No / Over the years, the quest for a better society has led to the birth of a variety of composite indices of development, from the gross domestic product to the happiness index. These indices usually integrate various social, cultural, psychological, and political aspects and are considered of vital importance for evaluating a country’s level of development and for assessing the impact of policy especially in the public sector. Overall, they consist of numerical measures that describe the well-being of both the individual and the society as a whole. This Special Issue on Indices for the Betterment of the Public of Socio-Economic Planning Sciences includes thirteen research articles by authors from Belgium, Colombia, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Yes / Business leaders and policymakers within service economies are placing greater emphasis on well-being, given the role of workers in such settings. Whilst people’s well-being can lead to economic growth, it can also have the opposite effect if overlooked. Therefore, enhancing subjective well-being (SWB) is pertinent for all organisations for the sustainable development of an economy. While health conditions were previously deemed the most reliable predictors, the availability of data on people’s personal lifestyles now offers a new dimension into well-being for organisations. Using open data available from the national Annual Population Survey in the UK, which measures SWB, this research uncovered that among several independent variables to predict varying levels of people's perceived well-being, long-term health conditions, one's marital status, and age played a key role in SWB. The proposed model provides the key indicators of measuring SWB for organisations using big data.

Att djur kan utgöra en betydande roll i människors liv är ett växande intresse inom forskningen kring relationen mellan människor och djur. Allt fler väljer att integrera djur i vardagen. Tidigare forskning påvisar gynnsamma hälsofördelar av att ha djur i sin närhet, särskilt vid ohälsa. Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilken betydelse som djur har i att främja hälsa och välbefinnande hos individer över 50 år. Åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med husdjursägare och/eller yrkessamma inom olika djurverksamheter. Resultaten tematiserades utifrån fem induktivt analytiska teman vilka belyste djurens hälsofrämjande betydelse: Emotionellt och socialt stöd, social kontakt och samhörighet, fysisk aktivitet och rörlighet, reducering av negativa känslor och tillstånd samt positivt tänkande och förhållningssätt. Sammanfattningsvis indikerar resultatet att djur spelar en avsevärd roll i främjande av hälsa och välbefinnande hos intervjudeltagarna. Diskussionen lyfter fram att grunden för hälsofrämjandet kan förklaras av djurens närvaro samt deltagarnas unika och meningsfulla relation till dem.

In view of the economic and social transcendence of a region's labour market on its competitiveness, the quality of life of its citizens, its economic evolution or its level of resilience to external shocks and fluctuations, this thesis focuses on analysing the employment situation of those groups that traditionally had greater impediments when it comes to take part of the labour force: immigrants and women. Two lines of work have been established for the development of the thesis. The first one (Chapters 2 and 3) examines commuting patterns based on individual data, exploring the differential behaviour which is observed according to the immigrant status, on the one hand, and gender, on the other. Analysing the commuting patterns of both groups is relevant for understanding their employment situation as it reflects individual decisions and behaviour in the residential and labour spheres and is a good indicator of the likely existence of a spatial mismatch between labour supply and demand. Both analysis are based on a rich, nationally representative database and incorporate the use of econometric techniques of decomposition that are new in this field of study, and that allow quantifying the joint and individual influence of a wide range of explanatory factors. In this sense, Chapter 2 focuses on the differences in commuting length between native and immigrant employees in Spain, a relevant issue since immigrants' longer commuting times may reflect an imperfect spatial matching of their labour supply and demand with negative implications for their relative labour outcomes and their individual well-being. The research differentiates immigrants according to their origin. The evidence obtained shows that, although a relevant part of the explanation of the greater commuting observed for immigrants is related to observed elements such as a different use of modes of transport, they make overall significantly longer journeys when comparing with observationally similar natives. This commuting penalty occurs yet only in the case of immigrants from emerging countries, as it does not exist for those from advanced economies. Although the penalty is overall rather similar along several sociodemographic and occupational lines, it is much more pronounced for individuals living in large municipalities, which implies that previous analyses focusing on specific densely populated territories could overestimate the phenomenon. To conclude, the additional novel evidence about the potential explanations of the commuting penalty of immigrants shows that it does not seem to derive from a hypothetically greater tolerance to commuting. Chapter 3 examines gender differences in commuting in Spain, a relevant issue since women's shorter commuting times partially explain their poorer work outcomes. The analysis considers the importance of the level of education workers have. The evidence obtained indicates that although the shorter commuting times of women are partially explained by factors such as their greater household responsibilities, there is a systematic pattern of less mobility that persists when women are compared with men with the same characteristics. This pattern is consistent with the theoretical hypothesis that there are cultural or social constraints that restrict women's commuting and worsen their job opportunities. This circumstance is also consistent with the findings that there is no pattern of lesser mobility for certain groups of women whose behaviour is in general more assimilable to that of men, such as women without family responsibilities, and that the origin of the gender differences in commuting is not women's lesser tolerance for this phenomenon. The second line of work (Chapter 4) focuses on women and analyses the impact of the characteristics of the Labour Market Area of residence on their participation and employment rates in Spain. In view of the importance of regional attributes on individual employability, this analysis has made it possible to identify which regional factors favour or impede the good performance of women in the labour market. In this case, the territorial unit of analysis is the Spanish LMAs, areas which reflect the regional mobility of workers and which are coherent when analysing labour market phenomena. The use of these territorial areas has allowed an ad hoc recoding of the microdata from the 2011 Population and Housing Census, so that it is possible to know the Labour Market Area of residence of each of the individuals in the sample. Thanks to this database, average variables of the individual behaviour recorded in the census microdata for each of the LMAs have been calculated for the first time for Spain. This type of variable reflects the average characteristics of the composition of each market, allowing for a better measurement of the phenomenon. In addition, spatial econometric methods are used to detect possible spatial relationships between markets derived from the presence of spatial autocorrelation. These techniques allow us to determine the influence of the characteristics of the LMA on female participation and employment rates, as well as the effect of the characteristics of neighbouring markets. The evidence obtained shows the presence of notable territorial differences in the distribution of female participation and employment rates. When considering these spatial autocorrelation patterns in the models, a spatial distance matrix of 50 kilometres has been considered. The econometric results show that female participation rates follow a process of spatial autocorrelation in the residuals that may derive from the economic/regulatory situation influenced by belonging to the same Autonomous Community, and from social/cultural factors shared by the closest LMAs. Likewise, participation rates are positively influenced by certain internal characteristics of a market, especially the presence of the service sector and the proportion of women with a higher average level of education, and by the disturbance term of neighbouring regions. The employment rate, on the other hand, presents a process of local spatial dependence in which both the characteristics of a market and the characteristics and shocks derived from neighbouring markets are considered relevant. These results show, as in the case of participation, the existence of territorial relations between the closest markets that go beyond the strictly labour-related ones and that may derive from economic or legislative aspects. Among the explanatory regional characteristics considered to favour female employment are the higher proportion of women with a high level of education, the higher percentage of women employed in services and the higher average income level. To check the effect of the spatial relationships of Madrid LMA with its closest LMAs, the analysis has been complemented by extending the distance matrix to 67 kilometres. In line with the previous analysis, the results confirm the existence of a pattern of local spatial autocorrelation in the distribution of the female participation rate. Alternatively, the spatial pattern observed in female employment rates becomes localized in the endogenous variable. This global pattern is characterized by the chain transmission of spatial relationships from neighbours to neighbours. These results reveal that the importance in economic and employment terms of the Madrid LMA prevails over the other markets, and the importance of using territorial units appropriate to the object of study. Thus, previous analyses carried out in this field, based on territorial units that were probably too large on average, may have overestimated the spatial effect associated with the phenomena analysed. / Financiada por la Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Gobierno de España) y el Fondo Social Europeo (FSE): Ayudas para contratos predoctorales para la formación de doctores, Subprograma Estatal de Formación del Programa Estatal de Promoción del Talento y su Empleabilidad en I+D+i, Plan Estatal de I+D+i 2017-2020 (ayuda PRE2018-085908). Con el apoyo de los proyectos CSO2017-86474-R (AEI, Plan Estatal de I+D+i), PID2020-114896RB-I00 (AEI/10.13039/501100011033, Plan Estatal de I+D+i) y AICO/2021/062 (Conselleria de Innovación, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital; Programa de I+D+I de la Comunitat Valenciana).

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間・環境学) / 甲第24916号 / 人博第1090号 / 新制||人||255(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科共生人間学専攻 / (主査)教授 内田 由紀子, 教授 船曳 康子, 教授 月浦 崇, 教授 宮本 百合 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human and Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DGAM

No / The published literature on dementia care mapping (DCM) in improving quality of life and quality of care through practice development and research dates back to 1993. The purpose of this review of the research literature is to answer some key questions about the nature of the tool and its efficacy, to inform the ongoing revision of the tool, and to set an agenda for future research. Design and Methods: The DCM bibliographic database at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom contains all publications known on DCM (http://www.bradford.ac.uk/acad/health/dcm). This formed the basis of the review. Texts that specifically examined the efficacy of DCM or in which DCM was used as a main measure in the evaluation or research were reviewed. Results: Thirty-four papers were categorized into five main types: (a) cross-sectional surveys, (b) evaluations of interventions, (c) practice development evaluations, (d) multimethod evaluations, and (e) papers investigating the psychometric properties of DCM.

No / The subjective psychological experience of people with moderate to severe dementia living in residential care is insufficiently understood. In the present study we aimed to explore the subjective experience of life with dementia in residential care from the perspective of the person with dementia, and to understand the psychological impact of being in this situation. Design and Methods: This was an exploratory qualitative study. Eighty individuals with dementia who were living in residential care homes engaged in unstructured conversations with a researcher. We subjected the transcripts of the resultant 304 conversations to interpretative phenomenological analysis in order to develop a thematic account. Results: The experience of living with dementia in residential care was fundamentally one of experiencing difficult and distressing emotions relating to loss, isolation, uncertainty, fear, and a sense of worthlessness. Participants generally tried to cope by accepting and making the best of things and affirming their past sense of self and identity, but some also expressed frustration and anger. Implications: Participants were able to describe aspects of their situation and their emotional response to it, grounded in a strong retained sense of self and identity. The participants' experience emphasizes the importance of improving the living situation of elders with dementia in residential care settings.

Yes / Purpose – The purpose of this article is to argue that a common understanding of the terms social value, social cost benefit, social return on investment etc. would be useful for those seeking to engage with the topic in the fields of health, wellbeing and early family intervention Design/method/approach – The article considers a commissioned study delivered by the authors which reviews the literature pertinent to this field. Findings- The authors suggest that there is considerable confusion with regard to the meaning of terms which are used almost interchangeably in the fields of health, wellbeing and early family intervention. Originality/value – The authors put forward a model to provide consistency of meaning across three levels of interventions.

Yes / The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) reports that between 5–10% of newly qualified midwives (NQM) leave the profession in the UK within a year of registration, with similar losses reported internationally (RCM 2010). NQMs are in a position of vulnerability and are highly susceptible to workplace adversity that subsequently may affect their emotional well-being. This literature review explores the experiences of NQMs surrounding their emotional well-being within the first 12 months of transition. Following a thorough search and appraisal of the literature, four papers were reviewed. Two key themes were identified consisting of factors that challenge NQMs’ resilience causing negative emotional well-being, and factors that enhance resilience, promoting positive emotional well-being. The findings of this review demonstrate that there is a need for the consistent implementation of protective mechanisms such as structured preceptorship and supportive mentorship. Such interventions may improve physical and emotional well-being, increase retention and better prepare NQMs for the journey ahead; ultimately also improving quality of care for women and patient safety.

Yes / Understanding key influences on outcomes for caregivers of people with dementia is hampered by inconsistent conceptualization and measurement of outcomes and limited evidence about the relative impact of different variables. We aimed to address these issues. We analyzed data from 1283 caregivers of community-dwelling individuals with mild-to-moderate dementia in the Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life cohort study. We generated a “living well” latent factor from measures of quality of life, satisfaction with life, and well-being. We used structural equation modelling to derive latent variables for 7 domains reflecting caregivers’ perceptions of their personal resources and experiences, and to examine the associations with caregivers’ perceptions of their capability to “live well.” The domain of psychological characteristics and psychological health was most strongly related to living well [2.53; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.08-2.97], followed by physical fitness and physical health (1.48; 95% CI, 1.04-1.91) and experiencing caregiving (1.34; 95% CI, 0.99-1.70). Social capitals, assets and resources (0.68; 95% CI, 0.35-1.00) and relationship with the person with dementia (−0.22; 95% CI, −0.41 to −0.03) had smaller, significant associations. Social location (0.28; 95% CI, −0.33 to 0.89) and managing everyday life with dementia (0.06; 95% CI, −0.15 to 0.28) were not significantly associated with living well. These findings demonstrate the importance of supporting caregivers’ psychological and physical health and their ability to develop and maintain positive coping strategies, as well as enabling them to maintain vital social capitals, assets and resources. / ESRC, National Institute for Health Research (UK) grant ES/L001853/2 “Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life: living well with dementia”