The objective of this audit was to determine whether the U.S. Department of Education's (Department) overall information technology (IT) security programs and practices were effective as they relate to Federal information security requirements. To answer this objective, the Department's performance was rated in accordance with Fiscal Year (FY)…

Three experiments investigated the learning of simple associations in a color-word contingency task. Participants responded manually to the print colors of 3 words, with each word associated strongly to 1 of the 3 colors and weakly to the other 2 colors. Despite the words being irrelevant, response times to high-contingency stimuli and to…

Brief experimental analysis (BEA) is a useful tool for quickly evaluating intervention strategies for individuals with academic deficits and minor behavior problems. However, there is a lack of research investigating BEA for intervention strategies with individuals who emit severe problem behavior to avoid academic demands. For the current study,…

There are many instructional approaches that had been arranged in special education, especially with learning disabilities. Although the field of learning disabilities has been a safe harbor for dozens of techniques, a number of others had been beached. It is regrettable that data rarely played a role in whether a technique was dispatched or…

Purpose: This Phase II treatment study examined the effect of Verb Network Strengthening Treatment (VNeST) on individuals with moderate-to-severe aphasia. Research questions addressed (a) pre- to posttreatment changes and pretreatment to treatment phase changes on probe sentences containing trained verbs (e.g., "The carpenter is 'measuring' the…

A simulation study was conducted in an attempt to examine how evaluators modify their evaluation design in response to differing stakeholder groups. In this study, evaluators were provided with a fictitious description of a school-based program. They were then asked to design an evaluation of the program. After the evaluation design decisions were…

Selective mutism is a severe childhood disorder involving failure to speak in public situations in which speaking is expected. The present study examined 9 youths with selective mutism treated with child-focused, exposure-based practices and parent-focused contingency management via an alternating treatments design. Broadband measures of…

Pigeons were trained in three experiments with a two-key, concurrent-chains choice procedure. The initial links were equal variable-interval schedules, and the terminal links were random-time schedules with equal average interreinforcement intervals. Across the three experiments, the pigeons either stayed in a terminal link until a reinforcer was…

This article reviews general classes of variables which help to maintain aberrant behavior including attention seeking, sensory and perceptual consequences, and access to materials or activities. Suggestions for a methodology providing a comprehensive functional analysis are offered which include descriptive analysis, hypothesis forming,…

Functional assessment is redefining the standards for clinical interventions with problem behavior and reemphasizing the importance of basic behavioral mechanisms. It has shown the importance of complex patterns of behavioral control, functional assessment as an ongoing process, and the importance of attention to antecedent variables. Future…

Sensitivity to reinforcement contingencies was examined in six individuals with mental retardation using a concurrent operants procedure in the context of a computer game. Results included individual differences in sensitivity and differential sensitivity to rate and magnitude variation. Results suggest that comprehensive assessments of potential…

The study evaluated the effects of a time-efficient reinforcer assessment package with three preschoolers with autism. Systematic assessment of children's reinforcers for correct responding virtually eliminated nontargeted maladaptive behaviors, and yielded expected improvements in accuracy. (Author/DB)

Seven parents conducted assessments in an outpatient clinic using a prescribed hierarchy of antecedent and consequence treatment components for their children's problem behavior. Brief assessment of potential treatment components identified variables controlling children's appropriate behavior. Experimental control was achieved for six of the…

This commentary summarizes methodological and conceptual issues in functional analysis methodologies and offers some suggestions for their resolution. Considered are increasing complexity, absence of contingencies during assessment, use of subtle manipulations, alternative assessment strategies, analysis of antecedent influences on behavior,…

Functional analysis conducted during a 90-minute evaluation session identified maintaining variables for aggressive behavior and an alternative replacement response in 3 individuals with severe handicaps. During a subsequent contingency reversal phase, aggressive behavior was substantially reduced and alternative behavior increased. Results…