Search Results (394)

This study investigates public perceptions of sustainable mobility within university environments, which are important trip generation hubs with the potential to influence and disseminate sustainable mobility behaviors. Using sentiment analysis on 120,236 tweets from São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon, and Porto, tweets were classified into positive, neutral, and negative sentiments to assess perceptions across transport modes. It was hypothesized that universities would exhibit more positive sentiment toward active and public transport modes compared to perceptions of these modes within the broader city environment. Results show that active modes and public transport consistently receive higher positive sentiment rates than individual motorized modes, and, considering the analyzed contexts, universities demonstrate either similar (São Paulo) or more positive perceptions compared to the overall sentiment observed in the city (Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon, and Porto). Chi-square tests confirmed significant associations between transport mode and sentiment distribution. An exploratory analysis using topic modeling revealed that perceptions around bicycle use are linked to themes of safety, cycling infrastructure, and bike sharing. The findings highlight opportunities to promote sustainable mobility in universities by leveraging user sentiment while acknowledging limitations such as demographic bias in social media data and potential misclassification. This study advances data-driven methods to support targeted strategies for increasing active and public transport in university settings. Full article

Sexual consent is essential, but in some instances an individual may consent to sexual behaviors that are unwanted. The likelihood of unwanted consensual sex may be influenced by multiple social and individual factors. The current study examined engagement in unwanted consensual sex based on demographics, relationship and/or hookup history, and sexual communication characteristics among college students. This cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing a random sample of college students at one midwestern university. Data was collected via an online survey, including questions about sexual behavior, communication, and sexual consent. Basic frequencies and bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. This random sample included 1263 undergraduate students. Level of comfort communicating about sex was negatively associated with unwanted consensual sex. Gender was significantly associated with the likelihood of unwanted consensual sex and was a significant predictor of unwanted consensual sex among this sample. Unwanted consensual sex may vary based on individual characteristics, like gender. The current findings may help guide future studies on unwanted consensual sex, as well as continued sex education programming on college campuses to increase comfort when communicating about sexual behaviors. Full article

Campus climate research has long been a focus of higher education scholarship; however, studies show that inequalities and a pervasive sense of not belonging continue to negatively affect students. This paper presents the results of a campus-wide survey conducted at a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI), with a sample of 820 undergraduate, master’s, Ph.D., and non-degree students. The authors explore students’ experiences on campus in relation to their identities as well as students’ perceptions of campus climate. Specifically, the paper examines students’ intergroup relations and how these influence their sense of belonging. The survey instrument developed in the frame of this project also included questions designed to assess opportunities students have to develop key values, attitudes, skills, knowledge, and critical understanding related to intercultural and democratic competences necessary for life and work in multicultural societies. This study identifies the areas students perceive as important for development, highlighting which values, attitudes, skills, knowledge, and critical understanding they have had the opportunity to cultivate during their time at the university and those they would like to develop further. The authors hope these findings will inform efforts to strengthen institutional support for more inclusive practices on culturally diverse university campuses and provide evidence-based guidance for designing effective pedagogical interventions. Full article

The use of renewable energy sources on university campuses is crucial for sustainable development, environmental protection by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy security, and public education. This study addresses technical and economic aspects of the newly designed photovoltaic system on the campus of the Bialystok University of Technology. The first part of the article presents the results of 9 years of research on an experimental photovoltaic system that is part of a hybrid wind and PV small system. The article proposes five variants of the arrangement of photovoltaic panels on the pergola. A new method was used to determine the energy efficiency of individual options selected for analysis. This method combines energy simulations using DesignBuilder software and regression analysis. The basic economic indicators NPV and IRR were applied to select the most appropriate arrangement of PV panels. In the recommended solution, the panels are arranged in three rows, oriented vertically, and tilted at 37°. The photovoltaic system, consisting of 438 modules, has a peak power of 210 kWp and is able to produce 166,392 kWh of electricity annually. The NPV is 679,506 EUR, and the IRR is over 38% within 30 years of operation. Full article

Rental accommodations near European university campuses keep rising in price, while listings remain scattered and opaque. This paper proposes a solution that overcomes these issues by integrating real-time open listing ingestion, zone-level geospatial enrichment, and a reinforcement-learning recommender into one streamlined analysis pipeline. On demand, the system updates price statistics for most districts in Timișoara and returns five budget-safe offers in a short amount of time. By combining adaptive ranking with new spatial metrics, it significantly cuts search time and removes irrelevant offers in pilot trials. Moreover, this implementation is fully open-data, open-source, and free, designed specifically for students to ensure accessibility, transparency, and cost efficiency. Full article

The ‘ring by spring’ (RBS) phenomenon entails pressures for college seniors on Christian campuses to become engaged by the spring semester of their senior year. These marital pressures often run counter to national trends in the USA as the median age at first marriage continues to climb. The social clock theory suggests that society places a normative timetable on major events such as marriage. But the social clock may not happen the same way for all people, and influences on Christian campus may represent deviations from most normative social clocks. This study investigated RBS awareness, experiences, pressures, and perceptions, along with assessing for differences in gender and religiosity across multiple universities, both Christian and not, across two different states. Results show wide awareness and experience with RBS at many universities along with some notable differences by gender and religiosity. Implications are provided for researchers and practitioners based on study findings. Full article

As electric vehicles (EVs) become increasingly integrated into urban mobility, the load on electrical grids increases, prompting innovative energy management strategies. This paper investigates the deployment of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, leveraging high-resolution floating car data (FCD) to forecast and schedule energy transfers from EVs to the grid. The methodology follows a four-step process: (1) vehicle trip detection, (2) the spatial identification of V2G in the campus, (3) a real-time scheduling algorithm for V2G services, which accommodates EV user mobility requirements and adheres to charging infrastructure constraints, and finally, (4) the predictive modelling of transferred energy using ARIMA and LSTM models. The results demonstrate that substantial energy can be fed back to the campus grid during peak hours, with predictive models, particularly LSTM, offering high accuracy in anticipating transfer volumes. The system aligns energy discharge with campus load profiles while preserving user mobility requirements. The proposed approach shows how campuses can function as microgrids, transforming idle EV capacity into dynamic, decentralised energy storage. This framework offers a scalable model for urban energy optimisation, supporting broader goals of grid resilience and sustainable development. Full article

Urban disaster risks are escalating, and university campus emergency shelters (UCESs) are key to alleviating the supply–demand imbalance in emergency shelter services (ESSs) within high-density central urban areas. However, existing studies lacked the measurement of UCES service effectiveness from a regional supply–demand perspective, limiting the ability to guide planning practices. Therefore, we focused on the capacity of UCESs to improve regional supply–demand relationships and developed a service effectiveness evaluation framework for UCESs in the central urban area of Tianjin under an earthquake scenario. We identified emergency shelter spaces within the campuses and developed a campus–city collaborative shelter capacity model to determine their service supply capacity. Then we quantified regional service demand driven by seismic risk. Finally, we quantified the service effectiveness of each UCES by constructing a service effectiveness evaluation model. Results showed that (1) the total shelter capacity and service coverage of 13 UCESs accounted for approximately 32.1% of the central district’s population and 67.5% of its land area, indicating their strong potential to provide large-scale ESSs. (2) Average seismic risk values ranged from 0.200 to 0.260, exhibiting the characteristic of being higher in the south and lower in the north. (3) Service effectiveness was classified into three levels—higher (1.150–1.257), medium (0.957–0.988), and lower (0.842–0.932)—corresponding to planning interventions that can be implemented based on them. This study aims to reveal differences between different UCESs to improve regional supply–demand relationships by evaluating their service effectiveness and supporting refined emergency management and planning decisions. Full article

Inclusive campus design is increasingly being recognised as a key component of sustainable and equitable higher education environments. However, limited research has been carried out on this topic, particularly examining university campuses in Australia. Hence, this paper examines how principles of inclusion are embedded in the spatial planning and architectural design of Australian university campuses. Focusing on a comparative analysis of six Melbourne-based institutions, Victoria University, the University of Melbourne, Deakin University, RMIT University, La Trobe University, and Monash University, this study explores how each campus addresses accessibility, cultural diversity, social equity, and environmental comfort to achieve inclusivity. Drawing on site observations, planning documents, and design frameworks, this paper assesses the extent to which these universities operationalise inclusive design within their built environments. The analysis is guided by a theoretical framework combining universal design, spatial justice, and climate-responsive planning. The findings reveal diverse approaches across institutions, with some campuses demonstrating holistic and integrated strategies, while others exhibit more fragmented or symbolic applications. This paper concludes by outlining best practices and key design enablers that can inform more inclusive and sustainable campus development in Australia and beyond. Full article

Amid intensifying climatic threats, university campuses are increasingly vulnerable. Morphological resilience offers a practical pathway to strengthen disaster response in higher-education institutions. However, research on University Campus Morphological Resilience (UCMR) remains underexplored, with gaps in theory, quantitative methodology, and empirical application. The study established a theoretical framework and an assessment system for UCMR, focusing on four core resilience attributes—robustness, redundancy, connectivity, and diversity—in three common disaster scenarios: earthquakes, flooding, and extreme heat. The Weijinlu (WJL) and Beiyangyuan (BYY) campuses of Tianjin University were selected as case studies. We used Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry to collect morphological data at a high spatial resolution of 0.1 m. UCMR was evaluated for each disaster scenario, followed by a multi-scenario cluster coupling analysis. The results indicate that, first, the WJL Campus exhibited a lower overall UCMR across various disaster scenarios compared to the BYY Campus, particularly during earthquakes and flooding, with less pronounced differences observed under extreme heat. Second, both campuses demonstrate significant spatial heterogeneity in UCMR across three disaster scenarios. Third, the WJL Campus performs better in redundancy and diversity but worse in connectivity, with lower robustness under earthquakes and flooding, and higher robustness under extreme heat. Fourth, UCMR in BYY Campus displayed consistent spatial patterns characterized by high-resilience clusters, while UCMR in WJL Campus presented greater variability across the three disaster scenarios, showcasing complex multi-scenario cluster types and spatial fragmentation. Based on the above findings, we developed tailored UCMR optimization strategies. The study offers a scientific reference for resilience-oriented campus planning and disaster risk management. Full article

University campuses face significant challenges in balancing energy efficiency, renewable energy adoption, and sustainable transportation while meeting budgetary constraints and sustainability goals. While existing optimization approaches typically address these as separate problems, this study presents an innovative multi-objective optimization framework that integrates building efficiency, renewable energy, electric vehicle charging, and sustainability scoring criteria into a unified model. The approach formulates a mixed-integer non-linear programming model with three competing objectives: minimizing primary energy consumption, minimizing investment cost, and maximizing sustainability metrics, addressing the critical need for comprehensive campus energy management tools. The optimization model was applied to the R&D Park Building of Erciyes University, utilizing actual building parameters, time-variable electricity pricing, and commercially available renewable energy technologies. Our analysis of the Pareto-optimal solutions reveals distinct trade-offs between the objectives, with primary energy consumption ranging from 1,317,860 to 4,642,770 GJ/year, investment costs between $25,735 and $485,674, and sustainability scores between 366 and 1034. Most significant for practical implementation is the balanced performance solution ($127,064), which achieves minimum energy consumption (1,367,010 GJ/year) while securing a substantial sustainability score of 538 points. The results demonstrate that while inherent trade-offs exist between competing objectives, significant sustainability improvements are achievable at intermediate investment levels, making meaningful environmental progress accessible to a broad spectrum of higher education institutions. This comprehensive optimization framework provides campus administrators with a practical decision-support tool for aligning energy systems with institutional priorities, budgetary constraints, and sustainability commitments. Full article

In the context of the building sector, university campus buildings play a crucial role in promoting a green economic transition toward carbon neutrality, as universities are among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. This research proposed a strategy for the operation and management of university campuses that focused on reducing energy consumption by optimizing the utilization of building spaces. To gather empirical data, a case study was conducted to examine the energy consumption of campus buildings based on their characteristics at Korea University. The results indicated that effective space utilization, achieved through the efforts of stakeholders, led to a reduction in heating and cooling energy consumption. To achieve this, the study classified university buildings by considering both physical variables and human-centered factors that affect energy consumption, analyzed space usage behavior, and compared heating and cooling energy consumption across buildings. This study expands current knowledge because its approach differs from previous research, which has generally focused on using simulation tools to analyze factors associated with the physical aspects of buildings—such as the energy performance of a building envelope or the energy-efficiency of facility systems. Full article

Background: Nursing students’ readiness for clinical practicums is critical to nursing education. Concerns about students’ preparedness for clinical courses have emerged due to increased student-to-educator ratios and limited hands-on practice time. Moreover, feedback from clinical instructors reveals that many student nurses lack the necessary knowledge and skills for patient care, thereby raising questions about their readiness for clinical practicum. Purpose: This study investigates undergraduate nursing students’ readiness for clinical practicum in the UAE by examining their perspectives, the variation in clinical study plans across different contexts, and the evidence gathered from clinical evaluations. Methodology: A case study design was adopted, utilizing semi-structured interviews with 13 nursing students from a UAE nursing college. Additionally, two types of document analysis were conducted. First, 11 nursing curricula from high-ranking universities were analyzed to compare whether students received adequate laboratory courses for their clinical practicum. Second, 217 clinical evaluation reports from third- and fourth-year nursing students across 4 campuses of the UAE nursing college were reviewed. Findings: The study identified two key themes from the interviews: incomplete readiness for clinical practicum and the factors contributing to this incomplete readiness. Document analysis revealed that, unlike many American and Australian institutions, most universities lacked co-requisite laboratory courses. Clinical evaluation reports highlighted that some students, particularly in their fourth year, were inadequately prepared for clinical practice due to deficiencies in both clinical skills and theoretical knowledge. Conclusions: The findings indicate that many nursing students felt only partially prepared for their practicum, negatively impacting their confidence and competency. Moreover, adopting the American and Australian approach of pairing practicum courses with laboratory courses may better prepare students for clinical practicum. Recommendations for future research have been outlined. Full article

Urbanization and climate change present increasing challenges to outdoor human thermal comfort, particularly in university campuses where academic, social, and recreational activities converge. This study assesses microclimatic risk factors along the main avenue of the NOVA FCT campus by analyzing outdoor human thermal comfort using the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) and modified PET (mPET) indices. Field measurements of air temperature, humidity, wind velocity, and radiation were conducted at multiple Points Of Interest (POIs) to evaluate thermal stress levels and identify critical zones of discomfort. Results indicate significant spatial and temporal variations in thermal stress, with sun-exposed areas (G2) experiencing PET values exceeding 50 °C, during peak summer hours, while shaded locations (G1) showed substantial thermal relief (PET reductions up to 27 °C between G1 and G2 POIs). Wind velocity and urban morphology played crucial roles in modulating microclimatic conditions. Wind velocity above 2.0 m/s was associated with perceptible thermal relief (3–8 °C PET/mPET reduction), especially in narrow, shaded passages. Significant spatial variability was observed, linked to differences in urban morphology, surface materials, and vegetation coverage. This research provides actionable insights for urban planners and campus administrators, contributing to the development of more sustainable and thermally comfortable outdoor environments in educational settings. Full article

Autonomous navigation for micro electric vehicles (micro EVs) operating in semi-structured environments—such as university campuses and industrial parks—requires solutions that are cost-effective, low in complexity, and robust. Traditional autonomous systems often rely on high-definition maps, multi-sensor fusion, or vision-based SLAM, which demand expensive sensors and high computational power. These approaches are often impractical for micro EVs with limited onboard resources. To address this gap, a real-world autonomous navigation system is presented, combining RTK-GNSS and 2D LiDAR with a real-time trajectory scoring algorithm. This configuration enables accurate path following and obstacle avoidance without relying on complex mapping or multi-sensor fusion. This study presents the development and experimental validation of a low-speed autonomous navigation system for a micro electric vehicle based on GNSS-RTK localization and real-time obstacle avoidance. The research achieved the following three primary objectives: (1) the development of a low-level control system for steering, acceleration, and braking; (2) the design of a high-level navigation controller for autonomous path following using GNSS data; and (3) the implementation of real-time obstacle avoidance capabilities. The system employs a scored predicted trajectory algorithm that simultaneously optimizes path-following accuracy and obstacle evasion. A Toyota COMS micro EV was modified for autonomous operation and tested on a closed-loop campus track. Experimental results demonstrated an average lateral deviation of 0.07 m at 10 km/h and 0.12 m at 15 km/h, with heading deviations of approximately 3° and 4°, respectively. Obstacle avoidance tests showed safe maneuvering with a minimum clearance of 1.2 m from obstacles, as configured. The system proved robust against minor GNSS signal degradation, maintaining precise navigation without reliance on complex map building or inertial sensing. The results confirm that GNSS-RTK-based navigation combined with minimal sensing provides an effective and practical solution for autonomous driving in semi-structured environments. Full article