Abstract Background:  Both the fitness and gamification industry are booming with no signs of slowing down in the near future. Gamified applications are entering the markets, attempting to induce gameful elements into tedious environments to enhance intrinsic motivation. The same goes for the gym sector, as market leaders, such as the Swedish gym chain Nordic Wellness, are increasingly implementing gamification elements into their business models.   Problem: The true effectiveness of gamification on intrinsic motivation remains underdeveloped. Literature highlights the necessity of adapting gamification design towards the end-user, by considering the different effects from the individual game elements and the context. However, the gym context has been completely neglected, even though gamification has become increasingly utilized in this sector.     Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the body of knowledge on how extrinsic mechanisms such as gamification can influence intrinsic motivation. This study utilizes the context of a gamified gym application for Nordic Wellness to determine the motivational potential of game elements. Thereby, the research team attempts to add to the body of literature by expanding on the effectiveness of gamification on intrinsic motivation, while also contributing through entering a currently undiscovered domain of gamification in the gym context.   Method: A qualitative approach with fifteen semi-structured interviews has been conducted on young Swedish adults attending the Swedish gym chain Nordic Wellness.   Results: The findings suggest Self-Determination Theory as a valid framework to examine the effects of gamification on intrinsic motivations. Through connecting the identified themes and theory, a framework is proposed for the evaluation on the effectiveness of game elements on intrinsic motivation. From evaluating the discussed game elements through this framework, recommendations are made for a gamified gym application that is argued to positively satisfy the psychological needs and therefore enhance the intrinsic motivations in a gym context.

På grund av ett ökat vårdbehov är fysisk rehabilitering ett område där det finns ett växande behov för implementation av e-hälsostöd. En icke fullföljd rehabiliteringsplan kan potentiellt leda till att en patients smärtor eller besvär inte förbättras som planerat. Detta kan leda till att patienten behöver mer rehabiliteringsvård än vad som hade krävts om rehabiliteringsplanen hade fullföljts från början. Förutom att detta blir en kostnad för patienterna själva, innebär det dessutom en extra kostnad för vården. Motivation räknas som en av de främsta aspekterna att ta hänsyn till, eftersom det influerar människors förmåga och vilja att göra något. Om motivationsaspekten ignoreras vid designandet av ett digitalt stöd i ett rehabiliteringssammanhang, finns risk att designen inte innehar de funktioner som kan bli avgörande för att användaren ska använda det digitala stödet. Även om rehabiliteringspatienter förses med korrekta övningar från fysioterapeuter utför de inte sina övningar, vilket kan bero på deras brist på inre motivation. Trots detta dilemma finns idag få studier som undersöker hur ett digitalt stöd kan designas för att främja inre motivation i ett rehabiliteringssammanhang. Studien ämnade därför att undersöka hur ett digitalt stöd kan designas för att främja inre motivation i ett fysiskt rehabiliteringssammanhang. Frågeställningen undersöktes genom en designorienterad ansats. För att undersöka inre motivation konkretiseras begreppet till de tre grundläggande psykologiska behoven: autonomi, kompetens och samhörighet. Studien resulterade sedan i nio designförslag som informerade hur ett e-hälsostöd kan designas för att främja inre motivation genom att stödja de tre psykologiska behoven: autonomi, kompetens och samhörighet. / Due to an increased need for health care, physical rehabilitation is an area where there is a growing need for implementation of e-health support. An unsuccessful rehabilitation plan could potentially lead to a patient's pain or discomfort not being improved as planned. This may lead to the patient needing more rehabilitation care than what had been required if the rehabilitation plan had been completed from the beginning. In addition to this being a cost for the patients themselves, it also entails an extra cost for health care services. Motivation is considered one of the main aspects to take into account as it influences people's ability and willingness to do something. If the motivational aspect is ignored in the design of e- health support in a rehabilitation context, there is a risk that the design will not possess the functions that can be crucial for the user to use the digital support. Although rehabilitation patients are provided with proper physiotherapy exercises they do not perform their exercises, which may be due to their lack of intrinsic motivation. Despite this dilemma, there are few studies that investigate how digital support can be designed to promote intrinsic motivation in a rehabilitation context. The study therefore aimed to examine how an e-health support can be designed to promote intrinsic motivation in a rehabilitation context. The research question was examined using a design-oriented approach. In order to investigate intrinsic motivation, the concept is concretized to the three psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness. The study then resulted in nine design proposals that informed how an e-health support could be designed to promote intrinsic motivation by supporting the three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness.

As the largest third-party payment platform in China, Alipay has joined the team of making the world greener with the embedded cute mini APP--Ant Forest. Why are so many Alipay users willing to plant trees through Ant Forest? What are the motivations that affect their continued planting for months or even years? Based on the previous literature, we outlined a new framework to investigate the motivation in Ant Forest. The data were collected through a pilot study and semi-structured interviews with fourteen Chinese Alipay users; at the same time, they are Ant Forest participants. This article analyzes how intrinsic motivations (enjoyment, fulfillment, altruism, social interaction, identification), extrinsic motivations (external rewards, reciprocity, competition) influencing Chinese users to participate in Ant Forest, and whether these motivations have different influences and relationships when motivating participants. What’s more, we can through intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation to know how a mini-app that aggregates multiple features can attract users' continued participation, and give suggestions to the firm.

Quoting James Andreoni, `the problem of tax compliance is as old as taxes themselves'. The sources of missing tax revenues have traditionally concerned tax administrations and particularly now in times when public finances are striving. In the quest for analysing the revenue that is foregone, tax administrations have started to produce a report of their tax gap, understood as the difference between the theoretical tax liability and the actual collection, to obtain a measure of the extent of non-compliance. Due to the complexity of the non-compliance behaviour and the lack of visibility of certain types of income, different methods are usually put in place in order to offer a plausible range for the estimates. This dissertation dedicates its two first chapters to providing an alternative method for estimating the income-gap (de fined to be one minus the proportion of reported to actual income) for two populations: the self-employed and the employees. The underlying data used for both cases is publicly available survey data on expenditures and income that is generated on a timely manner. This carries substantial advantages. First, relying on a general purpose survey dataset means that the estimation can be updated more frequently than if it was to rely solely on either the timing of administrative data or on survey data that is speci fically targeted to measure non-compliance. Second, it provides an alternative estimation using an independent source of data which allows for the triangulation of the estimate obtained using administrative sources. Third, it allows tax administrations which do not have readily available administrative data to perform estimations using a type of survey widespread available in most countries. The third chapter of this thesis explores the role of the extrinsic and intrinsic incentives in explaining engagement in the hidden economy defined as undeclared work practices. This chapter contributes firstly to the literature on shadow economy and to the debate of whether crowding effects are found between extrinsic and intrinsic motivations in a tax environment.

There is a need to explore ways to better motivate students in instruction, as student motivation is an issue confronting teachers at all levels of education. Instructor-student rapport (ISR), a multidimensional concept comprised of students’ enjoyable interaction and personal connection with instructors, has potential to offer educators a tool for increasing these important student outcomes. Further, self-determination theory (SDT) may have utility for illustrating the psychological mechanisms through which instructors influence students by building rapport. First, this study explored what behaviors instructors should employ to build ISR with students. Specifically, prosocial humor (related and unrelated) and confirmation (responding to questions, demonstrating interest, ad teaching style) were investigated as instructor rapport-building behaviors. Results showed that instructors’ use of related humor, demonstration of interest, and teaching style were significant predictors of both dimensions of ISR; mixed results were found for both responding to questions and unrelated humor. Second, this study considered whether ISR was a significant predictor of student outcomes: intrinsic motivation, perceived cognitive learning, and academic performance. While enjoyable interaction was a significant, positive predictor of all three outcomes, personal connection was not a significant, positive predictor of any student outcomes. In fact, personal connection was a significant, negative predictor of perceived cognitive learning. Third, this study explored whether ISR served as a mediator between these rapport-building behaviors and student outcomes as posited by SDT. Enjoyable interaction was a significant mediator in a majority of the models. However, personal connection was not a positive mediator in any models and served as a negative mediator when predicting perceived cognitive learning. Theoretical implications for this study’s findings, along with practical tips for instructors hoping to build ISR with students, are forwarded. In addition, future directions and limitations are discussed.

The student population of the Southern California community college used for this study was just over 10,000 students in 2011. While retention rates for all community college students are a matter of concern, retention rates for Basic Skills students are particularly alarming. The college used for this study reports that 97% of their students assessed into developmental education courses. Currently, California community colleges are working towards implementing several types of intervention strategies with the objective of positively influencing Basic Skill student persistence. Summer bridge programs are one of these strategies. Students completing summer bridge programs are showing signs of immediate academic improvement. However, there is a gap in knowledge regarding the continuing retention rates for students participating in the programs and the motivational factors that influenced the students to participate in, and complete, the programs to begin with. This study focused on student retention and motivational factors through the lens of Self-Determination Theory. While external motivation factors are sometimes viewed as a means to an end and not necessarily conducive to long-range success, Self-Determination Theory supports the concept that extrinsic motivation factors can merge into intrinsic motivation and can therefore be productive. Researchers have suggested summer bridge programs should be evaluated over a longer period of time and should incorporate additional measures rather than relying solely on pre-test/post-test data. With this in mind, this study examined one summer bridge program over a four-year period and focused on student survey data and interview data, which asked students to self-report their motivational influences for attending one of four summer bridge programs. Using the lens of Self-Determination Theory, the researcher analyzed the data looking for intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. One of the significant outcomes of the study is that the researcher was able to identify motivational factors relating specifically to one summer bridge program. Some eternal factors reported included retaking the assessment test, receiving school supplies, and meeting the requirements of specific scholarships. Intrinsic motivational factors focused on building relationships and improved academic competence. Finally, continued research regarding intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors can also expand to the larger community college student body since motivation in higher education is a multilayered concept.

ABSTRACT The Development of an Online Interactive Resource for Enhancing Motivation in Swimmers Richard Judson Clark Research pertaining to motivation in athletics and the link that it has to continued participation in sport is widespread. Despite the resources available, adolescents continue to drop out of sports at alarming rates. The purpose of this project was to create an online tool and resource center to enhance motivation in swimmers that participate in a year-round swim program in San Luis Obispo, California. The development of the site http://athletenet.net was created based on research linked to the Self-Determination, Cognitive Evaluation, Reversal, and Achievement Goal Theories. Swimmers can login to the website to set a variety of goals including practice/technique goals, short-term goals, long-term goals, and dream goals. More importantly, swimmers have the option to share these goals with their coaches via the website. Additional features for swimmers include daily practice ratings, daily journals, team blog, and performance charts for practice and meet results. The tools that have been created for the swimmers on the website are based on research that supports an athlete-directed environment in which coaches empower their athletes to define their own success. Future research could include empirical studies in which researchers examine the extent to which these interactive tools enhance intrinsic motivation and decrease dropouts among swimmers.

Nonmarket activities such as gardening and cooking are often correlated with increased well-being and happiness. Additionally, nonmarket, casual activities such as gardening and food preparation are often internally motivated, and provide observable examples of self-concordant experiences. Self-concordance, i.e., internalized motivation, has been shown to increase satisfaction and increase efficacy of goal attainment. Further, experiential hobbies such as gardening may help individuals feel more satisfied, adopt more intrinsic life aspirations, and be less materialistic. This study explored satisfaction, materialism, and food activities by focusing on first-person, lived experiences of eight urban gardeners in Portland Oregon who grow, prepare, and eat their own food. Little is known about what specific food experiences lead to increased feelings of well-being and satisfaction. Whereas previous research focused on defining and assessing materialism based on life aspiration measures, this study explored how intrinsic life aspirations translate into concrete, lived experiences expressed through food activities. The goal of the current study was to gain a deeper understanding of how food experiences satisfied the psychological needs of urban gardeners. Qualitative analysis of interviews and other data revealed that food experiences: 1) were motivated by intrinsic reasons, such as competency, creativity, and curiosity, and also sometimes for extrinsic reasons such as status and security, 2) were affected by enabling factors such as social relationships, and disabling factors such as time, energy, and financial limitations, and 3) resulted in increased life satisfaction, and feelings of strength, and confidence. Additionally, participants' level of general materialism often corresponded with their level of materialism regarding their food experiences. The results indicated that individually tailored experiential long-term food related hobbies are highly valued and a source of great satisfaction for a variety of psychological needs, such as relatedness, connection, work-life balance, and abundance. These results show that food activities can be intrinsically satisfying and can mitigate the negative effects of materialism. The findings from this study build theory and provide direction for potential future research in reducing materialism by developing measures for types of satisfaction from food activities and testing correlations with materialism and life satisfaction.

This project study addressed the problem of a decline in retention of students at a local allied health college. The need for allied health professionals is projected to exceed the availability by 2020, so it is important to identify strategies to help allied health students succeed. The purpose of this case study was to explore perceptions of students and faculty about motivating factors and learning strategies that foster successful progression in allied health programs. Ryan and Deci's self-determination theory, focused on the relationship between motivation and success, served as the framework for the study. Research questions addressed intrinsic and extrinsic factors that students and faculty identified as significant in motivating successful completion of core courses. Data collection included information from the college effective plan from the research site and face-to-face audio-recorded interviews with 10 allied health students and 5 faculty. Students were 18 years or older and enrolled in at least 1 core course in an allied health program; faculty taught at least 1 core course with at least 1 year of experience with allied health students. Interview data were analyzed through open coding to identify themes related to motivating student success in core courses. Significant motivating factors included improved quality of life (intrinsic) and a supportive learning environment (extrinsic). Motivating strategies for student success were active involvement in the learning process and hands-on learning. Findings from the study guided development of a 3-day learning community designed to support student success in core allied health courses. Positive social change may be impacted by motivating allied health students to succeed in order to meet the health care needs of clients.

Over the past 2 decades, the number of adult learners seeking an online education has dramatically increased, but student retention and degree completion rates for adult students are lower than those of other student populations. Research has shown that adult learners working full time achieve at higher levels than adult learners who are not working full time and that intrinsic motivation is positively correlated with academic achievement. However, whether the relationship between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement is moderated by level of work commitment has not been previously investigated. For this study, in which the composite persistence model served as the foundation, 137 online adult learners were recruited. A sequential multiple regression was used to investigate whether the relationship between intrinsic motivation, as measured by the Motivation Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), and academic achievement, as measured by self-reported grade point average, was moderated by level of work commitment, as measured by self-reported hours of work per week, while statistically controlling for academic competencies, as measured by 4 subscales of the MSLQ. Intrinsic motivation and level of work commitment did not display a statistically significant correlation with academic achievement, and results showed that level of work commitment did not moderate the relationship between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement. The findings indicated the possibility that education is synergistically related to work commitment. Online programs may use the findings from the study to better support online adult learners and create positive social change by offering internships and mentorships locally that help to connect education to work commitment.