scholarly journals Water and Emotion: Testing a New Approach for Monitoring Water Security Among Afar Pastoralists in Ethiopia

2022 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Hutchings ◽  
Sarah Cooper ◽  
John Butterworth ◽  
Solome Joseph ◽  
Abinet Kebede ◽  
...  

Ethiopia has over 12 million pastoralists that raise livestock and move their herds in search of fresh pasture and water. This way of life is especially vulnerable to climate change as drought and shifts in seasonal rainfall patterns are changing the distribution and availability of these resources in pastoralist regions. The dynamic use of water within these settings is also not well-understood or captured by conventional water sector monitoring systems, which prevents appropriate supportive interventions and policies to be delivered. This paper presents results from a study into a new approach to measuring water security that focuses on assessing the emotional response of pastoralist populations to their water security situation. Formative research involving focus groups and interviews was followed by a survey of 148 pastoralists to assess their emotional response to different water security dimensions. The results indicate that emotional response can be used to elicit valuable insights into water security and provide a powerful complement to conventional water security monitoring techniques. Using the approach, we show a strong relationship between variation in seasonal water access and reported emotional response. Negative emotions also strongly associate with the most laborious methods of collecting water such as scoop holes and hand dug wells, whereas positive emotions were associated with access to higher quantities of water. Access to equines for carrying water was associated with more positive emotional well-being indicating a route to water security improvement in this context could be through the provision of donkeys and mules for water carrying. The paper discusses the value of using an emotion-based approach to capture experiences of water security alongside more conventional objective measures, especially among populations with water use patterns that continue to be poorly understood.

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Dermody ◽  
Murugesu Sivapalan ◽  
Elke Stehfest ◽  
Detlef P. van Vuuren ◽  
Martin J. Wassen ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present a new framework for modelling the complexities of food and water security under globalisation. The framework sets out a method to capture regional and sectoral interdependencies and cross-scale feedbacks within the global food system that contribute to emergent water use patterns. The framework integrates aspects of existing models and approaches in the fields of hydrology and integrated assessment modelling. The core of the framework is a multi-agent network of city agents connected by infrastructural trade networks. Agents receive socio-economic and environmental constraint information from integrated assessment models and hydrological models respectively and simulate complex, socio-environmental dynamics that operate within those constraints. The emergent changes in food and water resources are aggregated and fed back to the original models with minimal modification of the structure of those models. It is our conviction that the framework presented can form the basis for a new wave of decision tools that capture complex socio-environmental change within our globalised world. In doing so they will contribute to illuminating pathways towards a sustainable future for humans, ecosystems and the water they share.


Author(s):  
Natalya C. Maisel ◽  
Shelly L. Gable

Although psychologists have learned a great deal about negative and harmful processes in relationships, they have focused less on understanding the positive and beneficial processes in relationships. Of course, almost every close relationship offers the promise of both meaningful rewards and substantial risks, such as support, intimacy, companionship, conflict, rejection, and criticism. In this chapter, we attempt to highlight the complexities involved in relationships, with an emphasis on positive processes, with the goal of creating a picture that represents the dynamic reality of the social world. We first discuss the important role that intimate relationships play in human life and their strong links with health and well-being. We then highlight research on the positive processes in relationships, such as positive emotional expressions, shared novel experiences, intimacy, and the benefits of sharing positive events. This work complements previous literature which has tended to focus on the potential pitfalls in relationships. For example, displaying low levels of negative emotions may not be enough to create a strong relationship—expressions of positive emotions are also beneficial. Finally, we point to future directions in the positive psychology of relationships, such as a greater focus on biology and health (e.g., examining hormones that promote bonding), and the need to examine other types of relationships, such as friendships.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Fuochi ◽  
Chiara A. Veneziani ◽  
Alberto Voci

Abstract. This paper aimed to assess whether differences in the way to conceive happiness, measured by the Orientations to Happiness measure, were associated with specific reactions to negative events. We hypothesized that among orientations to pleasure (portraying hedonism), to meaning (representing a eudaimonic approach to life), and to engagement (derived from the experience of flow), orientation to meaning would have displayed a stronger protective role against recent negative and potentially stressful events. After providing a validation of the Italian version of the Orientations to Happiness measure (Study 1), we performed regression analyses of the three orientations on positive and negative emotions linked to a self-relevant negative event (Study 2), and moderation analyses assessing the interactive effects of orientations to happiness and stressful events on well-being indicators (Study 3). Our findings supported the hypotheses. In Study 2, meaning was associated with positive emotions characterized by a lower activation (contentment and interest) compared to the positive emotions associated with pleasure (amusement, eagerness, and happiness). In Study 3, only meaning buffered the effect of recent potentially stressful events on satisfaction with life and positive affect. Results suggest that orientation to meaning might help individuals to better react to negative events.


Relay Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 306-318
Author(s):  
Hatice Karaaslan

This article elaborates on a follow-up mentoring session conducted with a junior colleague who had frequent contact with me over a period of one year during her coursework as she considered me a senior instructor with substantial research experience. The purpose was to exploit the strategies of advising in a mentoring context utilizing intentional reflective dialogue (IRD) to encourage reflection on professional well-being. To facilitate the process and achieve an in-depth analysis of her level of professional well-being, I employed Seligman’s (2011) PERMA model, explaining professional well-being with reference to its components of positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. In the article, I briefly give information on the context and background, the purpose, and the professional well-being model used. I then outline the flow of the session, and point out and discuss how the strategies of advising have been exploited through a series of IRD exchanges in an effort to stimulate an in-depth discussion. Finally, I present my personal reflections as well as the potential implications to be considered while conducting mentor-mentee sessions and improving professional well-being in educational settings.


Author(s):  
Michael A. Cohn ◽  
Barbara L. Fredrickson

Positive emotions include pleasant or desirable situational responses, ranging from interest and contentment to love and joy, but are distinct from pleasurable sensation and undifferentiated positive affect. These emotions are markers of people's overall well-being or happiness, but they also enhance future growth and success. This has been demonstrated in work, school, relationships, mental and physical health, and longevity. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions suggests that all positive emotions lead to broadened repertoires of thoughts and actions and that broadening helps build resources that contribute to future success. Unlike negative emotions, which are adapted to provide a rapid response to a focal threat, positive emotions occur in safe or controllable situations and lead more diffusely to seeking new resources or consolidating gains. These resources outlast the temporary emotional state and contribute to later success and survival. This chapter discusses the nature of positive emotions both as evolutionary adaptations to build resources and as appraisals of a situation as desirable or rich in resources. We discuss the methodological challenges of evoking positive emotions for study both in the lab and in the field and issues in observing both short-term (“broaden”) and long-term (“build”) effects. We then review the evidence that positive emotions broaden perception, attention, motivation, reasoning, and social cognition and ways in which these may be linked to positive emotions' effects on important life outcomes. We also discuss and contextualize evidence that positive emotions may be detrimental at very high levels or in certain situations. We close by discussing ways in which positive emotions theory can be harnessed by both basic and applied positive psychology research.


Author(s):  
Evi Petersen ◽  
Annette Bischoff ◽  
Gunnar Liedtke ◽  
Andrew J. Martin

Background: Solo—being intentionally solitary in nature—is receiving growing attention as a valuable outdoor education program component. Its practice and history have been researched in the context of experiential learning, but few studies have explicitly examined how solo experiences can affect dimensions of well-being. This study investigated a broad range of well-being pathways provided by being solo, based on data from Norway, Germany, and New Zealand. Methods: Using qualitative content analysis (QCA), the solo debrief responses of 40 participants (26 females, age: 19–64 years) were analysed, applying the PERMA-V framework (emotions, engagement, relationship, meaning, achievement, and vitality). Variations in the reports were explored as a function of the national sample, gender, age, prior solo experiences and expectations. Results: The study suggests that hedonic and eudemonic well-being pathways, represented by the six PERMA-V pillars, interrelate strongly. The experience of a range of positive emotions and connecting process during solo highlights two of the most frequent findings related to well-being pathways. The secondary findings suggest minor variations in the well-being pathways for the different national samples, gender and age. Expectations and prior experiences with solo were identified as context factors with minor impact. Further, the data-driven analysis identified specific physical activities, landscape features, sense-activation, perception of time and ‘good’ weather as relevant to the specific experience. Conclusions: Solo experiences provide for well-being-related pathways in a multitude of ways, which highlights the well-being potential of solo implementation across practical fields beyond outdoor education, such as wilderness therapy, and environmental and planetary health initiatives. Future studies should continue to explore solo’s well-being potential in different settings, especially in the context of non-Western samples.


Author(s):  
Seon-Ju Kam ◽  
Young-Sun Yoo

Patients’ emotional responses to the hospital environment can be considered as important as medical technology and equipment. Therefore, this study investigated their experiences to determine whether the pattern using hospital identity (HI) elements, a widely used design method for patient clothing in university hospitals, can affect their emotional response and contribute to healing. It aimed to identify whether controlling the motif characteristics, arrangement, and spacing in this pattern design, and the direction between motifs, could be a method to design patient clothing for healing. To investigate patients’ emotional response and suggestions for patient clothing design, an interview-based qualitative approach was used. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 patients discharged from Kyung Hee University Hospital Medical Center (KHUMC), Seoul. The interview questions consisted of two parts. One part featured questions about participants’ emotional responses to the medical environment and their latest patient clothing experience, and the other featured questions about their emotional response to, and suggestions for, the healing expression of pattern design using HI. The results confirmed that the motif characteristics, arrangement, and spacing, and the direction between motifs, influenced patients’ positive emotions and contributed to the healing effect. Therefore, when the HI elements of a medical institution are applied in the design of patient clothing with the characteristics of a healing design, patients perceive this as providing stability and comfort. The design of patient clothing becomes a medium that not only builds the brand image of medical institutions, but also enhances the quality of medical services centered on patient healing.


2021 ◽  
pp. 095679762199520
Author(s):  
Gregory John Depow ◽  
Zoë Francis ◽  
Michael Inzlicht

We used experience sampling to examine perceptions of empathy in the everyday lives of a group of 246 U.S. adults who were quota sampled to represent the population on key demographics. Participants reported an average of about nine opportunities to empathize per day; these experiences were positively associated with prosocial behavior, a relationship not found with trait measures. Although much of the literature focuses on the distress of strangers, in everyday life, people mostly empathize with very close others, and they empathize with positive emotions 3 times as frequently as with negative emotions. Although trait empathy was negatively associated only with well-being, empathy in daily life was generally associated with increased well-being. Theoretically distinct components of empathy—emotion sharing, perspective taking, and compassion—typically co-occur in everyday empathy experiences. Finally, empathy in everyday life was higher for women and the religious but not significantly lower for conservatives and the wealthy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 626-627
Author(s):  
Jeremy Hamm ◽  
Carsten Wrosch ◽  
Meaghan Barlow ◽  
Ute Kunzmann

Abstract Using two studies, we examined the late life prevalence and health consequences of discrete positive emotions posited to motivate rest and recovery (calmness) or pursuit of novelty and stimulation (excitement). Study 1 assessed the salience of these discrete emotions in older adults (n=73, Mage=73) relative to younger adults (n=73, Mage=23) over a one-week period. Multilevel models showed that older (vs. younger) adults reported higher calmness and lower excitement. Study 2 examined the longitudinal health consequences of calmness and excitement in old age (n=336, Mage=75), as moderated by perceived control. Multilevel growth models showed that calmness, but not excitement, buffered against 10-year declines in psychological well-being (perceived stress, depressive symptoms) and physical health (physical symptoms, chronic conditions) for older adults with low perceived control. Results suggest that positive emotions with disparate motivational functions become more (calmness) or less (excitement) salient and have diverging implications for health in old age.


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