Richard L. Miller (1945-2023).

Memorializes Richard L. Miller (1945-2023). In the 1990s, Rick began a 24-year tenure at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. As department chair, Rick led the University of Nebraska at Kearney Psychology Department to the system-wide University of Nebraska Outstanding Teaching Department Award. In 2014, Rick moved to Texas A&M University-Kingsville, where he served as department chair. At Texas A&M University-Kingsville, he was recognized for teaching, mentorship, and scholarship, including the A&M Piper Professor Teaching Award. He served in many leadership roles, including the presidencies of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Division 2) and the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Visual illusions and ethnocentrism: exemplars for teaching cross-cultural concepts.

This article discusses the origins of cross-cultural interest in two concepts fundamental to psychology students' views of the world: simple visual illusions and ethnocentrism. Although students encounter these ideas in introductory psychology, textbooks rarely describe the nature or origin of cross-cultural knowledge about them. The article presents a brief account of the history of these concepts and relates them to contemporary notions of psychology and culture. Using visual perception and ethnocentrism as examples, the article suggests the importance of teaching that different people see the world in different ways and the role of that lesson in a future demanding increased cross-cultural understanding.

Conceptualization, measurement, and application of quality of life for persons with intellectual disabilities: report of an international panel of experts.

In this article a number of issues involving the concept of quality of life as applied to persons with intellectual disabilities are summarized, and a number of agreed-upon principles regarding its conceptualization, measurement, and application are presented. We realize that the concepts and models presented in this article will vary potentially from country to country, and even from area to area within countries. The cross-cultural understanding of the concept of quality of life is in its infancy, and we hope that the discourses resulting from the material presented in this article will facilitate both cross-cultural understanding and collaborative work. The article reflects current thought about the conceptualization, measurement, and application of this increasingly important and widely used concept in the field of intellectual disabilities and sets the stage for its continuing development.

Comparing the quality of life of school-age children with and without disabilities.

Quality of life of 76 school-age children with identified disabilities receiving special education services in public schools was compared to quality of life of 64 students without disabilities enrolled in Grades K-12. The Quality of Student Life Questionnaire (QSLQ) was used. Results indicated that the scores of students with disabilities were lower on all scales. The differences were significant in three of the four quality of life factors of the QSLQ scales: Satisfaction, p <.001, Well-Being, p <.01, Social-Belonging, p <.001, and total QSLQ scores, p <.001. Findings suggest that we have not yet achieved parity in quality of life for children with disabilities. The concept of quality of life is discussed in the context of needs for future intervention.