Comfort and Safety
Trauma-Induced Changes in the Perception of the Built Environment: Where Can Architects Intervene? View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Salma Halawa, Sherif Goubran, Salma Ahmed, Nouran Elkhattam
Traumatic events often create an emotional shock in individuals following a distressing event, and as a result, some cases are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Most patients, likely, experience a shift in their perception of how they see the surrounding environment, whether they are diagnosed or not. This study considers how their perception of the built environment changes and explore the series of these changes. There is a gap in the literature regarding design guidelines for PTSD patients in the architecture field. Moreover, research studies concerning trauma-informed care and design in Egypt are limited. Therefore, it is valuable to highlight the importance of the research in the region. An interview with a therapist initially informed the methodology of the research study. The following methodology stages included a survey and three interviews with post-trauma and PTSD patients. The findings were diverse as each case’s trauma is unique from the other. However, the data collected from the three cases were compared, and the points of similarities were highlighted. The main overlapping themes in spatial design included light, furniture, and organisation. The research paper highlights the essential role that architects could play in this novel field. Future recommendations could include enlarging the sample to gain further information into the paper’s conclusions to develop design guidelines and keeping in mind that including cases that are diagnosed with PTSD or not might inform some differences that emerge in the guidelines.
The Impact of Light-source Type on the Cognitive Loads of Medical Students in Teaching Hospitals View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Salma Ahmed, Sherif Goubran, Salma Halawa, Nouran Elkhattam
The lighting condition of the space impacts students' performance and overall cognitive performance. Studies on the effect of lighting on student performance have been conducted in traditional classroom settings. No such investigations have focused on medical students who conduct their classes in teaching hospital settings. Much of the research has focused on the effect of lighting on patients' well-being. To the authors' knowledge, medical students and doctors have seldom been the focus of previous investigations in healthcare research. The study seeks to understand the effect of lighting on medical students' cognitive performance. Specifically, the study compares medical student performance under natural and artificial light in a hospital setting. Recognition memory is tested using a forced choice format, which is essentially a multiple-choice questionnaire, to test the difference between the student's direct and delayed recall on a long-term basis. The study was carried out on two days, with a total sample of forty-eight students participating. The study presents novel findings regarding the impact of interior space-lighting quality on medical students' academic performance, specifically on their cognitive loads. The results also shed light on the cultural parameters that may affect performance. The experiment concluded that in both spaces, the higher the light intensity, the better the students' performance. However, they belong to two different groups, with the trend lines in the scatter graphs showing that students in natural lighting generally performed better than those in artificial lighting
Compensation Gap Based on Managerial Competence Versus Compensation Gap Based on Managerial Power
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Homayoon Shalchian
Financial theory on the subject of compensation gap between executives and employees presents a dilemma. On one hand, the theory suggests that the compensation gap create an incentive for the employees to perform and it would lead to a higher level of financial performance. On the other hand, it has been argued that the compensation gap based, often based on managerial power would have a negative impact on the firm’s financial performance. In this paper, we analyze the compensation gap based on managerial competence and based on managerial power. Using data of relatively large number of Chinese corporations, we analyze the economic impact of the compensation gap between the executives and employees on the operational (accounting) and market-based performances of Chinese corporations. Our results suggest that the compensation gap, based on managerial competence, has a positive impact on the firm’s financial performance while the compensation pay gap, based on managerial power, has a negative effect on firm’s financial performance. Our results also suggest that impact of the compensation gap on operational performance is more significant in private sector comparing to public sector. Finally, our results suggest that the market-based performance is more sensitive to the compensation gap among state-owned firms.
Climate Change and Subjective Well-being: Rethinking Progress in the Economics of Happiness View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Margarida Casau, Marta Ferreira Dias, Gabriel Leite Mota
This paper explores the multidisciplinary research on the economics of happiness, a field that examines the complex relationship between economic factors and human well-being. The paper includes a literature review that synthesizes current research linking the economics of happiness with the pressing issue of climate change, offering insights into how this evolving field can guide policymakers and individuals towards a more holistic understanding of prosperity. The findings are discussed in the context of recent empirical studies, and the paper concludes with reflections on the implications for future research and policy development.
