College Students’ Attitude towards Waste Separation and Recovery on Campus

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Comment

Response

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The reviewer found the manuscript very well written, with good English language and sufficient explanations, even for a novice in the domain. The ideas were clearly explained, supported by literature and results. The contents were also very interesting.

Thank you very much for the time you spent reading our manuscript and the positive feedback. We have tried to address all your comments point by point in the following.

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Line 68: please add references for those studies

Thanks for your keen attention. The references were added, as advised.

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Line 171: what do you mean by the questionnaire was tested? How was it tested?

Thank you for your comment. As added in section 3.1, the original questionnaire was trial tested on a small scale for item analysis and internal consistency testing. The main purpose was to improve the validity and accuracy of the formal questionnaire by iteratively modifying and adjusting it based on the results.

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Can you please add the questionnaire to the appendix?

As advised, the questionnaire was added to the appendix.

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Lines 329 & 342: with an R2 so low, how can your model be representative?

Thank you for your comment. It is needed to acknowledge that the R-squares obtained in the study show a deficient goodness-of-fit. However, the model passed the F-test and t-test, which indicated that the regression equation is reliable and good. Moreover, as stated in discussion section, the relationship between attitudes and behaviors is controversial, that is, attitudes are capable of influencing the development of behaviors to a certain extent, but not determining the occurrence of behaviors. This study confirms that college students' attitude towards waste separation has a positive influence on their behavior, which is consistent with the previous studies.

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Comment

Response

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Separation and Recovery on Campus "is interesting, and some conclusions obtained by the study are indeed worthy of reference for college students, university administrators, policy makers, and government departments. Several issues need to be clarified before publication.

Thank you very much for the time you spent reading our manuscript and the positive feedback. We have tried to address all your comments point by point in the following.

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1. The title of the article "A Survey on College Students' Attitude towards Waste Separation and Recovery on Campus" is suggested to be modified. At present, the central word of this title is "survey", which sounds a bit general and tedious. It is suggested that the title be changed to have a certain character, and that some of the most critical conclusions be placed on the title.

Thank you for the comment. As advised, the title was revised.

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2. In the abstract part of the article, lines21-25, the author only says “differences”, but does not say where they are different. This is not appropriate, and the specific conclusions should be given directly.

Thank you so much for the constructive comment. We have thoroughly rewritten this part in the abstract.

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3. The conclusions section is a bit verbose and can be more concise. In addition, authors should talk about these specific differences,and what valuable enlightenment will be given to college students, university administrators, policy-makers, and government departments, rather than simply repeating the results, should give valuable reference suggestions to them (students and administrators,etc.), which is lacking in the current article.

Thank you for the comment. As advised, the conclusions section was refined, and was supplemented with practical significance and limitations of this study. As for the enlightenment, it was stated in the discussion section.

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Comment

Response

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1. All the considered variables are categorical. How have authors used linear regression? Logit or probit models fits the data better.

2. On what basis the average of X1, X2, X3… is considered as X? Similar is the case of Y, and Z. No weightage has been considered. Ands its baffling how again they have been considered for Linear Regression?

Thank you very much for the time you spent reading our manuscript and the positive feedback.

We have tried to address all your comments providing additional explanations and also  substantially revising all parts of the manuscript.

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3. R-squares of 0.35 and 0.29 are considered better in this study. How is it possible?

4. The whole statistical analysis needs a complete rework for paper to be considered for publication.

5. Check for english throughout the manuscript and reduce introduction section.

Thanks for your keen attention.

The whole statistical analysis was substantially reworked.

We have improved English of the manuscript.

No

Comment

Response

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1- Abstract

The study's objective must be revised to match the description of the study's objective in the introduction section. Abstract- This study aims to conduct an empirical investigation on the attitudes and behaviors of the main resident group (i.e., college students) towards waste separation in China. Introduction- To verify the variable relationship, influence path, and regulating factors of college students’ waste separation attitude and behavior.

Thank you for your comment. As advised, the objective of the study in the abstract section was revised and matched with the introduction section.

2

Method chosen and findings from the research are included. However, the implications (practical/society) and the novelty of the research in the area should be highlighted.

As advised, we highlighted implications and the novelty of the research as stated in abstract as follows, “our findings supplement the limited information available on the potential implications of applying ABC theory in explore the factors influencing the behaviors of waste separation and recovery among Chinese college students. The provided insights can support college students, university administrators, policymakers, and government departments in more effectively optimizing, designing, and managing waste systems on campuses.”

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2- Introduction

Line 37 – Citation for [2, 3] and Line 40 – Citation for [5, 6]. The citation for reference number [4] is nowhere to be found.

Thanks for your keen attention. The references were checked and sorted, as advised.

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Line 49 – Citation for [11] and Line 54 – Citation for [16]. Please rearrange the citation numbering structure. Please use Mendeley or Endnote to neatly organise your references.

As advised, we rearranged the citation numbering structure and neatly organized the references.

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The study's objective must be revised to match the description of the study's objective in the introduction section. Abstract- This study aims to conduct an empirical investigation on the attitudes and behaviors of the main resident group (i.e., college students) towards waste separation in China. Introduction- To verify the variable relationship, influence path, and regulating factors of college students’ waste separation attitude and behavior.

We had the same comment above. Thank you for your comment. As advised, the objective of the study in the abstract section was revised and matched with the introduction section.

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3- Theoretical background and hypotheses development

Check the sequence of the citation references all across the article.

Line 98 - [16]; Line 101 [19].

We had the same comment above. Thank you for your comment. As advised, the sequence of the citation references was rearranged all across the article.

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Have you developed a conceptual framework?

Thank you so much for the constructive comment. The conceptual framework was elaborated in the end of section 2. This study develops a conceptual framework to provide an interpretation of the expected relationship between the variables. It is expected that college students' waste separation attitude (independent variable) has a direct impact on their waste separation behavior (dependent variable). For example, positive attitudes towards waste separation can have a beneficial effect on the actual occurrence of waste separation behavior. Besides, we expect that the internal and external contextual factors (moderating variables) have a moderating effect on the relationship between attitude and behavior. 

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4- Materials and Methods

It is advised to add your questionnaire to the appendix.

As advised, the questionnaire was added to the appendix. 

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There were 1300 questionnaires gathered. How many questionnaires were mailed out, and what proportion of respondents responded?

Thank you for your comment. As stated in section 3.2, questionnaires were distributed to 1380 students from six faculties, of which a total of 1300 respondents made a response, with a recovery rate of 94.2%. Among the collected questionnaires, 1213 were valid, representing an effective rate of 93.3%.

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5- Conclusion

I would suggest addressing the limitation as well as the theoretical and practical contribution in the conclusion section.

Thank you for your comment. The limitation and the contribution of this study was added in the conclusion section.