Sense of Place Attitudes on Quality of Life during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Iranian Residents in Hungary

Limited research has investigated the impact of immigrants' sense of place (SOP) attitudes on their quality of life (QOL) outcomes, especially during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aimed to fill this gap by examining the effect of SOP attitudes and health-related QOL (HQOL) on 120 Iranian citizens residing in Budapest, Hungary, during the pandemic. Using social media platforms, an online survey was conducted between March and July 2020. The findings of this study revealed that SOP elements, such as connection to sites, location identification, and location reliance, are susceptible to change and rely on QOL during the pandemic. The study also highlighted that Budapest has the potential to become a desirable destination for future immigrants. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on the relationship between SOP attitudes and QOL outcomes among immigrants during a crisis. It provides valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners to improve the SOP and QOL of immigrants living in cities affected by pandemics or other crises. This study provides insights into the influence of a sense of place on the quality of life of Iranian immigrants by presenting a model and highlighting significant results in a selected community.

The role of leisure in older adults moving homes

Moving homes is a common experience for older adults in later life. Concomitant with moving is the transition process of adapting to the new home and developing a sense of place. When older adults change residences they experience disruption in place and risk losing identities. Leisure engagement has been known to help older adults adapt to new transitions in their life, such as death of a spouse, health decline and retirement. Leisure engagement has been linked to the development of sense of home and maintaining identity when moving to residential care settings and congregate living, however, these processes are not well understood. To date no literature has focused on the role of leisure in older adults moving to private dwellings. This study focused on the role of leisure in older adults moving to new homes in the context of London, Ontario. This study used an ethnographic approach involving interviews, activity diaries and mental maps. A total of 12 older adults participated in this study. Data were analyzed using holistic content and thematic analysis. The findings were divided into two integrated manuscripts, chapter 4, focusing on how leisure played a role in adapting to new homes during COVID-19 and chapter 5, which focused on negotiating place after moving homes. Chapter 4 describes how older adults used leisure to maintain identity and establish and maintain social connections after moving homes. Chapter 5 describes how the participants negotiated place using leisure differed for older adults who were single and older adults who were married. The findings also revealed that having shared characteristics with others and the tone of the social environment shaped the participants' leisure engagement after moving to London. Implications for this research include the need for practitioners and policymakers to establish leisure programs that recognize the factors affecting older adults in communities that could challenge their ability to establish a sense of place, such as experiencing a move along with other transitions, such as losing a spouse. The findings also have implications for city planners to develop social spaces for older adults to engage in leisure in their neighbourhoods. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Sacred Spaces Enduring Pro-environmental Behavior: A Case Study from Kerala Temple

In this Anthropocene era, it is relevant to understand how culture influences humans' ecological behavior. This research aims to understand the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on temple-led eco-conservation strategies from the Sasthamcotta Shri Dharma Sastha temple, known for its natural landscapes and pro-environmental activities. A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews was conducted virtually among the people who regularly interact with the temple. The data was collected directly from the field and is analyzed systematically based on grounded theory. The findings indicate that temples can generate eco-conservation approaches that are socio-psychologically relevant to humans, such as (a) connectedness to nature, (b) sense of place, (c) values, beliefs, and norms, and (d) general awareness. The temple also serves as a management hub for (e) pro-social activities and (f) environmental decision-making. Managerial factors such as pro-social activities and environmental decision-making were curtailed during the COVID-19 lockdown, and the strategies based on socio-psychological factors remain unchanged. According to our findings, new environmental conservation strategies should be based on socio-psychological aspects that are more in line with the mental model of the community. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

VIRTUAL HISTORICAL SENSE OF PLACE IN MULTIMEDIA WEB TOURISM: A CASE STUDY OF BANG LAMPHU

In the normal world of tourism, Bang Lamphu is considered being a good historical location in Bangkok. It is rich in historical architecture, openness gastronomy, friendly people, and easy-going atmosphere. During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism industry has changed dramatically to protect the virus from spreading. The interaction between tourist and attraction place, sense of place, has not happened. Digital media can deliver visual information to demonstrate attraction place. How digital media interact with tourists can create a sense of place along with the relationship developed during the new digital media exploration. Letting tourists explore the place through different media can determine the preferred media in triggering a sense of place in each tourist. The purpose of this study is to explore and find the appropriate media in representing sense of place for virtual tourism environment. Qualitative method with design thinking process has been used to develop this research. Developing different media is based on primary and secondary research with survey with photography and in-depth interview. Each type of media has its own production or process. It was found that different media triggered different ways for each tourist, in this case, expert in user interface and multimedia. Pondering at the storytelling way of delivering the historical story can stimulate tourists and elevate the memory of the related experience. From the historian's point of view, looking through the history in visual or video storytelling can be quite difficult to interpret without text information alongside. The conclusion of this research is that the amount of visual information consumes can be determined, based on each experience of the place without any further research of the place information. Therefore, the connection between place and tourist created toward the interpretation of visual information from each individual who experience it. © 2022 Seorim. All rights reserved.

Identifying the effects of COVID-19 on visitor place attachment of state parks in Arkansas

During the COVID-19 pandemic, recreation sites around the country experienced a rise in visitation numbers as residents looked for alternatives to staying home. The researchers hypothesized that the social and cultural changes associated with the pandemic have increased the level of visitor place attachment towards these sites. This research works to identify the level of connection guests have towards Arkansas State Parks (ASP) during COVID-19. Results from this study have shown that attachment towards ASP has grown throughout the pandemic and has increased the likelihood that these visitors will return to the site in the future. © 2023 World Leisure Organization.

Digital Juneteenth: Territorializing the Freedom Colony Diaspora

After Juneteenth, formerly enslaved African Americans in Texas founded hundreds of historic Black settlements known as freedom colonies. Later, freedom colonies' populations dispersed, physical traces disappeared, and memories of locations vanished as descendants passed away. In the absence of buildings and legally recognized borders, intangible heritage—stories, ephemeral traditions—define a sense of place. Betraying the perception that these places have disappeared, founders' descendants express commitments to freedom colonies by returning periodically to plan commemorative events, rehabilitate historic structures, and steward cemeteries. The Texas Freedom Colonies Project (The TXFC Project), a team of faculty and student researchers, documents settlements while supporting descendant communities' historic preservation aims. By making diasporic publics legible and increasing the visibility of communities' settlement patterns and remaining extant features, The TXFC Project elevates stakeholders' concerns in urban planning domains. In 2020, COVID-19's social distancing requirements challenged diasporic descendants' efforts to foster social cohesion. Consequently, The TXFC Project hosted a Facebook Live "talk show,” leveraging social media platforms to amplify freedom colony descendants' work. The team analyzed event transcripts revealing cultural adaptations to socially restrictive conditions during Juneteenth commemorations and indicating that virtual storytelling helped territorialize widely dispersed, unbounded places for stakeholders facing natural and human-made disruptions.

The Associations of Communal Space with Sense of Place and Mental Health in Public Housing: Evidence from Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

Communal space is regarded as essential for human well-being in high-rise developments in Asia and increasing attention has been given to the underlying mechanism of its effects in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. From the perspective of person-place processes, this paper explores 'sense of place' and its possible mediating effects on the relationship between communal space and the mental health of residents in high-rise public housing. An analysis of data from a questionnaire survey conducted in Hong Kong and Guangzhou revealed differentiated mechanisms according to local context and age group. Sense of place and its subcomponents mediated the connection between communal space and mental health in Hong Kong but not in Guangzhou. More specifically, place identity, place attachment and place dependence had stronger effects among older residents in HK than younger ones. The findings from this study can inform evidence-based planning and decision-making for public housing policy for health-oriented environments in high-density cities.

Why They Stayed and Why They Left-A Case Study from Ellicott City, MD after Flash Flooding.

Ellicott City, MD was devasted by flash flooding in 2016 and 2018. A lack of qualitative research has been conducted on topics related to sense of place and flash flooding, especially in the United States. In this study, we reveal reasons why some who experienced flash flooding continued to stay the flood zone and why some leave. We utilized a phenomenological approach to answer these research questions. Data were generated through in-depth interviews with 19 participants from the Historic District and adjacent neighborhoods in Ellicott City. The most common reasons participants stayed were: (1) Community Impact, (2) Historical Land, and (3) Financial Burden. The most common reasons participants left were: (1) Emotional Exhaustion and Frustration, (2) Fear/Anxiety, and (3) Financial Burden. The results of our study indicate that reasons individuals who experience flash flooding stay, or leave may include community/historical, environmental, emotional, and economic factors. This reveals the complexity of relocation and sense of place after natural/environmental disasters and supports previous literature that suggests tailored response efforts based on these unique set of burdens. This paper aims to identify burdens and understand flood victims' decisions to help policy makers improve flood response efforts.

Exchanged actors behind the creation of sense of place value in indigenous tourism enterprise Karangrejo Borobudur Indonesia

Purpose According to the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, there are 7,275 indigenous tourism enterprises in Indonesia. However, only 0.5% of these are certified as a sustainable tourism village. One of them is the Karangrejo village in Borobudur, Indonesia. This village is able to sustain their enterprise, which is a unique and rare context. This study aims to address this gap by examining the sense of place value created from the collaboration between actors, mapping the actors and their resources who have crucial roles in indigenous tourism enterprise, and examining the relations between actors, mapping the characteristics and efforts made by the indigenous tourism enterprise. The novelty of this research is the unique context that it takes place, and the use of comprehensive theoretical perspectives combining architecture, sociological social psychology and marketing/business theories in tourism context, which is uncommon for research in this area. Design/methodology/approach Participants in this study were 17 individuals, comprising Village Chief, accompanying state-owned enterprises, tourists, owners of micro, small and medium enterprises, village economic center manager and village-owned enterprises manager. Data were collected from interviews and field recordings using purposive sampling technique. The study design was a case study. The data were coded in two steps: first cycle and second cycle coding. Member checking with research participants was conducted to ensure data credibility. Findings This study revealed several novel findings. First, sense of place value was not merely perceived as material and nonmaterial components, but also as networks between actors that were involved in creating such components within (value) exchange framework. Second, the actors involved in the exchange were provider actor, external supporter actor, internal supporter actor, collaborator actor and consumer actor. Each of these actors owned one or a combination of material and nonmaterial values that are exchangeable. Mapping of the actors involved was discussed using a combined perspective of consumer-centric and balanced network. Third, exchange relations that occurred between actors could be balanced or imbalanced, depending on the amount of resource owned by each actor. Nonetheless, imbalanced relations because of discrepancies in the value contributions could still have positive impact because it was motivated by the intention to help others. Fourth, this study identified the importance of having characteristics as resource integrator/gatherer for indigenous tourism enterprise (provider actor) to ensure the economic sustainability of their business. Research limitations/implications This study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, where governments imposed strict travel restrictions. Consequently, data from tourists were limited in particular, the lack of perspectives from international tourists. During the data collection, the government were still limiting international travelers to visit the country, hence only domestic tourists were able to visit. The perspectives of international tourists would have added valuable data. Because of pandemic, the data collection process was initially conducted online, which was then followed by in-person data collection. Online data collection is common in research;however, in-person data collection would have been more preferred, where possible, so that the researchers could directly observe the situation in context. Future research could be conducted after the pandemic ends. Furthermore, findings of this research asserted the importance of actors' motives, situations, quality of the values and relational attributes, but had not discussed these in detail, especially from the perspective of each actor. Future research could address this limitation. Practical implications Enhancing material and nonmaterial sense of place value would involve multiple actors. Therefore, mapping of the resources owned by these actors as well as their roles is critical. To create sense of place value, synergy between actors is essential and could not be achieved by a single actor. Every actor is influenced by motives and circumstances when interacting with the other actor. Awareness of such motives and circumstances where the exchange takes place is necessary, to ensure that the cultivated relationship aligns with the goals and expectations. As exchange relations could be balanced or imbalanced, every actor also needs to be aware of their position and continuously evaluate it to avoid being constantly in a powerless position. Indigenous tourism enterprise could not singlehandedly provide every resource needed. Therefore, developing a character as a gatherer/resource integrator becomes crucial to gain access to all necessary resources. Currently, there are no tools available for identifying actors, resources and relational attributes. This could be a potential avenue for academics in this area. Further, the government should identify the best practice from the successful indigenous tourism enterprises, not only giving recognition awards or certifications to these enterprises. Originality/value Findings from this study have several contributions;among others, it discussed sense of place value of indigenous tourism enterprise more comprehensively, as the essential actors who exchange resources were identified. This study also underlined positive power imbalance, which had been generally seen as a negative dynamic. Moreover, this study highlighted that indigenous people, despite living by communal value (non-transactional) in their daily lives, would need to engage in transactional relations and develop resource integrator characteristics to maintain tourism enterprise. Indigenous people have often been seen from their communal side, while their transactional (non-communal) side has been rarely seen.

Repositioning Budapest’s tourism milieu for a post-Covid-19 period: Visual content analysis

In order to propose a repositioning toolkit, this research addresses the essence of the daytime tourism milieu of the Hungarian capital Budapest’s nightly party zone and formulates the following two research questions: (1) What are the available elements of the daytime tourism milieu of Budapest’s party zone? and (2) How can this milieu enhance tourist experience for leveraging a sense of place in a future post-Covid-19 era? The data for this research were collected with the help of 85 undergraduates, who were given the task of taking 3 photos, as if they were tourists, aiming to capture the best reflection of the daytime tourism milieu of Budapest’s party zone. A database of 255 photos was analysed through visual content analysis. Additionally, each image was assigned a location of the photo, five hashtags and a short description. The descriptions of the photos were analysed by Python programming and calculations. The findings show the most important research outcomes concerning Budapest’s party zone, focusing on the daytime values of the district. The research identified the “creative milieu”’, “Jewish heritage milieu” and “gastronomic milieu” as the most important daytime profiles of the party zone. Based on the findings, the authors propose a repositioning toolkit and a strategy which, on the one hand, will develop a stronger sense of place in the case of the tourism milieu of Budapest’s party zone and, on the other hand, will position the party zone not only as a place of nightlife but also as a venue of daytime tourism. © 2022 The Author(s).

Physical and Digital Placemaking in a Public Art Initiative in Camden, NJ

The process of placemaking entails the use of physical and digital representations of place. An understudied element of these representations is how users’ agency and interaction with physical and digital placemaking contributes to sense of place within a community. This research uses A New View-Camden, New Jersey (ANV) public art initiative as a case study to analyze how digital representation of space contributes to sense of place among community members in an urban setting. ANV’s social media reach and coverage is triangulated with data from interviews and focus groups from the 2019-2021 project period. The digital interactions with public spaces evoked meaning to experiences and places in Camden, in turn influencing perceptions of the place and willingness of community members to engage. A New View’s digital representations not only created opportunities for wider outreach and longer lasting experiences of placemaking that contributed positively to community, but also contributed to understanding of placemaking in urban public spaces, particularly during the COVID-19 global pandemic. © 2022 by the author.

Prioritizing Engagement of a Diverse Student Cohort in Online Hydrology Learning at the University of Western Australia

Like most water education institutions worldwide, hydrology instructors at the University of Western Australia (UWA) had to rapidly adapt traditional teaching strategies to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. With diverse student cohorts, including a large fraction of international students prevented from reaching Australia by travel restrictions, key requirements from this transition were to create supportive, inclusive online educational settings, and to maximize student engagement in their courses. Here, we draw on experiences in four hydrology courses to illustrate how we used a holistic approach spanning course structure, content delivery, active learning experiences and authentic assessment to protect these key pedagogical requirements during the transition to online learning. Some aspects of this approach—for example, creating an online “virtual watershed” in lieu of field trips—required sophisticated technology to support online innovation. Other aspects, however, relied primarily on existing features in learning management systems such as Blackboard and on re-organization of course structure and communication approaches to support online learning, with minimal need for new technology or software. The outcomes in these courses as measured by student engagement, enrolment and self-reported satisfaction were positive, with student evaluations remaining similar to those of pre-pandemic levels. Previous interest in running flipped classrooms and familiarity with technology among instructors and students were helpful in enabling the transition. While content-delivery may remain in an online mode for hydrology classes at UWA long term, opportunities to re-introduce field work, laboratories and other face-to-face active learning activities are eagerly awaited by instructors and students alike. Copyright © 2022 Thompson, Bourke, Callow and Hipsey.

Dancing in the street as feminist empowerment: the choreographic discourse of Bellywarda and L'Armee des Roses

The reaffirmation of female bodies in public spaces is a constant in feminist social movements. Indeed, the role of the female body in public spaces and conveying a social message is vindicated by artists from all disciplines, whether by occupying the streets in protest of unequal women's rights and equality or sexual harassment and rape, or in other social demonstrations. In the field of dance, some companies perform expressly in public spaces with the precise aim of conquering these arenas as a stage to visibilise female bodies, highlighting their diversity and demanding more equality and freedom. In this article, we use collective interviews with two French companies committed to promoting feminism in the streets Bellywarda (FatChanceBellyDance (c)) and L'Armee des Roses (performing the cancan), to analyse the choreographic discourse related to this concept. We aimed to study the appropriation of public spaces, interactions with the public at large and their reception of these performances, social links between dancers, and the transmission of feminist values. Observation of these dances and the interview outcomes was addressed from the perspectives of the sociology of emotions, phenomenology of urban spaces, and women's studies. The context of the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from examining the public reception of these street actions, but we were able to discuss the current situation in France in which dance is considered a 'non-essential cultural asset' during the second lockdown, when this research takes place.

Digital Interpretation as a Bridge to Support the Sense of Place: “Lord Guan Online!” DaxiDaxi Website

In the context of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, large-scale events have been forced to stop as well as movement of people between cities. At Daxi in Taoyuan, Taiwan, there is an event that lasts for over a century, Puji Temple Annual Celebration of Saintly Emperor Guan’s Birthday, held every summer on June 24 of the lunar calendar. It is not only registered as Taoyuan City’s intangible cultural heritage but also considered as the second Chinese New Year for local people. In order to express gratitude to Saintly Emperor Guan for his blessing, the local groups ‘She-Tou’, residents, shopkeepers and volunteers make a great effort on the preparations before the celebration. Local people who at the time do not live in Daxi because they are studying, working or after marriage are living in other cities would also come back to the town on this day. This traditional and cultural event bred from belief has become a mechanism of community cohesion and has shaped Daxi’s unique sense of place. Unfortunately, the traditional pilgrimage of the celebration in 2021 has been paused due to the pandemic situation. However, thanks to the long-term collaboration and participation of the local museum, the ritual of faith can continue in a new way. This article takes the DaxiDaxi “Lord Guan Online” website and its Facebook page as an example. By analysing how the Daxi Wood Art Ecomuseum interprets the traditional celebration and its culture in a digital way, we try to explore the possibility of digital tools as a powerful medium for connecting people and people and place during the pandemic period.

Coronavirus' exposure of food, place and community resilience: a Welsh local authority perspective

Purpose Coronavirus has accentuated the cracks within the fragile UK food system. Empty shelves and empty stomachs, the damaging consequences of coronavirus have led to an unprecedented increase in food insecurity and food access. The purpose of this paper is to provide in-depth insight into varied and innovative rural localised responses to food access during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach This study draws on multiple perspectives of those working to combat food insecurity, inequality and inaccessibility in Gwynedd, exploring food access initiatives and their responses to the pandemic, innovative food distribution collaborations and the role of maintaining already fragile rural communities. Findings This study concludes that the need for transformative place-making to build stronger, more resilient communities has never been more pressing, with support from public sector funding to help alleviate some of the hardships and pressure with the rise in poverty and austerity, coronavirus imposed or not. Originality/value This study focuses on a single local authority area in North Wales, Gwynedd, an area where little food research has been published to date. The coronavirus pandemic also places the timely research within the scope of food access and distribution during hardship. This study discusses the impacts exposed by the pandemic and lessons that can be drawn and reflected on for future benefit.

Exploring the Opportunities for Online Learning Platforms to Support the Emergency Home School Context

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent closure of schools forced families across the globe to transition to school at home. This unprecedented context is likely to have a lasting impact on the practice of schooling and the role of online, digital platforms within school contexts. In this paper we present a contextual inquiry of an 'emergency home school context', detailing how nine young families in Melbourne, Australia adapted to the unexpected introduction of school to the home following the government-directed closure of schools. Through an online interview and photo-journal study, we develop an emplaced understanding of the context detailing how the relations between people and places around the home evolved over time. We present fve design considerations for digital platforms to support the emergency home school context, placing focus on the fuid roles, relationships and evolving sense of place.

Comparing Student Experiences of Collaborative Learning in Synchronous CS1 Classes in Gather.Town vs. Zoom

We report results of a study of student experiences (anonymous survey: n=90, interviews: n=4) in a fully online, synchronous CS1 class taught during the COVID-19 pandemic. Half the class sessions were held in Zoom and half were held in Gather.Town, an online platform that supports proximity chat and spatially designated private spaces. Students expressed strong preferences for the Gather.Town class setting due to its support for peer socializing, sense of place, agency, engagement, and fluid interactions. © 2022 ACM.