White lies: a racial history of the (post)truth

In the aftermath of the 2016 election of President Trump, a veritable cottage industry of opinion pieces, blogs, and articles emerged overnight, most of which seemed to agree that only the post-truth could explain how a racist, misogynistic, neo-nationalist member of the economic elite could win a presidential election. This article, in contrast, is inspired by Barbara Christian’s injunction that we question why a given statement, concept, or theory is now acceptable when before it was not. Operating in this spirit, we critique post-truth critics for neglecting the material tradition of ideological criticism in favor of epistemological explanations for understanding post-truth literature; we then offer two case studies—American drug policy and housing policy—to illustrate the racial amnesia required for claiming that only now do we live in a post-truth era.     

Computerized prompting partners and keystroke recording devices: Two macro driven writing tools

Recent research into composing processes has focused on instructional intervention strategies that promote effective composition practices within computerized writing environments. The field of computers and composition has benefitted both from advances in computing tools and developments in learning theory. The innovative computer tool discussed in this paper uses the macro-command language of a full-featured word processor to enact strategic support designed to help writers with their written work. From a theoretical standpoint, this tool created a writing environment based on Vygotskian theory of mediated learning and was grounded in an instructional strategy known as “procedural facilitation.” To evaluate the effectiveness of this computerprompting tool, a second macro application was used to log student keystrokes, thereby tracking student writing development, revisionary practices, and keystroke reactions to the prompting partner. Students using the prompting tool enacted divergent and convergent thinking assistance that appeared at the bottom of their computer screens while the system saved a process record of their keystrokes. Procedures for creating macro-driven prompting programs and keystroke-logging devices are discussed. Additionally, a catalog of prompts and summary of keystroke-mapping benefits are provided. Finally, our research using the macro-driven prompting partner and keystroke-register tool is detailed.     

Real education in non-real time: The use of electronic message systems for instruction

Education in different communication media takes place with functional differences that have consequences for the course of instructional interaction. In this paper, we examine instructional interaction among people using a computer-based electronic message system, contrasting it with conventional face-to-face discussion in a college level class. Interaction via the non-real time message system contained multiple “threads of discourse,” a higher proportion of student turns to teacher turns, and other deviations from the “initiation-response-evaluation” sequences usually found in face-to-face classroom interactions. Based on the results of our contrast, we describe ways to organize instruction using electronic message systems to take advantage of new properties and to avoid shortcomings of these new instructional media.     

Childhood neglect and adulthood involvement in HIV-related risk behaviors

OBJECTIVE: Much research has been done to examine the long-term effects of being victimized by sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse in childhood, but much less research has focused on the impact of childhood neglect experiences. This study examines the role that childhood neglect has on adult women's involvement in HIV-related risky behaviors. METHODS: The data come from a study of 250 "at risk" women living in the Atlanta, GA metropolitan area, most of whom were African American. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews between 1997 and 2000. Multiple regression was used to explore the relationship between childhood neglect experiences, self-esteem, attitudes toward condom use, and involvement in HIV-related risky behaviors. RESULTS: Overall, the model tested received strong support by the study data. Childhood neglect led to reduced self-esteem. Neglect was associated with worsened attitudes toward condom use and women who experienced childhood neglect also reported more involvement in HIV risk behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: HIV intervention programs ought to target women who have experienced childhood neglect, as neglect experiences have adverse impacts upon their self-esteem, condom-related attitudes, and HIV risk behavior practices in adulthood.