With a total of 164 community supported agriculture programs (CSA), Vermont is leading the "locavore" movement in the United States, ranked number one in the country with the most CSAs and Food Hubs per capita. ("Locavore Index," 2013) CSAs have a large positive impact on reducing carbon emissions, advancing local economic growth, and promoting healthy lifestyles of consumers. The purpose of this study is to explore the overall experience of individuals in comparison to their current social norm, individual attitudes, identity, and intentions of change, and understand any change overtime in their individual attitude and behavior. Attitude change was measured by conducting pre and post surveys of the Intervale Food Hub UVM student members, as well as regression analysis to understand any possible indicators of chance. The data analysis provided understanding of the impact of the Intervale Food Hub's CSA membership on individuals' attitudes, norms, and identity. Survey questions, based on the theory of planned behavior, inquired about individuals' preferences, skills, and behavioral intentions. Because of the complexity of food and human relations, this data was be supplemented by collecting qualitative data to more richly understand the relationship between individuals and their Intervale Food Hub food shares. The conclusion of this study will advance understanding of one form of community supported-agriculture and its impact on human attitudes. Study findings will also aid the staff of the Intervale Food Hub in understanding their customers and implementing more efficient practices.

The non-medical use of prescription drugs is an important public health concern. Non-medical use of prescription stimulants (NMUPS), specifically medications used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), is particularly concerning. One timely concern regarding NMUPS, especially among young adults, is their role in appetite suppression/weight loss. Indeed, some individuals are motivated to misuse such drugs for the purpose of losing weight. Engaging in NMUPS for weight loss has been examined only minimally in the research literature. However, extant data demonstrate that this behavior is associated with other unhealthy behaviors and poor psychosocial health. Limitations of prior research include the exclusive use of college student samples and little attention to relevant health behavior theory. The current study investigated NMUPS for weight loss in a national, young adult sample (n = 1526), ages 18-25 years, utilizing Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Motivations and attitudes about NMUPS were evaluated, within the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A structural equation model (SEM) was analyzed, which included attitudes; social norms; and perceived behavioral control (PBC) to lose weight without stimulants, as predictors of engaging in past year NMUPS for weight loss. Approximately 12.0% of participants reported lifetime NMUPS for weight loss, and of these, 48.4% reported past year use. Findings demonstrate that use is related to disordered eating and unhealthy weight loss behaviors, including vomiting; high rates of other substance use; and psychological concerns, including body dissatisfaction and depressive symptomatology. These results suggest that NMUPS for weight loss is associated with a variety of negative consequences and users are not well-informed regarding medication knowledge. The SEM provided adequate overall fit to the data; two of the four social norms and both PBC factors were significantly associated with NMUPS for weight loss. This study extends the literature on the utility of the TPB in examining NMUPS, and provides the first research on utilizing the TPB to examine NMUPS for weight loss. Methods aimed at increasing PBC regarding stimulant use and weight loss, and emphasizing healthful and sustaining weight loss strategies, improving mental health, and educating about polysubstance use are potential intervention targets.

Unravelling the psychological processes determining landowners\' support towards forest conservation is key, particularly, in developing countries, where most forest remnants are within private lands. As human-nature connections are known to shape pro-environmental behaviors, the intention of preserving forest remnants should be ultimately determined by the ecological context people live in. Here, we investigate the pathways through which the ecological context (forest cover), via experiences with nature (contact, uses and losses associated with forests), influences the psychological determinants of conservation behavior (beliefs, attitude and intention towards preserving forest remnants). We conceptualized a model based on the Reasoned Action Approach, using the ecological context and experiences with nature as background factors, and tested the model using Piecewise SEM. Data was collected through an interview-based protocol applied to 106 landowners across 13 landscapes varying in forest cover in a region in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Our results indicate that: (i) ecosystem services are more important than disservices for shaping intention of preserving forests, particularly those related to non-provisioning benefits; (ii) contact with forest has an indirect effect on intention, by positively influencing forest uses; (iii) people living in more forested ecological contexts have more experiences with nature, and ultimately stronger intention of preserving forests. Hence, our study suggests a dangerous positive feedback loop between deforestation and the extinction of human-nature connections. Local demands across the full range of ecosystem services, the balance between services and disservices, and the ecological context people live should be considered when developing conservation initiatives in rural areas / Desvendar os processos psicológicos que determinam o apoio dos proprietários de terras à conservação das florestas é fundamental, particularmente, nos países em desenvolvimento, onde a maioria dos remanescentes florestais se encontra em áreas privadas. Como as conexões humano-natureza são conhecidas por moldar comportamentos pró-ambientais, a intenção de preservar remanescentes florestais deve ser, em última instância, determinada pelo contexto ecológico no qual as pessoas vivem. Neste trabalho, investigamos os caminhos pelos quais o contexto ecológico (cobertura florestal), através das experiências com a natureza (contato, usos e perdas associados às florestas), influencia os determinantes psicológicos do comportamento de conservação (crenças, atitude e intenção de preservar remanescentes florestais). Formulamos um modelo baseado na Abordagem da Ação Racional, usando o contexto ecológico e as experiências com a natureza como fatores de base, e o testamos através da Piecewise SEM. Os dados foram coletados através de protocolo aplicado, por meio de entrevista, a 106 proprietários de terra em 13 paisagens que variam em cobertura florestal em uma região da Mata Atlântica. Nossos resultados indicam que: (i) serviços ecossistêmicos são mais importantes que desserviços para moldar a intenção de preservar florestas, particularmente outros serviços que não os de provisão; (ii) o contato com a floresta tem um efeito indireto sobre a intenção, influenciando positivamente os usos da floresta; (iii) as pessoas que vivem em contextos ecológicos mais florestados têm mais experiências com a natureza e, assim, uma intenção mais forte de preservar as florestas. Nosso estudo, portanto, sugere um perigoso ciclo de retroalimentação positiva entre o desmatamento e a extinção das conexões humano-natureza. As demandas locais considerando toda a gama de serviços ecossistêmicos, o balanço entre serviços e desserviços e o contexto ecológico no qual as pessoas vivem devem ser considerados ao se desenvolverem iniciativas de conservação em áreas rurais

In today’s society, environmental concern might be at a historical peak. 2778 companies in 60 countries have now acquired the Benefit-Corporation (B-Corp) Certification in attempts to demonstrate their environmental responsibility. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of implementing the B-Corp Certification in a USA automotive dealership on employee pro-environmental behavior and life satisfaction, with consideration of the moderating role of commitment to the B-Corp Certification. A within-group quasi-experimental design was used to investigate the effects of the certification over a 5-month period through self-reported measures. Thirty-three employees participated in this study. One-way repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted to measure differences in employee pro-environmental behavior before and after the implementation of the B-Corp Certification. Through bivariate correlations the relationship between employee pro-environmental behavior and life satisfaction was analyzed. Partial correlation was used to test the moderating role of commitment in determining the strength of the implementation on employee pro-environmental behavior. There was no difference between pre- and post-measurements of employee pro-environmental behavior. Commitment to the B-Corp Certification did not moderate the effectiveness of the implementation of the B-Corp Certification on employee pro-environmental behavior. Additionally, no relationship was found between pro-environmental behavior and life satisfaction. Finally, results are discussed within the context of industrial- and organizational(IO) psychology, as are the implications for future research and interventions aimed at increasingemployee pro-environmental behaviors.

Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht die tatsächliche und potenzielle Mobilität von Kindern aus einer ‎informellen Siedlungsstruktur in einer Megacity des globalen Südens am Fall Ezbet El-Hagganas im ‎Großraum Kairos; die Entwicklung von Mobilitätsgewohnheiten in der Kindheitsphase ‎und bezieht sich dabei nicht nur auf Kinder als Nutzer, sondern berücksichtigt zudem deren ‎unmittelbares soziales Umfeld und den gesamtgesellschaftlichen Kontext. Der theoretische Rahmen für die ‎Untersuchung der Mobilität von Kindern basiert auf Icek Ajzens Theorie des geplanten Verhaltens ‎sowie auf Vincent Kaufmanns Konzeptualisierung des Motilitätsbegriffes. Primärdaten wurden in ‎einer Feldstudie und in Fokusgruppen erhoben. Die Ergebnisse deuteten auf eine hohe Prävalenz der ‎unabhängigen Mobilität von Kindern (child independent mobility, CIM) auf deren am häufigsten zu ‎bewältigenden Strecke (zur Schule) hin, zunächst durch nicht motorisierte Formen der ‎Verkehrsteilnahme, aber weitgehend auch mit Hilfe von verschiedenen formellen wie informellen ‎Nahverkehrsmitteln. Es wurden sozio-kulturelle und sozialpsychologische Einflussfaktoren seitens ‎sowohl Kindern als auch ihren Eltern identifiziert, die die Verkehrsteilnahme von Kindern hemmen ‎oder befördern können. Gleichermaßen wurden hemmende ‎Faktoren untersucht. Die Akzeptanz des Radfahrens von Kindern wurde als Fallbeispiel für ‎unerschlossenes Mobilitätspotenzial untersucht und deutet auf die Prävalenz sozialpsychologischer ‎Faktoren hin, die Entscheidungsfaktoren rationaler und praktischer Natur entgegenstehen und die die ‎Verkehrsmittelnutzung von Kindern mindern; hier benannt als Nutzungslücke (appropriation gap). Die ‎Ergebnisse wurden schließlich in Zusammenhang mit dem Konzept der Verkehrsteilnahme gestellt ‎und erlauben die Diskussion von Implikationen für die politische Ebene und für den Diskurs von ‎Mobilität in benachteiligten Gruppen der Gesellschaft. / This study investigates the nature of children's actual and potential mobility in a case study of an ‎‎informal settlement in a megacity of a developing country; namely Ezbet El-Haggana in Greater Cairo ‎and explores the nature of the childhood ‎phase of developing mobility practices and habits, not only ‎as enabled by children themselves as ‎commuters, but also as enabled by parents and the surrounding ‎community and society. A theoretical framework was constructed through which ‎children's mobility is ‎investigated. It is based on Icek Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior and Vincent ‎Kaufmann's ‎conceptualization of Motility. The data was primarily collected through a field survey and ‎focus groups. ‎Results indicated high prevalence of child independent mobility (CIM) in the most ‎frequent trip (to ‎school), not only through active transport but also largely through different formal ‎and informal ‎transport services available. There are socio-cultural and socio-psychological factors ‎among both the ‎parents and the children that constitute the appropriation of mobility options that ‎cater to children, ‎either enabling or inhibiting their mobility. Through the experiences of children's ‎mobility, the acquired ‎skills and adaptive attitudes by both children and parents enhance children's ‎potential mobility ‎compared to children in wealthier communities that may be granted less mobility ‎rights or have less ‎competences among other factors. Inhibiting factors were also ‎investigated; the specific case of ‎acceptance of cycling for children. This exemplified prevalence of socio-psychological factors that ‎overshadow ‎practical and rational aspects of choice; it is articulated here as an appropriation gap. ‎Results were ‎finally associated with the conceptualization of appropriation to discuss implications for ‎policy and for ‎the discourses of mobility in disadvantaged communities.‎

Estudos sobre a compressão da tomada de decisão dos agricultores complementadas pelas contribuições da psicologia estão crescendo, mas ainda carecem de mais pesquisas. O objetivo geral desta tese é compreender os determinantes sociopsicológicos que influenciam os produ-tores rurais na intenção de adotar e/ou aperfeiçoar as práticas de manejo no sistema de produ-ção de leite à base de pastagens perenes, em suas propriedades, na região meio oeste catari-nense, no próximo ano. O modelo teórico metodológico escolhido para desenvolver a pesqui-sa foi a Teoria do Comportamento Planejado, a qual tem-se mostrado adequada para estudar o comportamento de produtores rurais. Trata-se de uma teoria social utilizada para predizer ou explicar um comportamento específico. Foi realizado uma survey com 149 produtores de leite, que tem o sistema de produção baseado em pastagens perenes. A aplicação do questio-nário ocorreu nos meses de dezembro de 2016, janeiro, fevereiro e março de 2017. O recorte geográfico utilizado foi, os sete municípios que fazem parte da Agência de Desenvolvimento Regional de Videira- SC. Os resultados demonstraram que os constructos do modelo principal complementados por norma moral e identidade própria explicaram 54 % da variância da in-tenção. A variável que mais influenciou foi norma moral, indicando que os produtores de leite sentem e tem consciência que é necessário adotar/aperfeiçoar às práticas e que isso é o correto a fazer. Os dados revelaram também que a relação significativa e positiva entre norma subje-tiva injuntiva e intenção sugere que a pressão social percebida pelos produtores influência a intenção deles em realizar o comportamento em domínio. A medida de atitude foi a terceira variável que mais influenciou na intenção dos produtores, sinalizando que eles possuem uma avaliação favorável desse comportamento. E a quarta e última variável significativa no mode-lo é identidade própria, indicando que os produtores se reconhecem como indivíduos que ado-tam/aperfeiçoam as práticas. Também, uma divisão de grupos foi realizada por meio da medi-ana, identificando dois grupos, um de moderada e outro de forte intenção. Os grupos apresen-taram diferenças significativas no que tange aos constructos psicológicos e aos seus objetivos motivacionais. No entanto, não apresentaram diferenças no que se refere as características socioeconômicas. De maneira geral, os resultados empíricos dessa tese formam uma base so-bre a qual as intervenções políticas podem ser desenvolvidas para promover o aumento das taxas de adoção ou aperfeiçoamento dessas práticas e consequentemente contribuir para o desenvolvimento da atividade e o desenvolvimento rural da região. / Studies regarding farmers’ decision-making process, complemented by psychological contri-butions are increasing, but they are still lacking more research. The general objective of this thesis is to comprehend the social psychological determinants influencing the intention of rural farmer to adopt and/or improve management practices of milk production based on pe-rennial pastures in their properties in the Midwest region of Santa Catarina state next year. The Theory of Planned Behavior was chosen as the methodological theoretical standard to develop this research which has been proven efficient in order to study the rural producers’ behavior. It is about a social theory used to predict or explain a specific behavior. A survey was applied to 149 milk producers having a milk production based on perennial pastures. The survey was done during the months of December 2016, January, February and March 2017. The geographical division used was consisted of seven cities that belong to the Regional De-velopment Agency of Videira city – Santa Catarina state. The results show that the main stan-dard constructs complemented by moral standard as well as self-identity explain 54% of in-tention variance. Moral standard was the most influential variable, indicating that milk produ-cers feel and are aware about the need of adopting/improving the management practices and that it is correct to do so. The data also unveils that the significant and positive relation between subjective injunctive standard and intention suggests that the social pressure percei-ved by producers influence their intention to perform the domain of behavior. Taking attitude was the third variable that had the most influence on producers’ intention, indicating that they have a favorable evaluation of this behavior. The fourth and last significant variable of the standard is self-identity, indicating that producers acknowledge themselves as individuals who adopt/improve the practices. A group division was also done through the median, identi-fying two groups: moderate and strong intention. The groups show significant differences regarding psychological constructs and their motivational objectives. Nevertheless, they do not show differences in reference to social-economic characteristics. In general, the empirical results of this thesis set up a basis on which political interventions can be developed in order to improve the user adoption rate or improvements of these practices and consequently contri-bute to the activity development as well as the rural development of the region.

A Segurança no Trabalho no Brasil é um tema que merece ser explorado. Todos os anos milhares de trabalhadores sofrem lesões durante a realização de suas atividades laborais. Diversos estudos demonstram a influência do ambiente sobre o comportamento das pessoas, sendo o Clima de Segurança um construto bastante explorado. Este trabalho tem como objetivo geral identificar fatores que explicam o comportamento dos trabalhadores em relação à segurança bem como analisar a relação existente entre esses fatores. Tendo em vista a importância do ambiente organizacional nas questões relacionadas à segurança do trabalho, foi escolhida uma empresa industrial brasileira de grande porte para a realização desta pesquisa. Foi realizada uma análise do contexto organizacional, bem como uma avaliação do comportamento dos trabalhadores em relação à segurança com base na Teoria da Ação Planejada. Com base no modelo proposto, também foi avaliada a relação entre a Supervisão direta dos operadores como fator que explica o comportamento desses em relação à segurança. Os resultados da pesquisa demonstraram que o comportamento dos trabalhadores pode ser explicado com base na Teoria da Ação Planejada e que a Supervisão tem relação com o comportamento, mediada pelos construtos do modelo proposto. / Occupational Safety and Health issue in Brazil in a subject that matters. Every year thousands of workers get injuries along its working activities. Several researches demonstrate the environment influence over people behavior, being Safety Climate a well explored construct. This research brings as general objective identify the factors that explain the worker\'s behavior toward safety and also analyze the relationship among these factors. Considering the organizational environment relevance regarding safety issues, a large industrial Brazilian company was selected to contribute to this study. Its organizational context was evaluated, as well as the worker\'s behavior toward safety based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. Based on the proposed model, it was also evaluated the relationship between worker\'s direct Supervision as a factor that explain their behaviors toward safety. The results demonstrated that the worker\'s behavior can be explained based on Theory of Planned Behavior and that Supervision set influence on worker\'s behavior, mediated by TPB constructs.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T16:44:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Erika Camila Buzo Martins.pdf: 5251335 bytes, checksum: 625f7a45c3e2c2f81dea4c5a58c0261d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-29 / This work seeks to present the Theory of Planned Behavior - Icek Ajzen TPB and check if the model study of the attitudes of Ajzen may contribute to explain the choices of undergraduates by determined educational brand. To this end we presented general theories of collaboration with attitudes of the concepts of Motivation and Human Needs and the changing concepts of the Theory of Reasoned Action to the theory of Planned Behavior. The Brazilian context demonstrates an increasing competitiveness, from the appearance of new Courses and Colleges between 2002 and 2010. This growth has increased the number of vacancies and decreased the number of students enrolled in each College. In this sense, it is necessary to know the aspects that direct students to choose the Higher Education Institution - IES. In order to verify the behavior of the students and the attitude influences in their decisions, the managers' perception of the IES and if the variables used as the planned behavior model proposed by Ajzen are sufficient to get statistically significant results, we applied an unstructured research with managers and IES Alpha managers and students entering, following the model proposed by Ajzen with some adaptations to the case study and the Brazilian standard. After analyzing the data with SPSS software, it was noticed that among the 36 initial variables, only 9 had statistically significant correlations, which identifies for student engagement with the Course and the Faculty, the relationship between price and brand and great family influence over their attitudes to advertising. However, the exclusion of key variables for the attitudes model study of Ajzen, there was an unfeasibility of its application. Thus, it was found that the most important components for students, differ from Administrative Management of Institutions of Higher Education, which may result in an incorrect application of its communication to attract prospective students / O presente trabalho busca apresentar a Teoria do Comportamento Planejado - TPB de Icek Ajzen e verificar se o modelo de estudo das atitudes de Ajzen pode contribuir para explicar as escolhas dos alunos de graduação por determinada marca educacional. Para isso foram apresentadas as teorias gerais das atitudes com colaboração dos conceitos de Motivação e Necessidades Humanas, bem como a evolução dos conceitos de Teoria da Ação Racional para a teoria do Comportamento Planejado. O contexto brasileiro demonstra uma competitividade cada vez maior, a partir do aparecimento de novos cursos e faculdades entre 2002 e 2010. Esse crescimento aumentou o número de vagas e diminuiu a quantidade de alunos matriculados em cada faculdade. Nesse sentido, torna-se necessário conhecer os aspectos que direcionam os alunos a escolherem a Instituição de Ensino Superior - IES. A fim de verificar o comportamento dos alunos e a influência das atitudes em suas decisões, a percepção dos gestores da IES e se as variáveis utilizadas conforme o modelo do comportamento planejado sugerido por Ajzen são suficientes para obter resultados estatisticamente significativos, foram aplicadas uma pesquisa não estruturada com os gestores da IES Alfa e com alunos ingressantes seguindo o modelo proposto por Ajzen com algumas adaptações para o estudo de caso e ao padrão brasileiro. Após a análise dos dados com o auxílio do software SPSS, percebeu-se que entre as 36 variáveis iniciais, somente 9 possuíam correlações estatisticamente significativas, o que permite identificar o comprometimento do aluno para com o curso e a faculdade, a relação entre preço e marca e a grande influência familiar em detrimento à propaganda em suas atitudes. Contudo, pela exclusão de variáveis importantes para o estudo do modelo de atitudes de Ajzen, houve uma inviabilização de sua aplicação. Assim, verificou-se que os componentes de maior relevância para os alunos, diferem dos componentes apontados pela gestão administrativa da IES, o que poderá ocasionar na incorreta aplicação de sua comunicação para atrair os futuros alunos

Purpose – This thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of the Chinese customers’ perception and acceptance of eco-conscious apparel (ECA) based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The thesis further examines whether people would like to pay more for ECA and how the factor of willingness to pay a premium is influenced by TPB variables. Design/methodology/approach – The research design is based on quantitative methodology. The data were collected via a web-based survey, a total of 315 responses from Chinese consumers were analyzed with application of the structural equation modeling. Findings – Both attitude toward ECA and perceived behavioral control over ECA acquisition have positive influence on ECA purchasing intention. Willingness to pay a premium for ECA is only positively affected by subjective norm. There is no correlation between ECA purchasing intention and willingness to pay a premium for ECA. Implications – To raise Chinese customers’ purchasing intention, fashion company should focus their actions on disseminating environmental information and knowledge, and offer affordable ECA options with the properties close to traditional apparel. To evoke the willingness to pay a premium for ECA, fashion company can apply celebrity endorsement to add perceived social value into its ECA series. Such actions will contribute to formation of positive social norm and hence positive perception towards ECA. Meanwhile, the government can put more efforts into educating Chinese people about sustainability issues in fashion industry, formulating and implementing policies in favor of ECA consumption, so that a positive social atmosphere for ECA consumption could be created. Originality/value – This study is novel in applying TPB for examining the consumer purchasing of apparel containing recycled fiber in China. The thesis provides useful information to corporate practitioners on how to formulate ECA marketing strategies in China. Research findings are also of relevance for Chinese government by providing recommendations for formulating relevant policies to favor the ECA consumption.

Cette thèse s’intéresse aux croyances, représentations et facteurs qui façonnent l’intention de croissance du dirigeant de PME. Produire de la connaissance sur ces éléments est essentiel. A un niveau social, l’intention de croissance constitue un enjeu dans une période marquée simultanément par le chômage et le manque d’attirance des dirigeants pour la croissance. A un niveau académique, la connaissance des micro-fondations de la croissance demeure méconnue et à renforcer (Wright et Stigliani, 2012). L’enquête qualitative est constituée de 32 entretiens individuels, complétée par 2 entretiens collectifs focalisés et des données recueillies lors des salons majeurs de la PME. Les résultats mettent d’abord en évidence la construction cognitive du phénomène de croissance, puis soulignent la nature distincte des croyances qui façonnent l’intention de croissance et ses deux formes de négation identifiées : l’intention de non-croissance et la non-intention de croissance. Des propositions concrètes sont avancées pour encourager l’intention de croissance du dirigeant. / This thesis focuses on the beliefs, representations and factors shaping SMEs owners’ growth intention. Produce knowledge on these elements is crucial. At a social level, growth intention is an issue in a period marked simultaneously by unemployment and lack of attraction of entrepreneurs for growth. At an academic level, knowledge of the micro-foundations of growth remains unknown and need further strengthening (Stigliani and Wright, 2012). The qualitative survey consists of 32 individual interviews, supplemented by 2 focus group interviews and data collected during major exhibitions of SMEs. First results highlight the cognitive construction of growth phenomenon and emphasize the distinct nature of the beliefs that shape growth intention and its two forms of denial identified: intention of no-growth and no-intention of growth. Concrete proposals are put forward to encourage SMEs owners’ growth intention.