Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research

The Encyclopedia is organized exactly like other encyclopedias, words arranged alphabetically and with cross-references between them. The topics covered are numerous and, as the reader can easily realize, not necessarily directly linked to the research in the field of quality of life and wellbeing. In fact, there are many items that concern not directly the quality of life and well-being research but tools and techniques that can be useful. In this regard, for example, we can mention many entries regarding particular statistical and analytical techniques. One proposal would have been to collect these items in a sort of technical appendix; this would have entailed a reorganization of the entire Encyclopedia and this went beyond the simple updating of the work. The objectives and purposes of this monumental work therefore remained the same as already listed in the preface of the first edition: - To display in one place the vast scope and complexity of scientific and other scholarly research on quality of life over the last decades - To stimulate cross-disciplinary research, leading to a greater progressive, comprehensive, and coherent vision of the field - To have an international and multidisciplinary editorial board of distinguished scholars and a collection of essays by equally distinguished authors - To provide an improved vision of the field by picturing a rough road map giving some direction to the next decades years of research - To provide an authoritative, well-informed resource serving the needs not only of scholars and students but also of government officials, non governmental organizations (NGOs), and socially responsible corporations - To improve private and public policy analyses and discussions leading to better decisions and policymaking concerning the quality of life of individuals and societies - To make maximum use of the latest technology to link encyclopedia essays to other works available in electronic form.