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

Relaxation of a test particle in systems with long-range interactions: diffusion coefficient and dynamical friction

We study the relaxation of a test particle immersed in a bath of field particles interacting via weak long-range forces. To order 1/N in the $N\to +\infty$ limit, the velocity distribution of the test particle satisfies a Fokker-Planck equation whose form is related to the Landau and Lenard-Balescu equations in plasma physics. We provide explict expressions for the diffusion coefficient and friction force in the case where the velocity distribution of the field particles is isotropic. We consider (i) various dimensions of space $d=3,2$ and 1 (ii) a discret spectrum of masses among the particles (iii) different distributions of the bath including the Maxwell distribution of statistical equilibrium (thermal bath) and the step function (water bag). Specific applications are given for self-gravitating systems in three dimensions, Coulombian systems in two dimensions and for the HMF model in one dimension

Il linguaggio sopra la base magica. Realt\ue0 e scrittura in Nanni Balestrini

Personaggi, fatti ed esperienze collegati con precise realt\ue0 storiche e sociali occupano il piano del contenuto di molte opere in prosa e in versi di Nanni Balestrini. Tuttavia questa semplice constatazione non deve mettere in ombra la complessit\ue0 del rapporto fra realt\ue0 e scrittura nella sua opera, tenacemente irriducibile ad uno schema contenutistico. Non inganni, in casi come il radiodramma Parma 1922, l\u2019apparente trasparenza della prosa: con Balestrini ci si tiene sempre lontano dall\u2019esercizio della scrittura come mimesi realistica. Balestrini \ue8 uno scrittore che, al limite, pu\uf2 non scrivere affatto ma piuttosto riscrivere e - con particolari procedimenti - porre sulla \u201cbase magica\u201d della sua letteratura un dato: il prodotto linguistico di una determinata realt\ue0, che nel caso di Parma 1922 consiste nei discorsi dei protagonisti delle Barricate e di chi li raccont\uf2 negli anni Sessanta (lo storico De Micheli). Come lo spirito epico che anima queste pagine, anche quanto vi si trova di realistico appartiene a quei linguaggi e, in ultima istanza, appartiene a quelle storie. A Balestrini spetta la straordinaria capacit\ue0 di farne letteratura

Agency, qualia and life: connecting mind and body biologically

Many believe that a suitably programmed computer could act for its own goals and experience feelings. I challenge this view and argue that agency, mental causation and qualia are all founded in the unique, homeostatic nature of living matter. The theory was formulated for coherence with the concept of an agent, neuroscientific data and laws of physics. By this method, I infer that a successful action is homeostatic for its agent and can be caused by a feeling - which does not motivate as a force, but as a control signal. From brain research and the locality principle of physics, I surmise that qualia are a fundamental, biological form of energy generated in specialized neurons. Subjectivity is explained as thermodynamically necessary on the supposition that, by converting action potentials to feelings, the neural cells avert damage from the electrochemical pulses. In exchange for this entropic benefit, phenomenal energy is spent as and where it is produced - which precludes the objective observation of qualia

A unified approach for the solution of the Fokker-Planck equation

This paper explores the use of a discrete singular convolution algorithm as a unified approach for numerical integration of the Fokker-Planck equation. The unified features of the discrete singular convolution algorithm are discussed. It is demonstrated that different implementations of the present algorithm, such as global, local, Galerkin, collocation, and finite difference, can be deduced from a single starting point. Three benchmark stochastic systems, the repulsive Wong process, the Black-Scholes equation and a genuine nonlinear model, are employed to illustrate the robustness and to test accuracy of the present approach for the solution of the Fokker-Planck equation via a time-dependent method. An additional example, the incompressible Euler equation, is used to further validate the present approach for more difficult problems. Numerical results indicate that the present unified approach is robust and accurate for solving the Fokker-Planck equation.Comment: 19 page

At What Stage of Neural Processing Does Cocaine Act to Boost Pursuit of Rewards?

Dopamine-containing neurons have been implicated in reward and decision making. One element of the supporting evidence is that cocaine, like other drugs that increase dopaminergic neurotransmission, powerfully potentiates reward seeking. We analyze this phenomenon from a novel perspective, introducing a new conceptual framework and new methodology for determining the stage(s) of neural processing at which drugs, lesions and physiological manipulations act to influence reward-seeking behavior. Cocaine strongly boosts the proclivity of rats to work for rewarding electrical brain stimulation. We show that the conventional conceptual framework and methods do not distinguish between three conflicting accounts of how the drug produces this effect: increased sensitivity of brain reward circuitry, increased gain, or decreased subjective reward costs. Sensitivity determines the stimulation strength required to produce a reward of a given intensity (a measure analogous to the KM of an enzyme) whereas gain determines the maximum intensity attainable (a measure analogous to the vmax of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction). To distinguish sensitivity changes from the other determinants, we measured and modeled reward seeking as a function of both stimulation strength and opportunity cost. The principal effect of cocaine was a two-fourfold increase in willingness to pay for the electrical reward, an effect consistent with increased gain or decreased subjective cost. This finding challenges the long-standing view that cocaine increases the sensitivity of brain reward circuitry. We discuss the implications of the results and the analytic approach for theories of how dopaminergic neurons and other diffuse modulatory brain systems contribute to reward pursuit, and we explore the implications of the conceptual framework for the study of natural rewards, drug reward, and mood

Pleasure in decision-making situations

BACKGROUND: This study explores the role of pleasure in decision making. RESULTS: In Experiment 1, 12 subjects were presented with a questionnaire containing 46 items taken from the literature. Twenty-three items described a situation where a decision should be made and ended with a suggested solution. The other items served as filler items. The subjects were requested not to make a decision but to rate the pleasure or displeasure they experienced when reading the situation described in the item. The subjects' ratings were then compared to the decisions on the same situations made by the other subjects of the studies published by other workers. The ratings of pleasure/displeasure given by our subjects correlated significantly with the choices published by other authors. This result satisfies a necessary condition for pleasure to be the key of the decision making process in theoretical situations. In Experiment 2, a new group of 12 subjects rated their experience of pleasure/displeasure when reading various versions of 50 situations taken from daily life where an ethical decision had to be made (Questionnaire I) including 200 items. This was followed by a multiple-choice test with the 50 situations (Questionnaire II) using the same 200 items and offering the various behaviors. Subjects tended to choose ethical and unethical responses corresponding to their highest pleasure rating within each problem. In all cases the subjects' behavior was higher than chance level, and thus, followed the trend to maximize pleasure. In Experiment 3, 12 subjects reading 50 mathematical short problems followed by correct and incorrect versions of the answer to the problem (Questionnaire III), including 200 items. This was followed by a multiple-choice mathematical test with the 50 problems (Questionnaire IV) using the same 200 items and offering the correct and incorrect answers. In questionnaire IV, subjects tended to choose correct as well as incorrect responses corresponding to their highest hedonic rating within each problem. In all cases the subjects' behavior was higher than chance level, and thus, followed the trend to maximize pleasure. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the three experiments support the hypothesis according to which decisions are made in the hedonic dimension of conscious experience