Happy nation no longer happy

[Jman888]

nothing escape the material world, better stay closed to the outside world.

 

Bhutan's youth don't see much to smile about

27/06/2013on mypaper

 

THIMPHU

 

It is known as "the last Shangri-La" - a remote Himalayan nation, rich in natural beauty and Buddhist culture, where national happiness is prioritised over economic growth.

 

But urban youngsters in the kingdom of Bhutan are quick to challenge its rosy reputation.

 

"We can see the people are not happy," said Mr Jigme Wangchuk, a 24-year-old social worker and recovered drug addict in the capital, Thimphu, where he works at a drop-in centre for young substance abusers. "We are facing so many challenges, where many people are suffering."

 

Drinking, especially home-brewed rice wine, has long been part of Bhutanese culture, and alcohol-related liver disease has become one of the top killers at Thimphu's main hospital, a National Statistics Bureau report said last year.

 

Increasing drug abuse by young people, especially of pharmaceuticals, has also become a major concern as modernisation takes hold in what was once one of the world's most isolated countries for centuries.

 

Dr Damber Nirola, one of two psychiatrists in the country of fewer than 750,000 people, said: "The crime rate is increasing over the years, with break-ins at houses and muggings that were virtually unknown 10 years ago. The biggest problem that will increase over time is unemployment, and along with that come drugs and alcohol."

 

Such problems may seem surprising in a nation whose trademark is "Gross National Happiness" (GNH) - a term that began as an off-the-cuff remark by the former king in the 1970s and has since become a fully-fledged development model.

 

This vision of balancing spiritual and material wealth has won global attention and praise, drawing a stream of academics and well-being gurus to happiness conferences in Bhutan.

 

But some Thimphu residents are sceptical of how GNH has evolved, mentioning tongue-in-cheek alternatives to the abbreviation such as "government needs help" and "gross national harassment".

 

Mr Jamyang Tsheltrim, a 21-year-old student, said: "Looking at the problems in the country, I don't think GNH is there."

 

As with many others, one of Mr Tsheltrim's chief concerns is the lack of desirable employment for young people in Bhutan, where the median age is 26 and more people are trying to join the workforce.

 

Officially, Bhutan's youth-unemployment statistics decreased from 12.9 per cent in 2009 to 7.3 per cent last year, although the figures have been questioned.

 

Prized white-collar jobs for educated Bhutanese are limited by an underdeveloped private sector, while manual work in the booming construction industry is largely left to Indian labourers from across the border.

 

Underlying the problems is Bhutan's huge dependence on its giant neighbour India for investment, aid and imports.

 

Last year, the country ran out of Indian rupees due to excessive demand and suffered a major credit crunch.

 

AFP

[Vidz]

they have high GNH because they are still probably "high"

Edited June 27, 2013 by Vidz

[JaneF]

nothing escape the material world, better stay closed to the outside world.

 

Bhutan's youth don't see much to smile about

27/06/2013on mypaper

 

THIMPHU

 

It is known as "the last Shangri-La" - a remote Himalayan nation, rich in natural beauty and Buddhist culture, where national happiness is prioritised over economic growth.

 

But urban youngsters in the kingdom of Bhutan are quick to challenge its rosy reputation.

 

"We can see the people are not happy," said Mr Jigme Wangchuk, a 24-year-old social worker and recovered drug addict in the capital, Thimphu, where he works at a drop-in centre for young substance abusers. "We are facing so many challenges, where many people are suffering."

 

Drinking, especially home-brewed rice wine, has long been part of Bhutanese culture, and alcohol-related liver disease has become one of the top killers at Thimphu's main hospital, a National Statistics Bureau report said last year.

 

Increasing drug abuse by young people, especially of pharmaceuticals, has also become a major concern as modernisation takes hold in what was once one of the world's most isolated countries for centuries.

 

Dr Damber Nirola, one of two psychiatrists in the country of fewer than 750,000 people, said: "The crime rate is increasing over the years, with break-ins at houses and muggings that were virtually unknown 10 years ago. The biggest problem that will increase over time is unemployment, and along with that come drugs and alcohol."

 

Such problems may seem surprising in a nation whose trademark is "Gross National Happiness" (GNH) - a term that began as an off-the-cuff remark by the former king in the 1970s and has since become a fully-fledged development model.

 

This vision of balancing spiritual and material wealth has won global attention and praise, drawing a stream of academics and well-being gurus to happiness conferences in Bhutan.

 

But some Thimphu residents are sceptical of how GNH has evolved, mentioning tongue-in-cheek alternatives to the abbreviation such as "government needs help" and "gross national harassment".

 

Mr Jamyang Tsheltrim, a 21-year-old student, said: "Looking at the problems in the country, I don't think GNH is there."

 

As with many others, one of Mr Tsheltrim's chief concerns is the lack of desirable employment for young people in Bhutan, where the median age is 26 and more people are trying to join the workforce.

 

Officially, Bhutan's youth-unemployment statistics decreased from 12.9 per cent in 2009 to 7.3 per cent last year, although the figures have been questioned.

 

Prized white-collar jobs for educated Bhutanese are limited by an underdeveloped private sector, while manual work in the booming construction industry is largely left to Indian labourers from across the border.

 

Underlying the problems is Bhutan's huge dependence on its giant neighbour India for investment, aid and imports.

 

Last year, the country ran out of Indian rupees due to excessive demand and suffered a major credit crunch.

 

AFP

 

I guess this current society is structured around making you unhappy so you try and buy things to buy happiness...doesn't work

 

[Sosaria]

Their youth are unhappy, suffering from unemployment, and they also shun the low-level jobs.

 

On the other hand, due to urbanisation, cost of living creeps up, leading to deterioration in their standard of living.

 

It would've been better if they remained "traditional"... every family involved in agriculture, so there's no unemployment.

 

Less spending, and cost of living is lower, simpler lifestyle.

[Jman888]

Their youth are unhappy, suffering from unemployment, and they also shun the low-level jobs.

 

On the other hand, due to urbanisation, cost of living creeps up, leading to deterioration in their standard of living.

 

It would've been better if they remained "traditional"... every family involved in agriculture, so there's no unemployment.

 

Less spending, and cost of living is lower, simpler lifestyle.

 

 

things change when they open up, worst they start to have broadband

[Jman888]

result would be different if they put the survey here [laugh]

 

Singapore the happiest nation in Asia: UN study

Wednesday, Sep 11, 2013

My Paper By Adrian Lim

 

SINGAPORE - If Singaporeans have any reason to smile, it's because their nation has moved up three places to be the 30th happiest country in the world.

 

This is according to a United Nations (UN) study ranking 156 countries and territories on happiness levels.

 

The little red dot is also Asia's happiest country for the second time, according to the second edition of the World Happiness Report, released on Monday.

 

 

On a scale from 1 to 10, Singapore got a score of 6.546. The study shows how people rate their emotional happiness and evaluate their life as a whole.

 

The report, by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, looked at six areas to determine why people in a country or territory are happier than those in others.

 

They are: gross domestic product (GDP) per capita; years of healthy life expectancy; having someone to count on in times of trouble; perceptions of corruption; prevalence of generosity; and freedom to make life choices.

 

The top five happiest countries were in Europe. Denmark is No. 1 with a score of 7.693, followed by Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden. After Singapore, the happiest countries and territories in Asia are Thailand (No. 36 globally), South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

 

The least happy countries were from Sub-Saharan Africa. Togo was in last place at No. 156, followed by Benin, the Central African Republic, Burundi and Rwanda.

 

The study used data from the Gallup World Poll of 3,000 people in each nation, surveyed over three years between 2010 and last year.

 

Respondents were asked to evaluate their current lives by imagining their quality of life as a ladder, with the best possible life for them as a 10, and the worst possible life, a zero, said the study.

 

Dr Ng Wei Ting, a senior lecturer of SIM University's psychology programme, said various studies have shown a person's perception of happiness is associated with a country's GDP, and this pattern has similarly been observed in Singapore.

 

But she said psychological needs, such as social support and autonomy, can also affect how people rate their well-being.

 

"The fulfilment of these psychological needs is not only crucial to one's life evaluation, but is also central to one's positive and negative feelings," said Dr Ng.

 

"For instance, nations that are high in social support score higher in life evaluation, and the importance of social support even extends beyond wealth."

 

[email protected]

 

[Djim]

 

Men with larger testicles tend to be less involved fathers than those with smaller testes, a new study suggests.

 

The findings, detailed today (Sept. 9) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are correlational, so they can't say exactly why the trend exists but only that there is a link.

 

But men who produce more sperm have bigger testes, and sperm production is extremely energy intensive for the body, so it may be that fathers "face a trade-off between investing energy in parenting and investing energy in mating effort," said study co-author James Rilling, an anthropologist at Emory University in Atlanta. [sexy Swimmers: 7 Surprising Facts About Sperm]

 

Involved dads

 

Scores of studies have shown that children with involved and caring fathers tend to do better emotionally, socially and educationally.

 

So Rilling and his colleagues were interested in understanding what makes some men stellar dads and others AWOL.

 

A 2011 study in the Philippines suggested that men who have high testosterone levels are more likely to marry. Even so, those men who are eventually more involved in day-to-day child care duties

[Knoobie]

result would be different if they put the survey here [laugh]

 

Singapore the happiest nation in Asia: UN study

Wednesday, Sep 11, 2013

My Paper By Adrian Lim

 

SINGAPORE - If Singaporeans have any reason to smile, it's because their nation has moved up three places to be the 30th happiest country in the world.

 

This is according to a United Nations (UN) study ranking 156 countries and territories on happiness levels.

 

The little red dot is also Asia's happiest country for the second time, according to the second edition of the World Happiness Report, released on Monday.

 

 

On a scale from 1 to 10, Singapore got a score of 6.546. The study shows how people rate their emotional happiness and evaluate their life as a whole.

 

The report, by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, looked at six areas to determine why people in a country or territory are happier than those in others.

 

They are: gross domestic product (GDP) per capita; years of healthy life expectancy; having someone to count on in times of trouble; perceptions of corruption; prevalence of generosity; and freedom to make life choices.

 

The top five happiest countries were in Europe. Denmark is No. 1 with a score of 7.693, followed by Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden. After Singapore, the happiest countries and territories in Asia are Thailand (No. 36 globally), South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

 

The least happy countries were from Sub-Saharan Africa. Togo was in last place at No. 156, followed by Benin, the Central African Republic, Burundi and Rwanda.

 

The study used data from the Gallup World Poll of 3,000 people in each nation, surveyed over three years between 2010 and last year.

 

Respondents were asked to evaluate their current lives by imagining their quality of life as a ladder, with the best possible life for them as a 10, and the worst possible life, a zero, said the study.

 

Dr Ng Wei Ting, a senior lecturer of SIM University's psychology programme, said various studies have shown a person's perception of happiness is associated with a country's GDP, and this pattern has similarly been observed in Singapore.

 

But she said psychological needs, such as social support and autonomy, can also affect how people rate their well-being.

 

"The fulfilment of these psychological needs is not only crucial to one's life evaluation, but is also central to one's positive and negative feelings," said Dr Ng.

 

"For instance, nations that are high in social support score higher in life evaluation, and the importance of social support even extends beyond wealth."

 

[email protected]

thought we were the most unhappy country? now suddenly jump up??

[Watwheels]

"Dr Ng Wei Ting, a senior lecturer of SIM University's psychology programme, said various studies have shown a person's perception of happiness is associated with a country's GDP, and this pattern has similarly been observed in Singapore."

 

 

Is this the reason why our PM is so concerned about the GDP figures? This one is his consultant? LoL...

[Maseratigood]

thought we were the most unhappy country? now suddenly jump up??

A person who has lots of free time and uses it meaningfully can't be unhappy right? Many belong to this group when we look at the regulars who surf MCF...

[Itali4must4ng]

all these studies are unreliable one lah. ask ourselves better

[JackRabbit]

Referring to the above World Happiness Report, there is an analysis why Denmark, the currently happiest nation, is so happy:

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/22/denmark-happiest-country_n_4070761.html

 

Denmark Is Considered The Happiest Country. You'll Never Guess Why.

Last month, Denmark was crowned the happiest country in the world.

“The top countries generally rank higher in all six of the key factors identified in the World Happiness Report,” wrote University of British Columbia economics professor John Helliwell, one of the report's contributing authors. “Together, these six factors explain three quarters of differences in life evaluations across hundreds of countries and over the years.”

The six factors for a happy nation split evenly between concerns on a government- and on a human-scale. The happiest countries have in common a large GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy at birth and a lack of corruption in leadership. But also essential were three things over which individual citizens have a bit more control over: A sense of social support, freedom to make life choices and a culture of generosity.

"There is now a rising worldwide demand that policy be more closely aligned with what really matters to people as they themselves characterize their well-being," economist Jeffrey Sachs said in a statement at the time of the report's release.

But why Denmark over any of the other wealthy, democratic countries with small, educated populations? And can the qualities that make this Nordic country the happiest around apply to other cultures across the globe? Here are a few things Danes do well that any of us can lobby for:

 

1. Denmark supports parents

2. Health care is a civil right -- and a source of social support

3. Gender equality is prioritized

4. Biking is the norm

5. Danish culture puts a positive spin on its harsh environment

6. Danes feel a responsibility to one another

 

 

Read the complete article for the elaboration of the above points:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/22/denmark-happiest-country_n_4070761.html

 

 

One takeaway from the above list (which seems quite logical), is the point about cycling.

Seems that the Danes' penchant for cycling is a important factor in its happiness index:

 

In Denmark's most populated and largest city, Copenhagen, bikes account for 50 percent of its residents' trips to school or work. Half. Half of commuting happens on a bike in Copenhagen and that doesn't just improve fitness levels and reduce carbon emissions, it also contributes to the wealth of the city, reported Forbes:

Researchers found that for every kilometer traveled by bike instead of by car, taxpayers saved 7.8 cents (DKK 0.45) in avoided air pollution, accidents, congestion, noise and wear and tear on infrastructure. Cyclists in Copenhagen cover an estimated 1.2 million kilometers each day –- saving the city a little over $34 million each year.

What's more, just 30 minutes of daily biking adds an average of one to two years to the life expectancy of Copenhagen's cyclists.

[Toothiewabbit]

"What's more, just 30 minutes of daily biking adds an average of one to two years to the life expectancy of Copenhagen's cyclists."

incredulous....liddat, all the avid cyclists can outlive Yoda liao.

[Knoobie]

Referring to the above World Happiness Report, there is an analysis why Denmark, the currently happiest nation, is so happy:

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/22/denmark-happiest-country_n_4070761.html

 

Denmark Is Considered The Happiest Country. You'll Never Guess Why.

Last month, Denmark was crowned the happiest country in the world.

“The top countries generally rank higher in all six of the key factors identified in the World Happiness Report,” wrote University of British Columbia economics professor John Helliwell, one of the report's contributing authors. “Together, these six factors explain three quarters of differences in life evaluations across hundreds of countries and over the years.”

The six factors for a happy nation split evenly between concerns on a government- and on a human-scale. The happiest countries have in common a large GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy at birth and a lack of corruption in leadership. But also essential were three things over which individual citizens have a bit more control over: A sense of social support, freedom to make life choices and a culture of generosity.

"There is now a rising worldwide demand that policy be more closely aligned with what really matters to people as they themselves characterize their well-being," economist Jeffrey Sachs said in a statement at the time of the report's release.

But why Denmark over any of the other wealthy, democratic countries with small, educated populations? And can the qualities that make this Nordic country the happiest around apply to other cultures across the globe? Here are a few things Danes do well that any of us can lobby for:

 

1. Denmark supports parents

2. Health care is a civil right -- and a source of social support

3. Gender equality is prioritized

4. Biking is the norm

5. Danish culture puts a positive spin on its harsh environment

6. Danes feel a responsibility to one another

 

 

Read the complete article for the elaboration of the above points:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/22/denmark-happiest-country_n_4070761.html

 

 

One takeaway from the above list (which seems quite logical), is the point about cycling.

Seems that the Danes' penchant for cycling is a important factor in its happiness index:

 

In Denmark's most populated and largest city, Copenhagen, bikes account for 50 percent of its residents' trips to school or work. Half. Half of commuting happens on a bike in Copenhagen and that doesn't just improve fitness levels and reduce carbon emissions, it also contributes to the wealth of the city, reported Forbes:

Researchers found that for every kilometer traveled by bike instead of by car, taxpayers saved 7.8 cents (DKK 0.45) in avoided air pollution, accidents, congestion, noise and wear and tear on infrastructure. Cyclists in Copenhagen cover an estimated 1.2 million kilometers each day –- saving the city a little over $34 million each year.

What's more, just 30 minutes of daily biking adds an average of one to two years to the life expectancy of Copenhagen's cyclists.

This are the type of FT we need...

[JackRabbit]

incredulous....liddat, all the avid cyclists can outlive Yoda liao.

 

 

I don't think the article meant that every 30 mins of cycling adds 1-2 years... it's saying that if you cycle 30mins everyday, you increase your total life expectancy by 1-2 years.

[Toothiewabbit]

 

 

I don't think the article meant that every 30 mins of cycling adds 1-2 years... it's saying that if you cycle 30mins everyday, you increase your total life expectancy by 1-2 years.

my bad thanks for explaining.

[JackRabbit]

I guess it's not just cycling, what? I mean any form of regular exercise should add to one's life expectancy. Just that in Denmark, the defacto method seems to be cycling.

[2BDriver]

 

QUOTE (Knoobie @ Sep 11 2013, 04:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thought we were the most unhappy country? now suddenly jump up??

A person who has lots of free time and uses it meaningfully can't be unhappy right? Many belong to this group when we look at the regulars who surf MCF...

 

MCF is very addictive, I witnessed your cold turkey effects