Review of Independent living for physically disabled people.

Reviews the book, Independent living for physically disabled people by Nancy M. Crewe, Irving Kenneth Zola, and Associates (1983). As stated by the authors, one of their goals in writing this text is to bring together a substantial portion of the rapidly growing body of independent living (IL) knowledge, some of which is relatively inaccessible. More importantly, the authors state their wish to present this knowledge in a way that will communicate the challenge and promise of the IL movement to their intended audience, whom they identify as professionals and students already in the field and in closely related fields, as well as disabled individuals. Generally speaking, this book succeeds in meeting its authors' stated objectives. A particularly important reason for this success may be the fact that the book presents the reader with a comprehensive view of the IL movement from a variety of vantage points—historical and cultural, urban and rural, domestic and international, disabled and nondisabled—as well as from numerous professional standpoints. Independent Living for Physically Disabled People is a well-organized and clearly written text that satisfactorily articulates the growing visibility of the IL movement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Families of handicapped persons: Research, programs, and policy issues.

Reviews the book, Families of handicapped persons: Research, programs, and policy issues by James J. Gallagher and Peter M. Vietze (1986). This edited volume consists of a collection of papers presented at the Conference on Families with Mentally Retarded Children sponsored by the Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in cooperation with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The purpose of the conference was to stimulate leaders in the field to both review current trends and project future research directions regarding issues relevant to families having members with mental retardation. The main text of the book is composed of sixteen chapters covering a variety of topics, such as the development of typologies for classifying families, adaptation to stress, the impact of the family life cycle on family adaptation, the role of the father in the family, sibling relationships, mentally retarded parents, behavioral parent training, and social policy issues. A major strength of the book is that a number of the authors advocated four perspectives that reflect a positive shift in philosophical approaches to the study of families having a child with mental retardation. The present reviewer found Wickler's chapter applying Hill's ABCX Stress Model to the study of family adaptation to be the most useful presentation among those advocating a systems/transactional approach to research on families having a disabled member. Unlike Wickler, other chapters focusing on family systems/stress issues tended to present vague connections between popular theoretical approaches (e.g., family systems theories, stress theories, Samaroff s transactional model) and the needs of families having a member with mental retardation (although Farren, Metzger, & Sparling is an exception here). In summary, this book presents some interesting ideas regarding areas that should be investigated by further research. Selected chapters within the book are very well conceptualized and clearly written. Although the remaining chapters present interesting ideas, they tend to be repetitive and somewhat vague with respect to specific research suggestions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Rehabilitation psychology: A comprehensive textbook.

Reviews the book, Rehabilitation psychology: A comprehensive textbook by David W. Krueger (1983). In this volume, David W. Krueger has developed a new blueprint for constructing an edited volume in rehabilitation. Unique in the present design is the attempt, within a single volume of reasonable size, to cover the rehabilitation field from both a type-of-disability approach and an issue-oriented approach. To achieve this objective, the editor has recruited well-known and highly respected authors to write short chapters in their areas of expertise. In all, there are 42 chapters, which range in length between 4 and 14 pages. Each chapter is written by a different author, with the exception of two chapters written by the editor. No uniformity of style or standard outline for presentation has been followed. Instead, each chapter stands on its own. As a result, the effect is more that of a carefully selected book of readings than that of an integrated textbook. This book stands as an impressive attempt to provide the reader with a broad overview of the field of rehabilitation. As such, it serves as a fine introduction to the field of rehabilitation by providing a good sampling of the diversity of issues that surround rehabilitation and having these issues discussed by recognized experts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Assessment and programming for young children with low-incidence handicaps.

Reviews the book Assessment and Programming for Young Children With Low-Incidence Handicaps (1983) by C. R. Reynolds and J. H. Clark. The enrollment of children with low incidence handicaps in the public schools is a relatively new phenomenon; many practicing school psychologists completed their training when instruction in development, assessment, and programming for this population was not available. The challenge facing the editors is to introduce this relatively experienced audience to the critical concepts, theories, and practical applications unique to education for low incidence handicaps. The book consists of 10 selections adopted from papers presented at the Nebraska National Conference on Assessment and Programming for Infants, Preschool, and School Age Children with Low incidence Handicaps. It is a multidisciplinary effort, written for all professional educators; this review only considers its usefulness for the practicing school psychologist. Although it includes valuable insights into the evaluation of hearing impaired children, it is incomplete in its view of other resources for their assessment and educational programming. Also, the book is flawed with several distracting misprints, typos, omitted sentences, and missing references. The book lacks the precision and excellence necessary to serve as a sourcebook for low incidence handicaps; it may serve as a useful reference for school psychologists with specific interests in the handicapping conditions of physical and motor deficits or visual handicaps. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Psychological Assessment of Mental and Physical Handicaps.

Reviews the book, The Psychological Assessment of Mental and Physical Handicaps by Peter Mittler (see record 1971-06406-000). A single book on the psychological assessment of mental and physical handicaps of both adults and children ought, on the face of it, to be impossible. However, this book was written by thirty individuals who live and work within close proximity to one another. While an uncomfortable degree of uniformity of approach has resulted, so has a good degree of internal consistency. Thus, the book holds together quite well and presents a viewpoint which is sometimes overlooked in Canada in the face of the deluge of United States textbooks. Mittler's encyclopaedic chapters range from the very weak to the very strong. While the book is too expensive for individual purchase, in most cases, it does make a valuable library reference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Learning About Learning Disabilities, Third Edition.

This article reviews the book, "Learning about Learning Disabilities, Third Edition" (see record 2004-21912-000), edited by Bernice Wong. This book is comprised of a selection of chapters authored by well-known authors in the field of learning disabilities. The book was developed for use with advanced undergraduate and graduate students with the intent to provide current information soundly based in research in the field. The chapters in the book are organized into three thematic sections. The first section deals with conceptual, historical, and research aspects of learning disabilities. The second section comprises chapters on reading comprehension, writing, math, social competence, strategy instruction, working with adolescents, issues in service delivery, and developing communities of practice. The third section focuses on a life span approach to learning disabilities. This book does what it purports to do. This is a well put together selection of readings. It may not be appropriate for advanced undergraduate students with no previous background knowledge or experience with learning disabilities due to the level of the book. The information provided in each chapter is current and soundly based in research. In addition to the research presented, the majority of the chapters also include practical implications of the research to teaching settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Vocational evaluation, work adjustment, and independent living for severely disabled people.

Reviews the book, Vocational evaluation, work adjustment, and independent living for severely disabled people by Robert A. Lassiter, Martha Hughes Lassiter, Richard E. Hardy, J. William Underwood, and John G. Cull (1983). This book is composed of 31 short chapters, apparently divided into four separate sections. In just over 400 pages, vocational evaluation, work adjustment, and independent living for severely disabled people are examined. The title of this book leads the reader to assume that vocational evaluation, work adjustment, and independent living will be examined as three equally important but separate and distinct topics. In fact, what is presented is a process, moving from vocational evaluation to work adjustment and finally to independent living. While there is adequate connection between vocational evaluation and work adjustment, and between work adjustment and independent living, there is none between vocational evaluation and independent living. On the whole, this book provides an adequate examination of vocational evaluation, work adjustment, and independent living for the severely disabled. It suffers, however, from those problems that plague so many edited works—lack of continuity, consistency, and central focus. An introductory chapter longer than 2? pages and a concluding chapter by the editors would have gone a long way to provide those aspects that are lacking. While clearly not a text for classroom use, this book will more appropriately be used to examine the "common sense goals that all three areas now possess." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Art and disabilities.

Reviews the book, Art and disabilities by F. Ludin Katz and E. Katz (1983). This book describes the mechanics of establishing an art center for persons with disabilities. Although the authors purport to discuss the philosophical and conceptual importance of encouraging an artistic outlet for disabled individuals, the text's real contribution lies in its methodical and detailed "how-to" discussion of implementing an art center. The book is designed to provide a step-by-step account of problems to anticipate and solutions to be tried. Its authors clearly delineate how to establish an independent art center for people with disabilities. From discussion of by-laws to consideration of public relations and financial support, the reader is shown in the most concrete of ways how to establish such a center. In summary, while variable in quality, this book meets its primary objective of presenting a "cookbook" to those hoping to establish a creative arts center. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of severe disability.

Reviews the book, Handbook of severe disability by W. Stolov and M. Clowers (1981). This book has many strengths that make it a mandatory reference manual for professionals who work with individuals with severe illness and disability. First, the chapters have been written by highly regarded professionals who have clinical and research experience with the disability group about which they write. Thus there is an understanding of the scope of the rehabilitation problem and a commitment to the disability group in question that is apparent in the manner in which the chapters have been written. Second, the scope of the book makes it a useful reference tool for those who work in rehabilitation settings that serve clients with a variety of disabilities. Third, the price of the book is less than $20, which makes it affordable by those who need the information most. Any psychologist who works with a variety of severely disabled persons should be familiar with the information contained in this book. Ordinarily this takes years of on-the-job experience and reading. Thus this book can shorten the learning period considerably. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Physical disability—A psychosocial approach (2nd ed.).

Reviews the book, Physical disability—a psychosocial approach (2nd ed.) by Beatrice A. Wright (1983). In this revised edition of her classic 1960 text, Wright successfully synthesizes more than two decades of recent findings and current thinking about the adjustment process following the onset of disability. In this second edition, she expands the scope of her discussion to include consideration of psychosocial issues. That is, she examines problems arising from disability in terms of the individual's relationship with the social environment. Using a minimum of technical language, Wright reviews the wide variety of social-psychological factors that affect the lives of people with disabilities. Although many of the principles discussed generally apply to children and adults with a wide range of disabilities, the implications of the points made are usually apparent across age groups and types of disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The future of career.

Reviews the book, The future of career edited by Audrey Collin and Richard A. Young (see record 2000-16337-000). In this book on the future of career, the editors intend to clarify the themes, issues, and implications that are likely to be characteristic of career in the new century. In general, the authors raise the question of whether the construct of career has a future, most particularly within North American and European countries, and Australia. The editors' rationale for this focus centres around the notion that career is a unifying construct that gives purpose and meaning to individuals' experience and helps them to construct their perceptions of the future. Audrey Collin and Richard Young bring together a collection of essays which were written by a number of academics of diverse perspectives and from different countries. These essays, which can be used individually or together, examine the broad changes in the work contexts, analyze new constructions which appear to be emerging from work contexts, and suggest some ways to conceptualize career so that it has a future in the next century. In this volume, the editors have done an excellent job of assembling information and perspectives to accomplish their purpose. The book is set against the background of career developing out of the industrial revolution, the rise of individualism, the bureaucratic career, and career guidance as a social movement. It includes both modernist and postmodernist perspectives and addresses the future of career in its diversity. As such, this volume represents a process perspective on the changes in the workplace and what is happening to individuals as a result. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The science of learning disabilities.

Reviews the book, The science of learning disabilities, by K. A. Kavale and S. R. Forness (1985). Kavale and Forness assert that the field of learning disabilities has become a pseudoscience. They state that the purpose of their book is to demonstrate how the field of learning disabilities strayed from its scientific course and suggest how it can regain its scientific status. To accomplish their goals, the authors emphasize the importance of scientific inquiry, the history of the learning disabilities field, and possible solutions to the problems they depict as currently being characteristic of the field. The field of learning disabilities, they assert, strayed from the scientific method by emphasizing empirical associations per se without the proper formulation of theories regarding learning disabilities. The authors fulfill their stated goals of describing how many in the learning disabilities field drifted away from the scientific method and by outlining how the field can regain its scientific status. The review of the history of the learning disabilities field is comprehensive and informative. This book is written in a scholarly, unemotional style. Although its exploration of the scientific method, that forms the basis of the authors' arguments, is simple and consistent with that provided in most introductory texts in the sciences, the authors' discussions of research findings are, at times, complex. Readers who are not familiar with meta-analytical techniques are encouraged to obtain some familiarity with these before reading this book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The nature of prejudice.

Reviews the book, The nature of prejudice by Gordon W. Allport (1954). According to the reviewer, appearing almost simultaneously with the historic Supreme Court decision that ruled educational segregation unconstitutional, Allport's new book is a fitting synthesis of the voluminous research that has played no small part in the changing climate of informed opinion, now reflected in the judgment of the highest court. The reviewer states that readers' expectations of an Allport book will not be disappointed: it is lucid, scholarly yet simply stated, and a pleasure to read. It should communicate almost equally well to undergraduates, to concerned laymen, and to specialists. Prejudice is the main focus, although the work is not limited to the topic of prejudice so defined. The facts about group differences, including the repercussions of prejudice on its targets, are sifted. Due attention is given to discrimination and how it may be combated. And the causes of prejudice are explored from the successive standpoints of perceptual and cognitive theory, sociocultural and historical factors, acquisition and development, psychodynamics, and character structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Constructing the subject: Historical origins of psychological research.

Reviews the book, Constructing the subject: Historical origins of psychological research by Kurt Danziger (1990). Kurt Danziger's Constructing the Subject: Historical Origins of Psychological Research is a book of singular importance because it provides such a penetrating analysis, and does so in a manner that is cause for considerable reflection. In brief, Danziger provides a history lesson that not only situates the names and the projects of experimental psychology in the first part of this century, but also aims to clarify the project of knowledge generation both past and present. Indeed, shades of Quine, Kuhn, and Hesse permeate this book in a way that demands psychologists examine their own investigative practices and logics of justification. Through Wundt, through Galton, through Ebbinghaus and others, Danziger illuminates the development of experimental psychology along with the historical and philosophical vicissitudes that have given rise to numerous psychological knowledge claims. If it is true that we must understand our history in order to understand our present, then Danziger's book should be required reading in all research laboratories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychology of reading.

Reviews the book, The psychology of reading by Insup Taylor and M. Martin Taylor (1983). This book is organized in three parts. The first, on writing systems, is an extremely comprehensive review of a number of Oriental writing systems in addition to the English system. The second part presents the basic experimental literature and outlines the authors' theory (the bilateral cooperative model). In the third section, on learning to read, there are chapters on early reading, reading instruction and reading disabilities. My overall impression is that the book makes a positive contribution to the literature on reading. An enormous amount of literature is reviewed, making the book valuable from that standpoint alone. Many readers won't agree with all of the authors' conclusions regarding this literature; however, they do make for interesting reading. In addition, I welcome the attempt the authors have made to tie together research on reading and research on brain functioning. Work of this sort can only benefit researchers in both areas. All and all, while the book is probably not a good selection for an undergraduate text, its breadth should make it appealing to a wide selection of individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The science game: An introduction to research in the behavioral and social sciences, seventh edition.

Reviews the book, The science game: An introduction to research in the behavioral and social sciences, seventh edition by Neil McKinnon Agnew and Sandra W. Pyke (2007). In 1969, Neil Agnew and Sandra Pyke published the first edition of The Science Game, a 182-page survey of the major components of what they call the game of sciencing, a game, they claim, that like all other games of consequence, is a mixture of art, enterprise, and invention held loosely together by man-made rules. Using the same quirky but engaging style as in the original, in the seventh and latest edition, Agnew and Pyke dedicate a full 471 pages to the task, tackling a host of topics bearing on the activities of science, ranging from the strengths and weaknesses of humans' cognitive capacity for problem solving to debates in the philosophy of science regarding the nature of knowledge. Although this most recent edition elaborates on many of the same themes presented in earlier versions, it is much grander in scope and includes a number of new features, including the introduction of a central theme and memory aid throughout the book (i.e., a puzzle-solving theme), the inclusion of statements of chapter goals, and chapter-end summaries and self-test quizzes. The Science Game provides a fairly comprehensive set of sound bites pertaining to the techniques, procedures, and conventions adopted by social science researchers and is accessible to either students encountering these topics for the first time or more advanced students in need of a refresher. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychology and life (Canadian edition).

Reviews the book, Psychology and life (Canadian edition) (2009), by Richard J. Gerrig, Philip Zimbardo, Serge Desmarais, and Tammy Ivanco. As part of an effective strategy to deal with the many emerging challenges of teaching large introductory psychology classes, a modern textbook geared toward introductory psychology must keep up with these changes and offer useful features that address the needs of the student. To this end, Psychology and Life (Canadian Edition) presents an impressive update of the classic textbook by Gerrig and Zimbardo. The text continues to hit on the key principle of psychology as a science with a thorough and updated research-based presentation. The textbook is well organised into 17 chapters covering the range of typical introductory psychology topics. The chapters are written in a midlevel text that will be accessible to the broad range of students enrolled in most introductory psychology courses. While maintaining a high level of readability and interest, the work is solidly grounded in research as it highlights psychology as a science. As the title of the textbook suggests, the authors make a conscious effort to demonstrate that the research and curriculum presented in each chapter have an immediate impact on daily life. This is a well-written, organised, and appealing text that students will find engaging and instructors will find suitable for providing a solid grounding in the science of contemporary psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of Deception.

Comments on "Deception in psychological research" by J. Seeman (see record 1970-07542-001). Certainly, a number of legitimate arguments exist for the reduction and/or elimination of deception in psychological experimentation. However, employed by an ethical scientist, the use of deceit in psychological experimentation can meaningfully contribute to the accumulation of "wisdom" Seeman cherishes so. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Technology as symptom and dream.

Reviews the book, Technology as symptom and dream by Robert D. Romanyshyn (see record 1990-97140-000). This book is an empassioned call to reexamine the history of technology and to remember the desire that propelled it. Faced with the atom bomb and space flight, we can no longer ignore, Romanyshyn argues, the possibility of the final destruction of our planet. True to his vocation as a psychologist, Romanyshyn finds that the path toward preventing the suicide of mankind lies in re-examining, reflecting and retelling the story of our past and in understanding how it shapes our present and our future. He offers us a shift in perspective: maybe we have misunderstood what technology is all about. "Perhaps technology has been part of the earth's long history of coming to know itself, and perhaps in that effort we have been its servant. (...) On a dry African plain, in the silence of the early morning, one can still imagine technology as vocation, as the earth's call to become its agent and instrument of awakening. But in the shadows imagination falters and technology seems less the earth's way of coming to know itself and more the earth's way of coming to cleanse itself of us" (p. 3). Romanyshyn's book is biased, but biased in a positive way: he refuses the detached view of the uninvolved observer. The book speaks with passionate insight for the abandoned body and the repressed soul. Informed by the phenomenological critique of the scientific attitude, Romanyshyn attempts to recover the cultural history of consciousness and the lived body. He weaves a fascinating story that resonates with profound echoes from the past. He challenges the reader's presuppositions and our habitual modern ways of conceptualizing space, body and self. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)