Luis Miguel Neto

Felicitas Publica and community well-being: nourishing relational goods through dialogic conversations between deprived and privileged populations

This article discusses the theoretical justifications, presumed relevance and value of using community interventions designed to be appreciative and strengths based, participatory and conversational, context sensitive and value driven, to promote well-being actions and coordinated meaning between privileged persons and those living in impoverished material and social conditions. It stresses the need for the field of positive psychology to incorporate new theoretical models, topics and participants, and to contribute actively to human relatedness and social justice. The authors endorse the significance of a “positive community psychology”, approaching collective well-being in terms of civil economy and Felicitas Publica, addressing innovative economic development while enabling conditions for positive relational goods. These interventions have the potential for resourceful and consequential change, where critical conscientisation is one of the vehicles. We recommend the use of a dialogic perspective coupled with affirmative language as transformational procedures, presupposing that social practices are inextricably bound up in discourse. To elucidate the ideas proposed in this article, we describe an intervention involving a Portuguese community in the Azores Islands, where the World Café method and the Appreciative inquiry principles were integrated and linked to a communication model emerging from the Coordinated Management of Meaning theory.

Quality of life studies and positive psychology

In this chapter, a succinct review of the quality of life and of the positive psychology domains, both focused on the study and elevation of the quality of individual and collective humans’ lives, brings about their historical, conceptual and applied divergences, but also their unequivocal relatedness and communalities. Their philosophies, purposes, objects of study, underlying constructs and inquiry characteristics are briefly explored, and their current controversies, strengths and weaknesses analysed. On the basis of the reviewed studies it is concluded that both domains are currently: bridged by the subjective focus; interconnected by the well-being theme; devoted to an emergent eudaimonic and social/relational perspective; and considering that what makes life prosper should be at the heart of a revivified, vigilant and engaged critical science, with a stronger ethos. Subsequently, there is an imperative need to harmonize both contributions, and to acknowledge and potentiate complementarities and continuous convergences to help new and fertile answers to emerge. This should be done in parallel with the integration of new and fundamental perspectives emerging from European considerations, such as the Civil Economy, with the rise of the Public Felicita model, companions in the quest to discover and promote the foundations of human betterment and society well-being. None of these scientific grounds are sufficient in themselves to capture the complexity of the subject, so the different contributions need to enter tangible dialogues. Hence, some proposals towards realms of scientific collaboration are discussed in order to further understand, encourage and advocate essential qualities and potential practices of a virtuous society and a laudable collective life.

Re) descoberta de esperança na família da criança com doença crônica através do genograma e ecomapa

En el contexto de los cuidados de la familia del nino con enfermedad cronica distintos han sido los retos que se plantean a los equipos de enfermeria en el ambito de la promocion de esperanza en el momento de la evaluacion e intervencion familiar. El genograma y ecomapa se constituyen en un vehiculo para la comprension mas profundizada de los vinculos y de los modelos de interaccion de la familia. Tenemos la intencion de proponer la construccion de un genograma y ecomapa para identificar los recursos de esperanza con madres de ninos con enfermedad cronica. Se trata de una investigacion cualitativa, donde se identificaron los factores que influyen en la esperanza en los grupos de ayuda mutua. La recoleccion de datos se realizo a traves de entrevista semi-estructurada de veinte madres, de Julio de 2009 a Junio de 2010. Los resultados muestran los modelos de interaccion en esperanza, los atributos personales de sus miembros, la base espiritual y las memorias moralizantes, haciendo posible una reflexion sobre la red familiar, como una red de fuerza, resiliencia y empowerment.

The “Internalised Other” Interviewing Technique Revisited

Abstract The article starts by a reflection on the “Internalised Other” Interviewing technique proposed by Burnham. The author proposes eight steps on the implementation of the technique. They present the roots of the technique and some of the resonances that it may create. The technique is included in the Social Constructionist tradition. One of the most important uses of this technique is the possibility that it offers to work with individuals in a systemic background, as it is a way of “bringing” the relevant others into the therapeutic setting. “Internalising” others is also a valuable tool in the context of training and supervision. The case examples presented are practical applications of the IOI technique in working systemically with individuals.

The Live Well Index and the Motivation for Physical Activity Profile: Two Cross-National Studies on the Correlates and Drives for a Life with Quality

Two studies were undertaken in two different samples of eight European countries. The aim of these studies was twofold: (1) to develop and validate, according to psychometric standards, an online self-administered instrument to measure the variables related to what is to “Live well” (the Live Well Index, LWI) taking into consideration four major domains: To Move Well, to Eat Well, to Feel Well and Perceived Health; (2) To investigate the particular role of physical activity in a life well lived, and to develop and validate motivational profiles for doing and sustaining the practice of physical exercise (Aspirational Profiles). The two initial questionnaire were developed using data from (a) a qualitative study (twenty Interviews and two Focus Group) on what is to Live Well, taking the four dimensions into contemplation, and (b) a quantitative study on motivations for physical activity. Both were conducted to generate items that identify domains and portraits. Alongside, an extensive literature review was implemented. Content analysis for the qualitative data was intertwined with principal factor analysis and cluster analysis, regarding the quantitative data, with the aim of generating the final items, either for the LWI and the Aspirational Profiles. The second phase of the two studies included 876 participants from eight European countries for the LWI and a sample of 1177 participants that joined in the pilot validation of the initial questionnaires; This phase included translation, retroversion and validation for each of the languages used in the two questionnaires. A list of easily comprehensible, non-redundant items was defined for the two instruments. The final Live Well Index is a brief measure that includes 17 questions. It can be connected to the Aspirational Profile on physical activity, that includes 19 quastions, and allows for a deeper exploration of the Move Well dimension, one of the four scopes of the LWI. Implications for the study and promotion of quality of life, supported in these pillars, are addressed, in particular in what concerns the role of physical activity for quality of life, and how to promote exercise in accordance with people’s specific motivations.

Exploring the Concept and Practices of Felicitas Publica at Lisbon University: A Community-Based Relational Approach to Well-being

This chapter explores a collaborative action-research project, whose aim was to generate new knowledge about well-being and happiness in higher education, which might result in improved outcomes for the school communities. The discussion draws upon data from a study conducted across 10 Schools of the biggest Portuguese University—Universidade de Lisboa. The views and perspectives of 109 participants (students, teachers, chancellors and staff) have been sought through Focus-Group interviews, using the World Cafe methodology to engage and connect participants in conversation, and Appreciative Inquiry to construct meaningful and transformative questions. The study had multiple aims: to generate a genuine, collaborative and positive dialogic environment; to promote a sense of community through relational goods; to co-create a novel consciousness on the past and future of the collective and relational happiness processes inside these communities; to investigate the topic, in contributing with action-research methods; and to provide a framework for the science and application of well-being at the university level. Conversations addressed how each school and domain of science enrolled (Law, Humanities, Medicine, Social and Political Sciences, Physical Exercise and Human Movement, Dental Medicine, Agronomy, Architecture, Design and Arts, and Biology), defined Public Happiness, how the school members consider that they are promoting Public Happiness in everyday life, and how it can be developed and put into practice in the near future inside and outside every school community. Five major themes emerged in the images and written accounts across all school cohorts, associated with well-being, specifically concerning (1) quality of relationships; (2) school identity; (3) presence of virtuousness of the individuals and the community; (4) the vocation to learn and teach; and (5) contributions to the common good. Proposals for the enhancement of well-being in higher education through a community-based approach are discussed, in particular since such findings highlight the potential of more relational, democratic, reciprocate, virtuous and participatory approaches, beyond and besides academic learning.