Quality of life is a concept which most people seem
to recognize, but it is difficult to define in a manner
which everybody conveys. Nevertheless,
some definitions were attempted. One definition
advanced was "quality is the sense of being pleased
(happy) (satisfied) with those life elements that are
most important to a person. In addition, quality
is the sense of being pleased with what one has become
as a person (this is a strong element of selfactualization)".
Although satisfaction, happiness,
or pleasure is the central element in this definition,
it should not be seen as a momentary state of
happiness or pleasure but rather a long-term
sense of happiness. Maybe it is best expressed as
a sense of fullness or a completeness of life. In
connexion with this, the question was raised, "does
quality of life involve a sense of happiness or a
sense of wisdom? I' It was suggested that quality
of life should not be seen as a static state of satisfaction
but rather as a process of development,
making it be important for a society to encourage
appropriate development. A participant commented:"quality should not be seen as sameness, it should
be recognized that it can be reached in many ways".
Quality of life could also be regarded as the
totality of conditions in which people live, which
can be assessed by observing objective facts about
life and not by asking people how they feel about
their own situations. Scepticism as to the reliability
and relevance of the information derived from
the declarations of those concerned and also on the
underlying methodological assumptions of that method
was expressed.
ment" has grown out of the "social indicators movement".
The basic methodology of the social indicators
movement is to take readings at various times
of the "state" or condition of a community or a society.
Should quality of life studies be cast in the
same basic framework? Instead of simply analysing
the quality of life of a community at a given
time, it might be more important to study progress
in a society for the production of values (satisfiers
for the needs of the people).
attention also would be given to the distribution of
these values through various sectors of the population.
In these analyses, it should be recognized
that modes for the production of values and their
distribution may, to a certain extent, be culturespecific.
Most of the participants felt that this was
an important idea;
studies of existing states or conditions were amenable
to enquiries into social processes and that enquiries
into social processes for producing quality
of life necessarily involved analyses of the conditions
under which people live.
"welfare" and "well-being",
quality of life movement. These concepts were developed
and made operational generally by economists
who rejected traditional welfare economics and
tried to find an alternative method for expressing
welfare. These are now well established in both
theoretical and empirical areas, although divergent
opinions in respect of some fundamental issues
still persist.
Quality of life was considered to be a more inclusive
concept than level of living or welfare,
which were perceived to be means for the achievement
of quality of life, but not identical with quality
of life. Many other very important means were
also considered necessary for the achievement of
quality of life.
One view advanced to the group was that quality
of life should be seen as a holistic kind of enquiry,
with all of its components closely interrelated
and, therefore, it would be impossible to
separate out specific elements for attention because
their meaning for the whole would not be fully
ascertainable from an examination of the parts.
At the same time, it was recognized that life experience,
for analytical purposes, must be divided
into component spheres so that researchers would
be sure to conduct enquiries into all which wererelevant.
or taxonomies were presented as being helpful for
recognizing the important spheres of enquiry.
A related question is whether quality of life is
a term applicable mainly to individuals or to whole
societies? Some participants emphasized the individual
perspective in their research while others
emphasized the societal perspective. Most recognized
that both perspectives were valid and should
be pursued. Some participants wondered whether
individual experiences of quality could be added
together to arrive at an overall societal level of
quality. There were some doubts about this, with
some feeling that qualities could not be summed and
that the whole is to a considerable extent different
from the sum ofits parts.
The group also wondered whether quality of
life is a concept which is applicable to all societies?
last decade has quality of life become a major societal
concern in highly industrialized societies.
Should the term be reserved for industrialized or
developed societies? As will be seen from the
conclusions agreed to by the group, there was a
consensus that the quality of life concept is applicable
to all societies at all times.
life should also be defined negatively, so as to differentiate
it from such concepts as "growth" and
"development". Positively, the concept should be
used to talk of three baskets: (i) a value basket
which is mainly made up of non-material culture
goods,
the material elements necessary for the sustenance
of life, and (iii) a structural model basket
with global, national and local models designed to
link family and individual well-being with societal
systems for the production of cultural and material
goods.