What do you recommend? Implementation and analyses of collaborative information filtering of web resources for education

This article examines results from one pilotstudy and two empirical studies of acollaborative filtering (CF) system applied ineducational settings. CF is a populartechnology in electronic commerce, whichleverages the interests of entire communitiesto provide targeted, personalizedrecommendations of interesting products orresources to individuals. In electroniccommerce, entertainment, and related domains,CF has proven an accurate and reliable tool;yet educational applications remain limited.From analyses of data from these three studies,we believe that CF holds promise in educationnot only for the purposes of helping learnersand educators find useful resources forlearning, but as a means of bringing togetherpeople with similar interests and beliefs, andpossibly as an aid to the learning processitself.     

Information Technology and University Teaching (1)

Great claims have been made for the ability of information technology and computers to transform methods of teaching and learning in higher education. In order to assess the impact of such technology to date it is important to distinguish between different applications — specifically, computers as a teaching aid, computers as a means of delivering instruction, and computers as a learning tool. It is argued that information technology has had limited success in the first application, the second has produced few changes in traditional teaching practice, while student use of computers as a tool for learning has immense potential. Current applications of computers in university teaching are reviewed, achievements and problems examined, and conclusions are drawn about possible developments for the future.

     

Overcoming barriers to using precision teaching with a web-based programme

Precision Teaching (PT) is an evidence-based intervention, which research indicates is frequently not implemented following training, with few teachers using it in schools after training events. The web-based programme in this research focuses on word-level reading skills and targets blending and segmenting skills rather than whole word reading. This research, undertaken with 10 schools, explored whether a web-based PT programme would provide favourable implementation rates, and support the fidelity of the programme delivery. The study also measured the impact of the PT programme on word decoding and sight word reading using the Test of Word Reading Efficiency. Results suggest favourable implementation rates with 7 of the 10 schools implementing the programme. Full impact data for 34 children suggest that the programme has a positive impact on decoding (effect size 0.7) and sight word reading skills (effect size 0.6). A timed assessment provides evidence that fluency improved as well as accuracy. Gains were sustained at two-month follow-up.     

Replication and Pedagogy in the History of Psychology V: The Metronome and Wilhelm Wundt’s Search for the Components of Consciousness

Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) believed that consciousness was represented by the interconnection of psychical processes comprised of temporal elements and compounds. To explore these processes, Wundt used a metronome to measure the amount of information that passed into consciousness across time. The current project replicated some of his procedures, to better understand the role of introspection and the complexity of the metronome task for experimenters and observers. The results of the replication were mixed, but the replication helped provide insights into Wundt’s procedures and their relationship to his theories. This study originated as a class assignment in the Spring of 2004 (see Tweney, this issue).

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The Office was asking for it: “that’s what she said” as a joke cycle that perpetuates rape culture

In this essay, we argue that the popular joke, “that’s what she said” is a symbolic representation of rape that contributes to and insulates rape culture. Drawing on Joseph Boskin’s notion of the “joke cycle” and extant literature on rape culture and misogynistic humor, we critique several instances of the joke on the popular television series The Office. From there, we extend our critique of the joke cycle, noting the conspicuous absence of concern over the joke and its implications in other scholarly treatments of the program. Our primary contention is that the joke cycle, which may be the most prominent cycle in recent decades, reinscribes rape culture by normalizing discourses that dismiss and silence rape victims, justify violence against women, and even blame victims for having been assaulted. “That’s what she said” avoids the critical eye because it disguises itself as a joke like any other.     

“Am I a good [white] mother?” Mad men,bad mothers,and post(racial)feminism

In this article we locate, interpret, and critique the figure of the “bad” white mother, focusing on the critically acclaimed AMC drama, Mad Men. Advancing feminist and postcolonial approaches to myth, we uncover a prevailing “white consciousness” that relies on racializing logics in, first of all, Mad Men’s representations of (white) motherhood through the character of Betty Draper, and second, public discussions of the show in academic and media outlets. Drawing on Black feminist thought, we propose that these discourses rely on and feed underlying assumptions that support post(racial)feminism—an ideological location that allows for the explicit embracement of “bad” mothering as a progressive, even transgressive act that, at the same time, implicitly relies on expectations for (good) mothering shaped by white privilege. This cross-pollination between postfeminism and whiteness, we argue, is especially important to engage, since it carries potentially limiting implications for our collective imagination about what anti-racist and feminist struggles should entail.     

Effects of Immersive,Sexually Objectifying,and Violent Video Games on Hostile Sexism in Males

Research suggests that media images depicting aggression against sexually objectified women may promote hostile sexism in men. We empirically tested if such effects might occur when men commit simulated acts of aggression against sexualized female opponents in video games, and if such effects might be heightened by psychological immersion (i.e,. the sensation of “presence” while gaming). In two studies, male participants played a first-person-shooter game, with the sex and sexualization of opponents experimentally manipulated. Results indicated that game play increased hostile sexism, to the extent that players reported feeling present in the virtual environment and provided that opponents were depicted as sexualized females, not males or nonsexualized females. No effects on benevolent sexism were observed. These results suggest that the increasingly immersive nature of modern video games might amplify their influence on players, including effects that promote hostility and aggression towards women.     

Childhood trauma and adult interpersonal functioning: a study using the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme Method (CCRT)

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the long-term correlates of childhood trauma in regard to interpersonal functioning in adulthood. METHOD: One hundred and nineteen (N=119) subjects from the Austen Riggs Follow-along Study were included in the study. The Traumatic Antecedent Interview scoring method was used to assess 10 types of childhood trauma. Two additional positive variables were also assessed. Interpersonal patterns in adulthood were assessed using the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme Method. RESULTS: Subjects reporting childhood physical abuse had a higher prevalence of the wish to be hurt, and experienced others as strict and stern. Those reporting physical neglect had a higher prevalence of the need to be comforted. Subjects who had experienced significant separations during childhood later felt less self-confident in interpersonal situations. Results also showed that subjects who had access to a caretaker/confidant had less need for love. A number of additional findings were nominally significant but did not remain so after correction for multiple comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that internalized thoughts and affects regarding childhood traumatic events may still play a role long after the time period of the events. Results also suggest that a continuous measurement approach to the study of traumata may provide information not captured by a dichotomous approach.