This report is based on data and insights obtained during a study tour of the United States and Canada. The purpose of the tour was to combine attending three conferences on social work and social welfare held in Montreal, Canada in the summer of 1984 with visiting various institutions in Canada and the United States. In the first section of this…

This fact book provides demographic, social, economic, and other statistical information of Italian immigrants in Canada. Based on the 1971 and 1976 censuses of Canada and on information from recent Italian and other Canadian sources, the fact book includes tables and figures on numbers of Italians in Canada by age, sex, and linguistic group;…

Conclusions were that: (1) meanings of mental health constructs cluster differently depending on the analysis; (2) happiness may be considered the most apposite representative of the mental health constructs employed by gerontologists; and (3) contemporary models of happiness favor neither the expansionist nor contractionist positions as a means…

A survey of Canadian staff members (n=22), rehabilitation patients (N=27), pacemaker patients (n=31), and family members of the patients (N=34) asked what they considered important to the patients' quality of life. Results found marked differences between the groups in the physical, psychological, and activity domains, indicating that quality of…

Life experiences of 18 people with severe mental retardation are reported 4 years after their deinstitutionalization from Tranquille, a facility in Kamloops, British Columbia (Canada). Four themes are identified and discussed: planning and grouping people, leadership, community integration, and social networks. Quality of life had improved for 13…

The Manitoba Health Education Curriculum focuses on promoting the development of positive lifestyle practices in students from kindergarten through grade nine. The core units of the program are: (1) social-emotional well-being; (2) physical well-being; (3) nutrition; (4) dental health; (5) safety; and (6) environmental health. This overview offers…

A literature review is presented of client outcome measures in rehabilitation programs for the physically disabled in Canada and the United States. Following an introduction to the changing need for program evaluations and accountability, articles dealing with the traditional outcome measurement system are reviewed that deal with the traditional…

Discusses the "sense of art" as an experience and expression in both daily life and art forms that gives Aboriginal people a feeling of coherence and beauty and helps them to survive and thrive. Illustrates the application of these concepts in land-based aesthetic experiences at a community site of Simon Fraser University's Professional…

A survey of 558 teachers in rural schools and districts in British Columbia explored influences on teachers' decisions to enter, remain in, or leave their districts. Important factors in career decisions were the job itself, lifestyle, school district recruiters, financial compensation, social and recreational opportunities, and partner's job. (KS)

Study of how busing time to school affected daily activities in 64 rural households in Eastern Townships School Board, Quebec (Canada), found that household schedules altered according to distance from school, constraints on students' and families' activities increased as travel time increased, travel time was viewed as wasted time, and farm…

This annotated bibliography lists 110 Canadian federal and provincial government documents published in 1991 that address a wide range of topics, including demographics; constitutional law; social issues, including problems of women, children, and minorities; education; the environment; and standard of living. A list of reviewers is included. (MES)

A survey of 1,105 Ontario farmers examined perceived quality of life as a function of social class, sex, age, education, income, and off-farm employment. Most farmers, especially highly educated and wealthy ones, felt their quality of life was high, but also believed they had been adversely affected by recent rural social change. (LP)

The purpose of this study was to make comparisons between Aboriginal residential school survivors' perceptions of health status and overall quality of life, and Aboriginal non-residential school attendees, as well as between non-Aboriginals. Data were obtained from thirty-three questions derived from the 2001 Determinants of Health and Quality of…

The aim of this investigation was to measure the impact of the arts broadly construed on the quality of life. A randomly drawn household sample of 315 adult residents of Prince George, British Columbia served as the working data-set. Examining zero-order correlations, among other things, it was found that playing a musical instrument a number of…

This paper explores the emerging relationship between distance education and sustainable development. After ranging through the literature on sustainable community development, this essay concludes that above all it must be unified: it must combine the traditional economic criteria for success (profits and employment) with a fusing of community…