Publishing House of Wrocław University of Economics Wrocław 2016
Quality of Life.
Human and Ecosystem Well-being
PRACE NAUKOWE
Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wrocławiu
RESEARCH PAPERS
of Wrocław University of Economics
Proof-reading:BarbaraŁopusiewicz Typesetting:AdamDębski Coverdesign:BeataDębska Informationonsubmittingandreviewingpapersisavailableonwebsites: www.pracenaukowe.ue.wroc.pl www.wydawnictwo.ue.wroc.pl ThepublicationisdistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoderivsCCBY-NC-ND © CopyrightbyWrocławUniversityofEconomics Wrocław2016 ISSN 1899-3192 e-ISSN 2392-0041 ISBN 978-83-7695-590-2 Theoriginalversion:printed PublicationmaybeorderedinPublishingHouse WydawnictwoUniwersytetuEkonomicznegoweWrocławiu ul.Komandorska118/120,53-345Wrocław tel./fax713680602;e-mail:econbook@ue.wroc.pl www.ksiegarnia.ue.wroc.pl Drukioprawa:TOTEM
Introduction... 7
Ewa Frątczak, Teresa Słaby: Lifecourse–paradigmshift–qualityoflife.
Atthemeetingpointofsocialsciencesandmanagement/Cyklżycia– zmianaparadygmatu–jakośćżycia.Nastykunaukspołecznychizarzą-dzania... 9
Jerzy Śleszyński: HumanDevelopmentIndexrevisited/Nowespojrzeniena
WskaźnikRozwojuSpołecznego... 40
Hanna Dudek, Wiesław Szczesny: Subjectiveperceptionofqualityoflife–
multidimensionalanalysisbasedonthefuzzysetsapproach/Subiektyw-nepostrzeganiejakościżycia–wielowymiarowaanalizanapodstawie podejściawykorzystującegozbioryrozmyte... 55
Anna Sączewska-Piotrowska:
ClustersofpovertyinPoland/Klastryubó-stwaPolsce... 69
Teresa Słaby: Thequalityoflifeoftheaboriginalruralpeople60+inPoland.
Selectedresearchresults,2014/Jakośćżyciardzennychmieszkańcówwsi wwieku60+wPolsce.Wybranerezultatybadań,2014... 84
Katarzyna Ostasiewicz, Adam Zawadzki: Students’ expectations about
futurejobsasafactorinfluencingtheirqualityoflife/Oczekiwaniastu-dentów odnośnie przyszłej pracy jako czynnik wpływający na jakość życia... 98
Krzysztof Szwarc: Wheredothehappiestchildrenlive?TheSWBofschool
childreninEurope/Gdzieżyjąnajszczęśliwszedzieci?Jakośćżyciadzie-ciwwiekuszkolnymwEuropie... 112
Alena Kascakova, Luboslava Kubisova: Social and economic potential
of silver population in Slovakia / Społeczny i ekonomiczny potencjał seniorównaSłowacji... 125
Karina Frączek, Jerzy Śleszyński: Carbon Footprint indicator and the
qualityofenergeticlife/Śladwęglowyaenergetycznajakośćżycia... 136
Michał Pająk: Naturaldynamicsofcommon-poolresourcesinexperimental
research−currentstateandprospects/Naturalnadynamikawspólnych zasobówwbadaniacheksperymentalnych–obecnebadaniaiperspekty-wy... 152
Maria Zuba-Ciszewska: Thecontributionofthecooperativemovementto
theCSRidea–theaspectofethicalresponsibility/Wkładideispółdziel-czościwkoncepcjęCSR‒wymiarodpowiedzialnościetycznej... 163
OnSeptember21-22,2015,6thInternationalScientificConference“QualityofLife 2015.HumanandEcosystemsWell-being”washeldinWrocław. Theconferencewasapartofthecycleoftheconferencesonthetopicofquality oflifethathavebeenorganizedbytheDepartmentofStatistics(WrocławUniversity ofEconomics)since1999.Theaimofthecycleistoparticipateinthestillrising alloverthewordwaveofscientificstudiesonqualityoflife:ethicalbackground anddefinitionsofqualityoflife,investigating(howtomeasureit),presentingthe resultsofdifferencesofqualityoflifeovertimeandspace,itsinterdependences with natural environment, mathematical methods useful for the methodology ofmeasuringqualityoflifeandfinally–possiblemethodsofimprovingit.The conferencesaremeanttointegratethePolishscientificcommunitydoingresearch onthesetopicsaswellastomakecontactswithforeignscientists.
ThisyearourhonoraryguestwasProfessorFilomenaMaggino,pastPresident of International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS), who presented aplenarylecture. Wehostedabout30participants,amongthemscientistsfromSpain,Romania, ItalyandJapan.Wehad24lecturesonsuchavarietyoftopicsascarbonfootprint andmathematicalpropertiesofsomeestimators.Thecommonbackgroundofall ofthemwastobettercomprehend,measureandpossiblytoimprovethequalityof humans’life. Thepresentvolumecontainstheextendedversionsofsomeselectedlectures presented during the conference. We wish to thank all of the participants of the conference for co-creating very inspiring character of this meeting, stimulating productivediscussionsandresultinginsomepotentiallyfruitfulcooperationover new research problems. We wish also to thank the authors for their prolonged cooperationinpreparingthisvolume,thereviewersfortheirhardworkandformany valuable,althoughanonymous,suggestionsthathelpedsomeofustoimprovetheir works.
Finally, we wish to thank the members of the Editorial Office of Wrocław University of Economics for their hard work while preparing the edition of this volume,continuouskindnessandhelpfulnessexceedingtheirdutiesofthejob.
Quality of Life. Human and Ecosystem Well-being ISSN 1899-3192 e-ISSN 2392-0041
Ewa Frątczak, Teresa Słaby
WarsawSchoolofEconomics
e-mails:ewaf@sgh.waw.pl;tsl@pnet.pl
LIFE COURSE – PARADIGM SHIFT –
QUALITY OF LIFE. AT THE MEETING POINT
OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND MANAGEMENT
CYKL ŻYCIA – ZMIANA PARADYGMATU –
JAKOŚĆ ŻYCIA. NA STYKU NAUK SPOŁECZNYCH
I ZARZĄDZANIA
DOI:10.15611/pn.2016.435.01
Summary: The aim of this paper is to present the concept of combining the theoretical
studiesandtheresultsofsurveysconductedsofaronthefollowingsubjects:lifecourse,life qualityandmanagingone’sownlife(self-management)utilizingthelongitudinalanalysis methodology.Anoriginalapproachistoanalyzethetopicoflifequalitymanagementinlife courseusingthehistoricalexperienceoflifecoursestudiesinsocialsciences.Inorderto illustratetheoriginalconceptandtranslateittoempiricalstudiesandanalyses,weusedthe exampleofprofessionalburnoutidentification.Thefirsttwopartsofthispaperpresentthe historyandachievementsoflifecoursestudiesandthechangesofparadigmsinsociologyand demography.Thethirdpartpresentsissuesoftheanatomyofalifecourseandlifequality,as wellastheargumentsforcombiningthesetworesearchdomains.Thefourthpartpresentsthe deliberationsonlifethemanagementqualityoflifeinlifecourse,alongwithapresentation ofapossiblestudyonidentifyingtheriskofprofessionalburnout.Thefifthandthefinalpart presentsmethodsandmodelsofanalysis,whichcanbeusedinthelifequalitymanagement inlifecoursestudies.
Keywords: life course, life course anatomy, paradigm – paradigm shift, life quality, life
qualitymanagement,longitudinalstudy,longitudinaldataanalysismodels(latentclassmo-dels,survivalmodels).
Streszczenie:Wartykulezaprezentowanokoncepcjęłączącąstudiateoretyczneibadania
empiryczne z zakresu cyklu życia i zarządzania własnym życiem, bazując na koncepcji i metodologii badań wzdłużnych. Oryginalne podejście do zarządzania własnym życiem w cyklużyciawykorzystujehistorycznepodejścieznanewnaukachspołecznychjakobadania nadcyklem(trajektorią)życia.Wceluzilustrowaniaoryginalnejkoncepcjiizaaplikowania jej w badaniach empirycznych przytoczono przykład identyfikacji zjawiska, jakim jest „zawodowewypalaniesię”(professional burnout).Wpierwszychdwóchczęściachartykułu przedstawionohistoryczneujęciestudiównadcyklemżyciawdemografiiisocjologii.Trzecia częśćtorozważanianadanatomiącyklużyciaijakościążyciaorazpróbapołączeniatych
dwóchobszarów.Czwartaczęśćtekstutoprzełożenierozważańteoretycznychnaprzykład zastosowańwbadaniu,któregocelembędzieidentyfikacjaryzykawypalaniasięzawodowego wujęciucyklużycia,adokładniejzarządzaniawłasnymżyciem.Wostatniej,piątejczęści przedstawionometodyimodelenaużytekanalizywynikówstudiówempirycznych.
Słowa kluczowe: cykl życia, anatomia cyklu życia, paradygmat – zmiana paradygmatu,
jakość życia, zarządzanie jakością życia, badania wzdłużne, analiza danych wzdłużnych (modeleklasukrytych,modeleprzeżycia).
1. Introduction
Invariouspublicationsonthissubject,theconceptoflifecourseisinvestigated, studiedandanalyzedinlightofmanysciences:anthropology,demography,economy, psychology,sociology,managementetc.Attheheartofthisconceptisanyentity, suchasaperson,institution,deviceorproduct,andtheeventsitexperiencesover time.Thenotionoftimeinlifecoursestudieshasmanyaspects,threeofwhichare: – biographic time: reflecting the chronological sequence of events in a givenindividual’slifecourse,assumingthatearliereventsinfluencetheonestaking placelater.Theterm“individualbiography”isverybroadandisdefinedasa sumonn-careers:professional,family,educational,emigrationaletc.[Frątczak 1999];
– historic time: mostoftenitincludeshistoriceventsinfluencingthelifeofan individual;
– social time: reflects the influence of social life calendar or, in other words, influence of the broadly understood institutions, norms, social values, which mayinfluencetheindividual’slife. Everyeventexperiencedbyanindividualisassignedto(placedin)thethreeabove mentionedtimedimensions.Becausetheeventsareneverexperiencedinisolation, veryoftentheinteractionsbetweenindividualsarealsoincludedinthedefinitionof lifecourse.Thisconceptiscalledlinkedlives,whichdenotestheinfluenceofother peopleonagivenindividual’slifecourse.Thelifecourseconceptalsoemphasizes theimportanceofsequencesofprocessesandinteractions,especiallyinpsychology [Runyan1977;Haan1977]1.Itisarguedthattheconceptofpersonalitymaybebest describedintermsofprocessesandtheirorganization.Inthisapproachweshould considerthreeprocessesandtheirorganization:
1. behavior-determining processes – resulting from interactions between peopleandsituations,
2. person-determining processes – creating, maintaining and changing individualstatesandcharacteristics,
1 Itisworthnoting,thatthepresentedlifecourseconcept,whichincludestheinteraction,isonly
3. situation-determining processes – whichindividualsusetoselect,create, andinfluencethesituationstheyencounter.
TherelationsbetweenthethreeprocessesarepresentedinFigure1.
a. Interactive life course model b. Interaction sequence:
Individual x behavior x situation
BIRTH DEATH TI ME PERSON SITUATION BEHAVIOR P1 P2 P3 P4 B1 B2 B3 B4 S1 S2 S3 S4 Figure 1. Lifecourse–interactionsinthelifecoursemodel Source:ownelaborationbasedonW.M.Runyan[1977],Fig.1p.573,Fig.2.p.574. EacharrowpresentedinFigure1depictsoneofthreecausalprocessesdefined above.Part1adoesnotincludearrowsthatwoulddirectlydepictinteractionsbetween peopleandsituations,however,theunderlyingassumptionisthateffectofasituation onacertainpersonandviceversa–theperson’sinfluenceoverthesituation–are negotiatedinbehavior.Inotherwords,theyarereflectedinthebehaviorprocess.On theotherhand,Part1bdoesnotincludearrowsdepictingcausalmechanismsacting betweenprocesses,butincludestheonesdepictingsequencesofinteractions.Itis worthnotingthatsituationsandpersonsmayinfluenceeachother,butthebehaviors areexcludedfromthismechanism.Thismeansthatthereisnodirectlyregistered causal mechanism between behaviors. Therefore a modification of behavior is mediated(filtered)byaperson.Ofcourseinsituationswheremodellingisinvolved, mostoftenutilizingvariousclassesofstatisticalmodels,eachprocessisreflected byvariables,whichmaybeconstantortime-dependent.Thenotionoflifecourse presentedhereinthiscasebasedmostlyonpsychologicalpublications,isoneof manypossibleapproaches.
The paradigm shifts play an important role in the life course studies2. Their
documentingandscientificargumentationinliteratureisbestpresentedinsociology anddemography.Thereforeinthisarticlewewillfirstlypresentthelifecourseand paradigm shift concepts in sociology and demography, then we will enumerate thelinksbetweenthelifecourseanatomyandqualityoflife,andfromtherewe willmovetotheoriginalconceptoflifequalitymanagementinlifecourse,which constitutesthefourthpartofthisarticle.Thefinal,thefifthpartofthetextincludes theanalysisofselectedtheoriesandmethods(models)ofanalysis,whichcanbe usedforthistypeofresearch.Thetextconcludeswithfinalremarksdevotedtoa proposalofnewresearchconceptcombininglifecourse,qualityoflifeandthelife qualitymanagement.
2. The concept of life course and paradigm in sociology
AccordingtoElder[1985],twomainconceptsoflifecourseanalysisare:transition andtrajectory. Theyaredescribedascentral,orbasic. Transitionsaremovements throughstates(statuses),whichdenotesociallyandindividuallysignificantchanges inpersonallife.Theconceptoftrajectorydenotesthesubsequentphasesofhuman life connected by relations and interdependencies. Movement along a trajectory meansmovingthroughvariousstates (statuses) duringthecourseofanentirelife. Sequencesorphasesdeterminedbyeventsconstituteabiographyofanindividual. Bothtransitionsandtrajectoriescanbeanalyzedonmicroandmacrolevels,along withtheirparticulargoals[Hagestad1991].However,beforethissystematization wasintroduced,socialsciencesdealingwithlifecourseanalysiscamealongway. Beforethelifecoursenotionappeared,scholarsworkinginthefieldofsocial sciencesusedtofollowoneoftwomainwaysofobservinghumanbehavior: a)structuralapproach,ortheobservationofmomentsof“socialrelations”,which dealtwithobservingtheinfluenceofsocialenvironmentonagivenindividual,or b)“film”,ordynamic,approach,whichfollowedthehistoryoflifeovertime. 2 Thedefinitionoftheword“paradigm”wasdevelopedbyT.Kun[1962].Thewordcomesfrom ancientGreekwordparádeigma andmeans“model”,“example”.Paradigmistreatedastheoriginal modelforsensualthings,aschematicmodel,possessingadidacticvalue,whichallowedforaclearand directviewofparticularlycomplexresearchobjects.Theparadigmconsistsoftraditionandapplicable practice,whichincludestheviewsonscience(whatitis)andtheworld(whatitislike).Itissupposedto beasetofnotionsandtheories,whichshouldformabasisofagivenscience.Itisdifferentfromaxiom becauseitcanbemodified.Paradigmisnotunquestionable,givenonceandforall,butisacceptedasa consensusofopinionsamongthemajorityofscholars.Itcanalsoundergochangesinthecourseofsci-entificrevolutions.Paradigminitselfunderminesthesenseofabsoluteright.Anotherdefinitionofthe word“paradigm”wasdevelopedbyG.G.Granger[1994].Hedefinesparadigmsasameanstodescribe therelationshipbetweenanobservedphenomenaandthescientificobject.Inthecaseofdemography, thescientificobjectisprimarilyapopulationlevelchange–butasweshallsee,recentdevelopments indicateashiftinthisfundamentalperspective.
Themaindifficultywastocomprehensivelycombinethestructuralanddynamic approachesinawaywhichwouldtakeintoconsiderationmultiplelevelsofsocial structure,andatthesametimeincludethedynamicchanges.Theworkinthisarea datesbacktothetheoriesofMarx,Weberandothers. Insocialsciences[cf.Kok2007,p.203onwards],systematicanalysisoflifecourses wasinspiredbythelifehistorytechniquesdevelopedbyThomasandZnaniecki,who studiedthelifeofPolishimmigrantpeasantsintheUSA[Thomas,Znaniecki1920]. IntheChicagoschoolofsociologythesetechniqueswerequitepopular,especially inthestudiesofaberrantbehaviors.Inthe1950sand1960s,whensocialsciences becameheavilyinfluencedbyfunctionalism,theanalysisofbiographybecameless attractive.Inthe1970sand1980stherewasasignificantrevivalandgrowinginterest ofhistoricaldevelopmentandcomplexrelationsbetweenthelivesofindividualsand socialprocesses.Thescholarsanalyzingsocialstructuresinsociologystartedto broadlyincludetheapproachbasedonthelifecoursephilosophy.Itwasconsidered appropriateforprovidingatheoreticalframeworkforanalyzingthephenomenaat thejunctionofvarioussocialpaths,developmenttrajectoriesandsocialchanges. Therearemanyauthorswhocontributedgreatlytothisfieldofstudyandworked hardoncombiningtheabovementionedstructuralanddynamicapproaches.These authorsare,amongothers:Elder[1974;1985;1994;1995;1998]Giele[1988;1995], Hareven[1978;1982;2000].Theresearchandscientificinquiryonthesubjectoflife courseparadigmconductedbyElderandGiellewerecombinedintooneconsistent system–therelationssystemintheformofaparadigm.Accordingtotheauthors [Giele,Elder(eds.)1998,pp.9-12]fourelementsofanalysisofElder’slifecourse arefilteredthroughanindividual,whilethefourmatchingdimensionsdescribed byGielefocusontherelationsbetweenanindividualanditssurroundingsocial structures.Combiningthesetwotheoreticalframeworksisusefulfortrackingthe relations between a person and its surrounding, as well as the dynamic changes performedbytheindividualinthecontextofsocialadvancementsanddelays.The paradigmbasedonfourbasickeysandtherelationsbetweenthemispresentedin Figure2.
ParticularelementsoftheparadigmcreatedbyElderandGielle[1998,pp.9-11] havethefollowinginterpretation:
Location in time and space (cultural background). Social and individual
behaviorisacomplexphenomenonrelatedtoseverallevelsofsocialandphysical contexts.However,theexperienceofeachpersonis,incertainaspects,singular.Both generalanddetailedaspectsofindividualsituationinfluencepersonalexperience, andassuchcanbeperceivedassocialyandindividuallyschematizedinawaywhich isinfluencedbytheflowoftime.
Linked lives (socialintegration).Alllevelsofsocialactions(cultural,institutional,
social,psychologicalandsocio-biological)influenceeachother,notonlyaspartsof awhole,butalsoasaresultofcontactingotherpeoplewhosharesimilarvalues. Differentexpectations,normsorsocialinstitutionsaretovaryingdegreeintegrated
Development of the Individual HUMAN AGENCY
Intersection of Age, Period and Cohort
TIMING History and Culture
LOCATION IN TIME AND PLACE
Social Relations LINKED LIVES Different Trajectories of the LIFE COURSE Figure 2. FourKeyElementsoftheLifeCourseParadigm Source:[Giele,Elder1998,p.11]. orinternalized.Someofthemwillexhibitintermittencyordistortions,otherswill reflectsmoothinterpenetrationofpersonalachievementswithsocialandcultural expectations.Inanycasewecanexpectdifferencesbetweenpeoplewithdifferent familyhistories,orprofessional,educationalorotherexperiences.
Human agency (individual goal orientation). Each dynamic system is
permanentovertimeandadaptsitsbehaviortothesurroundings,inordertomeetits expectations.Themotivesofpeopleandgroupswhowanttofulfiltheirowngoals resultinanactivedecision-makingandorganizingthelivesaroundgoals,suchas economicsafety,seekingsatisfactionandavoidingsuffering.
Timing of lives (strategic adaptation). In order to achieve their goals, both
individualsandgroupsrespondtotheexternalevents’chronologyandundertake actions,aswellastakepartineventsandbehaviorsinaway,whichbestutilizes theresourcesattheirdisposal.Thereforethechronologyofeventsinlifecanbe understoodbothaspassiveandactiveadaptationtoachievingindividualorcollective goals.Whenandwhereacertainpersongathersorutilizestheirwealthoreducation, beginsaprofessionalcareerorstartsafamily,areexamplesofvariouspotential strategies.
AswecanseeinFigure2therelationsbetweentheparadigm’skeysarevertical andhorizontal,butthecommonelementistime.Regardlessoftheindividualsocial standingandculturalheritage,thescopeofsocialnetworks,theirrelations,aswell aspersonalmotivations,allthesespheresconnectandareexperiencedbyindividual adaptationtoparticularsituationsandevents.Asaresult,theseexperiences,changes, decisionsetc.,formvariousindividuallifecoursetrajectories.Theverificationofthe paradigmrequiredandstillrequiresnumerousquantitativeandqualitativestudies, bothcross-sectionalandlongitudinal.Theirintensivedevelopmentinsociology,or morebroadlyspeakinginsocialsciences,datesbacktotheendofthe1980sandthe beginningofthe1990s.Currentlythesearewideinterdisciplinarystudies,which includealsocross-nationalcomparison. Theworksofmanysociologists[cf.Kohli2007;Mayer,Schoepflin1989;Mayer 2004; 2009; Mitchell 2003] present the view that many scholars accept the life courseperspectiveasanewparadigminbehavioralstudies,becausesuchresearch approaches were not widely popular until the 1990s. The last decade of the 20th
century was characterized by fast-paced social changes, the process of change of demographic structures, population ageing process, changes in family, labour market–inotherwordsmicro-andmacro-levelchanges,whichmadeitnecessary to comprehensively analyse social changes in relation to historical influences and circumstances. According to Mitchell [2003] the life course approach is characterizedbyanumberoffundamentalrules.Accordingtotheauthortheseare: (1)socio-historicalandgeographicalloction,(2)timingoflives,(3)heterogenityor variability,(4)“linkedlives”and“linkedsocialties”,(5)humanagencyandpersonal control,and(6)howthepastshapesthefuture. Eachoftheseelementsischaracterizedanddescribedindetail.Forexample,when analyzingthetimingoflives,thetimeisdefinedinthreedimensions:individualor ontogenetic timereferstothechronologicalage;generationaltime referstoagegroups orcohorts–populartermsinthiscaseare:babyboomorpopulationdecline.Finally thethirddimension–historicaltimereferstolargescalesocial,political,economic, technolgicalchanges.Eachofthe6abovementionedfundamentalruleswasanalysed innumeroussociologicalpublications,documentthetheoryandemipiricalstudies, aswellasvariousexampleofmodellingofprocessesandphenomenaconcerning theparadigmchanges.Insociologicalliteraturetheconceptoflifecoursesociology, basedontheconceptoflifecourseasananalyticalconstruct,hasbeenpresentfor over50years.Mayer[2004]definestwotypesofresearchperspectivebyaskingthe question:Howdohistory,societies,andinstitutionsdefineandshapelifecourses? Firstresearchperspectivefocusesonhistoricalperiodsasasequenceofregimes, whichregulatelifecourses.Thesecondfocusesonthecrosswisedifferencesbetween countriesinregardstothedevelopmentofinstitutionsasamechanismshapingthe lifecoursesofindividuals.Theinstitutionalapproachtolifecoursestudieshasbeen presentinsociologyforover30years.Themodelwasformulatedinthemid1980s andrelatestotheevolutionofinstitutionalprogrammesinfluencingthesequences
andpositions,aswellastheirchangesinthebiographiesofindividuals,overthelast twocenturies.AccordingtoKohli[1986,p.272;2007,pp.255-256]thechangesin themodeloflifecourseinstitutionalizationcanbesummedupasfollows:
1. Theimportanceoflifecourseasasocialinstitution.Therehasbeenachange from the system where age was an appropriate category for analyzing the status changes,toasystemwherelifetimeisthebasicstructuralcharacteristics.Thisphe-nomenoniscalledtemporalization. 2. Temporalizationoftimetoalargeextentmeansthechronologicaltime,which resultedinintroducingastandandarized,chonological,normativelifecourse(also calledchronologization). 3. Thisevolutionispartofageneralprocess,inwhichapersonbecomesfree fromvariuousbonds:status,familialtiesetc.,whichleadstotheindividualizationof agivenperson’slifestyle. 4. Thelifeofagivenindividualwasorganizedaroundthenewlaboursystem basedonhiredwork,whichwasanenormouschange.Themostvisiblesignwas theorganizationofindividuals’lifebytheso-called“trifolddivision”intostages of:education(preparationforwork),professionalactivityandtheretirementperiod. 5. Patterns of rules constituting a life course operate on two levels of social reality.Firstoftheseisthetransitionofanindividualthroughlifeasasequenceof positions(states),thesecondarebiographicalperspectivesandactions. Thetransitionfromhouseholdeconomytoaneconomybasedonfreelabour market,wheretheissuesoflabourmarketderegulationarewellunderstood,forced rationalbehavioursnotonlyinthefieldofbroadlydefinedeconomy,butalsorational behaviorsandindividual,whocaninfluencetheshapingoftheirlifeeventsandthe decisionsregardingtransitionsbetweensubsequentstagesintheirlifecourse.Right nowyounggenerationsfacevariouschoicesanddecisions,whichshapetheirfuture lifecoursetoamuchgreaterextentthanincaseofoldergenerations.Atthesame timewehavetorememberthatgreaterpossibilitiesareaccompaniedbynumerous limitations.Afterall,timesofglobalizationandlivinginsocietyofrisklimitthe rangeofpossiblechoices. AccordingtoMcDonald[2006]therearetwowavesofmainsocialandeconomic change,ie.: – socialliberalism(alsotermedreflexivemodernization),beginninginthe1960s andconsolidatedinthe1970s,and; – asharpshifttoeconomicderegulationincludingmostlylabourmarketderegula-tion(alsotermednewcapitalism),beginninginthe1980sandconsolidatedinthe 1990s. Bothprocessesreinforcedtheindividualaspirationsinregardstopersonaland economiclifequality.However,incaseofmarketswhichdifferbothculturallyand economically,thereisagrowingpressuretoexceedone’spossibilitiesinformingnew familiesandmaintainingthealreadyexistingones.Socialliberalismandeconomic deregulationcontributedtotheemrgenceoftwokeychangesontheindividuallevel.
Ononehandtheseprocessesstartedthephenomenonofensuringgenderequalityby creatingopportunitiesofworkforwomenasidefromhouseholdduties,andonthe otherhandtheycontributedtoagrowinglevelofyoungpeople’saversiontowards riskregardingthecompetitivenessonthelabourmarket[Coleman2007]. Globalizationandthesignificantgrowthinthelevelofeducation,bothformen andwomen,contributedtoyoungpeople’sgrowingeconomicaspirations.Atthe sametimethecompetitivenessofderegulationsatthelabourmarketcontributed tothewiderdifferentiationofpaysandstabilizationofprofessionalcareer.Sucha labourmarketisnowperceivedasaplaceforacceptingaconstantlygrowingrisk. Intheseconditionsthemajorityofyoungpeopleshowagrowingaversiontowardsit, followingapathcharacterizedbyalowerrisk.Investinginone’sowndevelopment (educationorprofessionalexperience)isperceivedbyyoungpeopleasanoptimal wayofavoidingrisk.
3. The concepts of life cycle and paradigm in demography
Sincethemomentwhenin1662J.Grauntpublishedhiswork:Natural and political observations mentioned in a following index, and made upon the bills of mortality, demographyasascience,andthemodelsandanalysesusedinit,havegonethrough a series of changes resulting from expanding the field of population studies. Assessments and analyses, which emerged in the demography based on cross-sectionalapproachandwhichobservetheprocessesandphenomenaonamacro scale, were the measurements taken mostly according to historical time. The introduction of cohort analysis means emphasizing the longitudinal approach, however,themacroaspectremained.Theanalysisfocusedonthelifedurationof variouscohortsandvariousprocesses.Bothincohortandcross-sectionalapproach the phenomena and demographic processes were analysed in a so-called “pure state”,andtheindividualsandprocesseswereconsideredtobehomogenous.French scholars,suchasHenry[1959;1972],Pressat[1966]madeanoteofthislimitation. Accordingtomanyresearchersofdemographicprocesses,thenewlifecourse approachwasnotonlyanewadditiontothesetofhistoricdemographytools,but alsomeantacompleteparadigmshift.Itcanreplacethedemography’sdominant “purestate”paradigm,andsupplementedwitheventhistoryanalysismethodsand modelscontributetoacompletelynewqualityofpopulationprocessesstudies,and resultinanotherparadigmshift[Billari2006;Courgeau,Lelièvre1991;1997;2006; Willekens1999;2013;Sandrede2006].Theemergenceoflifecourseparadigm, whichoccupiesacentralpositionindemographicstudiesallovertheworld,isapart ofalargescalechangetakingplaceinsocialsciencesinfourdirections[Willekens 1999,pp.26-30]:(a)from structure to process,(b)from macro to micro,(c)from
(a) from structure to process
A significant part of life course analysis concerns the identification and characterization of life stages, ie. detecting and recording the structure withing individuallifepaths.Focusingonthesystem’sstructuresuggeststhatsuchtaxonomy ortypologyandclassificationaredominantissues–thatthephenomenaandobjects are ordered within a structure. Along with the growing awareness of creation processesbehindeachentityandeachprocess,thefocusshiftsfromthestructure onto the process: source, progression, interaction with other processes and the emergenceofstructure(e.g.lifestructures)asaresultofcooperatingprocesses.
(b) from macro to micro
Coleman[1990]identifiestwoexplanationsofbehaviourofsocialsytems(e.g. populations).Thefirstoneanalysesthebehaviouronasystemlevelbydetermining thesystemvariables,whichareinterconnected.Thesecondoneanalysestheinternal processesforagivensystem,involvingitsconstituentsorunitsonaninter-system level.Eachoftheseepopulationshasitsowndynamicsandeachoftheminfluences otherpopulations,andisinfluencedbytheminturn.Theseinteractionsarerealized as transactions or exchanges, e.g. migrations. The population-level behaviour is analysedasaresultofvarioussubpopulations’behaviour,aswellastheexchanges betweenthem.Thecrucialissueforthetransitionfrommacrotomicroisthatittakes placeinaparticularcontext.Thereareinteractionsbetweentheprocesseswhich shapethedevelopment.Despitethefactthatforanalysispurposesitisoftenbetter toisolateacertainprocessandstudyitapartfromotherprocesses(in“pure”state,in vitro),suchisolationisimpossibleinrealworld.Insteadoftryingtoisolateparticular eventsandprocessesforresearchpurposes,weshouldfocusoncharacterizingthe contextofvariousprocessesoperatingondifferentlevelsofgrouping.
(c) from analysis to synthesis
Traditionaldemography,similarlytoothersciences,focusesondecomposition andanalysis.Whenthebasicelements(components,constituents)aredetermined, andtheirpositionexplained,theycanbearrangedinadifferentway,forminghigher tier population structures. Syntesis comlements analysis. The synthetic approach forms“groupings”fromsimpleelementsselectedfromafiniterepertoire andthese arethencombinedaccordingtothesystemofcertainrules.Theserulesareformal andabstractlimitations.Theypertaintothelogicofdemographicprocessesand populationchanges,andnottothepopulationitself.
(d) from certainty to uncertainty
Thefrequencyandtimingofeventsoccurringduringalifecourse,orinother wordstheresultsofeventprocesses,cannotbepredictedwithacompletecertainty. Therefore the events are random. The probability theory offers a framework necessaryfortheassessmentoftheinfluenceofrandomelementsofhumanlives. Despitethefactthatitisimpossibletopredicttheexactoutcome,therangeofpossible outcomesisknown.Additionally,itispossibletocalculatetheprobabilityofeach
outcome–inotherwords,theprobabilitydistributionofparticularresultsmaybe known.Uncertaintyisachacrteristicfeatureofagivenevent.Weoftendifferentiate between uncertainty, risk and surprise, e.g. decisions taken in conditions of risk versusthosetakeninconditionsofuncertainty. Themostsyntheticandsummarizingoverviewofthedevelopmentofparadigms indemographycanbefoundinatextbyfourauthors:Silverman,Bijak,Courgeau, Franck[2014].Theauthorspresentasyntheticanalysisofthechangesineventanalysis anddemographicprocesses’philosophy,intheapproachtotheanalysismethods andtheirchanges,aswellasenumerate,inthecontextofhistoricaldemography, theexistingparadigms,whichtheythendescribeandputinachronologicalorder. Theresultoftheexistenceofparadigmsindemographyiswhattheauthorscall “cumulativityindemography”.
In caseofdemography it meanssituations in whichthe developments in the analysisofprocessesandtheadvancesinresearchmethodsledtothecumulativity of knowledge, and not to the emrgence of fragmented and mutually exclusive approaches.Eachsubsequentparadigmattemptedtocomplementtheshortcomings ofthepreviousones,providingmeansforovercomingtheirlimitations.However, thisprocessneverledtotheeliminationoftheprevioustheories’achivements. AsCourgeau[2012]putsit:“Theculativityofknowledgeseemstobeobvious intheentirehistoryofpopulationresearch[…]:thetransitionfromtheregularity offactorstotheirvarioation;fromtheindependentpehnomenaandhomogenous populations to independent phenomena and heterogenous populations; from the dependence on society to the dependence on individual, and finally the fully multilevelapproach.Eachnewstageutilizessomeelementsofthepreviousone, anddiscardsothers.Asaresultthewholebranchofscienceadvancesthankstothe inclusionofsubsequentparadigms”.
Then how does the synthesis of paradigms look in the historic approach in demography?TheanswerispresentedinTable1.
Table 1. Thefiveparadigmsofdemography−summary
No. Paradigm Period Keyfocus
1 Period
(cross-sectional) 1662– Population-level(macro)phenomena,observedandmeasu-redaccordingtothehistoricaltime 2
Cohort(longitu-dinal) 1950s– Population-levelphenomena,observedandmeasuredalongthelifetimeofindividualcohorts 3 Eventhistory 1980s– Individual-level(micro)phenomena,observedandmeasured accordingtotheindividualtime 4 Multilevel 1980s– Individual,population,andinterim-levelphenomena,ob-servedandmeasuredfrommultipleperspectives 5 System-based 2000s– Interactionsbetweenpopulationsystemsofindividuals, groupsandinstitutions Source:[Silvermanetal.2014].
Astheauthorssuggest,eachoftheseparadigmsapproachestherelationbetween theobservationsandthestubjectofthestudyinadifferentway,whichenablesthe emergenceofnewmethodologies,whichareinturnabletodealwithdifficulties encountered by previous methods. At the same time each paradigm exists in a differentcontext,whichmeansthatallpreviousonesarestillrelevant,despitethe emergence of new ones. It is of course clear in demographic literature – cohort analysisisstillabsolutelysufficientforexplainingawiderangeofdemographic issues,exactlythesameaseventhistoryanalysisandmultilevelanalysis.Whatis more,cohortandlevelinformationmaybeutilizedasvariablesinmodellingusing theeventhistoryanalysis.
First paradigmistheparadigmofcross-section(cross-sectional,crosswise),
where social phenomena are independed of people (individuals) and can be explained using various economic, political, religious, and social characteristics. Eachdemographicprocessisanalysedseparatelyandthemeasurementsofvarious demographicprocessesareindependent.Macroaggregatesareusedmostoften.
Second paradigm isaperiodwhenmanyanalysesarelongitudinal(cohort).
However,thedemographicprocessesrelizedincohortsarestillanalysedseparately. In each generation one group or population retains the same parameters as long as the phenomenon continues. Similarly to the first paradigm, the population is homogenousandthephenomenaaremutualydependant.Macrosimulationmethods areusedforanalysisprocessesandphenomena,inordertosimulatepopulationand homogenousgroups’levelchanges.Analyticmethodsforanalyzingthelongitudinal changesinhomogenouscohortsarealsoutilized.
Third paradigmisthewide-scaleuseofeventhistoryanalysismethodsfor
studying the demographic phenomena and processes. These methods are mostly relatedtothemicro-leveldataanalysis,buttheyassumethatthesephenomenaand processesdonotappearinpurestate.Theyarerealizedinparticularenvironment, thereareinteractionsbothbetweenindivuduals,aswellasprocessesandevents. The1980sbrought“alotofmodernitytodemographicanalysis”.Therewerelarge scalerestrospectivestudiesconductedinmanycountries,whichrestoredthelife historyofanindividualamongvariouscareers(sequencesofevents).Itwasahuge progress.
Fourth paradigm (multilevel) is an advancement of the previous paradigm.
Processesandinteractionsoperatingonmicro-levelarenotisolatedfromthemacro-level.Thereforetheanalysesandmodellingmethodsincludethemicro-macrolevel relations. Also, the interactions do not take place between the levels, but within eachlevelaswell.Dataonmacro-levelphenomenaarecombinedwithdatafrom micro-level(theso-called“contextdatabases”),whichallowsfortheintroductionof arathercomprehensiveandcomplexsystemofdependencies.
Paradigm five, proposedbytheauthorsasthefutureofdemographyisasystem
paradigm,deeplyrootedinabroaderfunctional-mechanisticresearchprogram.This paradigmassumesthatdemographyshouldstudytheinteractionsbetweenvarious
populationsystems,aswellasthefunctional mechanisms,whichinfluencethem. Thisparadigm,inanaturalandcumulativeway,broadesthescopeoftheprevious fourparadigms,andatthesametimeextendsthescopeofdemographicresearch. However,inorderforittofullydevelop,accordingtotheauthorsofthisconcept,the demographersandotherscientistsstudyingthepopulationhavetoacceptthenew requirementstheyarefacedwith–afterall,allthesenewelementsrequireadifferet conceptualizationoftherelationsbetweenvearioussystemsofpopulations,aswell asproficiencyinusingacompletelynewsetoftools.
From the overview of paradigms in demography, presented above, we can clearlyseethatsinceitsbeginnigs,thatisfromthe17thcentury,demographyhas gone through a series of changes resulting from the growing area of population studies. Each eubsequent paradigm describes various relations between the observed phenomena and processes, engaging new analytical approaches and forcing new types of empirical studies (e.g. retrospective or prospective) for the purposeofstudiesandanalyses.ItisimportanttonotewhatCourgeau[2012]calls the“cumulativityofknowledgeindemography”,andwhatshouldbeconsidered amechanismwhichconsolidatesallthefiveparadigms,aswellascombinesand acceleratesthedevelopmentofdemographyasascience.
4. Anatomy of a life course and quality of life
Sociologists,psychologists,demographers,socialanalysts,economistsetc.areall interestedinlifehistories,becausetheyprovideagreatwealthofknowledgeforall socialsciences.However,eachoftheseareasofscienceapproachesthelifecourse (historyoflife)inaparticularway,focusingonelementswhichareofparticular interest,emphasizingsomeelementsanddisregardingothers.Andyetthestudyof life course has the same purpose for each science – better understanding of mechanismsofchangesincalculationsregardingtheindividualsandsocieties.The externalstructureofthehistoryoflifeisidenticalineverycase.
It can be described as a series of changes and states, which delineate the individual’slifecourse,andwhichcanbedefinedasoccupyingacertainpositionin timeandspace.However,scholarsfromvariousfieldswillnotdefineandlocatea givenstateinspaceandtimeinthesameway.Everycholarwilldoitdependingon personalyadoptedandappropriateapproach.Thenumberofpossiblecombinations ofgoalsandresearchapproachesisrelativelylarge.Inthispartofourpaperwewill focusontwoissues:theanatomyofalifecourseandthequalityoflife.Wewilltry toanswerthefollowingquestions: 1. Whatis,andhowshouldwedescribetheanatomyofalifecourse,andwhat groupsofanalysismethodsareusedforthatpurpose? 2. Whatisthequalityoflife,howisitdefined,measuredandanalysed?
Answer to question 1
Lifecourseisaproceswhichanindividualexperiencesfromthemomentof birthtothemometofdeath.Theseterms–birthanddeath–areverybroadconcepts and can refer not only to people, but also products, companies, various devices (e.g.carsorfridges),andeventolegislationprocessoflaws,orthefunctioningof politicalentities.Inthecontextofparadigmchangesdescribedhere,weshouldlook atthelifecourseasanevolvingprocess.Incaseofahumnbeingitisanevolution frominfancy,throughchildhood,adolescence,adulthood,tomaturity.Regardless oftheareaofsciencetakenintoconsideration,wecanidentifytwoapproachesin thelifecoursestudies:thedescriptionoflifecourseusingeventsandstates,and thedescriptionoflifecoursebasedonthedescriptionofstagesbetweentheevents. The first approach focuses on the processes, while the second on the structure. AccordingtoWillekens[1999]itissaidthatpeoplehavedifferetlifehistoriesifthey differ in regard to:
a)typesofeventsoccurring,i.e.thechangeofattributestakingpartinanevent, b)thenumberofeventsoccurring,
c)thetimeoftheiroccurrence, d)thesequenceintime.
Many factors can help explain the differnces in event history, for example: biologicalandbehavioralfactors,thoserelatedtoindividualvaluesoraspirations, norms, attitudes, legal limitations, economic or institutional restrictions. People often experience events which constitute a significant change in the structure (trajectory)oftheirlives.Theseeventsmayberesultsofpersonalinterventionsor decisions,ormightbecausedbyothereventswhichtakeplaceintheirenvironment, locationorinstitutionalsurrounding.Thereforetheeventsandthetransitionstoother statesrelatedtothemarenotcompletelyrandom,theydonotoccurinisolation,but theyhaveacertainstructure.Theyarerealizedinaparticularplaceandtime,they canbedescribedusingbiological,chronologicalandsocialtime.Thelinkedlives concept,whichiscommontomanyfieldsofstudy,means,amongothers,theeffect ofinfluenceofotherindividualsontheirlifeevents[Wissen,Dykstra1999]. Summingup,wecanrepeatafterF.Willekens[1999],thattheanalysisoflife course(lifehistory)hasthreemaingoals: a)Discoveringthestructureoftimeandsequenceofeventsinlife,i.e.theiden-tificationanddescriptionof“lifestructure”. b)Determiningwhethervariouseventsinlifearelinked,andthenifyeshow.In otherwordstheexplanationof“lifestructure”bydeterminingtheunderlyingbasic processesanddescribinghowagivenstructureisformedasaresultofinteraction betweentheprocesses. c)Predictingorcreatingthelifecoursefrompartialinformation,i.e.predicting theentirelifehistorybasedonavailabledata. Thesegoalsmaybeconnectedtothequalityoflife,andunderstoodthesameway thequalityoflifeisdefinedbysocialpoliticsexperts,socialstatisticians,psycholgists
etc.Wecansaythatoneverystageoflifeandineverycareerformingthelifecourse wedealwiththequalityoflife.Whileitistruethatnopublishedresearchmakes thisconection,goingbacktotheroots,thatistotheworkofThomasandZnaniecki [1920],canhelpfindsuchinspirations.Theglobalizationoflife,andtheresulting globalizationofsciencemoreandmoreoftenrequiresaninterdisciplinaryapproach, andcombiningtheresearchonlifecourse,qualityoflifeandtheactionsconnected todirectingone’sownlife(asmuchasitispossible)bymeansofmanagement, fulfillsthecharacteristicofaninterdisciplinaryapproach. Answer to question 2
Current state of search for the methodology for life quality studies is an expressivedepictionofKołakowski’s[2011,p.163]view,whowrote:“Thequality oflifeisnotabletodefineitself.Itisneverconstantandcommonlyaccepted”. It isanotionthatiscommonlyabusedbymediatodescribetheconditionsandlevel ofone’slife.Anothernotionthatalsoappearsquiteoftenis“dignityoflife”,butso farstatistics,includingitspractitionersinPoland,havenotattemptedtoproperly dealwiththeterminologyoflife’s“dignity”,despitethefactthatthedegradation ofenvironment,financialcrisis,orirresponsibleconsumptionmakeslifeofpeople farfrom“dignity”.Focusingonthelifequalitystudies,wehavetostatethatitis asocialconstructlinkedtothetheoryofhumanneeds,whichisthebasisforthe theoryofconsumers’choice.Itisalsodependentonthejunctionofmanyareasof humanlife,including(whichhastobeespeciallyemphasized)thehumanpsyche. Itsperceptionissubjectiveandcannotbemeasuredinthesamewayasobjective features.However,thisdoesnotmeanthattherehaveneverbeenattemptstomore preciselydefinethenotionofqualityoflife.Wecanevenseethatsuchattemptshave becomemoreintensiveinrecentyears.Asaresult,becauseofthemultidimensional characterofthisconcept,therearestillmanydefinitionsofqualityoflife. Theincreasedresearchattemptstostudythelifequalitymethodologyresultalso fromtheunderminingofGNP(grossnationalproduct)asameasureofsocialeffects ofeconomicchanges.Allcountryrankingsusingthismeasurehaveceasedtobe reliable,althoughintimeandspacetheyareconvenientforcomparisonpurposes. InsteadofGNP,therewereattemptstouseothermeasures,suchasforexample Human Development index – HDI (modified in 2011 after a lot of criticism), or thehappinessmeasurecalledtheGrossNationalHappiness–GNH.Wehaveto underlineherethatthebasesforconstructingthesyntheticmeasureswereeither partial objective measures (HDI) or subjective assessments of areas of life. One ofthedisputableproblemsofthemethodologyoflifequalityistheuseofLikert’s scale.Aproposalofadoptingacontinuouscharacterofmeasurementsofthisscale ispresentedbyKotandSłaby[2013].
Itisworthremindingthattheprecursorofthisapproachtodefiningthequality of life was Jeremy Bentham, who in 1781 suggested the assessment of human life situation using the so-called happiness calculation, which result came from
comparing the pleasure and unpleasantness. It is worth noting that one of the pleasureswasthepossessionofwealth.
Attheendofthe20thcentury,psychologists,economists,andsocialstatisticians
lookedforawaytoassessthequalityoflifebymeasuringthefeelingofhappiness.In Polandthequalityoflifeappearedinresearchasatriad:conditions–level–quality of life, proposed by Luszniewicz [1982]. This construct was extended by Słaby [1994]withthenotionof“lifedignity”.Measures(objectiveandsubjective,always treated separately for each element of the above mentioned triad/tetrad) formed a system of social indicators. For many years economists have tried to separate thecategoriesofwell-beingandlifequality.Kot[2004],quotedAristoteles,who “connectedwell-beingwithhappiness,bearinginmindthattheeconomicprosperity wasonlyameanforhappinessachieving”.Acceptingpositivelysuchaviewmeans thattheconditionsandleveloflifeshouldbetreatedasdeterminantsoflifequality. ItisconfirmedbyConstanza[2007,p.268,whowrote:“TheQualityoflifeisa functionofneeds’fulfilmentlevel(leveloflife)andthedegreeofindividualand groupsatisfactionwithsuchalevel”,andatthesametimesuggestingtheintegration ofobjective(microandmacro)andsubjective(micro)data.Panek[2015]agreed withthisview,whichfunctionsasaconceptinthestudiesofESS(EuropeanSocial Survey).Heconductedananalysisofsubjectivewell-beingofEuropeancountries, andidentifiedtheempiricaldifferentiationofthe2012datafromthevoivodeships ofPoland. Assumingthatthisapproachisdebatable,weshouldnotethatthedifficultieswith thedefinitionwerethebasisforseparationofpositivepsychologyandbehavioural economies, what allowed for the separation of life conditions analysis from the studies of emotional states, which can be independent of life standard. Michoń [2010]statedthattheassessmentoflifequalityisrelational.Comparingone’slife situationtothesituationofotherswithsimilarstatus,andconfrontingwhatisowed withwhatisdesiredaretwobasicsourcesofgrowthordeclineintheperceived emotionalstate.AnotherapproachisthetrendinspiredbyJ.Marsh,who,during theTEDconferenceinSydneyinFebruary2011,said:“Thousandsofpeoplelead theirlivesinsilentdesperation,spendinglong,exhaustinghoursinworktheyhate, inordertobuynotneededthingsonlytomakeanimpressiononpeopletheydon’t like”.Thearticlequotedaboveincludesmanyexamplesofcriticismoflongerand longerworkinghours,whichonlygoalisgreaterandgreaterconsumption.There wecanalsofindmanyideasof“variousideasofdifferentlife”,whichbeginstobe moreandmorepopular.Suchadifferentlifeisreorientedtowardstheprioritization ofhumanlifegoals,abandoningtheneedtodomanythingsatthesametimein favourofalmostasceticapproach,focusedonone,mostimportantthing,selected without any pressure. This approach to building high quality life is possible by managingoneself.Itisalsooneofthenewerapproachesinsearchingforthesources of“different”qualityoflife,definedasaneffectofdominationofspiritualvalues overmaterialones.Inshort,thequalityoflifedefinedinthiswaymightbearesult
ofmanagingone’slife,understoodasconsciousshaping,searchingandarranging such lifestyle that includes simple, economical consumption which is above all shapedasifcontrarytothecurrenttrendsandprofessionalandsocietalpressure. Suchmanagingofoneselfinaccordancewithownbeliefsandattitudesmaybean expressionofprioritizingofvaluesoveradvantages–justlikeLubecka[2010]and Wawak[2015]pointout. Thisresearchissuecomesfromthetrendoflookingformethodsofcompany management“humanizig”,whereanewapproachtolifequalityphilosophy,based on – according to Lisiecka [2001] – responsibility, morality and purposefulness of life may help. This approach refers to these definitions of human life quality described in subject literature, which stem from the actions in accordance with acceptedsystemofvaluesandattitudes,andresultfromactionsonlyinagiven individual’sownrange. Empiricalsurvey[Słaby2014]inaspeciallyselectedgroupofyoungpostgraduates workingincorporations,mightbeabasisforlargerstudies.Itssubjectisstrongly relatedtotheassessmentofchancesforchangesinattitudesofhumans,whoattempt tomanagetheirlifestyle,whichcan–incaseofwideremulation(trendeffect)– causeagreaterimportanceofspiritualandemotionallifeinbuildingqualityoflife. Hitherto existing studies on the life quality of populations have not led to creatingonestandardmethodology,mostlybecauseofdifferentviewsregardingthe issueofwhathighqualityoflifemeans.Althoughthefirsteverlifequalitystudy (intheUSA)concernedthementalhealth,andinparticularthewaysofdealingwith fearandanxiety,everysubsequent studies, regardlessoftheirlocations,focused mainlyonsatisfactionandhappiness,andtheirevaluationwasbasedexclusivelyon subjectivemeasures.Asortofaggregate,orsyntheticevaluation,wastheresponse tothequestionregardinglifequalityasawhole. Thereforethereisnosimple“recipe”forperceivinghighqualityoflife,just likethereisno“author’s”ideafordiscoveringthesourceofgreatesthappinessand standardofliving,whichwouldresultinhighperceptionoflifequality. Concludingthesedeliberationsitisworthaskinganotherquestion:Istherea placeinthelifecourseapproachforthequalityoflifeissue?Theanswershould be“yes”–thereisaplaceforqualityoflifeinthelifecourseapproach.Thelife courseconceptisaphilosophyoflifefromthemomentofbirthtothedayofdeath; everystageofthelifecourseshouldincludetheattemptstoachievethebestquality oflifepossible.Bothlifecourseandqualityoflifearetheconceptscharacterized bymultidimensionality,thedifferencebeingthatlifequalityanalysisisbasedon cross-sectionalstudies,whilelifecourseapproachisbasedonlongitudinalstudies. Therefore combining these two areas of research necessitates the inclusion of longitudinalanalysisinlifequalitystudies,whichmeansthatthedataregarding areas(domains)ofqualityoflifeshouldtakeintoconsiderationchangesovertime (thedynamicsofchanges)andnotonlychangesinspatialdimensions,asithasbeen donesofar.
5. Managing quality of life in life course
The issue of managing life quality is a quite new interdisciplinary approach combiningseveralaspects.Thenotionsoflifequalityandlifecoursearepresented above.Themethodologyoflifequalityresearchbelongsinthesphereofactivities aimed at searching for ways to manage oneself in order to find ways not to do anythinginlifeinspiteofoneself.Theresultsofresearchregardingthebarriersof suchbehaviourmayhelpusachievethisgoal.Thiscanalsoallowustogatherdata requiredformodellingandanalysis.Aseparateissueofequalimportance,arethe theoreticalpremises,whichcanbeusedinthisapproach.Thenextpartofthistext isdevotedpreciselytothisissue.
We live in times when the expectations towards employees are constantly growing.Meetingtheseexpectationsisveryoftenpossibleonlybyreachingthe limitsofone’sendurance.Whenthislimitisexceeded,wecanobserve–especially incaseofmanagementandtheirteams–the“professionalburnout”.Professional workisanimportantpartoflifecourse(itdefinestheprofessionalcareer)ofevery person.Thesatisfactionofawelldonejobandthepleasurederivedfromthisfact areimportantelementsoflifequality.However,thelevelofsatisfactionfromthe qualityofworkdonecanbedisruptedbytheprofessionalburnoutsymptoms.The
professional burnout syndrome occurswhenworkceasestoprovidesatisfaction,
anemployeefeelsoverworkedandunhappywithhis/herperformedduties,which oncewereasourceofjoy.Insuchasituationtheemployeeisnotdeveloping,and thelackofcreativityistransferredtolowertieremployees.Theself-burnoutmodel developed by Maslach [1993; 1998] includes three basic factors: (1) emotional exhaustion, (2) depersonalization, (3) decreasing joy derived from professional achievements.
Inordertodealwiththisphenomenon(similarlytootherfactorsconstituting the life quality deterioration), it has to be comprehensively diagnosed, and then actionsshouldbeundertakenwhichwillallowustosolvetheproblem.Wehave toremember,however,thatintheprocessofidentifyingthestateofprofessional burnout,whichtakesplaceinacertainreal-timeperiodaswellasincertainstage oflifecourse,weneedtocombinevariousdimensions(inotherwordsapproach perspectives).Therefore,asanexample,inthefollowingparagraphswewillanswer thefollowingquestion:howto“combine”qualityoflifewithprofessionalburnout andactionscharacteristicofself-management.Forthepurposeofdiagnosingand analysingdatagatheredinlifequalityresearch,theideaofself-managementinthe lifecourseperspectivemightproveuseful. Wawak[2015,p.9],adaptingthedefinitionofISCONORM(900:2005),relates thedefinitionofqualitymanagementtothelifequalitymanagement,definingitas follows:“Individualmanagementofownlifequalityisacoordinatedsetofactivities relatedtomanagingoneselfandsupervisingitinregardstoitsquality”.Atthesame time the author believes that managing the individual quality of one’s own life requiresonetoundertakecertainactionsregarding:
– identifyingandstratifyingthequalitygoals,
– defining,adoptingandconsistentlyrealizinglifequalitypolicy,
– planningandguidinglifequality,alongwithitsconstantimprovement.
Kolman[2004,p.128]states: “Managingownlifequalityisaconsciousshaping own life quality in all areas, using material and non-material goods available in certaincircumstances”.Fromthebook“OnManagingYourself(HBR’s10Must ReadsOnManagingYourself)”,ICAN,Institute2013,areadercanlearnhowto successfullymanageoneselfandmakechancesavailabletoeveryone.Oneofthe tipsstates:“fightforthesatisfactionandalifeyoucanbeproudof”.Theauthorsof collaborativeworkpointoutthetoolswhichcanalloweveryonetolookattheirlives fromadifferentperspectiveandshapeitinanevenmoreconsciousway3. Słaby[2014,p.2]believesthat“lifequalitymaybearesultofmanagement, understoodasconsciousshaping,searchingandarrangingawayoflifethatincludes, amongothers,simple,modestconsumption,andwhichisaboveallelseshapedasif inspiteoftrendsandworkandsocietypressure”. Goingbacktothepromisedexampleweassumethattheinformationrequired for the analysis of the three dimensions (quality of life, life course and life qualitymanagementinlifecourse)hastocomefromlongitudinalstudies–either retrospectiveorprospective.Figures2and3,includedbelow,presentgraphicallythe philosophyofthepossiblestudyofprofessionalburnoutphenomenoninlongitudinal approach,assumingthattherearetwogenerations(cohorts)ofemployees.
Thisresearchcanbeextendedtoalldomainswhichconstitutethesubjective well-being. Of course the measurement of subjective well-being depends on the adoptedsubjectivequalityoflife,whichelementisthesubjectivewell-being.Inthe conductedsurveys,Panek[2015,pp.2-4]adoptsthedefinitionofsubjectivewell-beingafterHuppertetal.[2009;2013],whichincludesbothpersonalandinterpersonal viewpoint(personallevel)andthestrengthofrelationswiththesurrounding(social level).Subjectivepersonalwell-beingconsistsof:emotionalwell-being,happylife, vitality,resilienceandself-evaluation,andfunctioning.Thesubjectivesocialwell-beingincludestwoelements:socialsupport,trustandsenseofbelonging.Aswe cansee,thepresentedphenomena,processes,domainsandresearchconceptsare characterizednotonlybymultidimensionality,butalsotheinterdisciplinarynature oftheconnections. 3 Inhisreviewofthebook,DariuszGrzywaczewski,theChairmanoftheBoardofRadioPiN says:“Todayself-managementisnotonlyaprivilegeofpeoplewhohaveasignificantgroundingin psychology.Itisadutyofeveryoneofus”[http://sklep.hbrp.pl/o-zarzadzaniu-soba.html].WhileMag-dalenaCzaja,theChairwomanoftheBoardofAgencjaReklamowaSanMarkos,givesthefollowing comment:“Publicationsuchas“Onmanagingyourself”givesacompletelynewperspectiveandpoints towardsparticulartoolsforgettingridofold,constrainingschemata.Itallowsustofindpowerandjoy ofdiscoveringthatourstrengthisteamworkandthatprofessionalworkmightbeoneofmanyexciting elementsofourlives,notonlyanunpleasantchore.Isincerelyrecommendit[http://sklep.hbrp.pl/o-za-rzadzaniu-soba.html].
GenerationX
GenerationY
risk
identification identificationrisk (study time ) censoring - Age
(years of occupational
career)
Time
Observation time – calendar years
Figure 3. Frameworkforlongitudinalstudies–riskidentificationofthejobburnout
fortwogenerations:GenerationXandGenerationY Source:ownelaboration.
retrospective survey prospective survey
Figure 4. Frameworkforlongitudinalstudies–riskidentificationofthejobburnout
fortwogenerations:GenerationXandGenerationY–retrospectiveandprospectivesurvey Source:ownelaboration.
6. Selected theories and methods possible to apply
Foranalysingthelifequalityinitscourseincludingelementsofmanagementwecan use numerous theories from various sciences: economy, sociology, psychology, management,etc.Belowwepresentthreetheories,whichwethinkmightbeuseful: theoryofrationalchoice(economy,sociology),socialcapitalandsocialnetworks theory(broadlyunderstoodassocialsciences)andthetheoryofplannedbehaviour (psychology).Theconceptoflongitudinallifequalitystudiesislinkedwithcertain typeofmodellinganditsusefulness.Themostsuitablemethodsinthiscasearethe latentclassandsurvivalanalysismethods.
Rational choice theory
Intheeconomicapproachtherationalchoicetheoryassumesthateveryperson isanindependentindividualwithfreechoice,whoperceiveslifedecisionsasapart of system of norms and imperatives. The rational choice theory [Coleman 1988; 1990]assumestherationalityofundertakendecisions.Outofallpossiblechoices onealwaysselectstheoneprovidingmostsatisfaction.Therationalchoicetheory defineswhichchoicesshouldbemadeinordertoachieveaparticulargoal.However, differentlythanethicaltheoriesitdoesnotpointtowardthegoals,doesnotjudge, focusinginsteadonthemeanswhicharesuitableforachievingaparticulargoal. Wecanassumethatthattherearecertainconditionswhich–afternoticingthem– agivenactingindividualsubjectsubmitsto.Inthiscasethereisnoexplanationor judgement,butratherpredictionsthatafterthearisingofcertaincircumstancesan appropriateactiontakesplace.Thistypeofdecision-makingprocess,assumingthe individual’sactivity,becamepopularatthebeginningofthe1980sandthe1990s [Hedström,Swedberg1996].Atthecoreofthistheorytherearefourbasicconcepts: domination, functionality, preferences caused by intentions, and consideration, whichisthebasisofrationalbehaviour[Anand1991,pp.200-203]. • Domination–ifthesetofpreferred,notdominatedsolutions(options)isnot empty,anindividualshouldchooseoneoftheavailableoptions. • Consideration–innormalcircumstancesanindividualcontrolshis/herownbe-haviour. • Functionality–thechoicemadehasatleastoneconsciousjustification. • Theknownpreferencesdeterminethechoicemade,whichallowsustoruleout thepossibilityofrandomdecision. Thecoreoftherationalchoicetheoryaretherelationsbetweenthepreferences ofindividuals,whostrivetoincludeallthepossibleoptionsandthemaximizing the expected results or minimizing losses. The optimal choice is possible after investigatingallthepossiblevariantsandtheirresults.
Social capital – social networks
The theoretical basis for social capital are based on the following statement: anypersonmakingacertaindecisionisnotisolated,butiscloselylinkedtohis
orhersurrounding[Bühler,Frątczak2004;2007].Therearemanyunderstandings of social capital, which apart from sociology made their way to other fields of studyaswell,includingdemography,economyandmanagement.Thedefinitions and approaches to social capital vary significantly: from macro-scale [Putnam 1995; 2001; Fukuyama 2000; 2003], through mid-scale [Coleman 1988; 1990] to micro-scaleapproaches[Bourdieu1986].AccordingtoPutnam[1995,pp.664-665] “socialcapitalarethefeaturesofsocialorganizations,suchasnetworks(systems) ofindividualsorhouseholds,andtherelatednormsandvalues,whichcreatethe external effects for the entire community”. According to Fukuyama’s definition [2003,p.196]“socialcapitalisasetofinformalvaluesandethicalnormscommon forthemembersofacertaingroup,allowingthemtocooperatesuccessfully”,putting particular emphasis on trust and the role of family as a source of social capital. Thenotionoffamilysocialcapitalisunderstoodasbondsamongfamilymembers, which allow them to cooperate and collaborate, and which at the same time are notagainstsocialinterest.Thesebondsarerealizedinattitudesofrespect,trust, love,interest,care,helpandconcernforfamilymembers.Analysingtheeconomic theoryoffamily,Becker[1991]stressedthatfamilyshapedsuchcharacteristicsas reliability,honesty,solidarity,abilitytocooperateandsacrificeoneself,diligence andpenchantfororder. Coleman[1990]perceivedsocialcapitalas,aboveall,afeatureofsmallgroups, wherestrongrelationsareformed.Peopleformgroupsinordertorealizetheirown goals,butatthesametimeanadditionalvalue(socialcapital)iscreated–which becomesaresourceavailabletoall,includingevennewmembersofthegroup.Social capital,understoodthisway,isnotformedconsciouslybypeople,butisaresultof emergenceofstrongbondsinsmallcommunities,whichwereformedbecauseof theexistenceofindividualgoals.Thiswayindividualgoalsmaybetransformedinto benefitsresultingfromfriendlyrelationswithotherpeople.
Bourdieu [1986, p. 248] defines the existence of the so-called individual social capital in the following way: “social capital is a set of real and potential resources,whicharerelatedtothepossessionofapermanentnetworkofmoreor lessinstitutionalizedrelationsbasedonmutualacquaintanceandtrust–orinother wordsbeingamemberofagroup–whichprovideseachandeveryofitsmember withsupportintheformofcapitalsharedbythecollective,reliability,whichallows themtomakeuseofacreditinthebroadestpossibleunderstandingofthisterm”. Accordingtotheauthor,socialcapitaldenotesthenumberofacquaintanceswhicha givenindividualhas.Itisimportanttonotethatthevaryingaccesstosocialcapital isacauseoftheemergenceofsocialinequality,whichisstronglyrelatedtoquality oflife,bothinitssubjectiveandobjectiveaspect. Themostgeneraldefinitionofsocialcapitalisthepotentialresultingfromthe cohesionofinterpersonalrelations,whichservesocialpurposesandnotonlygroup orindividualinterests.Extendingthesetheoreticalanalysis,socialcapitalcanbe alsounderstoodasalltheresources,whichareavailabletotheindividualbecause
ofitssocialbonds,thatisresourceswhichareinpossessionof(orarecontrolled by)apersonsituatedwithinanindividual’snetworkofcontacts,orwhichcanbe obtainedbyrelationsofanymemberofthenetworkofcontactwithotherpeople. The overview of social capital measurements and definitions can be found in a publicationbySierocińska[2011].
Theory of planned behaviour
The theoretical approach which we use as a starting point for analysing individualdecisionsistheplannedbehaviourtheorybyAjzen[1991].Thistheoryis builtaroundthenotionofintention,whichincludesallthemotivationalcomponents leadingtobehaviour.Theintentionsare“indicatorsofhowdedicatedpeopleareto realizingcertainbehaviour”[Ajzen1991;2012].Themainassumptionofthemodel isthatiftherearenounexpectedcircumstances,peoplebehaveaccordingtotheir intentions.Theseintentionscanofcoursechangeovertimeasaresultofchanges inoneofthethreegroupsoffactorsinfluencingthem.Thesefactorsare:attitudes, subjectivenormsandenforcingcontroloverbehaviour. a)Attitudes.Everybehaviourofanindividualisshapedaboveallbytheirat-titude.Theseattitudesareinturnbasedonbeliefsregardingtheeffectsofagiven behaviour.Thehigherthesubjectivevalueofagivenbehaviour,themorepositive theattitudetowardsit,andasaresult,thestrongertheintentiontorealizeit. b)Subjectivenorms.Anothergroupoffactorsinfluencingtheintentionsofindi-vidualsaresubjectivenorms.AccordingtoAjzen’stheory[1991;2012],thesenorms arecloselyrelatedtosocialpressure,exertedtowardstherealizationoforrefraining fromcertainbehaviour.Subjectivenormsarecreatedbasedonpersonalbeliefs,that agivenbehaviourwillorwillnotbeapprovedofby“significantothers”.Anindivi-dualmayconsiderthese“significantothers”tobetheirparents,friends,butalsothe societyasawhole.Moreover,somesubjectivenormsmaybesostronglyinternali-zed,thattheyareindependentofanyreferencepeople.Suchnormsarecalledmoral normsbyAjzen. c)Enforcingcontroloverbehaviour.Whilenormsandattitudesdescribedabove areresponsibleforformingintentions,thecontroloverbehaviourisafactorwhich allows individualsto put theirintentionsintoaction.Ajzen[1991] identifiestwo typesofcontrol:realandsubjectivelyperceived.Therealenforcementofcontrol isrelatedtoresourcesandpossibilitiesthatanindividualhasattheirdisposal:time, money,skills,cooperationwithotherpeople,etc.[Ajzen1985;2012a]. However,Ajzenbelievesthatnotonlyrealenforcementofcontrolisimportant fortheunderstandingofindividualbehaviour–subjectivelyperceivedenforcement ofcontrolisalsoimportant.Thereforethestudiesshouldtakeintoconsiderationnot onlytheobjectiveresourcesofanindividual,butalsoasubjectivejudgement.The schemataofthemodelarepresentedinFigure5.
