180 research outputs found

    Tradition and Innovation in Construction Project Management

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    This book is a reprint of the Special Issue 'Tradition and Innovation in Construction Project Management' that was published in the journal Buildings

    From massive rapid reconstruction to small-scale stepwise urban renewal: A contribution to socially integrative cities?: Case studies of Wuhan, China

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    Initially, urban renewal focused mainly on promoting better physical environments, living conditions and economic activities, by upgrading derelict neighbourhoods. But since the 1990s in Europe, the urban renewal approach emphasising the physical, environmental and economic spheres has been replaced by a more comprehensive and integrated approach, which links the stimulation of economic activities and environmental improvements with social integration, inclusion and cultural elements. The former pathway, marked by massive rapid demolition and reconstruction, is regarded as the dominant urban renewal approach in China. Driven by the unprecedented urbanisation, it has brought enormous economic benefits but at the cost of aggravating social and environmental problems, resulting in unsustainable cities. Therefore, China has entered a new stage by transforming into a more sustainable avenue – the small-scale stepwise urban renewal. Since 2009, the Chinese government has launched experimental actions in many pilot cities to cultivate the new approach. This trend can be noticed in different fields involving policies, movements, institutional settings and academia. Government and scholars expect small-scale urban renewal to simultaneously enhance physical infrastructures, reinforce cultural diversity and foster social cohesion, leading to sustainable and socially integrative cities. However, it can be questioned if the new urban renewal approach genuinely has a better performance in this regard. Therefore, the guiding research question (RQ) asks: How does urban renewal contribute to socially integrative cities in China? The author first sought insights to build a holistic conceptual framework: urban renewal towards socially integrative cities. It helped understand the urban renewal evolution in China, and the concept of social integration and inclusion both in international and in the Chinese context, especially regarding urban renewal projects. By conducting a literature review, three research gaps were identified: 1) A lack of systematic studies that integrate and summarise fragmented urban renewal approaches and concepts in China; 2) Social integration and inclusion in China have a relatively narrow perspective of “assimilation”; 3) Systematic and multi-faceted evaluation of experimental urban renewal in China, especially in social aspects, is too inadequate to make suggestions for improving current Chinese urban renewal approaches. To fill these gaps, this dissertation firstly scrutinises the differences between these co-existing two renewal approaches in China, massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal; secondly, it examines to what extent these two approaches have contributed to socially integrative cities, and thirdly, analyses the strengths and weaknesses of these two approaches and the rationales behind them. The 'socially integrative cities' (SIC) analytical framework, jointly proposed by Chinese and European scholars, is applied to examine the accomplishments in two urban renewal cases. The author defines 26 indicators corresponding to 12 characteristics, grouped into five dimensions: collaborative urban planning and design, urban environment and living conditions, local economy and labour market, socio-cultural development and social capital, institutional development and urban finance. The methodology comprises descriptive documents analysis and literature research, followed by qualitative comparative case studies. Two typical cases were selected, representing massive rapid reconstruction (Wuhan Tiandi) and small-scale stepwise urban renewal (Tanhualin). Both are traditional inner-city and run-down areas in Wuhan, a frontrunner prefecture-level city in China. During the fieldwork, semi-structured in-depth interviews have been conducted on identified stakeholders. After the fieldwork, a thematic content analysis and a stakeholder analysis were performed to analyse the interview data collected from online databases, documents, and project plans. Results firstly suggested that the differences between massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal exist in the aspects of the intervention levels, the actors and strategies, the scales of coverage, the planning goals, the renewal targets, the housing types and the sources of funds. An urban renewal project can combine both approaches in a hybrid model or adopt different approaches in different periods. The assessment of the implementation and impact of both urban renewal cases reveals that massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal have genuinely contributed to socially integrative cities in all five dimensions but to a varying degree. Massive rapid reconstruction has unique advantages in improving living and environmental conditions in urban areas, upgrading the physical environment in distressed areas, and strengthening the economy and labour market on a large regional scale, but it does not respect the social and cultural dimension. In contrast, small-scale stepwise renewal prevails in the adaptive reuse of existing buildings, revitalising cities and older towns, keeping people in the original neighbourhoods, stabilising housing prices and affordability, strengthening the economy and labour market on a small local scale, preserving cultural heritage, fostering the identity of neighbourhoods, as well as fostering social capital and the engagement of local stakeholders. However, it suffers from a comprehensive but limited effectiveness. The study also shows that many strengths and weaknesses of both urban renewal approaches are antithetical. Based on this finding, the author discovers their rationales behind the two different approaches, investigates the underlying causes that precipitate these antitheses, and proposes possible solutions to the challenges and dilemmas facing current Chinese urban renewal. Overall, this research concludes fragmented urban renewal approaches and concepts in China, summarised into two paradigms: massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal. Besides, it develops a more comprehensive and analytical framework that adapts to the Chinese context - “socially integrative cities”, to examine urban renewal projects. Finally, it elucidates in-depth empirical knowledge of the urban renewal paradigm shift in China and makes recommendations for government, practitioners and scholars to promote a more socially integrative urban renewal.:CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1.1 Problem overview 1.2 Study design and thesis structure 2 Conceptual framework: urban renewal towards socially integrative cities 2.1 Urban renewal in China 2.1.1 Basic Chinese terms and concepts 2.1.2 Massive rapid demolition and reconstruction 2.1.3 Small-scale stepwise urban renewal 2.1.4 Urban renewal evolution in China: initiating, testing and promotion 2.2 Social integration and inclusion 2.3 Influence of urban renewal on social integration and inclusion - socially integrative cities 2.4 Typical practices of urban renewal in China 2.5 Raised research questions 3 Research design and methodology 3.1 Overall research design 3.2 Framework to examine the accomplishment of socially integrative cities in urban renewal projects 3.3 Comparative case studies 3.3.1 Case study selection 3.3.2 Interview design 3.3.3 Data analysis 4 Exploring the context: Wuhan city and its two cases 4.1 Urban renewal in Wuhan 4.2 Planning documents of Wuhan concerning urban renewal 4.3 Massive rapid reconstruction case: Wuhan Tiandi 4.4 Small-scale stepwise urban renewal case: Tanhualin 5 Differences between massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.1 Classification criteria for urban renewal approaches 5.2 Intervention levels 5.2.1 Redevelopment, rehabilitation, and conservation 5.2.2 Intervention levels in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.3 Actors and strategies 5.3.1 Government-led, property-led, comprehensive model, and community-oriented mode 5.3.2 Actors and strategies in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.3.3 Sources of funds in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.4 Scales of coverage 5.4.1 Macro-level, medium-level, micro-level 5.4.2 Scales of coverage in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.5 Planning goals 5.5.1 Physical, social, economic, and morphological integrated 5.5.2 Planning goals in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.6 Renewal targets 5.6.1 Old city, old factory, old village 5.6.2 Renewal targets in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.7 Summary 6 Contributions to socially integrative cities by massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 6.1 Collaborative urban planning and design 6.1.1 Reducing urban sprawl and appropriate access to urban land 6.1.2 Involving different stakeholders in collaborative and participative planning and design on the different politico-administrative levels 6.1.3 Reflections 6.2 Urban environment and living conditions 6.2.1 Improving urban environment and living conditions in Wuhan Tiandi 6.2.2 Improving the urban environment and living conditions in Tanhualin 6.2.3 Reflections 6.3 Local economy and labour market 6.3.1 Strengthening the local economy and labour market 6.3.2 Strengthening technical and social innovation in cities and neighbourhoods opening up new possibilities for the local population 6.3.3 Reflections 6.4 Socio-cultural development and social capital 6.4.1 Fostering proactive education and training policies for children and young people in disadvantaged neighbourhoods 6.4.2 Preserving cultural heritage and fostering the identity of neighbourhoods and their inhabitants 6.4.3 Fostering social capital and engagement of local stakeholders 6.4.4 Reflections 6.5 Institutional development and urban finance 6.5.1 Supporting adequate institutional conditions and mechanisms 6.5.2 Supporting adequate financial conditions and mechanisms 6.5.3 Reflections 6.6 Summary 7 Strengths and weaknesses of massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise renewal and their rationales 7.1 Collaborative urban planning and design 7.1.1 Rental-sales rights inequality 7.1.2 Paternalistic Danwei system 7.1.3 Lack of channels for public participation 7.1.4 Lack of vertical and horizontal integration between government sectors 7.1.5 Lack of clear collective goals 7.2 Urban environment and living conditions 7.2.1 Housing prices and affordability 7.2.2 Low-rent housing programmes and two innovations 7.2.3 Monetisation strategy 7.2.4 Efficiency versus quality 7.3 Socio-cultural development and social capital 7.3.1 Cultural heritage protection 7.3.2 Aesthetic concept cultivation 7.3.3 Open community versus gated community 7.3.4 Understandings of social integration and inclusion 7.4 Institutional development and urban finance 7.4.1 Establishment of urban renewal bureau 7.4.2 Transition from management-oriented government to service-oriented government 7.4.3 Human-centred, people-oriented design 7.5 Summary 8 Conclusion References Annexes Annex 1: Interview guidelines Annex 2: Dates of interviews Annex 3: Collected data Annex 4: Example of consent formUrsprĂŒnglich zielte Stadterneuerung in erster Linie darauf ab, Infrastruktur, Lebensbedingungen und wirtschaftliche Gegebenheiten durch die Aufwertung baufĂ€lliger Stadtviertel zu verbessern. Seit den 1990er Jahren jedoch wurde in Europa der Ansatz der hauptsĂ€chlich materielle, ökologische und ökonomische Aspekte betonenden Stadterneuerung durch eine ganzheitlichere Herangehensweise abgelöst. Diese verbindet die Stimulation ökonomischer AktivitĂ€ten und ökologischer Verbesserungen mit sozialer Integration und Teilhabe der Bewohner sowie RĂŒcksichtnahme auf kulturelle Gegebenheiten (Dixon et al., 2009, p. 3). Ersterer Ansatz, gekennzeichnet durch großflĂ€chigen und schnellen Abriss und Neubau stĂ€dtischer Areale, wird meist als die in China ĂŒbliche Vorgehensweise bei Stadterneuerungen angesehen. Getrieben von einem Prozess beispielloser Urbanisierung, ging sie einen enormen wirtschaftlichen Aufschwung einher. Dieser brachte allerdings gravierende soziale und ökologische Problemen mit sich, welche zu einer nicht-nachhaltigen Stadtentwicklung fĂŒhrten. Deshalb beschreitet China zunehmend einen nachhaltigeren Weg: die schrittweise Stadterneuerung in jeweils kleinerem Umfang. Seit 2009 initiierte die chinesische Regierung verschiedene experimentelle Pilotprojekte fĂŒr den neuen Ansatz. Dieser Trend macht sich in verschiedenen Bereichen wie Planungs- und Baustrategien, institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen und der Wissenschaft bemerkbar. Sowohl chinesische Regierungsinstitutionen als auch zahlreiche Wissenschaftler gehen davon aus, dass eine kleinteiligere Stadterneuerung nicht nur die physische Infrastruktur verbessert, sondern auch das GefĂŒhl der IdentitĂ€t, die kulturelle Entwicklung und den sozialen Zusammenhalt unter den Bewohnern verstĂ€rkt. Damit geht allerdings die Frage einher, ob der neue Ansatz der Stadterneuerung tatsĂ€chlich per se besser zur Verwirklichung dieser Absichten beitrĂ€gt. Die zentrale Forschungsfrage lautet daher: Auf welche Weise trĂ€gt Stadterneuerung zur sozialen IntegrativitĂ€t chinesischer StĂ€dte bei? ZunĂ€chst entwickelte die Autorin den konzeptionellen Rahmen: Stadterneuerung im Sinne sozial-integrativer Stadtentwicklung. Dieser hilft beim VerstĂ€ndnis chinesischer Stadterneuerung und der Einsicht in den stĂ€dtebaulichen Bezug von Konzepten sozialer Integration und Inklusion sowohl international als auch spezifisch in China. Bei der Recherche in Dokumenten und Fachliteratur zeigten sich weiterhin folgende drei ForschungslĂŒcken: 1) Ein Mangel an systematischen Untersuchungen, die die einzelnen Herangehensweisen und Konzepte der Stadterneuerung in China integrieren und zusammenfassen; 2) AnsĂ€tze der sozialen Integration und Teilhabe folgen in China einem relativ engen VerstĂ€ndnis von „Assimilierung“; 3) Der gegenwĂ€rtige Bestand systematischer Analyse und Bewertung experimenteller Stadterneuerungsprojekte ist hinsichtlich sozialer Aspekte unzureichend fĂŒr eine Verbesserung aktueller AnsĂ€tze der Stadterneuerung in China. Um diese ForschungslĂŒcken zu fĂŒllen, sollen in der vorliegenden Dissertation zum Ersten die Unterschiede zwischen den beiden in China angewendeten Vorgehensweisen der Stadterneuerung – großflĂ€chiger und scheller gegenĂŒber kleinteiligem und schrittweisem Stadtumbau – erforscht werden; zum Zweiten soll untersucht werden, inwiefern beide AnsĂ€tze zur sozial integrierten Stadtentwicklung beitragen, und zum Dritten soll eine generelle Analyse der StĂ€rken und SchwĂ€chen beider AnsĂ€tze und ihrer inneren Logik erfolgen. Zur Untersuchung zweier FĂ€lle von Stadterneuerung bezĂŒglich des Ziels einer sozial-integrativen Stadtentwicklung kommt der Analyserahmen „Socially Integrative Cities“ (SIC), der gemeinsam von chinesischen und europĂ€ischen Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern vorgeschlagen wurde, zum Einsatz. Die Autorin definierte 26 Indikatoren aufbauend auf 12 Charakteristika aus vorausgegangenen Forschungen, die fĂŒnf thematischen Dimensionen zugeordnet wurden: kollaborative Stadtplanung und Stadtgestaltung, urbane Umwelt- und Lebensbedingungen, wirtschaftliche Situation und Arbeitsmarkt vor Ort, soziokulturelle Entwicklung und soziales Kapital und schlussendlich institutionelle Entwicklung und stĂ€dtisches Finanzwesen. Das methodische Vorgehen vereint beschreibende Analyse von Dokumenten und Literaturrecherche, gefolgt von qualitativen vergleichenden Fallstudien. FĂŒr die Untersuchung wurden zwei typische FĂ€lle von Stadterneuerungsprojekten ausgewĂ€hlt, die einerseits eine großflĂ€chige und schnelle (Wuhan Tiandi) und andererseits eine kleinteilige und schrittweise (Wuhan Tanhualin) Vorgehensweise reprĂ€sentieren. In beiden FĂ€llen handelt es sich um traditionelle innerstĂ€dtische, jedoch baufĂ€llige Viertel in Wuhan, einer aufstrebenden chinesischen Bezirkshauptstadt. Im Laufe der Feldforschung wurden unter anderem semistrukturierte vertiefende Interviews mit Vertretern von Einrichtungen gefĂŒhrt, die vorher als Stakeholder identifiziert wurden. FĂŒr die Auswertung des Interviewmaterials schloss sich wĂ€hrend und nach der Feldforschung die inhaltliche Analyse und die Stakeholderanalyse an. Weitere Daten hierfĂŒr wurden von Online-Datenplattformen, Dokumenten und Projektplanungen generiert. ZunĂ€chst einmal legen die Resultate nahe, dass die Unterschiede zwischen großflĂ€chiger, schneller und kleinteiliger, schrittweiser Stadterneuerung hauptsĂ€chlich bei den Aspekten Interventionsebene, Akteure und ihre Strategien, GrĂ¶ĂŸe der BauflĂ€che, Planungs- und Erneuerungsziel, GebĂ€udetypen und Finanzierung liegen. Dabei besteht die Möglichkeit, dass Projekte der Stadterneuerung beide Vorgehensweisen in einem hybriden Modell kombinieren oder verschiedene AnsĂ€tze in unterschiedlichen Abschnitten zur Anwendung bringen. Die Auswertung der Umsetzung und Folgen der beiden Stadterneuerungsprojekte offenbarte, dass sowohl die großflĂ€chige und schnelle als auch die kleinteilige, schrittweise Stadterneuerung in unterschiedlichem Ausmaß einen spezifischen Einfluss auf allen fĂŒnf o.g. Dimensionen des Konzepts der sozial-integrativen Stadt haben. GroßflĂ€chige und schnelle Stadterneuerung bietet unbestreitbare Vorteile fĂŒr die Verbesserung der Lebens- und Umweltbedingungen, bei der baulichen Aufwertung in baufĂ€lligen Stadtbereichen sowie fĂŒr die StĂ€rkung der regionalen WirtschaftstĂ€tigkeit und des ĂŒberregionalen Arbeitsmarktes. Allerdings nimmt sie wenig RĂŒcksicht auf soziale und kulturelle Aspekte. Im Gegensatz dazu zeichnet sich eine kleinteilige, schrittweise Stadterneuerung durch flexible Umnutzung existierender GebĂ€ude, eine Wiederbelebung von Stadtkernen und AltstĂ€dten und stabileren und erschwinglicheren Immobilienpreisen aus. Menschen können in ihrem angestammten Viertel bleiben, die Lokalwirtschaft und der Arbeitsmarkt vor Ort werden gestĂ€rkt, baukulturelles Erbe bewahrt und sowohl das IdentitĂ€tsgefĂŒhl der Quartiersbewohner mit ihrer Umgebung als auch Sozialkapital und Engagement lokaler Stakeholder gestĂ€rkt. Gleichwohl leiden diese zwar umfassenden AnsĂ€tze unter einer begrenzten EffektivitĂ€t. DarĂŒber hinaus wurde in der Studie deutlich, dass die Vorteile des einen Ansatzes in vielen FĂ€lle die Nachteile des anderen spiegeln und umgekehrt. Darauf aufbauend beschrieb die Autorin die zu Grunde liegende Logik beider Wege, untersuchte die Ursachen, die zu deren WidersprĂŒchen fĂŒhren und bietet mögliche Lösungswege fĂŒr die Herausforderungen und Dilemmata an, denen gegenwĂ€rtige chinesische Stadterneuerungsprojekte gegenĂŒberstehen. Diese Forschungsarbeit fasst verschiedene bislang fragmentarische AnsĂ€tze und Konzepte der Stadterneuerung in China zu zwei Paradigmen zusammen: Dem des großflĂ€chigen, schnellen Stadtumbaus und jenem der kleinteiligen, schrittweisen Erneuerung. Daneben wurde ein breiter gefasster und an den Kontext der chinesischen „sozial-integrativen Stadt“ angepasster Analyserahmen fĂŒr Stadterneuerungsprojekte entwickelt. Schlussendlich erlĂ€utert die vorliegende Forschungsarbeit ausfĂŒhrlich empirische Erkenntnisse im Zusammenhang mit dem stĂ€dtebaulichen Paradigmenwechsel, der sich in China vollzieht, und gibt Empfehlungen fĂŒr entsprechende Regierungsinstitutionen, Fachleute und Wissenschaftler zur Förderung einer sozial–integrativen Stadtentwicklung.:CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1.1 Problem overview 1.2 Study design and thesis structure 2 Conceptual framework: urban renewal towards socially integrative cities 2.1 Urban renewal in China 2.1.1 Basic Chinese terms and concepts 2.1.2 Massive rapid demolition and reconstruction 2.1.3 Small-scale stepwise urban renewal 2.1.4 Urban renewal evolution in China: initiating, testing and promotion 2.2 Social integration and inclusion 2.3 Influence of urban renewal on social integration and inclusion - socially integrative cities 2.4 Typical practices of urban renewal in China 2.5 Raised research questions 3 Research design and methodology 3.1 Overall research design 3.2 Framework to examine the accomplishment of socially integrative cities in urban renewal projects 3.3 Comparative case studies 3.3.1 Case study selection 3.3.2 Interview design 3.3.3 Data analysis 4 Exploring the context: Wuhan city and its two cases 4.1 Urban renewal in Wuhan 4.2 Planning documents of Wuhan concerning urban renewal 4.3 Massive rapid reconstruction case: Wuhan Tiandi 4.4 Small-scale stepwise urban renewal case: Tanhualin 5 Differences between massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.1 Classification criteria for urban renewal approaches 5.2 Intervention levels 5.2.1 Redevelopment, rehabilitation, and conservation 5.2.2 Intervention levels in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.3 Actors and strategies 5.3.1 Government-led, property-led, comprehensive model, and community-oriented mode 5.3.2 Actors and strategies in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.3.3 Sources of funds in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.4 Scales of coverage 5.4.1 Macro-level, medium-level, micro-level 5.4.2 Scales of coverage in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.5 Planning goals 5.5.1 Physical, social, economic, and morphological integrated 5.5.2 Planning goals in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.6 Renewal targets 5.6.1 Old city, old factory, old village 5.6.2 Renewal targets in massive rapid reconstruction and small-scale stepwise urban renewal 5.7 Summary 6 Contributions to socially integrative cities by

    Developing Socially-Just Teachers Through A Proposed Alternative Curriculum For Initial Teacher Education

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    Problems of teacher burnout, low job satisfaction and high rates of teacher attrition are not specific to England but are also global concerns and symptomatic of a profession in crisis. In England, teacher education is a highly regulated sector and, in recent years, has become increasingly complex, fragmented and marketised. Increased government control over what pre-service teachers learn during their initial training phase has resulted in a centralised teacher training curriculum which is both reductionist and situates teachers as technicians. Universities have always played a distinctive role in teacher education, but the marketisation of the sector in recent years has led to a de-professionalisation and re-professionalisation of university teacher educators. The disappearance of universities from teacher training policy discourse and the tightening of government control over what is taught to pre-service teachers reflects a lack of trust in the university teacher education sector. Given this aggressive policy context, it is not surprising that some higher education institutions in England have withdrawn their teacher education courses. Courses which were once the ‘bread and butter’ of many institutions are now viewed as a reputational risk. Inspection regimes seek to enforce the government prescribed curriculum and there are heavy penalties that are imposed on institutions where the prescribed curriculum is not being delivered in its entirety or where it is not being taught in sufficient depth. The government curriculum is reductionist and produces teachers as technicians who believe in and can implement the prescribed approaches. This thesis presents 13 published papers. Implications to support the development of an alternative teacher education curriculum are drawn from the findings. The findings of the papers demonstrate that matters of inclusion and social justice need to be given greater emphasis in teacher education to enable pre-service teachers to respond to the professional challenges that they will face in classrooms. Key broad themes drawn from the papers include teacher identity, social justice and inclusion as critical components of a teacher education curriculum. These themes are used to develop a proposed curriculum framework for initial teacher education, which aims to situate teachers as critical thinkers who can challenge government policy, advance equality and prioritise both their own mental health and the mental health of their students. In addition, a framework for a mentor curriculum is also proposed to support the implementation of the teacher education curriculum in schools

    Optimising digital nature for wellbeing

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    The global burdens of negative psychological states such as stress, anxiety, and burnout represent a growing public health concern. As the incidence of these conditions has risen so too has awareness that natural environments might provide cognitive and affective benefits. Yet unrelenting urbanisation, unprecedented species extinction, and rampant ecological degradation are fostering a creeping extinction of experience, straining the links between people and planet. In an increasingly technologically mediated world, growing emphasis is being placed on how digital forms of nature could impact health. Understanding how simulated contact with the natural world might be optimised for positive wellbeing outcomes is vital if ‘virtual nature’ is to be used as a therapeutic tool. This thesis consists of three original studies – conducted with large samples and as part of national broadcast initiatives – that aimed to address this burgeoning need. We first investigated nuances in the way natural soundscapes are experienced. Through an award-winning collaboration with the BBC Natural History Unit, a novel podcast series and experiment generated responses from 7,596 participants. Results indicated how the composition of nature-based soundscapes can affect their restorative potential, demonstrated the crucial role that memories play in these relationships, and suggested that appraisals of restoration can exert an important mediating effect on pro-environmental behaviour. Next, a similar level of granularity was applied to landscape aesthetics. An online experiment probed how ephemeral features such as sunrise, sunsets, and storms can impact appraisals of virtual environments. Data from 2,509 people supported the familiar urban-nature dichotomy yet revealed substantial momentary and diurnal heterogeneity in measures of beauty and awe. Changes in these metrics also partially mediated participants’ willingness to pay to visit these locations in the ‘real world’. Partnering again with the BBC on a multi-platform broadcast initiative called Soundscapes for Wellbeing, our third experiment assessed how the visual and acoustic elements of a digital nature experience, including music, might influence viewer emotions. Analyses from 7,636 respondents suggested that whilst music could enhance high arousal feelings such as excitement, natural sounds were integral to eliciting restoration, calmness, awe, and nostalgia. Again, these data revealed a substantial moderating effect of memories, underlining the importance of lived experiences in determining outcomes. Taken together, these findings reveal important distinctions in the way natural soundscapes are perceived, demonstrate the potential for both ephemeral features and natural sounds to elicit the complex emotions of awe and nostalgia, and highlight the profound moderating effects of personal memories. Future work might focus on expanding understanding of how awe, nostalgia, and memories could represent a hitherto under-recognised depth to the therapeutic potential of encounters with nature in both virtual and real settings.Wellcome Trus

    Iterative musical collaboration as palimpsest: Suite Inversée and The Headroom Project

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    Suite inversée is a musical work, co-composed by the two authors asynchronously online by means of file transfer alone and digitally presented using a self-made web app called The Headroom Project. The Headroom Project mediates the compositional project during creation as well as allowing the listener to browse a historical thread that weaves through the developmental process: through this app, each audio file that was shared between the two composers can be heard and considered both in and out of the context of its creation. The framework of the project provided the opportunity for the authors to reflect on issues of remote digital collaboration and the palimpsest nature of a work revealed in varying stages of evolution through a novel mode of presentation. This paper discusses the mode of creation by situating it within narratives of composition and technology

    LIPIcs, Volume 274, ESA 2023, Complete Volume

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    LIPIcs, Volume 274, ESA 2023, Complete Volum

    Social Connectedness, Adolescent Mental Health and Well-Being at the Later Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Exploration

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    COVID-19 posed novel challenges by limiting in-person interactions and shifting interactions online. Effects of online and offline social connectedness on adolescent mental health and well-being, and the moderating role of the social determinants of health (SDoH) were explored. Canadian adolescents (n=1,586; Mage=15.3, range 13 to 18 years; surveyed summer 2022) reported their social connectedness, psychological distress, and mental well-being. An ordinal logistic regression was performed to examine the association between social connectedness (online and offline) and dual-factor mental health. Responses to two open-ended survey questions were analyzed. Social disconnection was associated with higher odds of being in a poorer mental state, with a stronger association for offline than online social connectedness. The SDoH may moderate this relationship. Participants described negative and positive pandemic-related changes to relationships, mental health and well-being. Although online and offline social connectedness both contribute to adolescent mental health and well-being, offline social connectedness appears more impactful

    December 2022 Complete

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    BITE: Recipes for Remarkable Research

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    BITE: Recipes for remarkable research is an edited field book capturing the research, learning and experiences of an international network of scholars studying effective and creative research environments. The book encapsulates what it is that enables remarkable research, and offers, as Professor Lizbeth Goodman says, “practical, evidence-based instantiations of ideas and innovations” as well as theoretical knowledge. It is set out as a recipe book, with supporting academic papers and case studies.; Readership: Educational Researchers and their student
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