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Abstract Whether it is an abandoned New Year's Resolution or difficulty controlling procrastination, most can attest to failing to meet a goal. With ubiquitous computing, there is potential to support users' goals on a constant basis with pervasive technology elements such as integrated sensors and software. This study serves as a pilot for the behavior change component of a ubiquitous system, Game as Life, Life as Game (GALLAG), and how goal creation and motivation can be positively altered with the inclusion of a specific framework for users to follow. The study looked to find the efficacy of support tools (goal creation, reflection on past experience, and behavior change techniques and self-tracking) on creating a plan to reach a behavior goal, without the help of technology. Technology was ignored to focus on the effect of a framework for goal and plan generation. Over two weeks, there were 11 participants in the study; data collected was qualitative in the form of three video-recorded interview sessions, with quantitative data in the form of surveys. Participants were presented with support tools and tasked with picking a goal to work towards, as well as creating a plan to reach that goal. It was found that users struggled to create specific and detailed plans, even with the support tools provided, but this improved after the first meeting. Past experience was the most helpful support tool for creating better plans, however participants used this tool before being briefed on it. These results suggest a system should incorporate behavior change, self-tracking, and past experience earlier in the plan creation experience, allowing users a more concrete knowledge of these tools before beginning plan creation. By including these ideas in a framework, GALLAG can later implement that framework to better support users with a physical system. Keywords: behavior change, goal creation, motivation, self-efficacy, ubiquitous computing, pervasive game, human computer interaction
ContributorsAbbruzzese, Eric Robert (Author) / Burleson, Winslow (Thesis director) / Lozano, Cecil (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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This study investigated the potential efficacy of HEAL International's prevention education program in inducing health behavior change in HIV/AIDS, malaria, and communicable disease to children in grade levels ranging from primary school to secondary school. The health education program was aimed at changing health behavior by increasing knowledge. This increase in knowledge was analyzed as a modifying factor in the Health Belief Model suggesting that knowledge, along with five other modifying factors, are directly responsible for an individual's health perceptions. These health perceptions ultimately result in an individual's health behavior. As a result, it is argued that an increase in knowledge can lead to health behavior change so long as it is coupled with a strong theoretical framework. Administering pre-evaluations at the beginning of the program, post evaluations at the end of the program, and a second post evaluation again two months later completed the evaluation. It was hypothesized that if there was a significant difference between the percent of correct answers at the pre-evaluation compared the second post-evaluation then there is evidence that HEAL's health education program is, or at least has the potential to, create sustainable health behavior change. A paired samples t-test was completed on the data and showed a statistically significant difference between the percent of correct answers at pre-evaluation and the percent of correct answers at second post-evaluation. These results indicated that the number of students with a comprehensive knowledge of the subjects that HEAL taught during the program had increased. It was concluded that the results of the study indicate evidence that HEAL's program has the potential to deliver sustainable health behavior change but that it will be more quantifiable once HEAL is able to adopt a theoretical framework on which to base future programs.
ContributorsWright, Mia Christina (Author) / Jacobs, Bertram (Thesis director) / Salamone, Damien (Committee member) / Ayers, Stephanie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Many individuals are not following healthy lifestyles as evidenced by the high obesity rates and poor physical activity levels. Many do not know how to eat healthy and exercise effectively, especially given busy schedules and no time to cook or go to the gym. However, people do spend a significant amount of time on their mobile device using social media. This outlet can potentially be used to inspire and teach individuals how to cook healthy simple meals, or find motivation to get off the couch for some exercise. In this study, strategies were identified that would increase the comments, likes, and followers of the investigator's Instagrams, which were designed to motivate followers to live a healthier lifestyle. Initially, 462 posts were assessed retrospectively to determine how the number of likes and comments were influenced by hashtags, category of posts (nutrition, fitness, or inspiration), and/or type of app, PicPlayPost, Instaframe, and the updated Instagram. These results were used in a 1-month prospective study to increase likes and followers to the investigator's Instagrams. In the retrospective study, it was determined that hashtags influenced the number of comments and likes across the categories and that the PicPlayPost app increased the likes in all categories. Hence, for the prospective study, the investigator wrote 1 nutrition and 1 fitness post daily for 28 days using a minimum of 15 hashtags per post. In addition, 3 nutrition posts and 3 fitness posts per week used the PicPlayPost app. This posting strategy increased the number of likes per post by 100%, and the number of followers increased from 369 to 1082 in one month. Interestingly, the nutrition posts received 27% more likes than the fitness posts, and the PicPlayPost app increased comments by 134%. In conclusion, the use of hashtags, PicPlayPost, and Instaframe apps increased the likes and comments on social media. These strategies may increase audience's attention on a certain topic and be used to improve individuals' lifestyles.
ContributorsTomasso, Bernice Grace (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis director) / Dixon, Kathy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
As the sustainability issue of solid waste management magnifies worldwide, organizations are considering making their offices or operations Zero Waste, but many do not understand how or where to start. With the goal of contributing insights and advice to future designers and managers of Zero Waste programs, this thesis explores notable attributes of existing Zero Waste programs through case interviews and documents the researcher’s own journey in designing and executing a Zero Waste program at the Sprouts Farmers Market headquarters. The result is a detailed account that reveals how the Sprouts program was executed, how it could be improved, and which practices future Zero Waste program managers should use to maximize the success of their program. These practices include building personal and trusting relationships with the network of people involved; remaining flexible, patient and passionate; conducting thorough quantitative research on the proposed changes; and tailoring communication to effectively motivate behavior change.
ContributorsPowell, Emily Eva (Author) / Behravesh, Shirley-Ann (Thesis director) / Ferrin, Erika (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Sustainability is a critical global issue that requires urgent action at all levels, as emphasized by the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Education has been identified as a key driver for advancing sustainability globally, and higher education institutions are uniquely positioned to contribute to the social, economic, and environmental transformations required to tackle the world's most pressing issues due to their capacities to produce groundbreaking research, innovative solutions, and critical education to address sustainability issues across disciplines. However, these efforts alone are not enough to confront the sustainability challenges we face in the present and future, as ultimately, change for sustainability must occur in human behavior at the community and individual levels. Universities can play a key role in promoting behavior change due to their status as living laboratories, and their responsibility to prepare students, regardless of discipline, for addressing the challenges they will face as leaders in the future. By addressing student behavior change for sustainability, universities can create a model for changing community behaviors and produce future leaders in all disciplines that will be prepared to confront global sustainability issues. As a university recognized for its dedication to sustainability, this study addresses barriers to behavior change for sustainability in students at Arizona State University (ASU). Despite ASU’s championing of sustainability, the overall university community has yet to consistently practice sustainable behaviors, especially students. To understand why sustainable behaviors are not being practiced at ASU, interviews with ASU students, staff, and faculty find barriers to behavior change at the university pertaining to university infrastructure, campus culture, messaging, and student engagement. The study recommends actions to address these issues, as well as recommends further research into the individual sustainability issues where these barriers occur.
ContributorsQuigley, Elizabeth (Author) / Kappes, Janelle (Thesis director) / Silova, Iveta (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
As a cause of negative economic, societal, and environmental effects, food waste is increasingly being seen as a sustainability issue that needs to be addressed. Reduction of food waste is preferred to recycling because it reduces the financial burden and technological innovations needed to address the issue. While there are many different approaches to reduce food waste, this paper investigates dynamic social norms as an avenue for reducing food waste. Recent studies showcased the effectiveness of using dynamic social norms to reduce meat consumption and the use of to-go cups. However, there appears to be a gap in research that investigates the impact of dynamic social norms in U.S. university community dining settings. This study piloted the use of dynamic social norms to intervene in post-consumer food waste behaviors at Arizona State University. Specifically, this study compared food waste amounts in a location with and without an intervention tool as well as conducted interviews to monitor any self-reported behavior change. Results show that dynamic social norms can promote behavior change in terms of food waste when compared to a control location without the intervention. Further, this study advocates for monitoring food habits through both quantitative and qualitative analysis in order to identify potential behavior changes that could not be captured to the same extent by a mono-methodological approach.
ContributorsCampbell, Hailey Paige (Author) / Fischer, Daniel (Thesis director) / Auustin-Behravesh, Shirley-Ann (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor, Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05