The affective quality of human-natural environment relationships

Using a psychometric methodology the present study explored the associations between natural environments and experiential feeling states. The effects of the frequency of participants‟ (N = 90) experience of the natural environment and of the location of their childhood upbringing were also investigated. Ten natural environments mapped on to an orthogonal two-component experiential structure labeled Eudemonia (ostensibly positive feelings) and Apprehension (ostensibly negative feelings). Generally, the more natural environments tended to be associated with higher eudemonia and higher apprehension, the less natural environments with both lower eudemonia and lower apprehension. In line with expectations, participants from rural childhood locations, compared with urban participants, reported less Apprehension and participants with greater experience of the natural environment, compared with participants with less experience, reported greater Eudemonia and less Apprehension. Results are discussed in relation to environmental experiences and affective psychological wellbeing

The wellbeing of allotment gardeners: a mixed methodological study

Purpose: The potential for ‘‘green’’ interventions to promote mental wellbeing and reduce mental distress is increasingly being recognized. Preliminary evidence suggests that allotment gardening activities may have a significant effect on mental well-being, but a need for further research has been highlighted. This study investigated the relationships between allotment gardening, feeling connected to nature, and well-being. Design: A mixed-methods design was utilized. Measures of subjective well-being (quality of life), eudaimonic well-being, and connectedness to nature were administered, and qualitative data were collected via a cross-sectional online survey of 171 allotment gardeners in the United Kingdom. Findings: Allotment gardeners’ eudaimonic well-being and quality of life in the environmental domain were significantly higher than population means reported in the literature. Regression analysis showed that the amount of time gardeners spent on their allotment during summer predicted eudaimonic well-being. This relationship was fully mediated by feelings of connectedness to nature. Four main themes emerged from the qualitative data: allotments provided a space of one’s own, meaningful activity, increased feelings of connectedness, and improved physical and mental health. Conclusions: The results suggest that allotment gardening is associated with increased eudaimonic well-being but not subjective wellbeing. Furthermore, a mechanism through which allotment gardening enhances well-being is suggested: increased connectedness to nature. Limitations of the study and clinical and research implications are discussed. Key Words: Allotment gardening—Connectedness to nature—Well-being—Eudaimonia

Exploring the relationship between suburban allotment gardening and wellbeing: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Evidence suggests that gardening can have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of people experiencing mental health difficulties. There is currently a lack of research exploring the potential public health benefits of gardening among non-clinical populations. Therefore the aims of this paper were to explore the relationship between allotment gardening and wellbeing from the suburban allotment-holder’s perspective. Six suburban allotment gardeners were interviewed to elicit their personal experiences of allotment gardening and its impact on their wellbeing. Transcripts were subjected to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) with seven main themes emerging: fundamental importance of growing and valuing food; physical and mental protection; feeling connected to people, place and time; pride, mastery and control; pleasure of being in nature; problem solving, learning and accepting; acting on values. Parallels were drawn between these themes and psychological models of wellbeing and motivation. The research suggests that allotments are flexible environments that may enable people to meet a wide range of individual needs, enhancing wellbeing. They may be a particularly valuable resource for the promotion of wellbeing in urban and suburban areas, where people may feel detached from nature and a sense of community

Improved surface quality of anisotropically etched silicon {111} planes for mm-scale integrated optics

We have studied the surface quality of millimeter-scale optical mirrors produced by etching CZ and FZ silicon wafers in potassium hydroxide to expose the $\{111\}$ planes. We find that the FZ surfaces have four times lower noise power at spatial frequencies up to $500\, {mm}^{-1}$. We conclude that mirrors made using FZ wafers have higher optical quality

Nature activities and wellbeing in children and young people: a systematic review

Research suggests that experience of the natural environment may have a range of beneficial outcomes for children and young people. A systematic review of the peer-reviewed empirical literature focused on research involving direct interaction with nature amongst children and young people and its impact on wellbeing; 14 papers, within the domains of childhood and adolescence, were identified for inclusion in the review. Within these domains, a range of wellbeing outcomes were identified and grouped into thematic areas of self-esteem and confidence, positive and negative affect, stress reduction and restoration, social benefits, and resilience. Findings related to wellbeing outcomes were synthesised and critiqued, and research and clinical implications discussed

ICP polishing of silicon for high quality optical resonators on a chip

Miniature concave hollows, made by wet etching silicon through a circular mask, can be used as mirror substrates for building optical micro-cavities on a chip. In this paper we investigate how ICP polishing improves both shape and roughness of the mirror substrates. We characterise the evolution of the surfaces during the ICP polishing using white-light optical profilometry and atomic force microscopy. A surface roughness of 1 nm is reached, which reduces to 0.5 nm after coating with a high reflectivity dielectric. With such smooth mirrors, the optical cavity finesse is now limited by the shape of the underlying mirror

Minimally-destructive detection of magnetically-trapped atoms using frequency-synthesised light

We present a technique for atomic density measurements by the off-resonant phase-shift induced on a two-frequency, coherently-synthesised light beam. We have used this scheme to measure the column density of a magnetically trapped atom cloud and to monitor oscillations of the cloud in real time by making over a hundred non-destructive local density measurments. For measurements using pulses of 10,000-100,000 photons lasting ~10 microsecond, the precision is limited by statistics of the photons and the photodiode avalanche. We explore the relationship between measurement precision and the unwanted loss of atoms from the trap and introduce a figure of merit that characterises it. This method can be used to probe the density of a BEC with minimal disturbance of its phase.Comment: Submitted to New Journal of Physic

Bar graph monitor

Bar graph monitor of pulse position modulation telemetry ground station equipment for sounding rocket

A high quality, efficiently coupled microwave cavity for trapping cold molecules

We characterize a Fabry-Perot microwave cavity designed for trapping atoms and molecules at the antinode of a microwave field. The cavity is fed from a waveguide through a small coupling hole. Focussing on the compact resonant modes of the cavity, we measure how the electric field profile, the cavity quality factor, and the coupling efficiency, depend on the radius of the coupling hole. We measure how the quality factor depends on the temperature of the mirrors in the range from 77 to 293K. The presence of the coupling hole slightly changes the profile of the mode, leading to increased diffraction losses around the edges of the mirrors and a small reduction in quality factor. We find the hole size that maximizes the intra-cavity electric field. We develop an analytical theory of the aperture-coupled cavity that agrees well with our measurements, with small deviations due to enhanced diffraction losses. We find excellent agreement between our measurements and finite-difference time-domain simulations of the cavity.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure