Shawn M. Fitzgerald

Using scoping literature reviews as a means of understanding and interpreting existing literature

OBJECTIVE This article compares and contrasts scoping literature reviews with other established methods for understanding and interpreting extant research literature. METHODS Descriptions of the key principles and applications of scoping reviews are illustrated with examples from contemporary publications. CONCLUSIONS Scoping reviews are presented as an efficient way of identifying themes and trends in high-volume areas of scientific inquiry.

Predictors of Employment Status for People with Multiple Sclerosis.

This study examined the relevance of the disease-and-demographics model for explaining the employment outcomes of adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Participating in a national survey of their employment concerns, 1,310 adults with MS provided data for the study (274 men, 21%; 1,020 women, 78%; 16 participants did not identify their gender). With an average age of 50 (SD = 12.14), most of the respondents were White (92%), well educated (97% were high school graduates, 40% were college graduates), and residing in urban and suburban areas (74%). Results from a backward stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis included the following variables as best predictors of employment status: educational attainment, severity of symptoms, persistence of symptoms, and presence of cognitive impairment/dysfunction (R 2 = .23). The article discusses the relationship of the findings to psychosocial and career development models in rehabilitation and to training, educational, accommodation planning, and cognitive interventions.

Determinants of Employment Status among People with Multiple Sclerosis.

This study identified factors predicting employment or lack thereof among adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Data for the analysis were provided by 139 individuals with MS who were considered available for the workforce (i.e., were no older than 62 and did not declare themselves retired). Results from a backward, stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis included the following variables as the best predictors of employment: symptom persistence, severity of symptoms, educational attainment, and presence of cognitive limitations. The relevance of the findings for rehabilitation assessment and intervention strategies is discussed.

Employer Characteristics and Discharge-Related Discrimination Against People With Disabilities Under the Americans With Disabilities Act

This article describes findings from a causal comparative study of the characteristics of employers against whom allegations of discrimination related to unlawful discharge were filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). People with disabilities filed these allegations under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) between 1992 and 2008. Employer characteristics derived from 140,581 closed discharge-related allegations were compared to and contrasted with 165,447 closed allegations aggregated from four other prevalent forms of discrimination including reasonable accommodations, hiring, disability harassment and intimidation, and terms and conditions of employment. Tests of Proportion were used to examine comparisons of employer characteristics along a variety of factors, including size of workforce, location, and industrial classification. As compared to nondischarge allegations, discharge allegations were more likely to be filed against employers (a) with 15 to 200 employees; (b) in the South U.S. Census Tract Region; and (c) in the Manufacturing, Health Care and Social Assistance, Retail, Administrative Support, Waste Management and Remediation, Finance and Insurance, Professional/Scientific/Technical, Accommodation and Food Service, Wholesale, Construction, Real Estate, and Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing/ Hunting industries. Additional research is needed to specify the mechanisms by which different employer characteristics influence patterns in allegations of discrimination pertaining to discharge, and human resource management (HRM) and human resource development (HRD) practices regarding ADA responsibilities must be developed with the aforementioned characteristics in mind.

The Relationship Between Reading Fluency and Vocabulary in Fifth Grade Turkish Students

Reading fluency has traditionally been recognized as a competency associated with word recognition and comprehension. As readers become more automatic in word identification they are able to devote less attention and cognitive resources to word decoding and more to text comprehension. The act of reading itself has been associated with growth in vocabulary. Thus, as readers become more fluent, they should be able to cover more text resulting in greater gains in reading vocabulary. This study explores the relationship between fluency and vocabulary among 119 fifth grade Turkish students. Findings confirm that measures of reading fluency are associated with differential levels of vocabulary in students. The findings are discussed in terms of further research and classroom practice for improving students’ proficiency in reading.

ADA Title I Allegations Related to Unlawful Discharge: Characteristics of Charging Parties

This article describes findings from a causal comparative study of the characteristics of charging parties who filed allegations of discrimination related to discharge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) between 1992 and 2008. Charging party characteristics derived from 140,581 closed unlawful discharge and constructive discharge allegations were compared and contrasted to 165,447 closed allegations aggregated from four other prevalent forms of discrimination, including hiring, disability harassment and intimidation, reasonable accommodations, and terms and conditions of employment. Tests of proportion distributed as chi-square were used to form comparisons along a variety of factors, including age, gender, type of impairment, and race/ethnicity of the charging party. In comparison to nondischarge allegations, discharge-related allegations were more likely to be filed by charging parties who are male; younger (between the ages of 15 and 34); and coping with heart/cardiovascular conditions, cancer, bipolar disorder, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental retardation. People with disabilities who filed discharge allegations were comparatively less likely to be female; between the ages of 35 and 64; and White or of Asian, Hispanic, or Native American extraction. Implications for future research and HRD practice are discussed.

Disease-related and functional predictors of employment status among adults with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND Due to the extent and complexity of its physical, cognitive, and psychological accompaniments, multiple sclerosis has tremendously negative effects on employment outcomes for adults with the disease. OBJECTIVE This article extends the current understanding of the relationship between disease-related and functional factors and employment status among adults with multiple sclerosis. METHODS Findings are reported in terms of descriptive statistics and logistic regression. The logistic regression analysis was completed to determine the extent to which disease-related and functional predictors contributed to the overall prediction model for the employment status of adults with MS. RESULTS The combined variables explained approximately 33% of the variance in employment status. In addition to three items of the Psychological subscale and 12 items of the Physical subscale, one of the items from the Cognitive Functioning Scale contributed to the prediction of employment status. CONCLUSIONS The findings emphasize the importance of including physical, psychological, and cognitive functioning variables when predicting employment status among adults with multiple sclerosis.

Development and cross-validation of a home functioning scale for people with multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND: After extensive review of existing measures, it was deemed that a brief self-report instrument that measures the functioning difficulties and limitations of people with MS in and around their home should be developed. OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to develop an instrument that can measure the degree of difficulty in functioning that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience within their residence and to test the psychometric properties of the newly developed scale. METHODS: To test the factorial validity of the Home Functioning Scale, both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were utilized in a cross-validation approach in this study. RESULTS: The new scale captured three functioning difficulty components: (1) functioning needed to take care of oneself at home, (2) functioning needed to conduct house work and house maintenance, and (3) functioning needed to carry out one’s own medical needs and treatment at home. Unlike many other scales in the field, this measure is not disease or symptom-specific, but task-oriented and site-specific. CONCLUSION: The use of the scale can be instrumental to rehabilitation counselors and allied health practitioners in the field.

The Relationship Between Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension in Fifth-Grade Turkish Students

This research study focused on the relationships among the various components of reading fluency components (word recognition accuracy, automaticity, and prosody), as well as their relationships with reading comprehension among fifth-grade students in Turkey. A total of 119 fifth-grade elementary school students participated in the study. The findings revealed that every component of reading fluency significantly predicted reading comprehension. The strongest predictor of reading comprehension was reading prosody, according to the simple regression analysis. Additionally, hierarchical regression analysis revealed that prosody had a stronger impact on reading comprehension than automaticity and accuracy. Implications for further research and instruction in Turkish students are discussed.

A response to Harris, Gould, and Fujiura: Beyond scoping reviews: A case for mixed-methods research reviews

This article serves as a response to the Work article on scoping literature reviews by Harris et al. [1]. Conceptualizing scoping reviews as an exploratory approach to organizing literature and research findings in a content area that is still developing, we propose a mixed-methods approach to systematic reviews that enables researchers to capture the breadth and depth of existing knowledge, thereby facilitating the transfer of research findings into field practice.