Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler (2003, 2006, 2009) contend that the government is justified in shaping certain choices of individuals to advance their well-being. In this paper, I argue that those who are committed to a robust notion of autonomy, which I call autonomy as authority, have good reason to reject the Sunstein-Thaler (S/T) argument for libertarian paternalism. I draw from Joseph Raz’s (1990) idea of exclusionary reasons and Daniel Groll’s (2012) conception of autonomy to argue that the S/T argument for libertarian paternalism fails to respect autonomy. I consider if soft paternalism could be called upon as a foundation for libertarian paternalism, but argue against this possibility. I conclude that an adequate defense of libertarian paternalism would need to directly attack the notion of autonomy as authority, but such an attack has yet to be mounted by the defenders of libertarian paternalism.

The objective of this qualitative study was to contribute to the understanding of how musical activities affect the participants' well-being and empowerment and to investigate which fac-tors contribute to that effect. Invitations were sent to 13 adult participants in a rock music school in the middle part of Sweden. 7 persons (4 men, 3 women) participated in the study. 4 themes were discussed in focus groups to highlight how informants were affected by the ac-tivity and what factors were important in the context. Results showed that music activities impact on participants' well-being and empowerment through several factors.Themes that appeared were: 1) focus on the present through music, 2) personal development, 3) meaningful leisure activity 4) the group properties. The group properties theme had four underlying themes: participation, equality, tolerance, cooperation toward common goals and leadership. The study has led to a greater understanding of how musical activities affect indi-vidual well-being and empowerment. A visualization of the participating forces that play a role in this effect has started and extended research with more suitable methods is needed to illuminate the individual factors and how they contribute to individual well-being and em-powerment. / Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att bidra till förståelsen om hur en musikgruppsverk-samhet kan inverka på deltagarnas välbefinnande och empowerment samt att undersöka vad i sammanhanget som kan ge upphov till denna inverkan.Missivbrev skickades till 13 vuxna deltagare i en rockmusikskola i mellersta Sverige och 7 personer (4 män, 3 kvinnor) deltog sedan i studien. 4 teman diskuterades i fokusgrupper i en strävan att synliggöra hur informanterna berörts av verksamheten samt vilka faktorer som varit betydelsefulla i sammanhanget. Transkriberingen av intervjuerna analyserades sedan genom att meningsbärande enheter plockades ut, kodades och delades upp i teman.Resultaten visade att en rockgruppsverksamhet har inverkan på deltagarnas välbefinnande och empowerment genom ett samlad inverkan av flera faktorer. De teman som framkom i fokus-grupperna med betydelse för denna inverkan är 1) fokus på nuet genom musiken, 2) personlig utveckling, 3) meningsfull fritidssysselsättning samt 4) gruppens egenskaper och under detta tema fanns fyra underliggande teman; delaktighet, likvärdighet, tolerans, samarbete mot ge-mensamt mål och ledarskapet. Studien har lett fram till en ökad förståelse om hur en musik-gruppsverksamhet inverkar på individers välbefinnande och empowerment. Ett avstamp till att synliggöra de medverkande krafterna som har en roll i denna inverkan har påbörjats och det behövs mer forskning med bättre lämpade metoder för att mer ingående belysa fenomenet

A qualitative method was used to explore the construction of meaning in relation to spiritual meditation and spiritual experience. Meaning was considered a pathway between spiritual experience and psychological well being. 8 semi-structured interviews were conducted with people who meditate and report having had spiritual experiences during meditation. A cultural analysis was employed to understand spiritual meaning in secular, postmodern Sweden. Meaning was analyzed using a theory of global meaning where the meaning system is made up of three aspects; beliefs, goals and affect. Spiritual meditation and spiritual experiences were used by the participants to construct meaning in all three areas of global meaning. Beliefs about a spirit world and the eternal nature of a soul were confirmed and experienced in spiritual meditation which provided meaning to life and raised self-esteem. The spiritual meditation also helped the participants find and strive for important goals in life, often related to personal growth.

People with high levels of emotional intelligence (EI) seem to possess emotional skills that allow them to cope effectively with the challenges they face and promote well-being. Considering the role of EI in coping research may yield significant benefits for individuals because EI has consistently been linked with positive outcome measures, including life and work satisfaction, interpersonal functioning, healthy relationships, job performance, psychological well-being, physical health, and psychophysiological measures of adaptive coping (Martins, Ramalho, & Morin, 2010). Although the theoretical significance of EI to coping has been recognized (e.g., Bar-On & Parker, 2000; Snyder, 1999), relatively few studies explore the relationships among these constructs. The current research explores and compares how emotional intelligence (EI) facilitates adaptive coping across both interpersonal and occupational contexts – two central areas of our lives. It provides evidence in support of an extended adaptational model contextualizing EI within the transactional model of stress and coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). In general, results from an online survey (N = 300) showed that most participants (approximately 66%) did not cope adaptively with stress. Results are consistent with a model which suggests that EI and the coping strategies people use when dealing with interpersonal and occupational stressors have significant effects on psychological well-being. The findings linked EI with adaptive coping behaviour, exposing both similarities and differences in the types of coping strategies people implement across interpersonal and occupational contexts, as well as their relationships to well-being. In addition, the results demonstrated that certain coping strategies (i.e., social support, venting/self-blame, and alcohol/drug use) partially mediated the relationship between emotion skills and well-being in these two contexts. Finally, gender differences in both EI and coping strategies emerged, with the differences being mostly attributed to the socialization of gender role (i.e., the degree of agentic and communal traits) rather than sex (i.e., being male or female). Moderation models suggested that gender did not interact with EI to influence coping strategy choice (i.e., social support, venting/self-blame, alcohol/drug use) or well-being. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the therapeutic context, organizational policy, theoretical considerations, as well as future research directions.

“Positive illusions” refer to the tendencies to perceive the self and others positively. The current study proposes that cultural norms regarding positive illusions contribute to cultural differences in well-being. All pairs of participants completed self-reports and informant reports, and served both as perceivers and targets (N = 906 undergraduate students). A novel validated measure of positive illusions and multi-method assessment of well-being were used to examine cultural differences between Asians and Westerners in well-being. Positive illusions were assessed by means of the halo-alpha-beta model of correlations among ratings of participant’s own and an acquaintance’s personality on the Big Five dimensions (Anusic, Schimmack, Pinkus, & Lockwood, 2009). The results suggest that rating biases influence cross-cultural comparisons of well-being and that European and Asian Canadians have similar levels of well-being.

“Positive illusions” refer to the tendencies to perceive the self and others positively. The current study proposes that cultural norms regarding positive illusions contribute to cultural differences in well-being. All pairs of participants completed self-reports and informant reports, and served both as perceivers and targets (N = 906 undergraduate students). A novel validated measure of positive illusions and multi-method assessment of well-being were used to examine cultural differences between Asians and Westerners in well-being. Positive illusions were assessed by means of the halo-alpha-beta model of correlations among ratings of participant’s own and an acquaintance’s personality on the Big Five dimensions (Anusic, Schimmack, Pinkus, & Lockwood, 2009). The results suggest that rating biases influence cross-cultural comparisons of well-being and that European and Asian Canadians have similar levels of well-being.

While developmental research on the period of midlife has received increased attention in the literature, limited focus has been paid to the transitional stage into midlife, particularly for women. In this study, 286 women between the ages of 38 - 47 years completed online surveys comprised of a demographic questionnaire, the Social Connectedness Scale – Revised (SCS-R; Lee, Draper, & Lee, 2001), the Life Regard Index – Revised (LRI-R; Debats, 1998), and the Five Factor Wellness Inventory – Adult (FFWel-A; Myers & Sweeney, 1999). Participants were recruited through local community-based organizations and snowballing efforts. Participants resided in a major southern metropolitan city. Results from this study indicate that wellness was significantly higher for women who had advanced degrees, higher income levels, and were in a parenting role. Full-time employment and higher education levels were significantly related to higher feelings of meaning in life for women, but being in a parenting role was not linked to higher meaning in life. Implications for counseling women in the Mid-Life Transition Stage are explored and directions for future research are discussed.

Two trials were conducted with the objective of investigating the effect of light intensity, approximately within the practical levels at confinement barns (1, 10, 20 and 40 lx), on production, processing characteristics and welfare of broilers raised to 35 d of age. In each trial, 950 Ross x Ross 308 chicks were placed randomly in each room with replication of individual light intensity treatment in two environmentally controlled experimental rooms. Within each large room, a small pen with 25 male and 25 female chicks was used for recording behaviour. Data were analyzed as a randomized complete block design, considering trial as a block. All chicks were exposed to 40 lx light intensity and 23 h light for the first 7 d, followed by treatment light intensity and 17 h day length thereafter. Body weight and feed consumption were determined at 7, 14, and 35 d of age. At the conclusion of each trial, 60 birds per treatment were processed to determine the detailed meat yield. For each replicate, behaviour was recorded for the 24 h period, starting at 16 or 17 d of age. At 23 d of age, serum samples were collected from three birds per room at the start, middle and end of light and dark periods, respectively, for melatonin estimation. Skeletal and foot pad, and ocular health were monitored at 31 and 32 d of age, respectively. Broiler live production (BW, FC, FCR and mortality) was unaffected by light intensity. Carcass, thigh and drum yield as a percentage of live weight decreased linearly with increasing light intensity. The 1 lx treatment resulted in heavier wings as a percentage of live weight. Birds exposed to 1 lx rested more and had reduced expression of foraging, preening, dust-bathing, stretching and wing-flapping behaviours in comparison to other light intensities, over the 24 h period and 17 h light phase. Light intensity did not affect circadian behavioural rhythms (24 h period) and behavioural patterns over the 17 h light phase. Diurnal rhythms of serum melatonin were also unaffected by light intensity with all treatments demonstrating a pronounced rhythm. Skeletal health was unaffected by light intensity but ulcerative foot pad lesions decreased linearly with increasing light intensity. Birds exposed to the 1 lx intensity had heavier and larger eyes. In conclusion, light intensity did not affect broiler production, behavioural and physiological rhythms and mortality but did affect carcass characteristics. Increased ulcerative foot pad lesions, ocular dimensions and altered behavioural expression at 1 lx light intensity are indicators of reduced broiler welfare.

Vi ställs dagligen inför väldigt många val och beroende på vilka val vi väljer att göra kommer dessa till stor del att påverka hur vi lever vårt liv och även hur tillfreds vi kommer att vara med livet. Vi baserar många av våra val på känslomässiga förutsägelser som är våra antaganden om hur framtida händelser kommer att påverka oss känslomässigt. Våra känslomässiga förutsägelser är dessvärre ofta påverkade av olika bias som gör att vi missbedömer hur starkt och under hur lång tid vi kommer att reagera känslomässigt på kommande händelser, vilket i sin tur påverkar vilka val vi kommer att göra. Den här uppsatsen kommer att undersöka hur våra känslomässiga förutsägelser påverkar vårt subjektiva välbefinnande och även hur förståelse för detta skulle kunna användas i psykologisk coachning i form av interventioner för att hjälpa människor att göra fler val som leder till ett ökat subjektivt välbefinnande.

An individual’s housing situation can have a significant impact on their well-being and overall health. Low-income individuals and those on social assistance often have little choice in housing. Increased housing satisfaction can have an immediate impact on quality of life and can also have influence in the longer-term. This case study examines the satisfaction and well-being of tenants in a Winnipeg, Manitoba low-income housing project. The buildings that are part of the Kikinaw Housing Project were renovated using green building strategies, a tenant-centred management model is being implemented, and there are several social supports available exclusively to tenants. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with tenants, support staff and management. The practicum concludes that tenants are more satisfied with their living conditions at Kikinaw compared to their previous residence. Residents generally feel better about their health, have more social ties, and take pride in their homes. This improvement in tenant’s lives in turn strengthens the community. The practicum concludes with eight recommendations for housing providers, policy makers, and government bodies. These are divided into three categories: delivery of services, funding provisions and policy, and green and community enhancements. Recommendations include: i) more tenant involvement, ii) improving people’s ability to deal with stress, iii) flexible funding and support, iv) consistent funding and cooperation, v) enhancing social interaction and community, vi) green housing for all incomes levels, vii) resident education about the project, viii) healthy housing policy and healthy public policy. / February 2008