The well-being of adolescents relates to choices made during discretionary time. Participation in organized recreation provides for constructive use of free time and development of skills for managing discretionary time. This article reviews literature on adolescents' basic developmental needs and discusses social contexts of adolescence, making…

Investigates how poverty, perceived economic status, coping, and defense behaviors interrelate. Asks if social support moderates this relationship, using sample consisting of 150 Indian men. Finds that perceived economic status is dependent on physical environment and income. Concludes that poverty made coping and defense behaviors more difficult,…

Evaluates the performance, between 1980 and 1990, of 12 supposedly revitalized cities on the basis of objective indicators of the economic well-being of their residents and compares the cities' performances to those of other cities that were equally distressed in 1980. The evaluation, with three exceptions, reveals no evidence of revitalization.…

This article argues that it is essential to improve the U.S. health care system and to cut costs. If unchecked, health care costs could rise to 20% of the gross domestic product by the turn of the century, leaving substantially fewer financial resources for other costs such as education. (SLD)

A Vermont project, the Environmental Programs/Partnerships in Communities (EPIC) project provides a transferable model for rural development. The program is sensitive to people and environmental needs, and emphasizes long-term functioning of the entire community system, not just specific outcomes. EPIC has supported leadership training, local…

Surveys the work of several ecological artists, describes their work, and includes a brief rational for their activity. Examines the artwork of Joseph Beuys in Germany, Andy Goldsworthy in Scotland, as well as Mierle Ukeles, Mel Chin, David Hanson, Ana Mendieta, and Helen and Newton Harrison in the United States. (MJP)

Presents a brief overview of the current disintegration of Russian society. Maintains that the decline in social services and the education system, in particular, threatens the well-being of Russian children. Currently Russia's educational system is failing to provide for its students' needs. (MJP)

As the male prison population increases, so too does the number of children with fathers in prison. The negative impact of fatherlessness on children has been well documented. While parenting education is often seen as an effective tool to improve the quality of family relationships and foster positive outcomes for children, fathers in prison…

Background: Relationships between child quality of life (QOL), maternal well-being and parenting were explored in a questionnaire study. Method: Mothers of 126 full-term (FT) and 91 pre-term (PT) infants during the child's second year of life completed measures of their own and the child's quality of life and behavioural difficulties. We developed…

The American way of life rests on a foundation of rational thought and civil behavior. Simply put, the strength of America depends on its culture--the set of beliefs, values, and behavioral norms to which most citizens adhere. Most educators have always viewed schooling for character and citizenship as a fundamental purpose of public education.…

International Lending Institutions (ILIs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) continuously design and implement Educational System Typologies (ESTs) in order to evaluate a nation's educational performance in terms of quality of life improvements; Traditional ESTs are therefore constantly put at odds by the advent of new ESTs. This study aims…

Objective: The main objective of this study was to explore patients' perceptions of general practitioner (GP) exercise referral (ER) schemes with a view to providing a better service for future patients. Design: A qualitative focus group methodology. Setting: Meeting rooms or communal areas in leisure centres across North Yorkshire. Method: Thirty…

Most psychosocial research on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has focused on deficits in school, family, or behavioral functioning without incorporating perceived quality of life (QoL) or the adolescents' perspective. The Youth Quality of Life Instrument-Research Version (YQOL-R), was used to assess self-perceived QoL in a…

The ability of students' social supports, such as friends from high school and family, to effectively lessen stress often wanes during students' transitions to postsecondary institutions. College, most often the best years of a student's life, at its first bloom (choosing a school) carries with it with high anxiety about changing location, routine…

This paper explores the social use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the city of Tampere, Finland. It focuses on two essential elements: the city (as the location with national context) and citizens (as members of the "local" information society). The paper also examines the question of building social networks via…