Beliefs and attitudes of university faculty members on climate change in the U.S.

This qualitative study explored the beliefs and attitudes of university faculty members towards climate change from Midwestern and Northeastern universities in the U.S. Findings from this study suggest that participants' experiences were mostly associated with extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall or drought. Diverse opinions were presented on addressing climate change and often participants' expertise guided those opinions. Several suggestions were expressed on climate change accountability, including individuals' responsibility, the importance of active social movements, and the role of corporations, governments, and technology

Public perception and acceptance of CCUS: preliminary findings of a qualitative case study in Greece.

The development and implementation of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies plays an increasingly important part in European Union (EU) and global decarbonisation policies and strategies that seek to address climate change to achieve the Paris Agreement goals. Several studies have shown the important role social acceptance plays in determining the outcomes of CCUS projects and how social acceptance is shaped by the national and local contexts. Yet most studies on CCUS and social acceptance have focused on countries in northern Europe and North America despite the increasing numbers of CCUS projects in other regions of the world. This study seeks to help address this gap by conducting a case study on how local dynamics shaped people's acceptance and awareness of CCUS in a Greek community. Based on semi-structured interviews with community members near a CCUS pilot plant, this single case study explores the factors and dynamics that shaped the interviewees' perceptions of CCUS technologies. Our findings indicate that, despite the low level of awareness of CCUS technologies, participants could draw on their situated knowledge to identify potential drawbacks with their application. We identified scepticism regarding the adoption of new technologies and the organisations involved based on past experiences, and a notable lack provision of technology and location-specific information as well public engagement by the project consortium. Our recommendations for future projects and community engagement include the early involvement of the public in project development, location-based transparent information, appropriate channels to facilitate knowledge exchange, and educational initiatives to build communities' capability to influence projects

Where does stress happen? Ecological momentary assessment of daily stressors using a mobile phone app.

Despite the importance of daily stress to individuals' health and wellbeing, few studies have explored where stress happens in real time. As such, stress interventions rarely account for the environment in which stress occurs. We used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to collect daily stress data. Thirty-three participants utilized a mobile phone-based EMA app to record stressors as they went about their daily lives. GPS coordinates were automatically collected with each stress report. Data from thematic and geographic information system (GIS) analysis were used in a chi-square analysis of stressors by location (home, work, work from home, and other) to determine if certain stressors were more prevalent in certain environments. The study found that nine daily stressors significantly differed by location. Work-related stress was reported more often at work but was also commonly experienced at home. In contrast, pets, household chores, sleep and media related stressors were reported most at home, but not experienced as often in other locations. Physical illnesses, vehicles or driving, and law and order stressors occurred most often in the 'work from home' condition. Traffic-related stress was experienced more common in 'other' environments. Study findings: 1) expand the understanding of environments in which specific stressors occur; 2) extend the nomological network of cognitive appraisal theory to include stress experienced in free-living conditions; 3) provide baseline data for potential targeted 'just-in-time' stress interventions, tailored to specific stressors in certain environments; 4) provide findings related to the 'work from home' phenomenon, increasingly popular during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Where does stress happen? Ecological momentary assessment of daily stressors using a mobile phone app. [Journal article]

Despite the importance of daily stress to individuals' health and wellbeing, few studies have explored where stress happens in real time, that is, dynamic stress processes in different spaces. As such, stress interventions rarely account for the environment in which stress occurs. We used mobile phone based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to collect daily stress data. Thirty-three participants utilized a mobile-phone-based EMA app to self-report stressors as they went about their daily lives. Geographic coordinates were automatically collected with each stress report. Data from thematic analysis of stressors by location (home, work, work from home, other) were used to determine whether certain stressors were more prevalent in certain environments. Nine daily stressors significantly differed by location. Work-related stress was reported more often at work. Pets, household chores, sleep, and media-related stressors were reported most at home. Physical illnesses, vehicle issues, and safety/security stressors occurred most often while participants were "working from home." Traffic-related stress was experienced more commonly in "other" environments. Other 18 stressors were generated regardless of location, suggesting that these stressors were persistent and without respect to location. Study findings expand the understanding of environments in which specific stressors occur, providing baseline data for potential targeted "just-in-time" stress interventions tailored to unique stressors in specific environments. We also provide findings related to the "work from home" phenomenon. Further work is needed to better understand the unique stressors among the large number of individuals who transitioned to working from home during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Expanding the contribution of community gardens to city sustainability through family education programs.

Limited outdoor residential spaces and the cost of high-quality, sustainably grown vegetables have led families to engage in community gardening. The educational and recreational opportunities provided by community gardening make the settings an appealing location for families to learn and share leisure time together. We used a mixed-methods approach to investigate the impacts that gardening education workshops in community gardens can have on family members and their environmental behaviors. We used a case study approach to analyze the data from observations, drawings and interviews in which participants reported a variety of positive impacts from the gardening workshops including socializing, health benefits and acquired knowledge. However, there was limited evidence of pro-environmental behavior change beyond gardening

Exploring environmental sustainability of academia as a working space.

Purpose - This study aims to examine the organizational citizenship behaviors toward the environment among US-based faculty members, in social sciences, natural sciences, the humanities and engineering. Potential barriers that may stop academia from being more sustainable are examined but also the opportunities for academics to be involved in environmental sustainability are explored. Design/methodology/approach –The authors followed a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach using online surveys (n= 633) followed by open-ended phone interviews (n =28). Findings –Results suggest that there are certain power dynamics that force young faculty members in anti-environmental behaviors, although they are cognizant of the negative impacts on the environment. Many faculty members engage in environmental-related actions outside their service requirements, but this is mostly the case for tenured faculty members. Originality/value –The originality of this study lies in the fact that it explores environmental behaviors from an academic ranking perspective and expands on pertinent barriers to promote sustainable behaviors in academia

Public perception and acceptance of CCUS: preliminary findings of an instrumental qualitative case study in Greece.

This presentation presents initial findings of an EU Horizon 2020 funded study exploring public attitudes towards carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) solutions. Greece is used a case study, involving five participants in face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, the results of which were then subjected to thematic analysis

Community acceptance and social impacts of carbon capture, utilization and storage projects: a systematic meta-narrative literature review. [Dataset]

This manuscript presents a systematic meta-narrative review of peer-reviewed publications considering community acceptance and social impacts of site-specific Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) projects to inform the design and implementation of CCUS projects who seek to engage with communities during this process, as well as similar climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives. A meta-narrative approach to systematic review was utilized to understand literature from a range of site specific CCUS studies. 53 peer-reviewed papers were assessed reporting empirical evidence from studies on community impacts and social acceptance of CCUS projects published between 2009 and 2021. A systematic meta-narrative review of peer-reviewed publications considering community acceptance and social impacts of CCUS projects was conducted. A meta-narrative systematic review focuses on sense-making of the research literature rather than providing a catalogue of findings. It is particularly useful for examining diverse strands of research methods and conceptualisations in order to "expose the tensions, map the diversity and communicate the complexity" in the field (p.427). To help guide the analysis, meta-narrative reviews use the six guiding principles of pragmatism, pluralism, historicity, contestation, reflexivity, and peer review. Please see the S1 File for how these principles were operationalised. 53 peer-reviewed papers were assessed (see S4 File for details) reporting empirical evidence from studies on community impacts and social acceptance of CCUS-projects published between 2009 and 2021. No discernible trends were observed in the publication rates by year (see Fig 2). This may be due to several papers referring to more than one site, and some sites being more researched than others. Fig 3 shows the 53 reviewed papers and their associated CCUS study site(s) locations together with the number of papers relating to each individual CCUS site by country. This demonstrates the predominance of the study of Euro-American culturally situated communities. This review could not locate any studies of communities in emerging economies such as nations in China, Africa, India or the Middle East adherent to this review’s inclusion criteria

We: a robotic system to extend social impact of community gardens.

The social, educational, economic and health benefits from community gardens often stay limited to the gardeners. 'We' is a community-oriented robotic system designed to extend such benefits to the public and community. It consists of 1. 'We-Sense,' garden sensors that encourage community participation, and 2. 'We-Grow,' a responsive installation that reflects the state of and allows to explore the garden and its social life. 'We' aims to provide awareness about the community gardens in public spaces, to increase public literacy about food and community gardening, provide out-of-class education, encourage participation in citizen science and increase community engagement