Search

Applies fantasy theme analysis to explain the rhetorical vision that emerges from newspaper and broadcast news coverage of Fred Rogers. Notes that journalists have created a fantasy about Rogers that holds him up as the embodiment of television's potential. Concludes that when journalists do this they step outside their usual role as objective observers. (PM)

Client and counselor ratings of student distress were compared with MMPI-2 College Maladjustment (Mt) scale (Butcher, et al; 1989) score for 78 Canadian undergraduate students seeking counseling. Mt scores were consistent with subjective ratings of problem severity and accounted for more variance in client ratings of social and general functioning than did counselors' ratings. (Author)

Attempts to ascertain whether the presence of biasing values in the practice of science is an inbuilt feature of an idealized institution, Science, and judges that those values inbuilt to Science are not a source of bias. (Author/MM)

Notes that the political economy out of which the standard of "objectivity" emerged was that of democracy operating within a capitalist economy. Explains that Western journalism trainers attempting to inculcate that standard in developing countries must be aware that the same conditions have never prevailed there. Describes the Lajmi Mir project in Albania, which showed how human interest stories can be used to provide positive examples of achievement and struggle. (PM)

To determine how Dutch teachers framed observation, this study analyzed teachers' stories about teaching diverse learners, examining what they said about observing students. Results indicated that observation was embedded in the action of teaching, and teachers could not separate themselves from what they observed. An alternative view of objectivity is presented which shows that the quality of teachers' personal frameworks is important and should not be ignored. (SM)

Argues that instructional techniques consistent with constructivist epistemology are not the only means by which students construct meaning. Suggests that the choice of instructional strategies should be based on the nature of the content, students' needs, and teacher objectives. (Contains 23 references.) (SK)

Discusses how a feminist conception of objectivity can be used to guide a needs assessment of the sexual health needs of men who have sex with men. In the example, a feminist approach was used to inform a needs assessment that involved 1,000 men. Applied criteria proposed by D. Haraway (1988): accountability, positioning, and partiality. (SLD)

An anthropologist of Indigenous descent reflects on challenges confronting researchers in mainstream institutions as they pursue respectful research relationships with Indigenous peoples. Challenges include differing cultural attitudes toward knowledge and research, institutional policies on publication and intellectual property, political issues, the anthropologist's role in the community studied, limits of objectivity, and the possibility of activism. (Contains 34 references.) (Author/SV)

Suggests an account of rationality that opposes modern hegemonic discourse without succumbing to relativism, tracing hostility toward rationality to the advent of modernity, discussing the relevance of reason to new educational ideals, formulating a philosophical account of reason (relying on Habermas' mediating approach to past foundational theories and relativism), and discussing poststructuralist claims about reason in light of this account. (SM)

Examines a subset of tools (atlases of the brain) developed in the Human Brain Project (HBP) in order to understand how the use of these tools changes the practice of science. Discusses the redefinition of what constitutes 'objective' neuroscientific knowledge according to both technological possibilities built into these tools and the constraints of standardization inherent in projects that involve multiple measurements. (Author/MM)

Considers how philosophy of social science and philosophy of history can affect the methodologies used to conduct research and scholarship in the field of instructional design and technology. Highlights include social considerations and research ethics; research, ethics, and critical theory; and objectivity and the social sciences. (LRW)

A method for objective preemployment interviewing that saves time and money includes (1) identifying, defining, and quantifying relevant information about applicants; (2) interpreting applicants' verbal, vocal, and visual behaviors; and (3) using interviewing techniques that could elicit more accurate information. (SK)

Examines the concept of reflection and its diverse uses within different political, philosophical, and cultural contexts. Discusses an alternative concept of reflection within the framework of an educational arena called "counter-education." Asserts that the traditional view of student reflection does not allow students to challenge the status quo; the alternative interpretation allows for transcendence and nonrepressive communication. (Contains 21 references.) (NB)

Postmodernists' denials of the existence of objective truth are made without supporting evidence and fail to account for semantic structures and linguistic usage. Analysis of semantic structure reveals truth embedded in language. Truth and socially constructed meaning are interrelated. (SK)

The question of validity, or how high-stakes tests are being used and interpreted, threatens to undermine the entire standards movement. Joint standards developed by three professional associations say decisions affecting students' life chances should not be based on test scores alone. Objectivity and teaching to tests are real concerns. (MLH)

Discusses objectivity in psychosocial measurement, considering what it is, why it is important, and how it can be achieved. Presents an approach to achieving full objectivity in psychosocial measurement that is adapted from a publication of the American Society for Testing and Materials describing standard practice for conducting an interlaboratory study. (SLD)

Argues that history no longer has a centrally agreed upon purpose and that the humanities have lost their core meaning as important elements of the school program. Considers the impact of postmodernism, discusses history and humanities at the end of the twentieth century, and highlights five responses to the situation. (CMK)

Believes that two serious issues of concern are: (1) the tendency to ignore questions of value within the fine arts; and (2) that objectivity of values is denied. Asserts that conflict within the arts are about values and what should be considered as great. (CMK)

Argues that the deconstructive practice of disturbing the status quo between opposites constitutes one of the central themes of physics since the Enlightenment. Summarizes parallel developments in physics and language studies from Aristotle to Einstein. Contends that to question postmodern language theory exemplified in deconstruction necessitates questioning also the parallel developments in physics. (SR)

Describes formative research methodology and how it can be used for procedural instructional design theory. Compares formative research with formative evaluation for instructional products and discusses objectivity, trustworthiness, construct validity, and the need for greater use of formative research methodology. (Contains 32 references.) (Author/LRW)

Galileo fit in well with the neo-Protagorian, person-relative framework that was emerging around him in the late 16th and early 17th centuries in Western Europe. For Galileo, all knowledge depended crucially and essentially on first person experience, and at the same time this knowledge was objective, not subjective. Comments on the educational implications of this tension. (Author/WRM)

Counters the tendency toward narrative omniscience in critical ethnography by reexamining researcher voice in ethnographic text, rejecting the notion that the current crisis of representation is based on uncertainty about how best to describe a scene and arguing that the crisis stems from objectification. The paper extends the crisis from description into theorizing and offers an example of postcritical theorizing. (SM)

Criticizes Hugh Lacey's use of the term "materialist" when describing materialist strategies used during structuralist explanation in scientific practice. Examines the grounds for supposing an affinity between these strategies and the growing subordination of human values to the attractions of technological transformations of nature. Contains 15 references. (Author/WRM)

Responds to criticisms of the previous article, "Scientific Understanding and the Control of Nature." Clarifies themes in the first article and reaffirms the significance of distinguishing between cognitive and social values to gain a better grasp of scientific understanding. (Author/WRM)

Lends further depth to arguments put forth by Hugh Lacey. Addresses the allegation made by the indigenous science movement that violence is evident in the control of nature because science is inherently violent--a charge which, if not refuted, undermines the claim that science is neutral. Considers the shortcomings of a school science curriculum based on traditional social values of control. (Author/WRM)

Claims that, in contrast to Hugh Lacey's arguments, current research in nonindustrialized nations demonstrates how a materialistic strategy of scientific understanding may be sensitive to cultural context. Concludes that differentiating ethical and scientific values is essential lest we conflate descriptive and normative processes. (Author/WRM)

Suggests that Hugh Lacey's example of a clear-cut distinction between material and social constraints or possibilities in the Green Revolution is misleading. Proposes a material analysis of the control situation placed within the material framework of the social structure within which the control system is employed. (Author/WRM)

Suggests that Hugh Lacey's vision of the schooling of science through the development of critical self-consciousness has been articulated by others at different times and probably from different ideological perspectives. Claims that knowledge of these other opinions will help Lacey in his search for education in science which promotes citizens' participation rather than alienating them from decision making in society. Contains 37 references. (Author/WRM)

Criticizes Hugh Lacey's separation of cognitive values and social values in discussions of the nature of science. Claims that attempting to distinguish between cognitive and social ignores crucial complexities in the development and use of knowledge. Proposes that the proper distinction be between legitimate and illegitimate reasons in science as exemplified in epidemiology studies of dioxin exposure. Contains 16 references. (Author/WRM)

Suggests that modern science adopts materialist strategies toward relationships between empirical data and theory because of an elective affinity between such strategies and a certain outlook on the control of nature. Claims that, when the roles of social values and cognitive values are kept distinct, sound theory acceptance can still be considered impartial. Contains 34 references. (Author/WRM)

Conducting qualitative research takes researchers to places and into lives to generate new knowledge. When researchers move beyond academic curiosity to caring, they cross a fine line. This article recounts a three-year study of middle-schoolers, in which subjects and researchers moved beyond invasive inquiry to develop common ground, mutual interest, and respect. (MLH)

The pursuit of objectivity is among the most critical yet unresolved problems confronting the study of higher education. The entire process of research is theory-laden, putting into question the possibility of objectivity in historical investigation. A change of approach to address this issue is recommended. (MSE)