BootES: An R package for bootstrap confidence intervals on effect sizes

Bootstrap Effect Sizes (bootES; Gerlanc & Kirby, 2012) is a free, open-source software package for R (R Development Core Team, 2012), which is a language and environment for statistical computing. BootES computes both unstandardized and standardized effect sizes (such as Cohen’s d, Hedges’s g, and Pearson’s r) and makes easily available for the first time the computation of their bootstrap confidence intervals (CIs). In this article, we illustrate how to use bootES to find effect sizes for contrasts in between-subjects, within-subjects, and mixed factorial designs and to find bootstrap CIs for correlations and differences between correlations. An appendix gives a brief introduction to R that will allow readers to use bootES without having prior knowledge of R.     

Driving Behaviour in Young Adults with Developmental Co-ordination Disorder

Between 30 and 70% of children with developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) will have persistent daily functioning difficulties in adulthood (Cousins and Smyth 2003). However, few DCD studies have focussed specifically on the stage of emerging adulthood. Driving is an important rite of passage which marks the start of independence from parents. Delay, difficulty or avoidance in learning to drive may all have profound social, practical and psychological implications for the young adult with DCD. The driving experiences of 38 students with DCD and 77 typically developing students aged 17–25 years were examined using a semi-structured questionnaire. Quantitative measures indicate that fewer adults with DCD learn to drive compared to controls and that they show continuing difficulties with distance estimation and parking. Qualitative comments give a valuable insight into the learning and driving experiences of adults with DCD. Differences in the driving behaviour of adults with DCD and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are discussed, as it is the need to consider guidance on driving skills when providing a package of care for young adults with DCD.     

Developmental Co-ordination Disorder and Emerging Adulthood: Not Just a Motor Disorder

This paper discusses the focus of the special edition on emerging adulthood in DCD and how the different papers present the increasing awareness not only of the disorder but the continuation of difficulties into adulthood. It highlights the varying presentation at this stage and the impact these difficulties have on quality of life. Finally, it calls for further research to be undertaken to increase the understanding of DCD for both clinicians and researchers.     

Using Consumer Input to Tailor Evidence-Based Parenting Interventions to the Needs of Grandparents

Grandparents provide a significant amount of child care to their grandchildren. However, there is limited research investigating whether grandparents would view a parenting program developed specifically for them as useful. Our study adopted a consumer focused perspective to program design and examined the challenges encountered by grandparents in their role as an informal child care provider. Focus groups were conducted with fourteen grandparents (11 females, 3 males) aged 45–76?years (M?=?60.14) the majority of whom provided 11–20?h of care per week to their grandchild. A thematic analysis indicated that grandparents have difficulty managing the relationship with the parents and remembering effective parenting strategies. In addition, grandparents also indicated wanting further strategies to cope with the stressors associated with the role, particularly surrounding feelings of frustration and guilt. These results suggest that grandparents could benefit from a parenting program and this paper argues that an existing evidence-based parenting program should be modified. In terms of implications for program design the inclusion of a module centered on improving grandparent–parent communication and partner support may buffer potential conflict and tension that can arise in co-parenting situations.     

Toward an explicit analysis of generalization: A stimulus control interpretation

Producing generality of treatment effects to new settings has been a critical concern for applied behavior analysts, but a systematic and reliable means of producing generality has yet to be provided. We argue that the principles of stimulus control and reinforcement underlie the production of most generalized effects; therefore, we suggest interpreting generalization programming in terms of stimulus control. The generalization programming procedures identified by Stokes and Baer (1977) are discussed in terms of both the stimulus control tactics explicitly identified and those that may be operating but are not explicitly identified. Our interpretation clarifies the critical components of Stokes and Baer's procedures and places greater emphasis on planning for generalization as a part of training procedures.     

Reduction of feces smearing in a profoundly retarded resident through contingent behavior-specific restraint and reduced attention

A 20-year-old profoundly retarded male resident of a state institution with a 12-year history of faces smearing (FS) was treated using an A-B design employing response contingent elbow restraint and reduced-attention. The rate of FS dropped sharply after the first week of treatment and then declined steadily until stabilizing at a relatively low rate. Incidental behaviors indicated that aversive effects of the treatment procedure were both mild and behavior specific. Procedures and results are compared with other behavioral approaches to treatment of self-injurious behavior.     

Modification of arithmetic response rate and attending behavior in a seventh-grade student

An adjusting fixed-ratio schedule of praise and immediate correctness feedback produced increases in a seventh-grade student's arithemic response rate. Percentage of time spent in attending behavior also increased collaterally. Removal of the treatment led to decreases in both arithmetic response rate and collateral attending behavior. Reinstatements of the procedure again produced increases in both types of behavior. It was suggested that the present procedure of directly modifying arithmetic response rate requires less time and effort than working indirectly through modifying attending behavior.     

Sequential effects in an eight choice serial reaction time task using compatible and incompatible stimulus-response arrangements

Compatible and incompatible stimulus-response arrangements were compared using an eight choice reaction time task. With the compatible stimulus-response conditions, a stimulus was responded to quickly if it was:

1.

(1) adjacent to the ends or mid-line of the stimulus display,     

Measures of timed performance and intelligence

The question of an association between IQ and measures of timed performance derived from inspection time and reaction time was examined in a sample of 182 adults and by reanalyzing data involving 48 adults from a previously published study. Multiple regression analysis found that measures of timed performance accounted for as much as 25% of IQ variance in the normal population, but that the inclusion of borderline and mildly retarded subjects resulted in much higher correlation coefficients because of the markedly less efficient performance of these persons in tasks of this kind. This outcome raised doubts about the validity of combining data from retarded and nonretarded subjects. Results ran counter to claims that tasks of the kind used are largely uninfluenced by cognitive variables, so that findings are not necessarily explained satisfactorily in terms of a mental speed factor. It was concluded that these measures of timed performance do not, at this time, provide a basis from which a reliable culture-fair measure of intelligence might be devised.