Brief visual cues are often used to induce involuntary shifts of attention to locations away from the center of gaze. However, it is not fully understood how displacements of the focus of attention alter visual processing and, in particular, the perceived structure of objects in the visual field. The present study addressed this question by presenting cues that were either within or outside the contour of a subsequently presented oval and measuring how cue placement altered the perceived shape of the ovals. On every trial two white dots were briefly presented as cues (50ms) at equal eccentricities along the horizontal or vertical meridian (8° or 14°). Following a 100ms ISI one of fifteen blue ovals was presented for 100ms. The ovals were centered at fixation and had horizontal radii of 5°, 11°, or 14°. The height of the ovals was +0%, ±5%, ±10% the horizontal radius. Participants responded after every trial whether the oval was wider or taller than a perfect circle. The cues were paired with ovals such that cue positions (inside/outside contour; horizontally/vertically aligned) were uninformative of which dimension of the oval was larger. There were 40 cue-oval combinations and 25 repeats per configuration. There was a significant Cue Side x Cue Configuration x Oval Height interaction showing that when the cues were located within the oval contour the percentage of taller responses increased for vertically aligned cues and decreased for horizontally aligned cues relative to when the cues were placed outside the oval contour. However, this pattern of responses was only seen for the middle Oval Heights (0% = circle) and not the most extreme (e.g. ±10%). This double dissociation cannot be explained by a simple response bias and suggests that the relative position of cues can systematically alter subsequent processing of an object's spatial structure.
Back in the 1970s, Thomas Saaty introduced a methodology – the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) – for obtaining and consolidating the judgments of panelists to aid in decisions of choice. AHP has been successfully applied in the forecasting of tourism, corporate earnings, and other areas. In this article, Scott, John, and Timothy describe the use of the AHP to develop judgmental adjustments to statistical forecasts of golf demand at a course in South Carolina. The statistical forecasts account for the trend and seasonal components of golf demand, while expert judgments were obtained on the effects of weather, economics, and local events, as well as course quality, availability, and pricing. Copyright International Institute of Forecasters, 2012
Online simulation and training games were used in two undergraduate courses in agribusiness to help improve student understanding and course objectives. Students responded positively to the teaching activities. The activities also extended the out of class learning environment.
Commenters often criticize the mass media for providing audiences a narrow and inaccurate representation of U.S. military veterans. This study examined the claim by researching how regional news publications in the 50 states represented veterans on Twitter. A quantitative content analysis documented the presence or absence of characteristics in 1,460 tweets that employed the terms veteran or veterans. Data were examined using cluster analysis. Three frames emerged. The most prevalent frame, labeled charity, highlighted instances in which veterans received assistance from charitable organizations and others. The second frame, hero, contained references to honor, World War II, and content that would elicit pride from audience members. The third frame, victim, highlighted the mistreatment of veterans by the military and/or society, mental health issues, politics, and the Gulf War. Results suggest U.S. news consumers are provided a narrow representation of what it means to be a veteran.
The news media often portray military veterans in stereotypical ways, providing audiences narrow representations in which veterans are traumatized heroes. What happens when a veteran sees these storylines and assumes they affect how the public thinks about veterans? This question informs this study, which used a two-prong approach (online, telephone) to survey 1,047 American adults about news media and veterans. Respondents, including veterans and civilians, were asked to recall news stories about veterans, assess the quality of news coverage of veterans, and offer opinions concerning whether news coverage affects themselves and other people. When respondents could recall a news story about veterans, they described stereotypical stories related to victimization/harm, heroism, charity/social support, mental illness, and violence. Respondents, both civilian and veteran, described news coverage as mediocre and felt the news affects other people more than themselves.
In the fall 2014, a cohort innovation program was developed for undergraduate students to increase business skills and entrepreneurial capacity. The program focused on three primary areas: soft skills, critical thinking skills, and work experience. Students were pre-screened and selected based on an interview process related to potential, not GPA. The program utilized several unique teaching environments including the use of industry mentors, flipped classrooms, internships, video blogs, and student led program development. Students participated in innovation pitch sessions throughout the program to help develop entrepreneurial skills. Post participation surveys revealed that the program improved soft skills and the ability to work effectively in unfamiliar environments. Major improvements were seen in teamwork skills, project management leadership, and business and communication skills. Participants stated that the program motivated and empowered them to become industry ready innovators.
Interpretations of effect size are typically made either through comparison against previous studies or established benchmarks. This study examines the distribution of published effects among studies with and without preregistration in a set of 22 communication journals. Building from previous research in psychological science, 440 effects were randomly drawn from past publications without preregistration and compared against 35 effects from preregistered studies, and against Cohen’s conventions for effect size. Reported effects from studies without preregistration (median r = .33) were larger compared to those with a preregistration plan (median r = 0.24). The magnitude of effects from studies without preregistration was greater across conventions for “small,” and “large” effects. Differences were also found based on communication subdiscipline. These findings suggest that studies without preregistration may overestimate population effects, and that global conventions may not be applicable in communication science.
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