This study sought to understand: Why do young men play online games? How are the social aspects of the online gaming community governed? How is this virtual gaming world connected to the real world? The study explored the motivations and social conventions in online first person shooter games, and how they impact each other. As well, this study examined the relationship between this virtual world and the real physical world. A group of six young males between the ages of 18-30 years shared, in-depth, their opinions during individual interviews and a focus group discussion. First hand data were observed and collected during live online video gaming sessions. The data were coded and sorted according to themes in order to identify coding groups. The data revealed several motivating factors to play online first person shooter games, which are discussed in detail. As well, the research provided a better understanding of the social conventions in the online gaming community and how motivating factors and social conventions influence and impact one another. Many different ways in which this virtual environment is connected to the real world were discovered and many different factors can carry over into real life, such as relationships and money.

Internationally, more and more people are learning Chinese as a second or foreign language. Many studies (Gardner, 1958; Spolsky, 1969; Dörnyei, 1994; Oxford & Shearin, 1996; Williams & Burden, 1997) have shown that learning motivation plays an important role in language learning, while language belief (Horwitz, 1988) determines the strategies and efforts learners are going to put into language learning. Both motivation and belief are key factors in successful language learning. This research carried out an investigation of the phenomenon of Chinese language learning in the Canadian context. Through in-depth, open-ended individual interviews with six students who were learning Chinese in a Canadian university, the researcher intended to listen to their actual experiences of Chinese language learning in order to examine their motivations for learning this language and to describe their beliefs about this language. The results showed Chinese language learners had a variety of motivations to learn the Chinese language, from cultural interest, communication with native Chinese speakers, travel, friendship, to job opportunities. These motivations came from their real life experiences with the Chinese people around them. As for the Chinese language, not all students thought it was difficult. All participants in this study believed listening and speaking was more important than reading and writing. They adopted many learning strategies to learn Chinese. The implications for Chinese language instructors as to how to motivate students and for the Chinese language students motivating themselves were also discussed.

Chinese migrants play a serious role in their destination countries, and through demand, support high values in destination property and financial markets. Therefore, Chinese investors’ investment motivations, preferences and behaviours have a significant impact on the New Zealand economy. The objectives of this research are: to investigate the preferences (what kind of investment assets they prefer) and the motivations (why they chose New Zealand as their investment destination) of Chinese migrant investors. The findings will be a useful element in explaining New Zealand’s economic development, and in making financial decisions. It also will be important for the development of New Zealand’s growing finance industry and equity market. The researcher collected data from 20 respondents who are Chinese migrant investors who have made New Zealand their home. The collected data examines investors’ preferences and motivations, such as what kind of investment assets they prefer and the motivations which drive them to invest in New Zealand or elsewhere. Using a grounded theory methodology, the researcher draws some findings from the data analysis. Furthermore, using a constant comparative method, the researcher develops some preferred choices which explain Chinese migrant investors’ investment preferences and motivations. The core findings (called phenomena or categories) of Chinese migrant investors’ preferences and motivations in this study are listed below:  Home-bias investment behaviour – that is mainly China and New Zealand  Following past performance / herding behaviour  Seeking speculative opportunities – high return, high risk  Over confidence  Taxation evasion  Financial privacy Considering these core categories, the researcher re-tested and re-analysed all interview data. Two refined themes are drawn: 1. Chinese investors don’t understand investment; they seek speculative investment opportunities exemplifying non-professional opportunistic behaviours. 2. Chinese investors don’t take New Zealand as their preferred investment destination until they arrive in New Zealand. Finally, the researcher reconsiders both themes and other inferences, to develop a theory from the ground – exaggerated Chinese financial investment experiences are relayed to other Chinese, and influence investment preferences and motivations.

Chinese migrants play a serious role in their destination countries, and through demand, support high values in destination property and financial markets. Therefore, Chinese investors’ investment motivations, preferences and behaviours have a significant impact on the New Zealand economy. The objectives of this research are: to investigate the preferences (what kind of investment assets they prefer) and the motivations (why they chose New Zealand as their investment destination) of Chinese migrant investors. The findings will be a useful element in explaining New Zealand’s economic development, and in making financial decisions. It also will be important for the development of New Zealand’s growing finance industry and equity market. The researcher collected data from 20 respondents who are Chinese migrant investors who have made New Zealand their home. The collected data examines investors’ preferences and motivations, such as what kind of investment assets they prefer and the motivations which drive them to invest in New Zealand or elsewhere. Using a grounded theory methodology, the researcher draws some findings from the data analysis. Furthermore, using a constant comparative method, the researcher develops some preferred choices which explain Chinese migrant investors’ investment preferences and motivations. The core findings (called phenomena or categories) of Chinese migrant investors’ preferences and motivations in this study are listed below:  Home-bias investment behaviour – that is mainly China and New Zealand  Following past performance / herding behaviour  Seeking speculative opportunities – high return, high risk  Over confidence  Taxation evasion  Financial privacy Considering these core categories, the researcher re-tested and re-analysed all interview data. Two refined themes are drawn: 1. Chinese investors don’t understand investment; they seek speculative investment opportunities exemplifying non-professional opportunistic behaviours. 2. Chinese investors don’t take New Zealand as their preferred investment destination until they arrive in New Zealand. Finally, the researcher reconsiders both themes and other inferences, to develop a theory from the ground – exaggerated Chinese financial investment experiences are relayed to other Chinese, and influence investment preferences and motivations.

Due to recent events in corporate America, including the recent Enron scandal and numerous cases of insider trading, the public's faith in the fairness of the stock markets has been shaken. The current study suggests that public relations efforts that are designed to increase the public's perception of the integrity of United States stock markets and lower public cynicism toward insider trading may be fruitful. The contributions of this study are to identify what leads to insider trading and thereby identify methods to reduce it. Graduate student subjects are used to test the relationship between the intent to trade based on insider information and the deterrents and motivations for insider trading. The results of the study indicate that gain, certainty, cynicism, guilt, social stigma, and agreement with the law have a significant effect on an individual's intent to take part in insider trading. The results do not provide conclusive support that increasing severity of punishment decreases the likelihood of trading based on insider information. The results also show that there are differences in the perceptions of male and female respondents with regard to the deterrence variables. Identifying what situations are more likely to lead to insider trading allows policymakers to design more efficient detection efforts. This study finds that subjects' are more inclined to trade based on insider information to avoid a loss on stock they currently own than to achieve an abnormal gain by purchasing a stock that they do not currently own. This study finds that the intent to take part in insider trading increases as the perception of likelihood of getting caught decreases. The results indicate that subjects are more willing to use insider information when it is from a friend because their likelihood of getting caught is lower. This is important for two reasons. If the incidence of insider trading is higher in situations that involve second hand knowledge, then detection efforts become more complicated. Also, the presence of insider trading may be significantly higher than current detection efforts indicate because these cases are hard to detect. / Ph. D.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att utifrån endast en förening ge en beskrivning samt ökad förståelse kring faktorer som påverkar ungdomars fortsatta idrottande samt hur deras motivation kan påverkas av yttre faktorer. Två frågeställningar kom att bli ledande genom hela arbetet; Vad anser föräldrar och förening påverkar ungdomars motivation inom idrotten och vilka faktorer anses vara centrala för ett fortsatt idrottande i denna förening? Samt Vad anser föräldrar och förening är påverkande faktorer för ungdomars självkänsla inom idrotten i denna förening? För att besvara dessa har vi utfört sju stycken kvalitativa intervjuer med föräldrar vars barn är/var aktiva i föreningen samt ledare och ansvariga för ungdomsverksamhet på föreningen. Studiens fokus har genomgående varit på respondenternas erfarenheter och upplevelser för att fånga in empiri, därefter har relevanta kopplingar till teori applicerats på empirin för att i slutändan analyseras med våra egna tolkningar. Studien tar även hänsyn till tidigare forskning som berör ungdomars motivation inom idrotten samt hur den fysiska aktiviteten påverkar individens självkänsla, men också hur ungdomar kan uppleva press av föräldrar i sina prestationer. När vi analyserade den data vi samlat in växte två starka teman fram i syfte att besvara våra frågeställningar; Motivation och Självkänsla. Dessa två teman delade vi sedan in mindre underkategorier; Motivation; Varför ungdomar fortsätter idrotta, Ledarens centrala roll, Den progressiva utvecklingen. Självkänsla; Förening som skola för motgångar och framgångar, Yttre faktorers motsatta effekt till motivation. Resultatet indikerar att ungdomars motivation och fortsatta idrottande främst påverkas av faktorn att “ha kul” samt den positiva upplevelsen inom sitt utövande. Ledaren har också visat sig ha en central roll och stor påverkan på ungdomarnas fortsatta idrottande och motivation då dennes engagemang är central i individens utveckling, resultatet visar att ledarens pedagogiska färdigheter är lika värdefulla som färdigheterna inom själva idrottsutövandet. Vad vi även kommer fram till i studien är att antagandet av utmaningar av olika slag kan leda till både en positiv och negativ upplevelse som kan påverka motivationen beroende på prestationens resultat. Vidare tar resultatet upp hur den fysiska aktiviteten kan vara en skola för att stärka och utmana barn och ungdomars självkänsla i form av fysiska och psykiska utmaningar. Till sist så belyses också de faktorer som kan ge en motsatt effekt på ungdomarnas motivation inom idrotten. Nyckelord: Motivation, självkänsla, idrott, yttre motivations faktorer, proximala utvecklingszonen

Conference tourism is a young and vibrant industry, which is growing and developing at a prompt rate (Rogers, 2013). The rapid growth of conference tourism and its importance (e.g. economic benefits for destinations) caused a significant academic interest in this topic in 1990's (Yoo & Weber, 2005). Witt et al (1995) argued that the concrete conference theme and the conference destination are likely to make an impact on an individual’s decision, but it is still not clear if a destination or a conference per se attracts people the most. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate variables that are the most and the least important for attendees of conferences from Sweden when they decide which conference they will attend. Moreover, it will focus particularly on the leisure motivations of conference participants, for instance, destination choice, and their importance for conference attendees.  The empirical study of Yoo and Chon (2008) about the measurement scale of factors affecting convention participation decision-making proved that the ‘destination stimuli’ factor is the first among conference participants from the US, the UK and Australia. This study will partly replicate the study of Yoo and Chon (2008), but at the same time, makes its own contribution to the field of the conference participation decision making process. Firstly, it broadens the geographical scope of the studies within the conference participation decision making process, as have been suggested by Yoo and Weber (2005). Moreover, Yi and Park (2003) argued that culture difference might have impact on decision making process, so it is worth to test if there are any difference between Scandinavian and British, American and Australian conference participants.  The study has been conducted using the quantitative method, particularly, survey method, which have been sent out using the Internet Survey Monkey tool in order to increase the response. Overall, we received 143 valid replies that helped us to make a conclusion that for academics from Umeå University in Sweden the ’educational opportunities’ are the most important factor, while ‘destination stimuli’ one does not affect their decision to go to some conference at all. So, it is worth to test if the difference in the results between Yoo and Chon (2008) study and the current one are caused by the cultural difference or by any other feature. Moreover, it is recommend to extend the geographical scope of the studies within the conference participation decision making process.

La thèse « Motivations d’engagement politique des femmes parlementaires rwandaises » a pour objectif principal d’apporter un éclairage sur le parcours politique des femmes parlementaires au Rwanda, notamment en identifiant leurs motivations à la base de leur engagement. Pour y parvenir, des entrevues de type semi-directif ont été effectuées entre octobre et novembre 2011 auprès de 11 députées et sénatrices. Les résultats de recherche démontrent que les femmes s’engagent en politique selon les trois principes de justice de Nancy Fraser: la reconnaissance, la redistribution et la représentation. Deux autres motivations se rajoutent, soit les mesures institutionnelles et la reconstruction du pays. Plus précisément, les parlementaires désirent pallier les injustices sociales, économiques et politiques liées au genre et à l’ethnie. Cette thèse est une contribution à la capacité de la science politique d’analyser les rôles des femmes au sein des parlements des pays non occidentaux et autoritaires.

Cette thèse répond à un double objectif : analyser théoriquement, à l’aide d’un modèle d’arbitrage travail-loisir, la réaction du temps de travail du médecin aux différents modes de rémunération lorsque seul le nombre de consultations et de patients peut faire l’objet d’un contrat entre le médecin et sa tutelle ; et observer empiriquement comment le temps de travail des médecins généralistes français évoluerait suite à une revalorisation du tarif de la consultation si l’on tient compte de leurs différents registres de motivations.Dans la première partie, nous présentons tout d’abord le modèle nous servant de base pour analyser l’offre de travail des médecins généralistes dans différents contextes (chapitre 1). Ensuite, nous montrons comment celui-ci peut être « enrichi » pour analyser les problèmes d’inégalités de santé, à travers le choix du médecin en termes de durée de consultation (chapitre 2). Enfin, nous analysons théoriquement comment l’offre de travail des médecins réagit à un choc de vieillissement de la population, selon le schéma de paiement en vigueur, paiement à l’acte ou capitation (chapitre 3).Dans la seconde partie, nous présentons tout d’abord une revue de littérature retraçant l’émergence du concept de motivation intrinsèque en économie de la santé (chapitre 4). Ensuite, nous regardons comment la théorie standard de l’offre de travail peut intégrer l’interaction possible entre les motivations intrinsèques et extrinsèques (chapitre 5). Enfin,nous cherchons à identifier empiriquement l’existence possible d’un effet contreproductif des incitations économiques sur les motivations intrinsèques, dans le champ de la promotion de la santé (chapitre 6). / This PhD dissertation has a twofold objective: to theoretically analyse, by using a workleisure trade-off model, the sensibility of physician’s working time to different payment systems when only the number of consultations and patients are contractible; and to empirically observe how French GP’s working time would change if consultation fee increased, in the specific case where different range of human motives are considered.The first part is dedicated to the presentation of the main properties of the basic model we use to study the labour supply behaviour of self-employed GPs in various contexts (chapter 1). Then, we show how this model can be ‘fitted’ to deal with the issue of health inequalities through physician’s choice in terms of consultation length (chapter 2). Finally, we theoretically investigate how physicians’ labour supply reacts to a population ageing shock, according to the effective payment scheme - fee-for service or capitation (chapter 3). The second part presents a survey on the emergence of the concept of intrinsic motivations in health economics aiming at specifying the theoretical background with which the remainder of our work is in line (chapter 4). Next, we explore how standard labour supply theory can integrate intrinsic motivations as a key determinant of human behaviour and, more especially, the effect of extrinsic incentives on the former in the field of general practice (chapter 5). Lastly, we intend to check, from an empirical perspective, if economic incentives can have a detrimental effect on intrinsic motivations in the particular field of health promotion, by using two different strategies (chapter 6).

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.