Enhancing Ecological Footprint Awareness among Academic Staff at Gazi University: A Sustainability Communication Approach

Year 2024, Volume: 27 Issue: 2, 789 - 807, 27.03.2024

Hafize Nurgül Durmuş Şenyapar , Kenan Ünal , Filiz Kardiyen

https://doi.org/10.2339/politeknik.1430431

Cited By: 1

Abstract

Sustainability communication is vital in informing, inspiring, and mobilizing individuals and organizations to take collective actions that contribute to environmental protection, social justice, and economic prosper-ity. A crucial aspect of sustainability, ecological footprint awareness assesses the consciousness of the im-pact of individuals or communities on the environment. This research investigates the level of ecological footprint awareness among academic staff at Gazi University, Turkey, using a comprehensive scale. Find-ings indicate varying levels of awareness across dimensions influenced by gender, marital status, academic title, and income, suggesting potential implications for policymakers and university administrators. The efficacy of sustainability and ecological footprint reduction initiatives can be increased among heteroge-neous cohorts of academic personnel by implementing customized communications and awareness initia-tives. Additional investigation may further elucidate the precise determinants underlying these disparities and scrutinize the most efficacious modes of communication for each faction, thereby augmenting the sus-tainability discourse at Gazi University and in the broader context.

Keywords

Ecological footprint awareness, Sustainability Communication, Sustainable practices, Communication strategies

Ethical Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of GAZI UNIVERSITY (protocol code 2022 – 1248 and date of approval: 25.11.2022)

Supporting Institution

This research was funded by the Gazi University Scientific Projects Unit with grant number SKB-2023-8290.

Thanks

We express our gratitude to Gazi University for providing the requisite authorizations to conduct research in the academic and administrative divisions of Gazi University as part of the project with the code SKB-2023-8290, which the Gazi University Scientific Research Projects Unit finances. We would also like to express our gratitude to Prof. Dr. Rabia Sarıkaya, Gazi University Faculty Member who developed the scale used in the study, for allowing us to use it.

Gazi Üniversitesi Akademik Personelinde Ekolojik Ayak İzi Farkındalığının Artırılması: Sürdürülebilirlik İletişimi Yaklaşımı

Abstract

Sürdürülebilirlik iletişimi, bireyleri ve kuruluşları çevrenin korunmasına, sosyal adalete ve ekonomik refaha katkıda bulunacak kolektif eylemlerde bulunmaları için bilgilendirmek, ilham vermek ve harekete geçirmek açısından hayati önem taşımaktadır. Sürdürülebilirliğin önemli bir yönü olan ekolojik ayak izi farkındalığı, bireylerin veya toplulukların çevre üzerindeki etkilerinin bilincini değerlendirir. Bu araştırma, Gazi Üniversitesi akademik personelinin ekolojik ayak izi farkındalık düzeyini kapsamlı bir ölçek kullanarak incelemektedir. Bulgular, cinsiyet, medeni durum, akademik unvan ve gelirden etkilenen boyutlar arasında değişen farkındalık düzeylerine işaret ederek politika yapıcılar ve üniversite yöneticileri için potansiyel çıkarımlar önermektedir. Sürdürülebilirlik ve ekolojik ayak izi azaltma girişimlerinin etkinliği, özelleştirilmiş iletişim ve farkındalık girişimleri uygulanarak heterojen akademik personel grupları arasında artırılabilir. Ek araştırmalar, bu eşitsizliklerin altında yatan kesin belirleyicileri daha da aydınlatabilir ve her bir grup için en etkili iletişim biçimlerini inceleyerek Gazi Üniversitesi’nde ve daha geniş bağlamda sürdürülebilirlik söylemini güçlendirebilir.

Keywords

Ekolojik ayak izi farkındalığı, Sürdürülebilirlik iletişimi, Sürdürülebilir uygulamalar, İletişim stratejileri

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