The intent and direction of this thesis is to recognize personal and social concerns that influence soldiers’ reintegration process. The missing element in current literature is capturing the soldiers’ lived experiences, ideas, perspective and knowledge of what it truly means to be a soldier and having to reintegrate back into the civilian life after being submerged the military culture for an extended period of time. One of the vital concerns to the soldiers is how civilians, specifically the community, politicians, scholars and mental health providers, are not necessary fully aware nor do they recognize the influential impacts of the experiences and environment the military culture has over the soldiers. Soldiers may suffer from depression, anxiety, isolation, alienation, lack of belonging and perceived burdensomeness upon returning home. Previous research often from the civilian point of view expects soldiers to face personal and social concerns, but this research does not allow soldiers to speak for themselves – from their military perspective and lived-experiences. The mission of this thesis, with the support of members of the US Army, is to help bridge the disconnect in communication and the lack of understanding between the two cultures, military and civilian, in order to work together to find a more improved solution on helping soldiers reintegrate processes. The main objective of the mission is to increase our awareness and understanding on who a soldier is, who they develop into and who they become throughout their military career, and how this influences their reintegration journey.

Concerns, Desires and Expectations Of Surgery For Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Comparison Of Patients’, Parents’ & Surgeons’ Perspectives. Master of Science, 2008 Unni G. Narayanan Department of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation University of Toronto ABSTRACT This study explored the concerns, desires (goals) and expectations of adolescents undergoing surgery for idiopathic scoliosis, and contrasted their priorities with those of their parents and surgeons. Parents were more concerned than their children about the consequences of scoliosis and of surgery. With the exception of improving physical appearance, surgeons' goals of surgery were different from those of either the patients or parents. There was little agreement among surgeons about the natural history of scoliosis, other goals of surgery and the likelihood of specific outcomes. Parents wanted and expected more from surgery than their children. Parents and patients had greater expectations of surgery than surgeons. Although adolescents had different priorities from their parents, parents were aware of these differences and reliably predicted their children’s priorities. These findings have important implications on shared decision-making and informed consent, and might contribute to better understanding and measurement of outcomes that matter to patients.

Concerns, Desires and Expectations Of Surgery For Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Comparison Of Patients’, Parents’ & Surgeons’ Perspectives. Master of Science, 2008 Unni G. Narayanan Department of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation University of Toronto ABSTRACT This study explored the concerns, desires (goals) and expectations of adolescents undergoing surgery for idiopathic scoliosis, and contrasted their priorities with those of their parents and surgeons. Parents were more concerned than their children about the consequences of scoliosis and of surgery. With the exception of improving physical appearance, surgeons' goals of surgery were different from those of either the patients or parents. There was little agreement among surgeons about the natural history of scoliosis, other goals of surgery and the likelihood of specific outcomes. Parents wanted and expected more from surgery than their children. Parents and patients had greater expectations of surgery than surgeons. Although adolescents had different priorities from their parents, parents were aware of these differences and reliably predicted their children’s priorities. These findings have important implications on shared decision-making and informed consent, and might contribute to better understanding and measurement of outcomes that matter to patients.

The transition to parenthood brings a host of changes to new parents; two key areas of change are decreases in relationship functioning and a worsening of women's eating, weight, and shape (EWS) concerns. Past research has suggested that a connection may exist between women's EWS concerns and relationship functioning during this transition. This study explored the impact of women's EWS concerns on both partners' relationship functioning in a sample of 74 couples (148 individuals) having their first baby. The study was part of a larger project exploring interventions during the transition to parenthood; thus, all couples had at least one risk factor for future relationship problems. Participants completed questionnaires approximately seven months into pregnancy and at one and three months postpartum. Results revealed that relationship functioning and women's EWS concerns worsened from pregnancy to three months postpartum, which is consistent with previous literature. Changes in women's EWS concerns from before and during pregnancy to three months postpartum were not generally related to changes in either partner's relationship functioning during the same period. However, the EWS concerns that predicted poorer relationship outcomes, including women's drive for thinness and bulimia symptoms, suggest the possible role of third factors such as negative affect or neuroticism. Also, increases in women's Body Mass Index from pre-pregnancy to three months postpartum predicted increases in relationship functioning, indicating the possibility of a larger construct such as general acceptance of the post-birth process, both in terms of weight changes and relationship changes. Thus, preventive efforts could include an emphasis on helping partners to accept the changes they will experience during this transition. Finally, the significant relations between women's EWS concerns and relationship functioning were often mediated by men's reported frequency of sexual activity, suggesting the importance of sex as a mediator. Although findings were limited, the results should be interpreted in light of previous research and the current study's limitations. Overall, this study indicates the need for future research exploring the relations between women's EWS concerns and the couple relationship during the transition to parenthood.

The main goal of this study is to examine the relationship between weight control expectancies, weight concerns, smoking rate and perceived likelihood of smoking in the future among Spanish adolescents. Specifically, I intend to explore the potential moderator role of weight concerns on the relationship between weight control expectancies and smoking rate, as well as between weight concern and perceived likelihood of smoking in the future. Additionally, I want to investigate the possible meditational role of weight control expectancies on the relationship between weight concerns and smoking rate and likelihood of smoking in the future, respectively. The participants were 311 Spanish adolescents (M = 15.20; SD = 1.63; 174 female and 137 male) from schools in Alicante, Spain. The students completed questionnaires regarding smoking history and status. They also responded to questions regarding smoking expectancies and weigh concerns. Results suggested differences between smokers and nonsmokers in weight control expectancies and fear of fatness regardless of gender. The moderator model of weight concerns was not supported by findings. The results prove the meditational role of weight control expectancies on the relationship between fear of fatness and smoking rate, as well as between fear of fatness and perceived likelihood of smoking in the future. Implications, directions for future research and limitations of the study are discussed.

This research aims to discuss the correlation between after-purchase satisfaction and repurchase intention of mobile phones. The amount of mobile phone users had reached to 20 million and the possession rate of mobile phones was over 90% in Taiwan in July 2005. Repurchasers, including replacing the used mobile phone and buying the second one, are primary consumers in the mobile phone markets. Therefore it is important for mobile phone producers to understand consumers¡¦ repurchase intention and repurchase behaviors. However, consumers¡¦ purchasing decision does not end at buying but continues to influence consumers by the products¡¦ performance. After purchasing mobile phones, consumers tend to determine whether the buying decisions are correct or not by the satisfaction of the products. The conclusions of this research are presented as follows, (1)On average, university students have purchased 2.43 mobile phones by signing contracts with mobile phone service providers. (2)Consumers¡¦ after-purchase satisfaction, perceived value satisfaction, and brand loyalty significantly differ from different brands. Nokia was ranked highest. (3)In attributes of mobile phone, only brands and service points are considered affecting after-purchase satisfaction. (4)Perceived value satisfaction is prominently correlated to repurchase intention. (5)In personal concerns, attributes of mobile phones not only affect the repurchase intention but also have moderation effects. The conclusions above are meaningful for management in the following aspects, (1)University students have strong purchasing power and change mobile phones frequently, so mobile phone producers should create customer databases and offer special discounts to original customers. (2)Mobile phone producers should add more effort in product design and conduct remarkable attributes to create customers¡¦ usage habits and then attain their brand loyalty.

Authors: Malin Karlsson, Sandra Karlsson, Amanda Malmberg Tutor: Dr. Setayesh Sattari Examiner: Prof. Anders Pehrsson Background: Consumers increasingly purchase products online due to the widespread use of the Internet. The decision for consumers to purchase online is predicted by their purchase intentions, which in turn is affected by their information privacy concerns. There is a lack of research on IPC and purchase intentions in the context of online personalized advertising. Purpose: To extend the understanding of purchase intentions considering information privacy concerns and involvement in the context of online personalized advertising. Methodology: A survey in form of a questionnaire was conducted in order to gather the information necessary to be able to analyse the relationship between IPC and purchase intentions in the context of online personalized advertising. The sample consists of 18-70 year olds from cities in southern Sweden. Conclusion: Conclusions drawn in this thesis is that when applied in the context of online personalized advertising, there is no significant relationship between IPC and purchase intentions. However, involvement is suggested as having a positive relationship to purchase intentions, as well as a positive moderating effect on the relationship between IPC and purchase intention in the context of online personalized advertising. Keywords: Purchase intentions, Information privacy concerns (IPC), Online personalized advertising, Involvement.

Manitoba Parent-Child Coalitions are tasked with identifying community support needs and priorities for parents with young children and developing a sustainable plan for addressing needs. The methods used to establish community needs and priorities vary considerably. Use of a systematic participatory needs assessment (NA) process such as the Concerns Report Method (CRM) could provide communities with important information about parents’ community support needs while involving parents in the decision-making process. The CRM uses a mixed methods exploratory sequential research design. Phase 1 of the CRM involved the use of several qualitative methods: a document review, interviews and focus groups with parents (N=29) and service providers (N=11). Phase 1 results were used to develop a Community Concerns Report Survey for parents (N=319) and service providers (N=47) used in Phase 2. Logistic regression helped to determine the family characteristics that were associated with parent perceived community support needs. Existing community data revealed important socioeconomic differences across neighbourhoods, but the Early Development Instrument showed that kindergarten children from all socioeconomic backgrounds were not ready for school. Four themes emerged from the interviews and focus groups: 1) Availability of/ access to community supports, 2) Barriers and facilitators to participation, 3) Parent and child transition periods, and 4) Making connections with parents/ service providers. The survey results extended our understanding of these issues and showed that parents and service providers prioritized community support needs differently but also had shared areas of concern. Finally, very few of the family characteristics were associated with parent perceived needs. Despite only examining the first two phases of the CRM, this study adds to the body of literature on use of the CRM in the context of identifying the community support needs of parents with young children. The NA process highlighted the strengths and limitations of the different methods used and the CRM as a methodology in determining community support needs. As well, the challenges associated with reconciling the different findings were discussed. Coalitions seeking to engage different stakeholders in a NA process should consider using the CRM to identify community support needs and priorities. / October 2014

Reducing the complexity in information systems is a main concern on which researchers work. Separation of concerns, also known as the principle of ‘divide and conquer’, has long time been a strategy for dealing with complexity. Two examples of the application of this principle in the area of information system design are the break out the data management into Database Management Systems(DBMSs) and the separation of the business logic from the application logic into Business Process Management Systems (BPMSs). However, separation of cross-cutting concerns from the core-concern of a business process is not yet supported in the Business Process Management (BPM) area. Aspect Oriented principle recommends such a separation. When looking into the business process, several concerns, such as security and privacy, can be identified. Therefore, a formal model that provides a foundation for enabling BPMSs to support separation of concerns in BPM area is needed. This thesis provides a formal model for dealing with separation of concerns in the BPM area. Implementing this model in BPMSs would facilitate the design and implementation of business processes with a lower level of complexity, which in turn would reduce the costs associated with BPM projects. The thesis starts with a literature review on aspect orientation both in programming and in the BPM areas. Based on this study, a list of requirements for an Aspect Oriented Service for BPMSs is compiled. Then a formal model for such a service, fulfilling a set of these requirements, is designed using Coloured Petri Nets and implemented in CPN Tools. The model is evaluated through the execution of a number of scenarios. The solution is also validated through an industrial case study. The results of the case study are presented the direction for future work outlined. The case study demonstrates that separation of concerns through aspect orientation does indeed reduce the complexity of business process models.

Combining qualitative and quantitative methodology, the study describes the main concerns of a group of adolescents and the strategies they use to cope with such concerns according to socio-demographic variables (age, sex and type of school). It is a descriptive study, with a transsectional design, of 413 adolescents from 13 to 18 years. The used instrument was the specific form of the Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS) (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1997) that included oneopen question regarding their main concern. It was found that their major concerns are centeredin their future and school performance and that the most used coping strategies were Concernand Work Hard. It was found that socio-demographic variables make important differences among the different groups. / Combinando metodología cualitativa y cuantitativa, el estudio describe las preocupaciones principales de un grupo de adolescentes y sus estrategias de afrontamiento comparándolas en funcióna variables sociodemográficas (edad, sexo y tipo de colegio). Se trata de un estudio descriptivo con un diseño transeccional en el que participaron 413 adolescentes de 13 a 18 años.El instrumento usado fue la forma específica de la Escala de Afrontamiento para Adolescentes(ACS) (Frydenberg y Lewis, 1997) que incluyó una pregunta abierta sobre su principal preocupación.Se encontró que sus mayores preocupaciones se centran en su futuro y su rendimiento escolar y que las estrategias de afrontamiento más usadas fueron Preocuparse y Esforzarse. Se encontró que las variables sociodemográficas marcan diferencias importantes entre los diferentesgrupos.