title: Investigating the relationships between student well-being and perceived environmental sustainability: Student environmental attitudes as a moderator

authors: Sheeran, Zane

subjects: sustainability

abstract: Purpose: Higher education institutes (HEIs) face two key challenges: low levels of environmental sustainability and students with low levels of well-being. This paper suggests that, because of the interconnectedness of sustainable development goals, there may be a single solution to meet both these challenges, namely, increased sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to test whether higher perceived sustainability is associated with higher well-being, moderated by student attitudes towards the environment.
 
Design/methodology/approach: This study followed a quantitative design. Students enrolled at a New Zealand university completed an online questionnaire (n = 292) measuring student perceptions of their HEI’s environmental sustainability, their attitudes towards the environment and their well-being. Regression and moderation analyses were conducted to test hypothesised relationships. 

Findings: Students’ sustainability perceptions positively predicted student well-being. However, student attitudes towards the environment did not moderate this relationship. 

Originality/value: This study contributes to an emerging field by investigating the relationship between sustainability and well-being. The findings suggest HEIs may be able to improve their performance in multiple ranking criteria (student well-being and environmental sustainability) by focusing on sustainable practices and supporting students in their personal sustainability efforts.

text: Investigating the relationships between student well-being and perceived environmental sustainability: Student environmental attitudes as a moderator Purpose: Higher education institutes (HEIs) face two key challenges: low levels of environmental sustainability and students with low levels of well-being. This paper suggests that, because of the interconnectedness of sustainable development goals, there may be a single solution to meet both these challenges, namely, increased sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to test whether higher perceived sustainability is associated with higher well-being, moderated by student attitudes towards the environment.
 
Design/methodology/approach: This study followed a quantitative design. Students enrolled at a New Zealand university completed an online questionnaire (n = 292) measuring student perceptions of their HEI’s environmental sustainability, their attitudes towards the environment and their well-being. Regression and moderation analyses were conducted to test hypothesised relationships. 

Findings: Students’ sustainability perceptions positively predicted student well-being. However, student attitudes towards the environment did not moderate this relationship. 

Originality/value: This study contributes to an emerging field by investigating the relationship between sustainability and well-being. The findings suggest HEIs may be able to improve their performance in multiple ranking criteria (student well-being and environmental sustainability) by focusing on sustainable practices and supporting students in their personal sustainability efforts.

year: 2025

title: A Replication and Extension of Hughes and Barnes-Holmes's (2011) Study of Induced Implicit Attitudes

authors: Harvey, Douglas Miles

subjects: Implicit Cognition

abstract: In order to replicate Hughes and Barnes-Holmes’s (2011) study, 12 undergraduate students were presented with two novel stimuli (the words “Cug” and “Vek”) in one of three attitude-induction conditions. In the first condition, a training IRAP provided feedback that shaped the participants’ brief-and-immediate relational responding over multiple discrete trials. In the second condition, a written narrative presented the two potential attitude objects (the words “Cug” and “Vek”) as equivalent to a series of either positive or negative trait adjectives. In the third condition, participants were given both the training IRAP and the written narrative. Having completed the training phase, the participants then took a testing IRAP in which the words “Cug” and “Vek” were presented as being either “Similar” or “Opposite” to a range of verbal stimuli with either positive or negative connotations. As the results of Experiment 1 indicate, all three of the experimental manipulations generated differential relational responding, yet there was no repeat of the weakening in the ‘IRAP effects’ that was observed by Hughes and Barnes-Holmes. To find out if the engineered response biases persisted over a longer timescale than the 20 min it took to run the first testing IRAP, a second experiment was conducted in which the remaining participants (n = 11) retook the testing IRAP five days later (Experiment 2a). The results of Experiment 2a indicate that the response biases that were engineered in the first session persisted into the second session; furthermore, there was a weakening of the ‘IRAP effects’ across the three pairs of test blocks in all of the attitude-induction conditions. To find out if the engineered response biases could be strengthened by further training, following the second testing IRAP (Experiment 2a), the participants were presented with the same attitude-induction procedure they had been given during Experiment 1; they were then asked to complete a third and final testing IRAP (Experiment 2b). The results of Experiment 2b indicate that response biases can be strengthened through further training. However, the ‘IRAP effects’ recorded in Experiment 2b were broadly weaker than the ‘IRAP effects’ recorded in the other two experiments.

text: A Replication and Extension of Hughes and Barnes-Holmes's (2011) Study of Induced Implicit Attitudes In order to replicate Hughes and Barnes-Holmes’s (2011) study, 12 undergraduate students were presented with two novel stimuli (the words “Cug” and “Vek”) in one of three attitude-induction conditions. In the first condition, a training IRAP provided feedback that shaped the participants’ brief-and-immediate relational responding over multiple discrete trials. In the second condition, a written narrative presented the two potential attitude objects (the words “Cug” and “Vek”) as equivalent to a series of either positive or negative trait adjectives. In the third condition, participants were given both the training IRAP and the written narrative. Having completed the training phase, the participants then took a testing IRAP in which the words “Cug” and “Vek” were presented as being either “Similar” or “Opposite” to a range of verbal stimuli with either positive or negative connotations. As the results of Experiment 1 indicate, all three of the experimental manipulations generated differential relational responding, yet there was no repeat of the weakening in the ‘IRAP effects’ that was observed by Hughes and Barnes-Holmes. To find out if the engineered response biases persisted over a longer timescale than the 20 min it took to run the first testing IRAP, a second experiment was conducted in which the remaining participants (n = 11) retook the testing IRAP five days later (Experiment 2a). The results of Experiment 2a indicate that the response biases that were engineered in the first session persisted into the second session; furthermore, there was a weakening of the ‘IRAP effects’ across the three pairs of test blocks in all of the attitude-induction conditions. To find out if the engineered response biases could be strengthened by further training, following the second testing IRAP (Experiment 2a), the participants were presented with the same attitude-induction procedure they had been given during Experiment 1; they were then asked to complete a third and final testing IRAP (Experiment 2b). The results of Experiment 2b indicate that response biases can be strengthened through further training. However, the ‘IRAP effects’ recorded in Experiment 2b were broadly weaker than the ‘IRAP effects’ recorded in the other two experiments.

year: 2016

title: The Indigenous Exchange Forum: transitions in mine closure

authors: Holcombe, Sarah

abstract: “The Indigenous Exchange Forum: transitions in mine closure” was held on 2–3 November 2021 over Zoom, hosted by the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) in the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI), at The University of Queensland.
The Forum aimed to affirm, connect, and elevate the voices of First Nations leaders and interested community members impacted by mining and mine closure. In doing so, we hoped to begin to build an international network across these Indigenous communities, to enable the sharing of experiences, struggles, and sentiments in relation to mine site transition and mine-related impacts on their lands.
The intent was to recognise each other’s unique cultural position and the impact of mining and mine closure through lessons learned: first with each other and then with industry.
The Forum had a strong foundation of reciprocity. The objective was:
•To provide an independent and culturally safe space to facilitate the connectionbetween First Nations peoples, whose customary lands have been impacted bymining.
•To position First Nations voices individually and collectively in a shared learningjourney full of experiences and lessons learned through online network exchange.
•To facilitate knowledge exchange and elevate the connectivity between Canadian,Australian, and Aotearoa (New Zealand) First Nations regarding impacts, issues, andinnovative ideas and practices in response to mine site transitions and mine closure.

text: The Indigenous Exchange Forum: transitions in mine closure “The Indigenous Exchange Forum: transitions in mine closure” was held on 2–3 November 2021 over Zoom, hosted by the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) in the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI), at The University of Queensland.
The Forum aimed to affirm, connect, and elevate the voices of First Nations leaders and interested community members impacted by mining and mine closure. In doing so, we hoped to begin to build an international network across these Indigenous communities, to enable the sharing of experiences, struggles, and sentiments in relation to mine site transition and mine-related impacts on their lands.
The intent was to recognise each other’s unique cultural position and the impact of mining and mine closure through lessons learned: first with each other and then with industry.
The Forum had a strong foundation of reciprocity. The objective was:
•To provide an independent and culturally safe space to facilitate the connectionbetween First Nations peoples, whose customary lands have been impacted bymining.
•To position First Nations voices individually and collectively in a shared learningjourney full of experiences and lessons learned through online network exchange.
•To facilitate knowledge exchange and elevate the connectivity between Canadian,Australian, and Aotearoa (New Zealand) First Nations regarding impacts, issues, andinnovative ideas and practices in response to mine site transitions and mine closure.

year: 2022