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There is a growing interest in applying the principles of biophilic design to hotel lobbies to enhance positive user experiences. However, there is little empirical research in this area, particularly for abstract or indirect biophilic approaches. The current study analyzed the biophilic strategy of “organized complexity” (which entails structured hierarchical patterns) in a hotel lobby in relation to attention restoration outcomes.

A virtual reality approach was used to create three lobby designs, differing only in their degree of organized complexity. A between-subjects study was conducted with 91 participants, evaluating reactions to the lobby designs in terms of perceived attention restoration, perceived environmental complexity and environmental preferences.

A strong positive relationship was found between participants' perception of environmental complexity and feelings of restoration. However, no statistically significant correlation was found between restoration and the objective measures of organized complexity. This suggests that individual preferences or baseline responses may play a crucial role in the benefits associated with this aspect of biophilic design.

The findings suggest a novel possibility – that responses to organized complexity may not be universal but may instead depend on an individual’s background and personal preferences. While the study found that perceived complexity was associated with restoration, the objective features of the environment that incited these perceptions were different for different participants. This indicates that more research is needed into potentially relevant personal factors.

This paper aims to enhance the stability and control of twin rotor multi-input multi-output system (TRMS) helicopters by introducing a novel approach that utilizes a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) for optimizing proportional, integral, derivative (PID) controllers in simultaneous pitch and yaw motions.

The TRMS, a common prototype for helicopter motion studies, is introduced, and a PID controller is designed for pitch and yaw stabilization. The gains of the PID controller are optimized using a MOGA, a technique not previously proposed for TRMS in the literature.

While various controllers have been explored in literature for TRMS stabilization, a MOGA-optimized PID controller for TRMS has not been proposed before. Simultaneous optimization of both pitch and yaw motions using two PID controllers is expected to yield improved robustness.

The study focuses on simulations, and experimental validation is not conducted. The MOGA is introduced as an optimization technique, and future studies may explore its application in experimental settings.

This study introduces a novel approach by utilizing a MOGA to optimize PID controller gains for TRMS. Simultaneous optimization of pitch and yaw motions aims to enhance robustness, providing a unique contribution to the field of helicopter control.

Through the application of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study aims to explore the main determinants of higher education students’ pro-environmental behavior.

An online survey was conducted among the students of a public higher education institution (HEI) in Portugal, from March to May of 2020. The data were analyzed with the structural equation modeling technique, considering environmental attitude, knowledge, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control as exogenous latent variables, and pro-environmental intention and behavior as endogenous latent variables.

The results show that the students’ environmental attitude and knowledge have no significant impact on their pro-environmental intention, while the students’ subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have a positive impact on their pro-environmental intention. The results also reveal that the students’ perceived behavioral control and pro-environmental intention have a strong and positive impact on their pro-environmental behavior.

This study focuses on the students from a single public HEI, in accounting and administration area, and deepens environmental behavior in relation to resources’ consumption.

This study provides findings that can be useful for HEIs to be more effective in their policies, strategies and practices to improve students’ environmental behavior.

The paper contributes to the literature by exploring the main determinants of higher education students’ pro-environmental behavior in a Portuguese HEI and extending the TPB considering the additional variable environmental knowledge.