Quantifying Intervention Intensity: A Systematic Approach to Evaluating Student Response to Increasing Intervention Frequency

Response to intervention (RTI) has been discussed as a new model of assessment. Although the basic process by which RTI works has received frequent attention in the literature, the available research leaves several important questions unanswered (Kavale et al. in Learn Disabil Q 28(1): 2–16, 2005). One concept within RTI that has received little empirical consideration is intervention intensity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the application of increased intervention frequency on the mathematics performance of students and to evaluate this increased frequency as a systematic means of increasing and quantifying intervention strength. Results indicate that although all students were responsive to the intervention, some participants were sensitive only to more frequent application of the treatment or at more intense levels of treatment. Through this methodology a means of quantifying treatment intensity was also identified and implications for future research are discussed.     

Parental Experiences of Having a Child with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Associations with Clinical Characteristics and Caregiver Adjustment

We examined parental experience of having a child with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in 62 parent–child dyads. Youth with a primary diagnosis of OCD and their parent(s) were administered the CY-BOCS jointly by a trained clinician. Parents completed several measures about their child’s OCD-related impairment and accommodation, emotional and behavioral functioning, parental distress, caregiver stress, and parental experiences of having a child with OCD. Results indicated that parents of children with OCD are considerably distressed about their child’s condition. As expected, negative parental experiences (e.g., anxiety about child’s condition, uncertainty about their future) were directly related to OCD symptom severity and impairment, as well as child internalizing and externalizing problems, family accommodation of symptoms, and caregiver strain. The presence of emotional resources was negatively related to most outcomes, although some of these relationships did not achieve statistical significance. The presence of internalizing symptoms mediated the relationship between parental experiences and parental distress. Given these findings, addressing parental experiences as part of a family based cognitive-behavioral treatment program for pediatric OCD may help reduce parental distress and improve patient prognosis.     

Uniformity: The effects of organizational attire on judgments and attributions

Despite their prevalence in the marketplace, little empirical attention has been paid to how employee uniforms affect consumer reactions to service experiences. We propose that employee uniforms facilitate the shared categorization of employees and their organization in the mind of the customer, which affects many of the inferences that customers draw following service encounters. Study 1 shows that uniforms lead to greater attribution of responsibility to the company for employee behavior, especially following poor service. Studies 2 and 3 show that uniforms also lead to more assimilation of judgments across employees, increasing the impact of one employee's behavior on judgments of other employees of the same organization. Study 3 shows that employee uniforms lead to more extreme judgments of the company following service encounters. It also shows that bad (good) service from a uniformed employee makes competing companies look better (worse), indicating that uniforms can elicit contrast effects across companies. In sum, the mere presence of a uniform on an unsatisfactory service or retail employee can damage judgments of the organization and its employees and improve judgments of rival organizations compared to identical service from a nonuniformed employee. Managers seem unaware of these negative consequences. These same principles are likely to apply to a wide variety of uniformed services, including police, military, firefighters, and health-care providers.     

The effects of phencyclidine and chlordiazepoxide on target biting of confined male mice

Target-biting of confined mice increases following delivery of tail shock and decreases during a tone that precedes the shock. Both phencyclidine and chlordiazepoxide reduced biting (dose dependently) following shock and had no effect on biting during the tone. These observations are discussed in reference to previous reports, which infer that the effects of phencyclidine and chlordiazepoxide on aggression might depend upon the baseline rate of the behavior.     

Survey of New Zealand truck driver fatigue and fitness for duty

This paper presents recent research into compliance with current driving hours regulations, the effectiveness of using driving hours to predict fatigue, and alternative compliance and enforcement options. The paper describes results of a major survey of truck driver fatigue in New Zealand, a review of international compliance and enforcement procedures, and research focussing on the social forces and influences that affect truck drivers. The survey of truck drivers was based on interviews and performance tests collected from 600 truck drivers at depots, wharves, markets, and other locations throughout the North Island of New Zealand. The interviews included: questions on driver demographic and work/rest patterns, drivers' attitudes towards fatigue, propensity towards daytime sleepiness, and a self-assessment of the driver's momentary level of fatigue. In addition, a simulator-based performance test of driving was undertaken. The performance test included a combination of a standard driving task, a dual-axis sub-critical tracking task (maintaining speed and steering in a controlled but unstable environment, a virtual roadway affected by the appearance of random wind gusts requiring steering correction), and a tertiary or side-task requiring driver monitoring and periodic responses. The initial results from the first 100 drivers have found a sizable number of drivers exceeding the allowable driving hours, high levels of fatigue and sleepiness, and interesting differences between line-haul and local delivery drivers. A related research project into the social processes and relationships that affect truck drivers has resulted in a good understanding of the social conditions that influence cultural change and the actions of truck drivers and fleet managers. In this paper we will have particular regard to these processes in the construction of ideas concerning safety. This includes an understanding of the role of major stakeholders, such as freight forwarders and the enforcement agencies with respect to drivers and their conditions, actions and understanding of the road transport industry. This knowledge coupled with the survey results and an understanding of compliance and enforcement alternatives will be used to explore potential fatigue management options.     

Aspects of Young Children's Perceptions of Gender-Typed Occupations

Perceived competencies of men and women in gender-typed occupations, perceptions about how much money men and women earn in gender-typed occupations, and affective reactions regarding growing up to have gender-typed occupations were examined in 55 primarily White middle-class preschoolers and primary school children. Children (particularly boys) viewed men as more competent than women in masculine occupations, and rated women as more competent than men in feminine occupations. Children believed men earned more than women across occupations, but that men earned more money than women in masculine occupations, and women earned more money than men in feminine occupations. Children's affective reactions to growing up to have gender-role-consistent occupations were more positive than their reactions to having gender-role-inconsistent occupations. Results suggest children perceive differential competencies of men and women regarding gender-typed occupations, and differences in pay for men and women within gender-typed occupations, at ages younger than previously determined.     

The five elements and Chinese-American mortality.

D. P. Phillips, T. E. Ruth, and L. M. Wagner (1993) reported that 1969-1990 California mortality data show that Chinese Americans are particularly vulnerable to diseases that Chinese astrology and traditional Chinese medicine associate with their birth years. For example, because fire is associated with the heart, a Chinese person born in a fire year (such as 1937) is more likely to die of heart disease than is a Chinese person born in a nonfire year. However, many diseases were excluded from this study, some diseases that were included have ambiguous links to birth years, and the statistical tests were indirect. A more complete statistical analysis and independent California mortality data for the years 1960-1968 and 1991-2002 did not replicate the original results.