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The purpose here is to translate the Fifth Force Psychologies movement through an integral (Wilberian) lens. One of the most significant impacts of doing this comes from the integral initiative, which has led to Ken Wilber arguing "Psychology is dead." Concomitantly, his view is that the "integral approach" is its replacement. This move characterizes Wilber's unique integral philosophy in a deconstructionist postmodern style of Nietzsche's "God is dead." Yet, Wilber, unlike Nietzsche, and more like Rank, reconstructs a post-postmodern vision of a new critical analysis and critical theory. In the author's view, the best of Wilberian thought and critique is his social politics of knowledge (re: his dealing with the Four Forces). It is what makes a foundational postmodern critical (conflict) theory of Integral (at least, in the Wilberian view, of which the author finds most compelling and useful to the problems of the 21st century overall--that is, ideological conflict, violence, fear, terror, wars, etc.). The very understanding of "psychology" and the field of Psychology is put into question by Wilber's challenge, just as God was more fully put into question by more and more people after Nietzsche. This technical paper puts Psychology into question, not for the first time, but in a way the author thinks is truly a first 21st century vision and profound in its potential as critique. The author offers nine reasons for naming and reclaiming "Integral-Transpersonal" as the Fourth Force of Psychology. (Contains 44 footnotes.) [This paper was published by the In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute.]

Almost one in four (3.9 million) students who are enrolled in postsecondary education programs in the United States are also raising a dependent child (Miller, Gault, and Thorman, 2011). These parents are preparing themselves to compete in an American economy in which high skill levels are required to earn a wage sufficient to support a family (Rakesh, 2012). It is important that college campuses are prepared to recognize and support student parents on their path to educational success. Many postsecondary leaders are looking for promising strategies that match the needs and resources of their institutions and students. This brief is a product of the Student Parent Success Initiative (SPSI) at the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) which provides a framework for thinking about the range of supports student parents typically need and example programs. The brief draws from information and lessons learned that have been collected by IWPR from initiatives supporting student parents at two- and four-year colleges and universities across the country. SPSI resources may be used to inform the decisions of leaders on campuses, in communities, and among policymakers to promote better success rates and stronger families for student parents in postsecondary education. The following are appended: (1) Analysis of Student Parent Program Survey; and (2) Information on the Examples Included in the Toolkit.

With its publication of the Thematic Review on the Transition from Initial Education to Working Life in 2000, OECD has laid the foundation for the development of indicators regarding the transition from education to work. One of the core activities of OECD's Network B in 2005 and 2006 was to further develop these indicators by establishing a framework for monitoring transition systems. A transition system is defined as "the social institutions and processes through which a society provides its members to make the transition from the education system to the employment system". The current report presents the results of this developmental work. It first presents the results of a quick scan carried out among the Network B members on the policy goals for transition systems and relevant indicators used to assess national situations (November 2002-January 2003). Next a theoretical framework is presented that identifies the most relevant characteristics of transition systems. It also relates the outcomes of the transition system to relevant characteristics of the educational system on the one hand and the employment system on the other hand. Based on the results of the quick scan and the developed theoretical framework, an evaluation of the earlier defined policy goals is carried, proposing a new set of 11 policy goals. As a next step, the existing data sources from OECD, EUROSTAT and major international surveys have been analysed to identify relevant indicators for the policy goals as well as descriptors for relevant other aspects of the developed framework. This report presents an overview of these indicators and descriptors. The theoretical framework and the developed set of indicators have been discussed at the March 2006 meeting of the Network B in Washington DC. Members of the network have also sent written comments. All these comments have been taken up in this final version. The report concludes with recommendations for the further data collection strategy. Appended are: (1) Description of Data Sources; (2) Relevant Questions from EULFS and ECHP; (3) Comparison of Age Groups, Synthetic Cohorts and Real Cohorts; (4) Comparison of Unemployment Rates for Lower Educated and Higher Educated; and (5) Comparison of Two Measures of Graduation Rates. (Contains 2 figures, 9 tables and 8 footnotes.)

This study examines the ways that student support services in community colleges inadvertently perpetuate and legitimate disadvantage. Using interview data from students at two colleges in the northeast, we find that although support services are open to all students, only those who come to the college with pre-existing social and cultural resources can take advantage of them. However, because they are presented as open-access, students not able to make use of support services interpret their failure to progress toward a degree as personal, rather than structural. (Contains 2 tables.)

This working paper is one of eleven individual research reports in which researchers with expertise in older adult populations gathered the most current available data, examined policies, regulations, and programs relevant to population aging and older Californians, and presented findings and recommendations. The issues examined-- economic well-being, work and retirement, housing, transportation, health status, mental health status, long-term care, residential care, family caregiving, and successful aging-- encompass most of the key issues concerning an aging population and Californias principal responses to its senior citizens. The report notes that the states efforts toward meeting the needs of older adults with mental illnesses must be improved. Programs must be expanded so that more older adults can be served. Further, the report features pertinent efforts made by universities and private organizations, and argues that these organizations assume a critical role in providing for the well being of the older population. Finally, three emerging issues that warrant further attention are highlighted: the increasing diversity of the aging population; the expansion of managed mental health care; and the development of a statewide system of mental health care for older adults. (Contains 60 references and 2 tables.) (GCP)

There is a powerful religious commitment among people in America; nearly 92% of the population is affiliated with a specific religion. This report presents findings from a 2-year study of the attitudes and experiences of clergy regarding substance abuse and the training they received in schools of theology or in seminaries. Too often clergy and physicians do not overlap their care, something that could help recovery and ease the pain of substance abuse clients. Prior research from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse has identified a helpful connection between spiritual and religious practices and a lower risk for substance abuse or addiction. A main finding of this study suggests that a better understanding by clergy of the disease of addiction and a better appreciation by helping professionals, especially psychiatrists and psychologists, about the power of God, religion, and spirituality holds enormous potential for the prevention and treatment of substance abuse. (Contains 1 table, 10 figures, and 124 references.) (JDM)

Since women are more likely than men to experience co-occurring mental health and substance abuse problems, they have a greater need for comprehensive treatment models. Additionally, women of color often have less access to routine medical care where early diagnosis and intervention can be done, so their mental health and substance abuse problems are often more developed and complicated. Culturally sensitive social service practice is believed to increase many aspects of care including mutual communication, utilization of services, treatment effectiveness, and consumer satisfaction. Following background information on the problem of mental health disorders and substance abuse addictions in minority women, a discussion is included on the stigma surrounding women of color who have mental health or substance abuse problems. Service delivery and treatment program issues are reviewed followed by action steps communities can take to help address these problems. (Contains 88 references.) (JDM)

This paper describes the results of one Army officer's experiment in applying the techniques of psychological research on the job. With a view to developing his subordinates' leadership ability and initiative, and permitting them an active role in managing the battalion, he emphasized particularly the principles of "contingency management" (motivation by incentives), "participative management" (group problem-solving and decision-making), and "performance counseling." Despite some initial resistance by other officers, the experiment paid off in terms of battalion morale, which was rated high, responsiveness, and esprit de corps. Although emphasis was on self-motivation rather than the threat of punishment as a motivating force, there was no breakdown in discipline. Future development and field-testing will be needed to provide additional information for evaluating the use of such leadership techniques in the Army. (Author)

Women's educational needs and the viability of postsecondary institutions are inextricably bound. Women are in transition. Increasingly entering the labor force, women see postsecondary institutions as a means of accomplishing new occupational goals. Now a postsecondary student majority, they are, because of their age, part-time status, and large numbers, considered nontraditional. While some exemplary programs for women exist at British Columbia's postsecondary institutions, most nontraditional learning opportunities are ad hoc, peripheral, fragmented and demonstrate a lack of institutional commitment. An institutionally based Women's Access Program should be adopted. Planning and implementation guidelines for such a program have been developed and are included in this report. Program goals are to assist women in obtaining access to postsecondary institutions and community services and resources, and to assist institutions in modifying practices which present barriers to women. Recommendations to the Ministry of Education and a plan to assist institutions achieve these goals have been formulated. Hopefully, institutions will adopt policies which accommodate the needs of women learners. (Author/CSS)

Social support is a significant component of mental health; yet, it has not been examined extensively among black Americans. This paper is a critical review of the research literature on informal social support. The review identifies how social support is conceptualized and defined, the importance of social support for mental health, and the sources of social support among black Americans. The following findings are among those listed: (1) people seeking assistance from sources other than their social support group are dissatisfied with their social networks; (2) people make different demands on the social support network, depending upon their socioeconomic status, sex, and age; (3) lack of social support is related to distress; (4) among blacks, social support networks mainly provide instrumental and emotional support, including child care and economic assistance; (5) those with limited resources do not always benefit from increased contact with network members; and (6) identifying the structural and process-oriented characteristics of one's own social network and one's client's social network can lead to more effective and appropriate intervention strategies. Guidelines on how practitioners can apply the implications of research on social support in program development are provided. Extensive references and a selected bibliography on social support are appended. (PS)

Surveyed were 81 vocational rehabilitation directors of general agencies and agencies for the blind concerning the nature of post-employment services for the handicapped. Questionnaires on the extent, basis, and monitoring systems of post-employment services were completed by 82 percent of the Ss. Analysis of the data indicated such findings as 87 percent of the general agencies and 95 percent of the agencies for the blind provided the services; most client contacts were made personally or by phone; and state guidelines received from most of the agencies did not delineate specific criteria for post-employment services. (A sample questionnaire including needs assessment and record of post-employment services is provided.) (CL)

Presented is the second year report of a project designed to assist state advisory councils in evaluating services to the developmentally disabled. Described are the five project objectives (including providing assistance to new and existing regional committees), methodologies and results (including definition of services and questions to be asked in evaluating services), and dissemination and utilization of results (through such means as slide tape materials). Three appendixes comprise the bulk of the document. Fifty four services for the developmentally disabled are defined and grouped into 11 clusters (including identification and assessment, treatment and family support services). Provided are Oregon data reports (including measures of service availability and quality) and recommended objectives for eight of the defined service areas. The objectives adopted by three task forces for state implementation are ranked according to priority, and a rationale for each priority assigned is included. (CL)

Conducted by the University of Alabama Committee on Adult and Part-Time Students, the 1974-75 study is concerned with identifying characteristics of adult and part-time students at the University of Alabama and drawing inferences from these attributes. A random sample of 284 of 2,021 part-time students at the university was selected. Of the 179 students who had telephones, 70 were interviewed. The study revealed that most of the students responding to the survey were reasonably satisfied with the services and programs. However, needs were not being met entirely because of the lack of night-time and weekend classes, particularly of the core courses. The majority of the students were male with work and family obligations and in need of financial assistance. Over one-half of the students indicated that the university should provide some financial assistance. The survey indicated that counselors were not being used effectively by the adult and part-time students; therefore, counselors should be more visible and responsive to the unique needs of adult and part-time students. More than two-thirds of the document consists of tables indicating absolute and relative frequencies of related questionnaire items. A copy of the questionnaire is appended. (Author/EA)

Women's access programs and services are needed to overcome the effects of women's isolation and lack of information about educational opportunities. The favored mechanism for the delivery of women's access programs and services is the Women's Resources Centre model. The center extends women's access programs and services. These programs and services function as educational brokers and assist women in planning their lives. Although women are the new client group for education, postsecondary institutions are not planned for the mature women, and they are fairly inflexible. Women require services to assist them in updating their expectations and working out ways to combine family responsibilities with study and labor force participation. Women are having fewer children and are becoming a higher proportion of the labor force. Women's access programs and services operate by providing information and counseling in community-based settings staffed by volunteers working with professionals. Budgets for an adequately equipped, and alternatively a minimally supported, resources center have been prepared. (Appendixes contain information on a volunteer employment program, rural women's skill development, and life planning methods.) (Author/CSS)

A staff development needs assessment survey was conducted by the Adult Literacy Resource Institute, in cooperation with other Boston-area programs providing basic education services for adults, to gather information on what users and potential users of the institute wanted in the areas of inservice teacher education, training, and staff development activities for the coming years. Questionnaires were sent individually to 89 staff people of programs within the Boston Adult Literacy Initiative, and to people at 67 other programs (with an unknown number of total staff) doing basic education for adults. These recipients, in turn, were asked to distribute copies of the questionnaire to the staff at their programs. A total of l89 questionnaires were returned, 30 percent from initiative program questionnaires were returned, 30 percent from initiative program staff and 70 percent from other program staff. The rank order of categories of topic areas for inservice training chosen by the respondents were: (1) general basic education for adults (47%); (2) program administration (44%); (3) counseling (36%); (4) teaching English as a Second Language (33%); (5) teaching reading (32%); (6) teaching writing (3l%); (7) teaching in a credential program (20%); (8) teaching math (l6%); and (9) others (6%). (NLL)

The organized experience of the Testing, Research and Data Processing Division of the University of Maryland, College Park, Counseling Center of attending a national convention and making presentations is discussed and evaluated. In evaluating the various aspects of the experience, participants agreed that "debugging" their presentation with the members of the presentation team, working on their presentation in staff meetings, and a dress rehearsal in staff meetings were all helpful to them; and that the entire organized effort was worth the time and energy, and was worth repeating. The staff rated the American College Personnel Association convention in terms of quality, overall level of program presentations (style and preparedness), overall content of the programs, and as a whole experience (i.e., a rating of three on a five-point Liker scale, ranging from poor to excellent). Some changes recommended for future conventions included: more moderate prices overall; scheduling free time throughout the day; more emphasis on counseling in program content; higher quality of program content, preparation, and delivery; and more exhibits by publishers. (Author/LB)