Archive for the ‘education’ Category

Are Research Findings False?

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There is increasing concern that most current published research findings are false. The probability that a research claim is true may depend on study power and bias, the number of other studies on the same question, and, importantly, the ratio of true to no relationships among the relationships probed in each scientific field. In this framework, a research finding is less likely to be true when the studies conducted in a field are smaller; when effect sizes are smaller; when there is a greater number and lesser preselection of tested relationships; where there is greater flexibility in designs, definitions, outcomes, and analytical modes; when there is greater financial and other interest and prejudice; and when more teams are involved in a scientific field in chase of statistical significance. Simulations show that for most study designs and settings, it is more likely for a research claim to be false than true. Moreover, for many current scientific fields, claimed research findings may often be simply accurate measures of the prevailing bias. In this essay, I discuss the implications of these problems for the conduct and interpretation of research.

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Earliest People to Inhabit?

Baylor University geology researchers, along with scientists from Texas A&M University and around the country, have found the oldest archaeological evidence of human occupation in the Americas at a Central Texas archaeological site located about 40 miles northwest of Austin.

"This find really rewrites history, so to speak, and changes our collective thought on the early colonization of North, Central and South America," said Dr. Lee Nordt, professor of geology at Baylor and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, who is an author on the study. "What sets this study a part is that we were able to show using geological methods that the buried artifacts dating to pre-Clovis times were in their original state. This demonstrates unequivocally that the peopling of the Americas occurred much earlier than previously thought." (Source)

iPad 2 For Every Child

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Start ’em early…

Every kindergartner in the city will get an iPad2 computer in the fall to boost learning, the Auburn School Committee voted unanimously Wednesday night.

Auburn may be the first school district in Maine to give computers to a whole grade level, former Gov. Angus King said. He was in the audience applauding the committee vote. "I think this is a stunning idea," he said.

King introduced laptops for seventh-graders in Maine 10 years ago, a program many educators credit with being successful. via

Who is an American?

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Materialism, women’s rights, progress and other attributes that make up the average American.

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How to Insult a Computer Programmer

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In recent exchanges, members of the faculty have tried in vain to attack other Computer Scientists and disparage their work. Quite frankly, I find the results embarrassing — instead of cutting the opponent down, many of the remarks have been laughably innocuous. Something must be done about it because any outsider who hears such blather will think less of our department: no group can hold the respect of others unless its members can deal a devastating verbal blow at will.

This short essay is an effort to help faculty make their remarks more pointed, and help avoid wimpy vindictives. It explains how to insult CS research, shows where to find the Achilles’ heel in any project, and illustrates how one can attack a researcher.

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Philadelphia Syndrome

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In search of a cure…

The only way to fight Philadelphia Syndrome is to put our heads down and create something great. Forget New York. Forget LA. Whether its an innovative school, a new way to work, or what we’re doing with Devnuts, don’t stop until people start noticing. Stop whining. For God’s sake stop whining. Stop talking about what you’re doing and just do it. Once that happens, Philadelphia will start to be known as a place where things are happening and not a place where things might happen.

The reality is, cities are like women. You’re attracted to the ones that don’t need you. New York doesn’t need you, it’s the center of the universe. LA is where movie stars live, you’re not worthy. Philadelphia begs for you to like them. Remember we’ve got such great art! Almost all cities have great art. That’s not a reason to live here.

.:mattmonihan.com->

What is Expertise?

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Among investigators of expertise, it has generally been assumed that the performance of experts improved as a direct function of increases in their knowledge through training and extended experience.  However, recent studies show that there are, at least,  some domains where "experts" perform no better then less trained individuals (cf. outcomes of therapy by clinical psychologists, Dawes, 1994) and that sometimes experts’ decisions are no more accurate than beginners’ decisions and simple decision aids (Camerer & Johnson, 1991; Bolger & Wright, 1992). Most individuals who start as active professionals or as beginners in a domain change their behavior and increase their performance for a limited time until they reach an acceptable level. Beyond this point, however, further improvements appear to be unpredictable and the number of years of work and leisure experience in a domain is a poor predictor of attained performance (Ericsson & Lehmann, 1996). Hence, continued improvements (changes) in achievement are not automatic consequences of more experience and in those domains where performance consistently increases aspiring experts seek out particular kinds of experience, that is deliberate practice (Ericsson, Krampe & Tesch-Römer, 1993)-activities designed, typically by a teacher, for the sole purpose of effectively improving specific aspects of an individual’s performance.

.:psy.fsu.edu->

Internal Brain Drain

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Norman Matloff of the University of California-Davis computer science department on the current serious scientific and technological workforce problem facing the US:

In fact, Matloff went on, the nation is "wasting the innovation" that Americans could create because they are being driven from technical and scientific fields by the influx of foreigners.  "There are a lot of good people who are displaced," he said. In the tech field, this does not occur because of  talent, education, productivity or ability but with age, and ultimately with pay, he stated.  Employers prefer to bring in young foreign workers who are cheaper in preference to employing experienced Americans who are more expensive.  In a number of tech companies, a majority of workers are foreign-born while many Americans being displaced "are of good quality."    Over 20 years ago, he noted, experts predicted that encouraging immigration would discourage citizens from entering these fields.

"It’s an issue of money….It’s all due to an oversupply of people" created by immigration policies, he said. The issues applies to both the IT industry and scientific research, he added.  One result is that young American "would have to be crazy to go into lab science today," he said.  "No study except for industry studies has ever shown a shortage" of scientific or technical workers, he said.  One indication of non-shortage is that "salaries are flat," whereas in a shortage situation they should rise.

.:blogs.sciencemag.org->

Tufts Fail

A couple of weeks ago we had Entrepreneur Fail, so to get going this new feature ‘fail’ we’re writing about the school Tufts University located outside of Boston- they canceled their naked quad run after years of tradition and exploits. Sources say the police were "uncomfortable" about the event.

Fair compromise: drunk Tufts kids can run drunk and naked through the quad while cops compete to see who can hit the most students with a Taser. Everyone wins.

*censored