An Examination of Two Techniques for Promoting Response Generalization of Early Literacy Skills

This study examined the application of two generalization procedures designed to promote generalized responding across two early literacy skills. Letter sound fluency was targeted using direct intervention for three subjects within a multiple baseline design. After instruction was complete, two generalization procedures (cueing and providing sufficient response exemplars) were tested in an increasingly intense application of the procedures to determine whether sufficient levels of response generalization to letter sound blending could be programmed. Results indicated that although some subjects demonstrated minor levels of unprogrammed or spontaneous generalization, more complete levels of generalization were accomplished only once generalization techniques were employed.     

Authenticity in relationships and depressive symptoms: A gender analysis

The current study examined authenticity in relationships, defined as the ability to be open and honest in meaningful relationships, in multiple contexts (i.e., with parents, peers). The goal of the study was to examine and compare the relation between authenticity in relationships and depressive symptoms in a sample of 435 14-year-old adolescent girls and boys. Structural equation modeling results indicated that the model predicted approximately one-third of the variance in depressive symptoms for girls, and almost half of the variance in depressive symptoms for boys. In addition, the strength of the relation between authenticity with parents and depressive symptoms was statistically equivalent for boys and girls. These results indicate the importance of authenticity with parents in predicting depressive symptoms, for both boys and girls.     

“It Depends on What You Mean by Starting”: An Exploration of How Women Define Initiation of Aggression and Their Motives for Behaving Aggressively

This study explored women's use of aggression, focusing on how they define initiation of aggression and what motives they have for behaving aggressively. Twenty-five women who had used aggression during conflicts with their romantic partners were interviewed. Results indicated that, while the women reported initiating aggression in the majority of conflicts described (54%), they varied in how they defined initiation, with some believing that initiating aggression meant being angry, bringing up the conflict issue, or persistently asking the partner to engage verbally. Twelve categories of motives for the use of aggression were also identified. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, highlighting the ongoing need for an ecological perspective when studying women's use of aggression.     

Neural Mechanisms in Dyslexia

ABSTRACT— Within the last two decades, evidence from many laboratories has converged to indicate the cognitive basis for dyslexia: Dyslexia is a disorder within the language system and, more specifically, within a particular subcomponent of that system, phonological processing. Converging evidence from a number of laboratories using functional brain imaging indicates that there is a disruption of left-hemisphere posterior neural systems in child and adult dyslexic readers when they perform reading tasks. The discovery of a disruption in the neural systems serving reading has significant implications for the acceptance of dyslexia as a valid disorder—a necessary condition for its identification and treatment. Brain-imaging findings provide, for the first time, convincing, irrefutable evidence that what has been considered a hidden disability is "real," and these findings have practical implications for the provision of accommodations, a critical component of management for older children and young adults attending postsecondary and graduate programs. The utilization of advances in neuroscience to inform educational policy and practices provides an exciting example of translational science being used for the public good.     

Performance indicators for student services

New arrangements for funding higher education institutions promise to introduce sharper management styles. Such institutions can anticipate that much closer scrutiny will be given to the details of their activities, with value for money becoming a more prominent factor. The development of performance indicators offers management a way of evaluating effectiveness and efficiency. It may be difficult to develop valid performance indicators for many aspects of higher education, but perhaps those difficulties will be greatest in relation to services whose activities are essentially private and as such hidden. An approach to the development of performance indicators is presented which could be effective in relation to counselling services in higher education institutions.     

Two scenes or not two scenes: The effects of stimulus repetition and view-similarity on scene categorization from brief displays

Previous research suggests that understanding the gist of a scene relies on global structural cues that enable rapid scene categorization. This study used a repetition blindness (RB) paradigm to interrogate the nature of the scene representations used in such rapid categorization. When stimuli are repeated in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) sequence (~10 items/sec), the second occurrence of the repeated item frequently goes unnoticed, a phenomenon that is attributed to a failure to consolidate two conscious episodes (tokens) for a repeatedly activated type. We tested whether RB occurs for different exemplars of the same scene category, which share conceptual and broad structural properties, as well as for identical and mirror-reflected repetitions of the same scene, which additionally share the same local visual details. Across 2 experiments, identical and mirror-image scenes consistently produced a repetition facilitation, rather than RB. There was no convincing evidence of either RB or repetition facilitation for different members of a scene category. These findings indicate that in the first 100–150 ms of processing scenes are represented in terms of local visual features, rather than more abstract category-general features, and that, unlike other kinds of stimuli (words or objects), scenes are not susceptible to token individuation failure.     

Communication of Genetic Information by Other Health Professionals: The Role of the Genetic Counsellor in Specialist Clinics

Many children with chronic genetic diseases are followed by specialty clinics that provide genetic information as part of the care. Health services restrictions in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) can make the wait for an appointment with a genetic counsellor long. We examined whether genetic information was being adequately understood when presented by medical, but non-genetics staff to long term patients, using our national metabolic service as an example. The aim was to inform health professionals about the need or role of a genetic counsellor in a specialist setting. A questionnaire was used to assess knowledge among parents and patients affected by galactosaemia and Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD). Twenty seven families with galactosemia and 10 with MSUD were interviewed in clinic. Comparative analysis showed significant differences in knowledge between parents of children with galactosemia and adult patients (p = 0.001) and between ethnicities (p > 0.05). While parents are well informed, the majority expressed a wish for more information about the condition and its transmission. Adult patients with galactosemia and parents from certain ethnic backgrounds could especially benefit from genetic counselling. This study highlights the need for a genetic counsellor in specialist clinics.