La integración personal, social y vocacional de los deficientes psíquicos adolescentes : elaboración y aplicación experimental de un programa conductual.

Premios Nacionales de Investigación e Innovación Educativas del CIDE 1988 (Premio de Tesis Doctoral). Investigación original con el mismo título.

El estudio del comportamiento adaptativo en el retraso mental : dimensionalización, contextualización y jerarquización.

El objetivo es analizar la dimensionalización, contextualización y jerarquización del comportamiento adaptativo en el retraso mental para lograr el máximo nivel de integración y normalización. En la primera parte de la tesis se lleva a cabo un estudio del estado de la cuestión y la segunda parte se centra en tres estudios empíricos: el primer estudio está inspirado en los trabajos de Pelechano (1985) dirigido a determinar la organización del comportamiento adaptativo en cuanto a sus agrupaciones y jerarquias para una serie de áreas de funcionalmiento. El segundo estudio pretende examinar las diferencias en cuanto a la producción de comportamientos adaptativos según los diferentes contextos, familiares versus institucionales en los cuales se desenvuelve el individuo. Por último, el tercer estudio se apoya en el trabajo de Staats y Burns (1981) y se dirige a determinar la eficacia de un entrenamiento basado en repertorios jerarquizados de comportamiento frente al entrenamiento sobre los objetivos específicos contemplados linealmente. En el primer estudio la muestra es de 85 sujetos, 54 varones y 31 hembras, de edades comprendidas entre los 12 y 28 años en tres centros de las provincias de Madrid y Soria. En el segundo estudio 71 sujetos, 37 varones y 34 hembras, de edades comprendidas entre 6 y 23 años en dos centros de Madrid capital. En el tercer estudio 16 sujetos, 10 varones y 6 hembras, de edades comprendidas entre 6 y 15 años en un centro del cinturón residencial de Madrid. El procedimiento del primer estudio consta de cuatro fases: selección de la muestra, formación de los técnicos en la aplicación de instrumentos de evaluación, evaluación de los sujetos integrantes de la muestra y concepción de los perfiles definitivos, análisis de datos, elaboración de resultados y conclusiones. El procedimiento del segundo estudio consta de cuatro fases: evaluación de los sujetos a través de los procedimientos de test situacional para las áreas contempladas, evaluación de los sujetos a través de entrevistas semi-estructuradas con padres o allegados, confección de los perfiles específicos de los sujetos, y análisis de datos, elaboración de resultados y conclusiones. Y el procedimiento en el tercer estudio consta de cinco fases: evaluación previa de los sujetos, agrupamiento de los sujetos según la similaridad de perfiles y asignación a las condiciones experimentales, intervención sobre los sujetos bajo dos condiciones : entrenamiento en objetivos específicos y entrenamiento acumulativo jerárquico, evaluación posterior de los sujetos que habían sido entrenados, y análisis de datos, elaboración de resultados y conclusiones. En los tres estudios se utiliza como instrumento la versión española West Virginia Assessment and Tracking System y el Sistema de Evaluación del Comportamiento Adaptativo en el Retraso Mental. Las técnicas utilizadas son: Análisis Cluster de variables y Análisis Factorial Booleano, entrevistas semi-estructuradas y estadísticas además del programa informático BMDP. Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto, por una parte, que el comportamiento adaptativo se organiza en base a patrones jerarquizados; y por otra, que se producen diferencias en los comportamientos adaptativos según los distintos contextos, familiar e institucional. Y por último que el entrenamiento dirigido a patrones organizados jerárquicamente es más efectivo que el dirigido a objetivos específicos no relacionados. Las principales conclusiones son:1. La labor primordial a realizar con sujetos con retraso mental deben encaminarse hacia el entrenamiento de distintos aspectos para su mejor integración.2. Deben realizarse evaluaciones previas a toda intervención para recoger la información necesaria y así diseñar de manera eficaz los entrenamientos más adecuados a cada caso.3. Hay que establecer jerarquías conductuales para optimizar el entrenamiento de estos sujetos. 4. Por último, el autor considera que el contexto familiar no es el más adecuado para el aprendizaje de determinadas conductas.

La integración personal, social y vocacional de los deficientes psíquicos adolescentes : elaboración y aplicación experimental de un programa conductual.

Realizar una contribución a los métodos y programas existentes que preparan al deficiente mental para la integración socio-vocacional en la edad adulta. Estudiar la deficiencia mental y proponer alternativas de trabajo validadas experimentalmente. Construir un programa conductual que incluya tres tipos de habilidades o subprogramas: habilidades de orientación al trabajo, habilidades de la vida diaria y habilidades sociales. 62 deficientes mentales adolescentes, con un nivel de deficiencia ligera, media y severa. 31 forman parte del grupo experimental y los otros 31 del grupo control. En la primera parte se realiza una amplia revisión de la literatura actual relacionada con la deficiencia mental. En la segunda parte se elabora y describe un programa conductual de entrenamiento para deficientes mentales adolescentes. La validación experimental se realiza en la tercera parte. El diseño experiemental de la investigación es combinado: un grupo de control pretest-posttest y un grupo control con posttest únicamente. Mientras el grupo experimental recibió el programa alternativo, el grupo control atendia un programa educativo tradicional. Hubo 4 tipos de variables dependientes : tests estandarizados (Raven, Beta y Mcquarrie); tests situacionales, uno por cada subprograma, de tareas no directamente entrenadas en el programa; puntuación de logro en cada subprograma y escala de evaluación del sistema de West Virginia. Test de Raven; test Beta y Mcquarrie; tests situacionales; escala de evaluación del sistema de West Virginia. Los resultados favorecieron al grupo experimental frente al grupo control, obteniendo diferencias significativas estadísticamente en 15 de las 18 variables dependientes medidas. Se demostró la eficacia del programa propuesto frente a los tradicionales de habilidades académicas, al conseguir incrementar significativamente: habilidades socialmente relevantes para la vida adulta del deficiente, habilidades de tipo práctico y mecánico que facilitan la preparación profesional para desempeñar un trabajo, Habilidades adaptativas de autonomía personal y habilidades intelectuales generales. El programa propuesto proporciona un instrumento que servirá para orientar el trabajo educativo con los adolescentes retrasados de cara a su integración sociolaboral en la edad adulta. Posteriores aplicaciones y experimentaciones del programa permitirán generalizar adecuadamente los resultados obtenidos.

Variables associated with nest survival of Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) among vegetation communities commonly used for nesting

Among shrubland- and young forest-nesting bird species in North America, Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) are one of the most rapidly declining partly because of limited nesting habitat. Creation and management of high quality vegetation communities used for nesting are needed to reduce declines. Thus, we examined whether common characteristics could be managed across much of the Golden-winged Warbler’s breeding range to increase daily survival rate (DSR) of nests. We monitored 388 nests on 62 sites throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. We evaluated competing DSR models in spatial-temporal (dominant vegetation type, population segment, state, and year), intraseasonal (nest stage and time-within-season), and vegetation model suites. The best-supported DSR models among the three model suites suggested potential associations between daily survival rate of nests and state, time-within-season, percent grass and Rubus cover within 1 m of the nest, and distance to later successional forest edge. Overall, grass cover (negative association with DSR above 50%) and Rubus cover (DSR lowest at about 30%) within 1 m of the nest and distance to later successional forest edge (negative association with DSR) may represent common management targets across our states for increasing Golden-winged Warbler DSR, particularly in the Appalachian Mountains population segment. Context-specific adjustments to management strategies, such as in wetlands or areas of overlap with Blue-winged Warblers (Vermivora cyanoptera), may be necessary to increase DSR for Golden-winged Warblers.

Poetry on Pre-Raphaelite principles: science, nature and knowledge in William Michael Rossetti’s 'Fancies at Leisure' and 'Mrs. Holmes Grey'

This article demonstrates how early Pre-Raphaelite poetry worked according to the principle that art should be modelled on science theorised by the Pre-Raphaelites in their early essays. As the main theorists (rather than practitioners) of Pre-Raphaelite art, F. G. Stephens and William Michael Rossetti defined the Pre-Raphaelite project in terms of observation, investigation, experiment, the “adherence to fact” and the “search after truth”. In the hands of the early Pre-Raphaelite poets, and particularly Rossetti himself, poetry too becomes a mode of scientific enquiry into the natural world, the nature of observation, human psychology and medical practice.

SCWDS BRIEFS: Volume 21, Number 3 (October 2005)

H5N1 Influenza Virus in Wild Birds: A Fact Sheet Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus H5N1 and Wild Birds What are avian influenza viruses? What is a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus? What is “Bird Flu” and what is “HPAI H5N1”? What do we know about avian influenza viruses in wild birds? Do we have HPAI H5N1 in North America? Is there currently a public health risk associated with HPAI H5N1 in wild birds? Is there a domestic animal health risk associated with HPAI in wild birds? What is the possibility of HPAI H5N1 entering North America via migratory wild birds? What is the possibility of this virus being maintained in wild bird populations? Do we have surveillance for HPAI H5N1 in the United States? Additional information on HPAI can be found at these websites: The recognized geographic and species distribution of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has expanded since early September 2005 to include Hampshire County in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia National Fish and Wildlife Health Initiative Guiding Principles Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus was isolated from seven white-tailed deer in southwestern Michigan during September 2005 During the past summer, more than 500 head of livestock in North Dakota and South Dakota were lost to one of the largest recorded anthrax outbreaks in U.S. history. Most of the losses were in cattle, but horses, bison, and farm-reared elk also were affected. Dr. John Fischer, Director of SCWDS, has received this year’s Special Recognition Award from the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA). Dr. William Randolph Davidson is retiring in November 2005.

Effects of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition on the Herbaceous Layer of a Central Appalachian Hardwood Forest

Additions of nitrogen (N) have been shown to alter species diversity of plant communities, with most experimental studies having been carried out in communities dominated by herbaceous species. We examined seasonal and inter-annual patterns of change in the herbaceous layer of two watersheds of a central Appalachian hardwood forest that differed in experimental treatment. This study was carried out at the Fernow Experimental Forest, West Virginia, using two adjacent watersheds: WS4 (mature, second-growth hardwood stand, untreated reference), and WS3. Seven circular 0.04-ha sample plots were established in eachwatershed to represent its full range of elevation and slope aspect. The herbaceous layer was sampled by identifying and visually estimating cover (%) of all vascular plants. Sampling was carried out in mid-July of 1991 and repeated at approximately the same time in 1992. In 1994, these same plots were sampled each month fromMay to October. Seasonal patterns of herb layer dynamics were assessed for the complete 1994 data set, whereasinter-annual variability was based on plot data from 1991, 1992, and the July sample of 1994. There were nosignificant differences between watersheds for any sample year for any of the other herb layer characteristics measured, including herb layer cover, species richness, evenness, and diversity. Cover on WS4 decreased significantly from 1991 to 1992, followed by no change to 1994. By contrast, herb layer cover did not varysignificantly across years on WS3. Cover of the herbaceous layer of both watersheds increased from early in the growing season to the middle of the growing season, decreasing thereafter, with no significant differencesbetween WS3 and WS4 for any of the monthly cover means in 1994. Similar seasonal patterns found for herblayer cover—and lack of significant differences between watersheds—were also evident for species diversityand richness. By contrast, there was little seasonal change in herb layer species evenness, which was nearlyidentical between watersheds for all months except October. Seasonal patterns for individual species/speciesgroups were closely similar between watersheds, especially for Viola rotundifolia and Viola spp. Species richnessand species diversity were linearly related to herb layer cover for both WS3 and WS4, suggesting that spatialand temporal increases in cover were more related to recruitment of herb layer species than to growth of existingspecies. Results of this study indicate that there have been negligible responses of the herb layer to 6 yr of additions to WS3.

Factors Influencing Spatial Variability in Nitrogen Processing in Nitrogen-Saturated Soils

Nitrogen (N) saturation is an environmental concern for forests in the eastern U.S. Although several watersheds of the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF), West Virginia exhibit symptoms of Nsaturation, many watersheds display a high degree of spatial variability in soil N processing. This study examined the effects of temperature on net N mineralization and nitrification in N-saturatedsoils from FEF, and how these effects varied between high N-processing vs. low N-processingsoils collected from two watersheds, WS3 (fertilized with [NH4]2SO4) and WS4 (untreated control). Samples of forest floor material (O2 horizon) and mineral soil (to a 5-cm depth) were taken from three subplots within each of four plots that represented the extremes of highest and lowest ratesof net N mineralization and nitrification (hereafter, high N and low N, respectively) of untreated WS4 and N-treated WS3: control/low N, control/high N, N-treated/low N, N-treated/high N. Forest floor material was analyzed for carbon (C), lignin,and N. Subsamples of mineral soil were extractedimmediately with 1 N KCl and analyzed for NH4+and NO3– to determine preincubation levels. Extracts were also analyzed for Mg, Ca, Al, and pH. To test the hypothesis that the lack of net nitrification observed in field incubations on the untreated/low N plot was the result of absence ofnitrifier populations, we characterized the bacterial community involved in N cycling by amplification of amoA genes. Remaining soil was incubated for 28 d at three temperatures (10, 20, and30°C), followed by 1 N KCl extraction and analysis for NH4+ and NO3–. Net nitrification was essentially 100% of net N mineralization for all samples combined. Nitrification rates from lab incubation sat all temperatures supported earlier observations based on field incubations. At 30°C, rates from N- t reated/high N were three times those of N-treated/low N. Highest rates were found for untreated/high N (two times greater than those of N-treated/high N), whereas untreated/low N exhibited no net nitrification. However, soils exhibitingno net nitrification tested positive for presence of nitrifying bacteria, causing us to reject our initial hypothesis. We hypothesize that nitrifier populations in such soil are being inhibited by a combination of low Ca:Al ratios in mineral soil and allelopathic interactions with mycorrhizae of ericaceous species in the herbaceous layer.

Effects of Harvesting on Herbaceous Layer Diversity of a Central Appalachian Hardwood Forest

Clearcutting is a common harvesting practice in many eastern hardwood forests. Among the vegetation strata of these forests, the herbaceous layer is potentially the most sensitive in its response to harvest-mediated disturbances and has the highest species diversity. Thus, it is important to understand the response of herbaceous layer diversity to forest harvesting. Previous work on clearcut and mature stands at the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF), West Virginia, has shown that, although, harvesting did not alter appreciably herbaceous layer cover, it influenced the relationship of cover to biotic and abiotic factors, such as tree density and soil nutrients, respectively. The purpose of this study was to examine the response of species diversity of the herbaceous layer to harvesting at FEF. Fifteen circular, 0.04 ha sample plots were established in each of four watersheds (60 plots in total) representing two stand age categories: two watersheds with 20 years even-age stands following clearcutting and two watersheds with mature second growth stands. All woody stems ≥2.5 cm diameter at breast height were identified, tallied, and measured for diameter. The herbaceous layer was sampled by identifying all vascular plants ≤1 m in height and estimating cover for each species in each of 10 (1 m2) circular sub-plots per sample plot (600 sub-plots total). Species diversity for each plot was calculated from herbaceous layer data using the ln-based Shannon Index (H′) equation. Ten stand and soil variables also were measured on each plot. Mean herbaceous layer cover for clearcut versus mature stands was 27.2±14.3% versus 20.2±8.1% (P>0.05), respectively and mean H′ was 1.67±0.42 versus 1.55±0.48 (P>0.05), respectively. Herbaceous layer diversity was negatively correlated with cation exchange capacity and extractable Ca and Mg in the mineral soil in clearcut stands. In contrast, herbaceous layer diversity was positively correlated with soil organic matter and clay content. Although, 20 years of recovery after clearcutting did not have significant effects on the species diversity of the herbaceous layer when examining stand age means alone, harvesting did appear to influence the spatial relationships between herbaceous layer diversity and biotic factors (e.g. tree density) and abiotic factors (e.g. soil nutrients).

Effects of Silvicultural Practices on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen in a Nitrogen Saturated Central Appalachian (USA) Hardwood Forest Ecosystem

Silvicultural treatments represent disturbances to forest ecosystems often resulting in transient increases in net nitrification and leaching of nitrate and base cations from the soil. Response of soil carbon (C) is more complex, decreasing from enhanced soil respiration and increasing from enhanced postharvest inputs of detritus. Because nitrogen (N) saturation can have similar effects on cation mobility, timber harvesting in N-saturated forests may contribute to a decline in both soil C and base cation fertility, decreasing tree growth. Although studies have addressed effects of either forest harvesting or N saturation separately, few data exist on their combined effects. Our study examined the responses of soil C and N to several commercially used silvicultural treatments within the Fernow Experimental Forest, West Virginia, USA, a site with N-saturated soils. Soil analyses included soil organic matter (SOM), C, N, C/N ratios, pH, and net nitrification. We hypothesized the following gradient of disturbance intensity among silvicultural practices (from most to least intense): even-age with intensive harvesting (EA-I), even-age with extensive harvesting, even-age with commercial harvesting, diameter limit, and single-tree harvesting (ST). We anticipated that effects on soil C and N would be greatest for EA-I and least with ST. Tree species exhibited a response to the gradient of disturbance intensity, with early successional species more predominant in high-intensity treatments and late successional species more predominant in low-intensity treatments. Results for soil variables, however, generally did not support our predictions, with few significant differences among treatments and between treatments and their paired controls for any of the measured soil variables. Multiple regression indicated that the best predictors for net nitrification among samples were SOM (positive relationship) and pH (negative relationship). This finding confirms the challenge of sustainable management of N-saturated forests.