Month: April 2024

Community Priorities for Outcomes Targeted During Professional Supports for Autistic Children and their Families

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Abstract

Purpose

Professional supports play an important role in aiding autistic children’s learning, participation, and overall wellbeing. Yet, limited research exists on stakeholders’ perspectives and preferences regarding targeted outcomes for children undergoing support facilitated by professionals. This study investigated stakeholder views on the priority and appropriateness of outcomes intentionally targeted during the provision of supports to autistic children.

Method

A survey of 181 participants (including 72 autistic adults, 85 parents, and 69 professionals) from Australia and New Zealand was conducted. Participants rated the appropriateness and priority of 47 potential child and parent outcomes within the context of support.

Results

The highest priority outcome was improving child mental wellbeing, with the lowest being reducing sensory seeking or avoidant behaviours. Priority ratings for certain outcomes differed based on the child’s age. Over half of the participants rated reducing sensory seeking/avoidant behaviours and reducing focused interests as inappropriate outcomes of supports. Further, variations in the appropriateness of outcomes differed among participant groups.

Conclusion

Reflecting the growing acceptance of neurodiversity-affirming practices, these results underscore support for targeting outcomes that are meaningful to the autistic and autism communities, with less emphasis on those which reflect neurotypical behavioural standards.

The contributions of transcription skills to paper-based and computer-based text composing in the early years

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Abstract

Digital tools are an integral part of most writing communities across the globe, enhancing the criticality of gaining a comprehensive understanding of both paper and computer-based writing acquisition and development. The relationships between transcription skills and children’s paper-based writing performance are well documented. Less is known about the relationships between transcription skills and children’s computer-based writing performance. In this study, we examined the unique contributions of transcription skills (i.e., handwriting automaticity, keyboarding automaticity and spelling) in predicting Grade 2 students (N = 544) paper-based and computer-based writing performance (i.e., compositional quality and productivity) after controlling for other student-level factors (i.e., gender, word reading, reading comprehension, and attitudes towards writing) and classroom-level factors (i.e., amount of time teaching handwriting, keyboarding, and spelling). Multilevel modelling showed that, compared to handwriting automaticity, spelling skills accounted for a larger percentage of unique variance in predicting paper-based compositional quality; handwriting automaticity accounted for a larger percentage of unique variance in explaining paper-based compositional productivity. Findings further showed that keyboarding automaticity accounted for a larger percentage of unique variance in students’ computer-based compositional quality and productivity when compared to spelling. Gender and word reading skills were also found to be uniquely related to students’ writing performance across modalities. These findings underscore the need for educators to address and nurture the automaticity of inscription and spelling skills to enhance students' compositional quality and productivity, whether in traditional paperbased or computer-based text composing.

A transformative shift in urban ecology toward a more active and relevant future for the field and for cities

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Abstract

This paper builds on the expansion of urban ecology from a biologically based discipline—ecology in the city—to an increasingly interdisciplinary field—ecology of the city—to a transdisciplinary, knowledge to action endeavor—an ecology for and with the city. We build on this “prepositional journey” by proposing a transformative shift in urban ecology, and we present a framework for how the field may continue this shift. We conceptualize that urban ecology is in a state of flux, and that this shift is needed to transform urban ecology into a more engaged and action based field, and one that includes a diversity of actors willing to participate in the future of their cities. In this transformative shift, these actors will engage, collaborate, and participate in a continuous spiral of knowledge → action → knowledge spiral and back to knowledge loop, with the goal of co producing sustainable and resilient solutions to myriad urban challenges. Our framework for this transformative shift includes three pathways: (1) a repeating knowledge → action → knowledge spiral of ideas, information, and solutions produced by a diverse community of agents of urban change working together in an “urban sandbox”; (2) incorporation of a social–ecological–technological systems framework in this spiral and expanding the spiral temporally to include the “deep future,” where future scenarios are based on a visioning of seemingly unimaginable or plausible future states of cities that are sustainable and resilient; and (3) the expansion of the spiral in space, to include rural areas and places that are not yet cities. The three interrelated pathways that define the transformative shift demonstrate the power of an urban ecology that has moved beyond urban systems science and into a realm where collaborations among diverse knowledges and voices are working together to understand cities and what is urban while producing sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges and envisioning futures of socially, ecologically, and technologically resilient cities. We present case study examples of each of the three pathways that make up this transformative shift in urban ecology and discuss both limitations and opportunities for future research and action with this transdisciplinary broadening of the field.

Lawful, but not Really: The Dual Character of the Concept of Law

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Abstract

Disagreement on law’s relationship to morality has long been driven by disagreement about our ordinary concept. Until recently, however, there had been no systematic investigation of lay intuitions. In this paper, we advance this nascent effort. Across two studies (N = 697), our findings reveal that most people consider law to be more than a matter of political circumstance alone. Contrary to the expectations of most contemporary philosophers, morality (both substantive and procedural) emerges as a key influence on judgments of legal validity: many people say that conduct prohibited by immoral statutes is not truly illegal, and that immoral conduct which was never explicitly prohibited is truly illegal. This suggests that people often treat law as a dual character concept that, like the concepts of scientist or of artist, features autonomous concrete and abstract dimensions.

Internet-delivered therapy for alcohol misuse: engagement, satisfaction, and outcomes when patients select their preference for therapist- or self-guided treatment

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Abstract

Background

Alcohol misuse is common and causes substantial harm. Internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) is effective in reducing alcohol misuse; however, the literature investigating how treatment outcomes are impacted by patients’ preferences for therapist- versus self-guided ICBT for alcohol misuse is sparse.

Methods

In this preference trial, 74 eligible patients (who reported ≥ 14 drinks in the previous week and obtained scores suggesting hazardous or harmful drinking) chose between enrolling in either therapist- or self-guided ICBT for alcohol misuse. We investigated whether those who chose therapist- versus self-guided ICBT differed in their (a) drinking outcomes—as measured by Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB) and heavy drinking days (HDD) at post-treatment and 3-month follow-up—and (b) post-treatment ICBT engagement and satisfaction.

Results

The majority (81.1%) of eligible patients chose therapist-guided ICBT. These patients reported higher psychotropic medication use, drinking difficulties, and anxiety symptoms. For both the therapist- and self-guided patients, a modified intention-to-treat analysis revealed large within-group treatment effects for TLFB (β =  − 2.64, SE 0.66; p < 0.001) and HDD (β =  − 0.34, SE 0.07; p < 0.001), with large pre-to-post-treatment Cohen’s effect sizes of d = 0.97 (95% CI [0.49, 1.45]) for TLFB and d = 1.19 (95% CI [0.69, 1.68]) for HDD. The interaction comparing the effects of therapist- to self-guided ICBT over time was not significant for TLFB (p = 0.34) or HDD (p = 0.06). With treatment, for both therapist- and self-guided patients, there was a significant improvement in drinking difficulties, cravings, and confidence with controlling cravings, as well as in anxiety, depression, and functional impairment. Further, the majority (75.7%) of patients completed five or more lessons, as well as reported overall satisfaction with the treatment (88.9%) and increased confidence in managing their symptoms (86.7%); these outcomes also did not differ between therapist- and self-guided patients.

Conclusions

The current study shows that ICBT for alcohol misuse is associated with reduced drinking and comorbid mental health difficulties over time, irrespective of whether patients chose to complete the course on their own or with therapist guidance.

Trial registration number: NCT04611854 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04611854).

Multifaceted online coordinated behavior in the 2020 US presidential election

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Abstract

Organized attempts to manipulate public opinion during election run-ups have dominated online debates in the last few years. Such attempts require numerous accounts to act in coordination to exert influence. Yet, the ways in which coordinated behavior surfaces during major online political debates is still largely unclear. This study sheds light on coordinated behaviors that took place on Twitter (now X) during the 2020 US Presidential Election. Utilizing state-of-the-art network science methods, we detect and characterize the coordinated communities that participated in the debate. Our approach goes beyond previous analyses by proposing a multifaceted characterization of the coordinated communities that allows obtaining nuanced results. In particular, we uncover three main categories of coordinated users: (i) moderate groups genuinely interested in the electoral debate, (ii) conspiratorial groups that spread false information and divisive narratives, and (iii) foreign influence networks that either sought to tamper with the debate or that exploited it to publicize their own agendas. We also reveal a large use of automation by far-right foreign influence and conspiratorial communities. Conversely, left-leaning supporters were overall less coordinated and engaged primarily in harmless, factual communication. Our results also showed that Twitter was effective at thwarting the activity of some coordinated groups, while it failed on some other equally suspicious ones. Overall, this study advances the understanding of online human interactions and contributes new knowledge to mitigate cyber social threats.

Spatiotemporal variability of future water sustainability using reliability resilience vulnerability framework

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Abstract

Drought projection is used to evaluate the risk of drought in future. Drought projection has been performed using the bias corrected General Circulation Models. However, it is necessary to have a reliable future projection, but the future is uncertain, and the bias correction method can affect the projection. This study evaluated the past and future drought projection over Pakistan and showed spatial distribution of frequency, duration, and severity over a region by using parametric and non-parametric transformation methods for bias correction. Drought was quantified using Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). Reliability-Resilience-Vulnerability (RRV) approach was used to analyze the drought for the historical (1981–2014), near future (2026–2059, NF) and far future (2066–2099, FF) periods. RRV value represents which region has the most sustainable water resources system. In NF of SSP2-4.5, the severity increases abruptly but duration of drought decreases while both severity and duration decrease in FF. Drought severity for SSP2-4.5 is higher than SSP5-8.5 in NF while the opposite was revealed in FF. The drought frequency didn’t undergo much of changes except for Balochistan which has a frequent drought in NF and FF for both SSP scenarios. NF of SSP2-4.5 showed reduction in RRV values implementing the increase in water availability while the opposite was revealed in FF. RRV values for SSP5-8.5 indicate that droughts become more severe in FF. The parametric transformation method showed more severe droughts for future than the non-parametric transformation. The finding of this study could help water resources managers and farmers to plan and adapt to changes in climate.

Spatiotemporal variability of future water sustainability using reliability resilience vulnerability framework

Latest Results

Abstract

Drought projection is used to evaluate the risk of drought in future. Drought projection has been performed using the bias corrected General Circulation Models. However, it is necessary to have a reliable future projection, but the future is uncertain, and the bias correction method can affect the projection. This study evaluated the past and future drought projection over Pakistan and showed spatial distribution of frequency, duration, and severity over a region by using parametric and non-parametric transformation methods for bias correction. Drought was quantified using Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). Reliability-Resilience-Vulnerability (RRV) approach was used to analyze the drought for the historical (1981–2014), near future (2026–2059, NF) and far future (2066–2099, FF) periods. RRV value represents which region has the most sustainable water resources system. In NF of SSP2-4.5, the severity increases abruptly but duration of drought decreases while both severity and duration decrease in FF. Drought severity for SSP2-4.5 is higher than SSP5-8.5 in NF while the opposite was revealed in FF. The drought frequency didn’t undergo much of changes except for Balochistan which has a frequent drought in NF and FF for both SSP scenarios. NF of SSP2-4.5 showed reduction in RRV values implementing the increase in water availability while the opposite was revealed in FF. RRV values for SSP5-8.5 indicate that droughts become more severe in FF. The parametric transformation method showed more severe droughts for future than the non-parametric transformation. The finding of this study could help water resources managers and farmers to plan and adapt to changes in climate.

Ethnoracial Disparities in Self-Rated Health: Exploring the Impact of Skin Color and Other Ethnoracial Characteristics in Mexico

Latest Results

Abstract

Objectives

This manuscript aims to understand the association between self-rated health and ethnic-racial characteristics (i.e., skin color, self-ascription, and Indigenous language) in the context of the Mexican population.

Design

Logistic regression analyses, using the 2019 PRODER (N = 7187)—a representative survey at the national level. We centered the analysis on two measures of skin color: the interviewer assessment of color skin (that has been used in previous studies), and the ITA scale, a measure constructed from optical digital colorimeter readings (a novel method in ethnoraciality studies in Mexico, included in the PRODER survey).

Results

In comparison to the interviewer’s assessment of skin color, the ITA score shows a significant association with self-rated health, even in the presence of individual conditions, sociodemographic traits, and life-course events. In contrast, ethnic-racial self-ascriptions and speaking of an Indigenous language do not show any statistical associations.

Conclusion

Contrary to previous research, our results suggest a positive association between skin color and self-rated health, when the former is assessed with the colorimeter readings; it means that those with lighter color skin are more prone to report a better health perception. It has methodological implications in the way skin color is observed.