Selective Citation Research Articles

The Romantic Futility of John Koethe

Besides, answered Goethe, we hear this substitution of g for k, not merely amongst actors, but even amongst theologians. I once experienced an incident of this sort. When I, some five years ago, stayed at Jena, and lodged at the Fir Tree, theological student one morning presented himself. After he had conversed with me very agreeably, he made, as he was just going, request of most peculiar kind. He begged me to allow him to preach in my stead on the next Sunday. I saw which way the wind blew, and that the hopeful youth was one of those who confound g with k I therefore answered that I could not personally assist; but that he would be sure to attain his object if he would apply to Archdeacon Koethe. -Conversations with Eckermann John Koethe is widely recognized as one of our foremost Romantic poets, an inheritor of the tradition of Stevens and Ashbery. Koethe is also philosopher by trade, and in his recent collection of essays, Poetry at One Remove (University of Michigan, 2000), he attempts to bring his art and his profession together by offering a coherent view of poetry and mentality Rather than assess his attempt to bridge the gap between modes of speculation, I will consider Koethe's understanding of poetry, both for the light it sheds on Koethe's own poetic project and, more generally, as study in the fortunes of romanticism. Koethe conceives of poetry as an achievement of the agonistic sublime, as subjectivity's contestation of its objective setting in world that has no place for it and which threatens to reduce it to nonexistence. Such romantic understanding of the poet's task is perhaps most associated with Harold Bloom, and Koethe explicitly aligns himself with Bloom's interpretation of Romantic poetry as an art devoid of subject but subjectivity' domain of internalized quests whose goal is the achievement of former self. What does it mean to want to achieve former self? When one comes across such phrases in Bloom, the temptation is to read them as religious utterances, formulas lifted from Gnosticism, Orphism, or some even more obscure byway of belief. Koethe's taste for speculation runs to philosophy, as evidenced by his characteristic gloss on the notion of selfless self as of pure subjectivity, conceptually prior to its objectification in the form of the human person. Both Koethe and Bloom believe in poetry that can assert itself against what Wallace Stevens called the escapades of death that fill these external regions!' They part company, however, over the question of the possible efficacy of transformation. While Bloom, at certain stages of his sprawling career, has been less than sanguine about the power of poetry to dominate the universe of death, he is more inclined to the ecstatic optimism of an Emerson than the fatalistic pessimism of Freud. Koethe takes gloomier view. h im, assertions of are always made in the face of futility, and the poet is confronted with the inevitable that the condition of transcendental subjectivity is finally unsustainable. Koethe does not explicitly formulate his divergence from Bloom, but one way to tease it out is through an examination of Koethe's readings of Stevens. The book opens with reading of Stevens's Notes Toward Supreme Fiction which is meant to demonstrate the poet's recognition of the futility of speculation. Koethe disclaims any pretense of being either literary scholar or critic, so it would be unfair to complain that he doesn't take into account interpretations of Stevens on which the poet appears to triumph over reality, rather than submit to its rebuff of poetic pretensions. However, the discerning reader will note that Koethe gets his reading afloat by practicing the art of selective citation. instance, when he quotes the opening lines of Stevens's poem, Koethe halts at For moment in the central of our being, suggesting that Stevens is only committing to flicker of power, transitory gleam. …

Within-class grouping: evidence versus conjecture

Lou, Abrami, Spence, Poulsen, Chambers, and d'Apollonia (1996) reported the findings from a quantitative review showing generally positive but variable effects of within-class grouping on pupil achievement and other outcomes. Replying in the National Institute Economic Review (July 1998), Prais argued for whole-class teaching claiming that we mis-summarised our findings. In this abbreviated rejoinder, we argue that our findings are: useful; not so variable as to be meaningless; provide evidence of beneficial effects for pupils of all relative abilities; are thorough and detailed; and provide a rather complete picture of the available evidence. In contrast, we believe that Prais (1998) has relied too heavily on conjecture and selective citation to offer a view of within-class grouping which is a serious mis-summarisation of the findings.

The Research-Practice Debate in a Qualitative Research Context

I was gratified to see the rebuttals to my article Does the Glove Really Fit? Qualitative Research and Clinical Social Work Practice (Padgett, 1998a). I would have been disappointed if it had not generated a response, and I welcome this opportunity to engage in a dialogue on qualitative methods and work practice. Some of my colleagues - practitioners and researchers alike - have expressed mild surprise that my cautionary tale needed to be told. What is the issue here? they ask. Isn't it obvious that qualitative research methods and work practice are two different endeavors? The critiques of Bein and Allen and of Heineman Pieper and Tyson attest to the continued advocacy of a position that I find troubling. I will address each of these responses separately and then return to my original argument and its viability in the face of these charges. Bein and Allen's rebuttal seems more focused on my characterization of work practice than on the central premise of my argument. Indeed, their final paragraph expresses agreement with my main contention regarding the need to maintain a separation between the clinical role and the role of the qualitative researcher. We are left, then, with their assertions regarding my and sanitized view of work practice. Bein and Allen state that I have equated clinical practice with outdated images of private practice. My response to this is twofold. First, they seem to have ignored my caveat acknowledging the great diversity - theoretical, individual, and regional - in models of work practice. Second, I was referring throughout to direct practice in work, with the full knowledge that this is largely agency-based (with a smaller component of private practice as well). The fact that some work practitioners work with mandated clients, with groups rather than individuals, and in naturalistic settings does not detract from the reality of work practice today. I believe that my characterization is closer to this reality than Bein and Allen's. If anything, the pressures of managed care have placed even further constraints on the type of inductive and narrative approaches they claim are widespread. I do not like the current situation any more than Bein and Allen do, but I think it is misleading to argue that clinical practice takes place primarily in client's homes or other naturalistic settings and that it is stripped of the influence of psychological theories. Although interventions and advocacy are at the heart of work practice, assisting clients with depression and other serious mental disorders requires at least some accommodation with psychiatric treatments. To neglect these treatment options would be tantamount to malpractice. Have we discarded the bio and psycho from the social dimensions of client assessment and intervention? I hope not. Much of Bein and Allen's rebuttal is more of an idealized depiction (and an exhortation) of what work practice should be rather than what it is. Relying on selective citations and anecdotal reports from their own experiences, Bein and Allen offer no convincing evidence to support their assertions. In any case, embracing a strengths- or solution-focused perspective does not diminish the importance of the clinical practice mandate. The movement in work to focus on strengths must be placed in its proper context. Client strengths make sense only when addressed a part of a problem-solving intervention. Whether you believe that the problem is biological, psychological, or in origin (or a combination of all of these etiological factors), work practice derives its raison d'etre from that fact that vulnerable people and communities need help. Otherwise, there is no need for professional assistance. Even if one were willing to accept Bein and Allen's depiction of work practice as the norm, I believe that my basic argument retains its validity. …

Assessing Process Distinctiveness

(1999). Assessing Process Distinctiveness. Psychological Inquiry: Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 150-156.

To Spank or Not to Spank

To the Editor. The new discipline policy, “Guidance for Effective Discipline,”1 of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is seriously flawed. Despite an excellent discussion of parental nurturance and positive reinforcement strategies, the policy statement is ill-founded and unrealistic in its account of corrective strategies, especially in its critique of disciplinary spanking. To develop an unbiased, scientific analysis of the current research on corporal punishment, the AAP co-sponsored a consensus conference 3 years ago in which I participated. A 13-point consensus statement was drafted by the conference panel of experts. Concerning the use of corporal punishment by parents, the panel could not find sufficient data to proscribe the use of spanking with children between the ages of 24 months and preadolescence. A literature review presented at the conference actually found stronger evidence for beneficial than detrimental effects of spanking with 2- to 6-year-old children.2 The co-chairs of the conference concluded, “Given a relatively ”healthy' family life in a supportive environment, spanking in and of itself is not detrimental to a child or predictive of later problems.”3 The new AAP discipline policy statement largely ignores the consensus conference statement and, instead, selectively plucks from the conference proceedings several allegations of the avowed spanking opponents, without acknowledging the presentations of other participants. Eleven of the 13 citations in the policy statement to support its unconditional antispanking position in the “supplemental information” section concern presentations of antispanking participants at the consensus conference, not original research. To support its antispanking position, the policy relies on weak, nonfocused research and ignores solid data to the contrary. For example, the policy claims that spanking leads to aggression, though the best studies indicate a neutral to positive effect of spanking on childhood aggression.4 Two years ago, Gunnoe published a study finding that the …

Fertility and the Easterlin hypothesis: an assessment of the literature.

Focusing just on the fertility aspects of the Easterlin hypothesis, this paper offers a critical assessment – rather than just a selective citation – of the extensive fertility literature generated by Easterlin, and a complete inventory of data and methodologies in seventy-six published analyses. With an equal number of micro- and macro-level analyses using North American data (twenty-two), the „track record” of the hypothesis is the same in both venues, with fifteen providing significant support in each case. The literature suggests unequivocal support for the relativity of the income concept in fertility, but is less clear regarding the source(s) of differences in material aspirations, and suggests that the observed relationship between fertility and cohort size has varied across countries and time periods due to the effects of additional factors not included in most models.

Bisphosphonates: mechanisms of action.

Because of its failure to act when given orally and its rapid hydrolysis when given parenterally, pyrophosphate was used therapeutically only in scintigraphy and against dental calculus. This prompted us to search for analogs that showed similar physicochemical activity but resisted enzymatic hydrolysis and, therefore, would not be degraded metabolically. The bisphosphonates fulfilled these conditions. This review will deal with the mechanisms of action of these compounds. In vitro results, as well as results both in animals and humans, will be integrated in an attempt to deduce the current state of the art. Various reviews have been published recently on bisphosphonates and may be consulted also for information on other aspects (8 ‐14). Since the literature in this field is plentiful, selective citation was necessary. Priority is given to papers dealing with the mechanisms of action. Since many papers often deal with the same finding, in most cases only the first ones are quoted. Subsequent papers are quoted only if they convey new knowledge.

The Relationship Between Methodological Quality and Conclusions in Reviews of Spinal Manipulation

To study the relationship between the methodological quality and other characteristics of reviews of spinal manipulation for low back pain on the one hand and the reviewers' conclusions on the effectiveness of manipulation on the other hand. Reviews identified by MEDLINE search, citation tracking, library search, and correspondence with experts. English- or Dutch-language reviews published up to 1993 dealing with spinal manipulation for low back pain that include at least two randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Methodological quality was assessed using a standardized criteria list applied independently by two assessors (range, 0% to 100%). Other extracted characteristics were the comprehensiveness of the search, selective citation of studies, language, inclusion of non-RCTs, type of publication, reviewers' professional backgrounds, and publication in a spinal manipulation journal or book. The reviewers' conclusions were classified as negative, neutral, or positive. A total of 51 reviews were assessed, 17 of which were neutral and 34 positive. The methodological quality was low, with a median score of 23%. Nine of the 10 methodologically best reviews were positive. Other factors associated with a positive reviewers' conclusion were review of spinal manipulation only, inclusion of a spinal manipulator in the review team, and a comprehensive literature search. The majority of the reviews concluded that spinal manipulation is an effective treatment for low back pain. Although, in particular, the reviews with a relatively high methodological quality had a positive conclusion, strong conclusions were precluded by the overall low quality of the reviews. More empirical research on the review methods applied to other therapies in other professional fields is needed to further explore our findings about the factors related to a positive reviewers' conclusion.

THE IMPACT-FLOOD CONNECTION: DOES IT EXIST?

In a recent article in Terra Nova, Kristan-Tollmann and Tollmann (1994) suggested that the Biblical Flood can be explained by seven fragments of a comet that impacted the ocean at seven locations on Earth at 03.00h (C.E.T.) on 23 September, 9545 yr BP. We demonstrate that all the ‘geological proofs’ that allegedly support their conclusions are not supported by the available data on impact cratering. Their hypothesis is based on insufficient and ambiguous data, selective citation, and incomplete comprehension of previous research.

An ethnic bias in scientific citations

AbstractRecent experimental findings of subtle forms of prejudice prompted this search for a similar phenomenon outside the laboratory. In Study 1, with a sample of more than 12 000 citations by North American social scientists, names of both citing and cited authors were classified as Jewish, non Jewish, or other Author's name category was associated with 41 per cent greater odds of citing an author from the same name category Study 2 included over 17 000 citations from a much narrower research domain (prejudice research), and found a similar (40 per cent) surplus in odds of citing an author of the author's own ethnic name category. Further analyses failed to support two hypotheses — differential assortment of researchers by ethnicity to research topics, and selective citation of acquaintances' works — that were plausible alternatives to the hypothesis that the observed citation discrimination revealed implicit (unconsciously operating) prejudicial attitudes. Given the sociopolitically liberal reputation of social scientists (and of prejudice researchers especially), it seems unlikely that the observed bias in citations reflected conscious prejudicial attitudes.

Introduction: Human Nature, Biology, and Justice

Why are developments in the life sciences of direct interest to political scientists? And how (if at all) can the resulting changes in our understanding of human nature influence our judgments of moral values, political principles, and policy preferences? As the contributors to this issue suggest, the answers today are quite different than those that would have been possible a generation ago. A pervasive challenge now faces the social sciences. Across a wide range of disciplines in the natural sciences, empirical discoveries and new theories have transformed what is known about the biology of our species and introduced radically new principles to the study of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. The extent of these scientific revolutions is symbolized by a simple observation: in virtually every discipline, much of the science learned by today's mature political scientist during his or her secondary education is now either obsolete or seriously in question. Lest this appear an exaggeration, consider the radical changes in the following fields (represented, for each discipline, by a single and admittedly highly selective citation): * Psychotherapy. Freudian or cognitive therapy has routinely been supplemented with, if not replaced by, the psychopharmacology summarized in the recent best-seller Listening to Prozac (Kramer, 1993); mental illness, personality, and normal behavior have been found to depend on neurochemistry as well as on individual life histories and belief structures. * Neuroscience. The Lockean view of the brain as a tabula rasa has been demolished by discoveries that the central nervous system has a modular structure; human perceptual capacities and emotional responses, while shaped by experience, have innate characteristics (Gazzaniga, 1988). * Artificial Intelligence. As connectionist models of the brain have been found to predict cognitive function, new approaches to artificial intelligence have begun to model creative thought in art, music, and science that traditionally seemed uniquely resistant to scientific understanding (Boden, 1992). * Primatology. Field studies and experimental research reveal profound similarities in the social behavior of apes or monkeys and humans; symbolized by Jane Goodall's observations of chimpanzees at Gombe, these findings narrow the range of uniquely human traits and suggest important continuities between our political behavior and the social interactions of primates (Schubert and Masters, 1994). * Ethology. The study of animal behavior in general has shifted from the behaviorists' search for general laws of stimulus and response to the analysis of

Tobacco industry response to a risk assessment of environmental tobacco smoke

Tobacco industry response to a risk assessment of environmental tobacco smoke

Dendrohydrology and long‐term hydrologic phenomena

Dendrohydrology provides accurate methods for studying long‐term hydrologic variability at regional scales. A substantial literature and body of knowledge exists, attesting to the value of tree ring based hydrologic reconstructions to discern patterns of long‐term hydrologic variability. Application studies encompass drought analysis, analysis of extremes, periodicity of rare hydrologic phenomena, regional interdependence of surface moisture conditions, and, in general, the probabilistic analysis of key hydroclimatic variables such as runoff, precipitation, and temperature. The probabilistic analysis includes distributional properties, frequency duration analysis, severity of events, and spatial variability of hydrologic indicators. This paper reviews some fundamental aspects of dendrohydrology, with a perspective on its value to hydrologists in pursuit of an understanding of long‐term hydrologic spatial‐temporal behavior and provides also a selective citation of previous work conducted within the dendrohydrologic discipline.

Influence of publication languages on the citation rate of scientific articles: A case study of East German journals

In order to quantify the influence of publication languages on the rate of citation of scientific articles, such East German journals from the Science Citation Index database were selected which publish relevant shares of contributions in several languages, especially in English and German. For a fixed period of time (1988) the selective citation impact of both English- and German-language articles was calculated. The results of our investigation reveal a non-uniform picture: In some cases English-language papers exhibit a significantly higher citations-per-paper average than German-language articles, but in a few cases German-language publications achieve a higher mean citation rate. For the half of selected journals there does not exist a statistically significant difference of citation frequencies of publications in both languages. Possible causes of these phenomena (editorial practice of journals, native countries of authors) are considered.

A Dissenting View of MBO

The argument of the article is to question the core assumptions upon which MBO theory rests. While MBO, in various of its practical versions may succeed here or there, defective theory is not cured by select citations of effective practice. MBO has not produced a coherent theory in which to ground its prescriptions. Rather, it derives legitimacy from other disciplines. Drucker's classical formulation of MBO is pseudo-participative despite his claim that its essence is employee collaboration and input into setting their work objectives. Drucker critically fails to give specific detailed protection to the subordinate in the MBO process against superior manipulation or arbitrariness nor recourse to via any appeals procedure. Nor does Drucker complement the obligations set by the MBO process with correspondingly concrete rewards for fulfillment. This basic asymmetry fundamentally flaws the process as does the psychologically unrealistic alternating roles for the judge-turned-subordinate. Reformist critics call for such reformulations as panels of judges, genuine adult-to-adult models for MBO negotiators, and a differential approach to the types of subordinates—high achievers versus low achievers—enlisted in the process. Others advocate the critical need to set hard goals and to enlist commitment—above all else—to the goals by individuals. Yet, we are lost in a fog as to how goal commitments are obtained or why goal setting affects subordinate performance more than Drucker's central inducement of participation. Indeed, according to certain critics, authoritarian MBO is more effective than participative MBO. In conclusion, MBO must stand or fall as a practical management tool, or if it aspires to theoretical validity, strive to co-opt the on-going theoretical research of goal setting theory. As it now stands, it is characterized by inadequate conceptualization of variables and glib generalizations from idiosyncratic laboratory conditions to the multifarious real world of many non-homogeneous industries and professions. In ignoring the raw material of the labor force—how it derives its ideas and attitudes—it utterly fails to account for the variety of that material and its built-in resistances to manipulation. The labor force cannot be regarded as so much homogeneous clay to be molded by any combination of ego psychology or the setting of hard goals in either a pseudo-participative or authoritarian process. MBO must proceed from an analysis of the concrete material conditions through which it must function, MBO must either aspire to the realm of theory or shrink to the level of a hit-or-miss performance appraisal procedure.

Selective citation.

Selective citation.

Selective citation.

Selective citation.

Life support for ailing hypotheses: Modes of summarizing the evidence for racial discrimination in sentencing.

A recent review concluded that the weight of available evidence contradicts a hypothesis of widespread overt racial discrimination in sentencing in the United States. Yet brief summaries of this body of research, found in textbooks, monographs, and the literature review sections of journal articles, commonly conveyed the opposite impression, sustaining an image of extensive support for the hypothesis. These summaries are examined to determine how this misleading impression was conveyed. Five common practices are identified: 1. Selective Citation: A biased selection of studies were reviewed or cited. 2. Letting the Evidence Speak for Itself: Overrepresentation of blacks in prison or among the executed relative to their share of the population was noted, with readers left to draw their own conclusions. 3. The Mixed Bag: Impressive lists of studies supposedly supporting a discrimination hypothesis were padded, by lumping together studies concerning a variety of criminal justice processes besides sentencing, and various legally irrelevant defendant traits besides race. 4. Research Democracy-All Studies are Created Equal: Equal weight was implicitly given to all studies regardless of methodological rigor, in a field where it was the least rigorous studies which were most likely to support the discrimination hypothesis. 5. Magnanimous Neutrality: The available evidence was described as mixed or ambiguous, which, while technically accurate, was a misleading description of evidence which largely contradicted the discrimination hypothesis.

On the usefulness of latent variable causal modeling in testing theories of naturally occurring events (including adolescent drug use): A rejoinder to Martin.

This paper considers the arguments raised by Martin (1982) against the methodologies used by Huba, Wingard, and Bentler (1981) and their subsequent conclusions. Several of Martin's criticisms are the result of a misreading of our paper and selective citations, whereas other criticisms were discussed in the original paper and resolved through alternate forms of data analysis. Further analyses are presented to address issues raised by Martin. Martin's arguments against latent variable models are refuted.

All Self-Care is Not Solipsistic, but Selective Citation Surely is

All Self-Care is Not Solipsistic, but Selective Citation Surely is