Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Muslims and non-Muslim consumers regardless of who they are or from where they come, whether natives or foreigners in a particular country are much concerned with consuming food products. However, not any researchers in South Africa (SA) have addressed the consumers who buy food products labelled halal. This doctoral dissertation primarily aims to explore and bring new knowledge towards halal food purchasing behaviour. It specifically focuses on understanding the current purchase intention and behaviour of halal consumers in Cape Town, South Africa. For this purpose, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was utilised as the theoretical framework to measure the purchase intention and subsequently the buying behaviour of halal consumers. An exploratory sequential mixed method was adopted. A qualitative approach formed the first phase of the study, while a quantitative approach formed the second phase of the study. For the qualitative phase, data was collected purposively through 9 intensive semi-structured interviews. Nonetheless, for the quantitative phase, data was collected by means of 516 self-administrated questionnaires using a stratified random sampling. In analysing the qualitative data, thematic analysis was applied. However, for the quantitative phase, data was analysed using multivariate statistical analysis known as the Structured Equation Modelling (SEM).

Background: Fast furniture is a growing trend similar to fast fashion and fast food, implying that manufacturers produce large quantities of inexpensive furniture. At the same time, consumers use the furniture shorter and replace it more frequently. Fast furniture relies on high resource consumption, outsourced production, and furniture design that makes it necessary to replace it more often. This causes a decrease in quality and an increase in produced quantities. Most of the furniture worldwide is landfilled as it is not recyclable due to low-quality materials. One potential solution is implementing Circular Economic practices, including furniture rental as an alternative way of consumption. Consumer acceptance of this model is scarcely researched, but the formation of consumers' attitudes and intentions has been the subject of publications in other consumption contexts. The recent literature is reviewed, and a research framework was built based on the Theory of Reasoned Action and additional intrapersonal barriers and drivers. Purpose: This research aimed to explain the relationship between intrapersonal barriers and drivers with attitude and behavioral intention towards furniture rental. Further, it was aimed to show which furniture categories are most likely to be rented. Method: A quantitative approach deploying a self-administered online survey was chosen. 235 usable responses were gathered, which were analyzed using PLS-SEM to assess the hypothesized relationships. Conclusion: The findings show that the overall attitude towards furniture rental is positive. Trend orientation and perceived risk are the most influential antecedents of attitude and behavioral intention. Supporting the Theory of Reasoned Action, attitude is the strongest predictor of behavioral intention. Perceived sustainability value, perceived economic value, and materialism also significantly influence the intention to rent furniture. Familiarity with the Sharing Economy shows no significant influence. The study contributes to the existing literature on consumer intentions to use alternative consumption. A new research model was developed based on existing theory and literature. Managers can use the findings to alter, adapt, and build their furniture rental service offerings.

Schönherr Qwick, R-M Öronakupunktur. Upplevelser och känslor av öronakupunktur isamband med rökavvänjning. Examensarbete i omvårdnad 15 högskolepoäng, D-nivå.Malmö högskola: Hälsa och samhälle, Utbildningsområde omvårdnad, 2009.Bakgrund Tobaksbruket medför stora hälsorisker och för många en för tidig död. Mångarökare önskar inget hellre än att sluta. Att sluta röka är ofta svårt, då nikotinet är en starkdrog och abstinserna kan vara svåra, även om evidens baserad hjälp finns i form avmetoder och hjälpmedel. Allt fler patienter önskar hjälp med akupunktur menkunskaperna och erfarenheterna om hur metoden fungerar och upplevs av rökare är få.Metod Åtta kvinnliga rökare, anställda inom Vård och Omsorg i Malmö, intervjuades dåde som frivilliga deltog i rökslutarbehandling med öronakupunktur under tre veckorvåren 2009. Intervjuerna analyserades enligt Burnards innehålls analys och resultaten hardiskuterats i relation till folkhälsoteorierna av Ajzen ”The Theory of Planned Behavior”och Prochaska & Di Clemente “The stage of Change Model.” Vårdgivarens upplevelserhar diskuterats i relation till omvårdnadsteorin av Jean Watson och Barbara Carper.Syftet Med denna studie har varit att undersöka upplevelser och känslor avöronakupunktur i samband med rökavvänjning. Vidare att se om behandlingen skullekunna ge lindring av abstinens och undersöka vilka bakomliggande motiv som ligger tillgrund för beslutet att sluta röka. Syftet var också att undersöka vårdgivarens upplevelserav att ge denna behandling.Resultat Presenteras utifrån olika kategorier av känslor och upplevelser som framkommithos deltagarna under behandlingen med öronakupunktur. Deltagarna rapporteradepositiva effekter av behandlingen. Samtliga deltagare var från början väl motiverade attsluta röka och till metoden. De ansåg att det var en verksam behandlingsmetod somhjälpte dem att sluta röka eller minska på nikotin behovet. De uttryckte lindring iabstinensen till följd av behandlingen samt känslor av välbefinnande och harmoni.Vårdgivaren upplevde arbetet givande och metoden som ett bra verktyg.Konklusion Mottagaren av öron akupunktur i samband med rökavvänjning upplever enlindring av abstinens. Den upplevs lugnande och rogivande. Vårdgivaren upplevdemetoden som ett effektivt, förtroende ingivande hjälpmedel. Mera forskning behövs föratt vidare utforska behandlingens effektivitet när det gäller den procentuella andelen sompå sikt slutar röka helt. / Schönherr Qwick, R-M. Earacupuncture. Experience and feelings of ear acupuncture inconjunction to quit smoking. Degree Project, 15 Credit Points, Advanced level. MalmöUniversity and Society, Department of Nursing, 2009.Background The use of tobacco smoking has severe health hazards and for many anincreased risk of premature death. Many smokers have a strong wish to quit tobacco.However smoking cessations is difficult, since nicotine is a strong addictive drug, and hasmany with- drawl symptoms, even if evidence based methods and nicotine replacementsare used. Many quitters wants to try alternative methods in smoking cessation asacupuncture but knowledge and experience about effect and sensations combined withthe treatment of smokers is scarce among caregivers.Aim Of this study was to explore the experiences and feelings of ear acupuncture inconjunction with smoking cessation. Further to examine if the treatment were able toreduce abstinences, to examine motives for smoking cessation and to examine thecaregivers experiences in providing this form of treatment.Method Eight women from the health care sector in Malmö volunteered to participate inthis tobacco cessation project by ear acupuncture during three weeks in spring 2009 inMalmö, Sweden. This qualitative interview study were analyzed using content analysisby Burnard and the findings have been analyzed in relation and people health theory ofAjzen “Theory of planned behavior” and Prochaska & Di Clemente” The stage ofChange Model.” The experiences from the caregiver in providing the treatment wereanalysed in relation to the caring theory by Jean Watson, Barbara Carper.The results All participants were motivated to quit smoking using ear acupuncture.Participants reported positive effects of ear acupuncture as a treatment reducing“crawings” for nicotine associated with in smoking cessation. The results also show thatparticipants were relived in main abstinences and they felt comfort and harmony in thecontext of the individual treatments. The caregiver experienced the method as efficient,rewarding and as a good tool.Conclusion The patient who receives ear acupuncture feels relief in symptoms ofwithdrawal associated with smoking cessation. The treatment perceives as calming andsoothing. More research is needed to further explore the efficiency of the treatment insuccess rate of smoking cessation.

To facilitate a better understanding of the social psychological factors that influence adoption of project management practices, this study draws upon the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) from social psychology, and the technology acceptance model (TAM) from information systems research. These models define and relate a number of belief constructs that predict the acceptance of technologies in a variety of settings. In general, the three models each have relatively consistent empirical support, with comparison studies showing mixed support for each of the models being the moderately "better" model. In the current study, the three models are thoroughly integrated using a latent constructs approach and structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques. Overall, constructs from TRA and TAM, but not TPB, predict the use of specific project estimating, plan development, and plan commitment practices defined in the Capability Maturity Models (CMM/I).

Background The covid-19 pandemic has been an inescapable tragedy that affects all countries and their economic systems. Due to Covid-19, e-commerce has risen and people more and more purchase goods online. Therefore, it's critical to identify and assess the effects of these behavioral changes on Swedish customers' online purchase intentions and to evaluate the impact on future intentions for online shopping. Purpose From an online consumers’ perspective, investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on customer buying behavior towards online shopping explored through the Theory of Planned Behavior. Method In this thesis qualitative methodology is used by the authors which has been noticed by using an inductive approach that is based on positivism and it involved 10 semi-structured interviews with Swedish customers in different cities of various ages. Conclusion Based on the results, it is observed that there is a slight increase in Swedish customers' online shopping levels during the Covid-19 pandemic, but many of our participants' behaviors do not appear to indicate that the pandemic has had a significant impact on their online shopping habits. Instead, other components of the TPB model appear to be having a greater impact on our respondents' future intentions.

Background: The rapid advancements in technology to measure different bodily functions have enabled normal person to measure various biological values of a body such as a heartbeat, calories, blood pressure, and more. These measurements can help healthcare providers provide better disease assessment, but what are the challenges that make it difficult for healthcare providers to adopt such devices? Purpose: This thesis investigates the challenges that healthcare providers face in adopting wearable devices. Method: To achieve the thesis' purpose, the authors choose to conduct a quantitative study through a survey and a qualitative study through semi-structured interviews. The data was acquired through an online survey of Indian healthcare providers and the public, which was distributed using the messaging app WhatsApp. To ensure that enough responses were collected, the authors adopted a non-probability snowball sampling approach. The interviews were conducted in India in person. The questionnaire was divided into five sections based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), two well-known theories for predicting human behaviour on technology adoption. Finding: The findings reveal that individuals' attitudes towards using wearables and their purchase intentions serve as strong predictors of its adoption intention. The study also highlights that the primary challenges hindering the adoption of wearable technologies in the healthcare sector are the ease of use and device affordability. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the factors influencing the adoption of wearables, offering valuable insights for healthcare professionals and stakeholders in promoting their effective implementation.

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The fundamental purpose of this thesis was to determine how effective is the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to predict and explain shopping for embarrassing products in single and multi-channel. This is important because multi-channel consumers buy more, the question is why (Neslin, Grewal et al. 2006). The question was answered by comparing consumer behaviour in three different channels: drugstore, internet and multi-channel. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) has been successful to predict intentions for a wide variety of products and behaviours. However, little is known about how effective it is when the behaviour under study is influenced by the emotion of embarrassment. Similarly, the TPB is parsimonious and has a good predictive power; nevertheless, this thesis identified that the TPB could be more effective if it considered: (1) the role of positive and negative emotions (2) other determinants of choice like personality and demographics (3) variables that are useful to make marketing decisions like the synergistic effect of brands, retailers and channels (4) variables that explain consumer response like approach and avoidance. To provide a comprehensive theoretical framework that is able to understand single and multi-channel, this thesis integrated the TPB within the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework. To evaluate the proposed model, the study used a context and target product that resonated with the theory: the purchase of Regaine (a hair loss product that is embarrassing to buy) in Boots (a well-known UK. multi-channel drugstore). The embarrassing nature of Regaine created differences in the importance that variables play in each channel. The results were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and the three shopping environments were compared using multi-group analysis (MGA). The effectiveness of the TPB was improved. The variance explained (R² to intention) was 73 percent for the drugstore, 67 percent for the internet and 54 percent for multi-channel. However, subjective norm (SN) was the only factor that achieved significance for the three shopping environments. Personality and demographic factors had a low but significant moderating effect on intention. This thesis built on a series of contributions in different areas, such as the TPB, attitudes, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, embarrassing products, multi-channel, marketing, emotions, personality and demographics. Future research should expand this thesis to other embarrassing products, industries and social media settings.