This article develops the hypothesis that intervention strategies that cultivate positive emotions are particularly suited for preventing and treating problems rooted in negative emotions, such as anxiety, depression, aggression, and stressrelated health problems. Fredrickson's (1998) broaden–and–build model of positive emotions provides the foundation for this application. According to this model, the form and function of positive and negative emotions are distinct and complementary. Negative emotions (e.g., fear, anger, and sadness) narrow an individual's momentary thought–action repertoire toward specific actions that served the ancestral function of promoting survival. By contrast, positive emotions (e.g., joy, interest, and contentment) broaden an individual's momentary thought–action repertoire, which in turn can build that individual's enduring personal resources, resources that also served the ancestral function of promoting survival. One implication of the broaden–and–build model is that positive emotions have an undoing effect on negative emotions. By broadening

The paper concerns the effects of windows on work and well-being. Literature from a variety of disciplines was reviewed although most recent research was found in the area of environmental psychology. The most consistent finding in the literature is that people prefer natural rather than built or urban views from windows. Windows with views of nature were found to enhance work and well-being in a number of ways including increasing job satisfaction, interest value of the job, perceptions of selfproductivity, perceptions of physical working conditions, life satisfaction, and decreasing intention to quit and the recovery time of surgical patients. However, the access to a view did not improve the performance of students or actual productivity of office workers. The positive psychological and health effects of natural views were explained in the context of recent psychological theories. The direction and potential for future research is discussed. Table of Contents 1.0

this report, we focus only on those aspects of data collection relevant to our current investigations

The research literature on outdoor recreation as it relates to human health is vast and growing. To help policymakers take new and emerging findings into account when designing recreation and park services and initiatives for the 21st century, this paper summarizes the salient issues and identifies research gaps. It considers how being outside in natural surroundings may improve health and how outdoor physical activities benefit participants. Particular attention is given to children’s health problems that can be mitigated through outdoor play, sports, and nature study. The paper describes approaches to measuring physical activity and recent trends in park visitation and outdoor activity participation. It looks at variables that affect participation in outdoor activities and considers the projected demographic changes that will affect policymaking in this arena. The findings of this literature review point to potential new directions for outdoor recreation policy, as well as new policy questions to be explored.

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of the UN-established International

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Concern for the environment and access to parks and open space is not frivolous or peripheral, rather, it is central to the welfare of people—body, mind, and spirit. —Laurance Rockefeller 2. Parks have true economic benefits. Private land adjacent or near protected public land leads to increased land value, a higher tax base and ultimately many economic benefits to a community. Benefits include increased local and regional revenue from heritage tourism, steady jobs and numerous small business benefits. Park and recreation areas improve local economics, improve the quality of life, and make communities livable and desirable for businesses and homeowners. 3. Parks provide vital green space in a fast-developing American landscape, and provide vegetative buffers to construction and development, thus reducing the effects of sprawl. More importantly, parks and public lands also provide groundwater recharge areas, floodplain protection, natural sound barriers, stormwater protection from wetlands, reductions in heat island effects, and carbon uptake from abundant trees and vegetation. Parks help maintain a healthy environment.

With this research I tested the hypothesis that individual preferences for specific ecosystem components and restorative environments are significantly associated with quality of life (QOL). A total of 379 human subjects responded to a structured 18-item questionnaire on topophilia and to the 26-item World Health Organization’s Quality of Life (WHOQOL-Bref) instrument. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed four domains of topophilia (ecodiversity, synesthetic tendency, cognitive challenge, and familiarity) and four domains of QOL (physical, psychological, social, and environmental). Synesthetic tendency was the strongest domain of topophilia, whereas the psychological aspect of QOL was the strongest. Structural equation modeling was used to explore the adequacy of a theoretical model linking topophilia and QOL. The model fit the data extremely well: χ 2 = 5.02, p = 0.414; correlation = 0.12 (p = 0.047). All four domains of topophilia were significantly correlated with the level of restoration experienced by respondents at