Dette studiet undersøkte om det finnes en positiv relasjon mellom korsang og det subjektive velbefinnendet. I undersøkelsen deltok 84 sangere fra 5 kor på både avansert og amatørnivå. Deltagerne fylte i et Mood Adjective Checklist-skjema (MACL: L. Sjöberg, E. Svensson & L.-O. Persson, 1979) før og etter korøvelsen på to forskjellige korøvelser. Resultatene indikerte at korsang påvirket deltagerne signifikant i form av økt velbefinnende, og at sangere mellom 32 og 51 år hadde den største økningen i grad av velbefinnende før og etter korøvelse. Det fantes derimot ingen signifikant forskjell i velbefinnende mellom amatørkor og avansert kor. Resultatene står som et bidrag til tidligere forskning innenfor området, men kan på grunn av det lave deltagerantallet ikke anses være generaliserbart.

The aim of the research was to explore the subjective experience of patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Sub-aims were to explore how these experiences relate to self management, stress and psychological well-being. This study was motivated by research literature that documents a wide variety of negative experiences by patients. A recent psychiatric patient survey conducted in England and Wales (Mind, 2004) found that more than 50% of respondents indicated that hospital surroundings had not helped their recovery. In fact, close to a third of those thought that it had a detrimental effect on their health. Wood and Pistrang (2004) found that psychiatric patients often represent a lower status, marginalized group in society and thus their views are often not taken into account in mainstream research. These results, however, were overwhelmingly based on research conducted in an American or European context. The South African context is unique in the sense of our political, economic and social issues that influence people's perceptions. In relation to other developing and developed nations little research has been done. The research was conducted at a large Psychiatric hospital in Pretoria South Africa. An availability sample of five adults from the hospital was used. A qualitative case study method design was used. Data were obtained through interviews and analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (PA) (Smith, 1996; Smith et al., 1997, 1999) Using the IPA method the data was analysed to extract significant or relevant points related to the research topic. These themes were then collated with themes that occur in other accounts and from there tested against the hypothesised outcomes of the investigation. Positive experiences and negative experiences were identified as the main themes; these were each divided into sub themes. The negative experiences related primarily to interaction with hospital staff and -environment, while positive experiences primarily related to effective treatment. Implications of results are that patient experiences and perceptions may be more influential for long term psychological wellbeing than has been acknowledged by care givers within larger mental healthcare facilities. It was concluded that many if not all of the results of previous studies were confirmed. Additionally this study recognised that singular positive experiences may to a greater degree influence patients recovery and maintenance than a combination of negative experiences. Recommendations following from the findings include further studies to assess enhanced interpersonal skills training for nursing staff, and greater community based care facilities. / Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

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Normal human limitations mean that when people decide how to act, they often have to base their decisions on flawed information or reasoning. Even when agents reason to the best of their ability, and form intentions consistent with that reasoning, they sometimes get things wrong. Dominant theories about reasons for action argue that all good, or ‘normative’, reasons for acting are objective normative reasons. But objective normative reasons for action are derived from facts about the world that ignore certain facts about human agents. On these accounts of reasons, real human agents can be unable to learn what they have normative reason to do. A common response to this problem is to say that in such situations people act in a praiseworthy way, but their actions are based on false beliefs, and false beliefs cannot be good reasons. I argue that when agents reason to the best of their ability and form intentions consistent with that reasoning, agents act appropriately in response to states of the world that are normative reasons for action. To support my claim, I develop an account of what I call ‘justifiable reasons’, normative reasons for action that human agents can always use as a basis for action, and the form of reason that underpins rationality. I discuss the similarities and differences between my account of justifiable reasons and several approaches to reasons that resemble my account. I show that, in spite of objections, justifiable reasons are normative reasons, not motivating reasons. Accounts of subjective normative reasons are based on examples that look similar to mine. So, I explain why justifiable reasons are not subjective normative reasons. Some features of internal reasons also resemble features of justifiable reasons. But, I show that there is nothing about justifiable reasons that entails that they must be internal or external reasons. I take it that justifiable and objective normative reasons serve different purposes, so I explain these different purposes. Finally, I argue in support of my claim that to be rational, agents must act appropriately in response to justifiable reasons.

Craving is a key element of the cannabis withdrawal syndrome that has been associated with continued use and relapse. Although cue-induced cannabis craving has been established in single laboratory sessions, procedures to sustain craving over multiple sessions are needed. The purpose of the present study was to determine if cue-induced craving responses could be elicited in the same subjects across multiple sessions. It was hypothesized that exposure to cannabis cues would produce more robust craving responses than exposure to neutral cues and that elicited craving responses will be sustained across multiple cue exposures. Five experimental cue exposure sessions (1 neutral and 4 cannabis) were conducted. Craving was assessed with the Marijuana Craving Questionnaire (MCQ) Short Form, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Subject-Rated Physiological Questionnaire, blood pressure, and heart rate. Results revealed significant effects of initial cannabis cue exposure on VAS craving responses and Subject-Rated Physiological measures relative to the neutral cue exposure condition. No significant differences were found on MCQ composite scores or physiological measures. Craving responses following initial cannabis cue exposure were not maintained across sessions. There is a need for a better understanding of the factors that contribute to continued drug use despite quit attempts.

Previous research has suggested that there is a strong and positive relationship between being an entrepreneur and possessing a high degree of subjective well-being as well as job satisfaction. The big five personality traits have also been argued to be significantly related to both subjective well-being and job satisfaction. Little is however known if personality affects entrepreneurs and regular employees differently. In this paper the impact of personality traits on the cognitive part of subjective well-being as well as job satisfaction are investigated separately among entrepreneurs and regular employees. This is done through OLS-regressions using a Swedish nationally representative survey Employment, Material Resources, and Political Preferences (EMRAPP), where entrepreneurs were oversampled in order to be able to compare entrepreneurs (N = 2483) and regular employees (N = 2642). The findings suggest that there is no substantial difference between entrepreneurs and regular employees when looking at the relationship between personality traits and subjective well-being. Findings on job satisfaction on the other hand showed that the personality trait openness to experience had no impact on job satisfaction, and that the personality trait emotional stability (neuroticism reversed) was equally beneficial for both entrepreneurs and regular employees. Extraversion had a positive relationship with job satisfaction among both entrepreneurs and regular employees, although the relationship was twice as strong among entrepreneurs. The personality traits agreeableness and conscientiousness on the other hand were only related to job satisfaction among entrepreneurs. Personality traits are thus much more important for job satisfaction among entrepreneurs.

Livstillfredsställelse är vår kognitiva bedömning av vårt liv. Studier har visat att affekter påverkar vår kognition, samtidigt ses livstillfredsställelse som en stabil disposition. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om vår bedömning av vår livstillfredsställelse tillfälligt förändras efter att ha exponerats för negativ respektive positiv information. Hypotesen var att vi uppskattar vår livstillfredsställelse olika högt beroende på om vi exponeras för negativ eller positiv infomation. Satisfaction With Life Scale delades ut till 50 studenter på en högskola efter exponering av negativ respektive positiv information under en föreläsning. Resultatet visade att det inte fanns någon statistiskt signifikant skillnad mellan negativ och positiv information med avseende på livstillfredsställelse. Avsaknaden av skillnad skulle dock exempelvis kunna bero på en för svag exponering av negativ information. Keywords: life satisfaction, happiness, subjective well-being, current mood

Eco-labels are increasingly important to certify food that is produced under sustainable conditions. In this paper variables are analysed that are important for consumers’ purchase decisions of eco-labelled food exemplified by the case of Fairtrade products. The focus lies on the distinction between people’s subjective (perceived) knowledge and objective knowledge (actual) about the Fairtrade label. The empirical data for the study was gathered by a survey, which involved a quota sampling of 203 people in Berlin. The results justify the distinction between subjective and objective knowledge. Subjective knowledge proved to be a strong predictor for both attitude and consumption towards the label, whereas objective knowledge did not show a significant influence. Further, attitude in general was confirmed to be a predictor for the consumption of Fairtrade products.

Humans are surrounded by objects. The human-object interaction is more frequent than the human-human interaction. The history of objects is as old as the history of human beings. This fact establishes and defines their meanings in a social and cultural context. This essay aims to look at the established meanings of corpus objects and possibilities of developing new meanings of tableware and other objects related to table in contemporary craft. To investigate if the perception of the object changes with the change of material or its formal aesthetics. How can the meanings of the objects and their identities be altered  or substituted? Do we recognize the objects the same way if their form and function is altered? What role does material play in how one reads an object? This essay looks at the importance of objects and the role they play in our daily life. To explore what lies in an object beyond its function and the notion of materiality, what can be the boundaries and limitations of our perception, understanding and tradition of objects?