BY AMY L. SMITH
NovaNewsNow.com
A comprehensive report profiling the lives and values of Kings County was released last month in Wolfville and the details are astounding.
The report is the result of a Genuine Progress Index (GPI) that was created for the region by non-profit research group GPI Atlantic. Researchers Ron Colman and Michael and Martha Pennock are hoping the GPI will replace more traditionally focused measures of progress that they say often miss the big picture.
Current measures of progress report mostly on the size of the economy. The gross domestic product (GDP), the value of all goods produced within a country’s borders within a year, is the standard statistic. While Colman, GPI Atlantic Executive Director, says the GDP is an excellent tool for measuring economic progress, he notes that economic progress does not always mean progress in social and environmental realms.
“The creation of prisons is going to cause a rise in the GDP,” Pennock offered as an example. “The GDP would be much less important if it wasn’t used incorrectly as a measure of well-being.”
The Kings County GPI, which was unveiled June 24, measures data on a wide range of variables collected during a 2001 survey. What makes the data so incredible is not only the depth of analysis its variables allow researchers, but that all variables are customized for Kings County specifically.
Population is time-taxed, overstressed
Areas that hold importance in Kings, notably the impact of things like seasonal work, were decided on when the project was conceived in 2000. A series of meetings was held with various community groups to determine what represents progress and well-being to the people of the region. Researchers then put together a survey that would measure statistics on subjects such as employment, self-rated health, spirituality, crime and security among others.
The sheer number of variables allow for the cross-referencing of data with factors such as age and economic status. Analysis included in the report offered some interesting insight into Kings County’s citizens. While the region is relatively prosperous economically, the result is a time-taxed and overstressed population.
Fifty-three per cent of the nearly 1,900 respondents felt their lives were very or somewhat stressful. Those most stressed earn the highest income and are between the ages of 35 and 44. The tension results from the task of juggling long work hours and home lives. Researchers point to higher levels of stress among dual income families to confirm this.
When looking at what respondents said were their core values - data other surveys rarely even collect - it’s hard not to wonder where the urge to earn comes from. Residents assigned high importance to values such as family (86 per cent), responsibility (81 per cent), and freedom (77 per cent). Financial security was listed by only 51 per cent as a highly important core value and material wealth came last at only 10 per cent.
Interestingly, citizens felt that Canadians as a whole held a largely different set of core values. Where most saw themselves holding socially positive values, they saw Canadian society coveting material wealth, pleasure and career advancement above all others.
High level of life satisfaction
Comparing statistics with Glace Bay, another Nova Scotia community that underwent similar research, yields interesting results. It was seen in the Kings County area that people with more pro-social core values also reported high levels of life satisfaction. The Glace Bay results demonstrate this characteristic even more drastically. Though the area is characteristically troubled with unemployment, its people report a higher level of life satisfaction than those in more affluent Kings County.
While Kings and Glace Bay hold the same general core values, the Glace Bay populace is less active in seeking career success and material wealth in reality.
The information uncovered from the data is not only interesting, but useful. The GPI data indicates that a quarter of the working population would trade a pay increase for less hours, a thought-provoking statistic for many Kings County employers.
Policymakers can see what really matters to the constituency. Even in the initial discussions, it was revealed that Glace Bay residents were very concerned about vandalism in their community. With this information, the police were able to adapt their service immediately to better fit the needs of the citizens.
“There are very few barriers to action at the local level,” Colman said.
Information can assist community groups
Community groups will also find the information very constructive. The GPI’s section on volunteerism shows that many community members would gladly volunteer if they were simply asked. This was especially true among youth.
Pennock and Colman say this information can entirely change an organization’s philosophy on recruiting benevolent workers.
“Kings County has the potential to know more about itself through mining this data than any other community in the country,” Colman said.
However, researchers are also fearful that this information will go unused and one of Kings County’s greatest assets will go to waste. Currently housed at Acadia under the supervision of professor Glyn Bissex, the database is accessible to municipal government and the public. Researchers say that it’s up to constituents to urge policymakers to take advantage of the information.
The full report on Kings County and a comparative report including information from Glace Bay is available on the group’s website,
www.GPIAtlatntic.org.
