This experimental study was conducted to examine the relative effectiveness of a Repeated Reading (RR) and Wide Reading (WR) intervention when compared to typical instruction on secondary struggling readers' comprehension, fluency, and word reading. The sample consisted of a total of 96 students (9th through 12th grade) ranging in age from 13-17 in special education reading and English classrooms. Participants included students with learning disabilities (LD), dyslexia, or students selected as students with significant reading difficulties. The investigator paired students on variables of interest (i.e., reading level) within classes and then randomly assigned pairs to one of three groups: repeated reading (N=33), wide reading (N=34), or typical instruction (N=29). Tutors, trained by the investigator, monitored students as they worked in pairs in each treatment condition. Intervention was provided daily for approximately 15-20 minutes for 10 weeks. Treatment effects for each outcome measure were estimated using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results indicate no overall statistically significant differences for any condition. Effects ranged from -.81 to .28 usually hovering around no effect or favoring the C condition over the treatment conditions or favoring the RR condition over the WR condition. Five separate ANCOVAs were conducted using the following dependent variables with each pretest score used as a covariate: (1) Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement III (WJIII) Passage Comprehension subtest (RR vs. C = -.10; WR vs. C = -.20; RR vs. WR= .10); (2) Test of Silent Reading Fluency (TOSRE) (RR vs. C =.-31; WR vs. C = -.81; RR vs. WR= .10); (3) Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement III (WJIII) Letter-Word Identification subtest (RR vs. C = -.05; WR vs. C = -.11; RR vs. WR = .06); (4) AIMSWeb Oral Reading Fluency System (RR vs. C = -.08; WR vs. C = -.26; RR vs. WR= .18); and (5) Test of Silent Contextual Reading Fluency (RR vs. C =.28; WR vs. C = -.01; RR vs. WR= .28). Results indicate that neither RR nor WR should be implemented for secondary readers with significant reading difficulties and more research into ways to make fluency instruction more explicit and instructional for these students is warranted.

Students with learning disabilities (LDs) represent 9% of students attending college, and college administrators must comply with a large number of federal requirements outlining the provision of educational services for students with LDs, including offering support groups. Nurse-facilitated support groups, held within the university setting, could provide effective social support, increasing likelihood of college success among students with LDs. The purpose of this project was to develop a plan for implementing nurse-facilitated support groups for students with LDs within the student health services (SHS) department at a university designed to improve their coping skills on personal, social, and academic levels. Guided by the Logic Model, a plan for implementing nurse-facilitated support groups within the SHS department was developed and presented to university stakeholders. Components of the plan included a support group structure, curriculum, evaluation tools, steps for piloting the program, and a proposed timeline for implementing the program. The stakeholders acknowledged the potential benefits of initiating a program of nurse-facilitated support groups for students with LDs to assist in attaining their academic goals. However, additional analysis of the program and refining and other disabilities to assist in attaining their academic goals; however, additional analysis of the program and refining the proposed student self-evaluation tool were needed before implementing the program. Nurses in a SHS department staff are effective support group facilitators for students with LDs. This study holds the potential for positive social change by enhancing personal, social, and academic coping skills with nurse-facilitated support groups who may help students with LDs reduce their risk of experiencing burnout and enhance the likelihood of academic success.

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This dissertation comprises three chapters. The first chapter estimates the crowd-out effect of Social Security on private retirement saving. In a quasi-experimental research design, I analyze the effect of the 1990 federal mandate of Social Security coverage for all state and local government employees who were not covered by an equivalent state pension. Using a sample of more than 12 million employer-employee observations on earnings and contributions to retirement plans, I find that Social Security coverage induces approximately 16% of those affected who had previously saved in private retirement plans to stop contributing. For those who continue contributing, Social Security coverage crowds out about 23% of pre-reform contributions.

The understandings and treatments of the sexual rights of people with intellectual and psychological disabilities vary in different societies. However, one issue that is common in most societies is that this group of people experiences the highest rates of sexual violence and is regularly a-sexualized. Much attention has been paid to the increasingly visible issues of sexual violence in Latin America in a gendered and racial context, however recent scholarship has neglected to look at sexual violence in the context of people with disabilities. In this text, I aim to uncover how the human rights, and more specifically, sexual rights, are understood and treated for this highly marginalized group of people in Guatemala, a country that has endured heavy amounts of violence and trauma both contemporarily and historically. Through ethnographic fieldwork conducted at institutions for disability services in urban Guatemala, I paint a picture of how the contemporary social and political climate involving violence, nearly complete impunity for crimes, culturally engrained patriarchal norms and neoliberal policies affect this group of people who are often depoliticized through patronizing portrayals in media and the public arena. Using in depth investigations of Guatemalan law and observational work and interviews conducted in public government-funded institutions, NGOs and non-profit organizations and human rights organizations, I seek to reveal the paradigms within the disparate types of institutions for understanding and treating people with disabilities. By questioning the institutional perceptions and treatments of the sexuality and sexual abuse of people with intellectual and psychological disabilities, I seek to examine the different ways cognitive disability has been socially constructed in Guatemala and the different reasons behind this group's social abandonment and high rates of sexual violence towards them. This work problematizes medical and charity models utilized for understanding disability that have been implemented through law, institutional and public policies, and societal misconceptions. This research also challenges Western disability policies and conceptions that have been imposed in developing countries like Guatemala, and questions the possibility to create spaces of local disability rights activism in spite of high risk factors for violence and neoliberal policies that limit political protest. / text

A Claim incidence study for Individual Disability Insurance was conducted for study period from 2004 through 2007. Incidence was measured by count and amount and was compared with its 2007 EVM assumption and with standard industry tables 1985 CIDA. Generally, incidence rates are higher by amount than by count. This analysis and discussion focus on the experience by amount since this measure more closely reflects the financial impact. This report is to determine which assumption will be used going forward. Results have been provided for each calendar year within the study period. Further, results by significant blocks of business, elimination period, benefit period, CIDA occupation class and geographic location have been summarized in the body of the report. Additional details are included in the Appendices. In the report, the name of the insurance company and any other revealing information are suppressed due to confidentiality and sensitivity of the nature of these data. / text

‘Work ability’ is a multidimensional concept with importance for both society and the individual. The overall aim of this thesis was to illuminate work ability from the perspective of individuals (Studies I, III), rehabilitation (Study II) and employers (Study IV). In Study I five focus-group interviews were conducted with a total of 16 former unemployed sickness absentee participants. The interviews focused on their experiences of the environmental impact on return to work. The participants expressed a changed self-image and life rhythm. A need for reorientation and support from professionals was stressed. Experiences of being stuck in a ‘time quarantine’, i.e. a long and destructive wait for support, were also revealed. Study II was a randomised controlled study evaluating the interventional capacity of problem-based method (PBM) groups regarding anxiety, depression and stress and work ability compared to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as a method within the Rehabilitation Guarantee. Effects were measured with psychometric instruments. The participants, 22 in the PBM group and 28 in the CBT group, were persons on sick leave because of common mental disorders. Within-group analysis showed significant lower degree of symptoms regarding anxiety and depression for both interventions. Between-group analysis showed significant lower degree of symptoms for CBT regarding anxiety, depression and stress. Within-group analysis of work ability showed significant improvement in one (out of five) subscales for the PBM group and in four for the CBT group. No significant between-group differences were found regarding work ability. In Study III, 16 participants were interviewed after completed interventions in Study II, eight from each intervention group. The interviews focused on their experiences from the interventions and the impact on their ability to work and perform other everyday activities. The interventions were experienced as having a positive impact on their ability to work and perform other everyday activities in a more sustainable way. Reflecting on behaviour and achieving limiting strategies were perceived as helpful in both interventions, although varying abilities to incorporate strategies were described. The findings support the use of active coping-developing interventions rather than passive treatments. Study IV included interviews with 12 employers and investigated their conceptions of ‘work ability’. In the results three domains were identified: ‘employees’ contributions to work ability’, ‘employers’ contributions to work ability’ and ‘circumstances with limited work ability’. Work ability was regarded as a tool in production and its output, production, was the main issue. The employees’ commitment could bridge other shortcomings. In summary, in the work rehabilitation process, different perspectives on work ability need to be considered in order to improve not only individual performance but also rehabilitation interventions, work-places and everyday circumstances. Clearly pronounced perspectives can contribute to better illustrating the dynamic within the relational and multifaceted concept of ‘work ability’. The ability to work can thus be enhanced through improving individual abilities, discovered through reorientation and created through support and adaptation.

This dissertation examines factors affecting the service outcomes of immigrant women with disabilities who received vocational rehabilitation services, from the perspectives of their rehabilitation counselors. The participants were eight rehabilitation counselors who had received their Master's degrees from programs accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE). Three counselors had Worker's Compensation caseloads, while the other five provided return to work rehabilitation services. Counselor perspectives on client experiences were obtained through the narrative inquiry method. Eight prevailing themes arose across the stories, regarding contributing factors,: immigrant status, amount of time spent providing services, level of client self-confidence, motivation, collaborative team member relationships and a strong client/counselor working alliance, counselor cultural sensitivity, the establishment of rapport, and counselor altruism. The theme of client immigrant status contained a number of related subthemes, including issues regarding acculturation, education level, legal status, refugee status, migrant femaleness, and English proficiency. Counselor disability policy knowledge was also explored as a basis for resources and services potentially valuable to this particular client group. The counselors' responses helped to identify a need for post-Master's continuing education on the topic of disability legislation. The narrative process also introduced reflection on practice to the field of rehabilitation counseling, as an effective research, education, and practice method.

Disability rights issues are an emerging area of discourse in Kenya. Persons with disabilities in Kenya face many barriers to integration into the larger Kenyan society possibly due to barriers such as societal negative attitudes. Research has indicated that the greatest barrier to rehabilitation of persons with disabilities is negative attitudes prevalent in society. Owing to their composition and enrolment, current University of Nairobi students are or will be engaged in daily decision making as leaders in the Kenyan society, some of which may directly affect the lives of persons with disabilities. It is therefore imperative to study their attitudes toward disability, especially at a time when the Kenya Persons with Disabilities Act of 2003 is being implemented. The main purpose of this study was to examine the general attitudes toward disability and attitudes toward organizational policies among University of Nairobi undergraduate students. Participants were a convenience sample of students enrolled in Sociology, Social Work, Psychology, Political Science, and Public Administration majors. Quantitative data analyses were used to study attitudes. The Attitudes Towards persons with Disability (ATPD) Form<&ndash>O (Yuker, Block <&amp>Campbell, 1960) was used to study general attitudes. The Attitudes Towards Employing Persons with Disabilities (ATEPD) measure (Loo, 2002) was used to study attitudes toward organizational policies and procedures for employees with disabilities. Results suggest that Kenyan students possess less positive attitudes toward disability than the normed populations. Seven independent variables (i.e., age, marital status, educational focus, type of enrollment, socio-economic status, place where one grew up, and area of current residence) were positively related to the dependent variables (i.e., general attitudes toward disability as well as several items regarding attitudes toward organizational policies and procedures for employees with disabilities). Other six independent variables (i.e., gender, level of enrollment, employment affiliation, perceived knowledge of disability, previous contact with disability, and self-knowledge of disability law) were not related to the dependent variables. Multiple regression analysis results indicated that only age was a predictor of attitudes toward disability among the Kenyan students. Implications for education, policy and future research are provided. The study contributes to mixed findings regarding attitudes toward disability.

I have chosen an action research approach for this essay. I want to incorporate a method of conflict management in the work of the personnel at a school and also discuss their thoughts and experience in conflict management. I wanted to incorporate modern knowledge about constructive conflict management for everyday use and I stress that if we can evolve these skills among the personnel in schools then we have a better chance of helping children with deviant behavior which often end up in conflict because of it. This will also help all the other children and personnel to manage conflict situations in a better way. I want to introduce a new way of thinking about conflict management which in many ways is different from how it is today. Briefly the method which I advocate revolves around paying attention to every ones basic needs and says that everyone can win and no one has to loose. he main purpose of this essay has been to find out if focus group conversations is a viable method for improving conflict management in the school system. Several of the participants has in their evaluations written that it was a rewarding and interesting way to work. Some participants also had a reservation that this work took time from our scheduled conferences so we might miss some important information.