Search for the hero: an investigation into the sports heroes of British sports fans

This is an initial study into British sports fans’ heroes. A questionnaire was sent to 95 students (average age ¼ 19.75) to identify their sporting hero, the hero’s sport and nationality and the reasons for this choice. Football was the most common source of sports heroes, identified by 49% of participants with a sporting hero. The majority (60%, N ¼ 48) of heroes chosen by participants were British, with David Beckham the most popular choice. Differences were observed between the gender of participants, gender of hero chosen and the reasons for choosing the hero. The most common reason for selecting a hero was a personal trait rather than skill, while in the questionnaire a category of Local Affiliation was added to those suggested by previous work. It was concluded that to become a hero athletes should combine skill with devotion to family, charity work and a place in popular culture

The promotion of wellbeing: A primer for policymakers

There is growing international interest among policymakers in the promotion of wellbeing as an objective of public policy. Recent advances in the definition and measurement of wellbeing are giving rise to an increasingly detailed picture of the factors that determine how people think and feel about their lives. Patterns in reported wellbeing show markedly different development over time to measures of GDP per capita and life expectancy often used as proxies for wellbeing by policymakers. However, the concept of wellbeing remains poorly understood by many policymakers and much of the evidence base is extremely recent. I therefore review the current state of the literature on the definition, measurement, and determinants of wellbeing, and discuss some of its implications for public policy.This paper forms part of the work undertaken under ESRC grant RES-192-27-0014

The promotion of local wellbeing: A primer for policymakers

There is growing interest among policymakers in the promotion of wellbeing as an objective of public policy. In particular, local authorities have been given powers to undertake action to promote wellbeing in their area. Recent advances in the academic literature on wellbeing are giving rise to an increasingly detailed picture of the factors that determine people’s subjective wellbeing (how they think and feel about their lives). However, the concept of subjective wellbeing is poorly understood within local government and much of the evidence base is extremely recent. I therefore review the literature on the definition, measurement, and determinants of wellbeing, and discuss some of its implications for local public policy

On the Syntax of Logic and Set Theory

We introduce an extension of the propositional calculus to include abstracts of predicates and quantifiers, employing a single rule along with a novel comprehension schema and a principle of extensionality, which are substituted for the Bernays postulates for quantifiers and the comprehension schemata of ZF and other set theories. We prove that it is consistent in any finite Boolean subset lattice. We investigate the antinomies of Russell, Cantor, Burali-Forti, and others, and discuss the relationship of the system to other set theoretic systems ZF, NBG, and NF. We discuss two methods of axiomatizing higher order quantification and abstraction, and then very briefly discuss the application of one of these methods to areas of mathematics outside of logic.Comment: 34 pages, accepted, to appear in the Review of Symbolic Logi

Working in partnership through early support: distance learning text: family structures (book chapter)

This is a chapter from the distance learning text for the 'Working in Partnership through Early Support' accredited training programme. "The Early Support family pack and accompanying Early Support professional guidance (Department for Education and Skills (DfES), 2004a) are set in a clear framework of service delivery and family interaction. With Together from the Start (DfES/Department of Health (DoH), 2003), they advocate “flexible, family-centred support that is competent, compassionate, comprehensive, continuous, well-coordinated and culturally sensitive”. However, without first investigating how individual families work together, professionals cannot begin to deliver a service which can respond to the changing needs of those families. This chapter seeks to involve readers in considering family characteristics and their own ethos of responsive and inclusive practice." - Page 2

Job satisfaction in Italy: individual characteristics and social relations

This paper investigates the determinants of job satisfaction in Italy with particular emphasis on social relations. Our econometric analysis is based on four waves (1993, 1995, 1998 and 2000) of the Multipurpose Household Survey conducted annually by the Italian Central Statistics Office. The results of ordered probit regressions and robustness tests show that volunteering and meetings with friends are significantly and positively correlated with job satisfaction, with religious participation playing the biggest role. Our findings also show that meetings with friends increase job satisfaction through self-perceived health.Job satisfaction, social relations, social capital, health, statistical matching, Italy

Job satisfaction in Italy: individual characteristics and social relations

This paper investigates the determinants of job satisfaction in Italy with particular emphasis on social relations. Our econometric analysis is based on four waves (1993, 1995, 1998 and 2000) of the Multipurpose Household Survey conducted annually by the Italian Central Statistics Office. The results of ordered probit regressions and robustness tests show that volunteering and meetings with friends are significantly and positively correlated with job satisfaction, with religious participation playing the biggest role. Our findings also show that meetings with friends increase job satisfaction through self-perceived health.Job satisfaction; Social relations; Social capital; Health; Statistical matching; Italy.