Environmental Management Systems (EMS) have been implemented on a large scale to improve companies' environmental performance and to certify their achievements. More recently, universities are following this trend, which has been brought forward by the debate about campus sustainability. This empirical international research investigates EMS development and implementation processes in universities around Europe, providing an overview about European higher education institutions with EMS implemented at their campuses, and focuses on a comparison of top-down versus participatory implementation approaches. In addition to regional differences, this article discusses in which aspects an EMS at the campus can be seen as a tool that goes beyond operational aspects to tackle campus sustainability. Furthermore, it provides implications for the professional practice.
Rationale, Aims, and Objectives:The prevalence of burnout among medical doctors and its negative effect on empathy can influence therapeutic success. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of empathy and burnout between residents and specialists as well as to study the correlation between empathy and burnout.
Methods: This is an exploratory study of a convenience sample of 104 doctors who work in health institutions in Greater Lisbon area in Portugal, covering central hospitals, district hospitals, and health centres. Each doctor filled in a questionnaire, which included the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE).Results: Participants were divided in two subgroups: 51% residents (n = 53) and 49% specialists (n = 51). A difference (p = .048) in JSE scores between residents (mean 116.4, SD 12.8) and specialists (mean 120.78, SD 12.84) has been identified. Furthermore, in all three MBI subscales (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment), the group of residents showed significantly higher mean scores. In general, empathy scores showed an inverse relationship between depersonalization (r = -0.390, p < .0001) and lack of personal accomplishment (r = -0.447, p < .0001). Finally, we found that an increase in MBI level is associated with a decrease in empathy levels.
Conclusion:Our findings suggest that there is a significant difference in burnout subscales scores between residents and specialists and that these have a negative correlation with empathy level. These exploratory results draw attention to the importance of preventing burnout in hospital and health care centres professionals, in particular in residents, through the implementation of individual and organizational structured measures.
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are a critical component to develop and promote sustainable solutions for both society and the planet. A challenge to HEIs is to provide students with the knowledge and skills required to achieve Sustainable Development (SD), as they are important stakeholders. In order for a person to take responsibility for a sustainable future, it is not only important to implement SDs in higher education, but to follow the progress of the individuals’ awareness of the sustainable world and lifestyle. This study aimed to analyze students of Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), focusing on their attitudes, behaviors, and level of knowledge concerning education for sustainable development (ESD), to better understand the situation of students in terms of learning and applying sustainability. The students’ perception of the University practices and initiatives, as well as pedagogical methodologies for promoting and learning SD, were also examined. An online survey was applied to undergraduate students from several faculties at UAM, and a sample of 504 students returned from a total population of 30,000 students. Descriptive and inferential analyses were carried out and included Chi-square tests, correlation analyses, and ANOVA analyses for independent and repeated measures. The results reveal good levels for the three dimensions (global Index > 3.5), with consistency demonstrating the highest correlation between attitudes and behaviors, although differences between faculties were identified. Knowledge has the highest score among all faculties. In addition, the results point to a need to better communicate the initiatives promoted, as well as to realign some learning methodologies with students’ preferences. The most important contributions of the paper are as follows: Shedding fresh light on the knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral dispositions of university students and improving strategies concerning education in higher education institutions. Furthermore, it is relevant to say that UAM has pushed sustainability in environmental management and education, so it is also important to assess the impact of these initiatives. Our research aimed to help understand how students incorporate sustainability into their attitudes and behaviors, and whether this incorporation depends on the type of faculty. It also makes it possible to verify whether the sustainability measures implemented by universities are identified and applied by their students.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.