Objective
Psychology of Learning (PSYC 1080)
gave us this opportunity to conduct a Da’wah Project for this semester. Before beginning,
we scanned our surroundings to see if there is anything that we would like to
change. After thorough observation and discussion, we have decided to make
people clean up after themselves after eating at the Human Sciences canteen.
The main objective of this da’wah project is to encourage
the patrons of the Human Sciences canteen to be responsible and clean up after
themselves and improve the overall cleanliness of the canteen.
The
problem is that there are not enough cleaners. Thus, the plates and rubbish are
left on the tables, leaving the tables in a terrible mess. This situation will
remain until the cleaner comes to clean the tables. We would like to prove that
it is not a hard job to do and that every student could and should do the same
too.
Target
behaviour
As mentioned earlier, our main
target behaviour of this particular Da’wah Project is for people to clean up
the tables by placing their plates in the trolleys and throwing away their
rubbish into the bins provided after eating at Human Sciences canteen. Our
target group are the patrons of the Human Sciences canteen. As to measure this
behaviour, we will be counting the number of students who perform the desired
behaviour before the intervention programme is carried out. Then, we will
compare the frequency of students who perform the desired behaviour after the
intervention programme.
Intervention
Programme and the Implementation
There were several methods used in
our intervention programme. Firstly, we told our close friends, classmates, group
mates and anybody who we knew at the Human Sciences canteen what our programme is
about and in what way they can also help. We told them that we wanted people to
be more responsible for the cleanliness and hygiene of the surroundings as well
as making it easier for the next person who is using the table so that they do
not have to clean up after a mess that is not their own.
Secondly, is showing a good model of
behaviour. All six members of our group had to pledge to clean our tables and
place our plates in the trolleys provided each time we eat, especially at the
Human Sciences canteen. As the saying goes, we need to practice what we preach.
By showing a good model of behaviour, we would like for our friends and
everyone else to know that cleaning up after themselves is something very easy
and beneficial for everyone.
Thirdly, was to get the co-operation
from the higher authorities of the Food, Facilities and Services Department to
publicise our message. We explained to the Head of the Department of Psychology,
Dr. Harris Shah in order to receive his support and recommendation letter for
us to get the permission to have posters posted on the tables at the Human Sciences
canteen. After obtaining the recommendation letter, we went to the Food,
Facilities, and Services Department to submit the letter for the permission on
the 22nd of April. Unfortunately there was a delay in receiving the
permission as one of the clerks said that it might not possible for us to get
the permission as the department is trying to do the same thing as well.
However, on the 24th of April, one of our members, Iman met the head
of the department and persuaded her to give the permission to post the posters
on the tables at the Human Sciences canteen. Due to his excellent communication
and negotiating skills, Iman also managed to persuade the head to give us two
extra trolleys in support of our noble cause to facilitate people to place
their plates once they are done eating. These trolleys are placed at the dry
area and wet area respectively.
During the interim of receiving the
permission for the posters, all of our group members started giving out flyers
to people and reminding them to throw away their rubbish and place their plates
in the trolleys allocated in a friendly manner at the Human Sciences canteen
from 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm as it is the peak hour of business, starting from the
22nd until the 25th of March. We then started to paste
our laminated posters on the tables on 24th of April. We use coloured
paper to produce our posters and it is slightly smaller than B5 paper size.
However, due to the limited budget, we did not paste the posters on each and
every table at the Human Sciences canteen. We could only afford to produce 50
posters. Most of the posters were then posted at the wet area of the canteen
and only three posters were posted on the walls at the dry area.
Lastly, we used social media as a
medium to reach out to all IIUM students. One of our members had posted a post
on IIUM Online and Psychology Students of IIUM on Facebook in order to spread
the word of the intervention programme. Besides that, we informed our other
respected lecturers such as Dr. Harris Shah and Dr. Hariyati Shahrima to join
our cause and use their influence to help disseminate the message to their
other students. Dr. Harris even posted our poster on his Facebook page!
Effectiveness
of the Project
To measure the effectiveness of our
Da’wah Project, we took some baseline measures before we started the intervention
programme. One day before we started our intervention programme, we observed
the Human Sciences canteen during lunch hour. During our observation, we
noticed that none of the patrons of the canteen cleaned up after themselves. We
then took pictures of plates and rubbish that were left on the table. There were
more than 15 tables that were dirty and had plates on it. After one week of our
intervention program, we came back and observed the area again on 29th
April during lunch hour. The Human Sciences canteen was filled with people
during that period and we noticed that there were some changes in the behaviour
of the patrons. As for the post-project measurement, there were approximately 30
people who cleaned their own tables and place their plates in the trolleys each
day. This was a vast improvement from before the intervention programme as
nobody did it at all, although compared to everyone in the canteen, the change
was minute. We concluded that our program was not very effective as not even
half of the target population managed to perform the desired behaviour.
There were a few reasons why our
intervention was ineffective. Firstly, the mentality of the patrons. It has
already been engraved in their minds that it is the job of the cleaners to
clean up after them as it had already been that way for so long. We interviewed
two of the cleaners and they said the same thing. They said that before this,
there was some effort made by other students but it was still ineffective and
there were no major changes. Moreover, to see more distinct changes, we need to
extend the project for a longer period of time. The authorities can also be fully
involved so that we would have a larger budget and spend more money on making
more posters and banners that would serve as a reminder for the patrons of the
canteen as well as placing more trolleys at the canteen so that it is more
accessible for all the students. In addition, we did not apply the concept of
reward and punishment. The only form of reinforcement they received was a
“Thank you” whenever someone would throw their rubbish. Also, when we were
acting as models for others to follow our behaviour, we did not stand out
enough to catch their eye and get their attention. We could have done so by
wearing clothes that were bright in colour or even wear a sign that says for
instance, “Follow me for cleaner canteen!” It is also possible that the people
who did perform the desirable behaviours only did so because they knew that
they were being watched.
Reflection
Through this Da’wah Project, we
learned that it is not easy to change a behaviour of a person, moreover an
entire group of people, especially if they have behaved in a certain way for a
long period of time. More time, energy and commitment is required to make sure
the Da’wah Project is successful. Besides that, before doing anything, one must
prepare an alternative plan in case the original plan does not work out.
Lastly, for a project of a large scale to succeed, co-operation from the
authorities are essential and it could mean the difference between success or
failure.
Appendix
Pre-project measures:
The plates were left on the
tables and left unclean
The cleaner collecting
plates and put in the trolleys
Post-project measure:
Students placing their
plates in the trolley and taking their plates to be put in the trolley
The cleaner still need to
clean up the table
The two trolleys given by the Food, Facilites, and Services Department
Flyer:
Laminated poster:
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