Analysis of students' positive emotions around the green space in the university campus during the COVID-19 pandemic in China

Green space around the university campus is of paramount importance for emotional and psychological restorations in students. Positive emotions in students can be aroused when immersed in green space and naturalness. However, to what extent can perceived naturalness influence students' positive emotion remains unclear, especially in the context of COVID-19 countermeasures. This study, therefore, attempts to investigate in-depth the nature and strength of the relationships between students' positive emotion and their perceived naturalness, place attachment, and landscape preference, which are potentially varying across universities in different social and environmental contexts and different restrictions policies regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. A course of questionnaire-based surveys was administered on two university campuses in Heilongjiang and Hunan Provinces, China, resulting in 474 effective samples. Structural equation modeling was used to explore the hypothetical conceptual framework of latent variables and the indicators. The findings indicate that the higher students' perceived naturalness results in greater positive emotion. Students' perceived naturalness in green spaces of campus has a positive effect on their place attachment and landscape preference. Moreover, the difference between mediate effects of place attachment and landscape preference were addressed, which verifies the contextual influences.

Behavioral Intention and Its Predictors toward COVID-19 Booster Vaccination among Chinese Parents: Applying Two Behavioral Theories

The booster vaccination of COVID-19 is being implemented in most parts of the world. This study used behavioral psychology to investigate the predictors of parents' intentions regarding the COVID-19 booster vaccination for their children. This is a cross-sectional study with a self-designed questionnaire based on two behavioral theories-protective motivation theory (PMT) and theory of planned behavior (TPB). A stratified multi-stage sampling procedure was conducted in Nanjing, China, and multivariable regression analyses were applied to examine the parents' intentions. The intention rate was 87.3%. The response efficacy (ORa = 2.238, 95% CI: 1.360–3.682) and response cost (ORa = 0.484, 95% CI: 0.319–0.732) in the PMT, were significant psychological predictors of parents' intentions, and so were the attitude (ORa = 2.619, 95% CI: 1.480–4.636) and behavioral control (ORa = 3.743, 95% CI: 2.165–6.471) in the TPB. The findings of crucial independent predictors in the PMT and TPB constructs inform the evidence-based formulation and implementation of strategies for booster vaccination in children.

Students' Intention of Visiting Urban Green Spaces after the COVID-19 Lockdown in China.

This study addresses students' perceptions of using urban green spaces (UGSs) after the easing of COVID-19 lockdown in China. We questioned whether they are still mindful of the risks from the outdoor gathering, or conversely, starting to learn the restoration benefits from the green spaces. Online self-reported surveys were distributed to the Chinese students aging from 14 to 30 who study in Hunan and Jiangsu Provinces, China. We finally obtained 608 complete and valid questionnaire forms from all participants. Their intentions of visiting UGSs were investigated based on the extended theory of planned behavior model. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized psychological model. The results have shown good estimation performance on risk perception and perceived knowledge to explain the variances in their attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavior control. Among these three endogenous variables, the perceived behavior control owns the greatest and positive influence on the behavioral intention, inferring that controllability is crucial for students to make decisions of visiting green spaces in a post-pandemic context.

Built environment and early infection of COVID-19 in urban districts: A case study of Huangzhou.

Since COVID-19 spread rapidly worldwide, many countries have experienced significant growth in the number of confirmed cases and deaths. Earlier studies have examined various factors that may contribute to the contagion rate of COVID-19, such as air pollution, smoking, humidity, and temperature. As there is a lack of studies at the neighborhood-level detailing the spatial settings of built environment attributes, this study explored the variations in the size of the COVID-19 confirmed case clusters across the urban district Huangzhou in the city of Huanggang. Clusters of infectious cases in the initial outbreak of COVID-19 were identified geographically through GIS methods. The hypothetic relationships between built environment attributes and clusters of COVID-19 cases have been investigated with the structural equation model. The results show the statistically significant direct and indirect influences of commercial vitality and transportation infrastructure on the number of confirmed cases in an infectious cluster. The clues ch inducing a high risk of contagions have been evidenced and provided for the decision-making practice responding to the initial stage of possible severe epidemics, indicating that the local public health authorities should implement sufficient measures and adopt effective interventions in the areas and places with a high probability of crowded residents.