Role Of Behavior Analysis Research Articles

Multi-scale keypoints detection and motion features extraction in dairy cows using ResNet101-ASPP network

Detecting Keypoints in dairy cows aims to locate and track the motion trajectories of the body's joints, which plays a crucial role in behavior analysis and lameness detection. However, real farming scenarios, characterized by occlusions and large variations in object scale may result in poor detection results. Therefore we introduce the atrous spatial pyramid pooling (ASPP) module into the shallow network of ResNet101, designed to improve the multi-scale feature extraction capability of the model. The ASPP module enhances the robustness of recognition for different dimensional sizes and occluded keypoints using different dilatation rates in the parallel atrous convolutional layers to expand the model's receptive field. Furthermore, seven types of motion features, including tracking up, gait symmetry, step height balance, motion speed variability, head swing amplitude, head-neck slope and back curvature are extracted simultaneously by monitoring and tracking the motion trajectory of distinct keypoints. Several of these features represent innovative extraction models and attributes, first proposed in this study. Multiple models are trained and tested on datasets containing 2385 frames for ablation experiments. The experiments show that, in comparison with the ResNet50, MobileNet_v2_1.0, and EfficientNet-b0 backbone networks, the training error and test error of ResNet101 improve by 4.04–30.12 pixels and 3.81–28.14 pixels. Therefore, ResNet101 is used as the benchmark for subsequent model improvement by adding the ASPP module. The training error and test error of the ResNet101-ASPP network are improved by 0.27 and 0.24 pixels, respectively, compared to the benchmark network. The prediction confidence improves by 1.65-2.50% at three different dairy cow object scales, In addition, the keypoints under different occlusion conditions improve considerably, especially for small-scale keypoints, demonstrating the capability of the ASPP module for multi-scale feature extraction. By analyzing the distribution between the seven features and health, mild lameness, and severe lameness in dairy cows, it is shown that all the different features play an important role in distinguishing between different levels of lameness.

CROWD VIDEO SEQUENCES PROCESSING METHODS FOR DETERMINING THE CROWD MOTION PATTERNS

Nowadays, homogeneous objects clusters motion is one of the most important and rapidly developing computer vision and machine learning application. In this paper, we consider the crowd motion patterns determination by using motion maps that we calculate with FlowNet, a neural network examining motion of objects in a video sequence. This approach allows us to get information on the crowd direction and velocity with relation to other objects of scene, which plays the key role in behavior analysis and security establishment. Besides, we consider methods for preliminary video sequence processing, including frame combination, to estimate motion maps more precisely and improve the effectiveness of the dynamic scenes analysis.

Women in Behavior Analysis: A Review of the Literature.

Women have played, and continue to play, an important role in behavior analysis. Their participation as authors of journal articles and as journal editors was first quantified in 1983 and has been the topic of several subsequent articles. Other articles have addressed other aspects of women's participation in the discipline, but no review of articles concerned with women in behavior analysis has appeared. The present review (a) describes articles that quantified the participation of women, (b) presents a novel data set providing an updated overview of women's participation in eight behavior-analytic journals, (c) reviews suggestions from prominent female behavior analysts, (d) discusses other topics that pertain to the participation of women, (e) presents data describing the gender of authors who have written about women in behavior analysis, and (f) makes suggestions for future research. Women's participation in behavior analysis has increased greatly over the past half-century. The articles we review clearly document that increase and may have contributed to it, although that contribution is speculative.

The Creative Tripod: The Stitching and the Unstitching Revisited

There are no undebated definitions of “creativity,” and any definition will reflect how this rich topic is treated. Nearly 20 years ago I discussed how behavior analysis might contribute—or not—to an understanding of creativity. I revisit this topic, expanding on some issues and reconsidering others. As before, my focus is on scientific and mathematical accomplishments, which, though tied closely to Weisberg’s placement of creative achievements in the domains of problem posing and problem solving, places emphasis on the extraordinary and productive giftedness of certain individuals. From the massive empirical, theoretical, and historical literature at least three essential and dynamically interlocking dimensions of their creative achievements emerge: talent, expertise, and motivation. I emphasize “interlocking” because the productive expression of each of these elements depends on the others. The role of behavior analysis in these elements is modest at best. It has nothing to say about talent—and even in some cases might deny its role altogether. As for expertise, with some notable exceptions, behavior analysis has had little to say about the acquisition of truly complex performances; this has been left to other fields. As for motivation, one must go well beyond naive “pleasure and pain” accounts to more elusive, yet more powerful behavior–consequence relations. Many challenges to understanding remain for all behavioral scientists.

Identity Retention of Multiple Objects under Extreme Occlusion Scenarios using Feature Descriptors

Identity assignment and retention needs multiple object detection and tracking. It plays a vital role in behavior analysis and gait recognition. The objective of Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) is to detect, track and retain identities from an image sequence. An occlusion is a major resistance in identity retention. It is a challenging task to handle occlusion while tracking varying number of person in the complex scene using a monocular camera. In MOT, occlusion remains a challenging task in real world applications. This paper uses Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and Hungarian Assignment (HA) for person detection and tracking. We propose an identity retention algorithm using Rotation Scale and Translation (RST) invariant feature descriptors. In addition, a segmentation based optimum demerge handling algorithm is proposed to retain proper identities under occlusion. The proposed approach is evaluated on a standard surveillance dataset sequences and it achieves 97 % object detection accuracy and 85% tracking accuracy for PETS-S2.L1 sequence and 69.7% accuracy as well as 72.3% precision for Town Centre Sequence.

Topic-related Chinese message sentiment analysis

Considering sentiment analysis of microblogs plays an important role in behavior analysis of social media, there has been a significant progress in this area recently. However, most researches are topic-ignored and neglect the sentimental orientation towards different topics. We propose two combined methods for topic-related Chinese message sentiment analysis. One is a graph-based ranking model of LT-IGT which takes both local and global topical information into consideration. And the other is a method of exploring sentimental features on expanded topical words with word embedding which considers both the syntactic and semantic information. These two methods are integrated into a topic-related Chinese message sentiment classifier. Experimental results on SIGHAN8 dataset show the outperformance of this approach compared with other well-known methods on sentiment analysis of topic-related Chinese message.

The Role of Behavior Analysis in the Rehabilitation of Persons With Dementia

With the rapidly aging population, it is expected that increases in cases of dementia will double over the next 20 years. Currently, there is no cure for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease or frontotemporal dementia (FTD) that cause progressive dementia, and only a few pharmacological interventions that slow the progression of the decline exist. Given that there is no cure available, a rehabilitation approach that emphasizes maintaining existing abilities and removing excess disability (as opposed to emphasizing cure or recovery) for as long as possible is warranted. The current paper proposes that nonpharmacological rehabilitation efforts need to target 5 broad areas/targets: memory enhancement, altering social contingencies and communication styles, improving self-care skills, the arrangement of physical environments to maintain and improve functioning, and increasing physical fitness/physical activity. The purpose of this paper is to review specific behaviorally oriented interventions that target these 5 areas and show promise for inclusion in comprehensive rehabilitation efforts for individuals with dementia.

Editorial: Crime as a civil rights issue: The role of behavior analysis in protecting American freedom.

Editorial: Crime as a civil rights issue: The role of behavior analysis in protecting American freedom.

The family safety/applied behavior analysis initiative: An introduction and overview.

The Family Safety/Applied Behavior Analysis Initiative at the University of Florida is part of a statewide project designed to serve foster caregivers and foster children under the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families. Currently, our primary method for addressing child problem behavior involves parent training, in the form of classroom instruction, and in-home services. However, in order to identify the most effective and efficient methods for disseminating information to foster parents, we will be conducting research that is specifically designed to evaluate the current caregiver-training program. In this paper, we review methodological issues in assessing and treating child behavior problems that have necessitated a departure from methodologies used in more typical behavior analysis service areas. Specific areas that may require alternative methodologies include the assessment and treatment of low frequency, high intensity, and covert behavior as well as innovative approaches to reinforcer identification, the assessment of treatment integrity, and the development of manageable interventions. Finally, areas for future research that address academic deficits and the efficacy of medications as treatment are discussed. The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) provides services for a variety of populations in need of assistance. Currently within the DCF, there are five subdivisions: a) Family Safety, b) Developmental Services, c) Adult Services, d) Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health, and e) Economic Self-Sufficiency. Of the five major subdivisions, behavior analytic methodology has had its greatest impact in the area of Developmental Services. The Developmental Services subdivision is designed to provide services for individuals with developmental disabilities including residential support, therapeutic services, and job training. In part, as a result of the success of behavior analysis within Developmental Services, the DCF has extended the role of behavior analysis to include the subdivision of Family Safety. The Family Safety subdivision specializes in the treatment of children who have been abused (physically or sexually), neglected, or both. Prior to the development of the Family Safety-Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Initiative, abused and neglected children in the state of Florida received behavioral services from practitioners trained from a standard mental health perspective. That is, children were exposed to psychological testing, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and hypnotherapy (to name only a few) as treatment for severe problem behavior. Although those procedures are still in use today, the effectiveness has been called into question (Weisz, Donenberg, Han, & Kauneckis, 1995). In contrast, the ABA Initiative is designed to teach current and potential foster parents behavioral principles that have been empirically demonstrated, in order to reduce or eliminate problematic behavior and increase appropriate behavior of abused and neglected children, and to enhance parent-child relationships. One of the greatest challenges to the child protection system is the placement and maintenance of a substitute home environment for child victims of abuse or neglect (Friedman, Baron, Lardieri, & Quick, 1982; Kutash & Rivera, 1995; Webster, Barth, & Needell, 2000). For example, Webster et al. recently evaluated placement instability, defined as three or more moves after the first year in care, and found that 52% of children placed in non-relative care experienced three or more placement disruptions within an 8-year period. High levels of placement instability also may be correlated with decreased academic performance and increased levels of criminal behavior, delinquency, and drug abuse in adulthood. Windom (2000) reported that 31.2% of children who are abused or neglected are arrested as juveniles as compared to 19% of their peers. The sheer number of children in care in the United States makes the task of maintaining stable placements difficult. …

The role of behavior analysis in school psychology.

The role of behavior analysis in school psychology is ever evolving. Recently, the federal requirement of conducting functional behavioral assessments for a subgroup of children identified with disabilities has brought the need for behavior analysis to the forefront of school psychology. Presently, behavior analysis is influencing both assessment and consultation conducted in the schools. However, given the necessity for intensive training in behavior analysis and the limited training available in this area in many school psychology programs, a serious problem may be faced by the field. The future of behavior analysis within the context of school psychology is considered. ********** The field of school psychology is dedicated to the science and practice of psychology with children, youth, families; learners of all ages; and the schooling process (APA). Behavioral technology has always played a role in school psychology, but similar to other subspecialties, school psychology is a diverse field and includes professionals representing many different theoretical orientations. Thus, school psychologists who do not endorse a behavioral orientation are not required to take advantage of advances in behavioral technology. Recent changes in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; Public Law 105-17, 1997), however, may catapult more school psychologists into the arena of behavior analysis. Specifically, IDEA now requires a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to be conducted for a child with an identified disability when serious behavioral concerns have been identified that could lead to significantly reduced access to educational services (e.g., suspensions for 10 days) or changes in placement to alternative educational settings (IDEA; Public Law 105-17, 1997). For example, a FBA should be conducted if drug or weapons charges are in place so a child's placement is changed to a more restrictive environment that is consistent with stated disciplinary policy for all children. Given the training most practitioners have in traditional assessment procedures, the school psychologist may expect to receive requests for conducting FBAs (Shriver & Watson, 1999). Thus, although the field of behavior analysis has had the greatest impact on school psychology via behavioral consultation, the role of behavior analysis in school psychology is an evolving one. The field of school psychology is responding to both the changing needs in schools and modifications in federal law that can be best met through the application of behavior analytic principles and methods. In order to better understand the relevance of behavior analysis in school psychology, a brief discussion of behavioral assessment and behavioral consultation, as well as the future impact of behavior analysis on the field of school psychology follows. Behavioral Assessment FBAs have become a more common practice in the schools because federal law now requires FBAs to be conducted when a change in placement is being considered for a child with an identified disability when significant behavioral problems are interfering with obtaining educational services in a child's present placement. Regrettably, FBA has not been specifically defined in IDEA, thus school psychologists and other behavioral specialists can choose between a range of procedures that fall under the umbrella of FBA. For example, descriptive procedures such as interviews, rating scales, or direct observation as well as experimental procedures such as brief, extended (i.e., a 1a Iwata, 1982), or hypothesis-driven functional analysis may be employed in order to meet the legal requirement of conducting an FBA. However, it is noteworthy that the federal government has sanctioned a specific behavioral technology for use in the schools (Telzrow, 1999). This recent change clearly increases the value of training and expertise in behavior analysis for school psychologists because failure to conduct, interpret, and assist in the implementation of interventions based on FBAs will necessarily diminish their role in the schools. …

The behavior analyst today: Achieving its mission but still a long way to go!

With the issue of BAT 2(4), we have successfully completed our second year. Publishing 3 (1), we begin our third year and indeed much has occurred to the world and our profession in that last year. Those of us who reside in the United States have witnessed a contested election, an ever broadening recession, and of course the vicious, unprovoked attack of September 11th. September 11th has bought the U.S. president has termed a new normalcy to this country. It is one that many abroad have become accustomed to: the idea of living with ever tightening security and the realization that at any moment, our lives can be determined by total strangers. On the issue of the recession, during this time it is critical for companies to increase productivity with fewer personnel then before. One way to accomplish this is through the use of performance pay systems. William Abernathy has provided us with a timely article on this subject matter and how to get started in the performance pay world. Calls for homeland defense have led us to ask over and over again, what is the role of behavior analysis in this new era? To this question, behavior analysts have much to offer. Indeed, we are planning a future issue for the Behavior Analyst Today to be devoted to Behavior Analysis and homeland defense. From the socialization of individuals with conduct disorders to ensuring that the 20% of gifted children who underachieve, receive the skills necessary to maximize their potential, behavior analysis has a say about change and about tolerance. On the tolerance issue, Skinner, Cautilli and Hantula offer a functionalist perspective on Ebonics and place the perspective in light of the changing culture of language studies. Even more locally in Pennsylvania, behavior analysis is still on the verge of adding its knowledge to redesigning the overly costly mental health system. Still many would oppose suggestions from behavior analysts in spite of the state's acknowledged claim that it wants to shift from a focus on service to a focus on treatment. As surveys of psychotherapists have taught us, the percentage of patients who receive behavioral (and even cognitive) treatments for anxiety disorders has decreased (Goisman, Rogers, Stekettee, Warshaw, Cuneo, & Keller, 1993; Plante, Andersen, & Boccaccini, 1999) in spite of the U.S. Surgeon General's (1999) report. We can think of no other area in medicine where the nation's leading doctor issue a list of interventions that are efficacious for particular problems and have such a general disregard by the health community to implement such suggestions. The explanations for the reasons behind this vary but one of the leading reasons is that practitioners are not trained in these techniques (Committee on Accreditation, 2000). Another is that clinicians are biased against using such practices (Addis & Krasnow, 2000; Sanderson, 1995). In Pennsylvania Best Practice Documents are listed on the Office of Medical Assistance and Substance Abuse Website, yet none of the documents list anything about functional assessment, contingency management or any of the other techniques that the Surgeon General has endorsed for the treatment of children. Part of this reason is that no one in Pennsylvania's Children and Adolescent Service System Provider Institute (CASSP Institute), the training wing for all mental health service providers, is certified in behavior analysis. They unfortunately see behavior analysis as only useful for developmental disabilities and have missed that the Surgeon General (1999, Chapter 3) has endorsed behavioral treatment techniques for childhood disorders as varied as anxiety (Goisman, Rogers, & Keller, 1999) and oppositional defiant disorder. Maybe readers should stop by the website and let them know otherwise. Behavior analysis has a place not only in the United States, but as the University re-opens in Kabul we need to think about we could provide to the Afghan people. …

Functional Assessment: Old Wine in New Bottles

This manuscript traces functional assessment (FA) in school settings to early contributions by B. F. Skinner that are evident in Science and Human Behavior (1953). The logic and methods of functional assessment are evident in Skinner's writings, and many early researchers and practitioners influenced by his ideas employed FA in designing interventions in schools and other settings. FA has continued to play an important role in behavior analysis, and the value of this approach in dealing with behavior problems in many settings, including schools, has long been evident. Although interest in FA in school settings has only recently become widespread, FA in education has a long and impressive history.

Early intensive behavioral intervention: Emergence of a consumer-driven service model

Parents are becoming influential stimulators and shapers of public policy in regard to educational services for their children. Increasingly, this advocacy has created a controversy about the role of applied behavior analysis as a foundation for early intensive behavioral intervention in autism. Uncertainties exist in policy regarding the role of behavior analysis in early intervention and the capacity of behavior analysis to field a trained work force. Based on contacts with parents of children with autism and information available in a variety of forms on the Internet, there is a rising demand for fundamentally better early intervention services that are available and accessible, provide active intervention, and are based on principles of behavior analysis. Contemporary movements in special and early education, however, appear to be nonconducive to scientifically based treatments, and school districts seem hostile to an increasing role for behavior analysis and to the establishment of services that are responsive to changing parental priorities for the education of their children with autism and related disorders.

Role of behavior analysis in home and community-based neurological rehabilitation

National initiatives to achieve cost-efficient neurological rehabilitation have resulted in increased attention toward measurable and meaningful outcomes. This movement has prompted interest in alternative sites and methods of delivering services and securing rehabilitation outcomes. One of these alternatives, active neurological rehabilitation occurring in the patient's home and community, is presented. The present study demonstrates a single-case example of home-based interdisciplinary treatment driven by a behavior analysis. Results indicated improvement in all targeted outcomes. Assumptions necessary for treatment teams to establish outcome-driven rehabilitation are discussed.