Quality of Life & Happiness of People in Japan and the Netherlands

Quality of Life & Happiness of People in Japan and the Netherlands

Author: Joop Stam

Publisher: Kit Pub

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789068324358

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Quality of life is a permanent concern of all people, worldwide. Often quality of life is equated with material wealth, but affluence and abundance do not always engender happiness. This book compares the quality of life and happiness in Japan and The Netherlands, two advanced industrial nations with a different culture and institutional background--both of which rose from the ashes of war and both having created wealth and prosperity for their people. On average, Japan scores systematically lower on happiness than The Netherlands. This observation elicited the question: how can we explain the variance? Is it culture and the societal structure of family and friendship relations? Or is it the organization of work and style of management? Or is it the way power is handled in politics and society? In short, what has been the effect of the dominant economic, political and social model of post-war Japan and The Netherlands on the quality of life and happiness of their citizens? The papers in this book provide a broad spectrum of views and analyses on the quality of life in Japan and The Netherlands and justify the conclusion that happiness is not a trivial matter. Rather, it constitutes a powerful element in the mind of people and serves as a compass in life.


Book Synopsis Quality of Life & Happiness of People in Japan and the Netherlands by : Joop Stam

Download or read book Quality of Life & Happiness of People in Japan and the Netherlands written by Joop Stam and published by Kit Pub. This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quality of life is a permanent concern of all people, worldwide. Often quality of life is equated with material wealth, but affluence and abundance do not always engender happiness. This book compares the quality of life and happiness in Japan and The Netherlands, two advanced industrial nations with a different culture and institutional background--both of which rose from the ashes of war and both having created wealth and prosperity for their people. On average, Japan scores systematically lower on happiness than The Netherlands. This observation elicited the question: how can we explain the variance? Is it culture and the societal structure of family and friendship relations? Or is it the organization of work and style of management? Or is it the way power is handled in politics and society? In short, what has been the effect of the dominant economic, political and social model of post-war Japan and The Netherlands on the quality of life and happiness of their citizens? The papers in this book provide a broad spectrum of views and analyses on the quality of life in Japan and The Netherlands and justify the conclusion that happiness is not a trivial matter. Rather, it constitutes a powerful element in the mind of people and serves as a compass in life.

Quality of Life in Japan

Quality of Life in Japan

Author: Ming-Chang Tsai

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2019-08-27

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 9811389101

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This edited volume approaches the life experiences and well-being of Japanese people from an empirical perspective. It explores the current trend of happiness among Japanese over time and examines the association of income, lifestyle, and perceived life conditions using modern econometric models with supplementary qualitative observations. Issues relating to ageing, gender, household division of labour, and emigration are also examined to provide a wide scope of results based on both survey and field methods for culturally sensitive researchers. Going beyond the conventional cultural interpretation of the uniqueness of the Japanese case, this book provides timely, empirical evidence for understanding how the various social groups comprising the Japanese population have enjoyed a better quality of life, while some groups are very dissatisfied with social arrangements and have elected to emigrate. The book is a pioneering endeavour to reveal the detailed structure of quality of life and well-being in Japanese society.


Book Synopsis Quality of Life in Japan by : Ming-Chang Tsai

Download or read book Quality of Life in Japan written by Ming-Chang Tsai and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-08-27 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume approaches the life experiences and well-being of Japanese people from an empirical perspective. It explores the current trend of happiness among Japanese over time and examines the association of income, lifestyle, and perceived life conditions using modern econometric models with supplementary qualitative observations. Issues relating to ageing, gender, household division of labour, and emigration are also examined to provide a wide scope of results based on both survey and field methods for culturally sensitive researchers. Going beyond the conventional cultural interpretation of the uniqueness of the Japanese case, this book provides timely, empirical evidence for understanding how the various social groups comprising the Japanese population have enjoyed a better quality of life, while some groups are very dissatisfied with social arrangements and have elected to emigrate. The book is a pioneering endeavour to reveal the detailed structure of quality of life and well-being in Japanese society.

Life Course, Happiness and Well-being in Japan

Life Course, Happiness and Well-being in Japan

Author: Barbara Holthus

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-04-21

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 135196917X

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Much of the existing literature on happiness in Japan has been produced in the field of economics and psychology and is quantitative in nature. Here, for the first time, a group of anthropologists and sociologists jointly analyze the state of happiness and unhappiness in Japan among varying social groups in its physical, interpersonal, existential and structural dimensions, offering new insights into fundamental issues. This book investigates the connections between sociostructural aspects, individual agency and happiness in contemporary Japan from a life course perspective. The contributors examine quantitative and qualitative empirical data on the processes that impact how happiness and well-being are envisioned, crafted, and debated in Japan across the life-cycle. Therefore, the book discusses the shifting notions of happiness during people’s lives from birth to death, analyzing the age group-specific experiences while taking into consideration people’s life trajectories and historical changes. It points out recent developments in regards to demographic change, late marriage, and the changing labor market and focuses on their significant impact on the well-being of Japanese people. In particular it highlights the interdependencies of lives within the family and how families are collaborating for the purpose of maintaining or enhancing the happiness of its members. Broadening our understanding of the multidimensionality of happiness in Japan, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Japanese Studies, Anthropology, and Sociology.


Book Synopsis Life Course, Happiness and Well-being in Japan by : Barbara Holthus

Download or read book Life Course, Happiness and Well-being in Japan written by Barbara Holthus and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-04-21 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much of the existing literature on happiness in Japan has been produced in the field of economics and psychology and is quantitative in nature. Here, for the first time, a group of anthropologists and sociologists jointly analyze the state of happiness and unhappiness in Japan among varying social groups in its physical, interpersonal, existential and structural dimensions, offering new insights into fundamental issues. This book investigates the connections between sociostructural aspects, individual agency and happiness in contemporary Japan from a life course perspective. The contributors examine quantitative and qualitative empirical data on the processes that impact how happiness and well-being are envisioned, crafted, and debated in Japan across the life-cycle. Therefore, the book discusses the shifting notions of happiness during people’s lives from birth to death, analyzing the age group-specific experiences while taking into consideration people’s life trajectories and historical changes. It points out recent developments in regards to demographic change, late marriage, and the changing labor market and focuses on their significant impact on the well-being of Japanese people. In particular it highlights the interdependencies of lives within the family and how families are collaborating for the purpose of maintaining or enhancing the happiness of its members. Broadening our understanding of the multidimensionality of happiness in Japan, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Japanese Studies, Anthropology, and Sociology.

Happiness and the Good Life in Japan

Happiness and the Good Life in Japan

Author: Wolfram Manzenreiter

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-03-27

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1317352726

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Contemporary Japan is in a state of transition, caused by the forces of globalization that are derailing its ailing economy, stalemating the political establishment and generating alternative lifestyles and possibilities of the self. Amongst this nascent change, Japanese society is confronted with new challenges to answer the fundamental question of how to live a good life of meaning, purpose and value. This book, based on extensive fieldwork and original research, considers how specific groups of Japanese people view and strive for the pursuit of happiness. It examines the importance of relationships, family, identity, community and self-fulfilment, amongst other factors. The book demonstrates how the act of balancing social norms and agency is at the root of the growing diversity of experiencing happiness in Japan today.


Book Synopsis Happiness and the Good Life in Japan by : Wolfram Manzenreiter

Download or read book Happiness and the Good Life in Japan written by Wolfram Manzenreiter and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-03-27 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary Japan is in a state of transition, caused by the forces of globalization that are derailing its ailing economy, stalemating the political establishment and generating alternative lifestyles and possibilities of the self. Amongst this nascent change, Japanese society is confronted with new challenges to answer the fundamental question of how to live a good life of meaning, purpose and value. This book, based on extensive fieldwork and original research, considers how specific groups of Japanese people view and strive for the pursuit of happiness. It examines the importance of relationships, family, identity, community and self-fulfilment, amongst other factors. The book demonstrates how the act of balancing social norms and agency is at the root of the growing diversity of experiencing happiness in Japan today.

Reinventing Childhood Nostalgia

Reinventing Childhood Nostalgia

Author: Elisabeth Wesseling

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-11

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 1317068467

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While Romantic-era concepts of childhood nostalgia have been understood as the desire to retrieve the ephemeral mindset of the child, this collection proposes that the emergence of digital media has altered this reflective gesture towards the past. No longer is childhood nostalgia reliant on individual memory. Rather, it is associated through contemporary convergence culture with the commodities of one's youth as they are recycled from one media platform to another. Essays in the volume's first section identify recurrent patterns in the recycling, adaptation, and remediation of children's toys and media, providing context for section two's exploration of childhood nostalgia in memorial practices. In these essays, the contributors suggest that childhood toys and media play a role in the construction of s the imagined communities (Benedict Anderson) that define nations and nationalism. Eschewing the dichotomy between restorative and reflexive nostalgia, the essays in section three address the ethics of nostalgia in terms of child agency and depictions of childhood. In a departure from the notion that childhood nostalgia is the exclusive prerogative of narrative fiction, section four looks for its traces in the child sciences. Pushing against nostalgia's persistent associations with wishful thinking, false memories, and distortion, this collection suggests nostalgia is never categorically good or bad in itself, but owes its benefits or defects to the ways in which it is brought to bear on the representation of children and childhood.


Book Synopsis Reinventing Childhood Nostalgia by : Elisabeth Wesseling

Download or read book Reinventing Childhood Nostalgia written by Elisabeth Wesseling and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-11 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While Romantic-era concepts of childhood nostalgia have been understood as the desire to retrieve the ephemeral mindset of the child, this collection proposes that the emergence of digital media has altered this reflective gesture towards the past. No longer is childhood nostalgia reliant on individual memory. Rather, it is associated through contemporary convergence culture with the commodities of one's youth as they are recycled from one media platform to another. Essays in the volume's first section identify recurrent patterns in the recycling, adaptation, and remediation of children's toys and media, providing context for section two's exploration of childhood nostalgia in memorial practices. In these essays, the contributors suggest that childhood toys and media play a role in the construction of s the imagined communities (Benedict Anderson) that define nations and nationalism. Eschewing the dichotomy between restorative and reflexive nostalgia, the essays in section three address the ethics of nostalgia in terms of child agency and depictions of childhood. In a departure from the notion that childhood nostalgia is the exclusive prerogative of narrative fiction, section four looks for its traces in the child sciences. Pushing against nostalgia's persistent associations with wishful thinking, false memories, and distortion, this collection suggests nostalgia is never categorically good or bad in itself, but owes its benefits or defects to the ways in which it is brought to bear on the representation of children and childhood.

Ikigai

Ikigai

Author: Shizuka Kobayashi

Publisher:

Published: 2020-11-17

Total Pages: 82

ISBN-13:

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The simple guide to add Focus, Meaning, and Joy to your everyday life More people than ever are drifting through life without purposeBut you do not have to be one of them! When you understand how you can connect with your true purpose and interweave real meaning with the strands of everyday life, you will unlock the secret to true joy in your life. The time-tested Japanese philosophy of Ikigai is the simple roadmap that changes everything. Let this award winning book be your guide to make meaningful change starting today.Here is a preview of what you will learn: What is Ikigai? The Pillars of IkigaiIkigai and Japanese CultureIkigai in Professional LifeIkigai and HealthIkigai and KodawariIkigai and FlowIkigai and SustainabilityIkigai and ResilienceIkigai and Work - Life BalanceConclusion: Achieving your own IkigaiAnd So Much More! Invest in yourself and commit to living your best life. Grab this guide now and make the rest of today a meaningful one!


Book Synopsis Ikigai by : Shizuka Kobayashi

Download or read book Ikigai written by Shizuka Kobayashi and published by . This book was released on 2020-11-17 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The simple guide to add Focus, Meaning, and Joy to your everyday life More people than ever are drifting through life without purposeBut you do not have to be one of them! When you understand how you can connect with your true purpose and interweave real meaning with the strands of everyday life, you will unlock the secret to true joy in your life. The time-tested Japanese philosophy of Ikigai is the simple roadmap that changes everything. Let this award winning book be your guide to make meaningful change starting today.Here is a preview of what you will learn: What is Ikigai? The Pillars of IkigaiIkigai and Japanese CultureIkigai in Professional LifeIkigai and HealthIkigai and KodawariIkigai and FlowIkigai and SustainabilityIkigai and ResilienceIkigai and Work - Life BalanceConclusion: Achieving your own IkigaiAnd So Much More! Invest in yourself and commit to living your best life. Grab this guide now and make the rest of today a meaningful one!

Qualitative Studies in Quality of Life

Qualitative Studies in Quality of Life

Author: Graciela Tonon

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-01-14

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 3319137794

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This volume explores the use and relevance of qualitative methods for the study of quality of life. It analyzes the role of qualitative researcher and the role of the context and the culture in quality of life studies. It presents the use of qualitative methods in real projects carried out in specific fields: geography, health, community studies, labor life and yoga. Finally, the book proposes the use of mixed methods that are considered as the third methodological approach in social research. The main purpose of using qualitative methods is to understand what it means for participants to be involved in certain events, situations and actions. Such methods help understand the context in which participants act and the influence of that context on their actions. The decision to use a particular methodology implies a philosophic, theoretical and political decision. Qualitative methodology constitutes an approach that is essential for understanding people’s experiences of well-being and discovering new issues related to quality of life.


Book Synopsis Qualitative Studies in Quality of Life by : Graciela Tonon

Download or read book Qualitative Studies in Quality of Life written by Graciela Tonon and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-01-14 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the use and relevance of qualitative methods for the study of quality of life. It analyzes the role of qualitative researcher and the role of the context and the culture in quality of life studies. It presents the use of qualitative methods in real projects carried out in specific fields: geography, health, community studies, labor life and yoga. Finally, the book proposes the use of mixed methods that are considered as the third methodological approach in social research. The main purpose of using qualitative methods is to understand what it means for participants to be involved in certain events, situations and actions. Such methods help understand the context in which participants act and the influence of that context on their actions. The decision to use a particular methodology implies a philosophic, theoretical and political decision. Qualitative methodology constitutes an approach that is essential for understanding people’s experiences of well-being and discovering new issues related to quality of life.

A Sociology of Happiness

A Sociology of Happiness

Author: Kenji Kōsaka

Publisher: ISBS

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 9781876843281

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Written by the sociologists at Kwansei Gakuin University who are engaged in 'Social Research for the Enhancement of Human Well-being, ' this study explores issues of happiness from a wide variety of sociological perspectives. It includes: a meta-analysis of suffering; an axiomatic approach to constructing an index for measuring social suffering from an utilitarian perspective; a proposal for a new qualitative methodology for social science research; a Nietzschean analysis of happiness; a proposal to codify linguistic rights drawing on notions of the universal right to pursue well-being; an analysis of the role of folklore in articulating a society's implicit understandings of happiness and suffering; a critical exploration of the impact of social surveillance on happiness; and a clinical sociological approach to happiness and unhappiness


Book Synopsis A Sociology of Happiness by : Kenji Kōsaka

Download or read book A Sociology of Happiness written by Kenji Kōsaka and published by ISBS. This book was released on 2006 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by the sociologists at Kwansei Gakuin University who are engaged in 'Social Research for the Enhancement of Human Well-being, ' this study explores issues of happiness from a wide variety of sociological perspectives. It includes: a meta-analysis of suffering; an axiomatic approach to constructing an index for measuring social suffering from an utilitarian perspective; a proposal for a new qualitative methodology for social science research; a Nietzschean analysis of happiness; a proposal to codify linguistic rights drawing on notions of the universal right to pursue well-being; an analysis of the role of folklore in articulating a society's implicit understandings of happiness and suffering; a critical exploration of the impact of social surveillance on happiness; and a clinical sociological approach to happiness and unhappiness

The Psychology of Quality of Life

The Psychology of Quality of Life

Author: M. Joseph Sirgy

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-06-20

Total Pages: 624

ISBN-13: 9400744056

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The second edition will be an update and further elaboration of the literature related to subjective well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction. It will have a new substantial section that focuses on reviewing much of the literature of subjective well-being within specific life domains (social life, material life, leisure life, work life, community life, spiritual life, family life, health life, sex life, travel life, etc.) In the 1st edition the research in these various life domains was discussed only briefly. The second edition will maintain the same organizational structure of the first edition; that is, Part 1 will focus on introduction (definitions and distinctions; examples of measures of subjective well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction; and motives underlying subjective well-being). Part 2 will focus on psychological strategies that are allow people to optimize subjective well-being by engaging in psychological processes related to the relationship between and among life domains (e.g., social life, family life, love life, spiritual life, community life, financial life, etc.) This part will contain four chapters related to these various “inter-domain” processes: bottom-up spillover, top-down spillover, horizontal spillover, and compensation. Part 3 of the book will focus on “intra-domain” psychological strategies designed to optimize subjective well-being. These include re-evaluation based on personal history, re-evaluation based on self-concept, re-evaluation based on social comparison, goal selection, goal implementation and attainment, and re-appraisal. Part 4 of the book will focus on balance processes—how people attempt to create balance in their lives using psychological processes within specific life domains (intra-domain strategies) and processes that relate one domain to another (inter-domain strategies).


Book Synopsis The Psychology of Quality of Life by : M. Joseph Sirgy

Download or read book The Psychology of Quality of Life written by M. Joseph Sirgy and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-06-20 with total page 624 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second edition will be an update and further elaboration of the literature related to subjective well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction. It will have a new substantial section that focuses on reviewing much of the literature of subjective well-being within specific life domains (social life, material life, leisure life, work life, community life, spiritual life, family life, health life, sex life, travel life, etc.) In the 1st edition the research in these various life domains was discussed only briefly. The second edition will maintain the same organizational structure of the first edition; that is, Part 1 will focus on introduction (definitions and distinctions; examples of measures of subjective well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction; and motives underlying subjective well-being). Part 2 will focus on psychological strategies that are allow people to optimize subjective well-being by engaging in psychological processes related to the relationship between and among life domains (e.g., social life, family life, love life, spiritual life, community life, financial life, etc.) This part will contain four chapters related to these various “inter-domain” processes: bottom-up spillover, top-down spillover, horizontal spillover, and compensation. Part 3 of the book will focus on “intra-domain” psychological strategies designed to optimize subjective well-being. These include re-evaluation based on personal history, re-evaluation based on self-concept, re-evaluation based on social comparison, goal selection, goal implementation and attainment, and re-appraisal. Part 4 of the book will focus on balance processes—how people attempt to create balance in their lives using psychological processes within specific life domains (intra-domain strategies) and processes that relate one domain to another (inter-domain strategies).

Rural quality of life

Rural quality of life

Author: Pia Heike Johansen

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2023-01-31

Total Pages: 461

ISBN-13: 1526161621

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Recent research suggests that rural residents in the global North are happier than urban populations in the same countries. This goes against received wisdom in the field, where the opposite is usually assumed. Is quality of life better in the rural areas? How and under which circumstances is this the case? What can we learn from digging deeper into the rural-urban happiness paradox and which critical questions does this leave us with for the future? What might policymakers, planners, architects, and other decision-makers learn about how, when, and where to intervene? Rural quality of life delves deeper into these matters by asking what quality of life in rural areas is all about - in everyday life, through interventions in the built environment, in civil society and measures of subjective well-being.


Book Synopsis Rural quality of life by : Pia Heike Johansen

Download or read book Rural quality of life written by Pia Heike Johansen and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2023-01-31 with total page 461 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent research suggests that rural residents in the global North are happier than urban populations in the same countries. This goes against received wisdom in the field, where the opposite is usually assumed. Is quality of life better in the rural areas? How and under which circumstances is this the case? What can we learn from digging deeper into the rural-urban happiness paradox and which critical questions does this leave us with for the future? What might policymakers, planners, architects, and other decision-makers learn about how, when, and where to intervene? Rural quality of life delves deeper into these matters by asking what quality of life in rural areas is all about - in everyday life, through interventions in the built environment, in civil society and measures of subjective well-being.