Anthropocentric Turn of Late Capitalism Abstract Bc. Radek Holodňák This paper constitutes the first step towards a complex description of the transformation of production relationships under late capitalism while paying special attention to the theme of human emancipation. The author sets as his goal to study how corporations unknowingly apply Marx's concept of the 'species being', a being which constitutes itself in the process of work, with the aim of keeping capitalist production efficient and up to date with current demand. To accomplish this, explanations of the concepts 'alienated labour' and 'species being' are presented, drawing mainly from Marx's Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts in the context of the evolution of human organizations as described by Frederic Laloux in Reinventing Organizations. The first chapter introduces theses concerning the tendency of capitalism to overcome and outlive itself due to the realization of the inner antinomies. One of the manifestations of this phenomenon is the so-called anthropocentric turn in which the centre of interest of late-capitalist production is shifted from material goods to man. This anthropocentric turn, enabled by unique material conditions, introduces fundamental changes to the production process, work organization, and workplace relationships...

The main topic of the diploma thesis "Subjective wellbeing: approaches and evaluation in EU-15 and in the Czech Republic" is the subjective wellbeing and its conceptualization, especially the importance of this concept in the field of measurement and assessment of the progress and of the development of societies, which are sustainable. The thesis analyses the documents, which are published in the countries of EU-15 to cover the topic of the national strategies for sustainable development. The analysis considers the extent of the relevance of these documents from the perspective of including the concept of subjective wellbeing (with happiness, quality of life, satisfaction) in the texts and it also examines the wellbeig indicators, which are implemented in these texts and which are relative to the factors with certain influence on the level of personal or social wellbeing. The analysis is interested in the study of Czech documents relevant to this topic as well (The Czech Republic's Strategic Framework for Sustainable Development and Progress report). The aim of this particular study is to identify the expressed explicit and also implicit signs of the subjective wellbeing. The last part of the analysis tries to answer the question, whether the required data, which can be used for the construction of...

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Social support has been shown to positively impact various aspects of health across the lifespan, including sexual health and well-being. While past research on sexual well-being has tended to focus on the earlier stages of the life course, notably adolescence and young adulthood, this is a largely ignored area of research past the reproductive stage of life. Current research finds that while social support, from partners, family, and friends alike, has generally positive influences on health in mid to late adulthood, these outcomes are varied in regards to sexual well-being. This thesis aims to (1) assess the role of friend support in the sexual well-being of older adults and (2) to explore if physical and mental health are significant mediators of this relationship, using data from Wave II of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP). This study found that sixty two percent of older adults are not having sex as much as they would like and 61% feel that their sex life is lacking in quality. Increased feelings of openness with friends was associated with satisfaction with sexual frequency (p=.055). However, a significant association could not be established between satisfaction with quality of sex life and friend support. In addition, physical and mental health status were not found to be significant mediators.

My dissertation gives the first analysis of misery in the thought of Aquinas and Teresa of Ávila, providing new insight into their ideas of happiness through means of contrast. I use the terms “misery” and “happiness” in a traditional sense to indicate life lived poorly or well, respectively, and I investigate these notions in Aquinas’ and Teresa’s principal texts, especially the Summa Theologiae and The Interior Castle. Both thinkers identify misery as a privation of God: a lack of the share in God’s goodness that one ought to have. Both see the escape from misery as a process of perfecting the soul’s faculties of intellect and will to unite one to God. For Aquinas, happiness is essentially an intellectual perfection: knowledge of God. Conversely, misery is an intellectual defect: lack of the knowledge of God that one ought to have. Moreover, Aquinas so analyzes “ought” that misery is a lack of what is naturally desired. Perfect happiness comes with the full understanding of God that one can only attain in heaven, but a middle ground exists between perfect happiness and misery. Even in this life, one can attain “imperfect happiness,” and the analysis of misery helps to clarify this obscure notion. The imperfectly happy have not acquired their consummate perfection, but understand as much about God as nature presently compels them to desire to know. A right will is both necessary and sufficient for escaping misery and obtaining happiness. The will depends on the intellect in such a way that it cannot desire correctly unless the intellect understands correctly. Moreover, sin colors one’s perception of reality, so that evil desire in the will causes error and ignorance in the intellect. Thus, one escapes misery if and only if one chooses to love God as one’s ultimate end. For Teresa, happiness is the union with God through knowledge and love for which the soul was made, and misery is the lack of this union. The soul escapes misery by developing a relationship with God in contemplative prayer, and Teresa illustrates happiness and misery through the titular metaphor of The Interior Castle. Notably, happiness requires that one’s union with God become perfectly secure, and I identify an intellectualist strain in Teresa that implies that the will cannot become perfectly committed to God unless the intellect can become perfectly firm in its certainty that God is the sole good. The quest for certainty is difficult, since like Descartes who will follow her, Teresa posits the existence of a deceiving demon with considerable influence over all the soul’s powers. Against that threat, Teresa claims to find certainty through mystical experience. God is Truth, containing and grounding all other truths. In the “spiritual marriage,” the soul sees God’s Triune nature as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, really three distinct persons yet one substance. The directness of this vision provides a certainty which no deception can overcome.

Объектом данной работы является жизнестойкость людей. Предметом исследования связь между жизнестойкостью и личностными особенностями людей. Магистерская диссертация состоит из введения, двух глав, заключения, списка литературы. Объем магистерской диссертации 81 страниц, на которых размещены 11 рисунков и 31 таблица. Во введении раскрывается актуальность проблемы исследования, разработанность проблематики, ставятся цель и задачи исследования, определяются объект и предмет исследования, формулируются основная и дополнительные гипотезы, указываются методы и эмпирическая база, а также этапы проведения исследования, научная новизна, значимость работы. Первая глава включает в себя обзор иностранной и отечественной литературы по теме исследования, проводится общетеоретический анализ тематики. Представлены разделы, посвященные рассмотрению жизнестокости, счастья, социально-психологической адаптации, толерантности к неопределённости, локусом контроля, мотивацией к успеху. Вторая глава посвящена эмпирической части исследования. В ней представлено описание методов проведенного исследования и результатов, полученных по всем использованным методикам: Также в главе представлены сравнительный и корреляционный анализ результатов исследования. Выводы по главе 2 включают в себя основные результаты эмпирического исследования. В заключении в обобщенном виде изложены результаты теоретической и эмпирической частей работы, а также выводы по выдвинутым гипотезам, обоснована практическая значимость исследования и описаны возможные перспективы дальнейшей разработки данной проблематики. / The object of this work is the resilience of people. The subject of the study is the relationship between resilience and personal characteristics of people. The master's thesis consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion, a list of literature. The volume of the master's thesis is 81 pages, on which are placed 11 figures and 31 table. The introduction reveals the relevance of the research problem, the development of the problematics, the purpose and objectives of the research are set, the object and the subject of the study are determined, the basic and additional hypotheses are formulated, the methods and the empirical base are specified, as well as the stages of the research, the scientific novelty, the significance of the work. The first chapter includes a review of foreign and domestic literature on the topic of the study, a general theoretical analysis of topics is conducted. The sections devoted to the study of vitality, happiness, socio-psychological adaptation, tolerance to uncertainty, a locus of control, motivation for success are presented. The second chapter is devoted to the empirical part of the study. It describes the methods of the study conducted and the results obtained from all the methods used: Also in the chapter the comparative and correlation analysis of the research results is presented. The conclusions of Chapter 2 include the main results of the empirical study. In conclusion, the results of the theoretical and empirical parts of the work, as well as conclusions on the hypotheses put forward, are presented in a generalized form, the practical significance of the study is substantiated and possible prospects for further development of this problem are described.

Объектом исследования явилось счастье. Предметом исследования стала связь счастья с добродетелями и нравственными нормами-запретами (грехами). Магистерская диссертация состоит из введения, двух глав, заключения, списка литературы (56 источников) и приложения, включающего в себя бланки применявшихся методик. Объем магистерской диссертации 98 страниц, на которых размещены 5 рисунков и 18 таблиц. Во введении раскрывается актуальность проблемы исследования, разработанность проблематики, ставятся цель и задачи исследования, определяются объект и предмет исследования, формулируются основная и дополнительные гипотезы, указываются методы и эмпирическая база, а также этапы проведения исследования, научная новизна, теоретическая и практическая значимость работы. Первая глава включает в себя обзор иностранной и отечественной литературы по теме счастья, добродетелей и достоинств личности, а также греха как синонима нравственной нормы-запрета. Выводы по первой главе представляют собой итоги по изучению теоретического материала. Вторая глава посвящена эмпирической части исследования. В ней представлено описание организации и методов проведенного исследования и результатов, полученных по всем использованным методикам: Обновленный Оксфордский опросник счастья (Oxford Happiness Inventory), Опросник достоинств личности (ОД) Personal Virtues Questionnaire (PVQ), шкалы самооценки счастья, алчности, гнева, гордыни, похоти, зависти, уныния, чревоугодия. Также в главе представлен корреляционный и факторный анализ результатов исследования. Выводы по второй главе включают в себя основные результаты эмпирического исследования. В заключении в обобщенном виде изложены результаты теоретической и эмпирической частей работы, а также выводы по выдвинутым гипотезам, обоснована практическая значимость исследования и описаны возможные перспективы дальнейшей разработки данной проблематики. / The object of the study was happiness. The subject of the research was the connection between happiness and virtues and moral norms-prohibitions (sins). The master's thesis consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion, a bibliography (56 sources) and an appendix, which includes the forms of the applied techniques. The volume of the master's thesis is 98 pages, which contain 5 figures and 17 tables. The introduction reveals the relevance of the research problem, the elaboration of the problem, sets the goal and objectives of the research, determines the object and subject of the research, formulates the main and additional hypotheses, indicates the methods and empirical base, as well as the stages of the research, scientific novelty, theoretical and practical significance of the work. The first chapter includes a review of foreign and domestic literature on the topic of happiness, virtues and dignity of the individual, as well as sin as a synonym for the moral norm-prohibition. Conclusions for the first chapter represent the results of the study of theoretical material. The second chapter is devoted to the empirical part of the study. It provides a description of the organization and methods of the study and the results obtained for all the methods used: the updated Oxford Happiness Inventory, the Personal Virtues Questionnaire (PVQ), self-assessment scales of happiness, greed, anger, pride, lust, envy, despondency, gluttony. The chapter also presents the correlation and factor analysis of the research results. The conclusions of the second chapter include the main findings of the empirical study. In the conclusion, in a generalized form, the results of the theoretical and empirical parts of the work, as well as conclusions on the hypotheses put forward, are presented, the practical significance of the study is substantiated and possible prospects for the further development of this problem are described.

No description available.

<p>  </p> <p>The overarching goal of this dissertation was to understand how between-partner feedback loops facilitate adjustment in the year following a military deployment (i.e., reintegration). Reintegration encompasses a period of family transitions and can be a challenging and turbulent time for couples as they attempt to reconnect and reorganize household dynamics. Couples may experience changes in how they interact, and partners may be able to act as a catalyst for promoting positive change in each other. Guided by Family Systems and Interdependence Theories, this study tested a specific feedback loop of a between-partner mechanism across a period of family stress and transitions. Whereas the demand/withdraw dynamic is one example of a feedback loop that is consequential for relationship well-being, the present study examined an alternative feedback loop where partners may respond to individuals’ withdrawal with a type of constructive partner support that encourages discussions and facilitates effective collaboration (i.e., active engagement). Relationship happiness, an indicator for relationship climate, was considered as a moderator in this proposed feedback loop as it intersects with individuals’ tendencies to withdraw, partners’ attempts at support provision, and global relationship functioning during periods of stress and transition. </p> <p>This study utilized longitudinal dyadic data from 124 couples at three time points in the year following service members’ return from deployment to examine the 1) longitudinal interpersonal dynamics of individuals’ tendencies to withdraw, 2) mediating role of partners’ active engagement in the change in individuals’ withdrawal, and 3) moderating role of relationship happiness in the interpersonal dynamics. Study aims were evaluated with a series of actor-partner interdependence models and path models in a structural equation modeling framework. Results suggest three interpretations. First, whereas this study sought to examine change in individuals’ tendencies to withdraw, the data indicate high levels of within-person stability. Second, this study modeled a possible feedback loop where partners’ attempts at active engagement would result in less individual withdrawal. While I did not find evidence of this feedback loop as proposed, it appeared that (female) significant others’ withdrawal was salient for reductions in (male) service members’ active engagement. Finally, I sought to understand how relationship climate (operationalized by a dyad-level indicator of relationship happiness) was associated with the interpersonal dynamics. Couples defined by a happier relationship climate had a stronger negative association between significant others’ withdrawal and service members’ active engagement. This finding may be evidence of happier couples being more apt to shift between levels of independence and interdependence, which may be especially useful for postdeployment transitions. Taken together, findings from this study suggest that individuals’ tendencies to withdraw are relatively robust to the perturbations of deployment and the utility of flexibility and adaptability in couples’ patterns across reintegration. This dissertation concludes with a discussion of the theoretical implications, avenues for future research, and potential applications of these findings.  </p>

As people meet their basic biological needs, they become increasingly concerned with higher level needs, such as personal development and positive well-being. The term "subjective well-being" (SWB) refers to people's evaluations of their lives and although relatively stable, people's levels of SWB are influenced by life events. The high position of esteem needs in Maslow's hierarchy of needs reflects the importance of self-esteem in people's judgement of their quality of life. A one group post test only, analytical research design was utilised with 570 residents of an informal settlement in Soweto. A structured questionnaire was designed to obtain information on demographic variables, levels of SWB and levels of self-esteem. The levels of SWB and self-esteem within the community were relatively high. Multiple regression analyses models confirmed that demographic factors are weakly correlated with SWB and self-esteem. Self-esteem was highly correlated with life satisfaction. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This study investigated the subjective well-being of female strippers. The effect that certain variables namely, self-esteem, general health, self-efficacy, perceived social support and sense of coherence had on subjective well-being and the independent components of subjective well-being, namely life satisfaction and positive and negative affect, were investigated. The sample consisted of 75 female strippers and was a consequence of a combination of purposive and convenience non-probability sampling. These women were employed at Teazers - a chain of strip clubs in Gauteng, South Africa. Information was gathered through self-reported questionnaires with quantifiable scales. The results of the regression models showed that life satisfaction depends on perceived social support, but positive and negative affect depends on self-esteem and general health. If life satisfaction and positive and negative affect is combined into a measurement of subjective well-being, 6.7% of the total variance in subjective well-being is uniquely explained by self-esteem. / Psychology / M. Sc. (Psychology)