Worse Life Research Articles

Memory, comparison, and reciprocal commensuration: searching for the socialist ‘bad life’ in aspirational Vietnam

ABSTRACT How does one remember the past that is radically incompatible with the present? This article addresses this question by demonstrating the work of memory as reciprocal commensuration – the intensive social labor required to make the past and the present comparable, and the condition of bittersweetness that is inherent to this process. Drawing from twenty-eight life stories of Hanoi’s residents who usually claim that ‘life today is better than before’, this article traces the ways Hanoi people turn the ‘badness’ of the socialist life into a ground of comparison against which ‘life today’ was graded as ‘better’. This paper then unpacks how the materialistic quality of the ‘better life’ was historically formed along the greater intensities of ‘Western’ comfort, convenience, and abundance, which were experienced and still embraced by an extensive network of Vietnamese workers who traveled to Eastern Europe in the 1980s. But despite the dominant narrative of the current ‘better life’ as an escape from socialist miseries, memories of Hanoi residents about life quality under socialism reveal an ambivalent state of bittersweetness, in which laments about past sufferings become folded in with stories of half-forgotten progress, and stories of progress are entangled with lamentations of ongoing dissatisfaction. Thinking about memory in terms of commensuration makes visible the ways Vietnamese people orient themselves out of socialism, demonstrating the navigational power of memory in contexts of radical historical ruptures.

Identification and Management of Dental Anxiety by New Zealand Dentists.

More than 1 in 8 New Zealand (NZ) adults are dentally anxious, which can lead to avoiding dental care and a higher risk of poor oral health. However, little is known about how dentally anxious patients are identified and managed by NZ general dentists. This survey aimed to investigate how NZ dentists identify and manage dentally anxious patients. We conducted an email survey of NZ dentists in 2022, obtaining 212 responses. Along with demographic information, respondents were queried about whether they ask patients about past/current dental fears and their likely origin, how they assessed those fears, their usual management of dentally anxious patients, and how the management of dentally anxious patients could be improved. Almost three-quarters reported personally asking patients about past and/or current dental fears, and half enquired about bad life experiences that had led to those fears. Only 6 respondents (2.8%) reported using a formal dental anxiety/phobia assessment tool prior to treatment. For managing severely anxious adult dental patients, all dentists used at least 1 pharmacologic or psychological technique or referral to a colleague. The study identified several weaknesses among NZ dentists in identifying and managing dental anxiety patients. The use of formal dental anxiety/phobia assessment tools prior to treatment needs improvement. Addressing dental anxiety is a complex issue that requires a multipronged approach involving improved education, the development and implementation of better assessment tools, and a greater understanding of how dentists' current assessment and management of dental anxiety can be improved.

Monitoring adrenal insufficiency through salivary steroids: a pilot study.

Various glucocorticoid replacement therapies (GRTs) are available for adrenal insufficiency (AI). However, their effectiveness in restoring glucocorticoid rhythm and exposure lacks adequate biochemical markers. We described the diurnal salivary cortisol (SalF) and cortisone (SalE) rhythm among different GRTs and analysed the associations between saliva-derived parameters and life quality questionnaires. Control subjects (CSs, n = 28) and AI patients receiving hydrocortisone (HC, n = 9), cortisone acetate (CA, n = 23), and dual-release hydrocortisone once (DRHC-od, n = 10) and twice a day (DRHC-td, n = 6) collected 9 saliva samples from 07:00 to 23:00. Patients compiled Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Addison disease-specific quality-of-life questionnaires. SalE and SalF were measured by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Exposure was monitored using SalE for HC and DRHC and SalF for CA. Area under the curve (AUC) was computed. Different GRTs were compared by Z-scores calculated from saliva-derived parameters. Questionnaire results predictors were evaluated with multiple regression analysis. Compared with controls, all GRTs resulted in glucocorticoid overexposure in the morning. Hydrocortisone, CA, and DRHC-td caused overexposure also in afternoon and evening. Compared with other treatments, CA determined increased Z-score-07:00 (P < .001), DRHC-td determined increased Z-score-AUC07:00→14:00 (P = .007), and DRHC-od induced lower Z-score-AUC14:00→23:00 (P = .015). Z-scores-AUC14:00→16:00 ≥ .619 best predicted questionnaire scores. None of the GRTs mimics normal glucocorticoid rhythmicity and exposure. SalE, SalF, and Z-score may be useful markers for monitoring and comparing different GRTs. Excess glucocorticoid in early afternoon best associated with depressive symptoms and worse life and sleep quality.

Non-Archimedean population axiologies

Abstract Non-Archimedean population axiologies – also known as lexical views – claim (i) that a sufficient number of lives at a very high positive welfare level would be better than any number of lives at a very low positive welfare level and/or (ii) that a sufficient number of lives at a very low negative welfare level would be worse than any number of lives at a very high negative welfare level. Such axiologies are popular because they can avoid the (Negative) Repugnant Conclusion and satisfy the adequacy conditions given in the central impossibility result in population axiology due to Gustaf Arrhenius. I provide a novel argument against them which appeals to the way that good and bad lives can intuitively outweigh one another.

Better to Grow Up Poor in a Richer Place? Social Housing, Neighbourhood Comparisons, and English Teenagers’ Well-Being

How does being comparatively socio-economically disadvantaged within their neighbourhood affect the lived experiences of young teenagers? We explore this question on a sample of 13 to 15-year-old teenagers living in social housing in England. We explore three major domains of young teenagers’ well-being: (a) their sense of generally leading a bad life, (b) conflictual family interactions, and (c) unhappy social interactions with their peers. We find that living in a social housing estate within a less deprived neighbourhood does not negatively affect teenagers’ general sense of leading a bad life and does not increase conflictual family interactions. But it does make them less likely to report unhappy social interactions with their peers, indicating a positive effect of social mixing at the neighbourhood level.

Inequality and COVID-19 in Sweden: Relative risks of nine bad life events, by four social gradients, in pandemic vs. prepandemic years.

The COVID-19 pandemic struck societies directly and indirectly, not just challenging population health but disrupting many aspects of life. Different effects of the spreading virus-and the measures to fight it-are reported and discussed in different scientific fora, with hard-to-compare methods and metrics from different traditions. While the pandemic struck some groups more than others, it is difficult to assess the comprehensive impact on social inequalities. This paper gauges social inequalities using individual-level administrative data for Sweden's entire population. We describe and analyze the relative risks for different social groups in four dimensions-gender, education, income, and world region of birth-to experience three types of COVID-19 incidence, as well as six additional negative life outcomes that reflect general health, access to medical care, and economic strain. During the pandemic, the overall population faced severe morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 and saw higher all-cause mortality, income losses and unemployment risks, as well as reduced access to medical care. These burdens fell more heavily on individuals with low income or education and on immigrants. Although these vulnerable groups experienced larger absolute risks of suffering the direct and indirect consequences of the pandemic, the relative risks in pandemic years (2020 and 2021) were conspicuously similar to those in prepandemic years (2016 to 2019).

No Peace for the Wicked? Immorality Is Thought to Disrupt Intrapersonal Harmony, Impeding Positive Psychological States and Happiness.

Why do people think that someone living a morally bad life is less happy than someone living a good life? One possibility is that judging whether someone is happy involves not only attributing positive psychological states (i.e., lots of pleasant emotions, few unpleasant emotions, and satisfaction with life) but also forming an evaluative judgment. Another possibility is that moral considerations affect happiness attributions because they tacitly influence attributions of positive psychological states. In two studies, we found strong support for the second hypothesis. Moral considerations only appear to affect happiness attributions when they also affect attributions of positive psychological states. Additionally, both studies supported a hypothesis about why moral judgments have these effects. Specifically, we found that when people judge that someone is living a bad life, they infer that the person is not at peace with themselves. However, when this inference is blocked, moral considerations do not affect attributions of happiness or positive psychological states. In sum, although "happiness" appears to be a purely psychological concept, happiness judgments are sensitive to moral considerations because people often assume that immorality disrupts intrapersonal harmony.

The procreation asymmetry, improvable-life avoidance and impairable-life acceptance

Abstract Many philosophers are attracted to a complaints-based theory of the procreation asymmetry, according to which creating a person with a bad life is wrong (all else equal) because that person can complain about your act, whereas declining to create a person who would have a good life is not wrong (all else equal) because that person never exists and so cannot complain about your act. In this paper, I present two problems for such theories: the problem of impairable-life acceptance and an especially acute version of the problem of improvable-life avoidance. I explain how these problems afflict two recent complaints-based theories of the procreation asymmetry, from Joe Horton and Abelard Podgorski.

Explanatory Models of Dementia among Caregivers of Elderly Persons with Dementia – Analysis of Secondary Data

Rising life expectancy is associated with an increased prevalence of chronic diseases like dementia. The prevalence of dementia is significantly higher in low- and middle-income countries. The public's awareness of dementia in India is low. Help-seeking is largely dependent on one’s socio-cultural perspective of a sickness episode and one’s beliefs about the aetiology, course, and outcome of the illness. Dementia is still not conceptualised as a health problem, and it is believed to be a consequence of normal ageing. So carers are not concerned about seeking help. We interviewed 35 carers of persons with dementia (as per ICD-10) using the Short Explanatory Model Interview (SEMI). We explored the explanatory models of dementia given by caregivers of people with dementia. Qualitative data analysis was done using ATLAS.ti. We identified four main themes that carers expressed, namely, I) Problems of the patient: Many caregivers reported that memory loss, behavioural problems, and impaired biological functioning were their main concerns. II) Cause of problem: caregivers expressed that psychosocial stress, ageing, and black magic were causes of dementia. III) Reason to visit and expectation: most caregivers consulted doctors due to the worsening of their relatives' problems, and they were advised by others to visit. They expected medicines, better treatment, and a cure from doctors, and IV) Outcome of problem: caregivers were worried about problems with appetite, memory loss, impaired verbal communication, difficulty at work, and their relatives going missing. Caregivers have the idea that their relative had some problem that involved the brain, but most of them attribute this to the consequences of ageing due to psychosocial factors like excessive stress, bad interpersonal relationships, life events, economic crises, and black magic. There is a need for an awareness-raising campaign for dementia in the community at large concerning its cause, symptoms, course, progression, and most importantly, locally available services.

Delusions as Storytelling Gone Wrong in Bad Life Situations: Exploring a Discursive Contextual Analysis of Delusions with Clinical Implications

AbstractA contextual model of delusions drawing on discourse analysis is explored, which changes current attributional models to more concrete and observable forms of language-in-context. Most current models view delusions as internal beliefs that are the result of faulty reasoning or cognitive errors, whereas the present model treats delusions as natural discourses that have gone wrong or become exaggerated as strategies shaped by the person’s bad life situations and negative social relationships. Brief reviews are made of the properties attributed to delusional beliefs (Table 1) and of the current explanations for delusions (Table 2). An outline of a discursive contextual analysis is then given along with a review of the life contexts for those with “mental health” issues. Discourse analysis is used to account for the delusional properties as discursive properties (Table 3). Delusions are then analyzed in two ways as normal discourse strategies gone wrong when trying to live in bad life contexts: (1) by analyzing “beliefs” as a way of doing social behavior with language; and (2) by analyzing delusions as normal storytelling gone wrong from being shaped by bad social relationships. Table 5 gives some practical questions for therapists and researchers to explore people’s delusions as discursive strategies.

혐오발언, 주체의 행위성, 몸의 수행성

Hate speech is any form of expression that vilifies and discriminates against individuals or groups based on their identity, including race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and more. However, hate speech is not merely an emotional expression; it can often be intertwined with fake news and logical reasoning that appears convincing. This article explores Judith Butler's theories on hate speech, how she resists it, and how to draw a good life out of a bad life. Firstly, it examines the limitations of the traditional dichotomy between reason and emotion and how it relates to issues such as hate speech, fake news, and post-truth. Secondly, it analyzes hate speech as either an illocutionary or perlocutionary speech act, and reviews legal cases related to hate speech in the USA through Judith Butler's Excitable Speech(1997). Thirdly, it explores Butler's analysis of Freud's work in The Force Of Nonviolence(2020), including his ideas about the importance of emotional ties and communities of feeling, and how he aimed to overcome blind fury in his later years. The article also discusses how Butler supplements Freud's unfinished research and extends his ideas beyond their original limits. Finally, the implications of these attempts for Korean society, which is currently grappling with the problem of hate speech, are examined in the last section.

Association between Sense of Loneliness and Quality of Life in Older Adults with Multimorbidity.

Multimorbidity has been associated with adverse health outcomes, such as reduced physical function, poor quality-of-life (QoL), poor self-rated health. The association between quality of life, social support, sense of loneliness and sex and age in older adult patients affected by two or more chronic diseases (multimorbidity) was evaluated. Patients n. 162 with multimorbidity and living with family members. MMSE-Mini-Mental-State-Examination; ADL-Activities of Daily Living; Social Schedule: demographic variables; Loneliness Scale -de Jong Gierveld; Quality-of-Life-FACT-G; WHOQOL-BRIEF Social relationships. Multivariate Regression Analysis. The patients with three or more diseases have worse dimensions of FACT-G total score (p = 0.029), QoL Physical-well-being (p = 0.003), Social well-being (p = 0.003), Emotional-well-being (p = 0.012), Functional-well-being (p < 0.001), than those with two. Multiple linear regression QoL: FACT_G total score, PWB, SWB, EWB, FWB as dependent variables. In the presence of multimorbidity with an increase in the patient's age FACT-G total score (B = -0.004, p = 0.482), PWB (B = -0.024, p = 0.014), SWB (B = -0.022, p = 0.051), EWB (B = -0.001, p = 0.939), FWB (B = -0.023, p = 0.013) decrease by an average of 0.1, and as the sense of solitude increases FACT-G total score (B = -0.285, p < 0.000), PWB (B = -0.435, p < 0.000), SWB(B = -0.401, p < 0.000), EWB(B = -0.494, p < 0.000), FWB(B = -0.429, p < 0.000) decrease by 0.4. A sense of loneliness and advancing age are associated with bad quality-of life in self-sufficient elderly patients with multimorbidity. Demonstrating that loneliness, as well as in the presence of interpersonal relations, is predictive of worse quality of life in patients with multimorbidity helps identify people most at risk for common symptoms and lays the groundwork for research concerning both diagnosis and treatment.

The Pengaruh Pendidikan Sebaya Terhadap Perilaku Pencegahan Demam Berdarah Dengue (DBD) Pada Santri Madrasah Aliyah Dayah Modern Ihyaaussunnah Kota Lhokseumawe

Diabetes mellitus as known as DM, is a serious chronic disease which happens due to pancreas unable to produce insulin enough, or when the body cannot use the insulin that it already produces effectively. Patients with the diagnosis of DM need long term treatment / therapy in order to reduce the complication accident. If the diabetes is not handled well, it causes complications which are threatening and endanger life. Acute complications are being significant contributors towards death, loss of costs, and bad life quality. This research study aims to know the determinants of life quality of patients with diabetes mellitus at Banda Sakti public center, Lhokseumawe city. This research using a non-experimental method with prospective approach and analyzed with descriptively correlation. This research study adapts a cross section design. Amount of samples are 98 individuals which are determined based on the Slovin formula. The sampling is using a sequential random sampling method. There are three variables involed in this study, which are the life quality of patients with DM as a dependent variable. And duration variables experiencing DM and blood sugar level as independent variables. The analysis data method is using a univariate and bivariate (chi-square test) analysis method. The analysis results show that patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) type 2 at Banda Sakti Public health center Lhokseumawe are dominated by female patients (58,2%), mostly suffering in the age group of 40-60 years old (70,4%). With a long period of time above 10 years (49%). Patients with diabetes mellitus at banda sakti public health center have rough blood sugar that is not under control (59,2%) and most patients have bad life quality equals to 56,1%. The duration of DM and blood sugar level is related to life quality of patience with DM type 2 at banda sakti public health center, Lhokseumawe.

Effect of Yogasan on Maansik Swasthya- A Review Article

The term is derived from the Sanskrit Ayur, meaning ' life" or "longevity," and Veda, meaning "knowledge" or " science. Ayurveda is that which deals with good, bad, happy and unhappy life, its promoters and non-promoters, measure and nature). "Ayus' means the conjunction of body, sense organs, mind and self and is known by the synonyms dhari, jivita, nityaga and anubandha. Mental health is not mere absence of mental illness, but is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stress of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. Yoga and Asan is play an important role in Maansik Swasthya. The physical exercises (asanas) may increase patient's physical flexibility, coordination, and strength, while the Pranayaam and meditation may calm and focus the mind to develop greater awareness and diminish anxiety, and thus result in higher quality of life. Other beneficial effects might involve a reduction of distress, Uchha Raktachap, and improvements in resilience, mood, and metabolic regulation.

Cultural impediments to frank communication regarding end-of-life care between older nursing home residents and their family members in Taiwan: a qualitative study

BackgroundWhen older nursing home residents and their families are faced with end-of-life care decisions in Taiwan, they make them in the context of traditional cultural norms and socioeconomic changes. Both parties (residents and their family members) are often unwilling to broach the topic, leading to a decisional impasse. The aim of this study was to understand difficult-to-raise issues related to end-of-life care by investigating the perspectives of older nursing home residents and their family members.MethodsThis qualitative descriptive study was conducted using content analysis based on the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants, and sampling continued until data saturation. Data were collected using semi structured interviews, and related analyses were conducted using an inductive approach.ResultsTen residents and twelve family members were interviewed individually. Six main themes were identified: (1) the inevitability of a goodbye; (2) a good death; (3) going with or against traditional culture; (4) better a good death than a bad life; (5) abiding by the residents’ decisions; and (6) being willing but unable to take care of residents.ConclusionNursing home residents and their family members’ thoughts on end-of-life care shifted toward the concept of a good death, and they even regarded death as a form of liberation. Health care providers may serve as mediators to counsel a resident and their family members separately, enabling them to speak up and understand each other’s thoughts on end-of-life care before a decision is made so that neither party has regrets.

The Cup Whisperer

The Cup Whisperer

The asymmetry, uncertainty, and the long term

AbstractThe asymmetry is the view in population ethics that, while we ought to avoid creating additional bad lives, there is no requirement to create additional good ones. The question is how to embed this intuitively compelling view in a more complete normative theory, and in particular one that treats uncertainty in a plausible way. While arguing against existing approaches, I present new and general principles for thinking about welfarist choice under uncertainty. Together, these reduce arbitrary choices to uncertainty‐free ones, regardless of how the latter should be made. I illustrate these principles by developing two theories of the asymmetry, reflecting different views about the non‐identity problem. In doing so, I clarify some other major choice‐points, presenting new arguments that creating additional good lives can justify (but not require) doing harm. Finally, I consider what the developed theories have to say about the importance of extinction risk and the long‐run future.

Comparative Clinical Evaluation of Matra Basti with Pippalyadi Taila and Ashtakatvara Taila in Katishoola

Ayurveda deals with good, bad, happy and unhappy life, its promoters and non-promoters, measurement and nature. Katishoola is the condition which is characterized by Shoola and Stabdata, due to vitiated Vata which gets lodged in the Kati pradesha. It is explained as one of the Lakshanas of Vata Vyadhi. But Bhavaprakasha and Gada Nigraha explained it as a separate Vyadhi. Charaka explained it in Vataja Nanatmaja Vikaras.&#x0D; The symptoms of Katishoola can be correlated to low back pain. It is one of the most common problems in the orthopedic field today. Pain effects about 3-12% of the populations and in turn have its impact on the socio-economic activity of an individual.&#x0D; Panchakarma play a vital role in Ayurvedic therapeutics and as such they occupy an important place in Ayurvedic medicine. Among these Basti Karma is the prime treatment modality in Vata Vyadhis. It is considered as the Ardha Chikitsa. Matra Basti is a type of Sneha Basti. It acts as Brumhana, Snehana and does Vata shamana.&#x0D; There are so many effective treatments presently available for Katishoola. In that, Basti is the primary and effective treatment not only for Katishoola but also for each and every Vata vyadhis. Pippalyadi Taila and Ashtakatvara Taila are having good effect on Vata Vyadhis.

From Crown

from Crown Jimin Seo (bio) VII 방 And triumphs all rooms you enter마 even if the work is badly done and다 the motto is good-for-nothing and 방 even if a kiss is mist on a sore back and마 something in me breaks into a center다 -fold of soft money on glossier lovers 불 why not our bodies vanish and빛 re-vanish into lightning, voodoo, and시 this last contract we choose to enter. 피 Do I eat at the dark as the wild fox eats어 a Spartan girl through her back나 and exits, bloody snout, into the woods?네 What are the small games you hunt to live. What animal eats me so you too may live. [End Page 10] VIII 니 What animal eats me so you too may live?가 Dry peppers to pad his shoes––his wife–– light of his feet, ready what a good wife살 is told to do: help him be his mount, live수 under contract of a pen and make a sieve있 of my throat and quietly bray, m y l i f e.게 And this is what my boy sees: a bad life is a bad marriage is a bad wife. Please,어떤 here is my arm, take it. The woman who clothes you brings down a knife짐 and cuts off what feeds you: my arm승 as a translation of fate is where a man속 is the swan but only I must change my life.에 Light my own feet on fire. Do some necessary harm. 집을 만드니 [End Page 11] IX 발 Light my own feet on fire. Do some necessary harm.에 This is my history or is it just money: petrol, candy, a standard oriental car. How charming불 to let a man's pistol cock and watch patrol을 rummage my body and arm a quiet blindness in me and let damage slip out of time.띠고 What is it I'll pay for now? Neighbor I miss my car. Neighbor I burn the road in wine.누 It's dinner time neighbor. Won't you stay please구 stay. If I run out of my body and let the husk한 divide like the segments of an orange, release테 me from acid, sugar, this hunk's terminal musk 피 will I light your feet on fire? Brother of course해 you are not there. Your life is a matter of course.를 선물할까 [End Page 12] Jimin Seo Jimin Seo lives between Manhattan and Cochecton, NY with his partner, Gabriel. He teaches at Baruch College and is co-editor of Couplet Poetry. He received his MFA from Columbia University and was Richard Howard's assistant. His poem in response to artist Shaun Leonardo's exhibition, The Breath of Empty Space, was recently on view at The Bronx Museum. Copyright © 2022-2023 Pleiades and Pleiades Press ...

Wise Exertion: Associating Stoic Thought with Stress, Well-Being, and Life Satisfaction in Physicians

Recognition of how physicians contemplate and approach their activities, positive or negative, may shed light into a more holistic depiction of physician well-being. The purpose of this work was to develop items to measure wise cognitive exertion, constructed with Stoic thought, and determine its association with physician stress, well-being, and life satisfaction. A survey was sent to physicians and university staff members. This pilot investigation found a relationship among focusing on a purposeful life, acknowledging locus of control, avoiding wasteful cognition, and taking (good or bad) life experiences for personal growth and superior life satisfaction, well-being and lower stress. A 13-Item Wise Exertion Scale was developed and had significant associations with stress, well-being, and life satisfaction. Each of the four factors from the 13-Item Wise Exertion Scale were significantly associated with each measure with the exception of Control Consciousness and life satisfaction. Within physicians (N = 59), the 13-Item Wise Exertion Scale was a significant predictor, after adjusting for demographics with stress, well-being, and life satisfaction. Physicians had significantly lower 13-Item Wise Exertion Scale scores compared to non-physicians (N = 126). Future inquiries are required to determine if physicians with a mindset assembled with these beliefs have superior well-being.