The primary purpose of this study was to examine how much different types of media affect a tourist’s decision when choosing a destination to travel. Further, this study attempted to investigate the impact of the different types of media on a tourist’s behavioral intentions. A primary field survey was designed for this study to collect data and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. As a result, the most influential media form for choosing a destination to travel was social media, while brochure ranked the last. Subsequently, demographic factors showed noticeable propensities for the different types of media. Lastly, media types had a significant impact on three behavioral intentions for traveling as well. Study findings are expected to provide valuable information to better utilize the media as a marketing tool for the tourism industry.

I deliver an account of 'practical knowledge'; the knowledge we have of our own intentional actions. Part One introduces the target notion by describing three philosophically interesting features it appears to have (Ch. 1) and dismisses two broad approaches to understanding it - a 'consciousness-based' and an 'inferentialist' approach (Ch. 2). A third approach is thus motivated: 'Intentionalist' accounts of practical knowledge see practical knowledge as somehow constituted by the agent's intention. Part Two considers and rejects a version of Intentionalism which I call Cognitivist Intentionalism - CI. Cognitivist Intentionalists think of intentions as a kind of belief. Practical knowledge is constituted by intention in whatever way ordinary knowledge is constituted by belief, but it is a special kind of knowledge because its constituting attitude is special. I dismiss two versions of CI, showing them to be internally problematic (Ch. 3). I then argue that intentions are not propositional attitudes (Ch. 4), thus ruling out any version of CI - if intentions were beliefs they would have to be propositional attitudes. Part Three considers the remaining options for Intentionalism. According to Non-Cognitivist Intentionalism - NCI - practical knowledge is constituted by intentions, which are not a kind of belief, just in case they are executed. NCI happily accommodates practical knowledge's philosophically interesting features. But it is hard to see why executing an intention should constitute knowing, and how a kind of propositional knowledge could be constituted by a non-propositional attitude, which Chapter Four argued intentions to be. Chapter Six develops NCI into the stronger NPI - Non-Propositionalist Intentionalism. In NPI the non-propositional character of intentions is central. Practical knowledge is a kind of propositional knowledge which is constituted by a non-propositional attitude; a kind of knowledge which is not constituted by belief. I explain how this can be.

La phénoménologie est née comme une philosophie de la conscience, au début du XXe siècle. En cela, elle est l’héritière d’un concept particulièrement marqué par la pensée empiriste, de Locke à Brentano. En tant que telle, la naissance de la phénoménologie peut s’interpréter au titre d’un événement historique, et nous l’abordons sous l’angle de la question : « les évolutions propres au concept phénoménologique de conscience s’inscrivent-elles en continuité ou en rupture, par rapport à sa tradition ? ». D’un autre côté cependant, les textes qui témoignent de cette naissance sont aussi l’oeuvre d’un homme, et le résultat d’un effort de pensée. Les interpréter ainsi exige alors une toute autre approche. Nous avançons dans ce travail les éléments d’une lecture pratique, à savoir que la philosophie, comme toute pratique, progresse par répétition de gestes. Nous adressons alors la question : « comment cette répétition peut-elle parvenir à des résultats nouveaux sur le plan de la conscience ? ». C’est le croisement, nullement prémédité, de ces deux problématiques, qui caractérise notre travail. En cela, le concept d’intention y occupe une place centrale. Initialement dédié au domaine de l’action humaine, il sert pourtant à caractériser l’essence même de l’acte de conscience, dans les Recherches Logiques. C’est pourquoi, loin de prétendre unifier ces deux problématiques, nous avons seulement cherché à les articuler, à partir de ce concept. / The phenomenological movement was born as a philosophy of consciousness, at the beginning of the XXth century. In this regard, it inherits a concept particularly marked by empiricism, from Locke to Brentano. As such, the rise of phenomenology can be interpreted as a historical event, and I therefore address the following question : “is the phenomenological concept of consciousness part of a continuum, or a more radical shift, regarding its tradition?”. On another side however, the texts that bear witness of this birth are also the work of an individual thinker, and the result of a thinking effort. To interpret them as such requires thus a very different approach. I propose in my work to offer the starting elements of a practical interpretation, precisely in the sense that philosophy, like any other practice, progresses by repetition of gestures. I therefore address the following question: “how can this repetition produce new results for the concept of consciousness?”. It is the junction, that wasn’t predetermined, of these two problems, that characterises my work. Therein, the concept of intention plays a central role. Initially dedicated to human action, it is however used to characterise the essence of the conscious act, in the Logical Investigations. Far from pretending unifying these two problems, I have only tried to articulate them, with the help of this concept.

La thèse vise à mieux appréhender les déterminants et les conséquences de l’implication organisationnelle des travailleurs du savoir en Chine ContinentalePlusieurs facteurs influençant l’implication organisationnelle sont ainsi mis en évidence.- Les facteurs liés aux caractéristiques du travail : la perception de l’autonomie au travail et la perception du caractère de défi du travail.- Les facteurs liés aux caractéristiques de l’organisation : la perception du prestige organisationnel et la perception de la justice organisationnelle, ainsi que les statuts de organisation (public, parapublic ou privé).- Les facteurs liés aux caractéristiques culturelles de la Chine : la forte distance hiérarchique et le collectivisme, ainsi que la qualité du Guanxi. Les conséquences de l’implication organisationnelle sont aussi mises en évidence dans le modèle : intention de départ, intention de partager le savoir explicite et tacite, comportement organisationnel citoyen dans sa dimension d’harmonie interpersonnelle. Les relations entre les traits culturels (qualité du guanxi avec les collègues et collectivisme horizontal) et l’intention de partager le savoir sont également modélisées. La thèse présente une étude qualitative avec des entretiens semi-directifs (24 entretiens) et une étude quantitative. L’étude exploratoire quantitative a ainsi porté sur douze organisations (quatre de chaque secteur : public, parapublic et privé). Au total, 960 questionnaires ont été distribués et 568 questionnaires renseignés, soit un taux de réponse de 59.17% . Pour mener à bien les tests d’hypothèses, les analyses de régression multiple et l’analyse de variance ont été privilégiées. Les résultats de chaque test d’hypothèse sont successivement détaillés. Les apports de la recherche dans la fidélisation et l’implication organisationnelle des travailleurs du savoir sont mis en évidence, ainsi que plusieurs résultats utiles d’un point de vue théorique et pratique / This PhD dissertation aims to better understand the determinants and consequences of organizational commitment of knowledge workers in varied sectors on mainland China. Several factors which influenced Chinese knowledge workers’ organizational commitment were highlighted : •job designed factors (the perceived job autonomy and the perceived job challenge). •organizational factors (the perceived organizational prestige, the perceived organizational fairness, organizational ownership). •cultural factors ( collectivism, power distance, guanxi quality towards superiors and colleagues). Several consequences of Chinese knowledge workers’ organizational commitment were emphasized in research model: turnover intention, intention to share explicit knowledge and implicit knowledge, organizational citizenship behavior in term of interpersonal harmony). The data of this dissertation was obtained from one qualitative study with 24 semi-direct interviews and one exploratory quantitative study with 12 organizations (four of each sector: public sector, para-public sector and private sector). In sum, 960 questionnaires were distributed and 568 questionnaires were returned. The response rate was 59.17%. In order to test the hypotheses, the regressions analyses and the variance analyses were utilized. The results of each hypothesis were demonstrated successively. Limitations and managerial implications are finally discussed

Since the advent of the smartphone, mobile applications on these devices have increasingly gained in popularity and have become a staple in the everyday lives of people. This trend has resulted in the development of millions of applications, yet the majority of them are never downloaded or used for a variety of reasons. It is therefore important for consumer behavior research to be conducted on a continuous basis in order to analyze and stay up to date with factors that lead to intention and thereafter, usage of mobile applications. Also, it is necessary to take into account the immense popularity of social media, which has provided firms with an effective avenue to market new applications. The purpose of the study is therefore to investigate the determinants of usage intention of new and free mobile apps in the context of social media marketing.  In order to measure intention, two proven and tested theoretical models were incorporated into the creation of the research model of this study and the formation of the hypothesis; namely the theory of planned behavior (TPB), as well as the technology acceptance model (TAM). To test the hypothesis, a quantitative study was conducted with the help of a self-completion questionnaire which was distributed on social media, and the data collection resulted in 250 valid respondents. The data was processed and analyzed using multiple regression using the statistical program SPSS in order to test the significance of the various independent variables with intention to use new and free apps. The regression analysis resulted in several hypothesis being accepted. Notably, intention to use was highly influenced by attitude, as well as significant relationships between intention and perceived ease of use, as well as perceived behavioral control. Significant relationships were also discovered between attitude, perceived usefulness, and trust. Marketers of new and free mobile apps should focus on fostering a positive attitude through marketing on social media, always be intent on trust-building activities, and work with the developers to create easy to use and highly useful apps. The authors recommend that future studies focus on the influence of different kinds of social media activities on consumers intention to use new and free apps, as social media was only the context of the current study.

Denna uppsats syfte är att analysera och finna mönster på hur användare reflekterar över framställningen av sin profil på Tinder beroende på deras intentioner. Frågeställningarna som besvaras är hur användare reflekterar kring vilka intentioner som driver dem att använda Tinder, samt hur användare motiverar sina självrepresentationer beroende på dess intentioner. Studiens analys utgår från konsumtionsteorin, teorin om onstage/offstage, objektifieringsteorin, The Male Gaze, samt teorin om sociala representationer (Bauman, 2008; Ekström, 2008; Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997; Goffman, 2020; Mulvey, 1975). För att få en djupare förståelse kring människors reflektioner och motiveringar bakom sina val och intentioner, har en kvalitativ metod använts. Undersökningen genomfördes med semistrukturerade intervjuer, som transkriberades och tolkades därefter. Studien följer forskningsetiska principer som Vetenskapsrådets (2002) fyra huvudkrav och etikprövningsmyndighetens (u.å.) riktlinjer. Resultatet visar att användare på Tinder har olika intentioner, och deras självrepresentation anpassas därefter. Vissa framhäver sina bästa sidor samtidigt som de skapar sin profil efter hur de uppfattar sig själva, andra skapar en profil som medvetet ej matchar deras intentioner. Till exempel är det möjligt för användare att ljuga om sin ålder för att nå en annan åldersgrupp. Det finns en generell uppfattning om att män är ute efter tillfälliga sexuella relationer i större utsträckning än kvinnor. Könsnormer lever kvar, men användare jobbar även aktivt mot dem. Analysen av resultatet ger oss en nyanserad bild över hur användare motiverar sin självrepresentation på Tinder beroende på vad de vill få ut av appen. Några slutsatser som drogs är att användare anser att det går att avgöra användares intentioner i appen på första intrycket, innan interaktionen har skett. Användarnas självrepresentation påverkas av appens lättillgängliga system och möjligheten att få bekräftelse genom matchningar. Självrepresentation förklaras även med hjälp av objektifieringsteorin, The Male Gaze, och teorin om sociala representationer (Ekström, 2008; Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997; Mulvey, 1975). Användarna är medvetna om att de blir dömda på första intrycket och att allt måste se perfekt ut. Det går att förklara med hjälp av Baumans teori om konsumtion (Bauman, 2008). Många användare kan känna en press på grund av detta. Teorin om onstage/offstage (Goffman, 2020) hjälper även till att förstå varför användare visar upp sig själva som de gör. Studien förankrar sig ytterligare i tidigare vetenskaplig forskning. Denna studie fyller en lucka i dagens forskning om förståelse för hur användare reflekterar över vad som driver dem till att anpassa presentationen av den egna profilen på dejtingappar baserat på deras intentioner. Denna kunskap är relevant idag eftersom Tinder är ett vanligt sätt att inleda relationer på, och medieplattformen har en betydelsefull del i utvecklingen av dagens dejting. / The purpose of this study is to analyze and find patterns in how users reflect on the representation of themself in their Tinder profile, depending on their intentions. The questions answered in this essay are about how users reflect on what intentions drives them to use Tinder, and how users motivate their self-representation depending on their intentions. The analysis of this study is based on the consumption theory, the theory of onstage/offstage, the objectification theory, The Male Gaze and the theory of social representations (Bauman, 2008; Ekström, 2008; Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997; Goffman, 2020; Mulvey, 1975). To create a deeper understanding of the reflections and motivations behind the choices and intentions, a qualitative method has been used in this essay. The study was conducted with semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and later interpreted. The study follows research ethics principles such as four main requirements from Vetenskapsrådet (2002) and guidelines from etikprövningsmyndighetens (u.å.). The result shows that people who use Tinder have different intentions, and their self-representation is adapted accordingly. Some users feature their best qualities at the same time as they create their profile according to how they perceive themselves. Others create a profile that deliberately does not match their intentions. For example, it is possible for users to lie about their age to reach another group of age. There is a general perception that men are looking for short-term sexual relationships, while women are searching for something more long-term. Gender roles are noticeable, but users try to make them less significant. The analysis of the study has resulted in a meaningful and extensive picture of how users motivate their self-representation on Tinder depending on what they want to achieve by using the application. A few conclusions that were drawn are that users seem to believe that you can determine someone's intentions with the app based on the first impression of the profile, even before any interaction has taken place. Users self-representation was influenced by the applications user friendly-design and the possibility to obtain confirmation through matches. Self-representation throughout the app is also explained by the objectification theory, The Male Gaze, and the theory of social representations (Ekström, 2008; Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997; Mulvey, 1975). The users are aware that they are being judged on the first impression and that their profiles need to look perfect, which can be explained with the help of the consumption theory (Bauman, 2008). This leads to the feeling of pressure among many of the users, and the theory of onstage/offstage (Goffman, 2020) contributes to the understanding of why users choose to present themself as they do. The study is also based on previous scientific research. This study fills a gap in the research of the understanding of how users reflect on what motivates them to adapt the representation of themselves in their own profiles on Tinder, based on their intentions. Knowledge of this subject is relevant because of the fact that Tinder is a common way to initiate relationships today, and the media platform plays a significant part in the development of present-day dating.

An area of study that has received much attention over the past few decades is simulations involving threat assessment in military scenarios. Recently, much research has emerged concerning the recognition of troop movements and formations in non-combat simulations. Additionally, there have been efforts towards the detection and assessment of various types of malicious intentions. One such work by Akridge addressed the issue of Strategic Intention Recognition, but fell short in the detection of tactics that it could not detect without somehow manipulating the environment. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to address the problem of recognizing an opponent's intent in a strategic environment where the system can think ahead in time to see the agent's plan. To approach the problem, a structured form of knowledge called Template-Based Interpretation is borrowed from the work of others and enhanced to reason in a temporally dynamic simulation.

Understanding information technology and its related products and services is increasingly important because the everyday use of technology continues to expand and broaden. Despite this need for greater understanding, the extant theories that explore the dominant factors that drive intention to use a new technology are limited. The Technology Acceptancy Model (TAM) is the most popular model in explaining traditional technology adoption. The limitations of the TAM in grasping the overall evaluation of technology or service are one of motivations for developing new models in this dissertation. The two antecedents of the TAM- perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use- only capture partial utility of a service (or product). In addition, some researchers argued that key factors used in an initial acceptance model such as perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are not strong predictors of future continuance intention of the service because they do not consider future switching intention in the later stage. Hence, one goal of this dissertation is to develop and test new models to predict factors that drive intention and continuance intention decisions of new technology related products or services. This research involves three studies that examine different aspects of adoption and continuance intention decisions of new technology-related products or services. Essay 1 posits and empirically tests a new model that examines service vendor quality, service outcome quality, and trust as drivers of cloud-based services by adopting the frameworks from marketing, behavior intention and information technology research. The model is referred to as the quality trust model (QTM). The quality of cloud-based services involves the quality of vendors and the quality of service outcomes; its effectiveness is mirrored by trust of the services. Data from an online survey of 355 respondents were used to test the research model. The results show that vendor quality and outcome quality influence trust, which is positively correlated with intention. However, vendor quality appears less salient than outcome quality in motivating usage of cloud-based services. We discussed the implications of the model and findings for practitioners searching for solutions in driving user participation, as well as for academics fascinated with a deeper understanding of roles of quality and trust in an individual level of decision-making behavior. Essay 2 posits and develops a model that includes the influences of reliability and flexibility on service quality, and influences of service quality on consumer perceived benefits and satisfaction, which consequently influences continuance intention of cloud services. The model explained 50% of satisfaction, which consequently explained 58% of continuance intention. We also examined the mediated effects among key drivers and validated the prominence of service quality in the IS continuance intention model. We delivered implications for academia and practice. Essay 3 unifies two theoretical frameworks a motivational model (MM) and expectation and confirmation theory (ECT) related to continuance intention and develops a new model that examines continuance intention of using smart devices. The article investigates the role of confirmation in the success of continuance intention of smart devices- the case of smartphones. We propose that confirmation is an antecedent of perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction. We also posit that confirmation directly influences continuance intention to use the devices. The paper will also propose that three specific advanced attributes - cost advantages, access to specialized resources, and quality improvement- will affect confirmation. An empirical examination of the model showed that confirmation predicts perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction, which mediates the effects of confirmation on continuance intention of smartphones. Hence, confirmation constitutes an important indirect factor influencing smartphones post adoption. Furthermore, cost advantages, access to specialized resources, and quality improvement all had significant influences on confirmation. The research contributes to the literature by confirming the important role of confirmation in smartphones adoption and by presenting that specific advanced attributes available to a user during a later phase can help enhance perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction. For managers of smart devices design, the study implies that building into the devices the ability to accommodate advanced attributes can elevate the possibility of persistent success.

This dissertation examined the differences in group mean scores of traditional and pilot groups on the students' motivational beliefs and their intention to pursue majors and careers in engineering. The difference between the two groups was in terms of instruction techniques used. The instructional techniques used for the traditional group was that of traditional engineering design (TED), while the technique used for the pilot group had more features of an active learning approach. Further, it tested the tenability of the domain identification model. The domain identification model was used to understand students' decision-making processes in committing to engineering majors and engineering careers. The data for this study was collected via online survey from first-year engineering students enrolled in an introductory engineering course at a research-intensive university located in southeastern US. The sample sizes of the traditional group and pilot group at the beginning of the semester were 875 and 188, respectively. The sample sizes of the traditional group and pilot group at the end of the semester were 812 and 242, respectively. The mean differences between the two groups were computed using t-tests via SPSS version 22.0. The causality hypothesized among variables in the domain identification model were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques. The measurement and structural models were estimated using LISREL version 9.1. This study followed the two-step SEM approach that Anderson and Gerbing (1988) suggested. A measurement model with an acceptable fit to the data was obtained followed by an estimation and evaluation of structural models. All the independent sample t-tests were not statistically significant indicating that the mean scores of students in the two groups did not differ significantly on any of the motivational and intention variables. The hypothesized measurement and structural models provided a good fit to the data. A few post-hoc revisions were made to the models. This study brought empirical evidence that the domain identification model can be used to understand students' major-and career-decision making processes. Engineering identification was a better predictor of major intention and career intention compared to engineering program utility, engineering program belonging, and engineering program expectancy. / Ph. D.

Yes / Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and examine the most important factors that could predict the Saudi customer’s continued intention towards adoption of mobile banking. Design/methodology/approach The proposed conceptual model was based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and task-technology fit (TTF) model. This is also expanded by considering two additional factors: perceived privacy and perceived security. By using a self-administered questionnaire, the data were collected from a convenience sample of Saudi banking customers from different parts of Saudi Arabia. Findings The main results based on structural equation modelling analyses supported the impact of perceived privacy, perceived security, perceived usefulness and TTF on the customers’ continued intention to use mobile banking. Research limitations/implications The moderation influence of the demographic factors (i.e. age, gender, income level, educational level) was not tested. The data were also collected using a self-report questionnaire; however, it would be more accurate to utilise more statistics from the bank database about the users of m-banking. Originality/value This study represents a worthy attempt to test such novel technology (m-banking) in the KSA where there is a scarcity of literature. A considerable theoretical contribution was also made by integrating the TTF model with the TAM in addition to consider privacy and security in one single model. Moreover, considering both perceived privacy and security in the current model creates an accurate picture about the adoption of m-banking especially as there are a limited number of m-banking studies that have considered privacy and security alongside the TTF model and TAM in the same model.