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After looking in the vault copies, the Digitization Centre has determined that page vi is a missing page and may be a printing error. -Digitization Centre / This study aimed to improve understanding of walking exercise among individuals with intermittent claudication. Using a prospective design, Ajzen's (1985, 1991) theory of planned behaviour was applied to examine psychosocial determinants of walking exercise. In addition, measures of barrier self-efficacy were explored as determinants of behaviour and perceived pain intensity was examined as a moderator of the intention-behaviour relationship. Ninety-four participants (n = 33 female) completed baseline measures of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and intentions to engage in walking exercise. Additional measures of pain-related barrier self-efficacy and barrier self-efficacy regarding walking exercise were obtained and the Borg CR1 0 Pain Scale (Borg, 1998) was used to assess perceived pain intensity during walking. Participants were contacted weekly by telephone over four consecutive weeks and asked to recall their walking exercise and associated perceived pain intensity for the preceding seven-day period. Attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control contributed significantly to a multiple regression model predicting 67% of the variance in walking intentions. Intentions and perceived behavioural control explained 34% of the variance in walking exercise; however, pain-related barrier self-efficacy and barrier self-efficacy did not explain additional variance in behaviour and perceived pain intensity failed to moderate the intention-behaviour relationship. Findings support the theory of planned behaviour for predicting walking intentions and exercise among individuals with intermittent claudication, and suggest that pain cognitions as measured in this study do not play a role in determining walking. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

The following research integrated the Theory of Planned Behavior with variables from the consumer socialization and parenting literatures to explore parental impact on adolescent food decision-making. Three specific types of parenting practices (expectation, monitoring, and inducement/enforcement behaviors), parenting style, and family communication style were investigated. A multi-method approach was taken to develop and test the integrated model. Study 1 used interviews to identify food-related parental expectation, monitoring, and inducement/enforcement behaviors reported by both normal and overweight parents and adolescents. Study 2 evaluated a structural model of adolescent food choice, including predictors from the Theory of Planned Behavior, the food-related parenting practices identified in the interviews, parenting style, and family communication style. The findings suggest that specific parenting practices have an impact on adolescent food choices beyond predictors from the TPB. / Ph. D.

Introduction: Weight problems not only affect adults, but youth as well. Excessive sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is suggested to be a contributor to youth overweight and obesity and other cardiometabolic risk factors. Parents, although probably not readily admitted by adolescents, are known to influence youth's dietary beliefs and practices. Using theoretical models, like the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) that accounts for intention, attitudes, norms, and perceptions of control, to develop interventions can be more effective in changing health-risk behaviors versus those not grounded in theory. Methods: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis on how the TPB has been applied to youth's diet-related behaviors was conducted. Subsequently, a mixed methods investigation of adolescents' (n=100) and parents' (n=66) SSB consumption and exploratory analysis of parents' responses to adolescents' beverage choices was carried out. Results: From 34 articles, attitude was identified as having the strongest relationship with behavioral intention (mean r=0.52), and intention as the most common predictor of youth's diet-related behavior (mean r=0.38, both p<0.001). However, in the mixed methods analysis adolescents' subjective norm was the strongest predictor of intention to limit sugary beverage consumption to less than one cup per day (b=0.57, p=0.001). Intention was the strongest predictor of SSB intake in parents and adolescents (b=-47, p=0.01; b=-37, p≤0.05). The TPB explained more variance in parents' SSB consumption than adolescents' (R²=0.22 versus R²=0.38, both p≤0.001, respectively). At lower levels of intention to limit SSB consumption and higher levels of parental encouragement to consume SSBs, adolescents' predicted SSB intake was highest (p=0.059) suggesting that some adolescents may be influenced by their parent's reactions to their sugary beverage choices while others may not. Conclusions: Intention appears to be a strong construct influencing adolescents' diet-related behaviors, specifically SSB consumption, and this intention may be influenced by parents and other social factors. Future work can tap into adolescents' peer network and role models or authority figures to identify how these groups and individuals influence and moderate the intention to limit sugary beverage consumption. / Ph. D.

In developed nations, 20-40% of greenhouse gas emissions and more than one-third of energy consumption are attributable to buildings. Among various available strategies, the building sector has the greatest potential for carbon emission reduction. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) took early action to promote sustainable designs in buildings and has become the most well-known rating system in the field of building sustainability. However, little research has evaluated the effects of LEED on occupant pro-environmental behavior. To examine this, a Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) was conducted in a traditional, green featured, and LEED certified building case to compare the similarities and differences in environmental awareness, perceptions, and perceived ease or difficulty of pro-environmental behaviors, as well as to assess the degree to which pro-environmental behaviors were exhibited by occupants. This was used to determine if the aforementioned factors influence occupant behavior in different building cases. Ease or difficulty of pro-environmental behaviors and environmental awareness were found to be significant factors in influencing pro-environmental behavior in the LEED certified and green featured building cases. In addition, being in a LEED building appears to influence occupant pro-environmental behavior in a positive way. Also, there is evidence to suggest that being in a green featured building appears to influence occupants to exhibit pro-environmental behavior as well. These findings are valuable for owners and designers that want occupants in their buildings to exhibit pro-environmental behavior. / Master of Science

Materials requirements planning (MRP) is a widely used method for production planning and scheduling. Planned lead-time (PLT) and lot size are two of the input parameters for MRP systems, which determine planned order release dates. Presently, planned lead-time and lot size are estimated using independent methodologies. No existing PLT estimation methods consider factors such as machine breakdown, scrap-rate, etc. Moreover, they do not consider the capacity of a shop, which changes dynamically, because the available capacity at any given time is determined by the loading of the shop at that time. The absence of such factors in calculations leads to a huge lead-time difference between the actual lead-time and PLT, i.e., lead-time error. Altering the size of a lot will have an effect not only on the lead-time of that lot but also on that of other lots. The estimation of lot size and lead-time using independent methodologies currently does not completely capture the inter-dependent nature of lead-time and lot size. In this research, a lot-sizing model is modified in such a way that it minimizes the combination of setup cost, holding cost and work-in-process cost. This proposed approach embeds an optimization routine, which is based on dynamic programming on a manufacturing system model, which is based on open queuing network theory. Then, it optimizes lot size by using realistic estimates of WIP and the lead-time of different lots simultaneously for single-product, single-level bills of material. Experiments are conducted to compare the performance of the production plans generated by applying both conventional and the proposed methods. The results show that the proposed method has great potential and it can save up to 38% of total cost and minimize lead-time error up to 72%. / Master of Science

Yes / Being obese or gaining excessive weight during pregnancy can increase health risks for mother and baby. Adopting a healthy diet and increasing physical activity reduces these risks and has long-term health benefits for women. Despite this, women do not always maintain a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy. Aim To explore the factors that encouraged and prevented a diverse group of women to maintain a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy. Methods A total of 12 women participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews, underpinned by the theory of planned behaviour. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim then subject to deductive thematic analysis. Findings Four themes emerged: women's knowledge of a healthy lifestyle, sociocultural influences, physical health and health professional support. These influenced women's intentions and actual behaviours during pregnancy. Conclusions Enhanced health professional advice may motivate women to adopt a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy. This could be through new means such as health technology.

Yes / Based on an empirical investigation in the context of Romania, this paper identifies a moderating role of neutralization techniques within ethically questionable consumer behavior. The quantitative study is based upon a synthesized model of Theory of Planned Behavior incorporating the factor of perceived unfairness and neutralization techniques. Significantly, neutralization techniques are shown to have a negative, but definite impact on the action to behave unethically. This leads to their consideration as a process of thinking, rather than as static judgement. As such, neutralization techniques are conceptually distinctive to the other factors. The paper analyses the results specific to the Romanian context, but noting implications for an understanding of the morality of markets with similar historical, political and economic conditions. Overall, the findings offer a more nuanced reading of consumer behavior. The paper places moral flexibility in terms of a specific cultural context, but also reveals how neutralization techniques can moderate ethically questionable behaviors beyond matters of self-interest, which in turn has implications for how companies can consider their responsibilities in relation to their customers.

Ungdomars beteende styrs av attityder, subjektiva normer och upplevd kontroll och utifrån omgivningen regleras beteendet för att skapa intryck som platsar i olika sociala interaktioner. Ungdomar presenteras sig olika beroende på sammanhang och utför olika strategier för att bli accepterade och känna tillhörighet. I dag är Instagram en gemensam plattform där ungdomar kan interagera med varandra via och eftersom det erbjuds bland annat publicering, delning och arkivering av bilder inleds en process till ett förlängt jag. Studien har syftat till att undersöka vilka strategier som ungdomar i åldrarna 13-16 i dag använder i sin självpresentation på Instagram för att uppnå tillhörighet. För att uppnå syftet med studien skapades en teorisyntes för att kunna kartlägga deras strategiska självpresentationer. Denna utgår från Theory of planned behavior, Erving Goffmans dramaturgiska samhällssyn, Jones och Pittmans självpresentationsstrategier och Russell Belks teori kring det förlängda jaget. I vår fallstudie genomfördes en fokusgrupp och fyra individuella intervjuer samt en bildanalys som alla hade utgångspunkt i teorisyntesen. Undersökningarna genomfördes för att ge svar på hur ungdomars beteende ser ut på Instagram och hur de använder applikationen för att presentera sig själva genom publicering av bilder. Resultatet visade att ungdomar i dag använder flera olika strategier för att presentera sig själva på Instagram. Den mest förekommande strategin är självfrämjan och i vissa fall använder de även insmickran och föregå med gott exempel. De vill lyfta fram egenskaperna av att vara kompetenta, sympatiska och moraliskt värdiga och utifrån detta publicerar de bilder på sig själva, sina kompisar och aktiviteter som föreslår just detta. / The behavior of adolescents is controlled by attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control, and they generate different impressions based on their environment to fit into their different social interactions. Adolescents present themselves different depending on their relations and alternate their strategies to do so in order to fit in and feel accepted. Today Instagram is a common platform for interaction between adolescents and because it offers publication, sharing and storing of images a process of creating an extended self occurs. The purpose of this study is to examine which strategies adolescents between the ages 13-16 use in their presentation of self on Instagram to achieve their sense of belonging. To accomplish this purpose we created a theoretical synthesis in order to map their strategic self-presentation. This synthesis is based on the Theory of planned behavior, Ervin Goffman’s concept of dramaturgy, Jones and Pitman’s self-presentation strategies and Russell Belk’s theory of the extended self. With this as a base in our case study we held a focus group and four individual interviews followed by a picture analysis. These enquiries were carried out with the purpose of answering how adolescents act on Instagram and how they use this application in their self-presentation via images. The result indicates that adolescents, today, use several different strategies in their presentation of self on Instagram. The strategy that is most prone to be used is self-promotion followed by ingratiation and exemplification. They want to highlight their capability to be competent, appealing and morally worthy and they publish pictures of themselves, their friends and their activities based on that.