Contents: Leader empowering behaviour -- Organisational commitment -- Turnover intention -- Work performance -- Productivity / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Abstract Much warranted attention over the past few decades has been devoted to the problem of retaining women faculty in academe, particularly in areas where they poorly represented such as in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This study uses descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling techniques to test an existing model of general faculty departure intentions (Zhou & Volkwein, 2004) on three samples of faculty (a) women faculty, (b) women faculty in STEM, and (c) women faculty in non-STEM fields. Findings revealed that although several significant pathways to intention to leave for women faculty in STEM and in non-STEM fields were identified, the tested model is not an overall good fit of the data for any of the three samples, implying the need for new models of faculty departure intentions specifically for women in STEM and non-STEM disciplines. Implications for practice, theory, and future research are discussed.

An evaluation is reported of an alcohol prevention program that targets parents in order to decrease drinking among 13-16 year-olds. The evaluation was performed in a quasi-experimental study with a matched control group and annual assessments, directed at youths and their parents independently, in a longitudinal intention-to-treat design. The implementation of the program centered around three different schools located in inner city, public housing and small town areas. Participants in the study were 900 students entering junior high school and their parents. The intervention consisted in information and mailings directed at parents, which advised them to maintain restrictive attitudes towards underage alcohol drinking, and to encourage their youths’ involvement in organized leisure activities. The implementation successfully influenced parents’ attitudes to underage drinking, but failed to increase youth participation in organized activities. At post-test at grade 9, youths in the intervention group reported less drunkenness and delinquency. Effect sizes were 0.35 for drunkenness and 0.38 for delinquency. Two subsamples, early starters in drinking and early delinquents, were analyzed separately in addition to full sample. Results from analyses of these subsamples yielded effect sizes of .52 for drunkenness and .32 for delinquency. The findings were similar for boys and girls. The effects of the intervention were not moderated by type of community. The main results were replicated in a latent growth curve analysis, which too the clustered nature of the data into account. It is concluded that working via parents is an effective way of reducing underage drinking and delinquency.

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka sambandet mellan elevers attityder, subjektiv norm, upplevd kontroll, intentioner, rättfärdiganden, motivation samt självvärdering i relation till benägenhet att fuska eller att avstå från att fuska. The theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 2006) har använts som teoretisk modell för en enkätundersökning med 122 elever i grundskolans årskurs 9 och i gymnasieskolans årskurser 2–3. Resultatet av studien visar att intentionen att utföra ett beteende, som i denna studie är fusk, är den viktigaste prediktorn för beteendet i fråga. I föreliggande studie har även kunnat styrkas att rättfärdigande av eget fusk har en avgörande roll vad gäller beteende och intention. De övriga variablerna har en viss betydelse med inte i lika hög grad som intention och rättfärdigande.  Resultatet av studien har diskuterats utifrån intentionen och rättfärdigandets starka samband med beteendet.

The aim of this study is to investigate what factors are important when implementing cause-related marketing within the Swedish fashion retail market, in order to change the purchase intention of customers. Cause-related marketing (CRM) is a widely used marketing tool within the Swedish fashion industry. There has been an increasing trend of using cause-related marketing as part of corporate social responsibility strategy. Companies increasingly believe that associating their corporate identity with good causes can be an effective marketing tool. There is limited research about CRM with a bearing on the Swedish market and the fashion industry. This has given the authors an interesting field for research and analysis. A quantitative method was used to collect primary data. A survey was conducted among customers of H&M, Lindex, Mango and Indiska. These companies were chosen after the observation of a large amount of Swedish based fashion retailers and their involvement within CRM. The results indicate that there is a link between cause-related marketing and customer purchase intentions. CRM campaigns have positive effects on customers by increasing their purchase intentions. Marketing communication, price, customer attitude and fit are important factors that affect the purchase of CRM products. A further investigation can be useful for companies and researchers in the field of marketing strategies.

The respondents can be classified into 3 groups as follows, users 47%, non users 37%, non awareness customers 16%. We found that the group of users perceived more positive toward Bualuang ibanking than the group of non users in four aspects, relatively advantage, complexity, compability and observability, while, trialability was not perceived as a significant attribute facilitating the use of Bualuang ibanking. However, in some circumstances, such as, time processing, mental effort, frustrating, privacy and security, the attitude toward these circumstances is positive but not divergent between these two groups. For the non awareness customers, there are 58% of them preferred adopting this technology in the future and the most frequently selective duration that they will adopt this technology is within one month.

This thesis outlines the methodology and experiments associated with the reshaping of human intention via based on the robot movements in Human-Robot Interactions (HRI). Although works on estimating human intentions are quite well known research areas in the literature, reshaping intentions through interactions is a new significant branching in the field of human-robot interaction. In this thesis, we analyze how previously estimated human intentions change based on his/her actions by cooperating with mobile robots in a real human-robot environment. Our approach uses the Observable Operator Models (OOMs) and Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) designed for the intelligent mobile robotic systems, which consists of two levels: the low-level tracks the human while the high-level guides the mobile robots into moves that aim to change intentions of individuals in the environment. In the low level, postures and locations of the human are monitored by applying image processing methods. The high level uses an algorithm which includes learned OOM models or HMM models to estimate human intention and decision making system to reshape the previously estimated human intention. Through this thesis, OOMs are started to be used at the human-robot interaction applications for first time. This two-level system is tested on video frames taken from a real human-robot environment. The results obtained using the proposed approaches are compared according to performance towards the degree of reshaping the detected intentions.

In recent years, the internet shopping development is quite developed, what every shopping website developed is quite ripe too, and 3C products occupy sizable rates in the internet shopping. So I want to study that 3C shopping website influences factor that influencing consumers¡¦ will to use the internet shopping. This research base on demography and knowledge about 3C products to create the cause-effect model of electronic service convenient, electronic service quality, customer satisfaction, and purchase intention. Through statistics software, probe into the relationship, electronic service convenient, electronic service quality, customer satisfaction, and purchase intention in the internet. In order to have close look to on customer needs is essential. Overall, the entire model fit is acceptable. It is pointed that the whole theory model of this study completes the standard of the fit test. To sum up, the results shows the indeed influential relationship among the four concepts.The customer satisfaction is the most important factor that negative effect purchase intention in the entire model. The second factor is electronic service quality. And electronic service convenient only leads a positive effect on purchase intention via electronic service quality and customer satisfaction. However, the effect is very small.

The purpose of the paper is to explore the factor that might influence atypical workers¡¦ turnover intention as the ¡§Atypical employment¡¨ is increasing in Taiwan over the last few years. Will try to understand weather or not an atypical workers¡¦ psychological contract, social capital, employability and relationship perception will influence their turnover intention. And also discuss the situation of atypical worker¡¦s turnover intention, psychological contract, social capital, employability and relationship perception. The findings are shown as the following: 1. The atypical workers in telecommunication service industry reported lower psychology contract violation than other sub-groups did. 2. The atypical workers in telecommunication service industry reported greater social capital than other sub-groups did. 3. Atypical workers generally reported the same employability. 4. The atypical workers in Electronics and Technology industry reported lower relationship perception than other sub-group did. 5. Psychology contract influences the atypical workers¡¦ turnover intention significantly. 6. Social capital influences the atypical workers¡¦ turnover intention significantly. 7. Employability influences the atypical workers¡¦ turnover intension significantly. 8. Relationship perception influences atypical workers¡¦ turnover intension significantly.

This study focuses on undergraduates in Shanghai and aims to generate some practical implications on how to improve the entrepreneurial environment by enhancing undergraduates’ entrepreneurial intentions. The authors initiated an analytical model with support from the GEM conceptual model and Krueger’s intention model (2000) to carry on an investigation among local undergraduates. The data reflects an actuality of undergraduates’ entrepreneurial intention. On the other hand, by the correlation analysis, undergraduates’ preferences upon different aspects of entrepreneurial environment are filtered out. Finally, practical implications are given through two aspects. One is divisions of respondents by their different grades of entrepreneurial intentions; the preferences from the higher intentioned group will firstly be suggested to improve. The other one is based on the comparison between undergraduates’ valuation and experts’ measurement on the entrepreneurial environment. In conclusion, the study reflects that the analytical model is applicable to undergraduates in Shanghai. To enhance undergraduates’ entrepreneurial intention, it is highly recommended by the authors to improve entrepreneurial environment through more attention to the feasibility of technology transfer, sufficient government programs for new firms, the effectiveness of technological region, and government projects.