This report is concerned with using design to encourage reflective behavioral change through the use of everyday objects. Many designers have studied behavioral change in the context of sustainability and social interaction through information technology in the field of industrial design. While lacking of enough philosophical depth, those designs are mainly adopting symptom-focused approaches, which does not lead to a meaningful experience for users. The goal of the report is to create a reflective experience for behavioral change. My approach is to create a sense of situatedness, which is a holistic experience revolving around a product where designed artifacts recursively derive their meaning and is simultaneously the object of interpretation. This text will illustrate how the strategy of “playful disruption” can be applied to achieve the sense of situatedness in its three different levels: Action, Environment and Nostalgia. If the outcomes are intended to achieve reflective behavioral change, I contest that both playfulness and disruption are necessary; the strategy of “playful disruption” is most effective when applied in a subtle way. While studies of behavior change tend to focus on technology use, this research suggests that behavior change can be initiated in the physical environment through redesign of everyday objects and that subtly disrupt everyday routines. / text

archives@tulane.edu / People living through changes in their surroundings react to it unexpectedly. Exogenous political, economic and legal changes impact individual behavior in an unpredictable manner. This dissertation uses three papers to give evidence of exogenous shocks affecting individual behavior. First, I study the impact of an economic change. Using business cycle indicators, I show that a change in the employment status of parents causes them to invest higher time with their children instead of exploring new job opportunities in the early months of unemployment. The short term impact of unemployment is favorable for child development even though literature has shown that long term unemployment is detrimental to child well-being. Second, I explore the impact of a spillover of a policy intended to save energy. The Daylight Savings Time was implemented during the World Wars to conserve energy. Over the decades, its impact on energy conservation has diminished. My research shows that there are clear evidences of serious disruption in daily lives of those subjected to the clock change twice a year, causing higher stress and lower sleep in the early weeks of the time change. Third, I study the legalization of medical marijuana on consumption of marijuana and alcohol patterns, as well as criminal behavior among those subjected to it. The results show that even though there is a slight increase in marijuana and alcohol consumption among adults, there is no evidence to support that it encourages teenagers to explore marijuana consumption. There is also no evidence of any change in criminal behavior. / 1 / Sanjukta Basu

Background: Countries in sub-Saharan Africa are scaling up access to Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) services as a strategy for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. The international and national push to achieve targets for anti-retroviral therapy scale up has emphasised VCT as an entry point to treatment, with follow-up mostly directed at those who test positive. Yet over 60% of those testing are HIV negative. Limited understanding of how HIV voluntary counselling and testing, and receipt of a negative result impact on sexual behaviour has resulted in underdeveloped support for those testing HIV negative. Aims: To gain the perspective of those who have tested HIV-negative on the following: (1) the decision making process that precedes attendance for voluntary counselling and testing; (2) how voluntary counselling and a negative test result influence sexual behavioural intentions and reported subsequent behaviour; and (3) support systems and networks that would enhance the respondent’s ability to remain HIV negative. Method: Qualitative longitudinal study utilising semi-structured interviews, six months apart, with people who have tested negative and three one-off focus group discussions with counsellors. Participants were purposively sampled from VCT centres in two mining towns in Zambia. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically with the aid of the qualitative data analysis software, Nvivo7. Cross-sectional analysis of all data sets was conducted and paired transcripts were analysed longitudinally to assess change over time. Results: Forty-two HIV-negative people were interviewed, with thirty-one returning for the follow-up interview (74% return rate). VCT was perceived as ‚testing for HIV‛. Before attending VCT most participants had gone through a protracted period of angst, resulting in a resolution to reduce number of partners, use condoms or abstain from sex. Counselling affirmed life choices, rather than initiating them. Although perception of the risk of HIV increased, misconceptions about HIV transmission persisted post-counselling. The negative test result provided impetus and resolve to implement or maintain life change. Themes identified were: (1) recognising personal susceptibility to HIV infection; (2) emotional and cognitive engagement with the problem of testing; (3) a driving need to know status (regardless of test result); and (4) empowerment and being in control providing the ability to plan for the future. Analysis of post-test support needs revealed two further themes: (1) reinforcement of behaviour change through additional knowledge, supportive networks, and life-skills training; and (2) access to recreational activities. There was no reported post-test increase in unsafe sexual behaviour among those that returned for the follow-up interview. Focus group findings reinforced those from interviews. Conclusions: This study has shown that in this population of people who tested HIV-negative: 1. the majority made life changes before attending VCT and used VCT to know their status 2. counselling consolidated pre-test decisions about risk behaviour and testing provided motivation to adopt safer behaviour and to maintain previous low- or no-risk behaviour and 3. there is a felt need for post-testing recreational activities, further HIV/AIDS education and participation in HIV prevention activities. Recommendations include: (1) the promotion of community-based interactive one-to-one and group information, education and communication (IEC) (to aid understanding and progression to the point where testing appears to be of optimum benefit) ; (2) referral to post-test support options such as support groups and inclusion on a text messaging list should be made available; and (3) post-test intervention strategies, for example, provision of result-specific IEC materials and active involvement in prevention activities should be developed and evaluated.

The problem with which this study is concerned is a comparison of the effects of three methods of focused feedback upon selected client behaviors in individual counseling. This study has a twofold purpose. The first is to examine which of three methods of focused feedback (videotape, audiotape, or verbal) is most effective in producing selected behavioral changes in clients seen in individual counseling. The second is to compare the effects of the three methods of focused feedback on individual clients with the effects of a traditional individual counseling approach that did not utilize focused feedback.

No description available.

This paper chronicles the creation of the smartphone application, `Waste Not, Want Not'. The application is designed to create sustainable habits and change wasteful behaviors in order to reduce personal waste production. The paper explores related works in the fields of environmental science, psychology, and computer science. These related studies establish the need for an application focused on personal waste reduction and the means to build such an application. The design process for the application follows User Experience Design's four phases: Research, Sketch, Design, and Evaluation. The target audience for the application is surveyed and imagined. Next, a basic outline of the application's functionality is created. From this outline, a prototype of the application is built. This prototype undergoes usability testing. It ranks above the average for each of the three usability metrics: effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction. The paper then explores possible expansions and implementations of the application.

Crack cocaine users need efficacious treatment options to address triggers and cravings for the drug. The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study was to explore the recovery narratives of 3 purposefully selected substance abuse counselors who were once addicted to crack cocaine and whether or not these narratives fit within the 5 stages of the transtheoretical model of change (TTM). The TTM was used in this study to explore the stages of change in those with prior addiction regarding the motivational strategies needed to promote change. Data collected in face to face interviews were organized using thematic content analysis and QDA Minor Lite analysis software. Study results showed that the action stage seems the be the most promising focus for change. Each participant once in the action stage moved between action and relapse until action and maintenance became solidified in their mindset. The action stage, therefore led to social change for the individual, their family, and the community in which they lived. Therefore, the process of recover does fit within the stages of the TTM, however, relapse and risk of relapse plays a vital part of not making the stages qualitatively distinct. The results of the study show that various factors create the addiction process and help to recover from it. However, self-actualization and self-determination prove to be the motivating factors of change and recovery. The findings contribute to social change by understanding how the recovery stories fit within the stages of the TTM and how further understanding of the relapse process is necessary to possibly get to a definitive termination stage.

abstract: The rise of meat consumption in the United States has been dramatic over the past half century due to demographic changes. The increase in meat is visible in Mexico as well due to expanding economic interest in cattle production plus increased population and rising incomes. The worst consequences of our modern food system are in factory farming of animals, which requires a greater amount of resources than for producing grains, fruits, and vegetables. The specific effects of meat consumption highlight the importance of understanding humans as actors in the food system. In order to explore the drivers of consumer food and meat choice, my research answered the two questions: What factors influence meat consumption? and How do cultural and social norms influence decisions to consume certain types and amounts of meat? Qualitative interviews were conducted with Mexican-American respondents between age 20 and 29 as the population of interest because of their regional dominance in the study area of Tempe, AZ and because of the high prevalence of meat in their cultural diets. Looking at millennials in particular is crucial because as the first generation born with technology and Internet as constants, they have formed unique characteristics like openness to change and new perspectives. My sample population communicated motivations and constraints to their overall consumption patterns and the frequency and types of meat consumed. This study found that cost and convenience were the driving factors behind food choice, given the hectic schedules of the sample population, who were mostly students at Arizona State University. Culture played an important role in respondents' heavy meat consumption given their exposure to meat's centrality in traditional Mexican meals. Acculturation did not play an extensive role because prominent Mexican culture in the Southwest U.S. allowed respondents' families access to traditional food while living in the US. The lack of sustainability knowledge and its connection to food choice indicates the importance of marketing that contextualizes decreased meat consumption. Rather than focusing solely on environmental outcomes, marketing tools highlighting health, financial, and economic benefits of eating less meat would encourage more consumers to decrease consumption. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Sustainability 2014

This article presents an analysis of the pro active social behavior construct based on the sociallearning theory. Self efficacy is briefly reviewed and discussed in the context of Bandura' s conceptual work. Reference is made to cognitive variables such as values and beliefs, as fundamental principies in the development of the pro active social behavior. I examine che distinctions between fears of failure, success, and rejection as they relate to the process of self sabotage. Comments are made on the transformation of meaning and its benefits on fear extinction. Finally, I briefly describe the principies of the associative neurophysiological conditioning as a therapeutic program for the management of emocional states by the individual. / Este artículo presenta un análisis del Comportamiento Social Pro Activo utilizando como modelo la teoría del aprendizaje social. Se revisa el concepto de autoeficacia, originalmente propuesto por Bandura, y se hace referencia a variables de tipo cognitivo tales como los sistemas de valores y creencias. Se examinan las distinciones entre el temor al fracaso, al éxito, al rechazo, y su relación con el proceso de autosabotaje. Asimismo se discute la importancia de la transformación del significado y sus beneficios en la extinción del temor. Se presenta un modelo conceptual del control de los estados emocionales y sus implicancias en el proceso de la acción. Finalmente, se describen las premisas fundamentales del Condicionamiento Neurofisiológico Asociativo como un programa terapéutico que facilita el manejo de los estados emocionales de la persona.

Uppsatsen berör den komplexa frågan om hur vatten värderas i landskapets ekosystem förhållande som en resurs till människan. Uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka vilka faktorer som är betydande för att ändra attityden till sötvatten och vilka tekniska lösningar, med fokus på avsaltningsanläggningar, som kan vara svaret till framtidens sötvattenproblematik för kustnära städer i Skåne. Genom kvantitativa observationer skapas en giltig teori av ”Skånsk vattenhantering 2120” byggd på generaliseringar av empirin. Därav är uppsatsen av en kvalitativ, induktiv, forskningskaraktär.Genom användningen av scenariometodik presenteras de hot och risker det konventionella vattensystemet kommer utgör för de kustnära städernas ekosystemen och samhällen i Skåne till följd av klimatförändringarna. Vattensystemets karaktär vilket förhindrar vattnet att följa dess naturliga kretslopp i samband med dess otillräckliga kapacitet medför att varken den ekologiska eller sociala dimensionen av hållbar utveckling uppnås. Dem identifierade trenderna för scenariot var: klimatförändringar, befolkning, landskap och vattenanvändning. Den mest betydande trenden visades vara vattenanvändning eftersom den rymmer de mänskliga faktorerna så som konsumtion, attityder och politik. / This paper touch the the complex issue regarding the value of water as a recourse for the ecosystem or for the human. The purpose is to analyse which factors that are of importance for changing the attitude towards freshwater, and what technical solutions, focusing on desalination plants, that can solve the future fresh water issue in the costal cities of Scania, Sweden. Through quantitative observations, a valid theory of "Scania Water Management 2120" is created based on generalizations of empire. Hence the essay holds a qualitative, inductive, research character.By the use of scenario methodology, the climate change effects on the costal cities in Scania will present the threats and risks the conventional water system pose, both for the ecosystem and the society. The systems characteristics which prevent the water from following its natural cycle in combination with its limited capacity entails that neither the ecological nor the social dimension of a sustainable developments is fulfilled. The identified trends for the scenario was: Climate change, Population, the Landscape and Water use. The trend of highest importance was shown to be Water use since it holds the human factors, such as consumption, attitudes and politics.