ABSTRACT THE DETERMINANTS OF LIFE SATISFACTION IN POST-SOVIET AZERBAIJAN Galip, Hilal MSc., Department of Sociology Supervisor: Dr. Adnan Ak&ccedil / ay September 2007, 99 pages The study aims to investigate main determinants of life satisfaction in newly independent country, Azerbaijan. Taking into consideration of local and cultural characteristics of the region, this research will give the opportunity for making cross-cultural analysis to understand subjective well-being of people living in the country in transition. Moreover, it provides deeper interpretation of daily experiences of people in different fields of life compared to Soviet period. In the survey, 1030 households were selected according to multistage cluster sampling and face to face interviews were conducted with those families. In addition, fifty in-depth interviews were applied to people who are coming from different social backgrounds. All macro societal changes influences subjective well-being of the Azerbaijani people and the further analysis of data will help to taking picture of the society and individuals in a closer perspective. Within this framework, this paper attempts to figure out the quality of life in Azerbaijan from the eyes of Azerbaijani people.

Background: There is a considerable body of research linking child well-being with future outcomes for children. In recent years monitoring and promoting child well-being has been high on the UK government agenda and has attracted a great deal of theoretical interest. Despite existing research and given the importance of a precise definition, there remains a lack of knowledge about what well-being actually means to children. An independent literature search highlighted that while researchers have made some effort to understand what well-being means to children there are still significant gaps in the literature, including an understanding of how children’s views of well-being vary across different age groups. Participants: Nine participants were selected from three different age groups (four, seven and eleven year olds). The sample included a mix of males and females and all participants were reported to have adequate language skills and none were identified as having special educational needs. Method: This is a purely qualitative study utilising an in depth survey research design. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with each child and each participant was asked to take photographs of and describe artifacts which they considered to be important to their well-being. Analysis/Findings: Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Data analysis was conducted in discrete data sets defined by age group. Then compared across age groups to gain understanding of how children’s views of well-being develop with age. Well-being appeared to be conceptualised as an evaluative judgement which was influenced by well-being domains/factors and emotional experience. The complexity of the children’s evaluative judgements appeared to become increasingly sophisticated with age. The four year olds were found to understand well-being in egocentric terms whereas the seven and eleven year olds seemed to understand well-being in terms of both their own experiences and the experiences of the perceived other. Two specific developmental considerations were identified which influenced the children’s evaluative judgements including individual difference and children’s views regarding their ideal life. In addition to this, the component ‘self-view’ was identified for the eleven year olds. Three domains of well-being were identified which included: ‘my relationships’, ‘my lifestyle and ‘myself’ and the individual factors relating to these domains appeared to vary and increase in complexity with age. The generalisability of these finding is critically considered within the limitations of the research design. Conclusion/Implications: The findings led to the development of an exploratory developmental model of child well-being. Suggestions are made for future research and potential implications for practice are considered.

Bakgrund: Sjuksköterskans uppgift i hälso- och sjukvården är att värna om patientens styrkor i omvårdnaden. Personcentrerad omvårdnad innebär att ett holistiskt synsätt och förhållningssätt till patienten praktiseras i omvårdnaden. Orems egenvårdsteori innebär att patientens hälsa främjas av att bedriva egenvård. Autonomi innebär självständighet och självbestämmande. Patientautonomi försummas inom omvårdnaden och det är därför väsentligt att undersöka patientens uppfattning av autonomins betydelse. Syfte: Att beskriva äldre och medelålders patienters upplevelse av autonomins betydelse vid omvårdnad. Metod: En litteraturöversikt där (n=16) kvalitativa artiklar söktes i databaserna PubMed och CINAHL. Analysen har skett genom att hitta teman och subteman utifrån likheter/skillnader i artiklarnas resultat. Resultat: Äldre och medelålders patienter upplevde att autonomi vid omvårdnad påverkade deras värdighet och identitet. Dessa påverkade patienternas välbefinnande och livskvalitet. Sjuksköterskan hade en betydande roll för möjligheten till autonomi, där tidsbrist, respekt för patienten och egna attityder kunde påverka autonomin. Majoriteten av patienterna upplevde inte autonomi vid omvårdnad. Konklusion: Både sjuksköterskan och patienten upplever att patientautonomi försummas vid omvårdnad vilket påverkar patientens välbefinnande och livskvalitet negativt. Tidigare forskning i ämnet är begränsat och det behövs vidare forskning kring ämnet. / Background: The nurse's role in the health-care is to defend the patient's abilities. Person-centred care refers to the practice of a holistic approach towards the patient in the nursing care. Orem's theory of self care intends that patients' health benefits from practicing self care. Autonomy means independency and self-determination. Patient autonomy is found in previous research to be neglected in the nursing care, which makes it essential to further investigate the patient's experience of the meaning of autonomy. Aim: To describe elderly and middle-aged patients' experience of the meaning of autonomy in nursing care. Method: A review of the literature where (n=16) qualitative articles were searched for in the databases PubMed and CINAHL. The analysis focused on finding themes and subthemes in the similarities/differences of the articles' results. Results: Elderly and middle-aged patients experienced that the autonomy in nursing care affected their dignity and identity, which also affected their well-being and quality of life. The nurse had a significant role in terms of the opportunity to autonomy, their time restraints, respect for patients, and attitudes could influence the autonomy. The majority of the patients did not experience autonomy. Conclusion: Both nurses and patients experience that patient autonomy is neglected, which influences the patient's well-being and quality of life negatively. Few studies describes the patients' experience of autonomy in nursing care, so further research in this area is needed.

In der empirischen Forschung zu Bedingungen kindlichen Aufwachsens wird häufig auf das Konstrukt des kindlichen Wohlbefindens (Child Well-Being) zurückgegriffen. Mit diesem Einführungsbeitrag zum Schwerpunktheft soll der Versuch unternommen werden, die vielfältigen theoretischen Zugänge, Begriffsverwendungen und Merkmalszuschreibungen im Zusammenhang mit dem immer wieder als unscharf und diffus („fuzzy“, Betz et al., 2018, S. 13) deklarierten Konzept des kindlichen Wohlbefindens zu systematisieren und bisherige Erträge ebenso wie Leerstellen zu markieren. / The construct of child well-being is often used in empirical research to describe and analyze the conditions of growing up. This introductory contribution to the special issue gives an overview of the many different theoretical approaches, terminology, and indicators connected to the concept of child well-being, which is presently considered vague and diffuse. It also highlights both the yields and gaps in research.

This thesis deals with the issue of quality of work life (QWL), namely the important factors of QWL in terms of the management of non-governmental organizations (NGO). Perception of QWL has a positive effect on job satisfaction, personal well-being and job performance (its productivity and quality). The aim of this mapping study is to determine the important factors of QWL from the subjective perspective. Expert semistructured interviews were used for this purpose. The results indicate that the identified factors are identical with QWL mentioned by individual authors and institutions. The following factors were identified: absence of stress, interpersonal relationships in the workplace, support from the organization, evaluation of work, working environment. The positively evaluated factors include good relations in the workplace, need and utility of service, and self-actualization. The problematic working factors are financial conditions, obligations arising from the legislative framework, uncertainty about the sustainability of services, view of society and the low level of spatial facilities. The findings might become a contribution for organizations providing social services, be useful in easier implementation and support QWL factors, feelings of well-being at work, for selection of employees,...