Well-Being Conference

Changing the System: Overcoming Barriers to Well-Being in Ireland

Well-Being Conference, June 8, 2012 – Call for Abstracts is now open: http://www.conference.ie/Conferences/index.asp?Conference=168

Deadline for receipt of poster abstracts is Friday 6 April, 5pm. Abstracts should be no more than 200 words and should include details of the research objectives, methods and findings. Abstracts can be submitted by emailing the Word document abstract to Chris Noone at noonec@gmail.com. Feedback on abstract submissions will be provided no later than Friday 27 April. 5pm.

The Health and Well-being research cluster at the Institute for Business, Social Sciences and Public Policy, NUI Galway are delighted to host a Conference on Well-being in Ireland on Friday 8 June 2012, and you are cordially invited to attend.

Title: Changing the System: Overcoming Barriers to Well-Being in Ireland

Date: Friday 8 June 2012

Time: 09.00am – 5.45pm

Venue: New Engineering Building, National University of Ireland, Galway

Helen Johnston, author of Well-being Matters: A Social Report for Ireland, will deliver a keynote address, Why Well-being Matters, based on the findings of the report published by the National Economic and Social Council (see attached executive summary).

Alex Zautra, Foundation Professor of Clinical Psychology, Arizona State University, and author of Emotions, Stress, and Health (Oxford University Press), will deliver a second keynote address on Social Intelligence, Community Interventions, and Community Well-being, based on recent well-being research conducted in the U.S.

This will be followed by an Interactive Management system design workshop (10.45am – 1.15pm, with coffee break), where conference participants along with members of our new Health and Well-being research cluster will focus on the issue of “Barriers to Well-Being in Ireland”, with a view to identifying problems and subsequent opportunities for action and collaborative research solutions.

Interactive Management is a collaborative system design process developed by John Warfield. Participants develop ideas (or identify problems), select ideas/problems and structure the interdependencies between ideas/problems in a matrix which is then translated into a visual representation of the thinking of the group. Dr. Michael Hogan, School of Psychology, NUI, Galway, will facilitate the IM workshop. Interactive Management software will be made available to all conference participants to facilitate their future design thinking.

The afternoon session (2.45 – 5.45) will be devoted to an interactive poster presentation and networking opportunity that is open to all conference participants. Lunch and light refreshments will be provided on the day, and there will be a pub gathering in the evening in the city centre.

This conference will be of interest to those who wish to identify new areas for research and collaboration focused on well-being and well-being interventions. There will also be a focus on cooperation with students, policy-makers, and funding agencies in the development of new research projects and new research agendas.

Keynote Speaker: Helen Johnston, National Economic and Social Council.

Helen Johnston joined the NESC as Senior Social Policy Analyst in July 2007. Since then she has worked on issues of well-being and social reporting. Her current interests are in the area of social regulation and standards. Helen was previously Director of the Combat Poverty Agency and before that she worked at the National Disability Authority and the Equality Authority for short spells. A native of Northern Ireland, Helen has previous experience working in the Northern Ireland civil service. She is currently Chair of the Centre for Cross Border Studies. Helen has qualifications in Environmental Science, Town and Country Planning and Business Administration, and is currently undertaking a Doctorate in Governance, where she is examining the implementation of mental health policy.

Keynote Speaker: Alex Zautra, Arizona State University.

Alex Zautra is Arizona State University Foundation Professor of Clinical Psychology, and directs ASU’s Resilience Solutions Group. He has dedicated his career to understanding how people find resilient solutions to challenging problems. In his research, clinical trials, teaching, and his writing he explores fundamental questions of successful adaptation to change. His current research focuses on resilience across the life-span, funded by grants from the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, Pfizer Corporation, and Arizona’s Saint Luke’s Health Initiatives. He has designed and tested intervention programs to foster resilience in the face of chronic pain, ease depression in mid-life, and enhance social intelligence among adolescents and young adults. His most recent book with co-authors Reich and Hall, is entitled Handbook of Adult Resilience published by Guilford Press in 2010. He is also the author of Emotions, Stress, and Health, published by Oxford University Press.
Registration is free.

Registration & any queries can be directed to Chris Noone, Member Representative at the European Federation of Psychology Student Associations (EFPSA) and Students’ International Positive Psychology Association (SIPPA) at noonec@gmail.com.

Pre-registration required!

Links

WELL-BEING CONFERENCE WEBSITE