Interviews with 120 rural Nigerian women found that 96% participate in self-help community development projects and 68% were engaged in farming. Constrains on participation included domestic responsibilities, lack of funding and resources, male domination, and politics. There was a significant relationship between their sociocultural beliefs and…

In 1995, there were 107 universities of the third age (U3As) in Australia (up from 104 in 1994) and Australian membership in U3A groups totaled 26,346 (compared to 20,788 in 1994). U3A membership in New Zealand was also up. In view of the increasing popularity of U3As in Australasia and the success of U3A networks in a number of countries…

The purpose of this article is to report on the system-level findings of a longitudinal study of four mental health consumer-run self-help organizations. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed that staff and members of the four Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) participated actively in system-level activities, including community planning,…

This article examines the outcomes of participation in mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) and identifies helpful qualities of CSIs through a longitudinal, qualitative study that involved in-depth interviews of people who experienced severe mental health challenges in Ontario, Canada. We used a nonequivalent control group design in…

Participatory adult education programs assist individuals to substitute interdependent, mutually beneficial relationships for unrewarding, dependent relationships. Indicators of changes in dependency, however, are absent or imprecise in evaluations of participatory projects. A study explored facets of dependency by relating practitioners'…