Escalating adolescent pregnancy and risky sexual behaviour is becoming more common amongst young adolescents and especially amongst black adolescents in South Africa. Statistics confirm that South African adolescents as young as fourteen are already sexually active and become pregnant. The decision to become sexually active with resulting adolescent pregnancy whether planned or not, are directl...

Adult influenza vaccination rates remain suboptimal, particularly among African Americans. Social norms may influence vaccination behavior, but little research has focused on influenza vaccine and almost no research has focused on racially-specific norms. This mixed methods investigation utilizes qualitative interviews and focus groups (n = 118) and national survey results (n = 1643) to assess ...

This study examines the ability and application of the theory of reasoned action (TRA) in explaining the use of banking system in Yemen. It investigates the impact of two theoretical variables (attitude and subjective norms), using a sample consists of university students, on individuals’ intention to use banking services. The results of the study revealed a strong predictive power of the theor...

OBJECTIVES The predictive validity of the theory of planned behaviour is well established, but much less is known about: (a) whether there are causal relationships between key components of the model and (b) how to go about changing the theory of planned behaviour variables. This study tested the ability of outcome and process simulations to change variables specified in the theory of planned b...

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Lack of familiarity with proper medication disposal options among patients can lead to personal and environmental safety concerns, besides signalling non-adherence. Given that community pharmacists are in a position to educate patients, this study assessed community pharmacists' knowledge on medication disposal and examined the utility of the theory of planned beh...

We present a model of sequential choice which explains the emergence and persistence of unpopular, inefficient behavioral norms in society. We model individuals as naı̈ve Bayesian norm followers, rational agents whose subjective expected utility is increased by adherence to an established norm. Agents use Bayesian reasoning to combine their private preferences and prior beliefs with empirical ob...

The purpose of the present study was to explore the role of an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) in predicting intentions to quit smoking among Norwegian smoking students (N=211) and Spanish students (N=205). As hypothesised, subjective norm predicted quitting intentions more strongly in Spain (a collectivistic culture) than in Norway (an individualistic culture). Group ...

Semantic Web service studies are carried out around the OWL-S, however, OWL-S model does not contain the description of preferences and constraints when we choose and use them in different organizations, different cultures, different sectors and actors because of OWL capacity limitations in rules. It means that Semantic Web service composition can not compose users’ subjective services from the...

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine the determinants of online community user participation from a social influence perspective. Design/methodology/approachBased on 450 valid responses collected from a survey questionnaire, structural equation modeling (SEM) technology was employed to examine the research model. FindingsThe results show that both social identity and group norm hav...

Despite huge environmental, economic, health, and social costs of pesticides, evidence revealed that farmers in developing countries would continue to use pesticides. The root of the problem appears to be related to the way of farmers’ decision making. As such, it is crucial for policymakers to understand how farmers think and behave with regard to these inputs. Therefore, the aim of this resea...