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The present study examined the relationship between fundamentalism and certain work-related attitudes and behaviors. The research was based on the idea that fundamentalist churches socialize their members in values complimentary to capitalism. Specifically, it was hypothesized that fundamentalism would be positively correlated with attitude toward work, attitude toward supervisor, and faith-in-people. A questionnaire was designed to quantify these attitudes and measure specific work-related behaviors and limited demographic data.The sample for the study consisted of 39 blue-collar workers. Approximately half of the subjects were obtained from a local industry, while the other half were from four fundamentalist churches in the area.Pearson product-moment correlations revealed that fundamentalism correlated significantly at the .05 level with the three attitudinal variables (attitude toward supervisor, attitude toward work, and faith-in-people). It was concluded therefore, that fundamentalism did indeed relate to one's generalized attitude toward work.

Recent research on corporate social responsibility has focused on the corporate level, whereas limited research has been conducted at the individual level most commonly referred to as socially responsible consumption. Recycling is a kind of socially responsible consumer behaviour because it benefits the society as a whole in the long term but involves a personal cost and does not benefit the individual consumer directly. Previous studies on recycling have used theories such as the theory of interpersonal behaviour, means-end chain theory, theory of planned behaviour or norm activation model. However, these theories have only explained part of recycling behaviour and are inadequate because they have not explained it from a social dilemma perspective. A social dilemma is a situation in which there is conflict between an individual's self-interest and the collective interest of the group. Will consumers pursue their own interests or will they act for the good of the entire society? This study takes an innovative approach to explain recycling behaviour through the lens of social dilemma theory. It uses a mixed methods approach that combines both qualitative and quantitative elements in the research design. A phenomenological approach is used to gain a deeper understanding of the recycling experiences of individuals, and survey data is used for quantitative analyses. In the qualitative study, 142 significant statements and eight themes were identified from 20 in-depth interviews. In the quantitative study, data were collected from 332 respondents. Based on the data analysis, the central relationships in the model are supported. There is a positive relationship between the expectation that others will participate in recycling and the likelihood of personal participation in recycling, and there is also a positive relationship between the likelihood of personal participation and recycling behaviour. Of the four moderators considered, only social value orientation is significant. In the latter part of this thesis, the theoretical and methodological contributions and practical implications of the study are discussed.

The primary aim of this thesis is to apply chaos theory to consumer behaviour research. Chaos theory is essentially a theory of time series. The specific focus is product choice consumption behaviour. The conceptual basis for the work is taken from a theory thus far developed entirely outwith the topic focus of consumer research and marketing. The concepts and methods developed by chaos theorists in the natural sciences and some social and behavioural sciences are synthesised with concepts and methods from consumer research. The objective is to both shed light on the consumption process and explore the potential of chaos theory in this field. Ultimately the work attempts to address the question of whether consumer behaviour can be 'chaotic' as described by chaos theory.In order to facilitate these objectives a diary study was conducted using sixty respondents. They were required to record their consumption of branded products for a period of three months. Five product categories were used with informants recording consumption of only one product type (twelve informants in each group). The product groups were as follows: soft drinks; savoury snacks; beer; chocolate snacks and packaged yoghurts and desserts. The data was coded and analysed by methods selected prior to data capture: weighted time series, spectral analysis and phase space analysis. One of the principal findings of the research was that distinctive forms of behaviour were identifiable within the data set as a whole from which a five-fold typology is proposed. However the complexity and individuality of the forms was marked despite this apparent typology. The spectral analysis shows little evidence of regular or periodic patterned behaviour; the series are essentially aperiodic. The phase space analysis reinforces and enhances the analysis of the weighted time series and suggests the series tend more towards chaos than ordered behaviour. The series obey certain 'rules' (i.e. they are 'randomised' but not random) consistent with the existence of determnistic chaos. Moreover they appear globally stable and locally unstable. These findings have a number of implications for various areas of consumer research (e.g. varety seeking, loyalty and other aspects of consumption) and successfully extend the application of chaos theory to another area of human behaviour research.

This study examines the natural history of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Senegal, West Africa. This western form of chimpanzee is the least studied of the three geographical races. Ecological studies of chimpanzees have been neglected in favour of behavioural investigations. Those studies which have focussed on ecology have often been distorted by unnatural human intervention. Field studies of chimpanzees are reviewed in terms of their length, the extent of disturbance at the site, and the methods involved. The study area is described: its hot, arid climate and undisturbed state are emphasised. Methods were devised to gain knowledge of the chimpanzees' ecology without interfering with their behaviour or habitat. A detailed description of the types of vegetation is given, and their proportional distribution reveals that there is less forest and woodland at Mt. Assirik than at any other site where chimpanzees have been studied. Chimpanzees use the types of vegetation differentially and this shows seasonal variation. Forest is most used at the end of the dry season. At other times of the year, extensive use is made of woodland. Grassland is used during the wet season. Data from observations of chimpanzees and their nests is used to estimate the population size, range and density. The total number of chimpanzees at Mt. Assirik is estimated as about 25 to 30, density is reckoned as 0.1/km² and their home range as 250 to 300km². The chimpanzees appear to be healthy. Many features of social behaviour, described elsewhere, were confirmed for this subspecies. A high proportion of mixed parties was discovered. This is thought to be an adaptation to an area of open vegetation: its distribution of food, water, and the presence of large carnivores. The chimpanzees are omnivorous. Although mainly frugivorous, they also eat leaves, flowers, seeds, bark, honey, insects and meat. Two species of insect are eaten seasonally, and two types of tool are used to obtain termites and driver ants respectively. Chimpanzees appear to specialise in nocturnal prosimians as mammalian prey. Nests are examined in detail and found to be similar to those made elsewhere. Preferences, for certain species are demonstrated for the first time. Finally, the results of the study are compared with the cultural ecology of a human hunter-gatherer society, the !Kung San of Southern Africa. The comparison is used as a basis for speculation on the behaviour of the ancestral hominids.

Bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) and spotted (Stenella frontalis) dolphins are sympatric species, resident to Little Bahama Bank, Bahamas. A unique, dynamic methodology quantified how interspecific aggression changed over time in terms of the individuals participating, context, and behaviors used. The timing of human observation relative to the onset of aggression did not result in differences in the proportion of behaviors observed. Highly intense behaviors were used most often. The synchronous state of spotted dolphin groups, not the presence alone, was a crucial factor in determining the onset and progression of aggression. When synchronous, spotted dolphins successfully dominated the larger bottlenose dolphins. Two levels of dominance were observed. Within a single encounter ("encounter level"), one species did dominate the other. When all aggressive encounters were considered collectively over the long term ("gross level"), one species did not dominate the other. The combination of contextual factors best determined the dynamic of interspecific aggression. / by Jessica A. Cusick. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Sociology

Subjective time perception has received considerable attention in the past decade in management research. Organizational behavioral researchers increasingly emphasize the necessity of introducing a new perspective, the temporal perspective, to explore individual willingness to engage in discretionary behavior (i.e., organizational citizenship behavior and counterproductive behavior), as behavior entailing a temporal conflict of interest (e.g., short-term individual cost versus long-term individual and collective benefit). Temporal focus, defined as the degree to which people devote their attention to perceptions of the past, present, and future (Shipp, Edwards, & Lambert, 2009), is a core concept in the study of subjective time perception. However, most research on temporal focus is descriptive and vague in terms of explicating the causal mechanisms from temporal focus to individual decision-making and behavior. In this study, I use construal level theory to explain how temporal focus affects individual levels of mental construal, which in turn influences discretionary behavioral choices. Specifically, I propose that the effect of temporal focus on construal level is dependent on individual levels of need for cognition (NFC), defined as people's tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activity (Cacioppo & Petty, 1984). Specifically, when high NFC persons reflect on their past, they recall, re-experience, and reanalyze the facts and details stored in their memory, resulting in a concrete mindset (low construal level). In contrast, when people with low NFC reflect on their past, they only retain or extract the general experiences, feelings, and lessons, leading to an abstract mindset (high construal level). Regarding the focus on the present, when high NFC people think about their current situation, they tend to interpret every detail and the context, leading to a constrained and narrow mindset (low construal level). Conversely, when low NFC people think about their present, they are less analytical and tend to be receptive about what is happening, resulting in an abstract mindset (high construal level). Regarding the focus of the future, when high NFC people think about their future, without involving concrete facts and details, they are able to predict global trends and aim at the superordinate goal (high construal level). In contrast, low NFC people who are reluctant to analyze, predict, and plan the future tend to simply extend the current subordinate goal into the future or just enter "daydreaming" mode (low construal level). Based on CLT, I further propose that temporal distance serves as a moderator exaggerating the abovementioned interactive effects of temporal focus and need for cognition. Specifically, when individuals higher in NFC think of their remote (versus recent) past, past focus has a stronger negative effect on their construal level; when those individuals who are lower in NFC think about their remote (versus recent) past, past focus has a stronger positive effect on their construal level. Similarly, when individuals with stronger NFC think of their remote (versus recent) future, future focus has a stronger positive effect on their construal level; in contrast, when individuals who have lower level of need for cognition think about the remote (versus recent) future, future focus has a stronger negative effect on their construal level. Regarding the interaction effect of different temporal foci, I argue that for individuals with low NFC, a temporal profile consisting of low past, low present, and high future focus results in the lowest level of mental construal; for individuals with a high need for cognition, low past focus, low present focus, and high future focus result in the highest mental construal level. Finally, I propose that high construal level leads to more OCB and less CWB by increasing individuals' ability to delay gratification (to forgo immediate desires for the sake of long-term rewards) and self-control (to resist short-term temptations and to refrain from impulsivity). I conduct a lab experiment (study 1) and a field survey (study 2) to test the proposed relationships in the model. In study 1, by recruiting 218 undergraduate students and randomly assigning them to one of three conditions where they are asked to focus on a specified temporal period of either past, present, or future, I establish the associations among manipulated temporal focus, need for cognition, and construal level. In study 2, I survey 291 employees and their immediate supervisors three times to test the entire model. The findings of the two studies confirm almost all of the hypotheses. In the section devoted to discussion, I further explore the data, findings, and theoretical and practical contributions. Finally, I discuss how this work has limitations and identify several directions for future research.

M.Cur. / Obstacles to labour companionship at Bamalete Lutheran Hospital (BLH) in Botswana are discussed. There is an underutilization of labour companionship in the BLH maternity ward despite several efforts that have been made to introduce labour companionship. Labour companionship is a rare exception in the BLH labour ward. Why is labour companionship underutilized at Bamalete Lutheran Hospital and what could be done to promote labour companions? An explorative, descriptive, qualitative, contextual, multiple case study was conducted to explore and describe obstacles to, and the need for, the utilisation of labour companionship, and to develop and recommend strategies to overcome the identified obstacles to labour companionship at BLH. Five unaccompanied primigravidae were selected from mothers who had delivered at BLH. Their ideal labour companions and the attending midwives were also selected for the study. A semi-structured interview with open-ended questions and an audiotape were used to collect data from the primigravidae and their ideal companions. Naive sketches were used to collect data from the attending midwives. Morse and Field cognitive processes were used to analyse the data (1996: 103). This study identified four major obstacles to labour companionship as the lack of knowledge about the concept of labour companionship and the availability of the service by the primigravidae; the lack of knowledge on how labour companionship should be practised in a hospital setting by the ideal companions; the lack of privacy of the labour ward unit; and the reluctance of the midwives to implement labour companionship. The Botswana Sexual Reproductive Health information, education and communication (IEC) approach was utilized as a guide in developing the promotion strategies for labour companionship at BLH

Synchrony between Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) is crucial for successfully fending off bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) during interspecies aggression. The present study examined synchrony in adult Atlantic spotted dolphins during aggressive encounters with bottlenose dolphins. Across group size, aggressive behavioral events increased preceding synchrony, peaked during synchrony, and decreased dramatically after synchrony. Although smaller groups (< 10 dolphins) became synchronous more frequently than larger groups (> 10 dolphins), larger groups remained synchronous longer; however, smaller groups exhibited more frequent aggressive behavioral events during synchrony, suggesting that additional aggressive behaviors may be necessary to compensate for the small group size, whereas larger groups may be able to rely on synchrony alone. Disorganized squawk bouts synchronized as physical synchrony began, but only if coupled with escalating aggressive behaviors. The synchrony during aggressive episodes observed in adult Atlantic spotted dolphins can be used as a baseline to determine the process of the development of this critical skill in juveniles. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection