Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Influencing factor'

The molecular biology of macrophage activating and deactivating cytokines and their receptors was discussed. Comparison of IFN-γ amino acid sequences of several mammalian species reveals a low conservation of amino acids. The interaction of IFN-γ with its receptor system is complicated and coherent with the species specificity of IFN-γ. Identification by PCR of an IFN-γ-like gene in the trout genome was not possible. In contrast with IFN-γ, TGF-β is very conserved in its amino acid sequence. The PCR-amplification of a TGF-β fragment from amphibian, Xenopus, and rainbow trout cDNA libraries was possible. Two oligonucleotide primers were used in PCRs to amplify a 360 bp fragment of trout Mhc class II β chain. Using these two oligos, this 360 bp fragment could be amplified from trout spleen cDNA library and HK leucocytes. cDNA synthesized from RNA extracted from ConA/PMA stimulated HK leucocytes was used as template DNA in PCR, and a class II specific fragment was amplified. This class II fragment could not be amplified from HK macrophages treated with a MAF containing supernatant, although HK macrophages treated with a control supernatant did express class II molecules. This could suggest that priming or activation of trout macrophages results in a decreased expression of Mhc class II antigens. A novel method for analysing 5'nucleotidase activity of head kidney macrophages was optimised for use with cell monolayers, with respect to the effect of cell numbers, temperature and substrate concentration. Both lysed and whole cells could be used for determination of 5'nucleotidase activity. Maximal 5'nucleotidase activity was found in the range of 27°C to 33°C and using a substrate concentration of ≥ 1 μmol AMP ml^-1 for whole cells and ≥ 1.5 μmol AMP ml^-1 for lysed cells. 5'nucleotidase activity was also correlated with respiratory burst activity in cells treated with a variety of supernatants containing MAF activity. A significant inverse relationship between these two activities was found. MAF-treated cells were also found to lose 5'nucleotidase activity faster than control cells in the presence of cycloheximide, suggesting such cells may have a higher membrane turnover of this enzyme.

Bone mineral density (BMD) is a reflection of the action of osteoblasts compared to osteoclasts. An imbalance in the activity of osteoblasts or osteoclasts, results in bone disease such as osteoporosis caused by overactive osteoclasts. BMD is influenced by genetic and environmental factors as demonstrated through twin studies, association studies and linkage analysis (Ralston, 1999). Several polymorphisms involved in the determination of BMD have been identified, with Vitamin D receptor and Collagen Type 1 showing reproducible associations. To identify genes influencing BMD two distinct strategies have been employed: 1) To determine if DNA polymorphism within the runt related transcription factor (RUNX2) gene is a determinant of BMD and fracture in women. 2) The identification of RANKL target genes in osteoclastogenesis. RUNX2 is a runt domain transcription factor (Werner et al., 1999) essential for osteoblast differentiation (Lee et al., 1997). RUNX2 gene knock-out mice have no osteoblasts due to a failure in osteoblast differentiation and consequently unmineralised skeletons, (Komori et al., 1997; Otto et al., 1997). In humans, mutations in RUNX2 cause cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD), a disorder characterised by hypoplasia or aplasia of the clavicles, short stature, supernumerary teeth, patent fontanelles and other changes in skeletal patterning and growth (Mundlos et al., 1997). RUNX2 contains a poly-glutamine poly-alanine (polyQ/polyA) repeat where mutations causing cleidocranial dysplasia have been observed. BMD has not been routinely examined in CCD, two studies have identified CCD patients with lower BMD with one fracture case identified (Quack et al., 1999; Bergwitz et al., 2001). The central role of RUNX2 in determining osteoblast differentiation makes RUNX2 a prime candidate gene for regulating adult bone density. To determine if polymorphism was present in the polyQ/polyA tract the repeat was amplified within the upper and lower deciles of femoral neck (FN) BMD in the Geelong Osteoporosis study (GOS). The upper and lower deciles of FN BMD acted as a surrogate for genotyping the entire cohort. This study identified two common variants within the polyA repeat: an 18 base pair deletion (11Ala) and a synonymous alanine codon polymorphism with alleles, GCA and GCG (noted as A and G alleles, respectively). The 11Ala and SNP polymorphism are found on codon 64 and 66 respectively (RUNX2 MRIPV variant). A allele frequencies were significantly different in a comparison of the upper and lower deciles of FN BMD (p=0.019). In 495 randomly selected women of the Geelong Osteoporosis Study (GOS), the A allele was associated with higher BMD at all sites tested. The association was maximal at the ultra-distal radius (p=0.001). In a separate fracture study, the A allele was significantly protective against Colles' fracture in elderly women but not spine and hip fracture. The 11Ala polymorphism was not related to BMD in GOS. To further decipher the role of the RUNX2 A allele we genotyped 992 women from a Scottish cohort. The alleles of RUNX2 within the glutamine/alanine repeat were determined by MspA1I restriction digest. To examine the possible influence on estrogen related therapies or estrogen status on the potential genetic effect conferred by RUNX2, we divided the cohort by menopausal and hormone replacement therapy status. Within postmenopausal Scottish women the RUNX2 A allele was associated with significantly higher FN BMD (p=0.028, n=312) but not lumbar spine (LS) BMD. The A allele was associated with higher FN BMD (p=0.035) within a postmenopausal subgroup of the population (n=312). To investigate the effect of weight on the RUNX2 alleles the Scottish cohort was segregated into thin/normal (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) and overweight /obese (BMI > 25 kg/m2). RUNX2 A allele showed a stronger effect on FN BMD in postmenopausal women above the median BMI. The 11Ala RUNX2 deletion allele was significantly associated with decreased LS BMD (p=0.018) within overweight/obese women (n=546). The 11Ala allele was significantly associated with increased levels of pyridinoline (p=0.014) and deoxypyridinoline (p=0.038) in the HRT treated subgroup of the population (n=492). Glutamine variants and an alanine insertion were identified within the group. These data suggest that the RUNX2 11Ala and A alleles exert differing affects on BMD showing preference for different skeletal sites in a weight dependent manner. We genotyped 78 individuals from an osteoarthritic population to elucidate the role of the RUNX2 alleles on markers of bone turnover and inflammation. The RUNX2 11Ala allele was significantly associated with decreased osteocalcin (OC) serum levels (p = 0.01). The RUNX2 A allele was significantly related to reduced tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) serum levels (p = 0.004). RUNX2 is known to bind to the OC promoter. An OC promoter polymorphism is found 7bp upstream from a putative RUNX2 binding site. We hypothesized that OC polymorphism may effect the RUNX2 transactivation of the OC gene and thus affect OC serum levels. OC promoter polymorphism was not related to OC serum levels (n=78). These data present a novel link between RUNX2 alleles and OC and TNF serum levels, providing putative mechanisms of action for the RUNX2 alleles. Further studies in larger populations are required to confirm these findings. Ten individuals within the GOS and the Scottish cohort were found to carry rare mutations of the polyQ/polyA repeat. All polyQ variants had a normal polyA repeat (17 amino acids) and were heterozygous for a normal 23Q/17A allele. Variants observed were 15, 16, 24 and 30Q. One individual was observed with an extended polyA repeat (24A). Patient records indicated otherwise unremarkable clinical history except for fracture in 4/10 individuals from GOS (hip and spine). BMD data from the LS and the FN were expressed as T-scores, a measure that relates BMD in terms of standard deviations below the young normal value. In addition, BMD data were also expressed as Z-scores around the age-mean. Under the null hypothesis, where RUNX2 Q repeat variation has no effect on BMD, Z scores would be expected to be distributed around a mean of zero. However, when all variants were pooled the BMD was significantly lower than expected. This effect persisted when deletion variants were considered alone. The effect was stronger on FN BMD (p=0.001) rather than LS BMD (p=0.096), reflecting either difference in precision of BMD measurements at these sites or perhaps a differential genetic effect on different skeletal sites. These data suggest that polyQ and polyA variants are associated with significantly lower BMD, and may be an important determinant for fracture. Glutamine variants exist at high frequency (~0.7%): this rate of mutation could be important when considering large populations at risk of age related osteoporosis. Considering that these subjects are heterozygous for a normal allele, it suggests that a more severe phenotype might be expected in rare subjects homozygous for glutamine repeat variants. In summary, this study investigated the role of novel polymorphisms and rare variants of the RUNX2 gene in influencing BMD, fracture and markers of bone turnover. Two common polymorphisms were identified within the polyA repeat: an 18 base pair deletion and a synonymous alanine codon polymorphism with alleles, A and G. The A allele was associated with increased BMD and was protective against a common form of osteoporotic fracture within a Geelong population. To verify these findings the RUNX2 alleles were genotyped in 992 women from a Scottish cohort. The magnitude and the direction of the effect of the A allele was maintained in the Scottish cohort. Interestingly, the A allele was shown to exert a menopause specific effect, with postmenopausal women showing the strongest effect. On re-analysis of the GOS data the post-menopausal women were found to drive the significance identified in the cohort. The magnitude of the effect of the A allele on BMD was greater in overweight/obese postmenopausal women indicating a gene-weight interaction for RUNX2. The RUNX2 11Ala allele showed a significant relationship with decreased LS BMD in overweight/obese Scottish women. The 11Ala allele was also associated with higher levels of urinary PYD and DPD in women treated with HRT, indicating higher levels of bone turnover in carriers of the 11Ala allele. In contrast to the Scottish cohort, no significant association with heterozygous carriers of 11Ala was observed in GOS, although a significant association was detected for homozygous carriers and LS BMAD. The 11 Ala RUNX2 allele was significantly associated with decreased serum osteocalcin levels and the A allele was significantly associated with TNF in OA patients. Glutamine variants and an alanine insertion were identified within Geelong and Scottish cohorts, which showed low Z and T scores suggesting that RUNX2 variants may be related to genetic effects on BMD and osteoporosis. Polymorphism of the polyQ/polyA region of RUNX2 were identified within this study were shown to associate with significant differences in BMD. The A allele showed a significant association with increased BMD in postmenopausal women from a Geelong and Scottish cohort, with a decreased frequency of the A allele observed in Colles' fracture patients from Geelong. The 11Ala deletion allele was significantly associated with decreased LS BMD and increases in markers of bone turnover in the Scottish cohort. A significant decrease in OC serum levels was observed in OA patients suggesting a direct effect of the allele on the transactivation of the RUNX2 gene. Rare variants of RUNX2 were identified which showed low BMD. These studies have provided insight into the role of RUNX2 in influencing BMD, further studies are required to verify the role of the A allele on BMD and fracture, the role of the rare variants and to identify the precise mechanisms behind the observed changes in BMD. - 2) The identification of RANKL target genes in osteoclastogenesis. Osteoclastogenesis is regulated in vivo by the action of osteoblast/stromal cells that express membrane bound, receptor activator of NF-kB ligand (RANKL). Monocytes treated in vitro with a soluble form of RANKL and macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) differentiate to osteoclasts, whereas monocytes treated with M-CSF alone differentiate to macrophage-like cells. The gene expression profile of human osteoclasts has not been extensively explored. Genes highly expressed by rabbit osteoclasts were identified through random sequencing of an osteoclast cDNA library (Sakai et al., 1995). Differential gene expression of mouse osteoclastogenesis was elucidated by array analysis (Cappellen et al., 2002). To identify genes important for human osteoclastogenesis, total RNA was isolated from monocytes treated for three weeks with either M-CSF alone or with RANKL and M-CSF. RANKL treatment for 3 weeks and 12 hours was investigated in this study, to complement previous data. Differential display was performed on RNA (12 hour treatment with RANKL) and differential gene expression profiles examined. The differential display products were pooled to generate a probe for screening a gene array system derived from a human osteoclast cDNA library. cDNA (3 week treatment with RANKL) hybridisation experiments against the array revealed additional regulated genes. Gene clones that showed significant regulation in M-CSF and RANKL treated cells compared M-CSF treated cells represent genes that are targets for RANKL-specific regulation. Osteopontin, creatine kinase and various mitochondrial genes were up regulated by the treatment of RANKL. Changes in gene expression observed in the array data were confirmed with real-time PCR using mRNA derived from in vitro induced osteoclasts. Cathepsin K gene expression was more than 300 fold greater in osteoclasts compared to macrophage-like cells after one week treatment with RANKL and M-CSF. Cystatin C expression showed a six-fold induction at two weeks of RANKL and M-CSF treatment and cystatin B showed a steady increase in expression. Some of these regulated genes may provide useful targets for influencing BMD.

In summary, this study investigated the role of novel polymorphisms and rare variants of the RUNX2 gene in influencing BMD, fracture and markers of bone turnover. Two common polymorphisms were identified within the polyA repeat: an 18 base pair deletion and a synonymous alanine codon polymorphism with alleles, A and G. The A allele was associated with increased BMD and was protective against a common form of osteoporotic fracture within a Geelong population. To verify these findings the RUNX2 alleles were genotyped in 992 women from a Scottish cohort. The magnitude and the direction of the effect of the A allele was maintained in the Scottish cohort. Interestingly, the A allele was shown to exert a menopause specific effect, with postmenopausal women showing the strongest effect. On re-analysis of the GOS data the post-menopausal women were found to drive the significance identified in the cohort. The magnitude of the effect of the A allele on BMD was greater in overweight/obese postmenopausal women indicating a gene-weight interaction for RUNX2. The RUNX2 11Ala allele showed a significant relationship with decreased LS BMD in overweight/obese Scottish women. The 11Ala allele was also associated with higher levels of urinary PYD and DPD in women treated with HRT, indicating higher levels of bone turnover in carriers of the 11Ala allele. In contrast to the Scottish cohort, no significant association with heterozygous carriers of 11Ala was observed in GOS, although a significant association was detected for homozygous carriers and LS BMAD. The 11 Ala RUNX2 allele was significantly associated with decreased serum osteocalcin levels and the A allele was significantly associated with TNF in OA patients. Glutamine variants and an alanine insertion were identified within Geelong and Scottish cohorts, which showed low Z and T scores suggesting that RUNX2 variants may be related to genetic effects on BMD and osteoporosis. Polymorphism of the polyQ/polyA region of RUNX2 were identified within this study were shown to associate with significant differences in BMD. The A allele showed a significant association with increased BMD in postmenopausal women from a Geelong and Scottish cohort, with a decreased frequency of the A allele observed in Colles’ fracture patients from Geelong. The 11Ala deletion allele was significantly associated with decreased LS BMD and increases in markers of bone turnover in the Scottish cohort. A significant decrease in OC serum levels was observed in OA patients suggesting a direct effect of the allele on the transactivation of the RUNX2 gene. Rare variants of RUNX2 were identified which showed low BMD. These studies have provided insight into the role of RUNX2 in influencing BMD, further studies are required to verify the role of the A allele on BMD and fracture, the role of the rare variants and to identify the precise mechanisms behind the observed changes in BMD.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Health Sciences
Full Text

Research Project (M.B.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2005.
Research Project (Faculty of Business Administration) / Simon Fraser University. MBA-IB Specialist Program. Senior supervisor : Dr. David C. Thomas.

This study focuses on exploring the relative importance of six influential factors in cruise customers’ decision-making process such as: cruise vacation price, cruise duration, distance from the cruise port, itineraries, environmental friendliness of cruise line and cruise online reviews. The decision on which influencing factors to select was made based on the review of literature. The complexity of cruise customers’ decision-making process for these six attributes with several levels was examined with Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC) Analysis. CBC was selected due to its realistic approach to purchase decisions, in the form of trade-offs. The online survey collected data anonymously. The survey was distributed through Amazon Mechanical Turk (Mturk) platform. Only 450 cruise customers, who had experienced a cruise vacation before were eligible to participate in the study. The purpose of the study was to discover the relative importance of the influencing factors to gain more insights about cruise customers. The findings of the study showed that online reviews were the most influential attribute for cruise customers in their cruise decision, followed very closely by the environmental friendliness of the cruise line. The next influential factor was the duration of the cruise vacation which was followed by distance from the cruise port, cruise itinerary and cruise vacation price. The best and the worst cruise vacation profile were generated from CBC analysis. The findings of this study provide some insights with regard to cruise customers’ importance about influencing factors when deciding on a cruise vacation.

Title: Motivating factors influencing consumers’ Brand preferences for mobile phones: University of Gavle students Level: Final assignment for Master degree in Business Administration (MBA) Authors: Chinedu Ekemba and Emurla Emin Ali Supervisor: Professor Ehsanul Huda Chowdhury Examiner: Professor Maria Fregidou-Malama Date: 2017- June Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the motivating factors that influence University Gavle students to prefer a particular Mobile phone brand. Method: A qualitative study is carried out based on primary data; the primary data was collected through semi-structured interview with twenty of University of Gavle Students by the use of face to face interview. Result & Conclusion: The study finds out that, the role of word of mouth as extrinsic factors serves as the highest motivating factor, while prestige serves as intrinsic factors of motivation. Thus, word of mouth and quality are the highest motivating factors that influence University of Gavle students to prefer a particular mobile phone brand. This finding of this research will help mobile phone marketers and managers to develop strategy on how to capture Swedish consumers to prefer their companies brand products. Suggestion for future research: Future research could be done by considering different or more widely target groups instead of students of University of Gavle. Different perspectives can be combined in future research thus, further research can be conducted by more broadly with a variety of age groups and in a wider area. Also, further research could include comparison between mobile phone brand types and may consider different type of products. This will give understanding of the different segments in mobile phone market, and to determine if these different segments can cause any variety and change of motivating factors. Additionally, further research could be conducted in the long time period, thus can be explored in detail benefiting from the longitudinal study and could be include observations to understand long-term variables on mobile phone market and effects of motivating factors. Hence, this could bring more effective conceptualization of influencing factors of smartphone buying consumers and helps to achieve a more in-depth research. More so, the same study can be conducted with a combination of different Universities in Sweden. And also, same research can be carried out using quantitative research method for future research. Contribution of the Study: This study contributes with knowledge on which motivating factors influence customers brand preferences, and how these factors affect their purchase decision.

Teacher efficacy has been linked to positive outcomes in general education students. The current study examined three special education teachers and one special education paraeducator at Catalina Magnet High School in Tucson, AZ. Efficacy levels of educators in personal and general teacher efficacy, student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management were measured and compared against subjective student outcomes as measured by open-ended interview questions. No correlation was found between personal teacher efficacy and subjective student outcomes of students with disabilities, the focus of the study; however, the findings point the direction for future research in the subject.

The research on which this thesis is based sought to provide new insights into the use of supermarket loyalty card data (SLCD) amongst small agri-food companies; with respect to the factors influencing their use of formalised market information. Given the lack of research in this area and on the key constructs (barriers and enablers) upon which this thesis is focussed, a casestudy approach was adopted. Data was collected in two phases, and it comprised of thirteen in-depth semi-structured interviews for the 1 st phase and two in-depth case studies for the 2nd phase. The qualitative data generated was analysed using thematic analysis. The thesis investigated four interrelated groups of factors influencing the use of supermarket loyalty card data - organisational, individual-related, informational and relationship factors. The results revealed that, amongst the four groups of factors investigated, the individual-related factors seemed to exhibit more influence on the use of the data amongst the small food companies investigated. Components of this group include: education, economic history, administrative familiarity, information- seeking personality and decision-making rationality of the owner-managers; as well as their involvement of staff, desire for growth and networking ability. In summary, whilst the existing body of knowledge suggests that small businesses tend to rely more on informal sources of information, this thesis has provided some evidence to suggest that there are some small businesses making use of formalised market information, and in a structured manner, to enhance their marketing decisions. And those small businesses seemed to perform better than their counterparts who did not avail themselves of such forms of market information. Also, whilst the study provided some evidence of the existence of instrumental, conceptual and selective (as opposed to symbolic) use of SLCD amongst small businesses, it also unearthed the concept of "emblematic use" of market information. This refers to the positive image and credibility gained by some of the small agri- food companies on account of merely possessing supermarket loyalty card data. In this situation, market information is used merely as an emblem, and this dimension has not been previously investigated in the literature.

Thesis (LLM.) -- University of Limpopo, 2019
This mini-dissertation seeks to evaluate the best interests of the child as a separate factor that influences the sentencing of a primary caregiver. When a parent is in conflict with the law, the child stands to be affected sentence that the court may impose on the caregiver. A custodial sentence has the potential of affecting the child’s right to parental care. Therefore, in the event where a custodial sentence is appropriate, alternative care of the child by other persons become a possible option. The author recommends that after applying the principles articulated in S v M and making use of a child impact report; the right of the child to parental care should carry more weight. Thus, courts should duly consider the best interest of the child as an independent factor when negative effects to the child are associated with the sentence. Where appropriate, with either a non-custodial sentence or adequate alternative care (in the case of imprisonment).

Rapid scientific and technological advances in health care mean that nurses need to keep learning and engage in professional education so that they can continue to provide safe and quality care. Education programs which prepare nurses for practice as a registered nurse have a vital role to play in ensuring that graduates are self-directed in responding to the need for ongoing learning throughout their professional career. In many countries, improving students’ readiness for self-directed learning has thus gained increasing recognition as being an important goal of nursing education programs. This level of interest in developing self-directedness in learning is evident in many policy documents and research in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to investigate factors influencing self-directed learning readiness amongst Taiwanese nursing students. A conceptual framework adopted from Biggs’s ‘3P model of teaching and learning’ was constructed to guide this study’s investigation. This study employed a two-staged mixed-method design to obtain a better understanding of Taiwanese students’ experience of SDL in undergraduate nursing programs. Stage one of the present study was a qualitative approach using semi-structured interview to explore students’ experiences with learning activities which they perceived to be self-directed in their undergraduate programs. Eight students were interviewed. Findings from this stage reveal that participants perceived a shift in teaching and learning styles between their previous nursing programs and the university. The more frequent use of student-directed learning activities, in which students were encouraged to be active and to take responsibility for their learning tasks, was one of the changes in teaching and learning approaches perceived by participants. Participants further suggested a number of factors that influenced the outcomes of these learning activities, including teacher-student interaction, facilitation process and learning resources. Stage two of this study used a quantitative approach consisting of two phases: instrument pilot testing and a cross-sectional survey. In the first phase, the instruments were translated into Chinese through a rigorous translation process and tested with a convenience sample of nursing students in Taiwan. Results indicated the translated instruments were reliable and stable. The second phase, a cross-sectional survey, was conducted to examine the conceptual framework of this study. A total of 369 undergraduate nursing students completed the questionnaire. Results of data analysis provides support for the conceptual framework proposed for this study, suggesting that students’ achievement goals and their perceptions of the learning environment significantly influence their adoption of learning approaches and the development of SDL readiness. Based on the results, this study provides practical implications that nurse educators may adopt to enhance students’ SDL readiness. This study also provides theoretical implications and recommendations for future research. It is envisaged that these recommendations may help future researchers focus their research design and further understandings of how to help students develop their ability to become self-directed learners.

Rapid scientific and technological advances in health care mean that nurses need to keep learning and engage in professional education so that they can continue to provide safe and quality care. Education programs which prepare nurses for practice as a registered nurse have a vital role to play in ensuring that graduates are self-directed in responding to the need for ongoing learning throughout their professional career. In many countries, improving students’ readiness for self-directed learning has thus gained increasing recognition as being an important goal of nursing education programs. This level of interest in developing self-directedness in learning is evident in many policy documents and research in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to investigate factors influencing self-directed learning readiness amongst Taiwanese nursing students. A conceptual framework adopted from Biggs’s ‘3P model of teaching and learning’ was constructed to guide this study’s investigation. This study employed a two-staged mixed-method design to obtain a better understanding of Taiwanese students’ experience of SDL in undergraduate nursing programs. Stage one of the present study was a qualitative approach using semi-structured interview to explore students’ experiences with learning activities which they perceived to be self-directed in their undergraduate programs. Eight students were interviewed. Findings from this stage reveal that participants perceived a shift in teaching and learning styles between their previous nursing programs and the university. The more frequent use of student-directed learning activities, in which students were encouraged to be active and to take responsibility for their learning tasks, was one of the changes in teaching and learning approaches perceived by participants. Participants further suggested a number of factors that influenced the outcomes of these learning activities, including teacher-student interaction, facilitation process and learning resources. Stage two of this study used a quantitative approach consisting of two phases: instrument pilot testing and a cross-sectional survey. In the first phase, the instruments were translated into Chinese through a rigorous translation process and tested with a convenience sample of nursing students in Taiwan. Results indicated the translated instruments were reliable and stable. The second phase, a cross-sectional survey, was conducted to examine the conceptual framework of this study. A total of 369 undergraduate nursing students completed the questionnaire. Results of data analysis provides support for the conceptual framework proposed for this study, suggesting that students’ achievement goals and their perceptions of the learning environment significantly influence their adoption of learning approaches and the development of SDL readiness. Based on the results, this study provides practical implications that nurse educators may adopt to enhance students’ SDL readiness. This study also provides theoretical implications and recommendations for future research. It is envisaged that these recommendations may help future researchers focus their research design and further understandings of how to help students develop their ability to become self-directed learners.

The technological development has had a major influence on the financial market through increased digitalization and meant a big change for how banks now are operated. One of the effects is that it has changes the duties carried out by the staff who work at the banks. These changes have made the work more focused on customer service. Thus, the influence of staff has changed and become important to customers. The aim of the study is to identify factors that affect employees’ attitudes towards internal recruitment within two different banks. Based on theories, three categories have been created to compare employee attitudes and influencing factors behind attitudes in the form of internal recruitment, influencing factors in work and the importance of balance between work and life situation. The study uses a qualitative method in the form of semi structured interviews, where the sample consists of ten employees from two different banks. The study shows that there are similarities in influencing attitudes of the staff within the two banks when it comes to career opportunities, management and value creation in work. Differences in terms of experiences and the balance between work and privacy as influencing factors in staff attitudes towards internal recruitment for both banks. Proposals for continued research is measuring staff's attitudes towards internal recruitment to establish a generalized conclusion. Another suggestion is to study the organizational structure of different banks and its impact on staff's attitudes towards internal recruitment.

Published Article
The relationship between the big five personality traits, Extraversion, Agreeableness Neuroticism, Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience and deep and surface approaches to learning forms the basis of this article. The findings of a research study in this milieu will be presented to prove that earlier studies in this field have been upheld, but that an important deviation has occurred on certain levels of personality. A students way of learning implies the type of learning that is taking place. Ultimately we as lecturers want to encourage deep learning as this stimulates retention of information, important in production of students that are ready for employment.

Enterprise system (ES) is being considered an important phenomenon in the corporate use of information technology, enhancing organizational cross functional efficiency and effectiveness through the integration of all the information flowing through a company. The implementation and use of this system involve high expenditure and risk and it has a great impact in every aspect of an adopting organization. The wrong selection of this system would have an adverse effect on the company performance. So the selection of this system deserves considerable attention from the practitioner and researcher.

In this study, our objective is to identify the influencing factors on the ES selection process from the existing theory and investigate them in real life situation from the client and vendor’s perspectives.

To fulfil the first objective of the study, we have made a comprehensive review on ES literature and synthesized an integrated framework of influencing factors on the ES selection process. To fulfil the other objective, we have made a qualitative empirical study through multiple case study approach. To collect necessary in-depth information, we have used purposive sampling and general interview guide approach. The integrated framework has guided us in empirical study and the cross case analysis of empirical data has been performed on the basis of this framework from the view point of client and vendor.

The result of this study shows that there exists a good fit between client and vendor views about the influencing factors on the ES selection process, in spite of insignificant imbalance between them. The result also reveals that most of the influencing factors of integrated framework have been recognized both by client and vendor with some diversity. Three new influencing factors: geographical proximity, requirement specification and sales skill of vendor have emerged from the study.

Long-distance and intercity travel generally make up a small portion of the total number of trips taken by an individual, while representing a large portion of aggregate distance traveled on the transportation system. While some research exists on intercity travel behavior between large metropolitan centers, this thesis addresses a need for more research on travel behavior between non-metropolitan areas and large metropolitan centers. This research specifically considers travel from home locations in northern New England, going to Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. These trips are important for quality of life, multimodal planning, and rural economies. This research identifies and quantifies factors that influence people's mode choice (automobile, intercity bus, passenger rail, or commercial air travel) for these trips. The research uses survey questionnaire data, latent factor analysis, and discrete choice modeling methods. Factors include sociodemographic, built environment, latent attitudes, and trip characteristics. The survey, designed by the University of Vermont Transportation Research Center and the New England Transportation Institute, was conducted by Resource Systems Group, Inc. in 2014, with an initial sample size of 2560. Factor analysis was used to prepare 6 latent attitudinal factors, based on 70 attitudinal responses from the survey statements. The survey data were augmented with built environment variables using geographic information systems (GIS) analysis. A set of multinomial logit models, and a set of nested logit models, were estimated for business and non-business trip mode choice. Results indicate that for this type of travel, factors influencing mode choice for both business and non-business trips include trip distance; land use; personal use of technology; and latent attitudes about auto dependence, preference for automobile, and comfort with personal space and safety on public transportation. Gender is a less significant factor. Age is only significant for non-business trips. The results reinforce the importance and viability of modeling long-distance travel from less populated regions to large metropolitan areas, and the significant roles of trip distance, built environment, personal attitudes, and sociodemographic factors in how people choose to make these trips for different purposes. Future research should continue to improve these types of long-distance mode choice models by incorporating mode specific travel time and cost, developing more specific attitudinal statements to expand latent factor analysis, and further exploring built environment variables. Improving these models will promote better planning, engineering, operations, and infrastructure investment decisions in many regions and communities across the United States which have not yet been well studied, possibly impacting levels of service.

[Truncated abstract] Fire ephemerals are pioneer species that germinate in large numbers after fire and generally live for between six months and four years. Seeds produced during the short life span of these plants persist in the soil seedbank until a subsequent fire. This study examined the dormancy characteristics and germination requirements of ten Australian fire ephemeral species from five families. Seeds of four species germinated at one or more incubation temperatures in the laboratory, indicating that a proportion of their seedlots were non-dormant at the time of testing. Austrostipa compressa and Austrostipa macalpinei (Poaceae) produced >80% germination at 10?C and Alyogyne hakeifolia and Alyogyne huegelii (Malvaceae) produced 30-40% and 35-50% germination respectively at 10 to 25°C. In each of the Alyogyne species approximately 50% of seeds were impermeable to water, but scarification did not enable germination of all viable seeds suggesting that seeds which did not germinate, may have possessed physiological dormancy as well as physical dormancy. Remaining species had water permeable seeds. ... Germination of both Alyogyne species declined after six months of winter burial but was enhanced by heat treatments after a further six months of summer burial. Actinotus leucocephalus and Tersonia cyathiflora seeds exhibited annual dormancy cycling over two years of burial. Dormancy was alleviated over summer, allowing seeds of both species to germinate in smoke water when seeds were exhumed in autumn, and reimposed over winter, suppressing germination in spring. In Actinotus leucocephalus these dormancy changes were induced in the laboratory by warm (≥15°C) and cold (5°C) temperatures, alleviating and re-imposing dormancy, respectively. Wetting and drying seeds stored at 37°C further accelerated the rate of dormancy release. This dormancy cycling would increase the likelihood of seeds germinating when moisture availability in south-western Australia is greatest for seedling survival. It also explains the variation in germination response to smoke water observed in many species. Thus under natural conditions dormancy levels of fire ephemerals were altered during soil storage which enabled them to respond to fire-related cues such as heat and smoke water, and germinate in autumn. This information will assist in the use of these species in land rehabilitation and ornamental horticulture, and in the conservation of rare or endangered fire ephemerals.

Local communities must have a capacity to ameliorate coastal erosion impacts. Since coastal erosion operates over long time frames, understanding this capacity, or the abilities of communities to respond to the impacts and recover to maintain community functions, requires analysis of the past and the present. This study explores factors which influence the capacity of communities to respond to coastal erosion and conversely how exposure to coastal erosion itself affects community capacity. Mixed methods research was used to investigate the views of respondents in seven coastal villages in the upper Gulf of Thailand, three from an area that has experienced low erosion, and four from an area that has experienced high erosion. A questionnaire survey was administered 358 respondents to investigate socio-demographic characteristics, opinions about livelihoods in communities and experiences of losing and responding to coastal erosion. Thirty five key informants for semi-structured interviews were selected from villagers who responded to the questionnaire and volunteered as well as officials, scientists and NGOs. Descriptive analyses were applied to examine differences in socio-demography, opinion about livelihood and coastal erosion experience variables between the two areas, and factor analysis was used to investigate the importance of factors that affect and could build community capacity to respond to coastal erosion. The physical characteristics of the high erosion area were significantly different to those of the low erosion area. The former was closer to the Chao Praya Delta River, had many shrimp ponds across villages and residents applied materials which were too fragile to prevent coastal erosion. The low erosion area was far from delta rivers, was surrounded by shrimp ponds and hard structures were applied to protect the coastal area. For socio-demographic characteristics of villagers, residents in the high erosion area had less employment, lower education, lower income and lower levels of land ownership than residents in the low erosion area. Residents in the high erosion area reported more experiences of property loss from coastal erosion in the past 30 years than residents in the low erosion area as would be expected. Across the two erosion areas rock placements were applied as a common method to protect the coast in the past, while embedding thin bamboo stems offshore was also used in the high erosion area. The government and other networks had promoted a combination of methods to protect coastal areas by embedding thick bamboo stems offshore and planting mangrove trees in intertidal areas. This combination of methods was yielding positive results. Residents impacted by coastal erosion migrated landwards from eroded area and those residents lost connection with their neighbours, lacked opportunities for generating their own income or obtaining employment, and spent their savings in mobilising and rebuilding houses. Some residents who felt insecure from erosion sold their land to external landholders and then they moved to live in more secure areas away from their villages, taking their financial resources with them, thereby effectively removing their financial resources from the original communities. The external landholders held increasingly large areas in these villages. Local communities thereby suffered from a lack of finance and power and diminished rights to build infrastructure for coastal erosion prevention and improvement of their quality of life. Five main factors were found from multivariate factor analysis. Firstly, villagers having control over their own land (and therefore control over their destiny) provided more opportunities to build structures to prevent coastal erosion in their own communities. Secondly, higher levels of leadership were central to mobilising resources to address coastal erosion problems provided the leaders had the necessary attributes to deal with this challenge. Thirdly, coastal community resilience was necessary for communities to address existing changes, whereas communities needed to maintain their functions to be ready to respond to unpredictable impacts of coastal erosion and other events without diminishing their potential. Fourthly, enhanced levels of sense of community were important to gain collaboration from residents to cope with coastal erosion. Lastly, a positive household socioeconomic element was necessary for residents to have sufficient resources for building natural hazard protection appropriately. These five issues could be highlighted to coastal communities to improving capacities to respond to coastal erosion effectively, whereas local authorities and other organisations with high capability could facilitate and support the communities to build capacities through those issues.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influential effects various factors had on the recruitment and the retention of African American undergraduates at Texas A&M University, as perceived by those African Americans who had successfully completed their plans of study and received baccalaureate degrees between May 1998 and December 2003. Data were acquired through e-mail surveys in which three massive e-mailings were broadcast from the collected files of The Association of Former Students of Texas A&M. In this survey, the questionnaire contained closed-ended questions with five-part Likert-type responses. Additionally, the African American alumni were provided the opportunity to recommend additional practices for future recruitment and retention of African American undergraduates at A&M. An extensive review of the literature that supports this record of study regarding recruitment and retention of African American undergraduate students was made, and in the review, family involvement in education and home/school/campus characteristics revealed numerous studies that support the positive relationship between family involvement in education and success. There is, however, evidence of barriers, frustration, and discouragement experienced by these African American undergraduate stakeholders in their campus relationships. Research findings of this study included: 1. The research showed that for this population, the academic standing of A&M is the most influential recruitment practice. Recruitment efforts should concentrate on the most effective recruitment strategies by developing materials that highlight and focus on academic standing as reported by leading publications indicating how A&M is ranked against colleges and universities across the nation. 2. The research showed that the available curriculum at A&M is also an influential recruitment practice. From data discovered in this research, engineering, computer technology, psychology, and journalism were the most popular curriculum attraction to African American students. Implications from the research include: 1. One significant difference was the finding that the African American females looked more favorably on an institution of higher learning that had a larger enrollment. 2. The other significant difference was the finding that African American males looked more favorably at institutions of higher learning that held higher national ranking in sports in which they were interested.

This study evaluated the perceived impact of cigarette advertisement on smoking habit among students in selected Nigerian universities. It also investigated the influences of age and significant others on the students’ smoking habit as well as the relationship between cigarette advertisement and rate of smoking. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. The sample consisted of 566 smokers (503 males and 63 females) selected from among students of six universities in southwest Nigeria. Data obtained were subjected to both descriptive and inferential analyses using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Simple regression analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t- test were used to examine five hypotheses formulated for the study. The study showed a significant impact relationship between cigarette advertisement and motives for smoking ( =0.279; t =. 6.179; p< 0.001) and also between smokers’ perception of the health hazards associated with cigarette smoking and rate of smoking (t (514) = 4.469, p< 0.001). Smokers’ age and influence of significant others had substantial impact on their motive for smoking ( = 0.348; t = 5.99; p< 0.001; F(4,463) = 2.642; p<0.05). There was however, no significant relationship between cigarette advertisement and rate of smoking ( = 0.026; t= 0.581; p>0.562). The study concluded that cigarette advertisement had significant impact on cigarette smoking habit among students in Nigerian universities. The findings are discussed in the light of its implications for designing smoking intervention programmes targeted at youths.

This study evaluated the perceptions of Nigerian university students concerning the influence of cigarette advertisement on their smoking habit. It also assessed the influences of smokers’ age and significant others on their smoking habits. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and focus group discussion (FGD) technique from 566 smokers (503 males and 63 females) selected from among students of six universities in south- western Nigeria. Information obtained from the FGD was analysed qualitatively and presented in this study. Specifically, responses from the FGD was analysed based on the following: History of student’s smoking habit, perceived smoking benefits, health hazards of smoking, advertisement and smoking, roles of families, friends and peers in preventing or promoting smoking habit and attitudes of smokers towards anti-smoking regulations in the country. The study concluded that cigarette advertisement had substantial influence on smoking habit among students in the Nigerian universities. Implications of the findings for designing smoking intervention programmes targeted at the youth are discussed.

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the perceptions of Nigerian university students concerning the influence of cigarette advertisement on their smoking habit. It also assessed the influences of smokers’ age and significant others on their smoking habits. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and focus group discussion (FGD) technique from 566 smokers (503 males and 63 females) selected from among students of six universities in south- western Nigeria. Information obtained from the FGD was analysed qualitatively and presented in this study. Specifically, responses from the FGD was analysed based on the following: History of student’s smoking habit, perceived smoking benefits, health hazards of smoking, advertisement and smoking, roles of families, friends and peers in preventing or promoting smoking habit and attitudes of smokers towards anti-smoking regulations in the country. The study concluded that cigarette advertisement had substantial influence on smoking habit among students in the Nigerian universities. Implications of the findings for designing smoking intervention programmes targeted at the youth are discussed.

碩士
國立高雄海洋科技大學
航運管理研究所
102
With the increasing demand of integrated logistics services, ocean freight forwarders have played an important role in providing logistics service to shippers in today’s competitive shipping Industry. Specifically, the manpower of ocean freight forwarding industry needs to be more specialized and have the characteristics of resistance to pressure, efficiency, and effectiveness to provide an expanding range of international logistics services. The employee turnover is accordingly relative high comparing to other industries and has become one of critical issues in operation. In particular, the high employee turnover results in the additional costs on human resource management and interrupts the logistics operations. Thus, it is imperative for ocean freight forwarders to reduce the employee turnover rate. This study, accordingly, aims to investigate the factors influencing the employee turnover in ocean freight forwarding industry based on risk management approach. This study through questionnaire to identify risk factors, and risk management method was performed to evaluate the frequency of employee turnover and its impact on an organization in this study. This study indicate that better choice of jobs, health considerations, and lower pay were perceived by respondents as the most agreement reasons influencing employee turnover. Moreover, results also show that raises range , unfair reward system, and high work pressure were the most import risk factors impacting the stability of an organization. The findings therefore may provide suggestions to top managers for formulating their human resource management strategies to improve employee turnover.

碩士
中原大學
會計研究所
102
The study examines the relationships among the quality, value and satisfaction of blogs. The results indicate that information quality and system quality positively influence the perceived value of functional value, emotion value and social value. And the perceived value of functional value, emotion value and social value of blog user positively influence blog user’s satisfaction. But design quality does not influence the perceived value of functional value, emotion value and social value.

碩士
國立雲林科技大學
企業管理系碩士班
94
A new concept of brand extension is beginning to study called brand counterextension, A counterextension is a brand extension that is launched into Category A by Brand 2 that belongs to Category B in a reciprocal direction to a launch of a previous extension into Category B by Brand 1 that belongs to Category A. The feedback of brand counterextension came from the competitor not from the extension effect of parent brand. The study only focus on the similarity between Categories A and B is higher not the lower similarity situation. Relying mainly on Greatday、HSIN TUNG YANG、Dr.WHITE、PAOS brand . In this study, first, how is the effective of brand counterextnesion under the different similarity between Categories A and B when Brand1 preceding extension into Category B. Second, the study examines the differential impact of direct-brand versus sub-brand extensions in different similarity on customer evaluations of brand counterextensions. Third, either Brand1 extension success or failure, what kind of extension strategy will be used by potential competitor and what extension strategy affect parent brand seriously. Variables divide into three parts, first is preceding extension situation (success, failure, none). Second, similarity between Categories A and B is higher and lower. Third, the brand strategy which adopted by preceding extension and counterextension are direct-brand and sub-brand strategy. The oonsumers of supermarket are recruited as research subjectvia. this research used convenience sampleing and rseult to 400 effective samples The results from study show that customers evaluate a counterextension more favorably when the preceding extension is a success rather than a failure. When the similarity between Categories A and B is lower that different brand extension strategy by preceding extension will affect the customers’ evaluation. And under preceding extension is failed that the evaluation of the counterextension is superior if it is launched by sub-brand. Key words: preceding brand extension、brand counterextension、brand strategy、similarity

碩士
國立臺北大學
企業管理學系
104
Due to the Internet penetration, information technology prosperously advance, and the re-construction of music value chain has changed the consumer behavior and the media people used to consume music. The launch of the streaming music usher a new era for music consumption. Through Streaming music, consumers no longer have to download song in advance, but consumer can play songs by an on-demand service, which allow people to access music library at anytime and anywhere via internet. In the past decades, music industry faces a harsh situation in Asia, especially in Chinese speaking area. Since Taiwan is the leading train for the Chinese-pop music, Spotify decide to enter Taiwan Music Market in 2013. Therefore, Taiwan’s consumer behavior and reaction toward music-streaming music would be valuable for Chinese Music Industry. However, recent researches seldom mentions about stimulating purchase intention of streaming music. This study aims to provide consumer’s perspective of consumer’s behavior of streaming music service on the based on TAM model. This study estimated the acceptance intention of streaming-music service and also examined the moderating effects of perceived playfulness on TAM and the meditation effects of characteristic on TAM. Hypotheses was tested by empirical data were collected from total of 578 experienced user of streaming-music service and a total of 506 usable surveys. A structural equation modeling(SEM) was proposed to assess the relationships of the research model. The findings of this paper show that the perceived value of streaming music is a crucial factor in predicting purchase intention of streaming music in Taiwan. Moreover, perceived playfulness has moderating influence between involvement and perceived value. Also, only adventurous characteristic has meditating effects on perceived value and purchase intention. The results of this paper is to facilitate to find out some important factor which can stimulate purchase intention of streaming music in Taiwan and to develop and hope it can help develop market strategies.

碩士
崑山科技大學
資訊管理研究所
103
The data of Institute for Information Industry shows, the personal internet use of broadband household penetration is 75%, the rate of household internet is 84.8%, the number of 3G mobile phone is 24,160,000, and the proportion of use has increased to 81.5%. So, the use of internet is very popular. Because of rapid network’s development and the busy modern have no time to go shopping, modern lifestyle and consumption behavior were changed. Consumers worry about the achievement of their own purpose during the shopping behavior. So, whether consumers will shop in online stores is related to their trust of online stores. Today, there are so many online stores exist, if you want to increase the sales of online stores, you have to get consumers’ trust. Through a literature search, we collect the influencing factors of consumers' trust of online stores. The objects are the consumers who have been purchased goods in the online stores. We use two-factor test to confirm the classification of the influencing factors of trust. Then Fuzzy Delphi questionnaire results confirmed the hierarchical structures of hygiene factors, motivators, and important factors. Finally, we use AHP to know the degree of the importance of the factors and to get the order of the factors in consumers' mind. The results show, first, in the 52 factors influencing consumers' trust of online stores, there are 38 hygiene factors, 4 motivators, and 10 factors are important but consumers cannot distinguish they are hygiene factors or motivators. The quantity of hygiene factors is more than motivators and important factors but consumers cannot distinguish them are hygiene factors or motivators. Second, in the three factors types, the weights in sequence is hygiene factors, the factors which are important but consumers cannot distinguish, motivators. Third, the top three most important factors for consumers are "the quantity and quality of goods and ordering merchandise receipt of agreement," "provide correct and important product information," and "to provide a clear description of the product price", in the 38 hygiene factors. Fourth, in the 10 important but consumers cannot be divided into hygiene or motive factors, the most important of the top three to "provide customized services and instant feedback mechanism," "community comments," and "a trust portals." Fifth, in the 4 motivators, the more important of the top two motivators are “physical existence” and “third party endorsement”. Finally, the results can be referenced for companies which operate online stores.

Previous international and local research confirms the prevalence of learner-to-teacher bullying. However, no study has investigated whether there is a relationship between learner-to-teacher bullying and teachers’ mental health, specifically with reference to anxiety and depression. Consequently, the current research firstly aimed to examine whether there is a significant proportion of government high school teachers, in this study’s sample, who are exposed to bullying by their learners. The second aim was to investigate a possible correlation between learner-to-teacher bullying and teachers’ levels of anxiety and depression. This relationship was examined utilising an overall sample of 153 participants in the Tshwane area. Through the use of quantitative research and statistical analyses, the results indicate a significant correlation between learner-to-teacher bullying and a teacher’s mental health. These results hold certain implications for the school system as a whole since the equilibrium required for a proper functioning school may be negatively influenced by learner-to-teacher bullying.
Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
tm2015
Psychology
MA
Unrestricted

碩士
國立臺北大學
社會學系
99
2010 Executive Master Program of National Taipei University Thesis Abstract Thesis Title: Factors Affecting Taiwanese Women’s Purchase of Luxury Goods Total Pages: 30 Department: Executive Master Program of Department of Sociology (Student No.:79776905) Student:: Li, Wei-Ting Advisor: Dr. Sen, Yow-Suen Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate factors affecting Taiwanese women’s purchase of luxury goods. The sample was obtained from the social hierarchy section of the third survey in the fifth phase of “Taiwan Social Change Survey” conducted under the “Taiwan Social Change Survey Project”. As this study focused on female consumers of luxury goods, the subjects were limited to female consumers who had reached a certain level of economic status. Female consumers whose household monthly income was no more than NT$30,000 were excluded. The valid sample comprised 685 participants, and 1355 participants had missing values. The binary logistic regression analysis of the data suggested that “education level” and “reference group” were key factors affecting women’s purchase of luxury goods. In the aspect of education level, this study validated Bourdieu's argument that cultural capital can be converted into economic capital in specific conditions. However, cultural capital cannot be obtained without persistent investment of time and economic cost. Since highly educated women have relatively better economic conditions, they may have more consumption of luxury goods. In terms of the influence of relatives or friends who also buy luxury goods (reference group), the influence was found positively and significantly related to women’s purchase of luxury goods. This finding confirmed that women’s purchase of luxury goods is affected by reference groups. The above findings offered a different view of the new phenomenon in Taiwanese consumption culture. Keywords: consumption, economic capital, cultural capital, reference group

碩士
國立雲林科技大學
財務金融系
102
The modern financial product has a trend toward diversification, investor could easily choose the product which best fit for their needs. For the general population, the Systematic Investment Plan(SIP) is the best choice. Therefore, how to choose the best fund according to various attributes would be the first thing an investor wants to know. This research investigated the relationship between Taiwan’s domestic stock fund and several variables. Research samples are acquired from Taiwan Economic Journal (TEJ). The samples included 149 funds’ monthly reports from January 2009 to December 2013. We classified those funds according to the SITCA’s definition into five categories: all sample, general, technology, small and medium, and others. Then we utilized Panel Data with time-series and cross-section as a mixed regression model to analyze. The results indicate the scale of a fund has a positive correlation with a fund’s performance under all kinds of samples. Systematic risk shows a negative correlation. Fluctuation of net asset value shows a negative correlation except in the others category which is not statistically significant.

碩士
國立雲林科技大學
企業管理系碩士班
99
Nowadays, with the world’s economic growth, consumers demand and expectations increase; supermarkets, discount stores, and convenient stores have begun to develop rapidly. One of the key successful elements for channel management is the shelf display management. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the influencing factors of the shelf display including its position, brand awareness, and its display facings on consumer attention as well as purchase intention. We hope the results can provide some reference for distributors and brand management. This study was run in a super market of a department store, using five actual shelves display. Participants were recruited via convenient sampling, resulting to 323 valid samples. The Lux shampoo was chosen as well-known brand and the rest of other new brands are virtual brands. The results found that consumers’ attention and purchase intent on the eye catching positions brands were significantly higher than those of non-visual positions brands on the shelf display. The well-known brand always gets the highest attention on shelf display regardless of its display position. In addition, for those new brands displayed next or close to the well-known brand will get higher attention than those brands displayed in a long distance position. Finally, increase the number of display facing will also increase consumers’ attention.

碩士
開南大學
物流與航運管理學系
101
Civil Aviation Authority stated the definition of airport ground handling industry companies as Ground Aviation, these companies majority handle the ramp operations, due to airport flight to leave the job lead time requirements, the human factor will have a hidden risk of harm.; Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the potential risk of airport ground operations, airport ground staff under the relevant norms of the operation of powered equipment and non powered equipment, personnel training, standard operating and auditing, and even personnel careless operation which may accidentally cause injury to others and even aircraft damage, and due to the crisis caused by the human potential factors. IATA (International Air Transport Association, referred to as IATA) for the ISAGO audit, investigate human factors such as: Machines, People, Procedures and the Environment are on the level of audit, the ISAGO Audit for Ground Service Providers (GSP) refers to the Airport Ground Handling industry (Ground Avaiation), author hope by the results of this study, able to further understand the relationship between (SHELL and HELLO mode) , airport ground operations by human factors, reduce staff mistakes probability to enhance job security. And provide the reference of the relevant industry in the training of new personnels.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
農業經濟學研究所
101
This study examines the relationship of different factors that might influence labor productivity in Nicaragua, a time series economic regression model was utilized in two separate stages, owing the number of observations varied according with availability of data. First stage is based of 28 observation where the implicated factors were; Agricultural land per-capita, Net Stock machinery, Economy environment and government regime. The second one, studied 15 observations whereas economic variables were include as foreign direct investment, health and education expenditure. Positive and negative effects were obtained on Agricultural Productivity Labor ratio. Agricultural Land Per-capita and socialist government regime showed a positive relationship on APL ratio, while Net stock machinery and the Economic context affects negatively Labor productivity. In the second stage health expenditure was the only with positive relation on APL ratio.

碩士
東吳大學
EMBA高階經營碩士在職專班
106
In practice, the turnover rate is often used as an indicator of the liquidity of the securities market. The turnover rate of the Taiwan securities market has declined in recent years, but also declined compared to the development of major foreign securities markets. It is obvious that the liquidity is shrinking. Therefore, how to boost the stock market energy has become an important issue in the development of the securities market in Taiwan. The change in turnover rate of the market that is due to the value of both the transaction value and the market value. Therefore, this study first establishes vertical section and cross section of analysis model, that according to five major aspects such as securities (What), investors (Who), time (when), securities dealers (Where), and transaction methods (How). Analyze the model and explore the reasons for the increase (decrease) in the value of the transaction. In this study, it is considered that a model should be constructed, and a comprehensive and systematic analysis should be conducted from the data and data of all trading transactions and company activities. Based on the results of this data analysis, the incidents that occur in the overall economic environment should be used to establish the relationship between the two.

碩士
東海大學
食品科學系
93
Abstract The food service industry requires a lot of professional cookers. In order to qualify and improve professional chefs’ abilities, the government has provided a cooker certification to ensure the consumer’s interests and safety. Also, the qualification system can ensure and even improve the quality of the public food service system. The object of this study is to survey the factors influencing the implementation of this licensing policy on the restaurant industry. This survey uses SPSS statistical analysis software to assay descriptive statistic, data validities and reliabilities, reliability, factor analysis and Dunacan’s Multiple-ranking Test. The results show that about 95% of Chinese food cookers recognize the cooker’s license testing policy. This policy can improve the consumer’s confidence index to the restaurant food service. From the index of appropriateness of the testing policy, the masses’ hygiene safety is more important than the cookers’ own interests. Looking at the data of the purpose for attending the cookers’ license, the trend is that cookers acknowledge this is the requirement of the food service industry if they want stay and serve in this area. Also, the license testing system can increase their knowledge and cooking skills to prepare Chinese food. Lastly, the results show that most of the license testing information comes from newspapers and their cookers’ association. Key Word: Restaurant industry, Occupational license, Cooker, Chinese food

碩士
國立高雄師範大學
人力與知識管理研究所
96
Abstract The education and training during the hospital residency are the essential stage for becoming a medical doctor. They learn the know-how of patient communication and clinical professional skills during the residency process which enable them to operate independently as a physician in the future.The purpose of this study are as following: first, examine the relationship among clinical education program, self-efficacy and transfer of training effect. Second, verify the mediation effect of self-efficacy on clinical education program and transfer of training effect. Finally, investigate the moderation effect of individual absorptive capacity. The target of the research is aimed at the residents of the medical centers in Taiwan. Using 187 valid questionnaires collected from 10 medicals and 1 regional hospital are empirically analyzed by applying the methods of hierarchical regression analysis. We find supports for the hypothesis. The results suggest that the presence of both clinical education program and self-efficacy are lead to higher level of transfer of training effect. And the self-efficacy has partly mediating effect of clinical education program and transfer of training effect. Furthermore, the prior related knowledge will strengthen the positive relationship between self-efficacy and transfer of training effect. Personal efforts will strengthen the positive relationship between self-efficacy and transfer of training effects. Therefore, the residents’ understanding of the related medical knowledge prior enrolling into the clinical education program, with detail learning records and program review afterward, will bring positive influence on the residents’ medical practice after attending the clinical education program.