Perceptions of subjective economic well-being and support for market reform among China's urban population

This article examines whether subjective economic assessments have any impact on support for further market reforms among China's urban population, utilising a large survey of 10,716 people across 32 cities. The effect of subjective economic well-being on support for market reforms is an important issue for the Chinese government as it seeks to sell the benefits of increased globalisation and marketisation to its citizens. Our main finding is that people's assessment of the overall economic situation helps to explain support for market reform, although the relationship is weak, while people's assessment of their own economic circumstances does not influence support for reform. The findings are compared with those of similar studies for Central and Eastern Europe. © 2005 Centre for Research into Post-Communist Economies.

A study of the impact of environmental surroundings on personal well-being in urban China using a multi-item well-being indicator

We examine the relationship between atmospheric and water pollution, traffic congestion, access to parkland and personal well-being using a survey administered across six Chinese cities in 2007. In contrast to existing studies of well-being determinants by economists which typically employ single-item indicators, we use the Personal Well-being Index (PWI). We also employ the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) to measure job satisfaction, which is one of the variables for which we control when examining the relationship between environmental surroundings and personal well-being. Previous research by psychologists has shown the PWI and JSS to have good psychometric properties in western and Chinese samples. A robust finding is that in cities with higher levels of atmospheric pollution and traffic congestion, respondents report lower levels of personal well-being ceteris paribus. Specifically, we find that a one standard deviation increase in suspended particles or sulphur dioxide emissions is roughly equivalent to a 12-13% reduction in average monthly income in the six cities. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Prioritization of psychological well-being in the care of diabetes: moving beyond excuses, bringing solutions

Jones and colleagues recently made a plea for the prioritization of psychological well-being in diabetes care [1]. Such calls to action began over 20 years ago with the 'St Vincent Declaration' guidelines [2]. A 'plea' two decades later emphasizes that this paradigm shift is a long, slow burn. In the 21st century, people with diabetes are now adding their powerful voices via social media, advocating for better psychological support, as active consumers (and constructive critics) of health care [3]. We can learn considerably from organizations such as Cancer Voices (www.cancervoicesaustralia.org) - they demonstrate how consumer representation and involvement in research agendas, policy and service provision play an integral part in shaping holistic health care. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The role of general and specific stressors in the health and well-being of call centre operators

The call centre industry has developed a reputation for generating a highly stressful work environment with high absenteeism and turnover rates. Research has identified role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload, and work-family conflict as common stressors in other settings. Call centre research has additionally identified performance monitoring, job design and job opportunities as call centre specific stressors.OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: This study investigated the impact of the identified stressors on burnout, somatic symptomology, and turnover intent among 126 call centre representatives (CCRs) from 11 call centres in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia.

The happiness and subjective well-being of people on haemodialysis

Happiness is a construct that has been gaining more prominence in both social and health research. The measure of happiness, subjective well-being, has not been rigorously explored in the end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) population.

The association between body image and psychological well-being in adult women

The findings of this thesis highlighted the role of functional aspects of body image (i.e., self-rated health/ fitness) in positively shaping the well-being of young and middle-aged women. A novel finding was the strong association found between women’s body image and how well they believed they managed their life situations.

Young people, pleasure, and the normalization of pornography: sexual health and well-being in a time of proliferation?

It has been argued that pornography is the most prominent sex educator for young people today (Flood, M. (2010). Young men using pornography. In E. Boyle (Ed.), Everyday Pornography (pp. 164–178). Oxford: Routledge). Research indicates that first exposure to pornography can be as young as 11 years of age. There is evidence that exposure to pornography is shaping young people’s sexual expectations and practices (H€aggstro ̈ m-Nordin et al. 2005). Many young people are learning what sex looks like from what they – or their partner or peers – observe in pornography. Significantly,pornography is normalizing sex acts that most women do not enjoy and may experience as degrading, painful, or violating. This raises serious implications for young people’s capacity to develop a sexuality that incorporates mutual pleasure, respect, and negotiation of free and full consent.While the results are complex and nuanced, research into the effects of pornography consumption provides reliable evidence that exposure to pornography increases aggressive attitudes and behavior towards women for some viewers (Malamuth et al. Annual Review of Sex Research 11, 26–91, 2000). Pornography consumption also has been found to be associated with sexual health risk taking and can impact negatively on body image and sense of self (Dean, L. (2007). Young Men, Pornography and Sexual Health Promotion, MA Research, Brighton University, Brighton, in possession of the author), and as such is a serious health and well-being issue, particularly for young women.This chapter explores preservice teachers’ reactions to pornography education using two examples from teaching of an elective Teaching Sexuality in the Middle Years, in 2011. These examples explore the complex emotions such teaching can generate and the challenges faced by preservice teachers when they are encouraged to confront the gendered and violent consequences of the normalization of pornography in a coeducational setting.

The subjective well-being of paralympic athletes

 Paralympic athletes represent a very high functioning group within the population. They not only report high levels of SWB but also have robust psychological resources that support adaptation to environmental challenges and athletic success. This would suggest that important lessons in resilience could be learned from this high profile group.

Well-being and Resilience in Education

Compared to previous generations, today’s youth appear to be poorly equipped to meet the life challenges they face. This chapter focuses on two approaches to developing positive and resilient behavior in young people, namely the student well-being approach and the social and emotional learning (SEL) approach. These two approaches have slowly emerged to fill the void created by the failed self-esteem movement that began in the 1970s. Both approaches have strong links with positive psychology, a model that emphasizes the conditions, strengths, and behaviors that enable people to develop well-being, act resiliently, and thrive. Evidence-informed guidelines for developing and implementing universal school-based programs designed to enhance well-being and SEL are identified and examples of national and specific initiatives are outlined.

Impact of individual coping strategies and organisational work–life balance programmes on Australian employee well-being

This paper examines several individual coping strategies and employees' perception of organisational provision of work–life balance (WLB) programmes with a sample of 700 Australian employees. The combined effects of individual coping strategies and organisational provision of WLB programmes on employee affective well-being are examined, using structural equation modelling. Results indicate that individuals with positive attitudes and life coping strategies were more capable of achieving overall well-being. Both monetary- and non-monetary-based organisational WLB provision had no direct association with employee well-being, but had indirect effects via individual coping strategies to help employees achieve better well-being. Employee well-being was found to have a stronger association with individual effort than organisational deliberation in providing WLB programmes. Theoretical and practical implications of these study outcomes are discussed.

Bayesian hierarchical modeling of the temporal dynamics of subjective well-being: A 10 year longitudinal analysis

This study demonstrates, for the first time, how Bayesian hierarchical modeling can be applied to yield novel insights into the long-term temporal dynamics of subjective well-being (SWB). Several models were proposed and examined using Bayesian methods. The models were assessed using a sample of Australian adults (. n=. 1081) who provided annual SWB scores on between 5 and 10 occasions. The best fitting models involved a probit transformation, allowed error variance to vary across participants, and did not include a lag parameter. Including a random linear and quadratic effect resulted in only a small improvement over the intercept only model. Examination of individual-level fits suggested that most participants were stable with a small subset exhibiting patterns of systematic change.

Young children learning about well-being and environmental education in the early years: a funds of knowledge approach

Early childhood educators currently provide content focused learning opportunities for children in the areas of well-being and environmental education. However, these are usually seen as discrete content areas and educators are challenged with responding to children’s interests in popular-culture inspired food products given these influence their consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor and highly packaged food in the early childhood setting. This paper reports preliminary findings from a pilot randomised trial examining the interconnectedness of sustainability, well-being and popular-culture in early childhood education. Planning, assessment documentation and summaries from twenty-four learning experiences implemented by six educators over a six-week period were analysed using a deductive approach. Twenty well-being and environmental education topics were identified and shown to be generated by the educators when considering the children’s ‘funds of knowledge’ on popular-culture inspired food products. We argue that topics derived from children’s engagement with popular-culture may help educators to create an integrated approach to curriculum provision. This may impact child weight and facilitate obesity prevention and environmental sustainability as children create stronger connections between these content areas and their everyday choices and practices.