Quality of life: a reappraisal

Emerald - Tập 30 Số 9/10 - Trang 559-580 - 2010
Maria CristinaSousa Gomes1, MariaLuís Rocha Pinto1, GabrielaGomes dos Santos1
1Department of Social, Legal and Political Sciences, Universidade de Aveiro, SACSJP, Aveiro, Portugal

Tóm tắt

PurposeWith this reappraisal, the purpose of this paper is to present a reflexion on and discussion of the concept of quality of life (QL) with the intention of delimiting its meaning and application within the scope of the research project entitled “Costs and benefits of urban dispersion on a local scale”.Design/methodology/approachThe concept of QL contains a significant degree of complexity and multidimensional variables, in addition to the dynamic nature inherent in all social phenomena. The application of this concept at a local level and within the context of the Portuguese socio‐territorial reality requires rethinking the concept through the different authors and approaches, in order to delineate the research process, and guarantee its operationalisation, selecting the social indicators than can serve this purpose, with the intent of gaining a clearer understanding of QL as perceived and evaluated by the people and groups living in various dispersed urban areas.FindingsFrom the readings of literature in the field, one can understand the importance of choosing the relevant domains when analysing and measuring QL. As with the choice of indicators, in order to be able to measure the QL, simultaneously, at a local level, the choice of indicators and the delimitation of units of analysis are also fundamental in order to be able to obtain the comparison and real measure of quality of life and not the contingencies of specific contextual characteristics.Originality/valueThe study aims to open a new research perspective in the field of social sciences, more specifically in the areas related to QL and urban dispersion.

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Emerald

Tập 30 Số 9/10

559-580

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