scholarly journals Urban trees as social triggers: The case of the Ginkgo biloba specimen in Tallinn, Estonia

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 234-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riin Magnus ◽  
Heldur Sander
Keyword(s):  
Ginkgo Biloba ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Human Organism ◽  
Cultural Space ◽  
Cultural Ideal ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
The Ideal

Urban trees are considered to be essential and integral to urban environments, to contribute to the biodiversity of cities as well as to the well-being of their inhabitants. In addition, urban trees may also serve as living memorials, helping to remember major social eruptions and to cement continuity with the past, but also as social disruptors that can induce clashes between different ideals of culture. In this paper, we focus on a specific case, a Ginkgo biloba specimen growing at Süda Street in the centre of Tallinn, in order to demonstrate how the shifts in the meaning attributed to a non-human organism can shape cultural memory and underlie social confrontations. Integrating an ecosemiotic approach to human-non-human interactions with Juri Lotman’s approach to cultural memory and cultural space, we point out how non-human organisms can delimit cultural space at different times and how the ideal of culture is shaped by different ways of incorporating or other species in the human cultural ideal or excluding them from it.

scholarly journals Towards Psychosocial Well-Being in Historic Urban Landscapes: The Contribution of Cultural Memory

Urban Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Fatmaelzahraa Hussein ◽  
John Stephens ◽  
Reena Tiwari
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Heritage Conservation ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Mind's Eye

A crucial element in the human search for well-being is achieving a sense of identity within, and belonging to, the landscape in which we live. Landscape should be understood as not only the visible environment but the affective values we attach to it and how we shape it in our mind’s eye. These inner reflections of our landscapes constitute one of our richest archives, in particular, in terms of creating and passing down to future generations our cultural memories. The current paper is a review of literature on the concepts of urban heritage conservation, and, in particular, the development of the historic urban landscape (HUL) approach, with reference to the role and contribution of cultural memory and its presence in the urban landscape. We also investigate how the notions of place attachment and identity interrelate with cultural memory to elucidate how such interrelations can contribute to human psychosocial well-being and quality of life (QOL). This review points to the neglected role of cultural memory in the maintenance of psychosocial well-being in HULs, a topic which requires further research to deepen our understanding about its importance in urban environments.

scholarly journals The European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) Endorses the Milan Charter on Urban Obesity

Obesity Facts ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Michele O. Carruba ◽  
Luca Busetto ◽  
Sheree Bryant ◽  
Antonio Caretto ◽  
Nathalie J. Farpour-Lambert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
National Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Shared Responsibility ◽  
Access To Treatment ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases ◽  
Health Goals

The Milan Charter on Urban Obesity highlights the challenges of urban environments as a battleground for human health, as cities are often organized to subvert public health goals, and promote rather than prevent the development of obesity and consequent non-communicable diseases. The Charter articulates ten principles which detail actions and strategies through which general practitioners, diverse medical specialists, related healthcare professionals, administrators and healthcare practice managers, policy actors – within health systems and at a national level – along with experts across disciplines, and citizens, can work in cooperation to meet this challenge and improve public health. The Charter urges the adoption of decisions that deliver the following: (i) policies which enable our cities to become healthier and less obesogenic, more supportive of well-being and less health-disruptive in general, and (ii) policies that fully support primary prevention strategies, that address social stigma, and that ensure fair access to treatment for people living with obesity. The Milan Charter on Urban Obesity aims to raise awareness of our shared responsibility for the health of all citizens, and focuses on addressing the health of people living with obesity – not only as a challenge in its own right, but a gateway to other major non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.

scholarly journals Effects of exposure to immersive videos and photo slideshows of forest and urban environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariba Mostajeran ◽  
Jessica Krzikawski ◽  
Frank Steinicke ◽  
Simone Kühn
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Jail Inmates ◽  
Forest Environment ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Hospital Patients

AbstractA large number of studies have demonstrated the benefits of natural environments on people’s health and well-being. For people who have limited access to nature (e.g., elderly in nursing homes, hospital patients, or jail inmates), virtual representations may provide an alternative to benefit from the illusion of a natural environment. For this purpose and in most previous studies, conventional photos of nature have been used. Immersive virtual reality (VR) environments, however, can induce a higher sense of presence compared to conventional photos. Whether this higher sense of presence leads to increased positive impacts of virtual nature exposure is the main research question of this study. Therefore, we compared exposure to a forest and an urban virtual environment in terms of their respective impact on mood, stress, physiological reactions, and cognition. The environments were presented via a head-mounted display as (1) conventional photo slideshows or (2) 360$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ videos. The results show that the forest environment had a positive effect on cognition and the urban environment disturbed mood regardless of the mode of presentation. In addition, photos of either urban or forest environment were both more effective in reducing physiological arousal compared to immersive 360$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ videos.

scholarly journals Compatibility as guiding principle for ergonomics work design and preventive occupational health and safety

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut Strasser
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
System Performance ◽  
Occupational Diseases ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Design ◽  
Human Organism ◽  
Machine System ◽  
Human Capacity

AbstractMutual adaptation and inter-changeability of system elements are very important prerequisites for machines, technical devices and products. Similar to that technical compatibility which can be achieved by standards and regulations, optimum design of human-oriented workplaces or a man-machine system cannot be attained without, e.g., a compatible arrangement of connected displays and controls. Over and above those stimulus/response relations, all technical elements and interfaces have to be designed in such a way that they do not exceed human capacity in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance. Compatibility between the properties of the human organism on the one hand, and the adaptable technical components of a work system on the other hand, offers a great potential of preventive measures. Examples of ergonomically designed working tools show that compatibility is capable of reducing the prevalence of occupational diseases and repetitive strain injuries as well as leading to lower physiological cost in such a way that the same output results from a lower demand of human resources or even a higher performance will be attained. Compatibility also supports the quick perception and transmission of information in a man-machine system, and as a result of lower requirements for decoding during information processing, spare mental capacity may enhance occupational safety. In the field of software, compatibility also helps to avoid psychological frustration. All in all, the center core competency, which reflects the major significant function of the ergonomist in work design, consists in determining the compatibility of human capacity and planned or existing demands of work. In order to provide efficient working tools and working conditions as well as to be successful in occupational health and safety, ergonomics and industrial engineering in the future are expected to pay more attention to the rules of compatibility. Applied in an appropriate way, these rules may convince people that ergonomics can be a powerful means for reducing prevalence of occupational diseases and complaints, and has a positive effect on overall system performance. Besides presenting examples of work design according to the principle of compatibility, also methods will be shown which enable the assessment of the ergonomic quality of hand-held tools and computer input devices.

Formalization as a tool for environmental peacebuilding? Artisanal and small-scale mining in Liberia and Sierra Leone

2021 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-55
Author(s):  
Christina Ankenbrand ◽  
Abrina Welter ◽  
Nina Engwicht
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Benefits ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Ethical Sourcing ◽  
The Ideal

Abstract Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has long been a vital source of livelihoods for rural populations in the global South. Yet, it has also been linked to a host of social, political and environmental adversities, including violent conflict. As environmental peacebuilding increasingly stresses the importance of livelihood improvement as a means of fostering peace in conflict-affected extractive societies, ASM formalization has been identified as a solution to mitigate the sector's challenges, thereby addressing underlying causes of conflict. This article critically investigates the contribution of ASM formalization to sustainable peace by focusing on its impact on the livelihood dimension of peacebuilding. It analyses the livelihood impact of three formalization interventions in the diamond sectors of two countries: cooperatives in Liberia, and, in Sierra Leone, ethical sourcing schemes and a community-based natural resource management initiative. In line with calls for a paradigm shift from a narrow legalization-centred understanding of formalization to a broader approach that accounts for livelihood quality, the analysis presented here focuses on interventions that were informed by the ideal of improving the well-being of ASM workers and communities. We propose three pathways through which ASM formalization could potentially contribute to livelihood enhancement: income security, working conditions and community benefits. Based on fieldwork, this article highlights the challenges of generating livelihood improvements through formalization. Even when specifically designed to address the needs of ASM communities, during implementation, they risk prioritizing a narrow conceptualization of formalization and thus failing to become a conductor of transformative change.

scholarly journals An Evolutionary Perspective on the Importance of Community Relations for Quality of Life

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 588-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjørn Grinde
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Inherent Nature ◽  
The Brain

The evolutionary perspective is relevant for the study of quality of life in that the brain, including its capacity for positive and negative states of mind, has been shaped by the forces of evolution. The present text uses this perspective to discuss three questions related to the observation that human interactions are a particular important factor for well-being: (1) What is known about the inherent nature of our social propensities? (2) Is the present situation responsible for a suboptimal quality of life? (3) Are there alternatives to the organization of mainstream Western society? Based on this discussion, the question is raised as to whether it is possible to suggest improvements. Briefly, it seems possible to create conditions that enhance social relations and to the extent that happiness is considered an important objective, this is a relevant endeavor.

scholarly journals Idealet om det glade og afstemte barn: Pædagogers blik for trivsel i børnehaven

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anette Boye Koch
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Early Childhood Professionals ◽  
The Ideal

Abstract: Danish early childhood professionals (pedagogues) are responsible for the well-being of all children in their care, but it is not clear what well-being implies. The article presents an analysis showing how pedagogues observe and categorize the well-being in children. Well-being is a state that pedagogues recognize by using special' seeing-techniques', related to their ideas of how children are supposed to behave in a certain context. The body of a child is culturally created, depending on the indoor or outdoor surroundings. The ideal of a happy child is an attuned child, who is able to adapt to adult expectations, while the physical surroundings are co-determining what the pedagogues 'see'.

scholarly journals O ESTRANHO PÓS-MODERNO E A LUTA DE CLASSES NO FILME "QUE HORAS ELA VOLTA?".

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Castello Romero
Keyword(s):  
Sigmund Freud ◽  
Bargaining Power ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Capitalist Society ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
Zygmunt Bauman ◽  
Discursive Analysis ◽  
The Stranger ◽  
Individual Security ◽  
The Ideal

Sigmund Freud tratou do ideal de pureza na modernidade que, segundo Zygmunt Bauman, continua a ser perseguido na pós-modernidade, dessa vez às custas da segurança individual. O “estranho” é o resto dessa busca e destoa da ordem desejada pela classe dominante, insistindo em se escrever nas formações discursivas, mesmo que seja em um lugar marginal; ele é sempre convidado a dar mais de si em troca daquilo que está à disposição da elite. Freud dizia que há sempre um preço a ser pago na busca pelos ideais de bem-estar, mas o poder de barganha de alguns é maior que o de outros. Esse artigo propõe uma articulação da teoria de Bauman sobre a pós-modernidade, principalmente o conceito de “estranho”, com os referenciais da Análise do Discurso Pêcheutiana. Essa articulação serviu de base para uma análise discursiva de alguns trechos do filme “Que horas ela volta” (2015), da diretora Anna Muylaert, escolhido por evidenciar o lugar do estranho na sociedade capitalista. Abstract:Sigmund Freud dealt with the ideal of purity in modernity which, according to Zygmunt Bauman, continues to be pursued in postmodernity, this time at the expense of individual security. The "stranger" is the rest of this search and dissociates of the order desired by the ruling class, insisting on writing in discursive formations, even if it is in a marginal place; He is always invited to give more of himself in exchange for what is available to the elite. Freud said that there is always a price to be paid in pursuit of the ideals of well-being, but the bargaining power of some is greater than that of others. This article proposes an articulation of Bauman's theory on postmodernity, especially the concept of "strange", with the referents of the Analysis of the Pêcheutian Discourse. This articulation served as the basis for a discursive analysis of some passages from the film "Que horas ela volta" (2015) by director Anna Muylaert, chosen to highlight the place of the stranger in capitalist society.

scholarly journals NEGARA DAN KEPEMIMPINAN DALAM PEMIKIRAN ALFARABI

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 283
Author(s):  
Imam Sukardi
Keyword(s):  
Political Thought ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Organism ◽  
Ideal State ◽  
Political Concept ◽  
The Social ◽  
Original Works ◽  
Universal Values ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Ideal

The political concept of Alfarabi is derivated from the concept of Platonic, Aristotelian, and Islam. The ideal state is the state which is elaborated the universal values of humanism, not just limited to certain ethnic and nation which is emphasizing its obedience just to God, not the something else. In this paper, the writer tried to interpret the original works of Alfarabi which is directly related to his political thought and the other thinkers who are studying his political thought. In his political thought, Alfarabi emphasized that the main purpose of the state is to make the social-welfare for its citizens. Based on the organic theory, Alfarabi stated that the government of the state is just look-like the human organism system. In which, each of the existing element functioned to strengthen each other to achieve one goal. The ideal state for Alfarabi is the state which is having the goals for its citizen welfare, and who become the prime leader is a philosopher, who is having the prophetic character, having the wider knowledge, and able to communicate with al 'aql al fa’al trough al ‘aql mustafad. 

scholarly journals Economic assessment of urban space and blue-green infrastructure in Singapore

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mabel Lim ◽  
Stefanos Xenarios
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Greenery

Abstract The urban conglomeration has accentuated the role of urban greenery as a determinant factor for sustainable living, especially in highly dense cities. The country of Singapore has consistently attempted to develop and rehabilitate urban greenery by attempting to align the green space policy with the pursuit of better life quality. In this study, we assess the benefits arising from the rehabilitated Bishan-Ang Mo Kio (AMK) Park in north Singapore and the effects on economic welfare. The Bishan-AMK Park was initially constructed in the late 70 s as a drainage area for the avoidance of flooding incidents. In 2012, a pilot project was introduced to create a blue-green infrastructure (BGI) space for the provision of drainage and flood prevention but also for recreational and environmental improvement in the area. Yet, the benefits emerging from BGI are not well explored and still underestimated. To this extent, we evaluate selected services related to recreational, socio-cultural and tourism-related values by indicating the economic benefits from the introduction of BGI in condensed urban environments like Singapore. The findings indicate that the benefits deriving from the selected services could be within the range of US$100 million to US$220 million with a mean value of US$160 million per year by substantially contributing to human well-being. The assessment of environmental services can raise the awareness of residents and local authorities on the contribution of urban greenery to livelihoods and economic development in Singapore and similar densely populated areas.

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