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Publication The Good Behavior Game: Maintenance and Side-Effects in Preschoolers(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Foley, Elizabeth A.The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an effective intervention which has been used by teachers to change a variety of behaviors, across a range of populations, and in various settings (see Tingstrom, Sterling-Turner, & Wilczynski, 2006, for a review). However, there is limited research on the intervention with preschoolers (Foley et al., 2019; Ling & Barnett, 2013; Wiskow et al., 2019, Swiezy et al., 1992), uninterrupted treatment effects when the GBG is faded or removed (Dadakhodjaeve et al, 2019; Lynch & Keenan, 2018; Ruiz-Olivares et al., 2010), and the potential side-effects associated with the GBG (Groves & Austin, 2019). Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to replicate Foley et al. (2019) by implementing the GBG with preschoolers and further evaluating whether effortful components of the GBG can be faded while maintaining treatment effects. Additionally, we conducted a systematic analysis of positive and negative peer interactions as a potential side effect of the GBG. Results of the study suggest that the GBG is an effective intervention for reducing the disruptive behavior of preschoolers. Additionally, we were able to fade several components of the GBG while maintaining treatment effects. Results of the side-effect analysis suggest that the GBG is associated with an increase in peer interactions and specific variables (i.e., the occurrence of target behavior and delivery of reward) were associated with specific types of peer interactions.Publication Increasing Student On-Task Behavior in a Juvenile Detention Day School Through the Use of a Token Procedure Implemented by Juvenile Correctional Officers(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) O'Neal, Austin MAbstract Education is important for all children. This is especially true for students in detention facilities where they may receive less than optimal learning opportunities. Among many barriers to students in detention facilities receiving a quality education is the students’ lack of on-task behavior or engaging in frequent classroom disruptions (Houchins, Puckett-Patterson, Crosby, Shippen, & Jolivette, 2009). Researchers have used differential reinforcement procedures in classroom settings to increase student on-task behaviors (Heering & Wilder, 2006; Kelly & Bushell, 1987; Lo & Cartledge, 2006). Additionally, token economies have been used to improve delinquent youths’ behaviors such as academic performance and appropriate classroom behaviors (Bednar, Zelhart, Greathouse, & Weinberg, 1970; Seymour & Sanson-Fisher, 1975; Tyler, 1967; Tyler & Brown, 1968). Although token economies have often been used with delinquent youth in detention facilities, minimal research exists on teaching juvenile correctional officers (JCOs) to implement token procedures to increase appropriate youth behaviors in a detention day school. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of a differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) token procedure, implemented by juvenile correctional officers (JCOs), on the on-task behavior of detention day school student participants. JCO participants were taught how to implement the DRA token procedure using behavioral skills training (BST). Results demonstrated that BST was effective in teaching the JCO participants how to implement the DRA token procedure and the DRA token procedure was effective in increasing the on-task behavior of detention day school student participants attending a detention day school.Publication Increasing Staff Healthy Behavioral Practices in Programs for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities(University of Kansas, 2019-01-01) Kamana, Bertilde UProblem behavior is common in adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD; Lowe et al., 2007). Some research has suggested that movement from institutions to community-based programs has resulted in challenges to service provision for these individuals, specifically with respect to managing problem behavior (Beadle-Brown, Mansell, & Kozma, 2007). Decades of research on training staff to provide active treatment (e.g., Parsons, Rollyson, & Reid, 2004) has suggested (a) its importance for decreasing problem behavior and increasing appropriate behavior and (b) the efficacy of empirically derived organizational behavior management procedures (e.g., behavioral skills training [BST; Parsons, Rollyson, & Reid, 2012] and on-the-job feedback [Van OOrsouw, Embregts, Bosman, & Jahoda, 2009]) for increasing important staff behaviors in programs for adults with IDD. Regardless, organizations continue to have challenges in training staff and ensuring staff compliance with these and other important skills (Harchik & Campbell, 1998). Furthermore, even though decades of research on functional behavior assessment (FBA) and function-based intervention suggest effective procedures for decreasing problem behavior (Hagopian, Dozier, Rooker, & Jones, 2013), the individualized approach of this process has its challenges. Recently, discussion papers (e.g., Ala’i-Rosales et al., 2018) and a few research studies (e.g., St. Peter & Marsteller, 2017) have suggested the potential utility of using FBA and function-based intervention literature to derive preventive approaches as a Tier I model for preventing and decreasing problem behavior. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to create a prevention approach in which we took what is known about common functions of problem behavior and effective function-based interventions to create four healthy behavioral practices to train staff. Then, we used BST and on-the job feedback to increase staff implementation of these practices across a large number of staff and programs in a large community-based organization serving adults with IDD. Namely, we trained staff to provide frequent positive interactions, effective instructions, correct responses to problem behavior, and to promote consumer engagement with items and activities.Publication A Comparison of Interteaching and the Learning Pathway in a Community Health Undergraduate Course(University of Kansas, 2019-05-31) Schulz, JonathanInterteaching (IT) is a teaching method based on behavior analytic techniques that uses paired discussion and student-informed clarifying lectures to teach course objectives. A number of studies suggest that IT is more effective than traditional teaching methods (i.e., lecture). However, research is needed to compare IT to other active learning strategies (i.e., strategies that foster critical thinking by engaging students in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation through discussion and active student responding). In the present study, I compared IT to an active learning strategy known as the Learning Pathway (LP) in an undergraduate community health and development course. The LP uses group work and guided self-instruction to help students address a societal issue of their choice. Results indicate that students performed slightly higher on multiple-choice quizzes during the IT condition and correctly answered more fill-in-the-blank midterm and final exam questions related to content covered in the IT condition. However, students indicated that they preferred the LP teaching method.Publication A Comparison of Isolated and Synthesized Contingencies in Functional Analyses(University of Kansas, 2019-05-31) Holehan, Kathleen MarieIn a series of recent studies, Hanley and colleagues have evaluated the efficacy of an FA methodology termed the Interview Informed Synthesized Contingency Analyses (IISCA; Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, & Hanratty, 2014), which involves conducting (a) an open-ended interview to determine potential antecedents, consequences, and precursors to target problem behavior; (b) a brief observation based on the interview results; and (c) test and control conditions that involve synthesized contingencies (as determined by interview and observation). However, it is unknown whether synthesis of contingencies is necessary for determining a functional relation between problem behavior and environmental events. We extended Fisher, Greer, Romani, Zangrillo, and Owen (2016) and Slaton, Hanley, and Raferty (2017) by comparing the outcomes of FAs that involved isolated versus synthesized contingencies while controlling for other differences across the FAs for problem behavior of five young children. Next, we compared the effects of function-based interventions based on isolated and synthesized functional variables for each participant. Results showed that synthesized contingencies were not necessary to show functional relations between problem behavior and environmental events, and function-based treatments based on isolated contingencies were equally effective to those based on synthesized contingencies.Publication An Evaluation of Synchronous Reinforcement for Increasing On-task Behavior in Preschool Children(University of Kansas, 2019-05-31) Diaz de Villegas, Sara CamilleSchedules of covariation are those in which changes in a specific response class (e.g., rate, intensity, or duration of behavior) produce corresponding changes in a reinforcer (e.g., rate, intensity, or duration; Williams & Johnston, 1992). Furthermore, these schedules involve the behavior and reinforcer fluctuating or varying together. A synchronous-reinforcement schedule is a type of schedule of covariation in which the onset and offset of the reinforcer covaries with the onset and offset of the behavior (Ramey, Heiger, & Klisz, 1972; Weisberg & Rovee-Collier, 1998). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of and preference for a synchronous-reinforcement schedule for increasing on-task behavior in preschoolers. Specifically, we compared the effects of a synchronous-reinforcement schedule to one in which continuous access to stimuli were delivered at the end of the session and yoked to the duration of on-task behavior that occurred during the session. Thus, in both conditions, continuous access to stimuli was delivered for the duration of time in which on-task behavior occurred; the only difference was whether the stimuli were delivered based on moment-to-moment changes in the occurrence of on-task behavior or at end of the session. Results showed the synchronous-reinforcement schedule was more effective for increasing on-task behavior and more preferred for most participants. Results are discussed in light of potential mechanisms by which the synchronous schedule was more effective and preferred and areas for future research.Publication Evaluation of a Computer-Based Version of Child Planned Activities Training(University of Kansas, 2019-01-01) Whaley, Anna MarieChallenges to implementation, such as engagement in intervention activities and maintaining implementation fidelity, exist within traditional delivery systems of evidenced-based parenting programs that can impact either the effectiveness of or the wide-spread adaptation and use of an intervention. Given these challenges, research is needed to explore and identify additional delivery methods, and examine their impact on feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness. Researchers have looked to technology as a promising supplement or alternative to traditional methods of delivery. Two studies examined the effects of a computer-based version of Child Planned Activities Training (cPAT), an evidence-based home visitation program that focuses on improving parent-child interactions, on parent’s use of intervention strategies, parent-child interaction skills, and child behavior. The program combined computer-based tutorials with in-home coaching. Parent satisfaction, engagement during home visits, parental stress, and depressive symptoms were measured. Seven mothers and their children aged 3 to 5 years participated. Study 1 evaluated the pilot presentation of the intervention with one family as a means of understanding program feasibility and usability using an A-B design. Feedback from Study 1 informed revisions to the computer-based presentation and intervention procedures used in Study 2. Study 2 evaluated the effects of the revised computer-based intervention on parent and child outcomes using a multiple baseline design with six families, divided into two cohorts. The computer-based cPAT intervention was feasible to implement and parents reported high rates of satisfaction and usability. Results from Study 2 support the use of the computer-based cPAT intervention in improving parent use of cPAT strategies. Parent-child interaction skills and appropriate child behavior increased for all parents who completed the post-intervention observation (n = 5). Additionally, parent engagement in intervention activities increased or remained high across all participants (n = 6). Changes in parent stress and depressive symptoms were observed in some but not all families. These findings contribute to the existing body of literature on the use of technology-based interventions for teaching positive parenting skills to families from low-income backgrounds with preschool-aged children. Additionally, the findings expand upon the body of research evaluating technology-based versions of cPAT by incorporating computer-based delivery of the intervention. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.Publication Developing a Durable Intervention: Teaching Members of a Student Cooperative to Chair Meetings(University of Kansas, 1985-05-31) Welsh, Thomas M.The purpose of this study was to evaluate procedures for teaching members of a student cooperative to run meetings with little or no assistance from the Experimenter. Experiment 1 evaluated the performance of seven meeting chairpersons with and without training and coaching by the Experimenter. Chairpersons completed more of their assigned tasks when the Experimenter was coaching than when he was not. Meeting efficiency and member satisfaction were both better when the Experimenter was coaching. Experiment 2 studied the effects of a maintenance package on chairperson performance in the absence of training and coaching by the Experimenter. The maintenance package included a training manual, a prompting checklist, and performance reviews by another member of the cooperative. Chairperson performance, meeting efficiency, and member satisfaction were all consistently better when the maintenance package was used. Experiment 1 highlights the need for experimenters to analyze their own roles in the interventions they design. Experiment 2 suggests one method for reducing the involvement of the experimenter while maintaining the effectiveness of an intervention.Publication Toward Efficient Toilet Training of Young Children in Early Childcare Programs(University of Kansas, 2018-12-31) Romero, Ashley NicoleYoung children between the ages of 18-30 months begin to have the skills necessary to begin the process of toilet training (U.S Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). However, delayed toilet training of typically developing children has become a trend (Simon & Thompson, 2006). Delayed training can have negative health, financial, and social implications. To date, we have systematically replicated an intensive toilet training procedure described by LeBlanc et. al (2005) with seven children (ages 22-58 mo) with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities for whom a treatment package described by Greer et al. (2016) was not immediately effective. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline was used to evaluate the intensive training procedure, which consisted of a graduated sit schedule, reinforcement of successful urinations and self-initiations, increased fluids, communication training, a urine sensor and alarm, and positive practice for accidents. Results showed that the LeBlanc training procedure was effective for rapid performance acquisition that generalized and maintained in the preschool classroom for 5 of 7 subjects. Results are discussed in terms of treatment efficacy and efficiency, generality of procedures across populations (children with and without IDD), and social validity of treatment procedures in early childhood education and intervention environments.Publication Cooperation and Productivity in a Simulated Small Group Work Task(University of Kansas, 2018-12-31) Novak, Matthew D.In the present experiments, I evaluated effects of antecedent- and consequent-based manipulations on cooperation and productivity in a novel group work task. Participants worked in three-person teams on a computer-based task where they could allocate time toward scoring points or assisting teammates. In both experiments, teams were assigned to a restricted (no communication allowed during trials) or unrestricted (communication allowed throughout the experiment) communication condition. In Experiment 1, two teams participated and completed the task in 180-s trials for one of three incentive types: (a) fixed incentive, delivered independent of performance; (b) individual incentive, delivered based on individual score; and (c) collective incentive, based on team total score and divided equally amongst teammates. Probability of incentive delivery also varied and was set to 10% or 100%. I conducted Experiment 2 in a similar manner with eight teams, the fixed and individual incentive types only, and incentive probability was always 100%. Cooperative response requirement also increased across six levels within each trial for both experiments. In Experiment 1, the team in the unrestricted condition engaged in more cooperative responses and was more productive than the team in the restricted condition. No main effects of incentive type manipulations were observed, potentially due to the multiple condition types. Results of Experiment 2 did not replicate the effect of the communication manipulation. However, participants engaged in fewer cooperative responses and were more productive in the individual incentive condition than in the fixed condition. Finally, demand curve analyses were used to evaluate responding across response requirements. Findings demonstrate the utility of the current methodology for examining variables that commonly affect workplace performance.Publication An Evaluation of a Community Life Skills Program for Adolescents in Foster Care(University of Kansas, 2018-12-31) Lynch, Briana MarieResearch indicates that adolescents who spent time in the foster care system are ill-prepared for independent living at the age of 18 and often experience negative outcomes due to this. The ability to live independently, after spending time in the foster care system, is partly dependent on one’s capacity to acquire and engage in adequate performance of various life skills. Some of these skills include budgeting, locating appropriate housing, and selecting higher education options, and should all be taught while still in foster care. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a life skills course provided by a community organization, StopGap Inc., by assessing skill acquisition of adolescents on various life skills. The participants included adolescents in the Kansas foster care system who are between the ages of 13 and 17. A pilot study was conducted using a natural comparison and control group design. Data were collected by direct observation, with pre-and post-assessment comparisons used to determine skill acquisition. The results revealed an increased acquisition of life skill across all participants, but no conclusion can be drawn from this data. Study one was conducted using a multiple baseline probe design across participants and skills to show better control of the intervention effects. This study extends the literature by assessing the use of behavioral approaches to improving performance of life skills among adolescents within the child welfare system.Publication Comparing Force and Ratio Progressions from the Behavioral Economic Unit Price Equation(University of Kansas, 2018-12-31) Lemley, Shea MichelleIn behavioral economic demand, the currently predominant conceptualization of unit price suggests that increasing lever weight or ratio requirement should result in equal changes in unit price and thus identical changes in consumption. Data from the few studies that have compared consumption under ratio progressions and force progressions tend to show differences in consumption across the two manipulations, even with unit price adjustments. These studies, however, failed to measure the broader operant class (i.e., subcriterion responses) and the force of individual responses, so the present experiments extend this work by using a force transducer to measure responding. In Experiment 1, six rats responded for sweetened condensed milk across ascending prices composed of ratio or force progressions equated based on unit price. Consistent with prior research, results showed consumption differed across progression types, with force progressions producing more inelastic consumption across low unit prices than ratio progressions. As force criterion increased, the proportion of subcriterion relative to total responses increased. Experiment 2 aimed to investigate how these subcriterion responses impacted the demand functions obtained from the force progressions. In Experiment 2, demand curves were obtained by yoking reinforcer-by-reinforcer to the total number of responses (i.e., subcriterion and criterion) per reinforcer delivery from the force progressions for each rat. Some similar patterns of consumption were observed across the force and yoked progressions, but deviations were noted. Convergence in consumption was assessed across several candidate alternatives to unit price, with the greatest convergence produced by measures of cumulative time integral of force per 0.05-ml unit of reinforcer and mean cumulative response duration per 0.05-ml unit of reinforcer.Publication Temporal Attention, the Sunk Cost Effect, and Delay Discounting(University of Kansas, 2018-08-31) Sofis, MichaelThe sunk cost effect, known as the degree to which an initial investment of time, effort, or money increases the likelihood of continued investment, and delay discounting, defined as how rapidly the subjective value of a reward declines as a function of the delay to its receipt, incorporate the role of temporally distant stimuli, but have not been evaluated simultaneously. One process that may link the two phenomena is the temporal attention hypothesis, which holds that the degree to which one perceives distant events as close to the present, and one’s ability to shift their temporal focus from now to not now, jointly contributes to the mechanism of delay discounting. The first of the two experiments showed that participants with higher subjective time perception (i.e., perceived distant objective time points as subjectively closer to the present) committed more sunk cost across hypothetical temporal gaps between the initial and terminal links, and exhibited lower rates of delay discounting than those with lower subjective time perception. In Experiment 2, the same sunk cost procedure was used, except that four temporal gap conditions were used that matched the time points used in the delay discounting task. Further, participants experienced either negative, neutral, or positively valenced income narratives, which have previously been shown to alter rates of delay discounting. Additionally, probed time points in the future and past subjective time perception tasks more closely matched those used in the delay discounting and sunk cost tasks, and both future and past subjective time perception were derived used Mazur’s (1987) hyperbolic model. A series of Quade non-parametric ANCOVAs failed to reveal a significant effect of income narrative on delay discounting, any measure of sunk cost, future or past subjective time perception, and past, present, and future temporal focus. Extra sum of squares tests revealed, however, that hyperboloid models of mean sunk cost and median indifference data across the three groups were better fit to separate curves than one curve. Hyperbolic decline in subjective time perception (Ln (k)) for future and past subjective time perception were strongly correlated and were combined together to form the measure joint time perception, which correlated with delay discounting, but did not correlate with any measure of sunk cost. Future subjective time perception was divided by past subjective time perception to form the measure of time perception index, which was only correlated with sunk cost measures, but not delay discounting. Overall sunk cost (i.e., terminal investment percentage of $5 initial investments subtracted by $35 initial investments) was directly correlated with delay discounting such that greater amounts of sunk cost related to lower rates of delay discounting, providing added evidence that the sunk cost effect may relate to lower rates of discounting. Implications, limitations, and future directions related to these findings are discussed.Publication Effects of Conditioning Procedures on Vocalizations of Children with Minimal or Emerging Echoic Repertoire(University of Kansas, 2018-08-31) Harrison, Kelley Lynne AttixResearchers have utilized conditioning procedures to establish neutral stimuli as conditioned reinforcers for decades (e.g., Greer, Pistoljevic, Cahill, & Du, 2011; Lovaas et al., 1966; Dorow, 1980). More recently, researchers have used conditioning procedures as a strategy for facilitating language acquisition (e.g., Sundberg, Michael, Partington, & Sundberg, 1996). However, the effectiveness of these procedures is unclear. Therefore, Study 1 compared three different procedures suggested to condition speech sounds as automatic reinforcers: stimulus-stimulus pairing (Esch, Carr, & Grow, 2009; Sundberg, Michael, Partington, & Sundberg, 1996), response-stimulus pairing (Lepper and Petursdottir, 2017), and operant discrimination training (Lepper, Petursdottir, & Esch, 2013). Study 2 evaluated potential barriers to the efficacy of conditioning procedures (i.e., articulation, reinforcer efficacy, attending skills) with Study 1 participants for whom none of the conditioning procedures was effective. Multielement, multiple-baseline, and reversal designs were used to demonstrate experimental control. Seven children with and without developmental disabilities participated. Results of Study 1 were idiosyncratic. At least one conditioning procedure increased vocalizations for three participants. An echoic repertoire developed during the evaluation for one participant. None of the three conditioning procedures increased vocalizations for three participants. In Study 2, at least one potential barrier was identified for the three participants. Overall, results suggest that children’s vocal behavior may be differentially sensitive to the procedures evaluated. Further, articulation skills, reinforcer efficacy, and attending skills appear to be barriers that may decrease the effectiveness of these procedures for increasing vocalizations.Publication An Analysis of a Comprehensive and Collaborative Truancy Prevention and Diversion Program(University of Kansas, 2018-08-31) Dachman, Kelsey MegsonEducation is fundamental for the development of skills required for academic and social success. When students fail to attend school regularly, adverse consequences result at the individual, school, and societal level. Truancy, or not attending school as required by law, has been linked to academic failure, school dropout, substance use and abuse, delinquency, and problems that persist into adulthood (e.g., job problems, marital issues, adult criminality, incarceration). Past research demonstrates the need for a collaborative and comprehensive approach to combat truancy that includes monitoring attendance, mentoring, providing meaningful consequences, increasing parental and school involvement, and ongoing evaluation. The present study evaluates the effects of a truancy prevention and diversion program (TPDP) on the decrease in unexcused absences accumulated by students in violation of the compulsory education law. The TPDP is recognized as an appropriate alternative to formal court involvement and has been offered to truant students and parents for 40 years. The program is a collaborative effort with public schools, the district attorney’s office, a child protective services agency, a youth services agency, and a midwestern university. Undergraduate practicum students act as mentors for truant students by developing positive relationships, monitoring attendance, and providing incentives through a behavioral contract. The program includes a review team led by an assistant district attorney. The primary investigator analyzed group data (i.e., unexcused absences) collected over the past 10 years and a representative sample of individual participants' pre-and post-intervention data collected over the past 10 years using single-subject methodology. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the TPDP in reducing truancy across participants and years.Publication Delay of Gratification in Preschool Children Following Access to Print and Mobile Electronic Media(University of Kansas, 2018-05-31) Naudé, GideonMobile electronic media is ever-present in the lives of young children and an examination of the behavioral byproducts following the use of these modalities is timely. The present study assessed the extent to which mobile electronic and print media interact with operant demand and delay of gratification in preschool children. Participants were six boys (Mage = 3.82 years, SD = 0.24) recruited from a university-run preschool. In Phase 1, participants allocated responses to buttons providing access to either a print book at a fixed-price (FR-1) or an e-book containing identical stimuli available at increasing prices (FR5 – FR200) to examine substitution-like effects. In Phase 2, across 9 - 15 sessions, participants received access to either the print book, the e-book, or a fast-paced interactive tablet game, 3 -5 times each in a randomized sequence; each engagement was immediately followed by a delay of gratification task (i.e., the Marshmallow Test). In this task, participants could consume a single piece of preferred edible at any point or wait 5 – 10 min to receive two pieces. Delay of gratification was longest for all participants following access to print media. We discuss lower wait times following mobile electronic media conditions within the conceptual frameworks of escape from rich-to-lean transitions, reinforcer pathologies, and behavioral momentum.Publication EFFECTS OF SELF-MANAGEMENT USING FITBIT® TO INCREASE STEPS TAKEN BY ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES(University of Kansas, 2018-05-31) Leon-Barajas, MarrenAdults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often have health concerns (e.g., obesity). Research suggests that one way to remedy these health concerns is to increase physical activity. Self-management is the use of techniques to change one’s own behavior. Using a multiple baseline design across participants with an unplanned reversal and a changing criterion, the present study evaluated the effects of a self-management package that included wearing a Fitbit Flex®, goal-setting, feedback, and reinforcement to increase steps taken by adults with IDD. We recorded weight as a secondary dependent variable. For the first participant, goal-setting and feedback alone did not increase steps. After adding a tangible reinforcement component, steps increased for several consecutive weeks. For the second and third participants, goal-setting and feedback had modest effects on steps. Weight did not decrease with the number of steps taken. Findings suggest that for some, a Fitbit Flex® combined with self-management components may provide a modest increase in steps taken. For others, tangible reinforcement may be necessary. Additional procedures need to be developed to address weight loss. Future research should explore other determinants of health promotion for adults with IDD. The current study presents one component in improving overall health.Publication Examining Explanatory Inputs and Community System Change Intensity(University of Kansas, 2018-05-31) Darden, AlexandriaThis investigation into behavioral science of community health systems improvement is the result of a concern about the observed discrepancy between what is planned and what is actually accomplished in community. Differences in methods of development and implementation for population-level health improvement programs are affected by collaborative efforts to modify and improve systems. The variability in outcomes may be attributed to the unfolding development of structure of a community coalition or partnership and community system changes completed during project implementation efforts over time. Comparing community system change intensity to implementation efforts across sites can demonstrate effectiveness through replication and predicting the influence of interventions. Supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation’s Together on Diabetes Initiative, three community-based projects were selected for analyses. Development activities, services provided, and resources generated (i.e., the actions which prepare or enable a collaborative to address goals and objectives, the delivery of information, training, or other valued goods and activities, and the acquisition of funding or resources through grants, donations or gifts in-kind, respectively) served as independent variables. The community system changes – new or modified programs, policies or practices in the community, organization, or system – partnerships completed served as the dependent variable. A multiple case study was applied to show replications across various contexts. Linear regression analyses found significant associations between inputs and system changes for two sites. Projected impact of system changes was determined using established intensity scoring procedures. Data suggests linkages between inputs influenced implemented system changes and intensity values.Publication Development and Evaluation of an Evidence-Based Advocacy Training Package for People with Disabilities(University of Kansas, 2018-05-31) ZHANG, ESelf-advocacy skills are critical to people with disabilities because millions still face discrimination and barriers in their daily lives. Advocacy skills can help empower people with disabilities to speak up when they face discrimination. A critical literature review on self-advocacy skills training was conducted and showed that most of the studies were conducted with students with learning disabilities in the educational setting. This review emphasized the need for more research to study self-advocacy training with individuals with disabilities other than learning disabilities in community settings. The purpose of current study was to develop the Advocacy Training Package (ATP) for people with disabilities in the community and evaluate its effects with a mixed method research design. Study 1 was a focus group study. The results confirmed the importance of advocacy skills training and illustrated different advocacy methods and their application. The focus group data helped create the National Advocacy Survey, which was used in Study 2. Study 2 used the National Advocacy Survey to examine the preferred advocacy methods with different applications. Phone calls, emails, visits and letters were most often used advocacy methods by disability rights advocates. Results of Study 1 and 2 informed the development of the ATP, which was the intervention used in Study 3. Study 3 tested ATP’s effects on improving self-advocacy skills in the form of letter and email writing, and phone calls for people with disabilities using a single subject research design. Self-advocacy skills were improved across participants.Publication An Evaluation of Procedures that Affect Response Variability(University of Kansas, 2014-08-31) Dracobly, Joseph D.Response variability has traditionally been studied as both a by-product of schedules of reinforcement and as a dimension of operant behavior. More recently, researchers have focused on inducement (via extinction), direct reinforcement (via percentile and lag schedules), and stimulus control of response variability. The purposes of the current study were to (a) determine general levels of response variability across a large number of children, (b) replicate and extend previous research on effects of various procedures on the production and maintenance of both variable and novel responses, and (c) determine if stimuli correlated with response variability and response repetition contingencies could immediately affect response variability. In Study 1, there was a nearly bi-modal distribution of participants who emitted low and high variability. In Study 2, for the majority of children, variability increased when exposed to extinction but both fixed-lag 4 and variable-lag 4 schedules produced the highest levels of variability and novelty. Finally, in Study 3, stimuli correlated with each contingency were effectively used to evoke relatively rapid alternation between repetition and variation. Implications and considerations for future researchers are discussed.