A method for describing preschoolers' activity preferences

Spatial Heterogeneity of Habitat Selection of Large Carnivores and Their Ungulate Prey in Proximity to Roads

Geographic heterogeneity, encompassing both species-environment interactions and interspecific relationships, significantly influences the ecological attributes of wildlife habitat selection and population distribution. However, the impact of geographic heterogeneity on the distribution of target species within predator-prey systems, particularly in human-dominated landscapes, remains unclear. By conducting line transect surveys, utilizing a monitoring network, and applying logistic geographically weighted regression (GWR) in conjunction with generalized linear models (GLM), we examined the spatial heterogeneity of habitat selection by the Amur tiger, Amur leopard, and their main ungulate prey, wild boar and roe deer, in Northeast China. Our results suggest that the factors affecting the spatial distribution of predators are more complex than those for prey. More significantly, the selection coefficients of roe deer and wild boar for certain habitat factors serve as crucial explanatory variables in the Amur tiger and leopard models. Our findings emphasize the importance of spatial non-stationarity in predator-prey habitat selections, and the heterogeneous selection by prey may drive dispersals of large felids across complex road landscapes. This study offers new insights into how to help apex predators cross road barriers by effectively managing prey habitat selection in a landscape dominated by roads, providing valuable guidance for future habitat conservation policies.

Using an App-Based Token Economy to Increase Engagement in Daily Living and Vocational Tasks with Adults with Developmental Disabilities

The token economy is an evidence-based practice that improves outcomes across populations, settings, and behaviors. Nonetheless, their complex nature frequently leads to ineffective implementation. In addition, little is known about the extent to which token economies are effective for increasing engagement in adults with disabilities. Therefore, we conducted a multiple probe across participants to evaluate the effectiveness of a token economy using an app (i.e., Class Dojo) to increase engagement with daily living and vocational tasks in adults with disabilities. All participants increased their engagement with tasks following the introduction of the intervention and maintained higher than baseline levels of engagement up to 6 weeks after the intervention ended. Staff members completed an anonymous survey to indicate their perception of the feasibility and effectiveness of the intervention. Social validity results indicated that some staff members found the intervention effective, but time-consuming and challenging.

Tummy time without the tears: The impact of parent positioning and play

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that infants spend supervised time in the prone (tummy) position to foster motor development and prevent cranial deformities. However, infants may not tolerate the position, and consequently, caregivers may avoid placing their infants in the prone position. The AAP recommends that caregivers provide toys or interaction during tummy time. We evaluated the individual and combined effects of a play mat and experimenter interaction on negative vocalizations and head elevation during tummy time-positive effects were limited. Next, we evaluated a parent-led intervention wherein mothers interacted with their infants, using a toy, while lying chest-to-chest. This intervention was associated with a reduction in negative vocalizations and an increase in head elevation for the majority of infants. Additionally, mothers rated the effectiveness of the parent-led intervention more favorably than the experimenter-led intervention, suggesting the effects of the parent-led intervention were also socially valid.

Procedures and Accuracy of Discontinuous Measurement of Problem Behavior in Common Practice of Applied Behavior Analysis

Discontinuous measurement involves dividing an observation into intervals and recording whether a behavior occurred during some or all of each interval (i.e., interval recording) or at the exact time of observation (i.e., momentary time sampling; MTS). Collecting discontinuous data is often easier for observers than collecting continuous data, but it also produces more measurement error. Smaller intervals (e.g., 5 s, 10 s, 15 s) tend to produce less error but may not be used in everyday practice. This study examined the most common intervals used by a large sample of data collectors and evaluated the effect of these intervals on measurement error. The most commonly used intervals fell between 2 and 5 min. We then analyzed over 800 sessions to evaluate the correspondence between continuous and discontinuous data at each commonly used interval. Intervals of 3 min or less produced the greatest correspondence, and MTS outperformed interval recording.

Use of discontinuous methods of data collection in behavioral intervention: guidelines for practitioners

Over the past three decades, researchers have examined the sensitivity and accuracy of discontinuous data-collection methods. Momentary-time sampling (MTS) and partial-interval recording (PIR) have received particular attention in regards to their ability to estimate the occurrence of behavior and their sensitivity to behavior change compared to continuous data collection. In this article, we summarize these findings and provide recommendations for designing a discontinuous measurement system with consideration of the dimensions of behavior to be measured and the expected direction of behavior change.

Toward effective and preferred programming: a case for the objective measurement of social validity with recipients of behavior-change programs

The adoption of effective behavioral interventions and teaching strategies for young children is largely influenced by the extent to which stakeholders find the procedures appropriate and the effects important. Stakeholder values have been described by measures of social validity in applied behavior analysis, and these measures have been a part of behavior-analytic research and practice since their important characteristics were described in the late 1970s. The typically subjective nature of the social validation process appears, however, to have marginalized children and other usual recipients of behavior-change procedures (i.e., individuals with autism or intellectual disabilities) from social validation processes. Therefore, the importance of including recipients of behavior-change procedures in the social validation process and methods for doing so are described in this paper.

A comparison of methods for collecting data on performance during discrete trial teaching

Therapists of children with autism use a variety of methods for collecting data during discrete-trial teaching. Methods that provide greater precision (e.g., recording the prompt level needed on each instructional trial) are less practical than methods with less precision (e.g., recording the presence or absence of a correct response on the first trial only). However, few studies have compared these methods to determine if less labor-intensive systems would be adequate to make accurate decisions about child progress. In this study, precise data collected by therapists who taught skills to 11 children with autism were reanalyzed several different ways. For most of the children and targeted skills, data collected on just the first trial of each instructional session provided a rough estimate of performance across all instructional trials of the session. However, the first-trial data frequently led to premature indications of skill mastery and were relatively insensitive to initial changes in performance. The sensitivity of these data was improved when the therapist also recorded the prompt level needed to evoke a correct response. Data collected on a larger subset of trials during an instruction session corresponded fairly well with data collected on every trial and revealed similar changes in performance.

A Comparison of Reliability Measures for Continuous and Discontinuous Recording Methods: Inflated Agreement Scores With Partial Interval Recording and Momentary Time Sampling for Duration Events

The authors evaluated the extent to which interobserver agreement (IOA) scores, using the block-by-block method for events scored with continuous duration recording (CDR), were higher when the data from the same sessions were converted to discontinuous methods. Sessions with IOA scores of 89% or less with CDR were rescored using 10-s partial interval recording (PIR) and 10-s momentary time sampling (MTS). Results indicated that IOA scores for 10-s PIR and 10-s MTS were consistently higher than IOA scores based on CDR for the same sessions. Specifically, 10-s MTS provided higher overestimations for low-duration events, whereas 10-s PIR produced higher overestimations for moderate- and high-duration events. Implications for researchers and clinicians are briefly discussed.

Assessing children's physical activity in their homes: the observational system for recording physical activity in children-home

The present study describes the development and pilot testing of the Observation System for Recording Physical Activity in Children-Home version. This system was developed to document physical activity and related physical and social contexts while children are at home. An analysis of interobserver agreement and a description of children's physical activity in various settings are presented. The system, which was shown to be reliable, provides a direct observation tool for researchers who are interested in assessing and intervening in physical activity in the home environment.

Influencing preschoolers' free-play activity preferences: an evaluation of satiation and embedded reinforcement

The present study evaluated the effects of classwide satiation and embedded reinforcement procedures on preschoolers' activity preferences during scheduled free-play periods. The goal of the study was to increase time allocation to originally nonpreferred, but important, activities (instructional zone, library, and science) while continuing to provide access to all free-play activities. The satiation intervention applied to preferred activities resulted in increased time allocation to the instructional and science activities, the customized embedded reinforcement interventions resulted in increased time allocation to all three target activities, and high levels of attendance to the instructional and library activities were maintained during follow-up observations. Implications for the design of preschool free-play periods are discussed.

Continuous recording and interobserver agreement algorithms reported in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (1995-2005)

We reviewed all research articles in 10 recent volumes of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA): Vol. 28(3), 1995, through Vol. 38(2), 2005. Continuous recording was used in the majority (55%) of the 168 articles reporting data on free-operant human behaviors. Three methods for reporting interobserver agreement (exact agreement, block-by-block agreement, and time-window analysis) were employed in more than 10 of the articles that reported continuous recording. Having identified these currently popular agreement computation algorithms, we explain them to assist researchers, software writers, and other consumers of JABA articles.