Engaging the CommunityWhen engaging the community the focus must be to avoid intrusion with students and faculty and follow a more passive manner of getting the message across. When the message becomes intrusive, it creates a higher chance of pushing a student away from the actual issue and begins to add negative connotations behind the campaign. It has been found “that intrusive advertising hurts the brand only when the consumer is
able to later recognize the brand” (Nielsen, Huber pg.2). In terms of littering, people may associate the advertisements as intrusive if the message becomes too aggressive. In consideration of these effects, to engage cooperation the messaging and programs enforced must be applied with the intent to assist people rather than regulate. |
PresentationsThe relevance of messaging and giving demonstrations of desired behavioural outcomes would eliminate groups who avoid proper waste disposal. This would present individuals with solutions and expectations as being apart of the university collective.
A main focus on incoming students would primarily enable constructive control on what students are accountable for. These students are considered to be crucial aspects of changing the campus’ behaviours, as they are a new incoming population that is continuously growing each year. Presenting approaches and solutions to litter would create initiatives for students, where they would be knowledgeable on where and how to correctly dispose, reuse, and recycle their waste. Accordingly, the presentations made to these first year classes would be simple, in which they would provide steps to publicly educate as many students as given; As well by answering questions on where students can reach certain forms of safe waste disposals. Visual Stimulants is focused primarily on a quick, efficient way to transmit information. It has a focus on info-graphics to try and show the effects of littering as well as the use of TV space on the University of Manitoba campus. These will be intended to try and change a student or faculty member’s idea of what can be thrown out and explain some of the causes for litter as well. Info-graphics provide powerful approaches to draw in attention, while also getting across a large amount of information in a space efficient manner. They are normally focused on a very broad subject and are especially effective at offering alternatives to problems. For example, some will describe the effects of litter on local wildlife or even what happens when it reaches the ocean. |
Ambassadors and EventsCreating a role for certain individuals on the University of Manitoba campus to promote and reward positive sustainable actions would encourage these behaviours and, help develop the repetition of these practices into habits. A main point brought into perspective by (Table 1 pg.9 Descriptive Statistics for Reasons for Not Recycling) “I’m not in the Habit of Recycling” shows that aside from infrastructural components, the most endorsing reason for not recycling was that the individual was not in the habit of doing so. In turn, by rewarding positive behaviours through the use of ambassadors, those behaviours will be motivated to become more frequent, and in the long run, turn into habits.
Ambassadors could be anyone with the desire to work on promoting campus sustainability, cleanliness, and beautification. Unlike department representatives, these ambassadors would not require being appointed as their role solely relies on the activism of students by their initiatives. Deeming one to be a “Clean Campus Ambassador” would involve the spread of messaging through social interactions. Overall they would be encouraging their peers to cultivate sustainable practices. Along with social interactions, ambassadors could also give publicity to events such as waste reduction week, Earth day, campus beautification, and any other sustainable practiced events involving the University community. The benefit of these ambassadors would ultimately assist in the motives to create the social norm on campus of cultivating litter free and sustainable habits. |
Social Media As a recommendation, social media will not be an immediate deterrent to littering but is something put in place to keep people informed. Students are using social media more and more frequently to pass the time and keep in touch and being able to become a small fraction of that time could come with positive results. Social media would be used primarily as a tool to inform students of the issues from littering while simultaneously not being intrusive on their time. The best part of using social media as a medium, is that it is entirely free to use therefore it poses no cost on it being run but the time of a few administrators.
One of the simplest forms of social media improving upon behavioural habits of students would be through sites like Instagram and YouTube. These sites would allow an administrator group to post pictures, which would include people practicing good ethics in regards to littering. These mediums also allow for recaps of possible events to show students what the events would include if they were unable to attend or unsure if it would be worth their time. Alternatives to mediums like this would be Facebook and twitter. They both allow someone to quickly share information to others and require very little in terms of effort to get that information out. |