This paper examines volunteerism across three neighbourhood types that are differentiated by socio-economic status (SES) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The three neighbourhood types are defined as Low, Middle and High SES. The study used data collected from two telephone surveys (n = 968 in 2001, n = 997 in 2004) using random-digit dialling,…

In this paper, we perform a latent class factor analysis of a panel that involves two waves of data from an annual survey of living conditions in Sweden that were gathered in the years 1994-1995 and 2002-2003. We follow the same 3,149 individuals over both waves, describing them by sex, age group, family type, nationality background, education…

This study examined the contributions of orientations to happiness (pleasure, engagement and meaning) to subjective well-being. A sample of 12,622 adults from the United States completed on-line surveys measuring orientations to happiness, positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction. A sample of 332 adults from Australia also completed…

This article defines Active Citizenship within a European context as a broad range of value based participation. It develops a framework for measuring this phenomenon which combines the four dimensions of Protest and Social Change, Community Life, Representative Democracy and Democratic values. The European Social Survey 2002 is used to populate…

Research on Eastern Europe stresses the weakness of its civil society and the lack of political and social involvement, neglecting the question: What do people themselves think it means to be a good citizen? This study looks at citizens' definitions of good citizenship in Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, using 2002 European Social…

The aims of this investigation were (1) to measure the impact of arts-related activities on the perceived quality of life of a representative sample of British Columbians aged 18 years or more in the spring of 2007, and (2) to compare the findings of this study with those of a sample of 1,027 adults drawn from five B.C. communities (Comox Valley,…

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…

Employing data from a mailed survey of a sample of ecologically and spiritually aware respondents (N = 829), the study tests the hypothesized relationship between ecologically sustainable behavior (ESB) and subjective well-being (SWB). The proposed link between ESB and SWB is the spiritual practice of mindfulness meditation (MM). In multiple…

This article considers the issue of facilitating policies that enhance population happiness. An impediment to such action is the failure of most policy makers to understand that subjective wellbeing can be measured and understood within the framework of science. Additionally, they fail to realize that enhancing the subjective wellbeing of…

Does immigration reduce natives' support for the welfare state? Evidence from the European Social Survey (2002/2003) suggests a more qualified relation. For Europe as a whole, there is only weak evidence of a negative association between the perceived presence of immigrants and natives' support for the welfare state. However, this weak average…

The European Union launched the Lisbon Strategy in 2000 with the aim of establishing itself as the world's most powerful economy. The importance of job quality has returned to the top of the European employment and social policy agenda. As targets are set, significant progress has been made in the creation of indicators. In this study, we compute…

There is paucity of research investigating opinions and attitudes of seniors 55 years of age and older in relation to housing accommodation and services sensitive to the needs of the senior population. We describe the results of a cross-sectional survey soliciting opinions and attitudes of seniors with respect to a variety of housing issues…

A recurring theme in Indigenous affairs in Australia is a tension between maintenance of Indigenous culture and achievement of socio-economic "equity": essentially "self-determination" versus "assimilation". Implicit in this tension is the view that attachment to traditional cultures and lifestyles is a hindrance to…

Since the remarkable work of Pierre Bourdieu, the concept of cultural capital has gained wide popularity along with theoretical and conceptual debates. This trend represents the social-structural change from materialism to postmaterialism. However, there are few empirical studies which find the cause and effect of cultural capital. Based on…

This article proposes an explanation of sex-differences in job-allocation and pay in different institutional contexts. Job-allocation calculations are considered to be related to (1) the distribution of housework and (2) the skill-specialization requirements of jobs. In a context of uncertainty and imperfect information, housework and…