Jean Kirnan

When Success Breeds Failure: History, Hysteresis, and Delayed Exit Decisions

The effects of feedback equivocality, information availability, and prior decision-making history on escalation and persistence were investigated. Replicating the findings of J.L. Bragger, D.H. Bragger, D.A. Hantula, and J.P. Kirnan (1998), this study found that participants receiving equivocal feedback on their decisions invested more money and invested across more opportunities; those who could purchase information invested fewer resources than did participants who did not have the opportunity to purchase information. There was an inverse linear relationship between the percentage of opportunities in which participants purchased information and the delay to exit decisions and total resources invested. Six weeks earlier, some participants took part in a more profitable investment scenario, and prior experience led to later increased investing when participants were faced with failure, even above that invested in a preceding, succeeding scenario. These results are consistent with an equivocality theory account of escalation.

Reliability and Validity Estimates of the Parker Team Player Survey

The Parker Team Player Survey (PTPS) is designed as a self-report assessment of team player style as described in Parkers theory. In an attempt to estimate the psychometric properties of this instrument, both organizational and academic subject pools were used to demonstrate reliability and validity. The PTPS demonstrated acceptable test-retest reliability for all four team styles of Communicator, Collaborator, Challenger, and Contributer. The measures of internal consistency were low for the Challenger and Collaborator styles given the small number of items and the tendency for individuals to report more than one style. No significant differences were found in the reliability coefficients calculated for the business or student samples. Validity was measured through a comparison of self and peer ratings on the PTPS gathered at a variety of organizations. Whereas the correlations were all statistically significant, the correlation for the Collaborator score was low. Additionally, a panel of trained student judges participated in a sorting task in which they sorted the survey stimulus items into one of the four team style categories. This attempt at construct validity showed good agreement for all four styles, with the Collaborator again being the weakest.

Developing Literacy Skills in Children Through Interaction with Dogs

This chapter chronicles the history of dog-assisted literacy programs beginning with the work of Sandi Martin in 1999. The growth of these programs is documented not only as an increase in number of participants and variety of settings, but also by the proliferation of research reports recognizing their benefits. Most critically, the chapter details the outcomes of dog-assisted literacy programs by reviewing the wide range of documented benefits, such as improvement in reading skills (e.g., reading level, oral fluency), attitudes (e.g., confidence, self-esteem, interest, motivation), and behaviors (e.g., focus, cooperation, calm, socialization). We also focus attention on the methodological and measurement challenges in evaluating on-going educational programs. The progression of the research on dog-assisted literacy programs is detailed beginning with anecdotal and single group post-test designs, to more recent studies utilizing control groups and pre/post-test methodologies. Whether reported as case studies, qualitative interviews, or quantitative reading scores, the research findings concur that dog-assisted literacy programs are effective in developing children’s reading.

A dog-assisted reading programme’s unanticipated impact in a special education classroom

ABSTRACT Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) have been shown to positively affect students’ academic abilities as well as their overall behaviour and social skills. In typically developing students, dog-assisted reading programmes have improved reading skills and attitudes towards reading in addition to general behaviour. AAI programmes for special education needs (SEN) students have demonstrated increases in positive behaviours (socialisation with peers, staying on-task) and decreases in negative behaviours (anxiety, aggression). This research investigates the intersection of a dog-assisted reading programme and SEN students. Prior interviews conducted with teachers at an elementary school that implemented a school-wide dog-assisted reading programme suggested that behavioural improvements were most notable in SEN students. The current study examined the effect of the dog-assisted reading programme on four students in an inclusive special education class. Behavioural data recorded daily by the classroom teacher was analysed to compare behaviour on days the dog was present relative to days the dog was absent. Single case analysis revealed significant behavioural improvement for one of the four students. Interviews with educational professionals provided qualitative support for all students in the programme and recommendations for future interventions and research with SEN students including improvements in programme structure, outcome identification, and measurement.