Global ETD Search

411	Between Humans and Nature: Urban Architecture that Engages its Environment STEAR, ERIC 22 August 2008 (has links) No description available. Architecture architecture man nature man and nature humans and nature thermal analysis site analysis
412	Can mindfulness enhance connectedness with nature? The case of in-depth nature experiences with adolescents McCloskey, Jake A. 03 May 2018 (has links) This thesis is an exploratory look into the use of mindfulness practice on in-depth nature experiences to determine if the practice has benefit to the participant, their outdoor experience, and overall connectedness with nature. An original research project examined three groups of adolescents from St. Michaels University School Outdoor Education program in Victoria, BC, Canada, as they hiked the Juan de Fuca trail. Two of the three groups undertook a simple mindfulness protocol to explore the outcomes. Based on participant-observation and interviews, mindfulness practice was determined to be a useful practice towards alleviating stress and anxiety associated with aspects of in-depth outdoor experiences, such as morning preparations. Participants who practiced mindfulness on the trip asked fewer questions about the future and remained present more often than those who did not practice mindfulness. A further finding was that there are aspects of mindfulness inherent in in-depth nature experiences, such as sitting around a fire. These inherent mindfulness moments should be encouraged as they provide benefit to trip experiences, and potentially towards greater connectedness with nature. Overall, this qualitative study suggests that mindfulness is a useful tool for the benefit of human well-being and nature connection. However, more research is needed to further identify the magnitude and mechanisms of the benefit. / Graduate mindfulness meditation sit spot mindfulness practice nature nature experience nature connection connectedness with nature human/nature connection nature association association with nature CWN nature affiliation biophilia nature deficit disorder attention restoration theory biophilia hypothesis psycho-evolutionary theory adolescent outdoor education nature education wilderness therapy adventure therapy qualitative nature experience in-depth nature experience stress-reduction anxiety reduction campfire hiking backcountry outdoor outdoors nature Mindfulness-based stress reduction MBSR
413	Integrated scenic modeling of environmentally induced color changes in a coniferous forest canopy. Clay, Gary Robert. January 1995 (has links) The relationship between the changes in color values of scenic landscapes, and the corresponding shifts in viewers' preferences to those changed environments, was the focus of the presented research. Color modifications, either natural or based on some human intervention, provide visual clues that an environment has undergone some transformation. These color changes can occur at both the micro and macro scale, can having temporal dimensions, and can be a result of combinations of both physical landscape change, and shifts in an observer's perspective with respect to that landscape. The research reviewed two existing models and related them in an integrated program of scenic change analysis. The first, a bio-physical remote sensing model, identified the relationships between the existing bio-physical environmental conditions and measured color signatures of selected landscape features. The second, a psychophysical perception model, established relationships between the landscape's bio-physical attributes and measured perceptual responses to those environments. By merging aspects of each model, the research related the changing scenic color patterns with observers' responses to those changed environments. The research methodology presented a program of scenic change analysis incorporating several technologies including (1) ground-based biological inventories, (2) remote sensing, (3) geographic information systems (GIS), and (4) computer visualization. A series of investigations focused on landscape scenes selected from a high elevation coniferous forest in southern Utah. Three initial scenic investigations compared (1) the impact of changing view angles on scenic color values, (2) color shifts due to changing sun-illumination angles within a day, and (3) color shifts due to changing biological conditions over a 12-month period. A fourth investigation measured the color changes caused by a spruce bark beetle outbreak, and developed a series of color signatures to simulate the color shifts indicative of an outbreak at different stages of development. These signatures were applied to digitized site photographs to produce a series of visualizations displaying different levels of beetle damage. The visualizations were then applied in a series of perceptual experiments to test the precision and reliability of the visual simulations. Landscape assessment. Color in nature -- Physiological effect. Nature (Aesthetics) Visual evoked response. Contingent valuation. Physical geography.
414	Creating art or vexing nature? : ethics and the manipulation of nature, a critical study of arguments from Nature Kirkham, Georgina Katharine January 2008 (has links) This dissertation comprises a series of five separate papers, arranged as chapters, linked thematically and also in their conclusions. The thematic connection between the chapters is that, in each, I investigate some aspect, either historical or contemporary, of how moral limits have been, or might be, applied to the human manipulation of nature through technology. More specifically, I explore how the concept of naturalness has been, and still is, employed in ethical arguments that seek to place limits upon or defend the use of various technologies. In each chapter, I argue that arguments which appeal to nature or naturalness as a normative concept make proper sense only when understood from the perspective of virtue ethics. The conclusions of each chapter are connected, and connected to the conclusions of the dissertation as a whole: firstly, that what I call 'arguments from nature', as they are used in debates about the moral limitations on the use of technology, are defensible only from within a virtue ethics framework; secondly, that such arguments have an important, although limited, role in such debates; and, finally, that virtue ethics more broadly can inform debates about the ethics of technology and the environment. In the first two chapters, by comparing contemporary debates over the ethics of technological manipulation of nature with historical debates over the proper relationship between art and nature, I demonstrate that virtue ethics have played, and still do play, a significant role in our ethical understanding of our relationship with the non-human world. I argue that the ethical issues that arise from our relationship with the non-human world, in response to advances in technology and to problems with the environment, indicate the need for an understanding of ethics that goes further than the mere consideration of rights and utility. In chapters three and four, I argue that virtue ethical theory provides the most promising understanding of the argument from nature as it is applied in attempts to place limits on the human manipulation of nature. In the final chapter, I explore what a modern environmental or technological virtue or vice might be. I explain and defend the environmental and technological virtue of 'living in place' and, in doing so, bring together and validate the claims made in previous chapters that the appeal to human nature does have a role as a normative guide for our ethical evaluations of how we should live and, more generally, that virtue ethical theory can be of guiding and foundational significance in an overarching ethics of the environment and technology. Environmental ethics Ethics Nature -- Moral and ethical aspects Philosophy of nature Virtue Environmental virtue ethics Biotechnology Alchemy Argument for nature
415	Revitalization of the Valley of Enchantment Elementary School Nature Center, an on-site learning facility Kearns, Lorraine D. 01 January 1992 (has links) Relevance to the California science, history, and social-science frameworks. Nature study Nature centers Environmental Education
416	Le concept de nature chez Theodor W. Adorno : entre domination et réconciliation Roulx, Dominic 12 1900 (has links) Ce mémoire se présente comme une élucidation des divers usages critiques du concept de nature dans l’œuvre de Theodor W. Adorno. Notre point de départ est le constat d’un manque de clarté conceptuelle au sein du corps de littérature scientifique tentant aujourd’hui de produire une interprétation « environnementaliste » de l’œuvre d’Adorno. Nous abordons dans une première partie le concept séminal de nature-histoire [Naturgeschichte]. Nous défendons qu’il fournit le problème, la méthodologie critique et l’objectif de la théorie critique d’Adorno. Dans une deuxième partie, nous déployons la dialectique de l’Aufklärung dans les termes d’une dialectique entre la nature et la raison, révélant le procès naturel-historique de domination de la nature [Naturbeherrschung] ayant mené au retour du mythe dans la société capitaliste avancée. Nous basant sur l’idée selon laquelle la domination produit les conditions nécessaires à son propre dépassement, nous nous questionnons dans une troisième partie sur l’idée d’une possible réconciliation avec la nature et montrons en quoi le motif de l’autoréflexion critique est une condition nécessaire – mais non suffisante – à sa réalisation. / This master’s thesis deals with the various critical uses of the concept of nature in Theodor W. Adorno. Our starting point is the observation that there is a lack of conceptual clarity in the actual scholarly literature that attempts to produce an “environmentalist” interpretation of Adorno's work. In the first section, we discuss the seminal critical concept of nature-history [Naturgeschichte]. We argue that it provides the problem, the critical methodology and the aim of Adorno's critical theory. In a second section, we unfold the dialectic of Aufklärung as a dialectic between nature and reason. We reveal the natural-historical process of domination of nature [Naturbeherrschung] that led to the return of myth in advanced capitalist society. Grounded in the idea that domination produces the necessary conditions for its own overcoming, we question in a third section the idea of a possible reconciliation with nature. We finally indicate how critical self-reflection is a necessary – but not sufficient – condition for its realization. Philosophie théorie critique Adorno Nature nature-histoire domination réconciliation Philosophy Critical theory Nature-history Philosophy / Philosophie (UMI : 0422)
417	Nature experiences for human wellbeing and Human-Nature Connection Maekawa, Ikumi, Pålsson, Kajsa January 2023 (has links) Our contact with nature is decreasing in what has been referred to as the “extinction of experience”. Consequences of the loss of nature experiences are far-reaching and involve not only changes in health and wellbeing, but also changes emotions, attitudes, and behaviour towards nature. This research aims to fill a knowledge gap in understanding specific characteristics of nature experiences in relation to both a) generating human wellbeing, and b) improving Human-Nature Connection (HNC), defined as how people relate to nature. The aim is to increase our understanding of the characteristics of nature experiences that can achieve both of these positive outcomes. Furthermore, this research explores an organisational perspective through interviewing organisations that are currently incorporating or thinking to implement practices that include nature experiences. To address the main aim, an integrative literature review was conducted, and the results revealed that intentional contact, active engagement (specifically appreciative outdoor activities, cognitive engagement, cues, and direct earth contact), and biodiversity and wildness to be significant characteristics that positively impact human beings. Moreover, appreciative outdoor activities and cognitive engagement have been shown to be beneficial even when passive. In addition, there is some evidence that there is a link between HNC and wellbeing, which suggests that improving HNC would increase the wellbeing effects experienced by an individual during a nature experience. This knowledge is crucial for designing nature experiences that are able to more efficiently improve wellbeing, as well as improve HNC. Regarding the organisational perspective, a barrier that needs to be overcome is reaching an understanding of the benefits of such experiences, not only for the employees but for the business. One major opportunity identified is the hybrid working model, which allows employees to work remotely, and the possibility for the company to actively encourage its employees to experience nature. Human wellbeing Human-Nature Connection HNC Nature experience Characteristics of nature experience Organisations Annan geovetenskap och miljövetenskap
418	Making Meaning Together: The role of interpretation during a short-term nature excursion Jurow, Kate 01 September 2016 (has links) No description available. Environmental Education Environmental Studies nature connection conservation psychology nature interpretation stewardship ranger programs nature programs environmental education social cognition
419	Measuring Connection to Nature and Exploring Connections to Childhood Activities, Environmental Concern, and Behavior Brensinger, Jed January 2016 (has links) No description available. Environmental Studies Environmental Education human-nature relationship connection to nature nature play childhood outdoor activities
420	Optimizing Classroom Acoustic Performance to Promote Children's Education and Wellbeing Elwekil, Engy Moustafa January 2015 (has links) America was the leader in quantity and quality of high school diplomas. Today, it is ranked thirty six in the world. Some of the main factors that affect education in America are witnessing us on a daily basis. These factors affect our visual, thermal and auditory comfort levels. As environmentalists we strive to find solutions to these problems. Unfortunately, some designers aim their designs to merely aesthetics. Leaving out the environmental factor of thermal comfort to be dictated by mechanically engineers and not paying attention to how occupants interact with sound within the built environment. Today I will discuss how to design for the ears, and how sound has a major role in education promoting Children's health and wellbeing. Education reach its way to our minds through listening in adequate environment. Optimum design appreciates and is tailored to experiencing all five senses. Goal of this research: Design proper noise levels for classrooms to provide students with an optimal learning environment is imperative. Reverberation times need to be carefully sized and calculated, particularly in the primary grades when the young student's ears are not fully developed. Conduct background noise and reverberation time measurements in classrooms to assess the problem and recommend solutions. Acoustic performance design is vital. Good Sound = Happy Sound. Children Classrooms Environment Nature Wellbeing Architecture Acoustics

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