Happiness Of Citizens Research Articles

Ekonomija i sreća - propitivanje odnosa

Happy and satisfied people should definitely be in the center of interest of every state. There is no doubt that even today, economists and politicians lightly associate people's happiness with macroeconomic outcomes. The logic is not unfounded, but it is too simplistic and even partly inaccurate for the simple reason that it is based on the belief that economic growth (gross domestic product, GDP) and macroeconomic stability (public finances, prices, exchange rates) bring an increase in income and decline unemployment, and that it is crucial for citizens to be satisfied. However, GDP growth in a country does not necessarily provide greater satisfaction or, more simply, the happiness of citizens, which confirms a large number of empirical studies (the well-known Easterlin paradox). Broadly (and more correctly), the degree of happiness depends on health (physical and mental), corruption, air pollution, education, crime rates and a sense of security, the quality of public services, social relations and the like. As scientific methods , a descriptive method was used to describe the problem, data and characteristics of the observed phenomena and processes, and a method of generalization for making general conclusions. Overall, the results showed once again why the Scandinavian countries are the happiest countries in the world, precisely because they are always best ranked according to all the most popular and most frequently used indicators that measure SWB globally.

Конкурентні моделі безпечного розвитку України в умовах інституціональної нестабільності та викликів глобального середовища

The article considers the prerequisites and mechanisms for the formation of competitive security strategies for socio-economic development of the state in the entropy of the global environment. Conceptual bases of security for implementing the macromodel of the state social and economic development are analyzed, that, in particular, provides: dismantling the system of clan capitalism, de-shadowing of economy and counteraction to corruption, safety of consumption and balanced limited social and economic development and application of bionic management paradigm of economic security based on a unified fiscal accounting payment system. This model should provide the basic preconditions for happiness and self-reproduction of citizens: social justice in the distribution of public goods and overcoming poverty, combating corruption, comfortable economic climate, strengthening economic security and confidence in the future by stabilizing macroeconomic indicators over time. This will allow forecasting the needs of consumer, financial, investment, innovation markets in the strategic perspective and other indicators, which will be a prerequisite for sustainable safe development and full consideration of the interests of future generations.

A study of the role of Islamic spirituality in happiness of Muslim citizens

Recreation and joy are considered as the basic needs of humans. When the human body and soul get tired, they yearn refreshment through various means. Since the primary goal of Islam is true perfection of humans and achieving higher meaning and purpose in life, the happiness emphasised in this school of thought must be such that it does not conflict with the goal of creation and the ultimate perfection of humans. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the role of Islamic spirituality in the happiness of 5000 citizens of Volga Federal District in Russia. The statistical population of the study was selected by simple random sampling method and the collected data was analysed by Structural Equation Modelling method in the LISREL software. The results indicated the positive role of Islamic spirituality in determining the happiness among citizens (Path Coefficient: 0.821; T value: 24.83). Hence, human beings should look for happiness in life through circumstances that can control the critical factors and create the ground for happiness and self-esteem, which is nothing but religion, religious actions and behaviours, and spirituality. Therefore, in order to experience greater happiness and to be immune to anxiety and depression, one should follow the religion and Islamic spirituality, and achieve a greater sense of happiness by remembering God and performing religious actions and behaviours.Contribution: This article contributes to the relationship between happiness, human body and religious beliefs.

An Exploration of Preschool Teachers’ Perceptions of Physical Activity Integration in a Whole Child Pilot Curriculum

It is recommended that children ages 3-5 receive 180 minutes of physical activity a day, with at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Despite these recommendations, a majority of preschoolers are not provided opportunities in the early childhood education setting to meet these daily recommendations through either structured or unstructured physical activity. Accordingly, the number of young children identified as overweight or obese over the past couple of decades has increased. Critical to addressing this epidemic is the role of physical activity in the early childhood classroom and its capacity to increase healthy development and lifelong habits for young children. Participants in this study consisted of 23 Pre-K 4 teachers from 5 different preschools across North Mississippi. A phenomenological approach was utilized to determine if the barriers to physical activity implementation in early childhood education classrooms were effectively addressed through the Growing Healthy Minds, Bodies, and Communities curriculum. This was completed by garnering teachers' perceptions of the curriculum through pre- and post-focus groups. Three themes emerged from the data regarding teachers’ perceptions of the Growing Healthy Minds, Bodies, and Communities physical activity curriclum. Those themes are as follows: (a) teacher and student benefits of and engagement with physical activity in early childhood education; (b) shifting the mindset from “fitting it all in” to “making it work with modifications”; and (c) linking it to literacy. The opportunity for young children to participate in physical activity is a critical determinant of their overall health and development. While there has been an overall decrease in opportunities for preschool children to participate in both unstructured and structured physical activity, it is crucial to view physical activity as an essential and integrated component of the curriculum. When viewed through this lens, it provides a foundation that promotes lifelong healthy habits and development of children who become happy, healthy, and productive citizens in society.

The relationship between happiness and quality of life: A model for Spanish society.

A key goal for society as a whole is the pursuit of well-being, which leads to the happiness of its individual members; as such, it is of critical socioeconomic relevance. In this regard, it is important to study which factors primarily affect the happiness of the population. In principle, these factors are associated with income level and residential and job stability, or more specifically, citizens’ quality of life. This research, which is based on a multidimensional concept of quality of life, uses a regression model to explain the dependence of Spaniards’ happiness on the well-being or quality of life provided by their work, their family situation, their income level and aspects of their place of residence, among other factors. The data were collected through an anonymous survey administered to a representative sample of Spanish citizens. The methodology used approaches the intangible concept of happiness as resulting from different individual and social causes selected from dimensions addressed in the literature, and calculates their effects or importance through regression coefficients. One of the findings is that people with the highest level of well-being or quality of life in the most important dimensions mostly claim to be happy. With respect to gender, it has a significant influence on the dimensions included in the model of citizen happiness and on personal issues. It is also shown that the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic negatively influenced the quality of life of Spanish citizens and therefore their happiness.

Import trade liberalization and individual happiness: evidence from chinese general social survey 2010-2015

ABSTRACT The happiness of citizens has long been the focus of all national governments. From a perspective of import trade liberalization, this paper uses 2010–2015 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) data to analyse whether import trade liberalization can improve national happiness and through which channels. The results show that import trade liberalization can significantly improve individual happiness and promote the happiness of citizens in the central region. When individuals are high-educated or high-income ones, trade liberalization can make them come out of the feelings of unhappiness more quickly. The trade liberalization can consolidate the happiness foundation of rural residents and improve the feelings of very happy of the urban ones. Further mechanism analysis demonstrates that import trade liberalization can improve individual happiness by enhancing individual fitness and marketization of the provinces where the individual is settled.

인천시민의 행복에 영향을 미치는 요인과 정책 방안 연구

국가발전과 국민 삶의 질적인 부분을 반영하지 못하는 경제 성장지표의 한계로 행복지표가 그 대안으로 주목받고 있다. 국내에서는 지방자치제도의 실시와 더불어 행복과 정부와의 관계가 조명을 받기 시작했다. 1994년 지방자치제 실시 이후, 중앙정부의 지시나 업무를 수행하는 단순한 전달체계로의 기능에만 머물던 과거와는 달리 지방정부는 국민들에게 가장 인접한 정부로서 국민들의 삶의 질과 행복에 대한 역할을 부여받았다. 이에 따라, 국내에서도 다수의 행복연구가 진행되었지만, 대부분이 서울시를 대상으로 한 연구이고 인천시를 대상으로 한 경우는 거의 없다. 따라서, 본 연구는 인천광역시를 대상으로 시민들의 행복에 영향을 주는 요인을 개인적 요인과 환경적 요인으로 나누어 탐색하였다. 개인적 요인에는 가족과의 관계, 소득, 직업, 계층, 여가, 사회자본이, 환경적 요인에는 주거환경, 의료보건 환경, 교육 환경, 수질 환경, 대기 환경, 문화체육환경, 교통환경, 보행환경이 포함되었다. 또한, 다문화 사회적 특성이 증가하는 현 상황을 고려하여 외국인에 대한 태도도 독립변수에 포함하였다. 인천시 사회조사 2019 자료를 활용하여 위계적 회귀분석을 실시한 결과, 주관적 귀속계층, 가족과의 관계, 사회자본, 외국인에 대한 태도, 여가, 주거환경, 교통환경, 보행환경, 대기환경, 사회안전 등이 인천시 시민들의 행복과 유의미한 정(+)의 관계가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 반면에, 연령이 어릴수록, 학력이 높을수록, 기혼이면 덜 행복한 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구는 그동안 국내 행복연구에서 다루어지지 않았던 인천시 시민들의 행복 결정요인을 실증적으로 분석하고, 외국인에 대한 태도가 유의미한 영향요인이 될 수 있다는 것을 입증하였다는 데 의의가 있다.

Has the Great Recession Shaped a Crisis Generation of Critical Citizens? Evidence from Southern Europe

ABSTRACT This article examines the potential emergence of a ‘new’ and ‘critical’ political generation in Southern Europe after an exceptionally intense political period. Using country-specific classifications of political generations, we first describe the evolution of a combination of two main attitudes towards the political system – frequency of political discussion and satisfaction with democracy – and then propose a fourfold typology: happy, critical, unengaged and disillusioned citizens. Grounded on political socialisation theories we hypothesise that the crisis generation, which developed its main political attitudes during the Great Recession, will be particularly critical in the long term, combining dissatisfaction with political engagement. To identify this potential new generation, we use a longitudinal perspective and Eurobarometer data from 1985 to 2019 and find empirical support to identify such a ‘critical generation’ in Spain and Greece. In contrast, results in Italy and Portugal suggest an increase in happy citizens who are satisfied with how democracy works and who are politically engaged.

Happiness as an aim of democracy

In this paper I will consider relation between political environment and happiness, advocating the view according to which democracy represents a form of social life that positively affects the happiness of citizens. The subject of my research will be the analysis of basic psychological assumptions about happiness, the influence of society and the cultural environment on the subjective feeling of happiness, as well as arguments that could support a democratic system as the most optimal for creating a harmonious and happy society. I will focus in particular on the question of whether individualist and collectivist societies equally provide people with the basic conditions for a quality and happy life. I will approach the research methodologically in two ways. First, I will address these issues from a theoretical perspective, taking into account contemporary psychological doctrines about happiness and the arguments of political philosophy that consider the relationship between happiness and social circumstances. Secondly, I will try to compare all theoretical assumptions with the conducted empirical research. I will try to defend the assumption that democratic environments create better conditions for personal satisfaction and happiness of people, concluding that the happiness of citizens, through the promotion of freedom, autonomy and equality, in a sense is one of the direct goals of democracy, which gives it a great advantage over undemocratic societies, both in theoretical terms and in terms of the results of empirical research.

Getting serious about the dirty little secrets of health care reform to guarantee true Universal Health Care for all Filipinos

Getting serious about the dirty little secrets of health care reform to guarantee true Universal Health Care for all Filipinos

A Structural Equation Model for Place-based City Love: An Application to Swedish Cities

Recent years have shown an increasing interest in local factors shaping the happiness or attachment of citizens in regard to their daily living environment, sometimes also coined city love or neighborhood love. This new strand of literature—often framed in the context of the “geography of happiness” or the “economics of happiness”—means an extension of quantitative socio-psychological or socio-economic research on determinants of people’s affection for their living environment, including local quality-of-life, sense of community, place-based social capital, attachment to “urban ambiance,” and so on. The present paper conceptualizes the nature and composition of urban characteristics of place attachment and appreciation ( city love) in terms of two constituent factors, viz. city soul (indicators on the perceived intangible attractiveness of the city and its neighborhoods) and city body (indicators reflecting the tangible attractiveness features of the city). This analytical approach will empirically be tested for four Swedish cities. Resident surveys were conducted among a total of 2,573 respondents; the multidimensional relationships between outcome variables and background factors were tested through a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM), which revealed significant effects of Aesthetics, Amenities, Accessibility, Safety and Health, and City Image on place attachment and appreciation (“city love”). A more detailed city level analysis revealed salient place-specific differences. In general, Aesthetics seemed to be the most universal driver for city love, while City Image was the most important factor to contribute to city soul.

Are happier taxpayers willing to pay higher taxes?

"This paper aims to study the relationship between taxation and citizens’ behaviour and happiness, through the analysis of a questionnaire, focused on identifying whether or not citizens would be willing to pay higher taxes to benefit from better public services offered by the government. We observed the main characteristics of the tax system in Romania compared to other countries, making a comparison and explaining the best scenarios in each country through the latest taxation trends, and we studied the impact of taxation on the citizens’ behaviour, feelings, and well-being. We observed how progressive taxation influences people’s well-being, satisfaction, and happiness. The analysis was built upon 114 questionnaire responses and the results are described through descriptive statistics and correlations. The main result indicated that indeed, citizens would pay higher taxes to receive better public services, and the answer to the question “Are happier citizens willing to pay higher taxes” is undoubtedly affirmative. Accordingly, citizens would pay higher taxes as long as the government will keep them safe, ensuring an increased level of satisfaction and well-being."

Theoretical foundations, practice, and empirical approaches to assessing the economy of happiness

Since the end of the twentieth century, a new, relevant, and promising trend in economic science has been actively developing – the economy of happiness that arose at the junction of psychology and economics. Understanding the essence and content of social well-being is associated with such a development of a society where the social and spiritual needs of people are met, the resources and benefits of society are used as effectively as possible and favorable conditions for a full-fledged life and comprehensive development of each person are created. If earlier the main task and priority of any national policy was considered an intensive GDP growth, now the GNH – Gross National Happiness is increasingly considered as a priority, that is, the level of satisfaction with the life of the population, as evidenced even in the resolution of the UN General Assembly. However, the methodological ap¬proaches to assessing the economy of happiness are not perfect, first of all because this area is new in economic science. The study aims to summarize and further develop the principles and approach¬es to assessing the economy of happiness. The article analyzes existing practical approaches to the economy of happiness. A test was developed to assess the level of happiness of citizens from different countries; a survey was conducted based on this test from 2017 to 2018. Methodical approaches to assessing the economy of happiness have been improved based on obtaining correlation-regression models that show the dependence of happiness level on creativity, level of health, level of prosperity, level of satisfaction of needs, which enables to define creativity as the main factor affecting the level of happiness; and, unlike the known ones, it allows regulating the level of happiness as a final economic indicator.

Book Review: Manufacturing Happy Citizens: How the Science and Industry of Happiness Control Our Lives

Book Review: Manufacturing Happy Citizens: How the Science and Industry of Happiness Control Our Lives

Participation of senior citizens in somatosensory games: a correlation between the willingness to exercise and happiness

In this study, the correlation between the willingness to exercise and happiness of senior citizens living in nursing homes was determined. For this purpose, 30 people older than 65 who were capable of performing various activities in Taiwan’s nursing homes were recruited and divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in the somatosensory game “Old-age sitting posture and health exercises”, which includes intervention strategies and was designed by physiotherapists, social workers, and functional therapists. and 16 different activities for eight weeks, while the control group was not involved in them. Both groups filled out “Growing Happiness in the Old Age: Chinese Scale” and “Sports Participation Intention Scale” questionnaires before and after the intervention to evaluate the levels of happiness and willingness to exercise of the elderly. It was found that somatosensory game interventions significantly increased the degree of social interaction and maintenance of the willingness to exercise of the elderly living in nursing homes over time. Moreover, happiness indicators were significantly improved after the games, especially health, autonomy, and social aspects, suggesting that the willingness to exercise was positively correlated with happiness. Therefore, somatosensory games can promote the physical and mental health of the elderly and may be used by senior citizens living in nursing homes as part of a multi-activity project.

ВИМІРИ ЩАСТЯ В УНІВЕРСИТЕТІ В КОНТЕКСТІ ЕКОНОМІКИ ЩАСТЯ

Описано теоретичні і методологічні підходи до визначення та виміру економіки щастя. Теоретичне підгрунтя економіки щастя передбачає дослідження економічних та інших факторів, що визначають людське щастя, його залежності від рівня економічного розвитку країни і визначення параметрів оцінки рівня щастя суспільства в цілому. Висвітлено «парадокс Істерліна», що зазначає обмеженість впливу економічного зростання на рівень щастя громадян. Економіка щастя на макрорівні обумовлена щастям на мікрорівнях, у нашому дослідженні — в Університеті. Його метою було визначення рівня і вимірювання чинників щастя та їхнього впливу з урахуванням сучасних мережевих комунікацій напродуктивність і творчість студентів та викладачів ЗВО. Наведено результати дослідження 323-х студентів і викладачів різних ВНЗ України, опитаних за допомогою хмарної анкети, створеної за допомогою Google Form. Результати дослідження засвідчили, що більшість студентів і викладачів задоволені життям у ЗВО, вважають, що чинниками щастя є матеріальні, духовні та суспільні блага разом. Доведено, що молоді люди загалом щасливіші, аніж старші, оцінюють свій рівень щастя щодо своєї ролі в Університеті на «4» (за 5-бальною шкалою). Показано, що майже половина респондентів нераціонально використовують свій час у мережі «Інтернет», але їх це влаштовує; більша частина досліджуванихпочувалися б щасливіше, якби максимально продуктивно використовували свій час і мали змогу більше витрачати часу на саморозвиток і творчість.

Some Actual Forms and Methods in the Work of a Social Teacher of a General Secondary Education Institution

The article emphasizes that young students should not focus on formal education in order to get a document with the best score at the end of the course, because knowledge loses its relevance over time. Characterized by the actual forms and methods in work of a social pedagogue institutions of General secondary education: development of critical thinking proposed to organize the club «Man of the new civilization»; with the aim of instilling patriotism through the Ukrainian imperative proposed to organize a competition «Who and what we can be proud»; with the aim of mastering the skills of confident behavior; fixing the real ability to act to achieve the goal is proposed to organize #Startupoptionsmychoise. It is noted that it is important to teach teenagers to analyze, synthesize and justify assessments of the reliability/value of information; that patriotism is non-political and manifests itself through service to the people and love for the Fatherland, and not to the power and state structure; that startup technology in the educational space produces a convenient model for building a new learning paradigm that will ensure the mobility of a social teacher and a candidate for General secondary education. It is summarized that the welfare of the country is characterized by the level of happiness of citizens. In turn, the indicator of this very happiness is proportional to satisfaction with yourself first, and then with everything else.

Does Happiness Pays? A Longitudinal Family Life Survey

Most of the research on happiness has documented that income, marriage, employment and health affect happiness. Very few studies examine whether happiness itself affect income, marriage, employment and health. This study does so, benefiting from data drawn from the panel longitudinal Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) 2007 and 2014. The survey includes 23,776 individuals from 15,067 households living in about 262 neighborhoods between 2007 and 2014. The findings show that happier Indonesians in 2007 earned more money, were more likely to be married, were less likely to be divorced or unemployed, and were in better health when the survey was conducted again seven years later. Policy makers may consider that increasing citizen happiness is vital to achieve citizen success on labor markets, to improve their job performance and to maintain their health.

Manufacturing Happy Citizens by Edgar Cabanas & Eva Illouz

Manufacturing Happy Citizens by Edgar Cabanas & Eva Illouz

Evaluation of Thematic Parks in Bandung City Based on Spatial Equity Perspective

The existence of Green Open Spaces (GOS) in big cities tend to decrease and not evenly distributed. Whereas, the role of GOS is essential for ecological, social, and economic function, also as the city’s aesthetic. Bandung City attempted to meet the needs of GOS by developing many thematic parks, the park which added by unique theme. Thematic parks were built to improve citizen happiness index, but its locations were mostly located in the city center as it is a revitalization of many old city parks. This research is addressed to evaluate the thematic parks provision from spatial equity perspective which seen from the distribution pattern and service range. The distribution pattern analyzed by nearest neighbor analysis of GIS while the service range will be viewed both from normative sight and user. The results showed that the provision of thematic parks in Bandung City only focused on the particular area and had lack of service coverage which indicates spatial injustice. Some areas oversupply and at the same time not serviced at all by thematic parks. None of the thematic parks meets the city scale category. People feel the presence of thematic parks in their neighborhood is very beneficial. Proximity distance is not only the main reason for visiting the park but also influenced by attractiveness and the suitability of the theme with the community’s characteristics.