Green space and the health of the older adult during pandemics: a narrative review on the experience of COVID-19

IntroductionAging is an inevitable process that leads to changes in various dimensions of older adult life, including physical, psychological, and social aspects. Unfortunately, older adults are more susceptible to health problems caused by adverse experiences such as the Corona outbreak.AimThe current study examines the lived experience of older adults in facing the conditions of the Corona epidemic to see how green spaces at various scales can influence the physical and mental health of this group.MethodRelevant articles published, from 2019 to February 17, 2023, were searched using in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Eligible studies published in English and all studies passed a quality evaluation.ResultIn the final search, 40 articles were selected and analyzed. The majority of studies conducted during the pandemic categorized the impact of green spaces on the health of older adults into three main categories: Place-based attribute, Process, and Function.ConclusionThe findings of this study demonstrated that people were using private green spaces (gardens, balconies, etc.), small local green public spaces, sitting and gathering spaces in the neighborhood, nearby open spaces, and urban green-blue spaces throughout the epidemic era. They visited green spaces outside the city and urban areas, including urban gardens, agricultural areas, forestlands, and pastures. In this research, we investigated the characteristics of these spaces and classified them into four physical categories: urban landscape, land use, activity, movement, and accessibility. The results showed that exposure to nature or green space improved physical and mental health and increased attention and decision-making quality in older people. We have proposed design implications recommendations for crises to improve safety, security, and social capital by increasing the safe access of older adults to diverse and high-quality green spaces on different scales, which will ultimately enhance the physical and mental health of people in different age groups

Trapped on the seashore, seaborne evacuation, and impact of exposure to PM2.5: Live demonstration of the urbanEXODUS large-scale evacuation model

Wildfires can trigger large-scale pedestrian, vehicle and seaborne evacuations, and cause injuries and fatalities. Evacuation models are employed to better understand the involved processes and their interactions. During the final exercise of the European Commission’s H2020 IN-PREP project, urbanEXODUS was used within a training platform, by incident managers, to aid their response to a simulated disaster. The scenario involved a traffic accident escalating to a wildfire, causing the local community to evacuate. The model combined pedestrian and vehicle evacuation, and through a flow model, a simplistic representation of boat evacuation. The effects of wildfire on escape routes and possible fatalities were evaluated using fire perimeter data. The development of a novel fractional dose model allowed the software to determine agents’ acute exposure to PM2.5, in relation to the WHO daily mean Air Quality Guidelines (AQG). The simulation results comprise key evacuation performance parameters including evacuation times, fatalities, and escape route usage. Results indicate that 6% of the population was unable to leave the area and are treated as fatalities. The road network and boats were used by 69% and 31% of the evacuees respectively. PM2.5 exposure was zero for 84% of the evacuees, and below the AQG, for 1%, while 15% received, on average, a dosage of 7.6 times the AQG (range 1.0 – 28.3, SD = 5.8), which may cause respiratory and cardiovascular disorders. The model offers detailed evacuation information that is practically impossible to obtain otherwise, allowing crisis managers to take risk-informed decisions when planning for a crisis

Strategies to Enhance Leadership Development of Midlevel Managers

Organizational executives annually invest more than $50 billion in leadership development worldwide. Nonetheless, human resources (HR) managers are concerned that leadership development initiatives prove inadequate in delivering learning outcomes equal to the investment, leaving midlevel managers ill-prepared to lead. Guided by experiential learning theory, this qualitative multiple-case study was conducted to explore strategies HR managers use to enhance the leadership development of midlevel managers. A purposeful sample included three HR managers from three organizations located in a west coast metropolitan area in Canada who successfully implemented leadership development strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and organizational documents. Informed by Yin’s five-step case-study approach, four themes emerged: (a) employ multichannel learning, (b) cultivate a leadership mindset, (c) conduct coaching support, and (d) collaborate for enhanced leadership development outcomes. A key recommendation is for HR managers to create a supportive organizational culture by ensuring sufficient resources are allocated for leadership development initiatives. The implications for positive social change include the potential for skilled leaders to help community agencies flourish by expanding cooperative social bonds, enhancing trust and respect, and strengthening shared values and social responsibility

Exploring Urban Spaces across Human-Natural systems and the Potential to Enhance City Resilience

In dieser Dissertation werden vier Studien durchgeführt, um die acht Arten von Räumen in Mensch-Natur-Systemen für die Widerstandsfähigkeit von Städten vorzuschlagen, die Verbesserung von städtischen Grünflächen unter qualitativen und quantitativen Gesichtspunkten zu analysieren, die Beziehung zwischen UGSLandschaftsmerkmalen und menschlichen Emotionen zu bestimmen und das Konzept der selbstlernenden Stadt für die städtische Raumplanung zu veranschaulichen. (1). Unterschiedliche Strategien in den Acht-Typen-Räumen in Mensch-Natur-Systemen. (2). Verbesserung der städtischen Grünflächen mit natürlichem Angebot und menschlicher Nachfrage. (3). Das Konzept der selbstlernenden Stadt für urbane Nachhaltigkeit. (4) Für die städtische Nachhaltigkeit erfordert die Planung eine Neubewertung der Verbindungen zwischen den verschiedenen menschlichen und natürlichen Systemen mit den Wechselwirkungen zwischen Bedarf und Versorgung Städtische Räume sind komplex, weisen aber in verschiedenen Methoden und Konzepten Regelmäßigkeiten auf. Für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung in Städten sind kreative Denkansätze für die Umsetzung und Integration von sich überschneidenden Räumen, Elementen und Kulturen in städtischen Mensch-Natur-Systemen erforderlich. Um eine nachhaltige Stadt zu schaffen, sind urbane Räume unerlässlich.This dissertation conducts four studies to propose the eight-type spaces in human-natural systems for city resilience, to analyze the improvement of urban green spaces from quality and quantity perspectives, to determine the relationship between UGS landscape characteristics and human emotions and to illustrate the concept of city self-learning for urban space planning. (1). Different strategies in the eight-type spaces across human-natural systems. (2). Improving urban green spaces with natural supply and human demand. (3). The concept of city self-learning for urban sustainability. (4) For urban sustainability, planning requires reevaluating the connections between different human-natural systems with the interactions of demands and supplies. Dissertation title: Exploring Urban Spaces across Human-Natural systems And the Potential to Enhance City Resilience Urban spaces are complex but have regularity in several methods and concepts. For sustainable development in cities, creative ways to think about implementations and integrations utilize crossing spaces, elements, and cultures in urban human-natural systems. To make a sustainable city, urban spaces are essential

Perceived Effects of Power Distance on Organizational Change in a Multicultural Organization

Organizational change researchers have reported an accelerated rate of change in modern organizations, with as many as 70% of them reportedly failing to deliver expected results. Change management scholars and practitioners have yet to reach consensus on the main contributors to this high rate of failure, despite having evaluated a variety of organizational change success factors. The purpose of this qualitative single case study of a multinational financial organization was to explore the concept of power distance with an aim to increase understanding and general awareness of its perceived effects on the process of an organizational change in a global and multicultural environment. The conceptual framework was based on Hofstede\u27s model of cultural dimensions that differentiates cross-border business in terms of cultural differences. Of the six cultural dimensions, this study focused on the power distance dimension. Data were collected from in-depth telephone interviews with 10 key informants from a multinational financial organization. A six-phase elaborate thematic data analysis was conducted, including: (i) familiarization with data, (ii) descriptive coding, (iii) themes identification, (iv) themes review, (v) themes labelling, and (vi) producing the report. The findings revealed that the cultural aspect of power distance has an impact on the various elements of cross-border organizational change, such as utilization of hierarchy, relationships and interactions, power balance, organizational structure, and change communication. This study will potentially contribute to positive social change by promoting a value-for-money change process in intercountry multicultural organizations through design and implementation of sustainable change programs supported by increased understanding of the power distance aspect of the change process