While a growing literature demonstrates the impact of socio-political factors on citizens' quality of life, scholars have paid comparatively little attention to the role political organizations such as labor unions play in this regard. We examine labor organization as a determinant of cross-national variation in life satisfaction across a sample…

The current state of the economy in the developed countries make it possible to characterize them using concepts and terms such as the postindustrial society, the new economy, the service economy, the creative economy, the posteconomic society, the information society, the knowledge society, and the consumer society. Among these terms and…

World social development has arrived at a critical turning point. Economically advanced nations have made significant progress toward meeting the basic needs of their populations; however, the majority of developing countries have not. Problems of rapid population growth, failing economies, famine, environmental devastation, majority-minority…

Millions of youths in developing countries are described by UNICEF as "invisible and excluded." They live at the margins of society, facing challenges to their daily existence, powerless to make positive changes. But the emergence of citizen journalism and digital storytelling may offer these youths a chance to share their voices and…

Predictors of suicide attempts in Iran, to distinguish any similarities and differences of these predictors between suicide attempts in Iran and other developed and developing countries and to investigate the relation between general psychiatric symptoms and repetition of suicidal attempts were assessed. The validated Farsi version of the General…

Since Pakistan's inception in 1947, the government has made continuous efforts to provide free, universal, basic education to its citizens. This is evidenced by educational plans, policies, and five-year education sector reforms, including partnerships with international agencies and developed countries. However, these efforts have not yielded any…

The international implementation plan for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) identifies four elements for the achievement of sustainable development through education: (1) recognising the challenge; (2) collective responsibility and constructive society; (3) acting with determination; and (4) the indivisibility of human…

Globalization and individualization have radically changed both the economic system and the personal life world in industrial or postindustrial nation-states. To survive hypercompetition and volatile consumer choice, learning organizations and a workforce engaged in lifelong learning are needed. Constructing "the good life" has become an…

Finds that Khrushchev's and Brezhnev's regimes are characterized by improvements in living standards and reduction in social equalities. However, each regime differs in regard to priorities and the pace of progress. Evaluation of the two eras must consider incremental, industrialization, and collectivization eras. (KC)

This report is based on data and insights obtained during a study tour of the United States and Canada. The purpose of the tour was to combine attending three conferences on social work and social welfare held in Montreal, Canada in the summer of 1984 with visiting various institutions in Canada and the United States. In the first section of this…

This report provides a comprehensive look at the challenges facing mothers and children during and after armed conflict. The examination is divided into the sections "Mothers in War,""Mothers Rebuilding," and "Call to Action." Key findings include the following: (1) the nature of war has changed dramatically in recent…

Recently, there has been growing criticism of the usefulness of the conventional measures of gross national product (GNP) to reflect the growth of economic welfare. It is argued that GNP fails to allow for certain measures of economic welfare. The object of this study is to examine how much difference would be made to the relative growth rates of…

Noting that the well-being of children and that of mothers cannot be separated, this report provides information on the well-being of mothers worldwide. The report compares the status of mothers in 20 industrialized nations and in 86 developing countries, and creates a Mothers' Index measuring the overall status of mothers. The Mothers' Index is a…

Noting that the well-being of children and that of mothers cannot be separated, this report uses the Mothers' Index to compare the well-being of mothers and children in 17 developed countries and 77 developing countries. The Mothers' Index is a composite of elements contributing to a woman's well-being, including health status, educational status,…

It is estimated that there are over 10,000 non-governmental groups and initiatives in West Germany devoted to improving the quality of life of people in the developing countries. Many of these projects consist of churches helping churches, such as Misereor, the charity organization of German Catholics, or Brot fur die Welt (Bread for the World),…