Subjective Well-Being in Times of Crisis : Evidence on the wider impact of economic crises and turmoil on subjective well-being.

Generally, the aim of this dissertation is to go beyond the examination of objective factors for measuring progress by complementing them with subjective factors to evaluate under which circumstances economic development is a prerequisite for well-being and whether there are other conditions that can satisfy well-being during hardships. More specifically, the thesis has three objectives: __The first objective is to explore the relative performance of an income-based indicator of prosperity compared to a SWB indicator of prosperity and to identify what possibly drives their differences.__ The aim of this exercise is to improve our knowledge on the objective and subjective dimensions that can be relevant in explaining progress. __The second is to explore why positive economic growth might not be accompanied by respective improvements in SWB.__ A recent case, the social uprising in Arab Spring countries, occurred in a region where, according to many indicators, economic and human development was improving; however, dissatisfaction among citizens was prevalent. I explore several objective conditions and subjective dimensions of dissatisfaction as drivers of general unhappiness. I aim to highlight the value of subjective evaluations of life domains and life in general as tools that can help us evaluate progress in societies. __The third objective is to identify factors that mitigate the effect of crises on SWB.__ To address the lack of a framework to identify crisis moderators, this dissertation adopts a useful approach originating from the management discipline that is known as the contingency approach or the situational approach (Fiedler, 1964)

Financial Distress and Happiness of Employees in Times of Economic Crisis

__Abstract__ Using data for 28 European countries for the 2008-2012 period, we examine whe

Life satisfaction and self-employment in different types of occupations

In this research, we investigate whether a positive relationship between life satisfaction and selfemployment (versus paid employment) exists while simultaneously considering two occupational dimensions: white-collar versus blue-collar work and high-skilled versus

Subjective well-being and the 2008 recession in European regions

How can we explain why some regions experienced large decreases in subjective well-being during the 2008 recession, while in other regions, the changes were only very modest? Building on the literature on resilience in subjective well-being during periods of crisis, this article explores a related but undervalued factor that moderates the localized relationship between macroeconomic developments and life evaluation: regional quality of governance. We use individual-level data on life satisfaction and personal information taken from Eurobarometer for 89 European regions in the EU-28 for the period of 2005–2014, combined with macroeconomic variables and regional quality of governance data to test for the hypothesized moderating effect of quality of governance. The results demonstrate that increased regional unemployment and financial stress have a less aggravating effect on subjective well-being in regions characterized by a high quality of governance. These results support the capacity of quality of governance to buffer the negative effects of adverse macroeconomic conditions, most likely through generating trust and providing a safety net

The role of positive expectations for resilience to adverse events: Subjective well-being before, during and after the Greek bailout referendum

Can positive expectations help foster resiliency against adversity? In this study, we used high-frequency panel data, to examine how positive as compared to neutral and negative expectations can bufer the negative impact on subjective well-being generated by an adverse event, the announcement of the Greek bailout referendum in July 2015. Results show that individuals with more positive expectations for the future before the referendum announcement experienced smaller decreases in subjective well-being and adapted quicker to this adverse event. In addition, we found evidence that individuals who shifted from positive to negative expectations before and during the adverse event, respectively, had signifcantly lower subjective well-being than individuals who had consistent positive expectations. This fnding supports the view that optimism, or consistent positive expectations, and even positive mindsets, as indicated by lacks of shifts to negativity, can be a source of resilience that helps individuals cope and adapt quicker to adverse events

Automated office blood pressure measurements in primary care are misleading in more than one third of treated hypertensives: The VALENTINE-Greece Home Blood Pressure Monitoring study

Abstract Background This study assessed the diagnostic reliability of automated office blood pressure (OBP) measurements in treated hypertensive patients in primary care by evaluating the prevalence of white coat hypertension (WCH) and masked uncontrolled hypertension (MUCH) phenomena. Methods Primary care physicians, nationwide in Greece, assessed consecutive hypertensive patients on stable treatment using OBP (1 visit, triplicate measurements) and home blood pressure (HBP) measurements (7 days, duplicate morning and evening measurements). All measurements were performed using validated automated devices with bluetooth capacity (Omron M7 Intelli-IT). Uncontrolled OBP was defined as ≥140/90 mmHg, and uncontrolled HBP was defined as ≥135/85 mmHg. Results A total of 790 patients recruited by 135 doctors were analyzed (age: 64.5 ± 14.4 years, diabetics: 21.4%, smokers: 20.6%, and average number of antihypertensive drugs: 1.6 ± 0.8). OBP (137.5 ± 9.4/84.3 ± 7.7 mmHg, systolic/diastolic) was higher than HBP (130.6 ± 11.2/79.9 ± 8 mmHg; difference 6.9 ± 11.6/4.4 ± 7.6 mmHg, p Conclusions In primary care, automated OBP measurements are misleading in approximately 40% of treated hypertensive patients. HBP monitoring is mandatory to avoid overtreatment of subjects with WCH phenomenon and prevent undertreatment and subsequent excess cardiovascular disease in MUCH

Urban regeneration and sustainable housing renewal trends

Urban planning, affordable houses and protection of the cultural natural heritage are important elements to be considered in the design of sustainable urban realities. Homes for One Pound, Granby Four Streets CLT, Homebaked CLT, Make Liverpool CIC and Engage Liverpool CIC are examples of successful initiatives oriented to foster urban regeneration by promoting environmental quality and social cohesion