Engel's biopsychosocial model, Cassell's promotion of the concept "person" in medical thinking and Pellegrino's and Thomasma's philosophy of medicine are attempts to widen current biomedical theory of disease and to approach medicine as a form of human activity in pursuit of healing. To develop this approach further we would like to propose activity theory as a possible means for understanding ...

One of the goals of undergraduate education should be the acquisition of a scientific attitude, determined by affective dimensions, and whose traits or characteristics should include: curiosity, objectivity, open-mindedness, flexibility, critical thinking, intellectual honesty, investigative energy, creative daring and social participation. In short, the ‘‘university essence’’: creating and tra...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Optimism is a personality trait which has repeatedly been shown to correlate with, and predict psychological and physical well-being. The present study investigated whether optimism can be increased by imagining a best possible self (BPS). Effects were compared to a control group in which participants imagined their daily activities (DA). METHODS In order to minimize...

Although both media commentary and academic research have focused much attention on the dilemma of employees being too busy, this paper presents evidence of the opposite phenomenon, in which employees do not have enough work to fill their time and are left with hours of meaningless idle time each week. We conducted six studies that examine the prevalence and work pacing consequences of involunt...

Professor van der Lely has been barred from entering her laboratory, accessing her data, managing her grants, using her email, and communicating with her students and colleagues at UCL. This is an extraordinary and unjust punishment. The career of a scientist depends on continuous interaction with students, collaborators, funding agencies, and research subjects. This is especially true for a sc...

Across large parts of the world, wildlife has to coexist with human activity in highly modified and fragmented landscapes. Combining concepts from population viability analysis and spatial reserve design, this study develops efficient quantitative methods for identifying conservation core areas at large, even national or continental scales. The proposed methods emphasize long-term population pe...

In this paper a model is deseloped that explains the allocation OF an individual’s tirnc among work and two types of leisure activities: time spent with spouse, and time spent with paramour. Data from two recent magazine surveys are available that can be used to test the predictions of the model regarding the detcrminanu of time spent with paramour. The results of estimating the equation explai...

UNLABELLED This article considers the conceptualization, operationalization and implications of "activity settings" for research on the recreation and leisure participation of children and youth with disabilities. Activity settings are contextualized settings that situate child and youth activities and their participation experiences. We discuss activity settings as an important construct for c...

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