Larry R. Price

Professional Development that Supports the Teaching of Cognitive Reading Strategy Instruction.

In this article, we describe and report on the results of a study in Texas that tested 2 models of professional development for classroom teachers as a way of improving their practices and increasing the reading achievement of their students. To meet this goal, 44 participating teachers in grades 2–8 learned to teach their students cognitive reading strategies through 1 of 2 models of professional development. One group attended a traditional 2-day summer in-service; the second attended the workshop and received classroom-based support from a reading coach. Using a random-effects, multilevel, pretest-posttest comparison group design and a multilevel modeling analytic strategy, we determined the effects of these 2 models. The full intervention group (teachers who were coached) outperformed the partial intervention group (workshop only) in all the teacher observation and student achievement measures. This study demonstrates the potential of coaching as a viable model of the professional development of reading teachers.

Biometric authentication via oculomotor plant characteristics

A novel biometrics approach that performs authentication via the internal non-visible anatomical structure of an individual human eye is proposed and evaluated. To provide authentication, the proposed method estimates the anatomical characteristics of the oculomotor plant (comprising the eye globe, its muscles and the brains control signals). The estimation of the oculomotor plant characteristics (OPC) is achieved by analyzing the recorded eye movement trajectories via a 2D linear homeomorphic mathematical representation of the oculomotor plant. The derived OPC allow authentication via various statistical methods and information fusion techniques. The proposed authentication method yielded Half Total Error Rate of 19% for a pool of 59 recorded subjects in the best case. The OPC biometric authentication has high counterfeit resistance potential, because it includes both behavioral and physiological human attributes that are hard to reproduce.

Modeling motor connectivity using TMS/PET and structural equation modeling

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to positron emission tomographic (PET) images acquired during transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the primary motor cortex (M1(hand)). TMS was applied across a range of intensities, and responses both at the stimulation site and remotely connected brain regions covaried with stimulus intensity. Regions of interest (ROIs) were identified through an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of TMS studies. That these ROIs represented the network engaged by motor planning and execution was confirmed by an ALE meta-analysis of finger movement studies. Rather than postulate connections in the form of an a priori model (confirmatory approach), effective connectivity models were developed using a model-generating strategy based on improving tentatively specified models. This strategy exploited the experimentally imposed causal relations: (1) that response variations were caused by stimulation variations, (2) that stimulation was unidirectionally applied to the M1(hand) region, and (3) that remote effects must be caused, either directly or indirectly, by the M1(hand) excitation. The path model thus derived exhibited an exceptional level of goodness (chi(2)=22.150, df=38, P=0.981, TLI=1.0). The regions and connections derived were in good agreement with the known anatomy of the human and primate motor system. The model-generating SEM strategy thus proved highly effective and successfully identified a complex set of causal relationships of motor connectivity.

What does the WMS–III tell us about memory changes with normal aging?

The standardization sample from the WMS-III (N = 1250), which varied in age from 16 to 89, was used to determine whether encoding, retrieval, or storage of verbal and spatial information was most affected by normal aging. Immediate and delayed recall and recognition of Logical Memory and Visual Reproduction were examined. Immediate verbal and spatial recall significantly deteriorated with increasing age, and the age-associated deterioration in delayed recall and recognition was largely explained by poorer immediate memory. These findings, in concert with the smaller aging effects for percent retention after a delay, suggest that the aging effect is due to deterioration in encoding more than retrieval or storage of new information. While Visual Reproduction deteriorated more rapidly with age than Logical Memory, the pattern of performance decrements as a function of age were comparable across both tests. Decreases in performance were first seen in the fifth decade with gradual deterioration until the eighth decade when there was another precipitous drop. These results suggest that functions that are more dependent on the frontal lobes are more vulnerable to aging than those that are more dependent on the temporal lobes.

Redefining the factor structure of the Wechsler Memory scale-III: Confirmatory factor analysis with cross-validation

The purpose of this study was to revisit the underlying factor structure of the Wechsler Memory Scale-III. The WMS-III Technical Manual (Wechsler, 1997) presented findings from confirmatory factor analyses that support a three- and five-factor solution with separate immediate and delayed memory factors. A rigorous structural equation modeling approach was used to examine the factor structure of the test. The results verify that a three-factor model composed of verbal (immediate and delayed), visual (immediate and delayed), and working memory factors accurately represents the factor structure of the WMS-III. Results were crossvalidated on an independent sample.

THE PERSISTENCE OF COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM THEIR FRESHMAN TO SOPHOMORE YEAR

This research examined the predictive accuracy of selected variables (high school letter grade average, first-year college grade point average (GPA), residence location, cumulative hours taken, mothers education level, fathers education level, and gender) on the persistence of college freshmen to their sophomore year. A model consisting of 1,014 students was first developed and then the sample was divided into three other models, White students, Hispanic students, and African-American students. Logistic regression analyses (N = 1,014) revealed that the effect of cumulative hours was statistically significant (p < .05) for the overall model, and for the White and Hispanic student models. No variables were statistically significant in the African-American students model. Additionally, no variables were found to be practically significant in any of the four models.

Standardized Conditional "SEM": A Case for Conditional Reliability.

An examinee-level (or conditional) reliability is proposed for use in both classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT). The well-known group-level reliability is shown to be the average of conditional reliabilities of examinees in a group or a population. This relationship is similar to the known relationship between the square of the conditional standard error of measurement (SEM) and the square of the group-level SEM. The proposed conditional reliability is illustrated with an empirical data set in the CTT and IRT frameworks.

Efficacy of cranial electrotherapy stimulation for neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury: a multi-site randomized controlled trial with a secondary 6-month open-label phase

Abstract Background Chronic pain is a significant problem for many individuals following spinal cord injury (SCI). Unfortunately, SCI-related neuropathic pain has proven to be largely refractory to analgesic medications and other available treatments. Cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) has been effective in managing some types of pain. It involves the application of a small amount of current through the head via ear clip electrodes. Objective Explore the effectiveness of CES for neuropathic pain in persons with SCI and chronic pain. Study design Multi-site, double-blind, sham-controlled study. Participants Adults with SCI and chronic neuropathic pain at or below the level of injury were randomized to receive active or sham CES. Intervention Application of active CES or sham CES 1 hour daily for 21 days. Six-month open-label phase to assess ‘as-needed’ CES use. Outcome measures Change in pre- to post-session pain ratings as well as change in pain intensity, pain interference, pain quality, pain beliefs and coping strategies, general physical and mental health status, depressive symptomatology, perceived stress, and anxiety pre- to post-treatment. Results The active group reported a significantly greater average decrease in pain during daily treatments than the sham group (Kruskal–Wallis chi-square = 4.70, P < 0.05). During the 21-day trial, there was a significant group × time interaction for only one outcome variable; the active group showed larger pre- to post-treatment decreases in pain interference than the sham group did (F = 8.50, P < 0.01, d = 0.59). Conclusions On average, CES appears to have provided a small but statistically significant improvement in pain intensity and pain interference with few troublesome side effects. Individual results varied from no pain relief to a great deal of relief.

Effects of Respiratory Resistance Training With a Concurrent Flow Device on Wheelchair Athletes

Abstract Background/Objective: To determine the effect of respiratory resistance training (RRT) with a concurrent flow respiratory (CFR) device on respiratory function and aerobic power in wheelchair athletes. Methods: Ten male wheelchair athletes (8 with spinal cord injuries, 1 with a neurological disorder, and 1 with postpolio syndrome), were matched by lesion level and/or track rating before random assignment to either a RRT group (n = 5) or a control group (CON, n = 5). The RRT group performed 1 set of breathing exercises using Expand-a-Lung, a CFR device, 2 to 3 times daily for 10 weeks. Pre/posttesting included measurement of maximum voluntary ventilation (MW), maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), and peak oxygen consumption (Vo2peak). Results: Repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant group difference in change for MIP from pre- to posttest (P < 0.05). The RRT group improved by 33.0 cm H2O, while the CON group improved by 0.6 cm H2O. Although not significant, the MW increased for the RRT group and decreased for the CON group. There was no significant group difference between Vo2peak for pre/posttesting. Due to small sample sizes in both groups and violations of some parametric statistical assumptions, nonparametric tests were also conducted as a crosscheck of the findings. The results of the nonparametric tests concurred with the parametric results. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that 10 weeks of RRT training with a CFR device can effectively improve MIP in wheelchair athletes. Further research and a larger sample size are warranted to further characterize the impact of Expand-a-Lung on performance and other cardiorespiratory variables in wheelchair athletes.

Age-Associated Memory Impairment of Logical Memory and Visual Reproduction

The standardization sample from the WMS-III (weighted N = 1250) (The Psychological Corporation, 1997; Tulsky & Ledbetter, 2000), which varied in age from 16 to 89, was used to determine whether storage of verbal and spatial information was affected by normal aging. A previous study with the same sample using an analysis of variance approach showed that the age-associated deterioration for Logical Memory (LM) and Visual Reproduction (VR) delayed recall and recognition were comparable and largely explained by poor immediate recall. This led to the conclusion that age-associated memory impairment was due primarily to encoding deficits. However, that study did not control for the age-associated deterioration in immediate recall in order to ensure that the small age-associated effects for delayed recall and recognition were not confounded by the fact that the elderly had less to remember on the delayed recall and recognition trials. The current study used covariance analysis to statistically adjust the dependent measures, LM and VR delayed recall and recognition, based on immediate recall scores. These analyses showed that the age-associated changes in these measures were statistically significant, but the effect sizes were very small. Partial η2 for the main effect of age for LM was 0.06 with weak effect sizes for the interaction of recall type and age (0.02). The partial η2 for the main effect of age for VR was 0.09, and the interaction of recall type and age (0.04). This pattern of findings shows that after adjustment for immediate recall, LM and VR recall and recognition demonstrated comparable, slight declines with age suggesting that normal aging produced minimal changes in the ability to store new information when age-associated changes in initial encoding and retrieval were statistically controlled.