Evaluating the Effects of On-Task in a Box as a Class-wide Intervention for Increasing On-Task Behavior and Academic Performance

The present study was designed to replicate and extend the literature on the intervention package, On-Task in a Box, as a class-wide intervention to increase on-task behavior and decrease disruptive behavior. A second purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of the intervention on students’ academic performance. The On-Task in a Box intervention utilized video modeling to train students on how to engage in on-task behavior, as well as how to self-monitor their behavior. Additionally, the intervention included students self-monitoring their on-task behavior using self-recording forms. Depending on select students’ percentage of on-task behavior on the self-recording forms, reinforcement was provided through a group contingency. The effects of the intervention were determined through a multiple baseline design across three elementary school classrooms (1st and 2nd grade). Target students were identified to determine the effects of the class-wide intervention on individual students. Data were collected on class-wide and target students’ on-task and disruptive behavior and class-wide and target students’ academic productivity and accuracy. Results indicated the On-Task in a Box intervention was effective at increasing on-task behavior and decreasing disruptive behavior. However, no differences in academic performance were found. Furthermore, teachers and target students found the intervention to be acceptable and effective for improving behavior

Identifying the Strengths and Weaknesses of Over-the-Shoulder Attack Resistant Prototypical Graphical Authentication Schemes

Authentication verifies users’ identities to protect against costly attacks. Graphical authentication schemes utilize pictures as passcodes rather than strings of characters. Pictures have been found to be more memorable than the strings of characters used in alphanumeric passwords. However, graphical passcodes have been criticized for being susceptible to Over-the-Shoulder Attacks (OSA). To overcome this concern, many graphical schemes have been designed to be resistant to OSA. Security to this type of attack is accomplished by grouping targets among distractors, translating the selection of targets elsewhere, disguising targets, and using gaze-based input. Prototypical examples of graphical schemes that use these strategies to bolster security against OSAs were directly compared in within-subjects runoffs in studies 1 and 2. The first aim of this research was to discover the current usability limitations of graphical schemes. The data suggested that error rates are a common issue among graphical passcodes attempting to resist OSAs. Studies 3 and 4 investigated the memorability of graphical passcodes when users need to remember multiple passcodes or longer passcodes. Longer passcodes provide advantages to security by protecting against brute force attacks, and multiple passcodes need to be investigated as users need to authenticate for numerous accounts. It was found that participants have strong item retention for passcodes of up to eight images and for up to eight accounts. Also these studies leveraged context to facilitate memorability. Context slightly improved the memorability of graphical passcodes when participants needed to remember credentials for eight accounts. These studies take steps toward understanding the readiness of graphical schemes as an authentication option

Trust and Complacency in Cyber Security

Improved understanding of conditions that foster appropriate use of security tools by cyber security professionals is crucial for protecting companies from financial losses. Trust has been an important topic in the literature because of its role in allowing for cooperation among humans and automation and because of its relationship with appropriate use. The current study aimed to extend the finding that high trust leads to complacency in the domain of cyber security and to clarify a discrepancy in the literature about complacency’s operationalization by measuring information sampling behaviors directly. The sample consisted of 101 first year psychology students. The independent variable was the reliability of an intrusion detection system (IDS), and complacency and self-report trust were dependent measures. Trust was measured by a self-report questionnaire (Jian et al., 2000). Complacency was measured by reverse coding the number of clicks used to drill down for information in log files in a simulated IDS. Information sampling behavior provides a more direct and accurate measure of complacency than previously used performance measures. It was hypothesized that when supervising an IDS, high reliability of the IDS would lead to complacency, and trust with automation would mediate this relationship. Although reliability was found to predict both trust and complacency, the mediation was not supported. Results suggest new considerations in measuring trust in laboratory and field settings

Building an executive functioning toolbox: an interactive online course for school-based occupational therapy practitioners

School-based occupational therapy practitioners actively support students’ functional participation in school-related activities. Underlying these daily school activities are executive functioning skills. Although addressing executive functioning (EF) skills is within occupational therapy’s scope of practice, school-based practitioners typically do not support the development of these skills in students. Identified factors that contribute to this gap in practice are limited (1) EF knowledge, (2) availability and access to EF resources, and (3) time to complete job demands. To address this clinical gap, an interactive online course for school-based occupational therapy practitioners was developed which presents current EF research, knowledge, and resources. The course utilizes interactive features to support practitioners in applying course information in the school setting. This includes practicing EF assessments, designing EF interventions, and preparing advocacy resources and dissemination tools to share with school administrators and school staff about the importance of addressing executive functioning skills in school-age students. The objective of the online course is to develop a community of occupational therapy practitioners committed to improving EF skills in students through contributions in research, assessment, interventions, and school collaborations

Undergraduate Admissions Decisions of Selective Institutions: The Impact of Social Media Information

This causal comparative study examines the impact of decisions made by college admissions personnel at colleges and universities ranked as Highly Competitive, Highly Competitive Plus, Most Competitive, Very Competitive, and Very Competitive Plus by Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges (2018). Admissions representatives were asked to evaluate social media content of hypothetical applicants to their institution then complete a trait inference task based on the Deese-Roediger-McDermott false recognition paradigm. A total of 413 institutions were invited to participate in the online activity to establish the effect of online impression formation by admissions personnel and its impact on admissions decisions. The survey was completed by 44 institutional admissions representatives (n = 44). Admissions decisions results were then compared for effects of the treatment utilizing two one-way ANOVAs. A Welch’s t-test was then utilized to compare decisions between institutions with a self-reported policy regarding inclusion of social media in admissions decisions and those without such a policy in place. Results found significance on the false recognition paradigm, but not on admissions decisions based on the social media posts nor when institutions were classified by the presence of an institutional policy regarding its use in the admissions process. Thus, it was determined this sample of admissions personnel made spontaneous trait inferences from social media posts of hypothetical applicants. Suggestions for future research are included

Effects of Laryngeal Restriction on Pharyngeal Peristalsis and Biomechanics: Clinical Implications

To date, rehabilitative exercises aimed at strengthening the pharyngeal muscles have not been developed due to the inability to successfully overload and fatigue these muscles during their contraction, a necessary requirement for strength training. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that applying resistance against anterosuperior movement of the hyolaryngeal complex will overload the pharyngeal muscles and by repetitive swallowing will result in their fatigue manifested by a reduction in pharyngeal peristaltic amplitude. Studies were done in two groups. In group 1 studies 15 healthy subjects (age: 42 ± 14 yr, 11 females) were studied to determine whether imposing resistance to swallowing using a handmade device can affect the swallow-induced hyolaryngeal excursion and related upper esophageal sphincter (UES) opening. In group 2, an additional 15 healthy subjects (age 56 ± 25 yr, 7 females) were studied to determine whether imposing resistance to the anterosuperior excursion of the hyolaryngeal complex induces fatigue manifested as reduction in pharyngeal contractile pressure during repeated swallowing. Analysis of the video recordings showed significant decrease in maximum deglutitive superior laryngeal excursion and UES opening diameter (P \u3c 0.01) due to resistive load. Consecutive swallows against the resistive load showed significant decrease in pharyngeal contractile integral (PhCI) values (P \u3c 0.01). Correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation between PhCI and successive swallows, suggesting “fatigue” (P \u3c 0.001). In conclusion, repeated swallows against a resistive load induced by restricting the anterosuperior excursion of the larynx safely induces fatigue in pharyngeal peristalsis and thus has the potential to strengthen the pharyngeal contractile function

A Comparative Test of Creative Thinking in Dolphins (Tursiops Truncaus) and Preschool Children

Few studies have investigated the development of creativity as a measure of intelligence/cognitive ability in non-human species and children. A non-verbal method to test creative thinking in bottlenose dolphins and preschoolers was developed and implemented. A comparative investigation of innovation in these species indicates that this creativity measure my demonstrate similarities related to cognitive abilities in the future

Sexual well-being and diurnal cortisol after prostate cancer treatment.

Sexual dysfunction and psychological distress are common after prostate cancer. Research has not examined the role of neuroendocrine markers of stress (e.g. cortisol). This study examines whether sexual functioning or sexual bother is associated with diurnal cortisol. Men treated for prostate cancer completed the University of California-Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index and provided saliva samples four times daily for cortisol assessment. Higher sexual bother, but not sexual functioning, was associated with steeper cortisol slope. Better sexual functioning, and not sexual bother, was significantly associated with the cortisol awakening response. Assessment of stress and stress-reducing interventions might be warranted in sexual rehabilitation after prostate cancer