Applied Life Studies

Written to support practitioners undertaking a Masters in public health, this book considers the main concepts, issues and methodologies of the second core competence of the Public Health Skills and Career Framework: 'Assessment of evidence of the effectiveness of interventions, programmes and services to improve population health and wellbeing'. Coverage includes the theoretical definition of evidence and its use in public health, the role of critical appraisal methods and tools in evidence assessment and how Effectiveness, Efficiency and Quality inform evidence. The book is packed with case studies and activities to help link theory and practice and prompt personal reflection.

Engaging and accessible, Gendering Women explores the constructions of femininity and how they fundamentally affect women's mental well being through the lifecourse. Drawing on accounts from women of growing up and growing older in the north of England, the book shows how experiences of becoming and being a woman--in family life, education, employment, motherhood, and in the presence of violence--both enable and erode self-confidence and self-esteem. The volume draws a critical link between contemporary gender theory and the lived experiences of women today and will appeal to students and scholars in sociology and the broader social sciences.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Smart Homes and Health Telematics, ICOST 2013, held in Singapore, in June 2013. The 22 revised full papers presented together with one invited paper and 19 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 53 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on Supportive Technology for Ageing and People with Cognitive Impairment; Activity Recognition and Algorithmic Techniques; Trust, Security and Social Issues; Assistive Robotics and HCI Issues; Supporting Safety and Pervasive Healthcare; Home Energy Usage, Reasoning Framework, Services; Algorithms for Smart Homes; Eldercare - Activity Recognition and Fall Detection; Healthcare and Rehabilitation; Robotics and Assistive Living.

Acknowledging and understanding spiritual formation is vital in contemporary education. This book explores the dynamic relationship between education and wellbeing. It examines the theory underpinning the practice of education in different societies where spirituality and care are believed to be at the heart of all educational experiences. The book recognizes that, regardless of the context or type of educational experience, education is a caring activity in which the development of the whole person - body, mind and spirit - is a central aim for teachers and educators in both formal and informal learning. The chapters in this handbook present and discuss topics that focus on spirituality as an integral part of human experience and, consequently, essential to educational programs which aim to address personal and communal identity, foster resilience, empathy and compassion, and promote meaning and connectedness.

The great saxophonist Charlie Parker once proclaimed "if you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn". This quote has often been used to explain the hedonistic lifestyle of many jazz greats; however, but it also signals the reciprocal and inextricable relationship between music and widersocial, cultural and psychological variables. This link is complex and multifaceted and is undoubtedly a central component of why music has been implicated as a therapeutic agent in vast swathes of contemporary research studies. Music is always about more than just acoustic events or notes on apage. Music has a universal and timeless potential to influence how we feel. Yet, only recently, have researchers begun to explore and understand the positive effects that music can have on our wellbeing - across a range of cultures and musical genres.This book brings together research from music psychology, therapy, public health, and medicine, to explore the relationship between music, health and wellbeing. It presents a range of chapters from internationally recognised experts, resulting in a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and pluralisticaccount of recent advances and applications in both clinical and non-clinical practice and research. Some of the questions explored include: what is the nature of the scientific evidence to support the relationship between music, health and wellbeing? What are the current views from different disciplines on empirical observations and methodological issues concerning the effects of musicalinterventions on health-related processes? What are the mechanisms which drive these effects and how can they be utilised for building robust theoretical frameworks for future work? For the first time, research from disciplines including neuroscience of music, music therapy, psychophysiology and epidemiology of music, community music and music education is synthesised and presented together to further our understanding of music and health in one single volume, ensuring thatclosely related strands of research in different disciplines are brought together into a authoritative, comprehensive and robust collection of chapters. This book is a timely and unique response to an explosion of interest in the relationship between music, health, and wellbeing and will be invaluable resources for students, administrators and researchers in the humanities, social and medical sciences alike.

As health policy at a national level has ever increasing impact on local health services, it is essential that public health students understand how the development and implementation of policy and strategy provide the framework for improving quality, innovation, productivity and prevention in the delivery of healthcare. The book is divided into two sections, with section one covering a strategic overview of national policies, and section two giving specific local implementation of policy examples to support section one. Case studies and examples will help the reader to understand the policy and strategy and to apply them to their local setting.

Lawmakers and judges often enact and enforce laws and policies that impact youth. The extent to which these legal actions are sensitive to juveniles' perspectives and experiences has changed recently. Compared to an earlier time when juveniles were treated the same as adults, many policies arenow created with the needs of juveniles in mind, thanks in part to psychological studies that have revealed that the decision making, behavior, and cognitions of children vary drastically from those of adults. Unique in its angle and in the breadth of social issues it covers, Psychology, Law, and the Wellbeing of Children brings together new research and analyses to address how legal actions affect children's wellbeing. It addresses how civil and criminal law has evolved to protect, and sometimesinadvertently neglect or harm, the wellbeing and development of children. Each chapter describes a law or policy affecting children, identifies the relevant psychological issues, reviews the research that has been conducted or should be conducted, and provides recommendations for professionals inlaw and/or psychology. With contributions from top researchers and practitioners in the field, chapters discuss many current debates, including issues such as gender-specific programming for juvenile delinquents, interrogations of juveniles, changes in divorce and custody procedures, programs for imprisoned mothers, andlegal actions adopted to protect the health of children and sociecty (e.g., HPV vaccinations, considering child obesity to be abuse). This book will be a vital resource for those interested in protecting the wellbeing of children, including academics and researchers in psychology, criminology, andsociology; practitioners such as judges, attorneys, forensic psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers; and graduate and law students.

The new millennium is widely considered to be the age of globalisation, democratisation, and human rights. We live in a knowledge society and in a time of risk and uncertainty. World society is rapidly urbanising and ageing and exhausting its natural resources. It is the interplay of such key trends of the era that calls for a fresh approach to measuring quality of life. This collection of papers presents an innovative approach to evaluating living standards and wellbeing under the new circumstances facing individuals and societies in twenty-first century. Contributions cover a wide range of issues that impact positively and negatively on wellbeing in our age. While stability, trust, equal access to resources and the social integration of disadvantaged members of society enhance well-being, poverty, social exclusion, congestion in cities, HIV/AIDS and global warming pose threats to both modern and traditional lifestyles. Methodological refinements of conventional measurement tools are presented that take into consideration the rich diversity of lifestyles and values among different populations and regions of the world. This book will be essential reading for social scientists and ordinary citizens who are concerned about the future of human well-being on our planet.

Includes CD-Rom In this new book, Pam Allen provides a valuable resource designed to help develop preventative approaches for learning mentors to work and deal effectively with the emotional needs of vulnerable young people. The resources included will help young people: o build their capacity to set realistic targets o build a positive view of their strengths and abilities o improve skills in communication and problem solving o build their capacity to manage strong feelings. There are comprehensive facilitator notes, activities and materials to provide a general course on mental health and wellbeing, as well as sections on working with vulnerable young people, teenage girls and white working class boys. This accessible book will help ensure that children and young people can learn ways to feel safe and valued and to have a sense of self-efficacy.

The United Kingdom’s reforms of the National Health Service and public health system now require a strong focus on partnerships, a move that has largely been met with praise. But a growing body of evidence shows that such partnerships are in fact very difficult to achieve and make effective. This book draws on a detailed study of recent public health partnerships in England--most of which have been made under the new Health and Wellbeing Boards--to assess their effectiveness. Ultimately, the authors argue that the current forms of partnership must be drastically rethought if they are going to succeed.