"Choose Your Own Adventure": Web-Based Case Studies of Inclusive Education as a Form of Professional Learning for School Principals.

We examine the process of developing web-based case studies, a novel form of professional learning for principals, specifically related to inclusive school leadership. Based on the input from 39 principals, 5 case studies were developed with branching scenarios that provided multiple options for decision-making. These "choose your own adventure" case studies were used in a special education for school administrators course with 109 participants in Ontario, Canada. We consider the authenticity of the cases, the importance of incorporating multiple perspectives, and issues related to function, form, and choice. We incorporate five lessons for developing web-based case studies.

The association between gay men's stereotypic beliefs about drag queens and their endorsement of hypermasculinity.

To date, few researchers have investigated gay men's stereotypic beliefs about drag queens and the association between these beliefs and individual difference variables such as hypermasculinity. To address this omission, 118 men self-identifying as non-heterosexual completed an online survey consisting of an adjective checklist about drag queens and a psychometrically sound indicant of hypermasculinity. As predicted, participants who were more likely to endorse hypermasculine belief statements tended to perceive negatively valenced attributes as more characteristic of drag queens. Possible explanations for this relationship, limitations associated with the current study, and directions for future research are delineated.

Features and impacts of five multidisciplinary community-university research partnerships.

Despite the increasing number of multidisciplinary community-university research partnerships designed to address real-world issues, little is known about their nature. This article describes the features and impacts of five research partnerships addressing health or social service issues, which constituted a convenience sample from the province of Ontario, Canada. The article describes their characteristics, ways of operating, outputs, types of requests received from community members and mid-term impacts. Requests directed to partnerships were tracked over a 10-month period in 2003 to 2004, using a research contact checklist, and 174 community members later completed an impact questionnaire capturing perceptions of the impacts of the partnerships on personal knowledge and research skill development, organisational/group access to and use of information, and community and organisational development. The data indicated that partnerships had similar priorities and magnitudes of mid-term impacts, yet differed in the scope of their partnering, realm of intended influence and the number of mechanisms used to engage and communicate with target audiences. The partnerships produced different types of outputs and received different types of requests from community members. The findings inform researchers about partnership diversity and help to establish more realistic expectations about the magnitude of partnerships' impacts.

A measure of community members' perceptions of the impacts of research partnerships in health and social services.

Currently, there are no psychometrically sound outcome measures by which to assess the impacts of research partnerships. This article describes the development of a 33-item, survey questionnaire measuring community members' perceptions of the impact of research partnerships addressing health or social issues. The Community Impacts of Research Oriented Partnerships (CIROP) was developed using information from the literatures on health promotion, community development, research utilization, and community-based participatory research, and from focus groups involving 29 key informants. Data from 174 community members were used to determine the factor structure, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the four CIROP scales, and to provide evidence of construct validity. The CIROP informs research partnerships about the extent of their impact in the areas of Personal Knowledge Development, Personal Research Skill Development, Organizational/Group Access To and Use of Information, and Community and Organizational Development, allowing them to demonstrate accountability to funding bodies. As well, the CIROP can be used as a research tool to assess the effectiveness of knowledge sharing approaches, determine the most influential activities of research partnerships, and determine structural characteristics of partnerships associated with various types of impact. The CIROP provides a better understanding of community members' perspectives and expectations of research partnerships, with important implications for knowledge transfer and uptake.

Social support processes and the adaptation of individuals with chronic disabilities.

In a qualitative study examining turning points in life, 15 adults with chronic disabilities (cerebral palsy, spina bifida, or attention deficit disorder) provided information about the nature and meaning of their social support experiences. The study revealed three types of psychological support linked to self-perceptions and enabling beliefs: (a) emotional support (valuing and acceptance leading to perceptions of "being believed in" and a sense of self-esteem), (b) instrumental support (guidance and provision of strategies leading to self-efficacy), and (c) cognitive support (affirmation, confirmation, and new perspectives leading to coherence in self-concept and worldview). The findings have important implications for service delivery with respect to understanding client needs for different kinds of support, especially at periods of transition, and for providing optimal experiences and creating supportive environments. In particular, the role of cognitive support deserves more attention in understanding the adaptation of individuals with chronic disabilities.

Gender differences in the effects of family adversity on the risk of onset of DSM-III-R social phobia.

Utilizing a random probability sample of Canadian residents aged 15-64 (n = 8116), this study assessed gender differences in the onset of social phobia and the moderating influence of gender on indicators of childhood family adversity hypothesized to increase the risk of developing the disorder. Results revealed statistically significant "gender by family adversity" interactions that varied by disorder sub-type. Among males, absence of a parent or other adult close confidant during childhood was associated with an elevated risk of developing social phobia (all diagnosed cases and the non-generalized sub-type). Risk factors unique to females included parental conflict while growing up (all diagnosed cases), childhood physical abuse by a father figure (generalized sub-type), and maternal mania (non-generalized sub-type). Results highlight the importance of distinguishing between social phobia sub-types in gender-based research as well as the use of family adversity measures that capture the parenting behaviors and mental health status of both parents.

Turning points and protective processes in the lives of people with chronic disabilities.

In this qualitative study, the authors examined the nature of resilience in people with chronic disabilities. Fifteen people with disabilities identified the factors that helped or hindered them at major turning points, and the triggers and resolutions to these turning points. Turning points were emotionally compelling experiences and realizations that involved meaning acquired through the routes of belonging, doing, or understanding the self or the world. The major protective factors were social support, traits such as perseverance and determination, and spiritual beliefs. Three new protective processes were identified: replacing a loss with a gain (transcending), recognizing new things about oneself (self-understanding), and making decisions about relinquishing something in life (accommodating). These protective factors, processes, and ways in which people with disabilities draw sense and meaning in life have important implications for service delivery.

The importance of leisure in the lives of persons with congenital physical disabilities.

Although occupational therapists emphasize a balance among the three occupational areas of self-care, productivity, and leisure in people's lives, leisure often is focused on less than the other areas in both the research literature and clinical practice. Very little research has been conducted on the benefits of leisure activities in adults with congenital disabilities. The information contained in this article is a secondary analysis of the interview protocols of nine adults (30-50 years of age) with either cerebral palsy or spina bifida. The primary purpose of the interview was to determine protective processes surrounding turning points in the lives of persons with disabilities. This secondary analysis allowed us to determine the benefits and meaning of leisure for this population. Consistent with literature that focused on either persons without disabilities or persons with acquired disabilities, the participants in the present study reported that involvement in leisure activity provides mental and physical health benefits, enjoyment, opportunity to develop a self-concept and increase self-esteem, and opportunities to build and enhance social relationships. All these benefits enable people to find meaning in life through doing, belonging, and understanding self in the context of their worlds.