Syftet med studien var att undersöka effekter av körsång, hos körsångare. Trots körsjungandets populäritet och omvittnade fördelar, har relativt få forskare undersökt omfattningen av de förmodade positiva effekterna av körsång på välbefinnande. Vid en systematisk genomgång av forskning som rörde körsång och välbefinnande konstaterades att många studier har skett i liten skala och varit kvalitativa, med endast ett fåtal stora kvantitativa undersökningar eller väl utformade experiment. Föreliggande studie ville bidra med kunskap på området genom att kvasi-experimentellt undersöka körsjungandets effekter avseende stress och energi samt positiv och negativ affekt. Deltagarna i studien var 20 körsångare från två olika körer, varav åtta män och tolv kvinnor i blandad ålder. Data erhölls genom psykometriskta test bestående av självskattningsformulär, före och efter körsång. Med körsång avsågs en körövning då kören repeterade. För statistisk bearbetning av datamaterialet användes statistiskprogrammet SPSS. Där gjordes beräkningar av deskriptiv statistik och beroende t-tester. För att undvika massignifikans presenterades resultaten utifrån p<0,0125 (0.05/4) en så kallad Bonferroni-korrektion. Resultatet visade att körsång minskade stressnivån och ökade energinivån samt att positiv affekt ökade och negativ affekt minskade. Resultatet var signifikant. Slutsatsen var att körsjungande ökade välbefinnandet. Det är troligtvis ingen nyhet för Sveriges 600 000 körsångare men slutsatsen kan få betydelse i andra sammanhang, som i skolan och på arbetsplatser. / The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of choir singing. Despite the popularity of choir singing and its proven advantages, relatively few researchers have studied the extent of the supposed positive effects of choir singing on well-being. In a systematic review of research related to choir singing and well-being, it was found that many studies have taken place on a small scale and have been qualitative, with only a few large quantitative studies or well-designed experiments. The present study would contribute knowledge in the field by making a quasi-experimental study of the effects of choir singing regarding stress levels and energy, plus positive and negative emotions. The participants in the study were 20 choir singers from two different choirs, eight men and twelve women of mixed ages. Data was obtained through a psychometric test consisting of a self-assessment form, before and after choir practice. For statistical processing of the data, the statistical program SPSS was used. Calculations were made of descriptive statistics and dependent t-tests. In order to avoid mass significance, the results were presented based on p <0.0125 (0.05 / 4) a so-called Bonferroni correction. The results showed that choir singing decreased stress levels and increased energy levels and that positive emotions increased and negative emotions decreased. The result was significant. The conclusion was that choir singing increased well-being. It is probably no news for Sweden's 600,000 choir singers, but the conclusion could be important in other contexts, such as at school and at workplaces.

Despite the relevance of social innovations in the sustainable development, little is known about the drivers that help to spread them. Innovative ideas are developed to meet the needs of local communities and therefore often remain at a regional level; nevertheless, diffusion and scaling are necessary in order to lead to a societal change. This thesis analyses the case of Suspended Coffees, a successful diffusion of a social innovation in Germany. The research focuses on businesses adopting the social innovation to examine the drivers of diffusion. 24 interviews with business owners and two in-depth expert interviews with the German coordination body were conducted. The results illustrate (1) the existence of social needs, (2) the strong personal motivations of adopters, and (3) the compatibility of the innovation with adopting businesses and the social ecosystem, as main drivers of the diffusion. The study thereby expands the limited research in the field of the diffusion of social innovations.

A partir de l’articulation entre le bien-être comparable inter-personnellement et l’équité basée sur la séparation des personnes, la thèse présente un cadre théorique dans lequel les préférences éthiques sont représentées par des fonctions de bien-être social additivement séparables. Nous avons deux objectifs ; en décelant les jugements distributifs nécessairement sous-tendus par les fonctions qui respectent des principes de transferts de revenus, le premier objectif est d’offrir des critères de comparaison entre ces fonctions et celles qui respectent les principes de transferts d’utilité (fonctions prioritaristes). Le second objectif est d’exposer la pluralité des jugements distributifs et des degrés d’adhésion qu’ils peuvent susciter. A ces fins, il faut postuler la comparabilité de l’utilité et des valeurs éthiques (utilités transformées). Cette comparabilité à deux niveaux est postulée lorsque les ratios d’utilité entre ménages aux besoins différents sont supposés comparables. Dans ce cadre, les fonctions de bien-être social qui respectent le principe de transferts de revenus de Pigou-Dalton ne sont pas forcément prioritaristes. De plus, les fonctions défendent potentiellement deux définitions du degré d’adhésion à l’aversion aux inégalités. Premièrement, une fonction qui tolère une perte d’utilité totale plus grande afin de réduire les inégalités est dite plus averse aux inégalités. Cette définition est caractérisée par les principes de transferts proportionnels qui s’adaptent bien à la comparabilité en ratios d’utilité. Deuxièmement, le degré d’adhésion est présenté par l’aversion plus forte aux inégalités entre les moins bien lotis. Les hypothèses informationnelles entravent l’exposé des degrés d’adhésion selon la seconde définition, elles limitent aussi les jugements distributifs. En passant outre, nous étudions les interactions entre un nombre quelconque de principes de transferts d’utilité et de revenus définis de manière récursive. Enfin, quatre jugements distributifs sont caractérisés par le respect et/ou le non-respect d’un ensemble de principes de transferts. La disposition à négliger l’évolution de bien-être d’une fraction donnée de la population au profit de l’évolution de bien-être d’une minorité d’individus représente le degré d’adhésion à l’un de ces jugements. / From the linkage between interpersonally comparable well-being and equity based on the separateness of persons, the Ph. D. dissertation introduces a theoretical framework in which ethical preferences are represented by additively separable social welfare functions. The thesis has two goals ; by exhibiting distributive judgments necessarily embodied by the functions that fulfil income transfer principles, the first aim is to provide comparison cirteria between these functions and those that fulfill utility transfer principles (prioritarian functions). The second aim is to expose a plurality of distributive judgments and of degrees of adhesion they can rise. For such purposes, interpersonal comparability of utility as well as that of ethical values (transformed utilities) are needed. This two-level comparability is granted when inter-household utility ratios are supposed to be comparable. In this framework, the social welfare functions satisfying the Pigou-Dalton principle of income transfer are not necessarily prioritarian. Moreover, the functions potentially support two meanings of adhesion for inequality aversion. First, if a function is willing to endorse a inequality-reducing transfer entailing a greater loss in the transferred benefit to be socially desirable, then it is more inequality averse. This definition is characterized by proportional transfer principles well-adapted to ratio-scale comparability of utility. Second, the degree of adhesion for inequality aversion is presented as a downside inequality aversion. Informational hypothesis rule out parts of the exposition of the plurality of degrees, they put limits to distributive judgments too. By going beyond that, the Ph. D. dissertation studies the interplay between any number of income and utility transfer principles all defined recursively. Finally, four distributive judgments are characterized by the fulfilment and/or non-fulfilment of a set of transfer principles. The willingness to neglect the welfare evolution of a given proportion of population to take into account that of a minority represents the degree of adhesion for one of those judgments.

Uganda´s well-being ranks among the worst in the world, while Sweden´s well-being ranks among the best. This thesis investigates if there is a difference in well-being and dispositional optimism in Uganda and Sweden. The neurobiology underlying well-being and optimism is also examined. The neural correlations of well-being and optimism are connected to areas in the limbic system and cerebral cortex. Prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex are two curial regions involved in both well-being and optimism. Amygdala, parahippocampal gyrus, and thalamus are central areas for hedonic well-being, dispositional optimism, and optimism bias. In this thesis 284 Ugandans and 256 Swedes completed a questionnaire based survey. Greater hedonic well-being was found among Swedes, whereas greater eudiamonic well-being was found among Ugandans. Swedes reported greater global life satisfaction than Ugandans, but Ugandans expressed higher satisfaction with their current lives compared with Swedes. In relation to dispositional optimism, Ugandans were found to be both more optimistic and more pessimistic than Swedes. This unexpected dispositional optimism pattern is discussed and future research directions are proposed.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / The purpose of this research was to ascertain how children in lowrisk, middle to upper income areas perceive violence and their experience of it. It explores their exposure to violence and how this may affect their view of the future in terms of their hopes and fears. The research was framed around Frantz Fanon's theory of violence and Urie Bronfenbrenner's Systems Theory. The aims of the research was to explore children's perceptions of violence and how this affects children's sense of wellbeing within the context of South Africa by: i) investigating how much children know and understand about the violence that is prevalent in the country, ii) discovering how this frames their perception of violence and finally iii) explore how this affects their sense of well-being. The participants of the study were 28 male and female grade 6 children, between the ages of 10 and 12 from a private school in the Cape Town metropole. There were three focus groups consisting of 8-11 children per group. This was a qualitative study. The data collection was interpreted through Thematic Analysis. The highest standards of ethical conduct and research practice were adhered to. / South Africa

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / Student counselling services, typically located within a holistic developmental approach, aim to render comprehensive student services to service users in relation to their psychological, social,educational and spiritual well-being. However, a number of cognitive and affective barriers reportedly reduce the likelihood of young people at universities seeking professional psychological help for personal-emotional problems. Accordingly, the aim of this study, which is located within the Theory of Reasoned Action, was to explore students’ attitudes towards utilising student counselling services, as well as their interpretations of the influence of age, gender and education on their attitudes and self-rated knowledge regarding seeking psychological help. The study thereby attempts to provide an understanding of the factors that influence help-seeking behaviours in university students. The research sample consisted of twenty nine students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The data was collected through focus group discussions, which were conducted using an open-ended and participantcentred approach to the discussion. The qualitative approach of the study was informed by the theory of social phenomenology. Data gathered from the focus group discussions was thematically analysed. The results suggest that attitudes have a potentially important influence on intentions to seek out psychological counselling. Findings show that students feel shame and guilt when they are struggling psychologically and as a result avoid seeking psychological intervention for fear of being negatively stigmatised. The study revealed that education around mental health disorders and the management thereof was crucial in order for them to be demystified and de-stigmatised, and to facilitate openness in the sharing of these problems, and society’s understanding and acceptance of people experiencing psychological disorders. Results also indicate that there is a shift taking place in these attitudes, and suggest ways in which this change can be further facilitated, such as the utilisation of peer helpers who could play a key role in facilitating and reinforcing help seeking behaviour. The outcomes of the study may further contribute to informing universities’ goal to provide accessible, quality and effective development and support services to its students.

Magister Commercii - MCom / The costs of occupational health and well-being are increasingly being considered as sound ‘investments’ as healthy and engaged employees yield direct economic benefits to the company.The concept of Work engagement plays a vital role in this endeavour because engagement entails positive definitions of employee health and promotes the optimal functioning of employees within an organisational setting. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between work engagement, self-efficacy and optimism amongst call centre employees in a retail organisation in the Western Cape. Over the last several years, most call centre research has predominately been focused on the aspects and causes of stress, burnout, and the deterrents of employee’s well-being. In response to the prevailing preoccupation with negative aspects, the research focused on more positive aspects of human functioning and experiences. The sample comprised of ninety three call centre employees who are employed in the customer service department in a major retail organisation in the Western Cape. Convenience sampling was utilised. The measuring instruments included the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, The Life Orientation Test-Revised and The General Self-Efficacy Scale. Statistically significant relationships were found between work engagement, self-efficacy and optimism. It was found that call centre agents displayed average levels of work engagement and optimism however they displayed high levels of self-efficacy. It was furthermore found that a moderate percentage of the variance in work engagement can be explained by self-efficacy and optimism. The implication of the results is that interventions that focus on the personal resources (viz. efficacy beliefs,optimism, hope and resiliency) and job resources (viz. physical, social or organizational aspects of the job) will contribute to increasing levels of work engagement.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / The construct of subjective well-being within child well-being and quality of life research has become increasingly prominent in recent years. Central to such developments is the question of to what extent children’s subjective experiences of well-being can be compared cross-culturally. Given the paucity of empirical research on the topic of cross-cultural comparisons, the importance of validating current measures of subjective well-being has been emphasized by many researchers as critical in contributing to the international dialogue. The aim of the current study was to test a measure of subjective well-being (the Personal Well-being Index – School Children) amongst a sample of children from Cape Town, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Given the diversity of experience between children from different language groups in South Africa, the study further aimed to determine the extent to which the measures are comparable across two language groups (Afrikaans and English). Data from the Children’s World Survey were used; and include a sample of 1004 children randomly selected from 15 schools within the Cape Town Metropole. Located within the goodness of fit theoretical framework, confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the overall fit structure and multi-group factor analysis, with Scalar and Metric invariance constraints. The results show appropriate fit structure for the overall model, with Scalar and Metric factor invariance tenable across language groups. The overall findings suggest that the Personal Well-being Index – School Children is appropriate for use with English and Afrikaans children in Western Cape Province, South Africa, and that scores between these groups can be compared by regressions, correlations, and means.

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / Since the inception of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, millions of individuals of all ages have been affected. To date, more than 15 million people have died from HIV/AIDS, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of orphans worldwide. AIDS orphans are not spared from the catastrophic outcomes of the virus but rather are critically affected by the presence of familial HIV/AIDS. They have come to be seen as a vulnerable population of the youth who are neglected and ineffectively educated and cared for. Numerous risk factors and outcomes have been identified for AIDS orphans, such as parental bereavement, poverty, financial strain, the loss of educational opportunities, and stigmatisation. Although these risk factors and outcomes may be present among all orphaned youth, AIDS orphans display higher levels of psychological difficulties and distress than youth orphaned by other causes. Scholars have begun to investigate the association of AIDS orphans with a highly stigmatised disease in the hope of uncovering possible explanations. This research has become a challenging task as there is insufficient filtered information examining the effects of HIV-related stigma on the psychological well-being of AIDS orphans. With limited knowledge, it is impossible to accurately illustrate or address the risk that HIV-related stigma poses to the psychological well-being of AIDS orphans. The present study aimed to examine and report on the effects of HIV-related stigma on the psychological well-being of AIDS orphans who have lost one or both of their parents to HIV/AIDS. The study employed a systematic review methodology which identified and critically evaluated relevant literature for inclusion and provided a descriptive meta-synthesis of findings. The review considered studies reporting on the effects of HIV-related stigma on the psychological well-being of AIDS orphans that were published during the period 2004–2015. The review was conducted in four systematic steps. Firstly, potential titles were identified using predetermined sets of keywords in databases available at the University of the Western Cape. Secondly, the abstracts of potential titles were screened for relevance to the study and were promoted to the next level of review. Thirdly, the full text of the studies of all eligible abstracts were retrieved and evaluated for methodological quality using a critical appraisal tool. Eligibility for inclusion was determined by a predetermined threshold score of 80%. Lastly, studies included in the present study were subjected to a process of data extraction. Subsequently, the title search yielded 5473 prospective titles of which 96 titles were identified for possible inclusion. Abstract screening excluded 59 titles, and the differences of 37 studies were included. Critical appraisal of potential studies excluded 28 studies, and the remaining 9 studies were deemed eligible for the purpose of the present study, achieving the threshold score of 80% and above and have been included in the review. The theory explication meta-synthesis and line of argument forming the discussion of findings revealed that AIDS orphans are critically affected by various measures of HIV-related stigma. The central feature extracted from the included studies was the increase of psychological distress and poor psychological functioning of AIDS orphans resulting from HIV- related stigma. Stigma acted to perpetuate poverty, the loss of educational opportunities and the process of bereavement, while leading to an increase in depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, conduct disorder, adjustment disorder and delinquency among AIDS orphans. In conclusion, AIDS orphans experienced all measures of HIV-related stigma resulting in an increase of psychological distress accompanied by lower levels of poor-psychological functioning.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The emerging interest in 'spaces of childhood' over the past two decades can be identified in a number of disciplines. A substantial body of research has indicated that children's active engagement within the natural environment as a space has been associated with a range of cognitive, physical, affective, and moral developmental benefits. Given the exponential growth in research on children and nature interactions, it was imperative to explore how children make sense of nature and the influence this has on children's subjective well-being (SWB) to address the current dearth in the literature; both internationally and in South Africa. The aim of the study was to explore children's engagement with natural spaces. Within this process the study aimed to explore the extent to which children's engagement with natural spaces influences their SWB. The specific objectives of the study were: 1) To systematically review and synthesise the findings regarding children's understandings and engagement with nature as a space (Chapter Four- Article 1 using a systematic review methodology); 2) To explore the relationship between children's environmental perceptions and their subjective well-being (Chapter Five- Article 2 using Structural Equation Modeling); 3) To explore how children discursively construct natural spaces and the influence on their subjective wellbeing, using specific discursive resources and repertoires to construct and assign meaning to their engagement with natural space, and how their constructions and assignations are manifested in their discourses (Chapter Six- Article 3 using discourse analysis); and 4) To explore children's representations and perceptions of natural spaces using photovoice and community mapping (Chapter Seven- Article 4 using thematic analysis). The study employed a mixed methods approach to gain an inclusive understanding of children's daily lives. In advancing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the study included children as key agents and valid constructors of knowledge, with crucial contributions to make about their well-being. The study comprised three phases; Phase One encompassed a systematic review which aims to explore how children make sense of, assign meaning to, and perceive natural spaces (addressing objective 1). Phase Two and Three constituted the mixed methods study: Phase Two included the quantitative phase (addressing objective 2) and Phase Three included the qualitative phase (addressing objective 3 and 4) with children between 12-14 years of age. Phase Two encompassed a cross-sectional survey design with children aged 12 years in the Western Cape province of South Africa, and included a final sample of 1004 children. Phase Three employed a qualitative methodological design utilising focus group interviews, photovoice, and community mapping across three diverse communities in both urban and rural geographical locations. While Phase Two showed no significant relationship between children's engagement in natural spaces (using Structural Equation Modeling) and their subjective well-being, the findings from the qualitative phase, utilising participatory methods, showed that socio-economic status (SES) was a key defining factor influencing how children made sense of their lives. The narratives of children from the low SES communities indicated that safety was a pervasive concern for children, with many having experienced first-hand negative experiences in their neighbourhoods. Many of these experiences have occurred in nature, which resulted in nature being constructed as synonymous with danger, while children from the middle SES community did not perceive safety as a concern in their community. Thus evincing the nuances which exist in children's understandings. Although children's environments are inherently unsafe, an important finding was that nature positively influenced children's subjective well-being. Given the significant role that nature plays in influencing children's subjective well-being, we advance children's environmental subjective well-being (ESWB) which merges the fields of environmental psychology and positive psychology which essentially have a shared goal of enhancing people's quality of life. 'Good places' for children should therefore give preference to children's safety in their neighbourhoods, as well as affording children opportunities for engagement in natural spaces which enhances their subjective well-being and life satisfaction. The study points to the need for environmental education in the formal and informal spaces which children inhabit, to foster an intrinsic care for nature. / National Research Foundation