Going Critical: Perspective and Proportion in the Epistemology of Rob Kling 1

One foundational element of Rob Kling's research and writing is his critical perspective on the nature, role, and dynamics of computerization. His main argument was that one should view as dubious any statements that are not grounded in empirical evidence or theoretical analysis. Rob's work was replete with critical refutation, in which he challenged assumptions or statements about computerization and provided alternative interpretations. Much of his work delivered indictments against hyperbolic statements that claimed either utopian or dystopian outcomes from computerization. However, some of his own writings on emerging technologies tended to be dismissive and marginalizing, revealing in his own work some of the weaknesses he pointed out in others' rhetoric and writing. This article identifies intellectual traps inherent in critical perspectives that can catch even the most acute practitioners. The objective is to help elucidate and stabilize the epistemological foundations for Rob's critical perspective on the role of computerization.     

Discrimination and classification of rising and nonrising pitch patterns by the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

In a series of four experiments, starlings learned to classify pitch patterns according to pattern structure. In Experiments 1 and 2, the starlings learned to discriminate a series of pairs of 1ourtone patterns in which one of the patterns rose in pitch and the other pattern did not. The starlings in these initial two experiments did not attend to pattern structure at all. Rather, they discriminated patterns according to the relative pitch of the initial pattern tones. In Experiment 3, the same starlings discriminated the same patterns from Experiments 1 and 2 in a new context that tempered the salience of individual pattern tones. The starlings initially failed to discriminate in the new context, but eventually learned to do so. In Experiment 4, the starlings classified novel pitch patterns according to their pattern structure. These experiments identify a hierarchy of relative pitch strategies, as well as a sophisticated conceptual capacity for the perception and classification of pitch patterns by starlings.     

Project start: An evaluation of a community‐wide school‐based intervention to reduce truancy

The study evaluated the effectiveness of a community‐based court intervention aimed at reducing truancy in a large urban school district. A quasi‐experimental design was used to assess attendance outcomes for 567 truants matched on demographics and drawn from three categories of intervention (no court referral, traditional court referral, and court referral with community‐based services). A court group by time ANOVA was conducted. Truancy levels remained high and unchanged for nonreferred truants throughout the study. Both court groups showed a significant drop in absences 30 days post court. During the subsequent 30‐day period, the community‐based court maintained the reduced rates, while the traditional court group showed higher truancy levels than the community‐based court group. No significant interaction effects were found between court groups and sex, age group, or ethnic categories. At one year follow‐up, the community‐based court group continued to show significantly lower levels of unexcused absences compared to the other two experimental groups. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 657–667, 2005.     

Online Versus Face-to-Face Training of Critical Time Intervention: A Matching Cluster Randomized Trial

This study examined the effectiveness of online education to providers who serve people experiencing homelessness, comparing online and face-to-face training of Critical Time Intervention (CTI), an evidence-based case management model. The authors recruited 184 staff from nineteen homeless service agencies to participate in one of two training conditions: (a) Online Training + Community of Practice or (b) Face-to-Face Training + Telephone Consultation. Each group received twenty-four hours of instruction and support. Through baseline, follow-up, and nine-month posttraining surveys, the authors examined satisfaction, knowledge gains, knowledge retention, and readiness to implement CTI. Although satisfaction rates were higher among participants in the face-to-face group, the two training conditions produced comparable pre/postknowledge gains. Furthermore, both groups showed increased knowledge retention scores at nine-month follow-up, with the online group scoring higher than the face-to-face group.     

Interest: A unique motivational variable

In the first part of this article, I discuss motivational variables in general, and interest in specific and propose that because of its biological roots, interest is a unique motivational variable. Furthermore, it is suggested that to demonstrate the uniqueness of interest, neuroscientific findings need to be considered. In the second section of the paper, I argue that the impact of the neuroscientific literature in the areas of social, educational and cognitive psychology has not been appropriately recognized. To support this claim, links between selected neuroscientific findings and motivational variables in general and interest in specific are discussed. Finally, some of the educationally relevant implications of interest research supported by neuroscientific findings are considered.