Nature in the Office: A Systematic Review of Nature Elements and Their Effects on Worker Stress Response.

Work-related stress is a significant problem in many work environments and can have negative consequences for both employees and organisations. This review aimed to identify which elements of biophilic design in the workplace affect workers' stress response. To enable this, a literature search was conducted using PsycINFO, Scopus, and Medline. The search was limited to articles published from 2012 to June 2023. This review only integrated quantitative data, incorporating twelve records for qualitative synthesis. The selected studies suggest that strategies such as access to outdoor environments or the creation of outdoor areas are effective in reducing stress in the workplace. If these are not feasible, the examined research advocates the use of virtual means to recreate such relaxation or break spaces. Furthermore, aspects of interest for future research were identified, such as multisensory stimulation, including the sense of smell, the exploration of views with natural elements, the creation of shelters, or the study of biomorphic forms.

Intensive Family Intervention as Support for Professional Treatment: Evolution of Symptoms in a Diagnosed Case of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This article shows the progress achieved in a child who has received professional treatment combined with a family intervention at home. It discusses a 22-month-old patient identified as showing warning signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a diagnosis that was subsequently confirmed through a standardized ADOS-2 test at 31 months of age. To establish the initial working objectives, a functional diagnosis was carried out at 23 months of age using the Battelle Developmental Inventory; a maturational delay was detected, situating the child at an age equivalent to 16 months. A professional intervention was designed in an early childhood care center, complemented by family intervention, so that the hours in which the child participated in learning experiences were increased. Notable advances were made in the areas of cognitive and motor skills, with more standard scores than when initially evaluated. Progress was also observed (though to a lesser extent) in other developmental areas such as language total, adaptive behavior, and self-help, while slight delays in the areas of socio-emotional development and reasoning and academic skills were found.

Influence of Perceived Environmental Quality on the Perceived Restorativeness of Public Spaces.

Parks and town squares can play an important role by offering spaces for cognitive restorativeness in urban contexts. Therefore, it is important that these spaces be designed in a way that encourages restorativeness. Indeed, their perceived quality should motivate users to stay and take advantage of them. Yet, it is not clear whether perceptions as to the quality of these spaces is relevant in promoting restorativeness. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze whether elements of environmental quality perceived by users of public spaces favor restorativeness both in parks and squares. Environmental and social aspects are taken into consideration, since restorative experiences involve cognitive and physiological recovery, as well as a component of interaction with the environment. In this research, 519 users of 32 urban public spaces-town squares and parks-on the island of Tenerife (Spain) participated. Participants evaluated these spaces using four dimensions that focused on spaces' perceived environmental quality: design of spaces, care of spaces, social interaction, and presence of sensorial elements. Additionally, we evaluated the perceived restorativeness of each space. The results showed that the design of spaces, care of the spaces, social interaction, and presence of sensorial elements explain the variance in perceived restorativeness, although with different weights for parks and squares. We found that perceived quality of a space is a key predictor of its restorativeness. This means that maintaining parks and town squares is a relevant task given that they contribute to reducing cognitive overload, increasing sustainability, and facilitating health care in urban settings.

Sentido de comunidad, fatalismo y participación en contextos de crisis socioeconómica / Sense of community, fatalism and participation in socio-economic crisis contexts

Se analiza la relación entre sentido de comunidad, fatalismo y participación en un contexto de crisis socioeconómica como el actual. Para ello se establecen diferencias en estas variables según distintos factores socioeconómicos: tener empleo, clase social percibida e ingresos mensuales. Se distinguen dos tipos de participación: comunitaria y sociopolítica. Con una muestra de 759 personas, los resultados muestran niveles medios en sentido de comunidad, medios-bajos en fatalismo y bajos en los dos tipos de participación. Se obtienen correlaciones significativas entre las variables: positivas para las dos dimensiones de participación con sentido de comunidad y negativas con fatalismo. El análisis de regresión indica que sentido de comunidad y fatalismo son factores predictivos para la conducta participativa. Por lo tanto, sentirse parte de la comunidad lleva a participar en ella, ya sea a través de comportamientos comunitarios o de conductas que persigan un cambio social. Pero la creencia de que el futuro ya está escrito inhibe ambos tipos de participación. En ello también influirá la percepción de estatus socioeconomic

This study analyses the relationship among sense of community, fatalism and participation in the context of the current socio-economic crisis. In order to do this, it establishes differences in these variables according to certain socio-economic factors: having a job, perceived social class and monthly income. A distinction is made between two types of participation: community participation; and socio-political participation. Based on a sample of 759 people, the results revealed an average level of sense of community, a medium-low level of fatalism and low levels of both types of participation. Significant correlations between the variables were obtained: the two dimensions of participation are positively correlated with sense of community and negatively correlated with fatalism. Regression analysis showed that sense of community and fatalism are predictors for participatory behaviour. Thus, the feeling of belonging to a community fuels participation in it, either through community behaviour or through behaviour that seeks a social change. However, the belief that the future is already written inhibits both types of participation. Perception of socioeconomic status also has influence in this fact