Hedonism is not terribly popular as a theory of well-being. And there are good reasons to question whether hedonism even supplies the best account of happiness. Yet hedonism captures something important, and it will be the goal of this essay to articulate just what that is. I suggest that hedonism provides the best account of phenomenal wellbeing (PWB). PWB is a restricted form of well-being that relates to the quality of the experience of a life—or, in other words, the quality of one’s phenomenal life. If wellbeing is characterized as “how well one’s life goes,” then PWB is “how well one’s life goes for her, from the inside.” In rating a life’s PWB, the life is judged solely on the basis of the contents of the experience of that life rated against the experience of the individual’s other possible lives. Unlike well-being, PWB is guaranteed to track more robust experiential benefits that a person gets out of living a life. In this work, I discuss the concept of well-being, including the feature of subjectrelativity that is sometimes ascribed to it; then, after introducing the concept of a phenomenal life, I develop the concept of phenomenal well-being. I propose what I take to be the best available account of PWB, which involves the hedonistic concept of satisfaction. An epistemic model of life-comparison (inspired by Peter Railton’s full information account of well-being) on which phenomenal lives are judged on the criterion of satisfaction is presented, followed by some objections, and replies, to PWB as satisfaction. Finally, some rival accounts of PWB are discussed and critiqued—notably, an account of cognitive life-satisfaction that resembles theories of “life-satisfaction” in happiness theory. The claim is that hedonism supplies the best answer to what makes the experience of our lives go best for us. In the closing chapter, I make some suggestions concerning the significance of this fact.

The aim of this study is to better understand age differences in well-being using Ryan, Huta, and Deci’s (2008) theory. According to this theory, four constructs are responsible for living a full and deeply satisfying life (i.e., eudaimonia) and experiencing pleasure and an absence of psychological pain (i.e., subjective well-being): (1) pursuing intrinsic goals and values, (2) behaving in autonomous ways, (3) living mindfully, and (4) behaving to satisfy the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Results indicate that aging was positively associated with the pursuit of intrinsic goals and values, autonomous behaviour, mindfulness, and mental health. Although age had a positive effect on the basic psychological need for autonomy, it had no effect on relatedness, and a negative effect on competence. The mixed influence of age on basic psychological needs may explain why older adults experienced greater levels of hedonic well-being but lower levels of eudaimonic well-being.

The Saskatchewan River Delta (SRD) is the largest freshwater inland delta in North America, covering over 950 000 hectares in central Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The wetlands in the SRD provide valuable ecosystem services and support considerable biodiversity. The Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) has expressed concerns regarding the loss of wildlife in the SRD, among other ecological concerns, due to anthropogenic development. Using an ethnoecological approach, the indigenous knowledge of the OCN was documented through an analysis of wetland-based practices. A variety of methods were employed in the research including participant observation, interviews, document review and verification workshops. Interviews held with community Elders also focused on the connections between a life on the land, well-being and cultural identity. The research revealed the need for a more holistic approach to management of the sensitive wetland ecosystems located with OCN traditional territory that reflects the changing values of the community.

Using data from the National Survey for Families and Households, ordinary least squares regression is performed to assess to what degree the quality and quantity of sibling relationships affect men and women. Well-being is measured by a twelve item scale, Cronbach 's Alpha = .928. Sibling relationships are measured in two facets: quality and quantity. A positive evaluation of sibling quality correlates with higher levels of well-being for men, but not women. A negative evaluation of sibling quality correlates with lower levels of well-being for both men and women. Men and women do differ in the strength of this effect. No significant relationship is found between the number of times an individual sees his or her siblings and an individual's well-being. However, the number of times siblings talk to each other does have a significant effect on well-being for both men and women. / Department of Sociology

The aim of this study is to better understand age differences in well-being using Ryan, Huta, and Deci’s (2008) theory. According to this theory, four constructs are responsible for living a full and deeply satisfying life (i.e., eudaimonia) and experiencing pleasure and an absence of psychological pain (i.e., subjective well-being): (1) pursuing intrinsic goals and values, (2) behaving in autonomous ways, (3) living mindfully, and (4) behaving to satisfy the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Results indicate that aging was positively associated with the pursuit of intrinsic goals and values, autonomous behaviour, mindfulness, and mental health. Although age had a positive effect on the basic psychological need for autonomy, it had no effect on relatedness, and a negative effect on competence. The mixed influence of age on basic psychological needs may explain why older adults experienced greater levels of hedonic well-being but lower levels of eudaimonic well-being.

The Saskatchewan River Delta (SRD) is the largest freshwater inland delta in North America, covering over 950 000 hectares in central Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The wetlands in the SRD provide valuable ecosystem services and support considerable biodiversity. The Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) has expressed concerns regarding the loss of wildlife in the SRD, among other ecological concerns, due to anthropogenic development. Using an ethnoecological approach, the indigenous knowledge of the OCN was documented through an analysis of wetland-based practices. A variety of methods were employed in the research including participant observation, interviews, document review and verification workshops. Interviews held with community Elders also focused on the connections between a life on the land, well-being and cultural identity. The research revealed the need for a more holistic approach to management of the sensitive wetland ecosystems located with OCN traditional territory that reflects the changing values of the community.

Thesis (M.A.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 23-26).

Thesis (M.A.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2009. / Thesis advisor: Joanne DiPlacido. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-57). Also available via the World Wide Web.

M.A. / All children especially adolescents need to feel socially and emotionally supported in every part of their lives for them to have psychosocial well being. This well being includes many different aspects such as physical, material, psychological, and social aspects. Researchers agree that adolescent stage has many challenges of growing up; they need supportive ways of coping and developing. As they grow, high school learners need friendships with same age peers and to be members of formal cultural institutions including educational, play, social and/ or religious groups. The school as an environment where children spend most part of their time needs to have formal and informal support systems that may serve as a tool in ensuring that learner’ copes with the emotional challenges experienced in this stage for optimal social and learning experience. The purpose of this study was to answer research questions on what contributes to the perceptions of adequate social support in a school environment. Which social support systems contribute most to the perceptions of adequate social support? What role does the teacher play in providing social support at school? Would the services of school social worker contribute in anyway to how learners perceive school environment? The concept of social support was described as a key concept of measurement by means of literature study. A questionnaire was designed and utilized to collect data on perceptions regarding social support in the school environment. Data was then analysed to determine whether formal support systems would promote the development of social networks in the community. It became clear from the research findings that high school learners have emotional challenges that needs the attention of a professional person which are non existent in Vosloorus high schools. It was also discovered that learners are unable share their problems in school as the environment is not conducive for them to do so. It also became evident that learners tend to depend on social networks for support in the absence of busy parents. Although the learners felt physically supported, they are lacking emotional and mental wellbeing. The main recommendation of the study is that social support for learners should be supported and mainstreamed in the curriculum to reach majority of learners with emotional, physical, psychological and social needs.

Educational Psychologists (EPs) spend much of their time working with school staff to solve problems. Staff often report perceptions of high levels of stress, overwork and lack of time to plan and implement changes indicating frequent experience of poor mental well-being. There has been a recent increase in awareness of promoting the well-being of children and young people, however, little attention appears to have been focused as yet upon the school staff who will promote and support this agenda.Research in schools has tended to focus on teachers rather than including all staff. There is a preponderance of research clarifying contributors to teachers’ stress and, to a lesser extent describing interventions in schools. However, little research has focused on school staff understanding and value of well-being and about perceptions of interventions carried out in schools. This study aimed to obtain a greater understanding of the perceptions of school staff about well-being, the value they placed upon it and the experience and perceived impact of taking part in a study aiming to promote staff well-being. An 8 week intervention was carried out in a primary school with weekly sessions of a project which was known as ‘Chill and Chat’. Data was gathered via questionnaires completed before and after the project and 3 focus groups held before, during and after the project. Data was analysed using thematic analysis.It was found that well-being was seen as important, however, colleagues with poor mental well-being were ‘pathologised’. ‘Learning’ to cope and maintain positive well-being was perceived as a responsibility of the staff member. Staff perceived the informality of provision to support their well-being as important and valued the time to develop better relationships with colleagues rather than ‘working relationships’ and also feeling valued and cared for. Staff reported perceptions of greater efficacy in the classroom, increased job satisfaction and feeling calmer in the classroom. The most significant limitation of the study was the continuation of provision to support staff mental well-being which requires commitment and understanding from school senior management teams and local authority members regarding the impact that increased well being can have on teaching and learning and a shift of thought towards focusing on positive well-being promotion rather than managing poor well-being.There are implications for EP practice and research in helping school staff reflect on their well-being and actions that they can take as a team to promote well-being in school. EPs can also be instrumental in disseminating research findings highlighting the impact of staff mental well being on teaching and learning.