Digital formats and social networks provide unique opportunities for meteorologists to disseminate weather information to the public, but it comes with a set of challenges. These opportunities and challenges may be enhanced when applied to a younger demographic, which acquires information from different platforms than the traditional sources the older demographics utilize. There is a vast amount of literature that focuses on weather dissemination, weather information sources, and risk perception; however, there is a lack of emphasis on 18 to 24 year olds. The first two parts of this dissertation attempted to fill this lack of knowledge on 18 to 24 year olds by conducting interviews at several college campuses to gain rich knowledge of the daily processes involving weather information and determine their understanding of weather graphics. Participants cited checking the weather forecast pretty frequently but utilized non-traditional sources for the weather forecast. It was also determined that participants lacked an understanding of weather products. The last part of this dissertation attempted to obtain a better understanding of the public’s weather knowledge and self-perceived weather knowledge. This study compared the public to those who actively follow specialty weather pages. In addition, how severity impacts decision-making and confidence in decision-making was evaluated. Followers of specialty weather pages had higher self-perceived and assessed weather knowledge. It was also determined that the public is more likely to adhere to recommendations from meteorologists, and that the correlation between self-perceived weather knowledge and confidence is weak.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka relationen mellan självupplevd kunskap av gamification och tredjepersonseffekten (TPE) (En effekt som innefattar att jaget “första person” tror att propaganda eller kommunikation påverkar andra “tredje person” mer än sig själv) samt hur denna påverkar motivationsnivån som gamification försöker höja. Studien omfattade sex deltagare. Tre spelstudenter som har kunskap av gamification och tre konststudenter som inte har kunskap av gamification. Detta är för att se hur den självupplevda kunskapen påverkar TPE och därmed motivationen till att använda applikationen Duolingo som valdes som ett instrument i denna studie för att svara på forskningsfrågan. Där den huvudsakliga forskningsfrågan lyder, hur påverkar den självupplevda kunskapen av gamification motivationsnivån? Som har ytterligare två underfrågor för att besvara den huvudsakliga, hur påverkar den självupplevda kunskapen av gamification tredjepersoneffekten? samt hur påverkar tredjepersoneffekten motivationsnivån? Studien innefattade både en kvalitativ och en kvantitativ del i datainsamlingen där både semistrukturerade intervjuer och enkäter användes. Tematisk analys och ett induktivt sätt användes som dataanalysmetod i denna studie. Denna studie har funnit att den självupplevda kunskapen inte påverkar motivationen. Däremot kunde det inte finnas en TPE i spelstudenternas syn gentemot konststudenterna, där det var evident att spelstudenterna ansåg att alla påverkas av gamification och spelelement. Vidare hittades ingen relation mellan TPE och motivationsnivån även fast studenterna insåg en social distans mellan grupperna. Däremot ansågs inte gamification som något negativt, vilket medför att TPE inte uppkom mellan de två grupperna. Å andra sidan uppkom det en TPE gentemot barn och unga eftersom respondenterna ansåg dessa grupper som mer erfarna av spel, vilket resulterar i att de påverkas mer av de negativa effekterna med applikationens utformning såsom spelberoende, ekonomisk press och otillräcklig information för språkinlärning, samt spelelementen som används i applikationen. Vidare existerade även TPE gentemot personer som är tävlingsinriktade och skulle ha ett stort fokus i tävlingsaspekten av applikationen. / This study aimed to explore the interplay between self-perceived knowledge, gamification, and the thirdperson effect (TPE) (An effect which includes the "first person" believes that propaganda or communication affects other "third person" more than itself) in relation to motivation levels facilitated by gamification elements. Data was collected from six participants, divided into two groups: computer science students specializing in game design at Stockholm University (with knowledge of gamification) and art students at Luleå University (without knowledge of gamification), serving as a comparison group. This division allowed for an analysis of how self-perceived knowledge impacts the third-person effect and subsequent motivation to use the Duolingo phone app. This study aims to explore the relationship between self-perceived knowledge of gamification, motivation levels, and the third-person effect. The main research question guiding this investigation is: "How does self-perceived knowledge of gamification influence user motivation?" Two supporting sub-questions are posed to shed light on this main question: "How does self-perceived knowledge of gamification impact the third-person effect?" and "How does the third-person effect influence user motivation?" By investigating these interrelated factors, this study seeks to provide insights into the complex dynamics between self-perceived knowledge, gamification, motivation, and the third-person effect. The study incorporates a comprehensive qualitative section, employing semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to collect and analyse data. Additionally, a smaller quantitative section employs a survey to assess participants' self-perceived knowledge. The findings indicate no significant evidence of a third-person effect between the computer science and art students. The computer science students believed that gamification affects everyone, regardless of student group. Moreover, the study reveals no correlation between the third-person effect and motivation, despite evident social distance between the groups. Notably, gamification was not perceived as a negative phenomenon or strategy, leading to a diminished occurrence of the third-person effect. However, there was a recognised TPE towards children and young adults due to the respondents considering these groups as more experienced with video games, which results in them being more affected by the negative effects of the applications design. These effects were notably game addiction, financial pressure, and insufficient information for language learning, as well as the game elements used in the application. Furthermore, TPE also existed towards people who are competitive and would have a big focus in the competition aspect of the application.

Students are exposed to food concepts in agriculture-based career technical education (CTE) courses which provide a gateway for students to become more aware of food science career pathways. Professional development for Mississippi (MS) CTE teachers is needed to effectively implement food science-based instruction since there is not a food science curriculum framework adopted in MS. The objective of this study was to assess a food science professional development training for MS CTE teachers that would increase their self-perceived knowledge of food science, self-perceived ability to conduct food science skills, and their self-efficacy to implement food science-based instruction. Thirty-one teachers participated in a 2-h professional development (PD) training that provided teachers an experiential learning opportunity to learn and apply food science concepts. Results indicated that the food science PD training was effective at increasing teachers’ self-perceived knowledge and ability to conduct food science skills. Post training, more than 77% of the participating teachers were more confident in their ability to teach food science concepts. Overall, teachers were satisfied with the food science PD training. After participating in the food science PD training, teachers were asked to implement food science-based instruction in their CTE courses. A pilot test was conducted to examine MS CTE teachers’ (N=4) perception of implementing food science-based instruction that was provided to them. Post implementation, each teacher participated in a semi-structured interview to capture each teacher’s detailed experience pertaining to the implementation of the food science-based instruction. A conventional content analysis was used to analyze teacher responses. Research findings indicated that MS CTE teachers were interested in teaching food science to increase student knowledge of food science and to enhance student performance on the Future Farmers of America food science career development event. All teachers noted that they had a positive experience implementing the food science toolkit and that they intend to use the food science-based instruction in the future. MS CTE teachers perceived that the food science toolkit increased student exposure to, engagement in, and interest in food science academic and career pathways.