The psychological well-being of captive primates: Protecting the public interest.

Author(s):  
Edward A. Leonard
1999 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Salmon

The economic role of the state is controversial, even after the collapse of communism and the election of New Labour. The demand that governments get off the backs of wealth-creators has barely diminished since the 1980s; but some still urge control of private and corporate greed in the public interest. There is no sign of such controversy in Greek antiquity; but I shall suggest that the practice of the cities depended on political considerations which reveal comparable principles. All governments, whatever their complexion, now accept some responsibility for general economic well–being, even if their actions may amount to little more than a claim that prosperity will ‘trickle down’ from top to bottom. Numerous functions which would now be identified as economic were performed by Greek cities; after brief preliminaries to set the economic scene, I shall explore them, and try to determine why they were undertaken.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald ◽  
Rachel A. Millstein ◽  
Christiana von Hippel ◽  
Chanelle J. Howe ◽  
Linda Powers Tomasso ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Increasing evidence suggests that psychological well-being (PWB) is associated with lower disease and mortality risk, and may be enhanced with relatively low-cost interventions. Yet, dissemination of these interventions remains limited, in part because insufficient attention has been paid to distinct PWB dimensions, which may impact physical health outcomes differently. Methods This essay first reviews the empirical evidence regarding differential relationships between all-cause mortality and multiple dimensions of PWB (e.g., life purpose, mastery, positive affect, life satisfaction, optimism). Then, individual-level positive psychology interventions aimed at increasing PWB and tested in randomized-controlled trials are reviewed as these allow for easy implementation and potentially broad outreach to improve population well-being, in concert with efforts targeting other established social determinants of health. Results Several PWB dimensions relate to mortality, with varying strength of evidence. Many of positive psychology trials indicate small-to-moderate improvements in PWB; rigorous institution-level interventions are comparatively few, but preliminary results suggest benefits as well. Examples of existing health policies geared towards the improvement of population well-being are also presented. Future avenues of well-being epidemiological and intervention research, as well as policy implications, are discussed. Conclusions Although research in the fields of behavioral and psychosomatic medicine, as well as health psychology have substantially contributed to the science of PWB, this body of work has been somewhat overlooked by the public health community. Yet, the growing interest in documenting well-being, in addition to examining its determinants and consequences at a population level may provoke a shift in perspective. To cultivate optimal well-being—mental, physical, social, and spiritual—consideration of a broader set of well-being measures, rigorous studies, and interventions that can be disseminated is critically needed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232098592
Author(s):  
Martina Kotzé

The study investigates the mediating role of psychological capital in the relationship between personal resources (mindfulness, self-leadership) and psychological well-being (burnout, work engagement) for a sample of 226 public sector employees in South Africa. Both mindfulness and self-leadership have a statistically significant positive influence on psychological capital, while psychological capital mediated the relationship between both mindfulness and work engagement, and mindfulness and burnout. psychological capital also mediates the relationship between both self-leadership and engagement, and self-leadership and burnout. Psychological capital has a statistically significant positive influence on work engagement and a statistically significant negative influence on burnout. The results show that mindfulness and self-leadership strategies can enhance psychological capital, reducing burnout and increasing engagement. Point for practitioners The public sector requires energised employees to serve the public despite demanding circumstances. Therefore, management must find ways to support employees in increasing work engagement levels and avoiding burnout. Since personal resources (mindfulness, self-leadership, psychological capital) are shown to enhance engagement and decrease burnout, managers and human resource managers can build these individual resources through training and development, and consider them in recruitment processes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stergios Aidinlis

Governments across the EU are increasingly turning their attention to advanced big data analytics, aiming to use their data to inform the design and implementation of public policies. Due to limitations in expertise and resources, this is often impossible without the formation of data sharing partnerships with private actors. Yet, the prevailing view in EU data protection regulatory guidance is that the ‘public interest’ and private interests as lawful grounds for data processing under article 6 GDPR find themselves in a zero-sum relationship. The ‘public interest’ under article 6(1)(e) GDPR is construed as the exclusive realm of public authorities, which are often advised against relying on other grounds for processing, associated with private interests, such as ‘legitimate interests’ under article 6(1)(f) GDPR. This chapter argues against the presently dominant divide between public and private interests under lawful grounds for processing, sketching the emergence of Government-to-Business (G2B) research data sharing in the EU. A conceptualisation of the ‘public’ interest as not incompatible with private interests, as long as a contribution to societal well-being is made through data processing, is offered in that regard. The chapter elaborates on this conceptualisation and the requirements for ensuring protection of the fundamental rights of data subjects, while reflecting on the research questions that should concern future EU data protection law researchers with regard to its adoption.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Siu Wing Chan ◽  
Jacqueline Mei Chi Ho ◽  
Jane Siu Fan Li ◽  
Hon Lon Tam ◽  
Patrick Ming Kuen Tang

COVID-19 pandemic has been a major global issue, its eventual influences on the population welfare, global markets, public security, and everyday activities remain uncertain. Indeed, the pandemic has arisen a significant global threat. Its psychological impact is predicted to be severe and enduring, but the absolute magnitude is still largely unclear. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a complication markedly contributes to the mortality of COVID-19 cases, meanwhile several studies have demonstrated the high frequency and seriousness of the COVID-19 in CKD patients receiving dialysis. Importantly, the influence of COVID-19 among CKD patients without dialysis is still largely unexplored. Thus, we systemically summarized how mental health affects the spreading of COVID-19 to virtually worldwide, covering perspectives from several countries across a wide range of fields and clinical contexts. This review aims to provide the latest details and reveal potential concerns on the public health including psychological well-being of the older patients with CKD.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine A. Denison ◽  
Sue P. Ravenscroft ◽  
Paul F. Williams

ABSTRACT Accounting as a professional practice plays a profound, unavoidable, and often unnoticed role in the lives of all citizens. As members of the Public Interest Section of the American Accounting Association, we explicitly explore the myriad social roles of accounting and promote its use to improve the general well-being. In this forum, to say accounting matters is to state the obvious and uncontested. Accounting's important social role imposes responsibilities on those defining and studying that role; as academics we are obligated to promote the highest standards in our research on accounting practice and its social implications. However, the dominant accounting research that explores and attempts to underlay accounting practice does not consistently adhere to the basic precepts of good scientific research practice. To serve the public interest, researchers in accounting can and must do more than award and distribute status via publication in journals whose prestige is high but whose requirements fail to meet scientific standards of reproducibility. We look first at the importance of accounting's role in society. Then we evaluate existing research practices in accounting and find them inadequate to the demands of scientific standards. We provide examples accounting academics could adopt from related disciplines in pursuit of more reliable research findings.


2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 1139-1154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghayda Hassan ◽  
Abdelwahed Mekki-Berrada ◽  
Cécile Rousseau ◽  
Gabrielle Lyonnais-Lafond ◽  
Uzma Jamil ◽  
...  

This paper discusses results from a pilot study conducted in the spring of 2014 among young adults living in Montreal. The main objective of this study was to assess the relation between perception of the Charter of Quebec Values, 1 self-identification, perception of intercommunity relations, perceived discrimination, and psychological well-being in young students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs of a francophone university in Montreal. A total of 441 students (30.5% male, 69.5% female) took part in a web survey designed by the research team. The data analyses and results suggest that the debate around the Charter of Quebec values was associated with a shift from a predominantly positive perception of intercommunity relations to a predominantly negative one, particularly among women, immigrants, and those who self-identified as cultural or religious minorities. In addition, more than 30% of participants reported having experienced some form of ethnic or religious discrimination since the Charter was released (personally or as a witness). This was particularly the case among immigrants, as well as those who self-identified as bicultural or from cultural or religious minority groups. This study’s results thus highlight the exacerbation of intercommunity tensions linked to the public debate around identity and intercommunity relations in Quebec.


2021 ◽  
pp. 179-185

Modern processes of globalization in some way shake the established notions of human rights, and therefore their interpretation and content may be limited or expanded contrary to the regulations of the highest legal force. This creates conflict not only in the legal field, but also in society as a whole. It is emphasized that the most effective and less conflicting will be the norm, the content of which fully reflects both public and individual interest, the norm, in the process of interpretation and implementation of which the social value of law is achieved. What does it mean? That the right in the understanding of the official expression of norms should be only those provisions that ensure the well-being and development at the level of personal and public interest, guarantee and do not violate human rights. It is noted that the value of the right for the individual is that it is able to meet the human need for freedom and establishes a certain order of its use. The value of law for the whole society is manifested in the fact that the law guarantees security, order and harmonization of social relations, integrity and solidarity of society. Human rights and freedoms in the state, its interests should not be opposed to the rights and freedoms of others. At the same time, along with universally recognized human rights and freedoms, there are generally recognized restrictions on most of them. This raises the question of the objectively determined need to define boundaries and their criteria in the process of exercising one’s rights and freedoms. An analysis of legal practice in the context of finding a balance of public and private interest on the example of the constitutional right to education. The conclusion is that education is both a constitutional right and a duty and is not subject to any restrictions, and the state must ensure that education is accessible to all. In the process of ensuring the public interest, the state should apply permissible legal mechanisms to motivate a person to implement certain norms, such as persuasion, not coercion, encouragement, not the threat of punishment. Otherwise, it will lead to discrimination in the exercise of the rights and opportunities provided by the Constitution and the freedom to exercise them. And the establishment of the necessary restrictions provided by international legal instruments must be based on the principles of necessity, justice, legality, equality of rights and freedoms. Keywords: human rights, right to education, discrimination, equality, public interest.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Grasso

Abstract The success of stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) in limiting global heating requires the inclusion and maintenance of the political ideals of legitimacy and procedural justice. Without them, the prospects are slim that this institution can be developed and operated in the public interest in such a way that it will protect and promote social well-being by minimising climate-related harm. Long term legitimacy and procedural justice are crucial to several sensitive features of SAI. They relate to openness, inclusivity and independence, in dealing both with external issues of concern to stakeholders representing the general public and with internal issues concerning agents directly involved in SAI. This article begins by outlining notions of legitimacy and procedural justice, and the criteria appropriate for SAI. Then it investigates how the moral indications provided by the related standards might ensure that SAI is not distorted in such ways that it serves the selfish interests of private parties. Finally, the article outlines two governance recommendations for ensuring that legitimacy and procedural justice in SAI are achieved and maintained over time, so that it can work continuously in the public interest.


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