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Procedural Integrity and the Shaping of Behavior: Effects of a Single Error
No full textWe evaluated effects of a single errant reinforcer delivery on skill acquisition with two typically developing adults. Shaping procedures were implemented to teach 4, two-step tasks under two experimental conditions, high integrity (HI) and error of commission (CO). For each task, one of the three objects provided was irrelevant (non-target object [NTO]). In the CO condition, instruction began after a participant touched the NTO and received a reinforcer. In three of four comparisons the training was more efficient in the HI condition, and for both participants, mastery was not reached within the 20-min time limit for one task in the CO condition. Additionally, the proportional frequency and duration of touches to the NTO were greater in the CO condition for both participants. Our findings support prior research showing that a single reinforcer can substantially influence subsequent behavior and that errors of commission can interfere with skill acquisition
An Application of the Matching Law to Text Messaging
Get PDFThe purpose of the current study was to assess the generality of the matching law extended to common human behavior, text messaging, in a gamified preparation. Random ratio schedule values were generated and distributed across two concurrently available alternatives, with differing reinforcer densities, in which points were delivered when response requirements were satisfied. Each participant experienced two combinations of reinforcer densities arranged across response alternatives in four experimental conditions, and each condition was replicated. Reinforcer assessments were conducted with all participants to confirm that points functioned as reinforcers. Response rate log ratio, programmed reinforcement rate log ratio, and obtained reinforcement rate log ratios were reported for each session, and the generalized matching equation (GME) was then fit to individual response and reinforcement rate log ratio data. The behavior of all participants was controlled by manipulations of relative reinforcement rate, and the GME well described the data. Our findings replicate and extend previous human operant matching research, and our novel preparation may be adapted to study a variety of behavioral phenomena
Outcomes of the Application of Methods of Subtyping Self-Injury Behavior to Stereotypy
Get PDFThe general purpose of this study was to determine whether the subtyping methods developed to analyze automatically reinforced self-injury (SIB), described by Hagopian et al. (2015, 2017), apply to stereotypy. The Structured Visual Inspection Criteria were applied to FAs of stereotypy, and the levels of differentiation (LoD) between the alone/no interaction were calculated. Eleven students diagnosed with autism, between 3 and 18 years old, and who engaged in stereotypy, participated in the study. Five students were exposed to the following: Functional Analysis (FA); Augmented-Competing Stimulus Assessment (A-CSA); and Treatment Analysis consisting of two condition types: 1) access to alternative sources of reinforcement; and 2) prompting of functional/contextual engagement. Interventions for the other six students were not informed by the ACSA but were assessed in a treatment analysis of the same two condition types following FA; however, they did not experience an A-CSA prior to the treatment analysis.). The statistics r Pearson score showed a positive correlation between LoDs FA play alone and Treatment 1 (r = 0.71 with p \u3c .01). We discuss the treatments predicted as effective by the subtyping model and LoD analyses
Effects of a General Video Model on Staff Implementation of Forward Chaining Procedures
No full textBefore direct care staff work directly with individuals with high support needs, they must go through training; however, often there are not always enough resources (trainers or time) to train new staff to mastery before they start working with clients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if video training would be a helpful tool that could mitigate some of the resource concerns in training new staff. More specifically, this study looked into using General Video Training (GVT; training video shows examples of a different task than the task used in roleplays) to train staff to implement forward chaining procedures with fidelity. A multiple baseline design across two staff was used to evaluate GVT. The task in the training video was an arbitrary LEGO® task and the role plays were teaching towel folding to a confederate client using forward chaining procedures. Both staff generalized the procedures used in the video teaching LEGO® construction to teaching towel folding in-vivo to the confederate client and a different task to an actual client from their Individualized Educational Program. These findings suggests that GVT can be a successful training procedure that may be considered as an isolated intervention or as part of a training package in teaching staff to implement teaching procedures with fidelity
The Use of Concurrent Progressive Magnitude Schedules to Scale Reinforcer Value
No full textReinforcement is a primary tool used by behavior analysts when implementing behavioral programming. Common preference assessment methods entail measuring a percentage of trials with selection of different potential reinforcers, but the percentage of trials with selection may not always be a sufficiently precise measure of relative reinforcing efficacy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of progressive concurrent magnitude assessments to scale reinforcer value. These assessments consisted of arranging a two-component concurrent schedule in which different reinforcers were available on each component. Selection of one reinforcer resulted in the magnitude of the alternative reinforcer being increased by one unit. For all participants, the concurrent progressive magnitude schedule permitted an evaluation of relative reinforcing efficacy
JUST ACTION: HOW TO CHALLENGE SEGREGATION ENACTED UNDER THE COLOR OF LAW
Get PDFRemarks given by Author Richard Rothstein ahead of Western New England Law Review\u27s symposium The Color of Law: The Intersection of Race and the Law, which discussed his 2017 book, The Color of Law
THE 2023 ALIEN LAND LAWS AND HISTORICAL AMNESIA
Get PDFRemarks from The Color of Law: The Intersection of Race and the Law Symposium relating recent laws prohibiting land ownership by Chinese people to 1920s alien land laws
ROBOTS ARE PEOPLE TOO: INVENTORSHIP RIGHTS FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MACHINES
Get PDFIf Edison created an artificial intelligence machine that invented the lightbulb, would we truly view him in the same light that we do today? Thaler v. Hirshfeld and Thaler v. Vidal tackle an issue that the courts have never addressed thus far: Should artificial intelligence machines be granted inventorship credit for their original creations? Stephen Thaler, the inventor of DABUS, an artificial intelligence machine that created two of its own inventions, applied to the USPTO for those patents, listing DABUS as the inventor. The USPTO denied the application, reasoning that an inventor could only be a natural person.
Ultimately, the court agreed, holding that the legislative intent behind the word “inventor” in the Patent Act exclusively referred to human beings. Additionally, the court kicked the can down the road. It passed the responsibility onto Congress, stating that artificial intelligence technology is not yet advanced enough for this to be an issue, and when that time does come, it should be up to the legislature to determine how the inventorship issue should be resolved
KNOCKOFF NARCOTICS: THE U.S. SENTENCING GUIDELINES AND UNJUST ELEVATED SENTENCES
Get PDFIn the complicated and technical world of federal drug policy, courts are presented with an ambiguity that requires the court to decide: should a technical definition from other legislation in the area be applied, or should it instead be the dictionary definition supplied by Merriam-Webster? The Tenth Circuit, in United States v. Thomas, was faced with this exact dilemma. However, the real-world context of the issue involved a real criminal defendant who received a sentence enhancement because he sold rocks and sand, which he passed off as heroin. The majority, relying on a number of other circuit court cases, adopted the dictionary definition of the term “counterfeit substance,” imposing a harsher sentence on the defendant, despite the fact that the definition proposed by the defendant was an established legislative definition found within the Controlled Substances Act. This Note will address the ambiguity in §4B1.2(b) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines, as well as potential solutions to narrow the scope of offenders punished under it. This Note will argue that a plain meaning definition does not encompass the intent of the framers of § 4B1.2(b) when including the term of art “counterfeit substance.” This type of crime requires a nuanced and narrow definition consistent with what Congress and several state legislatures have adopted in their drug policies. This Note will present an amendment to the United States Sentencing Guidelines consistent with the definition in the Controlled Substances Act that would ensure defendants like Thomas will not receive an enhanced sentence without dealing a controlled substance. The amendment will further the Commission’s goals of providing certainty in sentencing while also creating a uniform federal drug policy
Implementing a Sensory-Friendly Adaptive Aquatics Program at the Springfield Jewish Community Center for Children with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities
Get PDFIndividuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) can present with impairments in the areas of physical development, learning, language, sensory processing, and behavior. These impairments can lead to difficulties with daily life activities and participating in other meaningful occupations such as play, education, and social participation. Occupational therapy can aid in decreasing the impact of these challenges using several different approaches. Aquatic therapy is one approach that benefits children with I/DD. This is due to the physical properties of the water that create a supportive physical and sensory environment for an individual and their needs (Brokaw, 2022). The aquatic environment’s properties create a positive physical environment for the child from the surface tension, buoyancy, and hydrostatic pressure. However, the environment may need to be altered. Overall, aquatic therapy supports sensory, cognition, motor function, and community integration in children with I/DD to reach developmental and therapy goals