With the development of online shopping, the number of third-party online payment systems increases. Alipay is a commonly used third-party online payment system among Chinese consumers. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that affect the users’ acceptance of Alipay among Chinese B2C customers. This study adopts a deductive, theory testing approach. Based on the model of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), a research model and hypotheses were proposed. A survey study was performed with a quota sample of 300 Chinese online shopping consumers. Based on the responses, the hypotheses were tested through statistical analysis. Through testing the hypotheses, it was concluded that: “Social Influence”, “Effort expectancy” were the factors that most prominently could affect B2C user’s acceptance of Alipay. Hence, third-party online systems suppliers should focus on social marketing and increasing the ease of use of the systems to increase user acceptance. Other similar third-party online payment company could take those identified factors as reference in further user acceptance study, and the proposed research model in this study could also help in improving understanding of user acceptance in similar third-part online payment system.

The aim of this thesis is to examine how teachers use computer based assessment in their work and what user barriers they experience while working with computer based assessments. The result of the thesis is meant to provide an understanding of which factors affect the use of computer based assessments and how a company who provide computer based assessments applications can increase the rate of use amongst teachers.To investigate this, the author examined a company in Sweden who provide a computer based assessment application for both universities and high schools. The study was carried out at two different schools, a university and a high school, both located in Stockholm. In total nine teachers were interviewed. The author also conducted observations at the company whose computer based assessment application was examined.The author’s findings suggest that a lack of functions within the application and lack of costumer support from the company all negatively impacted the teacher’s use of the application. There were also findings that could suggest that a lack incentive to use the application may have negatively impacted teacher’s rate of use.To increase the rate of use, the author suggest that companies must work closer with teachers to understand their routines and develop applications accordingly. Companies should also be using teachers who already are using computer based assessment to develop incentives so that other teachers may start to use computer based assessments applications more frequently

According to Morling and Evered’s (2006) Fit-Focused model of secondary control, an individual can adapt to adverse circumstances by accepting the situation and adjusting the self. The present study examined this theory in a competitive achievement setting to determine whether vulnerable students who relinquish academic control (high acceptance/low adjustment beliefs) benefit from an Attributional Retraining (AR) treatment intervention compared with a Stress Reduction (SR) treatment. Based on an 8-month quasi-experimental treatment study, a priori t-tests were used to test the hypotheses within an Adjustment (low, high) x Treatment (AR, SR) Analyses of Covariance experimental design for individuals high in failure acceptance. Findings revealed that AR (versus SR) facilitated higher long-term learning-related affects and academic performance for relinquished control students. The findings reveal AR’s strategic utility for assisting vulnerable individuals who lack Fit-Focused SC, as well as provide empirical support for Morling and Evered’s (2006) Fit-Focused model.

The present study was designed to address the issue of the potential harm of workaholism. It specifically examined the relationships between workaholism, self-acceptance, psychological well-being, and physical symptoms. Furthermore, participants completed a form to rate their perceptions of their parents work behaviors, and thus relationships between perceived parental workaholism, physical symptoms, psychological well-being, and self-acceptance, were also explored.Three hundred forty seven students from a Midwestern university completed a survey measuring the above constructs. Of these 347 surveys, 279 were utilized for analysis. It was hypothesized that students' workaholism would correlate negatively with the students' psychological well-being and self-acceptance, and positively with physical health complaints. It was expected that student workaholics would report less psychological well-being, more physical complaints, and less self-acceptance than nonworkaholic students. Furthermore it was hypothesized that there would be no relationship between perceived parental workaholism and students' workaholism. While it was hypothesized that students who perceive their parents as workaholic would report less psychological well-being and self-acceptance than students with perceived nonworkaholic parents, it was not expected that they would report more physical health complaints.Results supported the majority of the hypotheses. A negative relationship was found between students' workaholism and the students' psychological well-being and self-acceptance, while a positive relationship was found between students' workaholism and physical health complaints. Students in the medium to high risk workaholic group were found to have significantly more physical health complaints, and lower self-acceptance and psychological well-being than students scoring in the low risk workaholic group. Furthermore, students with perceptions of parental workaholism falling within the medium to high risk range, had significantly lower levels of psychological well-being and self-acceptance than parents falling within the low risk range. No differences were expected in these two groups in terms of physical health complaints, however students' with perceptions of parental workaholism in the medium to high risk range had significantly more physical symptoms than students' with lower perceptions of parental workaholism. Furthermore, while no correlation was expected between perceived parental workaholism and student workaholism, a significant positive correlation was found. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Social risk elicits an internal struggle between wanting to form significant relationships (i.e., connectedness goals) and avoiding rejection (i.e., self-protection goals). The current research tested an intervention designed to reduce perceptions of risk for low self-esteem individuals (LSEs). However, the intervention did not function as anticipated and regardless of self-esteem level, participants reported lower perceived acceptance and lower state self-esteem in the intervention condition compared to the control. In a post-session two weeks following the manipulation, high self-esteem individuals (HSEs) in the intervention appear to not only recover, but actually reported significantly more perceived regard and global self-esteem than HSEs in the control. A second study investigated the impact of the intervention in light of these surprising findings. Results suggest that viewing the intervention video in a socially risky situation caused both HSEs and LSEs to experience social threat. In contrast, the control video actually served to reduce social risk.

Vilka normer och värderingar bidrar till en god vänskapsrelation? Ien kvalitativ undersökning intervjuades tre män och tre kvinnormellan 20-30 år. Respondenterna som rekryterades via ettbekvämlighetsurval svarade på 15 frågor om deras syn på vänskap.Resultatet visade att respondenterna hade vissa gemensamma svarsom delades upp efter följande teman; tillit, acceptans, intimitet.Vänskap visade sig ha en betydande roll för välmående eftersom detär en grundläggande del av människans liv. Studien visade även attdet ur ett genusperspektiv fanns förväntningar som skiljde sig åt i envänskapsrelation och att dessa skillnader grundade sig på normer ochvärderingar. Resultatet visade slutligen att normer och värderingargenom åren har skapats genom kulturen som har sin grund isamhället. / What kind of norms and values determine a good friendship? In aqualitative study three men and three women aged 20-30 years oldwere interviewed. The respondents who were recruited through aconvenience sampling were asked to answer questions concerningtheir view about friendship. After analyzing the interview protocol,three common themes were identified: trust acceptance and intimacy.Friendship showed to be a significant part when it came to people andtheir wellbeing. The study also showed that men and women haddifferent expectations for what that friendship will entail and thesedifferences were based on norms and values. It seems that norms andvalues are developed through the existing culture in society and inover time.

Problem: E-commerce is a rapidly growing business sector across the world and provides interesting expansion opportunities for retail businesses. However, differing consumer attitudes across borders create barriers for expansion, and subsequently there is a need to study these differences. Purpose: The primary purpose of this study is to examine potential differences between Chinese and Swedish consumer’s attitudes and online shopping intentions when purchasing apparel online. The secondary purpose of this study is to contribute to the TAM by adding constructs that facilitate a cross-cultural examination in an e-commerce context. Methodology: This study is explorative and descriptive and has applied a qualitative research approach. The data has been collected primarily by conducting focus groups in both China and in Sweden. Findings: Differences in consumer’s attitudes and intentions toward online shopping between China and Sweden were identified. The main differences were the perceived overall usefulness of online shopping and the level of risk that consumers perceived in online shopping. Risk related constructs added to the TAM were found to be relevant, while the relevance of certain culturally related dimensions added were questionable.

The psychological literature on immigrants has identified numerous challenges of resettlement. Research on acculturation indicates that adaptive functioning is characterized as a bicultural prospect in which individuals balance their heritage and the dominant culture within the receiving society. This conceptualization of positive adaptation typically relegates culture to a broad-based and static property circumscribed within ethnicity, neglecting diverse cultural representations and the way specific mechanisms affect the process of adaptation. The current research sought immigrants’ subjective accounts of resilience. The aim of this study was to identify specific markers of significant adversity and corollary positive adaptation that intersect with diverse mechanisms of culture to develop a theory of cultural adaptation. A constructivist grounded theory approach was implemented in data collection and analysis. Eighteen first-generation immigrants, who represented a range of cultural backgrounds and geographic regions, each participated in one semi-structured interview. The overarching theme that emerged from data analysis, Belonging, was found to explicate the meaning of resilience for immigrants in terms of their cultural adaptation. Belonging indicated a process by which immigrants gained a sense of identification with and inclusion in Canadian society. Immigrants’ perception of Belonging was affected by two mid-level themes, Forming Attachments and Feeling Acceptance. Forming Attachments was contextually driven and highlighted a personal process of developing cultural attachments. The advancement of attachments, interpersonally, occupationally and to the larger sociocultural environment, was meaningful to recovery and had implications for Belonging. The second mid-level theme identified a reciprocal process of acceptance that revealed a struggle to accept cultural changes as well as the significance of feeling accepted as an equal member of society. Taken together, Forming Attachments and Feeling Acceptance had a significant effect on immigrants’ sense of Belonging and were contextualized within a range of cultural domains. This study highlights the dynamic role of culture in immigrant adaptation and contributes to both research and health care professionals by offering a framework of immigrant resilience that may promote healthy forms of functioning.

The psychological literature on immigrants has identified numerous challenges of resettlement. Research on acculturation indicates that adaptive functioning is characterized as a bicultural prospect in which individuals balance their heritage and the dominant culture within the receiving society. This conceptualization of positive adaptation typically relegates culture to a broad-based and static property circumscribed within ethnicity, neglecting diverse cultural representations and the way specific mechanisms affect the process of adaptation. The current research sought immigrants’ subjective accounts of resilience. The aim of this study was to identify specific markers of significant adversity and corollary positive adaptation that intersect with diverse mechanisms of culture to develop a theory of cultural adaptation. A constructivist grounded theory approach was implemented in data collection and analysis. Eighteen first-generation immigrants, who represented a range of cultural backgrounds and geographic regions, each participated in one semi-structured interview. The overarching theme that emerged from data analysis, Belonging, was found to explicate the meaning of resilience for immigrants in terms of their cultural adaptation. Belonging indicated a process by which immigrants gained a sense of identification with and inclusion in Canadian society. Immigrants’ perception of Belonging was affected by two mid-level themes, Forming Attachments and Feeling Acceptance. Forming Attachments was contextually driven and highlighted a personal process of developing cultural attachments. The advancement of attachments, interpersonally, occupationally and to the larger sociocultural environment, was meaningful to recovery and had implications for Belonging. The second mid-level theme identified a reciprocal process of acceptance that revealed a struggle to accept cultural changes as well as the significance of feeling accepted as an equal member of society. Taken together, Forming Attachments and Feeling Acceptance had a significant effect on immigrants’ sense of Belonging and were contextualized within a range of cultural domains. This study highlights the dynamic role of culture in immigrant adaptation and contributes to both research and health care professionals by offering a framework of immigrant resilience that may promote healthy forms of functioning.

Modern roundabouts are increasingly being considered as a preferred intersection design within urban street networks in North America due, in large part, to the increased safety provided by roundabout. In the last decade, much research has been conducted in North America to quantify the performance of roundabouts in terms of vehicle delay as a function of vehicle traffic volume and roundabout geometry. In most jurisdictions, vehicles entering and existing the roundabout are required by law to yield right-of-way to pedestrians crossing the roundabout approach, and consequently, the presence of substantial pedestrian volumes are expected to degrade operational performance of the roundabout for vehicles. However, very little research has been conducted to estimate the impact that pedestrian volumes have on average vehicle delay. The aim of this research is to study the effects of pedestrian volume, entry traffic volume, and conflicting or circulating volume, on the delays that vehicles experience when traversing the roundabout. An analytical model is proposed to estimate vehicle delays on the basis of traffic flow and queuing theory. The model is applicable to single lane roundabouts. The model was calibrated and validated using vehicle delays obtained from the micro-simulation software, VISSIM (version 5.2) for a range of different conditions. The research described in this thesis demonstrates that pedestrian flows cause delays to vehicles traversing the roundabout in four distinct ways. Existing analytical techniques included within most design manuals consider only one of these sources of delays and consequently, conventional models typically under-estimate the impact that pedestrian flows have in terms of increasing delays to vehicles traversing the roundabout.