency to report socially desirable behaviour and attitudes. (Hammond et at. , 2008; Klein, Havens, & Carlson, 2005)Insufficient fund to purebase cigarettes were described by some of the teenagers in this study, who claimed that they had to share their pocket money with their peers to buy cigarettes. Tbis is to ensure their continuous supply of cigarettes and to develop bonding among tbe peer s. (Vuckovic, Polen, & Hollis, 2003; Amos, Wiltsbire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006; Niehter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Seguire, & Cbalmers, 2000) Tbis practice in turn increases tbe level of acceptance by peers and promote sense of belonging tbat is pertinent to teenagers' psychosocial development. Mermelstein, 2003; Vuckovic, Polen, & Hollis, 2003; McVea, Miller, Creswell, McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009; Nicbter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Seguire, c& Chalmers, 2000) However, some teenagers in this study, who had no financial constraint because they had personal income (e. g. from part-time job or significant allowance from parents), admitted to smoke only wben socialising and facing adversities (e. g. relation problems, inability to cope witb academic or part-time job). (Vuekovic, Polen, & Hollis, 2003; Balch et at. , 2004; Amos, Wiltshire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006; Hoi, 8L Hong, 2000;Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Niehter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Seguire, & Chalmers, 2000) These teenagers can be defined as occasional smokers, whose smoking was apparently influenced by peer pressure and tbeir inability to control themselves over smoking or to cope with stress. (Vuckovic, Polen, & Hollis, 2003; Seguire, & Chalmers, 2000; Patten et al. , 2003; Niehter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Mermelstein, 2003; McVea, Miller, Creswell, McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009; Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Balch et at. , 2004; Amos, Wiltshire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006; Hoi, & Hong, 2000) Teenagers' smoking in esponse to hardship shows that smoking is their way of coping since it calms them through nicotine effects on the central nervous system. (Niebter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Curry, Mermelstein, & Sporer, 2009) In addition, smoking creates a social space in which they can calm down and relieve tension. (Niehter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugh, 1997; Curry, Mermelstein, & Sporer, 2009) Apart from financial constraint and occasional smoking, restrietive environment for public smoking was also found to be responsible for tbe partieipants' low cigarette consumption in this study.Therefore, these teenagers commonly smoked in secluded areas outside of public view, sucb as scbool toilets and stairways of shopping malls. These findings are consistent with a number of other studies that have found restrictive environment to be effective in reducing teenage smoking. (Wakefield ct at. , 2000; Lipperman-Kreda, & Grube, 2009; Crawford, Balcb, Mermelstein, & Tobacco Control Network Writing Group, 2002) Majority of teenage smokers bave intention to quit. (Khairani, Norazua, & Zaiton, 2004; Krishnan M, 2003; Mermelstein, 2003; Naing ct at. 2004; The National Health and Morbidity Survey, 2009) Tbis was also found by tbis study, in wbich almost all teenagers who smoked eonsidered to quit smoking sometime in the future. They admitted that a number of factors could trigger tbeir quit intention, wbich include; (a) ath letic performance, (b) boy- or girlfriend aversion, (c) parental disapproval, (d) concern about bealtb, and (e) money saving. Tbese faetors were similarly found to motivate teenagers to eease smoking by previous studies. (Vuckovic, Polen, & Hollis, 2003; Mermelstein, 2003; McVea, Miller, Creswell,McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009; Balcb ct al. , 2004) However, tbe teenagers reported tbat these extrinsie motivations were insufficient to keep them from total smoking abstinence. Nevertbeless, excerpts made by tbe former smokers in this study suggested that teenagers would only stop smoking when they are desperate to change due to compelling personal reasons. This finding is supported by McVea et al who found only 'emotionally compelling and inescapable quit reasons' were the most motivating reasons for teenagers to stop smoking. (McVea, Miller, Creswell, McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009)Even though majority of tbe teenagers in this study had intention to quit smoking, they did not have any quit ting plans, not even setting their quit dates. These findings are similar to those reported by Mermestein. (Mermelstein, 2003) It is possible tbat the teenagers were; (a) not ready to quit (Balch ct al. , 2004) (e. g. some of the teenagers in the eurrent study would only quit when they experience major life transition, such as after graduation and tnarriage), (b) ambivalent about quitting (MeVea, Miller, Creswell, McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009; Patten et al. 2003) (e. g. a number of teenagers repetitively answered, â€Å"I am not sure† when they were asked about tbeir plan to quit smoking), and (c) very confident that they could control themselves over smoking (Niehter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugb, 1997; Amos, Wiltshire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006) (e. g. a teenager assertively admitted that he could stop stroking on his own without relying on helps from other). The later seems to be related to teenagers' belief tbat ‘quitting is just a matter of will power'. (Amos, Wilts bire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006; Balcb el at. 2004) After all, these teenagers' ehanees for successful quit attempts would be reduced if they did not have strategic quitting plans. Multiple unsuccessful quit attempts were also reported by many teenagers in tbis study, in which the findings were concurrent with other studies. (World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, 2010; The National Health and Morbidity Survey, 2009; Klein, Havens, & Carlson, 2005; Balch ct at. , 2004) This could be due to several reasons which can be summarised into three categories; (1) nicotine addiction,(Amos,Wiltsbire, Haw, & McNeill, 2006; Balch et al. , 2004; DiFranza et at. , 2007; DiFranza ct at. , 2007) (2) factors related to environment and situation which could promote teenage smoking (e. g. strong peer pressure, poor support from friends, smoking tnodelling by family members, stress etc, as higbligbted by tbe current study), (Balch et at. , 2004; Crawford, Balch, Mermelstein , & Tobacco Control Network Writing Group, 2002; McVea, Miller, Creswell, McEntarrfer, & Coleman, 2009; Nicbter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugb, 1997) and (3) personal factors (e. g. oor risk assessment, poor knowledge, poor self efficacy and control, mi,sconception about smoking and quitting, strong belief in unassisted quit attempts etc, as found by this study) (Niehter, Vuckovic, Quintero, & Ritenbaugb, 1997; Balcb ct at. , 2004). These tbree categories appear to matcb tbe model of the Social Cognitive Theory. Overall, this study provides beneficial information for future development of interventions of smoking cessation for teenagers. Nevertheless, appropriate eontext which is similar to tbose of this study should be taken into consideration before applying such information since this is a ease study.Interviewing only teenagers aged 16 years old also limits the findings of this study. This is because teenagers at different stages of adolescence (early, middle and late) may bav e different developmental characteristics which may influence their pereeption and attitude towards cigarette smoking. Teenagers from different stages of adolescence should then be included in future studies as differences in tbeir perception, attitude and bebaviour could be explored. CONCLUSION This study bad captured tbe complexity of tbe teenagers' smoking bebaviour that could be influenced by multiple factors.Tbese faetors included behavioural (e. g. nicotine addiction), personal and environmental factors matched the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). These 198 What Determines Teenagers' Smoking Behaviour? multiple factors should be considered in developing interventions for smoking cessation suited for teenagers. The corresponding mapping of the findings against the SCT also supports the use of the SCT in helping us to comprehensively understand teenage smoking behaviour and to overcome the influential factors. FUNDING This work was funded by the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia UKM- GUP-TKS-07-12-097 and FF-127-2008). DECLARATION OF INTERESTS All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interests. 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