Well-being refers to the state of existence of an individual, and for which their quality of life is of concern. People within different communities have different conceptions of well-being, so the task of evaluating another’s level of well-being requires inner knowledge of their values, motivations, desires and priorities. A universal index of poverty, deprivation or quality of life is necessarily limited and proves unsatisfactory when personal circumstances are not fully understood.
As communities grow and develop it is assumed that individuals within the community gain an improved quality of life; and usually economic measures are used to establish progress. It has been common practice for a government to employ indices, such as a Poverty Index, to gauge the level of under-development amongst its peoples. These measures focus on the economic and monetary position of people, from which inferences are drawn about their quality of life. More recently, though, economists have acknowledged that economic development is not necessarily conducive to a more fulfilling life. Other concerns have emerged that place priority on a general sense of well-being, which is determined by, amongst other things, opportunities available to members of a community for education, health and work, and satisfaction with environmental conditions over and above provision of human basic needs. In this view of well-being, quality of life is seen in terms of the facility for all people to pursue their personal life goals such as education, employment, health and social relationships. Of current concern are innovative notions of well-being, their determinants and associated means of measurement, and policies that recognize the level of well-being of an individual based on the extent to which their present state of being has been determined through the application of personal values and the pursuit of personal desires rather than as a consequence of exogenous forces (such as legal, political and social pressures).
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Sustainable well-being in the workplace and organizational performance
- Self-determination and freedom of choice amid the constraining forces of regulation and law
- Effects of economic policies on the opportunities afforded local communities
- Effects of Government policies and political change on the quality of life of the impoverished and under-privileged
- Effects of crime, pollution, congestion, urbanization, etc. on communities
- Effects of education on society, business and communities.
- Disparities in regional well-being, distribution of wealth, taxation, and social policies
- Work-life balance and family/community life
- Capabilities and opportunities in the workplace
- Training, education and human resource development
- New and creative channels for improving access to education
- Access to education, social services, employment and recreation for the disabled
- New and innovative uses of technology to improve public access to learning, information and choice
- Transformational government and public rights of participation in policy making
- Health and safety in the workplace
- Motivation and basic human needs
- Measuring poverty and deprivation, and new accounting principles
- Cultural, religious and self-imposed impediments to well-being
- State interventions and policies for raising quality of life
- Working environment and support for flexible arrangements and creative work schedules
- Recognition of creativity, self-expression, social relationships, and personal development
- Management styles and employee satisfaction
- Social services, state aid and financial opportunities for the disadvantaged
- Human rights, justice, security and equality
- Management of individual needs in times of economic crisis, natural disaster and war
- Policies for relief work, reconstruction and regeneration
- Policies on autonomy of native and indigenous people and protection from dispossession
- Political reform, democracy, and intransigence
iSHuD 2013 