A New Research Agenda for Improvements in Quality of Life (Social Indicators Research Series Book 57)

This book Presents A New Research Agenda For Improvements In Quality Of Life Research. It Includes Topics Such As: -studying Qol In Particular Subpopulations And Selected Subgroups -disentangling The Difficult Task Of Identifying Determinants Of Qol -perfectionating The Measurement Of Conceptual Dimensions -defining New Indicators Able To Measure And Monitor Particular Social Conditions And Shows That These Are Not Separated Fields Of Studies But Intersect Each Other And Produce Different Outcomes Which Can Be With Difficulty Classifiable, Consistent With The Idea Of The Complexity Of Our Reality. The Volume Presents Micro Perspectives By Taking Into Account The Macro Situation Through Both Qualitative And Quantitative Approaches. 1) Well-being Indicators On Landscape And Cultural Heritage: The Experience Of Bes Project - Luigi Costanzo - Alessandra Ferrara -- 2) Determinants Of Student Satisfaction With Campus Residence Life At A South African University - Ferdi Botha - Jen Snowball - Vivian De Klerk - Sarah Radloff -- 3) Dimensions Of Quality Of Living: An Ethnographic Research In Two Neighbourhoods Of Social Housing - Livia Bruscaglioni - Erika Cellini - Barbara Saracino -- 4) Making The Extraordinary Ordinary: A Fresh Look On Individual Action With Communities - Craig Talmage -- 5) Explaining The Ethnic Minority Disadvantage In Subjective Well-being: A Multilevel Analysis Of European Countries - Thomas De Vroome - Marc Hooghe -- 6) Self-evaluation Affects Subjective Well-being: The Effects Of Socioeconomic Status And Personality On Quality Of Life In Taiwan - Hsiu-jen Jennifer Yeh - Hsieh Yeu-sheng - Rueyming Tsay -- 7) The Impact Of Public Expenditures On Chinese Elders' Life Satisfaction - Song Gao - Xiangyi Meng - Dayong Yang -- 8) Associated Factors To Leisure Activities In Quality Of Later Life - Gloria Fernandez-mayoralas - Fermina Rojo-perez - Lardies-bosque R. - Maria Joao Forjaz - Pablo Martinez-martin -- 9) The Incidence Of The Need For Personal Assistance And Care: Objective Living Conditions And Subjective Assessments - Stefan Weick. Edited By Filomena Maggino. A New Research Agenda for Improvements in Quality of Life 6 Contents 10 Chapter 1: Well-Being Indicators on Landscape and Cultural Heritage: The Experience of the BES Project 12 The BES Project 12 Landscape and Cultural Heritage as Well-Being Factors 15 Indicators Proposed for the Subjective Aspects (Sensible Landscape) 18 Indicators Proposed for the Objective Aspects (Cultural Heritage, Including the Geographic Landscape) 19 A Critical Commentary on the Indicators Proposed and Some Concluding Remarks 23 References 25 Chapter 2: Determinants of Student Satisfaction with Campus Residence Life at a South African University 27 Introduction 27 The Determinants of Quality of Life for University Students: A Literature Review 28 Student Diversity and QoL 30 Health, Drug Use and Alcohol 31 Campus Climate and University Residence Life in South Africa 32 The Rhodes University Context and Residence System 33 The Data 34 Econometric Methods 34 Results 36 Residence Milieu and Characteristics 40 Discrimination 41 Drugs and Alcohol 42 Campus and Residence Safety 42 Individual Characteristics 43 Conclusion 43 References 44 Chapter 3: Life on Social Housing Estates: Studying Housing Quality with an Ethnographic Approach 46 The Dimensions of Housing Quality 46 The Context and the Method of the Study 49 Structures and People 52 Relations in Spaces 55 The Symbolic Elements of Space 56 `Incivilities ́ as Signals of the Relationship with the Institutions 58 Sense of Community and Conflicts 61 Conclusions 64 References 66 Chapter 4: Making the Ordinary Extraordinary: A Fresh Look at Satisfaction in Communities 69 What Is It About Communities? Important Pieces of the Puzzle 69 Revisiting Satisfaction as Two-Factors 70 The Factors That Contribute to Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction in Communities 73 Connecting Community Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction with Community Outcomes 75 Association Satisfaction: An Overlooked Community Factor 77 Event Satisfaction: What We Know So Far 80 Extraordinary Experiences 81 Herzberg and Event Satisfaction 82 Where Are We Now? The Search for the Community Enrichment Model 83 The Community Enrichment Model 84 Implications for the Community 87 Conclusion 89 References 89 Chapter 5: Explaining the Ethnic Minority Disadvantage in Subjective Well-Being: A Multilevel Analysis of European Countries 95 Introduction 95 Economic Position, Discrimination and Need-Gratification 97 Economic Position 97 Perceived Discrimination 98 Do Economic Position and Discrimination Equally Affect Majority Members? 99 Data and Methods 100 Dependent Variables 101 Independent Variables 101 Methods 104 Results 104 Multilevel Analysis of Life Satisfaction 105 Multilevel Analysis of Happiness 105 Interaction Effects 108 Discussion 112 Appendix 114 References 115 Chapter 6: Self-Evaluation Affects Subjective Well-Being: The Effects of Socioeconomic Status and Personality in Taiwan 117 Introduction 117 Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses 119 Data Source and Measures 122 Dependent Variables 123 Independent Variables 123 Statistic Model 125 Research Findings 126 Descriptive Statistics 126 Ordered Probit Analysis of Life Satisfaction with Sample Selection 128 Ordered Probit Analysis of Happiness with Sample Selection 136 Discussion 137 Conclusions and Future Research Direction 138 References 140 Chapter 7: The Impact of Government Size on Chinese Elders ́ Life Satisfaction: 1998-2008 143 Introduction 143 Happiness Research in China 144 Data 145 Empirical Strategy 152 Results 153 Urban Versus Rural Residents 157 East Versus West 157 Rich Versus Poor 164 Conclusions 164 References 168 Chapter 8: Leisure Activities and Quality of Life Among Older Adults in Spain 170 Introduction 170 Leisure and Quality of Life of the Elderly: Concepts, Measurement and Research 172 Material and Methods 173 Results 180 Sample Characteristics 180 Classification of Older Adults According to the Type of Leisure Activity They Perform 183 Characteristics of the Population According to Their Activity Profile 184 Sociodemographic and Residential Characteristics 184 Health Conditions and Functional Capacity 184 Family and Social Networks 185 Economic Resources 185 Quality of Life and Personal Well-Being 185 Factors Explaining the Behaviour or Activity Profile of Older Adults in Spain 186 Discussion and Conclusions 188 References 191 Chapter 9: Subjective Well-Being After the Onset of the Need for Personal Assistance and Care 197 Introduction 197 Database 198 Distribution of the Need for Personal Assistance and Care Over the Life Course 199 Health Limitations of People in Need of Personal Assistance and Care 201 Satisfaction Levels at Different Degrees of Need for Personal Assistance and Care 202 Changes in Life Satisfaction After the Onset of the Need for Personal Assistance and Care 204 Conclusions 207 References 209 Chapter 10: Towards Satellite Accounts on Education and Human Capital in OECD Countries 211 Introduction 211 Measuring Human Capital: First Phase 214 Why Satellite Accounts and Review of Satellite Accounts Across Countries 216 Building Up a Framework for Satellite Accounts for Education and Human Capital 217 Box 10.1: The Treatment of Education, Training and Human Capital in SNA 2008 217 Definitions and Concepts 219 Basic Satellite Accounts 220 More Complex Satellite Accounts 221 More Advanced Satellite Accounts 223 Measurement Questions 223 Conclusion and Future Work 224 Annex 1: Comparisons from the Analysis of National Experiences on Satellite Accounts in Education and Human Capital and Exampl... 226 References 234 Front Matter....Pages i-x Well-Being Indicators on Landscape and Cultural Heritage: The Experience of the BES Project....Pages 1-15 Determinants of Student Satisfaction with Campus Residence Life at a South African University....Pages 17-35 Life on Social Housing Estates: Studying Housing Quality with an Ethnographic Approach....Pages 37-59 Making the Ordinary Extraordinary: A Fresh Look at Satisfaction in Communities....Pages 61-86 Explaining the Ethnic Minority Disadvantage in Subjective Well-Being: A Multilevel Analysis of European Countries....Pages 87-108 Self-Evaluation Affects Subjective Well-Being: The Effects of Socioeconomic Status and Personality in Taiwan....Pages 109-134 The Impact of Government Size on Chinese Elders’ Life Satisfaction: 1998–2008....Pages 135-161 Leisure Activities and Quality of Life Among Older Adults in Spain....Pages 163-189 Subjective Well-Being After the Onset of the Need for Personal Assistance and Care....Pages 191-204 Towards Satellite Accounts on Education and Human Capital in OECD Countries....Pages 205-230