Low consumption of fruits and vegetables due to various barriers among food insecure populations presents a significant health risk across all ages. Nutrition education is available to low-income populations, but due to the complexity and variety of influences that determine dietary behavior, increasing nutrition knowledge as a singular approach does not successfully result in behavior change. This may be supported by low Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) redemption rates at farmers markets. There is a lack of data using the Theory of Planned Behavior to assess intentions to purchase fruits and vegetables by SNAP-Ed participants at farmers markets in Southern Illinois. There is also a lack of research on the interest in using social media for nutrition education on fruit and vegetable consumption in low-income populations throughout Southern Illinois. A cross-sectional survey was used to understand SNAP-Ed participants’ intentions to purchase fruits and vegetables at farmers markets, as well as their interest in receiving and using online nutrition education through various social media applications. A survey instrument was distributed to low-income participants of various SNAP-Ed nutrition classes hosted by the University of Illinois-Extension throughout the 16 southernmost counties of Illinois. The survey analyzed constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior and relationships with intentions using regression analysis. Additionally, questions regarding social media usage were used to determine what technologies and social media applications are most commonly used among the sample, and any interest in receiving nutrition education through such applications. A total sample of n=189 SNAP-Ed participants completed the survey. The study found that attitude regarding fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets was the strongest predictor of intent to purchase fruits and vegetables for SNAP-Ed participants who receive SNAP benefits. Second, online nutrition education focused on fruit and vegetable purchases at farmers markets may be more generalizable regarding certain socio-demographic factors for SNAP-Ed participants who receive SNAP benefits. Third, results from the study demonstrate that 76.9% of respondents had Internet access, which is higher than current national rates for Internet accessibility in rural areas. Therefore, it is important to consider an increased Internet accessibility beyond at-home broadband coverage, which may include public libraries, work, school, or on a Smartphone. The most important socio-demographic characteristic to consider regarding social media use was age in the context of generations (Millennials, Working Adults, Seniors). Overall, SNAP-Ed participants were most likely to exhibit interest in nutrition education from text messages, email, or on Facebook. SNAP-Ed participants would like to receive online nutrition education via email (30.1%), Facebook (24.7%), and text messaging (21.0%). Online nutrition education in the form of email, Facebook, and text messaging would be the most successful in terms of recruitment and interaction for SNAP-Ed participants. Therefore, using social media to deliver nutrition education may be an effective supplement to reinforce the current classroom curriculum used in SNAP-Ed programming. Findings from this study support the use of online nutrition education through social media applications as an avenue to increase fruit and vegetable purchases at farmers markets in the Southern Illinois Mississippi Delta Region.

Entrepreneurs face constraints that more mature organizations may not. These constraints cause unique pressures within entrepreneurship. Although ethics and entrepreneurship have individually received much attention in the academic literature, not enough research has investigated ethics within entrepreneurship. This study addresses the need of ethics research within entrepreneurship. Utilizing the theory of planned behavior, this research investigates the ethical decision making process of entrepreneurs. Not all ethical situations are created equally, and not all entrepreneurs are created equally. The ethical environment of any situation can be financially concerned or socially concerned. Likewise, entrepreneurs can be motivated by a private financial gain or a social impact. A multi-scenario approach known as policy-capturing is used to examine the relative importance entrepreneurs place on attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and self-identity when faced with a financial and a social ethical decision. The findings suggest that the environment does affect the ethical decision making process as defined by the relative importance of the variables. Within each environment, personal demographic variables of entrepreneurs were also found to affect their ethical decision making process. Such variables included entrepreneurial orientation, gender, love of money, financial security, spirituality/religiosity, idealism, and relativism. By considering the effects of the ethical environment along with the demographics of the entrepreneur, potential investors may be able to more accurately gauge investment opportunities. Implications of the findings, limitations of the study, and future research areas are discussed.

Houve um crescimento substancial constatado nos últimos anos no número de pessoas adotando dietas veganas em várias áreas do mundo, incluindo nas Américas, na Europa e em diferentes regiões da Ásia. Em 2012, já existiam cerca de 16 milhões, 5 milhões e 1,68 milhão de pessoas veganas nos Estados Unidos, Brasil e Inglaterra, respectivamente. Questões de saúde, de meio ambiente e de direitos dos animais são algumas das preocupações do consumidor vegano. Essas causalidades também são características do consumo consciente. O consumo de produtos está conduzido por fatores econômicos, sociais, culturais, pessoais e ambientais que atuam sobre o fator a decisão de compra e de o comportamento do consumidor. Nesse sentido, questiona-se qual é o perfil e suas principais motivações que influenciam o comportamento do consumidor vegano no Brasil Para obter essa resposta, foram escritos dois artigos, a fim de atender os seguintes objetivos: Artigo I) contextualizar o estado da arte do consumo vegano; e Artigo II) caracterizar o perfil dos consumidores veganos; e identificar e analisar as motivações que orientam e influenciam o comportamento de consumidores veganos, com base na Teoria do Comportamento Planejado (TCP). Para o consumidor vegano, a TCP auxilia na abordagem das motivações que fazem parte para a compreensão do comportamento do consumidor planejado. Os resultados encontrados no primeiro artigo apresentam que as pesquisas sobre o consumo vegano cresce a partir de 2009, sendo um dos países que mais pesquisam sobre o assunto são os Estados Unidos, com 22 artigos. Além disso, ressalta-se que ao longo dos anos foram descobertas novas pesquisas que ratificam a importância de os indivíduos aderirem uma dieta vegana, por questões de saúde, de meio ambiente, corroborando para o consumo consciente Já no segundo artigo, os resultados mostram que a maioria dos consumidores veganos são do sexo feminino, jovens, solteiros, com ensino superior completo e pós-graduação e com menos e mais de um ano de veganismo. As principais variáveis que influenciam e orientam o comportamento do consumidor vegano estão relacionadas a sua saúde, às intenções comportamentais, aos alimentos ecoinovadores, ao direito dos animais e ao meio ambiente. Portanto, o comportamento do consumidor vegano, quando aplicado à TCP, revela que as atitudes, normas subjetivas e controle percebido geram um comportamento do consumidor planejado ao veganismo. Conclui-se que o consumo vegano tornou-se um nicho de mercado, contribuindo para a produção de alimentos ecoinovadores. Sob o ponto de vista do agronegócio, salienta-se que novas cadeias de produção de alimentos, diferenciação de produtos, estímulo à produção de orgânicos, estratégias de mercado e ampliação da oferta para atender a demanda são algumas ações positivas que podem impactar e promover a expansão desse nicho de mercado. / There has been substantial growth in recent years in the number of people adopting vegan diets in various areas of the world, including in the Americas, Europe and different regions of Asia. In 2012, there were already around 16 million, 5 million and 1.68 million vegans in the United States, Brazil and England, respectively. Health, environment and animal rights issues are some of the concerns of the vegan consumer. These causalities are also characteristic of conscious consumption. The consumption of products is driven by economic, social, cultural, personal and environmental factors that act on the buying decision factor and consumer behavior. In this sense, it is questioned what is the profile and its main motivations that influence the behavior of the vegan consumer in Brazil To obtain this answer, two articles were written in order to meet the following objectives: Article I) contextualize the state of the art of vegan consumption; and Article II) characterize the profile of vegan consumers; and to identify and analyze the motivations that guide and influence the behavior of vegan consumers, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TCP). For the vegan consumer, TCP assists in approaching the motivations that are part of understanding the intended consumer behavior. The results found in the first article show that research on vegan consumption grows from 2009, with one of the most researched countries being the United States, with 22 articles. In addition, it is emphasized that over the years new research has been discovered that ratify the importance of individuals adhering to a vegan diet, for health reasons, of the environment, corroborating for conscious consumption. The second article, the results show that the majority of vegan consumers are female, young, single, with full college and postgraduate education and with less than and more than one year of veganism. The main variables that influence and guide the behavior of the vegan consumer are related to their health, behavioral intentions, ecoinovator foods, animal rights and the environment Therefore, vegan consumer behavior, when applied to TCP, reveals that attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control generate consumer behavior designed for veganism. Concluded that vegan consumption has become a niche market, contributing to the production of ecoinovadores foods. The point of view of agribusiness, it should be pointed out that new food production chains, product differentiation, organic production incentives, market strategies and supply expansion to meet demand are some positive actions that can impact and promote expansion of this niche market.

Master of Science - Agricultural Education and Communication / Department of Communications and Agricultural Education / Lauri M. Baker / The equine industry is an established part of Maryland Agriculture; the most recent equine census placed 79,100 equines valued at approximately $714 million in the state, with approximately ten percent of those animals housed in Montgomery County. But, equine operators are a unique demographic in the agricultural realm. They are not managing their lands to produce food or fiber and often are employed in other professions unrelated to agriculture. Unlike other agricultural operators, they are often unaware of conservation terms or practices and programs available to help implement these practices on their land. The basic objective of this study was to explore the level of understanding equine operators in Montgomery County, Maryland have of conservation best management practices (BMPs), associated cost-share programs, industry regulations and the aspects and methods of communication that influence them in gaining awareness of and the adoption of these practices on their properties. The study applied the tenets of the decomposed theory of planned behavior (DTPB), which combines the theory of planned behavior (TPB), diffusion of innovation theory (DOI) and economic constraint theory gathered through semi-structured qualitative interviews with participants, selected using purposive and snowball sampling. Utilizing the grounded theory method to discover emerging patterns in the data resulting from these interviews aided in identifying the most effective means of educating equine operators regarding BMPs and increasing the adoption of these practices on equine properties within the County. Equine operators in the study were found to use a variety of informational sources, had a high level of adaptation of the BMPs they used and overall saw their role as land stewards as an important aspect of their environmental actions.

abstract: Despite the widely recognized health benefits of breastfeeding and its endorsement by leading health organizations, as a preventative public health intervention, inadequate breastfeeding knowledge and lactation management skills among healthcare providers continues to be a major barrier for women who choose to initiate breastfeeding. Breastfeeding competencies are not standardized in healthcare education for any of the health professions. To address this gap, a few continuing education and professional development programs have been implemented, but paucity in research regarding the efficacy of these programs exists. The purpose of this study was to explore the changes in healthcare providers’ learning outcomes related to breastfeeding support and promotion. A non-experimental pre-posttest self-report survey design was used to assess the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an online breastfeeding educational intervention for healthcare providers. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) provided the framework for exploring the participants’ psychological and behavioral outcomes. The research questions were: (1) What is the feasibility of an online breastfeeding course for healthcare providers? (2) What are healthcare providers’ psychological and behavioral changes occurring after completion of an online course? (3) How do the post-intervention psychological and behavioral outcomes of the online format compare with those of the previous format (hybrid) of this breastfeeding course? Although participants’ favorably assessed the feasibility (i.e., acceptability) of the 45-hour course, several factors contributed to participants’ satisfaction level: Previous online learning experience, connectedness with others, and the degree of structural support. Significant positive changes occurring in participants were increases in their knowledge and beliefs about breastfeeding; attitudes toward formula feeding; perceived behavioral control; perceptions about being able to perform breastfeeding supportive behaviors; and intentions to perform actions that are consistent with evidence-based breastfeeding supportive behaviors. Significant changes in the beliefs about formula feeding were not in the expected direction raising conceptual and pedagogical issues. Participants had negative perceptions about being able to implement what they learned in their workplaces or to affect policy. Findings support the use of online breastfeeding education programs for healthcare providers; changes at both individual and institutional levels are necessary to change provider practices. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Nursing and Healthcare Innovation 2015

abstract: With the rapid rise of distributed generation, Internet of Things, and mobile Internet, both U.S. and European smart home manufacturers have developed energy management solutions for individual usage. These applications help people manage their energy consumption more efficiently. Domestic manufacturers have also launched similar products. This paper focuses on the factors influencing Energy Management Behaviour (EMB) at the individual level. By reviewing academic literature, conducting surveys in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the author builds an integrated behavioural energy management model of the Chinese energy consumers. This paper takes the vague term of EMB and redefines it as a function of two separate behavioural concepts: Energy Management Intention (EMI), and the traditional Energy Saving Intention (ESI). Secondly, the author conducts statistical analyses on these two behavioural concepts. EMI is the main driver behind an individual’s EMB. EMI is affected by Behavioural Attitudes, Subjective Norms, and Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC). Among these three key factors, PBC exerts the strongest influence. This implies that the promotion of the energy management concept is mainly driven by good application user experience (UX). The traditional ESI also demonstrates positive influence on EMB, but its impact is weaker than the impacts arising under EMI’s three factors. In other words, the government and manufacturers may not be able to change an individual's energy management behaviour if they rely solely on their traditional promotion strategies. In addition, the study finds that the government may achieve better promotional results by launching subsidies to the manufacturers of these kinds of applications and smart appliances. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2016

Houve um crescimento substancial constatado nos últimos anos no número de pessoas adotando dietas veganas em várias áreas do mundo, incluindo nas Américas, na Europa e em diferentes regiões da Ásia. Em 2012, já existiam cerca de 16 milhões, 5 milhões e 1,68 milhão de pessoas veganas nos Estados Unidos, Brasil e Inglaterra, respectivamente. Questões de saúde, de meio ambiente e de direitos dos animais são algumas das preocupações do consumidor vegano. Essas causalidades também são características do consumo consciente. O consumo de produtos está conduzido por fatores econômicos, sociais, culturais, pessoais e ambientais que atuam sobre o fator a decisão de compra e de o comportamento do consumidor. Nesse sentido, questiona-se qual é o perfil e suas principais motivações que influenciam o comportamento do consumidor vegano no Brasil Para obter essa resposta, foram escritos dois artigos, a fim de atender os seguintes objetivos: Artigo I) contextualizar o estado da arte do consumo vegano; e Artigo II) caracterizar o perfil dos consumidores veganos; e identificar e analisar as motivações que orientam e influenciam o comportamento de consumidores veganos, com base na Teoria do Comportamento Planejado (TCP). Para o consumidor vegano, a TCP auxilia na abordagem das motivações que fazem parte para a compreensão do comportamento do consumidor planejado. Os resultados encontrados no primeiro artigo apresentam que as pesquisas sobre o consumo vegano cresce a partir de 2009, sendo um dos países que mais pesquisam sobre o assunto são os Estados Unidos, com 22 artigos. Além disso, ressalta-se que ao longo dos anos foram descobertas novas pesquisas que ratificam a importância de os indivíduos aderirem uma dieta vegana, por questões de saúde, de meio ambiente, corroborando para o consumo consciente Já no segundo artigo, os resultados mostram que a maioria dos consumidores veganos são do sexo feminino, jovens, solteiros, com ensino superior completo e pós-graduação e com menos e mais de um ano de veganismo. As principais variáveis que influenciam e orientam o comportamento do consumidor vegano estão relacionadas a sua saúde, às intenções comportamentais, aos alimentos ecoinovadores, ao direito dos animais e ao meio ambiente. Portanto, o comportamento do consumidor vegano, quando aplicado à TCP, revela que as atitudes, normas subjetivas e controle percebido geram um comportamento do consumidor planejado ao veganismo. Conclui-se que o consumo vegano tornou-se um nicho de mercado, contribuindo para a produção de alimentos ecoinovadores. Sob o ponto de vista do agronegócio, salienta-se que novas cadeias de produção de alimentos, diferenciação de produtos, estímulo à produção de orgânicos, estratégias de mercado e ampliação da oferta para atender a demanda são algumas ações positivas que podem impactar e promover a expansão desse nicho de mercado. / There has been substantial growth in recent years in the number of people adopting vegan diets in various areas of the world, including in the Americas, Europe and different regions of Asia. In 2012, there were already around 16 million, 5 million and 1.68 million vegans in the United States, Brazil and England, respectively. Health, environment and animal rights issues are some of the concerns of the vegan consumer. These causalities are also characteristic of conscious consumption. The consumption of products is driven by economic, social, cultural, personal and environmental factors that act on the buying decision factor and consumer behavior. In this sense, it is questioned what is the profile and its main motivations that influence the behavior of the vegan consumer in Brazil To obtain this answer, two articles were written in order to meet the following objectives: Article I) contextualize the state of the art of vegan consumption; and Article II) characterize the profile of vegan consumers; and to identify and analyze the motivations that guide and influence the behavior of vegan consumers, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TCP). For the vegan consumer, TCP assists in approaching the motivations that are part of understanding the intended consumer behavior. The results found in the first article show that research on vegan consumption grows from 2009, with one of the most researched countries being the United States, with 22 articles. In addition, it is emphasized that over the years new research has been discovered that ratify the importance of individuals adhering to a vegan diet, for health reasons, of the environment, corroborating for conscious consumption. The second article, the results show that the majority of vegan consumers are female, young, single, with full college and postgraduate education and with less than and more than one year of veganism. The main variables that influence and guide the behavior of the vegan consumer are related to their health, behavioral intentions, ecoinovator foods, animal rights and the environment Therefore, vegan consumer behavior, when applied to TCP, reveals that attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control generate consumer behavior designed for veganism. Concluded that vegan consumption has become a niche market, contributing to the production of ecoinovadores foods. The point of view of agribusiness, it should be pointed out that new food production chains, product differentiation, organic production incentives, market strategies and supply expansion to meet demand are some positive actions that can impact and promote expansion of this niche market.

abstract: Smoking prevalence has been a significant issue in China. This present study investigates family influences on the smoking behaviors of highly-educated Chinese youths (HECY) and explores whether family factors work as distal factors in the revised framework of the theory of planned behavior. Convenience sampling and snow-ball sampling have been utilized to select participants from highly-educated Chinese youth population who are students studying in colleges or universities and people who recently graduated from Chinese colleges or universities with Bachelor's and/or Master' degrees. This study relies on quantitative methodologies to analyze the data from the participants' responses to online cross sectional surveys with SPSS. This present study has determined that family influences do contribute to the smoking behaviors of highly-educated Chinese youths. In addition to examining the proximal factors (highly-educated Chinese youths' attitudes toward smoking, self-efficacy and social norms of smoking) in the model of the theory of planned behavior, this current study has examined the following distal factors: (1) parental communication about smoking, (2) communication about smoking among siblings, (3) parents, siblings and/or cousins' attitudes toward smoking, and (4) smoking behaviors of parents, siblings and/or cousins. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Communication Studies 2014

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / Food choices become more meaningful when it is taken into account that they are directly related to health. Likewise, these decisions already reflect aspects regarding environmental correction and it has been demonstrated a growing interest in the ecological responsibility behind consumed food. Organic food is considered healthy and environmentally friendly, then becoming relevant the investigation about these two constructs associated to the shopping intention of consumers. This study sought to investigate how the aspects related to the environmental awareness and the pursuing of health influence the shopping attitudes and intentions of organic food consumers in Cearà market. To this end, it was applied a survey research type and an integrated model was tested by means of the technique known as structural equation modeling (SEM) in order to observe the relations between the constructs concerning the environment, the health and the theory of planned behavior, which analyze the attitudes and intentions of consumers. The results indicate that there is a positive influence of the motivations related to health on the attitudes towards organics, the same occurring to these attitudes on the shopping intentions related to that type of food. Furthermore, it was observed that the aspects regarding environmental concerns do not influence the shopping intentions of organics in market under research. From a managerial point of view, the contributions from this study reside in the comprehension of the determining variables of the shopping behavior of an ascending market, what suggests basis to the development of strategies, by the agents of the productive chain, adequate to the analyzed market. / As escolhas alimentares tornam-se mais significativas quando se leva em conta que estÃo diretamente ligadas à saÃde. De maneira similar, essas decisÃes jà refletem tambÃm aspectos de correÃÃo ambiental e tem-se demonstrado um crescente interesse na responsabilidade ecolÃgica por trÃs dos alimentos consumidos. Os alimentos orgÃnicos sÃo propagados como alimentos saudÃveis e ecologicamente corretos, e tornou-se relevante investigar esses dois construtos associados Ãs intenÃÃes de compra de consumidores. Este estudo buscou investigar de que maneira os aspectos relativos à consciÃncia ambiental e à busca por saÃde influenciam as atitudes e intenÃÃes de compra do consumidor de alimentos orgÃnicos no mercado cearense. Para tal fim, empreendeu-se uma pesquisa do tipo survey e testou-se por intermÃdio da tÃcnica de modelagem de equaÃÃes estruturais (MEE) um modelo integrado no intuito de verificar as relaÃÃes entre os construtos relativos ao meio ambiente, à saÃde e à teoria do comportamento planejado, que analisa as atitudes e intenÃÃes dos consumidores. Os resultados indicam haver uma influÃncia positiva das motivaÃÃes ligadas à saÃde sobre as atitudes em relaÃÃo aos orgÃnicos, e destas nas intenÃÃes de compra desses alimentos. Verificou-se ainda que os aspectos ligados à preocupaÃÃo ambiental nÃo influenciam as intenÃÃes de compra de orgÃnicos no mercado pesquisado. Do ponto de vista gerencial, as contribuiÃÃes deste estudo residem na compreensÃo das variÃveis determinantes do comportamento de compra de um mercado em ascensÃo, o que sugere bases para o desenvolvimento de estratÃgias, por parte dos agentes da cadeia produtiva, adequadas ao mercado analisado.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management & Dietetics / Ki-Joon Back / Understanding association members’ meeting participation behaviors is the key to the well-attended meeting, which is a common goal of both associations and host destinations. However, little research has contributed to theoretical development in this area, and the lack of a theoretical framework has negatively influenced the validity of existing research. Thus, this study attempted to explain association members’ meeting participation behaviors, using a conceptually sound model of meeting participation, which was developed based on existing human behavior theories: the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Another main objective of this study was to test the validity of the meeting participation model (MPM). By comparing the utility of three competing models (TRA, TPB, and MPM), this study confirmed the effectiveness of the meeting participation model (MPM) in explaining association members’ intentions to attend the annual meeting. The proposed meeting participation model was empirically examined using the data collected from 245 members of the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE). The results of model development revealed that the MPM fits the data very well, providing a systematic view of the decision-making process of association meeting participation. In addition, the findings of the model comparison using the structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that all three competing models successfully provide a theoretical base for understanding association members’ meeting participation behaviors. Specifically, the MPM provided a fuller understanding of meeting participation intention by adding two predictor variables (destination image and past meeting participation experience) to the TPB. This study is the first research effort to investigate what makes association members attend, or not attend, association meetings based on theoretical frameworks. TRA and TPB provided the necessary theoretical ground to develop the meeting participation model (MPM). By adding a domain specific predictor variable (destination image) and a non-volitional habitual construct (past experience) to the original latent constructs conceptualized in pure TRA/TPB models, the MPM emerged as a theoretically strong and parsimonious framework for understanding association members’ meeting participation behaviors. The results of the current study present a strong step toward providing practical as well as theoretical implications for future convention research.