Behind ¡§e-mail¡§, ¡§BBS¡¨, ¡§Instant Messenger¡¨, weblog is regarded as the fourth kind of ¡§killer application¡¨ of the Internet. Therefore, ¡§weblog usage behavior¡¨ becomes a popular issue to study in not only industry but also academia. However, there is still not a complete framework to explain the motivation of blog usage and the influence factors. This research extends the ¡¥Attitudinal Belief Structure¡¦ of ¡¥Theory of Planned Behavior¡¦ and discusses which personal values among social value, utilitarian value, hedonic value and psychological value are the main motivations to use blog. In addition, we look into ¡¥past use¡¦, ¡¥attachment styles¡¦, ¡¥information recipients¡¦ and ¡¥blog type¡¦ deeply to find out which influence factors moderate the research model. This study used survey method to collect data from the Internet users and use PLS to analyze it. The result found the social value and psychological value are significant motivations among four personal values, and the influence of hedonic value is comparatively week. Then, the influence of personal value on blog usage intention is generally weaker among heavier users than among lighter users. Otherwise, psychological value influence people with preoccupied attachment style less. However, when the information recipients of blog trend to intimate friends, psychological value becomes more important. Finally, as types of blog are different, the influence of user¡¦s psychological value on future usage intention will be different. In sum, we extend the ¡¥Attitudinal Belief Structure¡¦ and renew it with social psychological theories to build a complete model. The research model can offer future study a framework to refer, and give weblog .com several marketing suggestions.

The aim of this thesis is to examine how the Filipino children are affected when either one or both of their parents are living and working abroad based from a teacher’s point of view. Focus is directed towards influences on the daily life of children. The study is based on qualitative interviews with six high school teachers, from two different schools. Their statements have been analyzed by using the theory of attachment and sentence categorization. The teachers described that they think it is a common thought that left-behind children tend to have a bad behavior. However, none of these teachers described the children that they are teaching in that manner but in fact, they described them as responsible, independent and good students. Conclusion of the study is that the cultural context and the environment affect how the children are able to cope with their situation. It was also found that the role of the mother has a significant importance for these children. There is also great need of a motherly and fatherly figure, even though it is not the biological parents of the children.

This dissertation is composed of three studies that examined illness-related stigma, depressive symptoms and attachment style among patients living with HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV). The first study examined the psychometric properties of a brief HIV Stigma Scale (B-HSS) in a sample of adult patients living with HIV (PHA) (n=94). The second study developed and explored the psychometric properties of the HCV Stigma Scale in a sample of adult patients living with HCV (PHC) (n =92). Psychometric properties were evaluated with classical test theory and item response theory methodology. The third study explored whether illness-related stigma mediated the relationship between insecure attachment styles (anxious attachment or avoidant attachment) and depressive symptoms among PHA (n =72) and PHC (n=83). From June to December 2008, patients were recruited to participate in a questionnaire study at the outpatient clinics in The Ottawa Hospital. Findings indicated that the 9-item B-HSS is a reliable and valid measure of HIV stigma with items that are highly discriminatory, which indicates that items are highly effective at discriminating patients with different levels of stigma. The 9-item HCV Stigma Scale was also found to be reliable and valid with highly discriminatory items that effectively differentiate PHC. Construct validity for both scales was supported by relationships with theoretically related constructs: depression and quality of life. Among PHA, when HIV stigma was controlled the relationship between anxious attachment style and depression was not significant. However, the relationship between avoidant attachment style and depressive symptoms decreased but remained significant. Among PHC when HCV stigma was controlled the relationship between insecure attachment styles and depressive symptoms was not significant. Dissertation results emphasize the importance of identifying patients experiencing illness-related stigma and the relevance of addressing stigma and attachment style when treating depressive symptoms among PHA and PHC.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Univ., 2002. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore product attachment among men and women in conjugal associations and to design a series of household objects to encourage product attachment. A preliminary study based on the interview responses of 16 married individuals was used to identify themes and to develop the instrument employed in the main study. The main study sample consisted of eight married couples and the qualitative methodology involved the thematic content analysis of their responses to a questionnaire and in-depth interviews. The findings supported product attachment theory, and masculinity and femininity was reflected by the objects that the participants perceived to be the most valuable. Men tended to prefer objects with a functional value serving a consumer experience, particularly those that they could interact with and/or express the masculine desire to be independent and take an active role. Women were more variable in their preferences, but most became attached to objects with shared, affective and/or affiliative value. The values which made an object special were found, in general, not to be common to both husband and wife; however, those objects with a shared value, reflecting episodic memories concerning their marriage, were highlighted. These findings led to the construction of a tentative explanatory model to expand product attachment theory in the context of married couples. Underpinned by this model, action is recommended to promote the design and segmented marketing of products in order to create an emotional bond for one or both conjugal partners. Designs are proposed for a series of household objects to encourage the progressive development of episodic memories among married couples. Some prospective designs of products specifically targeted to promote shared value among the married couple segment of the market, including furniture and decorative items for the home are described. Further research is recommended to expand product attachment theory to take into consideration the design of objects for the married couples market.

abstract: Many of the scholars that have chronicled the creation of the modern American kitchen have written about how the technological, societal, and cultural revolutions of the twentieth century played a role in dramatically changing its structure and design. More recently, some scholarly research has focused on the evolution of the kitchen and its meaning over time. In several of these research publications scholars profess that the modern American kitchen, more than any other room, has come to symbolize the center or heart of the home, and the warmest room in the house. However, they are quick to acknowledge that, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the kitchen was not so fondly regarded. Little research exists regarding why individuals increasingly became attached to the kitchen or how that attachment influenced the layout, size, objects, and activities conducted in the kitchen. This thesis fills this void by exploring the implications of place attachment on the evolution of the American kitchen from 1901 through 1964. By approaching this research from a combination of design history and environmental psychology, this thesis provides a new perspective to our understanding of the evolution of kitchen design. Using this two-pronged approach, this study contributes to our understanding of the evolution of the kitchen. This study traces the evolution of the modern American kitchen using two qualitative methodologies: material culture and phenomenology. Drawing from a variety of floor plans, advertisements, and articles contained in the House Beautiful magazine 1901 through 1964, as well as writings from popular domestic advisors of the period, this thesis charts the transformation of the modern American kitchen from a "hell on earth" into the "heart and soul of the home." By combining place attachment theory and kitchen design research this thesis provides interior designers new insight into designing kitchens that foster endearing emotional attachment for our clients. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.D. Design 2013

This dissertation is composed of three studies that examined illness-related stigma, depressive symptoms and attachment style among patients living with HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV). The first study examined the psychometric properties of a brief HIV Stigma Scale (B-HSS) in a sample of adult patients living with HIV (PHA) (n=94). The second study developed and explored the psychometric properties of the HCV Stigma Scale in a sample of adult patients living with HCV (PHC) (n =92). Psychometric properties were evaluated with classical test theory and item response theory methodology. The third study explored whether illness-related stigma mediated the relationship between insecure attachment styles (anxious attachment or avoidant attachment) and depressive symptoms among PHA (n =72) and PHC (n=83). From June to December 2008, patients were recruited to participate in a questionnaire study at the outpatient clinics in The Ottawa Hospital. Findings indicated that the 9-item B-HSS is a reliable and valid measure of HIV stigma with items that are highly discriminatory, which indicates that items are highly effective at discriminating patients with different levels of stigma. The 9-item HCV Stigma Scale was also found to be reliable and valid with highly discriminatory items that effectively differentiate PHC. Construct validity for both scales was supported by relationships with theoretically related constructs: depression and quality of life. Among PHA, when HIV stigma was controlled the relationship between anxious attachment style and depression was not significant. However, the relationship between avoidant attachment style and depressive symptoms decreased but remained significant. Among PHC when HCV stigma was controlled the relationship between insecure attachment styles and depressive symptoms was not significant. Dissertation results emphasize the importance of identifying patients experiencing illness-related stigma and the relevance of addressing stigma and attachment style when treating depressive symptoms among PHA and PHC.

Våra anknytningsstilar påverkas redan från barndomen utav våra relationer. Studien undersökte personers olika anknytningsstilar som förekommer och kön i förhållande till Big Five modellens fem personlighetsdimensioner. Denna studie är genomförd med fem tvåvägs variansanalyser för oberoende mätningar. Beprövade mätinstrument användes i studien, vilka är Attachment Style Questionnarie och Shafer’s personality scale. Anknytningsstil och kön användes som oberoende variabler och Big five dimensionerna användes som en beroende variabel i studien. I resultatet framkom det ingen skillnad mellan kön på dimensionerna i Big Five. Det existerade dock skillnader mellan de tre anknytningsstilarna i dimensionerna extraversion, vänlighet samt neuroticism i Big Five. Endast samvetsgrannhet kunde påvisa en statistisk signifikant interaktion mellan anknytningsstil och kön i förhållande till Big Five. Slutsatserna är att studiens resultat stämmer överens till stor del med tidigare forskning.

This thesis focuses on describing and investigating the experiences of caregivers of individuals with ovarian cancer. Caregivers are an essential part of cancer care, and yet they are not formally recognized as such. The special focus on these caregivers stems from the recognition that ovarian cancer is unique from more commonly studied diseases, with a poor prognosis and frequent recurrences. This thesis sought to study this understudied population. The thesis begins with a scoping review of existing literature that specifically investigated this population. From this study, it was confirmed that few studies had focused on this population, however the mapped literature suggested that these caregivers experienced significant compromises to their quality of life. Some preliminary studies identified a theme that the caregiving experience was influenced by the relationships with healthcare providers. This theme informed the second study of the thesis, that was a cross-sectional, correlational study that sought to recruit partner-caregivers of patients with ovarian cancer, a sample mostly of male-caregivers. This study sought to explore multiple facets of the caregiving experience as part of cancer care using the Cancer Caregiving Tasks, Consequences and Needs Questionnaire, measuring caregiver distress using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and collecting sociodemographic and proxy-reports of the patient’s medical information. A total of 82 partner-caregivers were recruited for the study, and our sample were mostly men, White, affluent and highly educated. Most of their partners were diagnosed with stage III or IV disease, and were treated with both surgery and chemotherapy. This study’s analysis found that caregiving workload, lacking information from healthcare providers, problems with the quality of information and communication with healthcare providers, lacking time for social relations due to caregiving, and needing more help from healthcare providers correlated with distress outcomes. The third investigation sought to further explore these relationships by measuring attachment insecurity, as assessed by a short, modified version of Experiences in Close Relationships Scale. Using the same sample data, hierarchical regression analyses were used to test whether general attachment avoidance or attachment anxiety moderated the relationship between the caregiving experiences and distress outcomes. These analyses revealed that attachment anxiety contributed to a portion of the variance in distress, however the experiences with the healthcare team explained a large portion of the variance of distress. Attachment anxiety was found to play a minor role moderating the relationship between needing more help from healthcare providers and anxiety, and attachment avoidance contributed a very small, moderating role between lack of time for social relations and distress. Together, these studies have demonstrated that caregivers of patients with ovarian cancer are understudied, however they experience significant levels of depression and anxiety. Their distress is highly affected by their reported experiences as part of the cancer care team, regardless of their predisposition to distress through attachment insecurity.

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