Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management and Dietetics / Carol W. Shanklin / Protection motivation theory (PMT) was used in this study to investigate food service directors' food bioterrorism risk perception and their intentions to implement a food defense management plan in their operations. A cross sectional study using the self administered survey was conducted to test hypotheses. All measurement items for the construct of interests were assessed using a 7-point Likert type scales. Questionnaires were mailed in March 2007 to a national sample of 2,200 randomly selected on-site food service directors employed in school districts and healthcare operations. A total 449 usable completed questionnaires were received. Descriptive statistics were performed to investigate directors' perceptions, motivations and intentions independently. Before testing the actual hypotheses, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess reliability and construct validity of the measurement model. Food service directors perceived that the result of a food terrorist attack would be severe but the chances it would occur in their operations is limited. They agreed that implementation of a food defense management plan would be effective to address food terrorism issue in their operations. They were highly motivated to protect the operation from an attack and to avoid the risk of terrorism and intended to implement a food defense plan in their operation. Based on the hypotheses testing, results revealed that motivation to protect the operation against food bioterrorism is higher when directors perceived a higher level of risk (severity and vulnerability), rated the effectiveness of a food defense management plan in protecting the operation high, and perceived that their operations were able to implement it. In turn, high level of motivation to protect the operation led to higher level of implementation intention. Results of the study can be used to design communication resources developed to enhance food service directors' intention to implement a food defense management plan. Educational and informational resources related to intentional food contamination and its defense should emphasize response efficacy and possibility perception.

Online users struggle with different concerns whenever they use information systems. According to Miyazaki and Fernandez (2001), there are three important categories of concerns for online users: privacy concern, third party fraudulent behavior concern ("system security"), and online website fraudulent behavior concern ("security"). Kim, Sivasailam, and Rao (2004) proposed a similar categorization for web assurance dimensions. They argue that online websites are supposed to address users' privacy, security, and business integrity concerns to decrease user concerns. Although several researchers tried to answer how different factors affect these concerns and how these concerns affect users' behavior, there are so many ambiguities and contradictions in this area. This Essay I in this work develops a comprehensive map of the role of online privacy concern to identify related factors and categorize them through an in-depth literature review and conducting meta-analysis on online privacy concern. Although users have concerns about their privacy and security, there is still growth in the number of internet users and electronic commerce market share. One possible reason is that websites are applying assurance mechanisms to ensure the privacy of their users. Therefore, it could be an interesting research topic to investigate how privacy assurance mechanisms affect users concern and, consequently, their behavior in different concerns such as e-commerce and social networking sites. Different types of web assurance mechanisms are used by websites. The most prevalent among these assurance mechanisms include web assurance seals and assurance statements and privacy customization features. Essay II and III aims to address how these mechanisms influence e-commerce and social networking sites users' behavior. Essay II applies the procedural fairness theory by Lind and Tyler (1988) to explain how and why the web assurance mechanisms affect consumers' perceived risks. Essay III addresses the issue of self-disclosure on social networking sites. Applying protection motivation theory, this study aims to evaluate the effect of web assurance mechanisms on online privacy concern and self-disclosure behavior on the social networking sites.

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)

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Climate change is currently threatening the livelihoods of farmers in developing countries. Psychological models have been developed to identify factors associated with adapting to climate change; however, little work has investigated the role of farmers’ risk attitudes in these models. We assessed perceptions of adaptation cost and adaptation intentions for five drought- specific adaptive behaviors among 550 farmers from 12 villages in the dry zone of Sri Lanka, as well as their attitudes toward risk. Results suggest that perceived adaptation cost and risk attitude are negatively associated with adaptation intentions. The conditional effect of adaptation cost on adaptation intention as a function of risk attitude was also investigated. Results showed that only farmers with risk averse attitudes were impacted by their perceptions of adaptation costs. These findings have implications for those interested in increasing adaptive practices of farmers in developing countries who face increasingly scarce water supplies.

This paper critically examines users' perceptions of privacy and security in web applications,emphasizing interface design. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data grounded inCPM and PMT theories, our research addresses Internet users' concerns regarding onlineprivacy and security. Employing triangulation analysis on survey responses and web-basedobservations, our findings reveal a strong association between users' trust in web applicationsand their visual elements. By providing visual examples of current design practices in oursurvey, we discover some important aspects of effective interface designs. Utilizing IUIPCtheory, we identify how web application interfaces influence users' privacy management,impacting their trust and usage decisions. Notably, some users are subtly prompted to grantpermissions or share personal information through deliberate exclusion of options in thedesign of certain web applications. The approach of this study encourages a criticalperspective on privacy and integrity issues in online settings.