Current societal mandates for lifelong learning suggest rich opportunities for re-positioning family and consumer sciences (FCS) in education as a "foundation" for successful learning. Research confirms that quality of living (the historic mission of FCS) as a key determinant of success is inadequately addressed in today?s current social and…

This research project is an exploratory study that aims to describe and examine the state and nature of the quality of life of street children accommodated at three shelters. A non-probability sample of 48 street children at three shelters was purposively selected. An interview schedule was constructed and administered to gather data. The…

Teaching Preschoolers about the environment is hard. Many complex concepts are involved: the interactions among everything on the planet--air, land, water, and all living things; the systems that determine weather and climate, food supply, energy resources, and the quality of life for every plant and animal; systems operating on a planetary scale…

In India, the Constitution now includes special educational safeguards for aboriginals (Mohanty, 2003). Aboriginal communities, commonly denoted as "tribal," constitute roughly 8 percent of the total Indian population. In 1960, the Scheduled Area and Scheduled Tribes Commission was established with the aim of integrating the aboriginal…

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between self-determination and quality of life (QOL) of persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) living in four countries (Canada, United States, Belgium and France). Method: Participants were 182 adults with mild ID living in community settings (with families, living…

Background: Despite research that has investigated whether the financial benefits of open employment exceed the costs, there has been scant research as to the effect sheltered and open employment have upon the quality of life of participants. The importance of this research is threefold: it investigates outcomes explicitly in terms of quality of…

Background: To date, little attention has been given to the concept of quality of life around human resources employment programmes for staff working with persons with a dual diagnosis. Method: This article describes the implementation of quality of life principles to service provision for people with dual diagnosis and its application to staff…

This article discusses the importance of existential meaning in career counseling, provides a case study of its application, and relates it to career development theory. Career development and counseling professionals will find existential analysis useful in their service to others. Using logotherapy, a counseling professional living in a…

The five manuscripts reviewed in this article by the author provide a helpful discussion of the status of the professional disability field, with regard to understanding and advancing self-determination. The authors of the five manuscripts provided evidence on the progress that has been achieved in key areas in the advancement of…

As important current and increasing future sources of innovative economic initiatives, universities are unavoidably confronted by the challenging issues of sustainability and quality of life. The harmonization of social and economic goals will impact very significantly on their innovative activities in relation to both processes and outcomes.…

This study develops a quality of life instrument for older Japanese people experiencing dementia (QLDJ). Quality of life (QL) for these older adults is defined as a three dimensional construct including 1) interacting with surroundings, 2) expressing self, and 3) experiencing minimum negative behaviors. From 53 items in the initial item pool, 24…

This study examined how Parkinson's disease patients cope with disease-related stressors over time. Of interest was whether patterns of coping would support a dispositional model of coping (i.e., stability) or a contextual model of coping (i.e., change). The influence of stability and change in coping on mental and physical health outcomes was…

The concept of quality of life is increasingly being used internationally in the field of intellectual disabilities. We surveyed three respondent groups representing five geographical groupings on the importance and use of the 24 core quality of life indicators most commonly reported in the international quality of life literature. Results suggest…

Among the problems that make the everyday life of the family the most difficult, it is those related to people's material condition that have been and still are the most important. The fact that this topic remains solidly in the lead and has its own sequence of events--scarcity, rising prices, low income, and not having enough--is an indication…

This study examined the association of spirituality and health-related quality of life among 226 HIV-positive men. Two measures of spirituality were used: the Spiritual Growth subscale from the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (S. N. Walker, K. R. Sechrist, & N. J. Pender, 1987) and the Spirituality subscale of the HIV Coping Instrument (L.…