Curriculum Review Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Curriculum Review Assignment - Essay Example The program focuses on descriptive linguistics automaticity and reading fluency whereas providing express comprehension and vocabulary instruction. Aligned with current reading analysis and backed by freelance analysis, SpellRead provides associate integrated, multi-sensory approach that builds a student’s system to bridges it with students’ oral language. Students hear, manipulate, and method sounds, so master the relationships between sounds and letters. According to Rashotte (2001), SpellRead does not simply accommodate deficiencies through active reading and writing. It helps in mastering the English language sounds, by combining rigorous phone and phonetic activities. This approach helps in manipulating troublesome English words. SpellRead faithfully improves reading fluency and comprehension across numerous populations. The SpellRead program is predicated on specific ability mastery. It consists of one hundred and five sequent lessons counteracted into 3 phases. Mastery of the preceding lessons and levels help in success of every lesson. Consequently, modulation of content, stress, reading quality comprehensively develops with the student’s word-level fluency, skills, vocabulary, and automaticity. A study by Rashotte (2001) shows that enhanced word-reading potency decreases the contribution of active cryptography. It also increases contribution of background vocabulary hence an increase in broader language skills. Phase A provides the use for the SpellRead program, coaching the audile process operate of the brain to listen to and manipulate the forty-four sounds of English. Consequently, students develop a â€Å"sound process reflex† - mechanically and directly. As a result, the students recognize every sound with not need to form associations with rules that hinder automaticity. The enriching of the foundation, impacting knowledge on secondary spellings, diverse consonants, use of syllables and utilization of auditory and visual

Green Telecommunications Reducing Opex And Capex Engineering Essay

Green Telecommunications Reducing Opex And Capex Engineering Essay In the last 10 years, mobile and wireless communications have seen tremendous growth. The growth in the networks along with fierce competition has led the telecom operators to focus on logistics, security and costs. Since each operator competes to provide the customer the best service possible at minimum price, reducing operating costs is of prime importance. In addition, environment has also become a major issue worldwide affecting most of the telecom operators. Legislative pressures and the potential for Carbon trading revenues are causing the Mobile Telecommunications Industry to become mindful of its impact on carbon emissions. Green considerations are coming into prominence in network design. This paper discusses various eco-friendly solutions in network design to reduce CO2 emissions leading to reduction in Operating Expense (OPEX) and Capital Expense (CAPEX). Introduction Telecommunication Industry has helped the world in a big way to reduce carbon emissions by reducing unnecessary business travel, improving efficiency of freight transport and other logistics. The carbon footprint of a mobile phone call or video conferencing is thousand times smaller than the environmental impact of travel required for personal meeting. However, running these telecommunication systems also creates a load on the environment contributing to about 0.5% of global carbon emissions. Though, this is much less as compared to the other industries, it has brought in a lot of criticism from various environmental agencies and green campaigners. In addition, powering these systems makes up half of a telecom operators operating costs and with energy prices rising, these expenses are hurting the profits of the operators. The only solution for the Telecom Operators to jump out of this situation is to adopt Green Technology in the networks. This will not only reduce the OPEX and CAPEX of operators substantially but also lead to energy-efficient and self-sustainable telecommunications systems. Energy Concerns for Telecom Operators Today, around 50% of the operating costs of a network company goes into electricity. With electricity prices rising, it is eating a lot into the revenues earned by these network companies. The various network elements that contribute to these costs are the Radio Base Stations, the equipments used in the network and the mesh of connecting cables required to interconnect Fixed-Line operations. Out of these, Radio Base Stations account for two-thirds of the power costs with the equipments being the second largest contributor. Along with increasing costs due to excessive power consumption, network operators also contribute significantly to the carbon emissions. In order to overcome these issues, the operators must look at developing sustainable network solutions. The following steps such as developing energy-efficient products and features, creating energy-efficient site solutions, designing energy optimized networks and harnessing alternative sources of energy can help pave the way for telecommunication operators towards sustainable growth. Developing energy-efficient products and features Many network equipment providers these days have developed or are in the process of developing products that are eco-friendly. Apart from this, many new features are also being developed so as to minimize energy consumption during operations. Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and Motorola are some of the significant contributors to this new generation of energy-efficient products. Ericsson has developed an innovative design for housing Radio Base Stations called the Ericsson Tower Tube. The Tower is made from concrete which has a lower environmental impact than traditional steel, consuming up to 40 percent less power from a life cycle perspective. This is due to the fact that concrete results in less energy consumption and CO2 emission than steel during production and transport. However, the most important part is that during operation, feeder losses are substantially reduced, and no active cooling is needed. Thus, adopting a solution like this, helps operators to not only reduce their construction and power costs but also reduce their capital expenditure as active cooling units are not required. Nokia Siemens Networks, on the other hand, has developed the award-winning Flexi Multiradio Base Station. The unique capability of such a Base Station is that it can support all the 3GPP technologies i.e. GSM/EDGE and WCDMA/HSPA to LTE in a single unit with all running simultaneously. This technique of running multiple radio technologies in a single Base Station leads to multiple advantages for operators such as reduced OPEX from fewer site visits, simplified logistics, reduced maintenance and a smaller requirement for trained staff. In addition, this concept can also reduce the carbon footprint of a single Base Station by 70% which corresponds to approximately 70 GWh of annual energy saving. Another important advantage is that it is only 20% of the size and weight of a conventional base station leading to reduction in the carbon footprint from transportation and installation. Due to reduced size, it is possible to install base stations in places previously considered impossible such as densely populated urban areas thus saving space, installation time and costs. Flexi, as it is called, has been designed so that it can function even without external air conditioning, thus reducing around 30% in site energy consumption. Its other prominent features like software-based capacity and capability upgrades further help in reduction of operating expenses as Flexi can be controlled via remote software whereas conventional base stations require site visits and sometimes hardware replacements. Furthermore, the Flexi Base Station can work on renewable energy such as solar or wind power. Like other Nokia Siemens Networks products, Flexi has been designed so as to facilitate ease of recycling at end of its life. This also helps solve the various end-of-life problems that many operators face. Apart from hardware products, new software technology can also help to improve energy efficiency of base stations. Ericsson provides the Base Transceiver Station Power Savings feature while Nokia Siemens has its NetActà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Service Quality Manager (SQM). Ericsson has introduced the new Base Transceiver Station Power Savings feature in many of its base stations across the world. Due to this feature, during low-traffic periods, the radio resources of the network that are unused are put into Stand-By mode, thus lowering energy consumption. Depending on the network traffic patterns, this feature can reduce 25% of energy consumption. The added advantage of this innovation is that it can be installed in any of Ericssons existing Base Stations by a mere software upgrade. Thus, if this feature is installed in all the existing Ericsson Base Stations, it can reduce carbon emissions by 1 million tons a year. The Nokia Siemens Networks NetActà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Service Quality Manager (SQM) is used to provide better control of BTS power settings. The night time power saving feature allows an operator to set a time when traffic prioritization is enabled in the network. NetAct SQM will control the operation automatically according to pre-configured settings, such as Schedule and BSC/BTS list. By using such a feature, a network operator with around 10,000 base station sites can potentially save the average energy consumption of 1000 households per year. Translating this into monetary values would suggest an estimated à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬5,000,000 annual savings in OPEX, an estimate which naturally depends on the marketplace. Designing Energy Optimized Networks Another key aspect for network operators to look into is energy-efficient network design and planning. More often than not, operators tend to design networks with as many as Base Stations in order to provide maximum coverage and signal strength. However, by taking into consideration the challenge of providing almost the same amount of coverage with less number of base stations can help telecommunication operators achieve optimization in their networks. With optimized networks, the operating costs of operators can come down drastically as the number of base stations can be reduced by 30% 50%. Now, a sustainable network has its foundation in good design. At the core of any efficient and sustainable network is good design. Without doubt, the best way to achieve an optimized, energy-efficient network is to build it on good foundations, based on sound design principles. Even if a company achieves energy efficiency at the component level it does not mean that it can make up for an inefficiently designed network, in which the number of radio sites could potentially be double than what it needs to be to achieve the same coverage with the same quality. By hiring experienced network designers to become involved from the start of the design process, operators can typically reduce the number of radio sites needed overall by between 30 and 50 per cent. Energy-Efficient On-Site Solutions There are many areas on-site where energy efficiency can be achieved. By adopting certain ingenious and innovative solutions, a lot of unnecessary energy wastage can be avoided and thus costs can be reduced. One of the main causes of power consumption on-site is the air-conditioning required for cooling the telecom shelters that contain the radio equipments. These air-conditioning units consume anywhere between 1200W 2000W. However, with recent developments, the radio base stations can endure higher temperatures thus enabling new cooling techniques to be used. One solution is to have heat exchangers which can efficiently transfer heat from one medium to another. Thus the heat generated by using the Radio Base Stations can be captured by the heat exchangers and transferred to the water kept outside in a tank. This method of heat removal can help maintain temperatures 20oF to 15oF less than ambient. Also, it does not require any power source as heat is dissipated by means of natural convection. This method can be used in dry regions mainly in North-Western India. Another innovative solution that can be used in tropical regions is Phase Change Materials (PCM). These help in maintaining tem peratures in the shelters between 20oC to 35oC without use of any air conditioning system. Thus, implementing innovative solutions for cooling telecom shelters, a telecom operator not only reduces its OPEX (due to reduced energy costs) but also CAPEX by minimizing the amount spent on equipment needed for cooling. Another area where power can be conserved is by minimising the Feeder losses. This can be established by placing the Radio Base Stations closer to the antenna. Since feeder loss is minimised, it helps in improved network coverage and capacity. This, in turn, helps the operator to reduce the number of RBS in the region leading to network optimization. The Ericsson Tower Tube discussed above implements this solution in an efficient manner. The tower consists of an elevator. The base stations are installed at the bottom of the tower and then lifted by the elevator to top where they are operated. Thus by being close to the antenna the feeder loss decreases. Harnessing Alternative Sources of Energy With conventional energy prices rising, operating telecom networks is becoming very difficult for the operators. The rising operating costs are affecting the bottom lines of the network operators. Apart from this, there are various sites which are beyond the reach of electricity or have unreliable electricity provision. Thus, operators need to set up diesel powered base stations in these regions. However, regular maintenance and refuelling the diesel becomes a very costly affair. In order to overcome these issues, a single solution is available at hand i.e. harnessing alternative sources of energy to power the telecommunication systems. There are various renewable energy sources that can be used efficiently these days. This includes Solar, Wind, Biofuels, Fuel Cells etc. Solar As the cost of Solar technology continues to fall, it is becoming a very popular technology to be used as primary power source for various base stations. Though the initial capital expense (CAPEX) is higher for a solar-powered site, however, over a period of 5 years the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for such a site is 30% less than a conventionally powered site. Also the life span of a solar powered BS is higher than a usual BS, thus in the longer run the network operators can reap more benefit out of this solution. A key point in using Solar technology is also the fact that its maximum outputs align with the maximum load on the telecom networks. In other words, the peak of mobile phone calls overlaps with the peak of solar power and at night when the mobile phone usage tends to drop, the solar power switches to battery phase. Solar energy can be prominently used to its best effect by regions coming in the equatorial sun-belt. And this is where most of the emerging markets, like India and China are located. Thus network operators in these markets can readily adopt solar technology and reduce their OPEX by huge amounts. With the extensive competition in these markets, an operator adopting this technology can forget about the power related costs of the OPEX and focus on improving customer satisfaction. Major network solution providers like Motorola, Ericsson and Nokia Siemens have developed various techniques to provide solar technologies to various network operators. Ericsson has developed a special Radio Base Station (RBS) for solar power called SunSite. A typical RBS requires 142 W of power; 110W the RBS itself, 20W transmission equipment and 12W Obstruction lights. Thus, Ericsson developed a solar system that can provide this much amount of power. The first solar powered site delivered by Ericsson was in the year 2000. Since then it has delivered 200 SunSites in various countries. Now that Ericsson has also developed energy-efficient RBS, sites have become more energy-lean. As a result, the large solar panels are no more used. Instead small solar panels are effective enough to provide the required amount of power. This is reducing the costs for setting up SunSites and thereby reducing CAPEX for the operators. A very good example in case of Ericsson Sunsite was the set up for Telekom Indonesia which was a 100% solar powered site. The SunSite helped Telekom Indonesia reduce its energy consumption by 60% and also made the site almost maintenance free. This led to decrease in power costs, fuel costs and maintenance cost leading to reduction of 40% in the OPEX. Nokia Siemens has also developed its Renewable Energy Source (RES) Autonomous site solutions. It provides various options like Standalone Solar Sites, Solar-Wind hybrid sites and sites with a combination of Solar-Diesel Generator. Motorola has also recently developed its solar solutions under the name Horizon II DC Macro/Mini BTS. Wind Wind is a plentiful resource across all regions of the world with varying degrees of intensity albeit considerably stronger in coastal regions. The main drawback to wind energy is the reliability of the source which is the main reason we do not use wind as a standard power source. Coupled with solar energy and the reserves in battery bank storage, wind does continue to provide an abundant, free-to-use, easy to access and environmentally friendly means of supplying power for the Autonomous Sites. Wind turbines can be placed in different configurations at the site. An early site analysis will determine the ideal turbine configuration as well as the correct direction and height to maximize the energy output from the turbines. Moreover, many governments offer tax benefits and direct subsidies for wind and solar energy expenditures making wind an ideal solution in most situations. Wind power has very low operation expenditure. BioFuels Biofuels are liquid fuels that are derived from plant materials. These fuels are entering into the market, driven by factors such as fuel price rise, reducing carbon emissions and the need for increased energy security. Ericsson has pioneered the use of biofuels in telecoms. For instance, Ericsson, Idea Cellular and the GSM Association Development Fund have launched several base stations powered by locally produced biofuels to extend Ideas commercial mobile network in rural India. They are being deployed at greenfield sites that have not previously had access to a mobile network and are located in areas with unreliable power supply. The biodiesel for these base stations comes from used cooking oils from restaurants. Idea currently has 23 sites running on biodiesel in India, and hopes to expand this to 40 to 50 sites. In the long term, it is expected that locally produced jatropha oil will be used, as soon as this is available in sufficient quantities. The selected sources for biodiesel have low environmental impact and follow responsible environmental practices for the production of biodiesel. Fuel Cells Fuel cells are also being developed so as to efficiently use them as a source of energy for telecom networks. In recent years, a lot of improvement has been done in the Fuel Cell technology which has led to many benefits over generators such as fuel efficiency, climate resistance, reliable start-up, and compact size. They operate at very low noise levels. Due to this, there is no indication of a power source running on the site and hence reducing the likelihood of theft also. With development, fuel cells are being manufactured in great numbers due to which its cost have come down considerably as compared to engine driven fuel cells. Operation of a fuel cell is to convert any fuel, like Hydrogen into electricity without combustion. There are several types of fuel cells, of which the most useful telecommunications is the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). The PEMFC operates at low temperatures and runs at 40-60% efficiency. Motorola, which is involved in fuel cell research for networks and mobile devices, is also exploring micro fuel cell technologies as a replacement for rechargeable batteries in mobile devices. In partnership with various companies, Motorola is developing technologies such as: Hybrid fuel cell technologies for radios A hydrogen generator as a miniature fuel-cell power source5 Improving PEM fuel cell performance, durability, and manufacturability using single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) Fuel cell technology is maturing and advancing rapidly. However, a disadvantage for fuel cells is that at higher loads, cooling is required. Thus a trade-off has to be made in reducing the OPEX due to low operating costs for using fuel cells and increasing CAPEX due to extra cooling units required. End-of-life Solutions Technology, today, is changing so rapidly that in a very short span time the network equipment becomes old and needs upgradation. In these situations, network operators often feel pressurized to dispose old equipment and set up the latest one. However, this can create a lot of strain on the OPEX and CAPEX and also have a negative impact on the environment. Thus, the network equipments providers these days provide solutions to cater to the end-of-life scenarios as well. Nokia Siemens provides Asset Recovery Service which is based on recycling of old equipment and refurbishment of existing network elements. There are two modules in the Asset Recovery Service. Recycling Service module looks into the proper waste disposal of old equipments in an environment friendly manner. The Refurbishment Service Module looks into the upgradation or extension of lifetime of existing network equipments. The benefits to the customers include: Reduced obsolescence cost Development of new technology is always good for the industry. However, the problem is the piling of obsolete equipment. Using Asset Recovery Service, the obsolete inventory can be converted into useful, re-usable equipment. Environmentally Responsible Approach Due to tight regulations regarding disposal, it creates a problem for the companies to get rid of old elements. Thus, this service helps customer to dispose in an environmentally sound manner. OPEX and CAPEX savings By reducing warehousing cost for obsolete inventory, OPEX can be saved. Also due to the Refurbishment Service, the need to spend on new equipments reduces, thus CAPEX can also be saved. Carbon Credits By reducing their carbon emissions, telecom operators can also exchange them for carbon credits. One carbon credit is equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide. And one carbon credit is priced in the markets at around 22 Euros (price fluctuates according to market). This concept of carbon credits is very favourable for companies operating in the developing countries as according to Kyoto Protocol, there is no restriction on these companies to limit their emissions. However, all the developed countries (except US as it has not signed the Kyoto Protocol) have to restrict their emissions by 2012. They can achieve this by either implementing new technology to reduce their emissions or by helping companies in the developing countries to reduce their emissions and buying the carbon credits that are obtained. As there is a very huge scope for reduction of carbon emissions in the Telecommunications industry, all operators in developing countries can immensely benefit from carbon credits. Also, as the deadline year 2012 nears, it is expected that there will be a surge in the demand of these carbon credits and hence the price of one carbon credit will also increase. Thus, if the telecom operator companies act quickly to reduce their carbon emissions, they can accumulate carbon credits now and reap the benefits in the future. Hence, implementing Green solutions in their networks, will not only benefit the network operators to reduce their OPEX and CAPEX but also act as means to generate more revenue. Conclusion As the World moves towards Greener solutions, it has not only reduced the carbon emissions but has also helped to provide ample new opportunities for business. As we have seen in this paper, network operators have ample amount of opportunities to reduce their OPEX and CAPEX. By using energy efficient products and features, optimizing networks, smart innovative energy-saving solutions and powering Telecommunication systems with renewable sources of energy, the Telecommunication network operators can reduce their power consumption by 50% 70%. This can in turn lead to proportional reduction in the energy costs. As the energy costs make up for around 50% of the OPEX, the operators can drastically reduce their operating expenditure and improve the bottom line of their companies. This also gives operators a chance to venture into new markets, provide better services for their customer and also come up with innovative cost-effective schemes to retain their customers. Adopting green methods, also leads to reduction in the CAPEX as has been discussed in the above topics. Though, the initial investment in Eco-friendly solutions is higher, the reduction in energy consumption and costs brings the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) much less than in conventional networks. With tremendous potential for curbing CO2 emissions, Telecommunication operators can also generate a lot of revenue by using their Carbon Credits. In India, Bharti Airtel is one of the operators, who has entered into the carbon credit venture with partner ACME Telepower. This partnership has brought about $30- $40 million revenue to the both companies involved. Hence, Carbon trade is also another major incentive for the operator s to adopt environment friendly solutions within their networks.

Microsoft Xbox Essay -- essays research papers

Usability Testing on Microsoft Xbox â„ ¢ Product usability testing has been around for quite a while now for the sole purpose of providing the consumers with the best product a company can. Some companies hire specific testing consultants who specialize in product testing and other companies just release beta versions of their product to a small market and collect feedback. Companies like Sony or Nintendo hire companies that test their products and make sure there are no problems with the product. Software companies, on the other hand, release test versions, also known as beta versions, of their products and improve their final product based on the feedback from the beta users.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are many products that are released to the public that are not thoroughly tested. These products get tested like any other products, but they just don’t get tweaked and changed enough to be the best that they can be. This situation can be the result of the testing company not having enough knowledge of the product or poor diversity of the test groups or target audience. An example of a product not tested enough is the Microsoft Xbox. The Xbox, a game console released on November of 2001, marked Microsoft’s official entry in the gaming industry. Immediately after the release, users stated the Xbox was rushed into production and wasn’t properly tested. However, articles titled, â€Å"CES 2001: Microsoft Discusses the Announcement† and â€Å"Xbox Product Testing Initiated,† both...

The Causes and Impacts of Youth Smoking on Hong Kong

Title: The causes and impacts of youth smoking on Hong Kong smoking young people’s quality of life |Content |Page | |Chapter 1 : Introduction |P. 3-4 | |Chapter 2 : Literature Review and Methodology |p. 5-11 | |2. 1 Literature Review | | |2. Methodology | | |2. 3 Limitations | | |2. 4 Chapter summary | | |Chapter 3 : Findings |p. 12-19 | |3. 1 Reasons of smoking among Hong Kong young people | | |3. Non-smokers’ view towards smoking | | |3. 3 Effects of smoking on smokers’ quality of life in the economic and social aspects | | |3. 4 Suggestions to help smokers to quit smoking | | |3. 5 The effectiveness of government measures in encouraging and helping smokers to quit smoking | | |3. Chapter summary | | |Chapter 4 : Analysis and Discussion |p. 20-26 | |4. 1 The truth about youth smoking | | |4. 2 The effectiveness of government measures on encouraging and helping smokers to quit smoking | | |4. 3 Suggestions to help smokers to quit smoking | | |4. Limitation of the study | | |4. 5 Areas for further study | | |4. 6 After thoughts | | |Bibliography |p. 27 | |List of Appendices |p. 8-43 | |Table of contents: | | |Summary table of the results of questionnaires | | |Questionnaire samples ( in Chinese and English versions) | | Chapter 1 : Introduction Smoking is not good for health and it smells bad. I want to know why some young people still smoke. Hong Kong government has passed some laws about banning smoking in indoor areas and some public areas such as parks.The government also shot some advertisement about quitting smoking, such as the smoke-free Hong Kong advertisement. I want to know whether these measures are effective in helping smokers to quit smoking. My grandfather died because of tuberculosis. He was a heavy smoker. I want to know how smoking affect people’s health. My uncle also has a smoking habit. I want to know some ways to help smokers to quit smoking through this Independent Enquiry Studies. The focus questions of my Independent Enquiry Studies are â€Å" Why do some Hong Kong young people start smoking? , â€Å"What are the non-smokers and smokers’ views towards smoking? †, â€Å" How does smoking affect Hong Kong young people’s quality of life in economic and social aspect? † and â€Å"What can we do to help the smokers to quit smoking? † In this Independent Enquiry Studies, â€Å"smoking† refers to the smoking of all forms of tobacco, including cigarette, cigar, hand rolled cigarette and pipe-smoking. â€Å"Hong Kong smoking young people† refers to Hong Kong residents aged 10-25 who at the time of doing the survey have a smoking habit, no matter what type of tobacco they smoked and their smoking pattern. People who smoked before and have now quitted smoking† refers to people who previously had a smoking habit for at least 1 month continuously. â€Å"Quality of life† refers to the degree of satisfaction in the material and s piritual aspects of life. There are 4 chapters in the Independent Enquiry Studies. Chapter 1 is Introduction. It includes the background of the Independent Enquiry Studies. Chapter 2 is Methodology. It includes the method of doing research in the Independent Enquiry Studies. Chapter 3 is Findings. It includes the findings of the research. Chapter 4 is Analysis.After analyzing the findings, I will suggest some possible answers to the focus questions. In the appendix, samples of questionnaires and a summarizing table of the findings are attached. Through the Independent Enquiry Studies, we should be able to gain knowledge of non-smokers view towards smoking, assess the effectiveness of government’s measures on helping and encouraging smokers to quit smoking and know some effective methods in helping smokers to quit smoking. Chapter 2 : Literature Review and Methodology 2. 1 Literature Review 2. 1. 1 Youth smokersAccording to the survey on Pattern of Smoking conducted by the Cen sus and Statistical Department during December 2007 to March 2008, 10500 people in Hong Kong aging from 15 to 19 smoked. 2. 4% of them are daily smokers. 107800 people in Hong Kong aging from 20 to 29 smoked. 15. 9% of them are daily smokers. The percentage of daily smokers was on a gradually decreasing trend over the past 15 years from 1993 to 2008. Average daily consumption of cigarettes of 15-19 smokers was 11 cigarettes in the survey conducted during Dec 2007-Mar 2008, while the average consumption of cigarettes of 20-29 cigarettes smokers was 12 cigarettes. 1] 2. 1. 2 Causes of youth smoking According to the survey on Pattern of Smoking conducted by the Census and Statistical Department during December 2007 to March 2008, 59. 8% of daily cigarette smokers started smoking because of â€Å"influence of friends†, 36. 7% â€Å"out of curiosity†. Other reasons included â€Å"necessity in social functions† (8. 1%), â€Å"influence of family members† (7. 8% ) , â€Å"easing tension† (4. 2%), â€Å"refreshing one’s mind† (3. 7%) and â€Å"killing time† (3. 4%). [2] 2. 1. 3 Impacts of youth smoking Many sources suggest that smoking can cause various diseases and hence has a negative impact on smoker’s health.On the website of Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, it suggests that cigarette smoking is hazardous to health. Smoking can cause different cancers, such as cancers of the mouth and throat, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and stomach cancer. Smoking also causes cardiac diseases, pulmonary and respiratory diseases and genital diseases, such as impotence in male smokers. [3], The website of Tobacco Control Office Department of Health also suggests that smoking is a causative agent of many fatal diseases and cancers.Smoking can cause disorders and problems such as impotence, infertility, wrinkling and halitosis. Smoking would also bring about socio-economical consequences. [4] 2. 1. 4 Methods of q uitting smoking The website of Tobacco Control Office Department of Health includes some tips and methods that can help smokers to quit smoking. When you start to quit smoking, you will still have urges to smoke. The urge will last for just a few minutes and you will be able to get over it. The website provides some methods to help smokers get over this urge.For example, when smokers have urges to smoke, they can try to divert their attentions to smoke by washing face, listen to music, etc. [5] 2. 2 Methodology Questionnaire will be employed to collect the data for the IES. There are many good points. 1. Quantitative Research Orientation 1. Scientific approach Quantitative researchers work on simplifying complicated social phenomena into measurable figures. After calculation, the researcher can know the general situation of different social phenomena and their interrelationships. 2. Objective approachThe personal opinions of respondents may affect their answers to some questions. Fo r example, when the respondents are asked whether the government policy is effective in tackling smoking, it is difficult to define effective. However, the researcher can use a more objective approach, such as when using literature review, the researcher can compare the number of smokers before and after the government policies are implemented. Assume there are 10000 people quit smoking after the banning smoking in restaurants. Some people may think that it is effective while some people may think that it is not effective.From this figure, we can know the actual situation. 3. Require less time and resources Instead of arranging a time doing interview with the respondents face-to-face, we can send the questionnaire to target respondents through mails. We may also upload the questionnaire online and invite respondents to answer the questionnaire through online forums and social-networking software and websites. 4. Can reach more respondents As the time required for each respondent to give response is shorter, there is more time to invite more respondents to give responses.Some people may be scared or shy when doing a face-to-face interview, a questionnaire is more suitable to these respondents. Since Hong Kong people are busy, many of them cannot arrange time for doing the interview. Sending a questionnaire to them enables them to answer when they have time. 1. Research Procedures The mini pilot questionnaire Before actual questionnaires were distributed, the researcher discussed the questionnaire with his teacher and classmates to ascertain whether the questions are understandable and sensible to the respondents.This also gives rough ideas of the suitability of wording and the appropriateness of the sequence of questions and the questions being asked. The questionnaires The researcher used online questionnaire at first to save time and resources between 1 February 2011 and 20 March 2011. However, the number of respondents was not satisfactory (237), while the t arget sample size was 300 and the researcher decided to distribute questionnaires directly in Causeway Bay on 27 March 2011. In the research, the researcher divided the respondents into three target groups, including non-smokers, smokers and ex-smokers.Each target group had a unique set of questions in order to answer different focus questions in the research. The questions were provided with choices to make data analysis easier and save respondents’ time. Questionnaire questions Most of the questionnaire questions were provided with options and the option â€Å"others† for respondents to give answers that were not given in the options. There were a lot of options in the questions so as to cover most possible opinions of respondents. This surely saved respondent’s time in completing the questionnaire and the researcher can analyze the data easily.The questionnaire had both Chinese and English versions, so the respondents could understand the questions easily and give appropriate responses. Examples were also given after the some relatively difficult words to ensure the respondents understand the questions clearly. 1. Data Analysis Numerical expression of data In order to make the data comparable, all answers are arranged in different categories and both numbers of respondents choosing that option and the percentage of respondents choosing that option (only in questions that the respondents could only choose one option) were shown. . Limitations The questionnaires are distributed online and in the Causeway Bay, so people who do not live in Causeway Bay and cannot access to the internet cannot get the questionnaire. Therefore, the responses may be biased and confined. 3. Chapter Summary This chapter has given the theoretical framework for this research, including the literature review and methodology of this research. In this research, questionnaire was used mainly.To enhance readers’ understanding of the research, both the research p rocedure and data analysis with also its objective and scientific approach were included. Chapter 3: Findings In this chapter, the researcher is going to present the data collected through questionnaires. The research emphasizes on the causes and impacts of youth smoking on Hong Kong smoking young people’s quality of life. In 3. 1, there will be a discussion on the reasons why some Hong Kong young people start smoking. In 3. 2, the Hong Kong non-smoking young people’s view towards smoking will be investigated.In 3. 3, how smoking affects Hong Kong smoking young people’s quality of life in the economic and social aspects will be explored. In 3. 4, the researcher will attempt to give some suggestions to help Hong Kong smoking young people to quit smoking. In 3. 5, the researcher will give a discussion on the effectiveness of government measures on encouraging and helping smokers to quit smoking. 3. 1 Reasons of smoking among Hong Kong young people The researcher h as distributed 100 questionnaires to Hong Kong smoking young people.As shown in figure 1, the reasons why some Hong Kong young people smoke are influence of friends (60%), curiosity (36%), influence of family members (8%), releasing pressure (8%) killing time (4%) and refreshing one’s mind (4%) |Options |Number of respondents | |Influence of friends |60 | |Influence of family members |8 | |Curiosity |36 | |Release pressure |8 | |killing time |4 | |refreshing one’s mind |4 |Figure 1: Summary table showing the reasons why some Hong Kong young people smoke 3. 2 Non-smokers’ view towards smoking The researcher has also distributed 100 questionnaires to Hong Kong non-smoking young people. As shown in figure 2, among 100 Hong Kong non-smoking young people, 95 of them do not like people who smoke, only 5 of them like people who smoke. [pic] Figure 2: a pie chart showing the general opinions of Hong Kong non-smoking young people on Hong Kong smoking young people As show n in figure 3, among the 5 Hong Kong non-smoking young people who like smoking people, all of them like people who smoke because they think that smoking people are attractive. 4 of them also like the smell of cigarettes. Options |Number of respondents | |Smoking people are attractive |5 | |I like the smell of cigarettes |4 | |Secondhand smoke is good for my health |0 | Figure 3: Summary table showing the reasons why some Hong Kong non-smoking young people like people who smoke. (they can choose more than 1 option) As shown in figure 4, among the 95 Hong Kong non-smoking young people, 80 of them dilikes people who smoke because they think that smoking people are not attractive. 85 of them hate the smell of cigarettes. All of them agrees that secondhand smoke is bad for their health,so they dislike people who smoke. Options |Number of respondents | |Smoking people are not attractive |80 | |I hate the smell of cigarettes |85 | |Secondhand smoke is bad for my health |95 | Figure 4: Summ ary table showing the reasons why some Hong Kong non-smoking young people dislike people who smoke (Respondents can choose more than 1 option) 3. 3 Effects of smoking on smokers’ quality of life in the economic and social aspects As shown in figure 5, among the 100 Hong Kong smoking young people, 9% of them spend $0-50 in buying cigarettes per week. 80% of them spend $51-100 in buying cigarettes per week. 11% of them spend $101-150 in buying cigarettes per week. So, smokers have a greater expense and thus smoking have a negative impact on smokers’ quality of life in the economic aspect. Options |Number of respondents |percentage | |$0-50 |9 |9% | |$51-100 |80 |80% | |$101-150 |11 |11% | |$151-200 |0 |0% | |$201-250 |0 |0% | |$251-300 |0 |0% | |$301-350 |0 |0% | |$350 or above |0 |0% | Figure 5: Summary table showing how much do Hong Kong smoking young people spend on buying cigarettes per weekAs shown in figure 2, 95% of Hong Kong non-smoking young people responded dis like people who smoke. This shows that smoking has adverse impacts on the relationship between smokers and non-smokers. Hence, smoking adversely affects smokers’ quality of life in social aspect. 3. 4 Suggestions to help smokers to quit smoking The researcher has conducted questionnaires with 100 ex-smokers in Hong Kong. As shown in figure 6, among 100 ex-smokers responded, all of them discarded all cigarettes and ashtrays to quit smoking. 80 of them used medications for quitting smoking. 90 of them tried to avoid staying in places where people smoke. 77 of them used smoking cessation services provided by smoking cessation clinics. Options |Number of respondents | |Discard all cigarettes and ashtrays |100 | |Using medications for quitting smoking (such as nicotine |80 | |patch and nicotine gum) | | |Avoid staying in places where people smoke |90 | |Using smoking cessation services provided by smoking |77 | |cessation clinics | | Figure 6: Summary table showing what measure s ex-smokers took to quit smoking (Respondents can choose more than 1 option) 3. The effectiveness of government measures in encouraging and helping smokers to quit smoking According to figure 7, 76 of the 100 ex-smokers responded decided to quit smoking because of the advice from health care professionals. 54 of them decided to quit smoking because of health reasons. 23 of them decided to quit smoking because of influence of friends. 59 of them decided to quit smoking due to influence of family members. 9 of them decided to quit smoking as requested by boss or teachers. 43 of them decided to quit smoking due to government policies. |Options |Number of respondents | |Health reasons (with advice from doctors/ other health care 76 | |professional) | | |Smoking is not good to my health |54 | |Influence of friends |23 | |Influence of family members |59 | |Requested by boss/ teachers |9 | |Government policies(such as expanding statutory no smoking |43 | |areas) | |Figure 7: Summary ta ble showing why ex-smokers decided to quit smoking ( Respondents can choose more than one option) 3. 6 Chapter summary With the aids of pie charts and tables, the chapter attempts to give a discussion on the reasons why some Hong Kong young people start smoking, the non-smokers’ views towards smoking, how smoking affect smokers’ quality of life in the economic and social aspects, the effectiveness of government measures in helping and encouraging the smokers to quit smoking and suggestions to help smokers to quit smoking. The main reasons why some Hong Kong young people start smoking are influence of friends and curiosity.Most Hong Kong non-smoking young people dislike people who smoke. Smoking has adverse impacts on smokers’ quality of life in both economic and social aspects. Government measures are effective in helping the smokers to quit smoking as 77 of the 100 ex-smokers responded used smoking cessation services provided by government smoking cessation cli nics. Government measures are not effective in encouraging the smokers to quit smoking since only 43 of the 100 ex-smokers responded quit smoking because of government policies such as expanding statutory no smoking areas. Further discussion and analysis are to be followed in chapter 4. Chapter 4: Analysis and DiscussionBased on the findings done in Chapter 3 and related studies, this chapter would discuss the causes of youth smoking, the impacts of youth smoking on Hong Kong smoking young people’s quality of life in the economic and social aspect, the effectiveness of government measures in encouraging and helping the smokers to quit smoking and further explore some methods to help smokers to quit smoking. 4. 1. The truth about youth smoking 4. 1. 1. The causes of youth smoking As said in chapter 3, the causes of youth smoking are influence of friends, curiosity, influence of family members, releasing pressure, killing time and refreshing one’s mind. To explain the ca uses of youth smoking, the following may serve as reference. †¢ Influence of friends In general, adolescents value the relationship with their friends.In order to have a good relationship with their peers, they will try their best to obtain their affirmation and acceptance. So, influence of friends is a main reason why some Hong Kong young people start smoking. †¢ Curiosity Nowadays, smoking scenes frequently appears on television and films. Hong Kong young people and children often see people smoking on the street. They may have a wrong concept that smoking people are cool. They begin to develop the curiosity to smoke. When there are some chances for them to start smoking, such as being invited by friends they are more likely to start smoking. †¢ Influence of family members In the childhood, parents are the idols of their children. Children tend to follow what their parents do.If children see their parents smoking, they will have a higher tendency to follow their par ents and start smoking. They will also have a higher curiosity towards smoking. Smoking parents is harder to stop their children from smoking because the parents themselves smoke, too. So, influence of family members is also one main cause of youth smoking. 4. 1. 2 The impacts of smoking on smokers’ quality of life As mentioned of chapter 3, smoking has adverse impacts on smokers’ quality of life in the economic and social aspect. The following will explain the impacts of smoking on smokers in details. †¢ In the economic aspect Smokers have to spend money on buying cigarettes.The government has recently increased the tobacco tax and worked hare to tackle contraband and counterfeit cigarettes problem. The prices of cigarettes therefore increases and smokers have to pay more on cigarettes. As shown in chapter 2, smoking is detrimental to health as it may lead to different cancers and other diseases such as infertility. So, smokers may be easier to get a disease and their medical expenses may increase. Therefore, smoking brings negative impacts on smokers’ quality of life in the economic aspect. †¢ In the social aspect As shown in chapter 3, most non-smokers dislike people who smoke. Therefore, smokers have a poor relationship with most non-smokers.Smokers have a poorer relationship with non-smokers and hence the social aspect of quality of life of smokers is negatively affected. On the other hand, smokers may have a better relationship with other smokers. For example, cigarettes are often used as gifts among businessmen in China. People can get recognition from other smokers by smoking. So, smokers have a better relationship with other smokers and hence smoking brings positive impacts on smokers’ quality of life in the social aspect. 4. 2. The effectiveness of government measures on encouraging and helping smokers to quit smoking 4. 2. 1 The effectiveness of government measures Smokers are often addicted to cigarettes.They e xperience many withdrawal symptoms when they try to quit smoking, such as dizziness, headache and poor concentration. Therefore, it is difficult for smokers to quit smoking. As mentioned in chapter 3, the effectiveness of government measures on encouraging smokers to quit smoking is low. 2. The effectiveness of government measures on helping smokers to quit smoking As stated in chapter 3, many ex-smokers used smoking cessation services provided by smoking cessation clinics to quit smoking. This shows that government measures are effective in helping smokers to quit smoking. 2. Suggestions to help smokers to quit smoking It is difficult to quit smoking.However, smokers can use some methods adopted by most ex-smokers to quit smoking. Here are some examples. †¢ Discard all cigarettes and ashtrays †¢ Avoid staying in places where people smoke †¢ Using medications for quitting smoking ( such as nicotine patch and nicotine gun) 3. Limitation of the study First and foremost, the study involving 300 respondents for sampling may not be able to represent the opinions of non-smokers, smokers and ex-smokers. The distribution of questionnaires are done online and in Causeway Bay, so people who do not have the access to the internet nor live in Causeway Bay may not get the questionnaire. Therefore, the responses may be biased and confined.Due to the limited resources, the researcher has already tried to work out the generalized pattern of people’s opinions towards smoking as much as possible. The researcher has also studied similar studies done by the government in a much larger scale. Hence, the reliability of the study can be increased. Time has always been a constraint to the researcher. So as to ensure the general trend of people’s opinions, the researcher has spent considerable time on analyzing the data and arranging them into summary tables and pie charts. 4. Areas for further study Despite the limitations, the study can hopefully uphold the complexity of the causes and impacts of youth smoking. This study has brought some insights to the policy makers in encouraging and helping Hong Kong smoking people to quit smoking.The following suggestions may also serve as good topics for further studies †¢ New methods to stop people from starting to smoke †¢ New methods of encouraging and helping smokers to quit smoking by other stakeholders (besides the government and individuals) The rationale behind these suggestions is highly understandable. â€Å"Prevention is better than curing. † It is easier to stop people from starting to smoke than helping smokers to quit smoking because smokers are addicted to cigarettes. Therefore, looking for methods to encourage people not to start smoking is a more useful method to reduce the smoking population in Hong Kong. As stated in 4. 2. , the current government measures are not effective in encouraging smokers to quit smoking. Also, development of new cheaper and more co mfortable methods to quit smoking may encourage smokers to quit smoking. Therefore, a research on new methods to encourage and help smokers to quit smoking is contributive to reduce smoking population in Hong Kong. 5. Afterthoughts To the researcher’s belief, this study helps readers to gain knowledge of people’s view towards smoking and know some effective methods in helping smokers to quit smoking. This study has also assessed the effectiveness of government’s measures in encouraging and helping smokers to quit smoking. Bibliography Books: Census and Statistical Department. Pattern of smoking†, Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics (Hong Kong, June 2009) Websites: Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health. â€Å"Risks? Active Smoking† http://smokefree. hk/en/content/web. do? page=ActiveSmoking (Retrieved on 17 April 2011) Tobacco Control Office Department of Health. â€Å"Smoking and Health† http://www. tco. gov. hk/english/infostation_sh. h tml (Retrieved on 17 April 2011) Tobacco Control Office Department of Health. â€Å"Quitting Smoking† http://www. tco. gov. hk/english/quittting/quitting_vcqs. thml (Retrieved on 17 April 2011) Appendix I Summary table of the results of the questionnaires For non-smokers 1. How old are you? Choices |Number of respondents | |10-15 |23 | |16-20 |45 | |21-25 |32 | 2. What is your sex? |Choices |Number of respondents | |Male |79 | |Female |21 | 3. Can you suggest some methods that you think that are effective in helping smokers quit smoking? You may choose more than 1 option) |Choices |Number of respondents | |Discard all cigarettes and ashtrays |100 | |Using medications for quitting smoking (such as nicotine |90 | |patch and nicotine gum) | | |Avoid staying in places where people smoke |90 | |Using smoking cessation services provided by smoking |93 | |cessation clinics | | |Others(please state) |0 | 4. Do you like people who smoke? |Choices |Number of respondents | |Yes ( please go to question 5) |95 | |No (please go to question 6) |5 | 5. Why do you like people who smoke? You may choose more than 1 option) |Choices |Number of respondents | |Smoking people are attractive |5 | |I like the smell of cigarettes |4 | |Secondhand smoke is good for my health |0 | |Others(please state) |0 | 6. Why do you hate people who smoke? You may choose more than 1 option) |Choices |Number of respondents | |Smoking people are not attractive |80 | |I hate the smell of cigarettes |85 | |Secondhand smoke is bad for my health |95 | |Others(please state) |0 | 7. Do you have relatives or friends who smoke? Choices |Number of respondents | |Yes (please go to question 8) |63 | |No (Thank you for completing the survey) |37 | 8. Have you tried to persuade your relatives or friends to quit smoking? |Choices |Number of respondents | |Yes (please go to question 9) |27 | |No (Thank you for completing the survey) |26 | 9. After your persuasion, did your relatives or friends try to q uit smoking? Choices |Number of respondents | |Yes |8 | |No |15 | |I do not know |4 | For smokers 1. How old are you? |Choices |Number of respondents | |10-15 |3 | |16-20 |45 | |21-25 |52 | 2.How long have you been smoking? |Choices |Number of respondents | |1-3 years |63 | |4-6 years |19 | |7-10 years |15 | |10 years or above |3 | 3. Do you agree that smoking is bad to your health? Choices |Number of respondents | |Agree |92 | |Disagree |8 | 4. Do you agree that you are addicted to cigarettes? |Choices |Number of respondents | |Agree |87 | |Disagree |13 | 5. How many cigarettes you smoke per day? Choices |Number of respondents | |1-3 |12 | |4-6 |34 | |7-9 |40 | |10-12 |13 | |13-15 |1 | |16-18 |0 | |18-21 |0 | | 22 or above |0 | 6. How much do you spend on buying cigarettes per week? (Hong Kong Dollars) Choices |Number of respondents | |$0-50 |9 | |$51-100 |11 | |$101-150 |80 | |$151-200 |0 | |$201-250 | 0 | |$251-300 |0 | |$301-350 | 0 | |$350 or above |0 | ? $3 01-350 ? $350 or above 7. Where do your money buying cigarettes come from? You may choose more than 1 option) |Choices |Number of respondents | |Work |44 | |Petty cash from family members |78 | |From illegal ways |0 | |Borrow from family members/friends |23 | |Others(please state) |0 | 8. Do you relatives or friends know that you smoke? Choices |Number of respondents | |Yes (please go to question 9) |67 | |No (please go to question 10) |33 | 9. Generally, do they support you to smoke? |Choices |Number of respondents | |Yes |13 | |No |33 | |I do not know |21 | 10. Why do you smoke? (You may choose more than 1 option) Choices |Number of respondents | |Influence of friends |60 | |Influence of family members |8 | |Curiosity |36 | |Release pressure |8 | |Killing time |4 | |refreshing one’s mind |4 | |Others(please state) |0 | 11. What are the bad effects of smoking on you? You may choose more than 1 option) |Choices |Number of respondents | |I am not welcomed |23 | |I am less healthy |92 | |Not enough money |30 | |Makes me ugly |43 | |Bad image |33 | |Poor relationship with relatives |37 | |Poor relationship with friends |29 | |Others(please state) |0 | 12. What are the good effects of smoking on you? You may choose more than 1 option) |Choices |Number of respondents | |I am welcomed |63 | |I am more healthy |8 | |I have more money |47 | |I am more handsome/beautiful |57 | |Good image |57 | |Better relationship with relatives |10 | |Better relationship with friends |70 | |Others(please state) |0 | 13. Have you tried to quit smoking? |Choices |Number of respondents | |Yes (please go to question 14) |20 | |No (Thank you for completing the survey) |80 | 14. Why did you quit smoking? You may choose more than 1 option) |Choices |Number of respondents | |Health reasons(with advice from doctors/ other health care |3 | |professional) | | |Smoking is not good to my health |5 | |Influence of friends |2 | |Influence of family members |13 | |Requested by boss/ teachers |15 | |Government policies(such as expanding statutory no smoking |3 | |areas) | | |Others(please state) |0 | 15. What methods did you use to quit smoking? You may choose more than 1 option) |Choices |Number of respondents | |Discard all cigarettes and ashtrays |20 | |Using medications for quitting smoking (such as nicotine |17 | |patch and nicotine gum) | | |Avoid staying in places where people smoke |18 | |Using smoking cessation services provided by smoking |18 | |cessation clinics | | |Others(please state) |0 | 16. Why did you fail to quit smoking? You may choose more than 1 option) |Choices |Number of respondents | |Not determined enough |20 | |Smoking has become a habit/favourite |20 | |Quitting smoking is suffering |20 | |Others(please state) |0 | For ex-smokers 1. How old are you? |Choices |Number of respondents | |10-15 |0 | |16-20 |15 | |21-25 |85 | 2. Why did you smoke? (You may choose more than 1 option) Choices |Number of respondents | |Influence of fr iends |83 | |Influence of family members |15 | |Curiosity |40 | |Release pressure |13 | |killing time |15 | |refreshing one’s mind |3 | |Others(please state) |0 | 3. Why do you quit smoking? You may choose more than 1 option) |Choices |Number of respondents | |Health reasons(with advice from doctors/ other health care |76 | |professional) | | |Smoking is not good to my health |54 | |Influence of friends |23 | |Influence of family members |59 | |Requested by boss/ teachers |9 | |Government policies(such as expanding statutory no smoking |43 | |areas) | | |Others(please state) |0 | 4. What methods did you use to quit smoking? You may choose more than 1 option) |Options |Number of respondents | |Discard all cigarettes and ashtrays |100 | |Using medications for quitting smoking (such as nicotine |80 | |patch and nicotine gum) | | |Avoid staying in places where people smoke |90 | |Using smoking cessation services provided by smoking |77 | |cessation clinics | | 5. What is the most important factor that help you to quit smoking successfully? Choices |Number of respondents | |Health reasons(with advice from doctors/ other health care |76 | |professional) | | |Determination to quit smoking |100 | |Support from family member and/or friends |67 | |Requested by boss/ teachers |13 | |Government policies(such as expanding statutory no smoking |43 | |areas) | | |Others(please state) |0 | Appendix II Samples of Questionnaires ( ) 2007 10500? 15 19 , , 10 25 1. ? 10-15? 16-20? 21-25 2. ? ? ? ? 3. ( ) ? ( ) ? ? ? ( ) 4. ( 5? ) ( 6? ) 5. ( ) ? ? ? ( ) 6. ( ) ? ? ? ? ( ) 7. ( 8? ) ( ) 8. ( 9? ) ( ) 9. ( ) , 2007 10500? 15 19 , , 10 25 1. ? 10-15? 16-20? 21-25 2. ? ? 3. ?1-3? ?4-6? ? 6-10? ? 10 4. 5. 6. ?1-3 ? 4-6 ? 7-9 ? 10-12 ? 13-15 ?16-18 ? 19-21 ? 22 7. ( ) ?$0-50 ? $51-100 ? $101-150 ? $151-200 ? $201-250 ? $251-300 ? $301-350 ? $350 8. ( ) ? ? ? ? ? ( ) 9. ( 10? ) 11? ) 10. , 11. ( ) ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ( ) 12. ( ) ? ? ? ? / ? ? ? ? ? ( ) 13. ( ) ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ( ) 14. ( 15? ) ( ) 15. ( ) ? ( ) ? ? ? ? ( ) ? ( ) 16. ( ) ? ( ) ? ? ? ( ) 17. ( ) ? ? / ? ? ( ) ( ) , 2007 10500? 15 19 , , 10 25 2. ? 10-15? 16-20? 21-25 2. ? ? ? ? 3. ( ) ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ( ) 4. ( ) ? ( ) ? ? / ? ? ? ( ) ? ( ) 5. ( ) ? ( ) ? ? ? ( ) 6. ? ( ) ? ? ? ( ) ? / ? ( ) Youth Smoking (non-smokers)Background Information In recent years, the number of youth smoking increases steadily. A survey in 2007 reveals that 10500 Hong Kong people aged 15-19 smoked. Through this survey, I want to identify the opinions of non-smokers and smokers towards smoking, the reasons why smokers smoke and how smoking affect smoker’s and non-smoker’s quality of life. This survey is only set for people aged 10-25 1. How old are you? ? 10-15? 16-20? 21-25 2. What is your sex? ? male ? female 3. Can you suggest some methods that you think that are effective in helping smokers quit smoking? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? Discard all cigarettes and ashtrays Using medications for quitting smoking (such as nicotine patch and nicotine gum) ? Avoid staying in places where people smoke ? Using smoking cessation services provided by smoking cessation clinics ? Others(please state) 4. Do you like people who smoke? ? Yes (please go to question 5) ? No (please go to question 6) 5. Why do you like people who smoke? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? Smoking people are attractive ? I like the smell of cigarettes ? Secondhand smoke is good for my health ? Others(please state) 6. Why do you hate people who smoke? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? Smoking people are not attractive ? I hate the smell of cigarettes ?Secondhand smoke is bad for my health ? Others(please state) 7. Do you have relatives or friends who smoke? ? Yes (please go to question 8) ? No (Thank you for completing the survey) 8. Have you tried to per suade your relatives or friends to quit smoking? ? Yes (please go to question 9) ? No (Thank you for completing the survey) 9. After your persuasion, did your relatives or friends try to quit smoking? ? Yes? No ? I do not know Thank you for completing the survey Youth Smoking (smokers) Background Information In recent years, the number of youth smoking increases steadily. A survey in 2007 reveals that 10500 Hong Kong people aged 15-19 smoked.Through this survey, I want to identify the opinions of non-smokers and smokers towards smoking, the reasons why smokers smoke and how smoking affect smoker’s and non-smoker’s quality of life. This survey is only set for people aged 10-25 1. How old are you? ? 10-15? 16-20? 21-25 2. How long have you been smoking? ? 1-3 years? 4-6 years? 7-10 years ? 10 years or above 3. Do you agree that smoking is bad to your health? ? Agree ? Disagree 4. Do you agree that you are addicted to cigarettes? ? Agree ? Disagree 5. How many cigarettes you smoke per day? ? 1-3 ? 4-6? 7-9? 10-12? 13-15? 16-18 ?18-21? 22 or above 6. How much do you spend on buying cigarettes per week? (Hong Kong Dollars) ? $0-50 ? $51-100 ? 101-150 ? $151-200 ? $201-250 ? $251-300 ? $301-350 ? $350 or above 7. Where do your money buying cigarettes come from? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? Work ? Petty cash from family members ? From illegal ways ? Borrow from family members/friends ? Others(Please state) 8. Do you relatives or friends know that you smoke? ? Yes (please go to question 9) ? No (please go to question 10) 9. Generally, do they support you to smoke? ? Yes? No ? I don’t know 10. Why do you smoke? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? Influence of friends ? Influence of family members ? Curiosity ? Release pressure ? killing time ? refreshing one’s mind ?Others(please state) 11. What are the bad effects of smoking on you? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? I am not welcomed ? I am less healthy ? Not enough money ? M akes me ugly ? Bad image ? Poor relationship with relatives ? Poor relationship with friends ? Others(please state) 12. What are the good effects of smoking on you? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? I am welcomed ? I am more healthy ? I have more money ? I have better relationship with relatives ? I am more handsome/beautiful ? good image ? I have better relationship with friends ? Others(please state) 13. Have you tried to quit smoking? ? Yes (please go to question 14) No (Thank you for completing the survey) 14. Why did you quit smoking? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? Health reasons(with advice from doctors/ other health care professional) ? Smoking is not good to my health ? Influence of friends ? Influence of family members ? Requested by boss/ teachers ? Government policies(such as expanding statutory no smoking areas) ? Others(Please state) 15. What methods did you use to quit smoking? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? Discard all cigarettes and ashtrays ? Using medications for quitting smoking (such as nicotine patch and nicotine gum) ? Avoid staying in places where people smoke Using smoking cessation services provided by smoking cessation clinics ? Others(please state) 16. Why did you fail to quit smoking? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? Not determined enough ? Smoking has become a habit/favourite ? Quitting smoking is suffering ? Others(please state) Thank you for completing the survey Youth Smoking (Ex-smokers) Background Information In recent years, the number of youth smoking increases steadily. A survey in 2007 reveals that 10500 Hong Kong people aged 15-19 smoked. Through this survey, I want to identify the opinions of non-smokers and smokers towards smoking, the reasons why smokers smoke and how smoking affect smoker’s and non-smoker’s quality of life.This survey is only set for people aged 10-25 1. How old are you? ? 10-15? 16-20? 21-25 2. Why did you smoke? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? Influence of friends ? Influence of family members ? Curiosity ? Release pressure ? killing time ? refreshing one’s mind ? Others(please state) 3. Why do you quit smoking? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? Health reasons(with advice from doctors/ other health care professional) ? Smoking is not good to my health ? Influence of friends ? Influence of family members ? Requested by boss/ teachers ? Government policies(such as expanding statutory no smoking areas) ? Others(Please state) 4.What methods did you use to quit smoking? (You may choose more than 1 option) ? Discard all cigarettes and ashtrays ? Using medications for quitting smoking (such as nicotine patch and nicotine gum) ? Avoid staying in places where people smoke ? Using smoking cessation services provided by smoking cessation clinics ? Others(please state) 5. What is the most important factor that help you to quit smoking successfully? ? Health reasons(with advice from doctors/ other health care professional) ? Determinati on to quit smoking ? Support from family member and/or friends ? Requested by boss/ teachers ? Government policies(such as expanding statutory no smoking areas) ?Others(Please state) Thank you for completing the survey ———————– [1] Census and Statistical Departmen

Quals Direct Knowledge Task Essay

1.1 Define the following types of abuse: • Physical abuse is defined as the use of physical force that may result in bodily injury Sexual abuse is any sort of non-consensual contact Emotional/Psychological abuse is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that may result in psychological trauma. Playing mind games, shouting and threatening behavior. Financial abuse telling you what you can and connot buy or requiring you to share or take control of your bank account and with holding monies from you. Institutional abuse is the mistreatment, neglect or inadequate care and support of adults in groups. Self neglect is failure of one adult to take care of himself or herself. Neglect by others ignoring the persons medical or physical care needs, Deliberate and unnecessary deprivation of a resource to the service user. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. Good answer 1.2 Identify the signs/or symptoms associated with each type of abuse. physical abuse bruises withfound in different states of healing, small clusters indicating finger marks, friction burns from carpets, injuries inconsistent with explanation, reluctance to seek medical help Sexual abuse bruises and bleeding round the rectal and vaginal areas, stained or torn underclothes or night wear, love bites, overt sexual behavior or language not previously used or conversely fear of any type of physical contact.  Emotion/psychological abuse symptoms of stress, on set of bed wetting, anxiety, tearfulness, low self esteem, unexplained paranoia and lack of eye contact. Financial abuse suddenly unable to pay bills or purchase necessities, unexplained withdrawals from saving Institutional abuse lack of privacy around toileting and bathing, lack of giving a choice of food, bedtime, clothing Self neglect lack of attention to personal care needs, rashes, pressure sores, dirty clothing and or wet, weight loss. Neglect by others lack of attention given to personal care needs, failure to ensure privacy and dignity, dirty clothes, rashes, being left alone for long periods of time. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. 1.3 Describe factors that may contribute to an individual being more vulnerable to abuse factors may include if the individual has a mental disability such as dementia or not having the mental capacity. If the individual is secluded or isolated or vulnerable there could be factors for the abuser which could include the abuser having lack of training, also abusing their power. Sometimes personal issues have a part to play which could include the carer/abuser being stressed or having a history of abuse and continuing the cycle. The factors include if one has low self esteem or self worth. if they have had abuse before, nobody to protect them, and the mentally ill. Other factors could be they may not be aware of their rights, may not be able to express themselves clearly. their home may unsuitable with no aids or adaptations to help give appropriate care. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. Outcome 2 know how to respond to suspected or alleged abuse 2.1 Explain the actions to take if there are suspicions that an individual is being abused. Always report suspected or alleged abuse to the appropriate person(s), record the facts on appropriate paperwork, listen do not judge, stay calm and collected, do not tamper with any evidence. Appropriate persons to report suspected or alleged abuse would be to my manager first of all, police, social workers, family(if family is not the abuser) and possibly their doctor. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. Who would be the appropriate person to report to? well answered 2.2 Explain the actions to take if an individual alleges that they are being abused Always establish what it is that has occured and report any suspicions to the appropriate manager. Reassuring the individual at all times take every allegation seriously. Always date the paperwork and have it signed by any witness (if any). take photos of any evidence if possible. Speak clearly and precise and avoid any leading questions. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. 2.3 Identify ways to ensure that evidence of abuse is preserved Always record facts immediately dated and signed (by any witnesses also), report any evidence immediately to line manager, do not tamper with any evidence. Taking Photos if possible, and try avoiding any leading questions that may make them think alternatively to the situation. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. What other steps might you take to preserve the evidence? You have mentioned some ways in the previous question could you ple those points and a few others you can think of. Outcome 3 Understand the national and local context of safeguarding and protection from abuse 3.1 Identify national policies and local systems that relates to safeguarding and protection from abuse National policies – safeguarding vulnerable groups act 2006, the vetting and barring scheme run by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), Criminal Records Bureau, Human rights act 1998. Local Systems – Safeguarding Adults Boards, Safeguarding policies and procedures for vulnerable adults. Data Protection Act 1998 Care standards Act 2000 Health and social care act 2008 The Equality Act 2010 No secrets, Department of Health 2000 Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. Amanda I can clearly see you get this question however The Police and CQC are not national polices or or local systems. This facts question fully http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS78_Safeguarding_older_people_from_abuse_fcs.pdf?eps 3.2 Explain the roles of different agencies in safeguarding and protecting individuals from abuse The police – their role is to safeguard vulnerable adults, investigate all reports of vulnerable adult abuse and protect and  uphold the rights of vulnerable adults. The CQC – – to monitor and provide guidance on what all health and social care providers must do to safeguard vulnerable adults from abuse, the safeguarding policies, procedures and systems developed are in place to prevent vulnerable adults from being abused. Social services – Their role is to build managing safeguarding risks and benefits in care planning, review care plans, identify and respond to any concerns, lead and support enquiries in in the events of any abuse or neglect. Clinicians – Report incidents of abuse neglect or undignified treatment, follow up referrals, consult patients taking responsibility for ongoing care, lead and support enquiries where there is need for clinical input. Health care provider – Show leadership and routinely monitor activity, meet the required service quality standards, train staff in safeguarding procedures, investigate and respond effectively, take disciplinary action against staff who have abused or neglected people in their care. Social care and health commissioners – Build safeguarding into commissioning strategies and service contracts, review and monitor services regulary, intervenewhere services fall below fundamental standards or abuse is taking place. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. This leaflet will help you answer this question fully http://www.pasauk.org.uk/upload/public/featurebox/Safeguarding%20Adults.%20Roles%20and%20responsibilities%20in%20hea 3.3 Identify reports into serious failures to protect individuals from abuse A report about Orchid View care home in West Sussex that failed to ensure that the vulnerable adults were adequately protected from risks, including the risks of unsafe practice by its own staff. it was revealed that residents at Orchid View care home in Copthorne, west Sussex, were given  wrong doses of medication, left soiled and unattended because of a lack of staff and suffered because of serious failures in the home’s management. There was institutional abuse throughout the home which lead to the deaths of 5 residents. After an investigation the CQC found it had failed to meet eight of it essential quality and safety standards. The inquest heard that Jean Halfpenny, 77, was given an overdose of blood-thinning drug warfarin while at Orchid View, Which had failed to monitor and administer her medication properly. One of the staff at the care home said she was asked to shred forms after Halfpenny had been admitted to hospital for bleeding. The coroner heard that the Orchid View manager Meera Reed, looked at the medication administration record (MAR) brought into the office by a nurse and said â€Å"We can’t send her to hospital wit those. they will shut us down.† Five people were arrested, including some on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence in relation to Halfpenny’s death, but insufficient evidence existed to support a prosecution and the case was passed to a coroner. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. Some good research has gonr into the answer for this question 3.4 Identify sources of information and advice about own role in safeguarding and protecting individuals from abuse My manager, colleagues My companies policies and procedures Local authority services department like social services The internet Care Quality Commission Books Independent Safeguarding Authority health and social care act 2015 Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. The 2015 Care Act perhaps? well answered Amanda Outcome 4 Understand ways to reduce the likelihood of abuse 4.1 Explain how the likelihood of abuse may be reduced by: • Working with person centred values • Encouraging ac choice and rights Person centred values include the individuality of the person, the rights of the individual, choice, privacy, independence, dignity, and the individual being respected. If person centred values are taken into consideration when supporting an individual there is less likely to be abuse as all the staff will be working in the same way. If a person is considered to have a say in what he or she wants and is at the centre of any decision, it will be more unlikely that there is abuse. I always put the service users i work with at the centre of any decision about them and they are an active partner in their own care. service user decide what to do, shower, wash or bath, what clothes they want to wear and are treated with dignity, respect, confidentiality and are able to make their own choices. Active participation is a way of working that recognises an individuals right to participate in the activities and relationships of everyday life as independently as possible. So if the individual participates actively in their daily activities, then the risk of abuse is low. For example I would prompt the service user to pick out what clothes they would like to wear, what meals they would like and encourage them to take part in preparing and cooking the meal the way they like it. Individuals are supported to make their choices in anything they want, like food or drink, what to wear, whether they want a bath, shower,, or wash. No individual will choose something that will hurt them self therefore abuse is reduced to the minimum. Individuals rights are promoted throughout the service, service user have the right to as they wish to do and if its what they want as long as it is not dangerous, a risk assesment will then be done to stop any abuse happening. I ensure that i promote service users’ rights and choices by allowing them to make their own choices and support them to have the same rights of anyone else. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. Excellent answer 4 .2 Explain the importance of an accessible complaints procedure for reducing the likelihood of abuse The complaints procedure gives the complainant the right to be heard and supported to make their views known. an accessible complaints procedure is understandable and easy to use. It sets out clearly how to make a complaint, the steps that will be taken when the complaint is looked into. An accessible complaints procedure resolves complaints more quickly as the complainant feels that they are being listened to and their complaint is is taken seriously. Making sure that abuse will not be tolerated in any form and encourages the complainant to not accept this. If a staff member is being abused, it would be reported to the line manager as an informal grievance, employees should aim to resolve most grievences informally with their line manager and are therefor encouraged to discuss all matters openly as they occur. If the grievance cannot be settled informally then it should be raised through the formal procedure of a grievance. Formal Grievance should be raised with their line manager or next level of management if grievance is related to the line manager, in writing, at the earliest time. the manager will organise a meeting within 5 working days, Employees will be allowed to explain their complaint,and suggest a way it should be settled. meeting could be ajourned if the manager feels they need further advice. the manager will give full consideration to the complaint and confirm the outcome in writing. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. You have looked at this question from the perspective of the client. How about the staff who may be getting abused please include colleagues in this answer Outcome 5 Know how to recognise and report unsafe practices 5.1 Describe unsafe practices that may affect the well being of individuals Unsanitary conditions can spread infection as cross-contamination can occur and can affect the well being of the individual and others. examples of these unsanity conditions can be dirty kitchen work surfaces and equipment, improper hand washing, not covering hair when cooking can pose a risk, as can not reporting faulty equipment when working or not, having cleaning materials can also be unsafe. Not having risk assessments in place when a service user hurts themselves, Staff not checking when service user is ill or unsteady on their feet. Staff not recording in the care plan any issues if a services is unwell or unable to support themselves as much, not monitoring their wellbeing. Other unsafe practice that can amount to abuse is leaving a service user on the toilet too long, ignoring or not listening to them.  Marks on the body not taken seriously and not listening to complaints can put them at more danger, harm and risk of abuse. staff that are untrained or have out of date training, unsanitary uniforms can spread infection to clients and other colleagues, Management giving their colleague/s a large work load, making them exhausted and having a lack of concentration. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. You have looked at this question from the perspective of the client. How about the staff who may be getting abused please include colleagues in this answer 5.2 Explain the actions to take if unsafe practices have been identified If I identify unsafe practice then I must follow the whistle blowing procedure and report to the appropriate person. I will report to my manager immediately or if it involves my manager then I would report it to another appropriate person. I will monitor all unsafe practices and make sure that I record and report in full all the evidence, then I will talk to my manager as I am aware all unsafe practices are dangerous that could cause harm. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question. 5.3 Describe the action to take if suspected abuse or unsafe practices have been reported but nothing has been done If suspected abuse or unsafe practices have been reported but nothing has been done in response or if it has to do with my manager then I would report it to the next level or manager. Then I would report to the social worker and safeguarding team and to the care quality commission and even the police depending on the response i get. Your assessor is happy with your answer to the above question.