The purpose of this research is to build city competitiveness evaluating models through structural equation model(SEM) by using data of 5 cities and 14 counties of Taiwan. According to literature review, the research choses three dimensions for city competitiveness: economic, living environment and education. Belongs to three dimensions, there are 18 indexes to evaluate city competitiveness. By using five steps Confirmatory factor analysis(CFA), the explained variance of three dimensions are more than 50%, which economic model is 58%, living environment model is 61% and education model is 62%. Although fitness indexes of two order confirmatory factor analysis are under 0.9, but composite reliability(CR) 0.9486 is more than 0.7, and average variance extracted(AVE) 0.6307 is more than 0.5, these mean the model of research is representative to some extent. Finally, the research offered some suggestions for future researchers.

With fast technical change and rapid information deliver, forcing electric products of life cycle has been reduced dramatically. Driven by market trend, causes the product development process bears squeeze. Therefore, electric component distributor is no longer engaged in the trading business, but also provides multiple services as share product features, marketing information, design application and create product add-on value. This helps customers to have products ready in the market as soon as possible. Most of electrical component manufacturers seek for more than one distributor in order to expand their own business, increase market share and decrease potential risk. At the mean time, there are many distributors investing on technical support and even preparing material without solid order for the customers demand, but the orders are still lost by slight cents difference. Thus, how to raise up the customer loyalty and repeat orders have become the important task of electric components distributor. According to nowadays industry of electric component distributor, the study of analysis of key factors affecting customer loyalty is to enhance the relationship and satisfaction as customer loyalty increase proposal and cost reduce plan for future development strategy. According to the result of research, the affecting of S company customers' loyalty is in terms of the degree of product substitutability, price, satisfaction, and the product brand.

The conceptualization of leisure constraints is dependent on negotiating a hierarchy of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural leisure constraints. It has become a recognizable and distinct subfield within leisure studies. Research has shown that the leisure constraints should not be necessarily viewed as insurmountable obstacles. Individuals can negotiate constraints by applying an array of coping mechanisms. Recently, Iwasaki and Schneider (2003) and Schneider and Stanis (2007) proposed that constraints negotiation and coping with stress share much in common. Leisure constraints are considered elements of stress, whereas constraint negotiation appears to share commonalities with ways of coping with stress. The distinction between negotiation and coping is that negotiation is something people have engaged in prior to participating in the activity, whereas coping involves strategies people more typically engage in during active participation (in response to unwanted or unanticipated situations). Based on past literature, I constructed a constraints-coping model to extend our understanding of constraints negotiation by integrating an understanding of coping mechanisms into leisure constraints-negotiation models. In order to broaden the scope of a constraints-coping framework, I integrated additional social indicators (e.g., commitment, motivation, place attachment, and frequency of participation) into my hypothesized model. First, my testing of the constraints-coping model provided empirical support for Iwasaki and his colleagues' suggestion that coping strategies can be potentially integrated into models of constraints-negotiation processes. Second, I confirmed that the three types of onsite constraints continue to have relevance for active participants. The three types of constraining factors directly influence subsequent aspects of leisure engagement for recreationists already participating. Third, I confirmed that recreationists are more likely to cope with constraints by employing an array of problem-focused coping strategies, rather than to simply adjust cognitively. However, my findings illustrate that recreationists' coping responses vary in response to different types of constraints encountered (e.g., intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural). The experience of constraints did not universally result in the increased use of coping. Fourth, my results confirm that motivation is an immediate antecedent of constraints as well as a potential trigger for encouraging more problem-focused coping strategies. Last, four selected key variables (e.g., place attachment, commitment motivation, and frequency of participation) demonstrated different effects on influencing active participants' perceived constraints and subsequent coping strategies. Future investigations of coping strategies should continue to explore how active participants cope with onsite constraints based on a constraints-coping model in different settings.

Two Monte Carlo studies were conducted to investigate the sensitivity of fit indices in detecting model misspecification in multilevel structural equation models (MSEM) with normally distributed or dichotomous outcome variables separately under various conditions. Simulation results showed that RMSEA and CFI only reflected within-model fit. In addition, SRMR for within-model (SRMR-W) was more sensitive to within-model misspecifications in factor covariances than pattern coefficients regardless of the impact of other design factors. Researchers should use SRMR-W in combination with RMSEA and CFI to evaluate the within-mode. On the other hand, SRMR for between-model (SRMR-B) was less likely to detect between-model misspecifications when ICC decreased. Lastly, the performance of WRMR was dominated by the misfit of within-model. In addition, WRMR was less likely to detect the misspecified between-models when ICC was relative low. Therefore, WRMR can be used to evaluate the between-model fit when the within-models were correctly specified and the ICC was not too small.

Dependencies in multilevel models at the second level have never been thoroughly examined. For certain designs first-level subjects are independent over time, but the second level subjects may exhibit nonzero covariances over time. Following a review of revelant literature the first study investigated which widely used computer programs adequately take into account these dependencies in their analysis. This was accomplished through a simulation study with SAS, and examples of analyses with Mplus and LISREL. The second study investigated the impact of two different missing data techniques for such designs in the case where data is missing at the first level with a simulation study in SAS. The first study simulated data produced in a multiyear study varying the numbers of subjects in the first and second levels, the number of data waves, the magnitude of effects at both the first and second level, and the magnitude of the second level covariance. Results showed that SAS and the MULTILEV component in LISREL analyze such data well while Mplus does not. The second study compared two missing data techniques in the presence of a second level dependency, multiple imputation (MI) and full information maximum likelihood (FIML). They were compared in a SAS simulation study in which the data was simulated with all the factors of the first study and the addition of missing data varied in amounts and patterns (missing completely at random or missing at random). Results showed that FIML is superior to MI because it produces lower bias and correctly estimates standard errors

The major aim of this study is to develop an integrative framework of the determinants and consequence of international human capital, the human capital which enables a firm to compete globally. The open systems view is introduced to develop a comprehensive measurement of international human capital, which includes input-based, transformational, output-based, and managerial international human capital. Human capital accumulation modes (the documentation mode and the socialization mode) are identified as the potential determinant, and global initiatives (global learning and global marketing) and financial performance as the potential outcome. The Structural Equation Modeling technique is employed to investigate the determinants and outcome of the human capital system. The results support our expectation that human capital accumulation modes foster the development of international human capital, which in turn enhances a firm¡¦s global initiatives and financial performance. Important role of output-based and managerial international human capital are also identified. Output-based international human capital not only enhances a firm¡¦s financial performance, but also facilitates its global initiatives. Managerial international human capital, on the other hand, indirectly fosters a firm¡¦s financial performance and global initiatives through its direct positive influences on the other international human capital components.

Nowadays, the internet is an unseperatable part of human life and instant messaging software becomes an important role of communication channel. There are 40 million global IM registration popularity who use IM and billions of messages are sent everyday. In Taiwan, there are 6.5 million registration popularity and IM is the third important internet appilication, besides WWW and e-mail. As IM has become more and more important, there was few academic researchs published. We investigated consumer IM adoption behavior by focus group interview and structural equation model analysis. After holding a focus group interview, some antecedent of adopting IM was found out. Then we integrated technology acceptance model with media richness, computer self-efficacy and subjective norm as the antecedents of perceived usefulness(PU) and perceived ease of use(PEU) and analysised this structural equation model with LISREL. We found that subjective norm is an antecedent of PU, media richness and computer self-efficacy are PEU¡¦s antecedents. Finally, we made some suggestion for practice and other researchers base on the result.

From the viewpoint of the public, academic work is relatively autonomous, stable, and stress-free as opposed to other professions. However, as the societal environment evolves, high satisfaction is no more an absolute consequence of academic work. Even in comparison to other professionals, the academics experienced longer working hours and heavier occupational stress; hence the events of ¡§Karoshi¡¨ among university academics happened from time to time. Actually, the reason resulting in ¡§Karoshi¡¨ has been proved related to health behavior, and the health behavior also has been proved associated with health belief. Following this concept, a study based upon ¡§health belief model¡¨ was carried out to investigate the health belief, health behavior, and health status of university academics, respectively, and the possible relationships among the aforementioned health related concepts. In total, 4,000 subjects were selected from among the 43,050 or so university academics nationwide based on stratified sampling approach. Data were collected through survey questionnaires which include personal demographics, health belief, health behavior, and health status information. From June through August 2004, 1,778 questionnaires returned with a response rate of 44.45%. SPSS was used for descriptive analysis and basic hypothesis test, and then the software package AMOS was used for structural equation modeling examination. Compared to the general population with the same age, the health status of university academics was worse in both physical and psychological function. Further, it was found that the factor work significantly contributed to each component of health belief (i.e. perceived susceptibility, perceived seriousness, perceived barriers, and perceived benefits). In terms of health behavior, although the academics had no unhealthy habits (i.e. smoking or excessive drinking), the average working hour after 10 pm was more than one hour and one in three teachers didn¡¦t take exercise regularly, which altogether are definitely harmful to health. The structural equation modeling showed that an academic¡¦s health belief would influence his/her health behavior and then influence the health status indirectly. In other words, positive health belief will lead to healthy status in the long run, and negative health belief will conduce to unhealthy status. To sum up, the issue on improving the health status of academics is on edge and the responsibility for taking this issue would be shouldered by teamwork¡X individuals, educational authorities, and public health agencies. An academic should try his/her best to improve the health; the educational authorities should assess the job loading on academic population from time to time and draw up a better educational system; and finally, the public health agency should play the role of information disseminator and catalyst for strengthening the health belief and then improving the health behavior and health status among the academics.

The Perceptions of Politics Scale (POPS) that the researchers use to measure organizational politics vary greatly among different scholars of different countries. Even the inventors, (Kacmer & Ferris) themselves were inconsistent in using the measurement scales. Therefore, the motive and purpose of this study were to construct generalizability, confirmation, validity scale, the predictive relations between the perceptions of organizational politics and job stress, effect of the cross-sample and cross-circumstance so as to apply the model to other sampling population, hoping to faithfully reflecting the variables observed in them. This study used the scale of 26 items collected by Dr. Ho Chin-ming et al. using the statistics of 2002 and 2003 measured among 36 organizations of 9 industries in Taiwan. A total of 6,143 questionnaires (return rate of 63.44%) were used. Up to 82.9% of the valid questionnaires were adopted in the final analysis. The data were analyzed by applying statistical methods, including item analysis, reliability (Cronbach¡¦s £\), consistency corrected item-total correlation, alpha if item deleted and exploratory factor analysis for data-reduction. The structural model for POPS was empirically derived and developed. Model development strategy was used to choose the best from four measurement models, all 25 items mapping to one factor (perceptions of organizational politics), five factors retained, three factors retained (19 items), four factor retained (17 items). All were competing models. One measurement model was job stress. First order of hybrid model and second order of hybrid model forecast relationship between the perceptions of organizational politics and job stress. The result of hybrid model factors produced the most parsimonious set of items of acceptable reliability as the best model chosen. Models needed to follow, model specification, parameter estimates ( factors were analyzed and mean values for each item across the factors were calculated ), model identification, t-rule and overall model-fit (e.g., absolute fit indexes: £q2, df, GFI, SRMR, RMSEA & ECVI; relative fit indexes: NFI, NNFI, CFI, IFI & RFI; parsimonious fit indexes: PNFI, PGFI, AIC, CN & Normed £q2) using the available LISREL indicators. The result of using discriminating validity measure ¡¨supervisor behavior¡¨ and ¡§coworker and clique behavior¡¨ indicates that they are different constructs. Criterion-related validity measure is also distinct form criterion. Discriminate validity measures three factor and four factor model which are unidimension. The chi-square difference test comparison of three and four factor model is significant. Indicators of AIC, ECVI, CAIC and double cross-validation indicate the first order hybrid model is the best model chosen by the study. Loose replication strategy and tight replication strategy of cross-validation indicate model effect of the cross-sample and cross-circumstance and extension to other sampling population.

The study aims to explore some antecedents to products usage and its consequences in which a series of process of experiential evaluation is involved to center on the role of customer¡¦s experiential value after using personal computer. The conceptual model in this study is to extend the Use-Diffusion Model proposed by Shih and Venkatesh (2004) by including the framework of customer value based on Holbrook (1994). The survey method was employed in this study in which questionnaire was for data collection. The total sample size of 1114 was used in statistical analysis. According to the analytical results, we not only confirm the relationships suggested in the Use-Diffusion literature but also find the mediating effect of customer experiential value. That is, the evaluation of after-use experience leads to customer experiential value that in turn affects partially the customer intention of the sequential adoption of new technology. Besides contributing to the field of consumer research, the research findings in this study may provide insightful information that, we believe, helps managers to understand their incumbent customers.