Factors affecting the purchasing of insurance over the internet.

by Elaine Bien McKay.Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 36-38).ABSTRACT --- p.iiTABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.ivLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.viLIST OF TABLES --- p.viiChapter CHAPTER I --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1Chapter 1.0 --- Overview --- p.1Chapter 1.1 --- Background --- p.1Chapter 1.2 --- Research Objective --- p.2Chapter 1.3 --- Conceptual Model --- p.3Chapter 1.4 --- Outline of the Paper --- p.3Chapter CHAPTER II --- A BACKGROUND OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRYChapter 2.0 --- Overview --- p.4Chapter 2.1 --- Hong Kong - General Statistics --- p.4Chapter 2.2 --- Hong Kong Insurance Market --- p.5Chapter 2.3 --- The Online Insurance MarketChapter 2.3.1 --- Hong Kong Insurance Online --- p.6Chapter 2.3.2 --- United States Insurance Online --- p.7Chapter 2.4 --- Conceptual Framework --- p.9Chapter 2.4.1 --- Product Related Factors --- p.10Chapter 2.4.2 --- Internet Related Factors --- p.11Chapter 2.4.3 --- Personal Characteristics --- p.12Chapter 2.4.4 --- Attitudes and Intentions --- p.13Chapter CHAPTER III --- RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGYChapter 3.0 --- Overview --- p.14Chapter 3.1 --- Data Collection --- p.14Chapter 3.2 --- Operationalization --- p.15Chapter 3.3 --- Data Analysis --- p.17Chapter CHAPTER IV --- ANALYSIS AND RESULTSChapter 4.0 --- Overview --- p.19Chapter 4.1 --- Measurement Model Evaluation --- p.19Chapter 4.2 --- Structural Model Results --- p.20Chapter CHAPTER V --- CONCLUSIONChapter 5.0 --- Overview --- p.23Chapter 5.1 --- Managerial Implications --- p.23Chapter 5.2 --- Limitations --- p.25APPENDIXBIBLIOGRAPH

The psychology of perfectionism: An introduction

Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality disposition characterized by striving for flawlessness and setting exceedingly high standards of performance accompanied by overly critical evaluations of one’s behavior. Perfectionism is a complex characteristic. It comes in different forms and has various aspects. This chapter has a dual purpose: It aims to serve as an introduction to “The Psychology of Perfectionism” (the edited book you are holding in your hands) and an introduction to the psychology of perfectionism (what the book is about). To these aims, I first present a brief history of perfectionism theory and research. Then I introduce the two-factor theory of perfectionism--differentiating perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns--with the intention to provide readers with a conceptual framework that may serve as a “compass” guiding them through the different models and measures of perfectionism they will encounter in this book. Going beyond the two-factor model, I next introduce three aspects of perfectionism that are important for a comprehensive understanding of perfectionism: other-oriented perfectionism, perfectionistic self-presentation, and perfectionism cognitions. The chapter will conclude with a brief overview of the organization of the book and the contents of the individual chapters

Book Review T. Rothengatter & R.D. Huguenin (Eds.) Traffic and transport psychology: Theory and applications. Amsterdam, Elsevier

The book is the selected proceedings of the second international conference of traffic and transport psychology (TTP) held in Bern, Switzerland, in 2000. The first conference took place 1996 in Valencia, Spain, the third 2004 in Nottingham, UK (Rothengatter & CarbobellVaja, 1997; Underwood, 2005). A casual look at the three volumes from the conferences indicates that their structure and contents are similar. In the volume under review, keynote lectures, selected papers and poster presentations are included. A first part contains an introduction by the editors and three chapters addressing the general issue of theory in a field of applied research such as TTP. The remaining parts are dominated by reported empirical studies with some interspersed overview, conceptual, or discussion chapters. Truthfully representing current TTP research, these include road user characteristics (cognition and performance, social and differential psychology, and impairment), road safety (driver information and support systems, enforcement and training, and selection and rehabilitation), and mobility and the environmen

Tactical enacting : a grounded theory : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

This research uses classic grounded theory methodology to produce a grounded theory of tactical enacting. Forty two participants were drawn from the population of learning advisors working in a variety of tertiary education organisations in New Zealand. Data consisted of field notes and transcripts from observations, interviews and a group workshop/discussion and were analysed using all procedures that comprise classic grounded theory methodology. The thesis of this thesis is that learning advisors express a concern for role performance and continually resolve that concern through tactical enacting. In tactical enacting, learning advisors are working tactically towards a variety of ends. These ends include a performance identity and a role critical to organisational agendas. A role critical to organisational agendas is one which makes a significant contribution to student success outcomes and organisational performance. Making a strong contribution to student success and organisational performance helps learning advisors construct the desired professional identity for themselves and establish their role as valuable in the eyes of others and the organisation. Tactical enacting means advisors perform their role tactically in order to meet their own professional standards as well as the needs and expectations of students and the organisation and to help secure their place within tertiary education. However, in tactical enacting, learning advisors constitute themselves as the performing subject, subject to and subjecting themselves to the performativity discourse of the contemporary tertiary education organisation. At the same time, in tactical enacting, learning advisors constitute themselves as the ethical subject in an effort not to be governed by performativity alone and to enable them to meet organisational, student and their own expectations of how they should behave. This research contributes to knowledge in three main areas. Firstly, to knowledge and practice in relation to professional roles and organisations; specifically, the learning advisor role in the contemporary tertiary education organisation in New Zealand. Secondly, to research; specifically, to the scholarship of learning advising, and, lastly, to research method; specifically, to classic grounded theory methodology, and to an approach that applies a Foucauldian analytical framework to a discussion of an emergent grounded theory

A quantum leap in informal benchmarking : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Organisational Excellence at Massey University, Palmerston North, Manawatu, New Zealand

Despite the paucity of available literature on informal benchmarking and the consequential lack of its understanding, informal benchmarking has outranked established benchmarking (formal), placing 4th out of 20 of the most used business improvement tools, based on a 2008 Global Benchmarking Network (GBN) survey of 450 organisations worldwide. This paradox is exacerbated by the growing popularity of informal benchmarking, even though it is not correspondingly as effective as it is widely used. Therefore, two significant gaps need be filled: firstly, to develop a theoretical understanding of, and secondly, to investigate how to increase the effectiveness of informal benchmarking as an organisational improvement tool. A pragmatic mixed method quantitative-qualitative sequential design using an abductivedeductive- inductive approach is adopted. The product of abduction is a preliminary conceptual model of informal benchmarking from the transdisciplinary academic review of benchmarking, informal learning, organisation learning and knowledge management, augmented by concepts on quantum thinking, innovation and positive deviance. The model informs the quantitative survey questionnaire, whose deductive results of 81 survey responses from 14 countries informs the in-depth semi-structured interviews of 16 informants from 7 countries, the resulting dataset being inductively coded into conceptuallydriven dendrograms. The integrated findings refine the conceptual model of informal benchmarking, and develops a toolset-based application model (a pragmatic outcome of the conceptual model), a maturity assessment framework and an eco-system strategy. From here, an informal benchmarking roadmap is synthesised, representing a sustainable platform for informal benchmarking to be deployed as an effective organisational improvement initiative. The research sets the stage for a leap in scholarly understanding of informal benchmarking in the wider context of business and organisational improvement, and offers organisational improvement practitioners an invaluable cost-effective solution in a time-scarce executive world. This pragmatic study of informal benchmarking has possibly unleashed a different epistemological stance within the benchmarking field, by advocating an organic approach to benchmarking, in contrast to the highly methodical approaches associated with conventional benchmarking

Navigation in hypermedia learning systems: Experts vs. novices

With the advancement of Web technology, hypermedia learning systems are becoming more widespread in educational settings. Hypermedia learning systems present course content with non-sequential formats, so students are required to develop learning paths by themselves. Yet, empirical evidence indicates that not all students can benefit from hypermedia learning. Research into individual differences suggests that prior knowledge has significant effects on student learning in hypermedia systems, with experts and novices showing different preferences to the use of hypermedia learning systems and requiring different levels of navigation support. It is therefore essential to develop a mechanism to help designers understand the needs of experts and novices. To address this issue, this paper presents a framework to illustrate the needs of students with different levels of prior knowledge by analyzing the findings of previous research. The overall aim of this framework is to integrate students’ prior knowledge into the design of hypermedia learning systems. Finally, implications for the design of hypermedia learning systems are discussed

Improving teaching and learning for chemical equilibrium and acids and bases in Year 12 chemistry : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MAster of Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The aims of this action research study were to develop, implement, and test the efficacy of four strategies designed to improve the teaching and learning of chemical equilibrium and acids and bases in year 12 chemistry. The study took place in a New Zealand secondary school, with two year 12 chemistry teachers and fifteen randomly selected students taking part. Semi-structured interviews used to elicit students' pre-teaching mental models of concepts within chemical equilibrium and acids and bases revealed a range of misconceptions and a limited ability to represent the sub-microscopic level of chemistry concepts. Teachers then used information from the interviews to inform the planning of lessons for each topic. The new teaching strategies employed by the teachers centred around Johnstone's three levels of chemistry; using a macroscopic, sub-microscopic, symbolic sequence during teacher explanations of concepts. Particular emphasis was placed on modelling the sub-microscopic level of each concept with magnetic cardboard dots and student role plays. The action research process allows teachers to improve their own understandings and teaching practices through cycles of planning, action, observation and reflection. Although the action research methodology used here was new to both teachers at the start of the study, it provided a useful structure in which to trial the new strategies. Reflection in action research is an opportunity for teachers to reflect on, and evaluate, the effects of their action. This study demonstrates that understanding of concepts within chemical equilibrium and acids and bases is significantly improved if the sub-microscopic level of concepts is represented. For the students in this study, the preferred method of representing the sub-microscopic level was with cardboard dots rather than student role plays. Ideally, students themselves need to practise representing the sub-microscopic level with cardboard dots or other concrete models if they are to gain better understanding of the sub-microscopic level

Trust based service relationship: the roles of benevolence, competence, and culture.

Sit Yau Fai.Thesis submitted in: July 2005.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-66).Abstracts in English and Chinese.ABSTRACT (ENGLISH) --- p.iABSTRACT (CHINESE) --- p.iiiTABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.ivLIST OF TABLES --- p.viLIST OF FIGURES --- p.viiChapter CHAPTER ONE --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1Chapter 1.1 --- Overview --- p.1Chapter 1.2 --- Background and Purpose --- p.1Chapter 1.3 --- Significance of this Thesis --- p.3Chapter 1.4 --- Outline of this Thesis --- p.4Chapter CHAPTER TWO --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.6Chapter 2.1 --- Overview --- p.6Chapter 2.2 --- Service Marketing and Trust --- p.6Chapter 2.2.1 --- Dimensions of Trust --- p.7Chapter 2.2.2 --- Benevolence and Competence Trust --- p.7Chapter 2.3 --- Trust Based Service Relationship and Customer Reactions --- p.9Chapter 2.3.1 --- Satisfaction and Service Relationship --- p.10Chapter 2.3.2 --- Behavioral Intentions and Service Relationship --- p.11Chapter 2.4 --- "Culture, Self-Construals and Trust" --- p.12Chapter CHAPTER THREE --- THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT --- p.15Chapter 3.1 --- Overview --- p.15Chapter 3.2 --- Effectiveness of Benevolence and Competence Trust --- p.15Chapter 3.3 --- Self-Construals and Service Failure --- p.19Chapter 3.3.1 --- Satisfaction and Repatronage Intention --- p.22Chapter 3.3.2 --- Complaint Intention --- p.24Chapter CHAPTER FOUR --- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY --- p.24Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.24Chapter 4.2 --- Research Design --- p.24Chapter 4.3 --- Procedures --- p.25Chapter 4.4 --- Participants --- p.26Chapter 4.5 --- Measures --- p.27Chapter CHAPTER FIVE --- RESEARCH FINDINGS --- p.29Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.29Chapter 5.2 --- Manipulation Checks --- p.29Chapter 5.3 --- Results --- p.30Chapter 5.3.1 --- Main Effects of Service Relationship --- p.32Chapter 5.3.2 --- Interaction Effects of Service Relationship --- p.34Chapter 5.3.2.1 --- Satisfaction --- p.34Chapter 5.3.2.2 --- Repatronage Intention --- p.37Chapter 5.3.2.3 --- Complaint Intention --- p.39Chapter CHAPTER SIX --- CONCLUSION --- p.43Chapter 6.1 --- Overview --- p.43Chapter 6.2 --- Discussion --- p.43Chapter 6.3 --- Limitations and Future Research --- p.48APPENDIX I Service Scenarios --- p.51APPENDIX II Demographics Profile --- p.53APPENDIX III Measures of Trust Used in the Study --- p.54APPENDIX IV Self-Construal Scale --- p.55REFERENCES --- p.5

Automated syntactic mediation for Web service integration

As the Web Services and Grid community adopt Semantic Web technology, we observe a shift towards higher-level workflow composition and service discovery practices. While this provides excellent functionality to non-expert users, more sophisticated middleware is required to hide the details of service invocation and service integration. An investigation of a common Bioinformatics use case reveals that the execution of high-level workflow designs requires additional processing to harmonise syntactically incompatible service interfaces. In this paper, we present an architecture to support the automatic reconciliation of data formats in such Web Service worklflows. The mediation of data is driven by ontologies that encapsulate the information contained in heterogeneous data structures supplying a common, conceptual data representation. Data conversion is carried out by a Configurable Mediator component, consuming mappings between \xml schemas and \owl ontologies. We describe our system and give examples of our mapping language against the background of a Bioinformatics use case

To develop a new mineral carbonation process that have a high efficiency in CO2 absorption into industry slag using low energy mechanical milling

Increase in the CO2 emission in atmosphere due to the combustion of fossil fuels has caused serious global warming. Electricity generation, tranportation, and industrial waste are the main sectors indentified to contribute to the emission of CO2 in Malaysia. In dealing with this issue, the absorption of CO2 into industrial waste was experimentally studied by the utilization of mechanical grinding method. This research is to aim a development of new mineral carbonation process that has a high efficiency in the capture and storage of CO2 with low energy consumption. In the first stage of this study, the behavior of CO2 absorption on electric arc furnace and ladle furnace slag was studied by low energy mechanical milling It was found that the absorption is occured during milling. CO2 was stored into the slag mainly as CaCO3. Thus this indicates that the CO2 can be stored permanently inside the slag with this method. In the next stage, the effect of dissolution of metal element into water on the behavior of CO2 absorption was investigated by leaching test experiment. It was found that , concentration value of Fe in pure water is higher but in river water the concentration is lower, the dissolve concentration decreased with the increased in the number of the leaching time. Concentration will be increased at the earlier stage before it decreased at final of concentration. This case because the liquid became saturated and cannot be to dissolved. After the pH steeply increased gradually at an early stage of the elution of slag, it slightly decreased. The pH decreased with the increased in the number of elution. The changes of pH in leaching test it seemed to depend on the content of CaO in the slag. For mechanism of CO2 absorption, morphological change of slag were study and the slag were characteried by using XRD, FE-SEM, and EDS