There are over a million adopted children in the United States, which makes up over 2% of the population. in spite of the fact that the majority of children are adopted into loving and caring homes, early life trauma puts them at higher risk for developing behavioral and emotional problems than non-adopted children. Due to these issues, many adoptive parents encounter post-adoption stress. This stress is often linked to minimal education regarding short- and long-term challenges associated with adoption. the adoption agency is likely the best group for addressing challenges, yet few researchers have studied adoption agency communication and adoptive parent adjustment. in this study I examined pre-adoption communication satisfaction, post-adoption adjustment (life change and parental adjustment), and coping strategies. Hypothesis 1 questioned the relationship between adoptive parents’ pre-adoption communication satisfaction with their social workers and post-adoption family adjustment; this hypothesis was supported only for problems related to home and work life adjustment. Hypothesis 2 predicted coping strategies would mediate the relationship between communication satisfaction and family adjustment. H2 was not supported for both life change and parental adjustment. Research Questions 1a and 1b inquired about the coping strategy that had an impact on life change and parental adjustment; escape-avoidance coping was most common for problems related to parental difficulty adjustment. a second research question was added post hoc; it questioned if special needs adopted children had an impact on family adjustment. Results indicated the special needs designation is related to home and work life adjustment. After discussing the theoretical and practical implications of this study, I offer limitations and directions for future research.

Social networking applications (SNAs) have experienced a boom in popularity in recent years. Sites like Facebook and MySpace continuously draw new users, and are successful in organizing groups of users around topics of common interest. Among SNAs, Facebook has demonstrably outgrown its rivals growing an estimated 157 percent from 2008 to 2009. Facebook is now estimated to be the fourth largest Internet site in the world, trailing only Google, Microsoft and Yahoo (Schonfeld 2009). This dissertation posits and tests a theoretical model composed of key factors that contribute to post-adoptive use of social networking applications and the relationship of those factors to one another. This study also identifies and clarifies new constructs that were not previously used to measure usage, and further refines the constructs that were previously used so that they better fit social networking applications. The results of this dissertation show that the critical factors of social capital, hedonic enjoyment, perceived usefulness, social influence, satisfaction and attitude have a positive influence on a post-adoptive user's intention to continue using Facebook. The results of this study yielded a structural model for predicting the post-adoptive use of Facebook. This work also developed an instrument for measuring constructs relevant to social networking applications.

The purpose of this quantitative research project was to examine what services birthparents identified as needed prior to the adoption and post-adoption, what mental health issues and symptoms they are facing, and what the impact of adoption is on birthparents. Data were gathered through an online quantitative survey that relied on a convenient, purposive, and snowball sampling. The surveys were distributed through various birthparent support group websites, and Facebook pages and groups. Results of the research showed that participants that placed a child for adoption prior to 1990 had less access to services than those participants whose adoption occurred after 1990. However, participants in both year groups valued and wanted therapy/counseling, case management services, and support groups equally. The most common mental health symptoms among participants were depression and generalized anxiety and the majority of participants felt that their adoption experience contributed to their mental health symptoms. With this comprehensive understanding, adoption professionals can tailor pre and post-adoption services to meet the unique mental health needs of birthparents.

The new information technology is becoming an important factor in the future development of financial service industry, most of banks are using the Internet as a new distribution channel, people use the Internet bank to keep an eye on their money matters, view their account balance and check receiving payments,Currently, one stream of internet banking customer retention research focus primarily on the determinants of continuance intention from cognitive perspective based on technology adoption model (TAM), whereas another stream of internet banking customer satisfaction research focused on the emotion from affective events theory (AET), the studyattempts to bridge the two streams of research and to explain internet banking customer post-adoption behavior. Internet banking customer behaviors research focused on the benefits of the system in determining systems success, the benefits of internet banking are discussed from five points of view; time saving, cost saving, fast, accessible, and available, we use the term ¡§utilitarian benefits¡¨ to refer to the functional, on the other hand, internet banking customer behaviors research focused on the benefits of the emotion, the benefits of internet banking are discussed from five points of view; excitement, cheerfulness, delight, security, confidence, we use the term ¡§hedonic benefits¡¨ to refer to the aesthetic. Finally, the result show that hedonic benefit improves customer satisfaction more than utilitarian benefit.

No / This paper explores findings from an exploratory study on sibling relationships following adoption reunion in adulthood. The qualitative data was gathered through in‐depth interviews with 33 adopted adults who were reunited with their birth sibling(s) through an adoption agency in the Republic of Ireland. The findings throw light upon the development of the emotional, often complex, relationships which may emerge when siblings meet for the first time in adult life. Factors influential in facilitating or hindering these post‐reunion relationships are discussed. The important insights are then considered in the context of the wider international literature on adoption, search and reunion.

L’objectif de cette recherche est d’étudier l’influence du comportement et des affects sur l’intention de continuer l’usage d’une technologie de l’information, l’Internet Mobile. Un modèle conceptuel a été développé en se basant sur les recherches antérieures (notamment le modèle TAM et le modèle ECM) et une recherche qualitative. Ce modèle de la continuité d’usage permet d’étudier l’impact du comportement présent (usage et satisfaction) sur les réponses futures (intention de continuer l’usage). L’usage et la satisfaction sont influencés par les perceptions de l’Internet Mobile (utilité, facilité, amusement, valeur et qualité). Les relations du modèle sont modérées par un ensemble de variables modératrices (genre, âge et ancienneté d’usage). La collecte des données a été effectuée à l’aide d’un questionnaire en ligne. L’analyse des données par les équations structurelles a permis de valider empiriquement onze hypothèses de recherche issues de ce modèle. Les résultats suggèrent que l’intention de continuer l’usage de l’Internet Mobile est déterminée par l’usage de ce service et par la satisfaction des utilisateurs. La satisfaction des utilisateurs, à son tour, est influencée par la facilité, l’amusement et la qualité des services alors que l’usage est déterminé par l’utilité, la facilité, l’amusement et la valeur. Les implications managériales et théoriques, ainsi que les voies futures de recherche ont été mises en perspectives / The purpose of the current research is to investigate the influence of behavior and affect on the continuance intention of an information technology, the Mobile Internet. A conceptual model, based on a literature review (including the models TAM and ECM) and a qualitative research, is proposed. This post-adoption model examines the impact of the actual behavior (usage and satisfaction) on future responses (continuance intention). Usage and satisfaction are influenced by Mobile Internet post-adoption beliefs (usefulness, ease of use, enjoyment, value and quality). A number of moderating variables are included (gender, age and past experience). Data collection was performed using a web questionnaire. Data analysis by structural equation has empirically validated eleven research hypotheses derived from this model. The results suggest that mobile Internet continuance intention is determined by usage and satisfaction. User satisfaction, in turn, is influenced by ease of use, enjoyment and quality while usage is determined by usefulness, ease of use, enjoyment and value. Theoretical and managerial implications of the results are discussed. Finally, suggestions concerning future research about Mobile Internet are presented

Dans la présente thèse, nous proposons une grille de lecture – ancrée dans la théorie du don de Marcel Mauss – et permettant de comprendre les échanges effectués dans le cadre des réseaux sociaux numériques (RSN). Cet éclairage que nous présentons, nous amène à définir et à conceptualiser « le lien social virtuel » qui explique la continuité d’utilisation de ces plates-formes de socialisation en ligne. Il nous permet également d’effectuer une taxonomie des utilisateurs des RSN en fonction de leurs comportements de « donneurs » et de « receveurs » sur ces sites. C’est ainsi que nous avons pu identifier quatre profils : « les connectés » et « les réseauphiles » (catégorie de continueurs) puis « les désenchantés » et « les déconnectés » (catégorie de discontinueurs). Nous suivons une démarche de recherche mixte puisque nous adoptons à la fois des méthodes quantitatives et qualitatives qui s’enrichissent mutuellement et nous permettent de répondre à notre problématique de recherche / In this dissertation, we propose a reading grid of interactions within social networking sites, which is rooted in the theory of the gift developed by Marcel Mauss. This lighting allows us to conceptualize the “virtual social tie” which explains the continuance of usage of these online platforms. It also leads us to develop a taxonomy of social networking sites’ users based on their behavior as “donors” and “receivers” on these websites. Thus, we have identified four groups which are: “connected” and “network-aholics” (category of continuers) then “disenchanted” and “disconnected” (category of discontinuers). We follow here a mix-method research approach as we adopt both quantitative and qualitative methods so as to get data and be able to answer to our research question

The purpose of this Thesis was to create a framework of 11 risk factors, investigate which of them are the most critical for the company and to find relationships between them Research questions  What continuing risks will the company experience after ERP implementation? What relationships and measures can be constructed to better understand and manage risk factors of post-implementation? Some years ago ERP was a novelty in doing business, but nowadays companies have advanced from the implementation to the exploitation phase.  Discussions about ERP post-implementation have just started to appear and many researchers see it as a second wave of ERP research. Undesirable risks in post-implementation stage of ERP can affect not just ERP area, they can lead to a total business failure. ERP post-implementation is a very important topic that requires attention, because understanding potential risk factors and their dependence on each other can facilitate managing process and help to avoid negative consequences. Knowledge of the risks can help to bring forth better practices that are consistent with a company’s internal context.

This research examines post-adoption behavior (discontinuance versus continuance) with the context of Intranet use. Multiple theories are used as theoretical frameworks to extend information communication technology research to the case of post-adoption behavior. Three research questions and six sets of hypotheses are formulated to distinguish discontinuers from continuers, to identify factors related to discontinuance in comparison to continuance, and to explore reasons behind their discontinuance. Results indicate that discontinuers can be discriminated from continuers based on technological attributes (compatibility and usefulness), use-related outcomes (satisfaction, behavioral control, and enjoyment), social influences (work group membership, subjective norms, image, and critical communication partners' perception), and organizational mediations (perceived voluntariness, organizational support, top management support, and organization's innovation climate). This research also found that there are different types of discontinuers (replacement, disenchantment, partial, reserved, indifferent, and political discontinuers) and that replacement and partial discontinuers can be discriminated from reserved and indifferent discontinuers with respect to individual characteristics (risk-taking personality, independent judgment capacity, personal innovativeness, and self-efficacy) as well as factors associated with post-adoption system use. Additionally, this research found that discontinuers are more like to be dissatisfied with organizational communication than are continuers. Among discontinuer categories, reserved discontinuers are the most likely to be satisfied, while political discontinuers are the least likely to be satisfied with organizational communication. Overall, these findings help us better understand the complex nature of post-adoption behavior in organizational context. In fact, the findings suggest that people are not passive recipients of an innovation even where the innovation implementation decision is made by an organization. Rather than accepting organizational decision, they experiment with it, evaluate it, develop positive or negative feelings about it, and work around it. Particularly, the diverse list of actions (e.g., replacement, reservation, indifference, partial use, etc.) highlights the complex nature of post-adoption behavior and contrasts with the widely cited adopter categories, where discontinuers are treated as identical with later adopters. This gives much needed attention to post-adoption behavior, which complements the diffusion literature's predominant focus on initial adoption. Theoretical and practical implications as well as future directions are also discussed. / text

This thesis concerns individuals’ behaviors with Information Systems (IS) once an application has been applied by users in accomplishing their work activity. Despite research on IS acceptance and continuance, little is known about individuals’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes and their associated outcomes after the initial adoption of a system. My research aims to address this shortcoming. In doing so, this dissertation combines novel theories – the ecological perspective based on ecological psychology and the emotional perspective based on neuroscience, physiological, and psychological research – with the current IS post-adoption literature – the deliberative perspective – to the study of IS use as an ongoing behavioral process that unfolds over time. Two studies were conducted to investigate these processes and outcomes. The first study used an experience sampling method. Employees of different organizations who used IS for their work were asked to carry a booklet and a pager for two weeks. Every time they were paged, they were asked to fill out both open-ended and close-ended questions about their feelings, thoughts and performance at the moment in the booklet. The second study followed an experimental design in order to investigate the phenomena of interest in a more controlled environment. The experiment combined multiple sources of data: such as protocol analysis, heart rate data, and analysis of behaviors through video coding. The overall results from both studies suggest that users do not think about the IS nor experience feelings related to the IS unless they are facing a difficulty with it (e.g., an error). Furthermore, the results indicate affective and physiological changes following difficulties with an IS as well as changes in cognitive and behavioral processes. Finally, the results show a relation between these affective processes and self-reported performance, and a relation between some of the cognitive and behavioral processes and both objective and self-reported performance. Overall, this thesis provides a refreshing theoretical and empirical examination of the various events, processes and associated outcomes involved during actual IS use. The two empirical studies provide support for the theory of post-adoption IS use developed in this thesis. Finally, this thesis suggests exciting opportunities for future research. / Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2008-08-27 09:00:57.168