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This paper addresses the effect of age and gender on the subjective quality of life of people with severe and persistent mental illness. Subjective quality of life was assessed in a group of 95 men and 70 women using the Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale (SLDS) and five open-ended questions. Although statistical analyses showed no difference between men and women on quality of life, age was systematically related to satisfaction level with older participants being more satisfied with their lives than their younger counterparts. Responses to the open-ended questions revealed that fewer of the older, more satisfied respondents expressed worries, desire for change and plans for the future. These results are discussed with respect to the links between subjective quality of life, aspirations and the rehabilitation process.

Since the early 1990s, the concept mapping technique developed by William M. K. Trochim has been widely used by evaluators for program development and evaluation and proven to be an invaluable tool for evaluators and program planners. The technique combines qualitative and statistical analysis and is designed to help identify and prioritize the components, dimensions, and particularities of a given reality. The aim of this paper is to propose an alternative way of conducting the statistical analysis to make the technique even more useful and the results easier to interpret. We posit that some methodological choices made at the inception stage of the technique were ill informed, producing maps of participants' points-of-view that were not optimal representations of their reality. Such a depiction resulted from the statistical analysis process by which multidimensional scaling (MDS) is being applied on the similarity matrix, followed by a hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) on the Euclidian distances between statements as plotted on the resulting two-dimensional MDS map. As an alternative, we suggest that HCA should be performed first and MDS second, rather than the reverse. To support this proposal, we present three levels of argument: 1) a logical argument backed up by expert opinions on this issue; 2) statistical evidence of the superiority of our proposed approach and 3) the results of a social validation experiment.

This study examined the relative benefits of mastery learning, overlearning, and fluency-building instructions for academic performance and long-term retention. College students enrolled in introductory quantitative methods classes (n = 168) were asked to practice every week with a computerized flash-card program until they attained various mastery criteria. The results confirmed that practicing until mastery improved individual exam scores, group success rates, and long-term retention. Moreover, overlearning provided additional benefits, especially in long-term retention. However, fluency-building instructions did not further increase academic achievement or long-term retention. Despite the alleged detrimental effects of drill and practice on motivation, a positive relationship was found between amount of practice and attitudes toward the course, the subject matter, and practice activities.

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