資訊科技的運用觀念隨著科技的演化與環境的變遷正快速的改變，早期的資訊運用著重「效率」，所以電腦的使用主要在於大量的資料處理，此觀念的本質在於─以「自動化」解決效率問題。而後電腦的運用漸漸使用於經營效能的改善，此時電腦的用途主要在於管理資訊的取得，此觀念的本質在於─以「合理化」解決管理效能問題。 　　近年來資訊科技的運用已成為提昇企業競爭力的驅動器(enabler)並期望系統能發揮「系統警察」的危機預警功能；本研究的動機使是基於此觀念的觸發，希望以企業「競爭力」的觀點來觀察企業問題的本質，以「系統警察」的觀念來作為系統設計的理念，以「主管資訊系統(EIS)」的特質，來作為系統展現的工具；因此為了要取得台灣製造業者對經營績效的評估準據，以成為「經營績效指標監控系統」的需求規格，所以本研究前半部採用實証研究中的指標發展法，先利用文獻整理來找出經營績效指標，並透過專家座談來確保指標評量表的效度，然後再依此指標評量表對樣本公司訪談，並將訪談結果作信度檢驗及資料分析。所以在本研究中得到以下之成果： 　　1.以營業、財務、生產、人力資源四個構面為基礎的「經營績效指標評估準據訪查表」，該訪查表經過信度與效度的測試結果均相當良好〈訪查表內容詳見附錄三〉。 　　2.在實際的訪查問卷分析中發現，台灣製造業的經營者在監控企業經營績效時，認為最重要看法也最醫治的指標排名前五名依序是： 　　　(1).利潤率 　　　(2).存貨週轉率 　　　(3).資本報酬率 　　　(4).應收帳款週轉率 　　　(5).銷售金額營業利益率 　　3.得到一個企業經營績效指標監控系統的架構與規格〈詳見第五章〉。

This dissertation study attempts to understand excessive buying, a phenomenon of both theoretical and practical interest. I define excessive buying as "an individual type of buying behavior whereby consumers repetitively spend more than they should based on financial considerations". I develop a conceptual typology of excessive buying, building on the time-inconsistent preferences and automaticity theory. The new typology categorizes five specific types of excessive buying behavior: 1) habitual, 2) possessive, 3) remedial, 4) rewarding, and 5) out-of-control. Based on past literature and the typology, I generate scale items to capture the conceptual and logical variance in excessive buying. Psychometric properties of the scale are tested via Confirmatory Factor Analysis using a student and random adult sample. Nomological validity of the scale is confirmed by testing hypotheses formulated based on hedonic shopping values and the self-defeating behavior theory. The empirical analyses suggest that excessive buying results from stress, using shopping as an escape from reality, and little consideration for the potential outcomes of one's current behavior. Excessive buying leas to both financial problems and negative emotions.

Timely access to child mental health services is a widespread concern. Many children with diagnosable disorders do not receive help. Untreated disorders can cause significant child and family impairment. Barriers to treatment can impede access. Few specialists, long wait lists and clinic-based services can be problematic. Families encounter treatment barriers related to travel (i.e., time off work or school; inconvenience; financial burden), stigma, and child resistance to therapy. Alternative models of care are needed. Distance telephone treatment (e.g., Strongest Families), can bridge the access gap. There is little understanding about the participants’ experience with distance treatment. The research objectives were: 1. to establish if therapeutic alliance exists between a) a parent-coach and b) a child-coach, when distance treatment is delivered by telephone with no face-to-face contact; 2. to explore the parents’ distance experiences and opinions; 3. to develop and validate the Treatment Barrier Index (TBI) scale derived from participants’ experiences; and 4. to use the TBI to examine treatment barrier differences (and therapeutic processes) between two delivery systems (Distance vs Face-to-face). Therapeutic alliance exists between adult-coach and child-coach with distance treatment. Participants found distance treatment to be more private and felt less stigmatized because of visual anonymity, compared to their opinions of face-to-face services. The TBI results indicated fewer perceived barriers with distance treatment. A significant difference was found between delivery systems in terms of perceived barriers, therapeutic alliance and self-disclosure as a group of variables. This suggests that there may be differences in therapeutic processes between systems. Therapeutic alliance scores were enhanced with distance treatment and found to positively correlate with self-disclosure and outcome scores; suggesting that these processes are important in the context of distance intervention. Cost-effective distance systems using non-professionals may be one way to increase access to child mental health services. Although some families may prefer the physical presence of face-to-face services, others prefer distance services. The results from these studies may help to inform system design improvements aimed at increasing service access. Improving models of care to meet participants’ needs could lead to increased service utilization, ultimately improving child health outcome.

Positive Clinical Psychology (PCP) argues that positive and negative psychological constructs are jointly important for explaining psychological problems. “Positive” constructs have been explicitly focused on by positive psychology researchers and “negative” constructs have been explicitly focused on by mental health researchers. This thesis examines the relationship between positive and negative constructs in relation to four psychological problems: depressive symptoms (Chapter 2), anxiety-problems (Chapter 3), suicide attempts (SAs) (Chapter 4 and 5), and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) (Chapter 4 and 5). Clarifying how psychological problems are most appropriately conceptualised has implications for definitions, diagnostic criteria, measurement, and clinical interventions. This thesis provides evidence that some constructs form bipolar continua, having a positive pole and a negative pole, whilst other constructs do not. Chapters 2 and 3 demonstrate that well-being and calmness respectively form continua with depressive and anxiety symptoms. In contrast, Chapters 4 and 5 demonstrate that SA and NSSI cognitions do not form a continuum with another construct. Results indicate that positive and negative constructs appear to have different relationships to one-another depending on the construct under investigation. Constructs that are common in the general population – such as depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, well-being symptoms, and calmness symptoms – appear to be bipolar, having a positive and a negative pole. Psychological constructs that are rare in the general population and which specifically characterise psychological problems (rather than being an extreme manifestation of a common psychological experience) – such as SA and NSSI cognitions – appear to be unipolar. The replication of scientific findings also features strongly throughout this thesis. Each chapter may therefore have a timely bearing on the emerging “replication crisis” literature.

<p>This thesis is an article-based (3-paper format) dissertation. In the first article, the research team adapted an input-process-outcome (IPO) model of group-level processes in the classroom, as a theoretical framework, to examine students’ experiences regarding pre-college engineering curricula, classroom environments, and their experiences with the creative process in the two engineering courses offered in a university-based summer enrichment program. Applying provisional and open coding to semi-structured interview data from 16 participants, an Input-Process-Outcome Model of Collaborative Creativity (IPOCC model) was developed. In this study, I grouped our findings under Inputs, Group Processes, Outcomes, and Mediating Factors. The IPOCC model expands the 4P model of creativity to incorporate more collaborative contexts. According to the 4P model, creativity can be viewed from four different perspectives: Person, Process, Product, and Press. The IPOCC model suggests that in K-12 collaborative practice, creativity involves group-level considerations in addition to individual-level components. The IPOCC model offer insights for educators in terms of input components, group processes, and mediating factors that can facilitate learners’ engagement in creative teamwork. Findings of this study indicated that a combination of challenging tasks, open-ended problems, and student teamwork provides a rich environment for learners’ engagement to think creatively.</p> <p>The purpose of the second study was to systematically investigate how novice/K-12 students’ visual representation of design ideas has been operationalized, measured, or assessed in the research literature. In the different phases of screening in this systematic review, inclusion, exclusion, and quality criteria were applied. From an initial sample of 958 articles, 40 studies were included in the final step of the coding process and qualitative synthesis. Applying provisional and open coding, three broad themes, and 23 characteristics were identified that have been used by researchers to conceptualize sketching of ideas, in novice/K-12 design activities: Communicating Ideas, Visual-Spatial Characteristics, and Design Creativity. We propose this Three-pronged Design Sketching (3-pDS) framework to examine K-12 design sketches. </p> In K-12 settings, one major challenge of conducting research on the influence of engineering education programs and curricula involves assessment. There is a need for developing alternative, effective, and reliable assessment measures to evaluate students’ design activities. The third study aimed to address this need by developing the idea-Sketching Early Engineering Design (i-SEED) Scale to assess pre-college learners’ freehand sketches in response to a design task. Applying the Three-pronged Design Sketching (3-pDS) as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this study was to examine evidence of content validity, construct validity, and internal consistency of the i-SEED Scale data. The data collection took place in a residential summer enrichment program for students with gifts and talents at a Midwestern university. Following different stages of scale-development design, a sample of 113 design sketches were scored in this study, and the scores were used to provide evidence of the validity of the data for the i-SEED Scale. The sketches were generated by 120 middle- and high-school students in a collaborative design-oriented course. Exploratory factor analysis results supported a three-factor model for the i-SEED Scale, including Visual-Spatial Characteristics, Design Creativity, and Communicating Ideas.

Driven by a growth of single-person households and individualized lifestyles, solo dining in restaurants is an increasingly recognizable trend. However, little is known about solo diners’ motives and preferences in on- and off-premises restaurant dining and the subsequent behavioral intentions. In order to enhance the understanding of solo diners’ motives, preferences, and behavioral intentions in restaurant dining, this dissertation proposed and completed three studies related to solo (vs. group) diners’ menu-decision making process, solo (vs. group) diners’ service mode-decision making process, and a restaurant scale development for solo diner friendliness. Specifically, Study 1 examined the effect of dining social context (solo vs. group) on healthy or indulgent menu item decisions using self-control dilemmas and temporal construal theory as a theoretical framework. Findings revealed that solo diners showed less preferences for indulgent menu items because of a more utilitarian (i.e., less hedonic) consumption orientation than group diners, and that solo diners showed more preferences for healthy menu items than group diners when the menu included nutrition information such as calories, fat, and sodium. Study 2 examined the effect of dining social context (solo vs. group) on off-site over on-site dining intentions based on three mediators and the moderating role of self-determination using the self-determination theory. Findings revealed that, in the self-determined condition, solo diners showed more preferences for off-premises dining than group diners via greater convenience-seeking and polychronicity-seeking tendencies and lower anticipated enjoyment of on-premises dining. In the context-determined condition, solo diners showed more preferences for off-premises dining than group diners only via polychronicity-seeking and anticipated enjoyment of on-premises dining, and the effects were smaller. Lastly, Study 3 developed and validated a Solo Diner Friendliness (SoDF) scale that measured restaurant menu and service dimensions important for solo diners’ enjoyment as well as restaurant revisit intentions. The SoDF scale provided nine items under three factors, namely, <i>Inconspicuousness</i>, <i>Proper Service</i>, and <i>Healthy Menu Items</i>, that are valid and reliable measurements for future research and restaurant operators. Altogether, this dissertation offered theoretical and practical implications regarding how solo diners differed from group diners on various motivational and behavioral perspectives in on- and off-premises restaurant dining.<br>

The purpose of the present study was to develop the Descriptive Death Scale (DDS), a brief, descriptive and multidimensional measure that assesses individual perceptions of single death experiences. The DDS has the potential to expand how death experiences are understood in the literature because it can serve as a tool for grievers to quantitatively contextualize their single death experiences instead of indicating only the mode of death. From a constructivist perspective, the adjectives included in the DDS are parcels of meaning that symbolically contextualize grievers’ subjective understanding. Drawing from qualitative research, I compiled a broad list of 65 adjectives that grievers and terminally ill patients have used to describe past and impending deaths. My online recruitment process resulted in a sample of respondents (<i>N</i> = 572) who identified primarily as White/European American, cisgender female and heterosexual (83%, 85%, and 83%, respectively). Their ages ranged from 18 to 80 (<i>M = </i>43.13, <i>SD =</i> 13.40). The results of the EFA indicated a 5-factor structure; however, the CFA analysis/ESEM indicated that a 4-factor model better fit the data. The DDS subscales (i.e., Incomprehensible, Warm, Withering, Ostracized) include a total of 27-items and scores on each subscale displayed good internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity. The results from the regression analysis indicated that the Incomprehensible, Warm and Withering death subscales contributed significantly and positively to grief distress, beyond closeness to the deceased and age of the deceased. The DDS assesses the nuanced and unique profiles of grievers’ perceptions of single deaths. It can serve as an important and novel tool for researchers and clinicians to capture grievers multidimensional and subjective understanding of their death experiences. With single word items, it is brief, easy to use, and versatile across domains.

Objective. Research testing the concept of decision-making styles in specific contexts such as health care–related choices is missing. Therefore, we examine the contextuality of Scott and Bruce’s (1995) General Decision-Making Style Inventory with respect to patient choice situations. Methods. Scott and Bruce’s scale was adapted for use as a patient decision-making style inventory. In total, 388 German patients who underwent elective joint surgery responded to a questionnaire about their provider choice. Confirmatory factor analyses within 2 independent samples assessed factorial structure, reliability, and validity of the scale. Results. The final 4-dimensional, 13-item patient decision-making style inventory showed satisfactory psychometric properties. Data analyses supported reliability and construct validity. Besides the intuitive, dependent, and avoidant style, a new subdimension, called ‘‘comparative’’ decision-making style, emerged that originated from the rational dimension of the general model. Conclusions. This research provides evidence for the contextuality of decision-making style to specific choice situations. Using a limited set of indicators, this report proposes the patient decision-making style inventory as valid and feasible tool to assess patients’ decision propensities.

This article conceptualizes and operationalizes ‘subjective entrepreneurial success’ in a manner which reflects the criteria employed by entrepreneurs, rather than those imposed by researchers. We used two studies to explore this notion; the first qualitative enquiry investigated success definitions using interviews with 185 German entrepreneurs; five factors emerged from their reports: firm performance, workplace relationships, personal fulfilment, community impact and personal financial rewards. The second study developed a questionnaire, the Subjective Entrepreneurial Success–Importance Scale (SES-IS), to measure these five factors using a sample of 184 entrepreneurs. We provide evidence for the validity of the SES-IS, including establishing systematic relationships of SES-IS with objective indicators of firm success, annual income and entrepreneur satisfaction with life and financial situation. We also provide evidence for the cross-cultural invariance of SES-IS using a sample of Polish entrepreneurs. The contribution of our research being that subjective entrepreneurial success is a multi-factorial construct, that is, entrepreneurs value various indicators of success with monetary returns as only one possible option.

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