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OBJECTIVE Determine the temporal and spatial characteristics of stairs versus elevator use in a university residence hall to inform future physical activity promotion efforts. PARTICIPANTS All residents and visitors for a single, four-story residence hall dormitory building located on a college campus in Orange, CA. METHODS Smart mat systems capable of detecting pedestrian traffic were placed in front of the stairs and elevators on each floor plus a basement. Generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) were used to compare stair versus elevator usage at different times of the day and on different floors. RESULTS Stair versus elevator use varied much more throughout the day on floors nearest to the ground floor, with stair use most common in the morning. Overall, the elevator was used more frequently on higher floors, with less variation throughout the day. CONCLUSION To be most effective, future stair promotion interventions should target residents on higher floors and in the morning.

Background and objective This study was conducted to increase understanding of agriculture through agricultural experience programs for adolescents living in self-reliance residence hall, and to investigate changes in work performance ability through changes in hand function. Methods There were 11 subjects, and the average age was 18.2 years, all males without disabilities. The agricultural experience program consists of a total of 10 sessions including orientation and watching videos on future agriculture, creating vegetable gardens, planting, managing each crop, harvesting, visiting the processing room, and selling at a local food store. Results The change in agricultural literacy by the agricultural experience program positively improved from a score of 113.73 to 127.91 (p = .008). The changes by sub-item are as follows. The value and safety of agri-foods (p = .020) and agriculture and natural environment (p = .007) were significantly improved. The function and value of rural areas (p = .050), production of agricultural products (p = .160), processing and distribution of agricultural products (p = .248), and agricultural policies (p = .058) were not significantly changed. The simple function of the hands was measured by the number of pegs inserted during 30 seconds, and the assembly function was measured by the number of pegs inserted during 60 seconds. In the case of simple function, the dominant hand was improved from 14.82 to 15.83 (p = .014), and the non-dominant hand was also significantly improved from 13.79 to 15.01 (p = .002). There was no significant improvement in the simple function (p = .153) and assembly function (p = .770) of both hands. Conclusion It is considered that the agricultural experience program will enable youths living in self-reliance residence halls to enhance their understanding of agriculture as an occupation, and enable them to play a role as wise consumers by positively affecting improvements in their agricultural literacy and simple hand functions.

A sign outside the renamed residence hall at UWI, St. Augustine reads “Freedom Hall, formerly Milner Hall.” (GELIEN MATTHEWS) A statue of Cecil Rhodes is removed from the University of Cape Town, A...

The present study examined differential social experiences of international students living in a residential hall called ‘Nihongo House’ (Japanese language house) at a Japanese university. By conducting social network analysis (SNA), as well as making use of ethnographic data collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews, we explain how constellations of interpersonal relations at the house transformed over the course of one semester and what factors were responsible for those changes. Additionally, we present three focal cases of international students. These students—with different motivational orientations, personal dispositions and abilities, and social standing—went through diverse social processes, which led to different levels of success in respective accounts. Based on the analysis, we discuss how social experiences of these students in this particular setting can be understood in relation to their language use and potential development and how this type of residential hall can effectively nurture interpersonal relationships. Abstract in Japanese 本研究では、日本の大学における外国人留学生と日本人学生の人間関係構築プロセスを記述し、言語使用・習得への示唆を考察する。特に、寮という制度的に区切られた空間に着目し、寮の中で、1) どのように人間関係が構築され、コミュニティが形成されたのか、2) どのような要因が人間関係構築やコミュニティ形成に影響を与えたかを明らかにすることを目的とする。対象は日本国内のある大学に近年設置されたテーマ別寮の一つである「日本語ハウス」に住む留学生と日本人14名である。データとして、学期開始前と終了後に行った社会ネットワーク調査、半構造化面接、参与観察、寮に関する文書等を一学期間収集した。これらのデータを言語社会化の観点から分析した結果、メンバーによる活動の企画や参加を通したコミュニティ形成の過程が観察された。一方で、個人による参加のプロセスの違いや、コミュニティ全体としての関係、細分化された個人間での関係といった多層性を持った複雑な人間関係の存在が明らかとなった。また、異なる参加のパターンを見せた３名の留学生のケースを紹介し、彼らの参加プロセスに与えた影響について、言語能力（日本語や英語）、各学生の所属する複数のコミュニティ（サークルや授業等）における日本語ハウスコミュニティの位置づけ、ハウス内外の環境という観点から例証し、生活・学びの環境づくりについて考察する。

This study evaluates the sustainability impact of replacing inefficient toilets with low-flow units in a residence hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A graduate student initiated this pro...

Evidence suggests that social capital developed through social networks is critical for individuals to succeed in education and in careers. The on-campus college residence hall is one environment where college students have the opportunity to build social networks that support their academic and social development. On today’s campus learning communities are often used to provide additional influence. However, not all students develop positive social relationships in these settings. This qualitative study investigates how fourteen male and female first year students of various ethnicities navigate the social networks in a variety of different residential living learning communities. The study was conducted at a large public university and focuses on how the students gain information that contributes to their academic experience.Findings suggest that participants perceived the overall impact of the learning community and the residence hall experience to be positive. More specifically, insight is provided into students’ drive to succeed, social ties with small groups, social ties with faculty and staff, and the impact of the built environment. Implications for practice are discussed and suggestions are made that may help to cultivate and direct the development of social capital for students in the residence hall and in the learning community setting.

A wastewater surveillance program targeting a university residence hall was implemented during the spring semester 2021 as a proactive measure to avoid an outbreak of COVID-19 on campus. Over a period of 7 weeks from early February through late March 2021, wastewater originating from the residence hall was collected as grab samples 3 times per week. During this time, there was no detection of SARS-CoV-2 by reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) in the residence hall wastewater stream. Aiming to obtain a sample more representative of the residence hall community, a decision was made to use passive samplers beginning in late March onwards. Adopting a Moore swab approach, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in wastewater samples just 2 days after passive samplers were deployed. These samples also tested positive for the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variant of concern (VOC) using RT-qPCR. The positive result triggered a public health case-finding response, including a mobile testing unit deployed to the residence hall the following day, with testing of nearly 200 students and staff, which identified two laboratory-confirmed cases of Alpha variant COVID-19. These individuals were relocated to a separate quarantine facility, averting an outbreak on campus. Aggregating wastewater and clinical data, the campus wastewater surveillance program has yielded the first estimates of fecal shedding rates of the Alpha VOC of SARS-CoV-2 in individuals from a nonclinical setting. IMPORTANCE Among early adopters of wastewater monitoring for SARS-CoV-2 have been colleges and universities throughout North America, many of whom are using this approach to monitor congregate living facilities for early evidence of COVID-19 infection as an integral component of campus screening programs. Yet, while there have been numerous examples where wastewater monitoring on a university campus has detected evidence for infection among community members, there are few examples where this monitoring triggered a public health response that may have averted an actual outbreak. This report details a wastewater-testing program targeting a residence hall on a university campus during spring 2021, when there was mounting concern globally over the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, reported to be more transmissible than the wild-type Wuhan strain. In this communication, we present a clear example of how wastewater monitoring resulted in actionable responses by university administration and public health, which averted an outbreak of COVID-19 on a university campus.

Many colleges and universities utilized wastewater surveillance testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA as a tool to help monitor and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic on campuses across the USA during the 2020–2021 academic year. We sought to assess the efficacy of one such program by analyzing data on relative wastewater RNA levels from residential buildings in relation to SARS-CoV-2 cases identified through individual surveillance testing, conducted largely independent of wastewater results. Almost 80% of the cases on campus were associated with positive wastewater tests, resulting in an overall positive predictive value of 79% (Chi square 48.1, Df = 1, P

A wastewater surveillance program targeting a university residence hall was implemented during the spring semester 2021 as a proactive measure to avoid an outbreak of COVID-19 on campus. Over a period of 7 weeks from early February through late March 2021, wastewater originating from the residence hall was collected as grab samples 3 times per week. During this time, there was no detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR in the residence hall wastewater stream. Aiming to obtain a sample more representative of the residence hall community, a decision was made to use passive samplers beginning in late March onwards. Adopting a Moore Swab approach, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in wastewater samples on just two days after passive samplers were activated. These samples were also positive for the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) Variant of Concern (VOC) by RT-qPCR. The positive result triggered a public health case finding response including a mobile testing unit deployed to the residence hall the following day with testing of nearly 200 students and staff, which identified two laboratory-confirmed cases of B.1.1.7 variant COVID-19. These individuals were re-located to a separate quarantine facility averting an outbreak on campus. Aggregating wastewater and clinical data, the campus wastewater surveillance program has yielded the first estimates of fecal shedding rates of the B.1.1.7 VOC of SARS-CoV-2 in individuals from a non-clinical setting.

In 2019-2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spread to over 200 countries in less than six months. To understand the basis of this aggressive spread, it is essential to determine the transmission rate and define the factors that increase the risk of transmission. One complication is the large fraction of asymptomatic cases, particularly in young populations: these individuals have viral loads indistinguishable from symptomatic people and do transmit the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but they often go undetected. As university students living in residence halls commonly share a small living space with roommates, some schools established regular, high density testing programs to mitigate on-campus spread. In this study, we analyzed longitudinal testing data of residence hall students at the University of Colorado Boulder. We observed that students in single rooms were infected at a lower rate than students in multiple occupancy rooms. However, this was not due to high rates of transmission between roommates, which only occurred approximately 20% of the time. Since these cases were usually asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis, this provides further evidence for asymptomatic transmission. Notably, individuals who likely transmitted to their roommates had an average viral load ∼6.5 times higher than individuals who did not. Although students were moved to separate isolation rooms after diagnosis, there was no difference in time to isolation between these cases with or without transmission. This analysis argues that inter-roommate transmission occurs in a minority of cases in university residence halls and provides strong correlative evidence that viral load can be proportional to the probability of transmission.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of tobacco-free campus policies among residence life student employees. A survey was developed and administered to resident advisors yielding a total sample of 114 participants. Results showed differences between the tobacco-users’ and non-users’ age, tobacco-related health beliefs, and tobacco-free policy support. Tobacco users (47.6%) were also less likely than non-users (84.9%) to view tobacco use as a serious health risk (p

American higher education institutions rapidly responded to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Between March 1st and April 4th, over 1,400 colleges and universities closed their doors and transitioned to online instruction. This paper uses a novel dataset and draws upon theories of institutional isomorphism to descriptively examine the trends in how higher education institutions responded to the Coronavirus pandemic. It finds little difference in institutional response based on campus infrastructure including, residence hall capacity, hospital affiliation, and medical degree offerings. There is some suggestive evidence, however, that institutions may have responded to external coercive isomorphic pressures from state governments and may have relied on a heuristic of peer institution closures to inform their decisions.

This chapter characterises meaningful spaces for the socialisation of Mapuzugun based on the reflective discourse of Mapuche young people in higher education in Temuco. A literature review of recent sociolinguistic studies shows a need to incorporate elements of qualitative research in the study of this phenomenon and reformulate the concept of linguistic domains of use. The following spaces are characterised: the community, the school, the church, the family home, the university, the indigenous residence hall, the city and the countryside. The role of the residence hall in the identification and socialisation dynamics among indigenous undergraduate students is highlighted.

As COVID-19 continues to spread globally, monitoring the disease at different scales is critical to support public health decision making. Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater can supplement surveillance based on diagnostic testing. In this paper, we report the results of wastewater-based COVID-19 surveillance on Emory University campus that included routine sampling of sewage from a hospital building, an isolation/quarantine building, and 21 student residence halls between July 13th, 2020 and March 14th, 2021. We examined the sensitivity of wastewater surveillance for detecting COVID-19 cases at building level and the relation between Ct values from RT-qPCR results of wastewater samples and the number of COVID-19 patients residing in the building. Our results show that weekly wastewater surveillance using Moore swab samples was not sensitive enough (6 of 63 times) to reliably detect one or two sporadic cases in a residence building. The Ct values of the wastewater samples over time from the same sampling location reflected the temporal trend in the number of COVID-19 patients in the isolation/quarantine building and hospital (Pearson's r < −0.8), but there is too much uncertainty to directly estimate the number of COVID-19 cases using Ct values. After students returned for the spring 2021 semester, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in the wastewater samples from most of the student residence hall monitoring sites one to two weeks before COVID-19 cases surged on campus. This finding suggests that wastewater-based surveillance can be used to provide early warning of COVID-19 outbreaks at institutions., Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image