Suchergebnisse

Purpose
The investigation of pro-environmental behaviors (PEB) among college students is essential for future sustainability endeavors. Existing research seldomly concentrated on college students and their PEB. This study aims to address the gap in understanding PEB among college students.


Design/methodology/approach
This study constructed an integrated model combining the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory, with the novel addition of environmental risk perception. Through an empirical study involving 844 college students, this research analyzed the data with the structural model.


Findings
The authors identified that environmental values, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms and risk perception play crucial roles in shaping PEB. This study also revealed age-related differences, highlighting that older students might be less influenced by attitudes and subjective norms due to more established habits. Findings underscore the importance of fostering PEB through environmental education, promotion of low-carbon lifestyle choices and incentives. This investigation not only enriches the theoretical framework for PEB but also offers practical insights for policymakers and educators to enhance sustainable practices among the youth.


Research limitations/implications
Though the authors offer valuable findings, this research has two key limitations: the use of observational data for hypothesis testing, which weakens causal inference, and the collection of data through questionnaires, which may be biased by social desirability. Respondents of self-report tend to behave in the socially desired ways. Consequently, they usually exaggerate their pro-environmental intention or PEB. To comprehend the influencing aspects more thoroughly, future research should consider incorporating experimental methods and objective data, such as digitalized data.


Practical implications
The findings provide valuable evidence for guiding college students' PEB, including strengthening environmental education, promoting of low-carbon fashion and providing incentives for PEBs.


Originality/value
First, the authors examine the internal factors influencing PEB among Chinese university students within the "dual-carbon" initiative framework. Second, this research pioneers the use of structural equation modeling to merge TPB and VBN theories, offering a predictive model for university students' PEB. Third, the authors introduce "environmental risk perception" as a novel variable derived from both TPB and VBN, enhancing the model's explanatory power.

AbstractThis cross‐sectional study explored the relationship between violent video game exposure (VVGE) and aggression in left‐behind adolescents (LBAs) in China, taking into account the effects of moral sensitivity and father presence. A cluster sampling design was applied in this study; we recruited 615 adolescents (45.85% male, age range 12–18 years, Mage = 14.70 years, SD = 1.66) from China. The results by using SPSS 25.0 and the PROCESS macro showed that VVGE was positively associated with LBAs' trait aggression and its items, and moral sensitivity played a partial mediating role in these relationships. Moreover, father presence moderated VVGE and LBAs' trait aggression, verbal aggression and hostility. Specifically, at a high level of father presence, the direct effect of VVGE on trait aggression was significantly moderated by increasing the level of father presence, whereas this moderating effect was not significant at a low level of father presence. The results were similar for verbal aggression and hostility. Thus, moral sensitivity and father presence should be considered in prevention and intervention strategies aimed at reducing LBAs' aggression.

Abstract
Infectious disease surveillance is vitally important to maintaining health security, but these efforts are challenged by the pace at which new pathogens emerge. Wastewater surveillance can rapidly obtain population-level estimates of disease transmission, and we leverage freedom from disease principles to make use of nondetection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater to estimate the probability that a community is free from SARS-CoV-2 transmission. From wastewater surveillance of 24 treatment plants across upstate New York from May through December of 2020, trends in the intensity of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater correlate with trends in COVID-19 incidence and test positivity (⍴ > 0.5), with the greatest correlation observed for active cases and a 3-day lead time between wastewater sample date and clinical test date. No COVID-19 cases were reported 35% of the time the week of a nondetection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. Compared to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention levels of transmission risk, transmission risk was low (no community spared) 50% of the time following nondetection, and transmission risk was moderate or lower (low community spread) 92% of the time following nondetection. Wastewater surveillance can demonstrate the geographic extent of the transmission of emerging pathogens, confirming that transmission risk is either absent or low and alerting of an increase in transmission. If a statewide wastewater surveillance platform had been in place prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers would have been able to complement the representative nature of wastewater samples to individual testing, likely resulting in more precise public health interventions and policies.