This research aims to investigate the development approaches, operational experiences, and market influences of foreign invested travel service (FITS) companies, including travel agencies and tour operators, in China in the opening decade (1998-2007) of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the industry. It also examines the Chinese business environment for the development of the FITS sector in the country. The investigation was conducted through some focused aspects, including different roles of three major locations; the setup and licensing process in the FITS sector; the FITSs’ original countries and relative features; their ownership and management structures; their major target markets and profitability; the FITS’s HR strategies on the local employment; the relationships between the FITS sector and the indigenous services, and the overall environment, as well as the opportunities and challenges for the sector’s development in China. The research focuses on three locations, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province which host almost all the FITS companies (27 registered in total) in China in the decade. The methodology combines the study of both primary and secondary data, with interviews being undertaken with the FITSs (29 formal interviews with 14 FITSs) and a questionnaire survey towards 150 Chinese travel services in the locations. Given the understanding of existing literature on the travel trade business, FDI, China’s economic and political foundations, and the opening of the Chinese tourism industry, the thesis argues that the development of the FITS sector in China was substantially constrained and shaped by the protectionist policies of the Chinese government in the first opening decade. The government’s strong power through policies and SOEs is also one of the most considerable challenges for FITSs in China. However, the FITS companies were not passive actors in this situation, but developed a range of strategies in response to the changing regulatory framework, which effectively shaped a rapidly emerging sector and its relations with endogenous companies. The research is important also because there are positive opportunities in the country for the future development of the FITS sector, in response to anticipated further opening of the market.

Consumers consistently pursue new beginnings regarding health, financial wellbeing, and personal growth. Conceptual metaphors like the "fresh start" can be powerful tools for reframing problems and motivating behaviors (Coulter and Zaltman 2000; Lakoff and Johnson 1980; Landau, Keefer and Meier 2010; Thibodeau and Boroditsky 2011), and are frequently featured in movies, blogs, strategic marketing communication, and products. However, research has not examined whether fresh starts can indeed help consumers set new goals and improve their performance. This dissertation seeks to explore the role of the fresh start metaphor in consumers' lives. In Chapter 2, I define the fresh start as consumers' pursuit of new beginnings, and develop a reliable scale distinct from related constructs such as optimism, hope, entity theory and psychological closure. I find that consumers who score higher on the fresh start scale focus on the future more optimistically, report higher intentions to set new goals, and increase efforts toward health and financial budgeting. In Chapter 3, I investigate whether actively engaging the metaphor of the fresh start can change consumer outcomes. I find that when participants are prompted to activate a fresh start they expect to perform better on a challenging task (e.g., losing weight or saving money) because it increases their belief that present obstacles will have less hold in the future. I also find that a fresh start translates into performance improvements when participants perform poorly on a task in a personally important domain, and self-efficacy mediates the effect. Overall, results provide strong support for the role of the fresh start as a powerful tool that consumers can use to improve well-being, overcome poor performance, set new goals, and transform for the better.

The interest in vegetarianism and veganism is increasing and the dietary option of abstaining from animal food products is currently a widely discussed and social relevant issue.The present study aims to provide a quantitative overview of the vegan diet, particularly the sociological aspects related to adoption, maintenance and obstacles connected with this diet. A web-based survey was conducted on facebook groups related tovegetarianism and veganism. 8531 participants (86.3% females) answered the survey, from those 6761 were vegan. Moral/ethical, animal and environmental protection, and health benefits seem to be the main reasons to adopt a vegan diet. Furthermore, demographic factors seem to have an effect on both the adoption and maintenance of a vegan diet. Younger participants appear to put more relevance on ethical/moral reasons, environmental and animal protection for adopting and maintaining a vegan diet. Living in a vegan household suggests less perceived difficulties and obstacles to the maintenance of a vegan diet and highers the relevance of moral/ethical reasons, environmental and animal protections as main motivations for a vegan diet. Also, being a female seems to higher health benefits as a source of inspiration to start a vegan diet but it also seems to increase the perceived difficulties.

The aim of the current study was to determine whether academic burnout/engagement mediated the relationship between academic obstacles/facilitators and academic performance within a South African university context. Participants received a web link to an online survey host in which a questionnaire was presented. The questionnaire included a selfdeveloped demographic questionnaire, an adapted version of the Student Stress Scale (Da Coste Leite & Israel, 2011), an adapted version of the Factors of Academic Facilitators Scale (Salanova, Schaufeli, Martinez, & Breso, 2010), the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Scale (Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzalez-Roma, & Bakker, 2002) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student (Schaufeli, Salanova, et al., 2002). The final sample (n=351) consisted of both full-time and part-time first year psychology students. The results of the current study demonstrated that academic obstacles were positively related to academic burnout while academic burnout was negatively related to academic performance. Academic facilitators were also negatively related to academic burnout and positively related to academic engagement. Academic burnout was also found to mediate the relationship between academic obstacles/facilitators and academic performance. The results of the study also demonstrated some non-hypothesised, but not unexpected, findings. Academic burnout, for one, was found to be negatively related to academic engagement. In addition, the indirect effect between academic obstacles and engagement was negative while the indirect effect between academic facilitators and engagement was positive. The results of the current study further demonstrated a novel finding whereby academic performance was positively related to burnout. Furthermore, the indirect effect between academic burnout and engagement was positive while the indirect effects between academic burnout and burnout, academic performance and engagement, and academic performance and performance, were negative. These findings were supported by previous research within both the work and student context. The results of the current study demonstrated, however, that academic engagement was not significantly related to academic performance and therefore was not a mediator in the relationship between academic obstacles/facilitators and academic performance. These results were unexpected given the literature available, however, may have been due to the way in which academic performance was operationalised within the current study. The implications of the results and the limitations of the current study were discussed, and suggestions for further research were made.

Through this thesis, I aim to research about the obstacles that the current peace process in Afghanistan is facing. I also want to find out what sort of roles do the states such as USA, Russia, Pakistan and Iran have in the Afghan peace process. As Afghanistan has been a victim of war for the past three decades, this research might provide the opportunity for understanding the reasons behind the never-ending turmoil in the country. In order to conduct this research, I have used qualitative methods which consist of interviews and qualitative analysis. Besides these methods, the use of the international relations’ theories such as structural realism and interdependence liberalism have contributed tremendously in the understanding of the obstacles in the Afghan peace process including the roles of USA, Russia, Pakistan and Iran in the Afghan peace process. The conclusion of this research entails that the Afghan peace process is facing dire obstacles. These obstacles are divided into two categories; internal and external. This research’s conclusion also shows that the functions of the above-mentioned states in the Afghan peace process are solely based on their self-interests which by itself is another obstacle for the peace process. To conclude, if the obstacles, which are discussed in this study, continue to exist in the peace process it is impossible for the peace to prevail in Afghanistan.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (SA) set out its Vision 2030 of itself as a significant Knowledge Economy to position itself competitively in the world and in the Gulf region. The Government charged the education sector to prepare young people and build the creativity, innovation and technical skills for the country’s future. The Ministry of Education (MOE) selected TQM and has made strategic investments to achieve this strategic transformation in education. Despite this substantial investment in the infrastructure, teaching skills, information technology and advancement programmes for women to enter the workplace, the implementation of TQM has not so far delivered the outcomes expected in secondary schools (Bank, 2008; Chapman and Miric, 2009; TIMSS, 2011). This research proposes that a programme that primarily focuses on the hard aspects of change, without participatory leadership and without integrating the people concerned (as a soft programme would), cannot achieve sustainable transformation. An empirical study was designed to investigate staff perception of TQM implementation in girls’ secondary schools in the Kingdom. The 525 respondents from 61 schools in five districts of Riyadh suggest that the most pivotal critical success factors (CSFs) limiting the development of TQM culture were Top Management Commitment; Training; Tools and Techniques; and Reward and Recognition. The perception results were then used as the baseline to design a model that integrates the hard and soft CSFs of TQM in five stages of maturity. This assessment model could be used to support the schools and the MOE in objectively assessing the readiness of schools to implement TQM and identify the next major obstacles to reaching the next stage. The design approach of a maturity model is innovative in using context perception data as the baseline for designing the stages of maturity and the success factors the progress of change, making its use appropriate for the girls’ schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The diffusion of a particle in a crowded environment typically proceeds through three regimes: for very short times the particle diffuses freely until it collides with an obstacle for the first time, while for very long times diffusion the motion is Fickian with a diffusion coefficient D that depends on the concentration and type of obstacles present in the system. For intermediate times, the mean-square displacement of the particle often increases approximately as t α , with α < 1, typical of what is generally called anomalous diffusion. However, it is not clear how one can identify or choose a time or displacement interval that would give a reliable estimate of α. In this paper, we use two exact numerical approaches to obtain diffusion data for a simple Lattice Monte Carlo model in both time limits. This allows us to propose an objective definition of the transient regime and a unique value for α. Furthermore, our methodology directly gives us the length scale over which the transient regime switches to the steady-state regime. We test our proposed approach using several types of obstacle systems, and we introduce the novel concept of excess diffusion lengths. Finally, we show that the values of the parameters describing the anomalous transient regime depend on the Monte Carlo moves used to describe the dynamics of the particle, and we propose a new algorithm that correctly models the short time diffusion of a particle on a lattice.

Background: Critical-care nurses (CCN) provide end-of life (EOL) care on a daily basis as one in five patients dies while in Intensive Care Units (ICU). CCNs overcome many obstacles to perform quality EOL care for dying patients. Objectives: The purposes of this study were to collect CCNs' current suggestions for improving EOL care and determine if EOL care obstacles have changed by comparing results to data gathered in 1998. Methods: A 72-item questionnaire regarding EOL care perceptions was mailed to a national, geographically dispersed, random sample of 2,000 members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Nurses were asked for suggestions to improve EOL care. Results: Of the 509 returned questionnaires, 322 (63.3%) had 385 written suggestions for improving EOL care. Major themes identified were ensuring characteristics of a good death, improving physician communication with patients and families, adjusting nurse/patient ratios to 1:1, recognizing and avoiding futile care, increasing EOL education, physicians who are present and "on the same page," not allowing families to override patients' wishes, and the need for more support staff. When compared to data gathered 17 years previously, major themes remained the same, but in a few cases, changed in order and possible causation. Conclusion: Critical-care nurses' suggestions were similar to those recommendations from 17 years ago. Although the order of importance changed minimally, the number of similar themes indicated obstacles to providing EOL care to dying ICU patients continue to exist over time.

Background: Critical care nurses (CCNs) frequently provide end-of-life care for critically ill patients. CCNs may face many obstacles while trying to provide quality EOL care. Some research focusing on obstacles CCNs face while trying to provide quality EOL care has been published; however, research focusing on family behavior obstacles is limited. Research focusing on family behavior as an EOL care obstacle may provide additional insight and improvement in care. Objective: What are the predominant themes noted when CCNs share their experiences of common obstacles, relating to families in providing EOL care? Methods: A random geographically dispersed sample of 2,000 members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses was surveyed. Responses from a qualitative question on the questionnaire were analyzed. Results: Sixty-seven EOL obstacle experiences surrounding issues with families' behavior were analyzed for this study. Experiences were categorized into 8 themes. Top three common obstacle experiences included families in denial, families going against patient wishes and advance directives, and families directing care which negatively impacted patients. Conclusions: In overcoming EOL obstacles, it may be beneficial to have proactive family meetings to align treatment goals and to involve palliative care earlier in the ICU stay.

Of the 34,000 children who die annually, over 28,000 are four years old or younger. Nurses working in pediatric intensive care units (PICU) provide end of life (EOL) care before, during, and after death of these children. The purpose of this study was to determine thesuggestions PICU nurses have for improving EOL care for dying pediatric patients and their families. A sample of 1047 PICU nurses, who were members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), were sent a 70-item questionnaire. One open ended item asked nurses to offer a suggestion for improving EOL care for dying PICU patients. Responses were received from 235 of the 474 (49.6%) nurses who returned the questionnaire. Eight themes were identified: (1) providing a better environment; (2) physician honesty about prognosis; (3) having a plan for dying; (4) ending futile care; (5) physicians on "same page;" (6)having more staff; (7) receiving more EOL education; and, (8) providing better pain control. Patient centered principles begin with creating an environment that allows the dying process to be centered on the family while fostering dignity. Fostering dignity includes providing an environment that is conducive to supporting quality EOL care. The importance of providing privacy and an appropriate place for the patient and family to feel more comfortable during the dying process was suggested. The need for better communication between providers and families, ending suffering, and having enough staff to support a "good death," were also high priorities. PICU nurses overwhelmingly suggested that the environment in which health care workers monitor, care for, and support patients and families during death is thegreatest area for improvement. Unit design teams need to assure that care areas for dying pediatric children are created to accommodate a dignified and peaceful passing to improve pediatric End-of-Life Care.