Virtual nature, inner forest: Prospects for immersive virtual nature art and well-being

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-146
Author(s):  
Jessica Laraine Williams ◽  
Susannah Langley ◽  
Ann Borda
Keyword(s):  
Design Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychosocial Health ◽  
The Body ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Biophilic Design ◽  
Art Practices ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes

Over a number of decades, studies have revealed compelling relationships between experiences of the natural environment and positive health outcomes in adult communities. These psychosocial health benefits have typically been described via key theoretical frameworks in the health sciences, such as the biophilia hypothesis. Despite the body of evidence for nature design and well-being, propositions for immersive virtual nature experiences are still emerging across the fields of creativity and health. In this article, we identify the potential for immersive virtual nature art as a creative well-being intervention, articulated through a discussion of background literature and concepts leading to the development of our artwork, Inner Forest (2020–21). This article incorporates a transdisciplinary suite of perspectives across three key parts; in the first section, we review key health and design research around beneficial nature experiences, with particular emphasis on designing technological nature. Secondly, we propose considerations for immersive virtual nature experiences, as distinct from prior iterations of technological nature; these considerations are framed through discussion of our artistic and well-being rationale for designing the collaborative artwork Inner Forest. This extended reality (XR) project was developed in response to well-being challenges such as social isolation and restricted nature access- of particular valence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The artwork incorporates multisensory, aesthetic elements drawn from biophilic design guidelineswhich support creative, evidence-based approaches to designed nature and societal health. To conclude this article, we report on prospects for further scaling of the Inner Forest artwork, with ongoing scope to contribute to both nature-health design and immersive virtual nature art practices.

scholarly journals Salutogenic workplace design

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-153
Author(s):  
Michael Roskams ◽  
Barry Haynes
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Coherence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Workplace Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Biophilic Design ◽  
Risk Of Disease ◽  
Salutogenic Model ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss opportunities for health promotion through the workplace environment, adopting a “salutogenic” perspective of health which more explicitly focuses on factors that support human health and well-being, as opposed to factors which cause disease. Design/methodology/approach In the introduction, the salutogenic model of health and the Environmental Demands-Resources model are discussed, providing a conceptual framework to represent the workplace environment as a composite of pathogenic “demands” and salutogenic “resources”. Subsequently, a narrative review is performed to discuss the existing literature from the perspective of this novel framework, identifying environmental resources which might strengthen the three components of an employee’s “sense of coherence” (comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness), an individual orientation associated with more positive health outcomes. Findings Comprehensibility can be supported by effectively implementing a clear set of rules governing the use of the workplace. Manageability can be supported through biophilic design solutions, and through design which supports social cohesion and physical activity. Meaningfulness can be supported by recognising the importance of personal identity expression and through design which reinforces the employees’ sense of purpose. Originality/value The salutogenic perspective is a potentially valuable but relatively under-considered paradigm in workplace practice. The key contribution of this paper is to encourage researchers and practitioners to recognise the crucial role that an individual’s sense of coherence plays in supporting higher levels of physical and mental health, so that they increase their ability to provide truly “healthy” workplaces, capable of promoting health as well as minimising the risk of disease.

Changing role of school health education in the context of Polish youth Internet (over)use

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-30
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Borzucka-Sitkiewicz ◽  
Karina Leksy
Keyword(s):  
Health Education ◽  
School Health ◽  
Core Curriculum ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychosocial Health ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
School Health Education

School health education is supposed to be aimed at taking actions based on the concept of positive health and good well-being but its scope is extending due to socio – cultural changes. Nowadays virtual world is becoming a part of the social reality and is perceived as an important socialization factor. For this reason Internet use should be treated as one of the health education areas as it influences psychosocial health and wellbeing of individuals. The article presents the Polish educational system and the place of health education in core curriculum. This issues constitute a theoretical framework for reporting the findings of research, which were aimed at determining the behaviours of Polish pupils undertaken in virtual space. The main goal of the research was to establish the influence of these behaviours on physical and psychosocial health as well as wellbeing of respondents. A similar studies were conducted by Sonia Livingstone, Michał Klichowski and Maciej Tanaś. The research proved the strong engagement of pupils surveyed in all types of Internet activities, which had an impact on occurring disorders of many areas of functioning (e.g. back pains, visual problems, tiredness, anxiety, insomnia, learning difficulties, social problems). The findings justified the urgent need to include the issues regarding safe and healthy behaviours undertaken in cyber space in health education curriculum. In conclusion some guidelines for educational practice have been formulated.

Body

2019 ◽  
pp. 23-52
Author(s):  
Nigel Nicholson ◽  
Nathan R. Selden
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Human Body ◽  
The Body ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Healthcare Organizations ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Patient Health ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes

Chapter 1 explores different conceptions of the human body and their effect on medical care and patient health. Ancient Greek texts offer opposed conceptions of the body, with athletic sources presenting the body as immune to injury and always operating at its full potential and the Hippocratic texts presenting it as weak and highly vulnerable. Similarly divergent narratives also affect modern evaluations of the body by both patients and physicians, interfering with positive health outcomes. Physicians must recognize the operation of these narratives, challenge them with data, and promote a more realistic vision of health and success for patients and healthcare organizations.

scholarly journals Where can I cry?: Providing for Emotionality in the Built Environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Claire Ford
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Design Experiments

<p>Increasingly, research suggests that urban life is characterised by rising levels of distress (Söderström, 2017). We exist in a melee of social, political, cultural and environmental constructs, many of which require individuals to repress emotional expression and experiences. Without consciously doing so, we take cues from the designed environment as to what behaviours should be acted out in that space, and this has a direct impact on our well-being. This thesis explores how the built environment can be designed to support the emotional wellbeing of its occupants.  Current practice addressing well-being predominantly looks at cases of severe mental dysfunction (Söderström, 2017) or designing spaces that privilege physical concerns (Jencks & Heathcote, 2010). The research in this thesis is not directed towards such extreme instances of distress; it focuses on the capacity of designed environments to emotionally enable and empower all building users, taking into account a broad spectrum of emotional expression and responses to space. To accomplish this, existing literary research on emotional well-being is traversed and used to inform a series of design explorations. These aim to discover how the design of space can enable occupants to feel supported; to live their emotional lives with complete agency. A conceptual framework is developed, drawing on philosophy, psychology, sociology, neurology and geography, which informs architectural design experiments that test relationships between the body, the mind, and the architecture we engaged with.  This thesis involves a speculative approach to design research. Using design experiments at multiple scales, this thesis explores the potential of moments in the built environment where people have strong emotional connections to space, in order that a consciously compassionate design approach may be developed. Four architectural briefs are explored at three scales - installation, domestic and public scale - allowing design to inform the research. Each investigation is successive and becomes a testing ground to evaluate and critique the design outcomes prior to it. The design tests also involve progressively more architectural and interactive complexity. This sequence of design tests explores the potential of spaces to empower an inhabitant in architectural space to experience joy and sadness; to directly associate architecture with emotional well-ness.</p>

Biophilic school architecture in cold climates

2020 ◽  
pp. 1420326X2090830
Author(s):  
Mélanie Watchman ◽  
Claude M. H. Demers ◽  
André Potvin
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Cold Climates ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
School Architecture ◽  
Biophilic Design ◽  
School Settings

Designing school settings that provide a satisfying experience of nature and enhance well-being could be advantageous for children and teachers, though in cold climates prolonged periods of precipitation, restricted sunshine and low temperatures represent non-ideal conditions for fostering a connection with nature. This paper reviews research into the relationships between principles of biophilic design and well-being, with specific consideration for learning environments in cold climates. Children spend more time in school than any other place, except the home, and most of their learning activities occur indoors. Given the large portion of the day children and teachers spend within the built environment, an architect's perspective investigates these relationships. The paper examines the concepts and research findings that appear to offer the greatest potential for future architectural applications in children's learning environments. It also identifies gaps in biophilic design strategies in relation to schools and the importance of considering climatic conditions to create satisfying experiences of nature within the built environment. If biophilic design research is to lead to healthier, more comfortable school settings that present a greater connection between learning spaces and the natural environment, then to identify and define beneficial guidelines that translate readily into architecture is essential.

Assessing How a Transplant Hospitality House for Patients and Families Can Promote Wellbeing

2021 ◽  
pp. 152692482110035
Author(s):  
Talia C. Giordano ◽  
Jan L. Weinstock ◽  
Jennifer W. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Hospital Social Workers ◽  
Transplant Patients ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
Hospital Stays ◽  
Outpatient Appointments ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes ◽  
The Impact

Patients and caregivers face increasingly complex and unique challenges when they travel to distant hospitals for transplant care. They can find themselves in a strange city managing hospital stays and outpatient appointments, requiring lodging, food, transportation, financial assistance, and emotional support. Those unable to overcome these logistical challenges may lose access to lifesaving treatment. Transplant specific hospitality houses have emerged to support patients who travel long distances from home to seek care, though little is known about the impact of such programs. Can a transplant hospitality house impact opportunities for family-centered care, perceptions of physiological and physical security, and perceptions of belonging and esteem? Can their contributions also be linked to perceived positive health outcomes and what aspects of a transplant hospitality house are most significant for a patient’s and caregiver’s health journey? One transplant hospitality house investigated these questions with 71 participating in focus groups or key stakeholder interviews: transplant patients and caregivers, transplant hospital social workers, volunteers, financial contributors, board members, and staff. The findings suggest that while patients and caregivers were dependent and deeply grateful for the lodging and amenities that met their basic needs, it was the contact and support from other patients and caregivers at the transplant hospitality house that had the most profound positive impact on patient and family attitudes, outlooks, and perceived well-being.

scholarly journals The Impact of Public Benefits on Low-Income Older Adults’ Financial Well-Being

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 732-732
Author(s):  
Lauren Popham
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Behavioral Determinants ◽  
Public Benefits ◽  
Financial Burdens ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Nineteen percent (13 million) older adults have incomes below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level, leaving them with limited means to afford basic living expenses. Public benefits can help bridge the gap allowing older adults to afford food, home energy, and health expenses. There are studies demonstrating the positive health outcomes associated with public benefits in older adults. It remains unclear how benefits may also improve subjective measures of well-being in older adults. To examine this question, baseline measures of well-being including the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale were administered to older adults before they enrolled in benefits and again six months after receiving benefits to examine changes in well-being as a result of accessing benefits to help ease some of their financial burdens. Results revealed that older adults experience subjective, psychological improvements from benefits. These findings have implications for the social and behavioral determinants of health in older adults.

Remote Acculturation

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail Ferguson ◽  
Steve Tran ◽  
Shawn Mendez ◽  
Fons van de Vijver
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
The Body ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Acculturation Gap ◽  
Health Implications ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes ◽  
Immigrant Acculturation

Globalization has accelerated the exposure of nonmigrants to remote cultures in which they have never lived, producing remote acculturation (RA). The health implications of RA may reach further than those of immigrant acculturation because nonmigrants constitute the majority of the world’s population. This chapter describes the conceptualization of RA, reviews the body of empirical research on RA, discusses measurement of RA, and explores the health implications of RA. The review suggests that RA to faraway cultures may have both negative and positive health outcomes, some of which are also common to immigrants (e.g., acculturation gap between adolescents and parents). Acculturation and health researchers, as well as health practitioners, need to be alert to this new cultural landscape if they are to effectively address the health needs of modern individuals who may be acculturating remotely in their own backyards.

“And you, what do you think of optimism?”

Propelled ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 132-148
Author(s):  
Andreas Elpidorou
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Good Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Good Life ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
The Face ◽  
Positive Experiences ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes ◽  
Crucial Ingredient

The chapter illustrates the benefits (and in some cases, the dangers) of anticipation in the pursuit of the good life. It discusses how anticipation figures in decision-making, savoring, and optimism. It shows how anticipation can often boost our levels of subjective well-being and explains why anticipation is linked to numerous positive health outcomes. Anticipation also helps us to overcome life obstacles and remain resilient in the face of difficult challenges. Thus, anticipation is a crucial ingredient of the good life. In addition to its ability to prolong and amplify positive experiences, anticipation is a motivating mechanism that provides us with the emotional energy we need to pursue what we believe is significant and important.

scholarly journals A conceptual framework for psychosocial health management grounded in the therapeutic merits of indigenous KhoiSan health dialogues

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khauhelo S. Mahlatsi ◽  
Abel J. Pienaar ◽  
Neo E. Nare ◽  
Tshilidzi M. Mulaudzi
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Psychosocial Health ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Northern Cape ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes

Background: The researchers established that an indigenous KhoiSan community functions healthily without western mental health services. This community relies on indigenous healthcare with positive health outcomes over centuries. Despite this positive evidence, the community’s therapeutic achievements have not been explored previously.Aim: To explore the therapeutic merits embedded in dialogues of healing to formulate a generic approach to managing psychosocial challenges.Setting: The study was conducted in an indigenous KhoiSan community, Northern Cape province, South Africa.Methods: A qualitative approach, by using an indigenous African research design, was followed. An African Indigenous Health Research Framework (AIHRF) was employed, particularly applying a classical African indigenous method of data-collection, namely orature. Theoretical sampling was used for the purpose that the emerging data guide the researcher to the next participants. The four-step analysis of the mentioned framework was deployed for data analysis.Results: It was deduced that the therapeutic merits of dialogues go beyond the word of mouth, leading to the emergence of themes related to the successful management of psychosocial health challenges in the KhoiSan community.Conclusion: These findings were used to generate a baseline conceptual framework for the management of psychosocial challenges in the KhoiSan community.Contribution: Revitalisation of communal indigenous practices for the management of psychosocial health challenges within the KhoiSan community. The latter will sensitise research, teaching and learning to foster culturally informed counseling approaches. Moreover, these will inform policy formations to posses a culturally competent approach towards indigenous communities such as the KhoiSan community in the Northern Cape, South Africa.

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