Characterising the in-out asymmetry in visual crowding

An object’s processing is impaired by the presence of nearby clutter. Several distinct mechanisms, such as masking and visual crowding, are thought to contribute to such flanker induced interference. It is therefore important to determine which mechanism is operational in any given situation. Previous studies have proposed that the in-out asymmetry (IOA), where a peripheral flanker interferes with the target more than a foveal flanker, is diagnostic of crowding. However, several studies have documented inconsistencies in the occurrence of this asymmetry, particularly at locations beyond the horizontal meridian, casting doubt on its ability to delineate crowding. In this study, to determine if IOA is diagnostic of crowding, we extensively charted its properties. We asked a relatively large set of participants (n=38) to identify a briefly presented peripheral letter flanked by a single inward or outward letter at one of four locations. We also manipulated target location uncertainty and attentional allocation by blocking, randomising or precueing the target location. Using multi-level Bayesian regression analysis, we found robust IOA at all locations, although its strength was modulated by target location, location uncertainty and attentional allocation. Our findings suggest that IOA can be an excellent marker of crowding, to the extent that it is not observed in other flanker-interference mechanisms such as masking

The Queen of the Chaghataids:Orghīna Khātūn and the rule of Central Asia

When Chinggis Khan died in 1227, his sons inherited different parts of the empire that had been built by their father. Chinggis Khan's second son, Chaghatai (d. c. 1241), became the ruler of the lands of present-day Central Asia, conforming the origin of what became to be known as the Chaghataid Khanate. After the death of its founder, this political entity experienced a long succession crisis that lasted for a decade until a woman, Orghīna Khātūn, took control of the khanate in the name of her son. Although a ruling woman is not an exceptional case in the Mongol empire, she was the first and only woman that ruled over the Chaghataid Khanate, and that did so peacefully and without major upheavals for nine years. Additionally, she did not adopt a passive role but was involved in the running of the khanate, playing her cards in the always-unstable political arena of the Mongol empire. This article looks at the ascension to the throne, the reign and the legacy of this Mongol woman in Mongol Central Asia by contextualising her rule within the history of the region in general and in that of the Mongol empire in particular