The Nature of the Arguments for Creationism,Intelligent Design,and Evolution

Seventy-two Internet documents promoting creationism, intelligent design (I.D.), or evolution were selected for analysis. The primary goal of each of the 72 documents was to present arguments for creationism, I.D., or evolution. We first identified all arguments in these documents. Each argument was then coded in terms of both argument type (appeal to authority, appeal to empirical evidence, appeal to reason, etc.) and argument topic (age of earth, mechanism of descent with modification, etc.). We then provided a quantitative summary of each argument type and topic for each of the three positions. Three clear patterns were revealed by the data. First, websites promoting evolution were characterized by a narrow focus on appeals to empirical evidence, whereas websites promoting creationism and I.D. were quite heterogeneous in regards to argument type. Second, websites promoting evolution relied primarily on a small number of empirical examples (e.g., fossils, biogeography, homology, etc.), while websites promoting creationism and I.D. used a far greater range of arguments. Finally, websites promoting evolution were narrowly focused on the topic of descent with modification. In contrast, websites promoting creationism tackled a broad range of topics, while websites promoting I.D. were narrowly focused on the issue of the existence of God. The current study provides a quantitative summary of a systematic content analysis of argument type and topic across a large number of frequently accessed websites dealing with origins. The analysis we have used may prove fruitful in identifying and understanding argumentation trends in scientific writing and pseudo-scientific writing.     

“The Wire,” William Julius Wilson,and the Three Sobotkas: Conceptually Integrating “Season 2: The Port” into a Macro-Level Undergraduate Communities and Crime Course

A challenge in any undergraduate communities and crime course is helping students understand how macro-level context affects the lives of individuals. This article describes one approach based on three characters in Season 2 (“The Port”) of “The Wire.” A multi-layered framework is outlined which prominently features William Julius Wilson's unemployment thesis. Data sources for illustrating how different parts of the model apply to the surrounding region and neighborhoods close to the port are noted. The narrative arcs for three central characters in Season 2 are described and each is connected to Wilson's thesis. Even though in-class screening time was limited, students' written work and questionnaire responses suggested that the material clarified key concepts. The approach described here is just one approach of the many which are feasible for a macro-level communities and crime course, or for integrating “The Wire” into criminal justice or criminology courses.     

Conditioned suppression is an inverted-U function of footshock intensity

Most theories of associative learning assert that conditioned responding to a target cue is a monotonically increasing function of unconditioned-stimulus (US) intensity. In a lick suppression preparation with rats, a cue was paired with a 0.4-, 0.6-, 0.8-, 1.0-, 1.2-, or 1.4-mA footshock in Experiment 1a, and with a 0.3-, 0.8-, 1.3-, or 1.8-mA footshock in Experiment 1b. Subsequent suppression in response to the cue was an inverted-U function of the US intensity. In Experiment 2, we demonstrated that massive extinction of the training context and compound conditioning can each attenuate the response decrement caused by training with a high-intensity US. The sometimes-competing-retrieval model (Stout & Miller, Psychological Review 114:759–783, 2007) provides a better fit to these data than do several other models of associative learning.     

A Systematic Approach in Student Reading

Abstract

The Faculty Writing Fellows Seminar was designed to develop university instructors’ skill in writing instruction: The 2015–16 professional development project offered faculty at Southern Oregon University a chance to read writing-pedagogy research, collaboratively develop their teaching practices, and—most importantly—put themselves in the shoes of student writers. The seminar had a positive impact on instructors’ teaching and students’ writing. Instructors showed growth in confidence, empathy, knowledge, and instruction. Their students’ essays outscored essays by students in nonparticipating instructors’ classes. The study argues for professional development that simultaneously builds pedagogical knowledge and skills and incorporates emotional and psychosocial aspects of teaching and learning.     

The impact of communication apprehension and fear of talking with a physician on perceived medical outcomes

This study examined the relationships among trait CA, state CA (fear of interacting with a physician), and patient perceived satisfaction with quality of medical care and physician. The results indicated that trait CA and fear of the physician were positively related. However, trait CA was not significantly related to patient perceived satisfaction with quality of medical care or physician. State CA, in contrast, was significantly negatively related to both patient perceived satisfaction with medical care and satisfaction with physician. It is concluded that future research should investigate the impact of physicians’ engaging in positive communication behaviors on patients’ apprehension and medical outcomes.     

Differences in anticipatory anxiety and adaptation rate as a function of affect management strategy

This study applies Eysenck's (1967) and Buck's (1984) psychophysiological theories of anxiety development to explain individual differences in anticipatory anxiety and rate of adaptation during public speaking. Sensitivity to anxiety creating stimuli predispose individuals to either an internalizing or externalizing affect management strategy. Because social conditioning and neurological processes combine to create anxiety, internalizing individuals are more responsive to punishment and are more likely to appraise an anxiety‐provoking situation as threatening than are externalizers. However, their overall conditionability permits internalizers to adapt to speaking situations more rapidly than their externalizing counterparts who are less susceptible to negative reinforcement. The findings are reviewed in light of various phobia reducing treatment strategies, such as flooding, systematic desensitization, and cognitive appraisal therapy.     

Radio and Television

Ralph M. Jennings and Pamela Richard's How to Protect Your Rights in Television and Radio (Office of Communication, United Church of Christ, 289 Park Ave. South, New York 10010—price not given, paper)

Ted C. Smythe and George A. Mastroianni's Issues in Broadcasting: Radio, Television, and Cable (Palo Alto, Calif.: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1975—price not given but around $7.00 we learned from editors, paper)

James D. Secrest's Electronic Industries Association: The First 50 Years (Washington: EIA, 1974—price not given)

Ann M. Velia's KOB: Goddard's Magic Mast, Fifty Years of Pioneer Broadcasting (Las Cruces, N.M.: New Mexico State University Press, 1972—$6.95)

Harold Niven's Broadcast Education 1975: 14th Report (Washington: National Association of Broadcasters, 1975—$5.00, paper)

Broadcast Programming and Production (bimonthly/$7.00 per year, with first three issues free on request)

Joel L. Efrein, Cablecasting Production Handbook (Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.: TAB Books, 1975—$12.95)

NCTA is Over the Cable (Washington: National Cable Television Association, 1975—free on request, paper)

Community Antenna Television Journal (4209 N.W. 23rd St., Suite 106, Oklahoma City 73107)