Can a Nudge Perform a Miracle? A quasi-experimental field study on employees’ stated and revealed preferences towards plastic recycling at Haukeland university hospital

Master's thesis in Economic AnalysisPlastic pollution has become a major global problem and recycling is one step to take to solve the issue. A lot of research on nudge theory have focused on consumers, but very few have investigated the effect of nudges on employees’ environmental behaviour. Organizations produce substantial amount of plastic wastes where the success of correct recycling depends mainly on employees. The aim of this thesis is therefore to motivate and encourage employees’ plastic recycling behaviour by introducing simple nudges and investigate their stated and revealed preferences while taking the value-action gap into consideration. Theory of planned behaviour and nudge theory were used as conceptual lenses to guide this research. A quasi-experimental field study with one control group and two experimental groups including a pre-post-test was conducted. Based on a review of the literature on nudge theory and theories on human behaviour, interventions were designed, an online survey was distributed, and waste audits were conducted. Nudge interventions were: 1) provision of information on the meaning and purpose behind recycling through a document sent by email, 2) recognition; a poster with a positive message, 3) Instructions; informative posters on how to dispose plastic waste and 4) a reminder to recycle. Results show that one experimental group improved recycling by 42%, the other experimental group decreased by 2 % and the control group experienced a 26% improvement. A combination of meaning and purpose to recycle and simple recognition nudge seemed to have the strongest effect. The intention to recycle had a significant positive effect on stated behaviour, moreover intention and behaviour were similar across groups. There was a slight contradiction in stated and revealed preferences for one experimental group however consistency in preferences for the other experimental group. In conclusion, emphasizing meaning and purpose and recognizing recycling effort may improve environmentally friendly behaviour. Based on the results, it is recommended that environmental organizations use simple and cheap nudges to target their goal of more correct recycling and in turn gain financial and environmental benefits

Ziziphora clinopodioides Flavonoids Protect Myocardial Cell Damage from Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

To investigate effects of Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam. flavonoids on ischemia-reperfusion injury of myocardial cells. After application of 6.25, 25, and 100 μg/mL Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam. flavonoids to H9C2 myocardial cells for 24H, they were treated for 4 hours with hydrogen peroxide to induce oxidative damage, whereas controls were cells without treatment and cells only incubated with hydrogen peroxide. Cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase release and mitochondrial membrane potential, intracellular Na+/K+-ATPase activity and ATP content, and reactive oxygen species formation were monitored. An ischemia-reperfusion injury rat model was established by left anterior descending coronary artery ligature in 48 Sprague-Dawley rats, which were divided into positive control with isosorbide mononitrate (10 mg/kg) injection (n=8), model (ischemia-reperfusion, n=8), sham-operated (n=8), and Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam. flavonoids low (75 mg/kg, n=8), medium (150 mg/kg, n=8), and high concentration (300 mg/kg, n=8) groups. Superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde content in homogenized hearts were measured and ischemic and infarction areas were triphenyl tetrazolium chloride and H&E stained for pathological and morphological examinations. Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam. flavonoids preconditioning improved cell viability (P<0.01), intracellular Na/K ATPase activity (P<0.001), and intracellular ATP content (P<0.001) and maintained mitochondrial membrane potential (P<0.05) in hydrogen peroxide treated H9C2 cells as well as rescued superoxide dismutase activity (P<0.01), decreased the malondialdehyde content (P<0.001), and reduced myocardial damage in the ischemia-reperfusion rat model (P<0.001) compared to the controls. Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam. flavonoids may be an effective drug for protecting myocardial tissue from ischemia-reperfusion injury by reducing reactive oxygen species related damage