How Scientific is Education Research? ; Gender and Cognition

2010-11-26T10:50:00.000-08:00

How scientific is education research? Not very, according to some critics. In this article E. Hyslop-Margison, an education philosopher claims that "logically invalid hypotheses...insulated from academic criticism" weaken much education research. One of his arguments is derived from the principle of "falsifiability" made famous by Karl Popper the 20th century's foremost philosopher of science. Popper severely damaged the "positivist" approach which underlies much social science research by showing that empirical verification is not logically based.

An example of the contentious nature of research underlying some educational thought can be illustrated by this article, actually a debate between two social scientists. Steven Pinker and Elizabeth Spelke, both eminent Harvard cognitive psychologists, have diametrically opposed viewpoints on gender studies that underlie some of the current thinking about gender-based educational instruments. Pinker supports the contention that there are innate gender differences in basic human cognition and Spelke is adamant that there are not. You pay your money, you take your choice.

Autism's First Child

2010-10-19T08:18:00.001-07:00

This article from the Atlantic magazine describes the life story of Donald Triplett who, in 1943 was the first person to be diagnosed with autism. In fact the cluster of symptoms making up the disorder were largely derived from observations of him by a psychiatrist and Donald's father. Against expectations he has lived a happy and relatively normal live; self reliant and engaging in pursuits like golf and world travel.

Can Good Teaching be Learned?

2010-05-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

Educational researcher Doug Lemov has attempted to isolate the characteristics of teachers across the U.S. whose students consistently excel when all non-teaching variables are held constant. He claims to have found a commonality in classroom management which he has codified into "Lemov's taxonomy". Read the account in the NY Times Magazine.

Dangers of the Social Web

2010-04-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

Schools and educators are confronting issues about the "blurred line between public and private space" on the internet. Read about some of these issues and their possible resolution in this article from the NY Times.

Media Use Statistics Increase Rise for Teens

2010-02-01T11:01:00.000-08:00

The Kaiser Family Foundation, a U.S. based research centre has released the latest survey of media use by young people. Highlights include a large increase in mobile media, and continued decline of older media, particularly newspapers and magazines.

Why Twitter Will Endure

2010-01-05T10:24:00.000-08:00

Twitter seems to have passed the fad stage and is taking its place as a legitimate and useful Web 2 application. Read this NY Times article for an overview of its function and value. Twitter's posts, called Tweets, are also searchable at search.twitter.com.

Hitler's Forgotten Library

2009-12-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

Hitler's library was captured by the U.S. Army in 1945. Read the fascinating story of its origin and subsequent history. "You can tell a lot about a person from what he reads. The surviving—and largely ignored—remnants of Adolf Hitler's personal library reveal a deep but erratic interest in religion and theology."

Malcolm Gladwell

2009-11-20T07:50:00.000-08:00

The great thing about New York Times book reviews is that they are often written by experts in the field or authors in their own right. This review of Gladwell's latest book is by Stephen Pinker, a world famous Harvard social scientist and writer.

Too Many Teachers?

2009-11-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

It has become increasingly difficult to enter the teaching profession in Ontario. This article from the University of Western Ontario's Faculty of Information and Media studies tells why.

H1N1 (Swine) flu

2009-10-29T07:02:00.000-07:00

H1N1 flu is on everyone's mind. If you would like to know more about the virus, the pandemic and how it fits into the larger picture of influenza infections, read this definitive article from MIT. You may also like to read about the horrendous 1918 Spanish flu, a similar strain, that killed at least three times more people than World War I.

Our First Ancestor?

2009-10-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

In 1992 parts of a hominid skeleton were excavated in Ethiopia. After 17 years of study the scientific team has released its report. The remains are 4.4 million years old and are more primitive than the famous 3.2 million year old Lucy skeleton. See this article from National Geographic for details. Or here for the scientific papers.

Buried Treasure

2009-09-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

An amateur "metal detectorist" in England has found the largest treasure trove of Anglo-Saxon gold objects ever discovered. The items date to the time of the Beowulf saga and some of them, like gold sword pommels, are identical to ones described in that work. Go to this BBC page for pictures and more information. See also the contemporary Sutton Hoo treasure.

Will Amazon.com Become the World's General Store?

2009-09-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com now is much more than a bookstore. In fact it sells almost everything. This year sales of books, videos and music will generate less than half of its income. This has huge implications for other retailers. Will small specialty stores share the same fate as small book stores and be driven out of business by the online giant? With a high Canadian dollar and Canadian distribution Amazon is likely to be influential in Canada as well as the U.S.. Read an excellent summary article here.

The Next Computer Hardware Revolution : Netbooks

2009-04-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

Thinking of buying a new laptop? You might want to wait a few months. Personal computers — and the companies that make their crucial components — are about to go through their biggest upheaval since the rise of the laptop. By the end of the year, consumers are likely to see netbooks the size of thin paperback books that can run all day on a single charge and are equipped with touch screens or slide-out keyboards. For $100 U.S.! Read a full article.

Canada vs the United States ; and the Winner is.....

2009-04-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

American's sometimes see Canada as a source of humour; our accent, our weather. etc.. etc. However the last laugh may be on them. As this article points out Canada has some enviable features, especially during these days of struggling economies.

Facebook is 5 Years Old ; An Overview

2009-03-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Even in the age of Internet wonders, Facebook is a phenomenon. In the 8 months since August 2008 the membership has doubled from 100 to 200 million. Whether you are a Facebook veteran, or are still wondering what it is, this article has something of interest.

Why Geography is Harder than Physics

2009-03-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

Read about how, for the last few years, some of the world's top physicists and mathematicians have gone to work in Wall Street, attempting to bring the predictive strengths of physics and mathematical models to the financial markets. As we have seen, the results have not been overwhelmingly successful. As in all the social sciences, the unpredictability of human behaviour has made highly accurate predictions problematic.

Barbie Hits 50

2009-03-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

The iconic doll was first sold 50 years ago today (March 9) Read an interesting account of her history and /or some of the implications of matching her proportions to a real person.

Digital Divide : Teens and Digital Media

2009-03-02T08:14:00.001-08:00

The prestigious Macarthur Foundation in the U.S is conducting a monumental $50 million study of young people and digital technologies. Early results show that "youth are developing important social and technical skills online — often in ways adults do not understand or value."
Read a 2 page summary or the whole 30 page white paper. (also available in hard copy at the Library)

Stephen Wiltshire; From Autistic Child to Famous Artist

2009-02-20T08:22:00.000-08:00

The human brain is a mysterious "place", a fact no better illustrated than the case of Stephen Wiltshire. He was severely autistic as a child, but developed the amazing ability to draw accurate landscapes and buildings from memory, usually after having seen the original only once for a short time. He is now well known in the UK as an artist. Read an overview of his life and career in this medical journal article or in Wikipedia. Watch a remarkable YouTube video as he flies over Rome then draws a large panorama from memory.

Darwin's Birthday

2009-02-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

Charles Darwin, arguably the 19th century's most influential scientist, was born 200 years ago on February 12, 1809. This article from the New York Times Science report gives a nice summary of why he was unique in his time and why much of his thinking is still relevant today.
For a larger overview, see this excellent New Scientist "Darwin's birthday" web page.

Who Really Writes Wikipedia Articles?

2009-01-12T10:52:00.000-08:00

Popular wisdom has it that Wikipedia is written by a core group of a few hundred editors, begging the question how how so few individuals know so much. Research by Aaron Swartz reveals a much different story.

Bought Any One Cent Books Lately?

2009-01-09T08:26:00.000-08:00

The author of this essay agonizes over the lure of buying cheap books on the Web against the knowledge that doing so may well hurt writers and traditional booksellers.

Should We Tax Coke and Pepsi?

2008-12-18T10:51:00.000-08:00

New York State is proposing to levy a hefty tax on soft drinks. There is evidence that the consumption of sugary drinks is a significant cause of obesity and resulting costly health problems. The theory is that imposing a tax will lower consumption, the same way high tobacco taxes seem to have reduced smoking. Read a summary article here.

New Findings About RNA Revolutionize Genetics

2008-12-15T07:45:00.000-08:00

Research shows that RNA "once considered a mere messenger boy for DNA actually helps to run the show". There turn out to be many types of RNA, some of which do not perform the usual task of translating DNA instructions into proteins, but instead directly activate genes and direct protein production. Hopes are high that the research could lead to disease therapies. Read the whole article here. To see a graphic representation, click here.

What's Happening in Somalia?

2008-12-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

Somalia has been one of the world's trouble spots for many years (recall the Black Hawk down incident of 1993) Now it is back in the news as the home of the pirates now infesting the Indian Ocean. For a summary of the current political crisis in Somalia check this link. For an excellent collection of Somalia information see this New York Times page.

The Butter Tart Tour

2008-12-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

It would seem that we at CCVI are living close to the Butter Tart centre of the world without knowing it. The Toronto Star has outlined a tour of northern Wellington County that will take you past some of the countries best tarts. Click here for a map of the Trail. A great way to see some our local area from a gastronomical viewpoint.

Confessions of a Wall Street Investment Banker

2008-11-28T12:11:00.000-08:00

Where did the U.S. banking system go wrong? This article by a former banker at Salomon Brothers suggests that nobody really knew what was going on.

Feeling Sick? Stay off the Web.

2008-11-25T11:07:00.000-08:00

A study by Microsoft using its own employees found that "cyberchondria" was a common affliction. Web users who consulted health and medical sites for self diagnosis very often came to the erroneous conclusion that they suffered from the most serious disease available that matched the given symptom.

Why Are Women Leaving Computer Science?

2008-11-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

Although females now account for over half of university graduates in science and engineering in North America, the percentage of women in computer science has languished and actually fallen. This article suggests a few possible reasons for this phenomenon.

Should General Motors Go Bankrupt?

2008-11-19T08:22:00.000-08:00

In South Western Ontario, the automobile industry is a critical part of the economy. Thus, the life or death of GM is of vital concern. This article argues that letting GM go into "Chapter 11" bankruptcy is the only way that the company can be restructured significantly enough to survive.

What's Happening in the Congo?

2008-11-10T11:03:00.000-08:00

The horrific killings and fighting in the Congo seem to have been going on for so long, it is hard to remember the background, the causes and the protagonists. This article by the Toronto Star's Carol Goar presents a good summary of those facts.

Origins of the Universe?

2008-09-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

From the New York Times, physicists search for the ultimate particle.
THREE hundred feet below the outskirts of Geneva lies part of a 17-mile-long tubular track, circling its way across the French border and back again, whose interior is so pristine and whose nearly 10,000 surrounding magnets so frigid, that it’s one of the emptiest and coldest regions of space in the solar system.

Read the rest of the article;

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