Analysis of categorical moderators in mixed‐effects meta‐analysis: Consequences of using pooled versus separate estimates of the residual between‐studies variances

Subgroup analyses allow us to examine the influence of a categorical moderator on the effect size in meta‐analysis. We conducted a simulation study using a dichotomous moderator, and compared the impact of pooled versus separate estimates of the residual between‐studies variance on the statistical performance of the Q _{B (P)} and Q _{B (S)} tests for subgroup analyses assuming a mixed‐effects model. Our results suggested that similar performance can be expected as long as there are at least 20 studies and these are approximately balanced across categories. Conversely, when subgroups were unbalanced, the practical consequences of having heterogeneous residual between‐studies variances were more evident, with both tests leading to the wrong statistical conclusion more often than in the conditions with balanced subgroups. A pooled estimate should be preferred for most scenarios, unless the residual between‐studies variances are clearly different and there are enough studies in each category to obtain precise separate estimates.     

The Second Religious Globalization in Africa: Changes in the Religious Landscape and the Consequences for Social Peace: The Case of Cameroon

This article describes the changes in the religious landscape in Africa – on both the Christian and the Muslim sides – using the example of Cameroon, with the objective of determining the eventual implications that these changes can have for social peace in Africa. The country has seen a shift from planned and controlled evangelization and Islamization carried out by recognized political and religious authorities, to evangelization and Islamization done by individuals who, even though they represent religious currents recognized around the world, act autonomously. The religious landscape has consequently changed fundamentally on the geographical level: moving from the usual cleavage between the Christian South and the Muslim North to a total breakdown in ethno‐regional religious territories. The same thing can be observed for various Christian denominations, which are no longer confined to their historic ethno‐regional territories. Religious organizations are now set up in an anarchic manner. All of this is taking place in a fragile local and regional environment which could, as argued here, present a genuine threat to social peace in Cameroon.     

The effects of aging on the working memory processes of multimodal information

Normal aging is associated with deficits in working memory processes. However, the majority of research has focused on storage or inhibitory processes using unimodal paradigms, without addressing their relationships using different sensory modalities. Hence, we pursued two objectives. First, was to examine the effects of aging on storage and inhibitory processes. Second, was to evaluate aging effects on multisensory integration of visual and auditory stimuli. To this end, young and older participants performed a multimodal task for visual and auditory pairs of stimuli with increasing memory load at encoding and interference during retention. Our results showed an age-related increased vulnerability to interrupting and distracting interference reflecting inhibitory deficits related to the off-line reactivation and on-line suppression of relevant and irrelevant information, respectively. Storage capacity was impaired with increasing task demands in both age groups. Additionally, older adults showed a deficit in multisensory integration, with poorer performance for new visual compared to new auditory information.     

The third-space professional: a reflective case study on maintaining relationships within a complex higher education institution

This paper showcases the work of Third Space professionals in a complex higher education (HE) setting, and specifically its impact on the building of trust relationships and innovative approaches. It makes use of a case-study methodological approach, reflecting on the experiences of various stakeholders within pilot phases. The findings reveal challenges related to maintaining trust relationships, which can be threatened by technicist approaches. The reflective case study explores an innovative live-streaming project and the related pedagogical approaches by Instructional Design experts, as Third Space professionals, who have carved out a critical space within a HE setting. This investigation, and its related lessons, highlights that learning-and-teaching aspects, training and support, reconciliation of trust relationships, can be applied to Third Space professionals in other HE institutions.     

Time estimation: does the reference memory mediate the effect of knowledge of results?

This study presents evidence for the role of knowledge of results (KR) in the estimation of medium time intervals (4-12 s durations). Experiment 1 tested the hypothesis that KR operates at the same stage of temporal processing as attention. The absence of an interaction of attention and KR is taken as evidence against this hypothesis. Experiments 2 and 3 further studied the effects of KR in a reproduction and a production task, respectively. The effects of KR were small in the reproduction and substantial in the production task. The results are interpreted in terms of a clock-based timing model and the findings taken together converge on the interpretation that KR affects the reference memory (RM), rather than the other components of the model.     

Deformation of the useful visual field with state of vigilance,task priority,and central task complexity

In a dual-task situation, peripheral perception can deteriorate due to different variables related to the experimental situation, such as central task complexity and the relative priority given to the two tasks. Recent studies have also shown that individual characteristics (such as the state of vigilance) can alter the useful visual field. The ability to perceive signals presented at different places in the visual field decreases in situations that lead to episodes of low vigilance. In Exp. 1, 27 subjects (18-29 years) had to perform a monotonous and prolonged dual-monitoring task involving central and peripheral vision. The test was carried out with two different sets of instructions regarding priority: the more important task was either the central task or the peripheral one. In Exp. 2, 18 subjects (18-30 years) performed the same test, but this time with two levels of complexity of the central task, either a simple monitoring activity or the same monitoring task coupled with a counting activity. Elliptical interpolation of the data enabled assessment of the deformation of the useful visual field in both experiments. The analysis of the parameters of the elliptical model indicated that the useful visual field mainly shrinks on the vertical axis, as the individual becomes drowsy. The useful visual field also shrinks on the horizontal axis when the peripheral task has priority and the monitoring activity is prolonged, or when the central task is complex.     

Lexical and relational influences on the processing of novel compounds

To interpret a novel compound (e.g., chocolate twig), one must access the concepts denoted by the words and select a relation that links them together. To examine the role of lexical and relation information on conceptual combination, target combinations were preceded by one of three prime combinations. In Experiment 1, the prime used a semantically similar head noun and either the same or different relation. The third prime was semantically unrelated to the target. Experiment 2 was identical, except the modifier was the semantically related constituent. Although semantic priming was observed in both experiments, relation priming was obtained only when the modifier was similar.     

Factors contributing to the implicit dynamic quality of static abstract designs

Participants rated the dynamic quality of a set of twelve-element nonrepresentational or abstract visual designs each composed of one of four types of triangles or four types of quadrilaterals. We investigated the contribution to the perceived or implicit dynamics of the design of the four factors edge alignment of compositional elements, physical weight distribution about the horizontal axis, activity directions within the designs, and type of compositional element. It was found that edge alignment of elements was the most influential factor contributing to the dynamics both of triangle and of quadrilateral designs. In addition, dynamics was found to be positively correlated with the number of perceived activity directions within both types of stimuli. Triangle designs, but not quadrilateral ones, with greater structural weight above the horizontal axis were rated as more dynamic. Results suggest that implicit dynamics of nonrepresentational designs arises from a percept based on a global spatial analysis of the stimulus characteristics studied.