Geographical Research Methods

Journal Article

AH Kiers

DA Rakow

S Parker

CS Dewa

71

5

1596-1603

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH

0744-8481

2023 JUN 13

WOS:000688040300001

10.1080/07448481.2021.1943412

Objective: To seek to find a way to address stress and build social bonds among U.S. college students, an East Coast private institution and a West Coast state institution each offered an undergraduate Nature Rx course. Participants: Seventeen undergraduate students were enrolled in the West Coast state institution seminar, and sixteen undergraduate students were enrolled in the East Coast private institution seminar. Methods: A mixed methods approach was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot such that students were given pre- and post-course questionnaires and asked to write reflective essays to describe their experiences in the class. Results: While no significant changes in self-perceived stress were reported in questionnaire items, the qualitative data indicated students attributed their participation in the course with factors that contributed to reduced stress and important social connections. These included a strengthened belief in the value of spending time in nature to reduce stress, the creation and solidification of social bonds, and an expectation that the class would have a lasting impact. Conclusion: Overall, participants indicated they experienced frequent and meaningful interactions with other students and the instructors while gaining greater familiarity with the natural elements of their respective campuses.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

A Rodríguez-Montero

J Valverde-Vargas

J Monge-Ramos

D Rojas-Valverde

8

3

1-10

VIREF-REVISTA DE EDUCACION FISICA

2322-9411

2019 JUL

WOS:000497979200001

Objective: analyze the acute effect of being outdoors in the mood of a group of college students of Costa Rica. Methods: participants of this study were 50 college students (age 21.88 +/- 4,11 years): 27(age 21.33 +/- 2.96 years) physical education students (PEG) and 23 (age 22.52 +/- 5.14 years) health promotion students (HPG). The 44 items POMS Mood State Questionnaire version was used, reestructured from the spanish version. Two assessments were performed immediately before and after a 35-minute being outdoor session, students were asked to be seated, open eyes and quiet. The participant were exposed to a natural grass environment surrounded by trees. Results: there were found significant differences in tension-anxiety, depression and fatigue. Conclusions: forest therapy does work for improving the mood state of college students.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

SD Özgür

S Temel

11

2

438-444

YUKSEKOGRETIM DERGISI

2146-796X

2021 AUG

WOS:000692685000006

10.2399/yod.20.656321

This study aims to examine the scientific epistemological beliefs of university students and to analyze their views on the nature of science on the basis of these beliefs. A total of 161 university students from a public university participated voluntarily in the study. The Scientific Epistemological Beliefs Survey and The Nature of Science View Scale (NOSVS) were used as the data collection tools. The data analysis revealed that 88.2% of the students hold a traditional conception of science and 11.8% of them have a non-traditional conception of science. Also, the analysis of their nature of science views showed that 49.7% of them have a contemporary, while 50.3% have a transitional view of the nature of science. In addition, it was found that factor and total scores of students' nature of science views have a statically significant difference, depending on their traditional and non-traditional conception of science. This finding can be interpreted as a significant relationship between scientific epistemological beliefs and views about the nature of science.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

B Beaujolais

C Mengo

S Karandikar

64

4

496-510

INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL WORK

0020-8728

2021 JUL

WOS:000668232500002

10.1177/0020872819835588

The nature of violence within universities in Turkey is an under-researched area. This qualitative study explored the nature of campus violence and its prevention in Turkey. Study results illuminate the nature and forms of violence on campus, and reveal informal and formal structures within the university that address violence prevention. Regarding safety and violence prevention on campus, study participants perceived (a) inadequate university response, (b) lack of policies and procedures, and (c) lack of training about responding to and preventing violence. Perceptions about feeling safe and reporting violence varied based on participant gender. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

2024-08-30, 3:17:53 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:53 p.m.

Journal Article

M Fernández

G Cebrián

E Regadera

MY Fernández

17

23

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH

1660-4601

2020 DEC

WOS:000597511800001

10.3390/ijerph17238826

In the last decade, universities worldwide have adopted various measures intended to promote sustainability in higher education and include it in the curriculum. However, although this paradigm shift appears to be contributing to students' acquisition of the knowledge, skills and values necessary to fight for a more sustainable world, serious global crises such as the present SARS-CoV-2 pandemic oblige us to rethink our behaviour and spur us to accelerate the move towards a deep-seated commitment to the environment and people. Therefore, the aims of this study were (a) to explore consumption habits in students at four Spanish universities by analysing their individual ecological footprint (EF); (b) to develop indices of connection with nature and a pro-environmental attitude and to determine relationships between these indices and students' consumption. Among other factors, our results showed that private university students have a higher EF than public university students; that food consumption has the greatest impact on individuals' EF; and that those who consume more sustainably do not show a more pro-environmental attitude or feel a greater connection with nature. Therefore, we conclude that there was no apparent direct relationship between study participants' convictions and their daily behaviour. There is a pressing need in education to demonstrate the connection between our actions and their environmental impact.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

CL Anderson

M Monroy

D Keltner

18

8

1195-1202

EMOTION

1528-3542

2018 DEC

WOS:000451771500011

10.1037/emo0000442

The power of nature to both heal and inspire awe has been noted by many great thinkers. However, no study has examined how the impact of nature on well-being and stress-related symptoms is explained by experiences of awe. In the present investigation, we examine this process in studies of extraordinary and everyday nature experiences. In Study 1, awe experienced by military veterans and youth from underserved communities while whitewater rafting, above and beyond all the other positive emotions measured, predicted changes in well-being and stress-related symptoms one week later. In Study 2, the nature experiences that undergraduate students had during their everyday lives led to more awe, which mediated the effect of nature experience on improvements in well-being. We discuss how accounting for people's emotional experiences during outdoors activities can increase our understanding of how nature impacts people's well-being.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

ZY Yi

D Wu

ML Deng

13

9

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

2076-328X

2023 SEP

WOS:001072572400001

10.3390/bs13090747

Previous research on beliefs about the nature of forgiveness (unconditional and conditional) has focused on their effects on health and well-being. However, little is known about how they influence victims' responses to interpersonal offenses. Given that avoidance is a common response to offenses during early adulthood, this study investigated the relationships between beliefs in unconditional and conditional forgiveness and avoidance of an offender among Chinese college students, the mediating role of forgiveness, and the moderating role of whether or not the offender explains the offense. Participants were 423 Chinese college students. They were asked to recall an unforgettable incident in which another person had offended them, and then completed the following measures: the offender's explanation, the belief in unconditional/conditional forgiveness, forgiveness, and avoidance of the offender. The study found that: (1) Victims' belief in unconditional forgiveness negatively predicts their avoidance of an offender, whereas their belief in conditional forgiveness positively predicts the avoidance of an offender. (2) Forgiveness mediates the relationships between beliefs in unconditional and conditional forgiveness and avoidance of an offender. (3) The offender's explanation moderates the relationships between the belief in conditional forgiveness and forgiveness, as well as avoidance of an offender.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

F Boyd

13

FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY

1664-1078

2022 JUN 17

WOS:000820835600001

10.3389/fpsyg.2022.865422

The university campus provides the backdrop to a student's education and social journey. For many students, the transition from secondary school through to graduation can be one of upheaval, geographical, financial and social change. Evidence suggests increasing levels of mental health difficulties among UK university students. The university campus is a possible resource to mitigate wellbeing issues through facilitating the salutogenic effects of engagement with nature. This mixed method research examines the opportunity to integrate nature through interventions for University of Sheffield undergraduate students. It uses a green prescription style activity and a specially designed mobile phone app. Through focus groups the participants' experience reveals the necessity for a whole university approach that considers intervention and campus design simultaneously. This study's findings qualify research into young adult's experience of urban green spaces and their tangible connection to plants such as trees. Policy and practice implications include the requirement for a coherent approach to understanding the place-attachment aspects to nature in the university environment. Further afield, there is a need for collaborative wellbeing interventions and urban green space development within the UK context.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

SSS Lau

SSK Leung

JWC Wong

TCP Lee

SR Cartwright

JTC Wong

JC Man

E Cheung

RPW Choi

10

FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH

2296-2565

2023 JAN 12

WOS:000918432600001

10.3389/fpubh.2022.1057020

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated uncertainties and restrictions have adverse impacts on university students' mental wellbeing. Evidence shows that virtual nature contact has mental health benefits. However, little is known about the potential beneficial health impacts of virtual nature contact during times of social distancing, when access to the natural environment is restricted. This pilot study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a 3-week virtual nature contact in improving nature connectedness and reducing psychophysiological stress. A sample of 56 university students in Hong Kong was randomly assigned to control and nature interventions using 2-D video played for 15 min three times a week for 3 weeks. Nature connectedness, perceived restorativeness and psycho-physiological wellbeing were measured. Our findings show significant changes in psychological stress levels after nature interventions compared with the baseline, including increased happiness and stronger emotions of comfort and relaxation. When compared with the control group, the results show the nature intervention group has significantly higher levels of nature connectedness, happiness, and positive affect, but no significant effects on other psychological and physiological variables (e.g., cardiovascular responses). Our preliminary findings highlight the potential use of virtual nature contacts in bolstering university students' wellbeing at times of pandemic or when in-person visit to the natural environment is not feasible.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

DA Rakow

DC Ibes

13

FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY

1664-1078

2022 JUL 25

WOS:000838144200001

10.3389/fpsyg.2022.960370

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

S Baena-Morales

FT González-Fernández

O Garcia-Taibo

J López-Morales

9

2

7-12

SPORT TK-REVISTA EUROAMERICANA DE CIENCIAS DEL DEPORTE

2340-8812

2020 NOV

WOS:000588412900001

The aim of the present work is to review the bibliography that has compared the effect of physical activity (PA) performed in different environments, such as natural (AFMN) and artificial (AFEA), on directed attention (SA). For this purpose, a search has been made in different databases such as PubMed, Google academic and Sports DISCUS. All the searches were done from January 2000 to December 2019 using keywords such as directed attention, green exercise, physical activity or university students. In addition, articles were excluded if the population was not exclusively university students or if methodological did not specify variables such as the type of exercise performed or the AS measurement test. A total of six articles were selected which fully met the inclusion criteria. From the analysis of these investigations it was concluded that the effect of the AFMN is not significatively greater than the AEFA on the SA. Several methodological improvements are recommended for future research.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

DE Taylor

64

1

79-96

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

0364-152X

2019 JUL

WOS:000473207000007

10.1007/s00267-019-01172-9

Despite the existence of a robust body of research that investigates human-nature connections, few scholars have examined what people tend to ponder when they think of nature. The objective of the study is to find out how college and university students think about nature. The study also seeks to identify which factors are most significant in influencing students' thoughts about nature. This paper analyzes racial, gender, class, and academic differences in the way college students think about nature. The study of 287 American students found that respondents thought about a wide range of concepts and ideas when they contemplate nature. This article focuses on the demographic differences in thoughts about fear, danger, and loathing. This set of ideas has been the subject of scholarly research, and the findings presented herein contribute to this body of scholarship. The paper discusses both descriptive and multivariate techniques that are used to explore the topic. The study found that white students are less likely than racial/ethnic minorities to think about disconnection, predators, getting lost, loathsome or hateful places, fear, and danger when they think of nature. However, the results also show that it would be inaccurate to describe racial/ethnic minorities as universally fearful of and disconnected from nature. Moreover, the paper demonstrates that race is not the only explanatory variable that has significant impacts in multivariate modelsthe student's academic interest has significant impacts on thoughts about natural hazards, disconnection, predators, human-made hazards, and loathsome or hateful places. Gender, age, parental education, and first-generation college attendance also has significant impacts on the dependent variables.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

TY Li

SY Guo

BX Xue

WJ Yang

FOLIA HORTICULTURAE

0867-1761

2024 JUL 18

WOS:001271046100001

10.2478/fhort-2024-0014

The introduction of horticultural therapy to university campuses has gradually become an effective way to promote college students' interaction with nature, improve their health and increase the quality of their study environment. However, many current studies have focused on measuring and evaluating the physical and mental health benefits of horticultural therapy programmes for college students, while less attention has been paid to exploring how to implement such programmes in a planned and sustainable manner. The main purpose of this study is to construct an evaluation system for the implementation of horticultural therapy programmes on university campuses, so as to better guide the sustainable development of campus horticultural therapy. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the Delphi method were combined in this study. Delphi method was used to carry out two rounds of consultation for 10 experts, to select and revise indicators at all levels and establish an evaluation system. Expert and college student opinions were combined to determine the weight of indicators at each level using AHP. The evaluation system constructed by Delphi method included 4 indicators in the criteria layer and 12 indicators in the indicator layer. The weight analysis of AHP showed that horticultural therapy plan (0.341) was most important in the criteria layer, followed by the natural healing environment (0.289), the horticultural therapy team (0.190) and post-maintenance management (0.180). In conclusion, the evaluation system constructed systematically sorts out the elements of conducting horticultural therapy programmes on Chinese university campuses, which has good application and promotion value.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

MW Kleespies

PW Dierkes

283

BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION

0006-3207

2023 JUL

WOS:000991291700001

10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110093

People's personal relationships with nature are seen as essential factors influencing environmental behavior. Although human-nature relationships have been a recurring research topic in a wide range of disciplines, there has been a lack of comparative international studies. A particularly important group in this context are students in the field of environment and sustainability, as they are likely to become future decision-makers in society. Therefore, this study takes an international approach across 41 countries to examine the personal human-nature relationship, the connection to nature, of students in the field of environment and sustainability. For the survey, an online questionnaire was used, which was distributed by e-mail to different universities in each country. The connection to nature scores of each country were correlated with country-specific wealth indicators to determine how wealth and connection to nature are related. The results show that the connection to nature of the surveyed students in the different countries is in a medium to high range. It was found that in wealthier countries the connection to nature is weaker than in less wealthy countries.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

WY Chou

SH Hung

13

20

SUSTAINABILITY

2071-1050

2021 OCT

WOS:000716402500001

10.3390/su132011370

Forest is a natural resource that provides natural walking as a popular leisure activity for urban residents. From the perspective of "dose of nature ", continuous contact with natural environments and engagement in natural activities can gradually promote positive health benefits. This study aims to explore the "cumulative frequency of nature dose " through regular forest walking. Ten college students were recruited to walk once a week for 30 min in the campus forest. Eight weeks of forest walking experiences were collected by administering questionnaires on nature relatedness, mental health, restorativeness, and learning engagement before the first walk, as well as after the fourth and the eighth walks. The findings of this study revealed that regular forest activities can induce accumulated natural benefits. By taking at least 30 min of forest walks once a week continuously for eight weeks, the subjects improved their mental health, increased learning engagement in school, gained more attention recovery and reflection experiences, and re-established a relationship with nature. In addition, different doses of natural benefits were observed for different cumulative processes.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

MHEM Browning

S Shin

G Drong

O McAnirlin

RJ Gagnon

S Ranganathan

K Sindelar

D Hoptman

GN Bratman

S Yuan

VG Prabhu

W Heller

13

1

SCIENTIFIC REPORTS

2045-2322

2023 JAN 23

WOS:000954571900051

10.1038/s41598-023-28070-9

Exposure to natural environments offers an array of mental health benefits. Virtual reality provides simulated experiences of being in nature when outdoor access is limited. Previous studies on virtual nature have focused mainly on single "doses" of virtual nature. The effects of repeated exposure remain poorly understood. Motivated by this gap, we studied the influence of a daily virtual nature intervention on symptoms of anxiety, depression, and an underlying cause of poor mental health: rumination. Forty college students (58% non-Hispanic White, median age = 19) were recruited from two U.S. universities and randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Over several weeks, anxious arousal (panic) and anxious apprehension (worry) decreased with virtual nature exposure. Participants identifying as women, past VR users, experienced with the outdoors, and engaged with the beauty in nature benefited particularly strongly from virtual nature. Virtual nature did not help symptoms of anhedonic depression or rumination. Further research is necessary to distinguish when and for whom virtual nature interventions impact mental health outcomes.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

V Gómez-Barrios

L Mediavilla-Saldaña

V Gómez-Encinas

JJ Salinero-Martín

58

737-743

RETOS-NUEVAS TENDENCIAS EN EDUCACION FISICA DEPORTE Y RECREACION

1579-1726

2024

WOS:001280521300001

The aim of this study was to analyse the motivation of students in the subject of Activities in the Natural Environment according to the organisational model used (fractionated, intensive-continuous, classic and inverted classic). The Spanish version of the Perceived Locus of Causality Scale in Physical Education adapted to this subject was administered to 125 students distributed in four groups. After the intervention, a significant interaction was found between the organisational model and the change from pre- to post- intervention in the subscales of intrinsic motivation (p <.001; 11 2p=.178) and identified regulation (p=.001; 11 2p=.129), with the intensive-continued model obtaining better results. Although the groups were the same before the intervention, differences were found between groups after the intervention in intrinsic motivation (p=.001; partial 11 2=.127), and in identified regulation (p=.035; partial 11 2=.068). In the post-intervention evaluation, the classical group obtained significant differences with respect to the fractionated (p=.041) and intensive-continued (p=.001) groups, with lower values in intrinsic motivation. This group also obtained a lower average with respect to the intensive-continuous group in the identified regulation subscale (p=.043). The main conclusion is that classes in continuous contact with the natural environment contribute to improving motivation, reducing students' demotivation in the course taught.

2024-08-30, 3:17:50 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:50 p.m.

Journal Article

JN Ma

JM Williams

PG Morris

SWY Chan

19

3

405-416

EXPLORE-THE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND HEALING

1550-8307

2023 MAY

WOS:000984519400001

10.1016/j.explore.2022.08.004

Objective: The aim of this project was to conduct a randomised control study to examine whether outdoor mindful walking in nature can effectively improve university students' sleep quality, mood, and mindfulness during the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.K.Methods: Participants were measured at T0 (pre-study baseline), T1 (pre-intervention), T2 (post-intervention), and T3 (follow-up). A total of 104 participants (female = 94) who were experiencing sleep difficulties were randomly allocated to either an experimental (i.e., nature) or control (i.e., urban) walking environment. Participants in each walking condition independently undertook a daily 35-minute walk for a week (7 days). Subjective sleep quality, total mood disturbance, mindfulness, and degree of nature connectedness, and participants' perspectives on the intervention, were collected. Results: Findings suggest that both groups resulted in significant improvements in participants' trait mindfulness, sleep quality and mood after the intervention. However, mindful walking in nature did not bring additional mental health benefits to participants relative to those who walked an urban environment. Participants provided their perspectives about the intervention, which will assist with future intervention development.Conclusions: Findings contribute to the evidence-base on the effectiveness of outdoor mindful walking in-terventions for enhancing mental health. These findings contribute new knowledge on how mindful walking outdoors reduces university students' mood disturbances and improves sleep quality and mindfulness level.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

FD Manchón

A Simunic

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION

1044-7318

2023 JUL 15

WOS:001027398400001

10.1080/10447318.2023.2235122

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of exposure to interactive and non-interactive virtual nature on stress, mood, and cognitive performance among university students. A control group exposed to a white wall was included, and connectedness to nature was added as a potential covariate. The results showed that exposure to virtual nature, especially interactively, had effects on increasing reported happiness and on reducing stress and tenseness. However, there were no effects on energy, calmness, and the digit span test results. The trail test part a and b results were both improved in the post-exposure measurement in the control group, and part b after exposure to nature non-interactively, but not interactively. The results suggest that exposure to nature through virtual reality can have benefits for some indicators of well-being, and further research is needed to identify the underlying mechanisms and potential effects on other aspects of cognitive functioning.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Conference Paper

R Khoii

M Atefi

PIXEL

119-122

978-88-85813-21-2

2018

WOS:000471904400027

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 11TH INNOVATION IN LANGUAGE LEARNING INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Plagiarism has recently turned into a major concern for academics and academic institutions. The problem seems to have become so widespread that several types of anti-plagiarism software have been developed to check the originality of scholarly papers and students' assignments. Unfortunately, it appears that this unethical strategy is steadily increasing across college and university students in higher education settings and within other groups such as scholarly and scientific communities, political offices, and journalistic groups. Nevertheless, the reasons continue to be obscure. In reality, available statistical findings do not provide a very clear picture of the scale and nature of plagiarism itself and the problems associated with it. Neither do they clarify the extent to which this phenomenon is changing through time or is different from country to country, from subject to subject, or among undergraduate and graduate students. It is assumed that if students are made aware of the consequences of plagiarism, they will exercise some caution in resorting to it while writing an important paper which is going to be published. Despite the great attention paid to this issue in academic journals and settings, plagiarism still occurs at large, and many students, scholars, and even politicians are still accused of committing it. Some may claim ignorance, and some could be breaking the rule to meet deadlines. Accordingly, the present study was carried out to investigate EFL college teachers' and students' perceptions of the nature and causes of plagiarism. The participants consisted of 20 EFL university professors and 40 university students studying TEFL at MA and PhD levels. They received a Likert-Scale 30-item questionnaire enquiring about the nature of plagiarism in the view of the respondents and their attitude in this regard. The results demonstrated that both groups were equally aware of the nature of plagiarism and the related ethical issues, while the students had considerably different standpoints regarding the excuses and punishments for plagiarism.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Conference Paper

L Reddy

LG Chova

AL Martinez

IC Torres

10544-10547

2340-1095

2018

WOS:000568991700078

11TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND INNOVATION (ICERI2018)

A physics laboratory holds an important place in the Science Education curriculum and it is a place where meaningful experimental investigations unfolds. Once students are engaged in experimental work, they have an opportunity of developing a better understanding of the beliefs about the nature and importance of experimental work. In order to measure such beliefs, use is made of a research-based assessment tool called the "Colorado Attitudes about Science Survey" (E-CLASS) for experimental physics work. In particular, the beliefs about the nature of experimental work of three Engineering groups of students from a South African university is used in this survey. To obtain an expert-like view of the assessments, the views of three teachers were also taken into consideration. Results reveal views about the nature of experimental work to be largely positive from both the students and teachers in this survey. In particular, there were high levels of agreement for items relating to correct experimental procedures, use of relevant equations in physics, the importance of group work dynamics and the role played by experimental physics in promoting scientific growth. Further, this research points to the value of experimental work in the enrichment of scientific knowledge.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

JT Luo

MH Wang

BY Chen

M Sun

19

21

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH

1660-4601

2022 NOV

WOS:000883891500001

10.3390/ijerph192114583

Previous studies have revealed the restorative effects of exposure to natural environments on psychological well-being and cognitive performance. Recent studies have reported the effects of exposure to nature sounds (e.g., the sounds of birds, rainfall, and waves) through a mobile application on reducing students' mental fatigue and improving their cognitive performance. However, it remains unknown whether exposure to nature sounds through a mobile application may influence students' learning performance. To address the gap, we conducted a study with 71 university students. During the four-week intervention, 36 students in the experimental group were exposed to nature sounds through a free mobile application for at least 30 consecutive minutes per day when working on academic-related tasks; 35 students in the control group did not have such exposure when working on similar tasks. The results show that students in the experimental group outperformed those in the control group in their engagement in deep learning, frequency of academic procrastination, and academic self-efficacy. The findings reveal the promising effects of exposure to nature sounds through a mobile application on improving students' learning performance. The implications of the findings are discussed.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

CD Rosa

LR Larson

S Collado

S Cloutier

CC Profice

45

2

135-155

LEISURE SCIENCES

0149-0400

2023 FEB 17

WOS:000555246300001

10.1080/01490400.2020.1800538

Nature-based recreation (NBR) can enhance human health and promote conservation. As a result, there is a growing interest in the drivers of NBR. In two separate surveys of college students in Brazil (N = 224) and the United States (N = 207), we found that young adults with stronger connection to nature (CN) have a greater preference for outdoor environments to recreate and that these preferences are associated with more frequent participation in NBR. Fostering connection to nature could therefore alter recreation preferences and enhance NBR. We also discovered gender differences in CN, recreation setting preferences and NBR participation. While women were more connected to nature and tended to prefer outdoor environments to recreate, they were less likely than men to engage in NBR. These relationships were consistent across both countries, raising concerns about gender equity in the outdoors that transcend geographical and cultural contexts.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

LA Vitagliano

KL Wester

CT Jones

DL Wyrick

AL Vermeesch

20

2

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH

1660-4601

2023 JAN

WOS:000920314400001

10.3390/ijerph20021451

The mental health crisis across college campuses is accelerating, with anxiety listed as the top mental health issue for undergraduate college students. Although evidence suggests the COVID-19 pandemic escalated the mental health crisis on college campuses, pre-COVID-19 anxiety among college students was on the rise. Research supports Mindfulness Based Interventions (MBIs) to reduce anxiety among college students. Additionally, exposure to natural environments, which are accessible to students on college campuses, is effective in reducing anxiety. While brief nature-based mindfulness interventions appear effective in reducing anxiety among college students, these interventions are often offered in isolation without social interaction among group members and lack intentional integration of mindfulness and nature-related theories. The purpose of this work is to describe a framework for integrating the use of Mindfulness and Attention Restoration Theory (ART) in an innovative psychoeducational group intervention, Nature-Based Mindfulness Training (c) (NBMT), for college students with anxiety. In conclusion, we argue for the need to intentionally integrate mindfulness and nature into nature-based mindfulness interventions as an effective and sustainable means to reduce anxiety. Limitations and areas for future research are described.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

J Krizanova

J Guardiola

16

5

2221-2249

APPLIED RESEARCH IN QUALITY OF LIFE

1871-2584

2021 OCT

WOS:000577514900001

10.1007/s11482-020-09872-9

Vegetarianism constitutes not only a diet, but also a way of life and social movement currently in expansion worldwide. Since meat consumption negatively influences the environment, vegetarianism helps to preserve the health of ecosystems enhancing people's well-being. Yet vegetarians tend to experience lower subjective well-being. Potential reasons for this include social stigmatization, underlying mental conditions, or perception of the world as unfair. In this paper, we explore the possibility that vegetarians who feel connected to nature enjoy higher subjective well-being. To do so, we explore a sample comprising 1068 undergraduates and relate vegetarian commitment, accounting for vegetarian identity and vegetarian self-assessment scale, with connectedness to nature for three different measures of subjective well-being, life satisfaction, emotional well-being, and subjective vitality. We find that vegetarian subjective well-being is better understood through individuals' connection with the environment. Our results suggest that connectedness to nature is positively related, and vegetarian commitment generally associates negatively to subjective well-being except for vegans who have greater emotional well-being and vitality than other food identities. However, vegans experience greater life satisfaction while highly connected to nature. Lacto-pesco and lacto-ovo vegetarians also enjoy greater emotional well-being and vitality, respectively, while highly connected to nature. Considering vegetarian scale, individuals rating higher experience increased subjective vitality when highly connected to nature. Therefore, we propose that further policy developments in the area should consider the role of connectedness to nature in order to achieve higher levels of subjective well-being, while actively promoting pro-environmental behaviors such as vegetarianism.

2024-08-30, 3:17:53 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:53 p.m.

Journal Article

S Akgun

E Kaya

29

2

299-330

SCIENCE & EDUCATION

0926-7220

2020 APR

WOS:000521882100001

10.1007/s11191-020-00105-x

The paper presents an empirical study on university students' perceptions of nature of science (NOS). NOS is framed in terms of the cognitive, epistemic, and social-institutional systems of science based on the Family Resemblance Approach (FRA) (Erduran and Dagher 2014; Irzik and Nola 2014; Irzik and Nola, SCED 20:591-607, 2011). FRA includes the following categories: aims and values of science, scientific practices, scientific methods, scientific knowledge, and social-institutional aspects of science. A study was conducted with 15 university students from science and non-science majors at a public university in Turkey. Individual interviews were conducted, and qualitative data analysis was carried out. The educational adaptation of FRA was previously referred to as RFN (or the Reconceptualised FRA to NOS) (Kaya and Erduran, SCED, 25(9-10):1115-1133, 2016). In this study, categories of RFN were identified in students' responses. The results show that non-science majors (e.g., philosophy, sociology) have an enhanced perception of NOS in comparison to science majors (e.g., physics, computer engineering). It is also observed that university students were not explicitly aware of different aspects of NOS and their perceptions do not represent a holistic account. The study suggests that RFN can be used as a framework to explore university students' perceptions of NOS and their perceptions of NOS are linked to their domain-specific educational background.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

WW Dai

XC Wei

QY Li

ZH Yang

33

6

548-555

JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY IN AFRICA

1433-0237

2023 NOV 2

WOS:001143352400003

10.1080/14330237.2023.2279374

This study explored the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and life satisfaction among college students, the mediating effect of smartphone addiction, and the moderating effect of connectedness to nature. A total of 702 college students (453 females, Meanage = 19.60 years, SD = 1.33 years) completed the Interpersonal Sensitivity Scale, Mobile Phone Addiction Index, Connectedness to Nature Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Following moderated mediation analysis, the results showed that smartphone addiction mediated the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and life satisfaction among college students. Furthermore, connectedness to nature did not moderate the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and life satisfaction among college students, but it moderated the relationship between smartphone addiction and life satisfaction among college students. These findings identified both risk factors and protective factors that influence life satisfaction among college students, providing valuable guidance for enhancing their life satisfaction.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

CTP Nguyen

QAN Nguyen

72

6

1745-1752

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH

0744-8481

2024 JUL 23

WOS:000815407700001

10.1080/07448481.2022.2089847

Objective This study aims to examine the relationship between nature relatedness (NR) on subjective positive well-being (life satisfaction) and mental disorders (depression, stress, and anxiety) in Vietnamese university students. Participants 340 Hue University students voluntarily took part in the survey. Methods The Nature Relatedness Scale, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale were used. Bivariate correlation, single regression, and moderation analysis were conducted to investigate the relationship between NR and the mental health of university students and the moderating role of NR. Results Higher levels of NR significantly predicted higher levels of life satisfaction but did not significantly predict fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. NR significantly moderated the link between life satisfaction and depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusions The findings of this study imply that efforts to enhance students' mental health should include efforts to promote their NR.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

SY Guraya

H Almaramhy

MF Al-Qahtani

SS Guraya

M Bouhaimed

B Bilal

23

1

MEDICAL EDUCATION ONLINE

1087-2981

2018 AUG 7

WOS:000441056700001

10.1080/10872981.2018.1505400

There is a sharp rise in the use of social networking sites (SNSs) by university students for various purposes. However, little is known about the use of SNSs for educational purposes. This study aims to determine educational use of SNSs by the medical students of two Saudi and a Kuwaiti medical school. A cross-sectional study was conducted by administering a 20-statement questionnaire to the undergraduate medical and allied health sciences students of two Saudi universities: Taibah University (TU) and Imam Abdulrahman AlFaisal University (IAFU), and one Kuwaiti university, Kuwait University (KU). The data were collected and analyzed by SPSS 20. Of a total of 1312 respondents, 1181 (90%) students used SNSs and 131 (10%) did not use SNSs for any reason. Further, only 442/1181 (37%, p < 0.00) students used SNSs for education and found these sites to be useful. As many as 357 (27%) students used SNSs for sharing education-related information once a day, 306 (23%) 3-5 times a day, and 331 (25%) once a week. A maximum of 678 (52%) used Facebook for educational purpose and most of the students, 469 (38%), used SNSs for sharing lectures. There were significant variations in responses among genders and year of schooling. The use of online social media in medical education is a rapidly evolving arena of scholarship. Low use of SNSs for sharing information and significant variations in perceptions of medical students about social media should draw attention of policy-makers for promoting awareness and educational reforms.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

GR Meredith

DA Rakow

ERB Eldermire

CG Madsen

SP Shelley

NA Sachs

10

FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY

1664-1078

2020 JAN 14

WOS:000509904800001

10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02942

Background: Across the U.S., college and university students exhibit high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. While counseling, medications and, in more severe cases, hospitalization are all appropriate treatments for such conditions, an increasing body of evidence has demonstrated that spending time in nature can provide tangible benefits for mental health and well-being. The aim of this study was to define a "dose" of time in nature that could be prescribed to college-age students, as a preventative and supportive mental health and well-being intervention. The specific objectives of this scoping review were thus: to define the minimum amount of time in nature that results in positive impact on mental health and well-being for college-aged students; to describe the types of engagement with nature that elicited the impact; and to describe and explore the most commonly used measure of effect pre- and post-time in nature. Methods: This scoping review was conducted following the PRISMA-ScR Checklist. A review protocol was developed but not registered. Fourteen bibliographic databases were searched and all results were blindly screened using established inclusion criteria. All titles and abstracts were screened by at least two reviewers, a third being used as a tie-breaker if needed. Studies were included if: subjects were of average college age; they examined a treatment of time (hours or minutes) in nature; they examined change in measures of mental health and well-being pre- and post-exposure; they compared participants across at least two environments; the study was published in English or French; and if the study was Results: Initially, 11,799 titles were identified and once de-duplicated, 10,917 titles were screened. One hundred fifty-five papers were given full text reviews, of which 14 studies were included in this review. In summary, 13 of the 14 papers explicitly noted that the participants were college students. Two-thirds of the studies (n = 10) took place in Japan. One study took place in Sweden, and the remaining studies took place in the United States (n = 3). These studies show that, when contrasted with equal durations spent in urbanized settings, as little as 10 min of sitting or walking in a diverse array of natural settings significantly and positively impacted defined psychological and physiological markers of mental well-being for college-aged individuals. Within the included studies, 22 different measures were used to assess the effects of nature doses on mental health and well-being. Conclusions: This review provides time-dose and activity-type evidence for programs looking to use time in nature as a preventative measure for stress and mental health strain, and also demonstrates opportunities in six specific foci for more research in this area.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

MN AlKhudari

11

2

527-541

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION IN MATHEMATICS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

2147-611X

2023

WOS:000925007100014

10.46328/ijemst.3192

Social media networks have become a prominent role in forming social relations, especially among university students, the transmission of information, the circulation of data, and the spread of topics among students and all members of society. In addition, these networks reflect how people think, their lifestyles, and what issues they think about. Through them, we can study the prevailing behavior patterns, including the stereotypical or mental image of Syrian students in Jordan. Therefore, the current study aimed to identify the nature of the mental image of Syrian students in Jordanian universities as reflected by social media and to know the mental image in its various economic, political, and entertainment aspects that social media reflects on Syrian students. Also, the study looked at revealing patterns of social media use among students. The study followed the descriptive approach to achieve these objectives. A questionnaire was used on a sample of Jordanian university students. The results concluded that the Syrian students in Jordan live in good conditions and are treated well by the people of Jordan. Also, students in Jordanian universities do not differentiate between students according to their nationalities. Syrian students only suffer from poor material living conditions and suffer bad psychological conditions because of immigration and leaving their homelands. The material assistance provided by international organizations can significantly alleviate their suffering, and the image formed about them among the Jordanian people is a good one. Finally, Jordan did not witness any negative actions by these students. Rather, they reflected the good image of the Syrian Arab student. In light of the results, the study presented some recommendations and suggestions.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

L Borgerding

H Deniz

19

3

290-303

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE MATHEMATICS AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

1492-6156

2019 SEP

WOS:000477863000006

10.1007/s42330-019-00049-7

Epistemological views characterise how individuals view the certainty, source and organization of knowledge. Previous research has demonstrated some relationships between epistemological views and nature of science (NOS) views. These relationships may be particularly interesting for biology students who are learning about topics such as evolution which are societally controversial but not scientifically controversial. In this study, we examine the relationship between epistemological views and empirical NOS views for three classes of college biology learners in a Midwestern US university. We used the Learning Contexts Questionnaire to characterise participants' epistemological Perry levels and question 1 of the VNOS-C to characterise their empirical NOS views. Based on a series of chi-square analyses, no relationship between Perry level and empirical NOS views was identified. Significant relationships between empirical NOS views and gender and empirical NOS views and biology class were identified. These findings and implications for future work are discussed. ResumeLes conceptions epistemologiques caracterisent les facons dont les personnes concoivent le degre de certitude, la source et l'organisation des connaissances. Les recherches anterieures ont montre l'existence de certains liens entre les vues epistemologiques et les vues sur la nature des sciences. Ces liens peuvent etre particulierement interessants pour les etudiants de biologie dont l'apprentissage comprend des sujets tels que l'evolution, qui sont controverses sur le plan societal, mais ne sont pas controverses sur le plan scientifique. Dans cette etude, nous analysons les liens entre les points de vue epistemologiques et les points de vue empiriques sur la nature des sciences dans trois classes de biologie au niveau collegial. Nous avons utilise le Questionnaire sur les contextes d'apprentissage pour determiner le niveau epistemologique des participants selon le modele de Perry, et la Question 1 du VNOS-C pour definir leurs points de vue empiriques sur la nature des sciences. Sur la base d'une serie d'analyses chi(2) nous n'avons releve aucun lien entre le niveau de Perry et les points de vue empiriques sur la nature des sciences. Des liens significatifs ont ete releves d'une part entre les points de vue empiriques sur la nature des sciences et le sexe des participants, et d'autre part entre ces points de vue et la classe de biologie. Ces resultats et leurs implications pour des recherches ulterieures sont analyses.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

MW Appau

E Attakora-Amaniampong

IC Anugwo

42

4

523-544

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

0263-7472

2024 JUL 22

WOS:001154105900001

10.1108/PM-08-2023-0086

PurposeProviding student housing designed to support students living with a disability is a global challenge. This study assesses buildings' physical health condition systems and drivers of physical health condition effects on students living with disability (SWD) in purpose-built university housing in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study used quantitative design and methods based on the theory of supportive design premises. Using the partial least square structural equation model, a survey of 301 students living with a physical disability, mild visual disability and mild hearing disability was collected in 225 student housings.FindingsThe study found that insect control and cleaning services are a priority in off-campus building design and management and directly positively affected the sense of control and physical health of SWD. The nature of lightning systems, noise and thermal comfort directly negatively affected SWD disability learning and discomfort.Practical implicationsReviewing and enforcing student housing design drawings at the preliminary development stage by university management is critical. More broadly, physical health systems that control cleaning, noise and thermal comfort are essential for SWD health in student housing.Originality/valueStudies on all-inclusive building designs have consistently focused on lecture theaters and libraries with limited attention on the physical health condition systems in student housing that support the quality healthcare of university campuses. Research on physical health condition systems in student housing is significant for all-inclusiveness and student housing management.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

UD Ustun

NA Ustun

O Gumusgul

C Ari

AT Erguven

23

1

335-343

JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND ECOLOGY

1311-5065

2022

WOS:000768263000035

Understanding the effects of outdoor recreational experiences on nature relatedness and environmental attitudes is a key to effective nature management. So, present study aimed to analyse nature relatedness and environmental attitude among university students who participated in outdoor recreation or not. 884 university students, chosen in a random way, voluntarily participated in the study. To collect data, in addition to personal information form nature relatedness scale and environmental attitudes scale were used. In the evaluation of the data, Cronbach' s alpha calculated for all the sub-dimensions and independent samples t-test was used as hypothesis tests alpha = 0.05. According to analysed results, there was no significant difference among participants' (N = 884) nature relatedness, environmental behaviour and environmental thoughts according to participation in outdoor recreation, on the other hand there were significant differences according to whether they had any curriculum lesson about environment. As a conclusion, this study showed that no matter university students participated in outdoor recreation or not, they do not differ in nature connectedness and environmental attitude, however students who took education about environment had more connectedness with nature and environmental behaviour.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

JA Steeves

B Guillaume

J Eul

M Thompson

JI Oody

55

9

602-602

MEDICINE & SCIENCE IN SPORTS & EXERCISE

0195-9131

2023 SEP

WOS:001158156602025

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

R Ouma

7

1

COGENT EDUCATION

2331-186X

2020 JAN 1

WOS:000564278600001

10.1080/2331186X.2020.1812473

The incorporation of staff and students' views is so central in the transformation of learner support management and delivery in distance education. This study explored the staff and students' perceptions of the nature of learner support in distance education at Uganda Martyrs University in Uganda. The study used a qualitative research approach involving focus groups and in-depth interviews with selected university students and staff. The study results showed that the nature of learner support services focused on; academic advising, library and technology, counselling and career, communication and administrative services. The results provide valuable information on how to strategize learner support planning in distance education by synthesising and incorporating the voices of the students and staff. University administrators need to address the staff and students' concerns about learner support to nurture a sustainable quality support culture.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

H Löfsten

M Klofsten

E Cadorin

28

12

2465-2488

EUROPEAN PLANNING STUDIES

0965-4313

2020 DEC 1

WOS:000512923800001

10.1080/09654313.2020.1722986

This paper aims to expand our understanding of talent attraction management in Science Parks with a specific interest in university students/alumni as a human and strategic resource. The underlying rationale is how the links with universities can be supported and how the Science Park management can contribute to successful relationships with universities and university students/alumni, in order to develop tenant firms and the park itself. A questionnaire was sent out in 2018-120 parks. This study includes 25 variables, and four significant regression models are presented. The main finding is that Science Park talent attraction activities act as a mediating variable, which affects the informal and formal partnerships between students and firms/universities as well as how the park management can contribute to successful relationships. By attracting students, tenant firms can have a positive impact on their performance as well as Science Park development.

2024-08-30, 3:17:53 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:53 p.m.

Journal Article

A Deyo

J Wallace

KM Kidwell

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH

0744-8481

2023 JAN 23

WOS:000937966500001

10.1080/07448481.2022.2151843

Objective: To examine how time spent on handheld screens was related to internalizing mental health symptoms in college students and whether time spent in nature was associated with fewer mental health symptoms. Participants: Three hundred seventy-two college students (M-age = 19.47 +/- 1.74, 63.8% female; 62.8% college freshman). Methods: College students completed questionnaires for research credit in their psychology courses. Results: Screen time significantly predicted higher anxiety, depression, and stress. Spending time outdoors ("green time") significantly predicted lower stress and depression, but not lower anxiety. Green time moderated the relationship, such that college students who spent less time outside (1SD below mean) had consistent rates of mental health symptoms across hours of screentime, but individuals who spent average/above average (mean, 1SD above mean) time outside had fewer mental health symptoms at lower levels of screentime. Conclusions: Promoting green time in students may be an effective way of improving stress and depression.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

MV Boe

S Viefers

32

2

297-326

SCIENCE & EDUCATION

0926-7220

2023 APR

WOS:000722970600001

10.1007/s11191-021-00297-w

Teaching and learning of quantum physics at secondary level is an active field of research. One important challenge is finding ways to promote understanding of quantum concepts without the mathematical formalism that is embedded in quantum mechanics but unavailable on the secondary level. We investigated Norwegian secondary students' (N = 291) descriptions of the wave nature of quantum particles and the uncertainty principle, as expressed during work with learning resources using a sociocultural approach emphasizing history, philosophy, and nature of science aspects. Responses from university students (N = 40) given after a formalism-based course in quantum physics were included for comparison. Themes were identified using thematic analysis and analyzed from the perspective of pedagogical link-making, seeing different themes as representing different levels of explanations of the concepts (phenomenological, qualitative, mathematical). The most dominant theme in descriptions of particle wave nature was that particles exhibit wave behavior in experiments, while referring to the mathematical description of particles by wave functions was a less prominent theme, even among university students. Two uncertainty principle themes were found: uncertainty as inability to measure pairs of variables precisely, and uncertainty as innate blurriness in nature. Largely missing from descriptions of both concepts were meaningful links between different levels of explanations. Based on the results, we discuss ways forward for teaching particle wave nature and uncertainty in secondary education.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

L Henderson

L Tipper

S Willicombe

M Gattis

96

JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

0272-4944

2024 JUN

WOS:001255224000001

10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102343

While the impact of nature on individual psychological outcomes has been widely researched, few studies have investigated the impact of time in nature on social connection across individuals. We conducted a within-subjects experiment to evaluate whether natural environments increase feelings of interpersonal closeness, or social connection. Fifty-two undergraduate students completed search tasks with a social partner in a city park and an office. Self-reported social connection was significantly higher following task completion in the natural environment compared to indoors. Self-reported nature connection was also significantly higher following task completion in the natural environment compared to indoors. These results are consistent with the proposal that shared time in nature increases feelings of social connection as well as nature connection. These findings have important implications for understanding the relations between nature and community building.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

P Sullivan

A Bell

D Nielsen

51

3

311-336

COMMUNITY COLLEGE REVIEW

0091-5521

2023 JUL

WOS:001003035300001

10.1177/00915521231163855

Objectives: Responding to Tinto's call for studies of retention that center on "the students' view of their experience" (p. 11), this research project reports findings from telephone interviews of 131 students who stopped out at our home institution, a large open admissions community college in the northeast. Our objective was to find out why these students stopped out and what our institution might have done to keep them enrolled. Method: Adopting a phenomenological approach, we analyzed our data set following the principles of thematic analysis. Results: We found that a large percentage of the students we contacted-previously identified as stopping out-had, in fact, either continued their education at another institution or met their educational goals. Furthermore, a large proportion of students we interviewed did not return for reasons that were beyond the control of the institution. The majority of these were related to personal and family matters or work responsibilities. Contributions: Our findings suggest that retention at community colleges is a highly complex, individualized process, with a host of variables that can affect individual students in different ways. Our findings also suggest that retention at community colleges may be more complex than traditional protocols currently in place can accurately measure.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

S Graupensperger

AE Jaffe

BA Hultgren

IC Rhew

CM Lee

ME Larimer

35

8

867-876

PSYCHOLOGY OF ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS

0893-164X

2021 DEC

WOS:000728148000002

10.1037/adb0000647

Public Health Significance Statement College students' alcohol use is closely related to perceptions of friends' approval, such that those who think their friends are more approving tend to engage in greater alcohol use. The current study revealed that students' perceptions of friends' alcohol use fluctuated substantially across a single year (four timepoints across 12 months) and students self-reported heavier alcohol use at timepoints that they perceived their friends to be relatively more approving of alcohol use. These findings add novel understanding regarding the nature of normative influences and hold important implications pertaining to the adaptation of norms-based harm-reduction strategies. Objective: Perceptions of friends' approval of drinking behaviors (i.e., injunctive drinking norms) play a central role in shaping college students' alcohol use behaviors. However, we know little about the extent that students' perceptions of friends' approval fluctuate over time and whether there are within-person associations between these injunctive norms and alcohol use. To fill this knowledge gap, we estimated within-person variability in perceptions of friends' approval of alcohol use across a 12-month period and examined within-person associations between perceptions of friends' approval and 3 discrete drinking behaviors: number of weekly drinks, hazardous drinking behaviors, and peak estimated blood-alcohol content (peak-eBAC). Method: A sample of college students (N = 433, 54.82% female, M-age = 20.06) reported perceptions of friends' approval of alcohol use and indices of alcohol use behavior at 4 timepoints across a single year. Results: Descriptive estimates of within-person variability of perceived friends' approval revealed that these perceptions fluctuated considerably across the 4 timepoints. After accounting for between-person effects, longitudinal multilevel modeling revealed significant within-person associations between perceptions of friends' approval and (a) number of weekly drinks, (b) hazardous drinking behaviors, and (c) peak-eBAC levels. Students reported heavier alcohol use at timepoints when they perceived their friends as being more approving than usual. Conclusions: Alongside advancing theoretical understanding of social influences on students' alcohol use, the current findings hold important clinical implications for norms-based harm-reduction strategies. To optimize interventions, norms-based approaches may need to be adaptive over time (e.g., boosters) to map onto within-person fluctuations in perceived injunctive norms.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

AD Atik

HI Sari

Y Dogan

39

1

80-94

AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

0814-0626

2023 MAR

WOS:000952353200007

10.1017/aee.2022.20

The assessment of environmental identity (EID) in terms of connectedness to nature, eco-friendly behaviour (EFB) and closeness to nature variables is the central focus of this study. The elaborated conceptual model recommends that closeness to nature, connectedness to nature and EFBs related to education, economy and recycling are potential predictors of EID. The sample consists of 518 college students studying in different teacher education programmes. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the constructive validity of the scales for each of the measurement models. The theoretical path analysis model was created by considering existing literature. In the present study, the EFBs of the participants had a significant and moderate effect on their EID. Findings confirmed that environmental education behaviours and recycling behaviours had a positive and low effect on EFBs. The results showed that connectedness to nature and closeness to nature had a positive and medium effect on EFB. Promotion of EID sense in pre-service teachers will increase their students' EID. Finally, advanced degree curricula in environmental protection and nature can be designed and implemented based on target group information.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

JT Luo

MH Wang

L Chen

12

FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY

1664-1078

2021 NOV 24

WOS:000728970100001

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.699908

Many university students have been struggling with multiple challenges that may cause mental fatigue. Exposure to the natural environment is found to have restorative effects on mental fatigue, which can be explained by its benefits in physiological, psychological, and cognitive aspects. While the natural environment contains both visual and auditory elements, research on the effects of auditory elements, such as nature sounds, is underdeveloped and limited to laboratory settings. It remains unclear what are the effects of exposure to nature sounds in daily life settings. The study was conducted with 71 students from a university, who were randomly assigned to the experimental group using a nature-sound mobile application in daily life and the control group not using the application. After a 4-week exposure to the intervention, the students in the experimental group outperformed their counterparts in the control group on psychological well-being reflected in positive affect, as well as cognitive performance reflected in flow state, attention (in terms of alerting) and working memory (in terms of accuracy and reaction time). The findings reveal the positive impact of exposure to relaxing nature sounds on university students' psychological well-being and cognitive performance, as well as the potential of mobile applications to provide easy exposure to nature sounds.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

JX Liu

431

JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION

0959-6526

2023 DEC 15

WOS:001123632800001

10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139763

This paper aims to explain how narrative transportation influences the environmental intentions of university students at five universities in Hebei, China. It also examines the mediating roles of empathy with nature and environmental attitudes, as well as the serial role. A survey was conducted involving 347 university students to test the proposed hypotheses. This was followed by a qualitative approach that involved examining interviews. The study findings indicate that narrative transportation directly and indirectly influences environmental intentions. Additionally, empathy with nature and environmental attitudes have an indirect impact on environmental intentions through the serial role, enhancing environmental intentions. The novelty of this research model lies in the environmental education-centered operationalization of narrative transportation theory. The use of a mixed-methods approach in this study contributes to a better understanding of the proposed relationships and offers concrete suggestions for educational practices.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

A Porter

S Coope

M Henry

J Gallo

B Graefe

14

2

139-151

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SEXUALITY EDUCATION

1554-6128

2019

WOS:000469813000001

10.1080/15546128.2018.1529644

Most young people go to their friends for information on sexuality-related topics, thus it is important to understand the context of these communications so that we may gather insight into sexual values and the underlying emotions and styles of communication. We conducted qualitative weekly surveys regarding discussion of sexual health topics among peers with students enrolled in an undergraduate human sexuality course. A four-stage inductive analysis process was utilized to examine a total number of 824 survey submissions from 102 college students who agreed to participate. Seven relevant common themes emerged: safer sex, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, feelings about sex, sexual acts, peer support, and peer communication norms. Some perspectives varied between males and females. Life events create opportunities for peers to discuss sexual health with each other. The connection between life events and peer sexual health communication has numerous implications for both research and education.

2024-08-30, 3:17:53 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:53 p.m.

Journal Article

S Alameh

F Abd-El-Khalick

D Brown

60

1

100-135

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING

0022-4308

2023 JAN

WOS:000825389300001

10.1002/tea.21792

Issues regarding scientific explanation have been of interest to philosophers from Pre-Socratic times. The notion of scientific explanation is of interest not only to philosophers, but also to science educators as is clearly evident in the emphasis given to K-12 students' construction of explanations in current national science education reform efforts. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of research on conceptualizing explanation in science education. Using a philosophically guided framework-the Nature of Scientific Explanation (NOSE) framework-the study aims to elucidate and compare college freshmen science students', secondary science teachers', and practicing scientists' scientific explanations and their views of scientific explanations. In particular, this study aims to: (1) analyze students', teachers', and scientists' scientific explanations; (2) explore the nuances about how freshman students, science teachers, and practicing scientists construct explanations; and (3) elucidate the criteria that participants use in analyzing scientific explanations. In two separate interviews, participants first constructed explanations of everyday scientific phenomena and then provided feedback on the explanations constructed by other participants. Major findings showed that, when analyzed using NOSE framework, participant scientists did significantly "better" than teachers and students. Our analysis revealed that scientists, teachers, and students share a lot of similarities in how they construct their explanations in science. However, they differ in some key dimensions. The present study highlighted the need articulated by many researchers in science education to understand additional aspects specific to scientific explanation. The present findings provide an initial analytical framework for examining students' and science teachers' scientific explanations.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

EA Payne

NM Loi

EB Thorsteinsson

2020

JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH

1687-9805

2020 MAY 8

WOS:000536212100001

10.1155/2020/4210285

The present study evaluated the effect of a three-week intervention aimed at improving psychological health in university students. Participants included 200 Australian students randomly assigned to an experimental or waitlist control group, with 42 adhering to intervention instructions. Participants in the experimental group read a story about someone who used the natural environment to decrease stress and burnout levels and to increase their perceived satisfaction with life. They were then instructed to spend 20 minutes each week, for three weeks, in any chosen natural environment. Waitlist control participants received intervention instructions three weeks later. Restorativeness was positively associated with life satisfaction and negatively related to stress and burnout. Experimental participants, compared to waitlist control participants, experienced a significant decrease in stress; however, the intervention had no effect on life satisfaction or burnout. More research is still needed to determine the practical significance of nature exposure on university students' psychological health.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

NK Jeffrey

CY Senn

MA Krieger

A Forrest

55

2

100-112

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE-REVUE CANADIENNE DES SCIENCES DU COMPORTEMENT

0008-400X

2023 APR

WOS:000763015100001

10.1037/cbs0000329

Public Significance Statement This study used best practices for studying a population's sexual violence experiences. It confirmed that Canadian women bear the brunt of sexual violence, usually at the hands of men they know. Like their American counterparts, Canadian women in university are sexually assaulted at much higher rates than men and report more trauma from these experiences than men. Random sample research is important for documenting the ubiquity and context of sexual violence (SV) on university campuses but has been scant in the Canadian context. We contribute one of the only Canadian university random sample studies since the 1990s. We examined the scope, nature, and impact of SV in a large (N = 977) and diverse random sample of students from one Canadian university. We found that 23.2% of women, 9.6% of men, and 16.7% of nonbinary students reported experiencing SV at least once in the past 12 months. Roughly 6% of both women and men reported perpetrating SV at least once in the past 12 months, and no nonbinary participants reported any perpetration. The findings did not support a fall "red zone" of increased risk of rape and attempted rape for first- and second-year students. Women's victimization did not vary by race, international student status, sexual identity, or disability, but second-year women were at increased risk. Overall, most victims of rape and attempted rape were victimized by a man who was not a student on their campus but was known to them (most often a friend, date, or intimate partner). Rapes and attempted rapes were commonly in someone's home. Women reported significantly greater trauma and academic impact of victimization compared to men. Our results are important for informing future research, prevention, policy, and service provision on Canadian university campuses.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

T Watt

N Ceballos

S Kim

X Pan

S Sharma

13

2

163-172

JOURNAL OF CHILD & ADOLESCENT TRAUMA

1936-1521

2020 JUN

WOS:000542674400004

10.1007/s40653-019-00270-4

It is well established that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) contribute to the development of mental disorders in adulthood. However, less is known about how childhood trauma impacts the mind and the body, whether the resulting mental disorders have different characteristics than those occurring without these antecedent conditions, and if treatment modalities need to reflect the unique nature of mental disorders rooted in trauma. Survey and biomarker data were gathered from a sample of college students (n = 93) to explore the relationship between childhood trauma and mental health. We examine how neuroimmune systems (inflammation and neuroplasticity) relate to depression and anxiety and whether these associations vary for those with and without a history of childhood trauma. Findings reveal that students with 4 or more ACEs are more likely to have depression and anxiety than students without these experiences. In addition, we find that inflammation (CRP) and neuronal health (BDNF) are associated with mental health disorders among students with four or more ACEs, but not for students without this history. These findings suggest that mental disorders associated with four or more ACEs may be uniquely tied to physiological processes, and consequently, warrant tailored treatments. The implications for mental health intervention include, 1) screening for childhood trauma, inflammation, and neuronal health and 2) referral to treatments which are theoretically and empirically tied to the root causes of mental disorders rather than those designed merely to suppress their symptoms.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

D Labhardt

S Brown

E Holdsworth

N Mckillop

DJ Howat

C Jones

39

9-10

1952-1975

JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE

0886-2605

2024 MAY

WOS:001101190200001

10.1177/08862605231212171

Sexual assault is a global problem, with the risk highest among university students. Bystander intervention preventing sexual assaults has primarily been researched using quantitative methods to understand what factors influence it. However, both sexual assault and bystander intervention are complex with many subtle and overlapping issues that, when analyzed qualitatively, can offer new insights. The current study aimed to explore and develop a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of students' perceptions of sexual assault and bystander intervention across two universities, one in the United Kingdom and one in Australia. Thirty-nine university students (19 in the United Kingdom; 20 in Australia) took part in one-to-one semistructured interviews. Using inductive thematic analysis, two overarching themes were identified: (a) navigating the complex dynamics of sexual assault; and (b) decisions to intervene or not to intervene. Findings suggest that the complexity and ambiguity around sexual assault can forestall bystander intervention. As such, increasing education, awareness, and discussions around sexual assault and bystander intervention is vital to increase awareness of the problem and mobilize action from bystanders to prevent sexual assault.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

W Migl

H Mathis

M Spencer

R Hernandez

JE Maddock

23

1

BMC PUBLIC HEALTH

1471-2458

2023 DEC 15

WOS:001127405100003

10.1186/s12889-023-17455-0

BackgroundThere has been limited research on college campus' green spaces and their benefits to students. This study aimed to identify relationships between a Texas campus's green spaces and students' knowledge of their health benefits and their perception of their health compared to the campus' indoor built environments.MethodsPhotovoice was utilized to answer this study's research questions. Participants were instructed to take a photograph inside a building on campus and one outdoors anywhere on campus. Participants answered a questionnaire containing health-related questions, demographics, and nature relationship questions. Additionally, there was an in-class analysis and discussion to characterize overarching themes, knowledge, and evoked emotions. Frequencies, percentages, and a paired t-test were utilized to investigate the hypothesis that through the application of photovoice, participants would display more knowledge of nature's health benefits and a better perception of areas providing emotional, mental, physical, and social health benefits when in these green spaces compared to the indoor built environments on campus.Results122 students took photographs and answered the questionnaire. 91 students participated in the in-class discussion. Most students felt more positive (80%) and perceived better health with their outdoor location compared to their indoor. They also responded higher to having more positive overall health benefits (63%) outdoors than indoors.ConclusionsThese findings further solidified nature improves overall mood, there is a positive relationship between health and nature, and people are aware of it. Future studies should attempt to identify barriers accessing campus green spaces and develop interventions to encourage students to utilize these spaces.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

DE Taylor

66

7

989-1031

AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST

0002-7642

2022 JUN

WOS:000652216000001

10.1177/00027642211013403

Nature and landscapes are essential elements of American culture. Consequently, many scholars have examined the public's perceptions of nature and landscapes. Some posit that Blacks are averse to wildlands and prefer urban settings. Despite the plethora of research, few studies investigate what comes to people's minds when they contemplate nature. This study of 287 American college students examines what students think about when they reflect on nature. Furthermore, the study investigates whether there are significant racial/ethnic differences in the way students think about nature. The study also investigates how gender, social class, age, educational attainment, and academic interest are related to what students think about when they reflect on nature. Data presented here were collected in 2017 from a national sample of students who attend colleges and universities all over the country. The study used a purposive sampling technique to identify students in a variety of majors. The sample contains undergraduates and graduate students. It is composed of 102 Whites, 63 Asians, 62 Blacks, and 60 Latinx/other students. The study found that respondents from all racial backgrounds reported that they thought about urban landscapes when they contemplated nature. Though the racial differences were significant, the results show that ethnic minority students do not fixate on urban landscapes; less than half of the students of color said they thought about urban landscapes regularly when they thought about nature. Instead, more than 90% of the respondents thought about the wild, wilderness, and untamed lands regularly when they cogitated nature. Respondents were also much more likely to report that they thought about connectedness to nature rather than disconnection from it. This article found that the students' educational attainment and parental/guardian education were significant in more multivariate models than other explanatory variables. The article urges researchers to investigate a broader range of explanatory variables in studies of this kind.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:53 p.m.

Journal Article

K Litson

JM Blaney

DF Feldon

12

FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY

1664-1078

2021 JAN 26

WOS:000615982100001

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.617060

Developing research self-efficacy is an important part of doctoral student preparation. Despite the documented importance of research self-efficacy, little is known about the progression of doctoral students' research self-efficacy over time in general and for students from minoritized groups. This study examined both within- and between-person stability of research self-efficacy from semester to semester over 4 years, focusing on doctoral students in biological sciences (N = 336). Using random intercept autoregressive analyses, we evaluated differences in stability across gender, racially minoritized student status, and first-generation student status. Results showed similar mean levels of self-efficacy across demographic groups and across time. However, there were notable differences in between-person and within-person stability over time, specifically showing higher between-person and lower within-person stability for racially minoritized and first-generation students. These findings indicate that racially minoritized and first-generation students' research self-efficacy reports were less consistent from semester to semester. Such results may indicate that non-minoritized and continuing-generation students' experiences from semester to semester typically reinforce their beliefs about their own abilities related to conducting research, while such is not the case for racially minoritized nor first-generation students. Future research should examine what types of experiences impact self-efficacy development across doctoral study to offer more precise insights about factors that influence these differences in within-person stability.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

R Puhakka

36

JOURNAL OF OUTDOOR RECREATION AND TOURISM-RESEARCH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

2213-0780

2021 DEC

WOS:000708668300001

10.1016/j.jort.2021.100425

It is increasingly recognized that interacting with nature promotes well-being and health for both adults and children. Less is known about the role of nature in people's everyday lives during emerging adulthood which means the shift from adolescence to young adulthood. This study examines university students' participation in outdoor recreation and the perceived well-being effects of nature. The qualitative data consists of thematic writings (N = 47) produced by environmental students at the University of Helsinki, Finland, in 2020. The findings show that most students have negotiated time and other constraints and maintained active participation in outdoor recreation. The findings highlight that nature can have an important role in students' well-being during a life stage loaded with stress factors, and especially in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature provides opportunities not only for physical activity but also for emotional and cognitive renewal, strengthening social relationships, and relieving the negative physiological effects of various stressors. Nature helps students in reflecting on their lives and even gaining a stronger sense of self. Natural settings provide a venue for students' socially shared experiences but also support retreat behaviors by enabling 'being away' and providing freedom from the pressures of student life. To prevent decline in connection with nature, special efforts should be made to support young adults' interaction with nature and gaining well-being benefits. Encouraging outdoor recreation at all life stages is needed to foster a lifelong nature connection and well-being experiences. Management implications: The study highlights the importance of hearing young adults' voices in decision-making and land-use planning to provide diverse opportunities for outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism. The findings stress the value of urban green spaces in supporting students' well-being in their everyday lives. To provide a sense of extent and 'being away' from daily routines and requirements within the city, it is important to preserve slightly managed natural settings that generate opportunities to explore nature and receive multisensory and embodied experiences. Emphasis on multisensory experiences, such as hearing bird song and breathing fresh air, also stresses the importance of taking natural elements into account in all urban planning. Promoting easy access to both urban green spaces and more distant natural settings is important for young adults. Organizing outdoor activities may also help students in familiarizing themselves with green spaces and socializing with peers.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:51 p.m.

Journal Article

R Redondo

C Valor

I Carrero

17

2

913-930

APPLIED RESEARCH IN QUALITY OF LIFE

1871-2584

2022 APR

WOS:000640155800001

10.1007/s11482-021-09931-9

Many empirical studies have found an association between sustainable consumption and well-being. However, the direction of causality between these constructs remains unclear. Well-being could be an antecedent of sustainable consumption or, sustainable consumption a driver of well-being; also, there could be a reciprocal relationship between these two constructs. Alternatively, both well-being and sustainable consumption could be outcomes of another construct that could be masking a relationship between well-being and sustainable consumption. This study aims to advance the well-being and sustainable consumption research by testing these three relationships in a longitudinal study with young consumers (n = 369). The findings show that when controlling for the constructs at Time 1, the relationship between the focal constructs is no longer significant. Results lead to support the hypothesis that sustainable consumption and well-being are explained by a particular trait of the individual, nature relatedness, so that individuals with greater nature relatedness are more likely to adopt a sustainable lifestyle and have greater well-being. Nature relatedness thus acts as a predictor of both focal constructs. This result implies that by nurturing nature relatedness, societies will achieve the double dividend of well-being and sustainability.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

M Sharma

E Largo-Wight

A Kanekar

H Kusumoto

S Hooper

VK Nahar

17

17

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH

1660-4601

2020 SEP

WOS:000569734700001

10.3390/ijerph17176104

Nature contact is an emerging health behavior and is defined as the interaction between human beings and animals, plants, natural scenic views, or outdoor activities. Studies have shown that exposure to the outdoors (as a means of contact with nature) reduces perceived stress and promotes health and wellbeing among varying populations in many settings. To date, however, there are few studies exploring the impact of nature contact among college students, especially in the United States. In addition, the determinants of nature contact behavior have not adequately been explored using behavioral theories. The purpose of this study was to use the multi-theory model (MTM) of health behavior change, a contemporary fourth-generation behavioral theory in explaining intentional outdoor nature contact behavior among college students. Using a cross-sectional design, 401 students completed the validated survey based on MTM. Of these, 281 met the inclusion criteria. The mean score for perceived stress based on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) in the sample was 21.60 (7.08) units, with a possible minimum and maximum scores ranging from 0 to 40 units. Constructs of behavioral confidence (standardized coefficient = 0.591,p< 0.001) and changes in the physical environment (standardized coefficient = 0.271,p< 0.001) from MTM accounted for 57.5% of the variance in the initiation for intentional outdoor nature contact behavior. All the three constructs of MTM-namely, emotional transformation (standardized coefficient = 0.173,p= 0.021), practice for change (standardized coefficient = 0.317,p< 0.001), and changes in the social environment (standardized coefficient = 0.204,p= 0.002)-were statistically significant and contributed substantively toward the variance (31.0%) in sustenance. MTM provides a useful and pragmatic framework for designing interventions to promote intentional nature contact behavior among college students.

2024-08-30, 3:17:53 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:53 p.m.

Journal Article

NA Algarni

NS Alahmad

22

2

204-214

JOURNAL OF BALTIC SCIENCE EDUCATION

1648-3898

2023

WOS:000993417600003

10.33225/jbse/23.22.204

Understanding nature of science (NOS) is a fundamental goal in science education standards. Due to the role of specialised and educational teachers' preparation programmes in developing their NOS concepts, this study aims to identify views on NOS and attitudes toward teaching NOS among Saudi undergraduate chemistry students and the differences between them according to their academic level and university affiliation. Views on science and education questionnaire were distributed among chemistry students in eight universities. Results found inaccurate views regarding the differences between theories and laws, and that pertaining to well-trained scientists as being detached from personal, social, and cultural values. Half of the sample disagreed on inventing theories and laws and the diversity of Scientists' methods and also rejected teaching a variety of methods and the influence of personal beliefs on Scientists' observations. No significant differences among students' views by academic level or universities were found, except that second-level students have more informed views than fifth-level students, and the UHB and JU students' views were more informed than IMSIU students. The authors recommend developing those NOS concepts which students had shortcomings in the sequential teachers' preparation programmes and suggest recognising chemistry department faculty members' attitudes to developing students' NOS concepts.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

L Coleman

J Tuck

72

4

575-594

JOURNAL OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

1363-6820

2020 OCT 1

WOS:000500141500001

10.1080/13636820.2019.1698645

Vocational universities are increasingly becoming susceptible to pressures associated with the phenomenon known as 'academic drift'. Yet the specific influence of such pressures is experienced differently at various institutional levels and by different stakeholders in such universities. Exploring lecturers' understanding and perceptions of student academic writing can make visible the ways in which these pressures are realised, for example, in the types of writing given value and writing pedagogies deemed suitable in the context of the vocational university. In this paper, we report on an ethnographically shaped study exploring lecturers' writing pedagogies and perceptions of students as academic writers at a South African vocational university. The study analytically illustrated how wider socio-political, regulatory and ideological framings of these universities were implicated in lecturers' writing practices and pedagogies. The study found that lecturers and students were generally constricted by narrow vocationalist agendas, which reinforced negative conceptions of students as academic writers. Our findings suggest that while the explicit impact of academic drift drivers was minimally felt at the undergraduate diploma level of study in our research site, this appeared to close off the potential for writing to act as a means to facilitate students' epistemic access to their disciplines.

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2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

Journal Article

DMI Schoenbach

X Tiscareno-Osorno

TE MacIntyre

S Smith

D MacIntyre

Y Demetriou

17

8

PLOS ONE

1932-6203

2022

WOS:000839311900040

10.1371/journal.pone.0272344

Promoting mental health addresses a global societal challenge. Nature connectedness, or relatedness to natural systems, is associated with increased well-being and mental health. Among urban populations, nature connectedness has been reported as lower. Nature connectedness in urban settings has been somewhat overlooked by researchers. This cross-sectional online study addressed this issue by identifying socio-demographic predictors of urban nature connectedness among 165 students, aged 20 to 40, from the Technical University of Munich. Analysis of the data from 153 female university students was conducted using ordinal regressions, (a) separately and (b) merged with their 12 male counterparts. A separate gender analysis for males could not be performed, due to sample size limitations. Although access to nature and a considerable nature dose in terms of frequency and duration of nature contact were noted, possibly achieved through the engagement in outdoor activities, urban nature connectedness was rather low. Results showed that urban nature connectedness was negatively predicted by living in a rural area and positively predicted by engagement in outdoor activities and increased hours per week spent in nature. This information can help researchers operationalize the construct of urban nature connectedness. Furthermore, it can aid the development of interventions aimed at promoting urban nature connectedness, by encouraging urban inhabitants to (repeatedly) get in contact with and spend time in provided high-quality urban nature (e.g., during outdoor activities). To draw conclusions about causality, further research is required to identify a clear cause-effect relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and urban nature connectedness. Based on a researched dose-response relationship, a(n) (inter)national recommendation for the duration of nature contact should be established to promote urban nature connectedness and, therewith, health in urban inhabitants. Future research should also investigate further potential individual influencing factors, as well as gender and within/between-country differences among urban inhabitants.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.

2024-08-30, 3:17:52 p.m.