This dissertation consists of three essays on the role of identity centrality in the formation of consumer self-brand connections. It contributes to a better understanding of how consumers negotiate multiple identities in the marketplace when making brand choices. This is significant as much of the research on the self-concept and consumer behavior has focused on isolated self-dimensions or have examined single consumer identities in isolation. Theoretically grounded in identity process theory (Breakwell 1986), which suggests individuals construct their identity through multiple identity motives influencing identity centrality, enactment, and affect; this dissertation addresses these gaps by answering two specific questions: 1) What are the various identity motives that influence a consumer's individual and group identity centrality leading to enhanced self-brand connections? 2) How does identity centrality influence reference group brand associations in the formation of self-brand connections? In Essay 1, a framework for conceptualizing the influence of multiple identity motives on self-brand connections is proposed driven by findings from consumer in-depth interviews. The framework suggests identity centrality mediates the relationship between the satisfaction of multiple identity motives on self-brand connections, and moderates self-brand connections when reference group brand associations are considered. Fourteen propositions are presented, and are empirically tested in Essays 2 and 3. In Essay 2, identity motives from identity process theory along with others identified in Essay 1 are empirically validated, using both hierarchical linear modeling and hierarchical multiple regression. The findings support the influence of two identity motives informing identity centrality, namely: recognition and continuity. This is significant, as prior research in consumer behavior has largely focused on the self-esteem and self-consistency motives (Grub and Grathwohl 1967; Sirgy 1982). Essay 3 investigates the moderating effect of identity centrality on the formation of self-brand connections as reference group brand associations are considered. It is found that the when the ingroup identity is highly central, stronger self-brand connections result. On the contrary, when the ingroup identity is low in centrality self-brand connections are mitigated. The differential effects of self-brand connections due to identity centrality provide insight into intra-group differences when the brand is consistent with the ingroup image. The results support a general importance of the role of identity centrality at both the individual and group levels, providing a catalyst for future studies examining the role of the self-concept in consumer behavior.

The use of ITs in education has created new opportunities for learning and has introduced new ways for knowledge acquisition. Web 2.0 technology presents a variety of tools that can support learning procedure in all levels of Education. Wikis constitute one of the most widespread tools that support cooperation and Project-based learning. This study examines the possibility of a wider use of Wikis for the “Project”, a course that has been taught in Greek High Schools for the last four years. Recently the Greek Ministry of Education attempted to make a shift from traditional learning methods to modern teaching ways that use ITs in all level of education. “Project” course constitutes a pilot course for this attempt and follows new innovating ways of learning. The course has an interdisciplinary character and aims to exploit the benefits of the Project-based learning and to enhance students to cooperation and interaction. The research explores the way that Wikis could support the basic aims of the course and the circumstances under which learners and teachers could be motivated for this use. This qualitative study was conducted in the 1st Lyceum of Eleusis, “Aristoteleio”, and followed the Action-oriented Research approach. The research included interviews with five teachers and a focus group of students. The main outcomes showed that important changes in the Greek Educational system should be done in order for this use to be enhanced.

Consolidation of Acute Care Surgical Services (ACSS) as a response to multiple challenges in providing timely and high-quality emergency services is a growing interest among healthcare policymakers. However, very little is known about patient experiences within this system. This study explores patient perceptions of their acute care surgical experiences within a consolidated ACSS program. A qualitative study guided by the tenets of Appreciative Inquiry was conducted. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and personal stories. Thirteen participants were involved, seven females and six males of varying ages; all underwent emergency surgeries including appendectomy, cholecystectomy, and small bowel obstruction surgery. Findings suggest that clear and effective communication, excellent nursing care, timely access to surgical services, continuity of care, patient safety, transfer to an Acute Care Surgical (ACS) site, communication regarding transportation, and process of admission to an ACS site play important roles in patient experiences within a consolidated ACSS.

Background: Patients’ recovery from surgery differs when they are in a hospital setting or at home. However, an often forgotten aspect of post-operative ambulatory care is the patients' recovery at home following ambulatory surgery.Aim: To explore and describe the patients’ experiences of recovery at home following the ambulatory surgery procedure.Method: A systematic review of 7 qualitative studies in English with pre-specified criteria was conducted. An overview of qualitative evidence derived from the 17 identified main themes across the 7 primary studies was analyzed.Result: Seven thematic analysis themes were identified as being core to the patients’ experience during recovery process at home: physical symptoms, a period of regaining pre-operative functions, psychological effects, the surgical wound, delayed recovery process, social support, and the sick-role condition.. These seven themes were described patient's experiences at home following ambulatory surgery from early stage of recovery to the time of getting back to normal life.Conclusion: Recovery at home following ambulatory surgery seemed to be challenging, a quality self-care at home was lacking in the form having full control and knowledge about symptoms; adequate information, education and medication during self-care management; sufficient support by carer and nurses; and enough time-off for recovery.

Bakgrund: Övervikt och fetma är ett av vårt samhälles största folkhälsoproblem och dessutom ett globalt problem som ökar bland befolkningen vilket kan leda till framtida komplikationer som hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar samt diabetes. Stigmatiseringen av övervikt är ett problem då det innebär ett individuellt lidande p.g.a. nedvärderande kommentarer. Övervikten påverkar människan negativt både på ett fysiskt och psykiskt sätt. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien är att beskriva vuxna människors upplevelse av att leva med övervikt och fetma. Metod: En litteraturstudie med kvalitativ ansats, baserad på tio vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultat: I studien kom det fram att överviktiga personer har upplevt mycket lidande i olika situationer relaterat till deras kroppar. Dessa situationer utlöste känslor av skuld och skam. De värsta upplevelserna var stigmatiseringen och den diskriminering som uppstod i det vuxna livet samt de negativa kommentarer som relaterades till vikten. De överviktiga kunde inte utföra sociala aktiviteter på grund av begränsad förmåga till rörlighet. Detta ledde till isolering och ensamhet. Många överviktiga beskrev ett starkt självförakt som en följd av dåligt självförtroende. Slutsats: Det är viktigt att uppmärksamma de överviktigas livssituation för att kunna ge det stöd som de behöver och motivera dessa människor till en förändrad livsstil. / Background: Obesity is one of our society's greatest public health problems. Overweight and obesity are a global problem that is increasing among the population which may lead to future complications such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The stigma of obesity is a problem when it involves an individual suffering due to disparaging comments. Obesity affects people negatively in both physical and psychological ways. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe adult human experience of living with overweight and obesity. Method: A literature review with qualitative approach, based on ten scientific articles. Results: The study showed that overweight people had experienced much suffering in situations related to their body. These situations triggered feelings of guilt and shame. The worst experiences of stigmatization and discrimination suffered in the adult life and they consisted mainly of negative comments related to weight. People with overweight were unable to perform social activities due to limited capacity for moving. This led to the isolation and loneliness. Many overweight people described a strong self-loathing as a result of a low self-esteem. Conclusion: It is important to pay attention to the overweight situation in life in order to provide support and motivate these people to a changed lifestyle.

No description available.

Hjärtsvikt betraktas inte som en sjukdom. Det är ett kliniskt syndrom som uppstår som resultat av nedsatt hjärtmuskelfunktion där hjärtats pumpkraft avtar vilket leder till otillräcklig blodförsörjning till kroppens organ vid ett normalt fyllnadstryck. Personer som drabbas av hjärtsvikt har ökat i antal eftersom behandling av andra hjärtsjukdomar har förbättrats samt medellivslängden har ökat. Syftet med studien var att beskriva äldre patienters upplevelser av att leva med hjärtsvikt. Metoden som användes var en kvalitativ empirisk studie där datainsamlingsmetod var intervjuer och insamlade material analyserades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. I resultatet framkom fyra kategorier; upplevelser av symtom, känslomässiga reaktioner, behov av kunskap och behov av stöd. Känslan av välbefinnande påverkades av som resultat av belastningen med olika symptom, kombinerad med funktionshinder, förlust av självständighet, social isolering och existentiella frågor. Det var framförallt den minskade förmågan att utföra fysiska aktiviteter som hade den största påverkan på äldre patienters dagliga liv. Patienter hade inlärningsbehov och de upplevde osäkerhet när livet inte kunde kontrolleras. Stöd visade sig vara viktigt för patienters välbefinnande. Slutsatsen var att upplevelserna som patienter hade om hjärtsvikt är individuella; av den anledningen behövs en individuell vårdplan upprättas för att möta de verkliga och potentiella behov som patienter med hjärtsvikt har. / Heart failure is not considered a disease. It is a clinical syndrome that occurs as a result of impaired myocardial function in which the heart's pumping power decreases, leading to insufficient blood supply to the organs of the body at a normal filling pressure. People who suffer from heart failure have increased in number since the treatment of other cardiovascular diseases has improved and life expectancy has increased. The aim of the study was to describe older patients' experiences of living with heart failure. The method used was a qualitative empirical study using interviews as a data collection method, which was analyzed throughout qualitative content. The result shows four categories; symptoms experiences, emotional reactions, need for knowledge and the need for support. The feeling of well-being affected by the results of the load with different symptoms, combined with disability, loss of independence, social isolation, and existential issues. It was mainly the reduced ability to perform physical activities that had the greatest impact on older patient’s daily lives. Patients had learning needs and they experienced uncertainty when their lives could not be controlled. Support proved looks to be important for well-being of patients. The conclusion was that the experiences that patients had about heart failure are individual because we need to individualize the care plan and to meet the real and potential needs for patients with heart failure.

As the usage of loyalty programs increases, this study takes a new approach to examine how these programs influence consumers’ attitudes toward brands. This paper is influenced by the recent findings that question the capability to create a clear picture of the effects of loyalty programs by conducting quantitative research. This is based of the differentiation between attitudes and actions, leading to the fact that quantitative research have only captured the actions of members of loyalty programs. In contrast to that, this paper uses qualitative interviews to create a more in-depth point of view.The paper immerses the reader in the theoretical viewings of what loyalty is and how it emerges from satisfaction. Aspects that make a consumer “loyal” are presented, as well as different degrees of loyalty. Furthermore loyalty is explained as a higher form of commitment, which is seen as an attitude towards a brand. The paper then discusses the possibility of looking at attitudes as relative, and as something used in different ways that can be constructed differently. We then examine the opposite of loyalty, which is inertia, which has similar aspects but is characterized on different grounds and emerges from switching costs and habitual behavior. The paper then creates a model of how loyalty programs affect the consumption process and creates either satisfaction or switching costs. The commitments of the consumers’ are then divided into either loyalty or inertia depending on the customers’ attitudes towards the brand with concern to the effect that the loyalty program has exercised.Our research has resulted in three different groups, each of which shows separate levels of commitment. The first group is labeled “loyal effect”. Through the loyalty program this group has developed satisfaction-based commitment towards the brand, hence loyalty. The second group consists of the informants that have not been influenced at all by the loyalty program, and is labeled “no effect”. The final group, “inertia effect”, shows that the loyalty programs have created switching barriers resulting in customer retention characterized by low commitment, hence inertia.The findings of this study highlight the fact that the commitment that is formed through loyalty programs has two sides to it rather than one, which has been claimed in previous studies. The results of the paper show that future studies and current brands need to change their current perspective. Instead of being concerned with whether loyalty programs have the capability to influence the consumers or not the real question is how it affects the customers and in what direction it influences an individual consumer’s commitment.

Consolidation of Acute Care Surgical Services (ACSS) as a response to multiple challenges in providing timely and high-quality emergency services is a growing interest among healthcare policymakers. However, very little is known about patient experiences within this system. This study explores patient perceptions of their acute care surgical experiences within a consolidated ACSS program. A qualitative study guided by the tenets of Appreciative Inquiry was conducted. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and personal stories. Thirteen participants were involved, seven females and six males of varying ages; all underwent emergency surgeries including appendectomy, cholecystectomy, and small bowel obstruction surgery. Findings suggest that clear and effective communication, excellent nursing care, timely access to surgical services, continuity of care, patient safety, transfer to an Acute Care Surgical (ACS) site, communication regarding transportation, and process of admission to an ACS site play important roles in patient experiences within a consolidated ACSS.

The purpose of this thesis is to document and analyze the experiences and beliefs of a cross section of the second language Cree learning and teaching community regarding perceived hurdles in Cree language acquisition. Very little applied linguistic research has been done involving indigenous languages in Canada, especially ones focusing on adult learners; as a result this study was conceived of as being exploratory in nature, opening ground for further research. The research questions were as follows: what are the major challenges facing adult second language learners of Cree? And secondly, what are the solutions used by learners to overcome these challenges? Seven participants were interviewed from across western Canada, two learners, three teachers, and two participants who had been heavily involved in both learning and teaching. The interviews covered participants’ history with the language, exploring challenges, learning approaches, and goals. The findings suggested that the most significant challenges facing learners were affective challenges such as anxiety; in addition the nature of resources available to learners and teachers was a significant challenge. The study highlighted the connection between methodologies and challenges, suggesting that challenges which appear specific to a particular language are often instead the result of the methodological approach. It also highlighted some areas of disconnect between teacher and learner views on challenges. This thesis also examines the pedagogical implications of this research. / Graduate / 0279 / 0290 / 0727 / mccreery@uvic.ca