Chronic pain is an exponentially increasing issue for aging adults in the United States and has stretched the limits of technology and the ability of health care professionals to provide adequate care. Chronic pain deprives individuals of their independence, confidence, quality of life, and often their primary support groups while leaving them…

This ethnographic compilation is the result of a course exercise in qualitative research. A current student of Texas Tech University interviewed an 87-year old faculty member from the 1950s, comparing her experiences to those of the author in similar, present-day academic environments. The author developed the format of the paper as letters…

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in the United States for persons aged 60 and older. Compared to individuals without disabilities, individuals with low vision demonstrate a 15% to 30% higher dependence on others to perform activities of daily living. In addition, low vision can adversely affect a person's quality of life.…

This study investigates maternal grandmother-grandchild relationship quality as a predictor of psychological adjustment among youth from divorced families. Three hundred twenty-four adolescents aged between 17 and 20 report on the quality of their relationships with their maternal grandmothers and their relational competence, self-efficacy, and…

Adventure recreation activities like mountain biking, bouldering, and kayaking used to require considerable travel to unique locations. This is changing, however, as the new trend emerges in the United State of providing adventure recreation experiences in cities and towns, such as New York City and Golden, Colorado. This article highlights…

Teacher shortages are a critical issue for education, and agricultural education has not been exempt from this trend. Many factors possibly contribute to this lack of qualified teachers. Researchers suggest that retention practices, stress factors associated with agricultural education, and job satisfaction may be areas for improvement within the…

This study examines the role of school social workers as potential agents of change in the educational system, with a special focus on their major demographic characteristics in Texas and along the Mexico border region. The border region of the state has chronic poverty and limited educational attainment levels and demonstrates a need for…

Researchers evaluated On the Right Track, which works to prevent secondary conditions for Texans with disabilities. The three main goals are: science (knowledge concerning the magnitude and severity of disabilities and secondary conditions); service (promoting healthy lifestyles by increasing awareness of the need for preventing secondary…

The Texas Refugee Study was initiated to collect valid and reliable information to better direct refugee policy, improve services to refugees, give service providers information to help them become more competitive in seeking federal and private dollars, and help refugees better understand their own communities. The targeted groups, Vietnamese,…

This document presents the program agenda and highlights from the one-day Robert Lee Sutherland Seminar held to examine the current status and the future of the elderly population of Texas. Included is the speech, "The Longevity Revolution" by Robert N. Butler, in which is discussed the gain in life expectancy, the feminization of aging,…

These conference proceedings examine the future of humanities education in Texas and are part of the "Preparing for Texas in the 21st Century Project." The papers presented focused on such critical issues as state support for community sponsored cultural programming and the need for increased citizen understanding of other nations and…

A community-centered intervention in a south Texas colonia provided personal growth and entrepreneurial sessions to low-income immigrant Latinas. Interviews with 125 Latina program participants and 105 control group members indicated that although all groups were low-acculturated, intervention participants had higher scores on religious and…

Although the children in Texas face health and welfare issues common to other states, such as changing family structures, poverty, expanding immigrant populations, and tight budgets, there are unique aspects to Texas that must be factored in. These include having 254 counties, the largest rural population of any state, and a 46 percent increase in…

The extent to which citizens are knowledgeable about and satisfied with major services in their communities is important in effective community development. Quantities as well as quality of services need to be assessed to make a meaningful evaluation of quality of life. To investigate selected institutional services in Hopkins County, Texas, in…

Trained, indigenous, bilingual people conducted interviews with 172 Mexican American families from the Southmost area of Brownsville and rural communities in Brooks County, Texas, to ascertain metro-nonmetro community satisfaction, as determined by place of residence and age status differentiations among family members. Complete family study units…