This thesis examines the effects of Culture, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT) and Technology Readiness (TR) on the satisfaction and usage continuance intention of Internet banking customers within the Saudi Arabian context. The aim is to develop and test a new framework for use in determining the factors that affect Internet banking customers’ actual usage behaviours, with a special focus on the role of cognitive processes, and cultural and personal psychological traits. This research uses cross-sectional survey questionnaire methods within a quantitative approach. 261 valid responses were received. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesised relationships within the research model in Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS 20) software. ECT is well established in conventional marketing literature and explains how cognitive beliefs and affects lead to customers’ repurchasing behaviour. It was first adopted for the Information Systems (IS) context and then customised to explain IS continuance intention behaviour. However, previous ECT customisations in the IS context present a significant knowledge gap because technology-based services are sensitive to individuals’ psychological traits, which ECT does not account for. This research integrates psychological traits and culture into the ECT framework to explain customer satisfaction and continuance intentions in the context of Internet banking usage. It combines ECT with the UTAUT in order to expand ECT to include more cognitive beliefs. Then it integrates TR and Culture to account for psychological and sociological traits. The results present a new contribution to the body of knowledge by validating a theoretically backed integration of the above models into one structural model. This model broadens the understanding of the factors that influence IS satisfaction and usage continuance intention. Compared to previous studies, the explanatory power of this model is a major improvement, with an R2 of (0.61) for usage continuance intention.

Customers adoption of Internet banking has become a widely-researched topic, although it is fair to state that some research gaps still exist. This research aims to fill some of the research gaps by examining the factors that determine the relevant behaviour of three different categories of Internet banking customers in China (i.e. current users, non-users, and discontinued users), and by developing two conceptual models that are derived from different, but complementary, theoretical approaches. The Decision Making Model and the Service and Relationship Evaluation Model are developed in this research. The Decision Making Model is grounded in the technology acceptance model (TAM) and it incorporates an additional construct of perceived value of using Internet banking. Additionally, the Service and Relationship Evaluation Model is derived from the service quality evaluation and relationship quality evaluation literature. Unlike in most other Internet banking adoption studies, these two conceptual models are used complementarily to deliver a comprehensive understanding of customers Internet banking adoption in China. The models are tested using a sample of 614 Chinese Internet banking customers collected via mall-intercept personal interviews based on questionnaires. Partial Least Square (PLS) path modelling and mediation analysis are applied to test the hypotheses advanced in the two models. The key findings of this research show that perceived value is a major factor for explaining customers Internet banking adoption, thus indicating to the banks that they should reduce costs associated with using Internet banking while providing more (perceived) benefits to customers; the importance of incorporating perceived value in Internet banking adoption model(s) is also demonstrated. The findings also confirm that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are important factors that determine the adoption of Internet banking by all categories of customers. Current users and non-users perceptions of their behavioural control over using Internet banking contribute to their adoption of Internet banking, and such control perceptions are shaped by self-efficacy, perceived government support and technological support. Additionally, it is demonstrated that both current users and discontinued users perceived value and perceived service quality of Internet banking have positive associations with their satisfaction with Internet banking, which lead to their Internet banking adoption. Moreover, the findings reveal that current users are more likely to continue with Internet banking if they are affectively committed to their banks; they are less likely to continue with Internet banking if they are calculatively committed to their banks due to the costs associated with leaving the banks. These therefore indicate the importance of establishing high-quality customer-bank relationships and placing less strict switching cost barriers that impose less pressure on their existing customers. This research contributes to the Internet banking adoption literature by (i) identifying the important category of Internet banking discontinued users, apart from current users and non-users; and (ii) using two complementary conceptual models, which are grounded in different theoretical streams, to investigate the relevant adoption behaviour of all three categories of Internet banking customers. It hence delivers a comprehensive understanding of personal customers adoption of Internet banking in China.

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Les structures menues apparaissent dans les années 60 en lien avec la conjecture de Vaught. Les structures minces englobent à la fois les structures minimales et menues. Les ensembles définissables d'une structure mince sont rangés par le rang de Cantor-Bendixson. Nous présentons des propriétés de calcul de ce rang, une condition de chaîne descendante locale sur les groupes acl(0)-définissables ainsi qu'une notion de presque stabilisateur local, et en déduisons des propriétés algébriques des structures minces : un corps mince de caractéristique positive est localement de dimension finie sur son centre, et un groupe mince infini a un sous groupe abélien infini. Nous nous intéressons ensuite aux structures menues infiniment définissables, et montrons que les groupes d'arité finie infiniment 0-définissable sont l'intersection de groupes définissables. Nous étendons le résultat aux demi-groupes, anneaux, corps, catégories et groupoïdes infiniment 0-définissables, et donnons des résultats de définissabilité locale pour les groupes et corps simples et menus, infiniment définissables sur des paramètres quelconques. Enfin, nous réintroduisons le rang de Cantor dans son contexte topologique et montrons que la dérivée de Cantor peut être vue comme un opérateur de dérivation dans un semi-anneau d'espaces topologiques. Dans l'idée de trouver un rang de Cantor global pour les théories stables, nous essayons de nous débarrasser du mot dénombrable omniprésent lorsque l'on fait de la topologie, en le remplaçant par un cardinal régulier k. Nous développons une notion d'espace k-métrique, de k-topologie, de k-compacité etc. et montrons un k-analogue du lemme de métrisabilité d'Urysohn, et du théorème de Cantor-Bendixson. / Abstract. Small structures appear in the '60s together with Vaught's conjecture. Weakly small structures include both minimal and small structures. Definable sets in a weakly small structure are ranked by Cantor-Bendixson rank. We show computational properties of this rank, which imply a local descending chain condition on acl(0)-definable subgroups, and introduce a notion of local almost stabiliser. We deduce algebraic properties of weakly small structures. Among them, a weakly small field of positive characteristic is locally finite dimensional over its centre, and an infinite weakly small group has an infinite abelian subgroup. We then turn to small type-definable structures, showing that finitary small type 0-de_nable groups are the intersection of definable groups. We extend the result to finitary small type 0- definable monoids, rings, fields, categories and groupoids. We give local definability results concerning groups and fields type definable over an arbitrary set of parameters in small and simple theories. Finally, we reintroduce the Cantor Bendixson rank in its topological context, and show that the Cantor derivative can be seen as a derivation in a semi-ring of topological spaces. In an attempt to find a global Cantor rank for stable structures, we try to eliminate the word denumerable, omnipresent when one does topology, by replacing it by a regular cardinal k. We develop the notions of k-metrisable space, k-topology, k-compactness etc. and show an analogue of Urysohn's metrisability lemma and Cantor-Bendixson theorem.

La notion de T-radical d’un idéal permet à G.Cherlin de démontrer un Nullstellensatz dans les théories inductives d’anneaux. Nous proposons une analyse modèle-théorique de phénomènes connexes. En premier lieu, une réciproque de ce théorème nous conduit à une caractérisation des corps algébriquement clos, suggérant une version “positive” du travail de Cherlin, la théorie des idéaux T-radiciels. Ceux-ci se caractérisent par un théorème de représentation et sont associés à un théorème des zéros “positif”. Ces résultats se généralisent à la logique du premier ordre : grâce à la notion de classe spéciale, nous développons ensuite une théorie logique des idéaux. On peut encore parler d’idéaux premiers et radiciels, relativement à une classe de structures. Dans ce cadre, le théorème de représentation est une propriété intrinsèque des classes spéciales et le théorème des zéros une propriété de préservation logique, que nous appelons “complétude géométrique” et qui entretient des rapports étroits avec la modèle-complétude positive. Les algèbres basées en groupes de P.Higgins permettent d’appliquer ces résultats aux théories modèle-complètes de corps avec opérateurs additionnels. Dans certains cas “noethériens”, l’algèbre de coordonnées est un invariant algébrique des “variétés affines”. Enfin, il est possible à partir d’un ensemble de formules E de généraliser les classes spéciales et autres classes de structures. Notre théorie des idéaux logiques est de plus un cas particulier du phénomène de localisation étudié par M.Coste ; dans certaines situations, un bon choix de formules permet d’identifier les types complets d’une “algèbre” à des types de localisation / The notion of T-radical of an ideal allows G.Cherlin to prove a Nullstellensatz for inductive ring theories.We present here a model-theoretic analysis of closely related phenomena. At first, a reverse of this theorem leeds us to a characterization of algebraically closed fields, suggesting a “positive” version of Cherlin’s work, the theory of T-radical ideals. These are characterized by a representation theorem and associated to a “positive” Nullstellensatz. Those results are generalized to first order logic : thanks to the notion of special class, we then develop a logical theory of ideals. One may still speak about prime and radical ideals, relatively to a class of structures. In this setting, the representation theorem is an intrinsic property of special classes and the Nullstellensatz a logical preservation property, which we call “geometric completeness” and which is closely linked to positive model-completeness. The group-based algebras of P.Higgins allow us to apply these results to model-complete theories of fields with additional operators. In certain “noetherian” cases, the coordinate algebra is an algebraic invariant of “affine algebraic sets”. At last, it is possible from a set of formulas E to generalize special and other classes of structures. Moreover, our theory of logical ideals is a particular case of the localisation phenomenon studied by M.Coste ; in certain situations, a good choice of formulasleeds to an identification of the complete types of a given “algebra” with some localisation types

Este trabalho tem como foco principal estabelecer condições gerais suficientes para que uma expansão do corpo ordenado dos reais por funções com domínio em Rn seja modelo completa e o-minimal. Para tanto, faremos uma abordagem sob o ponto de vista de estruturas fracas o-minimais, conforme o trabalho de Charbonnel e Wilkie. Além disso, ao analisar condições adicionais, podemos obter a seguinte generalização de um trabalho de Gabrielov: uma expansão o-minimal do corpo ordenado dos reais por funções C infinito restritas, que é polinomialmente limitada e fechada sob diferenciação parcial, é modelo completa. / The main focus of this dissertation lies in establishing some general sufficient conditions for an expansion of the real ordered field by functions with domains Rn to be model complete and o-minimal. We approach this subject from the point of view of the o-minimal weak structures, by following the work of Charbonnel and Wilkie. Furthermore, when considering additional conditions, we are able to obtain the following generalization of a Gabrielovs result: an expansion of the real ordered field by restricted smooth functions, which is polynomially bounded and closed under partial differentiation, is model complete.

Este trabalho tem como foco principal estabelecer condições gerais suficientes para que uma expansão do corpo ordenado dos reais por funções com domínio em Rn seja modelo completa e o-minimal. Para tanto, faremos uma abordagem sob o ponto de vista de estruturas fracas o-minimais, conforme o trabalho de Charbonnel e Wilkie. Além disso, ao analisar condições adicionais, podemos obter a seguinte generalização de um trabalho de Gabrielov: uma expansão o-minimal do corpo ordenado dos reais por funções C infinito restritas, que é polinomialmente limitada e fechada sob diferenciação parcial, é modelo completa. / The main focus of this dissertation lies in establishing some general sufficient conditions for an expansion of the real ordered field by functions with domains Rn to be model complete and o-minimal. We approach this subject from the point of view of the o-minimal weak structures, by following the work of Charbonnel and Wilkie. Furthermore, when considering additional conditions, we are able to obtain the following generalization of a Gabrielovs result: an expansion of the real ordered field by restricted smooth functions, which is polynomially bounded and closed under partial differentiation, is model complete.

Aquesta tesi té tres objectius. En primer lloc, estudiem generalitzacions de la jerarquia no ample relatives a una família de tipus parcials. Aquestes jerarquies en permeten classificar la complexitat del “forking” respecte a una família de tipus parcials. Si considerem la família de tipus algebraics, aquestes generalitzacions corresponen a la jerarquia ordinària, on el primer i el segon nivell corresponen a one-basedness i a CM-trivialitat, respectivament. Fixada la família de tipus regulars “no one-based”, el primer nivell d'una d'aquestes possibles jerarquies no ample ens diu que el tipus de la base canònica sobre una realització és analitzable en la família. Demostrem que tota teoria simple amb suficients tipus regulars pertany al primer nivell de la jerarquia dèbil relativa a la família de tipus regulars no one-based. Aquest resultat generalitza una versió dèbil de la “Canonical Base Property” estudiada per Chatzidakis i Pillay. En segon lloc, discutim problemes d'eliminació de hiperimaginaris assumint que la teoria és CM-trivial, en tal cas la independència del “forking” té un bon comportament. Més concretament, demostrem que tota teoria simple CM-trivial elimina els hiperimaginaris si elimina els hiperimaginaris finitaris. En particular, tota teoria petita simple CM-trivial elimina els hiperimaginaris. Cal remarcar que totes les teories omega-categòriques simples que es coneixen són CM-trivials; en particular, aquelles teories obtingudes mitjançant una construcció de Hrushovski. Finalment, tractem problemes de classificació en les teories simples. Estudiem la classe de les teories simples baixes; classe que inclou les teories estables i les teories supersimples de D-rang finit. Demostrem que les teories simples amb pes finit acotat també pertanyen a aquesta classe. A més, provem que tota teoria omega-categòrica simple CM-trivial és baixa. Aquest darrer fet resol parcialment una pregunta formulada per Casanovas i Wagner. / The development of first-order stable theories required two crucial abstract notions: forking independence, and the related notion of canonical base. Forking independence generalizes the linear independence in vector spaces and the algebraic independence in algebraically closed fields. On the other hand, the concept of canonical base generalizes the field of definition of an algebraic variety. The general theory of independence adapted to simple theories, a class of first-order theories which includes all stable theories and other interesting examples such as algebraically closed fields with an automorphism and the random graph. Nevertheless, in order to obtain canonical bases for simple theories, the model-theoretic development of hyperimaginaries --equivalence classes of arbitrary tuple modulo a type-definable (without parameters) equivalence relation-- was required. In the present thesis we deal with topics around the geometry of forking in simple theories. Our first goal is to study generalizations of the non ample hierarchy which will code the complexity of forking with respect to a family of partial types. We introduce two hierarchies: the non (weak) ample hierarchy with respect to a fixed family of partial types. If we work with respect to the family of bounded types, these generalizations correspond to the ordinary non ample hierarchy. Recall that in the ordinary non ample hierarchy the first and the second level correspond to one-basedness and CM-triviality, respectively. The first level of the non weak ample hierarchy with respect to some fixed family of partial types states that the type of the canonical base over a realization is analysable in the family. Considering the family of regular non one-based types, the first level of the non weak ample hierarchy corresponds to the weak version of the Canonical Base Property studied by Chatzidakis and Pillay. We generalize Chatzidakis' result showing that in any simple theory with enough regular types, the canonical base of a type over a realization is analysable in the family of regular non one-based types. We hope that this result can be useful for the applications; for instance, the Canonical Base Property plays an essential role in the proof of Mordell-Lang for function fields in characteristic zero and Manin-Mumford due to Hrushovski. Our second aim is to use combinatorial properties of forking independence to solve elimination of hyperimaginaries problems. For this we assume the theory to be simple and CM-trivial. This implies that the forking independence is well-behaved. Our goal is to prove that any simple CM-trivial theory which eliminates finitary hyperimaginaries --hyperimaginaries which are definable over a finite tuple-- eliminates all hyperimaginaries. Using a result due to Kim, small simple CM-trivial theories eliminate hyperimaginaries. It is worth mentioning that all currently known omega-categorical simple theories are CM-trivial, even those obtained by an ab initio Hrushovski construction. To conclude, we study a classification problem inside simple theories. We study the class of simple low theories, which includes all stable theories and supersimple theories of finite D-rank. In addition, we prove that it also includes the class of simple theories of bounded finite weight. Moreover, we partially solve a question posed by Casanovas and Wagner: Are all omega-categorical simple theories low? We solve affirmatively this question under the assumption of CM-triviality. In fact, our proof exemplifies that the geometry of forking independence in a possible counterexample cannot come from finite sets.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird eine Methodik zur Entwicklung mechanischer Simulationen der Interaktion Sportler-Sportgerät-Umwelt zur Untersuchung der Funktionalität von Sportgeräten konzipiert und vorgestellt. Die mechanische Simulation ist die gegenständliche Nachbildung spezieller Teilaspekte des Sportlers, z.B. der Körperform, der Trägheitseigenschaften, der Masse, der Interaktionskräfte zur Umwelt oder charakteristischer Bewegungsabläufe zum Zweck der Durchführung gezielter Experimente zur Untersuchung des dynamischen Systemverhaltens Sportler-Sportgerät-Umwelt. Dazu werden drei Fallbeispiele aus der Forschungstätigkeit der Arbeitsgruppe HLST an der Technischen Universität Chemnitz mit Methoden zur Verifikation von Simulationsmodellen – dem strukturierten Durchgehen, der Validierung im Dialog und dem Schreibtischtest – analysiert. Die Analyseergebnisse werden in eine Grobstruktur eingebettet, die aus relevanten Vorarbeiten zur Anwendung der Allgemeinen Modelltheorie abgeleitet ist. Die in den jeweiligen Fallbeispielen verwendeten Prozessschritte, Methoden und Werkzeuge werden dargestellt und die Entwicklungsergebnisse erörtert. Im Abschluss jedes Fallbeispiels wird der Entwicklungsprozess anhand von einheitlichen Kriterien bewertet. In einem abschließenden Schritt erfolgt die Zusammenführung der im Stand der Technik dargelegten Grundlagen und der in den drei Fallbeispielen gewonnenen Informationen zu einer strukturieren und kommentierten Methodik. / In this dissertation a methodology is conceived that aims to structure the development process of test arrangements that mechanically simulate the interaction of athlete, sports equipment and environment. Mechanical simulation in this context is defined as the physical replication of specific properties of the athlete (e.g. the shape of the human body, body weight, joint kinematics, inertia, external forces in specific movements) in order to conduct experiments to investigate the dynamic behavior of the system athlete-equipment-environment. Therefore, three case studies of mechanical simulation models that have been developed at Technische Universität Chemnitz are analyzed by applying the validation and verification methods “structured walkthrough”, “face validity” and “desk checking”. The results of that analysis are embedded into a framework that is derived by literature review on applied model theory. For each of the three development processes the procedure model is identified and main tools and methods are discussed. Every case study is finally assessed by using standardized evaluation criterions. Finally, the main findings of the analysis of the case studies as well as knowledge obtained by reviewing the state of the art in model theory and simulation methods are used to build up a structured and commentated guideline.

Logical pluralism from historical perspective - Abstract The plurality of logics is understood as a challenge to seek a deeper understanding of the na- ture and import of logic. Two basic approaches to demarcation of logic are considered, the model-theoretic and the proof-theoretic one. Investigation of the history which led to these two appraoches identifies the postion of logic in Kant's epistemology as crucial for the devel- opment. An analogical development from Kant's conception of geometry to the plurality of geometric theories leads to a holistic view both of geometry and of logic. It furthermore proves essential to understand the pragmatic import of logic. Given the problems tied to the attempts to demarcate logic, inferentialism and logical expressivism are arrived at as jointly provid- ing the most appropriate account. These approaches are developed into a conception which stresses, in line with the historical perspective of the work, the ability of logic to develop.