In 2016 Cyprus received 3,2 million international tourists. The island is considered as the 40th most popular destination in the world, while if counted per capita of local population Cyprus has a 6th place worldwide. There are some 200,000 tourists from Sweden travelling to the island annually. Swedish citizens, in a similar fashion with the rest of Nordic countries enjoy a similar consumer behavior and high purchasing power. Understanding how Swedish tourists perceive image of Cyprus helps to nuance the view of visitors coming from Nordic countries onto the destination. The visit experience plays an important role to reduce the destination image stereotyping, which caused by different information sources that may lead to a change in destination image after visitation. Positive destination image leads to satisfaction and revisit intentions. This thesis investigates in detail how Swedish’ tourists perceive the destination images during their visit on Cyprus. The researcher followed semi-structured qualitative research method with the use of in-depth interviews to collect empirical data with respondents who have visited Cyprus. Destination image theory is utilized to support the theoretical ground for the thesis, while a textual content analysis was used as a tool for analyzing the interviews. Adopting the qualitative research approach provided the opportunity to capture the holistic components of Cyprus destination images while Cyprus touristic’ attributes were identified and ranked based on their functionality and psychological dimensions. Conducting this research provided the researcher the chance to test the theoretical destination image formation and the interrelationship among the destination image different components. Cyprus images after visiting the destination differ from the pre-visit stage as images were modified after visiting the destination. Swedish tourists upon their visit perceived the images of Cyprus in positive and negative ways. Cyprus Tourism Organization can benefit Cyprus by considering the negative notions found in this research and try to solve these problems or minimize their effects as possible.

Submitted by Kleber Silva (kleberbs@ufba.br) on 2017-05-31T19:45:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Versão final - Carol Passos.pdf: 2786576 bytes, checksum: 51176f0a4d3c8a2ac70f4fa2b6818b2c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Vanessa Reis (vanessa.jamile@ufba.br) on 2017-06-06T14:52:01Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Versão final - Carol Passos.pdf: 2786576 bytes, checksum: 51176f0a4d3c8a2ac70f4fa2b6818b2c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-06T14:52:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Versão final - Carol Passos.pdf: 2786576 bytes, checksum: 51176f0a4d3c8a2ac70f4fa2b6818b2c (MD5) / Many theories in health care and business administration seek answers to the fundamental question of why people behave the way they do. They aim to understand the beliefs underlying an intention or behavior. These theories are currently used to find out how people progress from intention to practice in business environments. In this dissertation, we focus our attention on understanding belief systems behind software engineering practice. Our work aims to characterize a belief system applying behavioral theories in software project teams in terms of the influence factors, such as beliefs, attitude, organizational culture and values, subjective norms, team confidence and autonomy, that actually impact on software practices in industrial settings. Our research went through two cycles, comprising three years of study in Brazilian software companies. A long-term ethnographic case study was conducted, employing participant observation, interviews, and document analysis. A set of interviews on origins and impacts of beliefs was performed with professionals from different project teams and companies. Conceptual frameworks were built based on behavioral theories models to focus and bound the collection of data and guide the synthesis of the results on the research questions posed. The results showed the strong influence of past experiences and organizational contexts on the software development practices of project teams. Based on the findings of the research, it became clear that beliefs alone do not lead project teams to action and behavior. Factors such as attitude toward behavior have a significant influence on practice. New information about something contribute to shape an opinion or predisposition to act and have the potential to affect the attitude depending on the strength of related beliefs, which leads to behavior intention. Another important issue is how consonant are the beliefs of a project team. Common strong beliefs are reflected into practices that project teams actually adopt. However there are beliefs without attitude that do not result in action, as well as team conflicts that hinder the adoption of new practices. All these findings motivated a search for behavioral theories that could explain and conceptualize human behavior. The study showed that it is possible to characterize belief systems in software project contexts within a behavioral perspective. We were able to provide rich narrative accounts for software engineering research and our approach has led to practical and useful recommendations for companies. The main contribution of this dissertation is to deepen relevant knowledge and experience on the characterization of beliefs in organizational contexts and how they and other influence factors actually impact practices, processes and decisions in software industry projects.

Nous nous intéressons aux relations entre l’équilibre travail-famille, le sentiment d’efficacité personnelle, la satisfaction au travail, l’implication organisationnelle et l’intention de départ. Une étude par questionnaires a été réalisée auprès d’un échantillon de 232 cadres de PME du bassin lorrain. Les résultats de l’analyse statistique montrent, d’une part, que le conflit travail-famille – en particulier lié au stress – est associé négativement à la satisfaction au travail et d’autre part, que le sentiment d’efficacité personnelle modère de façon significative les effets négatifs du conflit travail/famille sur la satisfaction au travail. L’investigation plus approfondie du sentiment d’efficacité personnelle (SEP) fait apparaître deux dimensions. Le sentiment d’efficacité personnelle de son travail est l’une de ces composantes. La rétroaction perçue d’auto-efficacité (RPAE) est l’autre composante du SEP. Nous définissons la RPAE comme la perception d’un individu de la façon dont sa hiérarchie juge son travail. Les résultats de cette recherche attestent que le sentiment d’efficacité personnelle de son travail agit sur le conflit travail-famille lié au stress de telle sorte qu’il augmente la satisfaction au travail. En revanche, la RPAE accroît les effets négatifs du conflit travail-famille lié au stress sur la satisfaction au travail. Cette thèse fournit des explications aux effets contraires constatés et propose des recommandations pour le management des ressources humaines. / We’re interested in the relationship between work-life balance, self-efficacy, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and intent to leave. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 232 managers from various small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Lorraine. Results of the SEM analysis showed that work-family conflict was negatively related to job satisfaction. Moreover, perceived self-efficacy was found to moderate this relationship such that the relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction were not statistically and negatively significant for managers reporting high levels of self-efficacy. An investigation of components of self-efficacy delivers interesting information. Work self-efficacy (WSE) is one of these factors. Self-efficacy received feedback (SERF) is suggested in this paper as the other factor of SE. We define SERF as the perception of an individual on the way its hierarchy judges its work. The results of this research give evidence that WSE acts on stress work-family conflict so that it increases job satisfaction. Conversely, SERF increases the negative effects of the stress work-family conflict on the job satisfaction. This thesis offers explanations of the opposite effects and proposes recommendations for human resources management

Understanding consumer behavior is one of the pivotal elements for success in any business. Among the various concepts in consumer behavior, the consumer decision-making process has gained much attention from both academics and practitioners. In Taiwan, scholars and practitioners have paid significant attention to external factors that influence consumer decision-making in various industries. However, few such studies have focused on external factors regarding purchases of products and services in the Taiwanese sport industry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the external factors that influence Taiwanese college students' shoe purchase intention. Data were collected to examine do external factors differed between genders and grade levels. Six external factors were identified from the literature review. The external factors were brand, price, style, durability, comfort, and athletic ndorsement/ promotion. This study utilized a 5-point Likert scale survey to examine the external factors influence Taiwanese college students' shoe purchase intention. A total of 416 Taiwanese college students from Southern Taiwan University were surveyed. Descriptive analysis, multiple regressions analysis, and one-way ANOVA were employed in this study. First of all, descriptive statistic analysis is used to categorize the participants based on their gender, age, grade, favorite athletic shoe brand, and how often did they purchase athletic shoes. Second, multiple regression analysis was used to predict which external factors had the most influence in Taiwanese college students' athletic shoe purchase intention. The results of multiple regression analysis demonstrated that comfort and style were the most influential factors in Taiwanese college students. Third, one-way ANOVA were used to measure the difference between gender and grade level for Taiwanese college students shoe purchase.

xv, 140 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Although research on action processing indicates people segment action according to a partonomic goal hierarchy, no previous research has investigated whether memory for complex human action is actually organized in the mind with respect to goals. This dissertation explored the primary organization of action memory in adults and young children and explored the role of familiarity in young children's organization of action in memory. Borrowing from the text memory literature, a priming experiment was designed to investigate the degree to which action memory is organized with respect to goals versus veridical temporal structure. In all studies, participants viewed videos in which goals were carried out in an interleaved fashion, such that the execution of a goal was at times interrupted by action related to the other goal. In a first experiment with adults, the results indicated that adults reorganize action information in memory in order to emphasize goal structure relative to verbatim temporal structure. A second control experiment with adults clarified that the goal priming effect observed in the first experiment arose as a result of viewing the action scenario and was not simply due to the stimuli cuing pre-existing semantic memory. The results of a third experiment with adults revealed this process of goal organization is unlikely to be a by-product of goal-based linguistic encoding, but instead reflects encoding of human action itself. Young children's action memory was examined in a fourth experiment, and the role of children's familiarity with the action scenarios in action memory organization was also explored. Children did not display a significant tendency to organize action according to goal inferences (or temporal structure, either, for that matter). As well, children's prior familiarity with action did not modulate their memory organization to any significant degree. Overall, the results of this dissertation suggest that adult memory for action emphasizes goal inferences but cannot speak to how or when this process in achieved developmentally. These findings have implications for contemporary theories of action processing, point to commonalities in the processing of language and human action, and open the door to future research into the development of action memory organization. / Committee in charge: Dare Baldwin, Chairperson, Psychology; Marjorie Taylor, Member, Psychology; Ulrich Mayr, Member, Psychology; Eric Pederson, Outside Member, Linguistics

Submitted by Oliveira Santos Dilzaná (dilznana@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-04-18T15:30:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Damar Sandbrand_Dissertacao.pdf: 1333601 bytes, checksum: aea739c283b100e40a4aa379e5b6e3dc (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Portela (anapoli@ufba.br) on 2016-05-02T12:41:49Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Damar Sandbrand_Dissertacao.pdf: 1333601 bytes, checksum: aea739c283b100e40a4aa379e5b6e3dc (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-02T12:41:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Damar Sandbrand_Dissertacao.pdf: 1333601 bytes, checksum: aea739c283b100e40a4aa379e5b6e3dc (MD5) / The focus of the present study is to introduce into organizational researches a new psychometric scale that identifies the intention of an employee to leave the company he works for, based only on external and internal aspects to the organization (e.g. payroll, work and life balance); aspects that could stimulate a person to leave or remain in his/her current job. The Intention to Leave the Organization Scale (ILOS) was built with 31 items, using the Likert Scale model, ranging from 1 – Totally Disagree – to 6 – Totally Agree. All items of the ILOS referred to conditions that would influence the decision of an employee to leave his current organization, as for example, “I would move to another company if it was significantly larger than my current organization”. The instrument was distributed to 146 business employees of a same international company in the automotive field, located in over 46 countries. Participants were chosen randomly, despite their age, gender, business function or location. To be able to get to all participants, the questionnaire was introduced into an online platform – Google Docs - that enabled all answers to arrive anonymously and on time. The results were parted into five bigger groups of participants, based on other cross-cultural studies conducted in the organizational field. Those studies indicated a strong consistency between the cultural values of countries located in five main regions: Americas, Europe, Eastern-Europe, Africa and Asia. The reliability and validity of the scale were tested and approved, making the instrument a valid and useful tool for future researches. Beyond the possibility of using the ILOS as an organizational and academic instrument, the results acquired in this study can also be analyzed and used in future researches, especially the ones that are willing to make a comparison of the intention of an employee to leave his organization, cultural aspects he is surrounded, and the local labor market or economic situation.

The aim of my thesis was an analysis procedure in obtaining grants from the funds of the European Union. It concerned particularly a regional operational programme NUTS II Southwest, which is established for the region of cohesiveness - Southwest - Southbohemian and Pilsen region.

The motive of the present thesis has been the realization of lack of cultural impact and meaningful representation within public open urban spaces that fall in between areas of urban planning and construction in the GCC cities. In pursuit of aiding towards the reclamation of meaningful spaces, this study demonstrates methods of providing a framework of cultural context design during the conceptual phase of the urban planning process. In doing so, the emphasis falls both on public users’ and professionals’ opinions and perception regarding cultural elements, physical experience and design processes that take place within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) cities. The understanding and framework of levels of comprehension and awareness of cultural implementation derives from the theory of the Circuit of Culture, resulting both in an epistemological contemplation of the existing situation and the inter-relationship between culture and design. Meanwhile, the study of the elements that define the Circuit of Culture starts to form a strong cultural reference point for the future amelioration of definition of strong identity in-between spaces, within the urban context. The elements of this theory are based on the five aspects of Production, Identity, Regulation, Consumption and Representation. The implementation of these cultural elements are drawn in reference to the Double Diamond design model, considering its four aspects of discovery, definition, development and delivery, where the first two stages make up the conceptual phase, and the latter two stages make up the implementation phase of design. Therefore, while the thesis stresses the problem of cultural identity of in-between and vacuum spaces of the GCC cities, it suggests the Circuit of Culture as a method for reinforcing a thorough cultural consideration within the conceptual phase of design (discovery and definition). The thesis seeks to develop the process of design integration through an evolving methodological approach for studying the cultural development and cultural concern of urban spaces that fall in-between well planned schemes. In this work, cultural identity and cultural representation are of fundamental importance.

[pt] Este estudo pretende analisar as motivações e obstáculos do consumidor na intenção de uso de mídias sociais para atividades e compras de turismo online. As mídias sociais estão cada vez mais presentes no dia a dia da sociedade, não só como ferramentas de interação social como também instrumentos de marketing para diversos segmentos de mercado. Para a indústria do turismo, as mídias sociais não poderiam deixar de ser igualmente importantes e, portanto, o estudo de sua adoção e de sua relevância na tomada de decisão dos consumidores se torna tão relevante. A adoção de novas tecnologias sofre influência de diversas variáveis como, por exemplo, a percepção de facilidade de uso e a percepção de utilidade da tecnologia em questão, a confiança e a preservação da privacidade que a tecnologia utilizada oferece, o ambiente de inovação e tecnologia e as habilidades pessoais dos usuários, entre outros. Neste sentido, usando como base o estudo de Pára-Lopez et al. (2011), é proposto um modelo para avaliar a intenção de uso de mídias sociais para turismo online e realizada uma survey com uma amostra composta por 165 indivíduos. Os resultados, alcançados por meio de modelagem de equações estruturais, confirmam todas as hipóteses levantadas nesta pesquisa. Foram verificadas relações significativas diretas e positivas entre benefícios e incentivos à intenção de uso de mídias sociais, além de confirmada relação significativa direta e negativa entre custos e intenção de uso de mídias sociais em turismo online. / [en] This study aims to analyze the motivations and obstacles that might influence the intention to use social media in online tourism-related purchases and activities. Social media are increasingly present in the everyday life, as not only means for social interaction, but also as marketing tools to various market segments. For the tourism industry, social media are equally important and therefore the study of its adoption and its relevance in consumer decision-making becomes so relevant. The adoption of new technologies can be influenced by several variables such as perceptions of ease of use and utility, trust, privacy and the personal skills of users, among others. In this sense, based on the work presented by Párra-Lopez et al. (2011), a model to evaluate the intention to use social media for online tourism-related tasks is proposed and tested with a survey of 165 individuals. The results, achieved by means of structural equation modeling, confirm all the hypotheses for this research. Direct and significant positive effects of benefits and incentives on the intention to use social media for tourism-related tasks have been verified, while a direct and significant negative relationship between cost and the intention to use social media in online tourism was also found.

Purpose: This thesis aims to research how homophily affects followers/consumers’ attitudes towards Instagram fashion influencers. In particular, the purpose is to investigate if the perceived level of identification (evaluated according the homophily variables and types of identification) between followers/consumers and fashion influencers is one of the drivers behind followers/consumers’ engagement on Instagram. Additionally, consumption patterns on Instagram will be further investigated, paying special attention in determining if followers/consumers’ identification with fashion influencers have an impact on their purchase intention towards the fashion products the influencer endorses. Methodology: This thesis uses an abductive research approach, together with qualitative methods to fulfill its aim and answer the research questions. The empirical data were gathered through an in-depth interview which eight participants, sampled by purposive sampling ,answered. Subsequently, the interviews were transcribed, coded, and analysed using thematic analysis. The main limitations of the research are the facts that the participants live in the same area and are approximately the same age. Thusly, the transferability of the results mightbe complicated. Findings: The findings of the analysis point out that followers/consumers’ engage with fashion influencers at an interpersonal level, through realization of sharing similar interests and values. Participants have also shown a desire of becoming even more similar to their favourite influencers by altering the beliefs they have in common with them. From the perspective of the theory of Homophily-Heterophily, the engagement between followers and influencers is affected by both, value and status homophily. On the other hand, it has also been demonstrated that identification influences followers/consumers’ purchase intention towards the fashion products influencers endorse on Instagram. Contributions: This paper contributes to the academia by investigating followers/consumers’ purchase intention through the theories of Identification and Homophily-Heterophily. Additionally, the context of Instagram, as well as, the qualitative nature of this investigation are novelties on this field of study. Fashion companies and influencers can also benefit from the results of this research, since they would be able of creating better collaborations.