Further evaluation of treatment integrity for response interruption and redirection

Vocal stereotypy, or repetitive, noncontextual vocalizations, is a problematic form of behavior exhibited by many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Recent research has evaluated the efficacy of response interruption and redirection (RIRD) in the reduction of vocal stereotypy. Research has indicated that RIRD often results in reductions in the level of vocal stereotypy; however, many previous studies have only presented data on vocal stereotypy that occurred outside RIRD implementation. The current study replicated the procedures of previous studies that have evaluated the efficacy of RIRD and compared 2 data-presentation methods: inclusion of only data collected outside RIRD implementation and inclusion of all vocal stereotypy data from the entirety of each session. Subjects were 7 children who had been diagnosed with ASD. Results indicated that RIRD appeared to be effective when we evaluated the level of vocal stereotypy outside RIRD implementation, but either no reductions or more modest reductions in the level of vocal stereotypy during the entirety of sessions were obtained for all subjects. Results suggest that data-analysis methods used in previous research may overestimate the efficacy of RIRD.

Stereotypy has been classified as repetitive behavior that does not serve any apparent function. Two procedures that have been found to reduce rates of vocal stereotypy effectively are response interruption and redirection (RIRD) and noncontingent access to matched stimulation (MS). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of RIRD alone, MS alone, and MS combined with RIRD. One participant's results suggested similar suppressive effects on vocal stereotypy across treatment conditions. For the second participant, a slightly greater suppression of stereotypy was associated with MS + RIRD. In addition, both participants emitted a greater frequency of appropriate vocalizations in conditions with RIRD. Data suggest that the addition of MS might facilitate the implementation of RIRD in applied settings.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of response interruption and redirection (RIRD) for reducing vocal stereotypy in children with autism. However, the procedure can be time-consuming to implement. Results of Saini, Gregory, Uran, and Fantetti (2015) suggested that an abbreviated variation of RIRD was just as effective as the commonly used variation of RIRD, but further research is needed. In addition, no studies have evaluated the role of toy removal on the efficacy of RIRD even though this procedural component is frequently combined with RIRD. We examined the separate and combined effects of RIRD and contingent toy removal when three children with autism were required to respond to one demand versus three demands. One-demand RIRD was effective for all participants, and the contingent removal of toys alone reduced responding for two of three participants. Findings have important implications for treating vocal stereotypy in relevant settings.

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to investigate the use of response interruption and redirection (RIRD) to reduce vocal stereotypy in a student with Autism Spectrum Disorder in a special education classroom during group instruction. This study extends the literature on the use of RIRD, examining effectiveness with an adolescent with intellectual disability and limited functional language in a naturalistic setting. Results indicated that RIRD was effective in decreasing vocal stereotypy in this student.

Research on the interactions between risk, integration, and performance in supply chains (SCs) is increasingly attracting attention of researchers in recent years. Although risk usually has negative effects on performance, limited evidence has been provided to show whether companies differently exposed to operational risk (i.e., high, moderate, or low exposure) also have different levels of integration and operational performance. Therefore, this study aims to identify and characterize different profiles of operational risk (i.e., supply, manufacturing, and demand risks) between manufacturing companies along with considering contextual factors such as company size and industry type. Data are collected from the fourth round of the High Performance Manufacturing Project and subsequently analyzed by cluster analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Three different clusters have been identified: Two clusters are moderately and highly impacted by operational risk, respectively, while the other cluster is almost not impacted by manufacturing risk but highly impacted by supply risk and demand risk. The results also indicate that companies with different profiles of operational risk have different levels of integration and operational performance. An important contribution of the current study is the development of a hypothesized framework of interactions between operational risk, integration, and operational performance to provide opportunities for further research.

In this work we, first, investigate multilayer network planning approaches with different levels of integration by extending a commercial planning tool that accurately models the IP network. The different levels of integration are defined with respect to the degree to which information from the optical layer is considered in the optimization of the IP layer. The impact of traffic demand and topology size is evaluated in terms of the obtained cost savings. Case study results indicate cost savings reaching 25% by holistic multilayer network planning. We then proceed to evaluate the impact of the IP layer routing policy, expressed by the IP link weights, on the cost and latency of a holistic multilayer network design. As many network operators prefer to assign IP link weights based on simple rules that are unaffected by the network conditions, we focus on two weight setting policies that are agnostic to the network conditions: the hop-based policy and the distance-based policy. We find that different IP layer policies may lead to different optimized IP topologies for the same traffic and optical layer topology. It is shown that the optical network's regeneration requirements affect the optimal policy.

This study aimed to assess the effects of Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD) and Self-Monitoring strategy on delayed echolalia in a middle school student with intellectual disabilities. One student with intellectual disabilities participated in the study. The target behavior was delayed echolalia that lasted for five s or longer at drawing activities during lunchtime. Regarding the first intervention, RIRD, the teacher interrupted the delayed echolalia with questions and then gave appropriate instructions. Considering the second intervention, the Self-Monitoring strategy, the student used a decibel (dB) measuring mobile application (APP) on a table to record the behavior for Self-Monitoring. The experiment used an alternating treatments design to compare between the effects of the two interventions on delayed echolalia. Observations were conducted by recording drawing activities during lunchtime. Thereafter, the video was reviewed. The percentage of occurrence of delayed echolalia was measured using the 20-s partial-interval recording. Visual analysis was performed based on the collected data. Additionally, effect sizes were calculated using Tau-U and improvement rate difference. The results of visual analysis showed that the Self-Monitoring strategy was more effective compared with RIRD. However, both interventions showed a high effect size. Based on the experimental procedures and results of this study, If RIRD and Self-Monitoring strategy are implemented in educational settings, delayed echolalia in students with intellectual disabilities could be more effectively managed.

Organisational integration is being heralded as a critical “dynamic capability” and is seen as an important strategic issue for firms in the future. This study seeks to explore this issue in the specific context of e‐commerce and information system integration, by considering the model proposed by Poon and Swatman, in the case of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK. Poon and Swatman propose that the model of business transformation enabled by traditional IT turns “inside out” when applied to the e‐commerce domain. Their model suggests a hierarchy of levels of e‐commerce integration. At the lowest level firms develop inter‐organisational systems. At the next level they undertake limited integration with existing internal systems, and only at the highest level do they achieve full internal integration. The study, which was carried out by a mailed questionnaire, found that the proposed model is indeed valid. Three distinct groups of firms are identified that correspond to the hierarchical levels proposed in the model. The benefits realised by the firms were found to increase with increasing integration, but the level of process change required was found to be independent of the level of integration. Contextual variables, such as industry sector and organisational size, are explored for firms at the three different levels of integration. Developments of the Poon and Swatman model are suggested.

Promoting better economics, renewables and CO2 reduction through trade: A case study for the Eastern Africa Power Pool

Integration of research and development (R&D) with marketing remains a frequent topic in the new product development (NPD) literature, largely because it represents a critical antecedent of new product performance (NPP). Two divergent opinions about this integration exist, such that those who contend that firms should pursue high levels of integration in every case provoke criticisms from those who propose that various NPD processes require different levels of integration. This paper proposes that the two perspectives can be reconciled by taking into account the fact that R&D and marketing are integrated mainly to combine critical knowledge (technological and market) that otherwise would be separate to achieve market success. Following Danneels's approach, we investigate how the effect of R&D–marketing integration on performance change across four types of NPD processes: pure exploitation, pure exploration, technological competence exploitation, and market competence exploitation.Data derived from a deep study of 11 NPD projects by five firms, analyzed through qualitative methods, highlight the necessity to vary the level of integration according to the type of competence to be developed during the NPD process. Our analysis suggests two main conclusions. First, the effect of integration depends strictly on the type of competence that the firm uses to develop and launch a new product. Second, integration does not have a unique effect on performance, but it is necessary to distinguish between market performance (e.g., sales and market share) and process performance (e.g., meeting the planned budget and time to market). In some projects, the effect of integration on the two types of performance is diametrically opposite. In particular, we propose that (1) higher performance will be associated with lower integration in pure exploitative projects; (2) in projects that exploit existing market knowledge, higher market performance will be associated with a higher integration, although these projects tend to offer poor process performance regardless of integration level; (3) in projects that exploit technical knowledge, higher performance will be associated with higher integration; and (4) higher integration will be associated with higher market performance but poorer process performance in pure explorative projects.

The Northwest of England has seen health inequality and poor health outcome be a persistent feature for the population. The area has gained economic advancement in recent decades, but these have not been equally shared, and many population groups suffer disproportionately (1). Rochdale is a multi-ethnic locality within Greater Manchester. Around a quarter of local people have at least one or more long-term conditions and a third of residents live within 10% of the most deprived neighbourhoods nationally(2). The Health and Care Act (2022) aims to transform the commissioning and delivery of health and social care across the UK with a far stronger emphasis on integration and neighbourhood working as well as statutory responsibilities for the newly formed Integrated Care systems (3). For Rochdale, as part of Greater Manchester, this journey started pre-2016 with devolution and the movement of the 6-billion-pound budget to the Greater Manchester Devolved Authority. Devolution provided the opportunity to implement an ambitious plan to transform the health and well-being across communities through a focus on system-wide integration, harnessing community assets, and transforming the relationship between the system, and communities. The Rochdale system took a radial approach to locality development, this started with thinking differently about the formation of the locality board that strategically plans for the location. The Rochdale approach that started with the concept of “in and out of scope” was not progressive or relevant when attempting to work with wider partners and the community. Equally, the changes in statutory responsibility potentially lead to greater complications in finances, accountability, and decision-making, these could all act as barriers to the integration of the service and the development of new models of care. Rochdale’s starting point was that “everything is in scope” and focused on a continuum for integration. Which enabled system partners to move to different levels of integration in a flexible way depending on the needs of the communities (from common interests to full integration with shared workforce and infrastructure). In this approach, the system is working towards ensuring clear accountability and responsibility for all parts of the continuum – for example, understanding quality, performance, and financial accountability at each level, while enabling a broad spectrum of engagement. The adoption of the continuum aims to be inclusive of a wider spectrum of partners magnifying the voice of held-back communities at a strategic planning level and enabling organisations to have clear expectations in driving forward sustainable change and integration. The learning for an international audience from the past 6 years of systems working and the development of the continuum approach is that this approach has the potential to cut through some of the barriers to integration, especially for organisations that may not form part of the central integration agenda enabling more innovative solutions to tackling inequalities. Greater Manchester Combined Authority [GMCA] (2015) Taking Charge of Our Health and Social Care in Greater Manchester, Retrieved from: http://greatermanchester- a.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/125/taking_charge_of_our_health_and_social_car e_in_greater_manchester.pdf Rochdale Borough council (2020) Rochdale Borough Locality Plan. https://www.rochdale.gov.uk/downloads/download/462/rochdale-borough-locality-plan Health and Care Act (2022)

Profiles of Multi-cultural Identity Integration in a Conflictual Context

Voice communication is a critical service within Mission Control Rooms, as voice communication is the most practical and precise way to transmit information between human beings. It is used in any control room environment for space mission support to enable collaboration within the room and to external connected entities. Today’s systems are highly specialized turnkey-based vendor solutions, which are inflexible in terms of adaptability and extension capabilities. These systems are based on vendor related proprietary protocols and are built on top of voice distribution technologies. In this paper we describe the core of a Voice Communication System (VoCS), which directly integrates the special requirements needed for Mission Control Room environments. Our solution will enable an overall system design with component-based implementations and interoperability between different vendors for different parts of the system. In addition our definition of the VoCS core will allow different levels of integration into existing infrastructures, as well as client implementations in the range from fully dedicated hardware-based infrastructures up to the provision of VoCS functionality within Web-based implementations. We will describe the idea using a prototype implementation based on FreeSWITCH, an Open Source media backend with a carrier grade cross-platform multi-protocol soft-switch, and the most differentiating client solution to common VoCS clients, a full virtual Web-based client.

Norbert Elias is often considered one of the last classical sociologists, yet his work prefigured many of the preoccupations and concerns of contemporary sociology. This overview explores Elias both as a classical and as a contemporary sociologist by sketching out his biography and looking at its interplay with his distinctive intellectual development. It outlines the key principles of Elias's approach, which are radically relational, processual, and synthetic in a manner that retains some of the integrating ambitions of classical sociology. Elias's sociological practice is outlined as seeking to avoid dualism, to integrate the empirical and rational components of social inquiry, and above all to engage with social life dynamically through involving an interplay between different levels of integration. Through everyday examples, the entry provides an exposition of key Eliasian concepts, notably sociogenesis and psychogenesis, Homo clausus and Homines aperti , figuration, power, and interdependence. Finally, it concludes by exploring extensions of Elias's work, enduring challenges to his approach, and key applications of his work by subsequent “figurational” scholars.

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">In the quest for reduced cost and shorter development times for fuel cell systems in industrial applications, two major issues arise. First, the electrochemical behavior of fuel cell systems is inherently difficult to predict. Second, testing fuel cell systems is resource intensive. These issues compound: Setting up an accurate model of a fuel cell system incurs long testing periods for model validation. Further, it does not guarantee acceptable results outside the tested range or for other membrane electrode assembly compositions.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">To mitigate these two major issues an X in the Loop concept is proposed. Essentially, this is the direct integration of the test sample, here a single fuel cell, into the modelling environment of the whole system. In practice, two strategies with different levels of integration are defined.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The first strategy consists of initially deducing the operating parameters of the sample cell from the fuel cell system model. Then, setting them to the sample cell in the test bench. The response of the test sample is finally used to validate the designed system or update the parameters of the fuel cell model.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The second strategy is a step further towards the integration of the test sample into the model. Here, the core model of the fuel cell inside the fuel cell system model is completely replaced with the test sample, reducing the need for an accurate electrochemical model while improving the prediction of the behavior of the fuel cell system.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Compared to previously proposed testing concepts, here the balance of plants is directly integrated through a digital emulator, leading to a closer representation of the complete system. Furthermore, the test bench results are looped back to the model at run-time leading to a closer match between testing conditions and the real world as well a reduced impact of inaccuracies in the modelling of the fuel cell.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">On the way to realizing this goal, an experimental test bench capable of showcasing working prototypes of the proposed operating strategies has been built.</div></div>