Certain aspects of our modern diet have been implicated in thedevelopment of non-communicable diseases. For instance, energyconsumed in excess of an individual's physiological requirements maylead to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes mellitus, gall bladder disease,coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, and possibly some cancers.Although many of these diet-related diseases can be controlled by modernmedicine, they cannot be cured. Instead, prevention through public healthstrategies is the only satisfactory solution. One of the major strategies forprevention of diet-related diseases in Australia is to modify the nationaldiet (Rogers 1987). In April 1979, the Commonwealth Department of Health responded to theWorld Health Organisation's call for the development of national food andnutrition polices by proposing the Dietary Guidelines for Australians. "TheDietary Guidelines for Australians provide advice to the general populationabout healthy food choices, so that their usual diet contributes to ahealthy life-style and is consistent with minimal risk for the developmentof diet-related diseases" (National Health and Medical Research Council1992:ix). However, in order to achieve the aim of the dietary guidelines,supporting educational programs are required. This is because it isbelieved that as consumers become more informed about food, nutrition,health, and the dietary guidelines, they are more likely to begin changingtheir diet in the directions recommended by the CommonwealthDepartment of Health and Family Services (1998a). Public health professionals believe that behaviour-change theories arebeneficial in gaining an understanding of the evolution of peoples' foodand nutrition behaviours. Behaviour-change theories are typicallyintegrated into dietary interventions as a means of educating theAustralian population about healthy food choices. However, attempts tochange Australians' food and nutrition behaviours by applying behaviour-change theories have been adiaphorous. Therefore, public health professionals need to explore traditional food and nutrition practices inorder to determine more effective dietary change strategies for the Australian population. Qualitative research is complementary to existing quantitative studies onbehaviour-change. Since qualitative methodologies focus on the whole ofhuman experience and the meaning ascribed by individuals living theexperience, these methodologies permit broader understanding and deeperinsight into complex human behaviours such as food consumption thanwhat might be obtained from grossly measured quantitativeclassifications. Grounded theory was the qualitative methodology chosenfor this study because it allowed me to theorise about the rationale forconsumers' current food choices. Bread and Cereal consumption waschosen as an important staple food group in which to explore thisphenomenon. Thus, this research was designed to discover, understand,and theorise about the rationale for consumers' current Bread and Cerealfood choices. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with22 participants living in South-East Queensland. Adult males and femalesfrom three-generational families of varying ethnicity were recruited frommy personal network of associates. Interviews were analysed usinggrounded theory methodology for data analysis. The resulting Grounded Substantive Theory of Food Autonomy posits thatconsumers have different levels of power when it comes to selecting theBreads and Cereals they want to eat and that their power to choose themis governed by micro- and macroenvironmental forces.Microenvironmental forces envelop sociofamilial powers such as parents,partner, and offspring whereas macroenvironmental forces envelop thesociopolitical powers of the food industry, health professionals, andinstitutions. These forces influence a consumer's capacity to select theBreads and Cereals they want to eat. Consumers engage in the process ofinformation gathering in order to overcome these prevailing influences. The significance of the Grounded Substantive Theory of Food Autonomy asa means for explaining how consumers acquire food autonomy fromprevailing influences in order to eat the Breads and Cereals they desirehas important implications for public health nutrition education andpractice. An understanding of the life long nature underpinning a person'sfood behaviour will help nutrition and dietetic professionals understandbetter the range of change that is likely to be possible, and the best waysto facilitate food autonomy through appropriate education and compatibledietary interventions. Autonomy is not a new concept but when associatedwith food it introduces the public health professional to a paradoxicalperspective for studying consumers' food behaviour, which has beencustomarily looked at via the decision making process of food choice andbehaviour-change theories with adiaphorous effects.

Overview: Pregnant women living with obesity are at increased risk of pregnancy complications, with risks rising as Body Mass Index (BMI) increases. Midwives are willing to support women with managing their gestational weight gain but lack confidence and access to supporting resources. In the UK there are no interventions that aim to change the intention and behaviour of midwives, to support women with managing their gestational weight gain. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1985) was utilised to frame the design of a behaviour change intervention for midwives. This three-phase study conducted a qualitative needs assessment, intervention design, and a quantitative study of, intervention testing. Methods: Phase One: Interview data were thematically analysed and the TPB utilised to elicit participants’ salient beliefs, to inform intervention design. Phase Two: The design of the intervention, and the TPB scale, were informed by Phase One data. Midwives reviewed the intervention and participated in a pilot test of the scale. Phase Three: The intervention was tested in a before-and-after controlled trial, utilising the refined TPB scale. Results: Phase One: 4 key themes emerged: 1)The current state of affairs 2) Perspectives on an intervention: what may work 3) Influences on uptake and successful weight control 4) Taking things forward. Phase Two: An intervention to facilitate the involvement of community midwives in supporting weight management for pregnant women living with obesity; a booklet about weight management in pregnancy; and a TPB scale were designed. Recommendations from midwives were integrated into the final intervention resource, and pilot testing of the scale led to refinement for use in phase 3. Phase Three: Midwives in the intervention group increased their intention to offer weight management support to pregnant women living with obesity. Furthermore, midwives in the intervention group increased actual weight management support for pregnant women living with obesity, after participating in the intervention. Conclusions: This study made a unique contribution to new knowledge by developing and testing a novel intervention that was underpinned by health psychology theory, which increased the intention and behaviour of community midwives to support pregnant women living with obesity, with managing their gestational weight gain.

This research investigates the potential incentives have on driving behaviour change towards the adoption of sustainable business practices by rural tourism operators in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Even though operators in rural BC have recognized the importance of making their business practices sustainable so that future generations are able to enjoy living and visiting these communities, they claim there is a lack of incentives from the industry. To support the BC rural tourism industry in attaining its aspiration to enhance the social/cultural, environmental and economic well being of the province, a model and corresponding recommendations on how to better support operators through strategic incentives was developed. Using the lens of strategic sustainable development, understanding the mechanisms of behaviour change and the role of operators as early adopters of sustainable practices, this research takes a whole systems perspective to identify in what ways sustainability can be encouraged by the tourism industry through the use of incentives in the context of rural BC.

Gamification and sustainability are two topics that have gained a lot of attention in the past few years, both from the corporate sector and the academic community. Yet, the connection between the two concepts has seldom been made. This study addresses this research gap, by presenting the novel concept of gamification and connecting it to established theories in the field of organisational change. It then creates a discussion around the question of the potential of gamification as a tool to foster sustainability practices within organisations.To answer this question, this thesis followed a qualitative research design. By performing semi-structured interviews with experts in the field of gamification, the study explored different aspects of gamification, namely its definition, the opportunities and challenges it faces in regards to sustainability, the organisation’s responses towards the concept and the hypotheses for the further development of gamification.The results of this study suggest that gamification has great potential to foster sustainable practices within organisations. With its element of fun, gamification has the power to engage employees in sustainability issues, create a deeper understanding of the topic and relate it directly to the employees’ personal values and decision-making process. By offering different perspectives and helping employees see the bigger picture, gamification can inspire a sense of meaningfulness and contribution to something bigger than oneself. However, this can only happen when the tools are designed and used in the right way. Building an understanding of the user and implementing the fitting game design elements to create an impactful experience for the player is, however, a complex and time-consuming process, and therefore put forth as one of the biggest challenges. Furthermore, gamification should strive to expand beyond the commonly used game design elements of points, badges and leaderboards to tap into the user’s intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation.

Purpose To strengthen our understanding of the impact of baseline variability in mode choice on the likelihood of travel behaviour change. Methods Quasi-experimental analyses in a cohort study of 450 commuters exposed to a new guided busway with a path for walking and cycling in Cambridge, UK. Exposure to the intervention was defined using the shortest network distance from each participant’s home to the busway. Variability in commuter travel behaviour at baseline was defined using the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index, the number of different modes of transport used over a week, and the proportion of trips made by the main (combination of) mode(s). The outcomes were changes in the share of commute trips (i) involving any active travel, (ii) involving any public transport, and (iii) made entirely by car. Variability and change data were derived from a self-reported seven-day record collected before (2009) and after (2012) the intervention. Separate multinomial regression models were estimated to assess the influence of baseline variability on behaviour change, both independently and as an interaction effect with exposure to the intervention. Results All three measures of variability predicted changes in mode share in most models. The effect size for the intervention was slightly strengthened after including variability. Commuters with higher baseline variability were more likely to increase their active mode share (e.g. for HHI: relative risk ratio [RRR] for interaction 3.34, 95% CI 1.41, 7.89) and decrease their car mode share in response to the intervention (e.g. for HHI: RRR 7.50, 95% CI 2.52, 22.34). Conclusions People reporting a higher level of variability in mode choice were more likely to change their travel behaviour following an intervention. Future research should consider such variability as a potential predictor and effect modifier of travel and physical activity behaviour change, and its significance for the design and targeting of interventions.

Climate change mitigation requires changes in greenhouse gas emitting behaviours. This dissertation aims to provide insights into the influences of behaviour change for two high-impact pro-environmental behaviours: climate policy support and consumption of animal products. It does so by using quasi- and randomized experiments and by monitoring changes in behaviour over time. Study 1 examined changes in climate policy support and climate change risk perception over the course of a naturally occurring event: seasonal forest fires. It employed growth curve modeling techniques in a structural equation modeling framework to analyze longitudinal relations between these two constructs over time, and to examine growth in climate change risk perception while controlling for the effect of exposure to forest fires and other extreme weather. Indirect exposure to forest fires (e.g., media) had a modest effect on climate change risk perception. Climate change risk perception for individuals with above-mean perceptions of scientific agreement tended to increase faster than for those with below-mean perceptions. Individuals whose climate change risk perception grew at a faster-than-average rate tended to also grow at a faster-than-average rate for climate policy support. Study 2 provided insight into the psychological influences on consumption of animal products and on willingness to reduce. Following a comprehensive literature review, known influences were examined using Latent Profile Analysis to identify groups of individuals with similar perceptions of facilitators of meat consumption and obstacles to reducing it. Three groups were identified: strong-hindrance meat eaters, moderate-hindrance meat eaters, and reducers. Validation variables confirmed the practicality of the three profiles: groups differed in their current consumption of animal products and in their willingness to reduce. Using these findings, three group-matched interventions were designed in Study 3. Intervention design was informed by four behaviour-change frameworks. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: control condition, implementation-intention condition, information-and-healthy-recipe condition, and information-and-substitution condition. Then, they completed up to 28 days of food diaries. Multilevel model analyses were employed to examine changes in the consumption of animal products over time. Participants reduced their consumption by 20 grams of CO2 per day on average. Individuals that were randomly assigned to an intervention condition that matched their meat-eater profile reduced their consumption of animal products by 40 grams CO2 per day on average. Taken together, these studies highlight the importance of considering individual differences (i.e., tailoring) when designing pro-environmental behaviour interventions. / Graduate

Type 2 diabetes is a life-threatening condition, and it is rapidly growing in the world. If patients receive adequate education and support, they can manage their diabetes-related tasks effectively and reduce the severe complications of this disease. However, traditional self-management education and practices were not very effective in stimulating behaviour change and addressing patients’ diversified needs and expectations. Mobile text messaging is a promising method for type 2 diabetes self-management as it can provide continuous and customized support to these patients. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the optimal approach to designing and delivering mobile text messages. Hence, this dissertation aimed to define effective message strategies for mobile text messaging interventions targeting type 2 diabetes self-management. This manuscript-based dissertation consists of three complementary studies. The first manuscript includes a systematic review and a meta-analysis of tailored mobile text messaging interventions on type 2 diabetes self-management. It examines the tailoring strategies, message content, and structure and identifies the moderators of effectiveness in these interventions. The second manuscript includes a systematic review and a meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence on patients’ experiences and perspectives of mobile text messaging studies. The third manuscript consists of a prospective qualitative study to explore the text messaging design and delivery preferences of patients. In the first and second studies, the comprehensive search strategy included major electronic databases, key journal searches, and hand searches of the reference lists of related systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and Cochrane Collaboration's guidelines and recommended tools were used for data extraction, risk of bias and critical appraisal assessments, data analysis and reporting. Within a social marketing framework, the third study included semi-structured interviews and a thematic analysis of the main findings. In the first manuscript, 13 eligible trials were included for the systematic review and 11 eligible trials were further analyzed in the meta-analysis. This study concluded that tailored mobile text messaging interventions could improve glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. The subgroup analyses revealed the importance of some moderators such as message delivery, message direction, message frequency, and using multi-modalities. In the second manuscript, the systematic review included 14 eligible studies, and the thematic synthesis included 13 eligible studies. Patients emphasized the importance of tailored text message design and delivery. They felt “supported” by using text messaging and improved their communication with family/friends and care providers. Mobile text messaging increased patients’ self-awareness, knowledge and control of diabetes. The third study explored that mobile text messages could be more effective if they are gain-framed and written in a standard format. Patients favoured the text messages that included simple and direct tone and provided statistical evidence. The findings demonstrated patients’ needs and expectations for advanced tailoring strategies in both message content and delivery. Together, the manuscripts fill a significant gap and inform research and practice for the development of more effective message strategies that could lead to reducing the spread of type 2 diabetes worldwide. / Graduate / 2022-05-12

The current tourist behavioural trends and the increasing number of visitor nights can no longer be the main focus of the international tourism industry, as they harm the physical and social environment. However, in the current profit-driven economic and political systems, reducing the intensity of travelling seems unrealistic; besides, many people's livelihoods are dependent on the industry. Nevertheless, we should always strive for the utmost to mitigate harmful consequences. Travellers' behavioural patterns pose a major barrier to reforming the industry, calling for long-term connections and engagement with the physical and social environment as a possible solution. Therefore, we investigate the potential of transforming the hedonistic tourist attitude into one that values meaningful connections. Our research explores the emotional dimensions of DNA journeys and the effects of the travellers’ shifting identities on their behaviour. The semi-structured interviews helped unfold the emotions of participants emerging during their journeys. The findings indicate that the travellers' newly awakened emotions led to new attitudes of openness, acceptance and curiosity. We concluded that the emotions faced by DNA travellers as part of their identity construction could translate into the adoption of behavioural norms that bring new perspectives on responsible travelling by enabling a deeper connection to the destination. Genealogical mapping-based journeys embrace the appreciation of commonalities and differences as travellers enter a country with open hearts and minds. / A jelenlegi turisztikai viselkedési tendenciák és a növekvő vendégéjszakák száma nem lehet többé a nemzetközi idegenforgalmi ipar középpontjában, mivel ezek károsítják a fizikai és társadalmi környezetet. A jelenlegi haszonközpontú gazdasági és politikai rendszerekben azonban az utazás intenzitásának csökkentése irreálisnak tűnik, ráadásul sok ember megélhetése függ ettől az iparágtól. Ennek ellenére mindig a lehető legtöbbet kell tennünk a káros következmények mérséklése érdekében. Az utazók viselkedésmintái komoly akadályt jelentenek az iparág reformjának, és a szakemberek hosszú távú kapcsolatokat, valamint a fizikai és társadalmi környezettel való elkötelezettséget sürgetik. Ezért megvizsgáljuk a hedonista turista attitűd átalakításának lehetőségét egy olyanná, amely értékeli a jelentőségteljes kapcsolatokat. Kutatásunk a DNS-utazások érzelmi dimenzióit és az utazók változó identitásának a viselkedésükre gyakorolt hatását vizsgálja. A félig strukturált interjúk segítettek feltárni a résztvevők utazás során felbukkanó érzelmeit. Az eredmények azt mutatják, hogy a résztvevők újonnan ébredt érzelmei a nyitottságot, az elfogadást és a kíváncsiságot ösztönözték. Arra a következtetésre jutottunk, hogy a DNS-utazók által az identitásépítés részeként megtapasztalt érzelmek olyan viselkedési normák felvételéhez vezethetnek, amelyek új távlatokat kínálnak a felelős utazással kapcsolatban, a célállomással való mélyebb kapcsolódáson keresztül. A genealógiai feltérképezésen alapuló utazások a hasonlóságok és a különbségek megbecsülését segítik, mivel az utazók nyitott szívvel és elmével lépnek be a célországba.

The impact of unsustainable human actions has grown to become the most significant underlying factor of current environmental problems, which stresses the need for a large-scale transformative change in our modern ways of living. Sustainable development has emerged to become the primary framework to reduce climate impact, and sustainable neighbourhoods have become a highly sought out and desirable policy goal. However, there exists a concern that contemporary spatial planning policies and strategies appear to be inadequate to achieve the transformative lifestyle change needed due to their primary adoption of an ecological modernisation agenda. With this notion and by examining the ongoing urban development project Täby Park in Täby municipality is the aim of this thesis to investigate to what extent and how a more environmentally sustainable way of living can be met through (supporting) contemporary spatial planning and design policies, strategies, and its physical manifestation in the built environment. For this has a theoretical framework rooted in social and behavioural science been adopted to understand the relationship between sustainable lifestyles and influencing factors. The empirical material is based on conducted interviews with residents, public and private actors, a questionnaire, and a site visit.  The findings of this study show that the development of Täby Park is primarily rooted in an approach of behavioural-economics, which in large has translated to an ecological modernisation agenda. Overall, it can be concluded that a more environmentally sustainable way of living can to a certain extent be met through the applied policies and strategies in Täby Park. Although the residents perceive that factors rooted in rational reasoning hold the most significant impact on their adoption of more environmentally sustainable actions in their everyday life, do the findings illustrate that the residents generally deviate from rational reasoning of decision-making. This illustrates that the desired sustainability vision cannot be modelled after generic assumptions of behavioural-economics.

Miljö- och klimatfrågor är bland de största frågor vi står inför idag. Dessa frågor behandlar bland annat matproduktion och matsvinn. Enligt Naturvårdsverket står livsmedelshantering för 20 – 25% avden totala klimatpåverkan i Sverige. 75% av detta är matavfallinnehållande en stor del onödigt matsvinn från de privata hushållen. Som individer har vi därför en stor möjlighet till att påverka detta. Denna studie behandlar en kvalitativ undersökning av en lågteknologisk knapps möjligheter till att skapa ett beteende att inventera sitt kylskåp för att reducera det privata matsvinnet. Undersökningen innefattar utformning, design och framställning av en lågteknologisk knapp samt dess användarupplevelse och funktion i praktiken. Knappen är utformad med hjälp av en analys inom beteendeförändringsramverket Behavioural Change Wheel. Knappen testades på 10 studenter under tre veckors tid för att sedan utvärdera knappens påverkan. Användandet utvärderades genom att undersöka knappens möjligheter till en beteendeförändringkring inventering av kylskåp. Knappen tilldelades och kopplades samman med en rad funktioner för att underlätta och skapa ett beteende till att inventera: En lampa som lös två gånger per vecka, en text på knappen som löd “time to save the world.”, tillhandahållande av bakgrundsinformation gällande klimatfrågan, instruktioner gällande hur en inventering skulle utföras samt den fysiska närvaron av knappen. Resultatet pekar mot att en förändring i beteende skett underundersökningsperioden men resultaten från enkätsvaren är inte tillräckliga för att med statistisk signifikans bekräfta om knappen med funktioner skapat ett beteende. Knappens olika funktioner graderades av deltagarna i utvärderingen och utifrån dessa svar visade det sig att lampans påminnelsefunktion samt knappens fysiska närvaro hade störst påverkan till att en inventering utfördes. / Climate change and the environmental situation is two of the biggest challenges we face both locally and globally. Food production and food swill is a big part of these challenges. 20-25% of the total climate footprint in Sweden is caused by food production and handling according to Naturvårdsverket. 75% of this is food swill that contains a lot of unnecessary food waste produced in the private household. This gives individuals and households a great opportunity to reduce these numbers and affect the total climate footprint. This is a qualitative study investigating and evaluating the possibility of a low-tech buttons effect on individuals behaviour on keeping stock of the content in their refrigerator and possibly reducing their food waste. The study describes the process of creating and designing a low-tech button and an evaluation of the participants thoughts and experience with the button. The button is designed with an analysis of the behaviour change framework Behavioural Change Wheel as well as implementation of different behaviour change techniques to optimize the behaviour change and create a habit of keeping stock of the content of the refrigerator. Ten students used the button for three weeks before evaluating its effect on their behaviour and analysing if they perceived a reduction of their food waste. Five functions where assigned to the button; A LED that shone twice a week, a text engraved on the button that read “time to save the world.”, they were assigned background information regarding the environment and food waste, instructions on how to perform a stock-check and the physical presence of the button itself. The results of the study indicates a change in the participants behaviour during the time of using the button, but the results was not sufficient enough to confirm a change with statistical significance. All the functionalities was graded by the participants of the study and it shows that the reminder from the LED as well as the physical presence of the button was the two functions with the most impact on why the stock keeping was performed.