Contextual modulation of reading rate for direct versus indirect speech quotations.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Bo; Scheepers, Christoph

2011-12-01

In human communication, direct speech (e.g., Mary said: "I'm hungry") is perceived to be more vivid than indirect speech (e.g., Mary said [that] she was hungry). However, the processing consequences of this distinction are largely unclear. In two experiments, participants were asked to either orally (Experiment 1) or silently (Experiment 2, eye-tracking) read written stories that contained either a direct speech or an indirect speech quotation. The context preceding those quotations described a situation that implied either a fast-speaking or a slow-speaking quoted protagonist. It was found that this context manipulation affected reading rates (in both oral and silent reading) for direct speech quotations, but not for indirect speech quotations. This suggests that readers are more likely to engage in perceptual simulations of the reported speech act when reading direct speech as opposed to meaning-equivalent indirect speech quotations, as part of a more vivid representation of the former. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Direct reading fast microwave interferometer for EBT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uckan, T.

1984-10-01

A simple and inexpensive 4-mm direct reading fast (rise time approx. 100 μs) microwave interferometer is described. The system is particularly useful for density measurements on the ELMO Bumpy Torus (EBT) during pulsed operation

Fostering Reading Comprehension and Self-Directed Learning in a Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR Setting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenny Mendieta

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This research project was carried out at five public educational institutions by a group of English teacher-researchers based in different regions of Colombia. Due to a shared concern about the development of reading skills and self-regulation in the L2 classroom, a multiple case action research study was designed to examine whether the use of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR (Klingner, Vaughn & Schumm, 1998; Klingner & Vaughn, 1998 could foster reading comprehension in learners and at the same time help them become self-directed learners. Student pre and post questionnaires, reading tests and learning logs, as well as teacher's journals constituted the data collection methods used during the study. Results indicate that the use of CSR impacted participants' learning attitudes and habits positively.

Put reading first: Positive effects of direct instruction and scaffolding ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Put reading first: Positive effects of direct instruction and scaffolding for ESL learners struggling with reading. ... are intended to open up for debate a topic of critical importance to the country's education system. ... AJOL African Journals Online.

The Neural Substrates for Letter String Readings in The Normal and Reverse Directions: An fMRI Study

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Sheng; Saito, Takashi; Wu, Jing-Long; Ogasawara, Jun-Ichi; Yamauchi, Shuichi; Matsunaga, Naofumi; Iramina, Keiji

In order to investigate the difference in cortical activations between reading letter strings in the normal direction and the reverse direction, an fMRI study was conducted. In this study, the cortical activations elicited by Japanese letter string reading and Chinese letter string reading were investigated. The subjects performed the normal direction reading task (read letter strings from left to right), and the reverse direction reading task (read letter strings from right to left). According to the experimental results, the activated brain regions during the normal and the reverse direction reading tasks were compared. It was found that visuospatial transformation was involved in the reverse direction reading task, while this function was not significant during the normal direction reading task. Furthermore, we found that there was no significant difference in cortical activation between Japanese and Chinese letter string readings.

The Effectiveness of the Barton’s Intervention Program on Reading Comprehension and Reading Attitude of Students with Dyslexia

Science.gov (United States)

Mihandoost, Zeinab; Elias, Habibah

2011-01-01

Objective: The current research tested the differences in reading attitude and reading comprehension in the dyslexic students between the control group and the experimental group following the Barton intervention program. Methods: Dyslexia screening instrument and reading text were employed in order to identify dyslexic students. The population of the study included 138 dyslexic students studying in schools in Ilam, Iran. From this population, 64 students were randomly selected and assigned to an experimental group as well as a control group. The experimental group was taught for 36 sessions, using the Barton’s method at two levels, and ten lessons were provided to improve the reading skill. The reading comprehension and reading attitude instruments were employed for the measurement of the attitude and comprehension before and after the intervention program. Results: The analysis of covariance showed a significant difference between the control group and the experimental group following the Barton intervention program. Conclusion: This study showed that dyslexic students learned to read, and a more direct instruction related to decoding could influence their progress more than the general exposure to education. PMID:24644446

Reading direction and the central perceptual span in Urdu and English.

Science.gov (United States)

Paterson, Kevin B; McGowan, Victoria A; White, Sarah J; Malik, Sameen; Abedipour, Lily; Jordan, Timothy R

2014-01-01

Normal reading relies on the reader making a series of saccadic eye movements along lines of text, separated by brief fixational pauses during which visual information is acquired from a region of text. In English and other alphabetic languages read from left to right, the region from which useful information is acquired during each fixational pause is generally reported to extend further to the right of each fixation than to the left. However, the asymmetry of the perceptual span for alphabetic languages read in the opposite direction (i.e., from right to left) has received much less attention. Accordingly, in order to more fully investigate the asymmetry in the perceptual span for these languages, the present research assessed the influence of reading direction on the perceptual span for bilingual readers of Urdu and English. Text in Urdu and English was presented either entirely as normal or in a gaze-contingent moving-window paradigm in which a region of text was displayed as normal at the reader's point of fixation and text outside this region was obscured. The windows of normal text extended symmetrically 0.5° of visual angle to the left and right of fixation, or asymmetrically by increasing the size of each window to 1.5° or 2.5° to either the left or right of fixation. When participants read English, performance for the window conditions was superior when windows extended to the right. However, when reading Urdu, performance was superior when windows extended to the left, and was essentially the reverse of that observed for English. These findings provide a novel indication that the perceptual span is modified by the language being read to produce an asymmetry in the direction of reading and show for the first time that such an asymmetry occurs for reading Urdu.

Reading direction and the central perceptual span in Urdu and English.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin B Paterson

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Normal reading relies on the reader making a series of saccadic eye movements along lines of text, separated by brief fixational pauses during which visual information is acquired from a region of text. In English and other alphabetic languages read from left to right, the region from which useful information is acquired during each fixational pause is generally reported to extend further to the right of each fixation than to the left. However, the asymmetry of the perceptual span for alphabetic languages read in the opposite direction (i.e., from right to left has received much less attention. Accordingly, in order to more fully investigate the asymmetry in the perceptual span for these languages, the present research assessed the influence of reading direction on the perceptual span for bilingual readers of Urdu and English. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Text in Urdu and English was presented either entirely as normal or in a gaze-contingent moving-window paradigm in which a region of text was displayed as normal at the reader's point of fixation and text outside this region was obscured. The windows of normal text extended symmetrically 0.5° of visual angle to the left and right of fixation, or asymmetrically by increasing the size of each window to 1.5° or 2.5° to either the left or right of fixation. When participants read English, performance for the window conditions was superior when windows extended to the right. However, when reading Urdu, performance was superior when windows extended to the left, and was essentially the reverse of that observed for English. CONCLUSION: These findings provide a novel indication that the perceptual span is modified by the language being read to produce an asymmetry in the direction of reading and show for the first time that such an asymmetry occurs for reading Urdu.

Direct and Indirect Effects of Print Exposure on Silent Reading Fluency

Science.gov (United States)

Mano, Quintino R.; Guerin, Julia M.

2018-01-01

Print exposure is an important causal factor in reading development. Little is known, however, of the mechanisms through which print exposure exerts an effect onto reading. To address this gap, we examined the direct and indirect effects of print exposure on silent reading fluency among college students (n = 52). More specifically, we focused on…

Comparison of real-time instruments and gravimetric method when measuring particulate matter in a residential building.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zuocheng; Calderón, Leonardo; Patton, Allison P; Sorensen Allacci, MaryAnn; Senick, Jennifer; Wener, Richard; Andrews, Clinton J; Mainelis, Gediminas

2016-11-01

This study used several real-time and filter-based aerosol instruments to measure PM 2.5 levels in a high-rise residential green building in the Northeastern US and compared performance of those instruments. PM 2.5 24-hr average concentrations were determined using a Personal Modular Impactor (PMI) with 2.5 µm cut (SKC Inc., Eighty Four, PA) and a direct reading pDR-1500 (Thermo Scientific, Franklin, MA) as well as its filter. 1-hr average PM 2.5 concentrations were measured in the same apartments with an Aerotrak Optical Particle Counter (OPC) (model 8220, TSI, Inc., Shoreview, MN) and a DustTrak DRX mass monitor (model 8534, TSI, Inc., Shoreview, MN). OPC and DRX measurements were compared with concurrent 1-hr mass concentration from the pDR-1500. The pDR-1500 direct reading showed approximately 40% higher particle mass concentration compared to its own filter (n = 41), and 25% higher PM 2.5 mass concentration compared to the PMI 2.5 filter. The pDR-1500 direct reading and PMI 2.5 in non-smoking homes (self-reported) were not significantly different (n = 10, R 2 = 0.937), while the difference between measurements for smoking homes was 44% (n = 31, R 2 = 0.773). Both OPC and DRX data had substantial and significant systematic and proportional biases compared with pDR-1500 readings. However, these methods were highly correlated: R 2 = 0.936 for OPC versus pDR-1500 reading and R 2 = 0.863 for DRX versus pDR-1500 reading. The data suggest that accuracy of aerosol mass concentrations from direct-reading instruments in indoor environments depends on the instrument, and that correction factors can be used to reduce biases of these real-time monitors in residential green buildings with similar aerosol properties. This study used several real-time and filter-based aerosol instruments to measure PM 2.5 levels in a high-rise residential green building in the northeastern United States and compared performance of those instruments. The data show that while the use of real

Implied reading direction and prioritization of letter encoding.

Science.gov (United States)

Holcombe, Alex O; Nguyen, Elizabeth H L; Goodbourn, Patrick T

2017-10-01

Capacity limits hinder processing of multiple stimuli, contributing to poorer performance for identifying two briefly presented letters than for identifying a single letter. Higher accuracy is typically found for identifying the letter on the left, which has been attributed to a right-hemisphere dominance for selective attention. Here, we use rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) of letters in two locations at once. The letters to be identified are simultaneous and cued by rings. In the first experiment, we manipulated implied reading direction by rotating or mirror-reversing the letters to face to the left rather than to the right. The left-side performance advantage was eliminated. In the second experiment, letters were positioned above and below fixation, oriented such that they appeared to face downward (90° clockwise rotation) or upward (90° counterclockwise rotation). Again consistent with an effect of implied reading direction, performance was better for the top position in the downward condition, but not in the upward condition. In both experiments, mixture modeling of participants' report errors revealed that attentional sampling from the two locations was approximately simultaneous, ruling out the theory that the letter on one side was processed first, followed by a shift of attention to sample the other letter. Thus, the orientation of the letters apparently controls not when the letters are sampled from the scene, but rather the dynamics of a subsequent process, such as tokenization or memory consolidation. Implied reading direction appears to determine the letter prioritized at a high-level processing bottleneck. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Direct reading spectrochemical analysis of nuclear graphite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roca Adell, M.; Becerro Ruiz, E.; Alvarez Gonzalez, F.

1964-01-01

A description is given about the application of a direct-reading spectrometer the Quantometer, to the determination of boron. calcium, iron, titanium and vanadium in nuclear grade graphite. for boron the powdered sample is mixed with 1% cupric fluoride and excited in a 10-amperes direct current arc and graphite electrodes with a crater 7 mm wide and 10 mm deep. For the other elements a smaller crater has been used and dilution with a number of matrices has been investigated; the best results are achieved by employing 25% cupric fluoride. The sensitivity limit for boron is 0,15 ppm. (Author) 21 refs

Precision Instrumentation Amplifiers and Read-Out Integrated Circuits

CERN Document Server

Wu, Rong; Makinwa, Kofi A A

2013-01-01

This book presents innovative solutions in the design of precision instrumentation amplifier and read-out ICs, which can be used to boost millivolt-level signals transmitted by modern sensors, to levels compatible with the input ranges of typical Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs).  The discussion includes the theory, design and realization of interface electronics for bridge transducers and thermocouples. It describes the use of power efficient techniques to mitigate low frequency errors, resulting in interface electronics with high accuracy, low noise and low drift. Since this book is mainly about techniques for eliminating low frequency errors, it describes the nature of these errors and the associated dynamic offset cancellation techniques used to mitigate them.  Surveys comprehensively offset cancellation and accuracy improvement techniques applied in precision amplifier designs; Presents techniques in precision circuit design to mitigate low frequency errors in millivolt-level signals transmitted by ...

Silent reading of direct versus indirect speech activates voice-selective areas in the auditory cortex.

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Yao, Bo; Belin, Pascal; Scheepers, Christoph

2011-10-01

In human communication, direct speech (e.g., Mary said: "I'm hungry") is perceived to be more vivid than indirect speech (e.g., Mary said [that] she was hungry). However, for silent reading, the representational consequences of this distinction are still unclear. Although many of us share the intuition of an "inner voice," particularly during silent reading of direct speech statements in text, there has been little direct empirical confirmation of this experience so far. Combining fMRI with eye tracking in human volunteers, we show that silent reading of direct versus indirect speech engenders differential brain activation in voice-selective areas of the auditory cortex. This suggests that readers are indeed more likely to engage in perceptual simulations (or spontaneous imagery) of the reported speaker's voice when reading direct speech as opposed to meaning-equivalent indirect speech statements as part of a more vivid representation of the former. Our results may be interpreted in line with embodied cognition and form a starting point for more sophisticated interdisciplinary research on the nature of auditory mental simulation during reading.

Theory of mind in emerging reading comprehension: A longitudinal study of early indirect and direct effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Atkinson, Lynette; Slade, Lance; Powell, Daisy; Levy, Joseph P

2017-12-01

The relation between children's theory of mind (ToM) and emerging reading comprehension was investigated in a longitudinal study over 2.5years. A total of 80 children were tested for ToM, decoding, language skills, and executive function (EF) at Time 1 (mean age=3;10 [years;months]). At Time 2 (mean age=6;03), children's word reading efficiency, language skills, and reading comprehension were measured. Mediation analysis showed that ToM at Time 1, when children were around 4years old, indirectly predicted Time 2 reading comprehension, when children were 6years old, via language ability after controlling for age, nonverbal ability, decoding, EF, and earlier language ability. Importantly, ToM at 4years also directly predicted reading comprehension 2.5years later at 6years. This is the first longitudinal study to show a direct contribution of ToM to reading comprehension in typical development. Findings are discussed in terms of the simple view of reading (SVR); ToM not only supports reading comprehension indirectly by facilitating language but also contributes to it directly over and above the SVR. The potential role of metacognition is considered when accounting for the direct contribution of early ToM to later reading comprehension. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Unpacking Direct and Indirect Relationships of Short-Term Memory to Word Reading: Evidence From Korean-Speaking Children.

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Kim, Young-Suk Grace; Cho, Jeung-Ryeul; Park, Soon-Gil

2017-08-01

We examined the relations of short-term memory (STM), metalinguistic awareness (phonological, morphological, and orthographic awareness), and rapid automatized naming (RAN) to word reading in Korean, a language with a relatively transparent orthography. STM, metalinguistic awareness, and RAN have been shown to be important to word reading, but the nature of the relations of STM, metalinguistic awareness, and RAN to word reading has rarely been investigated. Two alternative models were fitted. In the indirect relation model, STM was hypothesized to be indirectly related to word reading via metalinguistic awareness and RAN. In the direct and indirect relations model, STM was hypothesized to be directly and indirectly related to word reading. Results from 207 beginning readers in South Korea showed that STM was directly related to word reading as well as indirectly via metalinguistic awareness and RAN. Although the direct effect of STM was relatively small (.16), the total effect incorporating the indirect effect was substantial (.42). These results suggest that STM is an important, foundational cognitive capacity that underpins metalinguistic awareness and RAN as well as word reading, and further indicate the importance of considering both direct and indirect effects of language and cognitive skills on word reading.

Direct-reading spectrochemical analysis of soils and plant ashes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roca, M.; Alvarez, F.; Cellini, R. F.; Burriel, F.

1966-01-01

Two different techniques haves been tried to determine trace elements in soils and plant ashes using a direct reading spectrometer :1) the samples are mixed with graphite powder and excited on 2x4 mm graphite rods with a 13 amperes direct current arc: 2) a mixture of graphite and strontium carbonate is used as spectrochemical buffer, and 2x6 mm cup graphite rods in a 10 amperes direct current arc. We have studies the influence of sodium, potassium and calcium on the results. (Author)

Low-cost coding of directivity information for the recording of musical instruments

Science.gov (United States)

Braasch, Jonas; Martens, William L.; Woszczyk, Wieslaw

2004-05-01

Most musical instruments radiate sound according to characteristic spatial directivity patterns. These patterns are usually not only strongly frequency dependent, but also time-variant functions of various parameters of the instrument, such as pitch and the playing technique applied (e.g., plucking versus bowing of string instruments). To capture the directivity information when recording an instrument, Warusfel and Misdariis (2001) proposed to record an instrument using four channels, one for the monopole and the others for three orthogonal dipole parts. In the new recording setup presented here, it is proposed to store one channel at a high sampling frequency, along with directivity information that is updated only every few milliseconds. Taking the binaural sluggishness of the human auditory system into account in this way provides a low-cost coding scheme for subsequent reproduction of time-variant directivity patterns.

Direct speech quotations promote low relative-clause attachment in silent reading of English.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Bo; Scheepers, Christoph

2018-07-01

The implicit prosody hypothesis (Fodor, 1998, 2002) proposes that silent reading coincides with a default, implicit form of prosody to facilitate sentence processing. Recent research demonstrated that a more vivid form of implicit prosody is mentally simulated during silent reading of direct speech quotations (e.g., Mary said, "This dress is beautiful"), with neural and behavioural consequences (e.g., Yao, Belin, & Scheepers, 2011; Yao & Scheepers, 2011). Here, we explored the relation between 'default' and 'simulated' implicit prosody in the context of relative-clause (RC) attachment in English. Apart from confirming a general low RC-attachment preference in both production (Experiment 1) and comprehension (Experiments 2 and 3), we found that during written sentence completion (Experiment 1) or when reading silently (Experiment 2), the low RC-attachment preference was reliably enhanced when the critical sentences were embedded in direct speech quotations as compared to indirect speech or narrative sentences. However, when reading aloud (Experiment 3), direct speech did not enhance the general low RC-attachment preference. The results from Experiments 1 and 2 suggest a quantitative boost to implicit prosody (via auditory perceptual simulation) during silent production/comprehension of direct speech. By contrast, when reading aloud (Experiment 3), prosody becomes equally salient across conditions due to its explicit nature; indirect speech and narrative sentences thus become as susceptible to prosody-induced syntactic biases as direct speech. The present findings suggest a shared cognitive basis between default implicit prosody and simulated implicit prosody, providing a new platform for studying the effects of implicit prosody on sentence processing. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Single Item Literacy Screener: Evaluation of a brief instrument to identify limited reading ability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chew Lisa D

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Reading skills are important for accessing health information, using health care services, managing one's health and achieving desirable health outcomes. Our objective was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the Single Item Literacy Screener (SILS to identify limited reading ability, one component of health literacy, as measured by the S-TOFHLA. Methods Cross-sectional interview with 999 adults with diabetes residing in Vermont and bordering states. Participants were randomly recruited from Primary Care practices in the Vermont Diabetes Information System June 2003 – December 2004. The main outcome was limited reading ability. The primary predictor was the SILS. Results Of the 999 persons screened, 169 (17% had limited reading ability. The sensitivity of the SILS in detecting limited reading ability was 54% [95% CI: 47%, 61%] and the specificity was 83% [95% CI: 81%, 86%] with an area under the Receiver Operating Characteristics Curve (ROC of 0.73 [95% CI: 0.69, 0.78]. Seven hundred seventy (77% screened negative on the SILS and 692 of these subjects had adequate reading skills (negative predictive value = 0.90 [95% CI: 0.88, 0.92]. Of the 229 who scored positive on the SILS, 92 had limited reading ability (positive predictive value = 0.4 [95% CI: 0.34, 0.47]. Conclusion The SILS is a simple instrument designed to identify patients with limited reading ability who need help reading health-related materials. The SILS performs moderately well at ruling out limited reading ability in adults and allows providers to target additional assessment of health literacy skills to those most in need. Further study of the use of the SILS in clinical settings and with more diverse populations is warranted.

Direct concurrent comparison of multiple pediatric acute asthma scoring instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Michael D; Nkoy, Flory L; Sheng, Xiaoming; Greene, Tom; Stone, Bryan L; Garvin, Jennifer

2017-09-01

Appropriate delivery of Emergency Department (ED) treatment to children with acute asthma requires clinician assessment of acute asthma severity. Various clinical scoring instruments exist to standardize assessment of acute asthma severity in the ED, but their selection remains arbitrary due to few published direct comparisons of their properties. Our objective was to test the feasibility of directly comparing properties of multiple scoring instruments in a pediatric ED. Using a novel approach supported by a composite data collection form, clinicians categorized elements of five scoring instruments before and after initial treatment for 48 patients 2-18 years of age with acute asthma seen at the ED of a tertiary care pediatric hospital ED from August to December 2014. Scoring instruments were compared for inter-rater reliability between clinician types and their ability to predict hospitalization. Inter-rater reliability between clinician types was not different between instruments at any point and was lower (weighted kappa range 0.21-0.55) than values reported elsewhere. Predictive ability of most instruments for hospitalization was higher after treatment than before treatment (p < 0.05) and may vary between instruments after treatment (p = 0.054). We demonstrate the feasibility of comparing multiple clinical scoring instruments simultaneously in ED clinical practice. Scoring instruments had higher predictive ability for hospitalization after treatment than before treatment and may differ in their predictive ability after initial treatment. Definitive conclusions about the best instrument or meaningful comparison between instruments will require a study with a larger sample size.

Direct payments as an instrument of the environmental policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian Sadłowski

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Agriculture is the area of human activity that is accompanied by the formation of positive and negative external environmental effects. In order to motivate farmers to conduct production activities in a way that reduces the negative impact of these activities on the environment, the so-called principle of cross compliance has been incorporated into the direct support system. This study characterises the area payments as an instrument of the environmental policy and is a review of the European Commission’s different proposals for the reform of direct payments through the prism of environmental functions of this instrument.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES OF TEACHING FUTURE NAVIGATORS READING ENGLISH AUTHENTIC SAILING DIRECTIONS

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Наталія Приміна

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In the given article the psychological peculiarities of teaching future navigators reading English professional authentic documentation have been analyzed. The psychological foundations of understanding printed information in general and foreign information particularly have been disclosed. The processes of textual information perception and visual material perception comprehension have been analysed. The language levels of foreign text comprehension have been examined. The peculiarities of perceptual transformation of foreign language information while reading English sailing directions have been found out.

Optical design and performance of a dual-grating, direct-reading spectrograph for spectrochemical analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steinhaus, D.W.; Kline, J.V.; Bieniewski, T.M.; Dow, G.S.; Apel, C.T.

1979-01-01

An all-mirror optical system is used to direct the light from a variety of spectroscopic sources to two 2-m spectrographs that are placed on either side of a sturdy vertical mounting plate. The gratings were chosen so that the first spectrograph covers the ultraviolet spectral region, and the second spectrograph covers the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared regions. With the over 2.5 m of focal curves, each ultraviolet line is available at more than one place. Thus, problems with close lines can be overcome. The signals from a possible maximum of 256 photoelectric detectors go to a small computer for reading and calculation of the element abundances. To our knowledge, no other direct-reading spectrograph has more than about 100 fixed detectors. With an inductively-coupled-plasma source, our calibration curves, and detection limits, are similar to those of other workers using a direct-reading spectrograph

Optical Design And Performance Of A Dual-Grating, Direct-Reading Spectrograph For Spectrochemical Analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Steinhaus, David W.; Kline, John V.; Bieniewski, Thomas M.; Dow, Grove S.; Apel, Charles T.

1980-11-01

An all-mirror optical system is used to direct the light from a variety of spectroscopic sources to two 2-m spectrographs that are placed on either side of a sturdy vertical mounting plate. The gratings were chosen so that the first spectrograph covers the ultraviolet spectral region, and the second spectrograph covers the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared regions. With the over 2.5 m of focal curves, each ultraviolet line is available at more than one place. Thus, problems with close lines can be overcome. The signals from a possible maximum of 256 photoelectric detectors go to a small computer for reading and calculation of the element abundances. To our knowledge, no other direct-reading spectrograph has more than about 100 fixed detectors. With an inductively-coupled-plasma source, our calibration curves, and detection limits, are similar to those of other workers using a direct-reading spectrograph.

Repairing method of color TV with measuring instrument

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

This book concentrates on repairing method of color TV with measuring instrument, which deals with direction and sorts of measuring instrument for service, application and basic technique of an oscilloscope and a synchroscope, constituent of TV and wave reading, everything for test skill for service man, service technique by electronic voltmeter, service technique by sweep generator and maker generator, dot-bar generator and support skill for color TV and color bar generator and application technology of color circuit.

Improved reading measures in adults with dyslexia following transcranial direct current stimulation treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Heth, Inbahl; Lavidor, Michal

2015-04-01

To better understand the contribution of the dorsal system to word reading, we explored transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) effects when adults with developmental dyslexia received active stimulation over the visual extrastriate area MT/V5, which is dominated by magnocellular input. Stimulation was administered in 5 sessions spread over two weeks, and reading speed and accuracy as well as reading fluency were assessed before, immediately after, and a week after the end of the treatment. A control group of adults with developmental dyslexia matched for age, gender, reading level, vocabulary and block-design WAIS-III sub-tests and reading level was exposed to the same protocol but with sham stimulation. The results revealed that active, but not sham stimulation, significantly improved reading speed and fluency. This finding suggests that the dorsal stream may play a role in efficient retrieval from the orthographic input lexicon in the lexical route. It also underscores the potential of tDCS as an intervention tool for improving reading speed, at least in adults with developmental dyslexia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Examining the direct and indirect effects of visual-verbal paired associate learning on Chinese word reading.

Science.gov (United States)

Georgiou, George; Liu, Cuina; Xu, Shiyang

2017-08-01

Associative learning, traditionally measured with paired associate learning (PAL) tasks, has been found to predict reading ability in several languages. However, it remains unclear whether it also predicts word reading in Chinese, which is known for its ambiguous print-sound correspondences, and whether its effects are direct or indirect through the effects of other reading-related skills such as phonological awareness and rapid naming. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of visual-verbal PAL on word reading in an unselected sample of Chinese children followed from the second to the third kindergarten year. A sample of 141 second-year kindergarten children (71 girls and 70 boys; mean age=58.99months, SD=3.17) were followed for a year and were assessed at both times on measures of visual-verbal PAL, rapid naming, and phonological awareness. In the third kindergarten year, they were also assessed on word reading. The results of path analysis showed that visual-verbal PAL exerted a significant direct effect on word reading that was independent of the effects of phonological awareness and rapid naming. However, it also exerted significant indirect effects through phonological awareness. Taken together, these findings suggest that variations in cross-modal associative learning (as measured by visual-verbal PAL) place constraints on the development of word recognition skills irrespective of the characteristics of the orthography children are learning to read. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Listening to Students: Modification of a Reading Program Based on the Sources of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belgin Aydın

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is concerned with the modifications implemented in a second year foreign language (FL reading program with respect to the problems students experience while reading in FL. This research draws on the sources of FL reading anxiety identified in the first year reading program with a motivation to re-design the second year program to help the students perceive reading positively free from the anxiety. This paper reports on the responses of students to the modifications implemented in the second year reading program. The participants of the study were 50 FL students who were in their second year at a state university in Turkey. All participants had already taken the first year reading course and were enrolled in the second year reading course. It was based on two qualitative research instruments. The first instrument was a semi-structured questionnaire administered to all participants. The second one was a semi-structured interview conducted with half of the participants to obtain more in depth information concerning the modifications that had been introduced. Both instruments revealed that students responded positively to the modifications introduced. The results of the study put forward that obtaining students’ opinions, giving them responsibility and involving them in decision making processes enhance their motivation, confidence and analytical skills while reading in a foreign language.

Simulating a Direction-Finder Search for an ELT

Science.gov (United States)

Bream, Bruce

2005-01-01

A computer program simulates the operation of direction-finding equipment engaged in a search for an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) aboard an aircraft that has crashed. The simulated equipment is patterned after the equipment used by the Civil Air Patrol to search for missing aircraft. The program is designed to be used for training in radio direction-finding and/or searching for missing aircraft without incurring the expense and risk of using real aircraft and ground search resources. The program places a hidden ELT on a map and enables the user to search for the location of the ELT by moving a 14 NASA Tech Briefs, March 2005 small aircraft image around the map while observing signal-strength and direction readings on a simulated direction- finding locator instrument. As the simulated aircraft is turned and moved on the map, the program updates the readings on the direction-finding instrument to reflect the current position and heading of the aircraft relative to the location of the ELT. The software is distributed in a zip file that contains an installation program. The software runs on the Microsoft Windows 9x, NT, and XP operating systems.

Progress Monitoring Instrument Development: Silent Reading Fluency, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension. Technical Report #1110

Science.gov (United States)

Nese, Joseph F. T.; Anderson, Daniel; Hoelscher, Kyle; Tindal, Gerald; Alonzo, Julie

2011-01-01

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is designed to measure students' academic status and growth so the effectiveness of instruction may be evaluated. In the most popular forms of reading CBM, the student's oral reading fluency is assessed. This behavior is difficult to sample in a computer-based format, a limitation that may be a function of the…

Matching is not naming: a direct comparison of lexical manipulations in explicit and implicit reading tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, Alecia C; Petersen, Steven E; Schlaggar, Bradley L

2013-10-01

The neurobiological basis of reading is of considerable interest, yet analyzing data from subjects reading words aloud during functional MRI data collection can be difficult. Therefore, many investigators use surrogate tasks such as visual matching or rhyme matching to eliminate the need for spoken output. Use of these tasks has been justified by the presumption of "automatic activation" of reading-related neural processing when a word is viewed. We have tested the efficacy of using a nonreading task for studying "reading effects" by directly comparing blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activity in subjects performing a visual matching task and an item naming task on words, pseudowords (meaningless but legal letter combinations), and nonwords (meaningless and illegal letter combinations). When compared directly, there is significantly more activity during the naming task in "reading-related" regions such as the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and supramarginal gyrus. More importantly, there are differing effects of lexicality in the tasks. A whole-brain task (matching vs. naming) by string type (word vs. pseudoword vs. nonword) by BOLD timecourse analysis identifies regions showing this three-way interaction, including the left IFG and left angular gyrus (AG). In the majority of the identified regions (including the left IFG and left AG), there is a string type × timecourse interaction in the naming but not the matching task. These results argue that the processing performed in specific regions is contingent on task, even in reading-related regions and is thus nonautomatic. Such differences should be taken into consideration when designing studies intended to investigate reading. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Interaction Quality during Partner Reading

OpenAIRE

Meisinger, Elizabeth B.; Schwanenflugel, Paula J.; Bradley, Barbara A.; Stahl, Steven A.

2004-01-01

The influence of social relationships, positive interdependence, and teacher structure on the quality of partner reading interactions was examined. Partner reading, a scripted cooperative learning strategy, is often used in classrooms to promote the development of fluent and automatic reading skills. Forty-three pairs of second grade children were observed during partner reading sessions taking place in 12 classrooms. The degree to which the partners displayed social cooperation (instrumental...

The influence of the directivity of musical instruments in a room

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Otondo, Felipe; Rindel, Jens Holger

2004-01-01

Measurements of the directivity of musical instruments are presented as part of the study of the influence of their representation in room acoustic simulations and auralizations. Pairs of measured and averaged directivities have been used both for room simulation comparisons and as a basis...... for listening experiments with auralizations. Room simulation results show a clear influence of the changes in the representation directivity on the distribution of acoustical parameters in the room. The results of the listening experiments with auralizations show that some changes produced by directivity...

Measurement of proton momentum distributions using a direct geometry instrument

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Senesi, R; Andreani, C; Kolesnikov, A I

2014-01-01

We report the results of inelastic neutron scattering measurements on bulk water and ice using the direct geometry SEQUOIA chopper spectrometer at the Spallation Neutron Source (USA), with incident energy E i = 6 eV. In this set up the measurements allow to access the Deep Inelastic Neutron Scattering regime. The scattering is centred at the proton recoil energy given by the impulse approximation, and the shape of the recoil peak conveys information on the proton momentum distribution in the system. The comparison with the performance of inverse geometry instruments, such as VESUVIO at the ISIS source (UK), shows that complementary information can be accessed by the use of direct and inverse geometry instruments. Analysis of the neutron Compton profiles shows that the proton kinetic energy in ice at 271 K is larger than in room temperature liquid water, in agreement with previous measurements on VESUVIO

Academic English Reading for International College Students: The Role of Metacognitive Reading Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Iwai, Yuko; Filce, Hollie; Ramp, Ellen

2011-01-01

In this study, the authors examined the impact of metacognitive reading strategies on international college students' academic success by correcting the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) instrument with (a) grade point averages (GPAs) and (b) the English language proficiency levels, categorized by beginning (students at the English Language…

Direct payments as an instrument of the environmental policy Płatności obszarowe jako instrument polityki ochrony środowiska

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian Sadłowski

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Agriculture is the area of human activity that is accompanied by the formation of positive and negative external environmental effects. In order to motivate farmers to conduct production activities in a way that reduces the negative impact of these activities on the environment, the so-called principle of cross compliance has been incorporated into the direct support system. This study characterises the area payments as an instrument of the environmental policy and is a review of the European Commission’s different proposals for the reform of direct payments through the prism of environmental functions of this instrument.

PERSPECTIVE DIRECTIONS OF DEVELOPMENT OF HARD-ALLOY INSTRUMENT FOR WIRE DRAWING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. N. Savenok

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The new directions and developments, which are more perspective f o r  the development of  the wiredrawing instrument, possessing necessary complex of  physical-mechanical characteristics, are examined.

Reading Strategies Used by Iranian EFL Learners While Reading Academic Texts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vida Yousefian

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The major aim of this study was to explore the nature and frequency of the reading strategies used by the EFL learners while reading academic texts. Normally, students tend to read all the information provided in reading materials. This study explores whether learners use reading strategies to assist them in reading comprehension. There was a sample of 45 English language (EFL learners from Islamic Azad University, Falavarjan Branch. The instrument utilized in this study was a survey questionnaire with 30 items including 13 global reading strategies, 8 problem solving strategies and 9 support reading strategies. The survey was going to signify how much EFL learners use each of these strategies while reading academic texts. The findings indicated that the participants used global reading strategies more (44.5% than problem solving strategies (29.0% and support reading strategies (26.5%. The results of the present study will let the instructors improve the reading strategies which are not used by EFL learners frequently. It also helps learners to promote the ability of using reading strategies and utilize the strategies in an appropriate and effective way.

Attentional asymmetry between visual hemifields is related to habitual direction of reading and its implications for debate on cause and effects of dyslexia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kermani, Mojtaba; Verghese, Ashika; Vidyasagar, Trichur R

2018-02-01

A major controversy regarding dyslexia is whether any of the many visual and phonological deficits found to be correlated with reading difficulty cause the impairment or result from the reduced amount of reading done by dyslexics. We studied this question by comparing a visual capacity in the left and right visual hemifields in people habitually reading scripts written right-to-left or left-to-right. Selective visual attention is necessary for efficient visual search and also for the sequential recognition of letters in words. Because such attentional allocation during reading depends on the direction in which one is reading, asymmetries in search efficiency may reflect biases arising from the habitual direction of reading. We studied this by examining search performance in three cohorts: (a) left-to-right readers who read English fluently; (b) right-to-left readers fluent in reading Farsi but not any left-to-right script; and (c) bilingual readers fluent in English and in Farsi, Arabic, or Hebrew. Left-to-right readers showed better search performance in the right hemifield and right-to-left readers in the left hemifield, but bilingual readers showed no such asymmetries. Thus, reading experience biases search performance in the direction of reading, which has implications for the cause and effect relationships between reading and cognitive functions. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessing Students' Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Mokhtari, Kouider; Reichard, Carla A.

2002-01-01

Describes development and validation of a new self-report instrument, the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory, designed to assess adolescent and adult readers' metacognitive awareness and perceived use of reading strategies while reading academic materials. After a brief review of the literature, the development and validation…

Direct and Indirect Teaching: Using E-Books for Supporting Vocabulary, Word Reading, and Story Comprehension for Young Children

Science.gov (United States)

Korat, Ofra; Shamir, Adina

2012-01-01

We examine the effect of direct and indirect teaching of vocabulary and word reading on pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children following use of an electronic storybook (e-book). The children in each age group were randomly assigned to an intervention group which read the e-book or to a control group which was afforded the regular school…

Evaluation of discrepancies between thermoluminescent dosimeter and direct-reading dosimeter results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaw, K.R.

1993-07-01

Currently at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the responses of thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and direct-reading dosimeters (DRDs) are not officially compared or the discrepancies investigated. However, both may soon be required due to the new US Department of Energy (DOE) Radiological Control Manual. In the past, unofficial comparisons of the two dosimeters have led to discrepancies of up to 200%. This work was conducted to determine the reasons behind such discrepancies. For tests conducted with the TLDs, the reported dose was most often lower than the delivered dose, while DRDs most often responded higher than the delivered dose. Trends were identified in personnel DRD readings, and ft was concluded that more training and more control of the DRDs could improve their response. TLD responses have already begun to be improved; a new background subtraction method was implemented in April 1993, and a new dose algorithm is being considered. It was concluded that the DOE Radiological Control Manual requirements are reasonable for identifying discrepancies between dosimeter types, and more stringent administrative limits might even be considered

Instrumentation Cables Test Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muna, Alice Baca [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); LaFleur, Chris Bensdotter [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2016-10-01

A fire at a nuclear power plant (NPP) has the potential to damage structures, systems, and components important to safety, if not promptly detected and suppressed. At Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant on March 22, 1975, a fire in the reactor building damaged electrical power and control systems. Damage to instrumentation cables impeded the function of both normal and standby reactor coolant systems, and degraded the operators’ plant monitoring capability. This event resulted in additional NRC involvement with utilities to ensure that NPPs are properly protected from fire as intended by the NRC principle design criteria (i.e., general design criteria 3, Fire Protection). Current guidance and methods for both deterministic and performance based approaches typically make conservative (bounding) assumptions regarding the fire-induced failure modes of instrumentation cables and those failure modes effects on component and system response. Numerous fire testing programs have been conducted in the past to evaluate the failure modes and effects of electrical cables exposed to severe thermal conditions. However, that testing has primarily focused on control circuits with only a limited number of tests performed on instrumentation circuits. In 2001, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) conducted a series of cable fire tests designed to address specific aspects of the cable failure and circuit fault issues of concern1. The NRC was invited to observe and participate in that program. The NRC sponsored Sandia National Laboratories to support this participation, whom among other things, added a 4-20 mA instrumentation circuit and instrumentation cabling to six of the tests. Although limited, one insight drawn from those instrumentation circuits tests was that the failure characteristics appeared to depend on the cable insulation material. The results showed that for thermoset insulated cables, the instrument reading tended to drift

Reading the Song of Songs through a spiritual direction lens

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Judy E. Lam

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Research on the use of the Song of Songs in spiritual direction is rare; yet, the Song of Songs (or Canticle of Canticles is a highly conducive case as it provides in nuce the poetics, lyrics, erotics, and aesthetics of human and divine love which is found nowhere else in Scripture. This article draws on these unique features, integrates the biblical and the experiential, and offers a poetics-praxis paradigm for use in contemporary spiritual praxis. With the poem’s metaphorical vineyard (a figurative term for the beloved herself serving as hermeneutical key, the beloved’s experience of love is interpreted through a multifaceted reading that is intrinsic to the poem, namely: eros [yearning]; mythos [searching]; mustikos [finding]; and kosmos [birthing]. In following the inner dynamism and dramatic tensions across the eight chapters of the Song, the fourfold reading traces the beloved’s transformation from a neglected vineyard (Can 1:6 to a generative vineyard (Can 8:12. The article concludes that transformation in love is a journey from depletion (the giving away of self towards deification (the giving of self in love, and suggests tending one’s own vineyard as a living testament to divine love and a living sacrament in the world.

Development of perceived instrumentality for mathematics, reading and science curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, Steve L.

Perceptions of instrumentality (PI) are the connections one sees between a current activity and a future goal. With high PI, one is motivated to persist with quality effort because the current activity, even when difficult, is perceived as aligned with, and progress toward, the goal. Conversely, with low PI, one is motivated to relinquish effort in pursuit of other, more meaningful goals. In view of the alarming dropout rates in this country, it appears that PI research has much to offer in understanding students' motivations to stay in school and hence to become employed in their field of choice. Because academic achievement motivation can be affected by gender and ethnicity, particularly for specific components of the curriculum, and because curricular content varies across grade levels and school settings, this line of research offers significant potential for understanding and improving student outcomes. This research examined the development of PI among suburban 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th graders from a school district in the southwestern United States. Twelve hundred students completed a one-time paper and pencil survey measuring the perceived instrumentality of mathematics, literacy and science courses in terms of the students' occupational choices. MANOVA was used to determine factors that may affect students' overall PI and individual subject PI. Grade, gender, ethnicity, occupational choice, expectancy and value were the independent variables. A school setting variable was examined for effects on 12th graders. For the 8th through 12th grade sample, significant main effects were observed for grade, gender, minority status, occupational choice and expectancy on PI. Results show that PI is highest in the 6 th grade. Males reported higher Math PI than females. Females reported higher Reading PI and Science PI than males. Minority students reported lower overall PI and Science PI than non-minority students. Students who aspire to professional careers report the

Instruments evaluating the self-directed learning abilities among nursing students and nurses: a systematic review of psychometric properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Cadorin, Lucia; Bressan, Valentina; Palese, Alvisa

2017-11-25

Modern healthcare institutions are continuously changing, and Self-Directed Learning (SDL) abilities are considered a prerequisite for both nursing students and nurses in order to be proactive about these demanding challenges. To date, no systematic reviews of existing instruments aimed at detecting and critically evaluating SDL abilities have been published. Therefore, the aims of this review are: 1) identify the instruments for assessment of SDL abilities among nursing students and nurses; 2) critically evaluate the methodological studies quality; and 3) compare the psychometric properties of the available instruments. A psychometric-systematic-review was performed. CDSR, CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, PROSPERO, SCOPUS databases were searched without restrictions in time and setting. All primary studies involving nursing students or nurses, written in English and aimed at validating SDL assessment tools, were included. Studies retrieved were evaluated according to the COnsensus-based-Standards for the selection of health Measurement-INstruments (COSMIN) panel. Study inclusion, data extraction and quality assessment were performed by researchers independently. Eleven studies were included and four tools based on Knowles's theory have emerged: 1) the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale; 2) the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale for Nursing Education; 3) the Self-Rating Scale of Self-Directed Learning, and 4) the Self-Directed Learning Instrument. A few psychometric properties have been considered in each study, from two to four out of the ten required. The quality of the methodologies used was in general, from fair to poor with the exception of one instrument (the Self-Directed-Learning-Instrument). The psychometric proprieties that emerged across the tools were good in general: the Cronbach α was from 0.73 to 0.91; structural validities have also reported good indexes both in the explorative and in the confirmative factor analyses. On the basis of the findings

Instruments evaluating the self-directed learning abilities among nursing students and nurses: a systematic review of psychometric properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucia Cadorin

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Modern healthcare institutions are continuously changing, and Self-Directed Learning (SDL abilities are considered a prerequisite for both nursing students and nurses in order to be proactive about these demanding challenges. To date, no systematic reviews of existing instruments aimed at detecting and critically evaluating SDL abilities have been published. Therefore, the aims of this review are: 1 identify the instruments for assessment of SDL abilities among nursing students and nurses; 2 critically evaluate the methodological studies quality; and 3 compare the psychometric properties of the available instruments. Methods A psychometric-systematic-review was performed. CDSR, CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, PROSPERO, SCOPUS databases were searched without restrictions in time and setting. All primary studies involving nursing students or nurses, written in English and aimed at validating SDL assessment tools, were included. Studies retrieved were evaluated according to the COnsensus-based-Standards for the selection of health Measurement-INstruments (COSMIN panel. Study inclusion, data extraction and quality assessment were performed by researchers independently. Results Eleven studies were included and four tools based on Knowles’s theory have emerged: 1 the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale; 2 the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale for Nursing Education; 3 the Self-Rating Scale of Self-Directed Learning, and 4 the Self-Directed Learning Instrument. A few psychometric properties have been considered in each study, from two to four out of the ten required. The quality of the methodologies used was in general, from fair to poor with the exception of one instrument (the Self-Directed-Learning-Instrument. The psychometric proprieties that emerged across the tools were good in general: the Cronbach α was from 0.73 to 0.91; structural validities have also reported good indexes both in the explorative and in the confirmative

Psychometric Features of a Scale for Characterizing Motivation for Academic Reading

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Carla Muñoz Valenzuela

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The competencies associated with academic reading, especially the motivational aspects, are essential to undergraduate students’ academic success. Motivation is an emerging issue that has given rise to many studies, yet motivation for academic reading remains a subject rarely addressed or studied. To effectively support the learning process, a diagnostic that is capable of providing precise, valid and reliable information on the motivational aspects of reading in an academic context is necessary. This article presents the results of the process of construction and validation of the Motivation Scale for Academic Reading (EMLA-acronym in Spanish, which was based on the Expectancy & Value model of Jacqueline Eccles and Allan Wigfield (2002, hereinafter EyV. This instrument provides clues for motivational intervention to incentivize reading in an academic context. Likewise, we also report on the structure of the instrument, its theoretical foundations, its factor structure and reliability—psychometric characteristics that make EMLA a solid, valid and reliable instrument.

How can teachers assess reading skills of generation z learners in German language class?

Science.gov (United States)

Dirga, R. N.; Wijayati, P. H.

2018-01-01

Generation Z is a digital native generation who has unique characteristics on the daily basis includes reading. In order to assess their reading skills correctly, teachers need to take these characteristics into consideration. This paper aims to describe the process in developing an instrument to assess reading skills of Generation Z learners in German language class. This study used developmental method. The developed instrument has not only good quality but also consists of texts that are suitable for German learners of Generation Z. This instrument can be used as an example in assessing German learners’ reading skills in the 21st century.

ESL Students’ Online and Offline Reading Strategies: Scrolling, Clicking, Flipping and Reading

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Izyani Mohamad Zaki

2008-12-01

Full Text Available In this borderless world, computers and the Internet have become important tools of communication and learning and they have also become an important part of our lives. The opportunity to seek information through the computer has made reading an important language skill. Despite the importance of reading and technology, little research to date has been carried out to compare the reading strategies employed by readers when reading online compared to offline. Such studies are important because awareness of the similarities and differences on the strategies employed between these two modes of learning will enable teachers to help develop students’ reading ability. Hence, this study investigates if there is a difference between online and offline strategies used by second language readers. The participants in this study were ESL undergraduates at a university in Malaysia. The instrument employed was the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS (Sheorey and Mokhtari, 2001 and Online Survey of Register Strategies (OSORS by Anderson (2003. These questionnaires tap three different types of information: global reading strategies, problem solving strategies, and support strategies. The results of the study are discussed in terms of their pedagogical implications in the L2 classroom.

New Directions in Reading Instruction--Revised.

Science.gov (United States)

Hinson, Bess, Ed.

The gains in knowledge about the nature of reading and how to most effectively teach it come from cognitive research. This booklet (in the form of a flipchart) synthesizes and summarizes much of the current research on effective instruction for improved literacy and greater student achievement. The booklet, a revised edition of "New…

Radioisotope tracer instrument and its application to the detection of the groundwater parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Jiansheng

1988-01-01

The application of radioisotope tracer technique and probe can result in the detection of groundwater flow direction, flow velocity and vertical currents in one single well. The tracer probe consists of the source injector and the components related with direction detection, location and velocity measurement. The nuclear detector employs a thermoluminescence detector (TLD) and a direct reading ionization chamber (IC) for the detection of flow direction and also employs a new method of photofluorography location for the determination of the probe's northern or southern position in the well, thereby greatly simplifying the design of the direction-detecting probe. The velocity measuring section includes ground receiving instruments and meters for conducting point or whole-borehole measurement. It is also possible to carry out interconnection tests and dispersion tests. With the applications to the ascertaining of the groundwater distribution in the karst region as well as the execution of the dispersion tests related with environmental protection and so on, it has been confirmed that the radioisotope tracer instrument has a broad scope of application and practicability. (author). 5 refs, 6 figs

Effects of EFL Individual Learner Variables on Foreign Language Reading Anxiety and Metacognitive Reading Strategy Use.

Science.gov (United States)

Lien, Hsin-Yi

2016-08-01

Past research has shown an association between foreign language reading anxiety and reading strategy. However, individual variables tend to affect foreign language anxiety and strategy use. The present study examined a hypothesized model that specified direct and indirect effects among English and foreign languages readers' distinct variables, including academic level; self-perceived English level; and satisfaction with reading proficiency, reading anxiety, and metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. A total of 523 volunteer Taiwanese college students provided 372 valid responses to a written questionnaire (281 women and 91 men; M age = 19.7 years, SD = 1.1) containing the translated versions of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale, Survey of Reading Strategies Inventory, and self-assessment background questionnaire. The results showed that self-evaluation of reading proficiency did not correlate with academic level and readers' perceptions. Satisfaction had a direct effect on foreign language reading anxiety but not on metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. Results of path analysis demonstrated that the perception learners who had their own reading proficiency predicted their foreign language reading anxiety and was a mediating variable for metacognitive reading strategy use. © The Author(s) 2016.

Altered patterns of directed connectivity within the reading network of dyslexic children and their relation to reading dysfluency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gojko Žarić

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Reading is a complex cognitive skill subserved by a distributed network of visual and language-related regions. Disruptions of connectivity within this network have been associated with developmental dyslexia but their relation to individual differences in the severity of reading problems remains unclear. Here we investigate whether dysfunctional connectivity scales with the level of reading dysfluency by examining EEG recordings during visual word and false font processing in 9-year-old typically reading children (TR and two groups of dyslexic children: severely dysfluent (SDD and moderately dysfluent (MDD dyslexics. Results indicated weaker occipital to inferior-temporal connectivity for words in both dyslexic groups relative to TRs. Furthermore, SDDs exhibited stronger connectivity from left central to right inferior-temporal and occipital sites for words relative to TRs, and for false fonts relative to both MDDs and TRs. Importantly, reading fluency was positively related with forward and negatively with backward connectivity. Our results suggest disrupted visual processing of words in both dyslexic groups, together with a compensatory recruitment of right posterior brain regions especially in the SDDs during word and false font processing. Functional connectivity in the brain’s reading network may thus depend on the level of reading dysfluency beyond group differences between dyslexic and typical readers.

Direct reading spectrochemical determination of aluminium, iron and silicon in fluorite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roca, M.

1966-01-01

A quantitative spectrochemical method for the determination of Al, Fe and Si in fluorite has been worked out. The sample was supported in a graphite electrode with crater of 5 mm. in diameter, 2,5 mm deep, and burned by a d.c. are in a direct reading spectrometer. The excitation of samples has been studied without dilution as well as using graphite powder as diluent in the ratios 1:1, 1:4, and 1:9; the latter factor was chosen. Ag, Ca, Co, Cr, Mo and Sn were tested as internal standards. It has not been found any significant inter element effect. It is necessary to use natural fluorite as base material for the standards. (Author) 5 refs

Direct detector radiography versus dual reading computed radiography: feasibility of dose reduction in chest radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gruber, Michael; Uffmann, Martin; Weber, Michael; Balassy, Csilla; Schaefer-Prokop, Cornelia; Prokop, Mathias

2006-01-01

The image quality of dual-reading computed radiography and dose-reduced direct radiography of the chest was compared in a clinical setting. The study group consisted of 50 patients that underwent three posteroanterior chest radiographs within minutes, one image obtained with a dual read-out computed radiography system (CR; Fuji 5501) at regular dose and two images with a flat panel direct detector unit (DR; Diagnost, Philips). The DR images were obtained with the same and with 50% of the dose used for the CR images. Images were evaluated in a blinded side-by-side comparison. Eight radiologists ranked the visually perceivable difference in image quality using a three-point scale. Then, three radiologists scored the visibility of anatomic landmarks in low and high attenuation areas and image noise. Statistical analysis was based on Friedman tests and Wilcoxon rank sum tests at a significance level of P<0.05. DR was judged superior to CR for the delineation of structures in high attenuation areas of the mediastinum even when obtained with 50% less dose (P<0.001). The visibility of most pulmonary structures was judged equivalent with both techniques, regardless of acquisition dose and speed level. Scores for image noise were lower for DR compared with CR, with the exception of DR obtained at a reduced dose. Thus, in this clinical preference study, DR was equivalent or even superior to the most modern dual read-out CR, even when obtained with 50% dose. A further dose reduction does not appear to be feasible for DR without significant loss of image quality. (orig.)

Optical character recognition reading aid for the visually impaired.

Science.gov (United States)

Grandin, Juan Carlos; Cremaschi, Fabian; Lombardo, Elva; Vitu, Ed; Dujovny, Manuel

2008-06-01

An optical character recognition (OCR) reading machine is a significant help for visually impaired patients. An OCR reading machine is used. This instrument can provide a significant help in order to improve the quality of life of patients with low vision or blindness.

Direct reading spectrochemical analysis of nuclear graphite; Analisis espectroquimico de lectura directa de grafito nuclear

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roca Adell, M; Becerro Ruiz, E; Alvarez Gonzalez, F

1964-07-01

A description is given about the application of a direct-reading spectrometer the Quantometer, to the determination of boron. calcium, iron, titanium and vanadium in nuclear grade graphite. for boron the powdered sample is mixed with 1% cupric fluoride and excited in a 10-amperes direct current arc and graphite electrodes with a crater 7 mm wide and 10 mm deep. For the other elements a smaller crater has been used and dilution with a number of matrices has been investigated; the best results are achieved by employing 25% cupric fluoride. The sensitivity limit for boron is 0,15 ppm. (Author) 21 refs.

Reading and writing direction effects on the aesthetic appreciation of photographs.

Science.gov (United States)

Chahboun, Sobh; Flumini, Andrea; Pérez González, Carmen; McManus, I Chris; Santiago, Julio

2017-05-01

Does reading and writing direction (RWD) influence the aesthetic appreciation of photography? Pérez González showed that nineteenth-century Iranian and Spanish professional photographers manifest lateral biases linked to RWD in their compositions. The present study aimed to test whether a population sample showed similar biases. Photographs with left-to-right (L-R) and right-to-left (R-L) directionality were selected from Pérez González's collections and presented in both original and mirror-reversed forms to Spanish (L-R readers) and Moroccan (R-L readers) participants. In Experiment 1, participants rated each picture for its aesthetic pleasingness. The results showed neither effects of lateral organization nor interactions with RWD. In Experiment 2, each picture and its mirror version were presented together and participants chose the one they liked better. Spaniards preferred rightward versions and Moroccans preferred leftward versions. RWD therefore affects aesthetic impressions of photography in our participants when people pay attention to the lateral spatial dimension of pictures. The observed directional aesthetic preferences were not sensitive to the sex of the model in the photographs, failing to support expectations from the hypotheses of emotionality and agency. Preferences were attributable to the interaction between general scanning strategies and scanning habits linked to RWD.

STUDENTS’ READING PRACTICES AND ENVIRONMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aiza Johari

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract: The challenges of reading are indeed apparent in most teaching and learning processes in ESL classrooms. As a result, this study is conducted to resolve the issues of students who seem to find reading to be unbearable. Many of them have limited ability to read well and hence, possess insufficient reading habits to become competent readers, particularly out-of-school context. Besides, poor home literacy environments also contribute to their shortcomings in reading. The main objectives of this study are to identify the students’ reasons for reading as well as to find out their home reading environments (reading backgrounds and habits; reading attitudes and motivation; reading exposure and supports. To identify these, questionnaires were distributed to 120 secondary school students (Form 4: 16 years old from one of the urban schools in Sarawak, Malaysia. The findings indicate that the students read to gain information and knowledge though many chose reading as a hobby as their last choice in explaining their motives of reading. Besides, they preferred non-academic reading materials, mainly lighter forms reading materials such as comics, story books and magazines. Though the students acknowledged the importance of reading in their daily lives, their average reading habits, attitude, motivation, exposure and support within the home domain had suggested otherwise. They mainly read for instrumental purposes while reading for pleasure seemed not to be given priority. Besides, the respondents acknowledge that their parents and themselves did not read much at home. As an implication, it is vital for students to improve their reading perceptions, abilities and practices to achieve personal, societal and national progress. On a final note, parents’ early and continuous efforts to be involved in their children’s literacy events in an out-of-school context are believed to be vital to inculcate positive reading environments, habits and culture

A new design of neutron survey instrument

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanner, R.J.; Eakins, J.S.; Hager, L.G.

2010-01-01

A novel design of neutron survey instrument has been developed. The moderator has been modified via the use of 'neutron guides', which help thermal neutrons reach the central proportional counter. This innovation has allowed the variations in the energy dependence of ambient dose equivalent response to be reduced compared to prior single-detector designs, whilst maintaining a relatively light moderator and simple construction. In particular, the design has a relatively small over-response to neutrons with energies around 5 keV, when compared to prior designs. The final optimized design has been verified using MCNP5 calculations to ensure that the response is relatively independent of the energy and direction of the incident neutron. This has required the ends of the guides to be structured so that unidirectional and isotropic neutron fields have closely matched responses, as is necessary in the workplace. The reading of the instrument in workplace fields is calculated via folding and the suitability of the design for use in the workplace discussed.

SchemaOnRead: A Package for Schema-on-Read in R

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

North, Michael J.

2016-08-01

Schema-on-read is an agile approach to data storage and retrieval that defers investments in data organization until production queries need to be run by working with data directly in native form. Schema-on-read functions have been implemented in a wide range of analytical systems, most notably Hadoop. SchemaOnRead is a CRAN package that uses R’s flexible data representations to provide transparent and convenient support for the schema-on-read paradigm in R. The schema-on- read tools within the package include a single function call that recursively reads folders with text, comma separated value, raster image, R data, HDF5, NetCDF, spreadsheet, Weka, Epi Info, Pajek network, R network, HTML, SPSS, Systat, and Stata files. The provided tools can be used as-is or easily adapted to implement customized schema-on-read tool chains in R. This paper’s contribution is that it introduces and describes SchemaOnRead, the first R package specifically focused on providing explicit schema-on-read support in R.

Calibration method based on direct radioactivity measurement for radioactive gas monitoring instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, Makoto; Ohi, Yoshihiro; Chida, Tohru; Wu, Youyang.

1993-01-01

A calibration method for radioactive gas monitoring instruments was studied. In the method, gaseous radioactivity standards were provided on the basis of the direct radioactivity measurement by the diffusion-in long proportional counter method (DLPC method). The radioactivity concentration of the gas mixture through a monitoring instrument was determined by sampling the known volume of the gas mixture into the proportional counter used for the DLPC method. Since oxygen in the gas mixture decreased the counting efficiency in a proportional counter, the influence on calibration was experimentally estimated. It was not serious and able to be easily corrected. By the present method, the relation between radioactivity concentration and ionization current was determined for a gas-flow ionization chamber with 1.5 l effective volume. It showed good agreement with the results in other works. (author)

Bidirectional relations between text reading prosody and reading comprehension in the upper primary school grades: A longitudinal perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veenendaal, N.J.; Groen, M.A.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the directionality of the relationship between text reading prosody and reading comprehension in the upper grades of primary school. We compared 3 theoretical possibilities: Two unidirectional relations from text reading prosody to reading comprehension and

Reading Logs and Literature Teaching Models in English Language Teacher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Ochoa Delarriva, Ornella; Basabe, Enrique Alejandro

2016-01-01

Reading logs are regularly used in foreign language education since they are not only critical in the development of reading comprehension but may also be instrumental in taking readers beyond the referential into the representational realms of language. In this paper we offer the results of a qualitative analysis of a series of reading logs…

Depicting reading ability as an information literacy model.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurora Cuevas Cerveró

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Readers’ world has been lately challenged by significant changes, such as the increase on reading supply, the diversification of documentary media and the new types of reading, writing and communicating through the Internet. Such situation specially affects 21st century schools, which are evolving too slowly and so being relegated from their corresponding pre-eminent place as reading teachers and knowledge transmitters. The main goal of this article is to contribute mitigating such adverse effects on schools by proposing an information literacy skills model aimed for improving reading competency from the school library, which is considered a key element capable of turning reading again into an indispensable instrument in knowledge construction.

Using signal ''KVANT-1'' direct-reading dosemeter for the purposes of personnel monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glinskij, G.A.; Karasev, V.S.; Mukhin, I.E.; Chumak, V.K.

1977-01-01

Presented is the description of ''KVANT-1'' dosemeter for monitoring personnel doses of gamma and X radiation. The dosemeter permits to judge on the radiation intensity, to control directly the dose being accumulated, to store the reading of the dose accumulated for a necessary period of time, to obtain sound signal in case of reaching the limit of a pre-set dose. Presented are a general view, block diagram, and the discription of the dosemeter desing and operation. Advantages of the ''KVANT-1'' dosemeter are shown as compared with the conventional personnel monitoring IFK-2,3 and KID-2 dosemeters [ru

Pharmacological Blockade of Adenosine A2A but Not A1 Receptors Enhances Goal-Directed Valuation in Satiety-Based Instrumental Behavior

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Yan Li

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The balance and smooth shift between flexible, goal-directed behaviors and repetitive, habitual actions are critical to optimal performance of behavioral tasks. The striatum plays an essential role in control of goal-directed versus habitual behaviors through a rich interplay of the numerous neurotransmitters and neuromodulators to modify the input, processing and output functions of the striatum. The adenosine receptors (namely A2AR and A1R, with their high expression pattern in the striatum and abilities to interact and integrate dopamine, glutamate and cannabinoid signals in the striatum, may represent novel therapeutic targets for modulating instrumental behavior. In this study, we examined the effects of pharmacological blockade of the A2ARs and A1Rs on goal-directed versus habitual behaviors in different information processing phases of instrumental learning using a satiety-based instrumental behavior procedure. We found that A2AR antagonist acts at the coding, consolidation and expression phases of instrumental learning to modulate animals’ sensitivity to goal-directed valuation without modifying action-outcome contingency. However, pharmacological blockade and genetic knockout of A1Rs did not affect acquisition or sensitivity to goal-valuation of instrumental behavior. These findings provide pharmacological evidence for a potential therapeutic strategy to control abnormal instrumental behaviors associated with drug addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder by targeting the A2AR.

Effects of Listening While Reading (LWR on Swahili Reading Fluency and Comprehension

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Filipo Lubua

2016-10-01

Full Text Available A number of studies have examined the contribution of technology in teaching such languages as English, French, and Spanish, among many others. Contrarily, most LCTL’s, have received very little attention. This study investigates if listening while reading (LWR may expedite Swahili reading fluency and comprehension. The study employed the iBook Author tool to create weekly mediated and interactive reading texts, with comprehension exercises, which were eventually used to collect descriptive and qualitative data from four Elementary Swahili students. Participants participated in a seven week reading program, which provided them with some kind of directed self-learning, and met with the instructor for at least 30 minutes every week for observation and more reading activities. The teacher recorded their reading scores, and a number of themes on how LWR influenced reading fluency and comprehension are discussed here. It shows that participants have a positive attitude towards LWR and they suggest it for all the reading classes.

Teaching Reading Comprehension and Language Skills to Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Developmental Disabilities Using Direct Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Flores, Margaret M.; Nelson, Cynthia; Hinton, Vanessa; Franklin, Toni M.; Strozier, Shaunita D.; Terry, LaTonya; Franklin, Susan

2013-01-01

There is limited research demonstrating Direct Instruction (DI) as an effective reading comprehension intervention for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and developmental disabilities (DD). Previous research has shown that DI, when portions of the program were implemented, resulted in increased skills (Flores & Ganz, 2007; Flores…

Interaction of Instrumental and Goal-Directed Learning Modulates Prediction Error Representations in the Ventral Striatum.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Rong; Böhmer, Wendelin; Hebart, Martin; Chien, Samson; Sommer, Tobias; Obermayer, Klaus; Gläscher, Jan

2016-12-14

Goal-directed and instrumental learning are both important controllers of human behavior. Learning about which stimulus event occurs in the environment and the reward associated with them allows humans to seek out the most valuable stimulus and move through the environment in a goal-directed manner. Stimulus-response associations are characteristic of instrumental learning, whereas response-outcome associations are the hallmark of goal-directed learning. Here we provide behavioral, computational, and neuroimaging results from a novel task in which stimulus-response and response-outcome associations are learned simultaneously but dominate behavior at different stages of the experiment. We found that prediction error representations in the ventral striatum depend on which type of learning dominates. Furthermore, the amygdala tracks the time-dependent weighting of stimulus-response versus response-outcome learning. Our findings suggest that the goal-directed and instrumental controllers dynamically engage the ventral striatum in representing prediction errors whenever one of them is dominating choice behavior. Converging evidence in human neuroimaging studies has shown that the reward prediction errors are correlated with activity in the ventral striatum. Our results demonstrate that this region is simultaneously correlated with a stimulus prediction error. Furthermore, the learning system that is currently dominating behavioral choice dynamically engages the ventral striatum for computing its prediction errors. This demonstrates that the prediction error representations are highly dynamic and influenced by various experimental context. This finding points to a general role of the ventral striatum in detecting expectancy violations and encoding error signals regardless of the specific nature of the reinforcer itself. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/3612650-11$15.00/0.

Rapid analysis of fertilizers by the direct-reading thermometric method.

Science.gov (United States)

Sajó, I; Sipos, B

1972-05-01

The authors have developed rapid methods for the determination of the main components of fertilizers, namely phosphate, potassium and nitrogen fixed in various forms. In the absence of magnesium ions phosphate is precipitated with magnesia mixture; in the presence of magnesium ions ammonium phosphomolybdate is precipitated and the excess of molybdate is reacted with hydrogen peroxide. Potassium is determined by precipitation with silico-fluoride. For nitrogen fixed as ammonium salts the ammonium ions are condensed in a basic solution with formalin to hexamethylenetetramine; for nitrogen fixed as carbamide the latter is decomposed with sodium nitrite; for nitrogen fixed as nitrate the latter is reduced with titanium(III). In each case the temperature change of the test solution is measured. Practically all essential components of fertilizers may be determined by direct-reading thermometry; with this method and special apparatus the time of analysis is reduced to at most about 15 min for any determination.

EFFECTS OF MUSIC TEACHER CANDIDATES’ ATTITUDES RELATED TO BOOK READING ON PERFORMANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Hasan OKAY

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Music education depends on processing complex applications by considering educational aims because of its nature. Deep and multi dimensional form of music performance requires a detailed teoritical substructure in every disciplines related to music making. Knowing well that teoritical substructure by musicians or music making learners/teachers effects directly deepness of musical cause and quality and so on achievement. These elements requires to be powered on that substructure for who are related to music making subject. Reading books whiches are about mentioned music making theoritical substructure is a affective way standing on the front of the elements that help everybody linked musicianship. This research aims to evaluate relationships of music candidates’ book reading attitudes with academic achievement of instrument or vocal performance lessons. “Öğretmen Adaylarının Kitap Okuma Alışkanlığına Yönelik Tutum Ölçeği” (The Attitudes Scale of of Teacher Candidates’ Reading Book Trends is used to gather data by taking permission Mrs. Kırmızı who developed this scale.

Teacher's reading comprehension: Implication for teaching practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana Benevides Soares

2010-11-01

Full Text Available A question of interest for educational workers is the reading comprehension process, a fundamental ability for progress in more advanced years of schooling, and its effect on pedagogical practices. This is a study that explores this question. A reading comprehension instrument composed by four structural levels of text and a scale of pedagogical practice composed by four sub-scales involving: cognitive practices with linguistic focus, cognitive practices, affective and motor practices, continuous education, was used. The results of 53 children suggest a slight tendency of teacher to prioritize cognitive practices independently of their reading comprehension level.

D-Zero Superconducting Soleniod RTD Instrumentation Readings Upon Receipt at Fermilab

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markley, D.

1998-01-01

This engineering note documents the Dzero Superconducting Solenoid Platinum RTD, Carbon Glass RTD, and Helium level gage instrumentation values upon receipt at Fermilab. This note is concerned with the internal instrumentation, the external instrumentation can easily be repaired if any problems arise. The Solenoid was Purchased from Toshiba and shipped from the Kehin Works in Japan. The Solenoid was received at Dzero May 12, 1997. The Solenoid was shipped in three large components. They are the Solenoid, Control Dewar, and Chimney. There are 2 main instrumentation port areas where all the internal instrumentation is available to the outside world. These 2 places are the top of the Control Dewar and the North end of the Solenoid. These two instrumentation feedthrough area's have Cyocera hermetic feedthrough port connectors welded into place. The Cyocera connector can and does mate with the Burndy Bantom cable end connector of the same pin/socket number. Since the Hermetic feedthrough and cable connector are different manufacturers, the pin layout pattern is not the same. The Toshiba drawings show both manufacturers pin numbers. The Dzero engineering notes show only the Burndy pin numbers.

Measuring Literary Reading Motivation: Questionnaires Design and Pilot Testing

Science.gov (United States)

Chrysos, Michail

2017-01-01

This study aims to present the design and pilot testing procedures of the two specific self-report questionnaires were used to measure the two key aspects of reading motivation, self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation in the field of literary (narrative) reading, and the partial factors that jointly shape them. These instruments were outlined in…

Improving Students' Reading Comprehension in Descriptive Text Through Anticipation Guide

OpenAIRE

Nasution, Maya Puspita

2014-01-01

This study concerrns with improving students' reading comprehension in descriptive text through anticipation guide.The objective was to investigate improvement of students' reading comprehension by applying anticipation guide. This research was conducted by using action research method. The subject of the study was grade VII students of SMP SWASTA TAMAN HARAPAN MEDAN totalling to 30 students. They were taught reading comprehension by anticipation guide. The instruments for collecting data wer...

USING OF READING, ENCODING, ANNOTATING, AND PONDERING (REAP TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION (A Classroom Action Research at Eighth Grade Students in MTSN 1 Kota Bengkulu in Academic years 2016

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fera Zasrianita

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract The researcher found the problem at MTSN 1 in the city of  Bengkulu at grade VIII I that students got difficulty in comprehending reading texts, and in understanding meanings of words in paragraphs, and teachers techniques  made the students bored. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to improve students’ reading comprehension through REAP techniques. The subject of the research is the students of  grade VIII I consisting of 27 students, 14 female students and 13 male students. The instruments of the research are reading tets, observation sheetteacher and the students, interview guide and that for documentary study.  The results of the research show that the  REAP teachniques are effective in improving the students’ reading comprehension. The students got involved directly and were able to cooperate with their peers during the teaching-learning process. The research was conducted in two cycles an the test was administered at the end of each cycle. From the average mean scores, it could be seen that there was improvement of the the students’ reading ability. In cycle I, the mean score was 70.5 and in cycle 2, it was 78.7,and at the Post assessment, it was  82.2. It means that the students’ mean scores has reached the research target. Thus, it can be concluded that REAPtechniques can improve the students’ readng comprehension. Kata Kunci: REAP (Reading, Encoding, Annotating, and Pondering technique, Students’ reading comprehension

76 FR 16689 - Standard Instrument Approach Procedures, and Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-25

... safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument... Reading, PA, Reading Rgnl/Carl A Spaatz Field, ILS OR LOC RWY 13, Amdt 1A Reading, PA, Reading Rgnl/Carl A Spaatz Field, ILS OR LOC RWY 36, Amdt 30A Reading, PA, Reading Rgnl/Carl A Spaatz Field, NDB RWY 36, Amdt...

Effect of Repeated Reading and Self-Directed Behavior on Reading Skills and Generalization of the Reading Skills of Third-Grade Hill Tribe Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Compan, Boonlert; Iamsupasit, Sompoch; Samuels, Jay

A study tested a method for developing reading fluency with third-grade Hill Tribe children in a welfare school in Chiang Mai, a city located in northern Thailand. Most of the students were bilingual, speaking their native tongues and Thai, their second language. Only 18.7% of the Hill Tribe population can read Thai, and many students fail to…

Cyclic fatigue resistance of newly manufactured rotary nickel titanium instruments used in different rotational directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Gambarini, Gianlucca; Gergi, Richard; Grande, Nicola Maria; Osta, Nada; Plotino, Gianluca; Testarelli, Luca

2013-12-01

The aim of this study was to investigate whether cyclic fatigue resistance is increased for nickel titanium instruments manufactured with improved heating processes in clockwise or counterclockwise continuous rotation. The instruments compared were produced either using the R-phase heat treatment (K3XF; SybronEndo, Orange, CA, USA) or the M-wire alloy (ProFile Vortex; DENTSPLY Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK, USA). Tests were performed with a specific cyclic fatigue device that evaluated cycles to failure of rotary instruments in curved artificial canals. Results indicated no significant difference in resistance to cyclic fatigue when rotary nickel titanium instruments are used in clockwise or counterclockwise continuous rotation. In both directions of rotation, size 04-25 K3XF showed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in the mean number of cycles to failure when compared with size 04-25 ProFile Vortex. © 2012 The Authors. Australian Endodontic Journal © 2012 Australian Society of Endodontology.

Development of direct reading dosimeters for the dose 0-3 mSv and 0-5 mSv ranges for personnel monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaikwad, P.V.; Shirkar, Y.B.; Patil, A.S.; Madgaonkar, P.P.; Kale, K.L.; Guhagarkar, H.V.; Gandhi, D.P.; Gupta, S.K.; Kothiyal, G.P.; Sahni, V.C.

1998-01-01

Direct reading dosimeters (DRDs) are widely used to measure cumulative dose received by personnel working at nuclear reactor sites or in other environment having x- and gamma rays. A DRD operates on the principle of gold leaf electroscope, and is a small, rugged, hermetically sealed, self reading type device easily carried by an individual in his pocket. The development of dosimeters suitable for the dose ranges 0-3 mSv and 0-5 mSv is reported

Factorial and Construct Validity of a New Instrument for the Assessment of Reading Motivation

Science.gov (United States)

Schiefele, Ulrich; Schaffner, Ellen

2016-01-01

Reading motivation has been defined consistently as a multidimensional construct. However, there is some disagreement regarding the number and nature of the dimensions of reading motivation. In particular, there is a lack of studies investigating the dimensional structure and measurement invariance (e.g., across gender) of reading motivation…

Neutron scattering instrumentation. A guide to future directions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crawford, R.K.

2001-01-01

Many of the neutron scattering instruments being designed or built now are the first generation of pulsed source instruments to provide nearly optimal scattering angle coverage with good spatial resolution in a single setting of the instrument while making full use of modern optics to maximize the useful flux on the sample. Spectacular gains have resulted from such optimization, but in most of these cases there is little room for further large improvements. However, other types of pulsed source instruments are currently less well optimized, and there is room for significant improvements in these types of pulsed source instruments. Several examples will illustrate these points. In the longer term, we can expect source strengths to continue to increase, but only slowly. However, we can expect new science and new ways of doing experiments to emerge. Many of these changes will be driven by enhancements in sample environment capabilities leading to more innovative sample conditions and to efficient parametric studies. Kinetic studies and parametric studies will take on much greater roles with the high data rates now available. Implications of these trends will be discussed. (author)

Top down viewing of the inductively coupled plasma using a dual grating, direct reading spectrograph and an all mirror optical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apel, C.T.; Duchane, D.V.; Palmer, B.A.

1980-01-01

Using an all-mirror optical system, an inductively coupled plasma is viewed top down and the light is directed to a dual grating, direct reading spectrograph. Top down viewing of the plasma, with masking of the image of the argon plasma torus at the spectrograph entrance slit, significantly reduces background signal from the source and permits the use of the depth of field of the optical system to achieve compromise conditions for viewing the plasma. Light from the plasma source is introduced to the optical system by means of a mirror situated directly over the plasma. The system is exhausted in such a way that cool air flowing past the mirror forms a thermal barrier between the mirror and the plasma. Elements such as copper and lead have atomic and ionic lines which tend to exhibit self absorption when viewed top down through the cooler ground state atoms in the plume of the plasma. One of the approaches to this problem is to shear off the plume of the plasma with a jet of air directed across the tip of the plasma. A second approach is to make use of the dual grating, direct reading spectrograph and real-time computer system which easily permits the setting of alternate lines for each element so that self absorption and matrix effects are minimized. The design of the dual-grating, direct-reading spectrograph allows for the mounting of more than 200 13-mm-dia photomultiplier tubes along the focal curves. In an effort to demonstrate the use of fiber optics as a viable technique for the closer placement of exit slits, a red sensitive photomultiplier tube was coupled with a 30-cm fiber-optic ribbon to detect light from the Li 670.784 nm line on the focal curve. It was successful and had the added advantages of absorbing second-order ultraviolet light

Intercomparison of aerosol instruments: number concentration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knutson, E.O.; Sinclair, D.; Tu, K.W.; Hinchliffe, L.; Franklin, H.

1982-05-01

An intercomparison of aerosol instruments conducted February 23-27, 1981, at the Environmental Measurements Laboratory (EML) focused on five instruments: the Pollak and TSI condensation nucleus counters; the Active Scattering Aerosol Spectrometer (ASAS-X); and two aerosol electrometers. Test aerosols of sodium chloride and ammonium fluorescein generated by nebulization/electrostatic classification were used to obtain 195 lines of comparison data. Concentrations measured by the ASAS-X and the TSI aerosol electrometer averaged respectively 1.388 and 1.581 times that measured by the Pollak. These ratios were very stable during the week and there was little effect of particle size or material. Most other comparisons were equally stable. However, a review of past work at EML and elsewhere led to the disturbing conclusion that these ratios may change from year to year, or from season to season. A filter sample was taken from microscopy, concurrent with readings from the ASAS-X and the TSI condensation nucleus counters. In this sample, the two instruments differed by 20%. Within its 20% uncertainty, the filter result matched both the TSI and ASAS-X readings

Metacognitive Online Reading Strategies in Foreign Language Learning Context at University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vilhelmina Vaičiūnienė

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose – this research is aimed to identify the metacognitive online reading strategies employed by MRU students and assess the interrelation between online reading strategies and metacognitive awareness.Design/methodology/approach – the authors present and evaluate the findings obtained by using Online Survey of Reading Strategies (OSORS, the survey, which helped to identify MRU students’ metacognitive online reading strategies in a foreign language learning context. The methods applied in the research were the following ones: literature review and descriptive analysis of the obtained quantitative data. The quantitative research and descriptive analysis of the data received from the survey was applied. The target group of the study conducted at MRU consisted of 89 full-time students having different online reading experience. The sample was composed of students from five Bachelor study programmes studying in the academic year of 2012-2013. The instrument of the research (OSORS was composed of 38 items.Findings – the findings obtained through the survey revealed that readers work directly with the text to solve problems while reading online. However, a low score on any of the subscales of the inventory (i.e. Support strategies use indicates that there may be strategies in these parts that students might want to learn about and consider using them when reading online. By focusing students’ attention on the metacognitive reading strategies identified in the OSORS language, teachers could help students improve their online reading ability. Teachers should include strategy awareness as training component in their students’ online learning tasks.Research limitations/implications – the research sample is rather limited (89 participants.Practical implications – seeking to develop students’ online reading capacity, it is valuable for teachers to discover students’ preferences for online reading strategies and identify encountered

Validation of an instrument to measure tutor performance in promoting self-directed learning by using confirmatory factor analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Genoveva Amador Fierros

Full Text Available Objective.This work sought to validate and propose an instrument to measure the performance of tutors in promoting self-directed learning in students involved in processes of problem-based learning. Methods. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA was applied to validate the instrument composed of 60 items and six factors (self-assessment of learning gaps within the United Nations specific context: self-assessment, reflexion, critical thinking, administration of information, group skills, using a sample of 207 students from a total of 279, which comprise the student population of the Faculty of Nursing at Universidad de Colima in Mexico. (2007. Results. The CFA results demonstrated that the instrument is acceptable to measure performance of tutors in promoting self-directed learning, given that all the indicators, variances, covariances, and thresholds are statistically significant. Conclusion. The instrument permits obtaining students' opinions on how much professors contribute for them to develop each of the 60 skills described in the scale. Lastly, the results could report if professors are placing more emphasis in some areas than in other areas they should address during the problem-based learning (PBL process, or if definitely their actions are removed from the premises of PBL, information that will be useful for school management in decision making on the direction of teaching as a whole.

A Study On English Reading Habits Of Students Of English Study Program Of Riau University

OpenAIRE

Al Nazhari, Hafiz; Delfi, Syofia; ', Syafri K

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to find out the habits of English reading among the students of English Study Program of Riau University. The method used in this research is quantitative research and the design is survey study. A questionnaire was used as the instrument of this research. The questionnaire involved seven indicators of reading habits: attitudes toward reading, reading frequency, reading materials read, time spend on academic reading, time spend on non-academic reading, motivation in t...

Effect of Color-Coded Notation on Music Achievement of Elementary Instrumental Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, George L.

1991-01-01

Presents results of a study of color-coded notation to teach music reading to instrumental students. Finds no clear evidence that color-coded notation enhances achievement on performing by memory, sight-reading, or note naming. Suggests that some students depended on the color-coding and were unable to read uncolored notation well. (DK)

[Instrumental, directive, and affective communication in hospital leaflets].

Science.gov (United States)

Vasconcellos-Silva, Paulo Roberto; Uribe Rivera, Francisco Javier; Castiel, Luis David

2003-01-01

This study focuses on the typical semantic systems extracted from hospital staff communicative resources which attempt to validate information as an "object" to be transferred to patients. We describe the models of textual communication in 58 patient information leaflets from five hospital units in Brazil, gathered from 1996 to 2002. Three categories were identified, based on the theory of speech acts (Austin, Searle, and Habermas): 1) cognitive-instrumental utterances: descriptions by means of technical terms validated by self-referred, incomplete, or inaccessible argumentation, with an implicit educational function; 2) technical-directive utterances: self-referred (to the context of the source domains), with a shifting of everyday acts to a technical terrain with a disciplinary function and impersonal features; and 3) expressive modulations: need for inter-subjective connections to strengthen bonds of trust and a tendency to use childish arguments. We conclude that the three categories displayed: fragmentary sources; assumption of univocal messages and invariable use of information (idealized motivations and interests, apart from individualized perspectives); and assumption of universal interests as generators of knowledge.

Preventative Reading Interventions Teaching Direct Mapping of Graphemes in Texts and Set-for-Variability Aid At-Risk Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Savage, Robert; Georgiou, George; Parrila, Rauno; Maiorino, Kristina

2018-01-01

We evaluated two experimenter-delivered, small-group word reading programs among at-risk poor readers in Grade 1 classes of regular elementary schools using a two-arm, dual-site-matched control trial intervention. At-risk poor word readers (n = 201) were allocated to either (a) Direct Mapping and Set-for-Variability (DMSfV) or (b) Current or…

Direct-reading spectrochemical analysis of soils and plant ashes; Analisis espectroquimico de lectura directa de suelos y cenizas de plantas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roca, M; Alvarez, F; Cellini, R F; Burriel, F

1966-07-01

Two different techniques haves been tried to determine trace elements in soils and plant ashes using a direct reading spectrometer :1) the samples are mixed with graphite powder and excited on 2x4 mm graphite rods with a 13 amperes direct current arc: 2) a mixture of graphite and strontium carbonate is used as spectrochemical buffer, and 2x6 mm cup graphite rods in a 10 amperes direct current arc. We have studies the influence of sodium, potassium and calcium on the results. (Author)

Optimization of Orchestral Layouts Based on Instrument Directivity Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Stroud, Nathan Paul

The experience of hearing an exceptional symphony orchestra perform in an excel- lent concert hall can be profound and moving, causing a level of excitement not often reached for listeners. Romantic period style orchestral music, recognized for validating the use of intense emotion for aesthetic pleasure, was the last significant development in the history of the orchestra. In an age where orchestral popularity is waning, the possibil- ity of evolving the orchestral sound in our modern era exists through the combination of our current understanding of instrument directivity patterns and their interaction with architectural acoustics. With the aid of wave field synthesis (WFS), newly proposed variations on orchestral layouts are tested virtually using a 64-channel WFS array. Each layout is objectively and subjectively compared for determination of which layout could optimize the sound of the orchestra and revitalize the excitement of the performance.

Reading Test-taking Strategies in General Training IELTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vahede Nosrati

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The significance of gaining a better understanding of how test-taking strategies are used has been recognized by researchers. Considering this fact, this study aimed at investigating the test-taking strategies which were employed by IELTS candidates in reading comprehension test. Besides, it tried to take into account the differences among strategies used for different tasks. In order to gather data, two instruments were employed: the think-aloud protocol, and an IELTS reading test. The obtained data were analyzed and interpreted qualitatively by the researcher. The findings indicated that candidates employed 15 different strategies which were categorized in 3 stages, pre-reading, reading, and post-reading stages. Furthermore, it was revealed that test-takers used certain strategies differently, depending on the type of the task. The findings provide a better understanding of strategy use among IELTS candidates and help teachers to improve their approaches toward teaching and learning goals. Keywords: Test-taking Strategy, Test-taker, Reading Comprehension, Language Learning Strategy, IELTS

Direct and Indirect Roles of Morphological Awareness in the English Reading Comprehension of Native English, Spanish, Filipino, and Vietnamese Speakers

Science.gov (United States)

Kieffer, Michael J.; Lesaux, Nonie K.

2012-01-01

This study tested three hypotheses about the direct and indirect contributions of derivational morphological awareness to English reading comprehension in sixth-grade students from differing language backgrounds (n= 952). Students included Spanish-speaking, Filipino-speaking, and Vietnamese-speaking language minority learners as well as native…

Recognition of Instrumentation Gauge in the Nuclear Power Plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Jai Wan; Jeong, Kyung Min [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

Nuclear emergency robots were developed in 2001 as the countermeasure following the criticality accident at the JCO (uranium refinery facility) in Tokaimura, Japan in 1999. We assumed that these nuclear emergency robots were deployed (or put into) for a mitigation (or management) of severe accident, for example, occurred at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. In the case, the image understanding using a color CCD camera, loaded on the nuclear emergency robot, is important. We proposed an image processing technique to read indication value of the IC water level gauges using the structural characteristics of the instrumentation panels (water level gauges) located inside the reactor building. At first, we recognized the scales on the instrumentation panel using the geometric shape of the panel. And then, we could read the values of the instrumentation gauge by calculating the slope of the needle on the gauge. Using the proposed algorithm, we deciphered instrumentation panels for the four water level gauges and indicators shown on the IC video released by TEPCO and Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Commission of Japan. In this paper, recognition of the instrumentation gauges inside reactor building of the nuclear power plant by an image processing technology is described.

Print and Digital Texts: Evaluating the Differences in Reading Comprehension Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Maynard, Stephanie Elizabeth

2016-01-01

Concerns about the reading comprehension skills of students in the United States have been raised partly because of the introduction of digital products into their lives and the classroom setting. The Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards results from 2013 that were provided by the Arizona Department of Education indicated that reading scores…

Beyond reading level: a systematic review of the suitability of cancer education print and Web-based materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Finnie, Ramona K C; Felder, Tisha M; Linder, Suzanne Kneuper; Mullen, Patricia Dolan

2010-12-01

Consideration of categories related to reading comprehension--beyond reading level--is imperative to reach low literacy populations effectively. "Suitability" has been proposed as a term to encompass six categories of such factors: content, literacy demand graphics, layout/typography, learning stimulation, and cultural appropriateness. Our purpose was to describe instruments used to evaluate categories of suitability in cancer education materials in published reports and their findings. We searched databases and reference lists for evaluations of print and Web-based cancer education materials to identify and describe measures of these categories. Studies had to evaluate reading level and at least one category of suitability. Eleven studies met our criteria. Seven studies reported inter-rater reliability. Cultural appropriateness was most often assessed; four instruments assessed only surface aspects of cultural appropriateness. Only two of seven instruments used, the suitability assessment of materials (SAM) and the comprehensibility assessment of materials (SAM + CAM), were described as having any evidence of validity. Studies using Simplified Measure of Goobledygook (SMOG) and Fry reported higher average reading level scores than those using Flesh-Kincaid. Most materials failed criteria for reading level and cultural appropriateness. We recommend more emphasis on the categories of suitability for those developing cancer education materials and more study of these categories and reliability and validity testing of instruments.

The XGS instrument on-board THESEUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuschino, F.; Baldazzi, G.; Rignanese, L. P.; Campana, R.; Labanti, C.; Marisaldi, M.; Amati, L.; Frontera, F.; Fiorini, M.; Uslenghi, M.; Evangelista, Y.; Feroci, M.; Elmi, I.; Rachevski, A.; Zampa, G.; Zampa, N.; Vacchi, A.; Rashevskaya, I.; Bellutti, P.; Piemonte, C.

2016-01-01

Consolidated techniques used for space-borne X-ray and gamma-ray instruments are based on the use of scintillators coupled to Silicon photo-detectors. This technology associated with modern very low noise read-out electronics allows the design of innovative architectures able to reduce drastically the system complexity and power consumption, also with a moderate-to-high number of channels. These detector architectures can be exploited in the design of space instrumentation for gamma-spectroscopy with the benefit of possible smart background rejection strategies. We describe a detector prototype with 3D imaging capabilities to be employed in future gamma-ray and particle space missions in the 0.002-100 MeV energy range. The instrument is based on a stack of scintillating bars read out by Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) at both ends. The spatial segmentation and the crystal double-side readout allow a 3D position reconstruction with ∼3 mm accuracy within the full active volume, using a 2D readout along the two external faces of the detector. Furthermore, one of the side of SDDs can be used simultaneously to detect X-rays in the 2-30 keV energy range. The characteristics of this instrument make it suitable in next generation gamma-ray and particle space missions for Earth or outer space observations, and it will be briefly illustrated. (paper)

The XGS instrument on-board THESEUS

Science.gov (United States)

Fuschino, F.; Campana, R.; Labanti, C.; Marisaldi, M.; Amati, L.; Fiorini, M.; Uslenghi, M.; Baldazzi, G.; Evangelista, Y.; Elmi, I.; Feroci, M.; Frontera, F.; Rachevski, A.; Rignanese, L. P.; Vacchi, A.; Zampa, G.; Zampa, N.; Rashevskaya, I.; Bellutti, P.; Piemonte, C.

2016-10-01

Consolidated techniques used for space-borne X-ray and gamma-ray instruments are based on the use of scintillators coupled to Silicon photo-detectors. This technology associated with modern very low noise read-out electronics allows the design of innovative architectures able to reduce drastically the system complexity and power consumption, also with a moderate-to-high number of channels. These detector architectures can be exploited in the design of space instrumentation for gamma-spectroscopy with the benefit of possible smart background rejection strategies. We describe a detector prototype with 3D imaging capabilities to be employed in future gamma-ray and particle space missions in the 0.002-100 MeV energy range. The instrument is based on a stack of scintillating bars read out by Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) at both ends. The spatial segmentation and the crystal double-side readout allow a 3D position reconstruction with ∼3 mm accuracy within the full active volume, using a 2D readout along the two external faces of the detector. Furthermore, one of the side of SDDs can be used simultaneously to detect X-rays in the 2-30 keV energy range. The characteristics of this instrument make it suitable in next generation gamma-ray and particle space missions for Earth or outer space observations, and it will be briefly illustrated.

Reading Test-taking Strategies in General Training IELTS

OpenAIRE

Vahede Nosrati

2015-01-01

The significance of gaining a better understanding of how test-taking strategies are used has been recognized by researchers. Considering this fact, this study aimed at investigating the test-taking strategies which were employed by IELTS candidates in reading comprehension test. Besides, it tried to take into account the differences among strategies used for different tasks. In order to gather data, two instruments were employed: the think-aloud protocol, and an IELTS reading test. The obtai...

A Framework for Analysis of Case Studies of Reading Lessons

Science.gov (United States)

Carlisle, Joanne F.; Kelcey, Ben; Rosaen, Cheryl; Phelps, Geoffrey; Vereb, Anita

2013-01-01

This paper focuses on the development and study of a framework to provide direction and guidance for practicing teachers in using a web-based case studies program for professional development in early reading; the program is called Case Studies Reading Lessons (CSRL). The framework directs and guides teachers' analysis of reading instruction by…

Comparison of observer performance reading from a video CRT vs. reading from film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keyes, J.W. Jr.; Kline, R.C.; Resinger, W.W.; Rose, E.A.; Koral, K.F.; Rogers, W.L.

1983-01-01

The developing trend for all medical images to be in digital form raises an important question: should diagnostic interpretations be made directly from a CRT or from some form of hard copy recording of the CRT. This question was studied by having two observers read a series of digital images of the thyroid including both conventional scintigrams and computer-generated tomograms. The CRT images were photographed in a carefully controlled fashion. Images were read once from film and a second time directly from the CRT. No significant difference in performance could be found for either display modality based on an ROC analysis. Although based on uncomplicated images and analysis, this result suggests that the decision to read from film or from the CRT can be made on other grounds than observer performance. This important result needs confirmation with more complex images such as ultrasound or CT

Reading assessment and training program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, C.L.

1991-01-01

The objective was to ensure ourselves and the general public that the workers in the Nuclear Materials Processing Department (NMPD) could read, follow, and understand procedures. Procedures were randomly selected and analyzed for reading levels. A tenth grade reading level was established as the standard for all NMPD employees. Employees were tested to determine reading levels and approximately 12% could not read at the target level. A Procedure Walk-Through Evaluation was administered to each person not reaching tenth grade reading level. This was a job performance measure given to ensure that the worker was competent in his/her present job, and should remain there while completing reading training. A mandatory Reading Training Program utilizing Computer Based Training was established. This program is self-paced, individualized instruction and provided to the worker on Company time. Results of the CBT Program have been very good. Instruction is supplemented with test-taking skills seminars, practice exams, individual conferences with their own reading specialist, and some self-directed study books. This paper describes the program at Savannah River Site

AFLATOXIN B1 IN CORN: DIRECT VERIFICATION OF CONTAMINATION THROUGH AN AUTOMATIC COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM BASED ON THE FLUORESCENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Vallone

2009-09-01

Full Text Available “Aflaflesh” is a computer based instrument, designed combining a visual data acquisition system with a sophisticated software of acquisition and analysis of images. This system allows you to check on a representative sample (5/10 kg contamination of corn by AFB1, using fluorescence under UV light when the grain is contaminated. To optimize the use of this control equipment were analyzed in two phases, a total of 80 samples comparing the results obtained by chemical analysis (Hplc to those obtained using “Aflaflesh”. Initially the study was set to correlate the number of contaminated grains to the ppb read by the official method, Hplc; the second step was to correlate ppb values to the number of pixel of contaminated surface of the grains read by the “Aflaflesh” instrument. The apparatus was then calibrated through a statistical analysis of the results obtained, to allow a direct reading of the AFB1 concentrations in a short period of time (15 min without the assistance of specialized personnel.

Characterisation of the VMM3 Front-end read-out ASIC

CERN Document Server

Bartels, Lara Maria

2018-01-01

This research project was conducted in the RD51 collaboration at CERN, which is involved in the development of micropattern gaseous detector technologies and read-out systems. One example in the broad range of possible applications of such gaseous detectors is the NMX macromolecular diffractometer instrument planned for the European spallation source (ESS) which is currently under construction in Lund, Sweden. For the NMX instrument neutron detectors with high rate capabilities, high stability and excellent spatial resolution are required. A group working in the RD51 collaboration at CERN within the BrightnESS project aims to fulfil those requirements using gas electron multiplier (GEM) detectors with Gadolinium foils as neutron converters [PFE]. In order to match the high rate capability of the detectors, new front-end read-out systems need to be tested and implemented. This project aims to understand and test the capabilities of the VMM3 as the front-end read-out ASIC for GEM detectors.

Reading, writing, drawing and making in the 18th-century instrument trade

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr Florence Grant

2014-03-01

Full Text Available When George Adams assembled a large collection of philosophical instruments for King George III in the early 1760s, he drew on a variety of printed books as sources of experiments and instrument designs. Most important of these was Mathematical Elements of Natural Philosophy by the Dutch mathematician and philosopher Willem ’s Gravesande, whose own collection of instruments is now in the Museum Boerhaave in Leiden. Papers in the Science Museum archives reveal the specific practices through which Adams used books such as Mathematical Elements in the course of his business. These techniques included commonplacing, a widespread method for organising information in the early-modern period; and physically cutting and pasting fragments from engraved illustrations into new drawings, as part of the process of design. These practices connected mobile print with local networks of production. They fundamentally shaped the group of instruments Adams made for George III, and constitute a material link between two important collections of 18th-century instruments: those of ’s Gravesande in Leiden, and those of George III at the Science Museum in London.

Analysis on the Difficulties Faced by a Bilingual Child in Reading and Writing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rizki Hardiyanti

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Bilingual child ability in two languages is become popular issue in the comparison of those two languages. In this paper, the Indonesian bilingual child has parent, school and course using English actively, then his environment using Bahasa Indonesia. This research was conducted to measure ability and difficulties faced by bilingual child in reading and writing in two languages Bahasa Indonesia- English. This journal applied a qualitative research design. Qualitative research is stated as naturalistic study that has the natural setting, as the direct source of data and the researcher is the key instrument  (Bogdan and Biklen, 1992. To specify the design in this journal, this qualitative method was used to analyze a specific person of Bilingual Child. The data were taken from observation, interview, video recording of the child’s reading the English and Bahasa Indonesia textbook story and written test of the child’s writing the English and Bahasa Indonesia summary of textbook story. In both English and Bahasa Indonesia, the reading difficulties appear related to pronunciation, intonation, expression and word stress and the writing difficulties appear related to relevance, organization, vocabulary and grammar.

Development of an instrument for direct ozone production rate measurements: measurement reliability and current limitations

Science.gov (United States)

Sklaveniti, Sofia; Locoge, Nadine; Stevens, Philip S.; Wood, Ezra; Kundu, Shuvashish; Dusanter, Sébastien

2018-02-01

Ground-level ozone (O3) is an important pollutant that affects both global climate change and regional air quality, with the latter linked to detrimental effects on both human health and ecosystems. Ozone is not directly emitted in the atmosphere but is formed from chemical reactions involving volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) and sunlight. The photochemical nature of ozone makes the implementation of reduction strategies challenging and a good understanding of its formation chemistry is fundamental in order to develop efficient strategies of ozone reduction from mitigation measures of primary VOCs and NOx emissions. An instrument for direct measurements of ozone production rates (OPRs) was developed and deployed in the field as part of the IRRONIC (Indiana Radical, Reactivity and Ozone Production Intercomparison) field campaign. The OPR instrument is based on the principle of the previously published MOPS instrument (Measurement of Ozone Production Sensor) but using a different sampling design made of quartz flow tubes and a different Ox (O3 and NO2) conversion-detection scheme composed of an O3-to-NO2 conversion unit and a cavity attenuated phase shift spectroscopy (CAPS) NO2 monitor. Tests performed in the laboratory and in the field, together with model simulations of the radical chemistry occurring inside the flow tubes, were used to assess (i) the reliability of the measurement principle and (ii) potential biases associated with OPR measurements. This publication reports the first field measurements made using this instrument to illustrate its performance. The results showed that a photo-enhanced loss of ozone inside the sampling flow tubes disturbs the measurements. This issue needs to be solved to be able to perform accurate ambient measurements of ozone production rates with the instrument described in this study. However, an attempt was made to investigate the OPR sensitivity to NOx by adding NO inside the instrument

Design and construction of an instrument for measuring thermistor electrical characteristic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budiono; Yudi Herdiana

2007-01-01

In this work an instrument for measuring the electrical characteristic of thermistor has been designed and constructed. The instrument was constructed from main components i.e. a micro controller AT89C51, 3 ADC-0804, a LM35 temperature sensor and IC MAX 232. The IC MAX 232 component is used to connect the micro controller to the personal computer serially by using RS-232 standard. While ADC-0804 was used to convert the analog data (DC voltage) to the digital one so that the data was readable by the micro controller. Digital data from 3 ADC-0804 circuit which have been read by the micro controller was sent directly to the personal computer. The data from the measurement which have been stored in the personal computer was then processed to know the value of temperature and measured thermistor resistance. The processed data could be either stored in a data base or displayed in a monitor or printed in the form of table data and in the form a graph of thermistor resistance as the function of temperature. The result of measurement from measuring instrument of the characteristic of thermistor electric's had been made, being compared by measuring calibrated instrument, the deviation is about 0.33 %. (author)

Inexpensive microwave survey instruments: an evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herman, W.A.; Witters, D.M. Jr.

1979-11-01

Instruments were tested. Depending upon the oven modulation and leak location these tests show that the Micromate will yield a warning reading at levels from 0.6 to 1.9 mW/cm 2 , when the effects of modulation sensitivity and polarization ellipticity are considered. It is to be expected, then, that this instrument will yield warning readings even when the oven emission being measured lies well within applicable standards. Its apparent susceptibility to overload damage, however, could decrease its sensitivity with no clue to the user as to what had happened. Given the same considerations and parameters, the tests show that the Guard-Rod will yield a warning reading at levels from 3.7 to 47 mW/cm 2 , depending on which measurement surface is used. This instrument will sometimes yield warnings for oven emissions lying within applicable standards, and sometimes will fail to yield such warnings for emissions 10 times greater than allowable levels. The same considerations show that the Interceptor/Microscan units will light up at levels from as low as 0.7 to 0.8 mW/cm 2 or may require levels of 7 to 9 mW/cm 2 . At levels of 28 to 52 mW/cm 2 or higher, however, the warning LED does not light. If part of the field is cross-polarized, this threshold of extinction may be greater. In any case, there is no apparent way for the user to discern the presence of some potentially hazardous fields, and no way to distinguish such fields from a very low-level field. In summary, instruments of the Interceptor/Microscan design may light up at very low power densities, but fail to light at very high power densities. Clearly, this characteristic is extremely undesirable and potentially dangerous to a user relying on such a device.All of these values assume that the instruments are used in accordance with manufacturer's instructions. Otherwise, results may be worse. Moreover, the range of values given take little or no account of unit-to-unit variation, which may be considerable

Role of maintenance of analytical instruments in the proceedings of quality control laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haribabu, A.; Sailoo, C.C.; Balaji Rao, Y.; Subba Rao, Y.

2015-01-01

Control Laboratory being a centralized analytical facility of Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) is engaged in chemical qualification of all nuclear materials processed/produced at NFC. The primary responsibility of control laboratory is to provide timely analytical results of raw materials, intermediates and final products to all the production plants of NFC for downstream processing. Annual analytical load of nearly five lakhs of estimations are being carried out at laboratory. For this purpose a gamut of analytical facilities ranging from classical methods like gravimetry, volumetry etc. to fully automated state-of-art analytical instruments like ICP-AES, Gas Analysers, Flame and Graphite Furnace-AAS, Direct Reading Emission Spectrometer (DRES), RF GD-OES, TIMS, WD-XRFS, ED-XRFS, Laser based PSD Analyser, Laser Fluorimeter, UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, Gamma Ray Spectrometer, Ion-Chromatography, Gas Chromatography are used to acquire analytical data to see the suitability of products for their intended use. Depending on the applications, analysts validate their procedures, calibrate their instruments, and perform additional instrument checks, such as system suitability tests and analysis of in-process quality control check samples. With the increasing sophistication and automation of analytical instruments, an increasing demand has been placed on maintenance engineers to qualify these instruments for the purpose

How Reading Volume Affects both Reading Fluency and Reading Achievement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard L. ALLINGTON

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Long overlooked, reading volume is actually central to the development of reading proficiencies, especially in the development of fluent reading proficiency. Generally no one in schools monitors the actual volume of reading that children engage in. We know that the commonly used commercial core reading programs provide only material that requires about 15 minutes of reading activity daily. The remaining 75 minute of reading lessons is filled with many other activities such as completing workbook pages or responding to low-level literal questions about what has been read. Studies designed to enhance the volume of reading that children do during their reading lessons demonstrate one way to enhance reading development. Repeated readings have been widely used in fostering reading fluency but wide reading options seem to work faster and more broadly in developing reading proficiencies, including oral reading fluency.

Diary Insights of an EFL Reading Teacher

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lopera Medina Sergio

2013-10-01

Full Text Available It is often argued that classroom diaries are subjective. This article explores the diary insights of a foreign language reading teacher. The inquiry was based on the following research question: What do the diary insights really evidence about the teaching practices of a foreign language reading teacher? As a research method, a case study was implemented. Five instruments were used to collect data: diary of the teacher, observations, questionnaires, tests, and focus groups. Given that motivation, interaction, reading improvement, and the application of reading strategies were supported by the research instruments, it would seem that a diary can be objective.A menudo se argumenta que los diarios de clase son subjetivos. En este artículo se exploran las apreciaciones que un profesor de lectura en inglés como lengua extranjera registra en su diario. La indagación se basó en la siguiente pregunta de investigación: ¿Qué apoya realmente las anotaciones de diario acerca de las prácticas de enseñanza de un profesor de lectura en lengua extranjera? Como método de estudio se implementó el estudio de caso. Se utilizaron cinco instrumentos para recolectar la información: diario del profesor, observaciones de clase, cuestionarios, exámenes y grupos focales. Dado que estos instrumentos de investigación incidieron en la motivación, la interacción, la mejoría en lectura y en la aplicación de las estrategias de lecturas, se podría concluir que un diario puede ser objetivo.

The Effects of an Extensive Reading Program on Improving English as Foreign Language Proficiency in University Level Education

Science.gov (United States)

Alzu'bi, Mohammad Akram

2014-01-01

This study aimed at investigating the impact of extensive reading on improving reading proficiency. The study tried to find the effect of ER on EFL student's reading, vocabulary and grammar. The researcher designed two instruments; a program based on the extensive reading strategy and general test. Forty-one university students who study English…

The Matters in Teaching Reading Comprehension to EFL Students

OpenAIRE

Yuliana Natsir; Anisati Anisati

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to find out the efforts that were being made by certified English teachers in teaching reading since reading is considered as one of the determiners of academic success. Descriptive qualitative research was used in this study; the subjects were two English teachers in Banda Aceh and the instrument was an interview guide. The interview questions were adapted from Fletcher, et al. (2012) that focused on curriculum, teacher preparation, teaching methodology, teachin...

Effects of sequential and discrete rapid naming on reading in Japanese children with reading difficulty.

Science.gov (United States)

Wakamiya, Eiji; Okumura, Tomohito; Nakanishi, Makoto; Takeshita, Takashi; Mizuta, Mekumi; Kurimoto, Naoko; Tamai, Hiroshi

2011-06-01

To clarify whether rapid naming ability itself is a main underpinning factor of rapid automatized naming tests (RAN) and how deep an influence the discrete decoding process has on reading, we performed discrete naming tasks and discrete hiragana reading tasks as well as sequential naming tasks and sequential hiragana reading tasks with 38 Japanese schoolchildren with reading difficulty. There were high correlations between both discrete and sequential hiragana reading and sentence reading, suggesting that some mechanism which automatizes hiragana reading makes sentence reading fluent. In object and color tasks, there were moderate correlations between sentence reading and sequential naming, and between sequential naming and discrete naming. But no correlation was found between reading tasks and discrete naming tasks. The influence of rapid naming ability of objects and colors upon reading seemed relatively small, and multi-item processing may work in relation to these. In contrast, in the digit naming task there was moderate correlation between sentence reading and discrete naming, while no correlation was seen between sequential naming and discrete naming. There was moderate correlation between reading tasks and sequential digit naming tasks. Digit rapid naming ability has more direct effect on reading while its effect on RAN is relatively limited. The ratio of how rapid naming ability influences RAN and reading seems to vary according to kind of the stimuli used. An assumption about components in RAN which influence reading is discussed in the context of both sequential processing and discrete naming speed. Copyright © 2010 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A predictive study of reading comprehension in third-grade Spanish students.

Science.gov (United States)

López-Escribano, Carmen; Elosúa de Juan, María Rosa; Gómez-Veiga, Isabel; García-Madruga, Juan Antonio

2013-01-01

The study of the contribution of language and cognitive skills to reading comprehension is an important goal of current reading research. However, reading comprehension is not easily assessed by a single instrument, as different comprehension tests vary in the type of tasks used and in the cognitive demands required. This study examines the contribution of basic language and cognitive skills (decoding, word recognition, reading speed, verbal and nonverbal intelligence and working memory) to reading comprehension, assessed by two tests utilizing various tasks that require different skill sets in third-grade Spanish-speaking students. Linguistic and cognitive abilities predicted reading comprehension. A measure of reading speed (the reading time of pseudo-words) was the best predictor of reading comprehension when assessed by the PROLEC-R test. However, measures of word recognition (the orthographic choice task) and verbal working memory were the best predictors of reading comprehension when assessed by means of the DARC test. These results show, on the one hand, that reading speed and word recognition are better predictors of Spanish language comprehension than reading accuracy. On the other, the reading comprehension test applied here serves as a critical variable when analyzing and interpreting results regarding this topic.

Laws, directives and policy instruments important for the development of the waste management system; Lagar, direktiv och styrmedel viktiga foer avfallssystemets utveckling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Karolina; Sundberg, Johan

2010-01-15

This report gives a survey and a description of present and future policy instruments that have been or will become important for the development of the waste management system. Policy instruments here refers to laws, directives, taxes/fees, national/local goals and other regulating measures that the society introduce to steer the development of the waste management system. This work can thus be used as a dictionary or a guideline for these measures. The investigation has two goals: 1. To give representatives of the Swedish waste management system a summary of important policy instruments for the future development of the waste management system. 2. To give Waste Refinery a summary of these policy instruments that can be used for the discussions of how the research within the centre should develop during stage 2. A large number of policy instruments have been found during the study. These instruments have been, most likely will become, or may become important for the development of the waste management system. Most of them are described in this report. The selection made is presented in Table 1. Focus for the selection has been policy instruments that are important for the research activities within Waste Refinery, meaning policy instruments that direct or indirect can change the use of thermal and/or biological treatment as well as techniques and methods supporting these treatment methods. [Table 1. Policy instruments that are presented in the report

THE EFFECT OF A READING COMPREHENSION SOFTWARE PROGRAM ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David E. Proudfoot

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In an effort to increase student achievement, research was conducted to determine the degree in which a reading comprehension software program effected the reading and math abilities of fourth and fifth grade students. Cognitive and educational studies were examined to select a reading comprehension software program as an intervention that would produce positive results in reading comprehension and possibly transfer positive results to achievement in other academic areas, specifically in math. The effects of the intervention were measured by assigning subjects to an experimental group. The total sample consisted of 39 students who were deficient in reading comprehension, and also exposed a significant weakness with word problem items on mathematical assessments. Four instruments were used to collect data before and after the treatment to measure student achievement. To determine the degree to which the software program effected student achievement, data from the four instruments were analyzed using SPSS software. A paired-samples dependent t test and a Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was computed with ratio level data to test for a correlation between increased math scores and reading comprehension scores. Results yielded statistically significant and positive results in increasing reading comprehension skills that could possibly benefit students in reading and understanding mathematical problems. Results did not conclusively support that the increase of reading-comprehension skills had a collateral effect on students scoring higher with math word problems. The results are conducive to providing insight to educational leaders who plan to implement software as a means for increasing student achievement.

AFM-CMM integrated instrument user manual

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marinello, Francesco; Bariani, Paolo

This manual gives general important guidelines for a proper use of the integrated AFM-CMM instrument. More information can be collected reading: • N. Kofod Ph.D thesis [1]; • P. Bariani Ph.D thesis [2]; • Dualscope DME 95-200 operation manuals [3]; • SPIP help [4] • Stitching software user manual...

The sensitivity to humidity of radon monitoring instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmied, H.

1984-01-01

In a project funded by the Swedish Building Research Council (BFR) a continuous radon monitoring instrument (RGA-400 EDA Instr. Inc.) with electrostatic field collection has been calibrated. The original calibration factor gave no reliable radon readings and was therefore corrected for relative humidity by EDA. From four calibrations in the radon chamber at the Swedish Radiation Protection Board (SSI) it was clear that the instrument was sensitive to absolute humidity, which gave better agreement than relative humidity or temperature. Sensitivity to humidity for this principle of measure ment has been presented in various papers without presenting any combined influence with temperature, which can lead to the wrong conclusions, especially when the temperature levels differ. Some laboratories use humidity absorbants to overcome this humidity dependence. In this paper the calibration results for the FGA-400 radon readings only, are presented. (Author)

Comparison of piezosurgery and conventional rotative instruments in direct sinus lifting.

Science.gov (United States)

Delilbasi, Cagri; Gurler, Gokhan

2013-12-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the intraoperative and postoperative effects of Piezosurgery and conventional rotative instruments in direct sinus lifting procedure. Twenty-three patients requiring direct sinus lifting were enrolled. The osteotomy and sinus membrane elevation were performed either with Piezosurgery tips or rotative diamond burs and manual membrane elevators. Time elapsed between bony window opening and completion of membrane elevation (duration), incidence of membrane perforation, visibility of the operation site, postoperative pain, swelling, sleeping, eating, phonetics, daily routine, and missed work as well as patient's expectation before and experience after the operation were evaluated. There was no significant difference between Piezosurgery and conventional groups regarding incidence of membrane perforation, duration, and operation site visibility as well as patient's expectation before and experience after the operation (P > 0.05). However, there were significantly more pain and swelling in the conventional group compared with the Piezosurgery group (P ≤ 0.05). Sinus lifting procedure performed with Piezosurgery causes less pain and swelling postoperatively compared with conventional technique. Patients' daily life activities and experience about the operation are not affected from the surgical technique.

Can verbal working memory training improve reading?

Science.gov (United States)

Banales, Erin; Kohnen, Saskia; McArthur, Genevieve

2015-01-01

The aim of the current study was to determine whether poor verbal working memory is associated with poor word reading accuracy because the former causes the latter, or the latter causes the former. To this end, we tested whether (a) verbal working memory training improves poor verbal working memory or poor word reading accuracy, and whether (b) reading training improves poor reading accuracy or verbal working memory in a case series of four children with poor word reading accuracy and verbal working memory. Each child completed 8 weeks of verbal working memory training and 8 weeks of reading training. Verbal working memory training improved verbal working memory in two of the four children, but did not improve their reading accuracy. Similarly, reading training improved word reading accuracy in all children, but did not improve their verbal working memory. These results suggest that the causal links between verbal working memory and reading accuracy may not be as direct as has been assumed.

Is Reading Instruction Evidence-Based? Analyzing Teaching Practices Using T-Patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Suárez, Natalia; Sánchez, Carmen R; Jiménez, Juan E; Anguera, M Teresa

2018-01-01

The main goal of this study was to analyze whether primary teachers use evidence-based reading instruction for primary-grade readers. The study sample consisted of six teachers whose teaching was recorded. The observation instrument used was developed ad hoc for this study. The recording instrument used was Match Vision Studio. The data analysis was performed using SAS, GT version 2.0 E, and THEME. The results indicated that the teaching practices used most frequently and for the longest duration were: feedback (i.e., correcting the student when reading); fluency (i.e., individual and group reading, both out loud and silently, with and without intonation); literal or inference comprehension exercises (i.e., summarizing, asking questions); and use of educational resources (i.e., stories, songs, poems). Later, we conducted analyses of T-Patterns that showed the sequence of instruction in detail. We can conclude that practices used by the majority of teachers were based on the recommendations of the National Reading Panel (NRP). Only one teacher followed best practices. The same was the case for instructional time spent on the five essential components of reading, with the exception of teacher E., who dedicated 70.31% of class time implementing best practices. Teaching practices (i.e., learners' activities) designed and implemented to exercise and master alphabetic knowledge and phonological awareness skills were used less frequently in the classroom.

Explicit Instruction Elements in Core Reading Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Child, Angela R.

2012-01-01

Classroom teachers are provided instructional recommendations for teaching reading from their adopted core reading programs (CRPs). Explicit instruction elements or what is also called instructional moves, including direct explanation, modeling, guided practice, independent practice, discussion, feedback, and monitoring, were examined within CRP…

Some implications of an experimental reading comprehension task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lalović Dejan

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Standardized reading comprehension tests (RCTs are indispensable instruments in language abilities assessment. Nevertheless, we do not have such an instrument in Serbian. In the present paper, we attempted to verify the basic assumptions of the RCT conception we proposed: the reading material consisting of a relatively large selection of short newspaper articles followed by a single multiplechoice question each, displayed in temporal succession, not simultaneously. We argued that RCT consisting of such item form and content, as well as the administration procedure, should be of equal or even better construct validity than well-known RTCs in foreign languages, also possessing some other practical advantages. These assumptions were implemented in a computer-ran experimental reading comprehension task (ERCT, in a student sample. ERCT psychometric properties analyses showed good discriminability and somewhat less than preferable reliability. The structure and strength of ERCT x other intelligence tests correlations suggest ERCT belonging to the core of verbal abilities tests. Different strategies subjects employed showed no impact on major performance measure  number correct answers. Our findings obtained by ERCT implementation support the RCT conception we propose. We therefore suggest possible further research towards the construction of standardized RCT in Serbian.

Psycholinguistic determinants of reading comprehension in english as a foreign language

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Vivaldo-Lima

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to analyze the contribution of linguistic and psychological variables in the explanation of the variance associated with reading comprehension in English (L2. Two hundred and eighty Mexican university students participated in the study. The variables analyzed within the linguistic dimension were: reading strategies in Spanish, linguistic competence in English, and ability to perceive lexical transparency between L1 and L2. The psychological dimension evaluated the influence of the reader’s cognitive style, locus of control, and action control orientation on reading comprehension in L2. Subjects were administered a battery of seven evaluation instruments. Multiple regression analyses suggested a two-stage explanatory model of reading in L2. Firstly, psychological variables accounted for 10.0% of the variance in reading comprehension in the first language. Secondly, reading comprehension in Spanish, linguistic competence in L2, and perception of lexical transparency, accounted for 35.5% of the variance in reading comprehension in English.

Influence of newspapers in the development of student's reading ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Influence of newspapers in the development of student's reading culture in two Nigerian University Libraries. ... PROMOTING ACCESS TO AFRICAN RESEARCH ... Information Impact: Journal of Information and Knowledge Management ... size of 200 and questionnaire was the major instrument used for data collection.

About the school readings and the new educational demands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aitana Martos García

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This article reviews from a critical point of view the State of the art on the school readings, from their theoretical assumptions to their didactic instrumentation and the views of teachers... In this regard, are reviewed the approaches of different paradigms and authors, whose references and contributions are contrasted with the current cultural crossroads and the perceptions of students and teachers. Classical reading and writing are overwhelmed by concepts such as multialfabetizacion, transmedia, fan fiction, etc, and the school is which should facilitate models integrators and eclectic readings. Also make converge the media and encourage the participation (Jenkins, and all of this without losing the critical literacy as a backdrop.

Brookhaven National Laboratory meteorological services instrument calibration plan and procedures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heiser, John [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

2013-02-16

This document describes the Meteorological Services (Met Services) Calibration and Maintenance Schedule and Procedures, The purpose is to establish the frequency and mechanism for the calibration and maintenance of the network of meteorological instrumentation operated by Met Services. The goal is to maintain the network in a manner that will result in accurate, precise and reliable readings from the instrumentation.

How to teach children reading and spelling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosman, A.M.T.; Schraven, J.L.M.; Segers, E.; Broek, P. van den

2017-01-01

The effectiveness of the Dutch reading and spelling didactic 'How to teach children reading and spelling' (HTCRS), developed by Schraven (1994/2013) was empirically tested in children attending special education. HTCRS is based on the principles of direct and classroom instruction, and the task

Direct lexical control of eye movements in reading: Evidence from a survival analysis of fixation durations

Science.gov (United States)

Reingold, Eyal M.; Reichle, Erik D.; Glaholt, Mackenzie G.; Sheridan, Heather

2013-01-01

Participants’ eye movements were monitored in an experiment that manipulated the frequency of target words (high vs. low) as well as their availability for parafoveal processing during fixations on the pre-target word (valid vs. invalid preview). The influence of the word-frequency by preview validity manipulation on the distributions of first fixation duration was examined by using ex-Gaussian fitting as well as a novel survival analysis technique which provided precise estimates of the timing of the first discernible influence of word frequency on first fixation duration. Using this technique, we found a significant influence of word frequency on fixation duration in normal reading (valid preview) as early as 145 ms from the start of fixation. We also demonstrated an equally rapid non-lexical influence on first fixation duration as a function of initial landing position (location) on target words. The time-course of frequency effects, but not location effects was strongly influenced by preview validity, demonstrating the crucial role of parafoveal processing in enabling direct lexical control of reading fixation times. Implications for models of eye-movement control are discussed. PMID:22542804

Invited Article: Deep Impact instrument calibration.

Science.gov (United States)

Klaasen, Kenneth P; A'Hearn, Michael F; Baca, Michael; Delamere, Alan; Desnoyer, Mark; Farnham, Tony; Groussin, Olivier; Hampton, Donald; Ipatov, Sergei; Li, Jianyang; Lisse, Carey; Mastrodemos, Nickolaos; McLaughlin, Stephanie; Sunshine, Jessica; Thomas, Peter; Wellnitz, Dennis

2008-09-01

Calibration of NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft instruments allows reliable scientific interpretation of the images and spectra returned from comet Tempel 1. Calibrations of the four onboard remote sensing imaging instruments have been performed in the areas of geometric calibration, spatial resolution, spectral resolution, and radiometric response. Error sources such as noise (random, coherent, encoding, data compression), detector readout artifacts, scattered light, and radiation interactions have been quantified. The point spread functions (PSFs) of the medium resolution instrument and its twin impactor targeting sensor are near the theoretical minimum [ approximately 1.7 pixels full width at half maximum (FWHM)]. However, the high resolution instrument camera was found to be out of focus with a PSF FWHM of approximately 9 pixels. The charge coupled device (CCD) read noise is approximately 1 DN. Electrical cross-talk between the CCD detector quadrants is correctable to <2 DN. The IR spectrometer response nonlinearity is correctable to approximately 1%. Spectrometer read noise is approximately 2 DN. The variation in zero-exposure signal level with time and spectrometer temperature is not fully characterized; currently corrections are good to approximately 10 DN at best. Wavelength mapping onto the detector is known within 1 pixel; spectral lines have a FWHM of approximately 2 pixels. About 1% of the IR detector pixels behave badly and remain uncalibrated. The spectrometer exhibits a faint ghost image from reflection off a beamsplitter. Instrument absolute radiometric calibration accuracies were determined generally to <10% using star imaging. Flat-field calibration reduces pixel-to-pixel response differences to approximately 0.5% for the cameras and <2% for the spectrometer. A standard calibration image processing pipeline is used to produce archival image files for analysis by researchers.

Invited Article: Deep Impact instrument calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klaasen, Kenneth P.; Mastrodemos, Nickolaos; A'Hearn, Michael F.; Farnham, Tony; Groussin, Olivier; Ipatov, Sergei; Li Jianyang; McLaughlin, Stephanie; Sunshine, Jessica; Wellnitz, Dennis; Baca, Michael; Delamere, Alan; Desnoyer, Mark; Thomas, Peter; Hampton, Donald; Lisse, Carey

2008-01-01

Calibration of NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft instruments allows reliable scientific interpretation of the images and spectra returned from comet Tempel 1. Calibrations of the four onboard remote sensing imaging instruments have been performed in the areas of geometric calibration, spatial resolution, spectral resolution, and radiometric response. Error sources such as noise (random, coherent, encoding, data compression), detector readout artifacts, scattered light, and radiation interactions have been quantified. The point spread functions (PSFs) of the medium resolution instrument and its twin impactor targeting sensor are near the theoretical minimum [∼1.7 pixels full width at half maximum (FWHM)]. However, the high resolution instrument camera was found to be out of focus with a PSF FWHM of ∼9 pixels. The charge coupled device (CCD) read noise is ∼1 DN. Electrical cross-talk between the CCD detector quadrants is correctable to <2 DN. The IR spectrometer response nonlinearity is correctable to ∼1%. Spectrometer read noise is ∼2 DN. The variation in zero-exposure signal level with time and spectrometer temperature is not fully characterized; currently corrections are good to ∼10 DN at best. Wavelength mapping onto the detector is known within 1 pixel; spectral lines have a FWHM of ∼2 pixels. About 1% of the IR detector pixels behave badly and remain uncalibrated. The spectrometer exhibits a faint ghost image from reflection off a beamsplitter. Instrument absolute radiometric calibration accuracies were determined generally to <10% using star imaging. Flat-field calibration reduces pixel-to-pixel response differences to ∼0.5% for the cameras and <2% for the spectrometer. A standard calibration image processing pipeline is used to produce archival image files for analysis by researchers.

Effects of Strategy Instruction in an EFL Reading Comprehension Course: A Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergio Lopera Medina

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Strategy instruction is useful in teaching contexts. This paper examines the effects of strategy instruction in an EFL reading comprehension course carried out with 26 undergraduate students at a Colombian university. As a research method, a case study was implemented. There were three instruments with which to collect data: reading comprehension tests, teacher's field notes and self-reflection in class at the strategy instruction phase, and a learning perception questionnaire. Given that students improved in reading comprehension, it would seem that reading strategy instruction is indeed very useful. Also, it was noted that when students applied reading strategies, they became more self-confident and this in turn enhanced their motivation. Finally, when students applied the reading strategy approach, the use of dictionaries decreased considerably.

Digibaro pressure instrument onboard the Phoenix Lander

Science.gov (United States)

Harri, A.-M.; Polkko, J.; Kahanpää, H. H.; Schmidt, W.; Genzer, M. M.; Haukka, H.; Savijarv1, H.; Kauhanen, J.

2009-04-01

The Phoenix Lander landed successfully on the Martian northern polar region. The mission is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Scout program. Pressure observations onboard the Phoenix lander were performed by an FMI (Finnish Meteorological Institute) instrument, based on a silicon diaphragm sensor head manufactured by Vaisala Inc., combined with MDA data processing electronics. The pressure instrument performed successfully throughout the Phoenix mission. The pressure instrument had 3 pressure sensor heads. One of these was the primary sensor head and the other two were used for monitoring the condition of the primary sensor head during the mission. During the mission the primary sensor was read with a sampling interval of 2 s and the other two were read less frequently as a check of instrument health. The pressure sensor system had a real-time data-processing and calibration algorithm that allowed the removal of temperature dependent calibration effects. In the same manner as the temperature sensor, a total of 256 data records (8.53 min) were buffered and they could either be stored at full resolution, or processed to provide mean, standard deviation, maximum and minimum values for storage on the Phoenix Lander's Meteorological (MET) unit.The time constant was approximately 3s due to locational constraints and dust filtering requirements. Using algorithms compensating for the time constant effect the temporal resolution was good enough to detect pressure drops associated with the passage of nearby dust devils.

University Students' Reading of Their First-Year Mathematics Textbooks

Science.gov (United States)

Shepherd, Mary D.; Selden, Annie; Selden, John

2012-01-01

This article reports the observed behaviors and difficulties that 11 precalculus and calculus students exhibited in reading new passages from their mathematics textbooks. To gauge the "effectiveness" of these students' reading, we asked them to attempt straightforward mathematical tasks, based directly on what they had just read. The…

Programming for a nuclear reactor instrument simulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohn, C.E.

1989-01-01

A new computerized control system for a transient test reactor incorporates a simulator for pre-operational testing of control programs. The part of the simulator pertinent to the discussion here consists of two microprocessors. An 8086/8087 reactor simulator calculates simulated reactor power by solving the reactor kinetics equations. An 8086 instrument simulator takes the most recent power value developed by the reactor simulator and simulates the appropriate reading on each of the eleven reactor instruments. Since the system is required to run on a one millisecond cycle, careful programming was required to take care of all eleven instruments in that short time. This note describes the special programming techniques used to attain the needed performance

Reciprocal Relations between Intrinsic Reading Motivation and Reading Competence: A Comparison between Native and Immigrant Students in Germany

Science.gov (United States)

Miyamoto, Ai; Pfost, Maximilian; Artelt, Cordula

2018-01-01

The present study compares native and immigrant students regarding the direction and the strength of the relation between intrinsic reading motivation and reading competence. Within the framework of the German National Educational Panel Study, 4,619 secondary school students were included in the analyses. The present study confirmed the reciprocal…

The Impact of Vocabulary Knowledge Level on EFL Reading Comprehension

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Shima Kameli

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The present study examined the impact of vocabulary knowledge level on reading comprehension performance among EFL language learners. The ultimate intention was to determine the association between levels of vocabulary knowledge and to clarify the relationship among vocabulary knowledge on reading comprehension performance of EFL Iranian students on subtest of VLT and IELTS. Quantitative data were collected from 220 EFL Iranian adult students at the beginning of second semester of 2011 in private English language institute (BAHAR, Shiraz, Iran. The Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT and Reading Comprehension Test (IELTS were performed in one session as research instruments. The findings indicated that there were positive relationships among different levels of vocabulary test and also test scores on vocabulary size/breadth of vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension.

The Matters in Teaching Reading Comprehension to EFL Students

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Yuliana Natsir

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to find out the efforts that were being made by certified English teachers in teaching reading since reading is considered as one of the determiners of academic success. Descriptive qualitative research was used in this study; the subjects were two English teachers in Banda Aceh and the instrument was an interview guide. The interview questions were adapted from Fletcher, et al. (2012 that focused on curriculum, teacher preparation, teaching methodology, teaching instructions, authentic teaching materials, teachers’ perceptions toward reading attitudes of learners, barriers in teaching reading, and teaching strategies for helping ineffective readers. The interviews revealed that the efforts made by the teachers played a pivotal role at assisting students to achieve reading competency. The attitude of students toward reading was also important in the teaching-learning process. The strategies of the teachers towards the students who were not reading effectively were not in line with the strategies as suggested by some experts:  that the teacher should teach the students the strategies of how to read with interest, how to predict meanings, how to develop knowledge about the topic and so forth .These strategies were not implemented due to the situation and condition of the teaching environment. In brief, proper efforts by teachers to improve the learning environment could assist students to achieve better reading competency.

Action video games make dyslexic children read better.

Science.gov (United States)

Franceschini, Sandro; Gori, Simone; Ruffino, Milena; Viola, Simona; Molteni, Massimo; Facoetti, Andrea

2013-03-18

Learning to read is extremely difficult for about 10% of children; they are affected by a neurodevelopmental disorder called dyslexia [1, 2]. The neurocognitive causes of dyslexia are still hotly debated [3-12]. Dyslexia remediation is far from being fully achieved [13], and the current treatments demand high levels of resources [1]. Here, we demonstrate that only 12 hr of playing action video games-not involving any direct phonological or orthographic training-drastically improve the reading abilities of children with dyslexia. We tested reading, phonological, and attentional skills in two matched groups of children with dyslexia before and after they played action or nonaction video games for nine sessions of 80 min per day. We found that only playing action video games improved children's reading speed, without any cost in accuracy, more so than 1 year of spontaneous reading development and more than or equal to highly demanding traditional reading treatments. Attentional skills also improved during action video game training. It has been demonstrated that action video games efficiently improve attention abilities [14, 15]; our results showed that this attention improvement can directly translate into better reading abilities, providing a new, fast, fun remediation of dyslexia that has theoretical relevance in unveiling the causal role of attention in reading acquisition. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Students’ Perception on Pre-reading Activities in Basic Reading II Class of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vindy Cahya Ekaningrum

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The students’ perception on the teacher instruction shows whether the teaching techniques meet the students’ need or not. Because of this reason, the researcher wants to find out the varieties of pre-reading activities used by the teacher and the students’ perception on the implementation of the pre-reading activities. There were two problem formulations in this study: 1 What kinds of pre-reading activities that are used by Basic Reading II teacher in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University? 2 How is the students’ perception on pre-reading activities used by the teacher? This research was a survey research. In gathering the data, there were two instruments used in this research. They were interview and questionnaire. The interview was done by interviewing the teacher of Basic Reading II Class. The interview was used to answer the first research question about the varieties of pre-reading activities in Basic Reading II class. Then, the researcher distributed the questionnaire to 56 students of Basic Reading II class. The questionnaire was used to answer the second research question about the students’ perception on pre-reading activities used by the teacher. The result of this research showed that brainstorming, pre-teaching vocabulary, pre-questioning, visual aids, and KWL strategy were the varieties of pre-reading activities used by the teacher. There were two different implementation of pre-teaching vocabulary. There were also two activities combined together, they were the use of visual aids and KWL strategy. The students had positive perception on the implementation of pre-reading activities in Basic Reading II Class.   DOI: https://doi.org/10.24071/llt.2015.180206

Goal-directed behaviour and instrumental devaluation: a neural system-level computational model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco Mannella

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Devaluation is the key experimental paradigm used to demonstrate the presence of instrumental behaviours guided by goals in mammals. We propose a neural system-level computational model to address the question of which brain mechanisms allow the current value of rewards to control instrumental actions. The model pivots on and shows the computational soundness of the hypothesis for which the internal representation of instrumental manipulanda (e.g., levers activate the representation of rewards (or `action-outcomes', e.g. foods while attributing to them a value which depends on the current internal state of the animal (e.g., satiation for some but not all foods. The model also proposes an initial hypothesis of the integrated system of key brain components supporting this process and allowing the recalled outcomes to bias action selection: (a the sub-system formed by the basolateral amygdala and insular cortex acquiring the manipulanda-outcomes associations and attributing the current value to the outcomes; (b the three basal ganglia-cortical loops selecting respectively goals, associative sensory representations, and actions; (c the cortico-cortical and striato-nigro-striatal neural pathways supporting the selection, and selection learning, of actions based on habits and goals. The model reproduces and integrates the results of different devaluation experiments carried out with control rats and rats with pre- and post-training lesions of the basolateral amygdala, the nucleus accumbens core, the prelimbic cortex, and the dorso-medial striatum. The results support the soundness of the hypotheses of the model and show its capacity to integrate, at the system-level, the operations of the key brain structures underlying devaluation. Based on its hypotheses and predictions, the model also represents an operational framework to support the design and analysis of new experiments on the motivational aspects of goal-directed behaviour.

Is Reading Instruction Evidence-Based? Analyzing Teaching Practices Using T-Patterns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Suárez

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this study was to analyze whether primary teachers use evidence-based reading instruction for primary-grade readers. The study sample consisted of six teachers whose teaching was recorded. The observation instrument used was developed ad hoc for this study. The recording instrument used was Match Vision Studio. The data analysis was performed using SAS, GT version 2.0 E, and THEME. The results indicated that the teaching practices used most frequently and for the longest duration were: feedback (i.e., correcting the student when reading; fluency (i.e., individual and group reading, both out loud and silently, with and without intonation; literal or inference comprehension exercises (i.e., summarizing, asking questions; and use of educational resources (i.e., stories, songs, poems. Later, we conducted analyses of T-Patterns that showed the sequence of instruction in detail. We can conclude that <50% of the teaching practices used by the majority of teachers were based on the recommendations of the National Reading Panel (NRP. Only one teacher followed best practices. The same was the case for instructional time spent on the five essential components of reading, with the exception of teacher E., who dedicated 70.31% of class time implementing best practices. Teaching practices (i.e., learners' activities designed and implemented to exercise and master alphabetic knowledge and phonological awareness skills were used less frequently in the classroom.

Health physics instrument manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupton, E.D.

1978-08-01

The purpose of this manual is to provide apprentice health physics surveyors and other operating groups not directly concerned with radiation detection instruments a working knowledge of the radiation detection and measuring instruments in use at the Laboratory. The characteristics and applications of the instruments are given. Portable instruments, stationary instruments, personnel monitoring instruments, sample counters, and miscellaneous instruments are described. Also, information sheets on calibration sources, procedures, and devices are included. Gamma sources, beta sources, alpha sources, neutron sources, special sources, a gamma calibration device for badge dosimeters, and a calibration device for ionization chambers are described

Measurement properties of continuous text reading performance tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Brussee, Tamara; van Nispen, Ruth M A; van Rens, Ger H M B

2014-11-01

Measurement properties of tests to assess reading acuity or reading performance have not been extensively evaluated. This study aims to provide an overview of the literature on available continuous text reading tests and their measurement properties. A literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase and PsycInfo. Subsequently, information on design and content of reading tests, study design and measurement properties were extracted using consensus-based standards for selection of health measurement instruments. Quality of studies, reading tests and measurement properties were systematically assessed using pre-specified criteria. From 2334 identified articles, 20 relevant articles were found on measurement properties of three reading tests in various languages: IReST, MNread Reading Test and Radner Reading Charts. All three reading tests scored high on content validity. Reproducibility studies (repeated measurements between different testing sessions) of the IReST and MNread of commercially available reading tests in different languages were missing. The IReST scored best on inter-language comparison, the MNread scored well in repeatability studies (repeated measurements under the same conditions) and the Radner showed good reproducibility in studies. Although in daily practice there are other continuous text reading tests available meeting the criteria of this review, measurement properties were described in scientific studies for only three of them. Of the few available studies, the quality and content of study design and methodology used varied. For testing existing reading tests and the development of new ones, for example in other languages, we make several recommendations, including careful description of patient characteristics, use of objective and subjective lighting levels, good control of working distance, documentation of the number of raters and their training, careful documentation of scoring rules and the use of Bland-Altman analyses or similar for

Intact goal-directed control in treatment-seeking drug users indexed by outcome-devaluation and Pavlovian to instrumental transfer: Critique of habit theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Hogarth, Lee; Lam-Cassettari, Christa; Pacitti, Helena; Currah, Tara; Mahlberg, Justin; Hartley, Lucie; Moustafa, Ahmed

2018-05-22

Animal studies have demonstrated that chronic exposure to drugs of abuse impairs goal-directed control over action selection indexed by the outcome-devaluation and specific Pavlovian to instrumental transfer procedures, suggesting this impairment might underpin addiction. However, there is currently only weak evidence for impaired goal-directed control in human drug users. Two experiments were undertaken in which treatment-seeking drug users and non-matched normative reference samples (controls) completed outcome-devaluation and specific Pavlovian to instrumental transfer procedures notionally translatable to animal procedures (Experiment 2 used a more challenging biconditional schedule). The two experiments found significant outcome-devaluation and specific Pavlovian to instrumental transfer effects overall and there was no significant difference between groups in the magnitude of these effects. Moreover, Bayes factor supported the null hypothesis for these group comparisons. Although limited by non-matched group comparisons and small sample sizes, the two studies suggest that treatment-seeking drug users have intact goal-directed control over action selection, adding uncertainty to already mixed evidence concerning the role of habit learning in human drug dependence. Neuro-interventions might seek to tackle goal-directed drug-seeking rather than habit formation in drug users. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

[Study on the method for the determination of trace boron, molybdenum, silver, tin and lead in geochemical samples by direct current arc full spectrum direct reading atomic emission spectroscopy (DC-Arc-AES)].

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Zhi-hong; Yao, Jian-zhen; Tang, Rui-ling; Zhang, Xue-mei; Li, Wen-ge; Zhang, Qin

2015-02-01

The method for the determmation of trace boron, molybdenum, silver, tin and lead in geochemical samples by direct current are full spectrum direct reading atomic emission spectroscopy (DC-Arc-AES) was established. Direct current are full spectrum direct reading atomic emission spectrometer with a large area of solid-state detectors has functions of full spectrum direct reading and real-time background correction. The new electrodes and new buffer recipe were proposed in this paper, and have applied for national patent. Suitable analytical line pairs, back ground correcting points of elements and the internal standard method were selected, and Ge was used as internal standard. Multistage currents were selected in the research on current program, and each current set different holding time to ensure that each element has a good signal to noise ratio. Continuous rising current mode selected can effectively eliminate the splash of the sample. Argon as shielding gas can eliminate CN band generating and reduce spectral background, also plays a role in stabilizing the are, and argon flow 3.5 L x min(-1) was selected. Evaporation curve of each element was made, and it was concluded that the evaporation behavior of each element is consistent, and combined with the effects of different spectrographic times on the intensity and background, the spectrographic time of 35s was selected. In this paper, national standards substances were selected as a standard series, and the standard series includes different nature and different content of standard substances which meet the determination of trace boron, molybdenum, silver, tin and lead in geochemical samples. In the optimum experimental conditions, the detection limits for B, Mo, Ag, Sn and Pb are 1.1, 0.09, 0.01, 0.41, and 0.56 microg x g(-1) respectively, and the precisions (RSD, n=12) for B, Mo, Ag, Sn and Pb are 4.57%-7.63%, 5.14%-7.75%, 5.48%-12.30%, 3.97%-10.46%, and 4.26%-9.21% respectively. The analytical accuracy was

Investigating the Effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Instruction on Students with Different Prior Knowledge and Reading Abilities

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jing-Ru; Wang, Yuh-Chao; Tai, Hsin-Jung; Chen, Wen-Ju

2010-01-01

This study examined the differential impacts of an inquiry-based instruction on conceptual changes across levels of prior knowledge and reading ability. The instrument emphasized four simultaneously important components: conceptual knowledge, reading ability, attitude toward science, and learning environment. Although the learning patterns and…

Factoring AAVE into Reading Assessment and Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Wheeler, Rebecca; Cartwright, Kelly B.; Swords, Rachel

2012-01-01

In our increasingly diverse schools, students bring diverse ways of speaking to the classroom. In turn, as features from students' home language varieties transfer into their readings of texts, teachers' assessment and intervention plans may be directly affected. If teachers conflate dialect influence with reading error in Standard English, they…

A multi-functional testing instrument for heat assisted magnetic recording media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, H. Z.; Chen, Y. J.; Leong, S. H.; An, C. W.; Ye, K. D.; Hu, J. F.; Yin, M. J.

2014-01-01

With recent developments in heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), characterization of HAMR media is becoming very important. We present a multi-functional instrument for testing HAMR media, which integrates HAMR writing, reading, and a micro-magneto-optic Kerr effect (μ-MOKE) testing function. A potential application of the present instrument is to make temperature dependent magnetic property measurement using a pump-probe configuration. In the measurement, the media is heated up by a heating (intense) beam while a testing (weak) beam is overlapped with the heating beam for MOKE measurement. By heating the media with different heating beam power, magnetic measurements by MOKE at different temperatures can be performed. Compared to traditional existing tools such as the vibrating sample magnetometer, the present instrument provides localized and efficient heating at the measurement spot. The integration of HAMR writing and μ-MOKE system can also facilitate a localized full investigation of the magnetic media by potential correlation of HAMR head independent write/read performance to localized magnetic properties

Promoting Tenth Graders’ Reading Comprehension of Academic Texts in the English Class

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Quiroga Carrillo

2010-10-01

Full Text Available This article reports on an action research project conducted in a public school in Bogotá, Colombia, with tenth grade students. We decided to develop it because of the students' needs as well as the emphasis of the PEI (Proyecto Educativo Institucional = School Institutional Project, which is based on the requisite of improving reading comprehension. The project focused on the implementation of four lesson plans in which five reading strategies were applied. They were reading speed, non-text information, word attack skills, text attack and discursive strategies. Data collection was conducted by using observation, journals, interviews and questionnaires. These instruments provided information about the level of improvement in reading comprehension and evidenced advances in the students' performance when they read an academic text in English.

Reading Strategies among ESL Malaysian Secondary School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Semtin, Semry Anak; Maniam, Mahendran

2015-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the types of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies employed by secondary school students in Malaysia to improve their comprehension. The study employed a mixed-method approach which involves the instruments of a questionnaire and an interview. This study was conducted at SMK Kapit, involving ninety Form 4…

Development and application of network virtual instrument for emission spectrum of pulsed high-voltage direct current discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, X.; Wu, Q.

2017-12-01

Network virtual instrument (VI) is a new development direction in current automated test. Based on LabVIEW, the software and hardware system of VI used for emission spectrum of pulsed high-voltage direct current (DC) discharge is developed and applied to investigate pulsed high-voltage DC discharge of nitrogen. By doing so, various functions are realized including real time collection of emission spectrum of nitrogen, monitoring operation state of instruments and real time analysis and processing of data. By using shared variables and DataSocket technology in LabVIEW, the network VI system based on field VI is established. The system can acquire the emission spectrum of nitrogen in the test site, monitor operation states of field instruments, realize real time face-to-face interchange of two sites, and analyze data in the far-end from the network terminal. By employing the network VI system, the staff in the two sites acquired the same emission spectrum of nitrogen and conducted the real time communication. By comparing with the previous results, it can be seen that the experimental data obtained by using the system are highly precise. This implies that the system shows reliable network stability and safety and satisfies the requirements for studying the emission spectrum of pulsed high-voltage discharge in high-precision fields or network terminals. The proposed architecture system is described and the target group gets the useful enlightenment in many fields including engineering remote users, specifically in control- and automation-related tasks.

Library resource factors as predictors of reading habit among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study investigated the extent to which library resource factors such as availability, adequacy and utilisation of information resources predicted reading habits of senior secondary school students in Ogun State, Nigeria. The survey research design was adopted while questionnaire was used as major instruments of data ...

CAMAC-controlled calibration system for nuclear reactor instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDowell, W.P.; Cornella, R.J.

1977-01-01

The hardware and the software which have been developed to implement a nuclear instrument calibration system for the Argonne National Laboratory ZPR-VI and ZPR-IX reactor complex are described. The system is implemented using an SEL-840 computer with its associated CAMAC crates and a hardware interface to generate input parameters and measure the required outputs on the instrument under test. Both linear and logarithmic instruments can be calibrated by the system and output parameters can be measured at various automatically selected values of ac line voltage. A complete report on each instrument is printed as a result of the calibration and out-of-tolerance readings are flagged. Operator interface is provided by a CAMAC-controlled Hazeltine terminal. The terminal display leads the operator through the complete calibration procedure. This computer-controlled system is a significant improvement over previously used methods of calibrating nuclear instruments since it reduces reactor downtime and allows rapid detection of long-term changes in instrument calibration

Development of the Alberta Diagnostic Reading Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Horvath, Frank G.; Machura, Shirley

The development of the Alberta Diagnostic Reading Program (ADRP) was based on a current psycholinguistic theory that describes reading as a process in which the reader uses background information to communicate with the author. To ensure its usefulness and effectiveness, the developers of the ADRP sought the advice and direct involvement of many…

Using the TOEFL to measure the reading proficiency levels of deaf college applicants.

Science.gov (United States)

LoMaglio, L J

1991-07-01

The TOEFL is widely used by colleges and universities in the United States and Canada to measure the English language proficiency levels of hearing international applicants. At the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a faculty committee recommended that this popular test instrument be used to measure the English reading skills of deaf international applicants to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. This study examined the merits of using the TOEFL to measure the English reading ability of hearing post-secondary international students seeking admission to English-based colleges and universities. Forty-one hearing foreign students were tested in the fall of 1989 at the English Language Institute at SUNY Buffalo. The instruments chosen were both the TOEFL and the California Achievement Test of reading ability. The majority of the research subjects who scored between 400 and 500 on the TOEFL achieved a grade level of less than 8.0 on the California Achievement Test.

Field measurements and interpretation of TMI-2 instrumentation: IC-10-dPT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, J.E.; Smith, J.T.; Mathis, M.V.

1982-01-01

This report describes the measurements and results of the Control Rod Drive Bypass Flow IC-10-dPT. This instrument consists of a Bailey Type BY Process Computer Transmitter connected to a readout module by approximately 500 feet of cable through a penetration junction and an instrument mounting junction. The status of this instrument is uncertain, but it was producing a reasonable output reading of zero flow which could indicate it had not failed. As a result, measurements on this instrument were designed to determine if it were properly functioning

System for managing operation of instrument in atomic power plant facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shinzawa, Katsuo.

1982-01-01

Purpose: To facilitate the management of the operating state of instruments operated in a site without necessity of large revision and additional cables of the instruments. Constitution: Tag-shaped instrument recognition indicators and instrument operation indicators for indicating the operating states of the respective instruments are mounted on the instruments such as openable valves. Each instrument recognition indicator represents the type and symbol of the instrument, and each instrument operation indicator represents the operating state such as open state or closed state of the valve of theinstrument. A reader reads a recorded data when the reader is touched to a magnetic plate and a magnetic sheet, and the data is recorded by a recorder on the magnetic tape. In this manner, the leakage of checking the data can be prevented, and the load of an operator can be alleviated. (Kamimura, M.)

Read, Sing, Play, and Create a Musical Storm

Science.gov (United States)

Cardany, Audrey Berger

2012-01-01

Dayle Ann Dodds and Rosanne Litzinger's children's book, "Sing, Sophie!" provides the elementary general music teacher with an opportunity to read a captivating children's story, sing the main character's song and play her guitar, and create a song as well as instrumental music. Lessons outlined in this article may culminate in a veritable musical…

The Teaching Reading With Virtual Technology in Education Context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vera Wannmacher Pereira

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This research had the specific objectives: produce virtual reading materials to the 7th grade of elementary high school students; develop workshops from these materials for these students; check the benefits of these workshops to the student`s reading comprehension development and also their the linguistic learning knowledge; produce an e-book to the teachers; provide this e-book to the publisher`s website at PUCRS. The methodology involved: conducting cooperative work around educational actions (application of virtual materials produced in workshops, research (development and implementation of research instruments and extension (production and availability of e-book. The results were: a productive network between University and schools; a set of reading comprehension material to the 7th grade of elementary school students; students’ reading comprehension development and learning language skills in the test applied before and after the workshops; the e-book which was developed and it is available on the EDIPUCRS site.

A Self-report of reading disabilities for adults: ATLAS

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Almudena Giménez

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper a self-report questionnaire on reading-writing difficulties for adults in Spanish (ATLAS is presented. Studies that use self-report questionnaires as a tool for screening of reading-writing difficulties in adults were reviewed. Two studies were carried out to determine the validity and reliability of ATLAS. The first study was aimed to select the critical items and to assess their reliability and their ability to discriminate. In the second study the assessment reported through the answers to the questionnaire was contrasted with the results of psychometric tests. Results showed that (a items were suitable descriptors for adult difficulties, (b there were significant correlations between self-report scores and reading measures, and (c the items discriminate between good and poor readers. The results of this study demonstrated that ATLAS is a sensitive tool to screen adults with reading difficulties. As a further advantage, ATLAS is an easy-to-use and time-saving instrument.

DI3 - A New Procedure for Absolute Directional Measurements

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A Geese

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The standard observatory procedure for determining a geomagnetic field's declination and inclination absolutely is the DI-flux measurement. The instrument consists of a non-magnetic theodolite equipped with a single-axis fluxgate magnetometer. Additionally, a scalar magnetometer is needed to provide all three components of the field. Using only 12 measurement steps, all systematic errors can be accounted for, but if only one of the readings is wrong, the whole measurement has to be rejected. We use a three-component sensor on top of the theodolites telescope. By performing more measurement steps, we gain much better control of the whole procedure: As the magnetometer can be fully calibrated by rotating about two independent directions, every combined reading of magnetometer output and theodolite angles provides the absolute field vector. We predefined a set of angle positions that the observer has to try to achieve. To further simplify the measurement procedure, the observer is guided by a pocket pc, in which he has only to confirm the theodolite position. The magnetic field is then stored automatically, together with the horizontal and vertical angles. The DI3 measurement is periodically performed at the Niemegk Observatory, allowing for a direct comparison with the traditional measurements.

Instrumentation development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ubbes, W.F.; Yow, J.L. Jr.

1988-01-01

Instrumentation is developed for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program to meet several different (and sometimes conflicting) objectives. This paper addresses instrumentation development for data needs that are related either directly or indirectly to a repository site, but does not touch on instrumentation for work with waste forms or other materials. Consequently, this implies a relatively large scale for the measurements, and an in situ setting for instrument performance. In this context, instruments are needed for site characterization to define phenomena, develop models, and obtain parameter values, and for later design and performance confirmation testing in the constructed repository. The former set of applications is more immediate, and is driven by the needs of program design and performance assessment activities. A host of general technical and nontechnical issues have arisen to challenge instrumentation development. Instruments can be classed into geomechanical, geohydrologic, or other specialty categories, but these issues cut across artificial classifications. These issues are outlined. Despite this imposing list of issues, several case histories are cited to evaluate progress in the area

Reading and Readability Affect on E-Learning Success in a Fortune 100 Company: A Correlational Study

Science.gov (United States)

Finnegan, Denis Michael Thomas

2010-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between employees' reading skills, E-learning readability, student learning, and student satisfaction. The Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE) form 10 Level A instrument evaluated student-reading skills. The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Index course assessed…

Book Reading Styles in Dual-Parent and Single-Mother Families

Science.gov (United States)

Blake, Joanna; Macdonald, Silvana; Bayrami, Lisa; Agosta, Vanessa; Milian, Andrea

2006-01-01

Background: Whereas many studies have investigated quantitative aspects of book reading (frequency), few have examined qualitative aspects, especially in very young children and through direct observations of shared reading. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine possible differences in book-reading styles between mothers and fathers and …

Developing reading literacy by reading badge

OpenAIRE

Rejc, Blanka

2017-01-01

Reading is a fundamental activity of our society and is present in all areas of a person’s life. Authors who deal with reading define reading with different definitions, some of them I also presented in my master’s degree thesis. The ways of reading, typology of readers and knowledge of different reading models are only some of the important theoretical facts that serve as a basis for the research and defining reading. Reading motivation is an important motivational factor, which encourages a...

Exploring the Relationship between Adolescent's Reading Skills, Reading Motivation and Reading Habits

Science.gov (United States)

McGeown, Sarah P.; Duncan, Lynne G.; Griffiths, Yvonne M.; Stothard, Sue E.

2015-01-01

The present study examines the extent to which adolescents' reading affect (reading motivation) and behaviour (reading habits) predict different components of reading (word reading, comprehension, summarisation and text reading speed) and also adds to the limited research examining group differences (gender, age, ability) in adolescents' reading…

Automatic Recognition Method for Optical Measuring Instruments Based on Machine Vision

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SONG Le; LIN Yuchi; HAO Liguo

2008-01-01

Based on a comprehensive study of various algorithms, the automatic recognition of traditional ocular optical measuring instruments is realized. Taking a universal tools microscope (UTM) lens view image as an example, a 2-layer automatic recognition model for data reading is established after adopting a series of pre-processing algorithms. This model is an optimal combination of the correlation-based template matching method and a concurrent back propagation (BP) neural network. Multiple complementary feature extraction is used in generating the eigenvectors of the concurrent network. In order to improve fault-tolerance capacity, rotation invariant features based on Zernike moments are extracted from digit characters and a 4-dimensional group of the outline features is also obtained. Moreover, the operating time and reading accuracy can be adjusted dynamically by setting the threshold value. The experimental result indicates that the newly developed algorithm has optimal recognition precision and working speed. The average reading ratio can achieve 97.23%. The recognition method can automatically obtain the results of optical measuring instruments rapidly and stably without modifying their original structure, which meets the application requirements.

Economic instruments for environmental mitigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkinson, A.

1995-01-01

A joint International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)/World Energy Council (WEC) Working Group has been studying a range of policy instruments which are being used or considered for use to address the question of ever increasing energy demand versus environmental protection, and pollution reduction. Economic instruments for such environmental protection include direct regulation, market-based instruments, and voluntary approaches. No single policy or device was likely to suffice in addressing the diversity of environmental problems currently faced. Altering energy prices must be seen in a social context, but some direct regulation may also be inevitable. Generally economic instruments of change were preferred as these were viewed as more flexible and cost-effective. (UK)

The Role of Trait Anxiety and Preoccupation with Reading Disabilities of Children and Their Mothers in Predicting Children's Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Blicher, Shira; Feingold, Liat; Shany, Michal

2017-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between reading comprehension (RC), trait anxiety, and preoccupation with reading disability (RD) in 88 school children in Grades 3 through 5 and in their mothers. Children's trait anxiety had a significant direct negative relationship with RC and also mediated the association between preoccupation with RD…

Instrument Modeling and Synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Horner, Andrew B.; Beauchamp, James W.

During the 1970s and 1980s, before synthesizers based on direct sampling of musical sounds became popular, replicating musical instruments using frequency modulation (FM) or wavetable synthesis was one of the “holy grails” of music synthesis. Synthesizers such as the Yamaha DX7 allowed users great flexibility in mixing and matching sounds, but were notoriously difficult to coerce into producing sounds like those of a given instrument. Instrument design wizards practiced the mysteries of FM instrument design.

Cortical areas involved in Arabic number reading.

Science.gov (United States)

Roux, F-E; Lubrano, V; Lauwers-Cances, V; Giussani, C; Démonet, J-F

2008-01-15

Distinct functional pathways for processing words and numbers have been hypothesized from the observation of dissociated impairments of these categories in brain-damaged patients. We aimed to identify the cortical areas involved in Arabic number reading process in patients operated on for various brain lesions. Direct cortical electrostimulation was prospectively used in 60 brain mappings. We used object naming and two reading tasks: alphabetic script (sentences and number words) and Arabic number reading. Cortical areas involved in Arabic number reading were identified according to location, type of interference, and distinctness from areas associated with other language tasks. Arabic number reading was sustained by small cortical areas, often extremely well localized (area (Brodmann area 45), the anterior part of the dominant supramarginal gyrus (Brodmann area 40; p area (Brodmann area 37; p areas.

Research on Eye Movement Tracking in ESL Reading

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenlian ZHAN

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Eye movement behavior in reading can reflect on-line cognitive process. Through the on-line measure of eye movement, under relatively natural reading condition, data of the reader’ s eye movement in the text can be obtained in processing information, and thus help to reveal the internal cognitive mechanisms in reading. With the development of intelligentization, serialization and portable direction in eye tracker, there exist great number of studies on eye movement tracking, but studies on eye movement features in ESL reading are rare. In such circumstances, this paper mainly illustrates eye movement patterns, the relationship between eye movement and perceptual processing, and eye movement control in ESL reading.

Language differences in the brain network for reading in naturalistic story reading and lexical decision.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaojuan; Yang, Jianfeng; Yang, Jie; Mencl, W Einar; Shu, Hua; Zevin, Jason David

2015-01-01

Differences in how writing systems represent language raise important questions about whether there could be a universal functional architecture for reading across languages. In order to study potential language differences in the neural networks that support reading skill, we collected fMRI data from readers of alphabetic (English) and morpho-syllabic (Chinese) writing systems during two reading tasks. In one, participants read short stories under conditions that approximate natural reading, and in the other, participants decided whether individual stimuli were real words or not. Prior work comparing these two writing systems has overwhelmingly used meta-linguistic tasks, generally supporting the conclusion that the reading system is organized differently for skilled readers of Chinese and English. We observed that language differences in the reading network were greatly dependent on task. In lexical decision, a pattern consistent with prior research was observed in which the Middle Frontal Gyrus (MFG) and right Fusiform Gyrus (rFFG) were more active for Chinese than for English, whereas the posterior temporal sulcus was more active for English than for Chinese. We found a very different pattern of language effects in a naturalistic reading paradigm, during which significant differences were only observed in visual regions not typically considered specific to the reading network, and the middle temporal gyrus, which is thought to be important for direct mapping of orthography to semantics. Indeed, in areas that are often discussed as supporting distinct cognitive or linguistic functions between the two languages, we observed interaction. Specifically, language differences were most pronounced in MFG and rFFG during the lexical decision task, whereas no language differences were observed in these areas during silent reading of text for comprehension.

Brain bases of reading fluency in typical reading and impaired fluency in dyslexia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna A Christodoulou

Full Text Available Although the neural systems supporting single word reading are well studied, there are limited direct comparisons between typical and dyslexic readers of the neural correlates of reading fluency. Reading fluency deficits are a persistent behavioral marker of dyslexia into adulthood. The current study identified the neural correlates of fluent reading in typical and dyslexic adult readers, using sentences presented in a word-by-word format in which single words were presented sequentially at fixed rates. Sentences were presented at slow, medium, and fast rates, and participants were asked to decide whether each sentence did or did not make sense semantically. As presentation rates increased, participants became less accurate and slower at making judgments, with comprehension accuracy decreasing disproportionately for dyslexic readers. In-scanner performance on the sentence task correlated significantly with standardized clinical measures of both reading fluency and phonological awareness. Both typical readers and readers with dyslexia exhibited widespread, bilateral increases in activation that corresponded to increases in presentation rate. Typical readers exhibited significantly larger gains in activation as a function of faster presentation rates than readers with dyslexia in several areas, including left prefrontal and left superior temporal regions associated with semantic retrieval and semantic and phonological representations. Group differences were more extensive when behavioral differences between conditions were equated across groups. These findings suggest a brain basis for impaired reading fluency in dyslexia, specifically a failure of brain regions involved in semantic retrieval and semantic and phonological representations to become fully engaged for comprehension at rapid reading rates.

A direct reading on-line flowrate meter for use in radiochemical plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shah, B.V.; Kaimal, C.K.R.; Siddiqui, I.A.; Kumar, S.V.

1987-01-01

A device for measurement and remote direct reading display of the flowrates of streams in a radiochemical plant is described. The device is interposed in the measured stream and consists of a syphon pot with a specially developed attachment on the discharge line. Differential pressure switches are used to trigger a timer device at set levels in the pot and the time required for filling the pot during each cycle is measured and is used to compute and display the flowrate. The device is accurate and reliable and is simple to fabricate and install. It is maintenance-free since it has no moving parts. It is also suggested that a manometer with conductive contacts could be used in place of the d.p. switches. The background and various stages of development of the device are described. The operating data is tabulated and parameters required for plant applications are indicated in detail. A simple method to detect and correct for errors due to drift in d.p. switch setting is also outlined. Sketches of typical syphon pot, the schematic of the apparatus and suggested layout for application in radiochemical plant are also included. (author). 11 figures, 6 tables

I read, you read, we read: the history of reading in Slovenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anja Dular

2013-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTPurpose: The aim of the article is to research reading habits in Slovenia in the period between 16th and 19th century and to find similarities with Austria and other European countries of that time.Methodology/approach: For the purpose of the analysis different resources were used – study books, catechisms, prayer books and manuals. We were focused on introductions in which readers are advised how to read, explaining to whom the work is intended and emphasizing the importance of meditation on the texts.Results: Historically the laud reading was prefered, as to continue the folk tradition. However, the 16th century texts were transmitted by women while the folk tradition was narrated by males. In the 18th century the higher level of literacy and greater book production and availability caused that the books were not a privilege of a few. At that time more texts were intended for silent, individual reading. Interestingly, the authors emphasized the importance of meditation on the texts, too. It was also advised when to read – it wasrecommedend to read in leisure time on Sundays, and on holidays. The role of books was also to breakaway with the reality and to forget everyday problems. Due to the overproduction of books in the 17th centrury it was concerned that books are misleading the crowds. The church considered the reading of books as inappropriate, and criticized fiction, novels and adventure stories mostly read by women.Research limitation: The study is based on Slovenian texts only, although the foreign literature, especially in German, was generally available, too.Originality/practical implications: The study is fullfiling the gap in the history of reading in Slovenia.

Reciprocal Effects between Intrinsic Reading Motivation and Reading Competence? A Cross-Lagged Panel Model for Academic Track and Nonacademic Track Students

Science.gov (United States)

Schaffner, Ellen; Philipp, Maik; Schiefele, Ulrich

2016-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated positive relations between intrinsic reading motivation and reading competence. However, the causal direction of these relations and the moderating role of relevant background variables (e.g., students' achievement level) are not well understood. In the present study, a cross-lagged panel model was applied to…

Developmental, Component-Based Model of Reading Fluency: An Investigation of Predictors of Word-Reading Fluency, Text-Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Young-Suk Grace

2015-01-01

The primary goal was to expand our understanding of text reading fluency (efficiency or automaticity)-how its relation to other constructs (e.g., word reading fluency and reading comprehension) changes over time and how it is different from word reading fluency and reading comprehension. We examined (1) developmentally changing relations among word reading fluency, listening comprehension, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension; (2) the relation of reading comprehension to text reading fluency; (3) unique emergent literacy predictors (i.e., phonological awareness, orthographic awareness, morphological awareness, letter name knowledge, vocabulary) of text reading fluency vs. word reading fluency; and (4) unique language and cognitive predictors (e.g., vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, theory of mind) of text reading fluency vs. reading comprehension. These questions were addressed using longitudinal data (two timepoints; Mean age = 5;24 & 6;08) from Korean-speaking children ( N = 143). Results showed that listening comprehension was related to text reading fluency at time 2, but not at time 1. At both times text reading fluency was related to reading comprehension, and reading comprehension was related to text reading fluency over and above word reading fluency and listening comprehension. Orthographic awareness was related to text reading fluency over and above other emergent literacy skills and word reading fluency. Vocabulary and grammatical knowledge were independently related to text reading fluency and reading comprehension whereas theory of mind was related to reading comprehension, but not text reading fluency. These results reveal developmental nature of relations and mechanism of text reading fluency in reading development.

READING HABITS IN DIGITAL ERA: A RESEARCH ON THE STUDENTS IN BORNEO UNIVERSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Firima Zona Tanjung

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This research aims to explore the current reading habits of university students. Moreover, it aims to determine the effects of widespread use of the internet and other digital resources in reading habits and to give some possible recommendation to improve students’ reading habits in the digital era. The research design was descriptive survey research. The instrument of the research was questionnaire, which is based on Akarsu and Dariyemez (2014 and Chauhan and Lal (2012. The participants of the research were 320 students studying in six majors in Faculty of Teachers Training and Education at Borneo University. They were selected through the cluster random sampling. The questionnaire involved six categories, namely demographic information, frequency of items read, contents of online reading, online activities, content first clicked when online, and techniques to develop reading habits. All research data was analyzed using SPSS Statistics 22 program.

Does Extensive Reading Promote Reading Speed?

Science.gov (United States)

He, Mu

2014-01-01

Research has shown a wide range of learning benefits accruing from extensive reading. Not only is there improvement in reading, but also in a wide range of language uses and areas of language knowledge. However, few research studies have examined reading speed. The existing literature on reading speed focused on students' reading speed without…

INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT (IQ AS A PREDICTOR OF READING COMPREHENSION AND WRITING ACHIEVEMENT OF EFL LEARNERS

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Ary Setya B. Ningrum

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This study aimed at investigating Intelligent Quotient (IQ as a predictor of reading comprehension and writing achievement as well as to correlate the students‟ reading comprehension with their writing achievement. The participant of the study were 32 senior high school Indonesian students. There are three instruments used in this study, those are IQ test, reading comprehension test, and writing test. Upon obtaining the whole data needed, Pearson Product Moment formula was employed to determine the correlation of IQ with reading comprehension and writing achievement as well as reading comprehension with writing achievement. The result of this study revealed that IQ made significant contribution in predicting reading comprehension (23.42% and writing achievement (16.08%. In addition, the correlation coefficient of reading comprehension and writing achievement shows that they are moderately correlated (r=.587, meaning that reading comprehension contributes as many as 34.45% to writing achievement.

Instrumentation reference book

CERN Document Server

Boyes, Walt

2002-01-01

Instrumentation is not a clearly defined subject, having a 'fuzzy' boundary with a number of other disciplines. Often categorized as either 'techniques' or 'applications' this book addresses the various applications that may be needed with reference to the practical techniques that are available for the instrumentation or measurement of a specific physical quantity or quality. This makes it of direct interest to anyone working in the process, control and instrumentation fields where these measurements are essential.* Comprehensive and authoritative collection of technical information* Writte

Materiality of a simulation: Scratch reading machine, 1931

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Craig Saper

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Using Bob Brown's reading machine and the prepared texts for his machine, called readies, both designed in 1930, as an example of scratch turntablist techniques, suggests an alternative to narrow definitions of literacy and new ways to appreciate the history of scratch techniques. Brown's machine resembles the turntablist’s ability to rapidly shift reading (its direction, speed, and repetition rather than slowly flipping the pages of a book. Punctuation marks, in the readies, become visual analogies. For movement we see em-dashes (— that also, by definition, indicate that the sentence was interrupted or cut short. The old uses of punctuation, such as employment of periods to mark the end of a sentence, disappear. The result looks like a script for a turntablist’s performance, and dj Herc starts to sound like a reading teacher. An online simulation of Brown's machine, http://www.readies.org, reproduce, or approximate, the motion, scratch, jerking, flickering, and visual effects produced or illuminated with the machine. Those supplemental aspects of reading are always already part of reading. The supplement (movement, visuality, mechanicity to traditional notions of literacy usually remain part of an implicate process. The reading machine and scratch techniques are not simply a new conduit for the same supposedly natural process. The scratch reading highlights what Jacques Derrida calls the "virtual multimedia" (of reading print on paper. The increasing prevalence, even omnipresent and [to some critics] epidemic, use of text(ing machines, something outside or beside traditional literacy, the scratch-meaning becomes foregrounded. Brown's machine puts the natural process of reading under erasure or scratch (simply by adjusting the speed, direction, and layout. dj Herc did the same for music.

Language differences in the brain network for reading in naturalistic story reading and lexical decision.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaojuan Wang

Full Text Available Differences in how writing systems represent language raise important questions about whether there could be a universal functional architecture for reading across languages. In order to study potential language differences in the neural networks that support reading skill, we collected fMRI data from readers of alphabetic (English and morpho-syllabic (Chinese writing systems during two reading tasks. In one, participants read short stories under conditions that approximate natural reading, and in the other, participants decided whether individual stimuli were real words or not. Prior work comparing these two writing systems has overwhelmingly used meta-linguistic tasks, generally supporting the conclusion that the reading system is organized differently for skilled readers of Chinese and English. We observed that language differences in the reading network were greatly dependent on task. In lexical decision, a pattern consistent with prior research was observed in which the Middle Frontal Gyrus (MFG and right Fusiform Gyrus (rFFG were more active for Chinese than for English, whereas the posterior temporal sulcus was more active for English than for Chinese. We found a very different pattern of language effects in a naturalistic reading paradigm, during which significant differences were only observed in visual regions not typically considered specific to the reading network, and the middle temporal gyrus, which is thought to be important for direct mapping of orthography to semantics. Indeed, in areas that are often discussed as supporting distinct cognitive or linguistic functions between the two languages, we observed interaction. Specifically, language differences were most pronounced in MFG and rFFG during the lexical decision task, whereas no language differences were observed in these areas during silent reading of text for comprehension.

Replacement of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Health Physics Instrumentation Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-05-01

The DOE-Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) on the replacement of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Health Physics Instrumentation Laboratory at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). The purpose of this project is to replace the existing Health Physics Instrumentation Laboratory (HPIL) with a new facility to provide a safe environment for maintaining and calibrating radiation detection instruments used at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. The existing HPIL facility provides portable health physics monitoring instrumentation and direct reading dosimetry procurement, maintenance and calibration of radiation detection instruments, and research and development support-services to the INEL and others. However, the existing facility was not originally designed for laboratory activities and does not provide an adequate, safe environment for calibration activities. The EA examined the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action and evaluated reasonable alternatives, including the no action alternative in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508). Based on the environmental analysis in the attached EA, the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 40 CFR Parts 1508.18 and 1508.27. The selected action (the proposed alternative) is composed of the following elements, each described or evaluated in the attached EA on the pages referenced. The proposed action is expected to begin in 1997 and will be completed within three years: design and construction of a new facility at the Central Facility Area of the INEL; operation of the facility, including instrument receipt, inspections and repairs, precision testing and calibration, and storage and issuance. The selected action will result in no significant environmental impacts

Relationship between Vocabulary Size and Reading Comprehension Levels of Malaysian Tertiary Students

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Angelina Wan Lin Tan

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the relationship between vocabulary size and reading comprehension performance among students in a tertiary institution in a Malaysian context and examined the vocabulary size required for students to achieve reading comprehension at various levels of proficiency. The research questions that guided this study were: 1 What is the vocabulary size of second year diploma students studying Mass Communication?; 2 What is the reading comprehension proficiency of second year diploma students studying Mass Communication?; and 3 What vocabulary size is required for different levels of reading comprehension proficiency? This study used the quantitative approach. The participants were 53 Malaysian second-year students at a private university college in Malaysia who were reading for their Diploma in Mass Communication. The instruments used were the Vocabulary Size Test and the IELTS Reading Test (Academic Module. The findings showed that the average vocabulary size of the students was just over 6000 word families and this vocabulary size was generally insufficient for adequate reading comprehension. Students needed an average vocabulary size of about 8000 word families to achieve adequate reading comprehension and about 10000 word families to achieve proficient reading comprehension. Based on the individual student’s performance, this study did not find a linear relationship between vocabulary size and reading comprehension performance, nor was there a threshold vocabulary size for adequate reading comprehension.

BarraCUDA - a fast short read sequence aligner using graphics processing units

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klus Petr

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background With the maturation of next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS technologies, the throughput of DNA sequencing reads has soared to over 600 gigabases from a single instrument run. General purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU, extracts the computing power from hundreds of parallel stream processors within graphics processing cores and provides a cost-effective and energy efficient alternative to traditional high-performance computing (HPC clusters. In this article, we describe the implementation of BarraCUDA, a GPGPU sequence alignment software that is based on BWA, to accelerate the alignment of sequencing reads generated by these instruments to a reference DNA sequence. Findings Using the NVIDIA Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA software development environment, we ported the most computational-intensive alignment component of BWA to GPU to take advantage of the massive parallelism. As a result, BarraCUDA offers a magnitude of performance boost in alignment throughput when compared to a CPU core while delivering the same level of alignment fidelity. The software is also capable of supporting multiple CUDA devices in parallel to further accelerate the alignment throughput. Conclusions BarraCUDA is designed to take advantage of the parallelism of GPU to accelerate the alignment of millions of sequencing reads generated by NGS instruments. By doing this, we could, at least in part streamline the current bioinformatics pipeline such that the wider scientific community could benefit from the sequencing technology. BarraCUDA is currently available from http://seqbarracuda.sf.net

BarraCUDA - a fast short read sequence aligner using graphics processing units

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Klus, Petr

2012-01-13

Abstract Background With the maturation of next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) technologies, the throughput of DNA sequencing reads has soared to over 600 gigabases from a single instrument run. General purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU), extracts the computing power from hundreds of parallel stream processors within graphics processing cores and provides a cost-effective and energy efficient alternative to traditional high-performance computing (HPC) clusters. In this article, we describe the implementation of BarraCUDA, a GPGPU sequence alignment software that is based on BWA, to accelerate the alignment of sequencing reads generated by these instruments to a reference DNA sequence. Findings Using the NVIDIA Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) software development environment, we ported the most computational-intensive alignment component of BWA to GPU to take advantage of the massive parallelism. As a result, BarraCUDA offers a magnitude of performance boost in alignment throughput when compared to a CPU core while delivering the same level of alignment fidelity. The software is also capable of supporting multiple CUDA devices in parallel to further accelerate the alignment throughput. Conclusions BarraCUDA is designed to take advantage of the parallelism of GPU to accelerate the alignment of millions of sequencing reads generated by NGS instruments. By doing this, we could, at least in part streamline the current bioinformatics pipeline such that the wider scientific community could benefit from the sequencing technology. BarraCUDA is currently available from http:\\/\\/seqbarracuda.sf.net

Unveiling the dynamics of reading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Posner, M.; Abdullaev, Y.

1996-01-01

What happens in our brain when we read isolated words? Are some particular areas of cortex stimulated when these words make sense? Does the reading practice induce others areas? And what about the new senses research? Some studies carried out for a century show that two regions of the left cerebral hemisphere: the Broca and the Wernicke areas are involved. By visualizing in vivo an elementary thought as what is for instance the function of a hammer, the functional cerebral imagery (positron computed tomography, NMR imaging, electro-encephalography) allows to deepen and to explain the analysis. It reveals an areas network called semantic, in the right hemisphere too. Their activation would take place according to a very fast sequence in order to direct the eye movements during the reading. (O.M.)

The 160 TES bolometer read-out using FDM for SAFARI

Science.gov (United States)

Hijmering, R. A.; den Hartog, R. H.; van der Linden, A. J.; Ridder, M.; Bruijn, M. P.; van der Kuur, J.; van Leeuwen, B. J.; van Winden, P.; Jackson, B.

2014-07-01

For the read out of the Transition Edge Sensors (TES) bolometer arrays of the SAFARI instrument on the Japanese background-limited far-IR SPICA mission SRON is developing a Frequency Domain Multiplexing (FDM) read-out system. The next step after the successful demonstration of the read out of 38 TES bolometers using FDM was to demonstrate the FDM readout of the required 160 TES bolometers. Of the 160 LC filter and TES bolometer chains 151 have been connected and after cooldown 148 of the resonances could be identified. Although initial operation and locking of the pixels went smoothly the experiment revealed several complications. In this paper we describe the 160 pixel FDM set-up, show the results and discuss the issues faced during operation of the 160 pixel FDM experiment.

The opening and reading behavior of business-to-business direct mail

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Wulf, K; Hoekstra, JC; Commandeur, HR

Companies who are able to optimize their target audience's opening and reading behavior of commercial business-to-business mailings realize two objectives at the same time: increase response rates of these mailings and lift the level of exposure of their company, its products, and/or services.

Developmental, Component-Based Model of Reading Fluency: An Investigation of Predictors of Word-Reading Fluency, Text-Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension

OpenAIRE

Kim, Young-Suk Grace

2015-01-01

The primary goal was to expand our understanding of text reading fluency (efficiency or automaticity)—how its relation to other constructs (e.g., word reading fluency and reading comprehension) changes over time and how it is different from word reading fluency and reading comprehension. We examined (1) developmentally changing relations among word reading fluency, listening comprehension, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension; (2) the relation of reading comprehension to text readi...

FOSTERING AWARENESS OF COGNITIVE AND METACOGNITIVE READING STRATEGIES IN TWO FOREIGN LANGUAGES (ENGLISH AND ARABIC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Hassan Talebi

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This study attempted to find out the impact of Cognitive and Metacognitive Reading Strategy Instruction (CMRSI in L2 (English in increasing the awareness and use of these reading strategies not only in L2 in which the CMRSI was given but also in L3 (Arabic in which no CMRSI was given as a result of transfer of reading strategies from L2 to L3. It also aimed to find out which strategy items were most and least improved both in L2 and L3 as a result of CMRSI in L2. Fifty five fourth-grade high school male students majoring in math-physics took part in this study. As the reading process is believed to be the same across languages (Mokhtari & Reichard, 2004, the participants were put into two groups of low and high awareness of reading strategies in L1 (Persian. Then, they were given reading comprehension tests in L2 and L3 as triggers for the main instrument (i.e., cognitive and metacognitive reading strategy questionnaire in English and Arabic. After this pretest stage, the two groups underwent the CMRSI. The same pretest instruments were also given to the students as posttest. It was found that there was a significant difference in the awareness and use of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies from pretest to posttest in English and Arabic for students of low and high strategic reading competence level. However, this improvement was not necessarily the same for different strategy items. It is important to teach reading strategies in L2 as it will have effect on increasing awareness of strategies both in L2 and in L3 as a result of transfer of reading strategies from one language to another. However, as not all strategy items show the same improvement from pretest to posttest, more attention should be paid to the item by item analysis of strategies after CMRSI to maximize students’ awareness of all strategy items equally.

Kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) for the SAFARI instrument on SPICA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ferrari, L.; Baryshev, A M; Baselmans, J. J. A.; de Lange, G.; Diener, P.; Kooi, J. W.; Lankwarden, J. J.; Yates, S. J. C.; Oschmann, Jacobus M.; Clampin, Mark C.; MacEwen, Howard A.

Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) with frequency domain read-out are intrinsically very suitable to use as building blocks for very large arrays. KIDs therefore are an attractive detector option for the SAFARI instrument on SPICA, Millimetron and also for large scale ground based imaging arrays.

Instrumented Glove Measures Positions Of Fingers

Science.gov (United States)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr.

1993-01-01

Glove instrumented with flat membrane potentiometers to obtain crude measurements of relative positions of fingers. Resistance of each potentiometer varies with position of associated finger; translator circuit connected to each potentiometer converts analog reading to 1 of 10 digital levels. Digitized outputs from all fingers fed to indicating, recording, and/or data-processing equipment. Gloves and circuits intended for use in biomedical research, training in critical manual tasks, and other specialized applications.

STAD AS A STRATEGY OF TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fitri Ferina

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This research investigated whether there was a significant difference on students’ achievement in reading comprehension taught using STAD and lecture method. The sample was the eighth-graders of SMPN 3 Banjarmasin. A quasi-experimental design was employed in this research. The experimental group was taught using STAD while control group was taught using lecture method. A reading comprehension test as the instrument of collecting data was administered for both groups. Based on the research result using t-test, it was found that the t value was higher than t-table (2.39315 > 2.00 which means that there is a significant difference of achievement between the experimental group and control group. From these findings it can be interpreted that the use of STAD is more effective than lecture method in teaching reading comprehension for junior high school students. It is suggested for English teachers in Junior High School to use STAD in teaching reading since it is useful in improving students’ reading comprehension achievement.

Developmental relations between reading comprehension and reading strategies

OpenAIRE

Muijselaar, M.M.L.; Swart, N.M.; Steenbeek-Planting, E.G.; Droop, W.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.; Jong, P.F. de

2017-01-01

We examined the developmental relations between knowledge of reading strategies and reading comprehension in a longitudinal study of 312 Dutch children from the beginning of fourth grade to the end of fifth grade. Measures for reading comprehension, reading strategies, reading fluency, vocabulary, and working memory were administered. A structural equation model was constructed to estimate the unique relations between reading strategies and reading comprehension, while controlling for reading...

We learn to write by reading, but writing can make you smarter We learn to write by reading, but writing can make you smarter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen Krashen

2008-04-01

Full Text Available My goal in this paper is to make Iwo points: Writing style does not come from writing or from direct instruction, but from reading. Actual writing can help us solve problems and can make us smarter. Writing Style Comes from Readino, A substantial amount of research strongly suggests that we learn to write by reading. To be more precise, we acquire writing style, the special language of writing, by reading. Hypothesizing that writing style comes from reading, not from writing or instniction, is consistent with what is known about language acquisition: Most of language acquisition lakes place subconsciously, not through deliberate study, and it is a result of input (comprehension, not output (production (Krashen, 1982. My goal in this paper is to make Iwo points: Writing style does not come from writing or from direct instruction, but from reading. Actual writing can help us solve problems and can make us smarter. Writing Style Comes from Readino, A substantial amount of research strongly suggests that we learn to write by reading. To be more precise, we acquire writing style, the special language of writing, by reading. Hypothesizing that writing style comes from reading, not from writing or instniction, is consistent with what is known about language acquisition: Most of language acquisition lakes place subconsciously, not through deliberate study, and it is a result of input (comprehension, not output (production (Krashen, 1982.

Response of three instruments devoted to surface-area for monodisperse and polydisperse aerosols in molecular and transition regimes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bau, Sebastien; Witschger, Olivier; Gensdarmes, Francois; Thomas, Dominique

2011-01-01

An increasing number of experimental and theoretical studies focus on airborne nanoparticles (NP) in relation with many aspects of risk assessment. Indeed, our understanding of the hazards, the actual exposures in the workplace and the limits of engineering controls and personal protective equipment with regard to NP are still under development. Several studies have already identified surface-area as an important determinant of low solubility nanoparticles toxicity. As a consequence, the concept that surface-area could be a relevant metric for characterizing exposure to low solubility airborne NP has been proposed [1]. To provide NP surface-area concentration, some direct-reading instruments have been designed, based on diffusion charging. The actual available instruments providing airborne NP surface-area concentration are studied in this work: LQ1-DC (Matter Engineering), AeroTrak T M 9000 (TSI) and NSAM (TSI model 3550). Their performances regarding monodisperse carbon NP have been investigated by Bau et al.. This work aims at completing the instruments characterization regarding monodisperse NP of other chemical composition (aluminium, copper, silver) and studying their performances against polydisperse aerosols of NP.

Response of three instruments devoted to surface-area for monodisperse and polydisperse aerosols in molecular and transition regimes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bau, Sebastien; Witschger, Olivier [Institut National de Recherche et de Securite (INRS), Laboratoire de Metrologie des Aerosols, Rue du Morvan, CS 60027, 54519 Vandoeuvre Cedex (France); Gensdarmes, Francois [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN), Laboratoire de Physique et de Metrologie des Aerosols, BP 68, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Thomas, Dominique, E-mail: sebastien.bau@inrs.fr [Laboratoire Reactions et Genie des Procedes (LRGP), groupe SAFE, 1 rue Grandville, BP 20041, 54001 Nancy Cedex (France)

2011-07-06

An increasing number of experimental and theoretical studies focus on airborne nanoparticles (NP) in relation with many aspects of risk assessment. Indeed, our understanding of the hazards, the actual exposures in the workplace and the limits of engineering controls and personal protective equipment with regard to NP are still under development. Several studies have already identified surface-area as an important determinant of low solubility nanoparticles toxicity. As a consequence, the concept that surface-area could be a relevant metric for characterizing exposure to low solubility airborne NP has been proposed [1]. To provide NP surface-area concentration, some direct-reading instruments have been designed, based on diffusion charging. The actual available instruments providing airborne NP surface-area concentration are studied in this work: LQ1-DC (Matter Engineering), AeroTrak{sup TM} 9000 (TSI) and NSAM (TSI model 3550). Their performances regarding monodisperse carbon NP have been investigated by Bau et al.. This work aims at completing the instruments characterization regarding monodisperse NP of other chemical composition (aluminium, copper, silver) and studying their performances against polydisperse aerosols of NP.

The eye-voice span during reading aloud

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jochen eLaubrock

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Although eye movements during reading are modulated by cognitive processing demands, they also reflect visual sampling of the input, and possibly preparation of output for speech or the inner voice. By simultaneously recording eye movements and the voice during reading aloud, we obtained an output measure that constrains the length of time spent on cognitive processing. Here we investigate the dynamics of the eye-voice span (EVS, the distance between eye and voice. We show that the EVS is regulated immediately during fixation of a word by either increasing fixation duration or programming a regressive eye movement against the reading direction. EVS size at the beginning of a fixation was positively correlated with the likelihood of regressions and refixations. Regression probability was further increased if the EVS was still large at the end of a fixation: if adjustment of fixation duration did not sufficiently reduce the EVS during a fixation, then a regression rather than a refixation followed with high probability. We further show that the EVS can help understand cognitive influences on fixation duration during reading: in mixed model analyses, the EVS was a stronger predictor of fixation durations than either word frequency or word length. The EVS modulated the influence of several other predictors on single fixation durations. For example, word-N frequency effects were larger with a large EVS, especially when word N-1 frequency was low. Finally, a comparison of single fixation durations during oral and silent reading showed that reading is governed by similar principles in both reading modes, although EVS maintenance and articulatory processing also cause some differences. In summary, the eye-voice span is regulated by adjusting fixation duration and/or by programming a regressive eye movement when the eye-voice span gets too large. Overall, the EVS appears to be directly related to updating of the working memory buffer during reading.

Teaching Reading

Science.gov (United States)

Day, Richard R.

2013-01-01

"Teaching Reading" uncovers the interactive processes that happen when people learn to read and translates them into a comprehensive easy-to-follow guide on how to teach reading. Richard Day's revelations on the nature of reading, reading strategies, reading fluency, reading comprehension, and reading objectives make fascinating…

Slow Reading: Reading along "Lectio" Lines

Science.gov (United States)

Badley, K. Jo-Ann; Badley, Ken

2011-01-01

The medieval monastic movement preserved and developed reading practices--lectio--from ancient Greek pedagogy as a slow, mindful approach to reading for formation. This ancient way of reading, now better known as lectio divina, challenges the fast, pragmatic reading so characteristic of our time. We propose that the present moment may be ripe for…

Technological considerations in emergency instrument preparedness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selby, J.M.

1975-01-01

The types of emergency instrumentation systems necessary to characterize the severity and extent of radiation accidents and to aid in the protection of operating personnel and personnel living near the plant are discussed. These include instruments for direct measurement of the airborne radioactive material within the facility, fixed instrumentation for ambient dose rate monitoring or area monitoring, and portable instruments for environmental monitoring

Calibration of dosemeters and survey instruments for photon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alamares, A.L.; Caseria, E.S.

1995-01-01

The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), the country's regulatory agency, through its Radiation Protection Unit of the Nuclear Regulations Licensing and Safeguard Division provides the calibration services of nuclear instruments used by various institutions. The periodic calibration and standardization of radiation and protection survey instruments are done to insure correct and valid radiation readings. It is also a regulatory requirement for radiation workers to use only operable and precalibrated survey instruments for their work with radioactive materials. The PNRI maintains and operates the Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory (SSDL). It provides the periodic calibration and standardization of radiation monitoring and protection survey instruments, and also the radiological hazard and performance evaluation surveys of radiotherapy facilities and others. For the calibration of survey instruments, the standard sources of Cs-137 and Co-60 are used. The calibration procedures for survey meters and pocket dosimeters are explained. The clients served are shown. The personnel dosimetry using film badges, the application of ICRU operational quantities, and the problems encountered and recommendations are reported. (K.I.)

Book Clubs: An Ethnographic Study of an Innovative Reading Practice in Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Álvarez-Álvarez, Carmen

2016-01-01

The most innovative reading practices currently rely on the paradigm of dialogic reading. Book clubs, literary gatherings and study circles are emerging in different social spaces to promote reading and literary discussion amongst adults, and libraries, bookshops, cultural centres, etc. are increasingly developing strategies in this direction.…

Reading for tracing evidence: developing scientific knowledge through science text

Science.gov (United States)

Probosari, R. M.; Widyastuti, F.; Sajidan, S.; Suranto, S.; Prayitno, B. A.

2018-05-01

The purposes of this study were to investigate students’ learning progression on reading activity, science concept comprehension and how they imply it in scientific communication in the classroom. Fifty-nine biology education students participated in this study. This classroom research was developed to portray students’ reading activity, factors affecting reading comprehension, and the development of reading motivation. Qualitative analysis was used to describe the whole activities, involve the instruction, process and the product of reading activity. The result concluded that each student has their own way in interpreting the information from scientific text, but generally, they can filter and apply it in their argument as a part of reasoning and evidence. The findings can be used to direct reading activity to the goal of inquiry in order to support the nature of reading as evidence.

How To Control Color Appearance With Instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Margaret E.

1980-05-01

Colorimetry, as defined by the International Commission on Illumination, is the measurement of colors, made possible by the properties of the eye and based on a set of conventions. Instrumentation for measuring object color, therefore, must be based on a human observer. The intent is to design an instrument that in effect responds as a person would, so that research development, production control and quality control areas have some means of assessing the acceptability of the appearance of a product. Investigations of a human observer's psychological response to color, and the manner in which visual observations are made, give the instrument designer and manufacturer data necessary to answer two questions: a. How can we put numbers (instrument read-out) on a perception that occurs in the brain of the observer? b. What can we learn from examination of a visual observing situation that will guide us in our design of an instrumental simulation of this situation? Involving as it does our own daily, almost unconscious, practice of making judgments concerning the things we see, the design and manufacture of color measurement instruments is an exceedingly interesting field. The advances being made concurrently today in research concerning human color vision and in optical and electronic technology will make possible increasingly useful instrumentation for quality control of product color.

The dual reading of general conditionals: The influence of abstract versus concrete contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Moyun; Yao, Xinyun

2018-04-01

A current main issue on conditionals is whether the meaning of general conditionals (e.g., If a card is red, then it is round) is deterministic (exceptionless) or probabilistic (exception-tolerating). In order to resolve the issue, two experiments examined the influence of conditional contexts (with vs. without frequency information of truth table cases) on the reading of general conditionals. Experiment 1 examined the direct reading of general conditionals in the possibility judgment task. Experiment 2 examined the indirect reading of general conditionals in the truth judgment task. It was found that both the direct and indirect reading of general conditionals exhibited the duality: the predominant deterministic semantic reading of conditionals without frequency information, and the predominant probabilistic pragmatic reading of conditionals with frequency information. The context of general conditionals determined the predominant reading of general conditionals. There were obvious individual differences in reading general conditionals with frequency information. The meaning of general conditionals is relative, depending on conditional contexts. The reading of general conditionals is flexible and complex so that no simple deterministic and probabilistic accounts are able to explain it. The present findings are beyond the extant deterministic and probabilistic accounts of conditionals.

READING FOR YOUTH INTEREST DURING CURRENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurelia-Camelia, MARIN

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Virtual reality and images conquer them permanently and irrevocably even children from the earliest age. For instance, I can say that as they grow departs books. So many young people arrive at teens refuse to read a book, even electronically. Children considered mandatory reading something imposed by adults and tries to escape, finding other concerns. They also have no motivation, the universe discovered through books hardly seems interesting, which is, in their opinion, obsolete. The environment in which I work led me to satisfy my curiosity namely that of finding out to what extent reading is among the priorities of young people today. This research considers the study of attitudes, behaviors, opinions and intentions of young people their interest in reading, be it physical or books in electronic format. Then I directed a questionnaire to students of the Faculty of Management Marketing in Economic Affairs Rm. Valcea. For example, we chose a target group of young people aged between 18 and 25 years.

Digital direction device model to reduce private reading difference in analog survey meter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Oh Il; Song, Goan Suk; Jang, Dong Chul

2005-01-01

Because dosimeter used in radiation measurement is shown different response for same dose rate according to kind and energy of measurement sample radiation, must know kind and energy of radiation of each device to get exact measurement. Therefore in using of detector at work, it's very important to make an estimate of the reaction according to radiation. This is adequate by the correction. But as important thing of authoritativeness about d that is used dosimeter and gets may be impact by measurer private interpretation difference as proof reading. The reliability to the results according to the detector associated with the correction and the private reading difference

Predicted summary of panel discussion on smart instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sorber, R.E.

1991-01-01

The following is a hypothetical account of a panel discussion on Smart Instruments. It enumerates topics that are likely to covered in the actual discussion. A smart instrument may be defined as one that performs smart functions or as one that contains a computer of some sort. Neither definition is perfect. Smart functions might include, but are not limited to: automated data logging (reading, location, time); transfer (downloading) logged data to outside computer; computer assisted, remote calibration; linearity and dead time correction; performance trending; self diagnosis of faults; detector probe recognition; automated beta factor application; and automatic range selection. These smart functions are discussed

Reading comprehension and reading related abilities in adolescents with reading disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghelani, Karen; Sidhu, Robindra; Jain, Umesh; Tannock, Rosemary

2004-11-01

Reading comprehension is a very complex task that requires different cognitive processes and reading abilities over the life span. There are fewer studies of reading comprehension relative to investigations of word reading abilities. Reading comprehension difficulties, however, have been identified in two common and frequently overlapping childhood disorders: reading disability (RD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The nature of reading comprehension difficulties in these groups remains unclear. The performance of four groups of adolescents (RD, ADHD, comorbid ADHD and RD, and normal controls) was compared on reading comprehension tasks as well as on reading rate and accuracy tasks. Adolescents with RD showed difficulties across most reading tasks, although their comprehension scores were average. Adolescents with ADHD exhibited adequate single word reading abilities. Subtle difficulties were observed, however, on measures of text reading rate and accuracy as well as on silent reading comprehension, but scores remained in the average range. The comorbid group demonstrated similar difficulties to the RD group on word reading accuracy and on reading rate but experienced problems on only silent reading comprehension. Implications for reading interventions are outlined, as well as the clinical relevance for diagnosis.

Executive functioning predicts reading, mathematics, and theory of mind during the elementary years.

Science.gov (United States)

Cantin, Rachelle H; Gnaedinger, Emily K; Gallaway, Kristin C; Hesson-McInnis, Matthew S; Hund, Alycia M

2016-06-01

The goal of this study was to specify how executive functioning components predict reading, mathematics, and theory of mind performance during the elementary years. A sample of 93 7- to 10-year-old children completed measures of working memory, inhibition, flexibility, reading, mathematics, and theory of mind. Path analysis revealed that all three executive functioning components (working memory, inhibition, and flexibility) mediated age differences in reading comprehension, whereas age predicted mathematics and theory of mind directly. In addition, reading mediated the influence of executive functioning components on mathematics and theory of mind, except that flexibility also predicted mathematics directly. These findings provide important details about the development of executive functioning, reading, mathematics, and theory of mind during the elementary years. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The latent structure of reading comprehension problems in pupils living in poverty

OpenAIRE

Košak Babuder, Milena; Kavkler, Marija

2014-01-01

The results of Slovene and international studies reveal a connection between literacy and education levels, employment opportunities and the subsequent socio-economic status of individuals and families. Home environment and living habits are also associated with literacy (reading culture) and, in particular, parental levels of education directly affect the development of child literacy. Reading efficiency relating to reading comprehension and reading to learn is an important element of readin...

Developmental Relations Between Reading Comprehension and Reading Strategies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Muijselaar, M.; Swart, N.M.; Steenbeek-Planting, E.G,.; Droop, M.; Verhoeven, L.; de Jong, P.F.

2017-01-01

We examined the developmental relations between knowledge of reading strategies and reading comprehension in a longitudinal study of 312 Dutch children from the beginning of fourth grade to the end of fifth grade. Measures for reading comprehension, reading strategies, reading fluency, vocabulary,

LiNbO/sub 3/:Ti directional-coupler modulators for high-bandwidth, single-shot instrumentation systems operating at 800 nm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lowry, M.; Jander, D.; Lancaster, G.; Kwiat, P.; McWright, G.; Peterson, R.T.; Tindall, W.; Roeske, F.

1987-01-01

The authors update their work on optical directional-coupler modulators (ODCMs) for single-shot, analog instrumentation systems operating at -- 800 nm. They can now fabricate directional-coupler devices that have one input and two output pigtails with insertion losses of 8.9 dB on average. Data for the ODCMs indicate an impulse response of less than 40 ps. They have implemented these devices in an ultrafast, x-ray measurement system. They discuss our data from this implementation and their implications for continued ODCM development

Forecasting Reading Anxiety for Promoting English-Language Reading Performance Based on Reading Annotation Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chih-Ming; Wang, Jung-Ying; Chen, Yong-Ting; Wu, Jhih-Hao

2016-01-01

To reduce effectively the reading anxiety of learners while reading English articles, a C4.5 decision tree, a widely used data mining technique, was used to develop a personalized reading anxiety prediction model (PRAPM) based on individual learners' reading annotation behavior in a collaborative digital reading annotation system (CDRAS). In…

English as a Foreign Language Learners' Major and Meta-Cognitive Reading Strategy Use at Al-Balqa Applied University

Science.gov (United States)

Abu-Snoubar, Tamador Khalaf

2017-01-01

This quantitative study aimed to investigate and compare the use of metacognitive reading Strategies among English as a foreign language students at Al-Balqa Applied University based on their academic field of study. The Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) (Mokhtari & Sheory, 2002) was the instrument employed. This survey divides the…

Progressive outcomes of collaborative strategic reading to EFL learners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sofyan A. Gani

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to discover the effects of using Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR in teaching reading to EFL learners. The method used in this study was experimental research which referred to the true experimental design through tests and a questionnaire as data collection instruments. The questionnaire consisted of items to gain the students' responses toward 3 categories of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR implementation on their reading ability, namely: instruction, procedure, and impact. In total, 67 students in a senior high school in Banda Aceh were involved as participants (32 students in the experimental group and 35 students in the control group. The data were analyzed using the mean, standard deviation, and Z-test percentage. The Z-score between the experimental group and control group was 2.37. The critical value of the Z-score for 68 degrees of freedom was 2.01 at the .05 significance level. Therefore, the critical value of the students' Z-score (2.37 was significant at the .05 level. This indicated that the students who were taught reading using CSR achieved better scores than those who were taught using the non-CSR approach. The results of the questionnaire further showed that more than 80 percent of the students gave vastly positive responses in relation to CSR classroom implementation. This approach not only helped them to develop their reading skills, but also produced positive outcomes in their social relationships and interactions in the classroom.

The place of morphology in learning to read in English.

Science.gov (United States)

Rastle, Kathleen

2018-02-24

Morphology is a major organising principle of English and other alphabetic languages, but has been largely neglected in theories of reading acquisition. In this article, I develop the view that learning to appreciate morphological relationships may be a vital part of acquiring a direct mapping between printed words and their meanings, represented in the ventral brain pathway of the reading network. I show that morphology provides an important degree of regularity across this mapping in English, and suggest that this regularity is directly associated with irregularity in the mapping between spelling and sound. I further show that while children in primary school display explicit knowledge of morphological relationships, there is scant evidence they show the rapid morphological analysis of printed words that skilled readers exhibit. These findings suggest that the acquisition of long-term morphological knowledge may be associated with the ongoing development of reading expertise. Implications for reading instruction are discussed. Copyright © 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

TagDust2: a generic method to extract reads from sequencing data.

Science.gov (United States)

Lassmann, Timo

2015-01-28

Arguably the most basic step in the analysis of next generation sequencing data (NGS) involves the extraction of mappable reads from the raw reads produced by sequencing instruments. The presence of barcodes, adaptors and artifacts subject to sequencing errors makes this step non-trivial. Here I present TagDust2, a generic approach utilizing a library of hidden Markov models (HMM) to accurately extract reads from a wide array of possible read architectures. TagDust2 extracts more reads of higher quality compared to other approaches. Processing of multiplexed single, paired end and libraries containing unique molecular identifiers is fully supported. Two additional post processing steps are included to exclude known contaminants and filter out low complexity sequences. Finally, TagDust2 can automatically detect the library type of sequenced data from a predefined selection. Taken together TagDust2 is a feature rich, flexible and adaptive solution to go from raw to mappable NGS reads in a single step. The ability to recognize and record the contents of raw reads will help to automate and demystify the initial, and often poorly documented, steps in NGS data analysis pipelines. TagDust2 is freely available at: http://tagdust.sourceforge.net .

Development of a video-simulation instrument for assessing cognition in older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Ip, Edward H; Barnard, Ryan; Marshall, Sarah A; Lu, Lingyi; Sink, Kaycee; Wilson, Valerie; Chamberlain, Dana; Rapp, Stephen R

2017-12-06

Commonly used methods to assess cognition, such as direct observation, self-report, or neuropsychological testing, have significant limitations. Therefore, a novel tablet computer-based video simulation was created with the goal of being valid, reliable, and easy to administer. The design and implementation of the SIMBAC (Simulation-Based Assessment of Cognition) instrument is described in detail, as well as informatics "lessons learned" during development. The software emulates 5 common instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and scores participants' performance. The modules were chosen by a panel of geriatricians based on relevance to daily functioning and ability to be modeled electronically, and included facial recognition, pairing faces with the correct names, filling a pillbox, using an automated teller machine (ATM), and automatic renewal of a prescription using a telephone. Software development included three phases 1) a period of initial design and testing (alpha version), 2) pilot study with 10 cognitively normal and 10 cognitively impaired adults over the age of 60 (beta version), and 3) larger validation study with 162 older adults of mixed cognitive status (release version). Results of the pilot study are discussed in the context of refining the instrument; full results of the validation study are reported in a separate article. In both studies, SIMBAC reliably differentiated controls from persons with cognitive impairment, and performance was highly correlated with Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score. Several informatics challenges emerged during software development, which are broadly relevant to the design and use of electronic assessment tools. Solutions to these issues, such as protection of subject privacy and safeguarding against data loss, are discussed in depth. Collection of fine-grained data (highly detailed information such as time spent reading directions and the number of taps on screen) is also considered. SIMBAC provides

Evaluation of attention training and metacognitive facilitation to improve reading comprehension in aphasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jaime B; Moore Sohlberg, McKay

2013-05-01

This pilot study investigated the impact of direct attention training combined with metacognitive facilitation on reading comprehension in individuals with aphasia. A single-subject, multiple baseline design was employed across 4 participants to evaluate potential changes in reading comprehension resulting from an 8-week intervention using Attention Process Training-3 (APT-3). The primary outcome measure was a maze reading task. Pre- and posttesting included attention and reading comprehension measures. Visual inspection of graphed performance data across conditions was used as the primary method of analysis. Treatment effect sizes were calculated for changes in reading comprehension probes from baseline to maintenance phases. Two of the study's 4 participants demonstrated improvements in maze reading, with corresponding effect sizes that were small in magnitude according to benchmarks for aphasia treatment research. All 4 participants made improvements on select standardized measures of attention. Interventions that include a metacognitive component with direct attention training may elicit improvements in participants' attention and allocation of resources. Maze passage reading is a repeated measure that appears sensitive to treatment-related changes in reading comprehension. Issues for future research related to measurement, candidacy, and clinical delivery are discussed.

Child-centered reading intervention: See, talk, dictate, read, write!

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammet BAŞTUĞ

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Poor reading achievement of children in elementary schools has been one of the major concerns in education. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a child-centered reading intervention in eliminating the reading problems of a student with poor reading achievement. The research was conducted with a student having difficulty in reading. A reading intervention was designed that targeted multiple areas of reading and aimed to improve reading skills through the use of multiple strategies. This intervention is child-centered and includes visual aids, talking, dictating, reading and writing stages. The study was performed in 35 sessions consisting of stages of a single sentence (5 sessions, two sentences (5 sessions, three sentences (20 sessions and the text stage (5 sessions. The intervention sessions were audio-taped. These recordings and the written responses to the reading comprehension questions provided the data for analysis. The findings on the reading intervention revealed positive outcomes. The student exhibited certain improvements at the levels of reading, reading rate and reading comprehension. These results were discussed in the literature and the findings suggest that child-centered reading strategies such as talking, dictating and writing should be the main focus of instruction for students with low reading literacy achievement to enable these students to meet the demands of the curriculum.

Recent Directions in Remote Engineering and Virtual Instrumentation

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Tarek M. Sobh

2009-08-01

Full Text Available The 6th Remote Engineering and Virtual instrumentation Conference (REV 2009 was held at the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA during the period of June 22 – 25, 2009. The conference brought together engineering researchers, educators, and professionals to explore the fundamentals, future, and application of remote engineering in both industry and academia. Participants delivered papers, presented demonstrations, research posters, and shared experiences in virtual engineering. REV’09 drew more than 100 engineers, scientists and educators from around the world. Most of the participants were from Europe, but many came from Asia, North and South America, the Middle East and as far as Australia. More than 60 papers were presented on topics ranging from Telerobotics to Virtual and Remote Labs. Workshops and Tutorials drew widespread interest and exhibitors displayed their products for integrating remote engineering into academia. Poster sessions discussed topics such as Robotic Surgery and Development of Remote Labs in Physics. The general objective of REV 2009 was to discuss fundamentals, applications and experiences within the field of online engineering, both in industry and academia. The conference presentations and papers addressed several emerging trends in online engineering, remote laboratories, virtual instrumentation and educational applications of remote engineering.

[The methodological assessment and qualitative evaluation of psychometric performance tests based on the example of modern tests that assess reading and spelling skills].

Science.gov (United States)

Galuschka, Katharina; Rothe, Josefine; Schulte-Körne, Gerd

2015-09-01

This article looks at a means of objectively evaluating the quality of psychometric tests. This approach enables users to evaluate psychometric tests based on their methodological characteristics, in order to decide which instrument should be used. Reading and spelling assessment tools serve as examples. The paper also provides a review of German psychometric tests for the assessment of reading and spelling skills. This method facilitates the identification of psychometric tests.of high methodological quality which can be used for the assessment of reading and spelling skills. Reading performance should ideally be assessed with the following instruments: ELFE 1-6, LGVT 6-12, LESEN 6-7, LESEN 8-9, or WLLP-R. The tests to be used for the evaluation of spelling skills are DERET 1-2+, DERET 3-4+, WRT 1+, WRT 2+, WRT 3+, WRT 4+ or HSP 1-10.

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION THROUGH IINTERACTIVE READ-ALOUD TECHNIQUE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edi Santoso

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract: The present study, entitled Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension through Interactive Read-Aloud, attempts to unlock problems found in teaching and reading comprehension through interactive read-aloud in a Senior High School of Sport (SMAN Olah Raga Lampung, in Metro. The findings revealed that students’ reading comprehension improved through interactive read-aloud. The improvement can be seen from the increase of test results, meaning construction, and motivation. The process of reading activities showed that the teacher’s gesture and body language, 20 questions, explain and guess activities were proven to help the students construct meaning from the given texts. In addition, interactive read-aloud is effective to boost students’ motivation to comprehend the texts.   Key words: Reading comprehension, interactive read-aloud.

Reading faster

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Nation

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This article describes the visual nature of the reading process as it relates to reading speed. It points out that there is a physical limit on normal reading speed and beyond this limit the reading process will be different from normal reading where almost every word is attended to. The article describes a range of activities for developing reading fluency, and suggests how the development of fluency can become part of a reading programme.

THINK ALOUD PAIR PROBLEM SOLVING (TAPPS STRATEGY IN TEACHING READING

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Muhammad Zuhri Dj

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This research is aim to know what extent the achievement of students’ reading comprehension by using Think Aloud Pair Problem Solving (TAPPS strategy at the tenth grade students of SMKN 3 Watampone. the objectives of the research is to know what extent the achievement of student’s reading comprehension by using Think Aloud Pair Problem Solving (TAPPS strategy. The population of this research is the tenth grade students of SMKN 3 Watampone which has 149 students. The writers applied random sampling, because the school has students more than 100 students. The X Multimedia Class is taken as the sample, because it has many students who have low values in English subject based on their teacher report. This research employs an instrument based on the problem statements investigated, It is Reading comprehension test. After several meetings, this research finds out the achievement of students’ reading comprehension significantly effective to improve the student’s reading comprehension. The result of this research shows that the mean score obtained by the students through pretest was 46.545 and posttest was 88.364; the t-test value was higher than the t-table (49.385 > 2.080. It means that there is a significant difference between the result of the students’ pretest and posttest

Extensive reading through the Internet: is it worth the while?

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Juan Pino Silva

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Reading materials written in English is the prime goal of many reading programs around the world. Extensive reading (ER has for years aided new students at my institution to gradually acquire large vocabularies and other sub-skills that are needed to read fluently. To continue to do that effectively, a new scheme involving the use of internet - called w-ERP- was set in place in collaboration with the students. The main focus of this article is to describe the 3-phase, gradual process that led to the current design of the web-based ER scheme. The paper begins with a brief discussion of ER, reading on line (RO and self-directed learning as part of the rationale for the new scheme. Participants’ preliminary data on the benefits and potentials for learning to read and reading for learning other things are discussed.

On the Nonsmooth, Nonconstant Velocity of Braille Reading and Reversals

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Barry; McClelland, Amber; Henare, Dion

2014-01-01

Relative to print reading, braille-reading finger movements are held to be of more constant speed, with continuous and exhaustive contact with all words. However, the continuity of movements is intermittent in two distinct ways: (a) readers reverse direction and reread material already encountered and (b) the continual fluctuations of velocity…

Lexical quality and executive control predict children's first and second language reading comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Raudszus, Henriette; Segers, Eliane; Verhoeven, Ludo

2018-01-01

This study compared how lexical quality (vocabulary and decoding) and executive control (working memory and inhibition) predict reading comprehension directly as well as indirectly, via syntactic integration, in monolingual and bilingual fourth grade children. The participants were 76 monolingual and 102 bilingual children (mean age 10 years, SD  = 5 months) learning to read Dutch in the Netherlands. Bilingual children showed lower Dutch vocabulary, syntactic integration and reading comprehension skills, but better decoding skills than their monolingual peers. There were no differences in working memory or inhibition. Multigroup path analysis showed relatively invariant connections between predictors and reading comprehension for monolingual and bilingual readers. For both groups, there was a direct effect of lexical quality on reading comprehension. In addition, lexical quality and executive control indirectly influenced reading comprehension via syntactic integration. The groups differed in that inhibition more strongly predicted syntactic integration for bilingual than for monolingual children. For a subgroup of bilingual children, for whom home language vocabulary data were available ( n  = 56), there was an additional positive effect of home language vocabulary on second language reading comprehension. Together, the results suggest that similar processes underlie reading comprehension in first and second language readers, but that syntactic integration requires more executive control in second language reading. Moreover, bilingual readers additionally benefit from first language vocabulary to arrive at second language reading comprehension.

Self-Esteem and Reading Achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Sweet, Anne E.; Burbach, Harold J.

This study investigated the directionality of the relationship between self-esteem and reading achievement in 286 students in Lynchburg, Virginia. During the first year of the three-year study, subjects were fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and the SRA Achievement Series subscales were administered; sex and…

Effects of Online Reciprocal Teaching on Reading Strategies, Comprehension, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ching-Ting; Yang, Shu Ching

2015-01-01

This study examines the effects of two types of online remedial reading interventions on the reading strategy and comprehension, motivational beliefs, and self-efficacy of 36 low-achieving students (explicit teaching before reciprocal teaching [ET-RT] vs. direct instruction [DI]). We designed a 10-unit online remedial English reading program based…

Experimental study of flow monitoring instruments in air-water, two-phase downflow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheppard, J.D.; Hayes, P.H.; Wynn, M.C.

1976-01-01

The performance of a turbine meter, target flow meter (drag disk), and a gamma densitometer was studied in air-water, two-phase vertical downflow. Air and water were metered into an 0.0889-m-ID (3.5-in.) piping system; air flows ranged from 0.007 to 0.3 m 3 /sec (16 to 500 scfm) and water flows ranged from 0.0006 to 0.03 m 3 /sec (10 to 500 gpm). The study included effects of flow rate, quality, flow regime, and flow dispersion on the mean and fluctuating components of the instrument signals. Wire screen flow dispersers located at the inlet to the test section had a significant effect on the readings of the drag disk and gamma densitometer, but had little effect on the turbine. Further, when flow dispersers were used, mass flow rates determined from the three instrument readings and a two-velocity, slip flow model showed good agreement with actual mass flow rate over a three-fold range in quality; mass flows determined with the drag disk and densitometer readings assuming homogeneous flow were nearly as accurate. However, when mass flows were calculated using the turbine and densitometer or turbine and drag disk readings assuming homogeneous flow, results were scattered and relatively inaccurate compared to the actual mass flows. Turbine meter data were used with a two-velocity turbine model and continuity relationships for each phase to determine the void fraction and mean phase velocities in the test section. The void fraction was compared with single beam gamma densitometer results and fluid momentum calculated from a two-velocity model was compared with drag disk readings

Directional Scanning as a Function of Stimulus Characteristics, Reading Habits, and Directional Set

Science.gov (United States)

Nachshon, Israel; And Others

1977-01-01

"32 English readers and 32 Hebrew readers were shown stimuli with directional characteristics (English and Hebrew letters) and stimuli with no directional characteristics (arrays of different circles, bars, colors, and geometric figures) for scanning. The results showed that, while directional stimulus characteristics affected the direction…

Promoting preschool reading

OpenAIRE

Istenič, Vesna

2013-01-01

The thesis titled Promoting preschool reading consists of a theoretiral and an empirical part. In the theoretical part I wrote about reading, the importance of reading, types of reading, about reading motivation, promoting reading motivation, internal and external motivation, influence of reading motivation on the child's reading activity, reading and familial literacy, the role of adults in promotion reading literacy, reading to a child and promoting reading in pre-school years, where I ...

A teaching-learning sequence about weather map reading

Science.gov (United States)

Mandrikas, Achilleas; Stavrou, Dimitrios; Skordoulis, Constantine

2017-07-01

In this paper a teaching-learning sequence (TLS) introducing pre-service elementary teachers (PET) to weather map reading, with emphasis on wind assignment, is presented. The TLS includes activities about recognition of wind symbols, assignment of wind direction and wind speed on a weather map and identification of wind characteristics in a weather forecast. Sixty PET capabilities and difficulties in understanding weather maps were investigated, using inquiry-based learning activities. The results show that most PET became more capable of reading weather maps and assigning wind direction and speed on them. Our results also show that PET could be guided to understand meteorology concepts useful in everyday life and in teaching their future students.

Lenses on metacognition: Teachers’ perceptions toward strategies in reading in a Pakistani context

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Channa, Mansoor A.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The research in the field of metacognition for developing reading is not new; metacognition has been used for many years to identify ways to develop students’ reading comprehension. Most previous research has addressed either primary or secondary level students. However, notably few studies have been conducted at the undergraduate level. This study has attempted to initiate strategies to assist first-year engineering students in developing their reading abilities within a Pakistani context. The primary objective of this research was to identify what strategies first-year engineering students use in developing their reading at Quaid-e-Awam University of engineering science and technology in Pakistan. This study used qualitative instruments that included semi-structured interviews with teachers and classroom observations during read-aloud sessions. The data were organized through NVivo version 8 for obtaining nodes, codes, and main themes for interpreting the results. The results of this study demonstrated that teachers should use metacognitive strategies for developing students’ reading abilities. Findings also revealed that reading strategies, such as text scanning, guesses from contextual clues, drawing on prior knowledge, and using a dictionary, are the most important strategies to use for developing the reading skills and comprehension of engineering students. This study has suggested metacognitive strategies be used for promoting students’ reading abilities and that teachers should design and develop more courses using these strategies to enhance the reading and listening skills of engineering students.

Parents' reading-related knowledge and children's reading acquisition.

Science.gov (United States)

Ladd, Megan; Martin-Chang, Sandra; Levesque, Kyle

2011-12-01

Teacher reading-related knowledge (phonological awareness and phonics knowledge) predicts student reading, however little is known about the reading-related knowledge of parents. Participants comprised 70 dyads (children from kindergarten and grade 1 and their parents). Parents were administered a questionnaire tapping into reading-related knowledge, print exposure, storybook reading, and general cultural knowledge. Children were tested on measures of letter-word knowledge, sound awareness, receptive vocabulary, oral expression, and mathematical skill. Parent reading-related knowledge showed significant positive links with child letter-word knowledge and sound awareness, but showed no correlations with child measures of mathematical skill or vocabulary. Furthermore, parent reading-related knowledge was not associated with parents' own print exposure or cultural knowledge, indicating that knowledge about English word structure may be separate from other cognitive skills. Implications are discussed in terms of improving parent reading-related knowledge to promote child literacy.

We learn to write by reading, but writing can make you smarter We learn to write by reading, but writing can make you smarter

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Stephen Krashen

2008-04-01

Full Text Available My goal in this paper is to make two points: 1. Writing style does not come from writing or from direct instruction, but from reading. 2. Actual writing can help us solve problems and can make us smarter. Writing Style Comes from Reading A substantial amount of research slrongly suggests that wc learn to write by reading. To be more precise, wc acquire writing style, the special language of writing, by reading. Hypothesizing that writing style comes from reading, not from writing or instruction, is consistent with what is known about language acquisition: Most of language acquisition takes place subconsciously, not through deliberate study, and it is a result of input (comprehension, not output (production (Krashen, 1982. Thus, if you wrile a page a day, your writing style or your command of mechanics will not improve. On Ihe other hand, other good things may result from your writing, as we shall see in the second section of this paper. My goal in this paper is to make two points: 1. Writing style does not come from writing or from direct instruction, but from reading. 2. Actual writing can help us solve problems and can make us smarter. Writing Style Comes from Reading A substantial amount of research slrongly suggests that wc learn to write by reading. To be more precise, wc acquire writing style, the special language of writing, by reading. Hypothesizing that writing style comes from reading, not from writing or instruction, is consistent with what is known about language acquisition: Most of language acquisition takes place subconsciously, not through deliberate study, and it is a result of input (comprehension, not output (production (Krashen, 1982. Thus, if you wrile a page a day, your writing style or your command of mechanics will not improve. On Ihe other hand, other good things may result from your writing, as we shall see in the second section of this paper.

Reading Strategies to Develop Higher Thinking Skills for Reading Comprehension (Estrategias de lectura para el desarrollo de habilidades de pensamiento para la comprensión de lectura)

Science.gov (United States)

Echeverri Acosta, Luz Marina; McNulty Ferri, Maria

2010-01-01

This paper reports an action research project which examined the foreign language reading comprehension of public school eighth graders who experienced a directed reading-thinking approach with strategies for comprehension and application. The strategies used were prediction, prior knowledge, graphic organizers, and questions. Data analyzed…

Template-Directed Instrumentation Reduces Cost and Improves Efficiency for Total Knee Arthroplasty: An Economic Decision Analysis and Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

McLawhorn, Alexander S; Carroll, Kaitlin M; Blevins, Jason L; DeNegre, Scott T; Mayman, David J; Jerabek, Seth A

2015-10-01

Template-directed instrumentation (TDI) for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) may streamline operating room (OR) workflow and reduce costs by preselecting implants and minimizing instrument tray burden. A decision model simulated the economics of TDI. Sensitivity analyses determined thresholds for model variables to ensure TDI success. A clinical pilot was reviewed. The accuracy of preoperative templates was validated, and 20 consecutive primary TKAs were performed using TDI. The model determined that preoperative component size estimation should be accurate to ±1 implant size for 50% of TKAs to implement TDI. The pilot showed that preoperative template accuracy exceeded 97%. There were statistically significant improvements in OR turnover time and in-room time for TDI compared to an historical cohort of TKAs. TDI reduces costs and improves OR efficiency. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The trend of foreign direct investment movement: Did unintended nation brand of legal-families play an instrumental role?

OpenAIRE

Tse, Chin-Bun; Kam, Oi-Yan

2018-01-01

Combining the suggestion from Fan (2006) that a nation can have a brand image without deliberating efforts of nation branding and the work from Klerman et al. (2011) on Colonial History and effects on legal systems, we view that legal-systems could be an unintended nation brand that could instrumentally affect foreign direct investment (FDI) activities. We classify 193 countries according to their Colonial History or no-Colonial History into 5 legal-families. Applying Generalised Methods of M...

Thickness measurement instrument with memory storage of multiple calibrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lieber, S.; Schlesinger, J.; Lieber, D.; Baker, A.

1979-01-01

An improved backscatter instrument for the nondestructive measurement of coatings on a substrate is described. A memory having selectable memory areas, each area having stored intelligence available which is determinative of the shape of a functional plot of coating thickness versus backscatter counts per minute unique for each particular combination of emitting isotope, substrate material, coating material and physical characteristics of the measuring instrument. A memory selector switch connects a selected area of memory to a microprocessor operating under program control whereby the microprocessor reads the intelligence stored at the selected area and converts the backscattered count of the coating being measured into indicia of coating thickness

Weather Instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Brantley, L. Reed, Sr.; Demanche, Edna L.; Klemm, E. Barbara; Kyselka, Will; Phillips, Edwin A.; Pottenger, Francis M.; Yamamoto, Karen N.; Young, Donald B.

This booklet presents some activities to measure various weather phenomena. Directions for constructing a weather station are included. Instruments including rain gauges, thermometers, wind vanes, wind speed devices, humidity devices, barometers, atmospheric observations, a dustfall jar, sticky-tape can, detection of gases in the air, and pH of…

Why should I read? - A cross-cultural investigation into adolescents' reading socialisation and reading attitude

Science.gov (United States)

Broeder, Peter; Stokmans, Mia

2013-06-01

While reading behaviour of adolescents is a frequent object of research, most studies in this field are restricted to a single country. This study investigates reading as a leisure-time activity across social groups from three regions differing in reading tradition as well as in the facilities available for reading. The authors analyse the reading behaviour of a total of 2,173 adolescents in the Netherlands, in Beijing (China), and in Cape Town (South Africa). Taking Icek Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour as a starting point, the authors adjusted it to model the three most important determinants of reading behaviour, namely (1) reading attitude; (2) subjective norms (implicit and explicit social pressure to read); and (3) perceived behavioural control, which includes reading proficiency and appropriateness of the available books (book supply). While they found the adjusted model to fit the Dutch and Beijing situation quite well, it appeared to be inappropriate for the Cape Town situation. Despite considerable cultural and situational differences between the Netherlands and Beijing, the results show a similar pattern for these two environments. The most important determinants turn out to be: the hedonic reading attitude, the implicit norm of family and friends, the attractiveness of the available choice of books, and the perceived reading proficiency.

The Los Alamos accelerator control system data base: A generic instrumentation interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalesio, L.R.

1990-01-01

Controlling experimental-physics applications requires a control system that can be quickly integrated and easily modified. One aspect of the control system is the interface to the instrumentation. An instrumentation set has been chosen to implement the basic functions needed to monitor and control these applications. A data-driven interface to this instrumentation set provides the required quick integration of the control system. This type of interface is limited by its built-in capabilities. Therefore, these capabilities must provide an adequate range of functions to be of any use. The data-driven interface must support the instrumentation range requird, the events on which to read or control the instrumentation and a method for manipulating the data to calculate terms or close control loops. The database for the Los Alamos Accelerator Control System addresses these requirements. (orig.)

Robust Instrumentation[Water treatment for power plant]; Robust Instrumentering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wik, Anders [Vattenfall Utveckling AB, Stockholm (Sweden)

2003-08-01

Cementa Slite Power Station is a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) with moderate steam data; 3.0 MPa and 420 deg C. The heat is recovered from Cementa, a cement industry, without any usage of auxiliary fuel. The Power station commenced operation in 2001. The layout of the plant is unusual, there are no similar in Sweden and very few world-wide, so the operational experiences are limited. In connection with the commissioning of the power plant a R and D project was identified with the objective to minimise the manpower needed for chemistry management of the plant. The lean chemistry management is based on robust instrumentation and chemical-free water treatment plant. The concept with robust instrumentation consists of the following components; choice of on-line instrumentation with a minimum of O and M and a chemical-free water treatment. The parameters are specific conductivity, cation conductivity, oxygen and pH. In addition to that, two fairly new on-line instruments were included; corrosion monitors and differential pH calculated from specific and cation conductivity. The chemical-free water treatment plant consists of softening, reverse osmosis and electro-deionisation. The operational experience shows that the cycle chemistry is not within the guidelines due to major problems with the operation of the power plant. These problems have made it impossible to reach steady state and thereby not viable to fully verify and validate the concept with robust instrumentation. From readings on the panel of the online analysers some conclusions may be drawn, e.g. the differential pH measurements have fulfilled the expectations. The other on-line analysers have been working satisfactorily apart from contamination with turbine oil, which has been noticed at least twice. The corrosion monitors seem to be working but the lack of trend curves from the mainframe computer system makes it hard to draw any clear conclusions. The chemical-free water treatment has met all

[Achievements of an educational strategy promoting participation in the development of clinical aptitude and critical reading in cardiology residents, linked to appropriate use of research reports].

Science.gov (United States)

Valencia-Sánchez, Jesús Salvador; Leyva-González, Félix Arturo; Viniegra-Velázquez, Leonardo

2007-01-01

To search the reach of educative strategy promoting the participation, to estimate the development of clinical aptitude and critical reading attaching the appropriate use of clinic research in cardiology residents. Prospective study. The instrument of clinical aptitude was constructed with five cases and 170 items and the instrument of critical reading was developed with five summaries of articles of clinical research in cardiology by 120 items. The strategy was performed with activities one a week during six months by two hours per class, in the period: March and September, 2005. Reading guides were delivered to the participants a week before that included a clinical case and clinic research of cardiology. During the activities in class we were promoting the participation and discussion. Both measuring instruments were performed in the first (initial measuring) and final session (final measuring). Non parametric test were used because the variable of the subjects were not normal distribution and the scale was ordinal. The reliability coefficient in both instruments with the Kuder-Richardson was 0.90 and 0.85 respectively. After educative strategy was observed a significant advance in the global calcifications, such as in critical reading and in clinical aptitude (p = 0.001 and 0.5 respectively). Analyzing in an independent manner the components of critical reading we found significant advancement in the indicators interpretation and judgment. In clinical aptitude we found significant progress in the indicators: the suitable use of paraclinics resources, the appropriate use of therapeutics measurement and iatropatogenic decisions for omission. The educative strategy promoting the participation, permitted to get a change in the clinical aptitude and critical reading attaching the appropriate use of sources of investigation in cardiology residents.

Data acquisition instruments: Psychopharmacology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hartley, D.S. III

1998-01-01

This report contains the results of a Direct Assistance Project performed by Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc., for Dr. K. O. Jobson. The purpose of the project was to perform preliminary analysis of the data acquisition instruments used in the field of psychiatry, with the goal of identifying commonalities of data and strategies for handling and using the data in the most advantageous fashion. Data acquisition instruments from 12 sources were provided by Dr. Jobson. Several commonalities were identified and a potentially useful data strategy is reported here. Analysis of the information collected for utility in performing diagnoses is recommended. In addition, further work is recommended to refine the commonalities into a directly useful computer systems structure.

Validity, reliability, feasibility, acceptability and educational impact of direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS).

Science.gov (United States)

Naeem, Naghma

2013-01-01

Direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) is a new workplace assessment tool. The aim of this narrative review of literature is to summarize the available evidence about the validity, reliability, feasibility, acceptability and educational impact of DOPS. A PubMed database and Google search of the literature on DOPS published from January 2000 to January 2012 was conducted which yielded 30 articles. Thirteen articles were selected for full text reading and review. In the reviewed literature, DOPS was found to be a useful tool for assessment of procedural skills, but further research is required to prove its utility as a workplace based assessment instrument.

Comparison of reading speed with 3 different log-scaled reading charts.

Science.gov (United States)

Buari, Noor Halilah; Chen, Ai-Hong; Musa, Nuraini

2014-01-01

A reading chart that resembles real reading conditions is important to evaluate the quality of life in terms of reading performance. The purpose of this study was to compare the reading speed of UiTM Malay related words (UiTM-Mrw) reading chart with MNread Acuity Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart. Fifty subjects with normal sight were randomly recruited through randomized sampling in this study (mean age=22.98±1.65 years). Subjects were asked to read three different near charts aloud and as quickly as possible at random sequence. The charts were the UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart, MNread Acuity Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart, respectively. The time taken to read each chart was recorded and any errors while reading were noted. Reading performance was quantified in terms of reading speed as words per minute (wpm). The mean reading speed for UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart, MNread Acuity Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart was 200±30wpm, 196±28wpm and 194±31wpm, respectively. Comparison of reading speed between UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart and MNread Acuity Chart showed no significant difference (t=-0.73, p=0.72). The same happened with the reading speed between UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart (t=-0.97, p=0.55). Bland and Altman plot showed good agreement between reading speed of UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart with MNread Acuity Chart with the Colenbrander Reading Chart. UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart in Malay language is highly comparable with standardized charts and can be used for evaluating reading speed. Copyright © 2013 Spanish General Council of Optometry. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Method of EFL Instruction and Its Dependence on Learners Reading Comprehension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehrnoosh Eslami

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Today's research suggests that stress can block chemical reactions in the brain that are necessary for learning. To illuminate how it can be destructive for EFL learners in reading comprehension, the present study used two classes one in which the subjects were asked to paraphrase a reading comprehension text before it was taught by the teacher (class1 and another in which the teacher taught the reading passage first and then asked the students some questions about it (class2. The data were gathered through 2 instruments, namely, a test and indirect observation. The analysis of the results indicated that students in the class in which the teachers had taught the lesson first and had then asked questions performed better and had less signs of stress in comparison with the other group. Overall, the results indicate that in class1 since the subjects are under the pressure and stress of being singled out, they constantly read the next paragraph without paying attention to the paragraph which was being presented by their classmate and the teacher. However, the case is vice versa in class 2 since as the teacher teaches the passage, students pay attention to her carefully in order to answer her questions after reading the passage without any stress on being called upon to read in a passage which they are not familiar with yet.

Instrumentation of the thermal/structural interactions in situ tests at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Munson, D.E. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Repository Isolation Systems Div.; Hoag, D.L.; Blankenship, D.A.; DeYonge, W.F.; Schiermeister, D.M. [RE/SPEC, Inc., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Jones, R.L.; Baird, G.T. [Tech Reps, Inc., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

1997-04-01

The Department of Energy has constructed the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to develop the technology for the disposal of radioactive waste from defense programs. Sandia National Laboratories had the responsibility for the experimental activities at the WIPP and fielded several large-scale Thermal/Structural Interactions (TSI) in situ tests to validate techniques used to predict repository performance. The instrumentation of these tests involved the placement of over 4,200 gages including room closure gages, borehole extensometers, stress gages, borehole inclinometers, fixed reference gages, borehole strain gages, thermocouples, thermal flux meters, heater power gages, environmental gages, and ventilation gages. Most of the gages were remotely read instruments that were monitored by an automated data acquisition system, but manually read instruments were also used to provide early deformation information and to provide a redundancy of measurement for the remote gages. Instruments were selected that could operate in the harsh environment of the test rooms and that could accommodate the ranges of test room responses predicted by pretest calculations. Instruments were tested in the field prior to installation at the WIPP site and were modified to improve their performance. Other modifications were made to gages as the TSI tests progressed using knowledge gained from test maintenance. Quality assurance procedures were developed for all aspects of instrumentation including calibration, installation, and maintenance. The instrumentation performed exceptionally well and has produced a large quantity of quality information.

Instrumentation of the thermal/structural interactions in situ tests at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munson, D.E.; Jones, R.L.; Baird, G.T.

1997-04-01

The Department of Energy has constructed the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to develop the technology for the disposal of radioactive waste from defense programs. Sandia National Laboratories had the responsibility for the experimental activities at the WIPP and fielded several large-scale Thermal/Structural Interactions (TSI) in situ tests to validate techniques used to predict repository performance. The instrumentation of these tests involved the placement of over 4,200 gages including room closure gages, borehole extensometers, stress gages, borehole inclinometers, fixed reference gages, borehole strain gages, thermocouples, thermal flux meters, heater power gages, environmental gages, and ventilation gages. Most of the gages were remotely read instruments that were monitored by an automated data acquisition system, but manually read instruments were also used to provide early deformation information and to provide a redundancy of measurement for the remote gages. Instruments were selected that could operate in the harsh environment of the test rooms and that could accommodate the ranges of test room responses predicted by pretest calculations. Instruments were tested in the field prior to installation at the WIPP site and were modified to improve their performance. Other modifications were made to gages as the TSI tests progressed using knowledge gained from test maintenance. Quality assurance procedures were developed for all aspects of instrumentation including calibration, installation, and maintenance. The instrumentation performed exceptionally well and has produced a large quantity of quality information

Analysis on detection accuracy of binocular photoelectric instrument optical axis parallelism digital calibration instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Ying, Jia-ju; Yin, Jian-ling; Wu, Dong-sheng; Liu, Jie; Chen, Yu-dan

2017-11-01

Low-light level night vision device and thermal infrared imaging binocular photoelectric instrument are used widely. The maladjustment of binocular instrument ocular axises parallelism will cause the observer the symptom such as dizziness, nausea, when use for a long time. Binocular photoelectric equipment digital calibration instrument is developed for detecting ocular axises parallelism. And the quantitative value of optical axis deviation can be quantitatively measured. As a testing instrument, the precision must be much higher than the standard of test instrument. Analyzes the factors that influence the accuracy of detection. Factors exist in each testing process link which affect the precision of the detecting instrument. They can be divided into two categories, one category is factors which directly affect the position of reticle image, the other category is factors which affect the calculation the center of reticle image. And the Synthesize error is calculated out. And further distribute the errors reasonably to ensure the accuracy of calibration instruments.

Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension Through Text Structure Tasks

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Abdul Rohman

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Reading skill is one of the four main language skills taught in the classes of the English Department of Faculty of Education of Islamic University of Malang (FKIP Unisma. As the result of teaching reading had not achieved satisfactory result, the researcher conducted a study to find out how texts structure tasks can improve the students’ reading comprehension.            The method employed in this research was a classroom action research. It comprised four phases: planning, implementation, observation and reflection. The steps were adopted from Kemmis and Taggart’s action research model (1988. The subjects of the study were the four semester students of the English Department of FKIP Unisma in 2006 academic year. In the procedures and implementation process, one cycle consisting of four actions was done.            The instruments used in the study were observation sheets and test. The observation sheets were made two forms. One form of observation sheets was to observe the teacher in implementing the action and the other observation sheets were used to observe the students’ activities or reaction to the teachers’ activities during the learning-teaching process. The second instrument used was a test. It was to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy used.After four actions were conducted, a test was given to the students. The test result showed that the students’ mean score was 75.88 and the lowest score the students obtained was 65. The researcher decided that no more cycle was needed for the study had met the criteria of success. The action was considered successful if the students’ mean score reached 75 or under the category of B+, and the lowest score the student obtain was not less than 65.00.

Promoting the Reading Culture Towards Human Capital and Global Development

Science.gov (United States)

Olasehinde, M. O.; Akanmode, O. A.; Alaiyemola, A. T.; Babatunde, O. T.

2015-01-01

It is commonly agreed that a country cannot be fully developed without large-scale investment in her educational scheme since the breakthrough of a country is directly proportional to her educational level. Since the acquisition of effective reading skills has a positive effect on all school subjects, then reading is sine-qua-non for human capital…

Calibration of a reading comprehension test for Portuguese students

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Irene Cadime

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Reading comprehension assessments are important for determining which students are performing below the expected levels for their grade's normative group. However, instruments measuring this competency should also be able to assess students' gains in reading comprehension as they move from one grade to the next. In this paper, we present the construction and calibration process of three vertically scaled test forms of an original reading comprehension test to assess second, third and fourth grade students. A sample of 843 students was used. Rasch model analyses were employed during the following three phases of this study: (a analysis of the items' pool, (b item selection for the test forms, and (c test forms' calibration. Results suggest that a one dimension structure underlies the data. Mean-square residuals (infit and outfit indicated that the data fitted the model. Thirty items were assigned to each test form, by selecting the most adequate items for each grade in terms of difficulty. The reliability coefficients for each test form were high. Limitations and potentialities of the developed test forms are discussed.

Using Cooperative Learning In Teaching Critical Thinking In Reading

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Anit Pranita Devi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigates how cooperative learning facilitates students in learning critical thinking in reading and to find out the benefits and challenges during the implementation of cooperative learning in one vocational school in Cimahi. A case study is utilized by using instruments of classroom observations, questionnaires, semi structured interview and students’ written tests. The findings show that the implementation of cooperative learning facilitates students develop their critical thinking and enhance critical thinking dispositions in reading. Three features which contribute to the development of students’ critical thinking in reading are: the encouragement of student-student interaction; the provision of group purposes; and the provision of stimulus to the students’ development of thought and ideas. The aforementioned features promote benefits which involved higher motivation and involvement, increased opportunity for language use, and developed interpersonal relationship. Nevertheless, these benefits are constrained by the availability of time, students’ English proficiency, and students’ contribution to the groupwork. It is recommended that further researchers conduct the similar study in a longer period to make sure that the key elements of cooperative learning are well-structured.

Automatic track counting with an optic RAM-based instrument

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staderini, E.M.; Castellano, Alfredo

1986-01-01

A new image sensor, the optic RAM, is now used in a microprocessor controlled instrument to read and digitize images from CR39 solid state nuclear track detectors. The system performs image analysis, filtering, tracks counting and evaluation in a fully automatic way, not requiring an optic microscope, nor photographic or television devices. The proposed system is a very compact and low power device. (author)

Experimental Study on RFID Antenna Reading Areas in a Tunnel System

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Kai Kordelin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We study optimized antenna reading area mappings for a radiofrequency identification- (RFID- based access monitoring system, used in an underground nuclear waste storage facility. We shortly introduce the access monitoring system developed for the ONKALO tunnel in Finland and describe the antenna mounting points as well as the research area. Finally, we study the measurement results of the antenna reading areas and factors that affect the reading area size. Based on our results, in addition to antenna location and direction, absorption to obstacles, reflections, diffraction, scattering, and refraction affect the antenna reading area.

Critical Science Instrument Alignment of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM)

Science.gov (United States)

Rohrbach, Scott O.; Kubalak, David A.; Gracey, Renee M.; Sabatke, Derek S.; Howard, Joseph M.; Telfer, Randal C.; Zielinski, Thomas P.

2016-01-01

This paper describes the critical instrument alignment terms associated with the six-degree of freedom alignment of each the Science Instrument (SI) in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), including focus, pupil shear, pupil clocking, and boresight. We present the test methods used during cryogenic-vacuum tests to directly measure the performance of each parameter, the requirements levied on each, and the impact of any violations of these requirements at the instrument and Observatory level.

Virtual Sensor Test Instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Roy

2011-01-01

Virtual Sensor Test Instrumentation is based on the concept of smart sensor technology for testing with intelligence needed to perform sell-diagnosis of health, and to participate in a hierarchy of health determination at sensor, process, and system levels. A virtual sensor test instrumentation consists of five elements: (1) a common sensor interface, (2) microprocessor, (3) wireless interface, (4) signal conditioning and ADC/DAC (analog-to-digital conversion/ digital-to-analog conversion), and (5) onboard EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) for metadata storage and executable software to create powerful, scalable, reconfigurable, and reliable embedded and distributed test instruments. In order to maximize the efficient data conversion through the smart sensor node, plug-and-play functionality is required to interface with traditional sensors to enhance their identity and capabilities for data processing and communications. Virtual sensor test instrumentation can be accessible wirelessly via a Network Capable Application Processor (NCAP) or a Smart Transducer Interlace Module (STIM) that may be managed under real-time rule engines for mission-critical applications. The transducer senses the physical quantity being measured and converts it into an electrical signal. The signal is fed to an A/D converter, and is ready for use by the processor to execute functional transformation based on the sensor characteristics stored in a Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS). Virtual sensor test instrumentation is built upon an open-system architecture with standardized protocol modules/stacks to interface with industry standards and commonly used software. One major benefit for deploying the virtual sensor test instrumentation is the ability, through a plug-and-play common interface, to convert raw sensor data in either analog or digital form, to an IEEE 1451 standard-based smart sensor, which has instructions to program sensors for a wide variety of

What oral text reading fluency can reveal about reading comprehension

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veenendaal, N.J.; Groen, M.A.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.

2015-01-01

Text reading fluency – the ability to read quickly, accurately and with a natural intonation – has been proposed as a predictor of reading comprehension. In the current study, we examined the role of oral text reading fluency, defined as text reading rate and text reading prosody, as a contributor

Using the Networked Peer Support Strategy to Enhance Reading Comprehension for Students with Various Thinking Styles

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chien I.; Chang, Chih C.

2017-01-01

How to enhance students' reading comprehension as well as reading interest is a currently serious problem for elementary school students. Students can learn various knowledge through reading, as a result of this reason, the advantage and disadvantage of reading ability could directly affect the learning efficiency. This study proposes networked…

Clinical dosimetry with plastic scintillators - Almost energy independent, direct absorbed dose reading with high resolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Quast, U; Fluehs, D [Department of Radiotherapy, Essen (Germany). Div. of Clinical Radiation Physics; Fluehs, D; Kolanoski, H [Dortmund Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik

1996-08-01

Clinical dosimetry is still far behind the goal to measure any spatial or temporal distribution of absorbed dose fast and precise without disturbing the physical situation by the dosimetry procedure. NE 102A plastic scintillators overcome this border. These tissue substituting dosemeter probes open a wide range of new clinical applications of dosimetry. This versatile new dosimetry system enables fast measurement of the absorbed dose to water in water also in regions with a steep dose gradient, close to interfaces, or in partly shielded regions. It allows direct reading dosimetry in the energy range of all clinically used external photon and electron beams, or around all branchytherapy sources. Thin detector arrays permit fast and high resolution measurements in quality assurance, such as in-vivo dosimetry or even afterloading dose monitoring. A main field of application is the dosimetric treatment planning, the individual optimization of brachytherapy applicators. Thus, plastic scintillator dosemeters cover optimally all difficult fields of clinical dosimetry. An overview about its characteristics and applications is given here. 20 refs, 1 fig.

Accurately Localize and Recognize Instruments with Substation Inspection Robot in Complex Environments

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Hui Song

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This paper designs and develops an automatic detection system in the substation environment where complex and multi-inspecting objects exist. The inspection robot is able to fix and identify the objects quickly using a visual servo control system. This paper focuses on the analysis of fast lockup and recognition method of the substation instruments based on an improved Adaboost algorithm. The robot adjusts its position to the best view point and best resolution for the instrument in real-time. The dial and pointer of the instruments are detected with an improved Hough algorithm, and the angle of the pointer is converted to the corresponding readings. The experimental results indicate that the inspection robot can fix and identify the substation instruments quickly, and has a wide range of practical applications.

The Effects of Extensive Reading on Reading Comprehension, Reading Rate, and Vocabulary Acquisition

Science.gov (United States)

Suk, Namhee

2017-01-01

Several empirical studies and syntheses of extensive reading have concluded that extensive reading has positive impacts on language learning in second- and foreign-language settings. However, many of the studies contained methodological or curricular limitations, raising questions about the asserted positive effects of extensive reading. The…

The Effects of Visual Attention Span and Phonological Decoding in Reading Comprehension in Dyslexia: A Path Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chen; Schneps, Matthew H; Masyn, Katherine E; Thomson, Jennifer M

2016-11-01

Increasing evidence has shown visual attention span to be a factor, distinct from phonological skills, that explains single-word identification (pseudo-word/word reading) performance in dyslexia. Yet, little is known about how well visual attention span explains text comprehension. Observing reading comprehension in a sample of 105 high school students with dyslexia, we used a pathway analysis to examine the direct and indirect path between visual attention span and reading comprehension while controlling for other factors such as phonological awareness, letter identification, short-term memory, IQ and age. Integrating phonemic decoding efficiency skills in the analytic model, this study aimed to disentangle how visual attention span and phonological skills work together in reading comprehension for readers with dyslexia. We found visual attention span to have a significant direct effect on more difficult reading comprehension but not on an easier level. It also had a significant direct effect on pseudo-word identification but not on word identification. In addition, we found that visual attention span indirectly explains reading comprehension through pseudo-word reading and word reading skills. This study supports the hypothesis that at least part of the dyslexic profile can be explained by visual attention abilities. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Measuring Medical Housestaff Teamwork Performance Using Multiple Direct Observation Instruments: Comparing Apples and Apples.

Science.gov (United States)

Weingart, Saul N; Yaghi, Omar; Wetherell, Matthew; Sweeney, Megan

2018-04-10

To examine the composition and concordance of existing instruments used to assess medical teams' performance. A trained observer joined 20 internal medicine housestaff teams for morning work rounds at Tufts Medical Center, a 415-bed Boston teaching hospital, from October through December 2015. The observer rated each team's performance using 9 teamwork observation instruments that examined domains including team structure, leadership, situation monitoring, mutual support, and communication. Observations recorded on paper forms were stored electronically. Scores were normalized from 1 (low) to 5 (high) to account for different rating scales. Overall mean scores were calculated and graphed; weighted scores adjusted for the number of items in each teamwork domain. Teamwork scores were analyzed using t-tests, pair-wise correlations, and the Kruskal-Wallis statistic, and team performance was compared across instruments by domain. The 9 tools incorporated 5 major domains, with 5-35 items per instrument for a total of 161 items per observation session. In weighted and unweighted analyses, the overall teamwork performance score for a given team on a given day varied by instrument. While all of the tools identified the same low outlier, high performers on some instruments were low performers on others. Inconsistent scores for a given team across instruments persisted in domain-level analyses. There was substantial variation in the rating of individual teams assessed concurrently by a single observer using multiple instruments. Since existing teamwork observation tools do not yield concordant assessments, researchers should create better tools for measuring teamwork performance.

Enhancing academic reading skills through extensive reading ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract. The current study explores the feasibility of an extensive reading programme in the context of a low-income country (Mozambique), as well as the influence of extensive reading on academic reading. The programme took over 4 months and was conducted among 30 students majoring in Journalism at the Eduardo ...

Segmentation in reading and film comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Zacks, Jeffrey M; Speer, Nicole K; Reynolds, Jeremy R

2009-05-01

When reading a story or watching a film, comprehenders construct a series of representations in order to understand the events depicted. Discourse comprehension theories and a recent theory of perceptual event segmentation both suggest that comprehenders monitor situational features such as characters' goals, to update these representations at natural boundaries in activity. However, the converging predictions of these theories had previously not been tested directly. Two studies provided evidence that changes in situational features such as characters, their locations, their interactions with objects, and their goals are related to the segmentation of events in both narrative texts and films. A 3rd study indicated that clauses with event boundaries are read more slowly than are other clauses and that changes in situational features partially mediate this relation. A final study suggested that the predictability of incoming information influences reading rate and possibly event segmentation. Taken together, these results suggest that processing situational changes during comprehension is an important determinant of how one segments ongoing activity into events and that this segmentation is related to the control of processing during reading. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN EXTENSIVE READING CLASS AT STAIN PONOROGO

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Dhinuk Puspita Kirana

2013-12-01

Full Text Available It is widely believed that English Foreign Language (EFL learners need to develop their language proficiency by getting so much input. Moreover, students need to be familiarized with the real English us­age where real forms of communication and cultural knowledge are crucially exposed. Teaching through authentic materials will make the learners feel that they are learning a real language which is used by the real native speakers for real communication. incorporating au­thentic materials helps students acquire an effective communicative competence in the language focus. The research intended to describe the implementation of authentic materials in extensive reading class, the problems arise and the students’ responses toward the authen­tic materials in extensive reading class. The design of the research was Descriptive Qualitative method and the research subject was the lecturer of Extensive Reading class and 33 students in B class of the fourth semester of STAIN Ponorogo who took Extensive Read­ing subject. The instruments used were in the form of observation sheet, interview guideline and questionnaire. The implementation of authentic materials in extensive reading class covered some procedures into three main phases namely (1 Pre­ Activity, (2 Main­ Activity and (3 Post­Activity. The activities in main activity are as follows: (a Pre­ Activity; (b Whilst ­Activity; and (3 The language focus stage. There were problems arose during the implementation in terms of complicated planning, more time allocation and some disinterested students. Finally, the students showed significantly positive attitude toward the implementation of authentic materials in extensive reading class.

Reading: Time

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Annemarie Wennekers; Frank Huysmans; Jos de Haan

2018-01-01

Original title: Lees:Tijd The amount of time that Dutch people spend reading has been declining steadily since the 1950s. This decline in reading time contrasts starkly with the positive personal and social benefits that can be derived from reading, according to lots of research. The Reading:

Influence of wearing latex gloves on electric pulp tester readings in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Holan, G

1993-12-01

Electric pulp testers operated by completing an electric circuit. Latex examination gloves have been claimed to interrupt this circuit and lead to false-negative results. This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of wearing latex gloves on electric pulp tester (EPT) readings. The pulps of 80 maxillary permanent incisors of 22 children 10-13 1/2 years old were tested using the Pelton & Crane 'Vitapulp' instrument. Each tooth was tested twice: with gloves and with bare hands. Teeth failing to respond to the EPT without gloves were excluded from the study. All EPT readings ranged between 1 and 9.5. Five teeth gave the same responses with gloved and ungloved hands. Only five teeth did not respond when gloves were worn, and all of these gave readings near the top of the EPT scale when tested without gloves. The other 70 teeth presented significantly higher readings with gloves than without gloves. It is concluded that removal of examination gloves during the operation of the EPT is necessary only if no response is obtained.

Design of a portable directional neutron source finder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamanishi, Hirokuni

2005-01-01

An instrument that determines the direction of a remote existing neutron source has been designed. This instrument combines a polyethylene block and four 3 He counter tubes. The advantages of the instrument are portability and good angular resolution. The count from the detector was varied with the neutron incident angle due to the moderator. Using this characteristic, the direction of the neutron source can be measured precisely by revising the axis of the instrument so that the difference between the four detectors measurements is minimized. Consequently, the direction of the central axis of the instrument in which the response difference of the four detectors reaches a minimum indicates the direction of the neutron source. The practical use of the instrument was demonstrated by 252 Cf source irradiation experiment and MCNP simulation

Bringing in the Bard: Shakespearean Plays as Context for Instrumental Analysis Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Kloepper, Kathryn D.

2015-01-01

Scenes from the works of William Shakespeare were incorporated into individual and group projects for an upper-level chemistry class, instrumental analysis. Students read excerpts from different plays and then viewed a corresponding video clip from a stage or movie production. Guided-research assignments were developed based on these scenes. These…

Dialogic Reading Aloud to Promote Extensive Reading

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, George M.

2016-01-01

How can teachers motivate students to read extensively in a second language? One strategy is for teachers to read aloud to students to promote the joys of reading generally, to build students' language skills and to introduce students to specific authors, book series, genres, websites, etc. This article begins by discussing why teachers might want…

An FPGA-based instrumentation platform for use at deep cryogenic temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conway Lamb, I. D.; Colless, J. I.; Hornibrook, J. M.; Pauka, S. J.; Waddy, S. J.; Reilly, D. J., E-mail: david.reilly@sydney.edu.au [ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006 (Australia); Microsoft Station Q Sydney, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006 (Australia); Frechtling, M. K. [Microsoft Station Q Sydney, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006 (Australia); School of Electrical Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006 (Australia)

2016-01-15

We describe the operation of a cryogenic instrumentation platform incorporating commercially available field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The functionality of the FPGAs at temperatures approaching 4 K enables signal routing, multiplexing, and complex digital signal processing in close proximity to cooled devices or detectors within the cryostat. The performance of the FPGAs in a cryogenic environment is evaluated, including clock speed, error rates, and power consumption. Although constructed for the purpose of controlling and reading out quantum computing devices with low latency, the instrument is generic enough to be of broad use in a range of cryogenic applications.

An investigation of Chinese university EFL learner’s foreign language reading anxiety, reading strategy use and reading comprehension performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhongshe Lu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The present study explored the interrelations between foreign language (FL reading anxiety, FL reading strategy use and their interactive effect on FL reading comprehension performance at the tertiary level in China. Analyses of the survey data collected from 1702 university students yielded the following results: (a Both Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS and Foreign Language Reading Strategy Use Scale (FLRSUS had important subcomponents, (b more than half of the students generally did not feel anxious when reading English, and were confident in and satisfied with their English reading proficiency. Meanwhile, (c more than half of them moderately used different types of reading strategies such as planning, checking and confirming, predicting and assessing, when reading English, (d compared with their female peers, male students felt significantly more anxious when facing reading activities, less satisfied with their English reading proficiency, and used specific analyzing and planning strategies significantly less often during a reading activity, (e FLRAS was significantly inversely related to FLRSUS, and both were significantly correlated with the students’ FL reading comprehension performance, and (f FLRAS (overall FL reading anxiety, FLRAS1 (general anxiety about FL reading, and FLRSUS2 (predicting strategies were good predictors of FL reading comprehension performance. Based on the findings, some implications are discussed.

Reduction of CMOS Image Sensor Read Noise to Enable Photon Counting.

Science.gov (United States)

Guidash, Michael; Ma, Jiaju; Vogelsang, Thomas; Endsley, Jay

2016-04-09

Recent activity in photon counting CMOS image sensors (CIS) has been directed to reduction of read noise. Many approaches and methods have been reported. This work is focused on providing sub 1 e(-) read noise by design and operation of the binary and small signal readout of photon counting CIS. Compensation of transfer gate feed-through was used to provide substantially reduced CDS time and source follower (SF) bandwidth. SF read noise was reduced by a factor of 3 with this method. This method can be applied broadly to CIS devices to reduce the read noise for small signals to enable use as a photon counting sensor.

Instruments of health literacy used in nursing studies with hypertensive elderly

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Ana Larissa Gomes Machado

Full Text Available This study aimed to analyze nursing research regarding the instruments used to evaluate health literacy in elderly hypertensive patients. This is an integrative literature review done in the databases LILACS, PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Cochrane, in June 2013. The articles, electronically available, were selected for full-text review by nurses, who assessed health literacy of elderly with hypertension. Eight studies were selected for analysis and four different instruments were used in the research. The instruments were developed according to a methodology and they were all designed to evaluate the abilities of elderly regarding reading, numeracy, pronunciation and recognition of some health-related words. The nursing research analyzed in this study revealed the gaps in care related to measures aimed to increase patient's involvement in decision-making. Also, the instruments used for measuring health literacy showed limitations, and there is no gold standard test.

(Con)text-specific effects of visual dysfunction on reading in posterior cortical atrophy.

Science.gov (United States)

Yong, Keir X X; Shakespeare, Timothy J; Cash, Dave; Henley, Susie M D; Warren, Jason D; Crutch, Sebastian J

2014-08-01

Reading deficits are a common early feature of the degenerative syndrome posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) but are poorly understood even at the single word level. The current study evaluated the reading accuracy and speed of 26 PCA patients, 17 typical Alzheimer's disease (tAD) patients and 14 healthy controls on a corpus of 192 single words in which the following perceptual properties were manipulated systematically: inter-letter spacing, font size, length, font type, case and confusability. PCA reading was significantly less accurate and slower than tAD patients and controls, with performance significantly adversely affected by increased letter spacing, size, length and font (cursive < non-cursive), and characterised by visual errors (69% of all error responses). By contrast, tAD and control accuracy rates were at or near ceiling, letter spacing was the only perceptual factor to influence reading speed in the same direction as controls, and, in contrast to PCA patients, control reading was faster for larger font sizes. The inverse size effect in PCA (less accurate reading of large than small font size print) was associated with lower grey matter volume in the right superior parietal lobule. Reading accuracy was associated with impairments of early visual (especially crowding), visuoperceptual and visuospatial processes. However, these deficits were not causally related to a universal impairment of reading as some patients showed preserved reading for small, unspaced words despite grave visual deficits. Rather, the impact of specific types of visual dysfunction on reading was found to be (con)text specific, being particularly evident for large, spaced, lengthy words. These findings improve the characterisation of dyslexia in PCA, shed light on the causative and associative factors, and provide clear direction for the development of reading aids and strategies to maximise and sustain reading ability in the early stages of disease. Copyright © 2014. Published by

Evaluating asthma websites using the Brief DISCERN instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Banasiak NC

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Nancy Cantey Banasiak,1 Mikki Meadows-Oliver2 1Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Specialty, Yale University School of Nursing, New Haven, CT, USA; 2University of Connecticut School of Nursing, Storrs, CT, USA Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to examine the quality of sponsored and unsponsored asthma websites using the Brief DISCERN instrument and to evaluate whether the Health On the Net Code of Conduct (HONcode logo was present, thereby indicating that the site met the criteria. The Internet is an important source of health information for patients and their families. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the quality of sponsored and unsupported asthma websites. A secondary aim was to determine the readability and reading ease of the materials for each website along with the grade level. Methods: We queried seven Internet search engines using the keyword “asthma.” The websites were evaluated using the six-item Brief DISCERN instrument and by ascertaining whether the HONcode quality label was present. The websites were also evaluated for readability employing Flesch-Kincaid grade level and Flesch reading ease tools using Microsoft Office Word 2013 software. Results: A total of 22 unique websites were included in the study. Approximately 68% of the websites reviewed had a Brief DISCERN cutoff score of ≥16. The overall Brief DISCERN scores ranged from 6 to 30, and the mean score was 17.32 (SD =6.71. The Flesch-Kincaid grade level scores ranged from 2.9 to 15.4, and the average reading grade score was 9.49 (SD =2.7. The Flesch reading ease scores ranged from 17 to 82.7, with a mean reading ease score of 53.57 (SD =15.03. Sites with a HONcode quality label had significantly higher Brief DISCERN scores than those without one (t=2.3795; df=20; p=0.02. Conclusion: Brief DISCERN scores revealed that there is quality asthma information for children and their families available on the Internet. The grade level ranged between 2

THE ASYLUM, BETWEEN HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AND POLITICAL INSTRUMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CATRINEL BRUMAR

2012-05-01

Full Text Available At 9 November 2010, the European Court of Justice, in a preliminary ruling, decided to depart from the interpretation promoted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in the matter of the application of the exclusion clauses. The European Court considered that no proportionality test between human rights protection and gravity of a crime is to be applied in the case of a person suspected of having committed an act contrary to the principles and purposes of the United Nations. By eliminating this test, the Court is sending a signal on rethinking the asylum institution, from a humanitarian tool that it became, to a political instrument. This decision could not be read alone; corroborated to the concerns already raised on the suitable use of the asylum instrument to address massive humanitarian needs, it would indicate a reorientation in the interpretation of international norms governing the refugee law. Still, the human rights organs and the European Court of Human Rights continue to refer to the asylum as a situation where a humanitarian perspective, reflected in the proportionality test, or for those mechanisms the risk of human rights violation probability test, is still valid. The two apparently divergent directions will need to converge in the implementation of the European Union regulations on asylum. This paper is exploring the possible reinterpretation of the European norms, trying to identify the new trends in the political perspective of asylum and the limitations to these trends that the respect for human rights is establishing.

The Habit of Reading: A Neglected Dimension of Adult Reading Instruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Fink, Katherine T.; Devine, Thomas G.

1993-01-01

Less competent adult readers have not developed the habit of reading. Ways to cultivate adult reading habits include relevant material, environment saturated with reading material, reading aloud to adults, having them read to children, sustained silent reading, modeling, book sharing, author conferences, and recognition. (SK)

Cognitive Strategies Use in Reading Comprehension and its Contributions to Students’ Achievement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Imam Suyitno

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The study outlined in this article describes the use of cognitive strategies designed to aid the comprehension of Indonesian texts. It also examines the contributions of such strategies to students' comprehension scores. The participants were 97 students who had completed and passed the reading course. In collecting the research data, the researcher used a reading comprehension test instrument in the form of a cloze test, as well as a Likert scale questionnaire. The cloze test was used to measure the students’ ability to understand the texts, while the questionnaire was used to obtain information about cognitive strategies used by students in comprehension of the texts. Data collection of the comprehension test results and understanding strategy data are performed sequentially over the same day. Research data are described and analyzed by product moment correlation technique. The research found that students' scores in cloze tests ranged from A to D. This score indicates that students have varying abilities in reading comprehension. The research findings also showed that students used various cognitive strategies in understanding text reading. The results of the correlation analysis showed that the use of cognitive strategy has a positive or negative contribution to the results of reading comprehension depending on the accuracy of the selection strategy in accordance with the text he read.

Improvement of Engineering Students' Communication Skills in English through Extensive Reading

Science.gov (United States)

Nishizawa, Hitoshi; Yoshioka, Takayoshi; Itoh, Kazuaki

The students' communication skills in English have improved after introducing Extensive Reading courses into the curriculum of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department. The students' average TOEIC scores, which used to be far lower than the ones of students in other educational institutions, have increased in recent two years. The students who used to avoid learning English have welcomed extensive reading of graded readers for foreign learners and books for native children of English. This is because the extensive reading causes less stress and it is enjoyable. The students who have read more than 0.2 million words of English texts have faster reading speed and more confidence in reading. They seem to change their reading style from English-to-Japanese translation (and comprehension in Japanese) to direct comprehension in English. Their listening comprehension is also improved. Extensive reading is an effective educational method to improve English communication skills of engineering students, and it also becomes a useful method of continuous education for engineers in need of improving their skills.

Use of the mathematical modelling method for the investigation of dynamic characteristics of acoustical measuring instruments

Science.gov (United States)

Vasilyev, Y. M.; Lagunov, L. F.

1973-01-01

The schematic diagram of a noise measuring device is presented that uses pulse expansion modeling according to the peak or any other measured values, to obtain instrument readings at a very low noise error.

Miraculous Readings: Using Fantasy Novels about Reading to Reflect on Reading the Bible

Science.gov (United States)

Dalton, Russell W.

2009-01-01

This article reflects on the vivid images of reading presented in several popular fantasy novels, including "The Spiderwick Chronicles," "The Great Good Thing," and "The Neverending Story." It suggests that these images can be used to help children, youth, and adults reflect on the nature of reading and the potential power of reading sacred texts.…

Reading Every Single Day: A Journey to Authentic Reading

Science.gov (United States)

Hudson, Alida K.; Williams, Joan A.

2015-01-01

This article details one teacher's implementation of reading workshop in her second grade classroom. She provided a framework for authentic reading using the five components of reading workshop: time, choice, response, community, and structure. She found that reading workshop is a highly effective practice for not only increasing students'…

Real-time operation without a real-time operating system for instrument control and data acquisition

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Randolf; Poglitsch, Albrecht; Fumi, Fabio; Geis, Norbert; Hamidouche, Murad; Hoenle, Rainer; Looney, Leslie; Raab, Walfried; Viehhauser, Werner

2004-09-01

We are building the Field-Imaging Far-Infrared Line Spectrometer (FIFI LS) for the US-German airborne observatory SOFIA. The detector read-out system is driven by a clock signal at a certain frequency. This signal has to be provided and all other sub-systems have to work synchronously to this clock. The data generated by the instrument has to be received by a computer in a timely manner. Usually these requirements are met with a real-time operating system (RTOS). In this presentation we want to show how we meet these demands differently avoiding the stiffness of an RTOS. Digital I/O-cards with a large buffer separate the asynchronous working computers and the synchronous working instrument. The advantage is that the data processing computers do not need to process the data in real-time. It is sufficient that the computer can process the incoming data stream on average. But since the data is read-in synchronously, problems of relating commands and responses (data) have to be solved: The data is arriving at a fixed rate. The receiving I/O-card buffers the data in its buffer until the computer can access it. To relate the data to commands sent previously, the data is tagged by counters in the read-out electronics. These counters count the system's heartbeat and signals derived from that. The heartbeat and control signals synchronous with the heartbeat are sent by an I/O-card working as pattern generator. Its buffer gets continously programmed with a pattern which is clocked out on the control lines. A counter in the I/O-card keeps track of the amount of pattern words clocked out. By reading this counter, the computer knows the state of the instrument or knows the meaning of the data that will arrive with a certain time-tag.

Reading Comics

Science.gov (United States)

Tilley, Carol L.

2008-01-01

Many adults, even librarians who willingly add comics to their collections, often dismiss the importance of comics. Compared to reading "real" books, reading comics appears to be a simple task and compared to reading no books, reading comics might be preferable. After all, comics do have words, but the plentiful pictures seem to carry most of the…

Reading Processes of University Students with Dyslexia - An Examination of the Relationship between Oral Reading and Reading Comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedersen, Henriette Folkmann; Fusaroli, Riccardo; Lauridsen, Lene Louise; Parrila, Rauno

2016-11-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of oral reading and how it relates to reading comprehension in students with dyslexia. A group of Danish university students with dyslexia (n = 16) and a comparison group of students with no history of reading problems (n = 16) were assessed on their oral reading performance when reading a complex text. Along with reading speed, we measured not only the number and quality of reading errors but also the extent and semantic nature of the self-corrections during reading. The reading comprehension was measured through aided text retellings. The results showed that, as a group, the dyslexics performed poorer on most measures, but there were notable within-group differences in the reading behaviours and little association between how well university students with dyslexia read aloud and comprehended the text. These findings suggest that many dyslexics in higher education tend to focus their attention on one subcomponent of the reading process, for example, decoding or comprehension, because engaging in both simultaneously may be too demanding for them. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Elementary girls' science reading at home and school

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, Danielle J.; Brickhouse, Nancy W.; Lottero-Perdue, Pamela; Kittleson, Julie

2006-03-01

Although reading is a critical part of science and science learning, it is no longer a part of many children's elementary science instruction. This is of concern because girls often develop strong identities as readers, but do not develop scientific identities with ease. In this study, we investigate girls' science reading to know (1) if science books were available to girls in homes and classrooms, (2) if girls were choosing to read them, and (3) what influences their choices. Forty-five third-grade girls, 29 of their families, and three of their teachers were interviewed to ascertain girls' preferences among various book genres, as well as to learn the ways in which families and teachers influence the choices girls make. We found that girls had access to science books at school, and teachers had strategies to encourage reading them. At home, parents encouraged reading, but were generally less directive than teachers as to what the girls read, and underestimated their daughters' science-related interests. The families studied rely largely on major bookstores as their primary source of books. Our findings suggest we need to understand better the way gender influences girls' engagement with science in a variety of contexts, particularly those in which girls exercise choice.

Reading Habits of Third-Year Medical Students during an Integrated Endocrinology Course.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedberg, Mark; Mahanaimi, David; Lev-Zion, Rafael; Sidi, Aviel; Glick, Shimon

1998-01-01

Independent reading by medical students beyond formal classroom activities is considered central to medical education. This study examines self-directed study among third-year students in a six-year medical program. Students averaged 151 minutes daily on independent study using lecture notes, textbooks, and reading articles. Suggests ways to…

Reading fluency: implications for the assessment of children with reading disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Meisinger, Elizabeth B; Bloom, Juliana S; Hynd, George W

2010-06-01

The current investigation explored the diagnostic utility of reading fluency measures in the identification of children with reading disabilities. Participants were 50 children referred to a university-based clinic because of suspected reading problems and/or a prior diagnosis of dyslexia, where children completed a battery of standardized intellectual, reading achievement, and processing measures. Within this clinical sample, a group of children were identified that exhibited specific deficits in their reading fluency skills with concurrent deficits in rapid naming speed and reading comprehension. This group of children would not have been identified as having a reading disability according to assessment of single word reading skills alone, suggesting that it is essential to assess reading fluency in addition to word reading because failure to do so may result in the under-identification of children with reading disabilities.

A Reading of Joseph Conrad's The Tale

OpenAIRE

Zadeh, Mohammad Reza Modarres

2013-01-01

The Tale is a short story by Joseph Conrad. Typical of a Conrad story it is set at sea. The sea is symbolic of the unconscious and this story may be read as a story of the unconscious. On the outside, it seems simple; a man tells a woman a tale of the commanding officer of a patrol ship who gives false directions to another ship and sends it to its doom. In between the lines of the seemingly simple plot, however, can be read another tale; one which speaks of a human sea deeper than the sea of...

Assessing the reading level of online sarcoma patient education materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Shaan S; Sheppard, Evan D; Siegel, Herrick J; Ponce, Brent A

2015-01-01

Cancer patients rely on patient education materials (PEMs) to gather information regarding their disease. Patients who are better informed about their illness have better health outcomes. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends that PEMs be written at a sixth- to seventh-grade reading level. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the readability of online PEMs of bone and soft-tissue sarcomas and related conditions. We identified relevant online PEMs from the following websites: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, academic training centers, sarcoma specialists, Google search hits, Bonetumor.org, Sarcoma Alliance, Sarcoma Foundation of America, and Medscape. We used 10 different readability instruments to evaluate the reading level of each website's PEMs. In assessing 72 websites and 774 articles, we found that none of the websites had a mean readability score at or below 7 (seventh grade). Collectively, all websites had a mean readability score of 11.4, and the range of scores was grade level 8.9 to 15.5. None of the PEMs in this study of bone and soft-tissue sarcomas and related conditions met the NIH recommendation for PEM reading levels. Concerted efforts to improve the reading level of orthopedic oncologic PEMs are necessary.

"Read the Text, as if!"The Reading Retention Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Divoll, Kent; Browning, Sandra

2013-01-01

Students do not always read what is expected in college courses (Berry, Cook, Hill, & Stevens, 2010; Phillips & Phillips, 2007; Sikorski et al., 2002) or they read to cram for an exam or quiz (Clump, Bauer, & Bradley, 2004). The Reading Retention Strategy (RRS) is designed to motivate students to read and assist students in…

Do reading additions improve reading in pre-presbyopes with low vision?

Science.gov (United States)

Alabdulkader, Balsam; Leat, Susan

2012-09-01

This study compared three different methods of determining a reading addition and the possible improvement on reading performance in children and young adults with low vision. Twenty-eight participants with low vision, aged 8 to 32 years, took part in the study. Reading additions were determined with (a) a modified Nott dynamic retinoscopy, (b) a subjective method, and (c) an age-based formula. Reading performance was assessed with MNREAD-style reading charts at 12.5 cm, with and without each reading addition in random order. Outcome measures were reading speed, critical print size, MNREAD threshold, and the area under the reading speed curve. For the whole group, there was no significant improvement in reading performance with any of the additions. When participants with normal accommodation at 12.5 cm were excluded, the area under the reading speed curve was significantly greater with all reading additions compared with no addition (p = 0.031, 0.028, and 0.028, respectively). Also, the reading acuity threshold was significantly better with all reading additions compared with no addition (p = 0.014, 0.030, and 0.036, respectively). Distance and near visual acuity, age, and contrast sensitivity did not predict improvement with a reading addition. All, but one, of the participants who showed a significant improvement in reading with an addition had reduced accommodation. A reading addition may improve reading performance for young people with low vision and should be considered as part of a low vision assessment, particularly when accommodation is reduced.

A New Instrument for the IRTF: the MIT Optical Rapid Imaging System (MORIS)

Science.gov (United States)

Gulbis, Amanda A. S.; Elliot, J. L.; Rojas, F. E.; Bus, S. J.; Rayner, J. T.; Stahlberger, W. E.; Tokunaga, A. T.; Adams, E. R.; Person, M. J.

2010-10-01

NASA's 3-m Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea, HI plays a leading role in obtaining planetary science observations. However, there has been no capability for high-speed, visible imaging from this telescope. Here we present a new IRTF instrument, MORIS, the MIT Optical Rapid Imaging System. MORIS is based on POETS (Portable Occultation Eclipse and Transit Systems; Souza et al., 2006, PASP, 118, 1550). Its primary component is an Andor iXon camera, a 512x512 array of 16-micron pixels with high quantum efficiency, low read noise, low dark current, and full-frame readout rates of between 3.5 Hz (6 e /pixel read noise) and 35 Hz (49 e /pixel read noise at electron-multiplying gain=1). User-selectable binning and subframing can increase the cadence to a few hundred Hz. An electron-multiplying mode can be employed for photon counting, effectively reducing the read noise to sub-electron levels at the expense of dynamic range. Data cubes, or individual frames, can be triggered to nanosecond accuracy using a GPS. MORIS is mounted on the side-facing widow of SpeX (Rayner et al. 2003, PASP, 115, 362), allowing simultaneous near-infrared and visible observations. The mounting box contains 3:1 reducing optics to produce a 60 arcsec x 60 arcsec field of view at f/12.7. It hosts a ten-slot filter wheel, with Sloan g×, r×, i×, and z×, VR, Johnson V, and long-pass red filters. We describe the instrument design, components, and measured characteristics. We report results from the first science observations, a 24 June 2008 stellar occultation by Pluto. We also discuss a recent overhaul of the optical path, performed in order to eliminate scattered light. This work is supported in part by NASA Planetary Major Equipment grant NNX07AK95G. We are indebted to the University of Hawai'i Institute for Astronomy machine shop, in particular Randy Chung, for fabricating instrument components.

Assessing reading comprehension with narrative and expository texts: Dimensionality and relationship with fluency, vocabulary and memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Sandra; Cadime, Irene; Viana, Fernanda L; Chaves-Sousa, Séli; Gayo, Elena; Maia, José; Ribeiro, Iolanda

2017-02-01

Reading comprehension assessment should rely on valid instruments that enable adequate conclusions to be taken regarding students' reading comprehension performance. In this article, two studies were conducted to collect validity evidence for the vertically scaled forms of two Tests of Reading Comprehension for Portuguese elementary school students in the second to fourth grades, one with narrative texts (TRC-n) and another with expository ones (TRC-e). Two samples of 950 and 990 students participated in Study 1, the study of the dimensionality of the TRC-n and TRC-e forms, respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence of an acceptable fit for the one-factor solution for all test forms. Study 2 included 218 students to collect criterion-related validity. The scores obtained in each of the test forms were significantly correlated with the ones obtained in other reading comprehension measures and with the results obtained in oral reading fluency, vocabulary and working memory tests. Evidence suggests that the test forms are valid measures of reading comprehension. © 2016 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Critical review of directional neutron survey meters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balmer, Matthew J.I.; Gamage, Kelum A.A.; Taylor, Graeme C.

2014-01-01

Having been overlooked for many years, research is now starting to take into account the directional distribution of the neutron work place field. The impact of not taking this into account has led to overly conservative estimates of dose in neutron workplace fields. This paper provides a critical review of this existing research into directional survey meters which could improve these estimates of dose. Instruments which could be adapted for use as directional neutron survey meters are also considered within this review. Using Monte-Carlo techniques, two of the most promising existing designs are evaluated; a boron-doped liquid scintillator and a multi-detector directional spectrometer. As an outcome of these simulations, possible adaptations to these instruments are suggested with a view to improving the portability of the instrument. -- Highlights: • We critically review the existing literature into directional survey meters. • Instruments which could be adapted for this purpose are also reviewed. • Investigate the potential of much lighter portable real-time instrument. • Improvements to existing instruments are suggested to improve their design. • Boron-Doped liquid scintillator design is the most promising, but needs further work

Real-Time Engagement Area Development Program (READ-Pro)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Burger, Joseph

2002-01-01

The Real Time Engagement Area Development Program (READ-Pro) is a PC-based prototype system which provides company-level commanders with real-time operational analysis tools to develop ENGAGEMENT AREAS(EA) for direct fire (DF) systems...

Real-Time Engagement Area Development Program (Read-Pro)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Burger, Joseph

2002-01-01

The Real-Tine Engagement Area Development Program (READ-Pro) is a PC-based prototype system which provides company-level commanders with real-time operational analysis tools to develop engagement areas (RA) for direct fire (DR) systems...

Maternal Reading Self-Efficacy Associated with Perceived Barriers to Reading

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joyce Lin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Although early reading practices impact a host of child literacy, language, and school outcomes, many parents do not read to their young children. One possible explanation for this lack of early literacy practices is mothers’ feelings about their ability to successfully read to their children. A series of multiple regressions were used to explore whether new mothers’ reading self-efficacy predicted their perceived barriers to reading to their 18-month-old children. Findings suggest that self-efficacy buffers against mother-centered (e.g., too tired, child-centered (e.g., toddler fussy, and structural (e.g., environmental distractions barriers to reading. Given the importance of early literacy and that not all mothers read to their toddlers, increasing reading self-efficacy may offer a way to reduce perceived barriers to early literacy practices.

Robotic-surgical instrument wrist pose estimation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fabel, Stephan; Baek, Kyungim; Berkelman, Peter

2010-01-01

The Compact Lightweight Surgery Robot from the University of Hawaii includes two teleoperated instruments and one endoscope manipulator which act in accord to perform assisted interventional medicine. The relative positions and orientations of the robotic instruments and endoscope must be known to the teleoperation system so that the directions of the instrument motions can be controlled to correspond closely to the directions of the motions of the master manipulators, as seen by the the endoscope and displayed to the surgeon. If the manipulator bases are mounted in known locations and all manipulator joint variables are known, then the necessary coordinate transformations between the master and slave manipulators can be easily computed. The versatility and ease of use of the system can be increased, however, by allowing the endoscope or instrument manipulator bases to be moved to arbitrary positions and orientations without reinitializing each manipulator or remeasuring their relative positions. The aim of this work is to find the pose of the instrument end effectors using the video image from the endoscope camera. The P3P pose estimation algorithm is used with a Levenberg-Marquardt optimization to ensure convergence. The correct transformations between the master and slave coordinate frames can then be calculated and updated when the bases of the endoscope or instrument manipulators are moved to new, unknown, positions at any time before or during surgical procedures.

Childhood lead poisoning investigations: evaluating a portable instrument for testing soil lead.

Science.gov (United States)

Reames, Ginger; Lance, Larrie L

2002-04-01

The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch of the California Department of Health Services evaluated a portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrument for use as a soil lead-testing tool during environmental investigations of lead-poisoned children's homes. A Niton XRF was used to test soil at 119 sampling locations in the yards of 11 San Francisco Bay Area houses. Niton XRF readings were highly correlated with laboratory results and met the study criteria for an acceptable screening method. The data suggest that the most health-protective and time-efficient approach to testing for soil lead above regulatory levels is to take either surface readings or readings of a test cup of soil prepared by grinding with a mortar and pestle. The advantage of the test cup method is that the test cup with soil may be submitted to a laboratory for confirmatory analysis.

Phonological working memory and reading in students with dyslexia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolina Alves Ferreira De Carvalho

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To investigate parameters related to fluency, reading comprehension and phonological processing (operational and short-term memory and identify potential correlation between the variables in Dyslexia and in the absence of reading difficulties. Method: One hundred and fifteen students from the third to eighth grade of elementary school were grouped into a Control Group (CG and Group with Dyslexia (GDys. Reading of words, pseudowords and text (decoding; listening and reading comprehension; phonological short-term and working memory (repetition of pseudowords and Digit Span were evaluated. Results: The comparison of the groups showed significant differences in decoding, phonological short-term memory (repetition of pseudowords and answers to text-connecting questions (TC on reading comprehension, with the worst performances identified for GDys. In this group there were negative correlations between pseudowords repetition and TC answers and total score, both on listening comprehension. No correlations were found between operational and short-term memory (Digit Span and parameters of fluency and reading comprehension in dyslexia. For the sample without complaint, there were positive correlations between some parameters of reading fluency and repetition of pseudowords and also between answering literal questions in listening comprehension and repetition of digits on the direct and reverse order. There was no correlation with the parameters of reading comprehension. Conclusion: GDys and CG showed similar performance in listening comprehension and in understanding of explicit information and gap-filling inference on reading comprehension. Students of GDys showed worst performance in reading decoding, phonological short-term memory (pseudowords and on inferences that depends on textual cohesion understanding in reading. There were negative correlations between pseudowords repetition and TC answers and total score, both in listening comprehension.

Phonological working memory and reading in students with dyslexia.

Science.gov (United States)

de Carvalho, Carolina A F; Kida, Adriana de S B; Capellini, Simone A; de Avila, Clara R B

2014-01-01

To investigate parameters related to fluency, reading comprehension and phonological processing (operational and short-term memory) and identify potential correlation between the variables in Dyslexia and in the absence of reading difficulties. One hundred and fifteen students from the third to eighth grade of elementary school were grouped into a Control Group (CG) and Group with Dyslexia (GDys). Reading of words, pseudowords and text (decoding); listening and reading comprehension; phonological short-term and working memory (repetition of pseudowords and Digit Span) were evaluated. The comparison of the groups showed significant differences in decoding, phonological short-term memory (repetition of pseudowords) and answers to text-connecting questions (TC) on reading comprehension, with the worst performances identified for GDys. In this group there were negative correlations between pseudowords repetition and TC answers and total score, both on listening comprehension. No correlations were found between operational and short-term memory (Digit Span) and parameters of fluency and reading comprehension in dyslexia. For the sample without complaint, there were positive correlations between some parameters of reading fluency and repetition of pseudowords and also between answering literal questions in listening comprehension and repetition of digits on the direct and reverse order. There was no correlation with the parameters of reading comprehension. GDys and CG showed similar performance in listening comprehension and in understanding of explicit information and gap-filling inference on reading comprehension. Students of GDys showed worst performance in reading decoding, phonological short-term memory (pseudowords) and on inferences that depends on textual cohesion understanding in reading. There were negative correlations between pseudowords repetition and TC answers and total score, both in listening comprehension.

The effect of reading assignments in guided inquiry learning on students’ critical thinking skills

Science.gov (United States)

Syarkowi, A.

2018-05-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of reading assignment in guided inquiry learning on senior high school students’ critical thinking skills. The research method which was used in this research was quasi-experiment research method with reading task as the treatment. Topic of inquiry process was Kirchhoff law. The instrument was used for this research was 25 multiple choice interpretive exercises with justification. The multiple choice test was divided on 3 categories such as involve basic clarification, the bases for a decision and inference skills. The result of significance test proved the improvement of students’ critical thinking skills of experiment class was significantly higher when compared with the control class, so it could be concluded that reading assignment can improve students’ critical thinking skills.

Overcoming the Invisibility of Metrology: A Reading Measurement Network for Education and the Social Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, William P., Jr.; Stenner, A. Jackson

2013-09-01

The public and researchers in psychology and the social sciences are largely unaware of the huge resources invested in metrology and standards in science and commerce, for understandable reasons, but with unfortunate consequences. Measurement quality varies widely in fields lacking uniform standards, making it impossible to coordinate local behaviours and decisions in tune with individually observed instrument readings. However, recent developments in reading measurement have effectively instituted metrological traceability methods within elementary and secondary English and Spanish language reading education in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Australia. Given established patterns in the history of science, it may be reasonable to expect that widespread routine reproduction of controlled effects expressed in uniform units in the social sciences may lead to significant developments in theory and practice.

Overcoming the Invisibility of Metrology: A Reading Measurement Network for Education and the Social Sciences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, William P Jr; Stenner, A Jackson

2013-01-01

The public and researchers in psychology and the social sciences are largely unaware of the huge resources invested in metrology and standards in science and commerce, for understandable reasons, but with unfortunate consequences. Measurement quality varies widely in fields lacking uniform standards, making it impossible to coordinate local behaviours and decisions in tune with individually observed instrument readings. However, recent developments in reading measurement have effectively instituted metrological traceability methods within elementary and secondary English and Spanish language reading education in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Australia. Given established patterns in the history of science, it may be reasonable to expect that widespread routine reproduction of controlled effects expressed in uniform units in the social sciences may lead to significant developments in theory and practice

Davies, Florence (1995. Introducing Reading. Davies, Florence (1995. Introducing Reading.

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Sonia Maria Gomes Ferreira

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Arising at a time of unprecedented growth of interest in fostering critical thinking, Introducing Reading offers a clear introduction and thorough account of contemporary developments in the field of reading. While overtly focusing on the special demands of social and human aspects of the reading practice, the issues raised have crucial resonance in the sphere of critical reading. Explicitly addressed to teachers of mother tongue and foreign language contexts, the book claims to elaborate on aspects of reading which have received meager attention to date: individual readers engaged in different real-world reading tasks, the social contexts where such readers engage and interact with texts, and the nature and variety of texts, here regarded as “participants” in the interaction between reader and writer. To this extent, the book successfully reaches the ambitious aim of “socializing and humanizing reading and the teaching of reading” (p. xi. Arising at a time of unprecedented growth of interest in fostering critical thinking, Introducing Reading offers a clear introduction and thorough account of contemporary developments in the field of reading. While overtly focusing on the special demands of social and human aspects of the reading practice, the issues raised have crucial resonance in the sphere of critical reading. Explicitly addressed to teachers of mother tongue and foreign language contexts, the book claims to elaborate on aspects of reading which have received meager attention to date: individual readers engaged in different real-world reading tasks, the social contexts where such readers engage and interact with texts, and the nature and variety of texts, here regarded as “participants” in the interaction between reader and writer. To this extent, the book successfully reaches the ambitious aim of “socializing and humanizing reading and the teaching of reading” (p. xi.

How discriminating are discriminative instruments?

Science.gov (United States)

Hankins, Matthew

2008-05-27

The McMaster framework introduced by Kirshner & Guyatt is the dominant paradigm for the development of measures of health status and health-related quality of life (HRQL). The framework defines the functions of such instruments as evaluative, predictive or discriminative. Evaluative instruments are required to be sensitive to change (responsiveness), but there is no corresponding index of the degree to which discriminative instruments are sensitive to cross-sectional differences. This paper argues that indices of validity and reliability are not sufficient to demonstrate that a discriminative instrument performs its function of discriminating between individuals, and that the McMaster framework would be augmented by the addition of a separate index of discrimination. The coefficient proposed by Ferguson (Delta) is easily adapted to HRQL instruments and is a direct, non-parametric index of the degree to which an instrument distinguishes between individuals. While Delta should prove useful in the development and evaluation of discriminative instruments, further research is required to elucidate the relationship between the measurement properties of discrimination, reliability and responsiveness.

How discriminating are discriminative instruments?

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Hankins Matthew

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract The McMaster framework introduced by Kirshner & Guyatt is the dominant paradigm for the development of measures of health status and health-related quality of life (HRQL. The framework defines the functions of such instruments as evaluative, predictive or discriminative. Evaluative instruments are required to be sensitive to change (responsiveness, but there is no corresponding index of the degree to which discriminative instruments are sensitive to cross-sectional differences. This paper argues that indices of validity and reliability are not sufficient to demonstrate that a discriminative instrument performs its function of discriminating between individuals, and that the McMaster framework would be augmented by the addition of a separate index of discrimination. The coefficient proposed by Ferguson (Delta is easily adapted to HRQL instruments and is a direct, non-parametric index of the degree to which an instrument distinguishes between individuals. While Delta should prove useful in the development and evaluation of discriminative instruments, further research is required to elucidate the relationship between the measurement properties of discrimination, reliability and responsiveness.

Design Through Integration of On-Board Calibration Device with Imaging Spectroscopy Instruments

Science.gov (United States)

Stange, Michael

2012-01-01

The main purpose of the Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectroscopy (AVIRIS) project is to "identify, measure, and monitor constituents of the Earth's surface and atmosphere based on molecular absorption and particle scattering signatures." The project designs, builds, and tests various imaging spectroscopy instruments that use On-Board Calibration devices (OBC) to check the accuracy of the data collected by the spectrometers. The imaging instrument records the spectral signatures of light collected during flight. To verify the data is correct, the OBC shines light which is collected by the imaging spectrometer and compared against previous calibration data to track spectral response changes in the instrument. The spectral data has the calibration applied to it based on the readings from the OBC data in order to ensure accuracy.

Reading and the reference librarian the importance to library service of staff reading habits

CERN Document Server

Dilevko, Juris

2003-01-01

""Informative""--Midwest Book Review; ""interesting and important...a page turner""--Catholic Library World; ""detailed...required reading...valuable...extensive body of very detailed information...outstanding""--LISR: Science Direct; ""thought-provoking...informative...solid, sensitive research...an important new primary resource""--Colorado Libraries; ""most remarkable and thought provoking...well done...articulate and insightful...fascinating...interesting...important and worthwhile""--Library & Information Science Research. The authors surveyed both academic reference librarians and publ

Book Clubs in Developmental Reading: Building Reading Comprehension, Fostering Reading Enjoyment, and Engaging Students

Science.gov (United States)

Maldonado, Michele

2012-01-01

The use of book clubs in college developmental reading classes is an effective way to encourage reluctant readers to build and strengthen reading skills, foster reading enjoyment, and engage students. In addition, book clubs build a sense of community within the classroom as the students converse and share their interpretations of the reading…

Evaluation of a Russian version of the oral health literacy instrument (OHLI).

Science.gov (United States)

Blizniuk, Anastasiya; Ueno, Masayuki; Furukawa, Sayaka; Kawaguchi, Yoko

2014-11-27

Oral health literacy has become a popular research area in the last decade; however, to date no health literacy instruments in the Russian language exist. The objectives of this study were to develop a Russian version of the Oral Health Literacy Instrument (OHLI) and to examine its reliability and validity. A convenience sample of patients who visited the dental division of the district hospital in Belarus was used in the study. The OHLI, created originally in English, was modified to adapt it to characteristics of routine dental services in Belarus and then translated into Russian, followed by back-translation. Participants completed a self-administered socio-demographic questionnaire, an oral health knowledge test and the Russian version of the OHLI (R-OHLI). Bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses, including multiple regression modeling, were performed to examine reliability and validity of the R-OHLI. Participants were 281 adult patients aged from 18 to 60 years, with a mean age of 33.1 ± 12.2; 64.1% of them were women. Cronbach's alpha values for the two sections (reading comprehension and numeracy) and the total R-OHLI were 0.853, 0.815 and 0.895, respectively. The mean total R-OHLI score was 77.2 ± 14.5; the mean reading comprehension and numeracy scores were 39.5 ± 7.5 and 37.8 ± 8.8, respectively. The R-OHLI was significantly correlated to the oral health knowledge test. Pearson's correlation coefficients between the oral health knowledge test and the reading comprehension, numeracy and total R-OHLI were 0.401, 0.258, and 0.363, respectively (p literacy instrument for Russian-speaking people.

Motivational reading on education, meaningful reading realisation

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Adriana Qafa

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In this study I will present some ideas on today’s educational practice for motivation, the realization of the meaningful reading. There is a special place for the methodical ranking of the reading process, starting in school. Main requests of this reading, consist of the deep meaning of the subject, exploration of the idea, and other elements of the subject, implementation of the technique’s rules of the expressive reading, such as breathing, voice, diction, intonation, spelling, stoppages, logical emphasizes, emotional expressions, temper, timber, gesticulations, and mimic. There is also highlighted the fact that the used method comes from the pupils’ results and depends on the capability and level of the teacher, from the programming’s scale, the tools that are put into disposition, the age and the level of the pupils, and from the environment that the teacher creates during courses. At the end there are some practical guidelines for the realization of the expressive reading in the literature subject.

100 articles every ecologist should read.

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Courchamp, Franck; Bradshaw, Corey J A

2018-02-01

Reading scientific articles is a valuable and major part of the activity of scientists. Yet, with the upsurge of currently available articles and the increasing specialization of scientists, it becomes difficult to identify, let alone read, important papers covering topics not directly related to one's own specific field of research, or that are older than a few years. Our objective was to propose a list of seminal papers deemed to be of major importance in ecology, thus providing a general 'must-read' list for any new ecologist, regardless of particular topic or expertise. We generated a list of 544 papers proposed by 147 ecology experts (journal editorial members) and subsequently ranked via random-sample voting by 368 of 665 contacted ecology experts, covering 6 article types, 6 approaches and 17 fields. Most of the recommended papers were not published in the highest-ranking journals, nor did they have the highest number of mean annual citations. The articles proposed through the collective recommendation of several hundred experienced researchers probably do not represent an 'ultimate', invariant list, but they certainly contain many high-quality articles that are undoubtedly worth reading-regardless of the specific field of interest in ecology-to foster the understanding, knowledge and inspiration of early-career scientists.

Comparison of a direct-reading device to gravimetric methods for evaluating organic dust aerosols in an enclosed swine production environment.

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Taylor, C D; Reynolds, S J

2001-01-01

The production of livestock in enclosed facilities has become an accepted practice, driven by the need for increased efficiency. Exposure to organic dusts, containing various bioactive components, has been identified an important risk factor for the high rate of lung disease found among workers in these environments. Assessment of organic dust exposure requires technical skills and instrumentation not readily available to most agricultural enterprises. Development of a simple, cost-effective method for measuring organic dust levels would be useful in evaluating and controlling exposures in these environments. The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the direct reading MIE PDM-3 Miniram for estimating organic dust concentrations in enclosed swine production facilities. Responses from the MIE PDM-3 Miniram were compared to gravimetric methods for total and inhalable dust. Total dust determinations were conducted in accordance with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) method 0500. Inhalable particulate mass (IPM) sampling was conducted using SKC brand IOM (Institute of Occupational Medicine) sampling cassettes, which meet the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists ACGIH criteria for inhalable dust sampling. This study design also allowed for the comparison of traditional total dust method to the IPM method, in collecting organic dusts in an agricultural setting. Fifteen sets of side-by-side samples (Miniram, total dust, and IPM) were collected over a period of six months in a swine confinement building. There were statistically significant differences in the results provided by the three sampling methods. Measurements for inhalable dust exceeded those for total dust in eleven of fifteen samples. The Miniram time-weighted average (TWA) response to the organic dust was always the lower of the three methods. A high degree of correlation was found among all three methods. The Miniram performed well under

Pitch Fork: A Novel tactile Digital Musical Instrument

OpenAIRE

Williams, Peter; Overholt, Daniel

2017-01-01

Pitch Fork is a prototype of an alternate, actuated digital musical instrument (DMI). It uses 5 infra-red and 4 piezoelectric sensors to control an additive synthesis engine. Iron bars are used as the physical point of contact in interaction with the aim of using material computation to control aspects of the digitally produced sound. This choice of material was also chosen to affect player experience. Sensor readings are relayed to a Macbook via an Arduino Mega. Mappings and audio output sig...

Word Reading Efficiency, Text Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension among Chinese Learners of English

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Jiang, Xiangying; Sawaki, Yasuyo; Sabatini, John

2012-01-01

This study examined the relationship among word reading efficiency, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension for adult English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Data from 185 adult Chinese EFL learners preparing to take the Test-of-English-as-a-Foreign-Language[TM] (TOEFL[R]) were analyzed in this study. The participants completed a…

10 years of BAWLing into affective and aesthetic processes in reading: what are the echoes?

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Jacobs, Arthur M.; Võ, Melissa L.-H.; Briesemeister, Benny B.; Conrad, Markus; Hofmann, Markus J.; Kuchinke, Lars; Lüdtke, Jana; Braun, Mario

2015-01-01

Reading is not only “cold” information processing, but involves affective and aesthetic processes that go far beyond what current models of word recognition, sentence processing, or text comprehension can explain. To investigate such “hot” reading processes, standardized instruments that quantify both psycholinguistic and emotional variables at the sublexical, lexical, inter-, and supralexical levels (e.g., phonological iconicity, word valence, arousal-span, or passage suspense) are necessary. One such instrument, the Berlin Affective Word List (BAWL) has been used in over 50 published studies demonstrating effects of lexical emotional variables on all relevant processing levels (experiential, behavioral, neuronal). In this paper, we first present new data from several BAWL studies. Together, these studies examine various views on affective effects in reading arising from dimensional (e.g., valence) and discrete emotion features (e.g., happiness), or embodied cognition features like smelling. Second, we extend our investigation of the complex issue of affective word processing to words characterized by a mixture of affects. These words entail positive and negative valence, and/or features making them beautiful or ugly. Finally, we discuss tentative neurocognitive models of affective word processing in the light of the present results, raising new issues for future studies. PMID:26089808

Promoting reading skills or wasting time? Students’ perceived benefits of reading in an intermediary programme at the Vaal University of Technology

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Linda Scott

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Notwithstanding the substantial transformation of education in South Africa in the last 20 years, specifically to redress the past inequalities, the challenges are ongoing. These challenges include tertiary institutions having to accommodate a culturally and linguistically diverse group of students, often second-language (L2 English speakers, in an English lingua franca classroom. This study investigated the reading attitudes and habits of students in an intermediary programme of a tertiary institution and any perceived changes to these attitudes or habits, as well as their perceptions of the promotion of reading by the programme. On successful completion of the intermediary programme, students register for the compulsory first-year English distance learning course and are required to complete a placement test. Results for students who attended the intermediary programme were compared with those of students who did not attend the intermediary programme but registered directly for mainstream. The teaching of reading appeared invaluable at the tertiary level with the indication that students’ attitudes and behaviour changed and that they inter alia realised the academic value thereof, made decisions to take up reading as a hobby and discovered new genres. Keywords: Reading; Linguistically diverse

Reading Pearl River Delta from an Aldo Rossi perspective

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Tomaž Pipan

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This article confronts the Rossi’s methodology of reading the city with Shenzhen – Chinese contemporary city that developed from a village into a city of 4 million inhabitants in less than 15 years. The article identifies the core instruments of Rossi’s theory as presented in his book Architecture of the City and systematically redeploys and tests them on the city in question. Through this a critical evaluation of the methodology is made, furthermore possible modifications are suggested.

Emerging applications of read profiles towards the functional annotation of the genome

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Pundhir, Sachin; Poirazi, Panayiota; Gorodkin, Jan

2015-01-01

is typically a result of the protocol designed to address specific research questions. The sequencing results in reads, which when mapped to a reference genome often leads to the formation of distinct patterns (read profiles). Interpretation of these read profiles is essential for their analysis in relation...... to the research question addressed. Several strategies have been employed at varying levels of abstraction ranging from a somewhat ad hoc to a more systematic analysis of read profiles. These include methods which can compare read profiles, e.g., from direct (non-sequence based) alignments to classification...... of patterns into functional groups. In this review, we highlight the emerging applications of read profiles for the annotation of non-coding RNA and cis-regulatory elements (CREs) such as enhancers and promoters. We also discuss the biological rationale behind their formation....

The Development of an ASSA Module as an Auxiliary Tool for Assessment of Existing Plant Instrumentation and enhancement of the instruments performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koo, Kil Mo; Kang, Kyung Ho; Ha, Kwang Soon; Cho, Young Ro; Cho, Young; Park, Rae Jun; Kim, Sang Baik; Kim, Hee Dong

2007-04-01

A review of a plant's accident management capabilities is one of the key elements in achieving regulatory closure of severe accident issues. During accidents, information and data from plant's instruments, as well as others sources, are essential for assessing the plant's status and response. Unlike for design basis accidents, there are inherently some uncertainties to instrumentation capabilities for severe accident conditions. There are many ways to obtain information during a severe accident. Moreover, precise measurements are not necessary. The redundancy and ruggedness of a plant's instrumentation provides considerable depth in the capability of existing designs. The circuit simulation analysis and diagnosis methods are used to assess instruments in detail when they give apparently abnormal readings. A new simulator, ASSA(abnormal signal simulator analysis), through an analysis of the important circuits modeling under severe accident conditions has been designed. It has three main functions which are a signal processing tool, an accident management tool, and an additional guide from the initial screen. In this paper, it can be simulated to the temperature characteristic analysis procedure of the ASSA through EQ data comparative method and using specific signal processing under severe accident condition

THE TEACHING OF EFL READING IN THE INDONESIAN CONTEXT: THE STATE OF THE ART

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Bambang Yudi Cahyono

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Skills in reading (and learning information from texts written in English as a foreign language (EFL reading constitute an important element of the establishment of English curriculum of secondary and tertiary schools (both English and non-English departments in Indonesia. The need of the learners to be skilled in reading to learn has inspired EFL reading teachers or specialists to apply some techniques in the teaching of EFL reading and to investigate the effects of the techniques on improving Indonesian students’ reading skills, as well as to examine various related aspects such as reading materials, reading strategies, and factors affecting reading comprehension. Our purpose in writing this article is to review recent development in the EFL reading pedagogy and research in Indonesia and to view it from the broader perspective on the theories of reading process and ESL/EFL reading instruction. Drawing on the results of this analysis, we will outline the current trends and recommend future direction in the EFL reading pedagogy and research in this country.

Evaluation of Attention Training and Metacognitive Facilitation to Improve Reading Comprehension in Aphasia

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jaime B.; Sohlberg, McKay Moore

2013-01-01

Purpose: This pilot study investigated the impact of direct attention training combined with metacognitive facilitation on reading comprehension in individuals with aphasia. Method: A single-subject, multiple baseline design was employed across 4 participants to evaluate potential changes in reading comprehension resulting from an 8-week…

Writing and reading in the electronic health record: an entirely new world

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Lauri Lopp

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Electronic health records (EHRs are structured, distributed documentation systems that differ from paper charts. These systems require skills not traditionally used to navigate a paper chart and to produce a written clinic note. Despite these differences, little attention has been given to physicians’ electronic health record (EHR-writing and -reading competence. Purposes: This study aims to investigate physicians’ self-assessed competence to document and to read EHR notes; writing and reading preferences in an EHR; and demographic characteristics associated with their perceived EHR ability and preference. Methods: Fourteen 5-point Likert scale items, based on EHR system characteristics and a literature review, were developed to measure EHR-writing and -reading competence and preference. Physicians in the midwest region of the United States were invited via e-mail to complete the survey online from February to April 2011. Factor analysis and reliability testing were conducted to provide validity and reliability of the instrument. Correlation and regression analysis were conducted to pursue answers to the research questions. Results: Ninety-one physicians (12.5%, from general and specialty fields, working in inpatient and outpatient settings, participated in the survey. Despite over 3 years of EHR experience, respondents perceived themselves to be incompetent in EHR writing and reading (Mean = 2.74, SD = 0.76. They preferred to read succinct, narrative notes in EHR systems. However, physicians with higher perceived EHR-writing and -reading competence had less preference toward reading succinct (r= − 0.33, p<0.001 and narrative (r= − 0.36, p<0.001 EHR notes than physicians with lower perceived EHR competence. Physicians’ perceived EHR-writing and -reading competence was strongly related to their EHR navigation skills (r=0.55, p<0.0001. Conclusions: Writing and reading EHR documentation is different for physicians. Maximizing

INCIDENCE OF VARIABLES NON DIRECTLY CONTROLLABLE BY THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN STUDENTS’ READING LITERACY IN PISA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY SPAIN-FINLAND

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Esteban Vázquez Cano

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This comparative research between Spain and Finland examines the incidence of eight variables of PISA (2012 typologically grouped in three areas: family, internet use for reading activities, and availability of books at home in students’ results in reading literacy. Through a descriptive and quantitative methodology, we analyze the incidence of these eight variables in Finnish and Spanish students’ reading literacy. The results show that parents’ academic and professional level along with the type of book that is available at home are non-significant variables in the development of a high reading literacy; by contrast, the variable that measures Internet use at home for reading news has been highly significant. Finnish students duplicate the Spanish in this variable which increases in 30 points reading literacy results.

Development and Initial Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess the Reading Beliefs of Undergraduate Students: The "Cuestionario de Creencias Sobre la Lectura"

Science.gov (United States)

Lordán, Eva; Solé, Isabel; Beltran, Francesc S.

2017-01-01

The aim of this research was to develop a new questionnaire for exploring the reading beliefs of undergraduate students, because the only currently available instrument has conceptual and methodological limitations. The paper describes the process of developing the instrument and presents a range of psychometric data obtained from a sample of 558…

Past, present and future of materials, methodology and instrumentation in particle tracks in solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Espinosa, G.

1991-01-01

In this presentation I would like to give a brief review of the development of materials, methods and instrumentation in Solid State Nuclear Track Detection, nowadays referred to by the more general term of Particle Tracks in Solids (PTS). We all are convinced of the advantages, good characteristics and qualities of this method which has served to establish a number of procedures in several areas such as Environmental and Personal Dosimetry, Radon Research, Geology, Nuclear Physics, etc. Nevertheless, we have to be conscious of its disadvantages and limitations and above all, the future developments, taking into account all aspects, ranging from track formation models to etching and reading procedures. Above all, I want to emphasize the importance of doing research in new materials with improved properties. The other important challenge refers to instrumentation development, mainly that concerned with reading systems, which is necessary if standard procedures for the measurement and evaluation of particle tracks in solids are to be established. (author)

Developing New Reading Assessments to Promote Beginning Reading in Singapore

Science.gov (United States)

Koh, Kim H.; Paris, Scott G.

2011-01-01

Effective reading instruction and intervention are rooted in effective assessments of children's developing skills in reading. The article aims to describe the development of new reading assessments to help promote beginning reading in Singapore primary schools. We begin with an introduction to the educational landscape and policies before…

Elementary School Math Instruction: Can Reading Specialists Assist?

Science.gov (United States)

Heinrichs, Audrey S.

1987-01-01

Discusses the contradictions found in recommendations for direction instruction or informal math language development, and some suggestions for practical resolution of disagreements, to enable school reading specialists to provide both background and practical help to classroom instructors teaching math. (HTH)

Development of Instrumentation for Direct Validation of Regional Carbon Flux Estimates

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We are pursuing three tasks under internal research and development: 1) procure a state-of-the-art, commercial instrument for measuring atmospheric methane (CH4) in...

Trade Related Reading Packets for Disabled Readers.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Beverly; Woodruff, Nancy S.

Six trade-related reading packets for disabled readers are provided for these trades: assemblers, baking, building maintenance, data entry, interior landscaping, and warehousing. Each packet stresses from 9 to 14 skills. Those skills common to most packets include context clues, fact or opinion, details, following directions, main idea,…

Reading Speed as a Constraint of Accuracy of Self-Perception of Reading Skill

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Heekyung; Linderholm, Tracy

2015-01-01

We hypothesised that college students take reading speed into consideration when evaluating their own reading skill, even if reading speed does not reliably predict actual reading skill. To test this hypothesis, we measured self-perception of reading skill, self-perception of reading speed, actual reading skill and actual reading speed to…

Reading and informational practices in community libraries in rereading network – PE

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Mariana de Souza Alves

2017-11-01

about community libraries, seeking to understand the singularities of this typology of libraries, as well as presents the Releitura-PE. From the methodological point of view, it carries out a bibliographic study, together with an empirical investigation of the collection of information about community libraries and the collection of testimonies of the individuals that are part of these libraries, such as managers, reading mediators and interactors, through semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed and categorized using the Content Analysis, technique. It concludes that the reader's and informational practices of the subjects are multiple and are revealed individually, in the ways of reading and informing themselves, as well as collectively, in the following practices: management, organization and political incidence; training and qualification of the team; communication and dissemination of actions; mediation of reading and cultural actions; Articulation with local entities and interaction with the library. The library, in turn, was considered a living space, a place of coexistence, reading, learning and leisure, as well as an instrument of politicization and development of citizenship and autonomy of the individuals.

Cross-lagged relationships between morphological awareness and reading comprehension among Chinese children

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Yahua Cheng

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The present study examined the developmental relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension using a two-year and four-wave cross-lagged design with a sample of 149 Chinese children (80 male and 69 female. We measured children’s morphological awareness, word reading, and reading comprehension from T1 to T4, in addition to phonological awareness, vocabulary knowledge, and general cognitive ability at T1 as control measures. Four plausible cross-lagged models were assessed and compared to examine the direction of the developmental relationships between morphological awareness and reading comprehension over time. Results found support for a reciprocal-causation model, that is, morphological awareness stably predicted subsequent reading comprehension, and the reverse relation was also found. Longitudinal mediation analyses revealed that word reading partially mediated the relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension in Chinese children. These findings extend our understanding of the relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension. The practical implications for these two developing skills in Chinese children are discussed.

Exploring Students' Reading Profiles to Guide a Reading Intervention Programme

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Boakye, Naomi A. N. Y.

2017-01-01

There have been a number of studies on reading interventions to improve students' reading proficiency, yet the majority of these interventions are undertaken with the assumption that students' reading challenges are obvious and generic in nature. The interventions do not take into consideration the diversity in students' reading backgrounds and…

Instrumentation development for real time brainwave monitoring.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, Lawrence Frederick; Clough, Benjamin W.

2005-12-01

The human brain functions through a chemically-induced biological process which operates in a manner similar to electrical systems. The signal resulting from this biochemical process can actually be monitored and read using tools and having patterns similar to those found in electrical and electronics engineering. The primary signature of this electrical activity is the ''brain wave'', which looks remarkably similar to the output of many electrical systems. Likewise, the device currently used in medical arenas to read brain electrical activity is the electroencephalogram (EEG) which is synonymous with a multi-channel oscilloscope reading. Brain wave readings and recordings for medical purposes are traditionally taken in clinical settings such as hospitals, laboratories or diagnostic clinics. The signal is captured via externally applied scalp electrodes using semi-viscous gel to reduce impedance. The signal will be in the 10 to 100 microvolt range. In other instances, where surgeons are attempting to isolate particular types of minute brain signals, the electrodes may actually be temporarily implanted in the brain during a preliminary procedure. The current configurations of equipment required for EEGs involve large recording instruments, many electrodes, wires, and large amounts of hard disk space devoted to storing large files of brain wave data which are then eventually analyzed for patterns of concern. Advances in sensors, signal processing, data storage and microelectronics over the last decade would seem to have paved the way for the realization of devices capable of ''real time'' external monitoring, and possible assessment, of brain activity. A myriad of applications for such a capability are likewise presenting themselves, including the ability to assess brain functioning, level of functioning and malfunctioning. Our plan is to develop the sensors, signal processing, and portable instrumentation package which could

Pre-Service Teachers: An Analysis of Reading Instruction in High Needs Districts Dual Language Classrooms

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Michael Whitacre

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Pre-service teachers need opportunities to apply theory and connect to best practices as they teach in classroom settings be it, whole or small group. For many pre-service teachers often times their experience is limited to simply watching instruction or working with small groups of students (Pryor & Kuhn, 2004. The student teaching experience is a critical component of the teacher preparation program. Through the use of the English Language Learner Classroom Observation Instrument (ELLCOI, and researcher observation the hope is that these will aid in bringing to light the instructional activities used by pre-service teachers during reading instruction with ELLs. This study explores how pre-service bilingual teachers connect theory into practice by examining their instruction in the following categories: Instructional Practices, Interactive Teaching, English-Language Development, and Content Specific to Reading as listed in The English Language Learner Classroom Observation Instrument (ELLCOI developed by Haager, Gersten, Baker, and Graves (2003. To capture these instructional events video tape recordings of eight South Texas pre-service teachers were taken during a reading language arts lesson in order to observe instruction in high need districts’ dual language/bilingual classrooms. Data were compiled to capture the nature and quality of instruction on key essential elements, as well as reading instructional practices specific to the teaching/learning process in the dual language classroom. The findings portray the results of the ELLCOI with bilingual/ESL pre- service teachers and how they make sense of their instructional practices as a means to instruction in one-way dual language public school classrooms.

Connected text reading and differences in text reading fluency in adult readers.

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Sebastian Wallot

Full Text Available The process of connected text reading has received very little attention in contemporary cognitive psychology. This lack of attention is in parts due to a research tradition that emphasizes the role of basic lexical constituents, which can be studied in isolated words or sentences. However, this lack of attention is in parts also due to the lack of statistical analysis techniques, which accommodate interdependent time series. In this study, we investigate text reading performance with traditional and nonlinear analysis techniques and show how outcomes from multiple analyses can used to create a more detailed picture of the process of text reading. Specifically, we investigate reading performance of groups of literate adult readers that differ in reading fluency during a self-paced text reading task. Our results indicate that classical metrics of reading (such as word frequency do not capture text reading very well, and that classical measures of reading fluency (such as average reading time distinguish relatively poorly between participant groups. Nonlinear analyses of distribution tails and reading time fluctuations provide more fine-grained information about the reading process and reading fluency.

The role of speech prosody and text reading prosody in children's reading comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Veenendaal, Nathalie J; Groen, Margriet A; Verhoeven, Ludo

2014-12-01

Text reading prosody has been associated with reading comprehension. However, text reading prosody is a reading-dependent measure that relies heavily on decoding skills. Investigation of the contribution of speech prosody - which is independent from reading skills - in addition to text reading prosody, to reading comprehension could provide more insight into the general role of prosody in reading comprehension. The current study investigates how much variance in reading comprehension scores is explained by speech prosody and text reading prosody, after controlling for decoding, vocabulary, and syntactic awareness. A battery of reading and language assessments was performed by 106 Dutch fourth-grade primary school children. Speech prosody was assessed using a storytelling task and text reading prosody by oral text reading performance. Decoding skills, vocabulary, syntactic awareness, and reading comprehension were assessed using standardized tests. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that text reading prosody explained 6% of variance and that speech prosody explained 8% of variance in reading comprehension scores, after controlling for decoding, vocabulary, and syntactic awareness. Phrasing was the significant factor in both speech and text reading. When added in consecutive order, phrasing in speech added 5% variance to phrasing in reading. In contrast, phrasing in reading added only 3% variance to phrasing in speech. The variance that speech prosody explained in reading comprehension scores should not be neglected. Speech prosody seems to facilitate the construction of meaning in written language. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Cantonese versus Canadian Evaluation of Directive and Non-Directive Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Waxer, Peter H.

1989-01-01

Examined differences between Canadian and Cantonese university students who read transcripts of Carl Rogers and Albert Ellis counseling sessions and rated these counselors on directiveness, forcefulness, repetitiveness, sensitivity, politeness, and willingness to see either Ellis or Rogers. Found Canadians more willing to see Rogers than Chinese…

Validation of Reverse-Engineered and Additive-Manufactured Microsurgical Instrument Prototype.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Ramandeep; Suri, Ashish; Anand, Sneh; Baby, Britty

2016-12-01

With advancements in imaging techniques, neurosurgical procedures are becoming highly precise and minimally invasive, thus demanding development of new ergonomically aesthetic instruments. Conventionally, neurosurgical instruments are manufactured using subtractive manufacturing methods. Such a process is complex, time-consuming, and impractical for prototype development and validation of new designs. Therefore, an alternative design process has been used utilizing blue light scanning, computer-aided designing, and additive manufacturing direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) for microsurgical instrument prototype development. Deviations of DMLS-fabricated instrument were studied by superimposing scan data of fabricated instrument with the computer-aided designing model. Content and concurrent validity of the fabricated prototypes was done by a group of 15 neurosurgeons by performing sciatic nerve anastomosis in small laboratory animals. Comparative scoring was obtained for the control and study instrument. T test was applied to the individual parameters and P values for force (P direct application of these additive-manufactured instruments in the operating room requires further validation. © The Author(s) 2016.

The Relationship between Multiple Intelligences and Reading Comprehension of EFL Learners across Genders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masoud Khalili Sabet

2016-01-01

Full Text Available With developments in psychology and cognitive sciences in recent years, the significance of individual differences in L2 pedagogy has been highlighted. One of the outcomes of attending to individual differences is the increased attention to the concept of multiple intelligences and its relationship with language learning and different skills including reading comprehension skill. On the same line, the present study aimed at investigating the relationship between multiple intelligences of a group of L2 learners and their reading comprehension ability. To this purpose, 157 medical students studying at the Guilan University of Medical Sciences participated in the study. The instruments utilized were Multiple Intelligences Developmental Assessment Scales (MIDAS and a reading comprehension test. The findings revealed that among the components of multiple intelligences of the medical students verbal-linguistic intelligence was prevalent. Furthermore, results of Pearson correlation demonstrated a positive but weak relationship between medical students’ MI and their reading comprehension ability. The findings also indicated that there is no difference between male and female medical students except in naturalistic intelligence. These findings further pinpoint the importance of attending to multiple intelligences of L2 learners and devising lessons which take their individual differences into account. Keywords: Multiple intelligences, reading comprehension, medical students, gender, EFL

Idea Sharing: The Use of Read-Share-Act to Promote Extensive Reading

Science.gov (United States)

Charumanee, Nisakorn

2014-01-01

Nisakorn Charumanee believes that a reading teacher has an active role in cultivating reading culture or reading habit and in activating students to "want" to read. One way to do this is to integrate extensive reading into the classroom (Day and Bamford, 1998; Bamford and Day, 2004) where extensive reading can be enhanced if the teacher…

Sex Mediates the Effects of High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on "Mind-Reading".

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, A K; Huang, J; Hunold, A; Meinzer, M

2017-12-16

Sex differences in social cognitive ability are well established, including measures of Theory of Mind (ToM). The aim of this study was to investigate if sex mediates the effects of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) administered to a key hub of the social brain (i.e., the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, dmPFC) on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). Forty healthy young adults (18-35 years) were randomly allocated to receive either anodal or cathodal HD-tDCS in sham HD-tDCS controlled, double blind designs. In each of the two sessions, subjects completed the RMET. Anodal stimulation to the dmPFC increased accuracy on the RMET in females only. To assure regional specificity we performed a follow-up study stimulating the right temporoparietal junction and found no effect in either sex. The current study is the first to show improved performance on the RMET after tDCS to the dmPFC in females only. The polarity-specific effects and use of focal HD-tDCS provide evidence for sex-dependent differences in dmPFC function in relation to the RMET. Future studies using tDCS to study or improve ToM, need to consider sex. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Assessment of Reading Comprehension Difficulties for Reading Intervention

Science.gov (United States)

Woolley, Gary

2008-01-01

There are many environmental and personal factors that contribute to reading success. Reading comprehension is a complex interaction of language, sensory perception, memory, and motivational aspects. However, most existing assessment tools have not adequately reflected the complex nature of reading comprehension. Good assessment requires a…

The Role of Speech Prosody and Text Reading Prosody in Children's Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Veenendaal, Nathalie J.; Groen, Margriet A.; Verhoeven, Ludo

2014-01-01

Background: Text reading prosody has been associated with reading comprehension. However, text reading prosody is a reading-dependent measure that relies heavily on decoding skills. Investigation of the contribution of speech prosody--which is independent from reading skills--in addition to text reading prosody, to reading comprehension could…

To read or not to read

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mol, Suzanne Elizabeth

2010-01-01

There is a widely held belief that reading (story)books makes us smarter and helps promote success in life. Does scientific evidence support this notion? The three meta-analyses in this thesis comprise 146 studies between 1988 and 2010 (N=10,308 participants) that addressed the role of book reading

Teachers’ beliefs about reading and use of reading strategies

OpenAIRE

VASILIKA RRAKU

2014-01-01

The aim of this article is to place the focus on teachers’ beliefs about reading and reading strategies to the purpose of emphasizing the im portance of reading strategies in the reading process. The method of study is analytic analysis of teachers’ beliefs obtained through ques tionnaires delivered to 18 English language teachers of elementary, secondary and high level education in the region of Saranda in lbania. The results of the study pointed to a great concordance between teach ers’ bel...

Instrument evaluation no. 9. Mini-instruments dose rate meter type 5 - 1OR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iles, W.J.; Burgess, P.H.; Callowhill, K.

1977-04-01

This instrument is a portable, battery powered dose rate meter covering the dose rate range from 0 to 200 mrad h -1 . The instrument is designed to measure X- and γ-radiation dose rates over the energy range from 45 keV to 3 MeV. The radiation detector of the instrument is a GM tube with a specially designed energy compensation sheath. This detector is incorporated in a probe connected to the rate meter by an extensible cable which may be either hand-held or clipped on to the top of the instrument case. All the measurements in this report have been taken with the long axis of the probe normal to the direction of the incident radiation, the orientation recommended by the manufacturer. The information is given under the following headings: facilities and controls; radiation characteristics; electrical characteristics; effect of ambient temperature; mechanical characteristics; summary of performance; conclusions. (U.K.)

Instrumentation development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1976-01-01

Areas being investigated for instrumentation improvement during low-level pollution monitoring include laser opto-acoustic spectroscopy, x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, optical fluorescence spectroscopy, liquid crystal gas detectors, advanced forms of atomic absorption spectroscopy, electro-analytical chemistry, and mass spectroscopy. Emphasis is also directed toward development of physical methods, as opposed to conventional chemical analysis techniques for monitoring these trace amounts of pollution related to energy development and utilization

Multicultural Reading

Science.gov (United States)

Veltze, Linda

2004-01-01

Multicultural reading advocates believe in the power of literature to transform and to change people's lives. They take seriously the arguments that racism and prejudice can be lessened through multicultural reading, and also that children from undervalued societal groups who read books that depict people like themselves in a positive light will…

Mix It Up! Six Ways To Rethink Tired Summer Reading Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Barstow, Barbara; Markey, Penny

1997-01-01

Presents six ideas to improve public libraries' summer reading programs. Highlights include creating Web sites; marketing directly to parents rather than to schools through direct mail and collaborative promotion; statewide cooperative programs; the use of teen volunteers; scratch-off game cards; and off-site programs. (LRW)

An evaluation of the nursing success program: reading comprehension, graduation rates, and diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Symes, Lene; Tart, Kathryn; Travis, Lucille

2005-01-01

The Nursing Success Program was developed to enhance retention of baccalaureate nursing students. Reading comprehension scores are used to identify students who are at risk for failure and direct them into the retention program that addresses their skill deficits. To evaluate the program, the authors assessed reading comprehension, graduation rates, and ethnic diversity.

Examining Associations between Reading Motivation and Inference Generation beyond Reading Comprehension Skill

Science.gov (United States)

Clinton, Virginia

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between reading motivation and inference generation while reading. Undergraduate participants (N = 69) read two science articles while thinking aloud, completed a standardized reading comprehension assessment, and self reported their habitual reading motivation. Findings indicate that…

Reading Amount as a Mediator of the Effects of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Reading Motivation on Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Schaffner, Ellen; Schiefele, Ulrich; Ulferts, Hannah

2013-01-01

This study examined the role of reading amount as a mediator of the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation on higher order reading comprehension (comprised of paragraph-and passage-level comprehension) in a sample of 159 fifth-grade elementary students. A positive association between intrinsic reading motivation and reading amount…

The relationship between different measures of oral reading fluency and reading comprehension in second-grade students who evidence different oral reading fluency difficulties.

Science.gov (United States)

Wise, Justin C; Sevcik, Rose A; Morris, Robin D; Lovett, Maureen W; Wolf, Maryanne; Kuhn, Melanie; Meisinger, Beth; Schwanenflugel, Paula

2010-07-01

The purpose of this study was to examine whether different measures of oral reading fluency relate differentially to reading comprehension performance in two samples of second-grade students: (a) students who evidenced difficulties with nonsense-word oral reading fluency, real-word oral reading fluency, and oral reading fluency of connected text (ORFD), and (b) students who evidenced difficulties only with oral reading fluency of connected text (CTD). Participants (ORFD, n = 146 and CTD, n = 949) were second-grade students who were recruited for participation in different reading intervention studies. Data analyzed were from measures of nonsense-word oral reading fluency, real-word oral reading fluency, oral reading fluency of connected text, and reading comprehension that were collected at the pre-intervention time point. Correlational and path analyses indicated that real-word oral reading fluency was the strongest predictor of reading comprehension performance in both samples and across average and poor reading comprehension abilities. Results of this study indicate that real-word oral reading fluency was the strongest predictor of reading comprehension and suggest that real-word oral reading fluency may be an efficient method for identifying potential reading comprehension difficulties.

Reading motivation, reading amount, and text comprehension in deaf and hearing adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Parault, Susan J; Williams, Heather M

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the variables of reading motivation, reading amount, and text comprehension in deaf and hearing adults. Research has shown that less than 50% of deaf students leave high school reading at or above a fourth-grade level (Allen, 1994). Our question is, how does this affect the levels of reading motivation and amount of reading in which deaf adults engage? Assessments of 30 hearing and 24 deaf adults showed that deaf participants reported significantly higher levels of reading motivation despite having been found to read at less than a sixth-grade level. No significant difference in the amount of reading between hearing and deaf adults was found. Amount of reading for personal reasons was found to be the best predictor of text comprehension in the deaf participants, and intrinsic motivation was found to be the best predictor of amount of reading in the deaf participants.

An investigation of Chinese university EFL learner’s foreign language reading anxiety, reading strategy use and reading comprehension performance

OpenAIRE

Zhongshe Lu; Meihua Liu

2015-01-01

The present study explored the interrelations between foreign language (FL) reading anxiety, FL reading strategy use and their interactive effect on FL reading comprehension performance at the tertiary level in China. Analyses of the survey data collected from 1702 university students yielded the following results: (a) Both Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) and Foreign Language Reading Strategy Use Scale (FLRSUS) had important subcomponents, (b) more than half of the stu...

Neural Signatures of the Reading-Writing Connection: Greater Involvement of Writing in Chinese Reading than English Reading.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Fan; Perfetti, Charles A

2016-01-01

Research on cross-linguistic comparisons of the neural correlates of reading has consistently found that the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) is more involved in Chinese than in English. However, there is a lack of consensus on the interpretation of the language difference. Because this region has been found to be involved in writing, we hypothesize that reading Chinese characters involves this writing region to a greater degree because Chinese speakers learn to read by repeatedly writing the characters. To test this hypothesis, we recruited English L1 learners of Chinese, who performed a reading task and a writing task in each language. The English L1 sample had learned some Chinese characters through character-writing and others through phonological learning, allowing a test of writing-on-reading effect. We found that the left MFG was more activated in Chinese than English regardless of task, and more activated in writing than in reading regardless of language. Furthermore, we found that this region was more activated for reading Chinese characters learned by character-writing than those learned by phonological learning. A major conclusion is that writing regions are also activated in reading, and that this reading-writing connection is modulated by the learning experience. We replicated the main findings in a group of native Chinese speakers, which excluded the possibility that the language differences observed in the English L1 participants were due to different language proficiency level.

Neural Signatures of the Reading-Writing Connection: Greater Involvement of Writing in Chinese Reading than English Reading.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fan Cao

Full Text Available Research on cross-linguistic comparisons of the neural correlates of reading has consistently found that the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG is more involved in Chinese than in English. However, there is a lack of consensus on the interpretation of the language difference. Because this region has been found to be involved in writing, we hypothesize that reading Chinese characters involves this writing region to a greater degree because Chinese speakers learn to read by repeatedly writing the characters. To test this hypothesis, we recruited English L1 learners of Chinese, who performed a reading task and a writing task in each language. The English L1 sample had learned some Chinese characters through character-writing and others through phonological learning, allowing a test of writing-on-reading effect. We found that the left MFG was more activated in Chinese than English regardless of task, and more activated in writing than in reading regardless of language. Furthermore, we found that this region was more activated for reading Chinese characters learned by character-writing than those learned by phonological learning. A major conclusion is that writing regions are also activated in reading, and that this reading-writing connection is modulated by the learning experience. We replicated the main findings in a group of native Chinese speakers, which excluded the possibility that the language differences observed in the English L1 participants were due to different language proficiency level.

How logical reasoning mediates the relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Segers, Eliane; Verhoeven, Ludo

The present study aimed to examine the role of logical reasoning in the relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension in 146 fourth grade Dutch children. We assessed their standardized reading comprehension measure, along with their decoding efficiency and vocabulary as measures of lexical quality, syllogistic reasoning as measure of (verbal) logical reasoning, and nonverbal reasoning as a control measure. Syllogistic reasoning was divided into a measure tapping basic, coherence inferencing skill using logical syllogisms, and a measure tapping elaborative inferencing skill using indeterminate syllogisms. Results showed that both types of syllogisms partly mediated the relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension, but also had a unique additional effect on reading comprehension. The indirect effect of lexical quality on reading comprehension via syllogisms was driven by vocabulary knowledge. It is concluded that measures of syllogistic reasoning account for higher-order thinking processes that are needed to make inferences in reading comprehension. The role of lexical quality appears to be pivotal in explaining the variation in reading comprehension both directly and indirectly via syllogistic reasoning.

Reading Approach Use Effectiveness And EFL Reading Comprehension In University Muhammadiyah Of Parepare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baharuddin

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This study investigated Indonesian EFL learners approach of two reading approaches cognitive and metacognitive their perceived contact on effectiveness and the association between reading approach and effectiveness on their English reading comprehension. Fifty-Three English-major freshmen from University Muhammadiyah of Parepare participated in these lessons. Two principal questions were addressed 1 what is the most frequent use of reading approach reported by individual students 2 Is there any significant association between reading approach and effectiveness on their English reading comprehension To examine the effects of approach instruction on students reading performance a qualitative interview technique and quantitative research methods including a paired-sample t-test and Person Product Moment Correlation were used to estimate the relationship between reading approach use and effectiveness on students reading accomplishment. Significance showed that the most frequent use of reading approach was found to be metacognitive approach followed by the cognitive approach. In addition there was a significant positive connection between reading approach and effectiveness on their English reading comprehension. Reading approach on the other hand was unrelated to reading achievement. Results of interview findings were analyzed to explore in-depth in sequence about the condition of approach used. The implications of these findings for implementing effective reading strategy instruction are discussed.

Compendium of Instrumentation Whitepapers on Frontier Physics Needs for Snowmass 2013

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lipton, R. [Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)

2013-01-01

Contents of collection of whitepapers include: Operation of Collider Experiments at High Luminosity; Level 1 Track Triggers at HL-LHC; Tracking and Vertex Detectors for a Muon Collider; Triggers for hadron colliders at the energy frontier; ATLAS Upgrade Instrumentation; Instrumentation for the Energy Frontier; Particle Flow Calorimetry for CMS; Noble Liquid Calorimeters; Hadronic dual-readout calorimetry for high energy colliders; Another Detector for the International Linear Collider; e+e- Linear Colliders Detector Requirements and Limitations; Electromagnetic Calorimetry in Project X Experiments The Project X Physics Study; Intensity Frontier Instrumentation; Project X Physics Study Calorimetry Report; Project X Physics Study Tracking Report; The LHCb Upgrade; Neutrino Detectors Working Group Summary; Advanced Water Cherenkov R&D for WATCHMAN; Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC); Liquid Scintillator Instrumentation for Physics Frontiers; A readout architecture for 100,000 pixel Microwave Kinetic In- ductance Detector array; Instrumentation for New Measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background polarization; Future Atmospheric and Water Cherenkov ?-ray Detectors; Dark Energy; Can Columnar Recombination Provide Directional Sensitivity in WIMP Search?; Instrumentation Needs for Detection of Ultra-high Energy Neu- trinos; Low Background Materials for Direct Detection of Dark Matter; Physics Motivation for WIMP Dark Matter Directional Detection; Solid Xenon R&D at Fermilab; Ultra High Energy Neutrinos; Instrumentation Frontier: Direct Detection of WIMPs; nEXO detector R&D; Large Arrays of Air Cherenkov Detectors; and Applications of Laser Interferometry in Fundamental Physics Experiments.

QAR: Strategy implementation for reading comprehension of recount texts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nira Erdiana

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research is to find out whether QAR strategy is effective in reading comprehension of recount text. This research uses experimental research design. This research took place at Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri Model Banda Aceh. A second grade class was chosen as the research sample, which consisted of 36 students. The research instrument used to gather the data was a set of essay tests, which were divided to pre-test and post-test. The result of the research was analyzed by using paired t-test formula. The calculation result shows that the observed t value is less than t lower critical vaue in the t distribution table (-5.624 2.030 at the 0.05 level of significance with 35 degree of freedom. It means that null hypothesis (H0 is rejected, which proves that Question Answer Relationship strategy effectively improves the second grade students’ reading comprehension of recount text.

Pupil's motivation in the 3. grades for required reading and The Reading Badge

OpenAIRE

Logar, Renata

2013-01-01

Reading is extremely important for pupils and their development. The pupil with reading habits riches his vocabulary and gaining knowledge. On the other hand the pupil through reading entry into the world of imagination and stories. Major role in motivating students to read have parents and teachers. In this graduation thesis I was interested in how third grade teachers motivate their pupils to read. In doing so, I was focused mainly to reading for required reading and The Reading Badge. ...

COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIC READING IMPLEMENTATION TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Desy Olivia Riani

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This collaborative action research is aimed to find out whether or not the implementation of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR improves students' reading comprehension and also to identify students' attitude towards the implementation of CSR. CSR is reading strategy that employs four strategies namely Preview, Click and Clunk, Get the Gist and Wrap Up during students’ cooperative learning. A class of eleventh grade students of a public senior high school in Majalengka, West Java, Indonesia is participated as the participant of the study. The required data were collected through the use of questionnaire, observation checklist, and reading test. The data from the questionnaire indicated that 82% students had positive attitude toward the implementation of CSR. They feel that CSR improves their motivation in learning English and CSR brings more fun to the process of learning. Moreover, it was found from observation data that the students were actively participated during CSR implementation and they were motivated when comprehending a text by means CSR strategy. Finally, the study proved that CSR improved students’ reading comprehension. Students’ mean score of reading test in the beginning of the study was 67, meanwhile, after applying CSR as reading strategy, their mean scores improved to 88.

Iowa City Reads! The Reading Event Worth Shouting About.

Science.gov (United States)

Donham van Deusen, Jean; Langhorne, Mary Jo

1997-01-01

Describes the Community Reading Month (CRM) initiative in Iowa City, Iowa; its goals are to promote the value of reading and to build a sense of community. Topics include the development of CRM, increased reading scores of Iowa City's elementary school students, activities for people of all ages, and planning and evaluation. (AEF)

Reading Self-Efficacy Predicts Word Reading But Not Comprehension in Both Girls and Boys.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, Julia M; Fox, Amy C

2016-01-01

The relationship between cognitive skills and reading has been well-established. However, the role of motivational factors such as self-efficacy in reading progress is less clear. In particular, it is not clear how self-efficacy relates to word level reading versus comprehension, and whether this differs in boys and girls. This study examines the relationship between self-efficacy, word reading and reading comprehension across the range of reading abilities after controlling for reading-related cognitive factors. One hundred and seventy nine children (86 males and 93 females) between 8 and 11 years old completed a self-report measure of reading self-efficacy together with measures of reading comprehension and word reading, working memory, auditory short-term memory, phonological awareness, and vocabulary. Boys and girls showed similar levels of attainment and reading self-efficacy. Reading self-efficacy was associated with word reading, but not with reading comprehension in either boys or girls. It is argued that this may reflect important differences between reading self-efficacy and more general measures of reading motivation and engagement. Reading self-efficacy is an element of reading motivation that is closely associated with a child's perceived attainments in reading and is less susceptible to the gender differences seen in broader measures.

Reading Self-Efficacy Predicts Word Reading But Not Comprehension in Both Girls and Boys

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, Julia M.; Fox, Amy C.

2017-01-01

The relationship between cognitive skills and reading has been well-established. However, the role of motivational factors such as self-efficacy in reading progress is less clear. In particular, it is not clear how self-efficacy relates to word level reading versus comprehension, and whether this differs in boys and girls. This study examines the relationship between self-efficacy, word reading and reading comprehension across the range of reading abilities after controlling for reading-related cognitive factors. One hundred and seventy nine children (86 males and 93 females) between 8 and 11 years old completed a self-report measure of reading self-efficacy together with measures of reading comprehension and word reading, working memory, auditory short-term memory, phonological awareness, and vocabulary. Boys and girls showed similar levels of attainment and reading self-efficacy. Reading self-efficacy was associated with word reading, but not with reading comprehension in either boys or girls. It is argued that this may reflect important differences between reading self-efficacy and more general measures of reading motivation and engagement. Reading self-efficacy is an element of reading motivation that is closely associated with a child’s perceived attainments in reading and is less susceptible to the gender differences seen in broader measures. PMID:28144223

Investigating the Strategic Reading Processes of First and Second Language Readers in Two Different Cultural Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Mokhtari, Kouider; Reichard, Carla

2004-01-01

This study investigated whether significant differences exist between first and second language readers in their metacognitive awareness and perceived use of specific strategies when reading for academic purposes in English. Three hundred and fifty college students (141 US and 209 Moroccan) completed an instrument designed to measure their…

Metacognitive Reading Strategies, Motivation, and Reading Comprehension Performance of Saudi EFL Students

Science.gov (United States)

Meniado, Joel C.

2016-01-01

Metacognitive reading strategies and reading motivation play a significant role in enhancing reading comprehension. In an attempt to prove the foregoing claim in a context where there is no strong culture for reading, this study tries to find out if there is indeed a relationship between and among metacognitive reading strategies, reading…

Reading visual braille with a retinal prosthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauritzen, Thomas Z; Harris, Jordan; Mohand-Said, Saddek; Sahel, Jose A; Dorn, Jessy D; McClure, Kelly; Greenberg, Robert J

2012-01-01

Retinal prostheses, which restore partial vision to patients blinded by outer retinal degeneration, are currently in clinical trial. The Argus II retinal prosthesis system was recently awarded CE approval for commercial use in Europe. While retinal prosthesis users have achieved remarkable visual improvement to the point of reading letters and short sentences, the reading process is still fairly cumbersome. This study investigates the possibility of using an epiretinal prosthesis to stimulate visual braille as a sensory substitution for reading written letters and words. The Argus II retinal prosthesis system, used in this study, includes a 10 × 6 electrode array implanted epiretinally, a tiny video camera mounted on a pair of glasses, and a wearable computer that processes the video and determines the stimulation current of each electrode in real time. In the braille reading system, individual letters are created by a subset of dots from a 3 by 2 array of six dots. For the visual braille experiment, a grid of six electrodes was chosen out of the 10 × 6 Argus II array. Groups of these electrodes were then directly stimulated (bypassing the camera) to create visual percepts of individual braille letters. Experiments were performed in a single subject. Single letters were stimulated in an alternative forced choice (AFC) paradigm, and short 2-4-letter words were stimulated (one letter at a time) in an open-choice reading paradigm. The subject correctly identified 89% of single letters, 80% of 2-letter, 60% of 3-letter, and 70% of 4-letter words. This work suggests that text can successfully be stimulated and read as visual braille in retinal prosthesis patients.

Nonhybrid, finished microbial genome assemblies from long-read SMRT sequencing data.

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, Chen-Shan; Alexander, David H; Marks, Patrick; Klammer, Aaron A; Drake, James; Heiner, Cheryl; Clum, Alicia; Copeland, Alex; Huddleston, John; Eichler, Evan E; Turner, Stephen W; Korlach, Jonas

2013-06-01

We present a hierarchical genome-assembly process (HGAP) for high-quality de novo microbial genome assemblies using only a single, long-insert shotgun DNA library in conjunction with Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT) DNA sequencing. Our method uses the longest reads as seeds to recruit all other reads for construction of highly accurate preassembled reads through a directed acyclic graph-based consensus procedure, which we follow with assembly using off-the-shelf long-read assemblers. In contrast to hybrid approaches, HGAP does not require highly accurate raw reads for error correction. We demonstrate efficient genome assembly for several microorganisms using as few as three SMRT Cell zero-mode waveguide arrays of sequencing and for BACs using just one SMRT Cell. Long repeat regions can be successfully resolved with this workflow. We also describe a consensus algorithm that incorporates SMRT sequencing primary quality values to produce de novo genome sequence exceeding 99.999% accuracy.

Reading Fluency and Students with Reading Disabilities: How Fast Is Fast Enough to Promote Reading Comprehension?

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, Rollanda E.

2018-01-01

The goal of improving reading rate and fluency is to positively impact reading comprehension; however, it is unclear how fast students with learning disabilities (LD) need to read to reap this benefit. The purpose of this research was to identify the point of diminishing return for students who were dysfluent readers. Participants included 337…

Towards unravelling reading-related modulations of tDCS-induced neuroplasticity in the human visual cortex

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea eAntal

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Stimulation using weak electrical direct currents has shown to be capable of inducing polarity dependent diminutions or elevations in motor and visual cortical excitability. The aim of the present study was to test if reading during transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS is able to modify stimulation-induced plasticity in the visual cortex. Phosphene thresholds (PT in 12 healthy subjects were recorded before and after 10 minutes of anodal, cathodal and sham tDCS in combination with reading. Reading alone decreased PTs significantly, compared to the sham tDCS condition without reading. Interestingly, after both anodal and cathodal stimulation there was a tendency toward smaller PTs. Our results support the observation that tDCS-induced plasticity is highly dependent on the cognitive state of the subject during stimulation, not only in the case of motor cortex but also in the case of visual cortex stimulation.

Congenital Unilateral Deafness Affects Cerebral Organization of Reading

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alice Mado Proverbio

2013-06-01

Full Text Available It is known that early sensory deprivation modifies brain functional structure and connectivity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the neuro-functional organization of reading in a patient with profound congenital unilateral deafness. Using event-related potentials (ERPs, we compared cortical networks supporting the processing of written words in patient RA (completely deaf in the right ear since birth and in a group of control volunteers. We found that congenital unilateral hearing deprivation modifies neural mechanisms of word reading. Indeed, while written word processing was left-lateralized in controls, we found a strong right lateralization of the fusiform and inferior occipital gyri activation in RA. This finding goes in the same direction of recent proposals that the ventral occipito-temporal activity in word reading seem to lateralize to the same hemisphere as the one involved in spoken language processing.

The Relationship between Strategic Reading Instruction, Student Learning of L2-Based Reading Strategies and L2 Reading Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Akkakoson, Songyut

2013-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between strategic reading instruction, the process of learning second language-based reading strategies and English reading achievement for Thai university students of science and technology. In a course in reading general English texts for 16?weeks, 82 students were taught using a strategies-based approach…

Book reading styles in dual-parent and single-mother families.

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Blake, Joanna; Macdonald, Silvana; Bayrami, Lisa; Agosta, Vanessa; Milian, Andrea

2006-09-01

Whereas many studies have investigated quantitative aspects of book reading (frequency), few have examined qualitative aspects, especially in very young children and through direct observations of shared reading. The purpose of this study was to determine possible differences in book-reading styles between mothers and fathers and between mothers from single- and dual-parent families. It also related types of parental verbalizations during book reading to children's reported language measures. Dual-parent (29) and single-parent (24) families were observed in shared book reading with their toddlers (15-month-olds) or young preschoolers (27-month-olds). Parent-child dyads were videotaped while book reading. The initiator of each book-reading episode was coded. Parents' verbalizations were exhaustively coded into 10 categories. Mothers completed the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory, and the children were given the Bayley scales. All parents differentiated their verbalizations according to the age rather than the gender of the child, but single mothers imitated female children more than males. Few differences in verbalizations were found between mothers and fathers or between mothers from single- and dual-parent families. Fathers allowed younger children to initiate book-reading episodes more than mothers. For both age groups of children, combined across families, verbalizations that related the book to the child's experience were correlated with reported language measures. Questions and imitations were related to language measures for the older age group. The important types of parental verbalizations during shared book reading for children's language acquisition are relating, questions and imitations.

An intelligent instrument for measuring the dynamic parameters of groundwater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Guoping

2002-01-01

An intelligent instrument was developed for measuring direction and velocity of the groundwater, permeability coefficient, hydraulic transmitting coefficient, static level, hydraulic gradient and flow direction of each layer. The instrument can be widely applied for detecting seepage of abutment and river bank, exploitation of groundwater, conservation of water and soil, water surging in mine, survey of groundwater resource and environment protection etc

[Reading ability of junior high school students in relation to self-evaluation and depression].

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Yamashita, Toshiya; Hayashi, Takashi

2012-01-01

Guidelines for the diagnosis of reading disorders in elementary school students were published recently in Japan. On the basis of these guidelines, we administrated reading test batteries to 43 Japanese junior high-school students from grade two. The reading test consisted of single sounds, single words, and single sentences. We evaluated the reading speed and the number of reading errors made by the test takers; their performance was compared with the normal value for elementary school students in grade six, as stated in the guidelines. The reading ability of the junior high-school students was not higher than that of the elementary school students. Seven students (16.3%) were found to have reading difficulties (RD group) and they met the criterion for diagnosis of reading disorder as per the guidelines. Three students had difficulties in reading single sounds and single words, but they faced no problems when reading single sentences. It was supposed that the strategies used by the students for reading sentences may have differed from those used for reading single sounds or single words. No significant differences were found between the RD and non-RD group students on scores of scholastic self-evaluation, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. Therefore, reading difficulty did not directly influence the level of self-evaluation or depression.

The Effect of Modified Collaborative Strategic Reading on EFL Learners' Reading Anxiety

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Shabnam Abbasnezhad

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The present study was an attempt to investigate the effectiveness of reading instructional approach called MCSR- Modified Collaborative Strategic Reading on reducing intermediate EFL learner's reading anxiety. Based on a pretest-posttest design, MCSR was implemented with 64 EFL learners at intermediate level. They received EFL reading instruction according to MCSR over two and a half months. A questionnaire called English as a Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Inventory EFLRAI was group-administered atthepretest and the posttest. Quantitative results indicated that participating students demonstrated significant gains in reducing reading anxiety. This study highlighted our understanding by considering the effectiveness of MCSR program and also it elaborated the effects of using strategies like MCSR in overcoming the big problem of reading anxiety among EFL learners as non-native students. And teachers changed the focus of attention from using traditional methods for teaching the essential skill of reading to modern programs like MCSR in order to remove their students' anxiety and stress in reading.

The Effect of Baby Books on Mothers’ Reading Beliefs and Reading Practices

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