Most people in Europe live in urban environments. For these people, urban green space is an important element of well-being, but it is often in short supply. We use self-reported information on life satisfaction and different individual green space measures to explore how urban green space affects the well-being of the residents of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. We combine spatially expli...

This essay examines core contributions of a model of psychological well-being that has had widespread scientific impact. It drew on distant formulations to identify new dimensions and measures for assessing what it means to be well. Key themes among the more than 750 studies using the model are sketched, followed by reflections about why there has been so much interest in this eudaimonic approa...

This paper canvasses recent arguments in favor of commercial markets in human transplant kidneys, raising objections to those arguments on grounds of the role of injustice, exploitation, and coercion in compromising the autonomy of those most likely to sell a kidney, namely, the least well off members of society.

Microcredit institutions spend billions of dollars fighting poverty by making small loans primarily to female entrepreneurs. Proponents argue that microcredit mitigates market failures, spurs micro-enterprise growth, and boosts borrowers' well-being. We tested these hypotheses with the use of an innovative, replicable experimental design that randomly assigned individual liability microloans (o...

This paper provides a brief overview of, and elaborates on, some of the presentations, discussions and conclusions from Day 4 of the 'WHO EURO 2014 International Healthy Cities Conference: Health and the City - Urban Living in the 21st Century', held in Athens, Greece on 25 October 2014. The Internet of Things (IoT) is made of sensors and other components that connect our version of the world m...

The recent negative media reports on the status of participants in clinical trials in India, together with the concerns expressed by the regulatory bodies, have raised questions regarding India’s credibility in the conduct of clinical research. Even though the regulations require the registration of trials with the Clinical Trial Registry – India and despite the recently mandated registration o...

Livestock continue to make a huge and diverse contribution to human health and well-being. About one quarter of the dietary energy and one half of the dietary protein of people in developed countries comes from animal and fish products. Contrary to all the predictions of thirty years ago, animal products are making a larger contribution to feeding people in developing countries than previously....

In this short paper we aim to give a brief introduction to persuasive technology, especially as it pertains to human well-being. We discuss a number of current research opportunities in areas of healthcare, environmental conservation, and education. We conclude by highlighting what we regard as the key research challenges that need to be addressed, focusing on context sensing and appropriate fe...

Synbiotics refer to combinations of probiotics and prebiotics that act synergistically to confer health benefits to the host. As a therapeutic strategy, they provide a gentle yet powerful method for modulating the composition and metabolic output of the human gut microbiota. In the context of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, synbiotics have the potential to act as cost-effective ...