Employing people with severe disabilities: The challenge remains

The authors present an update on the number of individuals with disabilities who are employed at a large federal installation that has been using a recruitment intervention designed to increase the employment rate of individuals with disabilities. The initial review of accessions (i.e., successful recruitments), published in the Journal of Job Placement (R. B. Kennedy, 1996), presented data that spanned 11 years (1984–1994). This article gives recruitment data for another 7 years (1995–2001).     

Basic principles of MRI and morphometry studies of human brain development

Magnetic resonance imaging has undergone dramatic development in the past years. This has been paralleled by developments in the tools for extracting quantitative information from these images in support of capturing the anatomic features of brain development in living humans. This has revolutionized our expectations for current and future diagnostic and investigative work with the developing brain. This paper will cover the classes of information that are readily available in the MR image, the mechanisms for extracting quantitative results, and a sample of the application of these types of methods to developmental issues. These applications highlight tissue‐ and anatomic‐based contrasts in the nature and rate of developmental maturation within the brain. This will be followed by a discussion of the emergent themes of developmental science as elucidated by these classes of observation.     

Using the myers‐briggs type indicator® in career counseling

The Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®; I. B. Myers & K. C. Briggs, 1943/1976) is a personality instrument with numerous applications. The focus of this article is on its utilization in the career counseling process. Although limitations of the instrument exist and ethical issues regarding its usage have been itemized, information gained from clients' MBTI® assessments have been proved to be useful to professionals in counseling and strategizing with clients about clients' psychological preferences, optimal career families, and potential employment opportunities.     

More than Data Collectors: A Systematic Review of the Environmental Outcomes of Youth Inquiry Approaches in the United States

Over the last twenty years, research on the impact of engaging children and adolescents in the generation of new knowledge about their lives, schools, and communities, has grown tremendously. This systematic review summarizes the findings from empirical studies of youth inquiry approaches in the United States, with a focus on their environmental outcomes. Searches of four interdisciplinary databases retrieved a total of 3,724 relevant articles published between 1995 and 2015. Sixty‐three distinct studies met the systematic review inclusion criteria, of which, 36 (57.1%) reported that the youth inquiry approach contributed to positive changes among adults, peers, organizations, and/or institutions. These environmental outcomes were qualitatively recorded, inductively categorized, and then organized into Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework. Youth inquiry approaches led to practitioner growth and changes in peer group norms at the micro‐system level, program development or improvement and research benefits at the meso‐system level, and school, city, and state level policy adoption at the exo‐system level. Qualitative methods, especially case studies, were most commonly used to evaluate the impact of youth inquiry approaches on environmental outcomes. Studies of approaches that utilized advocacy to create change, targeted decision‐makers as the audience for the youth's work and convened for a longer duration were more likely to report improved environmental outcomes. This systematic review suggests that youth inquiry approaches are a promising strategy for ecological systems change.     

Attitudes toward religious diversity among American exemplars of Christian virtue

An important concern within contemporary Western societies is how religious adherents view and engage religious diversity. This study attempts to further understandings regarding religious diversity in contemporary society through the accounts of American Christian religious exemplars whose religious identification spans the conservative evangelical, liberal Protestant and Roman Catholic traditions. Ninety‐six in‐depth interviews were conducted with individuals recognized by their congregational leadership as exemplifying Christian virtues and thereby Christian commitment. Weak denominational allegiances, accompanied by salient identification with broad Christian religious traditions were found. Mainline/liberal Christians tended to identify conservative/evangelical Christians as ‘others’, while conservative/evangelical Christians identified Mormons as ‘others.’ Also, a shift in attitudes toward Catholics was found among Protestants, and attitudes toward non‐Christian religions were respectfully civil across a range of theological understanding of these religions. The implications of these findings for religious identity in contemporary society are explored with particular attention to religious diversity.     

Self-reported sources of stress in senior high school students

The main sources of stress reported by 423 Australian final-year high school students using the Academic Stress Questionnaire were school-related as expected. The highest sources of this stress were examinations and outcomes, too much to do, worry over future, making choices about career, studying for examinations, amount to learn, need to do well imposed by others, and self-imposed need to do well.     

Facts, interpretations, and explanations: a review of Evelyn Fox Keller's Making sense of life

The job of a researcher is to explain the phenomenon that he or she is seeking to understand. To do this requires the accumulation of facts. These facts are then interpreted to arrive at explanations. However, individual researchers often interpret facts in different ways and arrive at disparate explanations. In her book, Making Sense of Life, Evelyn Fox Keller (2002) outlines various approaches used by developmental biologists to understand the animate systems we call life. In this review, I note several parallels between biology and behavior analysis in how facts are discovered, what is an acceptable interpretation of data, and how explanations are arrived at.     

Analogue functional analysis of movements associated with tardive dyskinesia

We studied whether movements associated with tardive dyskinesia (TD) served operant functions in 2 men with developmental disabilities. We found that TD-related movements occurred more frequently in the alone and attention conditions and less frequently in control and demand conditions. Our findings suggest that TD-related movements may not be maintained by social reinforcers and that decreases in TD movements are possibly a result of engagement in activities that are incompatible with TD movements.     

A pilot investigation of a psychosocial activity course for people with spinal cord injuries

This study investigated the general benefits and impact that sports activity courses organized by Back-Up, a charitable trust, have on quality of life, mood, self-efficacy and perceived manageability. Participants were 35 community-based individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI). Questionnaires were completed at the start and end of the course. Fourteen participants also completed the follow-up questionnaire. Questionnaires included demographic questions, the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, a measure of Perceived Manageability, the Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale and four questions about what participants had gained. Results found that participants' satisfaction with leisure, generalized self-efficacy and motivation to engage in activities was significantly increased between the start and end of the courses and anxiety significantly reduced. Such results were in line with participants' responses relating to overall gains from the course. At both the start and end of the course, higher Perceived Manageability scores correlated with greater self-efficacy and higher Perceived Manageability scores and self-efficacy were correlated with lower depression and anxiety. The study provides evidence of the benefits of sports participation and teamwork for people with SCI, confirming the results of previous research.