Stephen Still ISTL team wins NTSA Best Paper at MODSIM World Conference
By Peter Murphy
Published June 13, 2022
The Stephen Still Institute for Sustainable Transportation and Logistics (ISTL) won the National Training and Simulation Association’s (NTSA) Best Paper award at the modeling and simulation (MODSIM) World 2022 Conference.
The paper, Implementation of Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) Workplace Setting to Enhance Occupational Success among Young Adults with ADHD, was presented by ISTL director of Operations and paper co-author, Kevin Hulme. The lead author is former Institute staff assistant and biomedical engineering alumna (MS ’19, BS ’16) Rachel Su Ann Lim.
People with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience inattention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. As young adults with ADHD transition into the workforce, they often change jobs frequently because employers struggle to make accommodations. According to Hulme, very little research has been done to identify barriers to success.
“It is important to understand intervention protocols that can serve as an effective support,” Hulme says.
As part of the research, principal investigator Gregory Fabiano, along with Hulme, Lim and other UB and external collaborators developed the Laboratory Assessment of Behavior in Occupational Roles (LABOR) analog workplace setting in order to simulate a food delivery environment and assess participant performance.
“LABOR is designed to approximate a live pizzeria training environment with a virtually simulated food delivery environment,” Hulme says. “For our pilot examination, 20 young adults with ADHD participated in an evaluation to promote improvements in occupational performance.”
The MODSIM World Conference brings together leaders in the modeling and simulation field focused on novel applications and practices targeted at preparing for a rapidly changing future.
In addition to lead author Lim and co-author and presenter Hulme, Gregory A. Fabiano, College of Arts, Science, and Education at Florida International University; Sandro M. Sodano, Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology, University at Buffalo; and Chanelle Gordon, Boys Town Child and Family Translational Research Center, Omaha, Nebraska contributed to the paper.