From anxieties over work-life balance and entangling technologies, to celebrations of cool jobs and great places to live, quality of life frames the ways we enhance our lives and legitimate social change today. But how does the idea of quality of life envision the greater good, and what gets lost as a result? This book provides the critical framework for understanding the idea’s contexts and tensions that are conspicuously missing in popular discussions, professional activities, and scholarly research on quality of life. With multiple case studies taken across North America and Europe, it provides a sociological perspective on the contradictory ways we talk about and pursue quality of life in relation to technology, consumerism, family, work, public space, rural ways of life, and ultimately the final years of life. Drawing on contemporary and classical social theory, it provides an incisive account of the historical shifts in developed societies over the last half-century that have transformed our views and pursuits of quality of life. Originally a promise to undertake collective effort and pursue social justice at a moment of unprecedented opportunity, quality of life now enshrines a solipsistic ideal with which to accommodate the storms of market forces and political failure.

The foundations of power politics in the nuclear age, fundamental forces that drive events in the international news, and seldom-discussed factors that can shift whole economies, or trigger wars, may be discerned from the statistical tables presented in this novel yearbook. This statistical annual presents fundamental data in three sections: (1) Quality of Life, (2) Balance of Power, and (3) Developed Market Economies since 1960. It contains data that is generally not available elsewhere. Sections 1 and 2 give statistics for 232 countries. The World Bank and Encyclopedia Britannica provide statistical data for a maximum of about 160 countries. The actual number of countries in World Bank statistical tables is even smaller. The CIA World Factbook gives data for about 230 countries but that data is limited in scope and is imprecise. Other statistical publications are even less satisfactory. The author has managed to increase the number of countries tallied by writing proprietary software utilizing statistical regressions, selecting data which, first of all, is important and, second, which allows for high correlation coefficients for these regressions. Section 2 includes data about nuclear delivery systems and the number of nuclear warheads of all nuclear powers. This is based on information from reputable sources. Among others, it includes estimates of the Israeli nuclear arsenal which usually do not appear in the press. Official estimates of Russian military expenditures distributed by US and British intelligence communities are methodologically flawed. Such estimates claim to give a picture of military expenditures of the countries of the world at market exchange rates; at the same time, they apparently cite Russian military expense figures at purchasing power parities, thus inflating these numbers in comparison to those of other countries. Such deceptive practices of the Anglo-American intelligence services are counter-balanced by presenting two different tables, showing military expenditures estimates both at market exchange rates and by purchasing power parities. Section 3 gives data on the topic of health care. It seems that public health expenditures as a share of total health expenditures has a stronger correlation with the comparative level (and the rates of improvement) of the main health care indicators than the absolute level (measured as a percent of GDP) of total health expenditures. The data demonstrates that the US has the lowest public health expenditure of developed market economies and is increasingly lagging behind other countries by main health care indicators. The proposed introduction of national health insurance in the US would probably mean some sort of tax increase. The author therefore also seeks to shed light on modern ideological debates about the share of taxation in GDP and its influence on rates of growth. Surprisingly enough, the empirical data for the developed market economies do not seem to support the popular idea that low taxes are strongly correlated with higher rates of growth; depending on how the data are analyzed, the appropriate correlations are either low or even the reverse of what is commonly believed. The foundations of power politics in the nuclear age, fundamental forces that drive events in the international news, and unspoken or seldom-discussed factors that can shift whole economies may be found lurking in the facts presented in this novel yearbook.

Who has the most nuclear assets in the Middle East? Whose power is waning, whose increasing? Updated for 2012, these tables of economic, demographic and military indicators establish the pecking order for 232 countries, with estimates of all nuclear arsenals including rarely published data on non-signatory nations.

Who has the most nuclear assets in the Middle East?a Whose power is waning, whose increasing?

Pursuing the good life has been a quest for philosophers throughout recent human history as life became more than just surviving the many dangers of the day. A central question that has become even more important is, What makes life worth living? In Pursuing the Good Life, author Dr. Mark J. Britzman presents strategies to help you gain a more satisfying life experience. Offering more than psychological sound bites, Pursuing the Good Life shows you how to explore a new path by developing a plan that fulfills the need for love and belonging, empowerment, fun and enjoyment, freedom and independence, and higher states of good health and wellness. Britzman addresses how to: Live well Gain integrity with relationships Find meaningful work Experience a sense of purpose In this self-improvement book, Britzman provides an opportunity to self-evaluate and help you seize opportunities to make choices that are more life-enriching, leading to a better present and future. Pursuing the good life entails clarifying your hopes and dreams, finding an optimal direction that moves you closer to what you want, self-evaluating the consequences of your choices, and consistently developing a plan that is need-fulfilling.

The concept of quality of life exists in an increasingly culturally divergent and international environment. This global orientation means increased cultural exchanges and cross-cultural research to understand both the culture-bound and universal nature of the quality-of-life concept. In this extensive survey, two renowned quality of life experts provide a global outlook on quality of life issues for people with mental retardation.

High-quality rehabilitation care represents a constitutive element of health systems worldwide. The harmonization of staff education both at the undergraduate and postgraduate level is a key element for ensuring the highest standard of rehabilitation care. International bodies, like the UEMS Board for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) or the International Society for PRM, have already delivered regulatory documents setting standards in postgraduate PRM education. The implementation of such rules is to be validated worldwide with special attention to low and middle income countries. This Research Topic aims to stimulate awareness in the scientific community, especially for those involved in postgraduate education and policy-making decisions. It will highlight the need for developing competency-based education as a powerful mechanism to align education and training with health system priorities. This holds particular value for resource-limited countries, where the knowledge and skills of rehabilitation doctors need to reflect not only the population's health profile, but also the strengths and weaknesses (e.g. workforce gaps and maldistributions) of the health system. This goal can be achieved through sharing experiences between those who have engaged themselves in the process of program development, curriculum design and competency-based education in rehabilitation. Over the last 25 years the number of papers addressing the issue of residency education in PRM has exponentially increased testifying the interest towards the role of rehabilitation and, more specifically, of the PRM doctors as leaders of the rehabilitation team.

It seems that public health expenditures as a share of total health expenditures has a stronger correlation with the comparative level (and the rates of improvement) of the main health care indicators than the absolute level (measured as a percent of GDP) of total health expenditures. The data demonstrates that the US has the lowest public health expenditure of developed market economies and is increasingly lagging behind other countries by main health care indicators. The proposed introduction of national health insurance in the US would probably mean some sort of tax increase. The author therefore also seeks to shed light on modern ideological debates about the share of taxation in GDP and its influence on rates of growth.

Who has the most nuclear assets in the Middle East? Whose power is waning, whose increasing? Updated with data from 2013, the latest available, these tables of economic, demographic and military indicators establish the pecking order for 236 countries, with estimates of all nuclear arsenals including rarely published data on non-signatory nations. The author also sums up what statistics in the developed world show in relation to the efficiency of private health insurance versus a 'public option' and whether it is true that 'taxation stifles the economy.' This statistical annual presents fundamental data comparing measures of (1) Quality of Life, (2) Balance of Power, and (3) Developed Market Economies since 1960. It is far more complete other statistical publications. Section 2 includes data about nuclear delivery systems and the number of nuclear warheads of all nuclear powers, including estimates of the Israeli nuclear arsenal which usually do not appear in the press. Official estimates of Russian military expenditures distributed by U.S. and British intelligence communities are methodologically flawed, claiming to show military expenditures of other countries at market exchange rates while they apparently cite Russian military expense figures at purchasing power parities, thus distorting the comparison. Such deceptive practices of the Anglo-American intelligence services are counter-balanced by presenting two different tables, showing military expenditures estimates both at market exchange rates and by purchasing power parities. Members of the U.S. Congress and others who care about the foundations of power politics in the nuclear age will find facts that speak for themselves in this novel yearbook.