This dissertation examined the extent to which pre-high school students' motivation-related perceptions of their science class affected their science identification, which sequentially affected their future science-related career goals. The MUSIC® Model of Motivation (Jones, 2009, 2018) includes five components (i.e., eMpowerment, Usefulness, Success, Interest, and Caring) and is designed to help teachers design instruction to promote students' motivation. Domain identification (Osborne and Jones, 2011) is a concept closely related to students' motivation and academic outcomes. In this study, data was collected from 311 pre-high school students and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis was conducted to test the structure pattern among the MUSIC model components, science identification, and science-related career goals. Results indicate that with three of the MUSIC model components (i.e., usefulness, success, and interest) significantly related to students' science identification, students' science identification was highly correlated to their science career goals. Moreover, this study demonstrated the structure patterns among the MUSIC model components and science identification varied by gender by conducting multi-group SEM analyses for a separate female sample (N = 161) and male sample (N = 150). Consistently, students' science identification was a strong predictor of their science career goals in both female and male groups. These findings are important for STEM educators because they indicate that it may be possible for teachers to impact students' science identification and career goals by focusing on students' perceptions of the MUSIC model components in science class. Moreover, these results contribute to the study of the large gender gap in STEM careers. Teachers can focus on specific teaching strategies and help female students develop their science identification in ways that lead to their long-term science-related career goals. / Ph. D. / This dissertation examined the extent to which pre-high school students’ motivation-related perceptions of their science class affected their science identification, which sequentially affected their future science-related career goals. Science identification is a concept that describes the extent to which a student values science as an important part of his or her self (Osborne & Jones, 2011). One goal of this study examined how students’ perceptions of their science class affected students’ science identification. Specifically, this study focused on students’ perceptions of the five components of the MUSIC® Model of Motivation (Jones, 2009, 2018): eMpowerment, Usefulness, Success, Interest, and Caring. The MUSIC model was developed to help teachers design instruction to promote students’ motivation. In this study, results indicate that with three of the MUSIC model components (i.e., usefulness, success, and interest) significantly related to students’ science identification, students’ science identification was highly correlated to their science career goals. Moreover, this study reveals that the structure patterns among the MUSIC model components and science identification varied by gender. Consistently, students’ science identification was a strong predictor of their science career goals in both female and male groups. These findings are important for STEM educators because they indicate that it may be possible for teachers to impact students’ science identification and career goals by focusing on students’ perceptions of the MUSIC model components in science class. Moreover, these results contribute to the study of the large gender gap in STEM careers, in which females are underrepresented. Teachers can focus on specific teaching strategies and help female students develop their science identification in ways that lead to their long-term science-related career goals.

Yes / This research provides a comprehensive delineation of the process that leads to the formation of green behavior by including the role played by media and attitude towards environment-friendly packaging, along with ecological concern and perceived consumer effectiveness. The study offers a parsimonious framework that measures the major antecedents of environmental attitude divided into inward and outward orientation. Moreover, it also measures the effects of these environmental attitudes and attitude towards green packaging on green purchase intention. A total of 308 usable questionnaires were obtained from Indian consumers and data analysis was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results show that inward environmental attitude and attitude towards green packaging play a pivotal role in shaping green purchase intention. Surprisingly, outward environmental attitude was found to be non-significant. Findings offer implications for marketing managers and public policy makers, as well as reveal fruitful avenues for further research.

Yes / Purpose – The main purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of how different aspects of the national institutional environment may influence the level of innovative entrepreneurial activity across countries. Several institutional and conductive factors affecting a country’s capacity to support innovative entrepreneurship is explored. Design/methodology/approach – Institutional theory is used to examine the national regulatory, normative, cognitive, and conducive aspects that measure a country's ability to support innovative entrepreneurship. A cross-national institutional profile is constructed to validate an entrepreneurial innovation model. The impact of country-level national institutions on innovative entrepreneurial activity as measured by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data is assessed through structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings – Knowledge about the influence of specific institutional aspects on innovative entrepreneurship, and hence of institutional structures within and across countries, is enhanced. For new innovative enterprises, conductive and regulatory aspects seem to matter most. All conductive factors have a significant and positive impact on entrepreneurial activity rates. Research limitations/implications – Results could support policy makers and practitioners in evaluating government policies’ effect on innovative entrepreneurship. Interventions should target both individual attributes and context. Future research could include longitudinal designs to measure the direction of causality. Practical implications – Aspects such as regulatory institutions, and conductive factors such as ICT use and technology adoption, are important for innovation entrepreneurship development. / The full text will be made available when the article is officially published.

Yes / Organizations adopt blockchain technologies to provide solutions that deliver transparency, traceability, trust, and security to their stakeholders. In a novel contribution to the literature, this study adopts the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework to examine the technological, organizational, and environmental dimensions for adopting blockchain technology in supply chains. This represents a departure from prior studies which have adopted the technology acceptance model (TAM), technology readiness index (TRI), theory of planned behavior (TPB), united theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) models. Data was collected through a survey of 525 supply chain management professionals in India. The research model was tested using structural equation modeling. The results show that all the eleven TOE constructs, including relative advantage, trust, compatibility, security, firm’s IT resources, higher authority support, firm size, monetary resources, rivalry pressure, business partner pressure, and regulatory pressure, had a significant influence on the decision of blockchain technology adoption in Indian supply chains. The findings of this study reveal that the role of blockchain technology adoption in supply chains may significantly improve firm performance improving transparency, trust and security for stakeholders within the supply chain. Further, this research framework contributes to the theoretical advancement of the existing body of knowledge in blockchain technology adoption studies.

This dissertation presents an empirical investigation of learning from online courses. The current dissertation examined student participation, using Arbaugh et al.'s Community of Inquiry (CoI) survey instrument and Biggs et al.'s revised version of the Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) to determine CoI influences on learning from the students' perspective. This study is in response to Rourke and Kanuka's call to provide further empirical evidence about CoI conceptual framework connections to deep and meaningful learning. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the elements of CoI, cognitive, social, and teaching presences and students' learning approaches to students' perceived learning. Students enrolled in traditional, online, and, blended courses during the 2016 spring semester at a southwestern university participated in a web-based survey. Structural equation modeling was used to test the indirect effects between the elements of CoI, learning approaches, and perceived learning. Student's deep approach to learning was found to have an indirect effect between cognitive presence and perceived learning. However, this study's findings, when the CoI framework was viewed in its entirety, failed to provide evidence to simulate deep and meaningful learning.

This dissertation consists of three studies that collectively investigate the factors influencing the consumer adoption intention towards emerging healthcare technologies. Essay 1 systematically reviews the extent literature on healthcare technology adoption and serves as the theoretical foundation of the dissertation. It investigates different models that have been previously applied to study healthcare technology acceptance. Meta-analysis method is used to quantitatively synthesize the findings from prior empirical studies. Essay 2 posits, develops, and tests a comprehensive biotechnology acceptance model from the end-user's perspective. Two new constructs, namely, perceived risk and trust in technology, are integrated into the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. Research hypotheses are tested using survey data and partial least square – structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Essay 3 extends the findings from the Essay 2 and further investigates the consumer's trust initiation and its effect on behavioral adoption intention. To achieve this purpose, Essay 3 posits and develops a trust model. Survey data allows testing the model using PLS-SEM. The models developed in this dissertation reflect significant modifications specific to the healthcare context. The findings provide value for academia, practitioners, and policymakers.

This manuscript includes an investigation of decision making in alternative modes of transportation in order to understand consumers' decision in different contexts. In essay 1 of this study, the motives for participation in situated ridesharing is investigated. The study proposes a theoretical model that includes economic benefits, time benefits, transportation anxiety, trust, and reciprocity either as direct antecedents of ridesharing participation intention, or mediated through attitude towards ridesharing. Essay 2 of this study, focuses on self-driving vehicles as one of the recent innovations in transportation industry. Using a survey approach, the study develops a conceptual model of consumers' anticipated motives. Both essays use partial least square- structural equation modeling for assessing the proposed theoretical models.

Little is known about the mechanisms by which extracurricular participation in high school influences educational attainment in young adulthood. Also limited is an understanding of the different types of extracurricular participation and how various activities may manifest within the relationship. The purpose of this study was to examine the link between high school extracurricular participation and educational attainment, with social capital, parental expectations, and academic achievement presented as mediators. Additionally, the present study will explore socioeconomic differences in the proposed relationships. The sample consisted of 5,239 ninth through twelfth graders from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Structural equation modeling (SEM) and multiple-group SEM were used to test pathways. Extracurricular participation was categorized into sports participation, non-sport participation, mixed participation (including both sport and non-sport), and no participation. Social capital, a latent factor, was measured by the latent variables of family and school capital. Various indicators of family closeness and inclusion of school culture from survey items operationalize social capital. Parental expectations, another latent factor, was measured by one survey indicator using the question of how disappointed would your resident father and mother be if you did not graduate from college. Academic achievement was measured by grade point average and calculated by the average of self-reported grades in four subjects: English, math, social studies, and science. Educational level attained used seven levels ranging from less than 8th grade to beyond a Bachelor degree. Gender, race, and parent education were also included as covariates. Social capital, parental expectations, and high school academic achievement were all shown to be mediators between high school extracurricular participation and educational attainment. However, social capital's impact on educational attainment was indirect through GPA rather than direct. Sport showed better capacity to strengthen social capital than non-sport. However, non-sport participants achieved higher high school GPA than sport participants. On average, students involved in both sport and non-sport activities had more positive effects on all model variables than students involved in sports only. Results for socioeconomic comparison showed some evidence for the benefit of sport participation directly on educational level for low-income students. Practically speaking, the conclusion of the study is that students need to participate in a combination of activities that include both sport and non-sport to improve their chances of educational attainment.

Violence and aggression continue to be both public health and economic concerns. The field of violence prediction has undergone a series of changes in an attempt to best assess risk including using unstructured clinical judgment, actuarial measures, and structured professional judgment. Although prediction has become more accurate with improved measures, a new generation has recently emerged with an emphasis on understanding violence, as opposed to merely predicting it, to shift the focus towards violence prevention. In addition to the creation of measures, researchers have sought to identify specific risk factors for aggression and violence including static and dynamic risk factors. Despite research demonstrating associations between neuropsychological and social-cognitive factors, violence risk measures continue to omit these variables. The current study developed a multi-faceted, theoretical model of aggression including social-cognitive, neuropsychological, personality, and psychiatric factors. A community, male sample (N = 1,192) collected through Amazon's MTurk responded to a series of self-report measures and neuropsychological tasks. Utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM), I created a model predicting aggression. Several important paths were significant including from entity theory to aggression, mediated by hostile attribution bias, schizotypy to aggression, mediated by both hostile attribution bias and disinhibition, substance use to aggression mediated by disinhibition, and psychopathy to aggression directly. This model provides a framework for future research that focuses on process factors of violence and aggression.

Imagination and creative self-efficacy are important components of the creative process and outcomes but are rarely investigated together. To explore the relationship between personality factors, imaginative thinking, and creative self-efficacy, survey responses were gathered from university students in a southwestern region in the United States (n = 1,731). Personality was measured using the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP), imagination was measured using the Imaginative Capability Scale (ICS), and creative self-efficacy was measured using items based on reliability in previous studies. Participants were asked to complete the three surveys along with demographic information through an online format. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted first to confirm measurements used. After fit indices confirmed measurement models used, subsequent analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM). The model of best fit supported creative self-efficacy as a strong predictor of all three factors of imagination. Additionally, the model indicated a strong relationship between conscientiousness and conceiving imagination as well as other notable relationships with personality factors.