Search results

The spread of drug use has been consistently increasing in Asia, posing a serious public health problem, especially among new addicts. In Thailand, the problem has persisted for decades leading to a consistent decline in the age of drug use initiation, making drug use an important social problem, especially among youngsters. This study aimed to examine the factors related to substance abuse risk behaviors among lower secondary school students.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire to collect the data from a sample of 624 students aged 12 through 18 years. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression to identify factors related to substance use risk behaviors.

Factors associated with drug use risk behavior were access to drugs (0.882; <0.001), which had the highest predictive power, family relationships (−0.555; <0.001), self-esteem (−0.516; <0.001) and awareness about drugs (−0.412; <0.005).

Prevention interventions that incorporate reducing access to drugs, strengthening family ties, boosting adolescents' self-esteem and increasing their awareness about drugs should be tailored to target homes, schools and communities. As the problem appears to be multidimensional, the full participation of all relevant stakeholders such as teachers, parents, religious and community leaders in the intervention programs is as essential as the interventions themselves.

To construct a scientific and reasonable indicator system, it is necessary to design a set of standardized indicator primary selection and optimization inspection process. The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical guidance and reference standards for the indicator system design process, laying a solid foundation for the application of the indicator system, by systematically exploring the expert evaluation method to optimize the index system to enhance its credibility and reliability, to improve its resolution and accuracy and reduce its objectivity and randomness.

The paper is based on system theory and statistics, and it designs the main line of “relevant theoretical analysis – identification of indicators – expert assignment and quality inspection” to achieve the design and optimization of the indicator system. First, the theoretical basis analysis, relevant factor analysis and physical process description are used to clarify the comprehensive evaluation problem and the correlation mechanism. Second, the system structure analysis, hierarchical decomposition and indicator set identification are used to complete the initial establishment of the indicator system. Third, based on expert assignment method, such as Delphi assignments, statistical analysis, t-test and non-parametric test are used to complete the expert assignment quality diagnosis of a single index, the reliability and validity test is used to perform single-index assignment correction and consistency test is used for KENDALL coordination coefficient and F-test multi-indicator expert assignment quality diagnosis.

Compared with the traditional index system construction method, the optimization process used in the study standardizes the process of index establishment, reduces subjectivity and randomness, and enhances objectivity and scientificity.

The innovation point and value of the paper are embodied in three aspects. First, the system design process of the combined indicator system, the multi-dimensional index screening and system optimization are carried out to ensure that the index system is scientific, reasonable and comprehensive. Second, the experts’ background is comprehensively evaluated. The objectivity and reliability of experts’ assignment are analyzed and improved on the basis of traditional methods. Third, aim at the quality of expert assignment, conduct t-test, non-parametric test of single index, and multi-optimal test of coordination and importance of multiple indicators, enhance experts the practicality of assignment and ensures the quality of expert assignment.

The causes of high-speed railway failures are complex, and it is difficult to quantitatively and accurately describe safety evaluation. The purpose of this paper is to construct a model to ensure the safety of high-speed railway operations.

The authors construct a high-speed railway operation safety evaluation index system from four aspects: personnel, equipment, environment and management and analyze the inter-coupling relationship of various safety factors. Based on the evaluation index system, the use of network analytic hierarchy process (ANP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation will be used to establish a high-speed railway operation safety evaluation model.

Through the literature investigation and field investigation, combined with high-speed railway safety key points and system composition, 4 first-level indicators and 17 second-level indicators were selected to construct a high-speed railway operation safety evaluation index system. It can be seen from the results that the personnel management system and the signal and control system have the largest weight.

On the basis of establishing an evaluation index system, comprehensively considering the internal coupling relationship between evaluation indexes and the fuzziness of high-speed railway operation safety evaluation, high-speed railway uses ANP fuzzy network analysis method to construct high-speed railway operation, and the safety evaluation model has certain advantages and practicability in the case of the relative lack of high-speed railway operation data and fault data.

Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs use typically increases in prevalence and frequency during middle and late adolescence. School health instruction often focusses on providing facts and rarely provides tools for addressing the psychosocial risk factors needed to prevent substance use. The purpose of this paper is to report about the effectiveness of a prevention programme delivered in US high school health classes. The intervention augments typical instruction by providing teachers with activities that can be infused in their daily teaching.

In total, 26 schools were randomly assigned to receive the intervention or serve as controls. Pupils were pretested near the beginning of the school year, posttest near the end of the school year and administered a final test near the beginning of the following school year. Teachers in treatment schools were provided with activities designed to target psychosocial variables known to mediate substance use onset and self-initiated cessation. These include normative beliefs, intentionality, lifestyle incongruence, beliefs about consequences of use, peer pressure resistance skills, decision-making skills, goal setting skills and stress management skills.

Hierarchical modelling analytic strategies revealed the intervention to have definable positive impacts on alcohol and cigarette use. Moreover, the intervention had strongest effects on alcohol and cigarette use among pupils who were identified at pretest as being lower-than-average risk.

This research provides support for providing teachers with a strategy for preventing alcohol, tobacco and other drugs that can be used in a flexible manner to augment the instruction they are already mandated to provide.