Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has a severe impact on quality of life (QOL). Using the Health Promotion Model as a guide, a cross-sectional, correlational design was used to describe relationships among individual characteristics and experiences (age, gender, race, severity of illness, resilience), behavior-specific cognitions and affect (self-efficacy, barriers, social support), behavioral outcomes (health promoting lifestyle), and QOL in this patient population. One hundred and twenty participants were recruited from three clinics at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System. In addition to a demographic survey, participants completed a 151-item questionnaire incorporating measures resilience, severity of illness, self-efficacy, and barriers to a health-promoting lifestyle, social support, lifestyle, and QOL. Spirometric evaluation of lung function and the 6-minute walking test were also completed. Structural equation modeling was used to determine the effect of nine independent variables on QOL.Participants were white (51.2%), female (63.6%), and approximately 60.5 years old. Severity of illness, characterized by symptoms and functional capacity, suggested they were not severely ill (mean = 3.18, S.D.= 2.69). They were somewhat resilient (mean = 136.01, S.D.= 23.01), had adequate social support (mean = 68.10, S.D.= 19.95), were uncertain about their competency (self-efficacy) to manage their health (mean = 24.91, S.D.= 4.92), sometimes experienced barriers (mean = 33.33, S.D.= 9.02), and sometimes included attributes of a healthy lifestyle in their lives (mean = 123.93, S.D.= 25.22). Their QOL was fair to poor (mean = 6.10, S.D.= 2.39).A series of analyses using structural equation modeling was conducted. The first model that was tested did not fit the data χ2(df = 13)= 67.989,p = 0.000, GFI = 0.895, CFI = 0.781, RMSEA = 0.189). Next, modification indices were use to reexamine for fit. Using the recommended modifications, a good fit model was obtained χ2(df = 9)=5.016, p = 0.833, GFI = 0.992, CFI = 1.0, RMSEA = 0.0); however, non-significant paths were present. An alternative model was tested and fit the data very well χ2(df=18)= 10.011, p = 0.932, GFI = 0.981, CFI = 1.0, RMSEA = 0.0). The independent variables explained about 45.1% of the variance in health-promoting lifestyle. All the variables explained 45.3% of variance in QOL. The most significant predictor of a healthy lifestyle was social support (0.383) and the most significant predictor of QOL was self-efficacy (0.364). The findings confirmed the utility of the HPM.

This thesis investigates the implications of area-based regeneration for residents' health and well-being. The last three decades have seen significant investment in area-based initiatives in the UK to regenerate declining areas. However, there is a dearth of robust evidence on the impact that area regeneration practices have on health and health inequalities. This is particularly so in the case of the Scottish Area Regeneration Partnership (SARP) Programmes initiated in the mid-1990s, the evaluation of which was beset by a lack of baseline data and poor data collection generally. This study therefore seeks to address the lack of evidence by employing a rigorous mixed methods approach to evaluate the SARP programmes. Firstly, a quasi-experimental analysis of data from the Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS) is undertaken. Comparator areas were identified using propensity score matching and a series of models was fitted to examine whether health outcomes of residents and migrants differed between regeneration areas and comparator areas. This is followed by a qualitative study exploring experiences of regeneration, carried out to provide insight into the results of the quasi-experiment. The findings provide no evidence that the programme had a positive impact on the health and well-being of SARP area residents relative to comparator area residents, and moreover, suggest that the programme may even have had a negative impact. Nor do they support the often stated hypothesis that those who move out of regeneration areas have done so because they have benefited from the programme and been replaced with residents who are likely to be more deprived. In addition, interviews with regeneration professionals and residents found that smaller initiatives overlapped with the SARPs, making it difficult to isolate the impacts of the programme under study. The conclusion reflects on the implications of these findings for the evaluation of public policy programmes.

Titel: Barns upplevelser av vad som främjar hälsa och välmående när de bor på barnhem.   Bakgrund: Över 153 miljoner barn beräknas vara föräldralös utifrån en rad olika orsaker så som missbruk, krig och sjukdom. Många av dessa barn drabbas av ohälsa, både psykiskt, fysiskt och emotionellt då deras grundläggande behov blivit åsidosatta. Detta kan leda till negativa konsekvenser i vuxenlivet dock finns det även stärkande och skyddande aspekter av att komma till barnhem för dessa barn.   Syfte: Syftet med studien är att belysa barns upplevelser av vad som kan främja hälsa och välmående i situationen att bo på barnhem.   Metod: I denna studie har åtta artiklar med kvalitativ ansats valt ut. Dessa har barnens perspektiv i fokus. Artiklarna har kvalitétsgranskats, analyserats och slutligen sammanställts.   Resultat: När barnen kom till barnhemmet beskriver det att de fick sina grundläggande behov tillgodosedda, såsom husrum, mat, utbildningen och sjukvård. Emotionella behov blev även tillgodosedda genom stabila relationer med personal och vänner. I majoriteten av studierna uttrycker barnen vikten av att bli älskad och respekterad; att känna sig önskad och accepterad; känna att någon bryr sig och att känna en samhörighet.   Konklusion: Att få de grundläggande behov tillgodosedda var viktigt för att öka tryggheten. Andra betydelsefulla aspekter var att ha stabila relationer till vuxna och vänner samt tillgång till utbildning.

Prevailing city design in many countries has created sedentary societies that depend on automobile use. Consequently, architects, urban designers, and land planners have developed new urban design theories, which have been incorporated into the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) certification system. The LEED-ND includes design elements that improve human well-being by facilitating walking and biking, a concept known as walkability. Despite these positive developments, relevant research findings from other fields of study have not been fully integrated into the LEED-ND. According to Zuniga-Teran (2015), relevant walkability research findings from multiple disciplines were organized into a walkability framework (WF) that organizes design elements related to physical activity into nine categories, namely, connectivity, land use, density, traffic safety, surveillance, parking, experience, greenspace, and community. In this study, we analyze walkability in the LEED-ND through the lens of the nine WF categories. Through quantitative and qualitative analyses, we identify gaps and strengths in the LEED-ND and propose potential enhancements to this certification system that reflects what is known about enhancing walkability more comprehensively through neighborhood design analysis. This work seeks to facilitate the translation of research into practice, which can ultimately lead to more active and healthier societies. (C) 2016 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Farrell J. Webb / Farrell J. Webb / The purpose of this thesis was to examine how financial stressors influence family well-being. The specific thrust of this thesis was to examine if and how family well-being is influenced by financial stressors caused by the current economic crisis through an adaptation of Hills ABC-X Mosel (1949) known as the ABCE-WB Model. The ABC-X Model was adapted first by White (2007) who substituted the X—crisis element with the WB- well-being item. I added a new element to this model known as E—family expenditures. The data used in this thesis were gleaned from research conducted by Knowledge Networks on behalf of the National Center for Family and Marriage Research. The study was titled: Familial Responses to Financial Instability, How the Family Responds to Economic Pressure: A Comparative Study, 2009. In consisted of nationally representative a (multivariate) address the central hypotheses of this weighted a sample of 1,169 respondents. Analyses included simple correlations (bivariate) and hierarchical analyses investigation that explored what was the relation shop between the resources, perceptions, and expenditures a family had available to them in the current economic crisis and their well-being. The results indicate that approximately 22.4% of the variance in well-being could be explained by the elements in the ABCE-WB Model. In addition, there were several important relationships that were revealed between the predictors and the outcome measures individually. Overall, the efficacy and utility of the ABCE-WB Model was upheld by the results. Based on these findings future use of the ABCE-WB Model holds promise.

The capability approach’s primary point of departure from mainstream economics may be stated simply: it perceives incomes and commodities value predominantly as instruments or means to other ends. In contrast to mainstream economics, the approach places individual freedom at the centre of its attention. Therefore, income is merely one of numerous variables that influence deprivation. The dissertation aligns itself with the capability approach to development in its conclusion that developments’ primary target ought to go beyond a study of the level of per capita incomes as it has more significant moral implication of diminished lives, agonised existences and a large percentage of premature preventable deaths. Therefore, the dissertation advocates a fundamental shift in the measures that economists utilise in their measurement of poverty. Accordingly, the dissertation suggests that the manner in which economists intellectualise the relationship between poverty and the lives that people lead requires alteration. The dissertation provides evidence, using regression analysis, that the democratic frameworks that are in place in Sub-Saharan Africa are failing to provide the negative freedoms that serve as the environment in which individual’s pursue their own conception of well-being. However, the dissertation acknowledges the constitutive and instrumental importance of democracy in the process of development. Therefore, the dissertation argues that it is the shape of democracy that has led to these results in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a repercussion, democracy remains an important ingredient in the development process. Instead of embracing the view that political freedom and, in particular, democracies failure to assist in human development is evidence of a flaw in the capability approach. The dissertation perceives the failure as an opportunity to re-evaluate the nature of democracies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, there is scope for policy makers to conceptualise and implement policies that will be able to harness the inherent strengths of democracy.

Darbo objektas – asmens savijauta viešbutyje „Grėjaus namas“. Darbo tikslas – ištirti organizacijos mikroklimato įtaką asmens savijautai viešbutyje „Grėjaus namas“. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Atskleisti organizacijos mikroklimato ir asmens savijautos darbo vietoje teorinius aspektus; 2. Pristatyti organizacijos mikroklimato veiksnių teorinę sampratą; 3. Ištirti asmens savijautą organizacijos mikroklimato veiksnių pagrindu. Darbe išanalizuojama organizacijos mikroklimato, asmens savijautos darbe teorinė samprata. Atskleisti organizacijos mikroklimatą formuojantys veiksniai bei organizacijos mikroklimato veiksnių įtaka asmens savijautai darbe. Darbo išvados: 1. Išanalizavus organizacijos mikroklimato teorinius aspektus, galima teigti, kad sąvoka – naudojama apibūdinti organizacijos narių bendrą nuomonę apie žmogiškąją ir išorinę organizacijos aplinką. Ji padeda išsiaiškinti, kaip žmogus suvokia organizacijos socialinę, psichologinę aplinką, žymi darbuotojų emocinių išgyvenimų bendrumus organizacijoje, o savijauta apibūdinama kaip fiziologiniai ir psichiniai veiksniai, kurie nulemia bendrą žmogaus nusiteikimą, jo veiklą kolektyve, santykius su kitais nariais. 2. Išanalizavus organizacijos mikroklimato veiksnių teorinę sampratą, galima teigti, kad organizacijos mikroklimatui įtaką daro šie veiksniai: pasitenkinimo darbuotojais lygis, naudingo darbo pojūtis, suvokta atsakomybė už atliekamą darbą, teisingas atlyginimas, kontrolė, darbuotojo dalyvavimas organizacijos veikloje... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The subject of the work – well-being of a person at the hotel “Grejaus namas”. The aim of the present study – to investigate the impact of organization microclimate to personal well-being in the hotel “Grejaus namas”(Grey House). Investigation sets up the following objectives: 1. To reveal theoretical aspects of organization microclimate and personal well-being at work; 2. To introduce theoretical concept of the factors of organization climate. 3. To investigate personal well-being on the basis of organization microclimate factors. The work includes the analysis of theoretical concepts of organization microclimate and personal well-being at work. The factors forming organization microclimate and the influence of organization microclimate to personal well-being at work have been revealed. Conclusions: 1. After a detail investigation of theoretical aspects, it could be claimed, that the concept of organization microclimate is used to describe a general organization members’ opinion about human and external organization environment. It helps to elucidate how the person sees social and psychological organization environment. This concept shows general emotional experiences of employees in an organization. Whereas, well-being is described as physiological and psychical factors which determine general person’s attitude, his/her activities at work and relationships with other members. 2. After a detail investigation of the theoretical concept of organization microclimate... [to full text]

Depuis que les démarches qualité sont entrées dans le monde de l’hôpital imposant la construction de référentiels et la recherche de rentabilité, la logique sociale a cédé le pas à la logique économique. La rationalisation du travail s’est imposée aux soignants par la mise en place de ces référentiels, ne prenant pas en compte les considérations psychologiques et physiques de l’activité des soignants, d’où les effets sur leur santé et les manifestations de la souffrance au travail. C’est dans ce contexte que nous avons souhaité aborder la santé au travail des soignants non sous l’angle de la souffrance au travail mais sous celui du développement du bien-être psychologique. Nous avons étudié la manière dont se construit le bien-être psychologique au travail au travers des expériences vécues par les soignants à l’hôpital c’est-à-dire comment il se constitue comme objet de représentations professionnelles auquel se rattachent les composantes cognitives, affectives liées aux souvenirs d’expériences vécues et symbolisées. A la lumière de la psychologie sociale et du travail, des apports de la psychologie positive et de la théorie de l’autodétermination, l’analyse des données issues d’entretiens non-directifs avec les soignants nous a permis d’ identifier les caractéristiques du concept. Liées à l’interaction entre l’individu et l’environnement professionnel d’une part et liées à l’individu d’autre part, ces caractéristiques nous ont permis d’envisager des actions de développement du bien-être psychologique au travail tant sur le plan individuel qu’organisationnel. / Since the quality procedures are entered into the world of the hospital imposing building standards and the search for profitability, social logic has given way to economic logic. Rationalization of labor has become caregivers by implementing these standards, not taking into account the considerations of the psychological and physical activity providers, where the effects on their health and the manifestations of suffering at work. It is in the context that addressed occupational health officers not in terms of the reduction of suffering at work but in the development of psychological well-being. We propose to study how to build the psychological well-being at work through the experiences of caregivers in the hospital is to say how it is an object representations which relate to professional cognitive, emotional memories related to experiences and symbolized. In the light of social psychology and labor contributions of positive psychology and the theory of self-analysis of data from non-directive interviews with caregivers has allowed us to identify the characteristics of concept. Related to the interaction between the individual and the work environment on the one hand, and related to the individual on the other hand, these characteristics have allowed us to consider actions for the development of psychological well-being at work both the individual and organizational.

<p>Drawing from literature on job performance, moral intensity (Jones, 1991), and job characteristics theory (Grant, Fried, & Juillerat, 2011; Hackman & Oldham, 1976; Oldham & Fried, 2016), I propose a core feature of work that is not currently recognized or studied in extant work design research: the degree of moral imperativeness and aspiration. That is, jobs differ in how much their performance (i.e., task execution) is a moral imperative or aspiration. I first distinguish the moral imperativeness and aspiration of task execution (MITE and MATE) from related concepts such as task significance (Hackman & Oldham, 1975), prosocial characteristics of work (Grant, 2007, 2008a), and moral intensity of a task (Opoku-Dakwa, 2017, 2018). I then develop and validate a scale. In Study 1, I used job incumbents to provide empirical support that moral imperativeness and aspiration of task execution is distinguishable from related constructs, converge with theoretically-relevant constructs, and predict work criteria as experienced by job incumbents. In Study 2, I used naïve raters to judge the moral imperativeness and aspiration of work tasks at the task level to provide further evidence that they tap objective aspects of occupations.</p>

Well-being is critical to fostering improved physical, mental, and emotional health among women. Regular physical activity also has significant implications for women’s health. Addressing the barriers that women experience to exercise may help improve exercise adherence and—ultimately—help to promote well-being in women. Mind-body therapies (e.g., yoga and meditation) have long been considered health promoting efforts with a well-being emphasis. Research confirms that these therapies are generally beneficial, safe, flexible, cost-effective and accessible. In addition, gratitude has strong links to mental health and life satisfaction, and has been shown to enhance well-being and facilitate goal attainment. There is an abundance of research on yoga, meditation and gratitude practices, though there is no program that effectively combines all three. This dissertation therefore developed, implemented, and evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of a health promotion effort that integrates elements of yoga, meditation, and gratitude practice. One-hundred and eleven women participated in the study (nexperimental = 56 and ncontrol = 55). Data on adherence and feasibility were collected throughout the program. Data on study outcomes (including well-being) were collected at baseline and again following completion of the program from both groups. Qualitative data were also collected to help contextualize participant experiences in the program. The participants adhered to the yoga component of the program exceptionally well. The average participant completed 125% of the yoga classes, 86.58% of the meditations and 88.24% of the gratitude practices. Paired sample t-tests were conducted to examine pre- and post-intervention changes in well-being between and within groups. Despite the popularity and positive response to the program - 93.10% of participants in the yoga, meditation and gratitude group (YMG; n=54) reported a perceived improvement in well-being - many of the well-being findings were statistically insignificant. However, significant improvements on disposition and positive relationships were observed among the YMG group; suggesting the intervention had a significant impact on experiencing gratitude in everyday life, as well as on one’s positive assessment of personal relationships. This study lays important groundwork for future and larger scale research to create and subsequently implement successful mind-body health promotion programs for women.