Comparison of Acquisition Criteria Applied to Individual and Sets of Tacts: A Systematic Replication.

The experimenters examined two different levels of acquisition criteria-Set and Operant Analysis-to assess acquisition and response maintenance of tact operants for four participants. Set Analysis involved replacing acquired operants at a set level, whereas Operant Analysis involved replacing acquired operants at an individual operant level. All participants required fewer instructional trials to acquire tacts under the Operant Analysis condition. Three participants maintained a similar number of operants in both conditions, whereas one participant maintained more operants under the Set Analysis condition.

The Use of Multiple Exemplar Instruction to Induce Emergent Listener Discriminations and Emergent Intraverbal Vocal Responses in Autistic Children.

This study tested for the emergence of listener discriminations and intraverbal vocal responses following tact training with four autistic children. All participants were trained to tact the name and the favorite food of two contrived cartoon monsters in the presence of a picture of the monster (e.g., "What is the name of this monster?" - "Max" and "What food does the monster eat?" - "Sweets") to evaluate the effects of emergent listener discriminations and emergent intraverbal vocal responses. Once criterion was met on the tact training, participants were tested for emergent listener discriminations (e.g., "Who eats sweets?" And "Who is Max?") and emergent intraverbal vocal responses (e.g., "What food does Max eat?" - "Sweets" and "Who eats sweets?" - "Max" in the absence of the picture). After training, all four participants engaged in emergent listener responding but only one participant engaged in emergent intraverbal responding. Multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) was used to teach those who could not engage in emergent intraverbal responding, and it was demonstrated to be effective. These findings are educationally significant because efficiency of instruction is important to maximize instructional impact, and to reduce the time and resource-intensive nature of behavior-analytic programming.

Comparison of teaching methods for the emergence and maintenance of untaught relations in foreign language vocabulary acquisition: A systematic replication.

In a replication of Daly and K. Dounavi (2020), the researchers evaluated the effect of foreign tact and bidirectional intraverbal teaching on the emergence of untaught relations. Three university students learned three stimulus sets through three types of teaching: native-foreign intraverbal teaching (vocalizing Spanish words that refer to a Japanese textual stimulus), foreign-native intraverbal teaching (reversed relation of native-foreign condition), and foreign-tact teaching (tacting a picture in Spanish). The researchers used an adapted alternating-treatments design to assess the differential effect of each teaching condition on the emergence of untaught relations in a foreign language and collected data on response maintenance. The results replicated previous findings that native-foreign intraverbal and foreign-tact teachings were more effective than foreign-native intraverbal teaching despite previous reporting that the maintenance outcomes may be a result of carryover effects.

Facilitating the emergence of intraverbal tacts by autistic children via joint control.

Rodriguez et al. (2022) discovered that teaching four component skills was sufficient to facilitate the emergence of intraverbal tacts across four applications with three participants. Our study replicated and evaluated an extension of this procedure that was directed at facilitating intraverbal tacts when a child learns the component skills but continues to fail to produce intraverbal tacts. The extension consisted of procedures to enhance the divergent control exerted by the auditory stimulus (i.e., the question) and the discriminability of joint control. Intraverbal tacts emerged for all three participants after undergoing the extension procedures. These results are discussed in the context of a conceptual analysis of intraverbal tacts and the potential role of joint control.

Using Precision Teaching to Evaluate the Effects of Tact Training on Intraverbals Relations.

Interventions involving precision teaching (PT) and fluency-based instruction may promote the acquisition of intraverbal repertoires. We examined the effects of tact fluency training on the emergence of untrained intraverbal component-composite relations for three participants with autism and mild to moderate intellectual disability. We used a multiple-probes across participants design across the three participants, with additional replication across thematic clusters for one participant. The results suggest a relation between tact fluency training and the emergence of untrained intraverbal responses may exist. All participants learned to name items in a category without a nonverbal discriminative stimulus.

A Treatment Evaluation of Successive and Simultaneous Visual Stimulus Presentation During Tact Training with Children with Autism.

The purpose of this study was to assess whether variations in visual stimulus presentation during tact training would affect efficacy, efficiency, and the emergence of listener responses. Participants included two preschool-aged children diagnosed with autism. We implemented two teaching conditions using an adapted alternating treatment design with intrasubject replications. During successive tact training, the experimenter presented one picture per trial. During simultaneous training, the experimenter pointed to the target picture in a stimulus array. For one participant, both procedures were similarly effective and efficient. For another participant, successive tact training generated fewer errors and better efficiency results. Moreover, both formats resulted in accurate listener responding. Our results suggest that both procedures are effective, and that the simultaneous format may be a viable alternative for teaching tacts.

Acquisition of Children's Relational Responding: The Role of the Intradimensional and Interdimensional Abstract Tact and the Autoclitic Frame.

The acquisition of verbal behavior is complex and requires the analysis of myriad variables. Ernst Moerk estimated that by the time a child has reached 4 years of age they have experienced nearly 9 million language learning trials with mothers using at least 14 categories of maternal teaching interactions. The interactions provide a foundation for children learning the tact, mand, echoic, intraverbal, autoclitic, and other relations, described by Skinner in Verbal Behavior. Here we examine two relations that have been overlooked to some extent and arguably account for many of the generative features of verbal behavior and shared meaning: the abstract tact, or more precisely the interdimensional abstract tact, and the autoclitic frame. We describe Goldiamond's treatment of stimulus control in its many forms; dimensional, abstractional, and instructional, and how it can be used to understand the acquisition of both intradimensional and interdimensional abstract tacts and autoclitic frames that guide seemingly complex relational responding and meet consequential contingency requirements. We argue the development of complex relational responding in children can be explained parsimoniously without mediating variables or hypothetical constructs.

Exploring the feasibility of introducing triple artemisinin-based combination therapy in the malaria treatment policy in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the processes regarding changing malaria treatment policies in Vietnam. Moreover, it explores the feasibility of introducing triple artemisinin-based combination therapy (TACT) in Vietnam to support the national malaria control and elimination plan. METHODS: Data were collected via 12 in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, combined with a review of policy documents. RESULTS: TACT is considered as a useful backup strategy in case future treatment failures with current artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) would occur. Moreover, TACT is also considered as a promising strategy to prevent the re-establishment of malaria. However, regulatory procedures and implementation timelines for TACT were expected to be lengthy. Therefore, strategies to engage national decision-makers, regulators, and suppliers should be initiated soon, stipulating the benefits of TACT deployment. In Vietnam, a procedure to apply for an import permit without registration that has previously been applied to the introduction of artesunate-pyronaridine was proposed to accelerate the introduction of TACT. Global-level support through the World Health Organization recommendations and prequalification were considered critical for supporting the introduction of TACT in Vietnam. CONCLUSIONS: Appropriate approach strategies and early stakeholder engagement will be needed to accelerate the introduction of TACT in Vietnam.

Strategies for deploying triple artemisinin-based combination therapy in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

BACKGROUND: This is a qualitative study to identify implementation challenges for deploying triple artemisinin-based combination therapy (TACT) in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) of Southeast Asia and to explore strategies to overcome these challenges. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted in three countries that have repeatedly been confronted with ACT failures: Cambodia, Vietnam, and Lao PDR. Thirty-nine key stakeholders in the healthcare systems in these countries were interviewed. One participatory workshop was conducted in Cambodia, where scenarios for potential TACT deployment were discussed. RESULTS: The results section is organized around four strategic themes that emerged from the data: policy support, data and evidence, logistics and operation, and downstream engagement. The study revealed that countries in the GMS currently rely on ACT to eliminate Plasmodium falciparum malaria by 2025. TACT is, however, considered to be a useful backup strategy in case of future treatment failures and to prevent the re-establishment of malaria. The study showed that a major challenge ahead is to engage decision makers and healthcare providers into deploying TACT, given the low case incidence of falciparum malaria in the GMS. Interview respondents were also skeptical whether healthcare providers would be willing to engage in new therapies for a disease they hardly encounter anymore. Hence, elaborate information dissemination strategies were considered appropriate and these strategies should especially target village malaria workers. Respondents proposed several regulatory and programmatic strategies to anticipate the formation of TACT markets in the GMS. These strategies include early dossier submission to streamline regulatory procedures, early stakeholder engagement strategies to shorten implementation timelines, and inclusion of TACT as second-line therapy to accelerate their introduction in case they are urgently needed. CONCLUSIONS: This paper presents a qualitative study to identify implementation challenges for deploying TACT in the GMS and to explore strategies to overcome these challenges. The findings could benefit researchers and decision makers in strategizing towards potential future deployment of TACT in the GMS to combat artemisinin and partner drug resistance.

Effects of omission and commission errors during tact instruction.

The purpose of the current study was to compare the effects of omission and commission errors of reinforcement during tact instruction via telehealth with three children, 6 to 7 years of age, who were diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. We used an adapted alternating treatment design to evaluate skill acquisition of target stimuli across high-integrity, commission errors, and omission errors conditions. The high-integrity condition produced mastery criteria in fewer sessions compared with the integrity-error conditions in four of six comparisons, and the omission condition reached mastery criteria in fewer sessions than the commission condition in five of six comparisons.

From tech to tact: emotion dysregulation in online communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent theorizing argues that online communication technologies provide powerful, although precarious, means of emotional regulation. We develop this understanding further. Drawing on subjective reports collected during periods of imposed social restrictions under COVID-19, we focus on how this precarity is a source of emotional dysregulation. We make our case by organizing responses into five distinct but intersecting dimensions wherein the precarity of this regulation is most relevant: infrastructure, functional use, mindful design (individual and social), and digital tact. Analyzing these reports, along with examples of mediating technologies (i.e., self-view) and common interactive dynamics (e.g., gaze coordination), we tease out how breakdowns along these dimensions are sources of affective dysregulation. We argue that the adequacy of available technological resources and competencies of various kinds matter greatly to the types of emotional experiences one is likely to have online. Further research into online communication technologies as modulators of both our individual and collective well-being is urgently needed, especially as the echoes of the digital push that COVID-19 initiated are set to continue reverberating into the future.

Evaluation of a Telehealth Training Package to Remotely Teach Caregivers to Conduct Discrete-Trial Instruction.

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of using telehealth technologies to remotely train caregivers of children with ASD to conduct discrete-trial instruction (DTI). We used a multiple-baseline-across-participants design to evaluate caregiver correct implementation of the DTI procedures and child emission of independent correct tacts as dependent measures. We observed robust and immediate improvements for all three caregivers and two of three children. Treatment effects were maintained during follow-up and generalization probes. We discuss the benefits of telehealth technologies and other remote treatment applications.

Psychometric properties of the TACT framework-Determining rigor in qualitative research.

Introduction: The credibility of qualitative research has long been debated, with critics emphasizing the lack of rigor and the challenges of demonstrating it. In qualitative research, rigor encompasses explicit, detailed descriptions of various research stages, including problem framing, study design, data collection, analysis, and reporting. The diversity inherent in qualitative research, originating from various beliefs and paradigms, challenges establishing universal guidelines for determining its rigor. Additionally, researchers' often unrecorded thought processes in qualitative studies further complicate the assessment of research quality. Methods: To address these concerns, this article builds on the TACT framework, which was developed to teach postgraduate students and those new to qualitative research to identify and apply rigorous principles and indicators in qualitative research. The research reported in this article focuses on creating a scale designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the TACT framework. This involves analyzing the stability of its dimensions and understanding its effectiveness as a tool for teaching and research. Results: The study's findings indicate that the TACT framework, when assessed through the newly developed scale, exhibits stable dimensions consistent with rigorous qualitative research principles. The framework effectively guides postgraduate students and new researchers in assessing the rigor of qualitative research processes and outcomes. Discussion: The application of the TACT framework and its evaluation scale reveals several insights. Firstly, it demonstrates the framework's utility in bridging the gap in pedagogical tools for teaching rigor in qualitative research methods. Secondly, it highlights the framework's potential in providing a structured approach to undertaking qualitative research, which is essential given this field's diverse methodologies and paradigms. However, the TACT framework remains a guide to enhancing rigor in qualitative research throughout all the various phases but by no means a measure of rigor. Conclusion: In conclusion, the TACT framework and its accompanying evaluative scale represent significant steps toward standardizing and enhancing the rigor of qualitative research, particularly for postgraduate students and early career researchers. While it does not solve all challenges associated with obtaining and demonstrating rigor in qualitative research, it provides a valuable tool for assessing and ensuring research quality, thereby addressing some of the longstanding criticisms of the quality of research obtained through qualitative methods.

Brief Report: Increasing Intraverbal Responses to Subcategorical Questions via Tact and Match-to-Sample Instruction.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of tact and match-to-sample instructions on the increase and maintenance of intraverbal responses to subcategorical questions (i.e., naming multiple items in a subcategory of a category). Three Chinese children on the autism spectrum (2 boys, 1 girl, aged 6-8 years old) participated in this study. Results indicated that intraverbal responses to subcategorical questions emerged or increased for most subcategories for all three participants following the completion of instruction without direct training.

A Phenomenological Psychology Study of University Teachers' Lived Experience of Being Pedagogical in Neoliberalism.

Against a background of promoting the industrialization of higher education in Macau due to COVID-19's damage to the territory's major industry-gambling, the present study adopted phenomenological psychology to explore teachers' lived experience of being pedagogical in a university with a neoliberal vision and mission. Using a general structure, the findings revealed that teachers encountered challenges being pedagogical. These challenges emerged not only due to the university's corporate management, but more importantly because of a shift in perceptions-where students became like customers and teachers became self-interested-which made pedagogical relationships difficult to establish. Furthermore, teachers were found to develop negative emotions when their pedagogical actions or intentions conflicted with neoliberalism. The findings suggest that pedagogy in higher education is being challenged and transformed.

Comparison of mastery criteria applied to individual targets and stimulus sets on acquisition of tacts, intraverbals, and listener responses.

Mastery criteria can be applied to individual targets or stimuli organized into sets. Wong et al. (2021) and Wong and Fienup (2022) found that participants who received special education services learned sight words more rapidly when an individual target mastery criterion was applied. The current study replicated and extended these findings across novel skills. Five participants with ASD received tact or intraverbal training in Experiment 1, and 2 participants with ASD received auditory-visual conditional discrimination training (AVCD) in Experiment 2. In both experiments, mastery criteria were applied to targets and stimulus sets to compare sessions to mastery. Results showed the target mastery criterion required fewer sessions of tact training for 3 of 5 participants and AVCD training for both participants. However, overselection of stimuli occurred for 20% of AVCD mastered targets, suggesting a false positive for acquisition of those targets. Maintenance was similar across conditions and experiments.

[Between body and soul: touch]. / Entre corps et âme, toucher.

A proverb from the Middle Ages says "hand games, naughty games". We would like to reverse it to "hands on games, good games" and show that, from the beginning to the end of life, touch, when practiced with tact, is care. In psychiatry, it takes on the specific meaning of listening, without any preconceived judgment or ideological or normative a priori: taking care, care rather than cure. It is futile to claim to treat mental illness without understanding the singular history of each of those affected. Already in the 18th century, Philippe Pinel and his assistant Jean-Baptiste Pussin had understood this: care is at the source of the "moral treatment of the insane", itself at the origin of institutional psychotherapy. A brief detour through the Middle Ages and the practice of thaumaturgy would confirm that the hand, more than any other sense, is healing.

The Effects of Tact Training on Echolalia in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in China.

Echolalia can negatively impact multiple skill areas in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including skills related to academic and social performance. The purpose of this study was to employ a multiple probe across participants design to evaluate the effects of tact training on delayed echolalia in three children in China diagnosed with ASD. The results of this study indicated that tact training was effective in decreasing echolalia and increasing appropriate tacts for all three children. The effects were maintained 7 weeks following the completion of training.

Comparing Matrix-Training Procedures with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Recombinative generalization is the production of responses in the presence of novel combinations of known components. For example, after learning "red triangle" and "blue square," recombinative generalization is observed when a child can tact "red square" and "blue triangle." Recombinative generalization can emerge from a history of matrix training, which involves carefully selecting and arranging stimuli and responses along at least two axes and training a subset of responses. With three children with autism spectrum disorder, we compared recombinative generalization of object-action or feature-object tacts when the component stimuli were trained before combination stimuli, trained along with combination stimuli, or untrained (i.e., combination only). For two participants, training the components along with some combinations led to the most untrained targets acquired without direct teaching. For the other participant, training the combinations only led to the greatest proportion of untrained targets acquired without direct teaching. We discuss stimulus control promoted by each teaching arrangement and suggestions for future research on recombinative generalization.

Emergence of auditory-visual discrimination and tacts through exclusionary responding.

This study examined if listener behavior and responding by exclusion would emerge after training 3 participants with autism to tact stimuli. Tacts for 2 of 3 stimuli were directly trained using discrete trial training methodology and were followed by an auditory-visual discrimination probe in which auditory-visual discrimination by naming (i.e., bidirectional naming of trained tacts) and auditory-visual discrimination by exclusion were assessed; in subsequent sessions, tacting by exclusion probes were conducted in which tacts for the exclusion target (i.e., stimulus not trained as a tact) were assessed. All 3 participants demonstrated auditory-visual discrimination by naming, auditory-visual discrimination by exclusion, and tacting by exclusion across all comparisons. Results suggest that programming for learning by exclusion can provide an efficient way to enhance skill acquisition.