At the heart of transformational learning is meaning-making—the act of "making sense" of an experience. A review of the literature on adult and transformational learning, adult development, and counseling revealed that there are few detailed descriptions of the process of meaning-making. The purpose of this study was to understand how meaning is constructed in the lives of those diagnosed as HIV-positive. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a sample of 18 HIV-positive men and women. Using the constant comparative method, an inductive analysis of the data revealed a process for meaning-making that involves a period of initial reaction to the diagnosis, a catalytic experience that sets into motion the meaning-making process, and three distinct yet interrelated phases of reflection and activity. The findings not only provide a clearly delineated description of the meaning-making process, they also reveal unique contributions that underscore the centrality of meaning-making in transformational learning.

The purpose of this study was to find out whether HIV-positive adults who had participated in a study of the centrality of meaning-making in transformational learning had maintained 2 years later their perspectives of making meaningful contributions through service to others, or if the advent of protease inhibitors would have resulted in their reverting to previously held, self oriented, and materialistic views of the world. Fourteen of the original 18 participants were interviewed. Two major findings emerged: First, for all 14 participants, the perspective transformations that they had undergone 2 years previously had held. Second, there were changes in meaning schemes that included the adoption of a future-oriented perspective, greater attention to care of the self, and an integration of the HIV-positive status into their self-definition. The life-changing nature of transformational learning, the stability of its outcomes, and ongoing changes in meaning schemes suggest implications for adult educators.

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This paper presents the theoretical rationale, hypotheses, models, and methods and procedure of the Georgia Centenarian Study, an interdisciplinary study of the oldest-old.

The purpose of this study was to understand the use of coping strategies in adapting to an HIV-positive diagnosis. Also, the question of whether there was an underlying developmental process, in the sense of movement from less adaptive to more adaptive strategies, was addressed. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 HIV-positive individuals younger than age 45. Analysis of the qualitative data using the constant comparative method revealed that specific coping strategies were used immediately after diagnosis and differed from those later employed. The developmental process uncovered in this study included a period of transition that served as the testing ground for the following adaptive strategies: humor, faith, altruism, seeking the support of others, and balance.