scholarly journals Fostering Sustainable Cities through Resilience Thinking: The Role of Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs): Lessons Learned from Two Italian Case Studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12875
Author(s):  
Marcelo Enrique Conti ◽  
Massimo Battaglia ◽  
Mario Calabrese ◽  
Cristina Simone
Keyword(s):  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Urban Management ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
Resilience Thinking ◽  
Interesting Study

Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and framing sustainability issues from a resilience perspective, our paper first aimed to highlight nature-based solutions (NBSs) as levers to foster sustainable cities consistent with Agenda 2030-SDG 11 (2015) and the New Urban Agenda (Habitat III, 2016). Second, we empirically analyzed two Italian municipalities that are experimenting with initiatives of sustainable urban management and planning based on NBSs: the Municipality of Lucca in Tuscany and the Municipality of Latina in the Latium Region. These municipalities present institutional and socioeconomic similarities, making them an interesting study setting that allows us to draw significant lessons. We conducted four research steps: (1) theoretical background analysis, including resilience thinking in sustainable urban management. We investigated the role of NBSs in enabling urban resilience according to the last level of resilience, i.e., the transformative level. (2) We studied the contributions of NBSs to sustainable cities and resilience thinking. (3) We analyzed the NBSs’ projects of Lucca and Latina, and (4) we proposed an urban managerial tool: the NBSs’ curve, which facilitates the estimation of the NBS ecosystem endowment. The results of the NBS initiatives presented in this study have a two-fold value. First, they aim to combine citizens’ well-being with ecological and environmental aspects by better managing urban spaces that facilitate interpersonal relationships and resource sharing. Second, they are developed to meet the needs of local groups by serving as a stimulus (Fridays For Future movement) and as enablers (local associations) of managed actions. The lessons learned about the enhancement of sustainable cities through NBSs were thoroughly debated.

scholarly journals The Design of the Payments for Water-Related Ecosystem Services: What Should the Ideal Payment in Slovakia Look Like?

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klára Báliková ◽  
Zuzana Dobšinská ◽  
Alessandro Paletto ◽  
Zuzana Sarvašová ◽  
Michaela Korená Hillayová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Forest Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Nature Protection ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
The Ideal

Water-related forest ecosystems services (WES) are vital to the functioning of the biosphere, society, and human well-being. In Slovakia, the active support of WES is provided by economic instruments of forest policy, while the market-based solution as payments for water-related services (PWS) is lacking. Starting from this point, the objective matter of the paper is to develop the payments for WES schemes in Slovakia. The study was based on document analysis and stakeholders´ opinions towards PWS. Fifteen Slovak stakeholders from forestry, water management, and nature protection were involved in the study. These stakeholders represent potential buyers, seller, intermediaries, and knowledge providers in PWS schemes. Based on the theoretical background and the results of the survey, the authors defined key aspects of the design and implementation of PWS schemes in Slovak conditions such as potential buyers and sellers, important factors for the implementation of PWS schemes, and the role of public authorities.

scholarly journals The Role of Nature-Based Solutions for Improving Environmental Quality, Health and Well-Being

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 10950
Author(s):  
Hai-Ying Liu ◽  
Marion Jay ◽  
Xianwen Chen
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Quality Health ◽  
Health And Well Being

Nature-based solutions (NbS) have been positioned and implemented in urban areas as solutions for enhancing urban resilience in the face of a wide range of urban challenges. However, there is a lack of recommendations of optimal NbS and appropriate typologies fitting to different contexts and urban design. The analytical frameworks for NbS implementation and impact evaluation, that integrate NbS into local policy frameworks, socio-economic transition pathways, and spatial planning, remain fragmented. In this article, the NbS concept and its related terminologies are first discussed. Second, the types of NbS implemented in Europe are reviewed and their benefits over time are explored, prior to categorizing them and highlighting the key methods, criteria, and indicators to identify and assess the NbS’s impacts, co-benefits, and trade-offs. The latter involved a review of the websites of 52 projects and some relevant publications funded by EU Research and Innovation programs and other relevant publications. The results show that there is a shared understanding that the NbS concept encompasses benefits of restoration and rehabilitation of ecosystems, carbon neutrality, improved environmental quality, health and well-being, and evidence for such benefits. This study also shows that most NbS-related projects and activities in Europe use hybrid approaches, with NbS typically developed, tested, or implemented to target specific types of environmental–social–economic challenges. The results of this study indicate that NbS as a holistic concept would be beneficial in the context of climate action and sustainable solutions to enhance ecosystem resilience and adaptive capacity within cities. As such, this article provides a snapshot of the role of NbS in urban sustainability development, a guide to the state-of-the-art, and key messages and recommendations of this rapidly emerging and evolving field.

scholarly journals Caring During COVID-19: Inequalities in Resource- and Information-Sharing by Race, Ethnicity, and Nativity

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 170-171
Author(s):  
Sung Park
Keyword(s):  
Information Sharing ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Perceptions Of Risk ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
One Year

Abstract Americans experienced significant challenges as a result of the pandemic, further magnifying the weak U.S. social safety net. With few institutional supports available, individuals turned to each other for assistance. Relying on multiple nationally representative surveys, this study examines resource-sharing by race, ethnicity, and nativity over a one-year period during COVID-19. Furthermore, this study examines knowledge-related behaviors, such as information-seeking and information-sharing, which were also important tools utilized during the pandemic. Differences in both resource- and information-sharing contributed to disparities in the perceptions of risk, the reported levels of need, and concomitant behaviors linked to well-being. This research emphasizes the importance of personal relationships during times of crisis, and the role of social connections in shaping health and economic inequalities between minority- and non-minority populations.

Lessons Learned From the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Implications for Pharmaceutical Graduate Education and Research

2022 ◽  
pp. 324-345
Author(s):  
Alok Bhushan ◽  
Kimberly B. Garza ◽  
Omathanu Perumal ◽  
Sudip K. Das ◽  
David J. Feola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Education ◽  
Unmet Need ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Pharmaceutical Sciences ◽  
Research Mentoring ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in changes in the way we teach at all levels of education globally. This chapter specifically focusses on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on MS and PhD programs in pharmaceutical sciences in schools/colleges of pharmacy in the United States. Potential expectations to bring the pandemic in control by rolling out the vaccine gives us hope, but there is an unmet need of medicines to treat patients affected by the disease. The impact of the pandemic on pharmaceutical sciences education has been on the pedagogy of teaching, research, mentoring, writing, and enrollment. This has also affected the progression of students in their programs as well as their stress levels and well-being. The role of administrators and accreditation agencies is critical in supporting graduate education by providing leadership and directions for the successful outcomes of these programs. Challenges and opportunities for these graduate programs are discussed in this chapter.

scholarly journals Advancing child health and educational equity during the COVID-19 pandemic through science and advocacy

2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Gur-Arie ◽  
Sara Johnson ◽  
Megan Collins
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Academic Activism ◽  
Johns Hopkins University ◽  
Integral Role ◽  
Quality Health ◽  
Changing Role

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the changing role of scientists, clinicians, ethicists, and educators in advocacy as they rapidly translate their findings to inform practice and policy. Critical efforts have been directed towards understanding child well-being, especially with pandemic-related educational disruptions. While school closures were part of early widespread public health measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, they have not been without consequences for all children, and especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. In a recent Isr J Health Policy Res perspective, Paltiel and colleagues demonstrate the integral role of academic activism to promote child well-being during the pandemic by highlighting work of the multidisciplinary academic group on children and coronavirus (MACC). In this commentary, we explore parallels to MACC’s work in an international context by describing the efforts of a multidisciplinary team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, to aggregate data, conduct analyses, and offer training tools intended to minimize health and educational inequities for children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As both MACC and our work collectively demonstrates, multidisciplinary partnerships and public-facing data-driven initiatives are crucial to advocating for children's equitable access to quality health and education. This will likely not be the last pandemic that children experience in their lifetime. As such, efforts should be made to apply the lessons learned during the current pandemic to strengthen multidisciplinary academic-public partnerships which will continue to play a critical role in the future.

Management of Corporate Volunteers and the Effects of Volunteering on the Well-Being and Engagement of Employees: A Review and Framework for Future Research

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zeeshan Khan
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Employee Volunteering ◽  
Corporate Volunteering ◽  
Service Oriented

Employee volunteering is a topic of growing importance in workplaces around the globe. Similarly, growing research on this phenomenon has seen a significant increase over the past decade, most significantly in different manufacturing and service oriented firms. Nevertheless, the increased visibility of this notion, not much is written on this burning question and the direction for future research is also unclear. In addition, research is currently based on a variety of different definitions but nothing is said about the practices and the propositions which managers should acclimatize to foster enhanced volunteering initiatives within the organization. In order to advance management research on employee volunteering, this literature hinges upon on four contributions: (1) clarifying the theoretical background on corporate volunteering, (2) best practices which managers should adapt to foster corporate volunteering, (3) effects of volunteering on the well-being and engagement of employees, and (4) providing a future research agenda for the role of volunteering and its motives.

scholarly journals A biophilic mind-set for a restorative built environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 68-77
Author(s):  
Thomas Panagopoulos ◽  
Madalina Sbarcea ◽  
Krzysztof Herman
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Urban Ecosystems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Environment Design ◽  
Biophilic Design ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
Health And Well Being

The biophilic design promotes specific principles and patterns of nature-based solutions for health and well-being in the spaces we live and work. A growing body of literature advocates a more prominent role of nature in urban design and architecture, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining, enhancing, and restoring the beneficial experience of nature in the cities. Biophilia and nature-based solutions can improve the quality of built environment design and bring new opportunities to restore urban ecosystems and smart thinking for sustainable cities. The paper concludes that adopting biophilic principles in urban planning will lead to cities that can regenerate life and nurture end-users' health and well-being. Moreover, bring forward ways to transfer human nature ties' knowledge into restorative approaches to design the built environment.

scholarly journals E-Leadership: Lessons Learned from Teleworking in the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Mourão ◽  
Gardênia da Silva Abbad ◽  
Juliana Legentil
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Public Service Organizations ◽  
Leadership Lessons

During the pandemic crisis, teleworking was compulsory for many workers, without the time and conditions to organize themselves for this transition. Therefore, the leadership needs to respond quickly to changes that occur in times of crisis—such as the current pandemic—adjusting its competencies to prioritize the well-being of employees, define performance goals, follow-up on these goals, provide guidance and support teleworkers, and improve feedback processes. The present study aims to propose an e-leadership theoretical model based on lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic. To that end, we describe and discuss a survey on the perceptions of support received from managers during the initial 3 months of the pandemic. For this purpose, we collected data with 7608 workers distributed to 95 public service organizations in Brazil. In addition, we also reviewed several empirical studies that assessed the role of leadership in the proper functioning of telework. The support of leaders is directly associated with the theory of organizational support. In moments of crisis like the current one, this focus on leadership is even more critical. Thus, we present a theoretical model for e-leadership that should expand from the telework experiences during the coronavirus pandemic.

scholarly journals SheepIT, an E-Shepherd System for Weed Control in Vineyards: Experimental Results and Lessons Learned

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2625
Author(s):  
Pedro Gonçalves ◽  
Luís Nóbrega ◽  
António Monteiro ◽  
Paulo Pedreiras ◽  
Pedro Rodrigues ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weed Control ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Chemical Pollution ◽  
Test Results ◽  
The Core ◽  
Whole Process ◽  
Emission Of Greenhouse Gases

Weed control in vineyards demands regular interventions that currently consist of the use of machinery, such as plows and brush-cutters, and the application of herbicides. These methods have several drawbacks, including cost, chemical pollution, and the emission of greenhouse gases. The use of animals to weed vineyards, usually ovines, is an ancestral, environmentally friendly, and sustainable practice that was abandoned because of the scarcity and cost of shepherds, which were essential for preventing animals from damaging the vines and grapes. The SheepIT project was developed to automate the role of human shepherds, by monitoring and conditioning the behaviour of grazing animals. Additionally, the data collected in real-time can be used for improving the efficiency of the whole process, e.g., by detecting abnormal situations such as health conditions or attacks and manage the weeding areas. This paper presents a comprehensive set of field-test results, obtained with the SheepIT infrastructure, addressing several dimensions, from the animals’ well-being and their impact on the cultures, to technical aspects, such as system autonomy. The results show that the core objectives of the project have been attained and that it is feasible to use this system, at an industrial scale, in vineyards.

Social Motives Predict Loneliness During a Developmental Transition

2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 145-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Nikitin ◽  
Alexandra M. Freund
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Avoidance ◽  
Social Approach ◽  
Social Motives ◽  
Developmental Transitions ◽  
Avoidance Motivation ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Low Levels

Abstract. Establishing new social relationships is important for mastering developmental transitions in young adulthood. In a 2-year longitudinal study with four measurement occasions (T1: n = 245, T2: n = 96, T3: n = 103, T4: n = 85), we investigated the role of social motives in college students’ mastery of the transition of moving out of the parental home, using loneliness as an indicator of poor adjustment to the transition. Students with strong social approach motivation reported stable and low levels of loneliness. In contrast, students with strong social avoidance motivation reported high levels of loneliness. However, this effect dissipated relatively quickly as most of the young adults adapted to the transition over a period of several weeks. The present study also provides evidence for an interaction between social approach and social avoidance motives: Social approach motives buffered the negative effect on social well-being of social avoidance motives. These results illustrate the importance of social approach and social avoidance motives and their interplay during developmental transitions.

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