A Plea For Plurealism

In contrast to monistic realism (as represented by Peirce) and pluralistic irrealism (as represented by Goodman) I argue for what I call plurealism, a view which is both pluralistic and realist, recognizing different worlds that are not only independent of one another, but also independent of us.     

Machine definition of ongoing silent and oral reading rate

A procedure is described by which a machine defines the ongoing silent and oral reading rates, and thus subjects them to environmental control and experimental analysis. Reading is considered as a form of monitoring in which response sequences are linear and successive. Applications for other types of monitoring are considered.

A page is projected on a screen, and the subject is required to read, aloud or silently. Through the same optical system, an opaque loop is presented that masks the projection, and a transparent slit on the opaque loop exposes part of a line of type. With each frame, the slit moves linearly and sequentially, exposing successive reading material. Recycling the loop triggers the presentation of another page. The subject controls the loop by pressing a micro-switch to advance the frame, thereby explicitly defining a monitoring response. The procedure is sensitive to variables such as signal-noise ratio, item difficulty, transient and long-term effects, reinforcement schedules (pay-offs), and age. Monitoring rates are extremely steady, suggesting their use as a base line.

Procedures are suggested for training subjects to be differentially attentive to different parts of a complex display.

     

Effect of inversion on the recognition of external and internal facial features

The purpose of the present study was to find out whether inversion affects recognition of external and internal facial features. 24 participants matched, under two experimental conditions (pair and multiple-choice matchings), upright target faces with three categories of facial test stimuli: full faces, external features and internal features, which were presented in either upright or inverted orientations. Data analysis showed that matching of facial stimuli was faster, more accurate and more consistent under upright than under inverted orientations for all stimulus categories; mostly for full faces, and least for internal features. As a rule, there were no speed-accuracy trade-offs. Implications of the data for accounts of the inversion effect in face recognition in terms of a shift from configurational to componential processing were discussed.     

Pentecostal Dynamics of African Initiated Churches

This essay is a historical consideration of the body of churches known as African Initiated Churches (AICs). The key research questions I am investigating are whether this church can be classified as Pentecostal and how it employs transnational networking in its mission strategy. I have approached this question by exploring the Pentecostal dynamics and transnational networking of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church as an example of an AIC. To this end, I analyze the Pentecostal and transnational nature of an international ecumenical conference organized by the church in London in 2017. This essay is written from the perspective of someone who was born and raised within the church movement, but has also studied the movement as part of African Christianity. The originality of this essay is in its analysis of the transnational nature of the international ecumenical conference.     

Post-traumatic stress symptoms of children and adolescents exposed to the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake: A longitudinal study of 5-HTTLPR genotype main effects and gene–environment interactions

Experiencing disasters causes severe mental disorders, among which post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common. We conducted a longitudinal study to examine the effect of 5-hydroxyl tryptamine transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) genotype on child and adolescent PTSD symptom course after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. We genotyped 963 participants who personally experienced the earthquake. PTSD symptoms were measured by University of California, Los Angeles PTSD reaction index at 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5 years after the earthquake, respectively. Latent growth model was utilised to examine the main effect and gene–environment interaction effect of 5-HTTLPR on PTSD's symptom course. 5-HTTLPR genotype predicted initial PTSD symptom severity (β = 0.108, p = .019) and rates of symptom recovery (β = −0.120, p = .031) between 2.5 and 5.5 years. Compared with L′ allele carriers, those with S′S′ genotype showed higher initial symptom severity but also faster recovery rate. 5-HTTLPR genotype only predicted symptom severity at 2.5 years after the earthquake, after controlling for sex, age, ethnicity and trauma severity (β = 0.108, p = .019). This is the first evidence of the effect of 5-HTTLPR genotype on child and adolescent PTSD symptoms longitudinally, offering a novel perspective on the effect of 5-HTTLPR on PTSD symptom development following trauma exposure.