In this issue

1. •President’s Column
   

2. •Profile: Dr. Maria de Lourdes da R.F. Passos
   

3. •Special Feature: Ecobehaviorism Volunteerism
   

4. •2009 BFS Foundation Seminar Series
   

5. •BFS Foundation Archival Program
   

6. •BFS Student Research Awards
   

7. •Editor’s Column
   

8. •Events
   

9. •Volunteer Projects
   

President’s Column

Dr. Julie S. Vargas

One of the Foundation’s missions is making B. F. Skinner’s writings available to scholars and the public. We are sometimes asked about why we don’t have them all in downloadable form on our website. The answer is one word: Copyright. Unless the Foundation has permission from the magazine or journal to post the pdf on the website we cannot post the article, although we may send out pdfs one at a time when requested. Sometimes companies charge a lot for permission, sometimes nothing at all. As time permits we will put more of Skinner’s articles on the web in downloadable form so you can access them without having to send an email requesting a particular article.

Then there are the books.  Many of Skinner’s out-of-print books have already been reprinted by the Foundation, and we plan to reprint the others, starting with Contingencies of Reinforcement. This book, like some of Skinner’s other books, is a collection of articles. To reprint them again in Contingencies of Reinforcement, permission must be obtained from the original publisher of each article, even if the Foundation now owns the copyright to the book itself.  The process is straightforward though time-consuming.
Getting copyrights to a book can take a long time. If a book is still in print or the publisher still has inventory, the publisher will rarely relinquish copyright. Even if the publisher transfers the copyright to the Foundation, the publisher’s original publishing contract usually prevents the Foundation from publishing a competing format.
Difficulties in getting the copyright occurred with Science and Human Behavior. The first inquiry to the final transfer of the copyright took five years of intermittent effort. The transfer permitted the Foundation to put the book onto the web in downloadable form where it is now.
One of the problems in dealing with publishers occurs when larger companies acquire smaller ones. The new owner often does not know who is in charge of handling an inquiry such as transferring copyrights.  Different offices can be so confused about responsibilities that they disagree about who owns the copyright to a particular book. In the case of Science and Human Behavior, the Foundation received a letter requesting permission to reprint a part, assuming (incorrectly) that the Foundation owned the copyright. That same week the Foundation received another letter from a different department informing the Foundation about permission for a French translation, assuming (correctly) that it still held the copyright. Subsequently, after many phone calls, the Foundation reached the correct department’s lawyer and he transferred the copyright to the Foundation.   Still, as long as the Free Press edition of Science and Human Behavior is being sold, the Foundation may not produce a paperback version. That restriction does not cover hardcover, e-book, or leather covered editions, nor, of course the copy we have on-line.

Dr. Passos is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dr. Passos, after a rigorous career as Professor Adjunto at the Instituto de Psicologia, Universidad Federal do Rio de Janeiro, retired and relocated to the United States in 2001. She lived in New York for six years before moving to Massachusetts.
“Although I retired from my work at the Universidad Federal do Rio de Janeiro, I continued my research. During the period of 2002-2006, I worked in the Human and Social Sciences Research Branch of New York Public Library. The New York Public Library is still very important to me. When I had no academic or professional affiliations in New York it gave me unlimited access to unlimited literary resources in human science. This is not the experience one has in Brazil. In the last fifteen years, university libraries there have seen their collection of books and journals in human science dwindle. The money is not available, The government (of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, 1995-2003) reduced drastically the financing of university libraries, especially in the fields of the humanities and social sciences. They could not buy books or subscribe to academic journals in behavior analysis or linguistics. Consequently, there is almost nothing one can do in terms of human social science research.
“Until 2005 I was also working in a research group, coordinated by my excellent and beloved Doctorate advisor, Dr. Maria Amelia Matos. She was strongly committed to finding a better way to teach reading through her experimental research in behavior analysis. Her premature death in 2005 interrupted our group’s work. Nonetheless, I hope we will be able to resume it.”
In 2007 Dr. Passos moved to Cambridge, MA., and entered the Post Doctoral Fellowship Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School/Shriver Center, to continue her work with the history and epistemology of behavior analysis and structural linguistics.
“I am especially interested in exploring the possibilities of an interdisciplinary approach to language based on both disciplines. I believe that Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior is partially based on knowledge from the field of linguistics. The main difference is that Skinner analyses speech while structural linguistics analyses the languages, an essential part of what Skinner calls ‘the practices of the verbal community.’ I believe the systematic collaboration of these two fields can help improve our functional analysis of speech.
“As a researcher, I am very much interested in investigating the sources of Skinner’s thinking, especially as it relates to linguistics. When Skinner entered the field of psychology he had a major in English literature. His autobiography and the references in Verbal Behavior, the William James Lectures, and other of his writings reveal him to be an erudite author. The influence of authors like Darwin, Pavlov, Watson, etc, on Skinner’s work has been acknowledged. The same acknowledgement should be made in relation to the fields of linguistics, literature and literary criticism. Skinner’s creativity is related to the several and excellent intellectual traditions to which he was exposed.
“What presents the biggest challenge to my work is, partially, my own tendency to never-ending readings fed by the great number of current publications. At some time it is necessary to stop reading and to write with the material that you already have. The most difficult part of my work is to get the necessary materials about the two different disciplines. The Cambridge Public Library has been very helpful.”
Asked if any one of the popular conceptions of Skinner’s science helps or hinders her work. Dr. Passos replied, “I cannot support the predominant opinion in our field that Skinnerian analysis of verbal behavior opposes or substitutes for linguistic analysis. I don’t think Skinner thought this, even though I understand that certain writings of Skinner’s could carry some ambiguity about his position on this issue.
“Also Skinner and Chomsky’s dispute regarding language generated an understandable resistance among some behavior analysts to the possibility of contribution between our science and linguistics. I wish we could move beyond this stage to embrace an interdisciplinary approach to the issue of language.”
In the meantime: “Unfortunately, I have not been able to keep current on the literature of applied behavior analysis. I find particularly disturbing not being able to follow more closely the literature on the teaching of reading where I would like to do some applied work related to the teaching of reading in Portuguese, for example. I know there is excellent research on applied behavior analysis in this area, here and in Brazil. Maybe one day I will get there.
“Illiteracy is a serious social problem in Brazil and many other countries. It is unacceptable that, while part of the population of the globe has the powerful resources of the computer and the Web, a great part of it in many regions of the globe does not yet have the capability of reading even a small text. To address this problem, I admire and support those who vigorously demand more resources for public education, that would be a great contribution by each one of us as citizens.”
Last year at the 34th Annual Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA) Convention in Chicago, Dr. Passos presented a paper entitled “We need an annotated edition of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior.” Dr. Passos is delighted to address the notion of notes-in-the-margin for several reason.
She said, for example, “Verbal Behavior deals with many topics that come from outside the field of behavior analysis. These topics come mostly from the literature of linguistics, epistemology, literary theory and fictional works which thus are part of the variables that controlled Skinner’s behavior while writing Verbal Behavior.
An annotated edition of Verbal Behavior would: illuminate its concepts and the relationships among them; highlight the richness of its sources; weave links with other areas and authors; provide the necessary information to make the book accessible to readers of different backgrounds; and make Verbal Behavior more easily comprehended by students of behavior analysis and behaviorology.
An annotated edition of Verbal Behavior should present authors and topics from the fields of psychology, grammar, linguistics, philosophy, and writers of fiction, etc. that are referred to in the book.”

Special Feature

Ecobehaviorism Volunteering:

Allen Murphy, Ph.D, BCBA has been a Foundation board member since 2007. Currently he is the Executive Director of the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis (FABA) and  the Coordinator of Applied Placements at Florida State University - Panama City.

About ecobehaviorism volunteering he says, enthusiastically, “You can find time to do this! And might even get something out of it.”

What follows is Dr. Murphy’s story, his comments, thoughts, and suggestions about the evolution of ecobehaviorism volunteering.

“About a year ago Alicia Conger proposed offering something at the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis (FABA) conference related to saving the shrinking native Florida wildlife.  Given my involvement with sea turtle conservation she knew I was an easy mark.  In fact, this led to the annual FABA give-away of a reusable shopping bag with ‘Why are we not acting to save the world?’ logo, an obvious reference to Skinner's paper.   After many communications among those with similar interests a panel discussion was created featuring Alicia, Jeanie Stratton, Ernie and Julie Vargas, two wildlife biologists, and myself. Based in part on the diversity of the panelists' input the scope expanded from wildlife preservation to a broader term, ecobehaviorism.

What is ecobehaviorism? This term is not new having been used by Wahler and his colleagues in family treatment but has a different meaning here.  According to he definition proposed by Alicia Conger, ecobehaviorism is the application of behavior analytic principles and procedures to promote and increase conservation and sustainability of earth's resources and wildlife.

Anyone who reads JABA will recognize that efforts along these lines have been made for more than 30 years. Particularly in the 1970's and early 1980's articles addressing recycling, litter control, and energy conservation were published and others along the same lines continue to appear sporadically. However, with the exception of an article by Forthman and Ogden (1992) summarizing past and potential zoo efforts, wildlife seem to have been left out other than tangentially. The purpose here is to suggest some benefits of becoming an ecobehaviorism volunteer.

Protecting the environment is cool again. According to http://usmayors.org, 944 mayors have joined the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.  Major corporations such as General Electric and Toyota are touting their green efforts and, it could be that the outcome of the 2008 U.S. presidential election results rested in part on a desire by the public to preserve our natural resources. Heck, even longtime oilman T. Boone Pickens has jumped on the bandwagon.

In addition to what I said above, the benefits of ecobehaviorism volunteering offer every individual a panoply of rewards and opportunities, for example:

1. •Be amazed by nature: B. F. Skinner did not invent operant conditioning, he merely discovered it through careful observations of natural processes. We can be equally fascinated by observing nature outside the laboratory. Graphs are cool. Seeing the real thing like a nesting sea turtle or hatchlings emerging from their nest is cooler.
   

(Adult sea turtle top photo, turtle hatching above)

1. •Get off the treadmill: Millions of people have joined gyms to maintain fitness by doing mundane things such as walking on treadmills.  If you are one of them, why not scrap this for a walk or run on the beach, park, forest, or neighborhood while simultaneously making observations? This might include the number of a particular species spotted, environmentally risky activities, or the presence of nesting houses in your community? It will be a lot more interesting and you can take your dog for a walk at the same time.
   

2. •Meet great people: These photos show two big volunteers reaching across a leatherback turtle crawl and other volunteers excavating a nest with the assistance of Super Sea Turtle Kid.  Educating the children is important.
   

We all have warm feelings from our association with the tight knit behavioral community. Why not double your warm feelings by joining equally reinforcing environmental groups?

1. •We know how to take data: If you've never met a wildlife biologist you should. They are data-driven and know what should be done but often need the assistance of community volunteers.
   

My experience is that the volunteers are not only dedicated but imaginative, coming up with all sorts of potentially effective conservation interventions.  Examples from the sea turtle organization include the "Share the Beach" pamphlet designed to be given to out-of-town visitors by the rental agencies and an informational tag placed by volunteers on chairs, tents, etc. left on the beach.

Unfortunately, the creative volunteers normally do not know how to assess if these efforts had an impact but we know how to do that. For example, in a very preliminary effort, it appeared that the tags resulted in approximately half the items left on the beach being removed.

                            

And, finally, expand the scope of and exposure to behavior analysis: In her 2008 FABA Conference Invited Address, JABA and the Impact Factor, Cathleen Piazza, spoke about the dwindling number of JABA citations by professionals outside our field. While the tremendous gains in understanding the causes of behavioral deficits and excesses, and what to do to ameliorate these, is exciting for us most other people don't care. But, think about the possibilities if we, as behavior analysts, could provide empirical evidence toward the preservation of an endangered species. More exposure to professionals in other fields?  Newspaper or television coverage? We have the skills to do this. It just takes a little bit of your time.”

B. F. Skinner Foundation Seminar Series-2009

Saturday, November 21, Cocoa, Florida

Fluency-Based Instruction for Children with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities.

The 2009 Seminar presentation will be held in Cocoa Florida on Saturday, November 21, 2009.

Michael Fabrizio, is the  founder of the Organization for Research and Learning (ORL), Seattle, WA. Mr. Fabrizio is a behavior analyst specializing in instruction and instructional design providing services to children with autism and related disabilities.

Seminar Logistics Coordinator Karen Wagner, PhD.

Dr. Karen Wagner, Chief Executive Officer of Behavior Services of Brevard, Inc., in Cocoa, Florida is coordinating the seminar site logistics. Dr. Wagner is also Member at Large for FABA.

Seminar Hospitality Coordinator Dan Ezell. Ed.D

Dr. Dan Ezell is the Associate Professor/Exceptional Education Coordinator Department of Child, Family, & Community Sciences University of Central Florida, Cocoa, Florida. Dr. Ezell and the BCC Special Ed Teaching Program will provide food and refreshments, and entertainment.

LOCATION:

6 CEU CREDITS for Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Associate Behavior Analysts.

IN-SERVICE POINTS for Florida teachers

SEMINAR CONTENT:

This six-hour seminar will introduce participants to Fluency-Based Instruction. Fluency-Based Instruction is a highly effective and efficient system for arranging instructional contingencies. Participants will learn the components of Fluency-Based Instruction, its historical and empirical underpinnings, as well as the support systems needed to effectively implement this model with learners. To illustrate key concepts, the seminar combines slides, multiple video examples, and performance data from children with disabilities.
By the end of this seminar, participants should be able to:

1. •  List and describe the components of Fluency-based Instruction for learners with disabilities.
   

2. •  Describe the historical and empirical underpinning of Fluency-Based Instruction.
   

3. •  Define rate of response and discuss the role it plays in Fluency-Based Instruction.
   

4. •  Describe the clinical and measurement advantages offered by measuring rate of response rather than percent correct. and the levels of data-based decisions that clinicians can make when monitoring Fluency-Based Instruction.
   

5. •  Describe the procedures used to empirically validate skill retention, endurance, application, and stability and the support systems needed to implement Fluency-Based Instruction in both school and private clinical arrangements.
   

SCHEDULE:

8:00-9:00 Registration with a Continental breakfast and the Special Ed Students’ Magic Show.

9:00-11:00 Seminar

1100-11:20 Refreshments

11:20-1:00 Seminar

1:00-2:00 Lunch*

2:00-3:30 Seminar

3:30-3:45 Refreshments*

3:45-5:00 Seminar

*Food service for seminar participants will be provided by the BCC Special Ed Teaching Program and Dr. Dan Ezell.

REGISTRATION FEE

$135.00

Pre-registration is required. There is a ten percent discount on individual early bird registration until September 30, 2009, and for groups three or more individuals registering from the same organization there is a fifteen percent discount.

REGISTER ON-LINE NOW

Seminar Series Committee

Ms. Johnson, is Founder, Director, and Senior Behavior Analyst/Consultant of Advances Learning Center. She has a Master of Arts degree in Behavior Disorders and Applied Behavior Analysis from Columbia University Teachers College and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She has taught in both private and public schools at pre-school and elementary levels and has provided educational consultation services to public schools and home programs. Her interest in social skill development originated in graduate school, where she did her thesis on using self-management to increase peer interaction. She taught undergraduate behavior analysis courses at Northeastern University and graduate level courses at Simmons College. She has provided parent training through the May Institute. She is a member of the Association for Behavior Analysis and the International Society for Behaviorology, and is past president of the Greater Boston Association for Behavior Analysis.
Ms. Johnson’s goals and objectives for the B.F. Skinner Foundation Seminar Series include:

1. 1. Specifying criteria that distinguish the B. F. Skinner Foundation Seminar Series from other seminar events.
   

2. 2. Denoting themes and topics that address the concerns of different audiences from animal trainers to zoo keepers, baby sitters to dentists.
   

3. 3. Facilitating the access of different types of audience by contacting the various organizations that represent those potential audiences.
   

4. 4. Evaluating the effectiveness of the Seminars by:
   

1. a) monitoring and analyzing the attendance and fiscal details
   

2. b) providing a brief report on the Seminar’s operation and impact
   

5. The expectations and scope of the Seminar Series Committee aim to give an opportunity for behavioral service professionals (teachers, and so on) and the general public (parents and so on) to encounter the science and technology, and, as important, the positive change these can make in people’s lives.
   

The Seminar Committee’s mission is two-fold: First, to provide instruction in the behavior analytic engineering technologies derived from behaviorological science, and, second, to promote and teach ethical and positive practices in daily and professional life.

The topics and themes we have in mind will address the concerns of diverse audiences from animal trainers to zoo keepers, from  babysitters to dentists.”

Under the auspices of the Foundation, Ms. Johnson’s committee will select and invite the most dynamic seminar leaders in specific technological applications, and their basic science and philosophical underpinnings.

Archival Committee

Annual Activity Report from Committee Chair, Criss Wilhite:

The Foundation received the following archival items in the past year (donor names in parentheses):

1. 1. Verbal summator: original record and digital copy (Gail Peterson)
   

2. 2. Hovell tapes (Frank and Mel Hovell)
   

3. 3. Photocopy of FBI files on BFS (Joe Wyatt)
   

4. 4. 16mm movie reels that pertain to the history of behavior analysis including the following five titles
   

5. •Communique with B. F. Skinner
   

6. •The Skinner Revolution A conversation with B. F. Skinner
   

7. •Token Economy: Behaviorism Applied, The B. F. Skinner Series from the CRM Films Collection McGraw-Hill Films 1972 22 minutes/color;
   

8. •Cognition Creativity and Behavior, Research Press, 1972;
   

9. •B. F. Skinner and Behavior Change, Research Press, 47 minutes. (Eric Chubb)
   

5. 5. An electronic copy of a brochure pertaining to B. F. Skinner’s visit to the Ohio State University (Bill Heward).
   

“I resumed regularly-scheduled meetings with the committee’s student teams. Students are given discrete tasks such as contacting Jon Bailey for brochures he has about a BFS visit to The Florida State University program, and contacting Susan Freedman about her experience with B. F. Skinner as she coordinated his visit to Utah. Many of these tasks were the result of the presentation she gave at ABAI in May of 2008. A number of people volunteered information after the talk.”

Through the investigative work of the Archival Committee, the Foundation received the following articles that members found in the media that mentioned B. F. Skinner:

1. •The obituary of Katherine Kinkade of Twin Oaks (July 3, 2008)
   

2. •Steve Mirsky’s article in Scientific American (September, 2008) regarding BFS’s Pigeon Project during World War II
   

3. •An interview with Robert Lanza in Discover in the fall of 2008
   

4. •An article about Don Chance’s city planning ideas that compares his work to that of B. F. Skinner (Baker City Herald, August 8, 2008; Baker City, Oregon.).
   

5. •An item in a The New Yorker
   

book review of the newly republished The Process of Government by Arthur F. Bentley originally published in 1908 by The University of Chicago Press. The  book deals with the idea of “ ‘process-based behavioralism” that later became central to political science’,” according to Nicholas Lemann, who wrote The New Yorker article.

In the article, Lemann says, “Bentley’s closest intellectual companion was John Dewey—a published collection of their correspondence runs to more than seven hundred pages—but Bentley’s papers, at Indiana University, also contain letters sent to him over the years by, among many others, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Sidney Hook, Estes Kefauver, and B. F. Skinner.”

Reports from Committee Members

Cal Claus contacted Joseph Wyatt who had accessed Skinner’s FBI file through the Freedom of Information Act. Wyatt published his findings: Wyatt, W. J. (2000). Behavioral science in the crosshairs: The FBI File on B. F. Skinner. in Behavior and Social Issues, 10, 101-109. Dr. Wyatt provided a copy of the (heavily redacted) file to the Foundation through contacts with Criss.

Cal accessed the Archives of the History of Psychology at the University of Akron (AHAP). He found that their collection includes the following:

1. •Seven teaching machines built and used by Skinner
   

2. •Correspondence identifying and briefly describing the teaching machines
   

3. •Excerpts from Skinner’s book on the history of teaching machines, A Matter of Consequence; Magic Ink Workbooks: Handwriting with Write and See, volumes 1-6.
   

4. •Materials used in teaching Natural Science 114 at Harvard.
   

Cal said, “Two of the Tautophone/Verbal Summator devices seem to be available at the AHAP.  One was supplied by Charles Ferster, the other by David Shakow. Overall, the holdings regarding Skinner are rather meager in the AHAP. I could not locate an AHAP holding referring to the cumulative recorder.” 

“Don't they have one of those?” he added. “It is one of the prime hallmarks of Skinner's efforts.

“The Archives of the History of American Psychology catalogues the Tautophone with Verbal Summator in parentheses.   The name of David Shakow was the one associated with the commercial product known as the Tautophone. Shakow worked out some arrangement with  Skinner to present it to the professional world as the Tautophone, not as the Verbal Summator, and Shakow used it in his work with schizophrenics,” Cal noted.

Yosh Kawahara provided the Foundation with the Frank and Mel Hovell taped interviews with Skinner. Yosh  also found a letter online signed by Harvard Faculty. Skinner was one of the signers. The letter was in support of academic freedom and against loyalty oaths. It was forwarded to the Foundation. Yosh agreed to research funds for transferring films to digibeta: 20 hours of original archived film, 16mm and some 8 mm. Cost of transferring to digibeta format: $500 per hour; 20 hours x $500 per hour, totaling $10,000. Once this is done all films will be available at no charge to historians and other researchers. Clips of some films will continually be available for the general public online.

(Editor’s Note: You may earmark a donation for this special project. Please visit our website for details or contact the Foundation at info@bfskinner.org, or call 617-661-9209. Gifts of archival material and monetary support are deeply appreciated.)

Terry Knapp found material in the Sister Walters Archive. This archive is part of the Marquette University Libraries Department of Special Collections and University Archives. and is related to the index of records compiled by Walters for the Sister Formation Conference and the Religious Formation Conference Records, and are now part of Sr. Annette Walters’ Papers, 1936-1983. The online location of this is:

(http://www.marquette.edu/library/collections/archives/Mss/SFC/mss-sfc-s-10.html).

The Foundation received a copy of the Walters material in December 2008.

“In addition,” says Terry,  “the Walters Archive includes a newspaper photo of Walters and Skinner. I have contacted the newspaper, but not yet heard if they have the original photo.

Also among the papers was a small excerpt from an interview (in narrative form) with Skinner by Eugene Kennedy from the book: Believing (1974).  Beyond the discussion in Science and Human Behavior, this may be the most complete set of comments by Skinner on religion. I thought I knew of all the interviews with Skinner, but this one was new to me. It shows that even in the secondary literature there are still interesting items to find. 

Dr. Kennedy is now very senior and I am told ill, but I am contacting him (if the leads allow me), and will see if he has a recording of the interview or any other materials.”

Terry is still working on the Minnesota material and, as of last July, was in the process of transferring taped interviews to digital format.

Joan Warmbold has been searching for grants that would be a good fit with the Foundation.

Melissa Nosik and Chelsea Wilhite are working on interviews they filmed of students and colleagues of Skinner’s (e.g. Charles Catania).

Gail Peterson donated a Verbal Summator to the Foundation. Gail is keeping watch over items left by Skinner at the University of Minnesota:

“We have quite a bit of material here in Minnesota that is just sitting here without anybody giving it much attention.  I keep my eye on it all (from a mild distance), and have even taken some initial steps to see to it that the file folders and paper records, at least, receive proper attention from our archivists in the central library. They have come and taken a superficial inventory, but so far anything more is still on hold.  We have at least one fat file folder containing his personnel records from 1936-1945.  We also have one of his first rat "Skinner boxes" in a display case in our departmental library.  I am quite certain that I am the last vestige of a Skinnerian influence in the Minnesota psychology department, so before I take my final bow, I intend to see to it that these historical materials either go to the Foundation or at least that they be put somewhere safe and sound.”

Josh Pritchard helped both Chelsea Wilhite and Melissa Nosik with interviews of Charles Catania and Jack Michael. He also provided technical help to the Foundation regarding the website.

Chelsea Wilhite presented at ABAI in May 2008. She presented videos of two preliminary interviews of people who had met Skinner. They were well received and forwarded to the Foundation. At the Archival Committee meeting, the Foundation agreed to have Chelsea attend the International Society of Behaviorology (ISB) to interview attendees who had histories with Skinner, including interviews with Bill Morse and Karen Pryor.

(Criss is interested in volunteers -- students, professionals, and retirees who have a computer. Please contact her with your particular interests at

crissw@csufresno.edu.)

Student Research Awards

    The 2008 recipient of the B.F. Skinner CalABA Award is Jared Coon (below).

Coon received the award for his proposal investigating the influence of increased exposure to prompting methods and the acquisition of intraverbal behavior. Jared is a master's candidate at California State University, Sacramento where he is advised by Dr. Caio Miguel.

    The 2009 recipients of the B. F. Skinner Foundation New Research Award for Division 25:

Jonathan Pinkston was selected for basic research. A post doc student at  the University of Texas Health Science Center, Pinkston was selected for his research in the area of behavioral pharmacology and for his recent technological and methodological contributions to the study of repetitive behavior. Pinkston received his Ph.D from the University of Florida where he studied with Dr. Marc Branch.

Eileen Roscoe of the New England Center for Children was selected for the applied research award based on her research in the areas of functional analysis and treatment of severe problem behavior, staff training, and reinforcer assessment.  Roscoe also received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida where she studied with Dr. Brian Iwata.

BFSF Board Meeting

The annual Foundation Board Meeting was held April 3-4, 2009. Attending Board Members and Foundation Staff included Drs. Allen Murphy, Karen Pryor, Mark Sundberg, Julie Vargas, Foundation Founder and President, Ernest Vargas, Vice President, and administrative assistants, Edith Lambert and Ann Kellegher.

The outcome included  proposals to:

1. •Raise donations 
   

2. •Refine programs and services to emphasize the Foundation’s organizational focus on resources, science, and     society, and
   

3. •Reach a wider domestic and international audience base
   

1. 
   

B. F. Skinner Bookstore

Your Comments Please:

The Foundation is interested in feedback from those who buy books through our website.  We would like to know the reason for your purchase. This will help us plan reprints for the future as well as suggest to us what is happening in the field. Please send your response to elambert@bfskinner.org.

Walden Two on DVD:
Since its publication in 1948, Walden Two has fascinated readers with its provocative picture of a society in which human problems are solved by a scientific technology of human conduct. Today we can listen to Dr. Skinner read the ideas of his portrayal of a community in which many of our contemporary values become realized. The cost is $19.95 plus shipping.

Permissions

The Foundation continues to attend to the many requests from authors, editors, and publishers, as well as students who want the use of B. F. Skinner‘s work or images that are copyrighted by the Foundation. This includes photographs, text, and videos. The Foundation gladly grants the use of material. If the enterprise is a commercial one, there is a modest fee. If the use of material is for the publication of a book, then we generally request one copy for the Foundation’s archives.

Editor’s Column

Dear Reader,

Who are the men in the photograph?

Dr. Skinner is standing second from the left. We would like the names and current status of the others, as well as the location and date when the photo was taken. Send your reply to operants@bfskinner.org.

From time to time, I hope readers will help the Foundation with similar details.

In addition, I am eager to hear from readers who have suggestions about the contents of Operants. Perhaps you have an essay you would like to share with the behavioral community through Operants. We are in the process of establishing an editorial policy to review and accept submissions, and I will provide information about this in a future Operants.
In the meantime, In a recent email, a reader from Bulgaria, Dr. Atanassov, whose study of Skinner’s book The Behavior of Organisims underpins his investigations of the social behavior of dogs, said, “My work is about the conservation and reconstruction of our native livestock guard dog [the] Bulgarian Shepherd Dog.”

With some friends from Turkey, Atanassov also works with Turkish livestock guard dogs, a breed called Kangal. And, for the past several years he has been investigating the behavior of street dogs. “Unfortunately without results, because idiots kill these poor animals,” he said.

Can anyone offer Operants an article on the work they are doing with dogs or other animals, within a Skinnerian science treatment?

Events

1. ‣ABAI 5th International Conference, August 7-10, 2009, at the Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel, Norway.
   

1. ‣FABA, September 30-October 3, 2009. Hilton Daytona Beach, Florida.
   

1. ‣HABA, October 15-17, 2009 Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre Hotel
   

1. ‣Personality, Language and Uncertainty, September 21-27, 2009, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia. Contact Aleksandr Fedorov, Email: fedorov@fp.nsu.ru
   
   

2. ‣Behavior Analysis & Developmental Disorders: Experimental and Applied Prospects, December 10-11, 2009, Lille, France.
   

There are many ways to support the Foundation.  Many of our activities would be impossible without the volunteers who donate their time, often a great deal of time.  Many projects have been suggested and carried out by volunteers.  Check out our Volunteer Activities to find out how volunteers have helped the Foundation.  Support the B. F. Skinner Foundation with an online donation.  Even donations as small as $5.00 are welcome. Contributions to the Foundation are tax-deductible.

If you’d like to subscribe to Operants, please email our Subscription Department.

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