The Relative Importance of Health

This article seeks to extend Michalos’ [Social indicators research and health-related quality of life (QoL) research. Social Indicators Research, 65, 27–72, 2004] discussion on bridging social indicators research and health-related QoL (HRQoL) research through an examination of (1) the relative importance of satisfaction with one’s own health to another common measure of QoL—Life satisfaction, and (2) the relative importance of health in relation to other major life domains. Using data from two surveys, this article found that individuals may perceive health as most important in relation to other major life domains but satisfaction with one’s own health may not necessarily be the most important determining factor (in relation to satisfaction with other major life domains) of QoL as measured by life satisfaction. These findings support Michalos’ (Social indicators research and HRQoL research. Social Indicators Research, 65, 27–72, 2004) call for caution regarding the interpretation of research results on HRQoL since many HRQoL measures are measures of satisfaction with one’s own health and should not be considered as measures of QoL.     

Women–Family in Quality Perspective

Bringing together women and family in quality perspective bring about interesting discussions in this paper. By integrating previous studies and considering expert opinions, we determinate the variables and dimensions with respect to women’s existence regarding their roles both in the family and at work. Many activities carried out by women represent the consumer aspects of their role. Women undertake these activities to fulfill their needs, which can be classified in the order of preference using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need. Women success can be measured based on their ability to perform their roles successfully. We identify women’s performance by using quality approach of Personal Quality Maintenance (PQM), which is widely applied in many organizations in order to maintain the service delivery, which meets the customer satisfaction. The effort to enhance women’s satisfaction for their success in playing the multirole in the family and at work is our main consideration. This study may contribute a new point of view regarding for the women’s welfare and existence.     

我国农业剩余劳动力出路的若干思考

我国农村城镇化进程缓慢 ,滞后了第三产业的发展 ,在很大程度上也阻碍了农业劳动力向非农产业的转移 ,而且今后一段时间我国农村劳动力的绝对量会大幅度增加 ,这就使得农村的就业问题显得尤为突出。大力推行农业产业化 ,实现农产品的多层次增值和劳动力的多渠道就业 ,同时大力开发小城镇 ,扩大第三产业规模 ,是促使农业剩余劳动力实现产业和空间转移的途径     

个体性别意识与女大学生就业质量--基于五所高校的数据分析

本文以福建省五所高校大学生就业问题的调查数据为基础,分析了个体性别意识与女大学生就业质量的关系。研究发现,性别分工观念、性别自信及性别权利意识等因素对女大学生就业质量均有重要正向影响,但影响程度不同,性别平等意识对男女大学生就业质量的影响呈反向差别。     

“全评价”体系在科技查新质量评价中的应用研究

科技查新工作既是一项高层次的综合性情报服务工作,又是科研管理工作科学化、规范化的重要环节。查新质量的高低直接影响到对科研成果的评价。分析了"全评价"体系应用于科技查新质量的可能性,研究了科技查新质量的评价主体、评价客体、评价目的、评价标准、评价指标、评价方法和评价制度,并尝试构建科技查新质量形式评价、内容评价和效用评价的指标体系,以期为科技查新质量建立一个科学的全评价体系,促进科技查新工作质量的提高。     

The influence of acculturation level and family relationships on quality of life among U.S. Chinese older adults

ABSTRACT

The present study examined the influence of acculturation level and family relationships (i.e., positive family support and negative family strain) on quality of life (QOL), using the data from the Population Study of ChINese Elderly (PINE) in Chicago (N = 3159). Controlling for sociodemographic variables and health status, it was found that individuals’ acculturation level and positive family support were positively related to QOL, whereas negative family strain was negatively associated with QOL. More importantly, higher acculturation levels were associated with increased protective effects of positive family support and reduced risk effects of negative family strain on QOL among U.S. Chinese older adults.     

Measuring the health patterns of the ‘mixed/multiple’ ethnic group in Britain: data quality problems,reporting issues,and implications for policy

The ‘mixed’ group, officially recognised in the 2001 Census, is one of the most rapidly growing ethnic groups in Britain. Although ‘mixed’ categorisation was added to ethnic coding in NHS datasets, our knowledge of health patterns for this population is meagre. Data quality problems remain a key obstacle, including poor reproducibility of the data and constraints on reporting due to sparse data bias. The consequent minimal and indicative evidence base has focused mainly on risky health behaviours, mental health and generic measures of self-rated health, as it has in the U.S.A. and Canada. There is negligible information on the main underlying causes of death, such as neoplasms, heart disease and stroke. Consideration should be given to pooling data across multiple years of health and general purpose surveys to enable reporting for the four ‘mixed’ categories and adjustment for mediating factors and relevant confounders, such as measures of socio-economic status.     

Structuring composite local governance indicators

The importance of good governance is praised by many academics and practitioners. The prominence of the subject suggests that measurement is important. However, setting out to measure the quality of governance empirically is controversial. Doubts regarding the feasibility and meaningfulness of this undertaking are widespread in the literature. Recognizing the potential caveats, the current article discusses a set of guidelines for structuring a theoretically sound local governance assessment tool based on the Decision Analysis and Operational Research literatures. The authors argue that using a multi-criteria model which employs several objective (quantitative and qualitative) indicators and relies on a participatory method to aggregate them is a suitable way of developing sensible Local Governance Indicators. The purpose here is to provide a detailed roadmap for any country (or region, or locality) willing to engage in the assessment of the quality of local governance. The real-world implementation of a model developed according to these guidelines could help raise awareness, promote good practices and increase the ‘governance literacy’ of citizens. By operationalizing good governance, analysts may also be able to further investigate the relationships between local governance practices and several socio-economic factors.     

Exploring the unknown aspects of Roma community in Cyprus and the role of social work practice

The status quo of Roma communities in Europe is strongly marked by marginalisation and discrimination. Roma people tend to face social exclusion and segregation leading to lack of education, chronic unemployment and limited access to healthcare, housing and public services as well as widespread poverty. Very few studies have been conducted as far as Roma community in Cyprus are concerned and almost none has explored quality of life of this ethnic minority. Therefore, this article examines quality of life dimensions in approximately half of the population (n?=?156) residing in the catchment area. Both quantitative and qualitative results showed poor standards of living, high school dropout rates and high levels of marginalisation. Social work as discipline can foster a more empowering and coordinating role as to enhance Roma’s distinctive identity and improve standards of living.