This volume is intended to provide an overview and scholarly analysis of state-of-the-art developments within the field of environmental simulation research. Environmental simulation involves the presentation of scale model previews, full-scale mock-ups, and computer images of planned environments and activities taking place within them to designers and to prospective users of those settings. Environmental simulations are under taken for many purposes, including (1) the training of environmental de sign students and professionals, (2) the assessment of people's environ mental preferences, and (3) the incorporation of observers' assessments of simulated settings into the planning, design, and renovation of actual envi ronments to maximize the degree of fit between occupants' needs and the arrangement of their physical surroundings. Environmental simulation research has expanded rapidly during the past two decades as the result of increasing collaboration between behav ioral and social scientists, environmental designers, and professional plan ners. During this period, alternative conceptual and methodological ap proaches to environmental simulation have emerged, and numerous programs of simulation research have been initiated worldwide. To date, however, no attempt has been made to present a comprehensive review and assessment of these research developments and an analysis of their implications for design and public policy. Accordingly, the major objectives of this volume are to provide an overview of key conceptual and meth odological advances within the field of environmental simulation research and to place these diverse developments within a broader scientific and public policy context."

Eight years ago, four psychologists with varying backgrounds but a common in terest in the impact of environmental stress on behavior and health met to plan a study of the effects of aircraft noise on children. The impetus for the study was an article in the Los Angeles Times about architectural interventions that were planned for several noise-impacted schools under the air corridor of Los Angeles Interna tional Airport. These interventions created an opportunity to study the same chil dren during noise exposure and then later after the exposure had been attenuated. The study was designed to test the generality of several noise effects that had been well established in laboratory experimental studies. It focused on three areas: the relationship between noise and personal control, noise and attention, and noise and cardiovascular response. Two years later, a second study, designed to replicate and extend findings from the first, was conducted."

This volume is intended to provide an overview and scholarly analysis of state-of-the-art developments within the field of environmental simulation research. Environmental simulation involves the presentation of scale model previews, full-scale mock-ups, and computer images of planned environments and activities taking place within them to designers and to prospective users of those settings. Environmental simulations are under taken for many purposes, including (1) the training of environmental de sign students and professionals, (2) the assessment of people's environ mental preferences, and (3) the incorporation of observers' assessments of simulated settings into the planning, design, and renovation of actual envi ronments to maximize the degree of fit between occupants' needs and the arrangement of their physical surroundings. Environmental simulation research has expanded rapidly during the past two decades as the result of increasing collaboration between behav ioral and social scientists, environmental designers, and professional plan ners. During this period, alternative conceptual and methodological ap proaches to environmental simulation have emerged, and numerous programs of simulation research have been initiated worldwide. To date, however, no attempt has been made to present a comprehensive review and assessment of these research developments and an analysis of their implications for design and public policy. Accordingly, the major objectives of this volume are to provide an overview of key conceptual and meth odological advances within the field of environmental simulation research and to place these diverse developments within a broader scientific and public policy context.

Eight years ago, four psychologists with varying backgrounds but a common in terest in the impact of environmental stress on behavior and health met to plan a study of the effects of aircraft noise on children. The impetus for the study was an article in the Los Angeles Times about architectural interventions that were planned for several noise-impacted schools under the air corridor of Los Angeles Interna tional Airport. These interventions created an opportunity to study the same chil dren during noise exposure and then later after the exposure had been attenuated. The study was designed to test the generality of several noise effects that had been well established in laboratory experimental studies. It focused on three areas: the relationship between noise and personal control, noise and attention, and noise and cardiovascular response. Two years later, a second study, designed to replicate and extend findings from the first, was conducted."

The inception of this volume can be traced to a series of Environmental Psychology Colloquia presented at the University of California, Irvine, dur ing the spring of 1974. These colloquia were held in conjunction with Social Ecology 252, a graduate seminar on Man and the Environment. Although the eight colloquia covered a wide range of topics and exemplified a diversity of research techniques, they seemed to converge on some common theoretical and methodological assumptions about the na ture of environment-behavioral research. The apparent continuities among these colloquia suggested the utility of developing a manuscript that would provide a historical overview of research on environment and be havior, a representation of its major concerns, and an analysis of its concep tual and empirical trends. Thus, expanded versions of the initial presen tations were integrated with a supplemental set of invited manuscripts to yield the present volume of original contributions by leading researchers in the areas of ecological and environmental psychology."

Social Ecology in the Digital Age: Solving Complex Problems in a Globalized World provides a comprehensive overview of social ecological theory, research, and practice. Written by renowned expert Daniel Stokols, the book distills key principles from diverse strands of ecological science, offering a robust framework for transdisciplinary research and societal problem-solving. The existential challenges of the 21st Century - global climate change and climate-change denial, environmental pollution, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, disease pandemics, inter-ethnic violence and the threat of nuclear war, cybercrime, the Digital Divide, and extreme poverty and income inequality confronting billions each day - cannot be understood and managed adequately from narrow disciplinary or political perspectives. Social Ecology in the Digital Age is grounded in scientific research but written in a personal and informal style from the vantage point of a former student, current teacher and scholar who has contributed over four decades to the field of social ecology. The book will be of interest to scholars, students, educators, government leaders and community practitioners working in several fields including social and human ecology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, criminology, law, education, biology, medicine, public health, earth system and sustainability science, geography, environmental design, urban planning, informatics, public policy and global governance. Winner of the 2018 Gerald L. Young Book Award from The Society for Human Ecology "Exemplifying the highest standards of scholarly work in the field of human ecology." https://societyforhumanecology.org/human-ecology-homepage/awards/gerald-l-young-book-award-in-human-ecology/

This book is a state-of-the-art educational resource on the latest research and public-policy developments in the fields of wellness promotion and disease prevention. Based on award-winning lectures by University of California faculty on nine campuses as part of the Wellness Lectures Program jointly funded by The California Wellness Foundation, Health Net, and the University of California, the volume aims to widen the scope of health care research and policy to promote wellness rather than focus on illness and disease, and to incorporate proactive, interdisciplinary approaches to health care. The volume also contains chapters by distinguished scholars inthe fields of wellness promotion and disease prevention. Many of these articles fall outside the scope of what we conventionally call health promotion, bringing new perspectives to research and policy possibilities.
"Promoting Human Wellness" is organized around core themes such as the importance of disease prevention programs that address multiple health risks, the link between poverty and minority status and disease susceptibility, and the challenge of evaluating health benefits and cost-effectiveness. The articles discuss such timely issues as genetic determinism as a paradigm in wellness promotion, adolescent health promotion and teen pregnancy prevention strategies, racial differences in cancer epidemiology, the California smokers' helpline, strategies for reducing youth violence, HIV/AIDS prevention, domestic violence education and prevention srategies, and the future of women's health research.
Presented within the framework of social ecology, several of the chapters in this volume address new ideas and approaches in the wellness field that are only now beginning to be understood such as the social construction of variables including race, class, and gender. "Promoting Human Wellness" will be essential reading for health practitioners, policymakers, and others seeking to expand the ways we define and achieve health.
Keywords: Public health, community health, medicine, nursing, social welfare, health education, health psychology, social ecology, public policy, aging, health promotion.