No description available.

As the workplace becomes increasingly digital, tasks have shifted from being physically demanding to instead digitally processing knowledge and information. Employees are therefore regarded as knowledge workers and for them to succeed in the digital workplace, they place high demands on IT systems that encourage communication, collaboration and document management. To meet the knowledge workers needs, it has become increasingly common to implement collaboration platforms. However, organizations often implement collaboration platforms without further thought about how they should be used. At the same time, there is no knowledge of previous research that shows what factors make employees use collaboration platforms. The purpose of the thesis is therefore to investigate which factors lead to IT accustomed knowledge workers in the IT consulting industry using the collaboration platform in the digital workplace. By examining knowledge workers' perceptions of their use, we hope to be able to find answers to the factors that contribute to the use of collaboration platforms. The thesis applies a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews on ten IT accustomed knowledge workers divided into two organizations in the IT consulting industry. To consider socio-technical aspects of use, empiricism has been analyzed with a conceptual model that integrates Theory of planned behavior and Technology acceptance model. Our results show that attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use play an influential role in the use of collaboration platforms. At the same time, subjective norms and perceived usefulness are proposed to be the factors that have the strongest impact on use. / I takt med digitaliseringen av arbetsplatsen har arbetsuppgifter övergått till att istället digitalt bearbeta kunskap och information. Anställda betraktas därför som kunskapsarbetare och för att de ska lyckas i sitt arbete ställer de höga krav på IT-system som uppmuntrar kommunikation, samarbete och dokumenthantering. För att tillgodose detta behov har det blivit allt vanligare att implementera samarbetsplattformar. Organisationer implementerar ofta samarbetsplattformar utan vidare eftertanke kring hur de ska användas. Samtidigt finns det ingen kännedom om tidigare forskning som visar vilka faktorer som får anställda att använda samarbetsplattformar. Syftet med uppsatsen är därför att undersöka vilka faktorer som leder till att IT-vana kunskapsarbetare inom IT-konsultbranschen använder samarbetsplattformen inom den digitala arbetsplatsen. Genom att undersöka kunskapsarbetares uppfattning om deras användande hoppas vi kunna finna svar på vilka faktorer som bidrar till användande av samarbetsplattformar. Uppsatsen tillämpar kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer på tio IT-vana kunskapsarbetare uppdelat på två organisationer inom IT-konsultbranschen. För att ta hänsyn till socio-tekniska aspekter vid användande har empirin analyserats med en konceptuell modell som integrerat Theory of planned behavior och Technology acceptance model. Våra resultat visar att attityd, subjektiva normen, upplevd beteendekontroll, upplevd användbarhet och upplevd användarvänlighet har en påverkande roll för användandet av samarbetsplattformar. Samtidigt föreslås subjektiva normer och upplevd användbarhet vara de faktorer som har starkast påverkan på användande.

<p>Aquaculture is an industry that is receiving increased federal and state investment to potentially ease demand on overexploited capture fisheries and reduce the significant edible -seafood trade deficit by providing consumers with a source of healthy locally grown protein. There is a growing investment in the growth of the industry, yet it faces many challenges. In the Great Lakes region of the midwestern U.S., a major agricultural hub, the food-fish industry has struggled to see substantial growth. Understanding these barriers to growth could allow for more productive delegation of resources to alleviate challenges faced by aquaculture producers.  </p> <p>Additionally, regulation of the aquaculture industry can vary greatly by region and lacks a consistent regulatory structure and position amongst other major agricultural industries. Relationships between producers and regulators can be complicated, as aquaculture is typically regulated by entities who have more familiarity with and focus on other natural re source management areas such as crop agriculture, water quality, and land use or conservation. Understanding the trust diversity and dynamics at play may enhance the efficacy of natural resources management (NRM) in the aquaculture industry going forward.  </p> <p>In this study, we use the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to examine behavioral intention of land-based, food-fish aquaculture producers in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. to expand or diversify their businesses, and what they perceive to be barriers standing in the way of doing so. We also use Stern and Coleman’s (2015) trust ecology framework to explore trust diversity and how this can affect the institutional resilience of aquaculture as an industry.  </p> <p>We report on qualitative interviews of 34 aquaculture producers across the region, examining barriers to growth of the food-fish aquaculture industry as well as issues of trust in management and regulation. The findings reveal barriers related to the high-risk nature of the industry, and a need for stronger support systems to alleviate some of these risks. The interview data also points to high levels of trust diversity in aquaculture, and an emphasis on the importance of affinitive trust held by aquaculture producers. Key drivers of trust and distrust in management of aquaculture, along with proposed trust repair strategies, offer lessons for more effective and collaborative natural resource management. </p>

Denna studie undersöker kunders deltagande i cirkulära tjänster, ett ämne som tidigare ofta behandlats ur ett företagsperspektiv. Konsumentperspektivet är ett viktigt tillägg eftersom forskning har visat en minskad efterfrågan på cirkulära tjänster även om många kunder ställer sig positiva till deltagande. Utifrån denna diskrepans syftar denna studie till att undersöka hur variablerna attityd, kostnad, subjektiv norm, upplevd beteendekontroll och vana kan påverka kundens intention att engagera sig i dessa tjänster. Genomförandet skedde genom en enkätbaserad undersökning av tjänsterna återtag, reparation och uthyrning. Resultaten visar att en majoritet av de undersökta variablerna, framförallt vana och attityd, påvisar ha ett betydande samband till kunders intention att delta i cirkulära tjänster. Vissa av värdena var icke-signifikanta och kunde därför inte bidra till besvarandet av undersökningens syfte. För att vidareutveckla och understödja resultaten från denna studie bör vidare framtida forskning replikera studien för att samtidigt kunna öka kunskaperna inom området för cirkulära tjänster.

Students with special needs are often placed in agriculture and other CTE classes. Literature has shown that teachers often feel unprepared to deal with this population of students. The Theory of Planned Behavior framed this case study of an exemplar agriculture teacher. Evidence of the teacher's planned behavior was supported by triangulation of interviews with the teacher, special education coordinator, special education aide, and lesson plans. This triangulation also showed that the teacher is an exemplar agriculture teacher in his work with students with special needs. Multiple themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews. An important theme was the need for agriculture teachers to participate in IEP meeting either by attending in person or by providing feedback prior to the meeting. Another important theme was the need for materials to be adapted for students with special needs both within lesson plans and as needed while the teacher is teaching the lesson. Recommendations for practice include providing information about special education laws, disabling conditions, and information on utilizing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to pre-service and in-service teachers. It is also recommended that teacher preparation programs include having pre-service teachers work with students with special needs. Professional development workshops that discuss best practices for teachers when working with students with special needs can be beneficial. It is important for teachers to realize that not all students are the same but that everyone is better served if all teachers do their best at helping students achieve their highest potential. Because in the end, we all just want to be accepted for who we are. / Doctor of Philosophy / Students with special needs are often placed in agriculture and other CTE classes. This dissertation was a case study of a model agriculture teacher. It looked at the teacher's behavior to determine if his work with students with special needs was planned. The importance of a teacher planning their behavior towards students with special needs is important from both a lesson planning viewpoint and also while the teacher is teaching. Multiple recommendations came out of the study. One recommendation included the need for programs that prepare agriculture teachers to have these individuals work with students with special needs while they are still in their teacher preparation program. Professional development workshops for current agriculture teachers should include information on best practices for working with students with special needs. It is important for teachers to realize that not all students are the same but that everyone is better served if all teachers do their best at helping students achieve their highest potential. Because in the end, we all just want to be accepted for who we are.

Resource and visitor experience degradation in Haleakalā National Park resulting from recreational use of the Pools of 'Ohe'o has led park officials to discourage visitor use of the pools. This study uses the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to examine relationships among visitors' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control with regard to exploring the pools, their intentions to explore, and their actual behaviors while visiting the pools. Further, this study examines the influence of persuasive messages on visitors' behavior at the pools. Persuasive message treatments emphasize either the dangers of exploring the Pools of 'Ohe'o or resource protection and visitor experience impacts of recreational use at the pools. Through regression analysis of attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control with intention to explore, TPB is generally found to be an effective model for understanding visitor behavior at 'Ohe'o's Pools, particularly when visitors are exposed to persuasive messages. Results of analysis of variance indicate that the TPB model components of attitudes and subjective norms with regard to traveling companions and National Park Service officials are influenced by exposure to the persuasive treatment messages. Additionally, both intention to explore the pools and observed exploration behavior are significantly lower among those visitors receiving any persuasive treatment message. Thus, results of this research generally support the individual relationships assumed within TPB. With identification of the most influential components of visitor behavior, as understood through the TPB model developed in this study, managers of Haleakalā National Park will be able to develop and apply persuasive interpretive messages that maximize safe and sensitive visitor recreational behavior at the Pools of 'Ohe'o. / Master of Science

Breast cancer affects thousands of women each year and among those diagnosed, African-American women (AAW) make up a significant proportion that are diagnosed with early onset disease, have larger tumors, greater lymph node involvement, higher mortality and lower survival rates. Studies examining factors associated with greater breast cancer morbidity and mortality in this group have suggested that they may differ from Caucasian women in terms of certain risk factors for breast cancer; however, other evidence suggests that the risk of developing breast cancer is similar among African-American and Caucasian women who have a family history of breast cancer. As such, access to genetic counseling and testing (GC/T) services would be an important part of cancer control for this group but in this fast moving area of medicine African-American women are being "left behind". It is unclear why AAW have not readily adopted these preventive services. In light of the paucity of evidence regarding explanations of underuse, it is possible that important factors such as perceived behavioral control (PBC) in the Theory of Planned Behavior may help explain African-American women's participation in genetic counseling and testing for BRCA 1/2. The goals of this mixed methods study were twofold; first, to explore levels of perceived behavioral control and general motivations regarding genetic counseling and testing for BRCA 1/2 in African-American women at moderate to high-risk for breast and ovarian cancer and second, to explore the dimensionality of the perceived behavioral control construct from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and its utility in understanding underuse of BRCA 1/2 genetics services in this group. African-American women are being "left behind". Overall, women had high levels of perceived behavioral control, low knowledge and positive attitudes towards genetic counseling and testing for BRCA 1/2. Results from the principal components analysis lent support for the dimensionality of the perceived behavioral control construct suggesting that it indeed could be thought of as made up of the constructs perceived control [P-C] and perceived difficulty [P-D]. Only perceived control was found to be associated with genetic testing intentions suggesting that it was a better predictor. Neither scale was associated with genetic counseling intentions. African-American women are being "left behind". Future research should focus on educational efforts geared towards highlighting the utility of genetic counseling in addition to genetic testing for BRCA 1/2. Theoretical implications include using two measures to assess aspects of perceived behavioral control (perceived difficulty [P-D] and perceived control [P-C]) instead of one PBC measure. Additionally, studies using the TPB model should include the constructs of spirituality and knowledge when trying to understand underuse of BRCA 1/2 genetic services in African-American women at moderate to high-risk for breast cancer. African-American women are being "left behind". / Ph. D.

Sensory and consumer sciences aim to understand the influences of product acceptability and purchase decisions. The food industry measures product acceptability through hedonic testing but often does not assess implicit or qualitative response. Incorporation of qualitative research and automated facial expression analysis (AFEA) may supplement hedonic acceptability testing to provide product insights. The purpose of this research was to assess the application of AFEA and qualitative analysis to understand consumer experience and response. In two studies, AFEA was applied to elucidate consumers emotional response to dairy (n=42) and water (n=46) beverages. For dairy, unflavored milk (x=6.6±1.8) and vanilla syrup flavored milk (x=5.9±2.2) (p>0.05) were acceptably rated (1=dislike extremely; 9=like extremely) while salty flavored milk (x=2.3±1.3) was least acceptable (p<0.05). Vanilla syrup flavored milk generated emotions with surprised intermittently present over time (10 sec) (p<0.025) compared to unflavored milk. Salty flavored milk created an intense disgust response among other emotions compared to unflavored milk (p<0.025). Using a bitter solutions model in water, an inverse relationship existed with acceptability as bitter intensity increased (rs=-0.90; p<0.0001). Facial expressions characterized as disgust and happy emotion increased in duration as bitter intensity increased while neutral remained similar across bitter intensities compared to the control (p<0.025). In a mixed methods analysis to enumerate microbial populations, assess water quality, and qualitatively gain consumer insights regarding water fountains and water filling stations, results inferred that water quality differences did not exist between water fountains and water filling stations (metals, pH, chlorine, and microbial) (p>0.05). However, the exterior of water fountains were microbially (8.8 CFU/cm^2) and visually cleaner than filling stations (10.4x10^3 CFU/cm^2) (p<0.05). Qualitative analysis contradicted quantitative findings as participants preferred water filling stations because they felt they were cleaner and delivered higher quality water. Lastly, The Theory of Planned Behavior was able to assist in understanding undergraduates' reusable water bottle behavior and revealed 11 categories (attitudes n=6; subjective norms n=2; perceived behavioral control n=2; intentions n=1). Collectively, the use of AFEA and qualitative analysis provided additional insight to consumer-product interaction and acceptability; however, additional research should include improving the sensitivity of AFEA to consumer product evaluation. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this sequential exploratory mixed methods study was to develop and test a theory of planned behavior questionnaire that includes both direct and belief-based measures for seeking professional help from a MFT for participants and their spouses during times of relationship distress. To complete this goal, three focus groups (N = 24) were conducted to elicit the salient behavioral, normative, and control beliefs associated with seeking professional help from a MFT for participants and their spouses during times of relationship distress. The data was member checked and then analyzed using thematic analysis. Next, two quantitative measures were constructed, one using the salient beliefs elicited during the focus groups and the second using general questions that assessed participants' overall attitude, perceived norm, and perceived behavioral control. Both measures were placed online pilot tested (N = 102) using Qualtrics panels. The results suggest that the measures were accurate predictors of behavioral intention. The main stage then used both measures to assess the predictive ability of the elicited beliefs. The results also suggest that the beliefs accurately predicted participants' behavioral intentions for seeking professional help from a MFT for them and their spouses during times of relationship distress. The results also indicate that an intervention could be used to encourage troubled individuals, couples, and families to seek professional help from a MFT when experiencing relational issues. / Ph. D.

Interest in wood-based bio-energy systems in the United States is increasing and may play a part in future renewable energy initiatives (Dincer 2000). Family forests have potential to play an important role in supplying wood biomass for energy production. However, access depends mostly on the management intentions among family forest owners. Enhanced biomass markets in regions where family forest ownership dominates could increase productivity by reinvigorating the low-value merchandizing required to accomplish silvicultural objectives. Given diverse owner objectives and forest types on family forests, estimates of biomass availability must include both biophysical and social aspects of procurable feedstock. This thesis chronicles a biosocial case study that estimates potential biomass supply from 51 family forests in Virginia and North Carolina. The study occurred within a woodshed centered on the future site of an impending ethanol plant in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. A survey instrument using the theory of planned behavior was used to measure ownership characteristics and intention to harvest. Forest attributes were collected during property visits to estimate potential yields resulting from silvicultural simulations. Results reveal that forest cover-type and tree size significantly affect owner intentions to harvest and owner attitudes toward harvesting partially mediate this relationship. Outputs from silvicultural simulations correspond with those made using Forest Inventory and Analysis data within the study region. Disproportionality was examined by coupling social and biological drivers of sustainable wood biomass availability. Implications of the research include refined estimates of potential supply and demonstrating a multi-scalar, mixed-method approach for assessing wood biomass availability. / Master of Science