Katherine Marie White

Poor mental health among students undertaking health professional training is increasingly recognised as a significant global challenge [1]. University students face a range of mental health challe...

To address the increasing need for volunteers in countries experiencing conflict and natural disasters, this study examined young adults’ willingness to volunteer abroad in a “higher risk” country. Young Australian adults ( N = 163) completed an online survey of Prototype Willingness Model constructs, risk perceptions, and trust in the organization. Attitude, subjective norm (approval from others), perceived similarity to a typical volunteer, risk susceptibility, risk severity, and trust in the charitable organization significantly predicted volunteer willingness, with trust in the organization influencing a number of the antecedents to volunteer willingness. Risk susceptibility had an unexpected positive relationship with volunteer willingness, highlighting the importance of acceptance of associated risks for openness to volunteering in higher risk settings. This study contributes to our understanding of volunteering abroad in higher risk countries, informing efforts to increase the prevalence of international volunteering, essential to address the imbalance of resources globally.

Living organ donation through exchange programmes, where donors are anonymously matched with recipients, is a growing practice that addresses compatibility barriers in transplantation. However, limited research explores predictors influencing individuals' willingness to engage in such programmes. This study used the prototype willingness model (PWM) along with moral norm to examine key predictors of people's willingness to participate in living organ (kidney) donation within an exchange programme based on a hypothetical scenario. Given the recent introduction of a national exchange programme, participants (N = 147) were adult Australians with no current conditions affecting organ donation eligibility. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed attitudes towards organ donation and similarity to a typical organ donor significantly contributed to people's willingness to donate their kidney via an exchange programme. Moral norm, the personal belief that organ donation is a moral obligation, also predicted willingness. Willingness to donate in an exchange programme is more closely tied to one's personal attitude, self-image (similarity to a typical donor) and moral obligation than any external social pressures. Given their increasing prevalence, future research should continue to explore individuals' motivations for donating in exchange programes which are crucial for enhancing donor recruitment efforts to save lives.

There is increasing pressure on young consumers to practice sustainable consumption. With young women being key agents in fashion consumption, switching their purchasing to secondhand clothing over new is instrumental to reducing textile waste. This study applied the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Prototype Willingness Model to identify key drivers informing young women’s secondhand clothing purchasing decisions. Young Australian women (N = 48) completed qualitative surveys assessing their underlying attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs and perceived images of typical secondhand clothing shoppers. Thematic analysis indicated the main benefits of secondhand clothing purchasing to be the environmental impact and cost savings, with drawbacks being quality issues, reduced shopping experience, and greater effort required. Clothing diversity was both positive (‘unique finds’) and had a downside (limited sizes). Approvers of secondhand purchasing were mainly friends and family, with older relatives being less supportive. Key barriers were increased prices for quality items and the time required to locate them. Images of typical secondhand clothes shoppers were generally positive (‘cool’, ‘thrifty’, ‘unique’, ‘eco-friendly’), while ‘materialistic’, ‘upper-class’, and ‘ignorant’ but also ‘trendy’ indicated mixed perceptions about those who did not. Crucial in our findings was clarifying the intersections and contextual context of participants’ responses. Identifying the nuances in the underlying beliefs driving young women’s fashion choices assists in theory-informed strategies to encourage sustainable consumption of clothing.

Participatory data stewardship (PDS) empowers individuals to shape and govern their data via responsible collection and use. As artificial intelligence (AI) requires massive amounts of data, research must assess what factors predict consumers' willingness to provide their data to AI. This mixed-methods study applied the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with additional predictors of trust and subjective norms. Participants' data donation profile was also measured to assess the influence of individuals' social duty, understanding of the purpose and guilt. Participants (N = 322) completed an experimental survey. Individuals were willing to provide data to AI via PDS when they believed it was their social duty, understood the purpose and trusted AI. However, the TAM may not be a complete model for assessing user willingness. This study establishes that individuals value the importance of trusting and comprehending the broader societal impact of AI when providing their data to AI.Practitioner summary: To build responsible and representative AI, individuals are needed to participate in data stewardship. The factors driving willingness to participate in such methods were studied via an online survey. Trust, social duty and understanding the purpose significantly predicted willingness to provide data to AI via participatory data stewardship.