Quality of Life Studies

"ABSTRACT


Objective: My objective was to investigate the experiences of women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

Method: I did a qualitative study based on interview data. Fourteen women with metastatic breast cancer were recruited into a larger study of online support group use. Participants were interviewed by phone.

Results: The women indicated that they experience distress because of concerns about body image, declines in aspects of their sexual lives, and worries about the effect of stress on their illness. The stress that worries these women comes from fear of dying, fear of disease progression and debilitation, the loss of their future, and practical concerns. The women were also likely to experience a decline in daily activity after being diagnosed with metastatic disease. They become less active because of the physical symptoms of the illness and the side effects of treatments, the medicalization of their lifestyle, their desire to avoid stressful situations, the constraints imposed by their social world, and the need to maintain disability benefits. Although women are often in need of emotional and material support from others after they are diagnosed, social support can decrease, both because women find it difficult to be open about the difficulties they face and because the responses of others are not adequately supportive. Distress and declines in daily activity and social support can feed into each other to create a vicious circle.

Significance of results: This paper makes a significant contribution to the literature by providing a rich description of how metastatic breast cancer affects women. Further research, with more diverse samples, is needed in this understudied area."

Soo Hyun Jun , Heather J. Hartwell , and Dimitrios Buhalis 2012
Impacts of the Internet on Travel Satisfaction
and Overall Life Satisfaction, Chapter 19 in Uysal, M., R. Perdue and J. Sirgy. (Eds) (2012). Handbook of Tourism and Quality-of-Life Research: Enhancing the Lives of Tourists and Residents of Host Communities. The Netherlands, Springer, Dordrecht, 702 pages, Hardcover, ISBN 978-94-007-2287-3

This chapter proposed two conceptual models which explored the impact of the Internet on travel satisfaction and overall life satisfaction. The first model (Fig. 19.4 ) focused on the Internet role when it was considered as a tool for travel planning at a pretrip stage, and the second model (Fig. 19.5 ) focused on the Internet role when it was considered as a social platform on a Web 2.0 environment where people shared travel information after a trip, communicated, and socialized

with others. This chapter found two signifi cant roles of the Internet in satisfaction formation and satisfaction modifi cation (Fig. 19.6 ). In terms of satisfaction formation, the greater amount of transparent and reliable information collected through the Internet at the pretrip stage helps individuals adjust expectations to be realistic, and the realistic expectation leads to reduce the negative satisfaction disconfi rmation and maintain a higher level of satisfaction. In terms of satisfaction
modifi cation, postconsumption experiences at the social platform reconstruct previous memories
and accordingly modify satisfaction. The modifi ed satisfaction eventually infl uences overall life satisfaction.

This chapter contributes to the QOL research because it suggests the alternative independent variables of travel satisfaction and overall life satisfaction, which are in fi ve need constructs and can be measured through survey research methods. Future studies should be conducted to test the two proposed models. The proposed models in this chapter focus on pretrip behavior and posttrip behavior. However, the Internet with mobile technology and location-based technology is increasingly
playing a signifi cant role in travel satisfaction at the during-trip stage. Future study should be conducted to explore the Internet role at this stage and its impacts on travel satisfaction and overall life satisfaction.

Quality of life (QOL) has become a central issue of concern in peoples’ lives and the research on this topic has largely increased in the past decades. However, some studies on QOL only adopted objective indicators and QOL research is still very scarce in some fields of study such as tourism. Additionally, in tourism, the majority of the studies on QOL focus on assessing the QOL of residents of destinations and neglect segmentation based on QOL as a tool for market segmentation.
The aim of this study is to overcome some previously referred to limitations and, specifically: (i) to measure visitors’ perceptions of tourism impact on their QOL by adopting subjective indicators; and (ii) to segment visitors based on perceptions of tourism impact on their QOL.
Study results reveal that tourism is likely to have a more positive impact on the psychological and social domains of QOL and that QOL is a good basis for segmenting the tourism market. Visitors perceiving more positive tourism impacts in their QOL differ from others on several features such as motivations to travel, travel group, interaction with local residents and satisfaction with the trip.

A society’s and individuals’ quality of life has long been in the focus of social science research. The subjective aspect of one’s quality of life is usually assessed through a person’s perceived satisfaction with their own life. In comparison, the indicators and methodological approaches used by researchers trying to objectively measure quality of life are more varied and complex. However, both the correct identification of the factors influencing objective quality of life and the longitudinal evaluation of quality of life on the local level have remained a serious challenge.
The paper presents the results of a study carried out by the HAS Geographical Research Institute in co-operation with the Kodolányi János University of Applied Sciences that aims to provide deeper understanding of tourism-oriented quality of life in Hungary. Although the research raised a large number of new questions as well, in this paper we discuss the development mechanisms of an indicator system that may fit within the currently used system of social indicators and may provide useful information on the interrelationship of tourism and quality of life. The development of the indicator system includes the delineation of the research area, the creation of the related dimensions and sub-dimensions, and finally the identification of indicators within the sub-dimensions. The indicator system is based on data
available at the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, derived from regular data collection methods. Due to the obvious symbiosis of health and quality of life, a special emphasis is put on measuring tourism-oriented quality of life factors at Hungarian health tourism destinations.

Introduction: Quality of life is a notion closely related with a person's well being and health. Its assessment is very important, as it quantifies the quality of health and social services and it provides for the substantiation of policy actions. Objective: Assessment of quality of life of an urban sample of Romanian mothers and identification of main demographical influential factors. Method: Cross sectional study using the BREF Quality of Life Questionnaire of the World Health Organization Results: The most important factor influencing the quality of life was income, especially in the case of the economically disadvantaged. Other influential factors were age and marital status, divorced women encountering difficulties accessing medical services (p<.05). Quality of life for mothers is also negatively correlated with their satisfaction regarding the child`s performances, indicating a connection of the perceived parenting skills with the standard of life. Conclusion: In Romania and other countries with negative natural growth and low birth rate, the amelioration of the quality of life for mothers must become a priority in public health policy to avoid negative consequences on the life of mothers and on the growth and development of their offspring.

Population growth and urbanization have resulted in the emergence of mega cities in recent decades. While compact urban fabrics and high residential density imply intensive interactions between man and environment, the living environment may be one of the most important factors affecting quality of life (QOL) of city dwellers. With this in mind, this paper seeks to understand the manners in which the residents relate themselves to the places they live and how they derive neighborhood and QOL, in such way that the relationship between living environment and QOL can be understood. A random telephone survey (N = 1,114) was conducted in Hong Kong. Results showed that different levels of neighborhood satisfaction varied in residents of different housing types and living environment was a significant predictor of resident's QOL. Other than the architecture of housing, this paper highlights the importance of services and facilities for the development of social relations and community building. This paper may supplement to the Western QOL studies and provide reference for urban planning initiatives for Asian cities.

The aim of this prospective study was to compare a fixed lingual orthodontic appliance with a commonly used aligner system, focusing on oral impacts and speech disturbances, during the first 3 months of orthodontic treatment. Two groups of adults were evaluated: 21 treated with Invisalign® and 26 with In-Ovation L® lingual brackets. Health-related quality of life questionnaires were used to assess the oral impacts, and speech samples were collected for speech evaluation by professionals. The levels of pain and painkiller intake were similar, increasing on the first day, and decreasing at 3 months. Subtle injuries on the lip and cheeks were initially reported in the aligner group. Lingual patients experienced more discomfort in swallowing and opening the mouth, tongue injuries and food residues, even at 3 months. The consonants “s” and “z” were mainly affected in both groups immediately after appliance insertion, but more often in the aligner group. These speech disturbances recovere...

The aim of this prospective study was to compare a fixed lingual orthodontic appliance with a commonly used aligner system, focusing on oral impacts and speech disturbances, during the first 3 months of orthodontic treatment. Two groups of adults were evaluated: 21 treated with Invisalign ® and 26 with In-Ovation L ® lingual brackets. Health-related quality of life questionnaires were used to assess the oral impacts, and speech samples were collected for speech evaluation by professionals. The levels of pain and painkiller intake were similar, increasing on the first day, and decreasing at 3 months. Subtle injuries on the lip and cheeks were initially reported in the aligner group. Lingual patients experienced more discomfort in swallowing and opening the mouth, tongue injuries and food residues, even at 3 months. The consonants &quot;s&quot; and &quot;z&quot; were mainly affected in both groups immediately after appliance insertion, but more often in the aligner group. These speech...

Os instrumentos de medida são desenvolvidos para as mais diversas finalidades e indicações. Sua funcionalidade depende de escalas genéricas, do estado de saúde e escalas específicas a uma determinada situação. O presente estudo teve como objetivo discorrer sobre os aspectos importantes que permeiam a utilização dos instrumentos de medida e apresentar de forma sistematizada os indicadores e instrumentos de medida de QV, utilizados e validados no Brasil. Realizou-se um estudo de revisão narrativa do conhecimento disponível na literatura, com consulta às seguintes bases de dados: DEDALUS, LILACS, MEDLINE e Scielo, tendo como base os períodos de 1995-2008. Observou-se que os instrumentos levantados são os mais adequados para aplicação na população brasileira, com boa consistência interna, validade e confiabilidade teste-reteste. Concluise que apesar de serem instrumentos reconhecidos nacional e internacionalmente, ainda são necessários mais estudos de aplicação, para melhor assegurar as suas propriedades psicométricas, melhor forma de administração e as possíveis interferências interexaminadores. Palavras-chave: qualidade de vida, escalas, avaliação em saúde.

Several measures of quality of life (QoL) are available for children with haemophilia. However, most are not disease-specific and few focus on children's perspectives. The purpose of this study was to develop a psychometrically sound measure of QoL that included the perspectives of boys with haemophilia. A list of potential items was developed from the literature, other measures, and input from five discussion sessions with adults with haemophilia, children with haemophilia and their parents and haemophilia nurses. The list was augmented with items generated by three focus groups with children and three focus groups with parents. These groups also prioritized items and recommended a domain structure. Supplemental information was gathered by surveying haematologists. Data from all sources were analysed to reduce the number of items using a twostep approach, based on rules that weighted the children's priorities most heavily. The remaining items were compiled into a questionnaire that was pilot tested with 10 children and their parents. The total item pool contained 228 potential items. Of these, 33 were removed based on three focus groups and survey responses, 72 were removed after the completion of all focus groups and 46 were removed due to redundancy. This resulted in a 77-item version of the CHO-KLAT. Pilot testing identified the need to subdivide two items, resulting in a 79-item CHO-KLAT. The CHO-KLAT is a promising diseasespecific measure of QoL that reflects children's unique perspectives. This child-centric focus distinguishes the CHO-KLAT from alternative measures of QoL. Further research will assess the measurement properties of the CHO-KLAT.

It is generally recognised that indicator-based research forms a substantial part both of the everyday practice and of the current theoretical pursuits in an extensive set of different scientific fields that relate to the socio-economic and the environmental sphere. However, the lack of an endogenous indicator's theory hinders the enhancement of indicator's research into an autonomous scientific field and subdues the indicators study to the broader ecological, social, or economic context. Thus, scientists are often bounded to the study of indicators within their specialisation area, as evidenced by the very limited number of interdisciplinary studies on the use of indicators that have been published. Based on this deficiency of the current literature, the paper elaborates on the use of indicators in the socio-economic and the environmental area, focusing on fields in which indicators are essential to their practice. Namely, the paper reviews quality-of-life, macroeconomic, environmental, welfare and sustainability indicators in order to detect similarities and differences, pertain to their practice and to the theoretical frameworks in which indicators are utilised. The study concludes that quality-of-life, welfare and sustainability indicators are supported by weak theoretical foundations, as a result to the choice of the respective fields to exploit the possible benefits of an empirical interdisciplinary perspective, a fact that leads the use of indicators to methodological inconsistencies. In contrast, macroeconomic and environmental indicators are supported by a coherent theoretical body, which is reflected in their well-organised structure and leads to their sound practice. Last but not least, the study suggests that the way the aforementioned two fields utilise indicators can provide useful guidance to the formation of future objectives in the quality-of-life, welfare and sustainability indicators’ research. Specifically, their corresponding fields should moderate their interest on composite indicators and, instead, their future research should be focused, so much on the identification of their field's key indicators that play a crucial role to the interpretation of the complex phenomena studied, as on the identification of the relationships that link these key indicators together.

En los últimos años, diferentes autores han destacado que quienes presentan ciertos rasgos de personalidad suelen manifestar mayor satisfacción y bienestar y se perciben conformes en las áreas de la vida que consideran de mayor relevancia  (Costanza, Fisher, Ali, Beer, Bond & Snapp 2008; Theofilou, 2011). Estos trabajos han conducido a incrementar la cantidad de estudios que existen en relación al vínculo entre la personalidad y la calidad de vida (Rassart, Luyckx, Goossens, Apers, Klimstra & Moons, 2012). Pese a que ambos constructos cuentan con amplios antecedentes, pocos han sido los trabajos que se han focalizado en su estudio de manera conjunta (Shackelford & Michalski, 2011; Theofilou, 2011; Van Der Steeg, De Vries & Roukema, 2010). En particular, en los últimos años, se ha destacado el papel de la espiritualidad, comprendida como un factor de la personalidad que resulta relevante respecto del análisis y de una mejor comprensión de la calidad de vida, dado que posibilita a las personas conectarse con un propósito mayor, que le aporta significado a la vida  (Piedmont, 1999). El objetivo del presente trabajo consiste en relevar el estado del arte en relación al vínculo entre la personalidad, la espiritualidad y la calidad de vida. Con este propósito, se ha realizado una revisión bibliográfica en bases de datos como EBSCO, Jstor, Scielo y Redalyc, empleando las palabras clave Personalidad, Personality, FFM, Espiritualidad, Spirituality, Quality of Life.

artículo de revisión rev Med chile 2010; 138: 358-365 Calidad de vida relacionada con la salud: Elementos conceptuales ALFONSO URZÚA M. a Health related quality of life: Conceptual elements Health related Quality of Life is commonly used as a subjective assessment of health status. This article is a review of theoretical concepts about quality of life. Some models are proposed and general issues about it measurement are analyzed. Information about health related quality of life helps for decision making about health care both in clinical and public care settings. (Rev Med Chile 2010; 138: 358-365).

Background  A simple and meaningful health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaire for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) patients is lacking.

Aim  To develop and validate a disease-specific HRQoL instrument (GERD-QOL) for GERD patients.

Methods  An 18-item questionnaire was generated to measure the impact of GERD on sleep, exercise, diet, need for medication, sex life, work, social activity and psychological well-being. GERD patients were invited to complete the GERD-QOL, a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a validated Chinese generic QoL (SF-36) questionnaire before and after esomeprazole treatment. Factor analysis was performed for item selection and psychometric properties were measured. An English version was developed by a forward-backward translation process.

Results  A final 16-item GERD-QOL questionnaire was developed. The items were grouped into four subscales (Daily activity, Treatment effect, Diet, and Psychological well-being) after factor analysis. GERD-QOL had good item-internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.64–0.88), high test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.73–0.94, P < 0.001). Its subscale scores were correlated with SF-36 and VAS, which demonstrated high construct validity (P < 0.001). Discriminant validity was verified by correlating GERD-QOL scores with symptom severity (P < 0.001). Responsiveness after esomeprazole treatment was significant (paired-t-test P < 0.001). An English version of GERD-QOL was developed.

Conclusion  The instrument, GERD-QOL, is valid and reliable.

Adiyen - my humble self - has devised a novel way of reckoning significant numbers and the role they play in determining the general quality of a Subject's life. Applications involving impact on current events are also given. An essay which can enrich a Subject's knowledge about self and contemporary events.

Abstract
This study examines the treatment outcome of a 10 weeks dance movement therapy intervention on Quality of life (QOL). The multicentered study used a between subject-design with pre-test, post-test, and six months follow-up test. 162 participants who suffered from stress were randomly assigned to the dance movement therapy treatment group (TG) (n= 97) and the wait-listed control group (WG) (65). The World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire 100 (WHOQOL-100) and Munich Life Dimension List were used in both groups at all three measurement points. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that dance movement therapy participants in all QOL dimensions always more than the WG. In the short term, they significantly improved in the Psychological domain (p>.001, WHOQOL; p>.01, Munich Life Dimension List), Social relations/life (p>.10, WHOQOL; p>.10, Munich Life Dimension List), Global value (p>.05, WHOQOL), Physical health (p>.05, Munich Life Dimension List), and General life (p>.10, Munich Life Dimension List). In the long term, dance movement therapy significantly enhanced the psychological domain (p>.05, WHOQOL; p>.05, Munich Life Dimension List), Spirituality (p>.10, WHOQOL), and General life (p>.05, Munich Life Dimension List). Dance movement therapy is effective in the short- and long-term to improve QOL.
Keywords: Dance therapy, Dance movement therapy, Research, Quality of Life (QOL), Randomized controlled trial, Treatment outcome and Efficacy.

Vol. 65 -No. 5 MINERVA PEDIATRICA 513 ded to the questionnaire and to a "respondent debriefing" interview. Results and conclusion. We modified the main question of each section and also one of the possible answer in order to maintain the Italian traslation that appeared in others PedsQL TM . We did not modify the questions of each section because respondents expressed that are clearly comprehensible and easy to understand.

This research, conducted by the author when a Senior Researcher at Newcastle University, UK, was funded by a UK governance organisation to help them assess, integrate and improve their understanding of the governed population.

ABSTRACT: Governance organisations have been urged to develop more holistic evidence-based approaches with partners to better deal with issues affecting the governed population. This presupposes an understanding of the population, yet there has been little research work addressing how governance organisations come to understand their governed population, nor how this understanding can be improved upon within such organisations.

This case study examined in-depth how understanding of a governed population was developed within one UK local governance organisation and it explored how such understanding might be developed and improved through more holistic and evidence-based organisational learning within the organisation and its governance partnerships.

The research methodology involved placement within the governance organisation, participant observations on several projects and innovative initiatives, observations within, across, and outside the organisation, and also interviews with varied key stakeholders.

The study examined:

- stakeholder engagement and networks
- current and varied understandings of the population
- mechanisms actually used for developing understandings
- the influence of context on organisational learning

and analysed these to arrive at a recommendations to improve organisational understanding of the governed population.

In the case studied, significant strengths were found: including innovative past learning trials for development, extensive ongoing networking activities, and many varied and accumulating quantitative datasets available across partnerships.

However, entrenched organisational approaches and practices constrained the development of holistic evidence-based understanding, for instance: the absence of systematic maintained collective learning processes; weak recording and forgetting of understandings; methodological exclusion of stakeholders from the development of understanding; the relative neglect of qualitative data, explanations, investigations, interpretations, and reflexivity; and also implicit organisational acceptance of such limitations and low aspirations.

Nonetheless, untapped opportunities existed to enable change including: latent practitioner knowledge and innovative management champions, the desire for improvement and raised aspirations within learning networks, and the development potential of alterative learning approaches.

It was concluded that more holistic evidence-based understanding was possible, but required new learning approaches beyond those then in use in both local government or academia.   

Recommendations are made to utilise and develop improved organisational learning approaches trialed and reported in the case study.

It is argued that the case study findings, conclusions, and recommendations may be applicable to other similar local governance organisations and partnerships that seek to better understand local populations, services and interventions.

The work was also submitted for, and awarded, an MPhil (at Newcastle University, supervised by Prof. Patsy Healy)

Purpose: The Caregiver Quality of Life Index – Cancer (CQOLC) is used worldwide to determine levels of quality of life (QOL) of caregivers of patients with cancer; however, the few studies examining the underlying factor structure of the CQOLC have revealed differences between Western and Eastern cultures. This study sought to confirm the differences in the factor structures between the original CQOLC and a Taiwanese version.
Methods: 183 caregivers from a cancer center in Singapore participated in this exploratory cross-sectional study. All participants completed the CQOLC and a sociodemographic form; 30 participants repeated the CQOLC two weeks later.
Results: Test-retest reliability was adequate for the CQOLC; however, confirmatory factor analyses did not support either the original four-factor model or the Taiwanese five-factor model. Exploratory factor analyses suggested the retaining of five factors to form a 25-item Singapore version (CQOLC-S25): Burden, Physical/Practical Concerns, Emotional Reactivity, Self-needs, and Social Support. Inter-factor and factor-scale correlations were positively significant for all factors except Support, which was negatively correlated with Emotional Reactivity and Self-needs.
Conclusions: Cross-cultural differences, which require further investigations, appear to underlie the utility and understanding of the CQOLC. More research is needed to better understand the needs of Singapore caregivers.

In the era of the urbanisation in any country, development of the city continue with higher population rate, traffic congestion, pollution, migration, unemployment, etc. These problems create the main challenges to manage providing housing and upgrading the infrastructure for improving the quality of life . People migrate from rural to urban area in search of the employment for getting better quality of life. This act will demand provision of housing and infrastructures like water supply, solid waste management, sewerage, electricity, etc. In the absence of the required infrastructure and unaffordable condition of the people, creates slum as a result of a shortage of housing and other infrastructure.

Slum has unhealthy and unhygienic condition of living where problems like high density of population, poor condition of houses and lack of infrastructure is there. In Surat as per census 2011 total slum population was 467434 means around 10.6% of the total population. Surat Municipal Corporation has a goal of “Zero Slum City – by the Year 2020”. They have constructed around 55000 EWS and LIG housing till 2014 with huge investment. The intention of SMC is to improve the quality of life for the resident of a slum area. For these various different the schemes are used like as VAMBAY, JnNURM and Mukhya Mantri GRUH Yojana.

To understand the process used by SMC one can say that three different approaches are used; that are slum upgradation, slum redevelopment and slum rehabilitation. It is the intention to understand that after relocation of the people, what has changed in their life, how much the quality of life is improved. These QOL is related to physical infrastructure, housing, social infrastructure, economy, transportation and social parameters of the relocated slum dwellers. Main aspect which affect the quality of life of EWS dwellers transportation for livelihood. Distance from livelihood, cost of transportation and time of transportation plays crucial role in the quality of life and economy of them. Social factor is also important factor. Interaction and satisfaction with neighbour is reflecting quality of life of dwellers. So in this all this aspects are cover by conducting survey.

Historia Crítica, journal of the Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia), announces a call for papers for a thematic issue on "The cost of living: Knowledges, practices, experiences, and conflicts." We are happy to announce that Eduardo Elena, professor at the University of Miami (United States), will serve as guest editor for this issue. Articles will be received between February 15 and April 15, 2022.

Nihilism poses grave problems for those who seek directives to lead their lives. In this article, the three most important ways to deal with nihilism are inquired, with an emphasis on their credibility. Both nihilism from a metaphysical perspective and the emphasis on pleasure from nihilistic considerations are given attention. The acceptance of nihilism can have far-reaching consequences, which are evaluated at various points. Nietzsche’s approach must also be considered. He accepts what he calls a sort of nihilism, but as a means to ‘new’ values. This alternative to nihilism is examined no less critically than the other two stances.

In this chapter, I draw upon the phenomenological concepts of lifeworld, natural attitude, homeworld and place to clarify what human-immersion-in-world and lived obliviousness might mean for research in well-being. To provide a real-world context for my argument, I present three narrative accounts of ordinary and out-of-the-ordinary place experiences written by interior designer Jane Barry (2012); British-African novelist Doris Lessing (1984); and sociologist Eric Klinenberg (2002). Using these three examples as evidence, I contend that place is an integral, non-contingent aspect of human life and helps to explain why well-being can typically be out of sight and thus not recognized as a significant dimension of one’s day-to-day experience. I conclude that, because of the always-already-present reciprocity between human-immersion-in-place and lived obliviousness, professional efforts to enhance well-being might sometimes be more successfully accomplished indirectly by changing aspects of place, including creative neighborhood design and planning that facilitate place attachment and a strong sense of environmental belonging.

FULL REFERENCE: Seamon, David. Well-being and Phenomenology: Lifeworld, Natural Attitude, Homeworld and Place, a chapter in Kathleen Galvin (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Well-being (pp. 103-111). London: Routledge, 2018.

"Confessions of a Frigid Man: A Philosopher’s Journey into the Hidden Layers of Men’s Sexuality" is the translation of a Japanese 2005 bestseller, "Kanjinai Otoko." Soon after the publication, this book stirred controversy over the nature of male sexuality, male “frigidity,” and its connection to the “Lolita complex.” Today, this work is considered a classic in Japanese men’s studies.

The most striking feature of this book is that it was written from the author’s first-person perspective. The author is a professor who teaches philosophy and ethics at a university in Japan, and in this book he talks about his own sexual fetishism, his feeling of emptiness after ejaculation, and his huge obsession with young girls and their developing female bodies. He undertakes a philosophical investigation of how and why sexuality took such a form within a person who had grown up as a “normal,” heterosexual man.

This may be the first case in which a philosopher delves deep into his own sexuality and poses an ambitious hypothesis about the formation of male “frigid” sexuality, which might actually be shared by many “normal” men in our society in a hidden way. Reading this book, female readers will come to know, for the first time, some hidden aspects of male sexuality which men have skillfully submerged in a deep layer of their psyches.

Table of Contents

Foreword to English Readers
Preface
Chapter 1: As Long as There’s a Miniskirt I Don’t Need a Flesh and Blood Woman!?
Chapter 2: Men Who Avert Their Eyes from “Male Frigidity”
Chapter 3: Why am I Attracted to School Uniforms?
Chapter 4: Delving into the Psychology of Men with “Lolita Complexes”
Chapter 5: Moving Beyond Being a “Frigid Man”
Epilogue: Further Thoughts on a Frigid Man – Year 2013

* You can read a newspaper article on this book entitled "Professor examines Lolita complex by first looking at his own experience" in Japan Times, May 5, 2017.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/05/national/social-issues/professor-examines-lolita-complex-first-looking-experience/#.WQ7-Xvnyipo

From "Preface"

"In this book I am going to write about the idea that men may not feel much sexual pleasure or satisfaction, and that it is because of this lack of feeling that they become absorbed in sexual fantasies involving things like miniskirts, uniforms, “lolicon” [a Japanese term for “Lolita complex”], and rape. In order to support this assertion I will speak extensively about myself. I intend to consider this issue not in terms of a general theory of male sexuality but rather from the point of view of my own specific case.

But I hope male readers read this text as if it were written just for them. I hope female readers read it with a sense of urgency, imagining that the man they are with may be subject to some of the same psychological workings it describes. I have resolved to speak with complete frankness; I intend to explore this unknown world without any fear or reservation. ....."

This essay examines Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go in the light of recent studies focusing on organ recipients’ quality of life. These quality of life studies assess the desirability of costly and painful surgeries such as organ transplantation by determining the effect that they will have on patients’ perceived quality of life. This essay shows how quality of life studies’ methodology shares the same formal structures of knowledge as Ishiguro’s Bildungsroman. In particular, the use of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) to calculate patients’ quality of life demonstrates the same assumptions about the body, professionalization, and Bildung that can be found in Ishiguro’s novel. I argue that in both quality of life studies and Never Let Me Go the body functions as a concrete measure of time available to an individual, and that this time is specifically allotted for the pursuit of vocational aspirations. In this context, I propose that affective labor plays a constitutive role in making patients indifferent to their bodies and in encouraging investments in professional achievement.

Perfectionists have been described as people who want to be perfect in all domains of their lives. Few studies to date, however, have investigated what domains people are perfectionistic in. Using two samples (109 university students, 289 Internet users), the present study investigated how being perfectionistic in 22 domains of life was related to perfectionism, age, gender, and satisfaction with life. Across samples, work and studies were the domains that most participants reported being perfectionistic in, followed by bodily hygiene, spelling, and presentation of documents. Whereas age, gender, and satisfaction with life showed significant relationships with selected domains of life, perfectionism showed significant positive correlations with the overall score (number of domains affected by perfectionism) and with being perfectionistic in individual domains. Further analyses showed that self-oriented perfectionism, rather than socially prescribed perfectionism, was responsible for these correlations. The findings indicate that, in most domains, being perfectionistic is internally motivated and not externally motivated. Moreover, they show that, while some perfectionists may be perfectionistic across domains, most perfectionists are perfectionistic only in selected domains.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the " effect of selected yoga asana on quality of life of chronic low back pain patients. Method: The study was conducted on chronic low back patients of Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India and age ranging from 25 to 40 years. Total thirty male/female chronic low back pain patients selected as subject (N=30). These subjects were selected in terms of purposive sample from Haridwar Pawanamuktasana. The data was collected by administration of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire for finding out the quality of life. It was hypothesized that six week of yoga training would significantly affect the quality of life of chronic low back pain patients. The data collected on quality of life was analyzed by dependent " t " test. The level of significance for testing the hypothesis was set at 0.05. Findings: The mean values and standard deviation of pre-test and post-test of quality of life of subjects were 21.40, 1.83 and 4.03, 2.67 respectively. Significant yogic training effect was found for the quality of life of CLBP. (t cal =27.98>t tab =2.04). The result showed that Yogic training significantly affect the quality of life of chronic low back pain patients.

The paper reports on both methodological and substantive findings. It presents a method for generating simplified representations for regional urban populations, their geographical sub-populations and communities. the method generates greatly simplified high-resolution socio-economic profiles of populated geographical areas from complex large census data sets.

The paper aims to reveal one integrated global map which points out the major geographical inequalities in providing basic utilities across the countries using multivariate analysis and thematic cartography. Sixteen indicators with global coverage were selected taking into account the waste collection services, sanitation facilities, drinking water sources, energy, electricity, habitat and demographic conditions. Several data are broken down for the total, urban and rural population in order to outline the rural-urban disparities between and within countries. A special focus is given to waste collection coverage, in order to compute a comprehensive global assessment of this key indicator of public health, which is one of the poorest monitored basic utility. The world countries were divided into 10 classes according to the hierarchical cluster analysis. Each class has particular features outlining the gaps between high, middle and low-income countries with direct impact on quality of life, public health, and environment.

Aside from the everyday occurrences in every human being’s life, there are also other factors that affect the quality of life. Quality of life is a broad concept that deals with all aspects of life and how culture influences their status in the society. Despite continuous research and studies about the concept of quality of life, there is still a need for a deeper analysis and identification of the factors determining the quality of life. This research will provide the readers of a concise list of factors based on previous studies.

Dal momento che lo sport e l'attività fisica sono riconosciuti come fonte di benessere psicofisico (Ingrassia et al., 2020), lo scopo principale di questo studio è di indagare se alcune variabili psicologiche quali autoefficacia generale, locus of control e qualità del sonno di persone con sviluppo tipico differiscano in modo significativo in funzione dell’impegno/non impegno nelle attività sportive, e dunque, se lo sport possa aumentare i livelli di benessere soggettivo e/o incidere sull’espressione di alcune caratteristiche di personalità.