Environmental Connectedness Research Articles

Nordic in nature: friluftsliv and environmental connectedness

This study explored the question of whether a relationship exists between the Nordic cultural idea of friluftsliv and the psychological construct of environmental connectedness (EC). This quantitative study employed a correlational design with existing data from the Swedish Outdoor Recreation in Change national survey. Results indicate that there is a significant and meaningful relationship between friluftsliv, operationally defined as nature-based outdoor recreation participation, and EC even when controlling for other predictor variables. In addition, research findings indicate that age group moderates this relationship with one group exception. It was also found that activity participation by respondents shows a correlation with both EC and age group. Implications of this study support a cultural understanding of nature-based outdoor recreation and an awareness of the important role of access to nature as an essential component of nature-based outdoor recreation. Age group differences supported a variety of implications and recommendations for future research. A consideration of how the results may have implications for environmental education and sustainability efforts were explored.

Establishing reliability and construct validity for an instrument to measure environmental connectedness

The purpose of this preliminary study is to establish a reliable and valid measure of environmental connectedness (EC) to allow for further exploration of the Swedish Outdoor Recreation in Change national survey data. The Nordic concept of friluftsliv (nature-based outdoor recreation) and the environmental psychology concept of EC are explored to provide a foundation for the research. Reliability and construct validity testing on items from the Outdoor Recreation in Change survey have been tested and have demonstrated both reliability and construct validity. A reliable and construct valid measure of EC will facilitate research into the possible relationships between EC, nature-based outdoor recreation, and environmental behavior. A better understanding of these relationships may serve to further understanding of the human relationship with nature.

Encouraging workplace participation in pro-environmental behavior

Abstract. Scholars have emphasized the importance of employee actions that are not specifically related to the formal description of their job. These extra-role behaviors can sometimes be described as organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). This paper examines a type of OCB described as advocacy participation. The central research question I ask is: What drives advocacy participation by public employees? I explore a very specific type of advocacy participation: encouraging participation in pro-environmental behaviors in the workplace. Drawing on past research, I use public service motivation (PSM), environmental connectedness, and organizational identity (OI) to create a framework to explain individual participation in encouraging pro-environmental behavior in the workplace. The study uses survey responses from 507 employees of a large city in the southeast United States. OLS regression is used to model the relationship between the independent variables of interest and encouraging pro-environmental beh...

Ecosystem and Social Construction: an Interdisciplinary Case Study of the Shurkul Lake Landscape in Khorezm, Uzbekistan.

Oberkircher, L., M. Shanafield, B. Ismailova, and L. Saito. 2011. Ecosystem and social construction: an interdisciplinary case study of the Shurkul lake landscape in Khorezm, Uzbekistan. Ecology and Society 16(4): 20. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-04511-160420

Spiritual organizations and connectedness: the Living Nature experience

Definitions of spiritual organization include the notion of connectedness but generally consider only connectedness with respect to employees. We extend the notion of connectedness and thereby the definition of what constitutes spiritual organizations by systematically considering other ways in which organizations can enact connectedness. Classic open systems theory is integrated with the organizational spirituality literature to build a framework that identifies multiple paths to connectedness for a spiritual organization. A case study was chosen for its unusual and distinctive ability to illustrate this framework and reveals connectedness as it relates to functions connectedness (through international suppliers, accreditation, research and development, marketing and education), and to eco‐systems connectedness, where the organization demonstrates explicit awareness of social and environmental connectedness. We suggest that together these different forms of connectedness illustrate an awareness of an interdependent connectedness at a deep ecological level.

Educational contexts for the development of children’s spirituality: exploring the use of imagination

As a Chaplain working in the Anglican school system in Melbourne, Australia, my concern is with the spiritual development of students. This year I have been trialing the educational application of activities used in creative arts therapy. Continuing the theme of my recent doctoral studies in children’s spirituality, I am concerned that education should have a more holistic emphasis, where the experiences and creative imagination of children are valued. Creative arts activities engage children in learning that is intimately related to spiritual development, involving self‐understanding, understanding relationships, wider environmental connectedness and connection with the divine. This paper gives a brief theoretical base and two educational case studies to illustrate the use of imagination in spiritual development. The cases are taken from the religious education curriculum, but it is proposed that other subjects could also be used in this way. The first case study reports on the response of a year 8 class to the question ‘What do we do with jealousy?’ (25 students aged 12 years)—an emotional inquiry. The second study is an end‐of‐year activity for year 7 students, concerned with social bonding (21 students aged 11 years)—a social inquiry. This is a work in progress using the MIECAT (Melbourne Institute of Experiential and Creative Arts Therapy) research method, as part of a master’s program.