Search

Previous studies have suggested that bullying may be contagious in adolescents. The present study examined whether ego depletion mediated the association between peer bullying and participant bullying and whether the mediating process was moderated by participant trait self-control. A sample of 2217 Chinese high school students (16.92 ± 0.94 years; 1068 boys and 1084 girls) were invited to fill in the questionnaires. The results reveal that after controlling for gender, grade and neuroticism, ego depletion partially mediates the positive relationship between peer bullying and participant bullying. Further, participant trait self-control moderates the relationship between peer bullying and participant bullying and that between peer bullying and participant ego depletion. That is, the strength of the contagion effect is lower in adolescents with high trait self-control compared to those with low trait self-control. In conclusion, this study provides empirical evidence of the contagion of bullying in adolescents. Limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed.

As the most economically developed metropolitan area in China's Yangtze River Delta, the rapid changing land use patterns of Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou (Su-Xi-Chang) metropolitan area have profound impacts on the ecosystem service value (ESV). Based on the patterns of land use change and the ESV change in Su-Xi-Chang metropolitan area from 2000 to 2020, we set up four scenarios: natural development scenario, urban development scenario, arable land protection scenario and ecological protection scenario, and simulated the impact of land use changes on the ESV in these scenarios. The results showed that: 1) the area of built-up land in the Su-Xi-Chang metropolitan area increased significantly from 2000 to 2020, and the area of other types of land decreased. Arable land underwent the highest transfer-out area, and was primarily converted into built-up land. The total ESV of Su-Xi-Chang metropolitan area increased initially then declined from 2000–2020, and the value of almost all individual ecosystem services decreased. 2) Population density, GDP per area, night lighting intensity, and road network density can negatively impact the ESV. 3) The total ESV loss under the natural development and urban development scenarios was high, and the expansion of the built-up land and the drastic shrinkage of the arable land contributed to the ESV decline under both scenarios. The total ESV under arable land protection and ecological protection scenarios increases, and therefore these scenarios are suitable for future land use optimization in Su-Xi-Chang. This study could provide a certain reference for land use planning and allocation, and offer guidance for the rational allocation of land resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acceleration of urbanization has significantly impacted the changing regional thermal environment, leading to a series of ecological and environment-related problems. A scientific evaluation of the urban thermal security pattern (TSPurban) strongly benefits the planning and layout of sustainable development and the construction of comfortable human settlements. To analyze the characteristics of the TSPurban under cross-regional differences and provide targeted solutions to mitigate the urban heat island effect in later stages, the logical system research framework of the TSPurban based on the "construction–evaluation–optimization" model was explored using reverse thinking. This study selected the Wuhan metropolitan area in China as the research object. First, a morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) model was used to extract the top 30 core heat island patches, and Conefor 2.6 software was used for connection analysis to evaluate their importance. Second, based on the characteristics of various land cover types, the friction (cost) map of surface urban heat island (SUHI) diffusion was simulated. The spatial attributes of the heat island resistance surface were examined using a standard deviation ellipse and hot spot analysis. Finally, this paper used circuit theory to find 56 low-cost heat island links (corridors) and circuit scape software to find widely distributed vital nodes. The optimization of the TSPurban network was then investigated using a reverse thinking process. Heat island patches, corridors, and vital nodes are among the crucial components of the TSPurban. By obstructing corridor links and disturbing important nodes, it is possible to appropriately and proficiently reduce the TSPurban network's connection efficiency and stability, which will have a positive influence on regional climate mitigation and the heat island effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metropolitan areas in China are not only the core spatial carriers of urbanization development but also the main generators of land use carbon emission (LUCE). However, existing research lacks comparative studies on the differential patterns and impact factors of LUCE in different stages of metropolitan areas. Therefore, this paper deeply analyzes the spatial characteristics of LUCE and the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of the economy contributive coefficient (ECC) and ecological support coefficient (ESC) in three different stages of metropolitan areas in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), China. Moreover, quantitative modelling of the impact factors of LUCE in these different stages of metropolitan areas is furtherly revealed. Results show that: (1) The more mature stage of the metropolitan area, the higher the amount of LUCE, and the more districts or counties with high carbon emissions levels are clustered. (2) At the metropolitan area scale, the more mature the metropolitan area is and the lower the CCD between ECC and ESC is, while at the finer scale, more developed counties have lower CCD. (3) Resident population, per capita GDP, and urbanization rate have good explanatory effects on carbon emissions in these three metropolitan areas; however, except for the urbanization rate, which has a negative effect on LUCE in Nanchang metropolitan area (NMA), the other two factors have positive effects on LUCE in these three metropolitan areas. This study has important implications for different stages of metropolitan areas to formulate targeted LUCE reduction policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the seasonal heterogeneity of land surface temperature (LST) and the interaction relationship between potential drivers in Sichuan Basin, China. In this study, based on exploring the spatial heterogeneity of LST in Sichuan Basin, China, multi-source remote sensing data as potential drivers were selected and a Geo-detector model was applied to analyze the main drivers and the interactive relationship between drivers on LST during different seasons. The results showed that the high-temperature areas in Sichuan Basin in different seasons all appeared in the cities near the high mountains on the edge of the basin. This phenomenon was summarized as "sinking heat island" by us. From the driving factors, the biophysical parameters (DEM, SLOPE and NDVI) had the greatest impact on LST in each season, reaching the peak in the transition season. The climate parameters (WIND, HUM, PRE and TEM) and socioeconomic parameters (LIGHT, POP and ROAD) also had a certain impact on LST. The influence of a single landscape parameter (SHDI, PD, LPI, ED and LSI) on LST is limited. From the effect of factor interaction on LST, the interaction of biophysical parameters, climatic parameters and landscape parameters from summer to the transitional season was strengthened obviously, and it showed a downward trend in the winter; in contrast, the socioeconomic parameters showed the opposite characteristics, indicating that the interaction between human activities and other factors affected LST more obviously in the winter. The results of this study are not only valuable for understanding the spatial features of LST but also important for formulating mitigation strategies and sustainable development of urban heat island in Sichuan Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization development and construction has seriously threatened the connectivity of habitat patches in cities and hindered the construction of ecological networks in highly urbanized areas. Among them, China is affected by early compressed urbanization, and the broken ecological space in cities and towns has attracted the extensive interest of researchers. To avoid the subjective randomness and single analysis of ecological space in urbanization areas, this paper takes the central urban area of Wuhan as the main research area. It comprehensively evaluates the ecological network space by combining the MSPA-MCR model. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Identifying the ecological landscape types with important ecological significance in the study area: Core (88.29%), Islet (0.25%), Perf (0.63%), Edge (9.74%), Loop (0.22%), and Bridge (0.14%). Through the dPC landscape index, seven important ecological sources south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River were identified. (2) According to the comprehensive factors of natural and human factors constructed by the MCR model, the minimum cumulative ecological resistance surface was established, with an average value of 2.65, a maximum value of 4.70, and a minimum value of 1.00, showing a trend that the ecological resistance values in the central and eastern parts are lower than those in the western part. (3) According to the standard deviation ellipse, the distribution direction of NE–SW in ecological sources was analyzed. The ecological sources distributed in the north were less, and the spatial distribution was scattered on the whole. The strong global positive correlation and local spatial aggregation characteristics of ecological resistance surface were evaluated according to spatial autocorrelation. Based on the gravity model, the interaction intensity of ecological corridors between source areas was evaluated, and the importance of ecological corridor protection and restoration was quantitatively analyzed. The research results provide scientific and reasonable references and a basis for ecological planning of Wuhan central city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological security is crucial for regional sustainable development; however, as modern urbanization highlights ecological security challenges, major challenges have arisen. In this paper, we take the ecological region around Taihu Lake, China, as a typical research site, extract important ecological sources and key nodes using morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and circuit theory, and propose a regulatory framework for the ecological security pattern (ESP) of the ecological region based on the spatial characteristics of sources, corridors, and nodes. We obtained the following results: (1) The ESP includes 20 ecological sources, 37 ecological corridors, 36 critical ecological protection nodes, and 24 key ecological restoration nodes. (2) Most ecological sources are large and concentrated in western Zhejiang and west of Taihu Lake, which are both important ecological sources and ecological resistance surfaces. (3) The ecological corridors spread east, west, and south from Taihu Lake, with high network connectivity. (4) Shanghai serves as the central node, with the Su-Xi-Chang town cluster and the Qiantang River town cluster serving as the extension axes for the ecological resistance hot-spot area. The center of the elliptical ecological resistance surface (standard deviation) lies in Suzhou City, located on the east shore of Taihu Lake. (5) Ecological nodes were mostly located in ecological corridors or junctions. A "four zones and one belt" pattern is suggested in order to make the land around Taihu Lake more connected and stable ecologically. This study can be used as a guide for building and improving an ecological safety network.

The relationship between the tourism economy and the ecosystem service value (ESV) is crucial for sustainable regional development. This study takes southern Jiangsu as a research object. Firstly, the development level of the tourism economy and ecosystem service value in southern Jiangsu from 2000 to 2020 are evaluated with the entropy method, ecosystem service value is estimated and the dynamic degree of land use is computed. Secondly, the coupling coordination degree model is used to explore the coupling coordination degree between the two systems. Finally, the interaction mechanism between the tourism economy and ecosystem service function is elaborated. The result shows that: (1) There are disparities in the levels of a comprehensive tourism economy in different cities, and the overall development level of the tourism economy in southern Jiangsu shows a cyclical fluctuation pattern. (2) Spatial variation of ecosystem service value exists in different cities in southern Jiangsu, with an overall trend of increasing in the beginning followed by a decline. (3) The coupling coordination degree between the tourism economic system and ecosystem service functions in southern Jiangsu demonstrates an inverted U-shaped development pattern from 2000 to 2020, evolving from mild disorder to intermediate coordination and then back to mild disorder, and the development of two subsystems is unstable and imbalanced. Within the region, Nanjing, Suzhou and Zhenjiang have experienced a rise in coupling coordination degree followed by a decline. This study also reveals the coupling mechanism between ecological service functions and the tourism economic system, and provides suggestions for ecological preservation and sustainable development of tourism industry in southern Jiangsu. This research can be a reference for tourism and regional development in southern Jiangsu and the whole Yangtze Delta region.