O tabagismo é considerado um sério problema de saúde pública, estudos têm mostrado o início do consumo de cigarros na adolescência; pesquisas mostram os fatores que predispõem ao consumo e/ ou dependência da nicotina; já existem Leis regulamentando a propaganda, locais públicos ... para o uso do tabaco. Há a necessidade de abordagens interdisciplinares, buscando conexões metodológicas entre diversas áreas para compreender o processo. Há necessidade de superar a racionalidade entre as disciplinas, prevalecer a síntese de um processo que não seja feudo de uma área. Significa recuperar o humanismo, lutando contra a falta de eficácia, eficiência nos Programas de Controle do Uso do Tabaco; falta de elementos subjetivos na discussão das áreas do conhecimento e, em específico, do Direito. Torna-se necessária discussão mais ampla, alertar a relação dos males à saúde advindos do tabaco. Os conhecimentos produzidos poderão ter grande importância prática em termos individuais, assim como para a Saúde Pública. O objetivo geral deste trabalho é estudar as crenças e valores associados ao início do uso do tabaco entre jovens, buscando elementos subjetivos para colaborar na elaboração, aplicação e interpretação das Leis. Especificamente, pretende-se definir critérios e identificar crenças e valores relacionados ao uso do tabaco para compreensão do ato de fumar. O trabalho foi efetuado em etapas. A princípio, a construção do instrumento de medida: levantamento das crenças salientes modais sobre as categorias, como hábito de fumar em si e uso do tabaco entre os jovens. Foram entrevistados 12 jovens (entrevista semi-estruturada), coletando dados demográficos e, a seguir usando os procedimentos de evocação/enunciação/averiguação. Os conteúdos levantados pelas entrevistas, foram analisados com base em alguns procedimentos de síntese, no sentido de isolar e classificar as crenças salientes modais, características para cada uma das categorias estudadas. Para avaliar o componente cognitivo da atitude, as Escalas foram constituídas por conteúdos probabilísticos subjetivos como: ?verdadeiro/falso?, ?sempre/nunca?... associados à Escala do tipo Likert. Quanto ao componente valorativo da atitude, foi utilizada, também, a Escala do tipo Likert, com conteúdos expressos como: ?bom/ruim?, ?certo/errado? ... Para análise, foram realizados estudos descritivos de distribuição dos resultados das Escalas sobre as forças das crenças e valores a elas associadas. Quanto às expectativas das atitudes, foi utilizado o referencial teórico de Fishbein e Ajzen, fundamentado na distinção entre crenças, atitudes, intenções e comportamentos. O Projeto foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética da FFCLRP-USP. / The use of tobacco is the most serious problem in Public Health. Studies show the early consumption in adolescence and the factors that predispose this consumption and/or nicotine dependece. Currently, there are Laws, which regulate advertisements and public locations on tobacco use. Interdisciplinary approaches seeking methodological links among these diverse areas in order to be able to understand the process is indispensable. The rationality among the disciplines needs to be overcome, and the synthesis of a process, which is not feudal to one area, must prevail. This encompasses the recovery of humanism, tackling against the inefficiency of the Tobacco Control Programs, the lack of subjective elements in the discussions of the fields of knowledge, and specifically of Law. An ample discussion is relevant to warn on the health problems occurring from tobacco. The awareness yielded is of great practical importance regarding individuals, as well as public health. The broad aim of this work is to study the beliefs and values associated to the early use of tobacco among the young adults, seeking subjective elements to collaborate with the elaboration, application, and interpretation of the Laws. The criteria and identification of beliefs and values related to the use of tobacco in order to understand the act of smoking will be distinctively defined. This study carried out in stages. In principle, the construction of a measuring instrument, the collection of outstanding belief trends on the categories, such as, the habit of smoking and the use of tobacco among the young adults. The interviewees were comprised of twelve young adults with open-ended questions collecting demographic data, in addition to utilizing recalling/expressing/stating and investigating methods. The contents collected from the interviews were analyzed grounded on synthesis procedures, isolating and classifying the outstanding belief trends, and the characteristics for each of the categories studied. To assess the cognitive behavior component, the Scales constituted subjective contents of probability, such as, ??true/false??, ??always/never??, etc. associated with the Likert Scale. As for the value component of behavior, the Likert Scale was also used with contents expressing ??good/bad?? ??right/wrong??, etc. For evaluation, descriptive studies of the result distribution of the Scales on beliefs and values associated to them were performed. Concerning the behavior expected, Fishbein and Ajzen?s theoretical references were utilized basing the distinction among beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behavior. This project approved by the Ethics Board at FFCLRP-USP.

While there is ample research showing that adult children of divorced parents have more positive attitudes toward divorce and lower marital commitment, there has been no such research focused specifically on the Orthodox Jewish (OJ) population, which tends to view divorce more negatively. Prior to this study, it was thus unclear if the findings of existing research on marital competence applied to OJ children of divorce. Driven by social exchange theory, this study was designed to discover (a) whether OJ adult children of divorce differ significantly from OJ adult children of intact marriages in their marital commitment and marital satisfaction; (b) whether gender moderates the relationships between parental divorce, marital satisfaction, and marital commitment; and (c) if attitudes toward divorce mediate those relationships. Data from 162 adult OJ participants living in the United States were collected using quantitative cross-sectional survey methodology, and were analyzed using 1-way multivariate analysis of covariance, hierarchical multiple regression, and conditional process analysis. Results indicated that there were no significant differences between OJ adult children of divorce and OJ adult children of intact marriages in their marital commitment or marital satisfaction. Further, gender did not moderate the relationships between parental divorce and marital satisfaction or marital commitment, nor did attitudes toward divorce mediate those relationships. OJ community leaders may use the results of this study to help implement community awareness programs designed to reduce the stigma of parental divorce and its impact on the marriage prospects of OJ children of divorce.

Space exploration continues to expand humanity’s understanding of the universe. And, while Americans have widely favorable attitudes towards efforts to explore outer space, certain religious beliefs appear to be associated with more negative attitudes towards space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life. The current study explored the role of religion and creationism on attitudes towards space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life. Priming techniques were used to test whether increasing the accessibility of religious and creationist concepts led to more negative attitudes towards space exploration and beliefs about extraterrestrial life. Participants (N = 230) encountered an explicit prime of religion, creationism, or a control prior to completing a word fragment task and measures of attitudes towards space exploration and beliefs about extraterrestrial life. The results of Bayesian estimation and hypothesis testing did not support the prediction. However, exploratory analyses indicated very strong evidence of atheists having more positive attitudes towards space exploration and beliefs about extraterrestrial life than theists. These findings suggest that while priming religion and creationism did not appear to influence reported attitudes, attitudes towards space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life may differ based on belief in god.

This study involves a first attempt to identify Chinese auditors’ values and examines their effects on ethical ideologies and ethical judgments and intentions. A survey methodology is used and the survey instrument includes a self-administered questionnaire and a short auditing ethical case. A sample of Chinese CPAs with auditing experience was drawn from accounting firms located in Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Beijing, and Kunming cities during 2006-7. Three hundred and twenty-five useable responses were received. The theoretical framework for this study is based on Forsyth’s (1980) model of ethical ideologies. This study identifies Chinese auditors’ cultural values as (1) Chinese traditional cultural values, (2) interpersonal relationships (guanxi), and (3) attitudes towards money. This study posits that Chinese auditors’ cultural values will impact on their ethical ideologies and that their ethical judgments and intentions are, in turn influenced by the ideologies they prefer. In this study, Chinese auditors’ ethical judgments and intentions are examined using a well understood ethical dilemma in auditing, specifically whether an auditor should accept a client’s suggestion to inappropriately alter the financial position or to adhere to accounting and professional standards. Four research questions are proposed in this study: 1. What national cultural values best describe Chinese auditors? 2. How do Chinese cultural values impact ethical ideologies (i.e., Idealism and Relativism) as they apply to practicing auditors? 3. Do identifiable ethical ideologies, adopted by auditors, influence the decision making process in issues relating to audit independence? In particular, ethical judgments and intentions. 4. How do certain contextual matters, namely firms’ ethical culture and personal factors influence ethical ideologies? / Chinese auditors’ beliefs about their national cultural values are measured using the Chinese Cultural Values (CVS) used in the Chinese Culture Connection (1987). Chinese auditors’ guanxi orientations are measured using a 12 item scale based on Ang and Leong’s (2000) 9 items favour-seeking guanxi scale and three items constructed by the author concerned with rent-seeking guanxi orientations. Chinese auditors’ attitudes towards money are measured using Tang and Chiu’s (2003) the Love of Money Scale (LMOS) scale. Chinese auditors’ beliefs about their firms’ ethical cultures are measured using Hunt et al.’s (1989) corporate ethical values scale. Chinese auditors’ ethical ideologies are determined by using Forsyth’s (1980) ethical position questionnaire (EPQ). Finally, Chinese auditors’ ethical judgments and intentions are measured using an auditing case study. The major statistical methods used in this study are descriptive, t-tests, correlations, and regression analysis. The following significant results are presented in this study: 1. Chinese auditors display strong views about their traditional cultural values in four of the five national dimensions, the exception being Confucian Work dynamism past orientation. Young auditors appear less concerned with Integration issues compared to their older counterparts. Again, younger and less experienced auditors display less interest in the Human-heartedness dimension compared to their older counterparts. Auditors with Masters Degrees identify less with Confucian Work dynamism future orientations when compared to those who hold a Bachelors degree. / Attitudes towards the Confucian Work dynamism dimension future orientation are found to be positively associated with Idealism, however attitudes relating to Confucian Work dynamism dimension past orientation component are found to be negatively associated with Idealism. Further, attitudes relating to Confucian Work dynamism dimension past orientation component are found to be negatively associated with Relativism. 2. Chinese auditors display significantly higher mean scores in both favour-seeking and rent-seeking guanxi orientations. Young and less experienced auditors are more likely to use rent-seeking guanxi than older and experienced auditors. Chinese auditors’ rent-seeking guanxi orientations are found to be negatively associated with Idealism and both favour-seeking and rent-seeking guanxi orientations are found to be positively associated with Relativism. 3. Chinese auditors’ attitudes towards money are high in two of the four dimensions relating to the love of money, namely the importance of money and the desire to be rich dimensions. Their attitudes towards money are significantly higher than for Hong Kong employees. Male auditors displayed significantly higher mean scores in the desire to be rich dimension than female auditors. Young auditors have significantly higher mean scores in the success and motivator dimensions compared to older auditors. Chinese auditors’ beliefs about the importance of money are found to be positively associated with Relativism. Interestingly, no association with Idealism was identified in this study. 4. Chinese auditors have stronger beliefs about their firms’ ethical cultures to compare the mid-point value but their beliefs are significantly lower than for American subjects. / Junior and senior auditors are less likely to believe their managers display unethical behavior compared to accounting firm partners. Auditors employed in work environments where punishment systems exist are likely to disclose attitudes that are positively associated with Idealism. Alternatively, auditors employed in work environments where managers are believed to display unethical behaviour are likely to disclose attitudes that are positively associated with Relativism. 5. Chinese auditors display relatively higher ethical positions (on both Idealism and Relativism) to compare the mid-point value. Males hold stronger relativist positions than females and older auditors are more idealistic than their youthful counterparts. Auditors who hold senior positions are more likely to be relativists compared to juniors. Chinese auditors’ ethical judgments are found to be positively associated with Idealism and negatively associated with Relativism. However, their ethical intentions are only found to be negatively associated with Relativism. Young auditors appear less ethical in terms of their judgments than older auditors and less experienced auditors are less intentioned compared to experienced auditors. This study contributes to our understanding of Chinese auditors’ values and their ethical ideologies and the effects these have on their ethical judgments and intentions. It is the first research to include a wide range of ethical decision-making factors within a business context in China using qualified CPAs. It is believed that valuable insights have been gained about the various cultural factors influencing ideological processes and how these flow through to the decision making level. / The study also contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing additional evidence that ethical decision making is a universal concept involving moral philosophies such as those suggested by Forsyth (1980) and Hunt and Vitell (1986) and applies in an auditing context in China. Moreover, this study develops a rent-seeking guanxi scale based on Su et al.’s (2003) classification of guanxi orientations and Ang and Leong’s (2000) guanxi scale. It contributes by providing a scale to measure the extent to which business relationships involves back door deals and power dependence. One of the significant contributions of this study is that it contributes to the construction of a meaningful measure for the guanxi scale which includes favour-seeking guanxi and specifically for the first time, rent-seeking guanxi. Thus a confirmatory analysis with an independent sample could be used in the future to re-test the guanxi scale with the two dimensions developed in this study. contributions of this study is that it contributes to the construction of a meaningful measure for the guanxi scale which includes favour-seeking guanxi and specifically for the first time, rent-seeking guanxi. Thus a confirmatory analysis with an independent sample could be used in the future to re-test the guanxi scale with the two dimensions developed in this study.

<p>Many authors (refer: Swayne and Tucker, 1973; Kahneman and Lovallo, 1994; Baron, 1998; Stewart et al., 1998; Simon et al., 1999; Simon and Houghton, 2003; Baum and Lock, 2004; Mathews, 2008) have examined the traits and skills of the entrepreneur. Others have been more interested in their behaviors (refer: Bhave, 1994; Byers et al., 1997; Sarasvathy, 2001; Shook et al., 2003; Baron, 2007; Davidsson, 2008), trying to describe the entrepreneurial processes on the initial stages of venture development. However, studies that try to define how an entrepreneur reacts when facing changes have not been found in the literature. The focus of this research is thus, to explore the attitude of the entrepreneur towards changes throughout the development of the start-up project.</p><p>The theoretical background is divided into three main parts: the entrepreneurial attitude, the attitude towards change, and the relation between perceptions of organizational climate and attitudes. The first section reviews the literature about the traits and behaviors that define an entrepreneur. The second section concentrates on research papers concerning the attitude towards change for middle managers in well-established firms. Finally, the third section, through a review of the relevant literature, emphasizes the importance of the impact of the working environment perception on people’s attitude towards work.</p><p>The approach of this qualitative study is inductive at first, but also incorporates a deductive approach during the data analysis using a grounded theory method. The data were gathered through seven semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs from Cyprus, India, Mexico, United Kingdom, and Sweden.</p><p>The outcome of the present study is a model emphasizing the main results of the research. It presents three main reasons (interest/work experience in the business area, definition of the gap in the market, and desire to create) that lead to the decision to initiate the project. The market and future perception, as they have an impact on the actual start of the process, are presented and discussed as well. Concerning the attitude towards changes occurring during the process, four different reactions have been found to be relevant (adaptation, search for assistance, determination/commitment, and passion/persistence). Furthermore, the help provided by the learning experience, the social networking, and the future planning to overcome changes were also identified. Finally, the perception by the entrepreneur of the change and the overall process are explained.</p>

This thesis examined factors affecting Chinese Canadians visitation to local parks and distant parks. These factors included environment identity, leisure attitudes, attitudes towards parks, level of acculturation and marginality. It was anticipated that these factors would positively predict Chinese Canadians visitation to parks. Convenience sampling of Chinese Canadians was conducted at three cities, Vancouver, Toronto and Edmonton. A self-completed questionnaire was used to collect data. The average response rate was 42%; 624 questionnaires were input into the data file. Passive activities characterized respondents participation in park-based activities. Lack of time was the most frequently reported constraint to visiting parks. Respondents suggestions for improving the park visitor experience included better and more accessible washrooms and parking lots, more entertainment facilities and more facilities for children. Respondents reported high levels of environmental identity, positive attitudes towards parks, and positive attitudes towards leisure, as well as moderate levels of acculturation. Results from multiple regression analysis revealed that only environmental identity positively predicted visits to local and distant parks.

In developed countries, suicidal behaviour is recognised as a significant public health problem among young people, but there are few studies from developing countries on this subject. The present thesis aims at estimating the extent of the problem and at exploring factors related to suicidal behaviour among young people in a developing country, Nicaragua, using a combined quantitative and qualitative approach. Three studies were conducted between 1999 and 2006. In the first study, all hospital admitted suicide attempt cases in the area of León were assessed over a three year period. Secondly, a qualitative study using individual in-depth interviews was conducted with eight girls aged between 12 and 19 admitted to hospital after attempting suicide. Thirdly, a study using the Attitudes Towards Suicides (ATTS) questionnaire was conducted in a community based sample of 278 young people aged 15-24 years to assess own suicidal behaviours, attitudes towards suicide as well as exposure to suicidal behaviour among significant others. The hospital surveillance showed that suicide attempt rates were highest among females in the age group 15-19 years with a female rate three times that of males (302.9 versus 98.9 per 100,000 inhabits per year). Drug intoxication and pesticides were the most commonly used methods for the attempts. A consistent seasonal variation with peaks in May-June and September-October was found in each of the three years, possibly related to exam periods in schools. Findings in the qualitative approach led to a tentative model for pathways to suicidal behaviour based on four main categories: Structuring conditions, triggering events, emotions and action taken. Dysfunctional families, lack of confidential and trustworthy contacts and interpersonal conflicts followed by emotions of shame and anger were some important components in the model. The community studies showed that suicidal expressions (life-weariness, death wishes, suicidal ideation, suicide plans and suicide attempts) were common among young people where more than 44.8% of males and 47.4% of females reported some kind of suicidal expression. Gender differences were small. Exposure to suicidal behaviour among others was associated with higher levels of self-reported suicidal behaviour. The attitude study showed that boys had less pro-preventive attitudes than girls, possibly indicating their higher risk for completed suicide. Exposure to suicidal behaviour and own suicidal behaviour showed an association with specific patterns of attitudes. The findings should be taken into consideration when planning for prevention of suicidal behaviour among young people in a developing country like Nicaragua.

Universal suffrage is a guiding principle of democracy. However, it has a long history of being selectively denied. While many of these exclusions have dissipated in twentieth century rights revolutions’, the right to vote is still widely withheld for prisoners. This paper looks at criminal disenfranchisement, its origins, development, and contemporary manifestations. Part I will discuss the history of criminal disenfranchisement to trace its development from a tool of social exclusion to a collateral consequence of criminal conviction. Part II will look at the judicial treatment of contemporary disenfranchisement laws through a selection of representative case studies. Part III will consider how the representative cases form a trend towards criminal enfranchisement, and the implications of this trend for future constitutional challenges in jurisdictions where such laws persist. This paper argues that this trend, while tangible, is tentative and its force may be strengthened through a transnational judicial dialogue.

Universal suffrage is a guiding principle of democracy. However, it has a long history of being selectively denied. While many of these exclusions have dissipated in twentieth century rights revolutions’, the right to vote is still widely withheld for prisoners. This paper looks at criminal disenfranchisement, its origins, development, and contemporary manifestations. Part I will discuss the history of criminal disenfranchisement to trace its development from a tool of social exclusion to a collateral consequence of criminal conviction. Part II will look at the judicial treatment of contemporary disenfranchisement laws through a selection of representative case studies. Part III will consider how the representative cases form a trend towards criminal enfranchisement, and the implications of this trend for future constitutional challenges in jurisdictions where such laws persist. This paper argues that this trend, while tangible, is tentative and its force may be strengthened through a transnational judicial dialogue.

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of a dynamic instructional environment (based on use of Geometer&rsquo / s Sketchpad) on 7th grade students&rsquo / understandings of lines, angles, and polygons and their retention. Besides that, the students&rsquo / attitudes towards computer instruction and its relation with students&rsquo / performance on geometry and retention were investigated. The study was carried out with 63 7th grade students from two classes taught by the same teacher in a state elementary school. One class was assigned as the experimental group (EG), the other as the control group (CG). Students in CG received the instruction on lines, angles, and polygons by the regular traditional method used at the school. In the EG, students worked on the computer activities named as &ldquo / Sketchsheets&rdquo / , prepared by the researcher, with computers provided at the computer-lab. The usage of GSP with Sketchsheets enabled students to create the shapes first and after they explored and discovered the properties of shapes and make generalisations for the development of conjectures. Geometry Performance Test (GPT) and Computer Attitude Scale (CAS) were used in this study. The GPT was administered to both groups of students as a pre-test, post-test, and a delayed post-test. CAS was administered only to the EG students as a post-test. Furthermore, interviews were carried out with three students from EG in order to get their feelings about the dynamic instructional environment. Besides that, both of these classroom and computer sessions were observed and recorded with camera. The results of t-test suggest that GPT mean scores in EG and CG did not significantly differ in pre-test, but EG achieved significantly better than the CG in post and delay-post tests. CAS mean scores and interviews showed that students had positive feelings and decisions towards computer instruction and they preferred computer instruction to traditional instruction. Furthermore, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was performed in order to investigate the relationship between GPT scores and CAS scores. From this analysis, a significant correlation was observed between the GPT scores and CAS scores. This means that the students who had positive attitudes towards computer instruction, achieved significantly better at GPT. The results of this study revealed that Geometer&rsquo / s Sketchpad for learning and teaching geometry in elementary school level is an effective tool.