This investigation used data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 (NLTS2) to investigate patterns among student, family, and school characteristics, school outreach programs, and school-based family involvement for families of 5,670 students with disabilities ages 13 to 17 in a nationally representative sample. Consistent with prior research, several variables were linked to higher levels of family involvement, including age, disability, ethnicity, living in the same neighborhood, household income, household structure, head of household?s education level, support group participation, time in community, and school outreach programs. Although these variables were statistically significant, model estimates were small. School outreach program predictors included school size, urbanicity, and a lower principal evaluation of outreach efforts. This study makes a unique contribution to the research base by extending Newman?s investigation to include school outreach programs offered by schools as a possible predictor of school-based family involvement.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to identify and evaluate possible determinants of wellbeing and psychological adjustment in parents raising children with disabilities. Two studies drawing from the same sample of participants were conducted. Method: One-hundred and forty parents raising children with disabilities participated in this investigation. Participants completed a survey consisting of basic demographic characteristics of the parent, child-disability characteristics, parent problem solving ability, access to information and resources, environmental/social supports, appraisals of threat and growth, and measures of life satisfaction and physical/mental health. The purpose of study one was to evaluate possible determinants of parent wellbeing using a contextual model. The purpose of study two was to identify factors that predict depression risk status for parents raising children with disabilities. Results: Study one used structural equation modeling to test a hypothesized contextual model of parent wellbeing. Results of study one indicated strong model fit. In addition, after controlling for the contribution of parent demographic variables, the largest contributors to parent wellbeing were parent problem solving ability, access to resources, environmental/social supports, and parent appraisals of threat. Child functional impairment was not significantly associated with parent wellbeing. Study two found that 19 percent of participants were at risk for depression. Moreover, using tests of mean differences and hierarchical logistic regression, study two found that parents at-risk for depression were significantly more likely to report physical health problems, ineffective problem solving abilities, lower family satisfaction, and more appraisals of threat compared to parents not at-risk for depression. These factors combined to predict significantly depression risk status with the at-risk group being identified with 83.3 percent accuracy. Conclusion: Implications related to the importance of resources and environmental/social supports, appraisals of threat and growth, and problem solving abilities on the overall wellbeing and emotional health of parents raising children with disabilities are discussed.

This study examines key factors that affect opportunities for employment of disabled people in Malaysia. Four factors are covered by the study; these are namely, the organisational commitment to employment of disabled people, attitude towards disabled workers, the organisational policies on disability, and the employment opportunities for the disabled people. The first three factors constitute the independent variables, and the last one, the dependent variable. For further understanding of these factors, the independent variables were each additionally split into related elements. The first variable - organisational commitment to employment of disabled people - consists of two elements: recruitment of disabled people, and employee training for disability-related issues. The second variable - attitude towards disabled workers - is composed of three elements: co-workers perception of disabled workers, managements perception of work attendance of disabled workers, and managements perception on the need for supervision. The third variable - organisational policy on disability - is composed of only one element which is the organisational policies on the employment of disabled people. Overall, these three independent variables significantly explain the variance in the dependent variable, i.e. employment opportunities for disabled persons. / The findings of this study show that the organisational commitment to the employment of disabled people is fairly favourable. This is indicated by a higher organisational commitment by companies that employ disabled workers; it is also shown by a higher emphasis for training employees towards disability issues. However, there is no significant difference in the recruitment of disabled workers between organisations that employ no disabled persons and those that employ disabled persons. / Thesis (DoctorateofBusinessAdministration)--University of South Australia, 2007.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, August, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (ℓ. 112-122)

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Oct. 29, 2007). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tennessee Technological University, 2006. / Bibliography: leaves 60-62.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--George Mason University, 2008. / Vita: p. 205. Thesis director: Margo Mastropieri. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 17, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-204). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-172). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Liberty University School of Education, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.