scholarly journals Smart Sustainable Cities of the New Millennium: Towards Design for Nature

Author(s):  
Chiara Catalano ◽  
Mihaela Meslec ◽  
Jules Boileau ◽  
Riccardo Guarino ◽  
Isabella Aurich ◽  
...  

AbstractUrban environments consist of a mosaic of natural fragments, planned and unintentional habitats hosting both introduced and spontaneous species. The latter group exploits abandoned and degraded urban niches which, in the case of plants, form what is called the third landscape. In the Anthropocene, cities, open spaces and buildings must be planned and designed considering not only human needs but also those of other living organisms. The scientific approach of habitat sharing is defined as reconciliation ecology, whilst the action of implementing the ecosystem services and functioning of such anthropogenic habitats is called Urban Rehabilitation. However, urban development still represents the main cause of biodiversity loss worldwide. Yet, the approach of planners and landscape architects highly diverges from that of ecologists and scientists on how to perceive, define and design urban green and blue infrastructure. For instance, designers focus on the positive impact that nature (generally associated with indoor and outdoor greeneries) has on human well-being, often neglecting ecosystems’ health. Instead, considering the negative impact of any form of development and to achieve the no net loss Aichi’s objectives, conservationists apply mitigation hierarchy policies to avoid or reduce the impact and to offset biodiversity. The rationale of this review paper is to set the fundamentals for a multidisciplinary design framework tackling the issue of biodiversity loss in the urban environment by design for nature. The method focuses on the building/city/landscape scales and is enabled by emerging digital technologies, i.e., geographic information systems, building information modelling, ecological simulation and computational design.

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-105
Author(s):  
Herwanto Herwanto ◽  
Fitrah Tul Ummi ◽  
Dewi Rustiana ◽  
Pratitasari Retna H

This study investigated the impact of psychological aspects, such as workplace well-being, work-family conflict and self-concept) towards the performance of elementary school’s teacher in East Jakarta. Certified teachers from several public elementary schools were included in this study. The purposive sampling technique was applied to recruit the sample of the study. The result of this study demonstrated the positive impact of workplace well-being towards teacher’s performance. Our result yielded that 33.1% of teacher’s professional performance in public elementary schools were affected by workplace well-being. Self-concept was also found having a positive impact in predicting teacher’s performance. On the other hand, this study found that work-family conflict had a significant negative impact on teacher’s performance. These findings implied that the positive workplace well-being and self-concept would decrease the teacher’s performances, meanwhile the increasing of work-family conflict would result in decreasing teacher’s performances.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 32-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.O. Gordeeva ◽  
O.A. Sychev ◽  
M.V. Lunkina

The goals of modern education go beyond mastering cognitive skills, competencies and knowledge. An equally important result of education is the child's school well-being, his/her positive attitude towards school, learning, teachers, and his/her own potential. This study is dedicated to the exploration of internal and external predictors of well-being in Russian elementary schoolchildren (N=1006).It assesses the impact of the learning system (developmental/traditional), satisfaction with relationships with teachers, and intrinsic and extrinsic types of academic motivation on school well-being and academic self-esteem. The results of the study show that the well-being of elementary schoolchildren is based on the positive impact of intrinsic and autonomous motivation and the negative impact of external motivation based on control and demands of teachers and parents. The results also show that the child’s relationship with the teacher and perception of him/her as an interesting person, ready to help and support in the learning process, play an important role in the child’s school well-being and intrinsic motivation. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) confirm that developmental education programs, in comparison with traditional ones, also contribute to school well-being and academic self-esteem of elementary schoolchildren. The practical significance of the study is to take into account the role of both pedagogical (the role of the teacher’s personality and the teaching system) and psychological factors (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) in maintaining the well-being of elementary schoolchildren.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Dymecka ◽  
Rafał Gerymski ◽  
Anna Machnik-Czerwik

COVID-19 is a significant threat to human life and health, which makes people experience fear, stress, anxiety and mood disorders, which have a negative impact on their psychological well-being. One of the resources that makes people manage stress better is a sense of coherence, which also has a positive impact on quality of life. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between fear of COVID-19, stress, a sense of coherence, and life satisfaction during the coronavirus pandemic. 907 Polish people (522 women and 385 men) participated in this study. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FOC-6), Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were used in the study. It was verified that the relationship between stress and life satisfaction was mediated by sense of coherence. The relationship between stress and sense of coherence was moderated by fear of COVID-19. The fear of COVID-19 acted as a buffer in the relationship between stress and a sense of coherence - it weakened the impact of stress on the sense of coherence. This study is the first to verify the proposed model of moderated mediation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analyses were performed on a very large sample. This manuscript draws attention to the important role of fear of COVID-19 and the sense of coherence in our functioning. The sense of coherence can, by effectively managing stress and reducing the level of anxiety, affect subjective well-being.


Urban environments can be toxic to people’s mental health. Life in the city can also have positive impact on education, cultural enrichment, and employment opportunities and access to services when needed. Wide variety of housing and transport can help. Cities can also provide sexual and ethnic diversity. As most clinical services themselves are set in the urban areas, clinicians often do not understand the impact of urban environment on people’s well-being. Similarly, very often urban designers and city planners do not take into account the effect built environments can have on people’s mental health. It is critical that as part of prevention of mental illnesses and promotion of mental health both groups work with other stakeholders to ensure that urban environments are safe and clean and provide a milieu for people to work, play, and live in without endangering their well-being. Joint working should be the first crucial step.


Author(s):  
Kimberly J. Hart ◽  
Heather A. Flynn

Mood and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in perinatal samples, affecting as many as 20% of childbearing women (Gavin et al., 2005). In an effort to prevent adverse outcomes associated with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, researchers and clinicians have advocated routine screening during the perinatal period (NRC, 2009). Although, there are several screening measures for depression, many of which have been used or validated in perinatal populations, few screening tools have been developed specifically for or validated in perinatal samples for bipolar disorder or anxiety disorders. Despite the ongoing need for brief, accurate, and easily administered screening measures, it seems clear that perinatal mood and anxiety screening is associated with substantial improvement in rate of detection (Georgiopoulous et al., 1999; Georgiopoulos, Bryan, Wollan, and Yawn, 2001; Gilbody, Sheldon, and House, 2008). However, in the absence of systematic protocols to ensure further assessment, treatment, and follow-up, screening is unlikely to have a positive impact on depression-associated morbidity (Gjerdingen, Katon, and Rich, 2008; Gilbody et al., 2008; Miller et al., 2012; NRC, 2009). Preliminary evidence suggests that screening for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, when embedded within larger systems to ensure comprehensive assessment, connection to treatment, and regular monitoring, has the potential to improve outcomes for women and their families. The question of whether screening programs can ultimately decrease depression-associated morbidity and prevent adverse outcomes cannot be answered given the existing research base (Myers et al., 2013). Although much is left to be understood about perinatal screening for mood and anxiety disorders, the impact of this research lies in potential for reducing negative maternal outcomes as well as for prevention of the negative impact of perinatal depression on the health and well-being of babies born to depressed or anxious mothers.


The article deals with the study of the peculiarities of the impact of social Internet practices on the psychological well-being of senior pupils. The author presents a model of psychological well-being of senior pupils and a conceptual model of the impact of social Internet practices on the psychological well-being of senior pupils, which takes into account the content of practices, situational and targeted self-regulation of their realization. An empirical study of the impact of social Internet practices on the psychological well-being of senior pupils is carried out. The general sample consisted of 9th-11th grade pupils of secondary schools, a total of 1,144 respondents, including 458 boys and 686 girls, aged 14 to 17. The study used: author’s methods of express evaluation of psychological well-being, assessment of the content of social Internet practices, separate scales of the questionnaire for assessing the level of media culture (L. Naydonova, O. Baryshpolets, etc.), author’s questionnaire of subjective self-assessment of impact of social Internet-practices on psychological well-being. The results of the empirical study have revealed the phenomenon of asymmetry of subjective assessments of the impact of social Internet practices: senior pupils overestimate the positivity of the impact of the Internet. Besides, the higher the level of real psychological well-being of respondents, the more their subjective assessments of the impact of Internet practices are shifted towards the positive, i.e. they more positively perceive any activity on the Internet, although it may objectively cause certain risks. Peculiarities of psychological well-being of active and inactive users of various social Internet practices are identified and described. The positive impact of the practices of searching for interesting information and information for learning (informational consumer practices), as well as the practice of using social networks to maintain friendly relations (communicative) on psychological well-being have been confirmed. It has been established that computer games and surfing the web without a purpose have a negative impact on the psychological well-being of senior pupils.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Długosz ◽  
Yana

The article presents the results of research on psychosocial condition among Polish and Ukrainian students during the quarantine. The aim of the research was to verify the impact of the pandemic and its accompanying phenomena on the well-being of youth. In order to achieve this goal, the CAWI on-line survey method with double measurement was used. The first measurement carried out at the beginning of the quarantine resulted in 3659 filled out surveys in Poland and 739 in Ukraine. The second measurement conducted at the end of distance learning brought 1978 filled out surveys in Poland and 411 in Ukraine. The results of research indicate that the quarantine had a negative impact on the psychosocial condition of youth. The deterioration of emotional condition and the increase in mental disorders has been observed. Due to the pandemic and distance learning, the mental health of youth deteriorated significantly. Polish youth were negatively influenced by the pandemic to a greater extent than young Ukrainians.


Author(s):  
Ipseeta Satpathy ◽  
B. Chandra Mohan Patnaik ◽  
Chandrabhanu Das

The existence of Yoga dates back to more than ten thousand years around India and all nations. The Hindu Mythology considers the genesis of Yoga by incorporating Lord Shiva as Guru and Goddess Parvati as Shishya. Gradually with the development of civilization mankind assessed the benefits of this spiritual discipline and different leaders propagated the Yoga in different ways.In this era of 21st century Baba Ramdev propagated the yoga sutras with simple and effective techniques. The Pranayam and Suryanamaskar are the popular routines practiced by many followers of Baba Ramdev. Today Yoga is practiced as a way of Living to prevent Lifestyle diseases, combat stress and rejuvenate self. Yoga has gained immense popularity over the years with July 21st being celebrated as International Yoga Day. Corporate are also now introducing Yoga for employees as a means to relieve their stress and improve productivity. Long Hours of sitting, standing and excessive use of electronic gadgets puts pressure on bones, joints and responsible for Lifestyle diseases. Yoga is now increasingly used as a wellness solution replacing high cost antibiotic drugs. Employee well-being leads to Cost Savings in terms of personnel by reduced payment of Insurance and Medical Bills. The paper studies the Impact of Yoga to Financial benefits in MSME Organizations in Odisha in light of three different perspectives of Internal Control, Inventory management and Cash Flow. The primary data was collected from a sample of 155 high profile finance executives working in the MSME sector. Ranking Table and Regression Analysis Methodology was used to derive meaningful conclusions. The research takes initiative to transform the effectiveness of Yoga into improved financial health for the Organization. The observation from the study interprets a positive impact of Yoga on good financial health of Organization.


Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Ourania Tzoraki ◽  
Svetlana Dimitrova ◽  
Marin Barzakov ◽  
Saad Yaseen ◽  
Vasilis Gavalas ◽  
...  

The ongoing ‘refugee crisis’ of the past years has led to the migration of refugee researchers (RRs) to European countries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RRs often had to work from home and/or to continue their social, cultural and economic integration process under new conditions. An online survey carried out to explore the impact of the pandemic on the refugee researchers showed that RRs found it difficult to adapt their everyday working life to the ‘home’ setting. The majority have had neither a suitable work environment at home nor the appropriate technology. Although they stated that they are rather pleased with the measures taken by the public authorities, they expressed concern about their vulnerability due to their precarious contracts and the bureaucratic asylum procedures, as the pandemic has had a negative impact on these major issues. The majority of RRs working in academia seem not to have been affected at all as far as their income is concerned, while the majority of those employed in other sectors became unemployed during the pandemic (58%). Recommendations are provided to the public authorities and policy makers to assist RRs to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic on their life.


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A18-A19
Author(s):  
Molly Zimmerman ◽  
Christiane Hale ◽  
Adam Brickman ◽  
Lok-Kin Yeung ◽  
Justin Cochran ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Sleep loss has a range of detrimental effects on cognitive ability. However, few studies have examined the impact of sleep restriction on neuropsychological function using an experimental design. The goal of this study was to examine the extent to which maintained insufficient sleep affects cognition in healthy adults compared to habitual adequate sleep. Methods This study used a randomized, crossover, outpatient sleep restriction design. Adults who regularly slept at least 7 h/night, verified by 2 weeks of screening with actigraphy, completed 2 phases of 6 weeks each: habitual sleep (>7 h of sleep/night) or sleep restriction (habitual sleep minus 1.5 h) separated by a 6-week washout period. During the sleep restriction phase, participants were asked to delay their bedtime by 1.5 hours/night while maintaining their habitual wake time. Neuropsychological function was evaluated with the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery at baseline (week 0) and endpoint (week 6) of each intervention phase. The NIH Toolbox evaluates a range of cognitive abilities, including attention, executive functioning, and working memory. General linear models with post hoc paired t-tests were used to assess demographically-adjusted test scores prior to and following each sleep condition. Results At the time of analyses, 16 participants were enrolled (age 34.5□14.5 years, 9 women), 10 of whom had completed study procedures. An interaction between sleep condition and testing session revealed that individuals performed worse on List Sorting, a working memory test, after sleep restriction but improved slightly after habitual sleep (p<0.001). While not statistically reliable, the pattern of test results was similar on the other tests of processing speed, executive function, and attention. Conclusion In these preliminary results from this randomized experimental study, we demonstrated that sleep restriction has a negative impact while stable habitual adequate sleep has a positive impact on working memory, or the ability to temporarily hold information in mind while executing task demands. This finding contributes to our understanding of the complex interplay between different aspects of sleep quality (i.e., both sleep restriction as well as the maintenance of stable sleep patterns) on cognition and underscores the importance of routine sleep screening as part of medical evaluations. Support (if any):


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