Graduation Year

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Mass Communications

Major Professor

Scott S. Liu, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Roxanne Watson, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Artemio Ramirez Jr, Ph.D.

Keywords

Issues Process Model, knowledge, involvement, food waste prevention, behavior, communication

Abstract

Food waste has been a worldwide concern for several decades but this problem is relatively new in the Malaysian context due to the increasing amount of food waste in recent years. Thus, the goal of the study is to provide the basic information of knowledge and involvement level, and their interaction in food waste prevention among households in Malaysia. This study seek to further mass communication research in the area of food waste. The Hallahan’s Issues Processes Model was used within this study in order to determine the relationship between knowledge, involvement, and food waste prevention behavior. The convenience sampling method was adopted and the surveys were conducted using the online survey tool, Qualtric. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22.00 software. The results supported the hypotheses that the level of knowledge has a positive impact on food waste behavior only if the household’s involvement is high and vice versa. According to this model, Malaysian households fall under the category of an active audience, because they recognize the negative consequences and their acceptance that food waste prevention is personally relevant in their daily life. The findings of this study contribute further recommendations for government campaign that could focus on enhancing household planning skills and routines when it comes to the food preparation. Furthermore, the need for educational campaign against food waste should focus on selected information such as demographic background and presented in mass media to stimulate model behavior in the households.

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