Unexamined Biases Research Articles

Examining linguistic and experimenter biases through “non-native” versus “native” speech

AbstractThere is a consensus in psycholinguistic research that listening to unfamiliar speech constitutes a challenging listening situation. In this commentary, we explore the problems with the construct ofnon-nativeand ask whether using this construct in research is useful, specifically to shift the communicative burden from the language learner to the perceiver, who often occupies a position of power. We examine what factors affect perception of non-native talkers. We frame this question by addressing the observation that not all “difficult” listening conditions provide equal challenges. Given this, we ask how cognitive and social factors impact perception of unfamiliar accents and ask what our psycholinguistic measurements are capturing. We close by making recommendations for future work. We propose that the issue is less with the terminology ofnativeversusnon-native, but rather how our unexamined biases affect the methodological assumptions that we make. We propose that we can use the existing dichotomy to create research programs that focus on teaching perceivers to better understand talkers more generally. Finally, we call on perceivers and researchers alike to question the idea of speech being “native,” “non-native,” “unfamiliar,” and “accented” to better align with reality as opposed to our inherently biased views.

OVERCOMING BIAS IN THE WORKPLACE

AbstractThe authors note that despite good intensions and spending considerable amounts of money, diversity and inclusion efforts by today’s leaders often lack success. Their organization, the Center for WorkLife Law, has developed the Workplace Experiences Survey. They write that “this 10‐minute climate survey pinpoints every basic pattern of unexamined bias based on race, gender and class origin, precisely where bias is playing out (e.g., in hiring, promotions, performance evaluations, etc.), and how it is affecting outcome measures such as belonging and intent to stay.” Across sectors, “the same five patterns of bias emerge,” which in the authors’ words are: Prove‐it‐again bias, tightrope bias, Maternal wall bias, Tug of War bias, and Racial stereotypes. The Center has implemented Individual Bias Interrupters trainings. They write that “we recently delivered this training to a large company and 98% of participants said they had a better understanding of how bias affects people, 96% said they learned new strategies for interrupting bias and 89% said they were likely to use them going forward.” Regarding hiring as a starting point, there are such suggestions as, in their words: Throughout the entire hiring process, mind the metrics; Assembling a diverse candidate pool, and “eliminating bias and improving the interview process.”

Utopian and Dystopian Themes in Tolkien’s Legendarium

Utopian and Dystopian Themes in Tolkien’s Legendarium

Physician Bias and Clinical Trial Participation in Underrepresented Populations.

Physician Bias and Clinical Trial Participation in Underrepresented Populations.

Relocating World Christianity: Interdisciplinary Studies in Universal and Local Expressions of the Christian Faith

Relocating World Christianity: Interdisciplinary Studies in Universal and Local Expressions of the Christian Faith

Conceptual Design, Sin and the Affordances of Doctrine

AbstractSystematic Theology harnesses the best modern reason has to offer for a coherent and rational presentation of Christian faith. Constructive Theologies point to the contextual nature of all theology, and criticize systematicity’s unexamined bias and complicity in structural injustice and oppression. Moving beyond epistemic incommensurability and mutual imputations, this article presents one Systematic Theologian’s attempt to understand such criticism as pointing to the insurmountable implication of theology in epistemological sin. Drawing on the architectural metaphor in construction and system‐building, it proposes a new understanding of theological work as conceptual design, responsibly ordering and structuring given materials for a purpose. It thus has to account for the actual use, material effects and fit with environmental requirements of its doctrinal design. Aspiring to a more realistic adaequatio ad rem thus necessitates an expansion of theology’s critical standards to encompass not only cognitive and logical criteria, but also the practical effects and uses of doctrine in an ethic of affordances. Finally, ‘queer use’ effectively expresses how both the lives of real human beings and the reality of God will never fit into conceptual logics nor be exhausted by whatever current use we attribute to them.

Implementing a Ricoeurian lens to examine the impact of individuals’ worldviews on subject content knowledge in RE in England: a theoretical proposition

ABSTRACT This article recognises that for increasing numbers of teachers with no faith, religion may seem alien, and this may impact their choice of subject content knowledge. Teachers may, subconsciously, choose to teach aspects of religion(s) and non-religious worldviews which adhere to their own worldviews but ignore aspects with which they disagree. This theoretical article aims to examine the relationality between teachers’ personal worldviews and their choice of subject content knowledge for inclusion into their RE teaching. Current literature on worldviews and RE, alongside research into teachers’ professional knowledge, is examined to investigate this relationality. Implementing a Ricoeurian lens provides theoretical insight into the relationality between teachers’ personal worldviews and their professional knowledge, in particular, their subject content knowledge. For teachers lack of subject content knowledge may be viewed as an insurmountable problem for effective RE teaching. Yet what constitutes teachers’ professional knowledge itself is questionable as is the relationality between personal worldviews and choice of subject content knowledge. This article recommends the provision of support for teachers to become worldview conscious to illuminate these (un)conscious omissions of religion(s) and non-religious worldviews and challenge any unexamined bias.

Critical Tax Thinking

This presentation considers the aims of critical tax studies and offers three suggestions. First, critical tax papers too often fixate on taxes as both the problem and the solution. In many cases, in particular when progressivity is the aim, public spending is the better policy lever. Second, one should not concede that taxation imposes an inexorable tradeoff between efficiency and equity goals. This again understates the importance of the spending side of things. Taxes are a necessary cost of funding spending, and spending in turn, by reaching places where markets are incomplete, can have efficiency payoffs greater than the deadweight loss of taxation. That is, even a leaky bucket can extinguish a fire. To this end, recent research has pointed to the role of well-designed government spending in encouraging an “inclusive economy,” in which growth is both faster and more broadly shared than would otherwise be the case. Finally, the presentation urges that more work be done on the rhetoric of public finance economics. Both the structure and the vocabulary of standard presentations contained unexamined biases that color the outcomes of policy debates.

Entrepreneuring gender diversity in entrepreneurship through critical theory and reflexivity

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of conflicts between the innovation ideologies fundamental to entrepreneurial theory and the exclusivity embedded in the discipline’s research and discursive practices.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws upon entrepreneurship and critical theory literature to deconstruct some embedded assumptions inhibiting the participation of women as entrepreneurs.FindingsThe underrepresentation of female and minority entrepreneurs has been examined most often by researchers from the perspective of trying to discover and overcome barriers to participation, rather than seeking to understand why and how these barriers are created and sustained. The paper identifies processes contributing to the construction of obstacles inhibiting inclusivity and proposes that conscientious implementation of practices such as critical reflexivity can limit their reproduction.Research limitations/implicationsBy situating critical theory and reflexivity as key practices for cultivating diversity and innovation in entrepreneurship, this paper offers a useful basis for expanding subsequent research and pedagogical practices representative of a wider variety of populations and activities.Practical implicationsEntrepreneurship is key to job creation and economic growth. Rigid conceptualizations of entrepreneurship and unexamined biases of scholars and educators limit the accessibility of research and constrain students’ entrepreneurial intentions and behaviors.Originality/valueThe paper fills a gap in the literature by exploring disciplinary practices that cultivate and sustain gender exclusivity. It provides a structured approach to understanding discrepancies between the innovation entrepreneurship idealizes and the practices that confine participation to specific populations and economic practices.

Developing Cultural Competency in Laboratory Practice

Each of us holds preconceived assumptions about the things around us including the ideas, judgments, and values that have been developed from our personal experiences in life. Cultural identity is based on a set of beliefs and behaviors that guide a person9s understanding of how things routinely work. But as we become a more global society we must understand that all cultures have a set of acceptable guidelines, some of which, may be very different from our own. Although many schools and companies require employees to attend seminars about developing cultural sensitivity, awareness, and competence, our implicit biases may interfere with the application of culturally competent behaviors in real life. The vast majority of health care practitioners are genuinely focused on the well-being of patients and the quality of medical practice. However, many are not aware of their implicit practices of bias that can cause as much harm as explicit prejudice. To find that we hold implicit or unexamined biases can be disturbing but at the same time it is a requisite first step to developing a culturally competent person. This article explores two models of cultural competence as well as a model for constructive communication in culturally diverse environments. Finally, examples of harmful and biased statements experienced by laboratory students and employees are also discussed with suggestions and guidance for constructive management and resolution. ABBREVIATIONS:LGBT - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, EEOC - Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, IDI® - Intercultural Development Inventory®, NCCC - National Center of Cultural Competence

Asian American Media Studies and the Problem of Legibility

Asian American Media Studies and the Problem of Legibility Peter X Feng (bio) In February 2016, I participated in a roundtable discussion about Master of None, the Netflix series created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang (2015–present). Hosted by the Asian Arts Initiative, a multidisciplinary arts center based in Philadelphia's Chinatown, the evening brought together fans of a post–network TV series for a lively discussion. At one point, filmmaker (and curator) Sara Zia Ebrahimi commented that there was a remarkable degree of narrative experimentation across the ten-episode season that may have affected the show's accessibility; it seems likely that a network concerned about building a week-by-week following would not have allowed Ansari and Yang to play with the show's tone and narrative structure to the extent allowed by Netflix. Toward the end of the evening, an audience member asked the panel to comment on her sense that Master of None was well received in the Asian American community while The Mindy Project (created by Mindy Kaling; Fox, 2012–2015; Hulu, 2015–present) was subject to extended criticism. Inspired by Ebrahimi's observation, I noted that The Mindy Project engaged with the conventions of the sitcom and the romantic comedy in an entirely accessible way, and that while creator Mindy Kaling was clearly engaged in an ongoing commentary on those forms, she had just as clearly embraced their conventions to make her points. (Furthermore, an unexamined bias against the romantic comedy and other "women's genres" likely contributed to the critical dismissal of The Mindy Project.) Following Thomas Schatz, I understand genres like the romantic comedy as articulating fundamentally irreconcilable ideological contradictions (even as they produce narrative closure through a symbolic resolution of those contradictions).1 By contrast, Master of None's open-ended narratives force the audience to consider social issues that do not have easy answers. Master of None refuses to leave "the mind at rest" with a palatable narrative resolution that minority audiences may perceive as accommodating mainstream audiences.2 [End Page 125] I think this point becomes even clearer when we compare both shows with the ABC network's two Asian American sitcoms, Fresh off the Boat (ABC, 2015–present) and Dr. Ken (ABC, 2015–present), which are extremely legible as prime-time sitcoms. Dr. Ken is a multicamera family-and-workplace sitcom with archetypal sitcom characters (nutty dad, grounded mom, boundary-pushing teenage daughter, nerdy prepubescent son, and four varieties of coworker: sassy, naïve, arrogant-oblivious, and gay)—in fact, Dr. Ken feels like a cryogenically preserved 1980s sitcom. Fresh off the Boat draws from more contemporary trends (e.g., the tightly edited cutaway gags that interrupt expository dialogue) but also features archetypal characters (Old World–values mom, New World–loving dad, hardheaded but good-hearted teenage son, two precocious younger brothers, and acid-tongued grandmother). While Master of None is the smartest and riskiest of the four, the Asian American community is perhaps most excited about Fresh off the Boat, which is set in the 1990s and thereby softens its racial commentary by locating it in a less enlightened but still familiar time. Fresh off the Boat is identifiably Asian American but also accessible to ABC's viewers. The contradiction between originality and comprehensibility is foregrounded by the rhetorical backflips that mainstream media outlets perform when promoting programs that ostensibly present minority viewpoints. At the Television Critics Association press tour, the president of ABC Entertainment Group observed that ABC's fall 2014 slate was "a mission statement to reflect America. . . . In a way it's not so much diversity as it is authenticity."3 He then went on to say: "We picked them up because they were great television . . . but they sort of for us unleashed a creative vein that was unmissable. We think these shows are deeply relatable (to broad audiences). When I watch Fresh off the Boat, or Blackish or Cristela—I am those families. . . . Great stories about great characters will resonate in the heart and gut anywhere in the world."4 In other words, these shows are specific enough that racial minorities will find them authentic, but they are relatable enough that they...

Toward Inclusive STEM Classrooms: What Personal Role Do Faculty Play?

Private and public policies are increasingly aimed at supporting efforts to broaden participation of a diverse body of students in higher education. Unfortunately, this increase in student diversity does not always occur alongside changes in institutional culture. Unexamined biases in institutional culture can prevent diverse students from thriving and persisting in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Given the daily personal interactions that faculty have with students, we suggest that individual educators have the opportunity, and responsibility, to improve the retention and persistence of diverse students. However, in our experience, faculty professional development programs often limit discussions of diversity to "comfortable" topics (such as learning styles) and miss opportunities to explore deeper issues related to faculty privilege, implicit bias, and cues for stereotype threat that we all bring to the classroom. In this essay, we present a set of social science concepts that we can extend to our STEM courses to inform our efforts at inclusive excellence. We have recommended strategies for meaningful reflection and professional development with respect to diversity and inclusion, and aim to empower faculty to be change agents in their classrooms as a means to broadening participation in STEM fields.

‘Diversity as a Verb’ in Preservice Teacher Education: Creating Spaces to Challenge the Profiling of Young Children

Profiling human beings occurs daily throughout our society, typically grounded in inaccuracies, misperceptions, and biases related to race, faith, sexual orientation, language, family structure, and other factors. This article appropriates discriminatory profiling in conjunction with conceptualization of diversity as a verb to vividly convey the need for educators to follow the lead of social justice advocates in identifying and challenging the deficit targeting of young children and their families. Acknowledging that most teachers believe that they send messages of support to every child, this article describes three studies in preservice teacher education based on the premise that unexamined biases keep us from fully recognizing when we profile children and families in ways that limit possibilities for teaching and learning. Grounded in critical sociocultural theory, findings reflect reconceptualizations of home and family engagements as important steps in helping preservice teachers identify and overturn discriminatory profiling in early childhood classrooms.

How to write the perfect beginning and end

The dyslexia literature places an inordinate amount of focus on dyslexia as a deficit. Where discussions of dyslexia as a ‘difference’ do emerge, we find there is an emphasis on ‘talent’ or ‘success’ as an effect of ‘coping’ and ‘avoidance’. The purpose of this article was for two dyslexic writers, Naomi Folb (NF) and Aby Watson (AW), to present an alternative to this discourse. Their exchange uses four self-defined obstructions agreed prior to the writing process. These introduce the dominant subjective position and, allow them to discuss how it subjugates and silences the dyslexic. The Introduction was written to music. This is followed by a critique of the others Introductions. The third part is constructed of questions one author posed the other, whilst the fourth section is made of the answers in dialogue to the others’ questions. The authors’ conclusions, the end of the article, surface within a catechism, in which the authors forbade one another from editing or using spellcheck. Hence, the discussion appears to lack closure. This reflects the authors concerns with the conventions of ‘linear’ academic papers, in the way it presents a prioritization of knowledge, and exploration of ideas and subjectivity, over ‘acceptance’. In this way, addressing the authors lack of ‘belonging’ becomes the subject, rather than the purpose of the article. The result reveals the deep and hitherto unexamined bias towards dyslexics.

Under the radar: how unexamined biases in decision-making processes in clinical interactions can contribute to health care disparities.

Several aspects of social psychological science shed light on how unexamined racial/ethnic biases contribute to health care disparities. Biases are complex but systematic, differing by racial/ethnic group and not limited to love-hate polarities. Group images on the universal social cognitive dimensions of competence and warmth determine the content of each group's overall stereotype, distinct emotional prejudices (pity, envy, disgust, pride), and discriminatory tendencies. These biases are often unconscious and occur despite the best intentions. Such ambivalent and automatic biases can influence medical decisions and interactions, systematically producing discrimination in health care and ultimately disparities in health. Understanding how these processes may contribute to bias in health care can help guide interventions to address racial and ethnic disparities in health.

CLASSIFICATION BIAS IN DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION ANALYSES USED TO EVALUATE PUTATIVELY DIFFERENT TAXA

Discriminant function analysis has been used to assess morphological distinctiveness of putatively different taxa. We used randomizations of previously published morphological data for 2 subspecies of the coyote, Canis latrans frustror and C. l. thamnos, to quantify a recognized but previously unexamined bias in discriminant-function analyses that use resubstitution classification. This bias results in overestimates of intertaxon distinctiveness and is exacerbated when sample sizes are small. An alternative classification technique, jackknife sampling, is relatively unbiased.

Nontransitive preferences in decision theory

Intransitive preferences have been a topic of curiosity, study, and debate over the past 40 years. Many economists and decision theorists insist on transitivity as the cornerstone of rational choice, and even in behavioral decision theory intransitivities are often attributed to faulty experiments, random or sloppy choices, poor judgment, or unexamined biases. But others see intransitive preferences as potential truths of reasoned comparisons and propose representations of preferences that accommodate intransitivities.

An International Perspective on Technology and Theory: A Response to Philip Scranton

My discomfort upon reading Philip Scranton's essay was only in part caused by his frequent reference to works I had never heard of, much less read, and by knowledge that I would not be able to read them in preparation for this reply. I also squirmed in seat because I recognized much truth in his argument. Scranton is certainly correct that our choices of which workers to study often reflect unexamined biases that privilege some groups (often skilled males) at the expense of others. In the idiom of the workers I have studied, upon reading this, my ears hurt. But I can console myself that at least I looked at workers who, in their own time, belonged to the Third World.1 I would add to Scranton's other criticisms of contemporary practice in American labor history, that the vast majority (perhaps 90 percent?) of the labor history written in the West focuses exclusively on the experiences of workers in Europe and North America, and is both empirically and theoretically poorer as a result. To readers of a journal with international in its title, this may be preaching to the converted, but it probably still bears repeating. Before American labor historians spend weeks or months engaging in the theoretical retooling Scranton recommends, I believe they have much to gain simply by transcending the single-nation focus and spending some time reading the history of labor outside ofthe First World. The American historian who writes the labor history of Africa, Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East almost inevitably in his or her training has cultivated a sense of problem informed by the historiogra phy of American and European labor. This sometimes allows us to compensate for our lack of indigenous roots and arrive at insights that native historians of these areas do not achieve. In similar fashion, I am certain that non-Western historians can offer arresting perspectives on American or European labor. But in addition, U.S. historians of American labor must themselves cultivate a broader compara tive sense of problem, as well as a more acute sense of theory. In attempting, for example, to measure the peculiar significance of race as a factor shaping the experience of American labor, it would be helpful to know how historians have understood the experience of workers in otherwise similar contexts with monora cial populations, and a similar insight could be gained from comparing processes of gendering across national lines. Scranton makes sense in arguing that the historian's narrative mode can