Social well-being is essential to overall health and quality of life for all children, youth, and adults. However, children and youth with disabilities are often at higher risk for experiencing lower levels of social, and related emotional, well-being than their peers without disabilities. They are among those more likely to be bullied and…

Globally, a range of new schooling accountabilities have created a complex and often contradictory context in which school leaders work. For principals of low socio-economic status (SES) and disadvantaged schools, they must balance the accountability, performance and reporting requirements against the other needs of their communities. These…

Despite career satisfaction models being well established, little is understood about the career satisfaction of indigenous employees. Using a sample of 172 Maori employees, the indigenous people of New Zealand, we tested a career satisfaction model with a cultural wellbeing factor over and above established factors of human capital,…

An education based in human ecology can greatly benefit interior designers as they work to understand and improve the human condition. Design programs housed in colleges focusing on human ecology can improve the interior design profession by taking advantage of their home base and emphasizing the human ecological framework in the design curricula.…

Because employment is a significant predictor of the quality of life of people with disabilities (Rumrill, Roessler, & Fitzgerald, 2004; Viermo & Krause, 1998), discrimination in the workplace that interferes with successful job acquisition or retention is a serious matter. Unfortunately, this type of discrimination is all too prevalent.…

A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed to evaluate resuscitation decisions and factors that impact these choices for young people with severe developmental disabilities residing in a skilled nursing facility. Decision-makers were provided with information to clarify resuscitation preferences. Parents/guardians of 30 of the 67 residents…

This study assessed quality of life (QOL) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of 203 adolescents with cerebral palsy (111 males, 92 females; mean age 16y [SD 1y 9mo]). Participants were classified using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), as Level I (n=60), Level II (n=33), Level III (n=28), Level IV (n=50), or Level V…

This paper describes the monitoring system of the urban quality of life developed by the Porto City Council, a new tool being used to support urban planning and management. The two components of this system--a quantitative approach based on statistical indicators and a qualitative analysis based on the citizens' perceptions of the conditions of…

This brief report examines the benefits of a creative art therapy group program for outpatients suffering from psychiatric disorders. Included is a review of relevant treatment outcomes literature on the effectiveness of group art therapy. The authors describe the Creative Art Therapy Group Program offered to adult psychiatric outpatients that is…

This article describes a pay-for-performance system developed for Minnesota nursing homes. In effect, nursing homes can retain a greater proportion of the difference between their costs and the average costs on the basis of their quality scores. The quality score is a derived and weighted composite measure currently composed of five elements:…

This article explores what the ultimate purpose of university education is, and whether a university is indeed a golden key for a happy life. Two research questions are addressed as follows: for what the young study in a university?; and a university, is it a golden key for happiness? To defend the research questions systematically, the author…

During the 1960s and 70s the United States environmental movement experienced dramatic growth in both absolute size and in the diversity of organizational structures and issues represented within the movement. We assess the importance of change in movement size and compositional diversity on two important stages within the legislative process.…

Subjective well-being has increasingly been used as a key indicator of quality of life in older people. Existing evidence shows that it is likely that eastern cultures carry different life values and so the Chinese Aging Well Profile was devised for measuring subjective well-being in Chinese adults (50+). Data was collected from 1,906…

Professional early childhood educators are often asked for advice about whether or when a young child should learn to play a music instrument. Many educators who do not have a background in music education may not be confident in providing such advice. A range of overseas research has supported learning a music instrument in the early childhood…

Comparisons of wellbeing between the United States and Western Europe generally show that most Americans have higher standards of living than do Western Europeans at comparable locations in their national income distributions. These comparisons of wellbeing typically privilege disposable income and cash transfers while ignoring other aspects of…