As organizations have become more reliant on computers and technology to operate in a globalized world, they have also become more vulnerable to cyberattacks on their networks. The expense to organizations from cyberattacks now exceeds $400 billion USD annually. These costs highlight the need for behavioral research in the cyber domain. The first phase of this research developed an instrument to measure workers’ cybersecurity attitudes. An iterative process resulted in a scale with good psychometric properties - The Cybersecurity Attitudes Scale. The scale measures two factors: cyber policy adherence attitudes and perceived vulnerability to a cyberattack. The second phase of this research used the theory of planned behavior as a theoretical framework to model the relationship between personality facets, policy adherence attitudes, perceived vulnerability, locus of control, cybersecurity climate, and cybersecurity behaviors. While the hypothesized model had poor fit for the data, there was a strong relationship between cybersecurity attitudes (i.e. policy adherence attitudes and perceived vulnerability) and dutifulness, altruism, compliance, cybersecurity climate, and cybersecurity behavior. This research provides practical value to academic researchers and organizations by providing a scale to measure cybersecurity attitudes and to help organizations better understand the nature of the antecedents that lead to cybersecurity attitudes and behavior.

The Government of Malawi, through delegates from the Department of Disaster Management Affairs, has on several occasions advised smallholder farmers who live in flood prone areas to relocate to upland areas that are safe from floods. Smallholder farmers have refused to do so and continue to live in the flood prone areas despite experiencing on-going flooding. Smallholder farmers living in flood prone areas in Malawi insist that flash floods bring fertile soils from upland areas that enhance crop production in the flood prone areas. These fertile soils allow smallholder farmers to grow a variety of crops, fruits and vegetables throughout the year, some of which they sell. Within this context, my research critically explores how smallholder farmers perceive their vulnerability to floods and seeks to understand the factors and processes that motivate them to live in the flood prone areas. It also examines the realities and dynamics of local adaptation in the flood prone areas in Malawi through opportunities, challenges, barriers and limitations. The research uses 57 in-depth interviews, a household survey involving 227 households, participant observations and 12 focus group discussions with smallholder farmers. Findings show that firstly, smallholder farmers are not ready to abandon their land and relocate upland because floods are part of their lives and livelihood strategies. Secondly, that power dynamics at household and community levels based on gender roles and culture need to be understood and accounted for in local adaptation strategies in order to effectively enhance local adaptive capacity. Thirdly, that social networks and interdependence between the smallholder farmers living in flood prone areas and those living in upland areas play a significant role in the adoption of local adaptation strategies and adaptation to floods and droughts through temporary migration. This thesis reveals that the perception and extent of vulnerability to floods is dynamic and differentiated based on several factors. The thesis also reveals that local adaption is a complex process such that in some cases, the realities of power dynamics at both the household and community level affects local adaptive capacity to floods. Transformational adaptation that incorporates specific and contextual adaptation strategies is therefore recommended as one of the best approaches towards achieving successful adaptation to climate variability and resilience.

The behavioral immune system (BIS) automatically activates certain cognitions, emotions and behaviors in the presence of potentially harmful pathogens. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic it is important to study reactions evoked by the BIS, to see if such reactions are related to a decreased or increased risk of the spread of pathogens, as well as if they are related to some external factors. A convenience sample of 109 participants aged 21-75 years answered an online questionnaire containing the perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD) scale and various questions about COVID-19 news consumption, preventive behaviors, and vaccination. The research question was: “To what extent does COVID-19 news consumption predict preventive behavior and vaccination, and to what extent is this mediated by PVD?”. Correlational and mediation analyses revealed that those who consume more news and those who rate themselves higher in germ aversion are more likely to engage in more preventive behaviors, but there were no mediating effects amongst these variables.

The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting facility-based delivery with the purpose of developing a framework for the promotion of facility-based delivery among women living in rural Ethiopia. Explanatory mixed methods design, comprising of four phases-the descriptive (quantitative), explorative (qualitative), meta-inference and development phases was employed. The quantitative phase was conducted first using a structured questionnaire to identify the variables influencing facility-based delivery care seeking behaviour. A sample of 389 responses were used for data analysis using Structural Equation Modeling. The quantitative phase conducted next to explain the determinants that contributed to influencing facility-based delivery care seeking behaviour. Sixteen participants who were involved the first phase were involved in the follow-up second phase. As illustrated by the results of the study, the majority of women in the study areas continued to deliver at home, putting themselves at risk of dying from pregnancy related causes. As highlighted by the key findings from the quantitative and qualitative data of this study, the most influential factors in predicting and explaining delivery care seeking behaviour are response efficacy, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control which are shaped by mothers’ confidence in the outcome, quality of care, interpersonal relations with family members, willingness to conform, access to services, and their decision making power. The way these findings emphasized the factors attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control were consistent with the Theory of Planned Behaviour, while the significance of response efficacy was in line with Protection Motivation Theory. The study developed a framework to help promote facility-based delivery among mothers living in rural Ethiopia. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)