This study examined the characteristics of family environment and its relationship to attitudes toward science. Data were collected from over 800 seventh-grade and over 1,400 tenth-grade students during a longitudinal, multi-dimensional study of the relationship between the variables of home, school, and self as related to attitudes toward and…

In 1972 and 1973, 7 southern states (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee) were surveyed to determine household head or spouse's perceptions of quality of life (QOL) in their county of residence and to determine perceptions of change in quality of life for their family situations, within their…

The first part of this report contains a case study from each of the eight southern states participating in a late 1970s project which focused primarily on the organization of rural counties for making decisions that affect the well-being of county residents. In the second section, the study counties (identified as low income in 1950) are placed…

This paper stresses the need for consumer education programs which reflect social changes and which will be relevant in the future. Specifically, it explores ways in which educators can develop and implement consumer education programs which stress quality of life, simplified lifestyles, and changing American consumption habits. Quality of life is…

Data on the social effects of boomtown growth and industrialization were collected from residents of three western communities (Craig, Colorado; Price, Utah; and Gunnison, Colorado) via a fairly detailed mail questionnaire sent to a random sample of 900. Completed questionnaires were received from 443 (a return rate of 65%). A number of different…

This paper presents a model student leadership program and an evaluation of its effectiveness. This model, which considers positive personal contact between students and staff to be a key element in student leadership training, is designed to have a positive impact on student development and campus life. The basic training strategy is explained as…

Agriculture and the railroad were significant forces in the development of Suwannee County, Florida, formally created in 1858 but explored and settled beginning some 300 years earlier. Lumber and cotton caused an early 20th century boom in the county which soon saw the negative effects of both industries. The introduction of tobacco in the late…

Curriculum planning can be improved by obtaining a clearer insight into the specific needs and interests of young people. Studies using the critical incident technique were made of the education and subsequent careers of a representative national sample of individuals. The purpose was to assess the quality of life of individuals in three age…

Rural development is understood to mean both the increased productivity of agriculture and other rural economic activities and the enhancement of the material well-being of the rural people (who comprise about 90% of Tanzania's 16 million population) through education, improved health, and better nutrition. Seven hundred and sixty-one books,…

The chairman's report to the Inter-University Council for Higher Education Overseas covers financial outlays, expenditure cuts and program assistance ventures conducted with British government approval to educationally impoverished areas in Africa, the Caribbean, the Far East and other locales during 1978-79. The chairman argues that the IUC's…

Current and approaching crises in man's inhabitation of the Earth are discussed and enumerated. Education is proposed as a method of alleviating the social, ecological, psychological, and eventual biological pressures created by man's increasing subjugation to technology. The emerging pattern of disaster for man as a species is delineated, and a…

In order to assess the impact of the growing number of part-time farm families on the nature of social relations in rural communities, part-time and full-time farmers from five counties in South-Central Missouri were compared on three aspects: (1) community integration; (2) perceived benefits from rural living; and (3) goals and priorities they…

As part of a continuing effort to assess the social impacts on communities of energy facility planning, construction, operation, and decommissioning, a May 1977 survey of 37 community leaders in Hartsville, Tennessee (site of a nuclear power plant) establishes major local issues (past, present, and future) which leaders feel are important to…

A two-year study and subsequent conference held in November 1977, sponsored by the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., focused on the role of church-related colleges in higher education, and on their distinctive contribution to the churches, higher education, and the quality of life in America. In this report, a number of…

In order for society to attain true social justice, individual citizens must be equipped with the knowledge and skills to take control of their lives through proper use of social service systems. In the United States the present system of social services is inadequate to fulfill the needs of all of its clients. As the economy continues to force…