The arts do not feature prominently in education systems of such countries as Australia. Yet evidence from a range of sources indicates central importance of the arts to human life. Children exhibit, through play, the essential qualities of the arts, and the arts provide us all (children included) with a means of individual expression and forms of…

The author cites the need for defining and measuring quality of life and personal life satisfaction for individuals with mental retardation, asserting that the American Association on Mental Deficiency should assume a leadership role in this effort. (CL)

Argues that despite the problems associated with measuring and interpreting old people's appraisals of their housing situation, these subjective indicators provide necessary insights for effective planning and program evaluation. (Author/BL)

Examined 76 late-life marriages in which one spouse was recuperating from a hospital stay. High satisfaction was found in most marriages, with spouses providing much support. Socioeconomic status, gender of caregiver, and level of disability of spouse had minimal impact on marital quality or social support potentials. (NRB)

Interviews conducted with 30 disabled adults having varying degrees of orthopedic and spinal cord disabilities, deafness, and severe visual impairments revealed that 50 percent of the congenitally disabled would choose surgery guaranteed to completely cure the disability, and 50 percent opted for no surgery, fearing change in their satisfying…

Describes the process of implementing the New York State Long-Term Home Health Care Program (LTHHCP) during its initial three years of operation. Sponsors of similar programs should be aware of the need for program flexibility and the length of time required for start-up and implementation. (JAC)

This report proposes a uniform definition of wellness that refers to wellness as a multidimensional state of being, describing the existence of positive health in an individual as exemplified by quality of life and a sense of wellbeing. Several important characteristics included in this definition are: wellness is multidimensional; wellness is a…

Over 20 years of research and clinical practice in music therapy with premature infants has been compiled into this text designed for Board Certified Music Therapists specializing in Neonatal Intensive Care clinical services, for NICU medical staff incorporating research-based music therapy into developmental care plans, and for parents of…

This booklet presents ideas and experiences of members of People First of Tennessee, including those with disabilities, an organization that is working to improve the lives of people with disabilities who still live in institutions. Emphasis is on their role as "next friends," people who get the attention of a federal judge regarding…

The purpose of this paper is to explain how the Swedish citizen has developed his (or her) judgment concerning quality of life, attributable to real and simulated civilizations. It builds on a previous research report (B. Bierschenk, 1997) about three model societies that have been studied with the assumptions that: (1) competition implies…

Researchers evaluated On the Right Track, which works to prevent secondary conditions for Texans with disabilities. The three main goals are: science (knowledge concerning the magnitude and severity of disabilities and secondary conditions); service (promoting healthy lifestyles by increasing awareness of the need for preventing secondary…

The widespread acceptance of home schooling has persisted long enough to address the question of how well home-schooled children do later in life. In this book, 20 interviews investigate the long-term effects of home schooling in Britain. In the 1980s, the author conducted interviews with several of the same students, when most were teenagers…

The relationship between quality of life and the GNP is the focus of this article which defends the GNP. Four positive propositions about economic growth and the GNP are stated and defended. It is acknowledged that there is a need for social indicators broader than the GNP accounts. (KM)

Argues that perfected technology, not neo-Ludite response, is necessary for solution of world food and resource problems. Although energy supply will ultimately limit available food, reactors can supply sufficient power for 15 billion population. (AL)

Attempts to locate adult education in the tradition of social policy analysis which has long been concerned with social welfare and, more recently, with schooling. Considers the idea of social control as it has figured in the context of social welfare policy and schooling. (JOW)