Spiritual and religious discussion within therapy can be essential for treatment. Proposes that therapists must be aware of their personal level of differentiation in order to effectively integrate spiritual/religious discussion in therapy. (Contains 28 references.)

Web-based learning can be liberating and enhance autonomy and reflection. However, new forms of computer-based learning also have the potential for panoptic surveillance and control of students, practices that are inimical to the values and philosophy of nursing education. (Contains 37 references.) (SK)

Individualism-collectivism theory predicted that Egyptian and Canadian children's performance would differ on relevant scales of the Robert Apperception Test for Children (RATC). Findings validated cross-cultural use of the RATC and demonstrated that the increasingly general theory of collectivism allowed meaningful predictions about personality…

Explores a link between the psychologically oriented identity status paradigm, and the sociologically oriented individualization theory. The primary link between these two approaches appears to be that the individualization process can be operationalized in terms of agency in identity formation. Concludes that identity statuses representing…

Reports the testing of hypotheses about principal vision generated from Blumberg and Greenfield's (1986) qualitative studies of effective principals. Teachers tend to associate a robust principal with freedom to select the techniques of their work; the relationship between teacher sense of autonomy and principal vision is less clear. (JD)

Examined perceptions of decisional autonomy and decision-making processes among 64 elderly mothers and caregiving daughters. Mothers were highly involved in decisions affecting their lives, from daily care to major health decisions. Daughters were influential over major health, financial, and housing decisions. Mothers' level of personal care…

The study of special and regular education students' perceptions of control at school found comparability among groups with regard to areas in which control is valued. Perceptions of control were lower for students in the standard special education group than those of regular students or of special education students in an experimental program.…

An individual with a disability complains that under the blanket term "disabled" individual needs and rights are not respected, privacy is invaded, people are always being evaluated but never asked to evaluate services they receive, and everything must be part of a "program" rather than just part of daily life. (JDD)

This study assessed the validity of idiosyncratic choice-making behaviors of three children with multiple disabilities. Children were given either their "choice" of food or drink or were given the opposite. Direct observations of children's acceptance or refusal revealed the children consistently indicated choices during both conditions.…

A group of 48 undergraduate business students used computer conferencing for electronic debate. Students agreed that the method influenced critical thinking, and they liked the freedom to participate at any time. They disliked the amount of time involved in notetaking, and some had difficulty keeping track of comments and messages. (SK)

Examined decision of 56 people living in retirement communities to quit driving, and role of physician and family in making this decision. Most stopped driving when threshold was reached after accumulation of compensatory behaviors. Few stopped because of doctor's advice, although all felt physician was in best position to evaluate driving, and…

Analysis of workplace experiences recounted by 29 human resource development (HRD) professionals uncovered 3 themes: emphasis on people and work processes, need for greater personal control and security, and desire for task and functional equity. Findings suggest that HRD is an occupational culture more concerned with employee development and…

Conducted pilot survey of 64 patients with late stage malignancy who had signed living wills. Found that 70.3 percent were grateful for opportunity to sign living will and maintain autonomy over their terminal care, 20.3 percent were either apparently indifferent or unwilling to discuss issue, and 9.4 percent appeared disturbed by their signing of…

Provided 57 college students with tools that enhance academic learning strategies (knowledge maps, scripted peer cooperation, and conceptual matrices) as means of improving personal management strategies. Students who felt they had control of whatever happened to them, and those who perceived problems as impactful and had strong desires to change…

Shared decision making about placement and medical interventions can be empowering to older persons, relieve burdens on older person and family, and facilitate better surrogate decision making later. Potential dangers of shared process include coercion, conflicts of interest, and disagreements between family members. New legal concepts could help…