My dissertation defends a modern version of Role Ethics modeled on the functioning of human moral psychology, and proposes a novel method for identifying the institutional roles of a well-ordered collective. In particular, I defend the view that our duties are determined by the social roles we incur in the communities we inhabit. The companion project extends Role Ethics into the political domain. I argue that we can identify the well-ordered collective in roughly the same way we identify the good individual, by discerning the dispositions in the relevant agent that are conducive to its well-being. By scaling up, we shift attention from the moral dispositions of individuals to the moral dispositions of collectives -- the institutions that determine the moral character of a population. While philosophers have tended to focus on the formal institutions of the state, this research is largely concerned with the 'informal institutions' of a collective, the implicit social roles/practices constructed and enforced endogenously, such as those involved in structuring human friendships. What I call 'Collective Eudaimonism' is a kind of virtue ethics writ large, a normative theory tasked with identifying correlations between a set of informal institutions and the indicators of flourishing human collectives. / text

Yes / Whereas the behavioral and health sciences have been mainly concerned with the private good, there is an urgent need to understand and foster the collective good. Without a coherent framework for the common good, it will be extremely difficult to prevent and manage crises such as pandemics, illness, climate change, poverty, discrimination, injustice, and inequality, all of which affect marginalized populations disproportionally. While frameworks for personal well-being abound in psychology, psychiatry, counseling and social work, conceptualizations of collective well-being are scarce. Our search for foundations of the common good resulted in the identification of three psychosocial goods: mattering, wellness, and fairness. There are several reasons for choosing them, including the fact that they concurrently advance personal, relational, and collective value. In addition, they represent basic human motivations, have considerable explanatory power, exist at multiple ecological levels, and have significant transformative potential. The complementary nature of the three goods is illustrated in an interactional model. Based on empirical evidence, we suggest that conditions of justice lead to experiences of mattering, which, in turn, enhance wellness. Challenges and opportunities afforded by the model at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, occupational, communal, national, and global levels are presented. The proposed psychosocial goods are used to formulate a culture for the common good in which we balance the right with the responsibility to feel valued and add value, to self and others, in order to promote not just wellness but also fairness.

Nursing students are part of the larger nursing community, and their well-being is closely related to that of the community in which they function. Various reports indicate that the South African nursing profession is in crisis due to staff shortages and poor working conditions. Insufficient numbers of registered nurses are entering the profession, and the resultant work pressure, especially for nurses working in the public sector, increases the risk of burnout. A pressing need exists for nursing students to graduate and enter the workforce to alleviate the serious staff shortage. The aim of the research was to explore the different dimensions of well-being as described by nursing students during their nursing studies. A purposive and availability sample was used to explore the experiences of first-year students of the School of Nursing Science at the North-West University during 2008. Qualitative data-gathering methods included in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, personal diaries and visual data-gathering methods such as collages and the Mmogo-method™. A secondary analysis of the qualitative data obtained during 2008 was conducted, and the findings were complemented by a qualitative, exploratory and inductive design to explore the experiences of the same students in the same context two years later in 2010. A case study method was used to explore the experiences of the students. Themes that emerged from the data gathered during the first and the second phase of the research relate to the three sites of well-being as described by Prilleltensky and Prilleltensky (2006), namely personal, relational and collective well-being. Well-being in this research refers to the complexity inherent in the multifaceted profession of nursing and is understood as optimal functioning in all aspects of the person in relation to other people as well as the broader context of the nursing community. The findings should be contextualised against the many adverse circumstances to which students are exposed during their first weeks of training. Many of the students are away from home, often for their first time, and they have to adapt to academic workloads and practical training hours as well as acquire the coping skills needed to manage these new challenges. The students in this study reported high levels of stress and anxiety during their training and said they felt under pressure because of the long hours and heavy workloads. Despite this pressure, many of the students maintained a positive attitude and reiterated their desire to become nurses. Relational well-being included support from friends, family members and lecturers. These were important sources of support for the students. Collective well-being was a major concern, and the students were outspoken about the unhealthy broader context in which they had to function. The situation in the nursing community generally is reflected in the training of nurses. This research highlighted a collective environment that was not conducive to the holistic well-being of the student nurses in the study. Such well-being is crucial as they enter the workforce and face the challenges encountered there. / Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Nursing students are part of the larger nursing community, and their well-being is closely related to that of the community in which they function. Various reports indicate that the South African nursing profession is in crisis due to staff shortages and poor working conditions. Insufficient numbers of registered nurses are entering the profession, and the resultant work pressure, especially for nurses working in the public sector, increases the risk of burnout. A pressing need exists for nursing students to graduate and enter the workforce to alleviate the serious staff shortage. The aim of the research was to explore the different dimensions of well-being as described by nursing students during their nursing studies. A purposive and availability sample was used to explore the experiences of first-year students of the School of Nursing Science at the North-West University during 2008. Qualitative data-gathering methods included in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, personal diaries and visual data-gathering methods such as collages and the Mmogo-method™. A secondary analysis of the qualitative data obtained during 2008 was conducted, and the findings were complemented by a qualitative, exploratory and inductive design to explore the experiences of the same students in the same context two years later in 2010. A case study method was used to explore the experiences of the students. Themes that emerged from the data gathered during the first and the second phase of the research relate to the three sites of well-being as described by Prilleltensky and Prilleltensky (2006), namely personal, relational and collective well-being. Well-being in this research refers to the complexity inherent in the multifaceted profession of nursing and is understood as optimal functioning in all aspects of the person in relation to other people as well as the broader context of the nursing community. The findings should be contextualised against the many adverse circumstances to which students are exposed during their first weeks of training. Many of the students are away from home, often for their first time, and they have to adapt to academic workloads and practical training hours as well as acquire the coping skills needed to manage these new challenges. The students in this study reported high levels of stress and anxiety during their training and said they felt under pressure because of the long hours and heavy workloads. Despite this pressure, many of the students maintained a positive attitude and reiterated their desire to become nurses. Relational well-being included support from friends, family members and lecturers. These were important sources of support for the students. Collective well-being was a major concern, and the students were outspoken about the unhealthy broader context in which they had to function. The situation in the nursing community generally is reflected in the training of nurses. This research highlighted a collective environment that was not conducive to the holistic well-being of the student nurses in the study. Such well-being is crucial as they enter the workforce and face the challenges encountered there. / Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.