Affirmative citation bias in scientific myth debunking: A three-in-one case study

© 2019 Letrud, Hernes. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Several uncorroborated, false, or misinterpreted conceptions have for years been widely distributed in academic publications, thus becoming scientific myths. How can such misconceptions persist and proliferate within the inimical environment of academic criticism? Examining 613 articles we demonstrate that the reception of three myth-exposing publications is skewed by an ‘affirmative citation bias’: The vast majority of articles citing the critical article will affirm the idea criticized. 468 affirmed the myth, 105 were neutral, while 40 took a negative stance. Once misconceptions proliferate wide and long enough, criticizing them not only becomes increasingly difficult, efforts may even contribute to the continued spreading of the myths.publishedVersio

Debunking the Myth of Online Learning with Deconstruction

There is an assumption that a myth is not a lie; a myth is a belief adopted by people due to its logic, a belief that it is true, and consistency based on several forms of evidence. However, some myths that people believe are totally false or at least partly false, even dangerous. Surprisingly, in today’s modern era where online learning is practiced everywhere, teachers still believe in some myths, specifically in their online learning. Why does a myth dominate? Often this is because it is promoted by ‘organized interests’. A myth exists because we believe in it. In fact, myths can be dangerous for five main reasons: preservation, dichotomy, sometimes having seeds of truth, justification, and institutionalization. Then, can deconstruction dismantle a myth? The present study identified 10 common myths from 20 sources and found that deconstruction was the appropriate means of dismantling them. Of this dismantlement, there emerged new concepts of online learning that need to be socialized by stakeholders with the aim of forming new attitudes and gaining positive support for the improvement of online learning quality in the future new normal era. Keywords: myth, online learning, deconstructio

Acquiesced and unrefuted : The growth of scientific myths

This thesis explores the phenomenon of scientific myths distributed in academic discourses. Drawing on a set of myth-examples, I explicate a definition of the term ‘scientific myth’, arguing that it ought primarily to be characterised by the tension between a lack of epistemic warrant on the one hand, and an extensive proliferation in formal academic channels of publications on the other. I then delineate scientific myths from the closely associated pseudosciences: The sciences, although distributing some unreliable statements, do not bestow upon such statements the same authority and importance as the pseudosciences do. From these demarcative deliberations, I proceed to address the question of myth diffusion, of how misconceptions grow to scientific myths. Discussing myth-propagation, I argue that a fundamental explanation for myth-spreading is deficient epistemic practices. Omissions of citations, although a both common and pertinent explanation, only account for some aspects of myth spreading. In the context of research debates, the issue of myth diffusion also includes efforts at debunking scientific myths in academic publications. Our findings indicate that there is an ‘Affirmative Citation Bias’, that counteracts debunking attempts by effectively disarming the critique: Instead of being distributed, the critique is buried in an avalanche of myth-affirming publications. Finally, I discuss whether scientific myths ought to be somewhat vindicated. They could conceivably have an anti-dogmatic function in academic debates, by representing alternatives to the established consensus, in accordance with Millsian and Feyerabendian ideals for truth seeking discourse. I conclude in the negative: Scientific myths have dogmatic aspects themselves

Knowledge and Myths about Palliative Care among the General Public and Health Care Professionals in Portugal

Background: International research has shown that healthcare professionals (HCPs) and nonhealthcare professionals (NHCPs) are unaware of the goals and purposes of palliative care. This study evaluates the knowledge of palliative care among a sample of Portuguese adults and correlates their level of knowledge with age, gender, profession, and experience of family member's palliative care. Method: A cross-sectional online survey was carried out on a sample of 152 HCPs and 440 NHCPs who completed an anonymous questionnaire of sociodemographic, family, and professional data, and an instrument of 26 dichotomous (true or false) questions focusing on palliative care goals and purposes. Results: The 592 participants had a mean age of 31.3 ± 11.1 years, and most were female. Statistically significant differences between statements considered as correct by HCPs and NHCPs were found in 24 statements; HCPs had the highest percentage of correct answers. The terms most frequently associated with palliative care mentioned by NHCPs were chronic and progressive disease (n = 76), while HCPs mostly mentioned quality-of-life promotion (n = 29). Women, the elderly, and HCPs had a higher level of knowledge regarding palliative care (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Results clearly show gaps in knowledge of palliative care, especially among NHCPs. An integrated approach is needed to inform and clarify the philosophy and goals of palliative care in different settings in order to improve knowledge.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The District\u27s Stepchild: The Total Erasure of Low-Income Latinx Students\u27 Needs at Continuation High Schools

My study explores the underlying factors that allow systemic structural issues to exist within continuation high schools which result in the low educational performance of low-income Latinx continuation students. My study focuses on educators’ experiences, as I conducted 20 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Southern California continuation high school teachers. I focused on the following areas of study: the teacher’s career, the teacher’s interactions with students, and the teacher’s opinions regarding their accessibility to funding and resources. My findings indicate that teachers, the outer community, and school-board administrators utilize cultural deficit thinking and stigmatization as tools of total erasure to exchange low-income Latinx students’ social identities with racist and classist stereotypes; in consequence, these mechanisms allow the district to impose invisibility on students’ academic and emotional needs in order to justify the formation and maintenance of institutional challenges for administrators’ fiscal benefit. Overall, these results reaffirm that our educational system reproduces social inequality; the total erasure of low-income Latinx continuation students’ academic and emotional needs permits the persistence of systemic structural issues informed by racist and classist stereotypes. My research calls for avenues of communication between administrators, teachers, and the outer community to address institutional barriers and, subsequently, establish equitable funding distributions to promote continuation high school students’ educational success with an understanding of the increased academic, emotional, and social needs of low-income Latinx students

Neuromity wśród polskich nauczycieli – wyniki badań i praktyczne implikacje

The article presents the results of research conducted among Polish teachers. Their aim was to check the prevalence of neuromyths in schools and kindergartens, and to identify predictors of both belief in neuromyths and the level of knowledge about the structure and functioning of the brain. The obtained results partially confirmed the reports from international studies. Neuromyths turned out to be very popular among Polish teachers, even despite the high level of basic knowledge in the field of neurobiology. The research also revealed a number of factors that determine the level of the above-mentioned knowledge. The influence of age, gender, seniority, workplace, interest in training in neuroeducation, earlier access to knowledge in the field of neurobiology or the use of neuromyths-based work methods in educational practice has not been confirmed.W artykule zaprezentowano wyniki badań przeprowadzonych wśród polskich nauczycieli. Ich celem było sprawdzenie powszechności neuromitów w szkołach i przedszkolach oraz wskazanie predyktorów zarówno wiary w neuromity, jak i poziomu wiedzy dotyczącej budowy i funkcjonowania mózgu. Uzyskane wyniki częściowo potwierdziły doniesienia z międzynarodowych badań. Neuromity okazały się bardzo popularne wśród polskich nauczycieli, nawet pomimo wysokiego poziomu podstawowej wiedzy z zakresu neurobiologii. Badania uwidoczniły również szereg czynników, które warunkują poziom wyżej wskazanej wiedzy. Nie potwierdzono wpływu wieku, płci, stażu pracy, miejsca pracy ani zainteresowania dokształcaniem w problematyce neuroedukacji, wcześniejszym dostępem do wiedzy z zakresu neurobiologii czy stosowaniem w praktyce edukacyjnej metod pracy opartych na neuromitach