Stumped by Headlines: Investigating a Functional Knowledge Deficit

Competing claims about the level of ignorance, or knowledge, among the current Nexus generation are addressed. The core of the paper is a theoretical analysis of ignorance in the knowledge society. Specifically, the knowledge-ignorance paradox suggests that the intense specialization demanded by a knowledge economy militates against a broader information society and gives rise to "reading reluctance." To provide evidence for this analysis, the results of a small-scale study testing the idea of a "functional knowledge deficit" are presented. Students were asked to identify metaphorical terms that are commonly used without definition in newspaper captions. The results revealed that students could only identify about 30% of these common expressions, and that they did not do better with terms derived from computers or the popular culture. Significant differences were also found between male and female responses. Both the implications of the findings and further avenues of research are discussed.Cet article discute des débats tenus au sujet du niveau d'ignorance, ou de connaissance, parmi la génération Nexus actuelle. Le coeur de l'article est une analyse théorique de l'ignorance dans la société du savoir. Particulièrement, le paradoxe connaissance-ignorance suggère que l'intense spécialisation requise par une économie du savoir milite contre une société de l'information plus avertie et donne naissance à une "répugnance de la lecture." Comme preuve à l'appui de cette analyse, les résultats d'une étude à petite échelle vérifiant la notion de "déficience de connaissance fonctionnelle" sont présentés. On a demandé à des étudiants d'identifier les métaphores utilisées couramment sans définition dans les sous-titres de journaux. Les résultats ont révélé que les étudiants pouvaient seulement identifier envion 30% de ces expressions courantes et qu'ils ne s'en étaient guère mieux tirés avec les termes dérivés de l'informatique ou de la culture populaire. On a également trouvé des différences significatives entre les résponses des deux sexes. Les répercussions de ces résultats ainsi que d'autres débouchés de recherche sont discutés

Silencing science: partisanship and the career of a publication disputing the dangers of secondhand smoke

This paper examines the silencing of science, that is, efforts to prevent the making of specific scientific claims in any or all of the arenas in which these claims are typically reported or circulated. Those trying to mute the reporting or circulation of scientific claims are termed “partisans.” The paper examines silencing through a systematic examination of the “rapid responses” to a smoking study published in the British Medical Journal claiming that secondhand smoke is not as dangerous as conventionally believed. Media coverage of the smoking study is also examined, as is the question of whether there is self-silencing by the media regarding doubts about the negative effects of passive smoke. The results suggest that the public consensus about the negative effects of passive smoke is so strong that it has become part of a regime of truth that cannot be intelligibly questioned

Personalized risk stratification through attribute matching for clinical decision making in clinical conditions with aspecific symptoms: the example of syncope

Background Risk stratification is challenging in conditions, such as chest pain, shortness of breath and syncope, which can be the manifestation of many possible underlying diseases. In these cases, decision tools are unlikely to accurately identify all the different adverse events related to the possible etiologies. Attribute matching is a prediction method that matches an individual patient to a group of previously observed patients with identical characteristics and known outcome. We used syncope as a paradigm of clinical conditions presenting with aspecific symptoms to test the attribute matching method for the prediction of the personalized risk of adverse events. Methods We selected the 8 predictor variables common to the individual-patient dataset of 5 prospective emergency department studies enrolling 3388 syncope patients. We calculated all possible combinations and the number of patients in each combination. We compared the predictive accuracy of attribute matching and logistic regression. We then classified ten random patients according to clinical judgment and attribute matching. Results Attribute matching provided 253 of the 384 possible combinations in the dataset. Twelve (4.7%), 35 (13.8%), 50 (19.8%) and 160 (63.2%) combinations had a match size 6550, 6530, 6520 and <10 patients, respectively. The AUC for the attribute matching and the multivariate model were 0.59 and 0.74, respectively. Conclusions Attribute matching is a promising tool for personalized and flexible risk prediction. Large databases will need to be used in future studies to test and apply the method in different conditions

Recommendations for tilt table testing and other provocative cardiovascular autonomic tests in conditions that may cause transient loss of consciousness. Consensus statement of the European Federation of Autonomic Societies (EFAS) endorsed by the American Autonomic Society (AAS) and the European Academy of Neurology (EAN)

An expert committee was formed to reach consensus on the use of tilt table testing (TTT) in the diagnosis of disorders that may cause transient loss of consciousness (TLOC) and to outline when other provocative cardiovascular autonomic tests are needed. While TTT adds to history taking, it cannot be a substitute for it. An abnormal TTT result is most meaningful if the provoked event is recognised by patients or eyewitnesses as similar to spontaneous events. The minimum requirements to perform TTT are a tilt table, a continuous beat-to-beat blood pressure monitor, at least one ECG lead, protocols for the indications stated below and trained staff. This basic equipment lends itself to the performance of (1) additional provocation tests, such as the active standing test, carotid sinus massage and autonomic function tests; (2) additional measurements, such as video, EEG, transcranial Doppler, NIRS, end-tidal CO2 or neuro-endocrine tests; and (3) tailor-made provocation procedures in those with a specific and consistent trigger of TLOC. TTT and other provocative cardiovascular autonomic tests are indicated if the initial evaluation does not yield a definite or highly likely diagnosis, but raises a suspicion of (1) reflex syncope, (2) the three forms of orthostatic hypotension (OH), i.e. initial, classic and delayed OH, as well as delayed orthostatic blood pressure recovery, (3) postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome or (4) psychogenic pseudosyncope. A therapeutic indication for TTT is to teach patients with reflex syncope and OH to recognise hypotensive symptoms and to perform physical counter manoeuvres

No Laughing Matter: Boundaries of Gender Based Humour in the classroom

As personified in jokers, fools and clowns, humour is an integral part of human history [44]. Humour can lighten what might otherwise be dull, tense or tedious situations. Common definitions of humour emphasize "amusement" and "laughter," implying some form of benign diversion. But recent research suggests that jokes are not "events" that are funny--or harmful--as such. Rather, joking entails a dynamic process where the characteristics of the joke teller and the audience interact with the embedded meaning of the joke. It is the interactions among these factors which determine whether efforts to be funny are acceptable or not [26,40,42]. The present study employs a power-based approach to examine how situational factors affect the degree of acceptability of gender-based humour in classroom settings

Explaining the 'Steroid Scandal': How Toronto Students Interpreted the Ben Johnson Case

This paper examines how students that the Scarborough Campus of the University of Toronto explained and attributed responsibility for the events that led to Ben Johnson being stripped of his gold medal at the Seoul Olympics. The findings indicated a reluctance to blame Johnson for what happened and an attendant need on the part of the respondents to distance themselves from self-threatening information. What we infer as identification with Johnson, tolerance of drug-use in sport, self-reported cheating on examination and gender were all found, in varying degrees, to exert an influence upon the pattern of results