As a result of the impact of functional analysis methodologies in identifying maintaining variables of problem behavior, considerable research has been devoted to tailoring the methodologies to be practical for an outpatient setting. The purpose of this study was (a) to use brief functional analysis (BFA) methodologies to empirically demonstrate the function of elopement exhibited by two preschoolers diagnosed with autism and (b) to develop function-based interventions derived from the results of the BFA. In phase one, a BFA consisting of 5-min sessions with multiple repetitions of each condition was conducted with each participant. In phase two, the efficacy of function-based interventions was assessed using a pairwise design. Both participants' rates of elopement were differentially lower during the implementation of the function-based intervention relative to baseline. Collectively, these results demonstrated that brief functional methodologies could be applied successfully to the assessment and treatment of elopement. Moreover, the application of BFA and the ensuing treatment in an outpatient setting extend the existing research on functional analysis.
We examined college students' procrastination when studying for weekly in-class quizzes. Two schedules of online practice quiz delivery were compared using a multiple baseline design. When online study material was made available noncontingently, students usually procrastinated. When access to additional study material was contingent on completing previous study material, studying was more evenly distributed. Overall, the mean gain in percentage correct scores on weekly in-class quizzes relative to pretests was greater during contingent access than during noncontingent access conditions.
Recent research has evaluated the effects of brief habit reversal, consisting of either awareness training (AT) and competing response training (Mancuso & Miltenberger, 2016), or AT alone (Spieler & Miltenberger, 2017) in reducing speech disfluencies during public speaking. Although both formats of brief habit reversal reduced rates of speech disfluencies, results suggested that teaching a competing response (CR) may produce better outcomes. We aimed to replicate and extend those studies by evaluating the effects of AT and instructing the use of a CR (a silent pause) on rates of speech disfluencies and CRs during public speaking. Following training, all 4 participants demonstrated a reduction of speech disfluencies, and 1 participant demonstrated moderate levels of CRs when giving a speech in front of both a single experimenter and small audience. For 1 participant, generalized effects were demonstrated when presenting in front of a class.
The purpose of this study was to examine variables that affect self-control in the context of academic task completion by elementary school children with autism. In the baseline assessment of Study 1, mathematics problem completion was shown to be an aversive event, and sensitivity to task magnitude, task difficulty, and delay to task completion were measured. The effects of manipulating values of those parameters on self-control then were assessed. For all participants, self-control increased as a function of one or more changes in task parameter values. In study 2, the effects of a commitment response on self-control was assessed. Results indicated that for all participants, levels of self-control were higher when the opportunity to commit to the immediate aversive event was available.
This study replicated and extended previous research on the effectiveness of brief habit reversal, consisting of awareness training and competing response training (silent pause) in reducing the rate of speech disfluencies during public speaking. Nine university students, divided into 3 groups, delivered short speeches on a novel topic. Brief habit reversal combined with an interdependent group contingency resulted in a meaningful reduction in speech disfluencies with only 1 group requiring booster sessions. Relative to baseline, competing responses increased for all participants but only remained high for 1 participant following training. Reductions in speech disfluencies maintained during follow-up when participants presented in front of a small audience.
The procrastination behavior of students from a small rural university was decreased by presenting them with a rule indicating that a sooner final due date for a writing assignment would be contingent on procrastination during earlier phases of the paper. A counterbalanced AB BA design was used to measure the effects of the rule-based treatment across 2 introductory psychology classes (N = 33). Overall, participants engaged in less procrastination, missed fewer deadlines, and produced higher quality writing in the treatment condition.
We examined college students' participation in a game activity for studying course material on their subsequent quiz performance. Game conditions were alternated with another activity counterbalanced across two groups of students in a multielement design. Overall, the mean percentage correct on quizzes was higher during the game condition than in the no-game condition.
Part way through a year-long water quality field survey, the Capilano Reservoir, located in the Greater Vancouver Water District, was drawn down to accommodate earthquake reinforcement work on the Cleveland Dam. This paper reports observations of the effect of drawdown on water quality in the reservoir, in the context of the original study. The drawdown exposed a large zone of deltaic material through which the Capilano River eroded a path up to 2.5 m deep. The deltaic material contained substantial amounts of nitrogen and iron (TKN, 4,470 mg kg-1; total iron, 21,800 mg kg-1). During drawdown, turbidity in the reservoir increased up to 25 times as compared to prior conditions. Ammonium (NH4+-N) and dissolved and particulate iron concentrations in the drawdown zone were up to two orders of magnitude higher than concentrations upstream. Both NH4+-N and dissolved iron were observed to travel the length of the reservoir. Persistence of NH4+-N in the highly oxygenated conditions may be explained by the presence of factors that inhibit nitrification. Persistence of NH4+-N and particularly dissolved iron may be due to adsorption and com-plexation reactions. Seasonally high concentrations of iron and ammonium at the water intake corresponded to the timing of complaints of taste, odour, turbid water, and staining in the distribution system. Observations made during this extreme drawdown suggest that transport of N and Fe from exposed deltaic sediments may play a role in the periodic increases in ammonium and iron observed in the Capilano Reservoir. Further understanding of the impacts associated with changing reservoir elevation should lead to the development of appropriate management strategies to maintain the high quality of GVWD water.
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