Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Pushy behaviour'

The aim of the current research program was to investigate the social context of escalation in response to continued pushy behaviour in the workplace. In doing so, this research program contributes to the development of communication skills by investigating the entire context of skills required for effective communication in managing everyday conflict in the workplace. The response class, Responding to continued pushy or dominating behaviour in the workplace, was selected as a vehicle for examining the context of escalation for two reasons. Firstly, this response class, by the very nature of pushy behaviour, embodies a continued interaction. In the past, assertive communication research has focused on one off responses rather than a continued interaction. Secondly, this response class has been identified in previous research as being of interest to assertiveness trainees (Cooley, 1979, Lefevre & West, 1984, Wilson & Gallios, 1993). The theoretical premise of the current research program resides in the application of Social Rules Theory to the difficult face-to-face communication situation, or response class, of responding to continued pushy behaviour in the workplace. In doing so, this approach also takes into account dialectical theory, conflict resolution theory, and the concept of response components that can be selected and/or combined in order to meet the requirements, or rules, of a specific situation. In adopting the Social Rules approach, the current research program addresses the key criticisms of the traditional approach to assertion and assertion training, namely that people behaving assertively are sometimes negatively evaluated for assertive behaviour (Wilson & Gallois, 1993); and that assertion traditionally focused on the expressiveness of a response at the unintended cost of social or contextual appropriateness (Crawford, 1988); that finding a response is assertive does not delineate which aspects of the response are producing which types of effects (Galassi, 1978; Mullinix & Galassi, 1981). Most importantly, the current research contributes to the field by examining the negative response class in terms of a response sequence of escalation, rather than a one-off response. This is new research and contributes to the field theoretically and to the conceptualisation of assertion and communication. In order to meet the goals of the current research program, the response class Responding to continued pushy behaviour in the workplace, was defined precisely in terms of the situational context. This response class implies a workplace relationship of an ongoing nature. Four other variables were involved in defining and investigating the situation. These were status, gender of message sender, gender of message receiver, and response level (initial response, first escalation or second escalation). The current program of research was carried out in a series of three related studies, and these four variables were examined in each of the three studies. The purpose of the first study was to elicit social rules and goals for interpersonally effective and appropriate escalation strategies in response to pushy dominating communication in the workplace. This study was conducted in two parts, a qualitative questionnaire completed by 20 females and 20 males, and two focus groups, one for females and one for males. Content analysis revealed a set of rules for an escalation sequence for each combination of status and gender. These rules were then operationalized, filmed and analysed in the second study. One hundred and twenty-three participants (64 females and 59 males) with work experience watched the operationalized responses and rated them on a series of seven scales. These scales were effectiveness in stopping the pushy behaviour (task effectiveness), effectiveness in maintaining the relationship (maintenance effectives), social appropriateness, interpersonal skill required, risk involved, personal difficulty in making the response, and likelihood of making the response. Analyses included descriptive statistics, which indicated that the operationalized responses were perceived to be effective and socially appropriate. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) were also conducted and revealed a number of significant interactions for each status level (manager, colleague, subordinate). The third and final study in this research program adopted a qualitative approach to examine continued pushy or dominating communication in the workplace. Eighty-two (45 female and 37 male) participants completed a qualitative questionnaire utilizing an open-ended approach. This questionnaire was designed for the purpose of the third study to elicit the typical behaviours, emotions and cognitions participants have in response to continued pushy behaviour in the workplace. Also, a data analysis process was designed specifically for the third study to provide an analytical procedure that was as systematically rigorous and replicable as possible. This process is explained in detail in Study 3. The results of the third study revealed differences between actual behaviour and rule based behaviour in response to continued pushy behaviour, namely that actual responses are more public and direct in nature, and more likely to promote destructive conflict escalation. This finding implies that typical responses are not as effective as rule based responses, highlighting the benefits of applying social rules to manage difficult face to face communication situations. In summary, the current research project utilized a multi-method approach in a series of three studies to reveal the nature of Social Rules based responses and typical responses. The results of this research program have implications for both the theory and practice of effective communication and effective communication training. Evaluation of both social rules based and typical responses have implications for communication trainees who wish to make informed choice based on a consideration of functionally effective behaviour and personal satisfaction. For example, social rules for escalation in response to continued pushy behaviour from a male manager may indicate that it is most effective for a female subordinate to acquiesce. However, the female subordinate may choose to violate social rules and risk being perceived as inappropriate and damaging the relationship, to achieve a super-ordinate goal or for personal satisfaction. Conversely, the social rules and responses developed in the current research program have implications for professional effectiveness in the workplace by providing guidelines for dealing with dominating behaviour.

The aim of the current research program was to investigate the social context of escalation in response to continued pushy behaviour in the workplace. In doing so, this research program contributes to the development of communication skills by investigating the entire context of skills required for effective communication in managing everyday conflict in the workplace. The response class, Responding to continued pushy or dominating behaviour in the workplace, was selected as a vehicle for examining the context of escalation for two reasons. Firstly, this response class, by the very nature of pushy behaviour, embodies a continued interaction. In the past, assertive communication research has focused on one off responses rather than a continued interaction. Secondly, this response class has been identified in previous research as being of interest to assertiveness trainees (Cooley, 1979, Lefevre & West, 1984, Wilson & Gallios, 1993). The theoretical premise of the current research program resides in the application of Social Rules Theory to the difficult face-to-face communication situation, or response class, of responding to continued pushy behaviour in the workplace. In doing so, this approach also takes into account dialectical theory, conflict resolution theory, and the concept of response components that can be selected and/or combined in order to meet the requirements, or rules, of a specific situation. In adopting the Social Rules approach, the current research program addresses the key criticisms of the traditional approach to assertion and assertion training, namely that people behaving assertively are sometimes negatively evaluated for assertive behaviour (Wilson & Gallois, 1993); and that assertion traditionally focused on the expressiveness of a response at the unintended cost of social or contextual appropriateness (Crawford, 1988); that finding a response is assertive does not delineate which aspects of the response are producing which types of effects (Galassi, 1978; Mullinix & Galassi, 1981). Most importantly, the current research contributes to the field by examining the negative response class in terms of a response sequence of escalation, rather than a one-off response. This is new research and contributes to the field theoretically and to the conceptualisation of assertion and communication. In order to meet the goals of the current research program, the response class Responding to continued pushy behaviour in the workplace, was defined precisely in terms of the situational context. This response class implies a workplace relationship of an ongoing nature. Four other variables were involved in defining and investigating the situation. These were status, gender of message sender, gender of message receiver, and response level (initial response, first escalation or second escalation). The current program of research was carried out in a series of three related studies, and these four variables were examined in each of the three studies. The purpose of the first study was to elicit social rules and goals for interpersonally effective and appropriate escalation strategies in response to pushy dominating communication in the workplace. This study was conducted in two parts, a qualitative questionnaire completed by 20 females and 20 males, and two focus groups, one for females and one for males. Content analysis revealed a set of rules for an escalation sequence for each combination of status and gender. These rules were then operationalized, filmed and analysed in the second study. One hundred and twenty-three participants (64 females and 59 males) with work experience watched the operationalized responses and rated them on a series of seven scales. These scales were effectiveness in stopping the pushy behaviour (task effectiveness), effectiveness in maintaining the relationship (maintenance effectives), social appropriateness, interpersonal skill required, risk involved, personal difficulty in making the response, and likelihood of making the response. Analyses included descriptive statistics, which indicated that the operationalized responses were perceived to be effective and socially appropriate. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) were also conducted and revealed a number of significant interactions for each status level (manager, colleague, subordinate). The third and final study in this research program adopted a qualitative approach to examine continued pushy or dominating communication in the workplace. Eighty-two (45 female and 37 male) participants completed a qualitative questionnaire utilizing an open-ended approach. This questionnaire was designed for the purpose of the third study to elicit the typical behaviours, emotions and cognitions participants have in response to continued pushy behaviour in the workplace. Also, a data analysis process was designed specifically for the third study to provide an analytical procedure that was as systematically rigorous and replicable as possible. This process is explained in detail in Study 3. The results of the third study revealed differences between actual behaviour and rule based behaviour in response to continued pushy behaviour, namely that actual responses are more public and direct in nature, and more likely to promote destructive conflict escalation. This finding implies that typical responses are not as effective as rule based responses, highlighting the benefits of applying social rules to manage difficult face to face communication situations. In summary, the current research project utilized a multi-method approach in a series of three studies to reveal the nature of Social Rules based responses and typical responses. The results of this research program have implications for both the theory and practice of effective communication and effective communication training. Evaluation of both social rules based and typical responses have implications for communication trainees who wish to make informed choice based on a consideration of functionally effective behaviour and personal satisfaction. For example, social rules for escalation in response to continued pushy behaviour from a male manager may indicate that it is most effective for a female subordinate to acquiesce. However, the female subordinate may choose to violate social rules and risk being perceived as inappropriate and damaging the relationship, to achieve a super-ordinate goal or for personal satisfaction. Conversely, the social rules and responses developed in the current research program have implications for professional effectiveness in the workplace by providing guidelines for dealing with dominating behaviour.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Applied Psychology (Business)
Full Text

The research presented in this thesis is to evaluate the feasibility of demountable shear connectors as an alternative to welded shear connectors in composite structures through push off tests and composite beam tests. Push off tests were conducted to examine the shear strength, stiffness and ductility of demountable shear connectors in composite structures. The experimental results showed that demountable shear connectors in composite structures have very similar shear capacity to welded shear connectors. The shear capacity was compared against the prediction methods used for the welded shear connections given in Eurocode 4 and AISC 360-10 and the methods used for bolted connections in Eurocode 3 and ACI 318-08. It was found that the AISC 360-10 and ACI 318-08 methods overestimated the shear capacity in some cases. The Eurocode method is conservative and can be utilised to predict the shear capacity of demountable connectors in composite structures. The experimental studies of two identical composite beams using demountable shear connectors and welded shear connectors showed very similar moment capacity. However, the specimen with demountable shear connectors was more ductile compared to the welded specimen. The experimental study suggests that the methods available in Eurocode 4 and BS 5950 for predicting moment capacity and mid span deflection can be adopted for composite beam with demountable shear connectors. In addition, a finite element analysis of push off test and beam test with demountable shear connectors was also conducted for parametric studies and results are used to evaluate the behaviour of composite structures.

The research presented in this thesis is to evaluate the feasibility of demountable shear connectors as an alternative to welded shear connectors in composite structures through push off tests and composite beam tests. Push off tests were conducted to examine the shear strength, stiffness and ductility of demountable shear connectors in composite structures. The experimental results showed that demountable shear connectors in composite structures have very similar shear capacity to welded shear connectors. The shear capacity was compared against the prediction methods used for the welded shear connections given in Eurocode 4 and AISC 360-10 and the methods used for bolted connections in Eurocode 3 and ACI 318-08. It was found that the AISC 360-10 and ACI 318-08 methods overestimated the shear capacity in some cases. The Eurocode method is conservative and can be utilised to predict the shear capacity of demountable connectors in composite structures. The experimental studies of two identical composite beams using demountable shear connectors and welded shear connectors showed very similar moment capacity. However, the specimen with demountable shear connectors was more ductile compared to the welded specimen. The experimental study suggests that the methods available in Eurocode 4 and BS 5950 for predicting moment capacity and mid span deflection can be adopted for composite beam with demountable shear connectors. In addition, a finite element analysis of push off test and beam test with demountable shear connectors was also conducted for parametric studies and results are used to evaluate the behaviour of composite structures.
EPSRC and the University of Bradford

The behavior and strength of welded shear studs are subjects of ongoing study. In recent years, research has shown that the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) specification equations for shear stud strength are unconservative for studs placed in deck with ribs transverse to the steel beam. Twenty-four solid slab push-out tests, 93 composite slab push-out tests, and bare stud tests were performed to study the effects on stud strength of friction, normal load, position of studs in the ribs of steel deck, concrete strength, and stud properties. Stud diameters ranged from 3/8 in. to 7/8 in., deck heights ranged from 2 in. to 6 in., and both single and pairs of studs were tested. The push-out test results from this study were combined with other studies to propose a new stud strength prediction model. Three new beam tests were performed to study the effect of the stud position in the ribs of the steel deck. The results of these tests, along with 61 other beam tests, were used to verify the new stud strength prediction model. A reliability study was performed to determine resistance factors for stud strength and beam strength.
Ph. D.

The main inquiry for this research is to identify the reasons that contribute to customer switching intention decisions. In addressing this enquiry, two theories - the theory of migration and theory of planned behaviour - were identified as the theoretical framework underpinning the study. Two main objectives of the study were (i) to identify the push-pull and mooring factors and (ii) to measure the relationship between the push-pull and mooring factors towards switching intention. The investigation focused on the impact of with push-pull-mooring factors on switching intention. Early research into switching behaviour studies focused largely on variables that contribute to the switching intention decision, mainly due to the critical incidents encountered by customers that push them from their origin or pull them to another destination or mooring factors that might inhibit or mitigate their switching decision. In view of this, a combination of push-pull and mooring variables were used to measure the switching intention behaviour. A multiple method approach was used to study the issues in two different stages. In the first stage qualitative data collection was used to support and confirm the identification of factors from the literature. For the main quantitative methods, using a hypothetical deductive testing approach, this study (N=2018) used survey data collected via a self-administered, voluntary online survey, to develop switching intention behaviour model. The results indicated that situational factors, positive attachments, perceived switching benefits, positive attitudes towards switching and positive beliefs of others towards switching emerged as consistent push factor while availability of alternatives emerged as the pull factors. Interestingly poor pricing, poor service incidents, positive ability to switch and switching barriers were not supported in this study indicating that there is no relationship between poor pricing, poor service incidents, positive ability to switch and switching barriers towards switching intention.

Mestrado em Marketing
A adoção de dispositivos móveis no mundo presenciou um aumento exponencial nos últimos anos, o que também se refletiu no número de aplicações móveis, ou apps. Muitas empresas desenvolveram suas próprias apps para exibir suas entidades de marca e começaram a usá-las como um canal de marketing direto com notificações push, mensagens exibidas no ecrã do dispositivo móvel. Esta pesquisa procura compreender a dimensão do impacto no comportamento de compra das notificações push enviadas por aplicações de marca das redes de supermercados portuguesas. Além disso visa segmentar os resultados para diferentes grupos de compradores com base em variáveis psicográficas. Esta pesquisa foi realizada adotando-se uma abordagem quantitativa e amostragem não probabilística. Com um questionário online, foram coletados de 265 respostas, que foram tratadas com procedimentos estatísticos, como análise descritiva, multivariada e de cluster. As descobertas confirmam que os clientes que receberam notificações push têm uma média superior nos gastos mensais nos supermercados, em comparação com os clientes com aplicativos de marca que não receberam nenhuma notificação push. Entretanto, esses resultados foram observados apenas nos compradores envolvidos profundamente em todos os atributos da compra e nos compradores com uma maior preocupação com os produtos. Academicamente, esta dissertação contribui para a discussão sobre notificações push como um canal de marketing direto e sobre os efeitos das características do cliente no efeito do marketing direto. Essa investigação também oferece informações para o profissional de marketing, afirmando que as notificações por push podem ser usadas para impulsionar compras offline dos usuários.
Mobile adoption has seen an exponential increase worldwide in recent years, which has also been reflected in the number of mobile applications, or apps. Many companies have developed their own apps to display their brand entities and have started using them as a direct marketing channel with push notifications, messages displayed on their mobile device screen. This research seeks to understand the extent of the impact on purchasing behavior of push notifications sent by branded applications from Portuguese supermarket chains. It also aims to segment the results to different buyer groups based on psychographic variables. This research was conducted by adopting a quantitative approach and non-probabilistic sampling. With an online questionnaire, 265 responses were collected and treated with statistical procedures such as descriptive, multivariate and cluster analysis. The findings confirm that customers who received push notifications had a higher average monthly spend in supermarkets than customers with branded apps who received no push notifications. However, these results were observed only for buyers deeply involved in all attributes of the purchase and for buyers with a greater concern for the products. Academically, this dissertation contributes to the discussion of push notifications as a direct marketing channel and the effects of customer characteristics on the effect of direct marketing. This research also provides insight to the marketer, stating that push notifications can be used to drive users' offline purchases.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This thesis takes the reader on an exploratory journey into the development of impulse purchasing behaviour stemming from the increased usage of web-connected smartphones. At an unprecedented rate, consumers are able to access businesses online, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, at their own convenience, without restrictions other than a connection to the World Wide Web. This mobile phenomenon has effectively pushed the commercial market to new boundaries and simultaneously created new possibilities for retailers to reach out to consumers by providing seamless and innovative marketing solutions on portable devices to a fast-growing market segment. This emergent technology and the trends it brings with it, demands special attention to the analysis of consumer behaviourism. As of date, academia has put relatively little emphasis on the evolution of impulse purchasing behaviour as a product of smartphone usage. In this paper, the authors investigate the attitude of local consumers towards so-called ‘push notifications’, whose purpose is to stimulate an impulsive behaviour in the smartphone user. The results of this study show that multiple factors in relation to push notifications on smartphones play an important part in shaping the attitude of consumers and furthermore can elicit impulse buying behaviour. These factors often bridge each other and are at times mutually dependent.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resource Studies, 2006.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on June 19, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 130-138). Also issued in print.

Mestrado em Marketing
A criação e organização de eventos constitui um elemento chave na estratégia de diversificação de qualquer destino turístico. Alguns eventos são, de facto, grandes catalisadores de desenvolvimento, a nível económico, social, cultural e político de um país, cidade ou região. Torna-se, pois, imprescindível para a Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) conhecer o perfil dos turistas atraídos por tais eventos e compreender as motivações turísticas inerentes à participação nos mesmos. Como tal, a presente investigação debruça-se sobre a compreensão e clarificação das razões e motivações que impelem os turistas a visitar a Ilha da Madeira no decorrer da Festa da Flor, recorrendo ao framework conceptual Push e Pull. A metodologia utilizada neste estudo foi de natureza descritiva-explanatória, tendo por base uma abordagem quantitativa, com recurso à aplicação de um inquérito por questionário a 281 turistas, nas principais avenidas da cidade do Funchal, no decorrer da Festa da Flor, edição 2019. Os resultados evidenciam que os Gestores do Destino Madeira devem dar especial atenção aos fatores motivacionais internos (push): Escape / Fuga à rotina, Relaxe, Prestígio, União Familiar, Novidade / Conhecimento e Entretenimento, e aos fatores motivacionais externos (pull): Eventos Especiais, Condições Básicas e Naturais do Destino, Gastronomia e Exploração Cultural e Histórica. Por outro lado, os resultados demonstram que o evento especial em estudo, a Festa da Flor, não é o polo de atração que desencadeia o desejo de visitar a Ilha da Madeira. É, antes, encarado como um fator suplementar, uma oferta turística complementar posta à disposição dos visitantes.
Event creation and organization are key elements in the diversification strategy of any tourist destination. Some events are indeed major catalysts for the economic, social, cultural and political development of a country, city or region. It is therefore essential for the Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) to know the profile of tourists attracted by such events and to understand the tourist motivations inherent in their participation. As such, this research focuses on understanding and clarifying the reasons and motivations that drive tourists to visit Madeira Island during the Flower Festival, using the Push and Pull conceptual framework. The methodology used in this study was descriptive and explanatory, based on a quantitative approach, using a questionnaire survey to 281 tourists, in the main avenues of Funchal, during the Festa da Flor, 2019 edition. The results show that the Destination Managers of Madeira should pay particular attention to the internal motivational factors (push): Escape / Routine Escape, Relax, Prestige, Family Union, Novelty / Knowledge and Entertainment, and the external motivational factors (pull): Special Events, Basic and Natural Destination Conditions, Gastronomy and Cultural and Historical Exploration. On the other hand, the results show that the special event under study, the Flower Festival, is not the attraction that triggers the desire to visit the island. Rather, it is seen as a supplementary factor, a complementary tourism offer made available to visitors.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

A helpful tool in forming, breaking, and maintaining habits and behaviors is a digital behavior change intervention (DBCI). These are interventions that leverage digital technologies to help their users to either take on or avoid certain behaviors. A common problem is a lack of user engagement with the interventions’ content, which is key for its effectiveness. It has however been shown that gamified content and using prompts—such as push notifications—may have the effect of increasing user engagement, for both DBCIs and other applications. Furthermore, two commonly occurring game concepts are competition and cooperation, each with different influences on engagement which in turn may vary depending on the context and the user. Therefore, this thesis set out to examine how push notifications can be used to increase user engagement with a gamified DBCI by making its gamified elements more salient. Additionally, it will investigate if there is any difference in influence on engagement of notifications that either promote competition or cooperation. This was evaluated by deploying two different push notification strategies on Deedster—a gamified mobile DBCI with the aim to get its users to reduce their personal CO2-emissions—and tracking user behavior. The results of the evaluation showed that users who received push notifications were more engaged—started more sessions and spent more time—with the application than users who did not receive any. They also performed a significantly higher amount of target behaviors. There was no difference in the influence on performed target behaviors between the notifications promoting competition or cooperation, and only one significant difference—usage of intervention features—regarding user engagement. The gender of the user was also found to be a considerable factor in the influence of the push notifications. Competition increased engagement more than cooperation for male users, but not for female users.
Ett effektivt verktyg för att forma, bryta eller bibehålla vanor och beteenden är en så kallad digital beteendeförändrings-intervention (eng. digital behavior change intervention eller DBCI). Dessa interventioner använder digital teknik för att hjälpa deras användare att antingen påbörja eller undvika särskilda beteenden. Ett vanligt problem med dessa är att användarna ofta inte är särskilt engagerade i interventionernas innehåll eller funktioner, vilket är viktigt för deras effektivitet. Emellertid har det visats att spelifierat innehåll och användandet av notiser—såsom push-notiser—kan ha en ökande effekt på engagemanget. Två vanligt förekommande spelkoncept är tävling och samarbete, båda med sina olika effekter på engagemang vilket också skiftar beroende på kontexten och användaren. Därför ska detta examensarbete undersöka hur push-notiser kan användas för att öka användar-engagemanget i en spelifierad och mobil beteendeförändrings-intervention genom att göra dess spelifierade element mer framträdande. Dessutom kommer det även undersökas om det är någon skillnad i effekt mellan notiser som antingen främjar tävling eller samarbete. Detta var utvärderat genom att använda två olika push-notis-strategier på Deedster—en spelifierad, mobil intervention som syftar till att minska dess användares CO2-utsläpp—och sedan följa användarnas beteende. Resultaten visade att användare som fick push-notiser var mer engagerade—startade mer sessioner och spenderade mer tid—inom applikationen jämfört med användare som inte fick några notiser. De utförde också signifikant fler önskade beteenden. Det var ingen skillnad i effekt på antalet önskade beteende utförda mellan att främja tävling eller samarbete och endast några få skillnader i engagemang. Dock visade det sig att användarens kön var en betydande faktor i effekten av notiserna. Notiserna som främjade tävling var mer effektiva för manliga användare jämfört med de som främjade samarbete. Denna effekt syntes inte bland kvinnliga användare.
Designing digital technologies for supporting energy-related behavior change in the kitchen

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of what makes Swedish millennials follow and unfollow influencers on Instagram.   Metod: This study had a deductive and qualitative approach and has collected data through twelve semi-structured interviews.   Conclusion: This study concludes that millennials mainly follow influencers on Instagram to get inspiration for their own lives. One of the most common reasons why millennials are unfollowing influncers on Instagram is that influencers tend to publish too much content, which leads to information overload. Millennials also unfollow influencers due to the fact that their posts no longer appeal to them because they changed preferences or because influencers shift the focus of their content. This study also concluded that there is nothing that inhibits a millennial from unfollowing an influencer on Instagram other than the fact that it takes a little bit of effort to visit the account and press the unfollow button.
Syfte: Syftet är att öka förståelsen för vad som får svenska millennials att följa respektive avfölja influencers påInstagram. Metod: Den här studien har haft en deduktiv och kvalitativ karaktär och har samlat in data genom tolv semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Slutsats: Den här studien drar slutsatsen av att millennials främst följer influencers på Instagram för att få inspiration till sina egna liv. En av de vanligaste orsakernatill att millennials avföljer influncers på Instagram äratt influencerstenderar att publicera för mycket inlägg vilket leder till en informationsöverbelastning.Millennials avföljer också influencers för att deras inlägg inte längre tilltalar dem på grund av att de bytt preferenser eller att influencers bytt inriktning på sitt innehåll. Den här studien drar också slutsatsen att det finns egentligen inget som hämmar en millennial från att avfölja en influencer på Instagram annat än att de upplever det som tids-och energikrävande att gå in och avfölja.

This research explores and examines the factors that influence customers’ attitude and intention towards switching in the energy (gas and electricity) markets in Western Australia (WA). It integrates push–pull theory (PPT) and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to understand what influences potential customers’ intention to switch electricity suppliers if the WA market were to be deregulated. A two-phase, mixed methods, sequential exploratory approach was adopted. In the first phase, a qualitative study was conducted through focus group sessions using semi-structured interview questions. Five focus group sessions were conducted face-to-face. The data collected through focus group sessions were analysed through thematic analysis. Four major categories of factors were identified: (1) good experiences, which may make customers stay with their current service provider; (2) poor experiences, which may cause customers to switch from their current service providers; (3) factors causing switching (e.g., better options offered by a competitor); and (4) factors that prevent people from switching (e.g., switching costs and consumer inertia). These themes were combined with those themes from the literature review to develop a conceptual framework as a basis for model testing in the quantitative phase of the research. A self-administered survey instrument was administered, and 405 responses were collected from a Qualtrics panel of WA gas and electricity consumers. The data were tested with partial least squares structural equation modelling. The analysis found that the push and pull factors in the energy markets have positive (except for perceived relative price) and significant effects on attitude towards switching, and on switching intention through attitude towards switching. However, the direct effect of push and pull factors on switching intention was not strong and included non-significant relationships of positive past switching experience and negative customer-based reputation of a service provider on switching intention. The strongest impact on switching intention was from attitude towards switching, which was a mediator. Stronger effects of subjective norms on attitude towards switching were found, while its effect on switching intention was not much stronger, even though it was significant. Finally, the impact of perceived behavioural control on switching intention was not supported by the results. Overall, the study contributes to existing body of knowledge by revealing a more nuanced picture of relationships that exist between push (perceived relative price, positive past switching experience, negative customer-based reputation of a service provider) and pull (positive electronic word-of-mouth, positive customer-based reputation of a service provider) factors. It also offers implications for managers, energy retailers and regulators in terms of serving customers better if the WA electricity market were to be deregulated in the future. However, this research has limitations. For instance, as the population for this study consisted of gas and electricity consumers in Western Australia, generalisability of this research is limited. Nevertheless, the research also offers directions for future research. As the research is conducted in a specific geographical context, the framework of this research can be used in other geographical settings to test the relevance and effectiveness of the model. In addition, since the current framework focuses on “mediation”, future research should investigate the impact of “moderators”, which might increase the predictive power of the model.

During the recession period of 2008/2009, global tourism declined by 8%. This was also evident is South Africa with the domestic travel market shrinking by 8% as well. However, this did not apply to the Kruger National Park (KNP) which experienced a sustained Accommodation Unit Occupancy growth of 1.6% during the same period. Visitors to the KNP thus see it as an attractive holiday destination irrespective of tough economic conditions characterised by less disposable income. To sustain this growth, it is important to be aware of the reasons visitors still visit the KNP during a recession. The aim of this study was to determine the reasons why visitors still travelled to the KNP during the 2008/2009 recession. This can be done by analysing the visitors’ behaviour and the motivational factors (internal feelings of the visitors) and determinants of the demand (income and exchange rates for instance) that influenced visitors’ choice to visit the KNP. To achieve this aim, a survey was conducted at the KNP between 15 and 20 December 2009 (high season). A total of 355 questionnaires were completed, after which a number of analyses were done to determine the effects of the recession on travel behaviour. For the purpose of this study, two articles were written. Article 1 is titled: “Motivations of visitors to the Kruger National Park during the 2008/2009 recession period”. The aim of this article was to determine the motivations of visitors to the KNP during the recession. A factor analysis on the motivations to visit the park was conducted, of which the following factors obtained the highest mean values: Escape, Wildlife experience and Family benefits. Push factors to the KNP were important to such an extent that visitors regarded visiting the park as a primary need or lifestyle. The results furthermore showed that visitors might have adapted their spending behaviour at the park to still afford to visit the park during the recession. This article provides a better understanding of visitors’ feelings towards the KNP, especially amidst recessions which, in turn, will improve niche marketing and a competitive advantage. Article 2 is titled: “Factors that influenced demand to the Kruger National Park during the 2008/2009 economic recession”. The aim of this article was to identify the determinants that influence the demand for visits to the KNP. Due to the homogeneous nature of the park’s market, the results of the stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed a few socio-demographic and behavioural determinants that influenced visitors’ demand to the park. The motives Escape and Souvenirs were the only two behavioural determinants while the provinces Gauteng and Mpumalanga were the only socio-demographic determinants. These two provinces are the two main markets for the KNP. Visitors indicated that visiting the KNP is a great way of escaping their busy metropolitan areas, especially in the Gauteng province. Mpumalanga residents have many tourism attractions in their province thus lowering the chances that they will visit the KNP. The determinant Souvenirs indicates that visitors adapted their spending at the park to still be able to afford visits. It was also found that demand to visit the park was not greatly influenced by the recession, because visitors could adapt their spending at the park. This is the first time the determinants of demand to a national park during a recession period have been conducted. The study indicated that visiting natural areas may have become a primary need or part of a lifestyle, especially during the 2008/2009 recession period. This article gives park management guidelines that will ensure the sustainability of the KNP because this information now allows for well-planned, thorough marketing and management of the park. In the case of KNP, which has a homogeneous market, the number of determinants identified influencing demand for visiting the park is fewer than has been found in other studies done on heterogeneous markets. This study therefore also makes a valuable methodological contribution in relation to analysing demand of homogeneous and heterogeneous markets.
Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Under de senaste åren har det blivit allt vanligare för konsumenter att använda sig av sociala medier, främst inom turismindustrin. Det är vanligt för konsumenter att idag stöta på nya destinationer och att viljan av att resa uppstår genom sociala medier. Denna studie handlar om att få en djupare förståelse av hur destinationsmarknadsföring tolkas av konsumenter. För att uppnå syfte har dessa två frågeställningar formulerats, Hur möts konsumenterna av destinationsmarknadsföring på sociala medier? och Vilket inflytande påstår konsumenterna att destinationsmarknadsföring inom sociala medier har på deras köpbeslut av destination?. Den empiriska materialinsamlingen har tagits fram genom att genomföra 20 kvalitativa intervjuer på konsumenter. Valet av att genomföra intervjuerna på konsumenter var för att få konsumenternas perspektiv av det valda forskningsområdet. För att analysera den empiriska materialinsamlingen har studien utgått ifrån fem teorier, Social media marketing, Konsumentens beslutsprocess, WOM och eWOM, Personliga egenskapers påverkan på konsumenternas köpbeteende och Push- och Pull faktorer. Studien har kommit fram till att konsumenter ofta möts av destinationsmarknadsföring i sin vardag på sociala medier. Samt att mötet även har ett stort inflytande på konsumenternas köpbeslut, då viljan av att resa uppkommer och beslutet av destination tas.
Over recent years it has become increasingly common for the general populous to use social media, especially for companies and consumers in the tourism industry. This affects the way potential consumers learn about new destinations and also influences their opinions on said places. The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how destination marketing is interpreted by consumers. In order to achieve this, two questions needed to be answered: How do consumers come across destination marketing on social media? and In what way do consumers feel destination marketing impacts their purchasing decisions? Interviews were conducted with 20 consumers to obtain qualitative data in order to gain an insight on the consumers perspective. Empirical data was analyzed using five different theories: Social Media Marketing, The Buyer Decision Process, WOM and eWOM, Personal Characteristics Affecting Consumers Behavior and Push- and Pull Factors. This study shows that consumers encounter destination marketing on social media often and also that destination marketing has a significant influence on consumers purchasing decisions as it encourages travel and allows selection of destination.

Yes
The notion of educating the public through generic healthy eating messages has pervaded dietary health promotion efforts over the years and continues to do so through various media, despite little evidence for any enduring impact upon eating behaviour. There is growing evidence, however, that tailored interventions such as those that could be delivered online can be effective in bringing about healthy dietary behaviour change. The present paper brings together evidence from qualitative and quantitative studies that have considered the public perspective of genomics, nutrigenomics and personalised nutrition, including those conducted as part of the EU-funded Food4Me project. Such studies have consistently indicated that although the public hold positive views about nutrigenomics and personalised nutrition, they have reservations about the service providers’ ability to ensure the secure handling of health data. Technological innovation has driven the concept of personalised nutrition forward and now a further technological leap is required to ensure the privacy of online service delivery systems and to protect data gathered in the process of designing personalised nutrition therapies.

In the war to win the consumer’s attention traditional media is steadily losing ground to new media platforms; which are distributed and consumed digitally, are ubiquitous with the explosive uptake of smart internet connected devices and provide interconnections amongst platforms, devices and even consumers. New media is changing the balance of power in the media landscape from media businesses to media consumers, who now have unlimited choices available to them from which they can decide on what, when, where and how to consume content. So from the traditional outlook of ―mass media‖ there is a transition happening towards ―my media‖ which provide personalised experiences to consumers. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the discussion on how consumer control is changing the media landscape by applying the dichotomy of push vs. pull in media consumption. The study sought to explore if with increasing consumer empowerment, the consumer instead of passively relying on content push from media businesses is now actively pulling content to fulfil his/her individual needs. The study was qualitative and exploratory in nature and utilised in depth and semi structured interviews of media consumers and experts to understand in how the role of the consumer is changing in the media landscape, the factors influencing the change, how the empowered consumer is effecting changes in the way he/she consumes content and media business response to the empowered consumer The study empirically established that consumer control is definitely on the rise in media consumption with consumers preferring to pull content as per their liking. Furthermore it was empirically validated that consumers from lower income levels were as much in control and pulling content as consumers from higher income levels which is a significant departure from the literature. The study also found that even though media businesses acknowledge consumer control in media consumption their response to it is applying certain tactics without any accompanying change in strategies and business models. The study recommended that for media businesses to stay relevant in the age of consumer control and the accompanying content pull; they need to be more customer centric in their approach where they design their strategies and business models by being consumer focussed and trying to fulfil their needs.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014.
zkgibs2015
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted

碩士
國立中正大學
電機工程研究所
104
Three frequency triplers based on triple-push ring oscillator were investigated, two of them function as injection-locked just by dual signals in differential. Among the study of injection-locked, the first design by UMC 0.18 μm CMOS process employs an active baluns input. It behaves with locking-range from 44.4 GHz to 46.2 GHz as the injection signal strength being 5 dBm, and the third harmonic output power is -25 dBm, but the harmonic suppression just only 10 dBc lower. When the injection signal strength up to 15 dBm, the locking-range becomes from 44.4 GHz to 47.1 GHz. The third harmonic output power is about -20 dBm, and the harmonic suppression effect is up to 20 dBc. The shortage of this circuit is higher injection strength required and poor harmonic suppression. In order to achieve a higher harmonic suppression, a Wilkinson combining structure was employed in the other two design cases with TSMC 0.18 μm CMOS process, The harmonic suppression could be 25 dBc as the output power being -16.8 dBm at 26GHz without injection locking applied.

This article reviews the design and behaviour of composite beams with precast hollow core slabs in multi-storey buildings for gravity loading. A brief history of composite construction and introduction to precast¿composite construction is given, followed by an overview of recent research work on various factors affecting the design. This includes the push-off test procedure, the load¿slip characteristic of the headed shear studs and the design procedures for this type of construction. Finite element modelling of the headed stud shear connectors and the composite beams with precast hollow core slabs are presented. Finally, recommendations and future research work is also suggested.

碩士
國立東華大學
觀光暨休閒遊憩學系
102
The study examines the influences of push and full　factors on international birdwatchers’ travel behaviors. Through snowball sampling and purposive sampling, 257 international birdwatchers were invited to complete an online or a pencil-and-paper self-administered questionnaire, which was designed to assess their reasons for international birding trip (push factors) and the importance of the destination attributes (pull factors). The survey was carried out from March to July, 2013. Results were then analyzed with factor analysis. The results of factor analysis identified four push factor constructs and four pull factor constructs. The importance of push factors are “bird-watching”, “spiritual refresh”, “novelty”, and “achievement”. And the importance of pull factors are “avian resource”, “guide’s professional”, “recreation environment”, and “culture”. With ANOVA analysis, variables such as gender, age, marital status, education level, annual household income, nationality, residency, and level of proficiency, have found distinct impacts on the push and pull factors. The study provides the government, travel operators, and birding clubs, insights in designing international bird-watching tour products.

Cast-in-place concrete in composite with steel sections is commonly used in bridge deck constructions. The shear transfer between the concrete and steel section is achieved by shear connectors and the strength calculation of conventional shear connectors, i.e. shear studs, is provided in various design codes in North America. Due to the fact that the strength equation is largely based on experimental results, the applicability of the equation is only warranted where the design matches the experimental configuration of the test specimens. Thus, the codes specify detailing requirement for the stud height and the elevation of the reinforcement mesh in relation to the stud height. However, these requirements, in particular, the elevation of the reinforcement mesh, may be difficult to meet accurately in construction practice. The implications of not meeting the mesh requirement to the strength of the shear stud and the remedy solutions are examined in this study. An experimental program involving the test of thirty-three push-out specimens was designed and conducted with a focus on the shear studs' performance. Testing parameters included reinforcement mesh position, shear stud height, presence of stud head, shear stud spacing, and steel flange surface treatment. In addition, the performance of a new type of shear studs, referred to as adjustable studs, was also studied experimentally. The ultimate load and load vs. slip curves were presented and discussed in the forms of tables and graphs. The failure modes were noted and the relationship between the failure modes and the ultimate capacity was discussed. Ultimate loads obtained from specimens were then used to assess the efficacy of code suggested values. Results showed that depending on the elevation of reinforcement mesh, three failure modes were observed including concrete related failure, combined concrete failure and bent studs and stud shear-off from the steel flange. The elevation of the reinforcement mesh had a significant effect on the ultimate load of the specimen. As the mesh elevation increased from intercepting the stud to being in flush with the top of the stud to above the stud, the ultimate load decreased. Specimens with unheaded shear studs had lower ultimate load than specimens with headed shear studs. Flange treatment had an impact on the ultimate load, where the coating on flanges resulted in a decrease in the ultimate load. Test results also showed that the close placement of the shear studs result in a reduction on the ultimate load when the other parameters were kept the same. In the comparison between conventional and adjustable shear studs, specimens with adjustable studs shared similar failure mode to those with conventional studs, but attained on average lower load capacity. The comparison with the code suggested values showed that the code suggested value is only ensured when double-layer reinforcement mesh is used and placed at code specified elevation. A single layer mesh intercepting the studs resulted in the ultimate load slightly lower than the code value. The code values for adjustable studs are markedly higher than the experimental value, which raises the question whether the code equation for conventional studs is directly transferrable to adjustable studs.

No
This paper presents the experimental and numerical investigation into the behaviour of headed shear studs in composite beams with profiled metal deck flooring. A new single-sided horizontal push test arrangement is proposed to evaluate the shear capacity of the headed shear connectors in pairs with metal deck profiled sheeting. The characteristic resistance obtained from the horizontal push test is compared with Eurocode 4. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed using general purpose finite element program ABAQUS/Explicit. The shear connector capacity, load-slip behaviour and failure modes are validated against experimental results and close correlations were obtained.

The main objective of this study is to build a conceptual model and to investigate the relationship among push-pull factors, flow experience and destination loyalty. Flow functioned as the mediator between push-pull factors and destination loyalty, revealed the tourist behavior from a psychological side. The results of empirical study indicated that there is a positive relation between flow and destination loyalty. Various factors of push and pull factors also showed different relationship with flow as well. This finding revealed the reliability of using flow to understand tourism content. It not only contributed to the managerial aspect for understanding the customers in a more psychological aspect but also contributed to the limited literature in related field.
O principal objectivo deste estudo é o de testar um modelo conceptual e investigar a relação entre os factores de pressão-atração (push & pull), a experiência de flow e a lealdade a um destino turístico. O flow operou como uma mediadora entre os fatores de pressão-atração, e mostrou o comportamento do turista de uma perspectiva psicológica. Os resultados do estudo empírico mostram uma relação positiva entre o flow e a lealdade ao destino. Vários fatores de pressão-atração também se mostraram diferencialmente associados ao flow. Este resultado evidenciou a utilidade de se considerar o flow cpara compreender o comportamento de tourismo. Não apenas é útil do ponto de vista gestionário para compreender os consumidores de um ponto de vista psicológico, como também acrescentam do ponto de vista teórico ao corpo de conhecimento relacionado.

碩士
國立臺灣科技大學
企業管理系
107
Air pollution is becoming increasingly serious. About 6.5 million people in the world die of air pollution each year, making it the fourth largest cause of death in the world. Air pollution also creates economic losses, which are estimated to be as high as 500 million U.S. dollars. In order to mitigate the harm caused by air pollution, countries have successively formulated emission policies in industry or transportation. For example, Germany and Netherlands will ban fuel vehicles on the road in 2030. Taiwan also announced that it will completely ban the sale of fuel vehicles in 2035. Under the dual factors of environment and policy, this study explored the establishment of a public scooter system and expanded the using range of ubike to reduce the people's willingness to use traditional fuel-powered scooter. Therefore, from the perspective of the traditional scooter users, discuss its willingness to switch public scooter with the PPM theory. The results show that the traditional scooter users' willingness to switch will not only be affected by physical factors such as the environmental attributes of the scooter and the battery life, but also be affected by the recommendation of their relatives and friends and the symbolism of the product.

碩士
國立臺灣科技大學
企業管理系
107
Along with the development of e-commerce, it has changed consumers’ shopping and purchasing behaviors from the use of the one, traditional channel– physical stores–to multiple channels. Consumer purchasing behaviors have become more complicated. It is difficult to have a single path to describe the consumer shopping behavior. The push-pull-mooring model (PPM) was applied in this study to investigate consumer channel switching behavior related to online channel and offline channel. And whether the use of mobile phones will affect the operation of physical stores. Structural equation modeling was adopted for quantitative analysis and hypotheses testing. The results indicated that push, pull and mooring effects have direct impacts on switching intention. But pull effects and mooring effects have stronger impact on switching intentions than push effects. In addition, the confirmation of mobile phone behavior and the attitude of assisted shopping all have a varying degree of switching behavior. Both the online and offline channels have their own advantages and disadvantages. As consumers’ in-store mobile usage increases, mobile devices can help consumers to combine the benefits of offline and online channel shopping environment. From the managerial perspective, the most important thing is to integrate the multichannel to create a more convenient and quality shopping environment for consumers.

碩士
朝陽大學
工業工程與管理研究所
86
Very often in a manufacturing plant, an important job order must be processed with higher priority than other regular jobs. It will cause the production schedule change as well as the lead- time. This will affect the customer satisfaction and the business income. Therefore, it is vital for management to understand the impact on production performance of these emergent order. This thesis is to make a simulated comparison between MRP （push）and JIT（pull）system while they face emergency orders to understand their transient response towards the unexpected events. The during of the transient response will affect the level of customer service. Three segments can be divided for the response. The first segment(t1) is the response delay time between starting the emergent order and finishing of the first such processing. The second segment(t2)is the processing cycle time for the emergent order.t1 + t2 is the total processing time for the emergent order, i.e. the level of customer satisfaction. The third segment (t3 ) is the time for the system recover to steady state：it is the procedure for the delayed regular order. After the analysis, we found that the “pull” system takes more time than the “push” system in the initial response delay time while they face the emergent order. The total finished time for the emergent order, these two systems are nearly the same. It means that whichever you take does not make quite difference towards the customer service field. The distribution method will affect the duration for the system recover to steady state, the duration of pull system will be shorter while we utilize the exponential distribution of mean arrival rate and the mean service rate. While using normal distribution method the “push” system will be faster.

碩士
建國科技大學
服務與科技管理研究所
107
Mobile payment is a popular issue in global e-commence. It is also a important tool to fulfill the global e-trend and the online business. In the changing of consumer behavior, life behavior is also changed. The goal of this syudy is to understand consumers’ mobile payment behavior by using the Push-Pull-Mooring Model. The effects that influencing adopting behavior towards the mobile payment are discussed. The analysis tool is using survey analysis with PLS-SEM method. Results show that the push factos (quality and trust), effects perceived price positively. Therefore, consumers think the current payment system is better. Mobile payment companies should emphasis the product quality and cyber security to convince consumer switching to mobile payment. The push factors (peer influence and alternative attractiveness) effects previous switching behavior positively. Industries can adopt eWOM via the social network to make consumers know benefits of mobile payment for early adopter. The perceived price effects switching intention negatively. The promotion strategies can attract consumers using the mobile payment. The previous switching behavior effects switching intention positively. Industries need target the earlier adopters first to use the mobile payment.

This dissertation consists of three independent essays. The first essay, “Long Waves and Short Cycles in a Model of Endogenous Financial Fragility,” presents a stock flow consistent macroeconomic model in which financial fragility in firm and household sectors evolves endogenously through the interaction between real and financial sectors. Changes in firms’ and households’ financial practices produce long waves. The Hopf bifurcation theorem is applied to clarify the conditions for the existence of limit cycles, and simulations illustrate stable limit cycles. The long waves are characterized by periodic economic crises following long expansions. Short cycles, generated by the interaction between effective demand and labor market dynamics, fluctuate around the long waves. The second essay,“Macroeconomic Implications of Financialization,” examines macroeconomic effects of changes in firms’ financial behavior (retention policy, equity financing, debt financing), and household saving and portfolio decisions using models that pay explicit attention to financial stock-flow relations. Unlike the first essay, the second essay focuses on the effects of financial change on steady growth path. The results are insensitive to the precise specification of household saving behavior but depend critically on the labor market assumptions (labor-constrained vs dual) and the specification of the investment function (Harrodian vs stagnationist). The last essay, “Finance, Sectoral Structure and the Big Push,” studies the role of finance in the presence of investment complementarities using a big push model. Due to complementarities between different investment projects, simultaneous industrialization of many sectors (big push) may be needed for an underdeveloped economy to escape from an underdevelopment trap. Such simultaneous industrialization requires costly coordination by a third party, such as the government. Some recent papers show that private banks with significant market power may also solve the problem of coordination failure. We show that private coordination may not work since even large private banks may find it more profitable to finance firms in the traditional sector than in the modern sector.

This paper presents a numerical investigation into the behaviour of headed shear stud in composite beams with profiled metal decking. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed using general purpose finite element program ABAQUS to study the behaviour of through-deck welded shear stud in the composite slabs with trapezoidal deck ribs oriented perpendicular to the beam. Both static and dynamic procedures were investigated using Drucker Prager model and Concrete Damaged Plasticity model respectively. In the dynamic procedure using ABAQUS/Explicit, the push test specimens were loaded slowly to eliminate significant inertia effects to obtain a static solution. The capacity of shear connector, load-slip behaviour and failure modes were predicted and validated against experimental results. The delamination of the profiled decking from concrete slab was captured in the numerical analysis which was observed in the experiments. ABAQUS/Explicit was found to be particularly suitable for modelling post-failure behaviour and the contact interaction between profiled decking and concrete slabs. It is concluded that this model represents the true behaviour of the headed shear stud in composite beams with profiled decking in terms of the shear connection capacity, load-slip behaviour and failure modes.

碩士
建國科技大學
服務與科技管理研究所
106
The development of self-service technologies (SSTs) has significantly changed interactions between customers and enterprises. Similarly, traditional service is gradually being replaced. Self-service laundry, self-service refueling, self-service car washes, self-service tickets, self-checkout shops, and even Q-shops have appeared one after another. Self-service not only has become a new trend but has also resulted in a revolution in traditional consumption patterns and service modes. Why do people continue to use self-service stores? Is it due to the pushing force or the pulling force that they switch from a traditional shop to a self-service store? Or is it due to planned behavior, which is determined by attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control? This study integrates Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior and Moon’s (1995) push-pull-mooring theory and discusses which factors influence the continuance intention toward self-service stores. Data were collected from 231 consumers who used self-service car washes and were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results of this study show that (1) attitude is the most important factor which affects the behavioral intentions for consumers’ continuous use of self-service stores, followed by fun, habit, perceived behavioral control, and personal innovativeness, in order of importance. (2) Subjective norms, low user satisfaction, perceived ease of use, and cost savings do not affect the continuance intention to use self-service stores. Based on the findings, implications for theory and practice are proposed.

碩士
國立彰化師範大學
資訊管理學系所
101
Personality traits that affect the motivation of a key factor in today's Internet development, Internet entrepreneurial has become increasingly prosperous, the market potential. In this study, according to the scholars Costa and McCrae(1986) the classification of the five personality traits and scholar Benjamin and Philip(1986) will be classified as a Push entrepreneurial motivation and Pull motivation two categories, for studying personality traits will affect the Information Management the student motivation and its entrepreneurial Push motivation, and explore entrepreneurial Push&;Pull motivation will affect student entrepreneurial behavior for the future Internet make predictions. In this study, 400 valid questionnaires were collected, the use of reliability analysis, validity analysis, factor analysis, and other related statistical methods for data analysis. The results showed that the five personality traits extraversion personality students have Push motivation for entrepreneurship significant impact, while the more Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Openness to Experience to students learning personality motives for which there has no significant on entrepreneurial Push effect. Also in the entrepreneurial Pull motivation, has five personality traits Agreeableness, Extraversion, Openness to Experience to learning personality of students rally for their entrepreneurial Pull motivation has a significant impact. And the more Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability of the students their entrepreneurial Pull motivation has no significant impact. Finally entrepreneurial Pull motivations and Push motivations on domestic students studying the future of Information Management will conduct Internet entrepreneurial behavior has a significant impact.

碩士
南華大學
管理研究所
91
Taiwan Armed Forces comply with the trend of globalization and knowledgeable economy, aggressively conduct Defensive Organization Reconstruction, Air Force will continue to develop its reorganization mission on the basis of the policy. The study mainly focus on how to promote Air Force Combined Logistic Integrated Power in the process of down-played and up-graded manpower programs, and analyzes the effects of high-ranking officer conduct on executing ISO-9000 and In-put TQM, expect to build-up high quality new generation logistic management systems. 　 　　The study adopted questionnaires to get the real answer from the directors of logistics unit in the southern of Taiwan. 300 packages of questionnaires are mailed, and 295 of them are received, deleting invalid 31 ones. The total effective numbers of packages of questionnaires are 264, and returning answer rate is 88%. The study is three types of hypotheses: First, correlation of individual differences in targeted variables; Second, inter-relatedness among targeted variables; Third, canonical correlation among quality targeted variables; Fourth, influences among targeted variables. Statistical analysis for collected data include reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, factor analysis, correlative and regressive analysis. 　 1. The major finding of the current study includes: (1)Differences in targeted variables a. Leading conduct, organization evolution, executing ISO 9000 key successful factor part of them are significantly different related to the Individual difference in targeted variables. b. Individual difference in targeted variables and organization culture, In-put TQM executive appliance are not significantly different. (2)Inter-relatedness among targeted variables: a. Different culture, organization evolution sense and executing ISO 9000 key successful factor are not significantly related to the types of different leading conduct. b. Organization evolution sense and In-put TQM executive appliance part of them are significantly related to different organization culture. c. Executing ISO 9000 key successful factor and In-put TQM executive appliance part of them are significantly related to organization evolution sense. d. Part of executing ISO 9000 key successful factor are significantly related to In-put TQM executive appliance (3) Canonical correlation among quality targeted variables: Part of executing ISO 9000 key successful factor are significantly canonical correlation to in-put TQM executive appliance (4)Influences among targeted variables: Difference in leading conduct, organization culture, organization evolution sense and executing ISO 9000 key successful factor part of them are significantly related to In-put TQM executive appliance. 　 2. The above conclusion will provide to Air Force in reference to logistics organization development and future study. 　 Key Word：Leader behavior、Organization culture、Organization evolution、ISO 9000、TQM

O objetivo central do nosso estudo é compreender as principais motivações push & pull dos indivíduos seniores, em contexto de viagem para as cidades, e de que forma essa motivação possa contribuir para a construção da “marca cidade”. Sabendo que o envelhecimento da população mundial é uma tendência irreversível na conjuntura mundial, considerando a crescente importância do segmento sénior no turismo, pela disponibilidade financeira e de tempos livres, para a economia dos países, das regiões e das cidades, pretendemos com o presente estudo analisar o papel das motivações dos turistas seniores e os fatores de atratividade das cidades na construção das suas marcas. Depois de revista a principal literatura científica da área, chegamos à conclusão de que, embora haja diversas pesquisas relacionadas com a temática do turismo sénior, foram encontrados pouquíssimos estudos que abordam o tema das motivações dos turistas de cidade, sendo que o destino cidade tem vindo a aumentar significativamente a procura, sobretudo na modalidade de “short city break”, afirmando-se como a motivação de viagens que mais cresceu nos últimos anos. Para compreender melhor as várias nuances da experiência dos turistas seniores e das suas motivações para viajar para cidade, realizamos um inquérito a indivíduos com 55 e mais anos (seniores) e um inquérito a indivíduos com menos de 55 anos e mais de 17 anos (não seniores), possibilitando assim validar algumas hipóteses comparativas das preferências e características de consumo destes dois segmentos demográficos. Com base no trabalho desenvolvido, foi ainda possível caracterizar grupos de seniores com características comuns, quanto às suas motivações e escolha de atributos, relativamente à eleição de um destino turístico cidade.
The central goal of our study is to understand the main push & pull motivations of senior individuals in traveling context. Knowing that the aging of the world population is an irreversible trend in the global environment, considering the importance of the senior segment in tourism, the financial and free time availability, for the economy of the countries, regions and cities, we intend to analyze the role of the motivations of senior tourists and the attractiveness factors of cities building their brands. After reviewing the main scientific literature in this area, we have concluded that although there is some research related to the theme of the senior tourism, few studies address the issue from the point of view of the visit to the city, although the tourism city demand has been increasing significantly, especially in the form of “short city break”, asserting itself as the travel motivation that has increased the most in the last years. In order to understand the several nuances of the experience of senior tourists and their motivations to travel to the city, we have conducted a survey of individuals aged 55 years and over (senior) and a survey of individuals under 55 and over 17 (not senior), thus enabling some comparative validate hypotheses of preferences and consumption characteristics of these two demographic segments. Based on this work it has also been possible to characterize senior groups with common characteristics regarding the election of a tourist destination city as far as their motivations and the attributes of the offer are concerned.

Online platforms have emerged during past few years, aiming to disrupt different markets: transportation, housing, rental-housing market are some of the examples. Several factors have contributed to this: a growing digital landscape, geographical proximity and the crisis of 2008. The rental-housing market was also tackled by entrepreneurs, with different platforms rising and changing the way accommodation is searched and advertised. Particularly in Europe, the student rental-housing market, as a submarket of the rental-housing market, has been steadily growing, leading to the appearance of online platforms focused on students search for accommodation. These platforms face, not only the competition of similar ones, but also of indirect competitors – platforms that provide a search for accommodation but that are not focused on students -, and most traditional methods. The modifications on how we look for accommodation made it relevant to understand, for these platforms – given the necessity to retain users and the competitiveness of the market – and their managers, to discern what leads consumers/users to switch a given platform for another. Therefore, using the Push-Pull-Mooring framework to guide our investigation, we aim to assess the impact of different factors in the switching behavior, specifically approaching the demand-side of these online platforms: students. The switching behavior of our target was observed to be potentially influenced by the Push, Pull and Mooring factors tested.
Nos últimos anos emergiram as plataformas online, com o objetivo de serem disruptivas em diversos mercados: na mobilidade, no imobiliário, no arrendamento imobiliário, são apenas alguns dos exemplos. Vários factores contribuíram para tal, o desenvolvimento do mundo digital, a proximidade geográfica e a crise de 2008. O mercado de arrendamento imobiliário não passou incólume à mudança, com diferentes plataformas a surgirem e a alterarem a forma como se procura e anuncia alojamento. Particularmente na Europa, o mercado de arrendamento estudantil, como submercado do mercado de arrendamento, tem crescido constantemente, levando ao aparecimento de plataformas online focadas na procura de alojamento por estudantes. Essas plataformas, enfrentam não apenas a concorrência de outras similares, mas também competidores indirectos – plataformas cujo foco não é a comunidade estudante, mas que também providenciam o mesmo serviço – e métodos mais tradicionais. As alterações na forma como procuramos alojamento, levam a que se torne relevante para essas plataformas – pela necessidade de reter utilizadores e pela altíssima competição existente – e para os seus gestores, perceber que determinantes levam os utilizadores a trocarem determinada plataforma no seu processo de procura de alojamento. Assim, e enquadrados pela teoria Push-Pull-Mooring, o objectivo é analisar o impacto de diferentes factores no comportamento do consumidor, nomeadamente na mudança de plataforma, e especificamente no lado da procura dessas plataformas: os estudantes. O comportamento do consumidor para trocar de plataforma foi observado como potencialmente influenciado pelos factors Push, Pull e Mooring testados.

[EN] Several efforts have been made in experimental and theoretical research about shear to understand all the variables that influence the phenomenon. Nowadays, however, due to its complexity, the shear performance of structural concrete elements, especially those without any traditional transversal reinforcement, continue with no clear explanation of the problem. Uncertainty about the problem grows when new variables like fibres are incorporated into the shear study. Research works have demonstrated the effectiveness of steel fibre in improving the mechanical properties of concrete elements. Experimental results reveal that steel fibres have proven effective in improving shear resistance, and they confer some concrete elements more ductility. In adequate amounts, steel fibres can completely or partially substitute traditional shear reinforcements. This is why international codes have included some requirements to take into account the action of fibres on the shear response of concrete elements. However, most recommendations and requirements for steel fibre-reinforced concrete (SFRC) were originally created. New fibres with different materials properties and shapes, such as macrosynthetic fibres, are now available on the market. These fibres, some of which are made of polypropylene, are an alternative in the construction industry given their properties and final cost. Initially, polypropylene fibres were used to control shrinkage cracking. Nevertheless, in the last decade the chemical industry has created larger fibres with better surface shapes, which allows polypropylene fibres to meet the requirements of international codes so they can be used in structural elements. Within this framework, the present PhD thesis aims to contribute to knowledge about fibre reinforced concrete (FRC), especially to study the effectiveness of polypropylene fibres when used as shear reinforcement. For this purpose, a literature review of the material, polypropylene fibre-reinforced concrete (PFRC) and its structural applications is first carried out. This study also discusses the parameters that affect the shear behaviour of traditional concrete and FRC. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of polypropylene fibres in shear, three experimental campaigns are presented. Each campaign represents a different level of study. The first corresponds to the material level, where the shear behaviour of PFRC is evaluated by push-off specimens. The second level involves studying shear in real scale elements. For this purpose, shear critical slender beams were manufactured and tested. The last level corresponds to real application of polypropylene fibres to act as shear reinforcement. In this campaign, deep hollow core slabs, with real sections and supports conditions, were tested. At each level, the shear behaviour of PFRC was evaluated against control reinforced concrete specimens, which were also tested during each campaign.
[ES] Varias investigaciones experimentales y teóricas han sido realizadas para entender el comportamiento a cortante de elementos de hormigón y sus variables. Sin embargo, hoy en día debido a la complejidad del tema, el comportamiento a cortante de elementos de hormigón armado y en especial aquellos que no tienen refuerzo transversal, continúan sin tener una explicación clara. Por otro lado, esta complejidad del cortante aumenta cuando nuevas variables, como las fibras, se incorporan al estudio. Investigaciones han demostrado la efectividad de las fibras de acero para mejorar las propiedades mecánicas de hormigón. Según resultados experimentales, la fibra de acero mejora la resistencia cortante y ductilidad de ciertos elementos. Y en cantidades adecuadas, la fibra puede sustituir total o parcialmente los refuerzos tradicionales de cortante. Es así que varios códigos internacionales han incluido requisitos para tener a las fibras en la respuesta estructural de elementos de hormigón. Sin embargo, estos requerimientos se han creado originalmente para el hormigón reforzado con fibra de acero (Steel fibre-reinforced concrete -SFRC). Nuevas fibras con diferentes materiales y formas, como las fibras macro-sintéticas, han sido introducidas en el mercado. Estas fibras, también llamadas fibras de polipropileno o poliolefina, son una alternativa en la construcción debido a su propiedades y costo final. Inicialmente, las fibras de polipropileno eran usadas únicamente en el hormigón para controlar la fisuración por retracción. Sin embargo, en la última década la industria química ha desarrollado fibras más grandes y con mejores prestaciones de adherencia, que permiten a estas fibras cumplir con requisitos para ser utilizadas estructuralmente. En este contexto, la presente tesis pretende ser una contribución al conocimiento sobre el hormigón reforzado con fibras (Fibre-reinforced concrete - FRC), especialmente en la efectividad de las fibras de polipropileno como refuerzo a cortante. Para esto, primero se realiza un estudio bibliográfico del hormigón reforzado con fibra de polipropileno (PFRC) como material y sus aplicaciones estructurales. Este estudio también tratará sobre los parámetros que afectan el comportamiento a cortante del hormigón tradicional y hormigón reforzado con fibras. Para evaluar la efectividad de las fibras de polipropileno en el cortante, se realizarán tres campañas experimentales. Cada campaña representa un nivel de estudio diferente. El primero es a nivel material en donde se evalúa el comportamiento a cortante a través de especímenes tipo Push-off. El segundo nivel, corresponde al estudio del cortante en elementos a escala real. Para esto se fabrican y ensayan vigas esbeltas críticas a cortante. El último nivel corresponde a una aplicación real de fibras de polipropileno actuando como refuerzo cortante. En esta campaña, se fabrican y ensayan placas alveolares de gran canto con secciones y condiciones de apoyos reales.
[CA] Diverses investigacions experimentals i teòriques han estat realitzades per entendre el comportament a tallant d'elements de formigó i les seues variables. No obstant això, hui en dia a causa de la complexitat del tema, el comportament a tallant d'elements de formigó armat i especialment aquells que no tenen reforç transversal, continuen sense tindre una explicació clara. D'altra banda, aquesta complexitat del tallant augmenta quan noves variables, com les fibres, s'incorporen a l'estudi. Investigacions han demostrat l'efectivitat de les fibres d'acer per a millorar les propietats mecàniques del formigó. Segons resultats experimentals, les fibres d'acer milloren la resistència a tallant i la ductilitat de certs elements. A més, en quantitats adequades, les fibres poden substituir total o parcialment els reforços tradicionals de tallant. És així que diversos codis internacionals han inclòs requisits per a tindre amb compte la resposta estructural de les fibres en els elements de formigó. No obstant això, aquests requeriments s'han creat originalment per al formigó reforçat amb fibres d'acer (Steel fibre-reinforced concrete -SFRC). Noves fibres amb diferents materials i formes, com les fibres macro-sintètiques, han estat introduïdes al mercat. Aquestes fibres, també anomenades fibres de polipropilè o poliolefina, són una alternativa a la construcció a causa de les seues propietats i cost final. Inicialment, les fibres de polipropilè eren usades únicament en el formigó per controlar la fissuració per retracció. No obstant això, en l'última dècada, la industria química ha desenvolupat fibres més grans i amb millors prestacions d'adherència, que permeten a aquestes fibres complir amb requisits per a ser utilitzades estructuralment. En aquest context, la present tesi pretén ser una contribució al coneixement sobre el formigó reforçat amb fibres (Fibre-reinforced concrete - FRC), especialment en l'efectivitat de les fibres de polipropilè com a reforç a tallant. Per això, primer es realitza un estudi bibliogràfic del formigó reforçat amb fibres de polipropilè (PFRC) com a material i les seues plicacions estructurals. Aquest estudi també tractarà sobre els paràmetres que afecten el comportament a tallant del formigó tradicional i del formigó reforçat amb fibres. Per avaluar l'efectivitat de les fibres de polipropilè en el tallant, es realitzaran tres campanyes experimentals. Cada campanya representa un nivell d'estudi diferent. El primer és a nivell material on s'avalua el comportament a tallant a través d'espècimens tipus Push-off. El segon nivell, correspon a l'estudi del tallant en elements a escala real. Per això es fabriquen i assagen bigues esveltes crítiques a tallant. L'últim nivell correspon a una aplicació real de fibres de polipropilè actuant com a reforç a tallant. En aquesta campanya, es fabriquen i assagen plaques alveolars de gran cantell amb seccions i condicions de suports reals.
Ortiz Navas, FR. (2020). Effectiveness of polypropylene fibres as shear reinforcement in structural elements [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/153147
TESIS

This dissertation provides a thorough investigation on the variables that influence Lisbon citizens on their intention to attend a sports event. It starts by analysing the existent literature on the subject, finding four major propositions on which the theoretical model was based: infrastructures, communication, internal motivation factors (push) and external motivation factors (pull) influence a consumer’s intention to attend a sports event. Comprised within these four categories, twenty-four variables were considered. To validate the model, a questionnaire was developed, refined and performed across different sports events and their respective venues. The sample (N=432) was characterized in demographic, psychological and behavioural vectors, allowing for a 360º understanding of Lisbon citizens’ process of thought when deciding to attend a sports event. The quantitative analysis the sample went through indicated that the typical persona that attends sports events is male, has between 16 and 34 years of age and consumes sports information either through newspapers or digital channels. The most important variable in the infrastructures category is the necessity for more city sports halls, whilst in the communications category it is the influence of an emotive style. For the internal motivations, the one who influences the most is the athletic skill of the contestants, whilst the chance to witness something unique has the heaviest weight on the external motivations category. The analysis of the variables which comprise each proposition allowed all four propositions to be validated and the main research question to be deemed affirmative:5 infrastructure, communication, internal motivations (push) and external motivations (pull) influence a consumer’s intention to attend a sports event. The main managerial implications found are the necessity for a new city sports hall, better sports events’ communication and the creation of incentives for sports practicing, as that leverages engagement with sports and, consequentially, leads more persons to attend sports events. Regarding academic implications, some of the indicators established are related to the elements that compose venue quality, the variables which comprise an emotional communication and ticket prices and their evolution through time when indexed to economic indicators. The most important limitations found were the availability of the individuals inquired to answer during sports events and the possible bias derived from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. Guidelines for future research were also developed, as are examples sports events’ attendance in other Portuguese cities, sports practitioners in high school/university and their relationship with professional athletes, as well as further research within the propositions validated. The purpose of this dissertation was fulfilled, in the sense that it contributed to Lisbon winning the application for European Capital of Sport in 2021.