9/26/12

IRS proposal


IRS  2012
      INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PROPOSAL


STUDENT NAME 

Sean Low
Ryan Choo
Emmanuel Kasman
Sunny Deshpande
SCHOOL/TEAM

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, SINGAPORE


MENTOR

Mr Ng Guo Hui

PROGRAMME/INSTITUTION

INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PROPOSAL




TITLE OF PROJECT

An investigation of the factors that result in the increase in the number if teen smokers



CATEGORY


 Environmental Science 
 Medicine & Health ( x )



 Others: Teen smokers
PURPOSE OF RESEARCH 

(a) For scientific investigations

Hypothesis / Engineering Goals : Peer pressure, Curiosity, Nicotine

Independent variable: Factors that results in teens smoking

Dependent variable: Number of teen smokers

Constants: Subject of test/ Sample size





(b) For social sciences/exploratory research

Aims of research: To find out all the causes and root causes of teen smokers so that we can prevent teen smokers by steering our campaign and educations to counter the factors of tees smoking, hopefully reducing the number of teen smokers

Subject(s) of study: Teens who do not smoke- for their hypothesis on the factors which cause teens to smoke. Smoking teens- to find out why they started smoking and what would make them quit.





RELEVANCY OF RESEARCH

  1. Why is your research important? It should help teens in the future not take up and get addicted to smoking
  2. How does it contribute to existing body of knowledge? The current body of knowledge has not gone this in depth to find out the root cause of the problem. thus, only solving part of the problem. Our research goes down deep to find out the root cause of the problem. removing the problem once and for all.
  3. How does your research contribute to/impact the society or community? It reduces the number of teen smokers, reducing the number of teens going astray.

SCOPE OF RESEARCH 

The "scope" section is where you list what you are doing. The "bounds" section is where you set the boundaries and you list some thing explicitly that you are not doing because they are outside the bounds of the project. 
Our Scope of research: 



LITERATURE REVIEW

  1. What are the current research available/ you have come across? National environment agency, ministry of health, ministry of education, Wikipedia
  2. Summarise the research articles that you have encountered which may be useful to your research
            We found out that most of the research articles that were on the net said that the causes are due to teen pressure, media, curiosity. But all of their conclusions are based on experts studies, not the teen smokers themselves.

METHODOLOGY 

Procedures
  1. How are you going to gather data? We will gather data through survey and interview from those who do not smoke and those who smoke. By finding the root cause of the of the problem, we can better focus the resources to counter the root causes. This will help prevent countless teens from going astray.
  2. How are you going to collate data? We will collate data via graphs and finding out the most common cause of them smoking. 
  3. How are you going to sift and sort data i.e. which data is important? By using graphs and sifting out the important questions and paying more attention to then answers.
  

a) We are going to gather data by asking Teens probably from the ages of 13 -18 and ask them what are the reasons why teens smoke and for the smokers we are going to ask them what are the reasons of them smoking. We are going to ask them whether they think that smoking as a teenager is acceptable.


Data Analysis
  1. How are you going to analyse the data? We will give them a questionnaire and then review the answers given by the people who we interview.
  2. How are you going to present the data? We will present the data in a graph, sorting out the common from rare answers


Bibliography
NEA Homesite:

Wikipedia



RISK ASSESSMENT

  1. List/identify the hazardous chemicals, activities, or devices that will be used.  Paper, Pencil, Clipboard.
  2. Identify and assess the risks involved. The smoking teens that we interview might be violent and injure us, but I believe that as long as we remain tactful with comments, we will be safe.

  1. Describe the safety precautions and procedures that will be used to reduce the risks. Having an adult with us.




DESIRED OUTCOMES/SKILL ACQUISITION

  1. ICT skills
  2. Applied Learning skills
  3. 21st century skills 
  4. The Scientific Method 
  5. Inter-disciplinary Research






9/12/12

IRS justification





INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH STUDIES
RESEARCH JUSTIFICATION

Research Topic: Health
Chosen Area Of Focus: Teens Smoking In Singapore

1. Framing our research topic:

Our research topic is the factors that cause teen smoking in Singapore. The reason we chose this topic is because in recent years  there has been increase in the number of Teens smoking in Singapore. Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them available for absorption through the lungs. It can also be done as a part of rituals, to induce trances and spiritual enlightenment. (Wikipedia)


Essential Questions

a. Why Do Teens Want To Smoke?
We would like to find out why teens smoke, what are the main reasons why they smoke. Is it because of the feel of it or could it because of another reason?

b. What Are The Consequences Of Teens underage Smoking? How would this affect them?
How would underage smoking affect the teens? What are the effects of smoking, what will happen to them in the future?



2.Reasons for choice of topic

We want to find out why teens are influenced into such an act. To find out the root causes of this act. By finding the root cause, we would be able to know the reasons why teens decide to do this. Knowing what the root cause is, we would be able to find ways to prevent teens from smoking.



Feasibility of the research

Feasibility studies aim to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats as presented by the environment, the resources required to carry through, and ultimately the prospects for success. Feasibility of our research is rather high, as many teenagers in schools smoke.


Accessibility of the research

- We will get the information that we need by asking people from different ages, eg. Teenagers, Young Adults, Adults and Elderly on their views about this situation.

- We will find online articles about cases that cases have happen to people and how smoking at a young age affected their life  eg. their family, friends, education...

Manageability of the research

It would be rather easy to conduct this research. But we do expect some problems along the way, such as problems conflicts among members and time management. This research provides sufficient opportunity for group work as we will need to discuss a lot of matters regarding the project e.g who will be assigned to do which part of the project. We are able to contact each other through sources like facebook, twitter, google plus, etc.


Examples of a case of teenage smoking

I began smoking as a very young teen.

I had low self-esteem and despite knowing the dangers, I started smoking to fit in. It's a common story, played out the world over. For some reason, a rolled-up paper with tobacco and nicotine inside is supposed to make you popular, or confident, or cool. It doesn't.

By the age of 15, my addiction was so strong I was smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Soon my ex-smoker parents found out (my dad once worked for the company that made Marlboro cigarettes, and each of my parents smoked between 40 and 60 a day in their early twenties!) and despite their intense disappointment, I continued. It was my rebellion, along with with alcohol, drugs, skipping school and fighting. I had so many internal issues going on, I thought acting out would distract those I loved (and myself) from them. Smoking was the main distraction though, because it soon became all I thought about, day and night.

When I was 19 years old, I was smoking up to 30 cigarettes a day at University, and with a night out, it could easily reach 40 a day. I switched to a stronger brand, yet still smoked more and was in constant pain. A University doctor told me I had the lungs of a 40-year-old smoker (own bolds) and I wasn't even 20. Yet still, the strongest part of my addiction lay within the need to feel "adult." I felt smoking made me mature. How wrong I was.

I remember moving my dormitory room around so that my bed was next to my desk. First thing in the morning, all I had to do was sit up in bed and I was at my desk with a cigarette checking out the news on the Internet. If I didn't have my cig within a moment of waking I felt the veins in my arms and legs throb -- I needed that cigarette. What a disgusting thought, but one we can all relate to, I'm sure.

My rebellion was over but I was left a heavy smoker.

I tried to quit in 2005 and lasted a week when the doctor told me how bad I might feel (I already did) from nicotine withdrawal I tried again in 2006. My second quit was unsuccessful but the best attempt so far, as I joined this wonderful forum. However, within a few weeks away from the forum I was back to 30 cigarettes a day.

As the year 2007 started, I was looking forward to turning 21. There was to be a big party thrown in my honor, I was getting set for a career, school was going better than ever and I was engaged to my wonderful girlfriend Ashley. What should have been a great time of transition ended up as a painful and demoralizing (there are no other words) period that I think will always be known as the worst months and year of my life.

I was diagnosed with testicular just before my 21st birthday.

I spent months dealing with treatment and still am, with ongoing recovery. I should stress, this was almost certainly not linked to smoking; however, cancer is cancer, no matter the cause, and it is no easier to deal with, whatever the circumstance. The negative impact of the word "cancer" feels like an immediate death sentence regardless of the cause, type or stage. It is a word that embodies death, misery, suffering and, very often, regret.

(case of a young man getting testicular cancer because of smoking)










Links




Livestrong (Sep 2, 2010) 
THE REASONS FOR TEENAGE SMOKING.


 Retrieved on 28-1-13 website

:http://www.livestrong.com/article/214124-the-reasons-for-teenage-smoking/#ixzz2JGySp7t9


Health Promotion Board

Published July 2007
Retrieved September 12 2012

Wikipedia.com
Retrieved September 12 2012

Nber Website
Retrieved September 12 2012


Written on January 20, 2008
Retrieved September 20 2012