The underutilization of mental health services among the Chinese Canadian population is a perpetual problem. The present study examined the help-seeking process among second generation Chinese Canadians using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The utility of the TPB was tested using both direct and indirect measures and path analyses were used. The influence of additional variables, including self-stigma, anticipated benefits and risks, and cultural variables such as Asian values, European American values, Chinese identity, Canadian identity, family connectedness and self-concealment were investigated. Two hundred and twelve second generation Chinese Canadians participated in the study. Participants had the option to complete the study questionnaire online or in paper format. Results supported the utilization and application of the TPB in understanding help-seeking intentions and highlighted the differential contribution of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. The study also supported the notion that perceived behavioural control consists of two inter-related but distinct components: self-efficacy and controllability. Results highlight the importance of self-efficacy in predicting help-seeking intentions among second generation Chinese Canadians. Findings also showed that Asian values, Canadian identity, anticipated benefits and risks, self-concealment, and self-stigma play different roles in predicting attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control in the help-seeking process. In sum, results of the present study served as an important step in further understanding the help-seeking process among second generation Chinese Canadians. Implications for research, clinical practice, and future directions are discussed.

Thesis depicts economic development of the Czechoslovakia in the period from 1949 to 1989 with the focus on individual aspects of transformation to centrally planned economy -- private ownership elimination, collectivization, concentration on heavy industry etc. The aim is to demonstrate key problems of centrally planned economy on the example of the Czechoslovakia and describe specific manifestation of its low efficiency in subsequent periods of communist dictatorship. Thesis also briefly analyses changes realized during process of economic transformation in the beginning of 20th century and compares its development with other countries of former Eastern Bloc.

Objective: To describe the intention for healthy eating and its correlates among southern Appalachian teens. Methods: Four hundred sixteen adolescents 14 to 16 years old were surveyed with self-administered questionnaires. Results: About 30% of the adolescents surveyed had definite intentions to eat healthfully during the next 2 weeks. The scales for perceived behavior control, attitude, perceived eating habits of significant others, and social support were shown to be fairly reliable (Cronbach's α=0.60 to 0.88). Perceived behavior control and attitude were positively associated with the intention for healthy eating. Conclusions: Better behavior control and more positive attitude may lead to a stronger intention for healthy eating.

Energy drink consumption has become an increasing problem in the United States; the overconsumption of these products can lead to a myriad of health issues. Anxiety, increased heart rate, myocardial infarction, and death have been associated with consumption of energy drinks. With the health risks linked to energy drink consumption, understanding the use of these drinks is an important area of research. Few studies have reported on energy drink consumption patterns of college students as well as the perceptions of energy drinks on college campuses. It is important to understand the perceptions of energy drinks to assist in determining the reasoning behind the consumption of these drinks. This study used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a conceptual framework to study college students’ energy drink consumption. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the increasing level of knowledge concerning college students and consumption of energy drinks using the TPB, which contains the constructs of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention. The goal of the research was to further understand the role of energy drink consumption in the college student population. Students in this study (N = 629) completed an electronic questionnaire during August 2015. Results indicated that 74.2% of participants had consumed an energy drink at some point during their life, while 47.1% had consumed an energy drink in the past 12 months. Only 2.5% of participants drank energy drinks daily and 37% reported consuming energy drinks once a month. The largest group of participants (32.4%) reported 13-15 years of age as the first time they consumed energy drinks. Males were more likely to consume energy drinks than females. Logistic regression determined the constructs of attitude, perceived behavioral control, and intention were significant predictors of energy drink consumption. This indicated that students’ attitude, perceived behavioral control, and intention predicted the behavior of consuming energy drinks in the past 12 months. The results of this study may be utilized to address college student engagement in adverse health behaviors, such as the consumption of energy drinks.

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No / The objective of this study was to design, implement and evaluate an intervention based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to enhance young peoples' motivations to breastfeed/support a partner to breastfeed. Six semi-structured focus groups were first conducted with 48 13–14-year-olds from two schools in Northern Ireland. The salient beliefs elicited were subsequently used to design a TPB-based questionnaire that was then administered to 2021 13–14-year-old pupils (852 males; 1169 females) from 36 post-primary schools to identify the most important determinants of breastfeeding. The results were used to inform the design and implementation of an intervention package that was subsequently evaluated using a cluster randomised controlled trial involving 44 randomly selected schools across Northern Ireland. Questionnaires were administered to 18 intervention and 26 control schools at baseline and again at 1 and 6 months post-intervention to evaluate its effectiveness. Multi-level modelling was employed to analyse the data. The results revealed significant effects on women's intention to breastfeed, β = 0.208, t(1275) = 2.715, P = 0.007; attitudes, β = 0.223, t(1275) = 4.655, P < 0.001; moral attitudes, β = 0.231, t(1275) = 4.211, P < 0.001; subjective norm, β = 0.118, t(1275) = 2.521, P = 0.012; and knowledge, β = 0.109, d.f. (1275) = 7.843, P < 0.001. However, for men, the results revealed significant effects on only the construct of knowledge, β = 0.104, t(541) = 4.345, P < 0.001.The research has provided evidence to support the need for breastfeeding education in schools and has shown how a theoretical framework may be used to inform the design and evaluation of a health behaviour intervention. / Research and Development Office of Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Research and Development Office. Grant Number: RSG/2584/03RRG3.33

The process of communicating new ideas—diffusion—transpires over time along communication channels in a social system. In education, much stands to be gained from successful innovation. The process is a perilous course with high rates of casualty. As viable innovations fail, our schools bear the consequences. This dissertation includes a process study of the diffusion of an innovation at a state department of education and in two school districts. The study was framed by Rogers' model of innovation in organizations (1995) to determine if the diffusion of a comprehensive career development program verified theory. Through instrumental case studies, the process of diffusing career development was traced. The investigative procedure included the examination of temporal patterns that, when sequenced, indicated operational links in a multi-dimensional process of innovation. Findings indicated five stages as delineated by Rogers (1995) but more broadly defined. Additionally, the stages emerged in interactive looping patterns unlike Rogers' linear model. Different outcomes were evidenced in each case. The state department of education was the only agency that verified the problem-based foundation of Rogers' initiation stages. The model's implementation components were found to be too linear, precluding the recycling patterns that occurred during the on-going mutual adaptations between the innovation and the organizations. Rogers' model of the innovation process in organizations attempts, unsuccessfully, to reach beyond the complex communication networking that his descriptions of diffusion categorize. To attempt to spread the strength of the theoretical implications of actual diffusion is to misuse the assets and unjustly ascribe an inadequacy to them. Diffusion of innovation in individuals and in organizations involves different complexities that are not accounted for in Rogers' organization model. Rogers' model for individuals is deployable to the organization innovation process as explanation of individuals acting within a greater body, yet explaining the parts of a whole does not necessarily explain the whole. Rogers' model lacks content explanation and complexity explanation of the process of organizational innovation. / Ph. D.

This thesis is an analytic study of a neighborhood. Using Hilton Village in Newport News, Virginia as an example, the graphic analysis encompasses all levels of the neighborhood fabric and considers several possible interventions thereto. The study includes a brief discussion of the traditions and development of town and community planning, as well as of the social backdrop of the period in which the specific community was developed. / Master of Architecture

U.S. colleges and universities have hosted international students from all over the world. Along with the increase of international student enrollment, campus counselors are challenged with identifying the students who need professional help but are reluctant to utilize their campus counseling services (Zhang and Dixon, 2003; Mitchell et al., 2007). Employing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the current study investigated Virginia Tech international students' help-seeking process in terms of their attitudes toward counseling services, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. A total of 132 international students completed a cross-sectional online survey. Contrary to TPB, the results indicated that attitudes toward help-seeking and subjective norms were not correlated with help-seeking intentions. Perceived behavioral control, however, was identified as a predictor of international students' willingness to seek professional help. Intentions and perceived behavioral control were not predictors of international students' utilization of the Thomas E. Cook Counseling Center. The correlation between acculturation and self-stigma with international students'] help-seeking intentions and behaviors was insignificant. Gender was a marginally significant predictor of help-seeking behavior. Previous experience of counseling services was strongly correlated with international students' help-seeking intentions and behavior. The majority of Virginia Tech international students reported emotional issues as their biggest challenge while studying in the U.S. Overall, as the first study which investigated international students' help-seeking process within the Theory of Planned Behavior framework, the present research expanded the literature about foreign students' adjustment issues and utilization of their campus counseling services. Limitations, future directions, and general implications were addressed. / Master of Arts