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 article discusses the demographic transition and its impact on the welfare of the elderly in Africa. It provides a brief socio-demographic profile on elderly Africans. Also, it addresses challenges brought about by population aging and how it affects the provision of services to address the care giving needs of the elderly. Additionally, it…

This study examined the effects of personality traits and motivation to volunteer on well-being as 107 older participants went through an intervention to increase volunteering. Three groups of volunteers, current, new, and former volunteers, participated. Participants were assessed four times on standardized measures of personality, health,…

The article discusses learning as embedded processes of development and aging, and as social activity over the life course. The concept of life-span learning is proposed and outlined to discuss these processes as aspects of and propositions in life-span development and aging theory. Life-span learning processes arise and continuously develop in a…

This paper's starting point is the dynamic changes and shifts in the field of measuring and monitoring children's well being. In the paper we focus on one specific change--the "new" role of children in measuring and monitoring their own well being--a role of active participants rather than of subjects for research. We then turn to present based on…

In recent years, sociologists have been focusing a great deal of attention on young people in general and college students in particular. There is a special area of research that has made itself vigorously well known, namely the sociology of youth. This article deals with value orientations of young people in college. In this article, the authors…

For 20 years, GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) has worked to ensure safe schools for all students, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. For 10 of those years, GLSEN has been documenting the school experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth: the prevalence of anti-LGBT…

Throughout history, societal investments in children have resulted in increased prosperity for individuals, communities, states and nations. This proved to be the case for California in the 1950s and 1960s, when the state strongly supported children's futures. Despite once following this path to prosperity, California has de-prioritized children…

Susan Friedman, a Visiting Assistant Professor of English at the University of South Florida, has found through her own teaching experience that incorporating autobiographical texts and self-writing into her pedagogical practices can foster a classroom environment that pays attention to subjectivity to promote mindful, ethical behavior in both…

Monitoring the well-being of children and adolescents is a critical component of efforts to prevent psychological, behavioral, and health problems and to promote their successful development. Research during the past 40 years has helped identify aspects of child and adolescent functioning that are important to monitor. These aspects, which…

The "California Report Card" provides a comprehensive overview of child and family well-being in California, focusing particularly on children's health and educational status, and on the policies and programs that affect them. Based on policy progress and children's outcomes, each focus area is assigned a grade. The "Report…

This paper gives a description of the support needs of people with profound multiple disabilities (PMD), based on the five basic dimensions of the 2002 AAMR System, being intellectual abilities, adaptive behavior, participation, interaction and social roles, health and context. It is based on a study of the literature concerning the target group.…

The impact of early life events that take place under specific historical and societal circumstances on adult development have rarely been investigated in old age. We examined whether having started a family in young adulthood was related to the contents of possible selves generated by women aged 85 to 100+ in the Berlin Aging Study (N = 129; M…

This study seeks to assess the impact of maternal psychological well-being on the depression and anxiety levels and social withdrawal in a sample of young African American and Caucasian adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14 (N = 854) using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 child sample. Analyses using structural equation…

Objective and Participants: The authors examined the prevalence of mental health needs in international graduate students, their knowledge of mental health services, and their use of on-campus and off-campus counseling services. Methods: All registered graduate students in the Spring 2004 semester received an e-mail invitation to participate in a…