The paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of allowing mentally retarded clients to exercise personal liberties, such as the right to choose and refuse daily activities. Recommendations are offered to protect both the right to habilitation and the freedom to choose. (Author/DB)

Examined autonomy in male college students with (n=33) and without (n=28) Greek affiliation who completed Iowa Developing Autonomy Inventory. Results were nonsignificant for total autonomy scale and for five of six subscales: interdependence, emotional independence-parents, time management, money management, and mobility. Fraternity men were found…

Long-term care of the elderly raises conflicts between personal autonomy and well-being. Assessments of decision-making capacity and definitions of negative and positive autonomy pose value-laden dilemmas for caregivers. (SK)

The historical focus of home economics is on the well-being of the individual and the family. The promotion of individual autonomy is, therefore, an appropriate mission for home economics education. (SK)

Explores the directiveness/nondirectiveness dilemma as experienced by community development practitioners. Discusses strategies used in attempts to deal with this dilemma and concludes with implications for practice. (Author)

The structure of adaptive behavior as a function of age and handicap status was investigated with 288 mentally retarded persons and nonretarded controls. Exploratory analysis of the subscale scores from the Scales of Independent Behavior revealed a large Adaptive or Personal Independence dimension and smaller Academic, Personal Responsibility, and…

Refutes the idea that autonomy in work is necessary for efficient coordination or to enable the organization to develop a learning structure. Suggests that autonomy is an important element for internal incentive; if training is to become an incentive factor, autonomy is essential. (SK)

The empowerment of individuals with disabilities has resulted in a corresponding disempowerment of service professionals. These professionals need the freedom to be diligent and effective in their work; they need opportunities to be creative, to try out new ideas, and perhaps to fail, rather than be buried under excessively burdensome restrictions…

A scholar on legal ethics responds to criticism that his views on legal advocacy are morally neutral, arguing that his approach is client centered, emphasizing the lawyer's role in enhancing the client's autonomy as a free person in a free society. He argues that the lawyer's autonomy must be respected. (MSE)

This article describes how persons with disabilities can be given more control over supported employment services and, thus, their work experiences. Consumer empower issues are examined from various aspects of service delivery (e.g., preferences for training methods) and types of problems. Illustrative case examples show the positive effects of…

A British Columbia survey of 45 intermediate care residents and 45 nurses found significant differences between residents' and staff perceptions of the importance of activities and residents' level of choice. Staff members' erroneous assumptions may result in procedures that restrict residents' choice of activities. (SK)

Proposes alternative, empowering view of empowerment as a paradigm that increases behavior potential of people, both individually and in organizations. Behavior potential is defined as totality of behaviors available to a person. It is argued that an individual is empowered in possessing a repertoire of behaviors and in being able to express and…

Examined data from 809 Illinois residents surveyed in 1985. Found marriage had trade-offs for women's sense of control: it increased it by increasing household income, but it decreased it, probably by decreasing autonomy. With household income held constant, nonmarried women had highest sense of control of any group. For men, marriage had less…

This article analyzes arguments for a written form of American Sign Language (ASL) and suggests the need for empowerment of people who are deaf. It concludes that suggestions to "alphabeticize" ASL or to utilize English glosses would not be appropriate, and proposes that deaf people themselves develop a visual symbol system. (DB)

This speech, given by the recipient of the American Library Association (ALA) Author Achievement Award in 1990, discusses the responsibilities of writers of young adult fiction. Issues addressed include problems in growing up, declaring independence from your peers, and the importance of the role of librarians. (LRW)