Understanding the internet banking adoption by Portuguese customers - a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and perceived risk application.

Trabalho de Projeto apresentado como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Estatística e Gestão de Informação

Higher education branding: Nova School of Business and Economics and Bocconi University

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

SMEs engaging at the bottom of the pyramid: Exploring drivers of business strategies

This research paper investigates how the market conditions at the base of the pyramid (BOP) influences South African small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to take certain business decisions in the townships and rural areas. It takes a qualitative approach to explore how SMEs with social objectives develops mitigating strategies to successfully engage with and in poor communities. The research suggests that prevailing BOP strategies are lacking certain aspects to successfully realize them on the ground. It advices firms to take a more practical hands-on approach to identify a sustainable business model by testing, experimenting, learning and adjusting, eventually being eligible for up-scaling.

Recommendations for Nova School of Business and Economics to target yhe Colombian market

The growing connotation Internationalization has worldwide, alongside the economic, political and socio-environmental changes, is empowering a progressively global education economy. Therefore, this Work Project aims to help Nova SBE to understand the decision making process of the Colombian tertiary education students, as this market constitutes an enriching opportunity to meet both business and educative objectives. In order to do so, a qualitative research was conducted to comprehend the rationale behind Colombian students to study abroad. The study points out that the reputation of a HE institution and the Portuguese culture are the key attributes to pursue a degree in Portugal.

Investigation of business models of free zones and possible implications in South East Finland

Tutkielma tarkastelee vapaa alue konseptia osana yritysten kansainvälistä toimitusketjua. Tarkoituksena on löytää keinoja, millä tavoin vapaa alueen houkuttelevuutta voidaan lisätä yritysten näkökulmasta ja millaista liiketoimintaa yritysten on vapaa alueella mahdollista harjoittaa. Tutkielmassa etsitään tekijöitä, jotka vaikuttavat vapaa alueen menestykseen ja jotka voisivat olla sovellettavissa Kaakkois-Suomen ja Venäjän raja-alueelle ottaen huomioon vallitsevat olosuhteet ja lainsäädäntö rajoittavina tekijöinä. Menestystekijöitä ja liiketoimintamalleja haetaan tutkimalla ja analysoimalla lyhyesti muutamia olemassa olevia ja toimivia vapaa alueita. EU tullilain harmonisointi ja kansainvälisen kaupan vapautuminen vähentää vapaa alueen perinteistä merkitystä tullivapaana alueena. Sen sijaan vapaa alueet toimivat yhä enenevissä määrin logistisina keskuksina kansainvälisessä kaupassa ja tarjoavat palveluita, joiden avulla yritykset voivat parantaa logistista kilpailukykyään. Verkostoituminen, satelliitti-ratkaisut ja yhteistoiminta ovat keinoja, millä Kaakkois-Suomen alueen eri logistiikkapalvelujen tarjoajat voivat parantaa suorituskykyään ja joustavuutta kansainvälisessä toimitusketjussa.

Factors affecting a woman's decision to leave an abusive relationship : the theory of planned behaviour /

The present study tested the appHcabiUty of Ajzen's (1985) theory of planned behaviour (TPB), an extension of Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action (TRA), for the first time, in the context of abused women's decision to leave their abusive relationships. The TPB, as a means of predicting women's decision to leave their abusive partners' was drawn from Strube's (1988, 1991) proposed decision-making model based on the principle that the decision-making process is a rational, deliberative process, and regardless of outcome, was a result of a logical assessment of the available data. As a means of predicting those behaviours not under volitional control, Ajzen's (1985) TPB incorporated a measure of perceived behavioural control. Data were collected in two phases, ranging from 6 months to 1 year apart. It was hypothesized that, to the extent that an abused woman held positive attitudes, subjective norms conducive to leaving, and perceived control over leaving, she would form an intention to leave and thus, increase the likelihood of actually leaving her partner. Furthermore, it was expected that perceptions of control would predict leaving behaviour over and above attitude and subjective norm. In addition, severity and frequency of abuse were assessed, as were demographic variables. The TPB failed to account significantly for variability in either intentions or leaving behaviour. All of the variance was attributed to those variables associated with the theory of reasoned action, with social influence emerging as the strongest predictor of a woman's intentions. The poor performance of this model is attributed to measurement problems with aspects of attitude and perceived control, as well as a lack of power due to the small sample size. The insufficiency of perceived control to predict behaviour also suggests that, on the surface at least, other factors may be at work in this context. Implications of these results, and recommendations such as, the importance of obtaining representative samples, the inclusion of self-esteem and emotions as predictor variables in this model, a reevaluation of the target behaviovu" as nonvolitional, and longitudinal studies spanning a longer time period for future research within the context of decision-making are discussed.

A minor theory of the transit of materiality into discourse, Via Campesina.

In this thesis I explore how the material properties of plant seed enter the political discourses of the international peasant coalition the Via Campesina and coalition member the National Fanners Union of Canada (NFU), querying how this process might be employed as a resource for a transformative eco-social politics. I employ several post-structural theoretical constructs, configuring them together as a "minor theory". This minor theory provides the basis for a "minor" reading of three sets of Via Campesina and NFU texts. The aim of these readings is to track the movement of seed from a local agricultural concern to a transitive political one, across both the material and discursive registers. In surfacing the presence of the seed's physical properties in the three texts, I highlight the distinctions between the constraining seed of corporate industrial agriculture, and the social and agroecological opportunities resulting from what I call a "Seed Event".

Agrarian revolution in Central America : a comparison of Nicaragua and Honduras using Jeffery Paige's theory of Agrarian revolution

ABSTRACT In 1979 Nicaragua, under the Sandinistas, experienced a genuine, socialist, full scale, agrarian revolution. This thesis examines whether Jeffery Paige's theory of agrarian revolutions would have been successful in predicting this revolution and ln predicting non-revolution in the neighboring country of Honduras. The thesis begins by setting Paige's theory in the tradition of radical theories of revolution. It then derives four propositions from Paige's theory which suggest the patterns of export crops, land tenure changes and class configurations which are necessary for an agrarian and socialist revolution. These propositions are tested against evidence from the twentieth century histories of economic, social and political change in Nicaragua and Honduras. The thesis concludes that Paige's theory does help to explain the occurrence of agrarian revolution in Nicaragua and non-revolution in Honduras. A fifth proposition derived from Paige's theory proved less useful in explaining the specific areas within Nicaragua that were most receptive to Sandinista revolutionary activity.

A constructivist grounded theory of firefighter perceptions of stress, coping and the relationship to health

This qualitative research was a constructivist grounded theory designed to develop an understanding of how firefighters perceive and cope with stressful situations and the impact this has on their perceptions of health. This study was framed in a social ecological perspective with the community of firefighting providing the environment within which to explore stress and coping. Of particular concern here are the stressors associated with firefighting. Prior research with firefighters has often been epidemiological and statistical in nature, focusing on measures of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression (Baker & Williams, 2001 ; Brown et al., 2002; Murphy et al.,1999; Regehr et al., 2002; Regehr et al., 2003). Qualitative research examining the perception of stress among firefighters that includes personal stories allows firefighters the opportunity to describe what it is like to be met with physically and mentally challenging situations on a daily basis. Twelve in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with a brief questionnaire were conducted with firefighters from a Southern Ontario Fire Department. Four main themes emerged describing the persona of the firefighter, the stressors of firefighters, coping strategies of firefighters, and firefighters' perceptions of health. Stressors include requirements of the job, traumatic calls, tensions with co-workers, the struggle between the family at home and the family at work, political stressors with the City, and the inner struggle. Avoidance coping, approach coping, and gaining perspective emerged as the three coping styles of firefighters. Health was defined as including physical, mental, social and spiritual aspects. A model of the findings is provided that depicts the cyclical nature of the stress-coping-health relationship among firefighters.

Examining sport commitment and intentions to participate in intramural sports : application of the Sport Commitment Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour in a campus recreational sport setting

Fifty-six percent of Canadians, 20 years of age and older, are inactive (Canadian Community Health Survey, 200012001). Research has indicated that one of the most dramatic declines in population physical activity occurs between adolescence and young adulthood (Melina, 2001; Stephens, Jacobs, & White, 1985), a time when individuals this age are entering or attending college or university. Colleges and universities have generally been seen as environments where physical activity and sport can be promoted and accommodated as a result of the available resources and facilities (Archer, Probert, & Gagne, 1987; Suminski, Petosa, Utter, & Zhang, 2002). Intramural sports, one of the most common campus recreational sports options available for post-secondary students, enable students to participate in activities that are suited for different levels of ability and interest (Lewis, Jones, Lamke, & Dunn, 1998). While intramural sports can positively affect the physical activity levels and sport participation rates of post-secondary students, their true value lies in their ability to encourage sport participation after school ends and during the post-school lives of graduates (Forrester, Ross, Geary, & Hall, 2007). This study used the Sport Commitment Model (Scanlan et aI., 1993a) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) with post secondary intramural volleyball participants in an effort to examine students' commitment to intramural sport and 1 intentions to participate in intramural sports. More specifically, the research objectives of this study were to: (1.) test the Sport Commitment Model with a sample of postsecondary intramural sport participants(2.) determine the utility of the sixth construct, social support, in explaining the sport commitment of post-secondary intramural sport participants; (3.) determine if there are any significant differences in the six constructs of IV the SCM and sport commitment between: gender, level of competition (competitive A vs. B), and number of different intramural sports played; (4.) determine if there are any significant differences between sport commitment levels and constructs from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and intentions); (5.) determine the relationship between sport commitment and intention to continue participation in intramural volleyball, continue participating in intramurals and continuing participating in sport and physical activity after graduation; and (6.) determine if the level of sport commitment changes the relationship between the constructs from the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Of the 318 surveys distributed, there were 302 partiCipants who completed a usable survey from the sample of post-secondary intramural sport participants. There was a fairly even split of males and females; the average age of the students was twenty-one; 90% were undergraduate students; for approximately 25% of the students, volleyball was the only intramural sport they participated in at Brock and most were part of the volleyball competitive B division. Based on the post-secondary students responses, there are indications of intent to continue participation in sport and physical activity. The participation of the students is predominantly influenced by subjective norms, high sport commitment, and high sport enjoyment. This implies students expect, intend and want to 1 participate in intramurals in the future, they are very dedicated to playing on an intramural team and would be willing to do a lot to keep playing and students want to participate when they perceive their pursuits as enjoyable and fun, and it makes them happy. These are key areas that should be targeted and pursued by sport practitioners.

Toward a grounded theory of trigger events and leadership development in early adulthood

The purpose of this research study was to develop a conceptual model through the use of a grounded theory approach, which explains how trigger events are related to leadership development. Trigger events are experience that cause developmental growth and may result in an increased ability to lead (Luthans and Avolio (2003). In this study, there were two phases of data collection. First participants completed the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT), where their respective leadership developmental stage was measured. Second, participants were involved in two in-depth interviews where an understanding was reached as to how various trigger events have impacted their leadership development. From these data, a conceptual model was developed to explain the relationship between trigger events and leadership development. Participants described trigger events as being important developmental periods, during which time they grew as people and became more capable leaders.

Towards automated derivation in the theory of allegories

We provide an algorithm that automatically derives many provable theorems in the equational theory of allegories. This was accomplished by noticing properties of an existing decision algorithm that could be extended to provide a derivation in addition to a decision certificate. We also suggest improvements and corrections to previous research in order to motivate further work on a complete derivation mechanism. The results presented here are significant for those interested in relational theories, since we essentially have a subtheory where automatic proof-generation is possible. This is also relevant to program verification since relations are well-suited to describe the behaviour of computer programs. It is likely that extensions of the theory of allegories are also decidable and possibly suitable for further expansions of the algorithm presented here.

A Living Educational Theory of Knowledge Translation: Improving Practice, Influencing Learners, and Contributing to the Professional Knowledge Base

This paper captured our joint journey to create a living educational theory of knowledge translation (KT). The failure to translate research knowledge to practice is identified as a significant issue in the nursing profession. Our research story takes a critical view of KT related to the philosophical inconsistency between what is espoused in the knowledge related to the discipline of nursing and what is done in practice. Our inquiry revealed “us” as “living contradictions” as our practice was not aligned with our values. In this study, we specifically explored our unique personal KT process in order to understand the many challenges and barriers to KT we encountered in our professional practice as nurse educators. Our unique collaborative action research approach involved cycles of action, reflection, and revision which used our values as standards of judgment in an effort to practice authentically. Our data analysis revealed key elements of collaborative reflective dialogue that evoke multiple ways of knowing, inspire authenticity, and improve learning as the basis of improving practice related to KT. We validated our findings through personal and social validation procedures. Our contribution to a culture of inquiry allowed for co-construction of knowledge to reframe our understanding of KT as a holistic, active process which reflects the essence of who we are and what we do.

An Abstract Algebraic Theory of L-Fuzzy Relations for Relational Databases

Classical relational databases lack proper ways to manage certain real-world situations including imprecise or uncertain data. Fuzzy databases overcome this limitation by allowing each entry in the table to be a fuzzy set where each element of the corresponding domain is assigned a membership degree from the real interval [0…1]. But this fuzzy mechanism becomes inappropriate in modelling scenarios where data might be incomparable. Therefore, we become interested in further generalization of fuzzy database into L-fuzzy database. In such a database, the characteristic function for a fuzzy set maps to an arbitrary complete Brouwerian lattice L. From the query language perspectives, the language of fuzzy database, FSQL extends the regular Structured Query Language (SQL) by adding fuzzy specific constructions. In addition to that, L-fuzzy query language LFSQL introduces appropriate linguistic operations to define and manipulate inexact data in an L-fuzzy database. This research mainly focuses on defining the semantics of LFSQL. However, it requires an abstract algebraic theory which can be used to prove all the properties of, and operations on, L-fuzzy relations. In our study, we show that the theory of arrow categories forms a suitable framework for that. Therefore, we define the semantics of LFSQL in the abstract notion of an arrow category. In addition, we implement the operations of L-fuzzy relations in Haskell and develop a parser that translates algebraic expressions into our implementation.