The complex territory of well-being: contestable evidence, contentious theories and speculative conclusions

This paper brings together evidence and theories from a number of disciplines and thinkers that highlight multiple, sometimes incommensurable understandings about well-beings. Three broad strands are identified. The first strand is categorised as the 'hard' science of well-being and its stagnation or decline in modern western society. The second strand, social and political theory suggests that conceptualisations of well-being are shaped by aspects of western culture, often in line with the demands of a capitalist economic society. The third theme pursues the critique of consumer culture's influence on well-being but in the context of broader human problems. This approach draws on ecology, ethics, philosophy and much else to suggest we urgently need to reconsider what it means to be human, if we are to survive and thrive

Well-being and consumer culture: a different kind of public health problem?

The concept of well-being is now of interest to many disciplines;as a consequence, it presents an increasingly complex and contested territory. We suggest that much current thinking about well-being can be summarized in terms of four main discourses: scientific, popular, critical and environmental. Exponents of the scientific discourse argue that subjective well-being is now static or declining in developed countries: a paradox for economists, as incomes have grown considerably. Psychological observations on the loss of subjective well-being have also entered popular awareness, in simplified form, and conceptions of well-being as happiness are now influencing contemporary political debate and policy-making. These views have not escaped criticism. Philosophers understand well-being as part of a flourishing human life, not just happiness. Some social theorists critique the export of specific cultural concepts of well-being as human universals. Others view well-being as a potentially divisive construct that may contribute to maintaining social inequalities. Environmentalists argue that socio-cultural patterns of over-consumption, within the neo-liberal economies of developed societies, present an impending ecological threat to individual, social and global wellbeing. As the four discourses carry different implications for action, we conclude by considering their varied utility and applicability for health promotion

The complex territory of well-being: contestable evidence, contentious theories and speculative conclusions

This paper brings together evidence and theories from a number of disciplines and thinkers that highlight multiple, sometimes conflicting understandings about well-being.We identify three broad strands or themes within the literature(s) that frame both the nature of the problem and its potential solutions in different ways. The first strand can be categorised as the "hard" science of well-being and its stagnation or decline in modern western society. In a second strand, social and political theory suggests that conceptualisations of well-being are shaped by aspects of western culture, often in line with the demands of a capitalist economic system.A third theme pursues the critique of consumer culture's influence on well-being but in the context of broader human problems.This approach draws on ecology, ethics, philosophy and much else to suggest that we urgently need to reconsider what it means to be human, if we are to survive and thrive. Although no uncontroversial solutions are found within any of these themes, all play a necessary part in contributing to knowledge of this complex territory, where assumptions about the nature of the human condition come into question

Preferences of a Group of Nursery School Children at the Utah State Agricultural College for Colored or Uncolored Picture Books

In the last decade there has been manifest widespread interest in the development of children. Clinics, social agencies, and schools have made substantial contributions to our knowledge concerning children, their care, training, and growth. This is especially true of the pre-school child. Many studies have been made concerning his learning behavior, factors affecting his eating habits, his emotions, metor skills, intellectual development, and social behavior

Is 'modern culture' bad for our health and well-being?

Evidence is accumulating that well-being in high-income societies may be static or in decline. One influential theory argues that this is because ‘modern’ societies are influenced by values of materialism, individualism and consumerism. Does this intellectual critique resonate with ordinary people? This article reports on interviews with purposefully selected groups in Scotland, where the relevance of the cultural critique was explored. Participants in the study believed that cultural values such as individualized consumerism do exert a damaging influence on well-being. They suggested that such values are given particular power in the context of widespread social change and increasing inequalities. Nevertheless, they also believed that individuals and communities possess the capacity to resist such trends. This article concludes that efforts to achieve material improvement for disadvantaged people may not suffice in redressing deep-seated inequalities, if the contribution of some subtle but pernicious effects of contemporary culture remains neglected. However, the research does suggest that positive responses are also possible

Customer views on service delivery in the Child Support Agency

This research was commissioned to investigate further a range of issues identified in the last CSA national client survey carried out in 1995. It is a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with parents with care and absent parents. The research aimed to identify client satisfaction and dissatisfaction arising specifically from operational or staff activities. The main findings are: Absent parents and parents with care accepted the principle of dual responsibility. Parents with care valued the recognition of the father's responsibilities and regular payments of maintenance. Although absent parents tended to agree with the Agency's aims, some thought they had been incorrectly implemented. The Agency was seen as pursuing 'soft targets' and thought to be ineffective in obtaining maintenance from absent parents who refused to comply. Overall people were left with an impression of an impersonal system consisting of forms, letters and, increasingly, telephone calls. The Agency was seen as lacking even handedness in ensuring that all absent parents paid maintenance. Many parents were dissatisfied with their assessment as they felt it was too high and therefore inaccurate. None of the parents were able to explain fully how their assessment had been calculated and many wanted to know the details of the formula used. There were mixed views on the forms used in the assessment, some found them easy to complete, while for others it was more difficult, but few had tried to use the help notes provided. There was some objection to having to provide information on partners income and the failure to ask about debt. Contact with the Agency was a source of dissatisfaction. Some parents disliked the tone of letters from the CSA, and many complained about delays and not being kept informed of progress. Very few parents in the study had had face-to-face contact with the CSA, but many said it would be their preferred method of contact. Although there were no cases of the absent parent giving up work as a result of involvement with the CSA, some reported no longer working overtime or looking for promotion, as they believed any extra income would go in maintenance payments. For parents with care there was a greater incentive to take employment when maintenance replaced Income Support, but if it was not regularly received, they had to live on a reduced amount of benefit

On Upper Bounds for Toroidal Mosaic Numbers

In this paper, we work to construct mosaic representations of knots on the torus, rather than in the plane. This consists of a particular choice of the ambient group, as well as different definitions of contiguous and suitably connected. We present conditions under which mosaic numbers might decrease by this projection, and present a tool to measure this reduction. We show that the order of edge identification in construction of the torus sometimes yields different resultant knots from a given mosaic when reversed. Additionally, in the Appendix we give the catalog of all 2 by 2 torus mosaics.Comment: 10 pages, 111 figure