Attitudes and exercise adherence: Test of the Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Behaviour

Three studies of exercise adherence and attitudes are reported that tested the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. In a prospective study of adherence to a private fitness club, structural equation modelling path analysis showed that attitudinal and social normative components of the Theory of Reasoned Action accounted for 13.1% of the variance in adherence 4 months later, although only social norm significantly predicted intention. In a second study, the Theory of Planned Behaviour was used to predict both physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Path analyses showed that attitude and perceived control, but not social norm, predicted total physical activity. Physical activity was predicted from intentions and control over sedentary behaviour. Finally, an intervention study with previously sedentary adults showed that intentions to be active measured at the start and end of a 10-week intervention were associated with the planned behaviour variables. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed no significant multivariate effects for time on the planned behaviour variables measured before and after intervention. Qualitative data provided evidence that participants had a positive experience on the intervention programme and supported the role of social normative factors in the adherence process.     

Evaluating initial teacher education programmes: Perspectives from the Republic of Ireland

Research studies in teacher education have focussed on the outcomes of preparatory programmes. Less attention has been paid to the processes through which professional learning is acquired. This article argues that the study of attitudes and persuasion is very important in teacher education. The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion provides an integrative framework to analyze empirical evidence from a five-year study, conducted in the Republic of Ireland, which presents findings from an in-depth survey of 2348 respondents. This model highlights many salient issues that teacher educators should consider when engaged in programme development, delivery and evaluation.     

A Path Model for Students' Attitude to Writing a Thesis

Writing a thesis can be characterized as the ultimate self-regulated learning task. Consequently, it is often a source of great anxiety for may students of higher education. Therefore, identifying the correlates of students' attitude to writing a thesis is essential if students are to be guided successfully through this process. In this paper some correlates of students' attitude to writing a thesis are identified and a general hierarchical path model is proposed in which action-control belief variables are seen as having both direct and indirect effects on students' attitude to writing a thesis. Using a sample of 90 undergraduate and graduate students, a modified version of the proposed model in which action-control belief variables had only an indirect effect on students' attitude to writing a thesis mediated through two academic orientation variables was found to fit the data best. This final model accounted for a large proportion of the repeatable variance in the two academic orientation variables and in students' attitude to writing a thesis. Issues related to identifying students in need of extra help are discussed briefly.     

都市蒙古族社区的语言生活--新疆蒙古师范学校家属社区居民语言使用和语言态度调查

新疆蒙古师范学校是新疆唯一使用蒙古语授课的中等师范学校,其家属院是乌鲁木齐市唯一的蒙古族聚居社区.社区内居住的蒙古族均为双语或多语人,其中95.5%的人会蒙古语.蒙古语虽是蒙古族家庭主要用语,但三代之间使用的蒙古语频率不同;蒙汉通婚家庭则主要使用普通话.在不同交际场合,针对不同交际对象和话题,绝大多数蒙古族转换使用不同语言或方言.随时代变迁和观念变化,蒙古族内部的语言使用和语言态度出现分化,主要表现在代际和同代内部差异两方面.     

The 2-MEV Scale in the United States: A Measure of Children's Environmental Attitudes Based on the Theory of Ecological Attitude

The Environmental (2-MEV) Scale questionnaire was developed in Europe to measure adolescents’ attitudes and gauge the effectiveness of educational programs. It also formed the basis for the Theory of Ecological Attitudes. In the present four-year study, the 2-MEV Scale was modified for use with 9–12-year-old children in the United States. Initial results led to wording revisions and elimination of some items. Confirmatory Factor Analyses indicated that the remaining items fit the Theory of Ecological Attitude well. The Revised 2-MEV Scale was able to measure statistically significant changes in the environmental attitudes of participants in earth education programs but not in a control group. The Revised ENV Scale can be used to evaluate programs and to investigate the relationship between environmental attitudes and other variables.     

Students’ Attitudes Toward Chemistry Lessons: The Interaction Effect between Grade Level and Gender

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the interaction effect between grade level and gender with respect to students' attitudes toward chemistry lessons taught in secondary schools. The sample consisted of 954 chemistry students in grades Secondary 4–7 (approximately 16–19 years of age) in Hong Kong. Students' attitudes were surveyed using an attitude toward chemistry lessons scale (ATCLS), and subscale scores were produced on four dimensions: liking for chemistry theory lessons; liking for chemistry laboratory work; evaluative beliefs about school chemistry; and behavioral tendencies to learn chemistry. When the ATCLS data were subjected to two-way MANOVA, the interaction effect between grade level and gender on students' attitudes toward chemistry lessons was statistically significant. The interaction effect was attributable to scores on the theory lessons subscale and laboratory work subscale. Male students in Secondary 4 and 5 liked chemistry theory lessons more than their female counterparts. However, male students' liking for chemistry laboratory work declined when they progressed from Secondary 4 to Secondary 7; no such a significant decline in attitude toward chemistry laboratory work was found in females. Overall, both males and females were just marginally positive about chemistry lessons during the years of secondary schooling. Implications of these findings for curriculum design are discussed.     

Investigating the role of attitude in technology acceptance from an attitude strength perspective

Since Davis et al. originally formulated the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), research on information technology (IT) acceptance has yielded many extended and competing models. Empirical investigation of these models, however, has not consistently supported the mediating role of attitude in predicting user IT adoption, leading some researchers to claim a minimal role of attitude. In this study, we call for attention to the role of attitude in explaining technology acceptance behavior. In developing the research model, we draw on both the concept of attitude strength and previous technology acceptance studies. Empirical examination of our research hypotheses indicates that attitude toward system use fully mediates the effects of salient beliefs on behavioral intention when the attitude is strong, whereas it partially mediates the effects when the attitude is weak. Our findings provide additional insights in predicting technology acceptance behavior.     

Engineering Privacy by Design: Are engineers ready to live up to the challenge?

Organizations struggle to comply with legal requirements as well as customers’ calls for better data protection. On the implementation level, incorporation of privacy protections in products and services depends on the commitment of the engineers who design them. We interviewed six senior engineers, who work for globally leading IT corporations and research institutions, to investigate their motivation and ability to comply with privacy regulations. Our findings point to a lack of perceived responsibility, control, autonomy, and frustrations with interactions with the legal world. While we increasingly call on engineers to go beyond functional requirements and be responsive to human values in our increasingly technological society, we may be facing the dilemma of asking engineers to live up to a challenge they are currently not ready to embrace.     

Lecturer Receptivity to a major planned educational change in a centrally-controlled system at Rajabhat Universities in Thailand

Thailand passed the National Education Act (1999) which introduced the largest educational change there in over 50 years. This study investigated Lecturer Receptivity to that change at four Rajabhat Universities in the second year of the implementation stage during 2002. Receptivity was conceptualized as relating to eight aspects of the change. Data were collected by questionnaire (N = 659) with 50 stem-items answered in three perspectives. These were (1) how I expect the change to be planned, (2) how I think the change was really implemented, and (3) what my actual behavior was. Data were analyzed with a Rasch measurement model and 18 of the 50 stem-items fitted the measurement model. A linear scale of receptivity was created where the proportion of observed variance considered true was 95% and data were considered to be valid and reliable. The easiest aspect was comparison with the previous system and the hardest was participation in decision-making. For most items, the perspectives were found to be ordered from easy (perspective 1) to hard (perspective 3) as conceptualized.     

The mediating effects of habit on continuance intention

How do the behavioral-cognitive-emotional constructs of attitude, satisfaction, and habit drive consumer continuance intention of incumbent mobile technologies? From a survey of 528 consumers, we ran two structural equation models: model #1 is a base model of direct effects of attitudes and satisfaction on continuance intention; model #2 adds habit as a mediator variable. We show that consumer attitudes are stronger predictors of continuance intention, without mediation effects from habit. Consumer satisfaction only weakly predicts continuance intention and is mediated by habit. While satisfaction is correlated with consumer attitude, and satisfaction is correlated with habit, consumer attitudes seem unrelated to any habits. Attitude seems to be the strongest determinant of continuance intention; second, in the absence of compelling rational data, or given beliefs that competitors are largely undifferentiated, consumers might continue using the same product. Such complex interactions between variables may not be adequately captured in a straightforward variance model, however this study extends research in habit and continuance intention and provides for future research exploring the importance of habit over satisfaction and predominance of consumer attitudes in predicting continuance intention.