Generating Recommendations for Simulator Design Through Pilot Assessment of Prototype Utility

Incorporated in a simulator design project, this study assessed the utility of a simulator prototype for air combat training to optimize continued development. After several scenarios, the 13 male participants completed a survey. Seven fidelity levels: visual feedback, head-up/head-down, instrumentation, flight controls, graphics, visual resolution, and field-of-view were rated for three dimensions: realism, limitation of performance, and importance of realism. The results informed decisions about which fidelity levels, head-up/head-down and field-of-view, that should be prioritized during the next design cycle, and generated recommendations for continued simulator design and directives for further evaluations.     

Measuring Team Performance in Complex and Dynamic Military Environments: The SPOTLITE Method

The Scenario-based Performance Observation Tool for Learning In Team Environments (SPOTLITE) provides a systematic method for developing team performance measurement instruments comprised of behaviorally anchored rating scales that are tied to observable behaviors that tap critical knowledge and skills and can be assessed at specific intervals during a training scenario. We developed a measurement instrument for four-person teams of F-16 pilots training for air-to-air combat in a high-fidelity simulation environment and implemented it in a handheld computer to support fast and accurate data entry as a team executes a scenario. An experiment demonstrated the sensitivity, reliability, and validity of the instrument.     

3D Multiple Object Tracking Boosts Working Memory Span: Implications for Cognitive Training in Military Populations

Recently, there has been much theoretical and applied interest in the prospects of cognitive training for improving cognition. NeuroTracker is a relatively recent training device for improving dynamic attention in athletes by training 3D multiple-object tracking skills. We examined its effectiveness for improving working memory (WM) span in members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) by randomly assigning participants to the experimental (NeuroTracker), active control (adaptive dual n-back task), or passive control (no contact) conditions. NeuroTracker training resulted in significant gains in verbal, visual, and matrix span. No gain was observed in the active or passive control group. These results suggest that NeuroTracker could be a useful training tool for increasing WM span in military samples. Future studies could examine the effects of NeuroTracker training on militarily relevant performance measures that draw on WM span.     

Multiple identities and career development of GLB immigrants

There has been increasing interest in the study of career development and career counselling for the gay men, lesbian women and bisexual (GLB) people given the clear link between sexual orientation and career development in the past two decades. Yet, there is still a relatively dearth of literature in this area, especially, much is unknown about the career identity and other related identity development experiences of GLB immigrant adults whose acculturation process intersects with cultural identity, race and ethnicity and sexual identity as they rebuild their careers in the host country. This article aims to explore the connections between multiple cultural identities and their affect on career development. It builds upon the current literature, uses some career development theories, and proposes career development and career counselling interventions for the target group.     

Promoting professional identity: a within group comparison of wiki-based and traditional assignments on school counselling students' learning,sense of community and computer anxiety

The purpose of this study is to compare traditional and non-traditional instructional practices used in a counsellor education programme to determine their effect on pre-service school counsellors' learning and sense of community, thus leading to enhanced professional identity. Traditional and non-traditional assignments were examined: (a) a collaborative, multimedia wiki writing assignment; (b) textbook reading and corresponding quizzes; and (c) article critiques. Findings indicate that students experience a greater sense of community and learning when participating in the non-traditional, collaborative, multimedia wiki writing assignment using web-based technology. Findings also indicate that students had low computer anxiety after completing the wiki assignment.     

Differential brain shrinkage over 6 months shows limited association with cognitive practice

The brain shrinks with age, but the timing of this process and the extent of its malleability are unclear. We measured changes in regional brain volumes in younger (age 20–31) and older (age 65–80) adults twice over a 6 months period, and examined the association between changes in volume, history of hypertension, and cognitive training. Between two MRI scans, 49 participants underwent intensive practice in three cognitive domains for 100 consecutive days, whereas 23 control group members performed no laboratory cognitive tasks. Regional volumes of seven brain structures were measured manually and adjusted for intracranial volume. We observed significant mean shrinkage in the lateral prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, the caudate nucleus, and the cerebellum, but no reliable mean change of the prefrontal white matter, orbital-frontal cortex, and the primary visual cortex. Individual differences in change were reliable in all regions. History of hypertension was associated with greater cerebellar shrinkage. The cerebellum was the only region in which significantly reduced shrinkage was apparent in the experimental group after completion of cognitive training. Thus, in healthy adults, differential brain shrinkage can be observed in a narrow time window, vascular risk may aggravate it, and intensive cognitive activity may have a limited effect on it.     

Time-Out Training Without Put-Backs,Spanks, or Restraint: A Brief Report of Deferred Time-Out

We demonstrate the effectiveness of a procedure to increase compliance in young children who are resistant to Time-out (TO). Parents of two boys, 3 and 4 years of age, were unable to enforce TO without resorting to physical guidance and restraint. With deferred TO (DTO), if a child resists TO, caregivers no longer interact with the child or provide the child with tangibles or activities that the child cannot access independently. When the child requests a preferred item or activity from the caregiver that cannot be obtained independently, the child must first serve TO. Once TO is served, the caregiver may fulfill the child's request. Data suggest that DTO reduces the latency between the parental TO command and compliance with TO without put-backs, spanks, or restraint.     

A Family Systems Approach to Behavioral Training with Parents of Autistic Children

This paper reviews briefly the use of behavioral procedures and parent training techniques with parents of autistic children. Potential hazards that may arise when the clinician fails to be sensitive to the family context are examined. Behavioral clinicians are urged to undertake behavioral parent training from a family systems context and thereby enhance the likelihood of more enduring changes for the autistic child and the family as a whole. Case illustrations are provided.