Suchergebnisse

Background: Amid the rapid global spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many governments enforced country-wide lockdowns, likely with severe well-being consequences. The actions by governments triggered a debate on whether the costs of a lockdown, economically and in well-being, surpass the benefits perceived from a lower infection rate. Aim: To use the Gross National Happiness index (GNH), derived from Big Data, to investigate the determinants of happiness before and during the first few months of a lockdown in a country as an extreme case, South Africa (a country with low levels of well-being and stringent lockdown regulations). Next, to estimate (1) the probability of being happy during a pandemic year, before and after the implemented lockdown, relative to the mean happiness levels of the previous year, and (2) to utilise simulations to estimate the probability of being happy if there were no lockdown. Setting: This study considers the effect of government-mandated lockdown on happiness in South Africa. Methods: We use Big Data in the forms of Twitter and Google Trends to derive variables and ordinary least squares and ordered probit estimation methods. Results: What contributes to happiness under lockdown, except for COVID-19 cases, are the factors linked to the implemented regulations themselves. If we compare scenarios pre- and post-lockdown, we report a happiness cost of 9%. The simulations indicate that assuming there were no lockdown in 2020, the relative well-being gain is 3%. Conclusion: If policymakers want to increase happiness levels and the probability of achieving the same happiness levels as in 2019, they should consider factors related to the regulations that can increase happiness levels.

"When Jeremy Bentham proposed that government should run 'for the greatest benefit of the greatest number,' he posed two problems: what is happiness and how can we measure it? With the rise of positive psychology, freakonimics, behavioural economics, endless TED talks, the happiness manifesto, the Happiness Index, the tyranny of customer service, the emergence of the quantified self movement, we have become a culture obsessed with measuring our supposed satisfaction. In anecdotes that include the Buddhist monk who lectured the business leaders of the world at Davos, why the Nike Fuel band makes us more worried about our fitness, how parts of our city are being rebuilt in response to scientific studies of oxytocin levels in our brain, and what a survey from Radisson hotels--that proves that 62% of us believe that well-being is a luxury worth more than work or a good relationship--really tells us about the way we measure ourselves, and continually find ourselves wanting"--

In the paper it is questioned whether effective state social policy provides happiness and social progress. For this purpose selected correlations between Human Development Index (HDI), share of public social expenditures in GDP, the Happy Planet Index (HPI), GDP per capita, and Government Effectiveness are examined and the results are graphically presented. It is shown how a government can affect well-being and happiness in different countries of modern world. Also, it is tested the hypothesis about existence of a certain optimum of well-being and public social expenditures, which affect direction of social progress. It is concluded that efficient social policy and wealth are not the only factors determining human happiness.

This open access book defines happiness intuitively and explores several common conceptual mistakes with regard to happiness. It then moves on to address topical issues including, but not limited to, whether money can buy you happiness, why happiness is ultimately the only thing of intrinsic value, and the various factors important for happiness. It also presents a more reliable and interpersonally comparable method for measuring happiness and discusses twelve factors, from A to L, that are crucial for individual happiness: attitude, balance, confidence, dignity, engagement, family/friends, gratitude, health, ideals, joyfulness, kindness and love. Further, it examines important public policy considerations, taking into account recent advances in economics, the environmental sciences, and happiness studies. Novel issues discussed include: an environmentally responsible happy nation index to supplement GDP, the East Asian happiness gap, a case for stimulating pleasure centres of the brain, and an argument for higher public spending.

Cover -- Title -- Dedication -- Copyright -- Contents -- preface -- introduction -- luck -- luck character -- god of luck -- bat -- door gods -- spring couplet -- new year pictures -- lucky children -- vase -- gourd -- dragon and lion dances -- scepter -- cloud -- windmill -- buddha's hand -- shrimp -- laughing mouth -- oysters -- prosperity -- deer -- god of prosperity -- carp leaping over the dragon's gate -- six -- peony -- monkey -- three ingots -- rooster -- crab -- sticky rice cake -- longevity -- one hundred long lives -- god of longevity -- pine tree -- bamboo -- plum -- cypress -- crane -- tortoise -- peach -- queen mother of the west -- moon goddess -- goddess of longevity -- eight immortals -- fungus of immortality -- chrysanthemum -- narcissus -- ginseng -- longevity noodles -- longevity lock -- nine -- double happiness -- double happiness character -- god of double happiness -- magpie -- mandarin ducks -- phoenix -- qí lín -- carp -- spider -- firecrackers -- gods of unity and harmony -- lotus -- date -- chestnut -- peanut -- melons and seeds -- pomegranate -- red eggs -- four-happiness boys -- wealth -- eight -- god of wealth -- coins -- money tree -- tangerine -- gold and silver ingots -- dumpling -- red packet -- god liu hai -- fish -- goldfish -- fa cái plant -- lettuce -- beckoning cat -- index -- acknowledgments -- biographies -- Chronicle Ebooks.

Intro -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- About the Authors -- Part I: Introduction -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- References -- Part II: Salient Theoretical Considerations -- Chapter 2: Does Innovation Bring Well-being? -- References -- Chapter 3: Technologies: False Friends? -- References -- Chapter 4: ICT: ``Alone Together´´? -- References -- Chapter 5: Social Innovation as a Vector for a Good Life -- References -- Part III: Duality of Innovation -- Chapter 6: The Luddites -- References -- Chapter 7: Creative Destruction -- References -- Part IV: Key Issues and Future Development -- Chapter 8: Transhumanism, Back to the Future -- References -- Chapter 9: Frugal, but Happy? -- References -- Chapter 10: Responsible Research and Innovation and Innovation-Care -- References -- Chapter 11: Creative Goods and Resonance -- References -- Chapter 12: Towards Positive Innovation -- Framework -- Frame of Measurement -- The Limits of Measurement -- Ethics -- Positive Innovation, a Sociocultural Question -- References -- Part V: Conclusion -- Chapter 13: Conclusion -- Index.

Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations and Bibliographic Note -- Prologue -- Introduction -- 1. Reading Ricoeur on Negation -- 2. The Negation Papers -- 3. Heraclitus, Parmenides and Plato: Before the Logic of Negation -- 4. Hegel's Dialectical Dominance -- 5. Kant: Negation in a Philosophy of Limits -- 6. Affirmative Negatives: Nietzsche, Sartre, Deleuze, Murdoch - and Plotinus -- 7. Happiness - and you, what will you do? -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.

This research aims to find a more precise composite measurement format (index) in quantifying the ultimate achievement of human existence, which is happiness, in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. Up until now, Human Development Index (HDI) is considered to be sufficiently representing the measure of human well-being. However, Easterlin (1974) argues that higher welfare does not always imply to higher happiness. Blanchflower and Oswald (2005) prove the statement of Easterlin (1974) by demonstrating the paradox between HDI level and happiness in Australia. Further, the measure of HDI is said to be less representative in reflecting happiness as it has not yet incorporated the element of religiosity. Thus, several of the new composite measures of well-being in Muslim countries have been proposed, one of them is Sharia Maqasid Index constructed by Ali and Hasan (2014). This research attempts to make comparison between HDI and Sharia Maqasid Index and to decide which of the two indices gives the best measure of human happiness. The authors employ Ordered Logit method and use data taken from World Value Survey along the period of 1999-2009 to measure happiness as in Leigh and Wolfers (2006), as well as to measure Sharia Maqasid Index as in Ali and Hasan (2014). Findings of this research can benefit the government of OIC countries to determine a more precise index as a benchmark to set more appropriate public policies.

The article analyzes the relationship between freedom and happiness, in particular whether freedom makes people happy. The problem of freedom and happiness in the modern world affects the life of every person. Utilitarians argue that freedom, understood as the absence of constraints, increases people's happiness, as J. S. Mill argued in On Liberty. More recently there have been a number of empirical studies examining whether happiness levels are higher in societies that have more liberty. These studies are critically examined and some of the difficulties of establishing whether it is liberty or some other closely-related phenomena, such as democracy or development, that cause happiness are discussed. The article presents data from Freedom House and the Happy Planet Index to attempt to determine the effect of liberty on happiness. This enables us to determine the place of freedom in the hierarchy of values and understand its place in society and its significance for the individual.

Intro -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- Introduction: Cures of Yesterday -- 1. Improbable Miracles -- 2. Ear Spectacles -- 3. Electric Wonders -- 4. Fanciful Fads -- 5. Edge of Silence -- Epilogue: Beyond Eyes of Incredulity -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- Index.

This study attempted to develop a happiness index tool for evaluating rehabilitation initiatives used to reinstate returnees at district Swat, Pakistan. The Happiness Index (HI) tool compares two periods, i.e., HI before rehabilitation (BR) and HI after rehabilitation (AR). The returnees' happiness index (RHI) is also compared with Pakistan's Happiness Index to identify the difference. Data for this study were elicited from 382 respondents through a structured survey questionnaire. The results show that after rehabilitation (AR), the returnees' happiness index improved from 3.89 to 5.36, which is still less than the world happiness index of Pakistan, i.e., 5.65 in 2019. This study concluded that rehabilitation projects had a significantly positive impact on the HI of the returnees. However, more effective and sustainable initiatives are required to align the RHI to the HI of Pakistan. Further, the RHI tool adopted by this study is significant for measuring the happiness of the marginalized and affected people in Pakistan and beyond.

Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- Abbreviations and Editions -- 1. The Transmission of Form -- 2. Truth, Action, and Soul -- 3. Theoretical Wisdom -- 4. Virtue of Character -- 5. Practical Wisdom -- 6. Immortalizing Beings -- 7. Happiness -- 8. The Happiest Life -- Index of Passages -- General Index.

Charles Murray, In Pursuit: Of Happiness and Good Government -- Front Matter -- Title Page -- Copyright Details -- Table of Contents -- Prologue, p. ix -- Part One. "The Happiness of the People" -- 1. Measuring Success in Social Policy, p. 3 -- 2. Coming to Terms with Happiness, p. 11 -- Part Two. When There Is Bread -- 3. Enabling Conditions and Thresholds, p. 29 -- 4. Material Resources, p. 38 -- 5. Safety, p. 62 -- 6. Dignity, Self-Esteem, and Self-Respect, p. 86 -- 7. Enjoyment, Self-Actualization, and Intrinsic Rewards, p. 105 -- Part Three. Toward the Best of All Possible Worlds -- 8. Policy and an Idea of Man, p. 133 -- 9. Asking a New Question, Getting New Answers: Evaluating Results, p. 152 -- 10. Asking a New Question, Getting New Answers: Designing Solutions, p. 172 -- 11. Searching for Solutions That Work: Changing the Metaphor, p. 201 -- 12. Little Platoons, p. 228 -- 13. "To Close the Circle of Our Felicities," p. 260 -- Acknowlegments, p. 271 -- Notes, p. 273 -- Index, p. 297.

I / Design -- 1. Purpose of the Study -- 2. The Concept of Happiness -- 3. Indicators of Happiness -- 4. Searching Empirical Happiness Studies -- 5. Presenting the Findings -- II / Excerpts -- III / Correlates -- IV / Public Happiness -- Appendix A Technical Terms Used in the Excerpts -- Appendix B Measures of Association Used in One or More of the Studies -- Appendix C Test Statistics Used in One or More of the Studies -- References -- Author Index.