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In today's fast-paced society, with a demanding materialistic life, individuals are affected by psychosocial distress and a great hunger for well-being and happiness. As a result of stressful events, the rise of social media, and disconnection from traditions, humans are moving toward a more pessimistic life outlook, as evidenced in the exorbitant increase of suicide attempts. To cultivate a more optimistic attitude toward life, people resort to creative activities like music, dance, reading, gaming, etc. Very few defer to cooking as a creative activity to relieve daily stress and improve psychological well-being. Rooted in the evolutionary experience of humans, cooking is a versatile and engaging activity that requires skills and challenges to create flavorful dishes. Through the theoretical conceptualization of subjective well-being, this study seeks to show how the process of cooking can transform people's attitudes. Cooking is unquestionably an art form that demands meticulous attention. While cooking, the individual performing the task achieves a state of flow, resulting in an optimal experience by absorbing themselves in that task. This study adopts a detailed understanding of Amulya Malladi's Serving Crazy with Curry by portraying the act of cooking as an activity for well-being, happiness, personal growth, and optimal experience. Through the perspective of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory, this paper highlights cooking as an engaging activity that results in satisfaction, meaning and purpose, optimism, and self-determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aimed to objectively evaluate the optimal state of desk work (flow state) through physiological measurements and use the data to support workers' mental health and well-being. We suppose that the flow state evaluation in real-time can contribute to a concentrated work environment, improved work efficiency, and stabilize worker's minds. This study reports on the development of the mental task modeled on daily work for the physiological measurement experiment. In the first phase of the research, a field survey was conducted with 55 desk workers to understand the details of their jobs and develop suitable mental tasks. Further, the relationship between daily work content and subjective stress was clarified. In the second phase, based on the results of the field survey, a task inducing the flow state was developed for practical use. Through empirical experiments with 35 participants (22 adults and 13 students), the developed task was evaluated for its usefulness and possible issues by examining the relationships among subjective assessment, task performance, degree of flow state, and individual characteristics. The study results showed that the proposed mental task developed in this study constitutes practical work that can be used for concentrated and goal-directed efforts. The task also demonstrated the property of inducing a flow state. Further, the results suggest that it is necessary to adjust the task difficulty level and implement effective feedback methods to induce the flow state more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Childhood holds immense significance in shaping the physical, mental, and emotional growth of children. Orphaned children face heightened susceptibility to encountering various physical and mental health challenges, thereby depriving them of the opportunity to experience optimal well-being throughout their childhood and beyond. Pakistan is home to an estimated 4.6 million orphaned children, with the majority being under the age of 17. The objective of the study was to assess the mental and physical health of children living in orphanages of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted on a sample of 110 children aged 7 to 18 years, living in orphanages of Rawalpindi and Islamabad to assess their physical and mental health. Anthropometric measurements were taken and the presence or absence of anxiety was determined by using the “Revised Children Manifest Anxiety Scale” (RCMAS) questionnaire. Results: 50% of the study population was underweight based on their BMI, while 46.36% had normal weight and 1.82% were overweight or obese. Out of the 33 male participants, 20 were found to be underweight. The results of the RCMAS scoring revealed that 20.9% of the children had anxiety, with a higher prevalence among females as compared to males. Conclusion: Prevalence of underweight was found to be higher among male orphans. Female orphans were more likely to experience anxiety and depression as compared to males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The potential displeasure (e.g. strain, uncertainty and lack of control) involved in the process of obtaining eudaimonic outcomes (e.g. becoming healthier or more knowledgeable) may turn consumers away from a transformative service or hinder their coproduction. This paper aims to propose a service design that could overcome this conflict. Design/methodology/approach: To allow for concrete discussions of service design, the proposed design is developed in the context of a specific transformative service: the higher educational service. Findings: It is possible to transform the relationship between hedonic and eudaimonic outcomes from conflicting to complementary goals by replacing passive pleasure that is irrelevant or in conflict with eudaimonic well-being with active pleasure that is complementary to eudaimonic well-being. To facilitate simultaneous attainment of active pleasure and eudaimonic well-being, the transformative service provider needs to structure the elements of the service to create the conditions for the optimal experience to occur. Research limitations/implications: The proposed design is extendable to other human service contexts. Originality/value: To the best of the author's knowledge, this research is the first that shows how a transformative service can be effectively designed to overcome the potential conflict between its eudaimonic versus hedonic outcomes, such that the service will be well received by consumers while remain faithful to its transformative goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the current state of knowledge regarding the relationship between labor welfare and Flow, a systematic review was conducted on theoretical and empirical findings published in indexed journals related to the concepts of a) workplace well-being, b) the state of flow, and c) the potential relationship between these two variables. The literature review revealed a scarcity of texts addressing the connection between these variables, as well as a lack of tests or questionnaires enabling the analysis of the Flow experience within Latin American organizational contexts. Consequently, we conclude that workplace well-being is examined at both individual and group levels, whereas Flow is predominantly explored at an individual level. For future research, it is recommended to collectively examine these variables and work towards developing a well-being model that incorporates the flow experience as one of its dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of School Administrators is the property of School Administration Research Association, R.O.C. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study explored whether flow is related to eudaimonic well-being. It involved 233 college students (M = 157, F = 76). The tests used were the questionnaire for eudaimonic well-being (Waterman, Schwartz, Zamboanga, Ravert, Williams, Agocha, Kim, & Donnellan, 2010) and the flow state scale (Jackson & Marsh, 1996). A clear positive relationship was established between eudaimonic well-being and flow (r = 0.41, p< 0.01). The regression analysis showed that flow explained 17% of the variance in eudaimonic well-being. In conclusion, flow plays a significant role in the eudaimonic well-being of college students [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between work passion and work engagement among university music teachers in flow experience and teaching well-being. Methods: Three hundred forty-three university music teachers were tested by using the Flow State Scale, Teacher Well-Being Scale, Work Passion Scale, and Work Engagement Scale. Results: University music teachers’ flow experience can predict teaching well-being (β = 0.248, p < 0.001). University music teachers’ flow experience has an indirect impact on teaching well-being through work passion (β = 0.257, p = 0.005), and university music teachers’ flow experience has an indirect impact on teaching well-being through work engagement (β = 0.144, p = 0.018). In addition, work passion and work engagement play a chain-mediating role between university music teachers’ flow experience and teaching well-being (β = 0.134, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Work passion and work engagement play a sequential mediating role between university music teachers’ flow experience and teaching wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow is thought to occur when both task difficulty and individual ability are high. Flow experiences are highly rewarding and are associated with well-being. Importantly, media use can be a source of flow. Communication scholars have a long history of theoretical inquiry into how flow biases media selection, how different media content results in flow, and how flow influences media processing and effects. However, the neurobiological basis of flow during media use is not well understood, limiting our explanatory capacity to specify how media contribute to flow or well-being. Here, we show that flow is associated with a flexible and modular brain-network topology, which may offer an explanation for why flow is simultaneously perceived as high-control and effortless, even when the task difficulty is high. Our study tests core predictions derived from synchronization theory, and our results provide qualified support for the theory while also suggesting important theoretical updates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow is a mental state of thorough absorption and concentration in an activity, in which intrinsic motivation and enjoyment are maximized, and the individual achieves optimal performance. This study investigated how daily flow experiences during parents' interactions with their children contribute to parental well-being. The Day Reconstruction Method was completed by 832 employed Israeli parents of children aged 2 to 12, who reconstructed their experiences on three different working days over three weeks, and rated their levels of flow, as well as positive and negative affect for each experience. Participants also completed measures of subjective well-being and parental satisfaction and efficacy. The results indicated that parents' flow experiences during interactions with their children were positively related to parents' positive affect, self-efficacy and satisfaction, and greater subjective well-being. The findings underscore the importance for parental well-being of daily optimal experiences with their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the formulation of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's theory of flow, including the experience dimensions, has remained stable since its introduction in 1975, its dedicated measurement tools, research methodologies, and fields of application, have evolved considerably. Among these, education stands out as one of the most active. In recent years, researchers have examined flow in the context of other theoretical constructs such as motivation. The resulting work in the field of education has led to the development of a new model for understanding flow experience in education, specifically dedicated to adult learning. As a result of both a meticulous analysis of existing models and consideration of more recent developments, a new flow scale has thus been developed. The aim of this study is therefore twofold: to validate the new flow measurement scale dedicated to the educational environment, EduFlow-2, and to test a new theoretical model. Students taking a course (N = 6,596), some on-site and others in a MOOC, participated. Several scales were administered online at the end of the participants' course during the 2017 academic year. The factor structure of EduFlow-2 was tested using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling. Several models were tested. The model with a second-order factor best fit the data. We tested the invariance of the flow scale measure for gender and for the type of training (MOOC/on-site). We were able to show that the flow scale is invariant of the modalities of these two variables. Results revealed good psychometric qualities for the scale, making it suitable for both on-site and distance learning. The analysis also revealed significant relationships with the classic variables of motivation, self-efficacy, learning climate, and life satisfaction. Furthermore, all four dimensions of the model were found to be adequate and consistent with the underlying theoretical arguments. In the end, this new, short flow scale and the theoretical model were demonstrated to be promising for future studies in the field of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow states represent a form of optimal experience and contribute to higher levels of psychological well-being and enhanced performance. Research has documented certain personality factors that influence people's likelihood of experiencing flow. However, the association between demographic variables and flow proneness in various activities has been less thoroughly explored and existing findings are often inconsistent across studies. This research sought to explore the demographic correlates of flow proneness across different types of activities. We examined flow proneness' relationship with age, gender, socioeconomic status, and educational attainment. Using a largely representative sample of 4000 adults in the UK, participants completed three different measures of flow proneness and reported the activities where they most often experienced flow. Results demonstrated that, despite trends such as higher levels of education being linked to greater flow proneness, especially in work/study activities, the demographic factors had a minimal role in explaining either flow proneness or the activity sites of flow. Regression models containing all four demographic variables explained up to a maximum of 8 % of variation in flow scores. Promisingly, the study implies that the rewards of flow are not reserved only for certain demographic groups but rather should be available across society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]