Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are versatile task organizers that hold promise as assistive technologies for people with cognitive-behavioral challenges. This delayed randomized controlled trial compared two groups of adult workers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to determine whether the use of an Apple iPod Touch PDA as a vocational support improves work performance and reduces personal support needs on the job. Baseline data were collected on 50 adults with ASD who were beginning a vocational placement supported by a job coach. Participants were randomized to receive training in the use of a PDA as a vocational aid upon starting their job or after working 12 weeks without PDA support. Workers who received PDA training at the beginning of their job placement required significantly less hours of job coaching support (p = 0.013) during their first 12 weeks on the job than those who had not yet received the intervention. Functional performance between the two groups was not significantly different. The significant difference in hours of job coaching support persisted during the subsequent 12 weeks, in which both groups used a PDA (p = 0.017).
This study examines the impact of support from grant making by the AARP Andrus Foundation on the institutional growth of gerontology programs from 1973 to 1992 and on the professional development of grant recipients. Faculty who were awarded grants in that time (N = 355) were mailed questionnaires to assess the impact of receiving an applied research grant from the AARP Andrus Foundation on gerontological instruction, research, program development, and professional development The 187 grantees responding (52.7%) identified both quantitative and qualitative outcomes from the grants, including promotion and tenure, advances in professional stature, opportunities to present research at professional meetings, opportunities to conduct nontraditional research, and the receipt of additional funding from other foundations and government agencies.
The purpose of this research was to assess the relative effectiveness in changing attitudes of (a) a lecture method versus a discussion method of presenting drug information, and (b) large groups versus small groups as recipients of drug education efforts. A total of 475 basic trainees at Fort Knox, Kentucky were given a drug attitude and information questionnaire during the early part of "fill week" in their basic training, before they had received any Army training related to drugs. Four days later, the trainees were given a one-hour drug presentation, followed by another administration of the drug attitude and information questionnaire. The method of presentation was either lecture, structured discussion, or unstructured discussion; group size ranged from five to forty-five trainees. The lecture was objective about drug users, stressed physical and psychological needs rather than drug "facts," and could be used in topical outline form to guide the discussion groups. Thirty-six trainees formed a control group. Neither group size nor method of presentation had a statistically significant effect upon attitude change. This report will be of interest to those concerned with drug education and attitude change. (Author) * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). ERRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original.
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