Academic literature on the topic 'Experience of nature'

This study examined the sources of differences in the correlations among metacognitive experiences and between metacognitive experiences with performance. Task experience was treated as the source of differences. 70 Japanese undergraduate students solved two tasks, one similar to those experienced (experienced task) and the other one barely experienced previously (task not experienced). Correlations among metacognitive experiences showed outcomes of the experienced task supported findings from Efklides' laboratory, and those from a task not experienced were consistent with those of Akama and Yamauchi. The nature of metacognitive experiences in problem-solving is discussed.

AbstractSeveral theorists argue that one does not experience something as being at or coming from a distance or direction in olfaction. In contrast to this, I suggest that there can be a variety of spatial aspects of both synchronic and diachronic olfactory experiences, including spatial distance and direction. I emphasise, however, that these are not aspects of every olfactory experience. Thus, I suggest renouncing the widespread assumption there is a uniform account of the nature, including the spatial nature, of what is experienced in olfactory experience.

This phenomenological research explored the phenomenon of nature as healer through the lived experience of wild swimmers at Kenwood Ladies’ Pond on Hampstead Heath (hereafter abbreviated as the Ladies’ Pond). Five semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the experience of women who swim there. Five key themes emerged from the data analysis. These were: nature through wild swimming; perception of the place through wild swimming; the physical and psychological benefits of wild swimming; descriptive feeling benefits through wild swimming; and healing through wild swimming. These themes were explored in relation to relevant literature. A textural description was then written to describe the essence of experiences through wild swimming, along with identifying limitations in the research and further considerations.

This article aims to situate nature, not as an organised and mapped space but rather in the way in which it is lived and experienced. Given the fact that most tourists who come to Iceland claim the reason for their visit to be the natural landscapes of Iceland, tourism in Iceland has focused on so-called nature-based tourism. This is not new because eighteenth-century to early twentieth-century travellers and explorers were affected by the sublimity of the landscapes they encountered and, hence, have had their influences in shaping the meaning of the contemporary, institutional definitions of natural landscapes. These are definitions that leave out the lived experience and also deny nature its vitality and movement. As Tim Ingold has argued, nature as it is experienced is an animated being, and as such, one enters into the atmosphere of vibrant surroundings that one engages with. In order to situate nature, I travel to Snæfellsjökull National Park in Iceland.

This thesis is about the perceptual nature of aesthetic experience and the importance of nature as a paradigmatic object of aesthetic perception and aesthetic experience more broadly conceived. For this reason, it merits serious attention by philosophers working in aesthetics, as has been argued since Ronald Hepburn’s seminal essay “Contemporary Aesthetics and the Neglect of Natural Beauty”. If aesthetic experience is anything, it is at least perceptual. It is a mode of perceptual experience that is the result of having been attentive to and having discriminated between, the aesthetic and non-aesthetic, and invites room for reflection on, and connections to be made with, cognitive and emotive processes. Rooting the aesthetic in perception allows us to recognize and understand that it has an impact on our daily activities, rather than being restricted either to a particular kind of object, to the knowledge we might have about it, or to intense, rarefied aesthetic experience. If an object is to be an aesthetic object it need not be an artwork, indeed, one might even argue that nature is more interesting an aesthetic object from the perspective that it is indeterminate, not the result of human intentionality, and from an existential point of view, one that acknowledges our dependence on it. In the course of the argument, I thus resist the idea that the aesthetic experience of art is necessarily prior to the aesthetic experience of nature. The perceptual account put forward is based on a realist account of aesthetic properties that considers aesthetic properties to be perceptual properties and that considers aesthetic experience to be perceptually rich. I link it to the idea of ‘whole formalism’, a perceptual, aesthetic account that is nestled in the wider thought that aesthetic perception relates, although not causally, to other features of experience, such as emotion, and knowledge. Perceptual, aesthetic experience is thus not reduced to an austere account of aesthetic formalism. The thesis begins by analysing historical accounts of aesthetic perception, beginning with Plato, Aristotle and Aquinas. It builds on this analysis by reinterpreting crucial concepts to the discipline of aesthetics, such as disinterest and formalism that originated in the eighteenth century and are relevant to the idea of aesthetic perception. It then brings the idea of aesthetic perception up to date by addressing the current debate about cognitivism and non-cognitivism about aesthetic experience where nature is concerned. By tracing the idea of aesthetic perception historically, I will have also shown the role of nature as a paradigm of aesthetic experience through history and that nature is a repository for rich aesthetic experience and for rich experiential engagement with it.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2000.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-163).
This work is about water infrastructure and its experience as urban and natural space. It deals with the concepts of nature/geography, technology, and the integral experiential space by analyzing water dams and reservoirs that are more than utilitarian structures. In the process of formulating the concept of ARTIFICIAL NATURE, an expanded definition of 'built activity' to embrace landscape/nature, infrastructure, and technology as well as imaginative and mental space is pursued. The specific sites of investigation range from Thrace to Central and Southeastern Anatolia in Turkey from 1920-2000.
by Fatma Aslıhan Demirtaş.
S.M.

This thesis examined the nature, experience and consequences of humiliation among Dalits (ex-Untouchables) in India (and also among UK students for comparative purposes). Social psychological research looks at humiliation as automatic, extreme and intense emotion which often leads to extreme and irrational behaviors (Lindner, 2002; Otten & Jonas, 2014; Elison & Harter, 2007). The research in this thesis contested this view and underlined the need to look at humiliation as 1) inherently relational or dynamic in nature, 2) a distinguishably group level phenomenon and 3) a mobilised phenomenon. Study 1 analysed the experiences of humiliation among Dalits and conceptualised humiliation as a complex social encounter in which one party attempts to diminish identity of another party. Study 1 also identified important dimensions of humiliating encounters that were examined in subsequent studies. Studies 2 - 3 manipulated perspective (victim or witness) and target of devaluation (personal identity or social identity) in a humiliating encounter and showed that the nature of humiliation and how it is experienced depends upon the way in which identities are defined in a humiliating encounter. Both UK students (Study 2) and Dalit participants (Study 3) confirmed the collective experience of humiliation i.e. one can feel humiliated simply by witnessing humiliation of another group member. Studies- 4 - 7 manipulated victim's response (resistance vs. compliance) during a humiliating encounter. These studies showed that humiliation is an encounter within power relations and victims of humiliation possess choice and agency to change the outcome of humiliating encounters. Study 8 analysed the humiliation rhetoric in the speeches of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the most important of Dalits leaders, and showed that the way in which humiliating encounter is resolved depends upon the mobilisation processes which can even change the nature of identities and, therefore, the nature of experience of the encounter.

Technological growth has changed our relationships and interactions within society and theatre artists are calling into question the future of our art form. Are we still essential? And if so, how do we renovate our form in order to relate to our changing society? In my experience, I’ve found that all renovations of our art have one thing in common: the empowering nature of story. Story helps us to understand our experiences in life. It is not the self, the cause, or the goal that is behind the wheel, but the story itself. This thesis explores three instances of the empowering nature of story during my graduate studies.

There is little research on the young child's experience of the natural environment. Due to the increase in urbanisation, indoor recreation and indoor schooling many young children have become isolated from the natural environment. A love for nature and a sense of wonder in nature is being lost in the hurried childhood. This loss of access to nature impacts on the child's health and wellbeing, sense of connection and environmental literacy. This research study explores how Melbourne preschool children experience and use nature through the environments provided to them in the preschool program. The main environment is naturally the preschool play yard; however, as excursions also form part of the curriculum, the child's visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden forms part of this experience. Six case studies of Melburnian preschool children have been developed as a means to capture and communicate the interactions of individual children. Each of the six case studies present a child or pair of children 'in the moment,' as a snap shot of ecological learning and play behaviour and are presented as six stories, which allow the child's individual character and unique experience of nature to be expressed. Issues and behaviours evident in the children's interactions are then discussed through a framework of the seven ways of interacting in nature, which emerges from the demonstrations of these children. This information was collected using research techniques in observation; structured observations using time sampling and behaviour mapping; participating in conversations with children and collecting anecdotal observations and children's artwork. The case studies provide insight into childhood interactions with the natural environment and the levels of engagement experienced by children, with nature. The six stories, alongside topical literature, form the basis for deep discussion on the observed ways of interacting with nature.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Humanity‘s growing separation from nature is central to the convergent social and ecological crises facing earth. This is both a psychological (e.g. perceptual, emotional) and physical (e.g. experiential) disconnect and is therefore better understood as a crisis in consciousness. This research arises out of an intense interest in how to alleviate humanity‘s fading connectedness with nature and, specifically, if meaningful nature experience is capable of healing the divisive ways in which humans tend to think, see and act in the world. This study brings together four core themes: connectedness with nature (CWN), invasive alien species (IAS), and education for sustainability (EfS); each of which are explored around - and in relationship to - the core concept of meaningful nature experience (MNE).1 In doing so, this transdisciplinary research utilizes a theory of complexity to integrate diverse disciplinary perspectives by drawing upon: (conservation) ecology; (environmental-/eco-) psychology; (sustainability) education; and phenomenology as a guiding philosophy. Adopting an interpretivist and pragmatic approach, this research employs mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative/phenomenological analysis) to, firstly, uncover the essences which help describe what MNE feels like (how it appears in consciousness) and that which makes MNE what it is. Secondly, the study explores the relationship between MNE and CWN; the extent to which MNE is perceived to influence attitudes and environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB); and whether ecological change as experienced through IAS may affect MNE or, in turn, how MNE and CWN influence perceptions on IAS. Thirdly, the research examines the implications of the above for EfS: is there merit for integrating MNE and CWN in EfS? What would such a process look like and how can it be applied in a way which revitalizes EfS? Finally, as a form of heuristic inquiry, this study represents my process of conscious transformative learning. Reflective narratives are dispersed throughout this dissertation to capture this enriching personal journey. Research findings draw on over 200 unique accounts of MNEs which were elicited from: online and public questionnaires; in-depth interviews, email submissions and complemented by in-situ field observation and participation. The questionnaires and in-depth interviews also elicited responses on CWN, IAS and EfS. The research finds that a MNE is triggered by an unexpected encounter with the 'non-ordinary‘ in nature. It is characterized by heightened sensory awareness (e.g. the beauty and detail of natural phenomena arrest our attention), intensified emotional (e.g. awe, amazement) and physiological responses (e.g. a 'rush‘). If an animal is involved, close proximity, extended length of time and reciprocity are key themes. For a MNE not involving an animal, perceived aliveness, vibrancy and energy pervading the land-/ sea-/ sky-scape is primary. As mind meets matter, one feels interrelatedness and a diminished sense of self. The privilege to commune with an 'other‘ (re)defines a person‘s being and belonging in the world. Synchronicity as a MNE is distinctive as an uncanny (e.g. numinous) experience of: insight; flow; guidance; a 'knowing‘; and interconnectedness. Respondents who have had a MNE exhibit a higher CWN; a positive correlation exists between frequency of MNE (fMNE) and CWN. Stronger correlations with CWN were found when a wild animal was involved in the MNE. Spiritual / religious practices positively correlate with fMNE and CWN with regular displays of gratitude toward nature returning slightly stronger correlations with CWN. Strongest correlations were found between the experience of synchronicity and CWN. A qualitative analysis of respondents‘ MNEs and their responses on how they perceive their MNE(s) to have changed them, found multiple and diverse mention of (newfound) appreciations of (inter)connectedness. This suggests that MNE acts as a conduit for CWN: one powerful MNE may be sufficient to catalyse the process; however, a higher fMNE increases the likelihood for heightened CWN. Such results affirm the idea that MNEs facilitate a relational worldview necessary for a consciousness attuned to CWN. CWN is considered to be a reliable predictor for ERB. Over 90% agreement was found between respondents on the positive impact of MNEs in: shaping their views on nature and biodiversity; influencing their current behaviour and actions toward nature and the environment; and heavily influencing, changing or transforming their outlooks on life. The most common themes to emerge on how MNE was perceived to have changed respondents related to understanding of (inter)connectedness/interdependence; career choice; respect for nature / life; and new ways of seeing the world. This supports the premise that, by affectively bonding with nature, MNEs can motivate: ERB; life paths into conservation-minded careers; and serve as catalysts for personal growth and transformation, particularly when complemented with reflection, social (guided) facilitation and ecological literacy. The presence of IAS in landscape is likely to adversely affect MNE for stated reasons of ecological impacts, diminished 'naturalness‘, destructiveness and reduced diversity. Those viewing IAS as potentially enhancing their MNEs cite reasons of beauty, novelty and enjoyment. Respondents‘ CWN does not appear to affect perceptions of IAS; however, elevated CWN may invoke empathy, a sense of relatedness and appreciation of their intrinsic value as 'life‘. IAS may also feature in MNEs and, through experiential and metaphorical insight, can deliver newfound understandings of social and ecological connections as they relate to IAS. Respondents concur that today‘s education does not prepare society to learn from MNE: overwhelming agreement was found on the societal and ecological benefits of an education that promotes understanding of MNE through a blend of intellectual concepts; experiential activities; values and ethics; and integrated learning approaches. Experiential nature-based activities were encouraged as vital EfS vehicles for enhancing sensory awareness; respect for nature; ecological knowledge and encountering connectedness. In-depth interviewees saw future EfS opportunities and solutions as focusing more on: participating with nature; bridging spirituality and science; facilitating 'openness‘ and shared experience; instilling values reflecting an interconnected reality; mentoring; contemporary rites of passage; and simply learning to live better. The essence of this research is an expanded appreciation of connectedness - embodying Nature, Community, Self, Source - and the manifold ways it is encountered through MNE. Revitalized EfS (realized through Theory edU) invites a consciousness that attends to an enlivening process of connecting, harmonizing and becoming.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie bring vier kern temas na vore: verbintenis met die natuur (VMN), indringende uitheemse spesies (IUS), en opvoeding vir volhoubaarheid (OVV); waarvan elk verken is rondom – en in verhouding is tot die kern konsep van betekenisvolle natuur ervaring 2 (BNE). Deur dit te doen, wend hierdie transdisiplinêre studie 'n teorie van kompleksiteit aan om diverse dissiplinêre perspektiewe te integreer deur gebruik te maak van: bewarings ekologie; omgewings-/eko- sielkunde; onderwys; en femenologie as 'n rigtinggewende filosofie. Deur 'n interpretatiewe en pragmatiese benadering aan te neem, is gemengde metodes (kwantitatief en kwalitatief / femenologiese analise) gebruik om eerstens die essensies wat help om te beskryf hoe BNE voel (hoe dit in die bewussyn voorkom) en dit wat BNE maak wat dit is, te ontbloot. Tweedens verken die studie die verhouding tussen BNE en VMN; die mate waartoe BNE beskou word om houdings en omgewings verantwoordelike gedragte beïnvloed (OVG); en of ekologiese verandering soos deur IUS ervaar word BNE kan affekteer, of, op sy beurt, hoe BNE en VMN persepsies van IUS kan beïnvloed. Derdens bestudeer die navorsing implikasies van die bogenoemde vir OVV: is daar meriete vir die integrasie van BNE en VMN in OVV? Hoe sal so 'n proses lyk en hoe kan dit toegepas word op 'n manier wat OVV weer nuwe lewe sal gee? Ten einde, as 'n vorm van heuristiese ondersoek, stel hierdie studie my proses van bewuste transformatiewe leer voor. Reflektiewe narratiewe is regdeur die proefskrif versprei om hierdie verrykende persoonlike reis vas te lê. Navorsing bevindinge gebruik meer as 200 unieke verklarings van BNE‘s wat aan die lig gebring is deur: aanlyn en publieke vraelyste; in-diepte onderhoude, e-pos indienings en dit is gekomplementeer deur in-situ veld observasie en deelname. Die vraelyste en in-diepte onderhoude het ook reaksies op VMN, IUS en OVV ontlok. Die navorsing het bevind dat 'n BNE word veroorsaak deur 'n onverwagste ontmoeting met die 'nie-gewone‘ in die natuur. Dit word gekarakteriseer deur verhoogde sensoriese bewustheid (bv. die prag en besonderhede van natuurlike verskynsels beset ons aandag), versterkde emosionele (bv. verwondering en verbasing) en psigologiese reaksies (bv. 'n stormloop). Indien 'n dier betrokke is, is nabyheid, verlengde duur van tyd en wederkerigheid sleutel temas. Vir 'n BNE wat nie 'n dier insluit nie, is waarneembare lewendigheid, dinamiek en energie wat die landskap / see / luglandskap deurdring primêr. Soos wat die gees die stof ontmoet, voel 'n mens 'n onderlinge verband en 'n verminderde sin van die self. Die voorreg om in noue aanraking met 'n 'ander‘ te kan wees (her)definieër 'n persoon se wese en behoort in die wêreld. 'Synchronicity‘ as 'n BNE is kenmerkend as 'n ongelooflike (bv. numineuse) ervaring van: insig, vloei, leiding; 'n 'wete‘; en onderlinge verbintenis. Respondente wat 'n BNE gehad het, het 'n hoër VMN getoon; 'n positiewe korrelasie bestaan tussen die frekwensie van BNE (fBNE) en VMN. Sterker korrelasies met VMN was gevind in die geval waar 'n wilde dier in die BNE betrokke was. Geestelike / religieuse praktyke korreleer positief met fBNE en VMN waar gewone openbarings van dankbaarheid tot die natuur effens sterker korrelasies met VMN terugbring. Die sterkste korrelasies was gevind tussen die ervaring van 'synchronicity‘ en VMN. 'n Kwalitatiewe analise van respondente se BNE‘s en hul response van hoe hulle hul BNE(s) as dit wat hul verander het, beskou, het veelvoudige en diverse antwoorde van (nuutgevonde) erkennings van (onderlinge) verbintenis navore gebring. Dit dui daarop dat BNE as 'n toevoerbuis vir VMN optree: een kragtige BNE mag voldoende wees om die proses te kataliseer; aan die anderkant verhoog 'n hoër fBNE die waarskynlikheid vir verhoogde VMN. Sulke resultate bevestig die idee dat BNEs 'n relasionele wêreldbeskouing is wat nodig is vir 'n bewustheid wat ingestel is vir VMN. VMN word as 'n betroubare voorspelling vir OVG beskou. Meer as 90% van respondente was in ooreenstemming ten opsigte van die positiewe impak van BNEs in: die vorming van hul beskouings van die natuur, biodiversiteit; beïnvloeding van hul huidige gedrag en aksies tot die natuur en die omgewing; en hoe dit hul vooruitsigte op die lewe hewig beïnvloed, verander of transformeer. Die meesal gemene temas wat ontluik het, was oor die beskouing van hoe BNE respondente se verstaan aangaande (onderlinge)verbintenis / onafhanklikheid; beroepskeuse; respek vir die natuur / lewe; en nuwe maniere om na die wêreld te kyk, verander het. Dit ondersteun die uitgangspunt, dat deur affektiewelik met die natuur in verbinding te tree, BNEs gemotiveer kan word: OVG; lewens paaie tot bewaring-gesinde beroepe; en as katalisators dien vir persoonlike groei en transformasie, veral as dit met refleksie, sosiale (begeleide) fassilitering en ekologiese geletterdheid gekomplimenteer word. Die teenwoordigheid van IUS in 'n landskap kan waarskynlik BNE nadelig affekteer weens verklaarbare redes van ekologiese impakte, afneembare 'natuurlikheid', verwoestendheid en verminderde diversiteit. Diegene wat IUS as iets positief tot hul ervaring beskou, verskaf redes soos skoonheid, nuutheid en genot. Dit wil voorkom of deelnemers se VMN nie algemene persepsies van IUS affekteer nie; alhoewel, verhoogde VMN empatie, verwantskap en waardering vir hul intrinsieke waarde as 'lewe' mag oproep. IUS mag ook in BNE vertoon en deur ervarings- en metaforiese insig, kan dit waardevolle nuut-bevinde begrippe van sosiale en ekologiese verbande soos wat hulle aansluit by die probleem van IUS, lewer. Respondente is dit eens dat vandag se onderwys nie die samelewing voorberei om te leer van BNE nie: oorweldigende ooreenstemming was gevind aangaande die maatskaplike en ekologiese voordele van onderwys wat die verstaan van BNE bevorder deur middel van 'n vermenging van intellektuele konsepte; ervarings leeraktiwiteite; waardes en etiek; en geïntegreerde leer benaderings. Ervarings leer natuur-gebaseerde aktiwiteite was aangemoedig as essensiële middels vir OVV vir die verhoging van sensoriese bewussyn; respek vir die natuur, ekologiese kennis en die teëkoming van verbintenis. In-diepte ondervraagdes het geleenthede en oplossings vir toekomstige OVV gesien in terme van 'n groter fokus op: deelname aan die natuur; die orbruging van spiritualiteit en wetenskap; fassilitering van 'oopheid‘ en gedeelde ervaring; vestiging van waardes wat 'n onderlinge verbonde realiteit reflekteer; mentorskap; kontemporêre deurgangsrites; en om eenvoudig te leer om beter te lewe. Die kern van hierdie navorsing behels 'n toenemende waardering van verbintenis – beliggaming van die Natuur, Gemeenskap, Self, Bron – en die menigvuldige maniere waar op dit deur BNE ondervind is. Hernude OVV (soos ontdek deur Theory edU) nooi 'n bewustheid uit wat aandag skenk aan 'n verlewendige proses van verbintenis, harmonisering en wording.

“Science Education in Europe: National Policies, Practices and Research (2011) discusses students’ natural science literacy, generalises international research results, names natural science education problems, searches for solutions. One of them – suitable teacher preparation. This article analyses what experience pre-service primary teachers have about natural science lessons and what, in their opinion, is necessary for the students to like natural sciences. Keywords: personal experience, pre-service primary teachers, opinion research, lessons in nature.

The application of natural and nature‑based features (NNBF) has grown steadily over the past 20 years, supported by calls for innovation in flood risk management (FRM) and nature‑based solutions from many different perspectives and organizations. Technical advancements in support of NNBF are increasingly the subject of peer‑reviewed and other technical literature. A variety of guidance has been published by numerous organizations to inform program‑level action and technical practice for specific types of nature‑based solutions. This effort to develop international guidelines on the use of NNBF was motivated by the need for a comprehensive guide that draws directly on the growing body of knowledge and experience from around the world to inform the process of conceptualizing, planning, designing, engineering, constructing, and operating NNBF.

This report looks at transition from central to federal responsibilities for health and education in Nepal and Indonesia. Federalism is a complex process and it was outside of the scope of this review to investigate the extent to which it has been developed in these countries and the nature of its functioning. Challenges identified in the literature on transition to federalism and decentralisation include ensuring equitable distribution of finances and resources across states, slow transfer of power and lack of coordination between government levels, lack of capacity at local levels and incoherence in capacity building, ensuring continuity of medical supplies and continuity of health services during transition, and training local level health personnel in procurement. This report also notes some recommendation from experience on transition to decentralisation, including the need to put a clear legislative framework, to make a slowly phased transition is needed to allow for changes and adjustments, to consider conditional grants to ensure that health is not de-prioritised in a federal system.

This rapid review examines literature around Nature-based Solutions (NbS), what are NbS, the pros and cons of NbS, design and implementation issues (including governance, indigenous knowledge), finance and the enabling environment. The breadth of NbS and the evidence base means that this rapid review only provides a snapshot of the information available, and therefore does not consider all types of NbS, nor all sectors that they have been used in. Considering this limited scope, this report highlights many issues, some of which are that Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of NbS, Pros of NbS include the low cost compared to infrastructure alternatives; the flexibility in addressing multiple climate challenges; potential co-benefits such as better water quality, improved health, cultural benefits, biodiversity conservation. The literature also notes the cons of NbS including slow adaptation or co-benefits, very context specific making effectiveness difficult to measure and many of the benefits are non-monetary and hard to measure. The literature consulted suggest a number of knowledge gaps in the evidence base for NbS effectiveness including lack of: robust and impartial assessments of current NbS experiences; site specific knowledge of field deployment of NbS; timescales over which benefits are seen and experienced; cost-effectiveness of interventions compared to or in conjunction with alternative solutions; and integrated assessments considering broader social and ecological outcomes