This report examines how the two global mega-trends of population ageing and rising inequalities have been developing and interacting, both within and across generations. Taking a life-course perspective the report shows how inequalities in education, health, employment and earnings compound, resulting in large differences in lifetime earnings…

The relationship between a community's services and conditions, satisfaction, and overall quality of life were examined in this study. As these relationships respond to specific contextual and cultural settings, qualitative methods were used to account for their complexity and depth. Key informant interviews were conducted in two rural communities…

Nowadays, there is a wide debate about what rural means. An operational definition of rural concept is essential in order to measure health problems, optimize resource allocation and facilitate decision making aimed at closing the gap on inequity between areas. In 2005, the rurality index for Small Areas in Spain (IRAP) was developed using the…

It is commonly assumed that better living standards will boost subjective well-being. The post-apartheid South African government subscribes to this idea; its social policies aim to provide "a better life for all". Since the coming of democracy in 1994, the state has built over 3 million houses and supplied electricity and clean water to…

In Germany, processes can be observed that have long been out of keeping with the principle of equality of opportunity. Unemployment is concentrated in the structurally weak peripheral areas, in Eastern Germany in particular; emigration of young and better-educated people to the West is not diminishing, but contrary to expectation is again on the…

A recent study of the quality of life in the rural South developed a weighted index of the overall quality of living based on subjective evaluations by rural residents of such concerns as the local government's quality, politics, political organizations, schools, educational system, churches, civic organizations, recreational facilities, job…

As part of a larger study aimed at assessing how local people view recent changes and development programs in four Eastern Kentucky counties (Harlan, Perry, Whitley, and Wolfe), a survey on perceived quality of life was conducted. Data were derived from personal interviews with selected local leaders (varying from 21 to 33 interviews per county)…

Concerned with Southern populations of open-country rural areas, the objectives of this study were: (1) identification of changes in quality of life of the study population since 1960; (2) delineation of those aspects of quality of life considered inadequate by the residents; and (3) testing of the hypothesis that community leaders, due to their…

As part of a larger study prepared to provide local leaders with information on socioeconomic characteristics and household attitudes in four Kentucky counties, this databook on Perry County is compiled from 1961 (open country area) and 1973 (open country and nonopen country area) surveys. The sampling procedure involved a random selection of…

As part of a larger study prepared to provide local leaders with information on socioeconomic characteristics and household attitudes in four Kentucky counties, this databook on Whitley County is compiled from 1961 (open country area) and 1973 (open country and nonopen country area) surveys. The sampling procedure involved a random selection of…

As part of a larger study prepared to provide local leaders with information on socioeconomic characteristics and household attitudes in four Kentucky counties, this databook on Harlan County is compiled from 1961 (open country area) and 1973 (nonopen country area and open country area) surveys. The sampling procedure involved a random selection…

As part of a larger study prepared to provide local leaders with information on socioeconomic characteristics and household attitudes in four Kentucky counties, this databook on Wolfe County is compiled from 1961 (open country area) and 1973 (open country and nonopen country area) surveys. The sampling procedure involved a random selection of…

Data derived from heads of households (50% American Indian, 10% black and 40%white) living in a large (a 25% sample) and a small rural (a 50% sample) Louisiana community were used in conjunction with a pictorial survey of the respondents' houses to evaluate satisfaction with housing in terms of both objective and subjective housing indicators. The…

Change and persistent problems in the quality of life of open-country families (n=317) in four eastern Kentucky counties (Harlan, Perry, Whitley, and Wolfe) were examined via comparison of data derived from surveys of household heads in 1961 and 1973. The 1961 survey provided data on occupations, income, level of living, and opinions re: the…

In response to concerns resulting from changes in metropolitan growth during the past decade, and the concomitant gain in population of nonmetropolitan areas, this study was conducted in an effort to understand the effects of such growth on the quality of rural life and the physical environment. Data analyzed dealt with safisfactions, perceptions,…