scholarly journals A Critical Framework to Develop Human-Centric Positive Energy Districts: Towards Justice, Inclusion, and Well-Being

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minh-Thu Nguyen ◽  
Susana Batel
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive Energy ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Energy Research ◽  
Energy Transitions ◽  
Whole Life Cycle ◽  
Research And Policy

Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) are a new energy initiative from European member states. They are, simply put, local districts which produce more energy than they consume. PEDs are expected to adopt a more human-centric perspective in order to create more liveable and sustainable urban neighbourhoods. However, as previous research on energy transitions has demonstrated, the mainstream approach and technocratic tradition of research and policy vis-à-vis energy transitions could result in the perpetuation of social inequalities, energy injustices, and the passive participation of citizens also within PEDs. Hence, it is crucial in these early days of PEDs to discuss what a human-centric approach should entail and how it should be enacted. Based on a narrative literature review of critical social sciences' energy research (and specifically from social and environmental psychology), this paper will propose a critical framework containing five key dimensions which are relevant for creating more just and inclusive PEDs. These are: uncertainty, risk perception and trust; distributive justice; recognition justice and people-place relations; procedural justice; and, routines, capabilities and lived experiences. To that end, it will also discuss the different implications of mainstream and critical approaches in energy research and social sciences in relation to the deployment of human-centric PEDs. The review concludes that in order to successfully deploy human-centric PEDs, a critical approach is needed and presents some concrete recommendations for future research and policy in order to adopt such an approach. These include: considering justice, inclusion and the well-being of affected socio-ecological systems in the whole-life cycle of PEDs; better integration of indigenous capabilities; and, an ethos of de-growth and circularity in their deployment.

Social Inequalities, Psychological Risk and Resilience, and Health

2018 ◽  
pp. 412-430
Author(s):  
Jennifer Morozink Boylan ◽  
Christopher L. Coe ◽  
Carol D. Ryff
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Biopsychosocial Perspective ◽  
Psychological Risk

Epidemiological evidence from the Midlife in the United States and other studies shows robust socioeconomic disparities in mental and physical health outcomes. Considerable heterogeneity exists in health within socioeconomic strata; not all socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals exhibit poor health. Evidence is presented supporting an integrative conceptual framework wherein psychological factors moderate the association between socioeconomic status and health, illuminating unique risk and resilience profiles. Regarding protective factors, distinctions between hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being are highlighted. Regarding psychological risk factors, the focus is on the experience and expression of anger. Several pathways through which socioeconomic and psychological factors may affect health, including health behaviors, emotion regulation, and physiological responses to stress are considered. The chapter concludes with directions for future research, including efforts to integrate psychological strengths and risk factors and the need for longitudinal and intervention approaches to address the public health issue of health disparities from a biopsychosocial perspective.

scholarly journals Uniting Resilience Research and Practice With an Inequalities Approach

SAGE Open ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401668247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angie Hart ◽  
Emily Gagnon ◽  
Suna Eryigit-Madzwamuse ◽  
Josh Cameron ◽  
Kay Aranda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Young People ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Research And Policy

The concept of resilience has evolved, from an individual-level characteristic to a wider ecological notion that takes into account broader person–environment interactions, generating an increased interest in health and well-being research, practice and policy. At the same time, the research and policy-based attempts to build resilience are increasingly under attack for responsibilizing individuals and maintaining, rather than challenging, the inequitable structure of society. When adversities faced by children and young people result from embedded inequality and social disadvantage, resilience-based knowledge has the potential to influence the wider adversity context. Therefore, it is vital that conceptualizations of resilience encompass this potential for marginalized people to challenge and transform aspects of their adversity, without holding them responsible for the barriers they face. This article outlines and provides examples from an approach that we are taking in our research and practice, which we have called Boingboing resilience. We argue that it is possible to bring resilience research and practice together with a social justice approach, giving equal and simultaneous attention to individuals and to the wider system. To achieve this goal, we suggest future research should have a co-produced and inclusive research design that overcomes the dilemma of agency and responsibility, contains a socially transformative element, and has the potential to empower children, young people, and families.

A culturally derived framework of values-driven transformation in Māori economies of well-being (Ngā hono ōhanga oranga)

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-28
Author(s):  
Rachel Wolfgramm ◽  
Chellie Spiller ◽  
Ella Henry ◽  
Robert Pouwhare
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Kaupapa Māori ◽  
Research And Policy

This article is based on current research investigating Māori economies of well-being. A primary question is “what constitutes transformative and prosperous Māori economies of well-being?” The impetus for the inquiry is a surge in interest in strategies that reconcile multidimensional demands in Māori development. The study is situated within an international renaissance of research and policy development in economies of well-being. The article contributes to a comprehensive, multilevel and interdisciplinary review of Māori economies and well-being literature. In addition, it offers a distinctive culturally derived framework: Ngā hono ōhanga oranga (Māori relational economies of well-being). This framework extends understanding of economies of well-being to include relational dimensions derived from Māori ontologies, mātauranga and kaupapa Māori (Māori approach). This framework offers valuable insights that can be used to advance policy development and implementation of economies of well-being. Future directions outline how this framework informs current and future research investigating Māori leadership and decision making.

scholarly journals Why Michel Foucault in Norwegian Special-Education Research?

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hege Knudsmoen ◽  
Eva Simonsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Disciplinary Power

This article seeks to identify what impact the works of Michel Foucault have had on special-education research in Norway. We also discuss what his writings may contribute to future research.  Foucault’s perspectives are far from dominant in special-education research today. We present research within the relevant social sciences which has been influenced by Foucault and which has had impact on special-education research. We aim to demonstrate that Foucault’s genealogy of ethics may bring new insights and a new critical approach to special-education research. The ethics of inclusion are particularly constructive and productive in both pedagogy and special-education research. In the discussion of Foucault’s relevance in special-education research, we focus on his texts on governmentality to conduct and govern a learner and the ethics of inclusion. The mode of subjectivity highlights the productive nature of disciplinary power – how it names and categorizes learners, the conduct of conduct or how learners govern themselves under education.

Psychopathology and Spiritual Experiences: Criteria for Differential Assessment

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S528-S528
Author(s):  
I. Bone-Pina
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Psychology Of Religion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Competing Interest

IntroductionThere is a plurality of differing opinions defining borders between mental disorders and spiritual experiences. This research proposes criteria for clarifying those boundaries.ObjectivesSummarize practical criteria for clinicians to assess psychopathological symptoms with spiritual content and to attain a differential diagnosis from healthy spiritual experiences.AimsMerge different approaches from psychopathology, psychology of religion and religious studies to attain practical criteria.MethodsLiterature review using a phenomenological and critical approach.Results1. Severe psychiatric symptoms with religious content: (1) are usually in the context of personal impoverishment; (2) appear odd in cultural environments and within a person's biography; (3) do not enhance action or, in the phenomenological tradition, (4) these symptoms come from a weakening of the “intentional arc”. 2. A guiding map is suggested to evaluate spiritual expressions and their relationships with mild or moderate mental disorders and with mental health and personal growth. This map is developed by combining different traditions from the psychology of religion. 3. Psychiatric and psychological judgment of religious/spiritual experiences should be self-limited. There is a judgment about its content and about its validity or truth, which is only possible within the different spiritual traditions.ConclusionsPsychopathology establishes principles to discriminate some psychotic symptoms from healthy spiritual experiences. Psychology of religion offers some general rules to guide the psychological evaluation of spiritual beliefs and their influence on mental well-being and personal growth. This review opens fields for future research in relating psychopathology and the study of religious experience.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals The mental health and well-being profile of young adults using social media

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina H. Di Cara ◽  
Lizzy Winstone ◽  
Luke Sloan ◽  
Oliver Davis ◽  
CMA Haworth
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Significant Research ◽  
User Groups ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Research And Policy

The relationship between mental health and social media has received significant research and policy attention. However, there is little population representative data about who social media users are which limits understanding of confounding in associations between mental health and social media. Here we profile users of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children population cohort (N=4,083). We provide estimates of demographics and mental health and well-being outcomes by platform. We find that users of different platforms and frequencies are not homogenous. User groups differ primarily by sex and YouTube users are the most likely to have poorer mental health outcomes. Instagram and Snapchat users tend to have higher well-being. Relationships between use-frequency and well-being differ depending on the specific well-being construct measured. The reproducibility of future research may be improved by stratifying by sex and being specific about the well-being constructs used.

scholarly journals Hotspots of biodiversity and ecosystem services: the Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union

One Ecosystem ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e24719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Maren Sieber ◽  
Paulo Borges ◽  
Benjamin Burkhard
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Island Biodiversity ◽  
Research And Policy

The obligations of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 create a need for mapping and assessment of the state of biodiversity, ecosystems and their services in all European member states. Europe’s nine Outermost Regions (ORs) and 25 Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) are mainly islands, scattered around the globe. These territories contain unique flora and fauna and encompass diverse ecosystems, from coral reefs to rainforests. These highly diverse ecosystems provide multiple relevant ecosystem services from local to global scale. To date, the ecosystem services concept has so far received little attention in European ORs and OCTs. Therefore, our aims were (1) to analyse the current state of ecosystem services mapping and assessment in Europe’s overseas territories, (2) to identify knowledge gaps in the context of ecosystem service research and application and (3) to provide recommendations for future research and policy directions to fill these gaps. We conducted a systematic review of scientific literature for each of the ORs and OCTs, screening 1030 publications. The analysis resulted in 161 publications referring to ES mapping and assessment, of which most were conducted in the European Caribbean (31%) and Pacific (21%) territories. Results show that many ORs and OCTs are still blank spots in terms of ecosystem service mapping and assessment and that, despite many biodiversity studies referring to species’ abundance, little has been published on ecosystem services. Our systematic review highlights theknowledge lacking on dealing with invasive species, which pose major threats to native island biodiversity, ecosystem functions and ecosystem services. Further, it discusses knowledge gaps in (1) translation of information on island biodiversity and ecosystem functions into ES; (2) geographical coverage of mapping studies in most ORs and OCTs; (3) the lack of standardised approaches and integrated assessments to map, assess and value ecosystem services. Based on these results, future research and policy priorities could be adapted in order to focus on filling these gaps. To overcome current environmental policy challenges, it is crucial to address the ongoing decline in biodiversity, rising climatic and anthropogenic pressures on ecosystems and to maintain a sustainable ES flow to safeguard human well-being. Ultimately, ES mapping and assessment efforts will form the knowledge base for well-informed decision-making to protect Europe’s vulnerable overseas areas.

Temple Food As a Sustainable Tourism Attraction: Ecogastronomic Buddhist Heritage and Regional Development in South Korea

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 209-222
Author(s):  
Anne H.J. Lee ◽  
Geoffrey Wall
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Regional Development ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Sustainable Tourism ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Rich Description ◽  
Food Programs ◽  
Ongoing Development ◽  
Narrative Interpretation

This research explores Buddhist heritage-based tourism in South Korea. It examines temple food experiences provided in tandem with templestay programs that emphasize the Buddhist cooking tradition and share aspects of traditional Buddhist culture with visitors. Based primarily on participant observation, this ecologically friendly form of tourism is described and the ongoing development of temple food programs is documented. A "person-centric" perception is adopted from two perspectives: an emphasis on the holistic well-being of individual visitors, and the importance of a specific person in the provision of tourism experiences. Rich description and narrative interpretation are used to explain the phenomenon and provide a foundation on which future research can be grounded.

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