Large carnivores in human care have been reported to engage in stereotypic behaviors. Such behavior is thought to be correlated with high stress levels, in part, due to captive environments limiting opportunities for functional consequences and environmental stimuli. Moreover, there are several arguments stating that stereotypic behaviors can be indicative of poor welfare, as they can often have severe negative emotional and physical effects on the animal. The first portion of this study included a five-phase treatment analysis which evaluated whether environmental manipulations decrease the frequency of stereotypic behaviors including pacing, over-grooming and tail-sucking exhibited by a single male jaguar housed at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. The aim of the present study was to evaluate possible environmental variables that were reported by staff as likely variables maintaining or promoting stereotypic behavior. Data collection occurred during a 10-week evaluation and followed an ABCAD reversal design. Both behavioral data and fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels were analyzed. The second portion of this analysis included a multi-institutional survey to assess the prevalence of the stereotypic behaviors exhibited by zoo-housed jaguars in North American AZA-accredited institutions. Results from the behavioral assessment revealed a decrease in stereotypic behaviors with the implementation of treatment conditions. Hormone analyses revealed that stereotypic pacing is not presently correlated with higher stress levels for this animal. Finally, survey results revealed that a significant portion of the North American jaguar population engages in stereotypic behaviors. Further analyses are necessary to identify potential patterns or environmental predictors for the development of stereotypic behaviors.

Abstract It is estimated that approximately 16-20% of youth will develop a diagnosable behavior disorder. Behavioral parent training is a valuable approach to address disruptive behaviors by teaching parents how to effectively manage their child’s challenging behavior with non-physical disciplinary techniques. While these programs are generally effective, attrition rates have been found to be as high as 60% in some cases. This review provides information about the characteristics commonly associated with these programs, the attrition rates of each program, and the general effectiveness of the programs. Meta-analytic procedures were implemented to identify contributing factors leading to withdrawal from intervention. Keywords: parent training, behavioral parent training, parent management training, parent child interaction therapy

This quantitative study investigated the effects of an online training program in applied behavior analysis (ABA) on stress levels of parents that have a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The online ABA training program is comprised of 22 videos which take a total of 4½ hours to complete. Parenting stress levels were assessed using the Parenting Stress Inventory Short Form (PSI-SF, Abidin, 1995) and general stress levels were self-reported scores immediately before and after the training. The assessment and questionnaire were completed online immediately before the ABA training was made available and immediately after the ABA training was completed. The final PSI-SF was distributed one week after the ABA training was completed. This study confirmed that the ABA training decreased stress from the pretest to posttest but slightly increased after the delayed posttest, although delayed posttest scores remained below baseline levels. Results of the data analysis also found that general stress reduced significantly from baseline to posttests. In conclusion, the online ABA training program was an effective tool in decreasing parenting stress and general stress levels.

Non-math majors enrolled in lower-division math courses at an urban university were surveyed on their math attitudes, coping behaviors, and math anxiety (MATHANX). The Revised Ways of Coping Checklist (RWCC), Revised Math Anxiety Rating Scale, and other questions were presented to 30 men and 32 women. Hierarchical regressions showed that after controlling for attitudinal covariates, emotion-focused coping behaviors (EMOTFOC) were strongly associated with MATHANX (F(5,54)=18.66, 12 < .0001), but problem-focused coping behaviors (PROBFOC) were not. The RWCC subscale most highly correlated with MATHANX was Wishful Thinking (r = .70, p < .0001). Ss were then dichotomized on PROBFOC and EMOTFOC, providing four behavioral groups. An ANCOVA controlling for attitudinal covariates showed behavioral group membership significant with respect to MATHANX (F(3,58)=6.07, p < .001), and an ANOVA revealed that students who reported high EMOTFOC coupled with low PROBFOC experienced the greatest MATHANX (,E(3,58) = 12.66, p < .0001). Males and females reported virtually identical MATHANX (M=36.30 for males, 36.44 for females), and the only significant gender difference was for avoidance coping, which was used more by males (F(1,60) = 5.43, p < .03]. Results from this study suggest that fewer gender differences may exist in MATHANX and coping than have been found in the past. Additionally, this study identifies the need for future research to determine whether EMOTFOC is the behavioral component, or one of the determinants, of math anxiety.

Teaching students with Intellectual Disability (ID) is a relatively new endeavor. Beginning in 2001 with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, the general education curriculum integrated algebra across the K-12 curriculum (Kendall, 2011; National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010), and expansion of the curriculum included five intertwined skills (productive disposition, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and conceptual understanding) (Kilpatrick, Swafford, & Findell, 2001). Researchers are just beginning to explore the potential of students with ID with algebra (Browder, Spooner, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Harris & Wakeman, 2008; Creech-Galloway, Collins, Knight, & Bausch, 2013; Courtade, Spooner, Browder, & Jimenez, 2012; Göransson, Hellblom-Thibblin, & Axdorph, 2016). Most of the research examines the development of procedural fluency (Göransson et al., 2016) and few researchers have explored high school level skills. Using a single-case multiple-baseline across participants design, the study proposes to teach two algebra skills to six high school students with ID, creating an equation (y=mx+b) from a graph of a line and creating a graph from an equation. The six high school students with ID will be recruited from a school district in central Virginia. The intervention package modeled after Jimenez, Browder, and Courtade (2008), included modeling, templates, time delay prompting, and a task analysis. Results showed that all six individuals improved performance during intervention for the target skills over baseline; results also indicated that in three out of the six cases some generalization to the inverse skill occurred without supplemental intervention. The ability of individuals with ID to generalize the learning without intervention provides some evidence that individuals with ID are developing conceptual understanding while learning procedural fluency.

This thesis explores the applications of a drama-based intervention program for very young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their parents. Drama-based pedagogy and practice is merged with behavioral principles from the world of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to create an interdisciplinary program tailored specifically for the unique learning needs of children with ASD. This document offers a comprehensive overview of the history of diagnosis and treatment of ASD and the many factors that can influence relationships between children with ASD and their parents. A drama-based intervention program was designed specifically to address the communication and social skill deficits in children with ASD. In addition, the drama-based intervention program encouraged parents to use responsive teaching strategies to enhance and extend creative play with their child. The document concludes with recommendations for essential components of a drama-based intervention program for very young children with ASD and their parents. / text

Today many cell biological techniques study large cell populations where an average estimate of individual cells’ behavior is observed. On the other hand, single cell analysis is required for studying functional heterogeneities between cells within populations. This thesis presents work that combines the use of microfluidic devices, optical microscopy and automated image analysis to design various cell biological assays with single cell resolution including cell proliferation, clonal expansion, cell migration, cell-cell interaction and cell viability tracking. In fact, automated high throughput single cell techniques enable new studies in cell biology which are not possible with conventional techniques. In order to automatically track dynamic behavior of single cells, we developed a microwell based device as well as a droplet microfluidic platform. These high throughput microfluidic assays allow automated time-lapse imaging of encapsulated single cells in micro droplets or confined cells inside microwells. Algorithms for automatic quantification of cells in individual microwells and micro droplets are developed and used for the analysis of cell viability and clonal expansion. The automatic counting protocols include several image analysis steps, e.g. segmentation, feature extraction and classification. The automatic quantification results were evaluated by comparing with manual counting and revealed a high success rate. In combination these automatic cell counting protocols and our microfluidic platforms can provide statistical information to better understand behavior of cells at the individual level under various conditions or treatments in vitro exemplified by the analysis of function and regulation of immune cells. Thus, together these tools can be used for developing new cellular imaging assays with resolution at the single cell level. To automatically characterize transient migration behavior of natural killer (NK) cells compartmentalized in microwells, we developed a method for single cell tracking. Time-lapse imaging showed that the NK cells often exhibited periods of high motility, interrupted with periods of slow migration or complete arrest. These transient migration arrest periods (TMAPs) often overlapped with periods of conjugations between NK cells and target cells. Such conjugation periods sometimes led to cell-mediated killing of target cells. Analysis of cytotoxic response of NK cells revealed that a small sub-class of NK cells called serial killers was able to kill several target cells. In order to determine a starting time point for cell-cell interaction, a novel technique based on ultrasound was developed to aggregate NK and target cells into the center of the microwells. Therefore, these assays can be used to automatically and rapidly assess functional and migration behavior of cells to detect differences between health and disease or the influence of drugs. The work presented in this thesis gives good examples of how microfluidic devices combined with automated imaging and image analysis can be helpful to address cell biological questions where single cell resolution is necessary. / <p>QC 20130927</p>

Callous and unemotional (CU) traits in children with conduct problems have been indicated as precursors to adult psychopathy. The analysis of the sensitivity to rewards and punishment in this population may be useful in the identification of effective behavior modification programs and particularly the delineation of ineffective punishment procedures. Scores on the Child Psychopathy Scale, Inventory of Callous and Unemotional Traits, Contingency Response Rating Scale and the Sensitivity to Reward Sensitivity to Punishment – Children Revised scale were used to evaluate 20 children, aged 7-13, recruited from FIU’s Center for Children and Families. The sample comprised 14 males and 6 females displaying a range of psychopathic traits measured by the CPS, with scores from 9 to 46 (M = 28.45, SD = 10.73). Sensitivity to punishment was examined using a behavioral task in which children endured various amounts of either white noise (type I punishment) or time-out from positive reinforcement (type II punishment) in order to gain access to a demonstrated reinforcer. The sample was stratified on the basis of the magnitude of psychopathy scores, and sensitivity to rewards and punishment were evaluated using a Behavioral Activation / Behavioral Inhibition framework by examining task performance: the frequency and duration of punishment conditions selected, electrodermal activity (skin conductance response), and parent-reported measures of child sensitivity to reward and punishment. Results indicated that the magnitude of CU traits was directly proportional to hyposensitivity to punishment and hypersensitivity to reward. Children with elevated levels of CU traits elected to endure a greater frequency and duration type I punishment in order to maintain continued access to the reinforcer. Significant differences were not found between high- and low-psychopathy children in the selection of type II punishment. The findings indicate that although there may be a hyporeactivity to type I punishment in children with CU traits, the use of a type II punishment by the removal of a positive stimulus has demonstrated treatment efficacy. The difference in sensitivity to rewards and the types of effective punishment in children with CU traits may affect reinforcement based learning, leading to the ineffectiveness of traditional methods informing the development of social responses.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 DissECSer.pdf: 1370100 bytes, checksum: 66b22ec8fd2d6be459589ba7d94c0d11 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-19 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability may experience delays in psychomotor development and flaws in the structuring of the body schema, which subsidize the development of spatial orientation. These delays cause perceptual, motor, and social problems. In the approach of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), the behavioral intervention programs use a variety of working formats to meet individual needs of this population. Considering the body notion as a basis for the development of learning, the aim of this study was to teach individuals with ASD and intellectual disability to discriminate sides "right" and "left" of the body and check the generalization of this concept to other stimuli and contexts. Two experiments were carried out. In the first experiment, participants were a boy (9 years old) diagnosed with autism and two teenagers (16 years old), one with Down syndrome and another with intellectual disabilities. In the second experiment, participants were four boys diagnosed with ASD at the age of ten to twelve years. The selection criterion was that the participants did not present the knowledge of concepts related to the left and right sides, identified in a pretest. The procedure consisted of pre-testing, teaching with multiple exemplar instruction and post-test. The intervention was composed of discrete trials in which an instruction containing three components (movement, body part, and laterality, for example, "Raise your right arm") was presented and, when necessary, imitation, physical, and gestural prompts were used and faded according to the participant's performance. Data collection was filmed for reliability calculations and the designs were pre- and post-test in the first experiment and multiple baseline across participants in the second experiment. All participants presented correct responses regarding taught actions involving three components (movement, body part, and laterality), and generalized right and left concepts to new contexts that were tested with the use of objects. This study used only listener verbal relations, opening possibilities for comparing listener relations training and speaker relations training in the emergence of such concepts. / Crianças com Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo (TEA) e deficiência intelectual podem apresentar atrasos no desenvolvimento psicomotor e falhas na estruturação do esquema corporal, que subsidiam o desenvolvimento da orientação espacial. Estes atrasos ocasionam problemas perceptivos, motores e sociais. Na abordagem da Análise Aplicada do Comportamento (ABA), os programas de intervenção comportamental utilizam vários formatos de trabalho para atender necessidades individuais desta população. Considerando a noção corporal como base do desenvolvimento da aprendizagem, o objetivo do presente estudo foi ensinar indivíduos com TEA e deficiência intelectual a discriminarem os lados “direito” e “esquerdo” do corpo e verificar a generalização deste conceito para outros estímulos e contextos. Foram realizados dois experimentos. No primeiro, os participantes foram um menino (9 anos) com diagnóstico de autismo e dois adolescentes (16 anos), um com síndrome de Down e outro com deficiência intelectual. No segundo experimento, os participantes foram quatro meninos com diagnóstico de TEA na faixa etária de dez a doze anos. O critério de seleção foi que os participantes não apresentassem o conhecimento dos conceitos relacionados aos lados esquerdo e direito, identificados num pré-teste. O procedimento foi constituído de pré-testes, ensino com múltiplos exemplares, sondagens diárias e pósteste. O ensino foi composto de tentativas discretas em que era apresentada uma instrução que continha três componentes (movimento, parte do corpo e lateralidade; por exemplo, “Levante o braço direito”) e, quando necessário, foram utilizadas dicas de imitação, físicas e gestuais, que foram gradualmente retiradas de acordo com o desempenho do participante. A coleta de dados foi filmada para cálculos de fidedignidade e os delineamentos foram de Pré e Pós-teste no primeiro experimento e de linha de base múltipla entre participantes no segundo experimento. Todos os participantes desenvolveram respostas corretas em relação às ações ensinadas, envolvendo três componentes (movimento, parte do corpo e lateralidade), e generalizaram para novos contextos que foram testados com o uso de objetos. Este estudo utilizou somente relações de ouvinte, abrindo possibilidades de comparações entre treinos de relações de respostas de ouvinte e falante.

This paper aims to address possible psychoanalytical explanations for the heinous acts in which terrorists, particularly ISIS, engage. It focuses on Harold D. Lasswell’s principles of the id, ego, and superego as well as Tajfel and Turner’s social identity theory. Within the framework of these two theories, relevant psychological and social psychological theories are discussed in order to explore a possible connection between the psyche of violent perpetrators and their actions. By exploring these connections, I find that there may be more nuanced psychological explanations for these violent acts, which could lead to new methods of weakening perceived biases, intergroup conflicts, and extremist behavior.