Quality of Life

The term quality of life (QOL) references the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of living, which is based primarily on income. Instead, standard indicators of the quality of life include not only wealth and employment, but also the built environment, physical and mental health, education, recreation and leisure time, and social belonging.

Also frequently related are concepts such as freedom, human rights, and happiness. However, since happiness is subjective and hard to measure, other measures are generally given priority. It has also been shown that happiness, as much as it can be measured, does not necessarily increase correspondingly with the comfort that results from increasing income. As a result, standard of living should not be taken to be a measure of happiness. Also sometimes considered related is the concept of human security, though the latter may be considered at a more basic level, and for all people.

 

 


 

Relation Between Societies with Different Quality of Life.


 

The different levels of quality of life and environment between developed countries and developing ones has increased in the last years.

Sustainable human development needs to allow a substantial improvement in the quality of life of a community in which poverty needs to disappear. Developing countries have been forced to destroy nature to survive to ´provide goods to developed ones.

 

Access to education, culture and a better surrounding with less violence where all can enjoy non polluted water and air, with enough food to grant healthy and nice environment for the world population must be reached so that everybody can  enjoy a good quality of life.

The ten countries with best quality of life are:

(Data from year 2010)

 

 

 

 

The five countries in Latin America with highest quality of life are:

 

 

 

Another example showing more or different characteristics than quality of life and updated to 2013:

 

 

 

 

 

** Mexico appears in position 36 on the list that you can read at the following link:

Check for all countries chart at : http://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings_by_country.jsp

Relationship between Quality of Life and Environmental Sustainability

Sustainable Development is a process of change in which the quality of life of a human being by the means of economical growth, social equality, and transformation of production  and consuming methods, leading to environment sustainability because natural resources aren´t unlimited.

The wrong use of natural resources produces damaged natural areas that affect quality of life. For example, the extraction of non-renewable resources ( minerals, petroleum, etc.) create problems related to the reduction of them in our planet and pollution caused by their transportation and industrialization.

 

Answer the following questions in your notebooks: (Class?)

1.-   Which would be two factors that determine the quality of life in your country?

2.- Why is environment sustainability important to maintain an adequate quality of life?

3.- Which environmental factors influence the quality of life of people?

According to the map of countries by Quality of Life:

4.- Mention two countries  from Africa and two from Asia that have a higher quality of life, and explain which could be the factors for which in those continents there are more countries with the lowest quality of life.

5.- Why do you think Mexico City has lower QoF than other cities in the country?

Activity 1 (Homework)

Investigate about places in which excessive or inappropriate use of resources is happening in the world and which countries are using more sustainable use of materials. Take notes and bring them in a piece of paper.