This paper reviews research on community efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We conducted a systematic search of the relevant literature, and supplemented our findings with an analysis of review papers previously published on the topic. The results indicate that there have been no peer-reviewed experimental evaluations of community-wide interventions to reduce greenhouse gases involving electricity, refrigeration, or food. The lack of findings limits the conclusions which can be made about the efficacy of these efforts. As a result, we are not accumulating effective interventions, and some communities may be implementing strategies that are not effective. We advocate for the funding of experimental evaluations of multi-sector community interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Such interventions would attempt to engage every sector of the community in identifying and implementing policies and practices to reduce emissions. Comprehensive multi-sector interventions are likely to have synergistic effects, such that the total impact is greater than the sum of the impact of the individual components. We describe the value of interrupted time-series designs as an alternative to randomized trials, because these designs confer particular advantages for the evaluation of strategies in entire communities.

Friendships between students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) remain infrequent, especially at the secondary level. However, when friendships between students with and without IDD have developed, direct support from parents and teachers has been a critical facilitator. Thus, this qualitative study examined parent (n = 10) and teacher (n = 20) perspectives on friendships and social interactions of middle and high school students with IDD receiving special education services in inclusive settings at least part of the day. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with each participant and analyzed inductively using a multistage process of open and then thematic coding. The thematic findings suggest that the challenge of friendship development between students with and without IDD is ongoing, though there may be potential in focusing more explicitly and intentionally on increasing social interaction opportunities both in and out of school. Implications for future research and practice are described in the context of supporting students with and without IDD to increase social interactions and develop friendships.

Although the popularity of animal-assisted interventions (AAI) continues to increase, an examination of these practices among clinician populations that may incorporate AAI in their clinical services are largely absent from the literature. This study examined the practices and desirability of incorporating animals into ABA services. A total of 544 ABA clinicians completed a web-based survey. Data revealed respondents not only considered incorporating animals into ABA services (n = 307), but almost 20% (n = 107) also reported engaging in this practice. Dogs were reported as the most frequently incorporated animals and an examination of animal sources and prior training revealed substantial variability. Animal incorporation practices were viewed as desirable, feasible, and a majority of respondents reported being interested in AAI implementation. Implications of these results beget a discussion about potential adverse consequences to clients and clinicians that participate in these practices. This discussion includes physical safety risks, financial threats, and potential Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) code violations. Animal welfare concerns, which are often omitted from discussions about AAI, are also discussed to inform clinicians of the added responsibilities that need to be considered. In total, survey results and the accompanying discussion should urge ABA clinicians to pause when considering the incorporation of animals into their clinical practices. No published articles could be found that examine the use of animal incorporation practices within the area of clinical ABA services. Personal and professional risks and animal welfare concerns associated with the utilization of these practices, as identified in this study, should inform programmatic decision-making by clinical practitioners and supervisors interested in engaging in these practices. Results of this survey highlight the potential need for modifications to professional standards and ethical codes of the BACB and state licensing authorities. As this is a novel area of investigation, this article illustrates the need for further empirical evaluation of animal-assisted interventions as an adjunct to ABA services.Keywords applied behavior analysis . board certified behavioranalyst . clinician behaviors . ethics . survey methodology . therapy animals * Jessica L Ghai

This paper reviews research on community efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We conducted a systematic search of relevant literature and supplemented our findings with an analysis of review papers previously published on the topic. The results indicate that little experimental evaluation exists on community interventions to reduce greenhouse gases, limiting the conclusions which can be made about the efficacy of these efforts. As a result, we are not accumulating effective interventions and some communities may be implementing strategies that are not effective. We advocate the development of interdisciplinary programs of research that experimentally evaluate comprehensive community interventions. Such interventions would attempt to engage every sector of the community in identifying and implementing policies and practices to reduce emissions. Such interventions are likely to have synergistic effects, such that the total impact is greater than the sum of impact of individual components. We describe the value of interrupted time-series designs as an alternative to randomized trials because these designs are more feasible for evaluating strategies in entire communities.