The advent of technology has put a number of institutions in a state of reform (Wolcott, 1997). In fact, it was predicted that technology would completely transform higher education by the end of the twentieth century (Sculley, 1989). Aside from the demographic make-up of the majority of current students (Howe & Strauss, 2000), moving away from the traditional lecture-format to one with the integration of instructional technology can enhance the teaching/learning environment (Bolger & Sprow, 2002). However, instructional technology has still not been completely integrated into the higher education curriculum and students reported that only about 20 % of instructors were found to use technology effectively ("How Students Rate Instructors' Use of Information Technology in Courses", 2011). Educators continue to face a number of barriers to adoption and many institutions are still investigating ways to provide a more effective learning and teaching environment using efficient use of instructional technology. This research used the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech as a test bed and conducted a set of three studies following a mixed methodology. The first study elicited both quantitative and qualitative data from faculty members who used instructional technology in the classroom. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships between organizational culture, usability, and instructional technology acceptance and found a significant, positive relationship between usability and instructional technology acceptance, and a positive relationship between organizational culture and instructional technology acceptance. The second study gained more insight into the relationship by collecting qualitative data in the form of focus group interviews. Results of Study 2 indicated that collaborative and innovative organizational cultures, coupled with instructional technologies that have low learnability, high efficiency, high effectiveness, and high satisfaction can facilitate instructional technology acceptance. Based on the results, a set of recommendations to facilitate instructional technology acceptance were developed. The third and final study consisted of a summative evaluation of the recommendations by a panel of experts using the Delphi technique. The overall outcome of this research effort was the development of recommendations and guidelines to facilitate instructional technology acceptance and the description of a comprehensive framework for effective instructional technology use. / Ph. D.

Peer rejection (PR) can be damaging to cognitive and emotional well being and lead to risky behavioral consequences (e.g., violence, increased peer pressure susceptibility), particularly for adolescents (Sebastian et al., 2010; Williams, 2007). Interventions designed to minimize the impact of and repair damage related to PR in youth have been somewhat successful (e.g., Mikami et al., 2005), although the need for further research into potentially pliable mechanisms underlying adolescent peer relationships remains. One suggested mediating factor is experiential avoidance (EA), which is the major target of acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; see Hayes, 2004 for a review). The present study built on the recommendations of Biglan et al. (2008) and Theodore-Oklota et al. (2014) in designing and implementing a prevention program aimed at reducing EA of PR experiences, with the hope of minimizing cognitive, emotional and behavioral consequences of PR. For this initial pilot, selected ACT components (acceptance, cognitive defusion, and values) were presented in age-appropriate form to six participants over five individual intervention sessions. The program was successful in reducing EA and cognitive fusion and/or improving mindfulness and acceptance for most participants, with some exceptions. Additionally, results showed a decrease in existing symptomatology for several participants (e.g., anger, depression, poor self-concept, overall stress). However, value congruence was not significantly improved for any of the six completers. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical implications and recommendations for further research, particularly in terms of how the existing pilot intervention could be altered and augmented to maximize effectiveness. / Ph. D.

Two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. Traditional obesity interventions (e.g. drug therapy, diets, behavior therapy) generate moderate short-term weight loss but have little evidence of long-term weight maintenance. The cultural phenomenon of "yo-yo dieting" mirrors empirical findings which suggest that weight loss, albeit demanding, is a far easier process to target than weight maintenance. The present study sought to evaluate the efficacy of an acceptance based behavioral intervention designed to generate improvements in psychological health and quality of life in obese and overweight adults as well as encourage gradual and sustainable weight loss. The therapy package combined the traditional behavioral interventions of self-monitoring and goal setting with an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) protocol across eight weekly individual therapy sessions. While no significant immediate weight loss was observed following the intervention, significant improvements in general psychological health, reductions in anxiety and escape maintained eating, and increases in weight related acceptance and action were found in the treatment group (n = 9) compared to a wait list control group (n = 10). These findings suggest that an acceptance based intervention targeting wide band outcomes might serve as a viable alternative to traditional approaches targeting only immediate weight loss.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether boys and girls who were not accepted by the group could be developed and trained to such an extent that they would become acceptable. Secondarily, the purpose was to discover what types of classroom and extra-curricular activities were desirable and beneficial in a program of social development for fifth-grade pupils.

Thirty-four parents were referred by their CPS caseworkers to participate in one of two ACT for Parenting workshops. These workshops followed a 12 hour treatment protocol based on an acceptance and commitment therapy philosophy of parenting. Briefly, an ACT philosophy of parenting maintains that effective parenting requires awareness and acceptance of thoughts and feelings as they occur in the context of the parent-child relationship. An ACT philosophy of parenting also relies heavily on the identification and commitment to parenting values. Participants were asked to track acceptance and valuing behavior on a daily basis for 25 days prior to the intervention and 25 days post-intervention, as well as to complete a package of self-report instruments designed to measure both ACT specific and general psychological processes, at three different points (pre-, post- and follow-up). Nineteen parents received the treatment, and of those, seventeen provided follow-up data 3-4 months post-intervention. Results indicate statistically significant changes in the expected directions for scores on the BASC-2 Externalizing Composite as well as on the Meta-Valuing Measure. A total of 10 parents also evidenced clinically significant change in the expected directions on a variety of outcome measures.

Yes / On the inception of the third millennium, there is much evidence that cloud technologies have become the strategic trend for many governments, not only for developed countries (e.g. the UK, Japan and the USA), but also developing countries (e.g. Malaysia and countries in the Middle East region). These countries have launched cloud computing movements for enhanced standardization of IT resources, cost reduction and more efficient public services. Cloud-based e-government services are considered to be one of the high priorities for government agencies in Jordan. Although experiencing phenomenal evolution, government cloud-services are still suffering from the adoption challenges of e-government initiatives (e.g. technological, human, social and financial aspects) which need to be considered carefully by governments contemplating their implementation. While e-government adoption from the citizens’ perspective has been extensively investigated using different theoretical models, these models have not paid adequate attention to security issues. This paper presents a pilot study to investigate citizens’ perceptions of the extent to which these challenges inhibit the acceptance and use of cloud computing in the Jordanian public sector and examine the effect of these challenges on the security perceptions of citizens. Based on the analysis of data collected from online surveys, some important challenges were identified. The results can help to guide successful acceptance of cloud-based e-government services in Jordan.

Background: Research in psychological adjustment to multiple sclerosis (MS) suggests that the way individuals appraise their condition can have an impact upon their psychological well-being and adjustment to their condition. Such research has influenced the development of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) interventions in this population. In recent years, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has gathered increasing interest in relation to chronic health conditions. ACT does not target the content of thought, but rather focuses on the contexts in which thought occurs (i.e. how individuals relate to their experiences). Aim and Primary Hypothesis: A cross sectional design was used to compare the extent to which cognitive appraisals and ACT constructs (‘acceptance’ and ‘cognitive fusion’), mediate the relationship between physical symptoms of MS and psychological adjustment outcomes. It was hypothesised that in comparison to cognitive appraisals, ACT constructs would serve as stronger mediators of the relationship between physical symptoms of MS and outcome measures. This study also piloted a newly adapted measure of MS related acceptance, the Multiple Sclerosis Acceptance Questionnaire (MSAQ). Method and Results: Participants (N = 133) completed self-report measures of: MS symptom severity, various cognitive constructs (cognitive appraisals and ACT constructs), symptoms of psychological distress, and satisfaction with life. Multiple mediation analysis was then used to compare competing mediational hypotheses. In comparison to all measures of cognitive appraisals, the ACT constructs tended to be stronger mediators of the relationship between symptoms and outcome measures (both psychological distress, and satisfaction with life). There was also some evidence for appraisals of personal control mediating the relationship between symptoms of MS and psychological distress. Conclusions: This research suggests that ACT constructs may be relevant to the process of psychological adjustment to MS, and that ACT based interventions may be worthy of investigation in this population. The newly adapted MSAQ also shows preliminary promise as a measure of MS related acceptance.

Due to the rapid growth of Internet technology, universities and higher educational institutions around the world are investing heavily in web-based learning systems to support their traditional teaching and to improve their students’ learning experience and performance. However, the success of an e-learning system depends on the understanding of certain antecedent factors that influence the students’ acceptance and usage of such e-learning systems. Previous research indicates that technology acceptance models and theories may not be applicable to all cultures as most of them have been developed in the context of developed countries and particularly in the U.S. So far little research has investigated the important role that social, cultural, organizational and individual factors may play in the use and adoption of the e-learning systems in the context of developing countries and more specifically there is almost absence of this type of research in Lebanon. This study aims to fill this gap by developing and testing an amalgamated conceptual framework based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and other models from social psychology, such as Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and TAM2 that captures the salient factors influencing the user adoption and acceptance of web-based learning systems. This framework has been applied to the study of higher educational institutions in the context of developing as well as developed countries (e.g. Lebanon and UK). Additionally, the framework investigates the moderating effect of Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions at the individual level and a set of individual differences on the key determinants that affect the behavioural intention to use e-learning. A total of 1197 questionnaires were received from students who were using web-based learning systems at higher educational institutions in Lebanon and the UK with opposite scores on cultural dimensions. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to perform reliability and validity checks, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in conjunction with multi-group analysis method was used to test the hypothesized conceptual model. As hypothesized, the findings of this study revealed that perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), subjective norms (SN), perceived quality of work Life (QWL), self-efficacy (SE) and facilitating conditions (FC) to be significant determinants of behavioural intentions and usage of e-learning system for the Lebanese and British students. QWL; the newly added variable; was found the most important factor in explaining the causal process in the model for both samples. Our findings proved that there are differences between Lebanese and British students in terms of PEOU, SE, SN, QWL, FC and AU; however no differences were detected in terms of PU and BI. The results of the MGA show that cultural dimensions as well as demographic factors had a partially moderated effect on user acceptance of e-learning. Overall, the proposed model achieves acceptable fit and explains for 68% of the British sample and 57% of the Lebanese sample of its variance which is higher than that of the original TAM. Our findings suggest that individual, social, cultural and organisational factors are important to consider in explaining students’ behavioural intention and usage of e-learning environments. The findings of this research contribute to the literature by validating and supporting the applicability of our extended TAM in the Lebanese and British contexts and provide several prominent implications to both theory and practice on the individual, organizational and societal levels.

E-learning has emerged as a necessity to meet the challenges posed by the development of information technology and its potential for greater access to knowledge. The general hypothesis of this research is that; e-learning as an organizational activity started in the developed countries, and as such, the implementation models developed there are taken as a benchmark. The implementation barriers and the influential factors for adopting e-learning in different regions and societies may or may not be the same as those found in the developed countries (with varying degrees of intensity or importance). Hence, those available implementation models may not necessary be followed in all stages and steps when used by different countries and societies. Accordingly, the implementation barriers and the influential factor may differ from one case to another. Since e-learning is respectively new in Kuwait and no comprehensive studies about the adoption of e-learning or the important factors that would influence the adoption of e-learning in Kuwait (ref), the aim of this research is to investigate and find the main and important factors that would influence the acceptance and adoption of elearning in Kuwait as an example of a developing country. In order to realize the aim of this research, the e-learning literature was reviewed, and an exploratory study was conducted in Kuwait. The exploratory study explored the state of e-learning in Kuwait and investigated the influential issues to e-learning adoption. Then, a conceptual model was proposed based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, and amended it with the outcomes of the exploratory study to suit the context of the study. The proposed conceptual model was developed to study e-learning adoption in Kuwait and to offer a further explanation of the adoption of e-learning in the Kuwaiti context. Triangulation in data collection was used to examine and validate the conceptual model, where quantitative and qualitative methods were used. A questionnaire-based survey was firstly conducted, followed by an interview-based field study. This thesis concludes by highlighting the main findings of the research, and presenting the main contributions of this research.

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