宮崎 良文

Abstract Forests provide a variety of ecosystem services that contribute in various ways to human well-being. In times of land-use pressures, urbanisation, and nature degradation, the societal demand for forest-based therapeutic uses is increasing. Although nature-related therapies and the beneficial effects of nature on health and well-being are an old concept in cultures such as Asia and, more recently, Europe, forest therapy offers are increasingly taking hold in the forest recreation landscape. This Commentary paper identifies recent forest therapy offers and research in Asia and Europe that focus on the therapeutic effects of forests and examine their underlying rationales, practices, and status. In particular, we elaborate the socioeconomic potential of forest therapy to contribute to human health and sustainable forest management. Based on a scoping review on forest therapy offers and research, we found that countries such as Japan and South Korea are ahead of European countries in the professionalization of forest therapy offers and respective studies. While the number of studies that demonstrate the positive health benefits of forests are increasing, there is a lack of understanding the link with forest management approaches and forest and health policies. A lack of socioeconomic evaluation hinders its successful integration into policy frameworks, and prevents its use as an alternative forestry product or preventive medical treatment. For forest therapy to become part of the forestry portfolio and a medical alternative, we recommend: • Interdisciplinary research approaches and new actor alliances that link societal demands for forest therapy with insights from forest management and medical health research, • Transdisciplinary research and multi-actor approaches to link insights from forest and medical research with practitioners’ skills for forest management, service design, and communication, • To identify trade-offs and conflict potentials with forest therapy, for example in relation to timber production or questions of insurance in case of injuries by falling branches etc., that allow to develop integrated and sustainable solutions, • Policy backup and economic support for forest managers and owners to compensate for their efforts to manage their forests for therapeutic purposes • Recognition of forest therapy as an explicit part of the forestry portfolio and an alternative medical offer for clinical treatments.

Abstract In Japanese households, it is customary to walk barefoot on wooden floors. Previous reports on the psychological and physiological relaxing effects of feet contact with uncoated solid wood have already been published. However, there are no studies on the effects of feet contact with coated wood, which is commonly used for residential floors. This study aimed to validate the psychological and physiological relaxing effects of sole contact with oil-finished wood. In total, 27 women university students (mean age: 21.9 ± 1.9 years) participated in this study. Psychological indices such as the modified semantic differential method and the Profile of Mood States Second Edition were used. The oxyhemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentrations in the prefrontal cortex were determined using near-infrared time-resolved spectroscopy. The sympathetic nervous activity and the parasympathetic nervous activity were measured using heart rate variability. The flat plate for tactile stimulation was oil-finished wood, and uncoated wood and marble were used for comparison. The sole of the feet of each participant touched each material for 90 s. Feet contact with oil-finished and uncoated wood had relaxing effects on psychological and physiological responses compared with marble. The relaxing effects of oil-finished wood and uncoated wood were similar. That is, they significantly increased subjective feelings of comfort and relaxation, improved mood states, and decreased oxy-Hb concentration in the left prefrontal cortex compared with marble. However, there were no statistically significant differences in terms of right prefrontal cortex and sympathetic nervous activities between oil-finished wood and marble. Oil-finished wood had a slightly weaker physiological relaxation effect than uncoated wood.

The Proceedings Book from the 18th International Conference Days of Applied Psychology titled "Current Challenges in Psychological Science" showcases a selection of papers meticulously curated from the presentations at the 18th International Conference “Days of Applied Psychology,” held on September 23rd & 24th, 2022, in an online format. Rooted in tradition, this annual conference has been a flagship event since 2005, organised by the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Niš, Serbia. The conference's inception was underpinned by the vision of fostering a platform for the convergence of researchers and practitioners, facilitating discussions that bridge the chasm between scientific exploration and pragmatic applications across diverse psychological domains. Since its beginning, the conference has welcomed participants of international provenance, a trend that steadily gains momentum with each passing year. Over recent years, the conference has particularly focused on not only disseminating scientific findings from varied psychological disciplines but also nurturing dialogue among scholars with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds. This publication contains 12 reviewed original scientific papers. The authors of these articles come from 8 countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, India, Japan, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. The abstracts featuring the research results from these articles were presented at the conference as the part of the sessions: Personality and Individual Differences, Work, Organization & Mental Health, Protective Behaviours during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Psychometrics, Educational Psychology, Social Psychology, Motor Behaviour & Sports Psychology, Psychotherapy & Mental Health and two symposia: Forest Bathing Without the Forest: The Urban Nature Experience and Share Your Attitude: Mental Health Services, Asylum Seekers and Nationalism – Under the Veil of Personal and Some Other Factors. Paper Psychological Factors Involved in Criminal Recidivism explores the intricate interplay of psychological attributes contributing to repeated criminal behaviours. This topic resonates as a vital investigation within the discipline of criminal psychology, seeking to unveil the underlying mechanisms driving persistent engagement in criminal activities. Within the thematic section of Work, Organization & Mental Health, two papers make noteworthy contributions. Work-Family Conflict and Turnover Intention: The Mediation Role of Optimism shines a light on the interplay between work-family dynamics and the intention to leave a job, with optimism acting as a mediating factor. Simultaneously, the investigation into Job Demands, Job Resources and Personal Resources as Determinants of Burnout of Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic sheds crucial insights into the occupational burnout experienced by healthcare personnel during times of crisis. The strand of Protective Behaviours during the COVID-19 Pandemic explores pivotal dimensions of public health behaviours. Sharing is (Not) Caring! Predicting Intent to Vaccinate Against COVID-19 by Emotional and Cognitive Factors investigates the intricate interplay of emotions and cognition in predicting vaccination intent, and Fear of COVID-19 and Personality Traits as Predictors of Motivation for Vaccination addresses the interplay between psychological attributes and vaccination motivations,

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physiological effects of visual stimulation by a unique Japanese low wooden table on the prefrontal cortex and autonomic nervous activities. A within-participants experiment with 26 male university students was conducted in a Japanese-style room. The visual stimuli were a low wooden table (WT) made of Japanese cypress and a low cloth-covered table (control) for an exposure time of 90 s. Near-infrared spectroscopy was used to measure the prefrontal cortex activity in the left and right prefrontal cortices as an indicator of oxyhemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentration. Autonomic nervous activity was measured as an indicator of sympathetic (low-frequency/high-frequency component ratio, LF/HF), and parasympathetic (high-frequency components, HF) nervous activities were assessed by heart rate variability. Furthermore, the modified semantic differential method and the Profile of Mood States 2nd edition were used to measure psychological responses. Physiologically, the oxy-Hb concentration in the left prefrontal cortex and ln (LF/HF) were significantly lower during visual exposure to the WT than to the control. Psychologically, more comfortable, relaxed, and natural impressions, as well as improved mood states, were reported during visual stimulation to the WT than to the control. This study demonstrated that viewing a WT led to physiological relaxation and had a positive psychological effect on the participants.