An examination of the major academic databases shows that there is a severe lack of studies of the quality of life of Chinese people. This picture deserves attention, particularly in view of the growing influence of China in the global arena. This book examines quality of life in Chinese people in different Chinese communities, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. It is pioneer in the field and it has several unique features. First, in view of the lack of studies on Chinese family quality of life, this book contains papers on Chinese family quality of life. Second, in response to the lack of studies on the quality of life of Chinese adolescents, several papers on adolescent assessment, theory and intervention are included. Third, several papers examine quality of life of Chinese people in different stages of the life cycle. Finally, to give a broad picture about quality of life phenomena, papers adopting quantitative and qualitative methodologies are included in this book.

In light of rural Asia's 30-year population increase, this book reviews trends and patterns in the quality of life, identifies and analyzes options for private and public policies for the improvement of the quality of life, and assesses the prospects for the quality of life in the context of globalization, privatization, and technological change.

This Festschrift is published in honor of Alex C. Michalos, a great scholar and inspiration to many upcoming and famous academics and practitioners. The Festschrift celebrates his lifelong, outstanding scientific and cultural contribution to Quality of Life Research. It contains contributions written by the most prestigious and renowned scholars in the field of social indicators research and quality of life studies. Taken together, the contributions from scholars around the world reflect Michalos’ stance that even though there may be differences in individual scientific positions, the language in the field of quality of life has no limits and boundaries.

This book is part of the authors' continuing research on quality of life issues in Singapore. It builds on past research into the values and lifestyles of Singaporeans and focuses on their well-being. In addition, the findings of the 2006 Asia Barometer Survey (for Singaporean respondents) are presented; revealing comprehensive insights into their values, lifestyles, priorities in life, worries, life satisfaction, quality of life, etc. Selective comparisons are also made with the other East Asian countries covered in the same survey, namely, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.