Satisfaction and happiness

I review the recent literature on satisfaction and happiness, identify some plausible next steps to take at the frontiers of the research field and offer some suggestions to facilitate those steps. Using partial correlation techniques, substantial levels of covariation are found among the variables that are used in predictions of satisfaction and happiness with life as a whole from satisfaction with specific domains (e.g. family life, health). Using path analysis, confirmation is found in a dozen domains for a model which has satisfaction as a function of a perceived goal-achievement gap, and the latter as a function of comparisons with previous best experience and the status of average folks. Using discriminant analysis, satisfaction with family life is found to be a powerful and predominant discriminator among three groups, identified as Frustrated (dissatisfied and unhappy), Resigned (satisfied and unhappy) and Achievers (satisfied and happy).     

The Qualityity-of-Life (QOL) Research Movement: Past, Present, and Future

The purpose of this paper is to trace the history of the social indicators or quality-of-life (QOL) research movement up to today, forecast future developments, and pave the way for future growth. Broadly speaking, we tried to review historical antecedents from the point of view of different disciplines, with specialists in each discipline preparing the basic text and co-authors helping to polish the material into a finished product. Briefly, we begin with an overview of the conceptual and philosophical foundations of our field of research. That is followed by a historical overview of the sociological roots of our field. In the third section, the main contributions from the discipline of economics are reviewed. Following that, the fourth section covers a historical overview of the literature on health-related quality of life is provided. Next, the history of QOL research from a marketing perspective is reviewed followed by a history from the perspectives of industrial/organizational psychology and management. Finally, we offer some forecasts for future QOL studies that are intended not only to predict what might happen, but to encourage, stimulate and motivate researchers to undertake new initiatives.     

Examining power struggles as a signifier of successful partnership working: A case study of partnership dynamics

In Britain, and Wales particularly, inclusion and equal opportunities for all became key principles guiding the work of the many partnerships that were established at the beginning of this century. A primary objective of this paper is to develop a greater understanding of the politics and processes within ‘partnership’ as a widely used governance instrument. We argue that rather than dismissing partnerships for their exclusionary mechanisms, they might be considered as distinctive ‘arenas of power’ where the emphasis on participation and consensus shapes power relations in particular ways. What we demonstrate, using a differentiated topology of power [Allen, J., 2003. Lost Geographies of Power. Blackwell Publishing], is the effect that different modes of power, at different times, can have on social interaction and the process of partnership working. Although inequality in terms of resources existed in our study, we show that effective partnership working was enhanced at times when more reciprocal modes of power were used. We conclude, therefore, that an analysis of power based on resources alone is limited because the use and effect of resources may be “modified, displaced or disrupted depending upon the relationships that come into play” [Allen, J., 2003. Lost Geographies of Power. Blackwell Publishing, p. 97]. Hence, there is a need for more research on power struggles and conflicts in partnerships over time. Only then it is possible to see how and when differences in resources affect social interaction and result in different levels of (in)equality. A partnership cannot be seen simply as an indirect instrument of a dominant government actor to control organisations and individuals.