Measuring quality of life indicators in Alexandria

Quality of Life Indicators -- City of Alexandria

Research Indicators Analysis

Alexandria Quality of Life Initiative

The purpose of this paper is to provide details about the articulation and measurement of four select indicators from the Quality of Life Study for the City of Alexandria. A brief overview of the survey constructs, conceptual framework, data sources, and data analysis is provided as introduction to the discussion of the specific indicators.

Quality of life is a concept that takes on as many meanings as there are individuals living in a community. Individual perceptions are key in any definition of quality of life, but generally the concept has to do with positive feelings of well-being and a sense that one is living "the good life." The word good, and the mental images and emotional feelings associated with the concept of goodness, are generally agreed by psychologists to be fundamental to a concept of quality of life. In fact, the association is so strong that Wellsprings of a Good Life is the title of the "working movement" that led to a joint project of the Gallup Organization and the College of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis Aesthetics. Gallup's theoretical approach to studying the constructs believed to be important to perceptions of overall happiness and satisfaction diverges from the norm, in that, Gallup did not consider the influence of respondents' socio-economic status or educational status.

The concept of quality of life makes salient all the aspects and attributes of community life that are valued by its citizens. For each individual residing in a community, the constellation of attributes and elements will differ, but the aspects and attributes may be aggregated in order to arrive at a quality of life portfolio for a specific community. This quality of life portfolio must be capable of being disaggregated in order to more deeply examine the data and data sources from which the desirable elements were elicited or identified.

The development of a quality of life concept has bearing on its usability and on opportunities for replication of the process used to arrive at a validated quality of life concept. As with any research, the more care that is taken in the development and implementation of the research design, the more opportunity there is to apply the research findings to praxis, to "real life," and to future research. So, too, careful and reasoned development of a quality of life construct, conceptual framework, and instrumentation is important to its credible use, application, and influence. A good case can be made by considering that the joint project of the Gallup Organization and the College of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis Aesthetics produced a survey -- Gallup's Quality of Community Life Survey -- which was of such good quality that it was used as a template for community change. The survey was used to provide feedback to the St. Louis metropolitan community and was of sufficient scientific rigor to be benchmarked to national surveys on quality of life. The survey results were used at annual summits to drive the setting of positive action priority setting and action planning sessions to implement those priorities. The survey processes and data were made available on an integrated web-based database with the aim of encouraging use of the data by the general public, urban researchers in St. Louis and other metropolitan settings, researchers at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, the Gallup Organization researches, and senior scientists and researchers around the globe. Clearly, a well-conceived and robustly implemented quality of life study can have been important well beyond the realm of the community in which the research was conducted.

Quality of life is a community-specific measure of the aggregate perceptions of those residing in a particular community with regard an evidence-based value configuration. The configuration must be evidence-based in that it is derived from research -- typically multiple measures research which consists of both qualitative and quantitative measures.

A value configuration can be thought of as akin to the value innovation used in Blue Ocean strategy. A value innovation is the configuration of core competencies expressed by a company that signals its differentiation. In Blue Ocean terms, this differentiation must be based on what is most valued by consumers and what is not offered by competitors. It is the value innovation that provides the competitive edge for a company employing Blue Ocean strategy. Similarly, a quality of life value configuration must illustrate the unique elements and attributes, as described by a particular community, that best represent those desirable traits capable of engendering feelings of well-being and positive regard toward one's community life.

The dimensions identified by Gallup and used in the survey follow. The aesthetics dimension is the experience of engaging in, appreciating, or being surrounded by music, drama, paintings, sculpture -- arts and performing arts of all kinds. The civic dimension consists of volunteer service and working to improve one's community or state. The dimension of courage is identified by taking a stand in the face of resistance and standing up for one's beliefs. The dimension of creativity can be seen when someone produces something original and uses imagination. The dimension of discipline was described as being detail-oriented. The friendship dimension is manifested by caring for someone, being good neighbors, and having a best friend. The future focus dimension entails having goals and plans for the future. The learning dimension includes learning and growing, and always asking questions. The principle-centered dimension consists of having principles to guide one's life. The spirituality dimension includes prayer and meditation, and a belief in universal power. The subjective well-being dimension is manifested through satisfaction with one's life and life conditions. The wisdom dimension includes being able to sense the feelings of others, and having people seek someone out for advice. The workplace satisfaction dimension is manifested by looking forward to going to work.

A national survey (n = 1,008)and a survey restricted to the St. Louis metropolitan area (n = 999) were conducted during a period between June 22, 2001 and August 3, 2001. Instrumentation was based on the 17 dimensions originally identified and included items related to demographics and 106 other items related specifically to quality of life. Following administration of the surveys, the quality of life dimensions and the question items were reconfigured. The new configuration was a smaller -- just 12 quality of life dimensions and 67 question items, with the addition of two overall measures. The final survey consisted, then, of 75 items total. The researchers tested the reliability of the reconfigured instrument and found it to be .90, well within the acceptable range.

Indicator 20 -- Median Gross Rent

Indicator Response #1: Definition & Measurement

Concept Measured by Indicator -- The American Community Survey (ACS) data includes profiles of social, economic, housing, and demographic data tables, and geographic comparison tables for select data characteristics. The calculation of gross rent is eliminates disparity resulting from different practices with regard to the inclusion of fuel and utilities as part of the rental payment. Median gross rent represents the point on a distribution where half of the rent figures are above and half are below median.

Concept Measurement / Variable Scale -- The ACS data indicates that Q1 2011 median gross rent was $1,001. Sourcebook. Retrieved http://www.housingvirginia.org/tc.aspx?PID=360

Concept Importance -- The median gross rent is associated with a number of dynamics, such as rental unit supply and demand, cost of living increases, inflation, demographic churn, and so forth.

Concept Operational Definition -- Median gross rent divides the gross rent distribution into two equal parts: one-half of the cases falling below the median gross rent and one-half above the median. Median gross rent is computed on the basis of a standard distribution and so is a derived measure. Median gross rent is rounded to the nearest whole dollar. ACS Report 2005, Puerto Rico. Retrieved http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/

data_documentation/SubjectDefinitions/2005_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf

Indicator Response #3: Error / Reliability / Validity

Sources of Random / Non-Random Error -- The ACS survey data collection and analysis process includes steps taken to address sources of nonsampling error, including measurement errors, coverage error, non-response error, and errors that may be the result of data capture and data processing.

Data Source Inclusion of Error Estimation Measure Substantive statistical techniques are used in the ACS survey to measure and address estimation error. A complex weighting formula is used to obtain good data for sample person, household and group quarters persons, and sample housing units (HU).

Concept / Term Definition -- Subject definitions are used throughout the research and the databases provided by ACS.

Values Mutually Exclusive / Cumulatively Exhaustive -- Subject definitions are crafted to eliminate confusion about terminology and are pilot tested.

Inter-rater Reliability -- The Content Test evaluated alternatives for items with low scores on the Content Re-interview Survey.

Respondent / Coder Access to Information -- The Content Test evaluated alternatives for items that showed any indication of a problem, including low reliability.

Internal Consistency -- The Content Test evaluated alternatives for items that showed any indication of a problem, or any threats to reliability or validity.

Agreement Among Data Stakeholders -- Through the Interagency Committee for the ACS oversaw the review of the ACS instrument by more than thirty Federal agencies. Subcommittees further worked to specifically improving questions and response categories, and also provide input to the Census Bureau SMEs and statisticians who were the authors of the Content Test and its evaluation criteria. 2006 Content Test. Retrieved http://www.census.gov / acs/www/methodology/2006_content_test/

Face Validity -- The Content Test evaluated alternatives for items that showed any indication of a problem, or any threats to validity

Content Validity -- The Content Test evaluated alternatives for items that showed any indication of a problem, or any threats to validity

Criterion Validity / Concurrent Validity

Concept Stability -- The Content Test included testing of new topics proposed by other federal agencies for inclusion in the ACS data, and all new items were subject to the same level of analysis.

Analysis Stability -- Any changes in analysis were addressed statistically.

Indicator 22 -- Number of Foreclosures

Indicator Response #1: Definition & Measurement

Concept Measured by Indicator -- Number of foreclosures measures the effects on families, neighborhoods and communities of converging financial and economic variables, such as the sub-prime loan fiasco, the recession, the unemployment rate, and so forth. Number of foreclosures is also an indicator of the increasing rate of overburdened renters as households that have experienced foreclosures tend to move to rental housing, which has a rental cost increase rate (approaching 50% of gross median income) of nearly double that of mortgage rates. Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Retrieved http://www.jchs.harvard.edu / publications/recent_publications.html

Concept Measurement -- The number of foreclosures, as defined by Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, U. S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Mortgage Banker Association equals the percentage of borrowers' mortgage in foreclosure divided by total homeowner loans in a single year. Number of foreclosures is expressed in number and percentage rate of foreclosures in a given period of time (CY, FY or QTR).

Variable Scale. The variable scale is a ratio of homeowner foreclosures to total homeowner loans for period X.

Concept Importance -- Foreclosures influence the economic, social and fiscal status of families, neighborhoods and communities and identify emerging issues. Foreclosures can deter commercial investments in an area and make home resale difficult. The number of foreclosures in the City of Alexandria impacts family stability, vacancies rates, property values, crime rates, and neighborhood / community life. The degree of impact caused by the foreclosure problem is difficult to estimate in Alexandria. Nevertheless, the goal of the City of Alexandria is to forestall future foreclosure problems by reviewing relevant existing laws and regulations to identify areas where adjustments may be needed.