Blog Posts
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Habits of Happiness
January 28, 2010 by Mike BellCategory: Happiness | Comments (0)
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What are we teaching our children?
by Mike Bell“It seems to me one things which we should be thinking about, is…. all of those superficial qualities of brightness and intelligence and education that are so revered in our culture. This whole idea that you judge young kids today on the basis of what their test scores are, how smart they are, how much information they can digest, how much they can give back to you and remember….we’ve got to stop revering these superficial qualities of brightness and smartness, and bring up a generation which thinks in moral terms, which has moral intelligence, and which asks questions not, “Do we win or do we lose?” Asks questions, ” Is this right? Is it wrong?”“It seems to me one things which we should be thinking about, is…. all of those superficial qualities of brightness and intelligence and education that are so revered in our culture.
This whole idea that you judge young kids today on the basis of what their test scores are, how smart they are, how much information they can digest, how much they can give back to you and remember….we’ve got to stop revering these superficial qualities of brightness and smartness, and bring up a generation which thinks in moral terms, which has moral intelligence, and which asks questions not, “Do we win or do we lose?” Asks questions, ” Is this right? Is it wrong?”
By historian Howard Zinn who has recently died.
Category: Quotes • Youth | Comments (1)
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Positive Psychology Video
January 14, 2010 by Mike BellHere’s a great video by Martin Seligman
Category: Happiness • Wellbeing | Comments (0)
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2010: A bright year for well-being
January 13, 2010 by Mike Bell2010 looks set to be a key year for well-being. Just over ten years ago, whilst well-being made sense in the scientific community, it was still almost unheard of amongst policy-makers.
Since then, however, we’ve had policy documents recognising the importance of well-being from many departments from Defra to the Treasury. The end of 2009 saw two other think tanks, Demos and the Young Foundation, using the language of well-being.
The Department of Health’s New Horizons strategy boldly puts well-being at the heart of mental health. nef act as secretariat for the all-party parliamentary group on well-being, the UK government is set to fund a major new centre for well-being research, and the Office of National Statistics is starting to explore how they can measure well-being.
Meanwhile, whilst the Chinese welcome the year of the tiger, the City of Liverpool has declared 2010 the ‘year of health and wellbeing’.
via 2010: A bright year for well-being « the nef triple crunch blog.
Category: Organisations • Wellbeing | Comments (0)
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nigel hastilow: My descent into quango hell
by Mike BellEver wonder why the Government needs so much of your hard-earned money? It doesn’t all go on schools and hospitals, you know.
Some of it goes on “increasing the profile of trees”, giving new “groupings” of councils a “kick start” and “scoping” a workplace health and well-being strategy.
When our civil servants aren’t busily employing consultants to carry out a “Regional Habitat Regulations Assessment”, they’re attending meetings of about the Offa’s Dyke Regeneration Strategy Study.
I’m not making this up. This and much more is contained in a report by Olwen Dutton, one of our quango queens, who is chief executive of the soon-to-be-disbanded West Midlands Regional Assembly.
Category: Organisations | Comments (0)
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Op-Ed Columnist – The Happiest People – NYTimes.com
January 12, 2010 by Mike BellHmmm. You think it’s a coincidence? Costa Rica is one of the very few countries to have abolished its army, and it’s also arguably the happiest nation on earth.There are several ways of measuring happiness in countries, all inexact, but this pearl of Central America does stunningly well by whatever system is used.
For example, the World Database of Happiness, compiled by a Dutch sociologist on the basis of answers to surveys by Gallup and others, lists Costa Rica in the top spot out of 148 nations.
That’s because Costa Ricans, asked to rate their own happiness on a 10-point scale, average 8.5. Denmark is next at 8.3, the United States ranks 20th at 7.4 and Togo and Tanzania bring up the caboose at 2.6.
Category: Happiness | Comments (0)
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Overhaul of support for people with mental health conditions to get work
January 11, 2010 by Mike BellThe Government has changed the support it offers to people with mental health conditions in order to increase job opportunities and keep them in work, as part of a overhaul of Britain’s mental health services, entitled New Horizons: A shared vision for mental health.
New Horizons sets–out a raft of new measures to help people manage their conditions so they can stay in work or get back to work as quickly as possible if they lose their job or have never worked, according to the Department of Health.
Category: Depression • Wellbeing | Comments (0)
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YoungMinds launch four pledge
by Mike BellMental health charity, YoungMinds launch four pledges today in Parliament for politicians to take urgent action on to in the run up to the general election to improve mental health services for young people. These include calls for:
· A high profile anti stigma campaign supported by government, and fronted by young people to reduce the stigma associated with young people’s mental health problems.
via eGov monitor – A Policy Dialogue Platform | Promoting Better Governance.
Category: Wellbeing • Youth | Comments (0)
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A test of character
by Mike BellQuestions of character are being posed again today, after decades of neglect. This character revival is occurring as politicians and policy-makers realise that many of their most cherished goals – for social mobility, co-operation, social responsibility – cannot be met through either the machinery of the state or the magic of the market. Character is an old-fashioned term for a set of pressing contemporary problems.
David Cameron, who speaks today at the launch of a new Character Inquiry at Demos, is worried that “the character of our society – and indeed the character of some people themselves, as actors in society, is changing”. On the Labour side, Liam Byrne, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has highlighted people’s understanding of “the things inside them – self-confidence, self-esteem, ambition, motivation, nerve“, and called for a “new agenda for character education”.
Category: Wellbeing | Comments (0)
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A day to focus on adults wellbeing in Tyneside
by Mike BellA WELLBEING and health summit is being held to work towards reducing health inequalities in the North East.The Newcastle Wellbeing and Health Partnership, which includes Newcastle City Council and NHS North of Tyne, and voluntary and community sector partners, was established to enable organisations to work together to improve the wellbeing of adults in the city.
The Children’s Trust is working to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families. Both of these groups form part of the Local Strategic Partnership and are keen to promote wellbeing for all citizens.
Wellbeing is not just about health, it is about all the things that contribute to a sense of wellbeing – including the environment you live and work in, and the support of the community around you.
via ChronicleLive – Lifestyle – Health – Health News – A day to focus on adults wellbeing in Tyneside.
Category: Wellbeing | Comments (0)
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