Going back to my 20/20 List,I said that I wanted to start composting in my dorm, so when I was in need of a research idea for one of my classes (DEA1500), I knew I’d have to start composting in my dorm. And I did! Now I present to you a draft of my research presentation! 

(Sorry for the lack of what would be a lovely narration by moi ;P ) 

 

 

*For my experimental study I looked at how signage, education, and motivation  impacted the amount of waste being composted in a dorm. I used four different floors to set up these conditions. 


*The 3rd floor was the control with just a sign to indicate a compost. The 4th floor was the same as the 3rd + had a sign as to what should/shouldn’t be composted. 


*The 5th floor was the same as the 4th floor, but an educational email was sent to residents. The 6th floor was the same as the 5th, but a progress thermometer sign was posted/colored in each day for motivation.  

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*Basically what was found is that signage and education in a college dorm situation don’t do all that much, although motivation may play a big role in increasing compost usage. 

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AND ON A RELATED NOTE…. I kind of got an unexpected research offer from my professor this morning and may be able to continue some of this research with one of his grad students!! It’s kind of ironic because I’m one of the only people I know who hasn’t gone crazy looking for research and somehow this fell into my lap. Strange how things work out. 

PS: Sorry for a long post, but thanks for reading/(skimming), and hope you’ve possibly learned something new! Next time I’ll be back with something just a *tad* shorter.