Training parents and educators on applied behaviour analysis (ABA). play-based, and speech-language interventions for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

This thesis explores the effectiveness of parent and educator-delivered interventions for school-age children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A literature review and two studies were conducted on data collected by the Secretaría de Educación y Cultura [Secretariat of Education and Culture] and Explora tu Potential A.C. [Explore your Potential A.C.] Project (SEC-ETP) to examine the outcomes of training and interventions for students diagnosed with ASD enrolled in public schools across the state of Sonora, Mexico, as well as their parents and educators. The first study aimed to assess the impact of parent and educator training on instructional self-efficacy, perceptions of a working alliance, and support provided by SEC. Results showed significant improvements in scores for instructional self-efficacy for parents and educators from in-person and teleconference training cohorts. However, there was a significant increase in scores related to play-related interventions for the teleconference parent cohort, but not the in-person cohort. The second study aimed to examine the effectiveness of parent-delivered interventions in the home setting and the parent and student outcomes. Results showed no significant improvements in ASD severity scores between pre and post-intervention periods. However, there were some notable relationships between measures of frequency of intervention and number of specific acquired skills. This thesis highlights the need for further research on parent and educator-delivered interventions for school-age children with ASD. The findings suggest that naturalistic development-based interventions (NDBIs) or ABA-based interventions complemented by NDBIs may be more appropriate in home and school settings and that there is a need for more robust support via training of parents and educators for interventions to effectively take place. Additionally, more research is needed to understand the limitations of these interventions and the potential biases that may have affected the results of the studies. The author's personal and professional investment in the development and implementation of the interventions, as well as in the publication of this work as a doctoral thesis, could have contributed to confirmation bias and affected the stakeholders' willingness to adhere to the intervention models and present the project in a positive light. It is important to carefully consider and address these conflicts of interest to ensure the reliability and credibility of the research findings

FROM PAPER TO PLASTIC BY 2002: RETAILERS' PERSPECTIVE ON ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER SYSTEMS FOR FOOD STAMPS

The Food Stamp Program (FSP) is working under the deadline of October 1, 2002, to coordinate a change from the current paper disbursement system of paper food stamps to an electronic transfer system of benefits, known as EBT. The Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been studying the effectiveness of differing vehicles for benefit dispersal since the inception of the FSP in the 1960's. The merits of a direct cash payment have been compared to those of the paper system by the USDA and an array of professional groups and research organizations. The adoption of the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system engenders a new set of questions about the effects of EBT on benefit recipients, retailers and the administering government agencies. Issues surrounding the transition from paper to plastic are still problematic for retailers in spite of the rapidly approaching deadline. National interoperability of EBT as well as fees involved with EBT operation are still points of contention for retailers. Anecdotal evidence from retailers also point to kinks in the institutional operation of EBT. Peak-loading problems with the electronic network system generate a host of undesirable consequences for benefit recipients and retailers. These problems impede the electronic system from taking advantage of the positive network effects that could arise from this new technology.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Marketing, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Effect of Modified Corn Starch Ingestion on Soccer Skills and Physical/Cognitive Performance During a Simulated Soccer Game

Abstract Generation UCAN® (UCAN), which contains heat treated non Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) corn starch, has the potential to enhance endurance exercise performance via altering substrate use; however, whether its effects are similar during high intensity, intermittent exercise, like that performed in soccer is unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the effects of UCAN on physical, skill and cognitive performance during and following a simulated soccer game. Eleven trained male soccer players completed a 60-min soccer simulated game on a treadmill, under two experimental conditions: UCAN and an isoenergetic carbohydrate (CHO) placebo. There were no significant treatment differences in physical performance; however, UCAN improved skills and some measures of cognitive performance (

Cross-national validation of the resources depletion-recovery model: An empirical study of Spanish and British theme park employees

Surface acting (SA) refers to the strategy whereby front-line employees hide their own emotions and fake those required of them within their role within customer service transactions. Although researchers have associated SA with burnout, evidence now suggests that this could be an indirect relationship. Building on the Conservation of Resources theory, it was hypothesised that the combined effect of emotional effort and lack of rewarding interactions with customers triggered by SA would explain the strong association between SA and burnout (Studies 1 and 2). Furthermore, building on psychological recovery literature, it was hypothesised that the effort invested in SA would be a weaker predictor of front-line employees’ burnout in cases when they reported higher levels of recovery ability as opposed to lower levels (Study 2). A cross-national and cross-sectional design was used, and participants were theme park employees from UK (Study 1, NUK =204) and Spain (Study 2, NSpain=211). The explanatory role of emotional effort and rewarding interactions was supported, and the buffering effect of recovery ability was confirmed. Strategies aimed at minimising burnout risk for employees who deal with customers on a regular basis in these countries are discussed

Cross-cultural comparison of Spanish and British “service-with-a-smile” outcomes

PurposeEmployees working in the leisure service industry are required to show positive emotions when dealing with customers. However, empirical evidence confirms that faking emotions can lead to burnout. In contrast, employees that try to experience the emotions required by the role (i.e. deep acting (DA)) can lead to healthier outcomes. However, little is known about the process that underpins the link between DA and positive outcomes. Building on Côte’s social interaction model of emotion regulation and evidence linking customer satisfaction and DA, it was hypothesized that DA would be associated with employees’ self-actualization through customer interactions. This, in turn, was expected to explain the influence that DA has on relevant job attitudes (i.e. commitment, efficacy, turnover intentions). The model was tested in two countries with different emotional culture: Spain (i.e. impulsive) and the UK (i.e. institutional). Although UK was expected to report higher levels of effortful DA, the hypothesized process was expected to be the same. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachA cross-national design with theme park employees from Spain (n = 208) and UK (n = 204) was used. Hypotheses were tested with multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. FindingsThe relationship between job commitment and DA was mediated by self-actualization, and commitment partially explained the association between DA and professional efficacy in both countries. The impulsive-oriented country showed lower levels of DA and more positive job attitudes.Originality/valueIt is concluded that training employees to re-interpret costume

Addiction to Work: A Critical Review of the Workaholism Construct and Recommendations for Assessment

Workaholism was first conceptualized in the early 1970s as a behavioral addiction, featuring compulsive use and interpersonal conflict. The current article briefly examines the empirical and theoretical literature over the past four decades. In relation to conceptualization and measurement, how the concept of workaholism has worsened from using dimensions based on anecdotal evidence, ad-hoc measures with weak theoretical foundation, and poor factorial validity of multidimensional conceptualizations is highlighted. Benefits of building on the addiction literature to conceptualize workaholism are presented (including the only instrument that has used core addiction criteria: the Bergen Work Addiction Scale). Problems estimating accurate prevalence estimates of work addiction are also presented. Individual and sociocultural risk factors, and the negative consequences of workaholism from the addiction perspective (e.g., depression, burnout, poor health, life dissatisfaction, family/relationship problems) are discussed. The current article summarizes how current research can be used to evaluate workaholism by psychiatric–mental health nurses in clinical practice, including primary care and mental health settings. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 53 (10), 48-59.]

Preliminary design of eddy current brake to improve sustainable mobility

In recent years, the need to reduce CO2 emissions has developed a change in the transport sector. E-mobility is emerging as a zero-emissions way of travel, but not only the combustion engine produces emission. In fact, a significant part of the vehicle's total pollution is produced by tires and conventional brakes. The eddy current brake is a possible alternative to the well-known mechanical brake to obtain zero-emissions braking with low maintenance. This type of brake converts the vehicle's kinetic energy into thermal energy through the magnetic generation of the eddy currents, which generate Lorentz braking forces. This paper proposes a preliminary design of a zero-emission eddy current brake with a first geometry variation to increase the brake performance, that has been evaluated with an analytical approach and EMS by EMWorks, a 3D finite element method magnetic software able to calculate brake torque and electromagnetic effects

The Role of Exogenous Ketones on Various Aspects of Exercise Performance

Routinely, athletes and coaches pursue novel nutritional strategies in an attempt to support exercise training techniques and/or enhance athletic performance. Body carbohydrate (CHO) stores are limited so strategies to enhance fat use and spare CHO during exercise and thus, attenuate the onset of fatigue are commonplace. It has been suggested that oral exogenous ketone administration is ergogenic not only by altering exercise metabolism (sparing CHO), but also by improving exercise cognitive function as well as enhancing post-exercise glycogen resynthesis. However, data supporting these claims are limited and contradictory. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to explore the role of exogenous ketone type, i.e., salts (KS) vs ketone monoester (KME) supplementation on various aspects of performance to provide more insight into the current body of evidence. Study 1 showed that relative to an isoenergetic control, acute ingestion of both a caffeinated KS supplement and the same KS supplement without caffeine improved Wingate peak power output, following a 20 km time trial (TT20km), while only the caffeinated supplement improved the best effort TT20km. Therefore, these performance benefits were likely due to the added caffeine or taurine, not the ketones. Study 2 demonstrated that co-ingestion of KME and CHO after glycogen lowering exercise (GLE) vs isoenergetic CHO alone, resulted in no significant differences in any of the exercise performance parameters suggesting that glycogen resynthesis post exercise was not enhanced with KME. Study 3 revealed that, following induced mental fatigue, KME attenuated the decline in cognitive function during exercise in a complex reaction test, when compared to a non-caloric placebo. Taken together, these data demonstrate that 1) acute KS supplementation is not likely to be ergogenic nor detrimental for intense exercise performance, 2) KME supplementation may improve some aspects of cognitive function during exercise, and 3) KME supplementation has little effect on post-exercise glycogen synthesis following prior GLE. Relative to the ergogenic potential of ketones for athletes, these data are intriguing, but more study is needed to assess fully whether and how ketone supplements are beneficial for athletes