The presence of art and artists in health care settings raise many questions of an ethical nature. The presence of art in such milieux challenges the manner in which notions of art, persons, health, healing, community, ethics and aesthetics are presently conceptualized. This thesis will argue that art ought properly be considered an essential human need - integral to the health, flourishing and well-being of all persons - particularly those who are sick and suffering. An ethical care of sick persons would demand that both artistic practice and health care practice be revisioned in the light of this different understanding.

This thesis is focused on positive affect in the workplace, with a particular emphasis on the UK public sector. Three samples of data were taken from 433 respondents across nine participating organizations with the aim of identifying those who rate themselves as happy and upbeat and whom others are noticing in this regard. Thus, the thesis goes beyond the analysis of those who are self-nominated as happy, seeking those who are flourishing (denoted throughout as Happy Plus or H+ ) which, for the purposes of this thesis, are categorised as employees whose positive affect is contagious. The data identified 45 H+ respondents, ascertaining that their happiness has a degree of longevity that is in line with eudaimonic sources and that the state of flourishing is unlikely to be accidental. The flourishing respondents were measured on 16 workplace emotions and compared against a group of 388 non-flourishing work colleagues. The H+ respondents recorded higher scores in all 4 emotions associated with employee engagement (enthusiastic, joyful, inspired & excited) and employee satisfaction (calm, relaxed, laid back & at ease) while the NonH+ group scored higher in emotions associated with stress (nervous, anxious, tense & worried) and depression (dejected, despondent, hopeless & depressed). Independent samples t-tests (using the Bonferroni correction) suggest these differences are statistically significant in 13 of the 16 affects measured. This is salient in that the more vigorous sense of employee engagement tends to result in pro-social behaviours that are correlated with bottom-line performance. The thesis then sought to discover the means by which the H+ respondents achieve and maintain their flourishing status. Following Lyubomirsky s (2007) contention that if an individual s genes and circumstances are fixed (in the immediacy of here and now) then it is the 40% of one s intentional strategies that will differentiate the flourishing from their non-flourishing colleagues. Thus, the H+ and NonH+ groups were compared on a raft of seventeen within-person strategies. The flourishing group rate choosing to be positive as their biggest single strategy, with the corollary that attitudinal choice requires both awareness and effort. It is postulated that engaged employees are attitude maximizers rather than satisficers , in that they are less likely to make do with ambivalent attitudes, striving to be as positive as they are able. Flourishing employees are also significantly more likely to set goals, play to their strengths, have positive internal dialogue, reframe negative events and consume less news. They indulge in what is termed life-crafting in which they alter their thoughts and circumstances to maximise their likelihood of remaining happy. The thesis concludes with a series of recommendations, focusing on co-creation , the idea that happiness emerges as a collective and cooperative endeavour that requires both favourable working conditions and individual effort. As such, recommendations are aimed at how organizations can learn from the findings to implement structures and policies that are best placed to facilitate flourishing cultures. There is a further set of recommendations alluding to what individuals can do to raise their own happiness levels. As such, it is argued that organizational culture change is not simply a matter of instigating top-down or bottom-up remedies, but rather eliciting change that emanates from inside-out.

In political philosophy, perfectionism is the view that it is the job of the state to best enable its citizens to live good or flourishing lives. It claims that certain lives can be judged to be sound, and thus instructs governments to promote those lives using state institutions etc. Anti-perfectionism denies this. It says that it is not the job of the state to promote good lives. Instead it should restrict itself to securing basic rights and duties, a threshold level of resources and so on. Citizens should be left to adopt pursuits however they see fit. For some anti-perfectionists, this is precisely because we cannot judge any putative life to be sound. However, many are not sceptics, and justify state neutrality for other reasons. All accounts of anti-perfectionism must overcome what has been called the asymmetry objection: what justifies the imbalance inherent in anti-perfectionism? Why believe that the state is permitted to act on judgements about justice, but not on judgements about flourishing? My thesis argues that attempts to respond to the asymmetry objection have failed thus far. Further, I offer an account of political morality that can overcome the problem. The first four chapters of the thesis clarify the debate between perfectionists and anti-perfectionists, narrowing the former down into its most plausible form. Chapters five and six focus on two failed attempts to vindicate anti-perfectionism – Brian Barry's argument from scepticism and Jonathan Quong's Rawlsian approach. In the final chapter I put forward a much more promising argument in favour of anti-perfectionism – justice as a set of constraints.

According to Aristotle, for a human being to live their best life, that is a life that flourishes, is to live a political life. A political life is lived best in a polis , or a self - sufficient community, so therefore, the most flourishing human life is one lived in a polis . Also, for a polis to be self - sufficient, its citizens must be flourishing, so there exists a special sort of constitutive relationship between the polis and its citizens. There are certain capacities available to human beings in the polis that promote their flourishing (namely loyalty and trust) that help fulfill important human needs. These capacities are best carried out through various subcommunities in the polis . Subcommunities range in size and interest, but the ones that best fulfil l important human needs also contribute most to the polis, and thus contribute most to human flourishing. In this paper, I will argue that physical retail space is a particular kind of subcommunity that can fulfill an important human need. While it is popular opinion that the shopping mall, and more - broadly physical retail as a whole, does not have a place in the increasingly technologically savvy community, physical retail space offers humans a place to engage that is necessary for their flourishing.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / The modern working environment is characterised by global competitiveness, digitisation, and a greater need to employ and retain the knowledge worker. With increased pressure to sustain a competitive advantage, organisations must shift management strategies and focus on fostering positive work outcomes to mitigate high turnover costs and enhance organisational effectiveness. In the South African environment, organisations are confronted with challenges such as skills shortages and high turnover, impacting the ability to attract, develop, and retain highly skilled Information Technology (IT) professionals.

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Little existing research examines how Vietnamese American individuals conceptualize wellness in relation to the community in which they live. Fewer studies examine the ways in which communities of Vietnamese expatriates form networks of support, based around community resources. Even fewer, if any, focus on these qualities within the context of Boston’s own Little Saigon – Fields Corner. This ethnography analyzes discussions with and observations of individuals living in a predominantly Vietnamese neighborhood in Boston who are a part of a support group for families of children with special needs. Through this analysis, two key themes emerge. First, through the learning of information and sharing of knowledge, this Network’s connections have impacts far beyond the four walls of their bi-weekly meeting space. Second, wellness for the parents in this group is directly tied to existing as a part of a community support network which allows them to successfully navigate three distinct institutions of care for their children – the medical and special education systems, as well as the expression of Vietnamese culture that exists in this neighborhood. I argue that in discussions with members of this support group, it is necessary to focus on channels alternative to biomedical mental health services when confronting the pursuit of a life worth living. This network acts as a site of social change through parental advocacy for their children’s flourishing within various institutions. Parents then act as vectors of consciousness to raise awareness for specific action. Within this context, parents are enabled to fight for their definition of a life worth living and their personal wellbeing.

Eudaimonic well-being, which leads to personal functioning, finds increasing attention in entrepreneurshipresearch. Its positive effects suggest that eudaimonia helps individuals to overcome difficulties andchallenges which the entrepreneurial process brings. Based on the self-determination theory, individualswith higher eudaimonic well-being can also be expected to be more likely to enter self-employment asoccupational choice proactively. Thus, this thesis builds a construct which shows the influence ofeudaimonic well-being on the process of entering and sustaining in self-employment. The methodologicalapproach to measure eudaimonic well-being is built on existing research. Using eudaimonia to predictentrepreneurial entry and persistence is novel and tested on a large panel dataset from Australia.The findings show, contrary to the literature, no difference in eudaimonic well-being of those who changefrom paid employment to self-employment compared to those who stay in paid employment. The resultsalthough fail to reject the hypothesis that eudaimonic well-being influences the likelihood of entrepreneurialpersistence. Higher eudaimonic well-being shows, statistically not significant, positive impact on thechances to sustain in self-employment. This adds evidence to existing literature on entrepreneurialpersistence and eudaimonic well-being. Activities that increase eudaimonia can therefore be seen asbeneficial to create long-term persistent entrepreneurs and businesses.

Background: Adolescent subjective well-being is a topic that has gained significant focus over recent years. This focus is reflected in the formation of measurement tools and interventions used to better understand and improve adolescent mental health. While these are important steps, there still exist problems related to adolescent subjective well-being measurement. Notably, current measurement tools are limited in their content, applicability to various populations, and in their accessibility. Aims: The purpose of this paper is to examine the psychometric properties of the Survey on Flourishing (SURF) when used with a nationally representative adolescent sample. The SURF aims to address some of the issues with current adolescent subjective well-being measurement tools. Method: A nationally representative sample of 334 participants participated in the present study. We examined the reliability and validity of the SURF by examining its internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. We also examined the factor structure of the SURF using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: The SURF demonstrated high internal consistency (α = .92), strong positive correlation with convergent measures, and a weak negative correlation with a discriminant measure. A one-factor model best fits the observed data. Conclusion: The SURF demonstrated good psychometric properties and addresses several of the problems that exist in current measures. The SURF is a useful and effective measure of adolescent subjective well-being.

Quilting is a self-chosen leisure activity for millions of women in the United States. Previous research on quilting suggested that quilting is influenced by the emotional state of the quilter. However, the emotional experiences generated during quilting have not been fully explored. The purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to explore quilters' perceptions of what quilting as a leisure activity does to enhance their well-being and increase flourishing. Positive psychology well-being theory was the theoretical foundation for the study. Semistructured interviews with 12 adult women who quilt as a leisure activity were the basis of the narrative inquiry. Data were recorded through in-person and telephone interviews that were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis to develop overarching themes. Findings revealed that quilting contributed to participants' well-being and built flourishing through three primary avenues: creativity, relationships, and positive emotion. Quilting provided an opportunity for creative expression and growth as artists. Quilt-making activity was centered around relationships with other quilters and with the larger community, and quilting was linked with positive emotion as participants experienced great joy in their quilting activities. This study has implications for increasing well-being and building flourishing in women through the adoption of quilting as a leisure activity.