This paper considers corruption in higher education in Russia as reflected in the national media, including such aspects as corruption in admissions to higher education institutions and corruption in administering the newly introduced standardized test. The major focus is on the opinions of the leading figures of the education reform as related to…

Listening to the dying poses special challenges. This paper proposes a contingency framework for describing and assessing various circumstances when listening to the dying. It identifies current approaches to listening, applies the contingency framework toward effectively listening to the dying, and proposes a new type of listening called…

Contrary to popular opinion, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not just about hyperactive people who have short attention spans. ADHD is a disorder that involves difficult problems on a wide range of "executive dysfunction," a wide range of co-occuring conditions, and family problems. People need to recognize that ADHD is not just…

Our focus in this paper is on efforts to include persons with developmental disabilities in faith communities. We provide a review of the relevant literature on religious participation and faith communities for persons with disabilities and blend the limited data available on these topics with the perspectives of individuals whose efforts focus on…

Research on quality of life in sociology is largely focused on a narrow range of dimensions including affect, happiness and satisfaction. It largely avoids a concern with the meanings that provide people with the purpose, significance, validity and coherence that are a basis of social relationships and social integration. Evidence is presented…

Americans with disabilities depend on the disability services infrastructure, which consists of health, education, and social services programs. The need for these services is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades as a result of several factors, most notably the aging of the baby boom generation and declining birthrates. These…

This article was taken from a qualitative case study about Jason, a child who suffered from traumatic brain injury syndrome. This research focused on interactions among Jason, his classmates, his band director, his parents, and his school district. Jason encountered many challenges as a child with special needs in band. The purpose of this article…

In this article, the author describes the leadership class that she created for the family and consumer sciences (FCS) department. The class, "Family & Consumer Sciences Issues & Applications," focused on family and community action for improved quality of life. It included in-depth laboratory experiences, service learning activities, and the…

This year faculty salaries outpaced inflation for the first time in three years, but the American Association of University Professors is still warning of growing financial inequalities within higher education. "One year cannot reverse discouraging trends that have been developing over decades," writes Saranna R. Thornton, a professor of economics…

Although there have been claims of significant therapeutic benefits arising from the use of deep touch pressure techniques with children with autistic spectrum disorders, to date there have been few empirical investigations of its use with adults with autistic spectrum disorders and anxiety in clinical practice. This paper reports on the…

Globally, a range of new schooling accountabilities have created a complex and often contradictory context in which school leaders work. For principals of low socio-economic status (SES) and disadvantaged schools, they must balance the accountability, performance and reporting requirements against the other needs of their communities. These…

This is a tale of caregiving in two cities--and it was the best of times and the worst of times. In this article, the author describes the differences in the care given by nurses and social workers to her 90-year-old mother who died from metastatic colon cancer and to her husband who had traumatic brain injury in an automobile accident and was…

A gap exists between research and practice within the field of intellectual disability. In particular, researchers suggest that personal choice enhances quality of life. Following Bourdieu's suggestion to focus on improving the practice of theory rather than the theory of practice, this paper is a reflexive ethnography detailing my struggles to…

Instructors teaching students about social inequality, especially sexism and racism, often face some degree of student resistance. Opposition is particularly strong when students are from a white, middle to upper class background. As Haddad and Lieberman (2002) remark, "Students from privileged backgrounds lack personal experience with structures…

Dr. Pete Anderson, a clinician and professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, entered the life of Anna and her family two years ago. Anna was referred to him because of his clinical research and expertise in pediatric oncology and multimodality therapies. Anna had been diagnosed with metastatic Ewing's Sarcoma, a form of bone…