Vocal Variability in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Assessment and Intervention to Increase Novel Vocalizations in Non-Verbal Children

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are disorders characterized by repetitive and stereotyped behavior. Research shows that these behaviors interfere with typical development and with the acquisition of new skills, including vocal communication. For many children with ASD who are unable to imitate others and who have limited vocal repertoires, few vocal training interventions are available. Research on operant variability, however, indicates that the direct reinforcement of varied sounds may create a larger set of vocal responses. This enlarged response class could then be used to shape functional vocal communication. In the first of three studies, the existing vocal repertoires of 10 children with ASD were assessed for level of variability within vocalizations and for phoneme production. Three children with moderate to low vocal variability then were exposed to lag schedules of reinforcement. All participants produced new phonemes under these conditions, but novel vocalizations increased for only one. The final study investigated whether this increased variability could be maintained when exposed to reinforcement delivered independent of variability (i.e., yoked control). Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed

The Intentional Use of Service Recovery Strategies to Influence Consumer Emotion, Cognition and Behaviour

Service recovery strategies have been identified as a critical factor in the success of. service organizations. This study develops a conceptual frame work to investigate how specific service recovery strategies influence the emotional, cognitive and negative behavioural responses of . consumers., as well as how emotion and cognition influence negative behavior. Understanding the impact of specific service recovery strategies will allow service providers' to more deliberately and intentionally engage in strategies that result in positive organizational outcomes. This study was conducted using a 2 x 2 between-subjects quasi-experimental design. The results suggest that service recovery has a significant impact on emotion, cognition and negative behavior. Similarly, satisfaction, negative emotion and positive emotion all influence negative behavior but distributive justice has no effect

Use of locking plates for fixation of the greater trochanter in patients with hip replacement

Background: Fixation of the greater trochanter with total hip replacement is challenging and associated with short- and long-term complications. Locking plate technology has been used for fixation of other bones and may be applied successfully in trochanteric fixation. The purpose of this retrospective study was to analyze the utility of the use of trochanteric locking plates in total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients. Methods: From 2004 to 2014, 32 procedures were performed to fix the greater trochanter in patients with trochanteric fracture, osteotomy, or nonunion in the setting of THA. The median age at the time of surgery was 69 years. This was a primary arthroplasty in 8 of the patients, conversion from prior hip surgery in 5, and a revision in 19. The greater trochanter was fixed with locking plate alone in 15 hips and with the addition of a single cerclage cable in 17 hips. Patients were followed clinically and radiographically until healing occurred. The median duration of radiographic follow-up was 41.6 months (range: 10-112 months). Results: Osseous union occurred in 29 (90.6%) of 32 hips. The median Harris hip score was 94 (range 54-100, standard deviation = 10.4) at latest follow-up. Complications included broken hardware in 5 (15.6%) patients, of which 3 underwent subsequent hardware removal. Two additional patients elected hardware removal due to trochanteric pain. Conclusions: Locking plate technology is a successful method of fixation of the greater trochanter in patients with THA. Postoperative trochanteric pain and reoperation for hardware-related issues remain a challenge

APPLYING SIGNAL-DETECTION THEORY TO THE STUDY OF OBSERVER ACCURACY AND BIAS IN BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT

We evaluated the feasibility and utility of a laboratory model for examining observer accuracy within the framework of signal-detection theory (SDT). Sixty-one individuals collected data on aggression while viewing videotaped segments of simulated teacher–child interactions. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to determine if brief feedback and contingencies for scoring accurately would bias responding reliably. Experiment 2 focused on one variable (specificity of the operational definition) that we hypothesized might decrease the likelihood of bias. The effects of social consequences and information about expected behavior change were examined in Experiment 3. Results indicated that feedback and contingencies reliably biased responding and that the clarity of the definition only moderately affected this outcome