Enabling persons with multiple disabilities to choose among environmental stimuli and request stimulus repetitions through microswitch and computer technology

This study assessed microswitch and computer technology to enable two participants with multiple disabilities, 32 and 19 years of age, to choose among environmental stimuli and request their repetition whenever they so desired. Within each session, 18 stimuli (12 preferred and 6 nonpreferred) were available. For each stimulus, a computer system provided a sample of 3 sec. duration. During the intervention, participants' vocal responding in relation to a stimulus sample activated a microswitch and a computer system turned on that stimulus for 15-30 sec. When participants did not vocally respond, the computer system paused briefly and then presented the next scheduled stimulus sample. When participants vocally responded at the end of a stimulus presentation, the stimulus was repeated. Intervention data showed that the participants learned to choose preferred stimuli and bypass nonpreferred ones as well as to request repetitions of the preferred stimuli. This performance was maintained at a 1-mo. postintervention check and transferred to sets of stimuli not used in the intervention. The implications of these results were discussed.     

Promoting fluency of performance during morning dressing by two persons with multiple disabilities

This study investigated the possibility of promoting fluency of performance, i.e., a performance independent of caregiver's guidance and without serious interruptions, during morning dressing in two adults with multiple disabilities. The intervention program relied on the use of assistive technology including optic and pressure sensors to monitor the participants' task responding and tape players to present preferred stimuli in relation to such responding, as well as messages of encouragement. Analysis showed that the intervention program was effective with both participants. In fact, they became capable of performing the dressing sequence with only occasional guidance from research assistants, and the time they required for dressing dropped significantly from baseline levels. Implications of the results are discussed.     

Career Commitment: A Reexamination and an Extension

Compared to the other forms of work commitment, there is a paucity of research on career commitment. In this article, the authors seek to address this relative gap in the literature by building on previous research on the correlates and antecedents of career commitment and adding “new” variables to the framework. More specifically, they investigate the effects of a few previously studied factors such as job involvement, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction, and they add two more individual factors (need for achievement and work ethic) as well as some situational variables (organizational uncertainty/fear of job loss and job fit) that, to the best of their knowledge, have not been investigated in previous research. Furthermore, they examine the effects of extra-work variables (family involvement and number of dependents) on career commitment. Finally, they control for a number of key demographic variables. The authors find considerable support for the hypotheses that job involvement, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction are positively related to career commitment and find some support for a similar effect for need for achievement and work ethic. Furthermore, as predicted, fear of losing one's job was negatively related to career commitment, whereas “job fit” was positively related. The extra-work variables did not have any significant effects on career commitment. The implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Author Index

Authors Index

Author Index     

Enabling two adolescents with multiple disabilities to choose among environmental stimuli through different procedural and technological approaches

Two single-case studies were carried out using different procedural and technological approaches to enable two adolescents with multiple disabilities to choose among environmental stimuli. Study I focused on replicating a recently developed procedure, which relied on samples of the auditory stimuli available as cues for choice responses. Study II assessed a new procedural and technical setup relying on the use of pictorial representations of the stimuli available as cues for choice responses. The auditory samples and the pictorial representations were presented through computer systems. The participants' choice responses relied on microswitches connected to the computer systems. The data of Study I fully supported previous findings with the same procedural approach. The participant learned to choose preferred stimuli and bypass nonpreferred ones. The data of Study II showed that the participant learned to concentrate his choice. responses on a few stimuli, suggesting that these stimuli were actually preferred and that responding was purposeful. Implications of the results were discussed.     

Enabling a young man with minimal motor behavior to manage independently his leisure television engagement

Persons with severe spastic tetraparesis and minimal motor behavior may be confined to a wheelchair or bed and have virtually no chances of constructive engagement with their immediate environment. A possible way to modify this situation may involve the use of technology. The present study (a) assessed specific technology to enable a young adult to manage his leisure television engagement independently and (b) carried out a social validation assessment of the technology-supported performance involving 90 teacher trainees as raters. The intervention period with the new technology included 67 sessions, during which the participant performed independently 392 of the 408 television-management responses, i.e., turning on the television, finding a channel with a preferred program, setting the volume, and turning off the television. He also indicated preference for using the technology as opposed to not using it. The raters provided relatively high (positive) scores for the technology-supported performance compared to the baseline performance. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Withdrawal from cocaine self-administration produces long-lasting deficits in orbitofrontal-dependent reversal learning in rats

Drug addicts make poor decisions. These decision-making deficits have been modeled in addicts and laboratory animals using reversal-learning tasks. However, persistent reversal-learning impairments have been shown in rats and monkeys only after noncontingent cocaine injections. Current thinking holds that to represent the human condition effectively, animal models of addiction must utilize self-administration procedures in which drug is earned contingently; thus, it remains unclear whether reversal-learning deficits caused by noncontingent cocaine exposure are relevant to addiction. To test whether reversal learning deficits are caused by contingent cocaine exposure, we trained rats to self-administer cocaine, assessed cue-induced cocaine seeking in extinction tests after 1 and 30 d of withdrawal, and then tested for reversal learning more than a month later. We found robust time-dependent increases in cue-induced cocaine seeking in the two extinction tests (incubation of craving) and severe reversal-learning impairments.     

Examining role stress among technical students in India

Although organizational stress has been the subject of much research, role stress among professional students in India has not been well examined. This study explores the extent and types of role stresses present among the engineering and management students in India. The findings reveal that students are experiencing role overload, role stagnation and self-role distance. Male students experience higher levels of role stagnation than female students. However, no significant differences could be observed on any of the role stressors between first year students and their seniors, or between management and engineering students. The results are indicative of the social and educational environment prevailing in the country.     

Exploring the Impact of Parental Military Deployment/Field Posting on Adolescents in Indian Military Families

The purpose of this study was to explore the consequences of parental deployment for adolescents and to identify the risk and protective factors which may affect their well- being. The study being exploratory in nature, focus group was chosen for data collection. Three focus groups were held with boys and girls in the age group 12–18 years who were experiencing the deployment of their father for more than six months. Each group consisted of 6–8 participants. A semi structured interview schedule was prepared for the focus group interviews. Each focus group was audio taped and then transcribed for further analysis. Response themes indicate relocation in the absence of the father, changes in roles and responsibilities, routine changes, not having the parent to help with the homework, participate in activities and provide guidance as major sources of stress. While the relaxation in family rules and discipline is cherished by all, there are reintegration problems when the parent returns. Some adolescents expressed concern about the health and worries of the at-home parent, for most of them the mother or the at home parent is the central figure who helps steer through the multiple deployments.