UC Santa Barbara Library

Cultures and ancient civilizations have developed the art of construction by creating simple but effective cliff dwellings to grand structures like pagodas and Byzantine domes to work alongside the environment around them. The term for this is Vernacular Architecture, how cultures manifest traditions through buildings adapted to the environment with unique craftsmanship. However, modern architecture prioritizes minimizing cost per square foot as land prices rise, minimizing time spent to create new designs by using the same building plans, and modern trends and fads. Especially in developing countries where “globalization” often translates to “Westernization”, this causes trading out of local architectural practices and climate techniques for internationally used materials and high-tech designs. Think of the five-over-one type apartments that have popped up all over the place or the sprawling suburbs that have taken over since the 1930s. Although these new buildings meet the modern ideals of convenience and low effort/planning, “they have multiple consequences, including reduced thermal comfort, overdependence on electric controls, loss of traditions, increased urban heat, depletion of natural resources and increased emissions”. However, maybe we can bridge the gap between modern structures and ancient techniques to come to a happy, more sustainable medium. This article explores modern issues, ancient techniques, how they work, and ways to implement them into sustainable modern designs.

First-generation undergraduates have a more challenging time succeeding in higher education than non-first-generation undergraduates due to a lack of cultural capital and their familial background. Previous research has found that financial and academic are significant stressors for undergraduates. First-generation undergraduates displayed higher levels of stress and an internal locus of control. To further inform how higher education institutions can develop support systems and resources for first-generation students, this study examines how an individual's trait anxiety and generational status may influence their locus of control when faced with academic or financial pressures. In this study, 131 undergraduates were randomly assigned to a vignette depicting a financial or academic scenario regardless of their generational status, followed by a trait anxiety inventory and locus of control questionnaire. Although previous research suggests that first-generation undergraduates were more likely to exemplify an internal locus of control, our findings reveal no significant difference between first-generation and non-first-generation undergraduates' locus of control, regardless of college pressure type. Also, participants' trait anxiety did significantly affect their locus of control. However, it did not reflect substantially an interaction effect, indicating the relationship between college pressure type and locus of control varies based on their trait anxiety. Instead, this suggests that higher education institutions should prioritize mental health resources for first-generation undergraduates. Future research must examine these effects to accommodate better and foster success for first-generation higher-education undergraduates.