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The following research integrated the Theory of Planned Behavior with variables from the consumer socialization and parenting literatures to explore parental impact on adolescent food decision-making. Three specific types of parenting practices (expectation, monitoring, and inducement/enforcement behaviors), parenting style, and family communication style were investigated. A multi-method approach was taken to develop and test the integrated model. Study 1 used interviews to identify food-related parental expectation, monitoring, and inducement/enforcement behaviors reported by both normal and overweight parents and adolescents. Study 2 evaluated a structural model of adolescent food choice, including predictors from the Theory of Planned Behavior, the food-related parenting practices identified in the interviews, parenting style, and family communication style. The findings suggest that specific parenting practices have an impact on adolescent food choices beyond predictors from the TPB. / Ph. D.

Introduction: Weight problems not only affect adults, but youth as well. Excessive sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is suggested to be a contributor to youth overweight and obesity and other cardiometabolic risk factors. Parents, although probably not readily admitted by adolescents, are known to influence youth's dietary beliefs and practices. Using theoretical models, like the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) that accounts for intention, attitudes, norms, and perceptions of control, to develop interventions can be more effective in changing health-risk behaviors versus those not grounded in theory. Methods: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis on how the TPB has been applied to youth's diet-related behaviors was conducted. Subsequently, a mixed methods investigation of adolescents' (n=100) and parents' (n=66) SSB consumption and exploratory analysis of parents' responses to adolescents' beverage choices was carried out. Results: From 34 articles, attitude was identified as having the strongest relationship with behavioral intention (mean r=0.52), and intention as the most common predictor of youth's diet-related behavior (mean r=0.38, both p<0.001). However, in the mixed methods analysis adolescents' subjective norm was the strongest predictor of intention to limit sugary beverage consumption to less than one cup per day (b=0.57, p=0.001). Intention was the strongest predictor of SSB intake in parents and adolescents (b=-47, p=0.01; b=-37, p≤0.05). The TPB explained more variance in parents' SSB consumption than adolescents' (R²=0.22 versus R²=0.38, both p≤0.001, respectively). At lower levels of intention to limit SSB consumption and higher levels of parental encouragement to consume SSBs, adolescents' predicted SSB intake was highest (p=0.059) suggesting that some adolescents may be influenced by their parent's reactions to their sugary beverage choices while others may not. Conclusions: Intention appears to be a strong construct influencing adolescents' diet-related behaviors, specifically SSB consumption, and this intention may be influenced by parents and other social factors. Future work can tap into adolescents' peer network and role models or authority figures to identify how these groups and individuals influence and moderate the intention to limit sugary beverage consumption. / Ph. D.

In developed nations, 20-40% of greenhouse gas emissions and more than one-third of energy consumption are attributable to buildings. Among various available strategies, the building sector has the greatest potential for carbon emission reduction. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) took early action to promote sustainable designs in buildings and has become the most well-known rating system in the field of building sustainability. However, little research has evaluated the effects of LEED on occupant pro-environmental behavior. To examine this, a Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) was conducted in a traditional, green featured, and LEED certified building case to compare the similarities and differences in environmental awareness, perceptions, and perceived ease or difficulty of pro-environmental behaviors, as well as to assess the degree to which pro-environmental behaviors were exhibited by occupants. This was used to determine if the aforementioned factors influence occupant behavior in different building cases. Ease or difficulty of pro-environmental behaviors and environmental awareness were found to be significant factors in influencing pro-environmental behavior in the LEED certified and green featured building cases. In addition, being in a LEED building appears to influence occupant pro-environmental behavior in a positive way. Also, there is evidence to suggest that being in a green featured building appears to influence occupants to exhibit pro-environmental behavior as well. These findings are valuable for owners and designers that want occupants in their buildings to exhibit pro-environmental behavior. / Master of Science / Climate change is an issue that has risen to national and global importance with the increase of rising sea levels, temperature and precipitation, and extreme weather events. To combat the issue of climate change, changes in building design through the avenue of green rating systems have been used to encourage the building sector to reduce energy consumption and thus, a building’s environmental impact. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), is one of the most well-known green rating systems used to rate energy efficient buildings. However, the effect of LEED on occupant pro-environmental behavior has been less studied in understanding how occupant behavior impacts energy consumption in a traditional, green featured, and LEED certified building case. This thesis aims to explore if occupying different buildings influence occupants to exhibit proenvironmental behaviors. For this study, I investigated whether occupant’s environmental awareness, perceptions, perceived ease or difficulty of set behaviors and pro-environmental behavior differed between different building cases. This thesis concludes that being in a LEED certified and green featured building appear to influence occupants to exhibit pro-environmental behavior, more so than being in a traditional building.

Ungdomars beteende styrs av attityder, subjektiva normer och upplevd kontroll och utifrån omgivningen regleras beteendet för att skapa intryck som platsar i olika sociala interaktioner. Ungdomar presenteras sig olika beroende på sammanhang och utför olika strategier för att bli accepterade och känna tillhörighet. I dag är Instagram en gemensam plattform där ungdomar kan interagera med varandra via och eftersom det erbjuds bland annat publicering, delning och arkivering av bilder inleds en process till ett förlängt jag. Studien har syftat till att undersöka vilka strategier som ungdomar i åldrarna 13-16 i dag använder i sin självpresentation på Instagram för att uppnå tillhörighet. För att uppnå syftet med studien skapades en teorisyntes för att kunna kartlägga deras strategiska självpresentationer. Denna utgår från Theory of planned behavior, Erving Goffmans dramaturgiska samhällssyn, Jones och Pittmans självpresentationsstrategier och Russell Belks teori kring det förlängda jaget. I vår fallstudie genomfördes en fokusgrupp och fyra individuella intervjuer samt en bildanalys som alla hade utgångspunkt i teorisyntesen. Undersökningarna genomfördes för att ge svar på hur ungdomars beteende ser ut på Instagram och hur de använder applikationen för att presentera sig själva genom publicering av bilder. Resultatet visade att ungdomar i dag använder flera olika strategier för att presentera sig själva på Instagram. Den mest förekommande strategin är självfrämjan och i vissa fall använder de även insmickran och föregå med gott exempel. De vill lyfta fram egenskaperna av att vara kompetenta, sympatiska och moraliskt värdiga och utifrån detta publicerar de bilder på sig själva, sina kompisar och aktiviteter som föreslår just detta. / The behavior of adolescents is controlled by attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control, and they generate different impressions based on their environment to fit into their different social interactions. Adolescents present themselves different depending on their relations and alternate their strategies to do so in order to fit in and feel accepted. Today Instagram is a common platform for interaction between adolescents and because it offers publication, sharing and storing of images a process of creating an extended self occurs. The purpose of this study is to examine which strategies adolescents between the ages 13-16 use in their presentation of self on Instagram to achieve their sense of belonging. To accomplish this purpose we created a theoretical synthesis in order to map their strategic self-presentation. This synthesis is based on the Theory of planned behavior, Ervin Goffman’s concept of dramaturgy, Jones and Pitman’s self-presentation strategies and Russell Belk’s theory of the extended self. With this as a base in our case study we held a focus group and four individual interviews followed by a picture analysis. These enquiries were carried out with the purpose of answering how adolescents act on Instagram and how they use this application in their self-presentation via images. The result indicates that adolescents, today, use several different strategies in their presentation of self on Instagram. The strategy that is most prone to be used is self-promotion followed by ingratiation and exemplification. They want to highlight their capability to be competent, appealing and morally worthy and they publish pictures of themselves, their friends and their activities based on that.

Ungdomarna idag tillhör en generation som kallas för Generation Y och de särskiljer sig från tidigare generationer med ett antal karaktäristiska drag. Dock, är det inte endast dessa drag som kan urskiljas utan även ett annorlunda riskbeteende gentemot tidigare generationer.  Experter är eniga om att det finns ett flertal faktorer som påverkar individers riskbenägenhet och att faktorerna varierar beroende på individens ålder. Detta leder oftast till att när ämnet undersöks, riktar forskarna in sig på en viss åldersgrupp eller generation. Det begränsat med forskning som specifikt tar upp Generation Y och riskbenägenhet. Därav är syftet med denna forskning att undersöka hur utvalda demografiska faktorer påverkar riskbenägenheten hos studenter ur Generation Y.  Uppsatsen antog en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi med ett beskrivande syfte. Theory of Planned Behavior är den teori som hypoteserna grundats på. Den insamlade empirin utgjordes av en kvantitativ studie, i form av en enkätundersökning som har en begränsning till fem skolämbeten. / The youth of today belongs to a generation called Generation Y and are distinguished from previous generations by a number of characteristic features. However, it is not only these features that can be distinguished between Generation Y and previous generation, but also a different kind of risk behavior. Experts agree that there are several factors that affect individuals' willingness to take risks and that these factors vary depending on the individual's age. This often results to, when this field is studied, that scientists aim on a specific age group or generation. Research regarding Generation Y has been conducted, however, there is limited research that specifically addresses Generation Y and risk propensity. Hence, the aim of this research is to examine how demographic factors influence the risk propensity of Generation Y. This dissertation adopted a positivist research philosophy with an explanatory purpose. Theory of Planned Behavior is the theory that the hypotheses are based on. The empirical data was collected using a quantitative study, in the form of a survey limited to five institutions of higher education.

Syftet med studien var att ta reda på studenters intention att stanna i Luleå efter avslutade studier vid Luleå tekniska universitet. För att ta reda på detta användes Theory of planned behavior (TPB). Deltagarna var 407 studenter från olika program vid LTU. En elektronisk enkät mailades ut till studenterna. Data analyserades med multipla linjära regressionsanalyser. Frågornas reliabilitet kontrollerades med Cronbachs alfa. Generellt var Intention att stanna i Luleå låg. Attityd hade störst effekt på Intention, där att kunna forma sin framtid som man vill var den starkaste bakomliggande faktorn till Attityd. Subjektiv norm påverkade även Intentionen och där var familjens vilja den starkaste bakomliggande faktorn. Upplevd beteendekontroll påverkade ej Intentionen. Kvinnor hade högre intention att stanna än män och utsocknes hade lägre intention än Luleåbor att stanna i Luleå efter studierna. Det visade sig även att möjligheterna till arbete inte påverkar studenters intention att stanna. Korrelationer visade att härkomst har medelstarka till starka samband med intention, där ju längre från Luleå man kom desto lägre var intentionen att stanna. / The purpose of this study was to gain knowledge of students’ intentions to stay in Luleå after finishing their studies at Luleå university of technology. Theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used to gain this knowledge. The sample consisted of 407 students from different programs at LTU. An electronic survey was sent by e-mail to the students. Data was analyzed with multiple linear regression analyses. The reliability of the questions was controlled with Cronbach’s alpha. Generally, the Intention to stay was low. Attitude had the greatest effect on Intention, where being able to form ones’ future as one wants it was the strongest underlying factor to Attitude. Subjective norm also affected Intention and the family’s will was the strongest underlying factor. Perceived behavioral control had no effect on Intention. Women’s intention to stay was higher than men’s and nonresidential students had lower intention to stay in Luleå after finishing their studies than students originally from Luleå had. The result also showed that job opportunities had no effect on students’ intention to stay. Correlations showed that origin had a semi-strong to strong connection with Intention, where the farther away from Luleå one origin, the lower was the intention to stay.