Personal Efficacy and Factors of Effective Learning Environment in Higher Education: Croatian and American Students

Successful learning in higher education incorporates various factors related to knowledge, skills, habits, and motivation. Additionally, students’ personalities and self-efficacy may contribute to their adjustment, planning of activities, and achieving success. The objective of this paper is to analyze students’ needs for support services, which enhance the effectiveness of their learning environment at higher education institutions. Answers received from a sample of undergraduate freshmen at one American University and one Croatian University were analyzed and compared. The students from both countries agree that there is a need for developing self-reliance and personal responsibility in using support services, as well as for the timely and accurate information on availability of these services. Students’ suggestions and their desire to enhance effectiveness of their learning environment may be used in creating and improving support services in higher education institutions as well as training their staff

Developing Critical Literacy: An Urgent Goal

Due to the recent changes in higher education, including a major shift to online learning and the reform of education, critical literacy skills of today’s generation of college students face the peril of an increasing decline. All students, developmental and non-developmental in online and face-to-face environments, need the well-organized, systemic effort of college educators to enhance students’ critical literacy, including critical thinking, reading, writing, and research skills taught in an integrated manner. To promote postsecondary critical literacy, the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network and centers for teaching and learning (CTLs) can expand collaborations with existing “writing across the curriculum and in disciplines” units by incorporating a “reading across the curriculum and in disciplines” component. They can also support undergraduate and graduate curriculum rooted in this integrated concept. CTLs and the POD Network can advance collaborative pedagogical and research projects focused on integrated critical thinking, reading, writing, and research skills. Such projects would involve writing and reading faculty, instructors in various disciplinary areas, librarians, and external partners

The development of highway nuisance perception. Experiences of residents along the Southern Ring Road in Groningen, the Netherlands.

The perception of highway nuisance i.e. noises, air pollution and barrier-effects, is associated with negative effects on health and quality of life. This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the development of highway nuisance perception among residents. Interviews were conducted with residents in 32 households living along the Southern Ring Road, a highway which crosses various neighbourhoods in the city of Groningen, the Netherlands. Various themes emerged from the interviews which were important in the development of residents’ perceptions of highway nuisance. For example, our interviews showed that residents who had not explicitly chosen to live next to a highway were more acutely affected by the negative externalities of that highway later. Perceived environmental changes, often due to governmental actions such as new/extended noise barriers, removal of trees and newly constructed buildings causing noise reflection, also played a role in the interviewees’ development of nuisance perception. In addition, the interviewees indicated that expectations about future highway developments influenced their current perception of highway nuisance: described as anticipation effects. Interviewees also indicated that recent information about the potentially harmful effects of air pollution increased their concerns about living near the highway. A final theme discussed were differences in the extent to which residents were able to develop coping strategies to reduce the amount of highway nuisance perception. The participants’ experiences indicate the importance of further integration between the planning of highway infrastructure and the broader environment in order to reduce nuisance perceptions and improve residential quality near highways

Proximal exposure of public schools and students to major roadways: a nationwide US survey

This study addresses the effect of urban planning and road development on the health risk of students attending schools near major roadways. The proximity of public schools and students was quantified to Interstate, US and state highways in nine large Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) of the USA. In total among the surveyed schools and students, over 30% fell within 400 m of a major roadway and over 10% were within 100 m. For some MSAs almost half of the student population attended schools near (≤400m) major roadways, resulting in a potentially increased risk for asthma and other chronic respiratory problems, especially in schools representing the urban fringe locale. It was concluded that proximity of major roadways should be an important factor in considering sites for new schools and developing policies for reducing the exposure in existing schools. The findings provide an important reference point for coordinating future urban development, transportation and environmental policies.proximal exposure, traffic, major roadways, public schools, air pollutants,

Traffic exposure near the Los Angeles–Long Beach port complex: using GPS-enhanced tracking to assess the implications of unreported travel and locations

Traffic exposure assessments could misclassify the extent and locations of exposure if traditional recall surveys and self-reported travel diaries do not record all participant activities. The Harbor Communities Time Location Study (HCTLS) examines the nature, extent and implications of underreported locations/trips in a case study which used portable Global Positioning Systems (GPS) devices to track the diurnal patterns and traffic exposure of 47 residents of communities near the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex. Participants were similar to adults nationwide in time spent indoors, in-vehicle, and outdoors, but spent more time indoors at home (78% vs. 66%). Overall, participants did not report nearly half (49%) of the locations and trips identified in GPS-enhanced data on their activity diaries, resulting in about 3 h/day in unreported locations and 0.6 h/day in unreported trips. The probability of a location/trip being under-reported was systematically correlated with participant and location/trip characteristics. Self-reported data missed about 50 min of heightened air pollution exposures during the 5 h/day on average participants spent in high-traffic areas and about 30 min during the 4 h/day near truck routes. GPS-enhanced methods provide opportunities to more precisely characterize exposure periods and tools to identify facility, roadway, and land use types of the greatest concern for mitigation efforts