Subjective Quality of Life in Zhuhai City,South China: A Public Survey Using the International Wellbeing Index

The study of subjective quality of life and its connotations in the People’s Republic of China is at a preliminary stage. Although there is an emerging body of literature on this topic, there are few datasets representative of the general public, particularly in Mainland China. This paper reports the findings of a public survey (N = 449) conducted in Zhuhai City, South China using the International Wellbeing Index (IWI). There were four main aims: (1) to judge whether residents were satisfied with their lives; (2) to compare the data with recent findings from Hong Kong and Macau; (3) to investigate the equivalence of the IWI in terms of its psychometric properties; and (4) to determine the applicability of the ‘Theory of Homeostasis Wellbeing’. The data indicated a moderate level of personal (PWI score = 64.4.) and national (NWI score = 57.4) wellbeing, consistent with recent findings from Hong Kong and Macau. The PWI score was within the normative range for non-Western countries, which indicates that the residents were, on the whole, satisfied with their lives. Although previously reported objective measures of quality of life in Zhuhai are lower than in Hong Kong and Macau, this is not reflected in this study’s subjective measures. This finding was interpreted in terms of the ‘Theory of Subjective Wellbeing Homeostasis’, and the specific situation in Zhuhai, as there seems to be an absence of factors (i.e., no harsh economic or social situation) which could drive subjective wellbeing below normal. Last, that the IWI demonstrated good psychometric performance in terms of its reliability, validity, and sensitivity, and concurred with previous published reports, it seems that the scale’s robustness generalises to Chinese samples.     

The Performance of the World Health Organization’s WHOQOL-BREF in Assessing the Quality of Life of Thai College Students

The purpose of this study was to examine the performance of the Thai-version of WHOQOL-BREF in assessing the quality of life (QoL) among Thai college students. The psychometric properties of WHOQOL-BREF were assessed in this study. The self-administered WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was applied. A total of 407 Thai college students (male age = 20.5 ± 1.2; female age = 20.5 ± 1.2) participated in this study. Item-response distributions, internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, criterion-related validity and construct validity through confirmatory analysis were analyzed. The findings indicate that the WHOQOL-BREF had acceptable internal consistency (α = 0.73–0.83 across four domains), all items highly correlated with corresponding domain scores (r = 0.53–0.80), the indices of a two-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) demonstrate that the data fit the model well with allowing covary of error variances of some items, all items had good property of criterion-related validity and item discrimination and, all three domain scores except the social relationship domain had significant associations with overall QoL or general health. The results suggest that the WHOQOL-BREF was reliable and valid to health professionals in the assessment of the QoL of college-based Thai youth, but some unsuitable items may be deleted in future studies.     

Parallels Between Objective Indicators and Subjective Perceptions of Quality of Life: A Study of Metropolitan and County Areas in Taiwan

This study explores the consistency between objective indicators and subjective perceptions of quality of life in a ranking of survey data for cities and counties in Taiwan. Data used for analysis included the Statistical Yearbook of Hsiens and Municipalities and the Survey on Living Conditions of Citizens in Taiwan, both given for the year 2000. The Quality of life was examined in seven domains: medical services, domestic finances, work, education, leisure, public safety, and environmental quality. Subjective and objective rankings for each domain of quality of life for 23 areas (some areas are cities and some are counties) are compared. Analysis by means of nonparametric correlation coefficients indicates that there is no significant correlation between objective indicators and subjective perceptions, except in Education and Environmental Quality. Objective indicators of Environmental Quality (air pollution and garbage) are positively correlated with subjective satisfaction with residential environment. But inexplicably, higher levels of literacy and educational achievement are negatively correlated with satisfaction with the educational system. It may be considered that disparity in either average objective conditions or in average subjective perceptions may not adequately depict quality of life differences.

民俗志的学术定位和书写

本文对近年来民俗志书写理论和实践上的一些新探索作了初步梳理,指出了"标志性文化统领式民俗志"对于创新民俗志书写模式、增强民俗志书写主位视角和对话功能的意义以及"感受之学"在探寻民俗志独特学科品格上做出的探索和努力.     

成都市残疾人“个性化”救助模式调研

社会救助的理念和做法源远流长。但多着力于被救助者的"群体"特征,鲜有虑及"个性"需求,因而难免陷入"不及人所需"或"及人所不需"的窘境。如何摆脱这一尴尬局面?成都市提出了"量体裁衣"式个性化服务的举措。调查表明,这一试图破解社会救助难题的新方式能够"及人所需",能够获得被救助者相当程度的认可。但是,在继续推广中,必须处理好三种关系:一是个体需求与全局统筹;二是需求差异与资源配置;三是输血方式与造血目的。     

农民工就业培训调查分析

参加就业培训是农民工顺利实现非农就业的关键,调查显示:农民工受教育程度低,主要以初中、高中文化程度为主;政府部门、用人单位和农民工对就业培训的投资力度较弱,大多数农民工只能从事简单体力劳动;现有劳动力就业培训市场不规范,农民工对其表现出极大不信任;就业培训缺乏灵活性和针对性。构建以农民工、用人单位和政府部门为主体,培训机构、培训市场和就业市场相协调的就业促进型培训模式。利用这一模式,提高农民工综合素质,加大就业培训的投资力度,规范劳动力培训市场建设。     

我国流动人口的流入地分布变动趋势研究

利用1982年以来的历次全国人口普查和1%人口抽样调查的数据,本文从区域、省份、城市等层面分析了流动人口流入地分布的变动趋势。流动人口的流入地分布呈现明显的集中趋势。从区域层面来说,流动人口越来越向东部地区集中,越来越向东部和南部沿海地区集中;从省级层面来说,流动人口越来越集中流向少数省份,前5个流动人口最多的省(市、区)吸纳了全国一半的流动人口;从城市层面来说,流动人口越来越集中流向少数城市,表现出突出的极化现象;进入新世纪以来,我国正在形成一个由35个左右城市构成的沿海城市带,它们吸收了全国半数以上的流动人口。流动人口流入地分布的这种集中趋势将会继续保持下去,此乃制定与流动人口相关政策和制度的基本出发点和前提。     

社会文化变迁对婚姻家庭的影响及趋势

婚姻家庭既是人类文化的积淀,是社会文化的载体,也是传递社会文化的重要组成部分。在人类发展的历史长河中,婚姻家庭与社会文化变迁密切相关,社会文化变迁以各种方式影响着婚姻家庭的建立、形成与发展。以社会文化变迁为视角,通过对社会文化变迁与婚姻家庭的建立、形成与发展之间的互动关系的历史考察,从婚姻家庭形式、婚姻家庭制度、婚姻家庭观念、婚姻家庭习俗、婚姻家庭关系等方面探讨人类社会文化变迁与婚姻家庭变化发展之间的内在关系,揭示人类社会不同历史阶段社会文化变迁及其特点对人类社会婚姻家庭建立、形成与发展的影响,探索社会文化变迁与婚姻家庭变化规律,探寻在当代社会文化交汇、冲突、融合加快趋势下,社会文化变迁与婚姻家庭变化的趋势。     

中国各民族人口发展状况的度量

人口是社会生活的主体,人口发展是社会发展的重要组成部分。但度量社会发展的方法还存在一些难以解决的问题。利用现有的评价方法,尚不能全面准确地反映中国各民族人口发展的现状。为了更加全面准确地把握人口发展状态,构建了衡量人口发展的指标体系,按照这个指标体系,分析中国各民族人口的发展现状、各民族在发展过程中所处的位置,以及他们目前存在的突出问题。     

失业劳动力的就业渴望强度影响因素实证分析

本文基于重庆直辖市3000失业劳动力家庭人户调查的微观数据,运用排序选择logit模型估计了失业劳动力的人口统计学特征、人力资本、社会背景和社会政策．以及家庭经济状况等因素对其就业渴望强烈程度的影响。本文的政策含义在于：在健全失业保险的前提下,对失业劳动力适当的取消直接货币补偿而代之以非货币的扶持,可能更有利于刺激失业劳动力积极寻找工作和再就业。