scholarly journals Optimizing Urban Forest Landscape for Better Perceptions of Positive Emotions

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1691
Author(s):  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Zhi Yang ◽  
Zhuo Chen ◽  
Mengyuan Guo ◽  
Peng Guo
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Forest Landscape ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Negative Contribution ◽  
Male Adolescents ◽  
Mental Well Being

Interacting with urban spaces that are green and blue is believed to promote mental well-being and positive emotions. Therefore, there is an incentive to strategically design urban forest landscapes in a given space to evoke more positive emotion. In this study, we conducted a pilot study in Northeast China with 24 parks from 11 cities across 3 provinces. The subjects of the study are the visitors and a total of 1145 photos and selfies were collected from open micro-twitters in Sino Weibo (~50 individuals per park). Facial expressions of happy and sad emotions were recognized and rated as percent scores by FireFACE v1.0. Demographically, male adolescents smiled more than male visitors in other age groups and female teens. Females expressed more positive emotions than males according to their positive response index (PRI; happy-sad). Multivariate linear regression indicated positive contribution of green space to happy scores (estimate of 0.0040) and a stronger negative contribution of blue area to sad scores (estimate of −0.1392). Therefore, an urban forest landscape can be optimized by mapping green- and blue-spaces to predict spatial distributions of positive emotions. Male teens are recommended more as frequent visitors than people in other age ranges.

scholarly journals Can Urban Forest Settings Evoke Positive Emotion? Evidence on Facial Expressions and Detection of Driving Factors

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 8687
Author(s):  
Ping Liu ◽  
Mengnan Liu ◽  
Tingting Xia ◽  
Yutao Wang ◽  
Hongxu Wei
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Senior Citizen ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Daily Minimum Temperature ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Mental Well Being

There is increasing interest in experiences of urban forests because relevant studies have revealed that forest settings can promote mental well-being. The mental response to a forest experience can be evaluated by facial expressions, but relevant knowledge is limited at large geographical scales. In this study, a dataset of 2824 photos, detailing the evaluated age (toddler, youth, middle-age, and senior citizen) and gender of urban forest visitors, was collected from Sina Weibo (a social media application similar to Twitter in China) between 1–7 October 2018, in 12 randomly chosen cities in China. Happy and sad expressions were rated as scores by FireFACE software V1.0, and the positive response index (PRI) was calculated by subtracting sad scores from happy scores. Regional environmental factors were collected to detect driving forces using regression analyses. Happy scores were higher in forests than in urban settings, while sad scores for toddlers were lower in forests than in promenades and squares. Females showed more positive emotional expressions than males. Increases in happy scores were driven by the increase of daily minimum temperature; while PRI declined with increases in latitude. Overall, an urban forest experience can evoke positive emotions, which is likely due to comfortable feelings in warm temperatures.

How Czecho-Slovakia Bounces Back: Population-Based Validation of the Brief Resilience Scale in Two Central European Countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 003329412110296
Author(s):  
Jana Furstova ◽  
Natalia Kascakova ◽  
Iva Polackova Solcova ◽  
Jozef Hasto ◽  
Peter Tavel
Keyword(s):  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Resilience Scale ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Best Fit

Objective In recent years, resilience has become a focus of research in the medical and behavioral sciences. The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) was developed to assess the individual ability to recover from stress (“to bounce back”) after experiencing adversities. The aim of the study was to validate the Czech and Slovak versions of the BRS. Methods A representative sample of the Czech and Slovak populations (NCZ = 1800, mean age MCZ = 46.6, SDCZ = 17.4, 48.7% of men; NSK = 1018, mean age MSK = 46.2, SDSK = 16.6, 48.7% men) completed a survey assessing their health and well-being. Several confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models of the BRS were compared to find the best fit. Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega coefficients of reliability were evaluated. Convergent validity was assessed by correlating resilience (BRS), physical and mental well-being (SF-8) and psychopathology symptoms (BSI-53). Differences in gender and age groups were appraised. Results A single-factor model with method effects on the reverse items was evaluated to best fit the data in both the Czech and Slovak samples (χ2CZ(6) = 39.0, p < 0.001, CFICZ = 0.998, TLICZ = 0.995, RMSEACZ = 0.055, SRMRCZ = 0.024; χ2SK(6) = 23.9, p < 0.001, CFISK = 0.998, TLISK = 0.995, RMSEASK = 0.054, SRMRSK = 0.009). The reliability was high in both samples (αCZ = 0.80, ωCZ = 0.85; αSK = 0.86, ωSK = 0.91). The BRS was positively associated with physical and mental well-being and negatively associated with somatization, depression and anxiety. In both countries, a lower BRS score was associated with higher age. Czech men reported significantly higher BRS scores than women. No significant difference was found in the mean BRS scores between the two countries. Conclusion This study provides evidence of good psychometric properties, reliability and validity of the Czech and Slovak adaptations of the BRS.

scholarly journals Health Benefits Derived from Forest: A Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 6125
Author(s):  
Gianluca Grilli ◽  
Sandro Sacchelli
Keyword(s):  
Keyword Search ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Forest Landscape ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Therapy Guidelines ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Length Of Visit

In this paper the scientific literature on the association between forests, stress relief and relaxation is reviewed with the purpose to understand common patterns of research, the main techniques used for analysis, findings relevant to forest-therapy-oriented management, and knowledge gaps. The database of studies was collected with a keyword search on the Web, which returned a set of 32 studies that were included in the analysis. The main findings and patterns were identified with a text mining analysis of the abstract to search for keyword patterns across studies. The analysis indicates that most studies compared rest and relaxation performances across urban and forest environments and used a combination of self-reported measure of stress or rest collected with validate scales, e.g., the Profile of Mood of States (POMS) and the Restoration Outcome Scale (ROS), and a minority-only set of these two groups of indicators. Results of this review indicate that primary studies identified a positive association between forest exposure and mental well-being, in particular when compared to urban environments, thus suggesting that forest are effective in lowering stress levels. This study found that, to date, the characteristics of forests and characteristics of the visit are little investigated in the literature. For this reason, more research with a focus on forest variables such as tree species composition, tree density and other variables affecting forest landscape should be further investigated to inform forest management. Similarly, the characteristics of the visits (e.g., length of visit and frequency) should be further explored to provide robust forest therapy guidelines.

scholarly journals The Spirituality and Religiosity of Transgender Persons and Mental Well-being

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Szymon Niemiec
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Transgender People ◽  
Trans Men ◽  
Religious Issues ◽  
Transgender Persons ◽  
Strong Relation ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Personality Construct

The purpose of the study was to analyze the role of spirituality and religiosity for the well-being of transgender people in Poland. Spirituality understood as a personality construct referring to the natural human’s pursuit of transcendence was included in the study as a component of three indicators: religious spirituality, ethical sensitivity, and harmony, where religiosity was defined as interest in religious issues, beliefs, prayer, experience, and worship. It was assumed in the study that happiness, as one of the explanations of human well-being, is related to positive emotions, optimal experiences, and the meaning of life. The study involved 141 transgender persons (90 trans-men and 51 trans-women) aged 14 to 57. The results indicate a strong relation between spirituality, and weak relationship between religiosity and felt happiness. At the same time, it was not found that spirituality influenced the level of happiness depending on the level of religiosity and differences in spirituality due to religion.

Positive emotions boost employee engagement

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Hazelton
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Positive Memories ◽  
Mental Well Being

Purpose – Highlights the power of positive emotions in helping to build individual and organizational success. Design/methodology/approach – Explores the meaning of positive emotions, how they can be promoted at individual and organizational level and the benefits they can bring to the individual and organization. Findings – Advances the view that positive emotions can benefit physical health, mental well-being and the ability to flourish, creativity, resilience, the mood of others, positive memories and relationships. Practical implications – Argues that the positive emotions of the workforce can improve the organizational culture and improve organizational performance. Social implications – Demonstrates that around three positive emotions are needed to balance out each negative emotion and shows that positive emotions can be stimulated through having new experiences and through acts of kindness and gratitude. Originality/value – Extends psychological thinking on positive emotions to the workforce and workplace.

scholarly journals Flexibility Of Human Resources In Creating Company's Positive Potential

Equilibrium ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-80
Author(s):  
Izabela Bednarska-Wnuk
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Human Resources Management ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Organizational Scholarship ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Positive Potential ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Organizational Scholarship ◽  
Mental Well Being

New concepts are more and more frequently applied in improving human resources management. It is the result of dynamic changes in the environment, as well as the necessity of searching for the ‘golden mean’ of managing a company. One of such means in Positive Organizational Scholarship, originating from positive psychology. Its focal points are human beings and their mental well-being, as well as evoking positive emotions in a workplace. The aim of the article is presenting Positive Organizational Scholarship and describing human resources in terms of flexibility as the primary criterion for creating a company’s positive potential. The author, basing on theoretical arguments concludes that it is the flexibility that allows employees to adjust to the current conditions of their environment.

Personality and Value Preference as Predictors of Social Well-being

2020 ◽  
pp. 097168582096535
Author(s):  
Dharmendra Nath Tiwari ◽  
Girishwar Misra
Keyword(s):  
Uttar Pradesh ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
National Capital Region ◽  
Negative Contribution ◽  
The People ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
National Capital ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Personality Disposition

This article explored the role of personality disposition and value preference as predictors of social well-being in the context of ecological setting. Ecological contexts like rural and urban are critical, particularly in a developing country like India, because they represent significant disparities and variations in the lived experiences of the people. The participants ( n = 360) from the age range of 15–65 years (M = 33.50, SD = 11.99) were drawn from two ecological settings, that is, rural (Gorakhpur Region, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India) and urban (National Capital Region of Delhi, India) and from both the genders. They completed the measures of social well-being, value preference and personality dispositions. The results showed that the different facets of social well-being were differentially related to the aspects of personality and value preference. Ecological setting had significant influence on the measures of personality disposition, value preference and social well-being. Regression analysis showed that except neuroticism, all other factors of personality had consistent positive contribution as the predictors of social well-being. It was also observed that social value and growth factors of value preference had significant contribution, whereas personal value and protection—factors of value preference—had negative contribution as the predictors of social well-being.

scholarly journals Resilience as Predictor of Mental Well-Being among Cardiovascular Disorder

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aqueleem Un Nabi ◽  
Mohd. Ilyas Khan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cardiovascular Disorder ◽  
Medical College ◽  
Resilience Scale ◽  
Cardiovascular Patients ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Mental Well Being

To deal with the chronic illness is one of the difficult tasks. Resilience and positive emotions in patients could enhance coping strategies and reduce disease complications. This study aimed to determine the level of resilience as an important predictor of mental well-being among cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally. As the disease progresses, it carries with it a tremendous increase of mental health consequences such as depression. This study provides an important contribution to a growing field of research of resilience that tries to predict the mental well-being of cardiovascular patients. This study was conducted on 100 CVD patients referring to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College & Hospital (JNMCH, A.M.U, Aligarh, India). The study included two groups of cardiovascular patients, each of 50 members. Group 1 consisted of male cardiovascular patients and group 2 consisted of female cardiovascular patients. Data were collected using the Resilience Scale (Wagnild & Young, 1993) and Mental Well-Being Questionnaire (Tennant et al., 2007). Significant correlation was observed between the resilience level and mental health of cardiovascular patients. Resilience was found to be a strong predictor of mental well-being among both the groups (males and females).

scholarly journals Mental well-being, health, and locus of control in Danish adults before and during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Hanne Würtzen ◽  
Line Helene Clausen ◽  
Peter B. Andersen ◽  
Ziggi Ivan Santini ◽  
Jakob Erkmen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Locus Of Control ◽  
General Health ◽  
Elderly Women ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Younger Women ◽  
Internal Locus ◽  
Internal Locus Of Control ◽  
Younger Men ◽  
Mental Well Being

Abstract Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate possible impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on general health, mental well-being, and experiences of control compared to pre-pandemic populations. Our hypotheses were that we would observe a significant lower level of psychological wellbeing and general health in the 2020 sample compared to the prepandemic samples, and that we would observe younger age groups to be the most effected. Method: Two representative Danish populations (2016, n=1656) and (2017, n=3366) were compared to a representative Danish population (n=1538) sampled during the first lockdown in May 2020. Two-tailed tests of proportions were used to investigate possible differences between samples in proportions reporting poorer mental well-being measured by WHO-5, general health, and internal locus of control. Results: Younger men (aged 18 24) and younger women (aged 18 – 44) as well as elderly women (aged 65-74) reported lower mental well-being during the early phase of the pandemic compared to the population from 2016. Both women and men in 2020 to report significantly lower levels of internal locus of control compared to the 2017 sample. This was especially true for younger men and women. There were no statistically significant differences in general health between populations. Discussion: This study partly supports the hypothesis that the the Covid-19 pandemic affected mental well-being negatively among younger persons. However, longitudinal studies are needed to investigate possible longterm effects of the pandemic on mental health and well-being. Further, qualitative studies are needed to investigate in-depth the consequenses of Covid-19.

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