WorldWideScience

Sample records for trade-related reading material

  1. 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,…

  2. The Relative Impact of Aligning Tier 2 Intervention Materials with Classroom Core Reading Materials in Grades K-2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foorman, Barbara R.; Herrera, Sarah; Dombek, Jennifer

    2018-01-01

    This randomized controlled trial in 55 low-performing schools across Florida compared 2 early literacy interventions--1 using stand-alone materials and 1 using materials embedded in the existing core reading/language arts program. A total of 3,447 students who were below the 30th percentile in vocabulary and reading-related skills participated in…

  3. Textile materials trading center formally launched online

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2012-01-01

    Textile materials trading center was formally launched online in Wuxi City,Jiangsu Province. This is the first third-party electronic trading platform for spot trading in China textile materials professional market. The project will strive to build the most influential textile materials trading center of East China,the whole country and even the whole world China textile materials trading center will be

  4. The Role of China in the UK Relative Imports from Three Selected Trading Regions: The Case of Textile Raw Material Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Junqian

    2017-01-01

    The UK textile industry was very prosperous in the past but in the 1970s Britain started to import textile materials from abroad. Since 1990, half of its textile materials have been imported from the EEA (European Economic Area), ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and North America countries. Meanwhile, UK imports from China have increased dramatically. Through comparisons, this paper calculates the trade competitiveness index and relative competitive advantages of regions and investigates the impact of Chinese textiles on UK imports from three key free trade regions across the textile sectors in the period 1990–2016 on the basis of United Nation Comtrade Rev. 3. We find that China’s textile prices, product techniques, political trade barriers and even tax system have made a varied impact on the UK’s imports across related sectors in the context of green trade and the strengthening of barriers, which helps us recognize China’s competitiveness in international trading and also provides advice on China’s sustainable development of textile exports. PMID:29189756

  5. Whole Language-Based English Reading Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dian Erlina

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This Research and Development (R&D aims at developing English reading materials for undergraduate EFL students of Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN Raden Fatah Palembang, Indonesia. Research data were obtained through questionnaires, tests, and documents. The results of the research show that the existing materials are not relevant to the students’ need, so there is a need for developing new materials based on whole language principles. In general, the new developed materials are considered reliable by the experts, students, and lecturers. The materials are also effective in improving students’ reading achievement. The final product of the materials consists of a course book entitled Whole Language Reading (WLR and a teacher’s manual. WLR provides rich input of reading strategies, variety of topics, concepts, texts, activities, tasks, and evaluations. Using this book makes reading more holistic and meaningful as it provides integration across language skills and subject areas.

  6. 77 FR 14303 - Federal Acquisition Regulation; New Designated Country (Armenia) and Other Trade Agreements Updates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-09

    ..., the thirty-fourth line from the top of the page is amended to read: ``TRADE AGREEMENTS (MAR 2012). 8... read: ``BUY AMERICAN ACT-- CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS UNDER TRADE AGREEMENTS (MAR 2012)'' 10. On page 12937...--CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS UNDER TRADE AGREEMENTS (MAR 2012)'' [FR Doc. C1-2012-4495 Filed 3-8-12; 8:45 am] BILLING...

  7. Reading Journal as A Way to Improve Students’ Comprehension toward A Textbook Reading Material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Menik Winiharti

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Reading journal is one way to record students’ independent learning based on text they read. This study was conducted to find out the students’ level of reading comprehension through some notes written in the reading journal, the extent to which the activity of writing reading journals improved students’ reading comprehension, whether the students got benefit from reading journal. There were 104 respondents coming from four different departments in Bina Nusantara University were asked to read a text related to the subject they learned in a certain session. Then they were assigned to write a journal that records the things they had read. When this task was finished, the lecturer ran a quiz containing related questions to check whether they really understood the content of the text. Afterwards, students were to fill in a questionnaire regarding their opinion on the impact of the reading journal toward their reading comprehension. The findings indicate that more than half of the participants appear to understand the material well, and the task plays a certain role in improving students’ understanding. The most crucial thing is that most students think they get benefit by writing the reading journal.

  8. 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...

  9. 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.

  10. Hobbies and Hobby-Related Reading: Exploring Preferences, Practices, and Instructional Possibilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffman, Amy R.; Boraks, Nancy E.; Bauer, David

    2000-01-01

    Considers the relationship between hobbies and hobby-related reading to evaluate a common instructional assumption about using hobbies as a basis for recommending reading. Supports: (1) the potential for recommending authentic, non-traditional hobby-related reading materials in home and instructional settings; and (2) the potential for tapping the…

  11. Statistics of foreign trade in radioactive materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2001-01-01

    The German Federal Office for Industry and Foreign Trade Control (BAFA) keeps annual statistics of the imports and exports of radioactive materials, nuclear fuels included. The entries, some of them with precise details, cover the participating countries and the radionuclides concerned as well as all kinds of radioactive materials. The tables listed in the article represent the overall balance of the development of imports and exports of radioactive materials for the years 1983 to 2000 arranged by activity levels, including the development of nuclear fuel imports and exports. For the year 2000, an additional trade balance for irradiated and unirradiated nuclear fuels and source materials differentiated by enrichment is presented for the countries involved. In 2000, some 2446 t of nuclear fuels and source materials were imported into the Federal Republic, while approx. 2720 t were exported. The chief trading partners are countries of the European Union and Russia, South Korea, and Brazil. (orig.) [de

  12. 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,

  13. Statistics of foreign trade in radioactive materials 2004

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2006-01-01

    The German Federal Office for Industry and Foreign Trade Control (BAFA) keeps annual statistics of the imports and exports of radioactive materials, nuclear fuels included. The entries, some of them with precise details, cover the participating countries and the radionuclides concerned as well as all kinds of radioactive materials. The tables listed in the article represent the overall balance of the development of imports and exports of radioactive materials for the years 1986 to 2004 arranged by activity levels, including the development of nuclear fuel imports and exports. For the year 2004, an additional trade balance for irradiated and unirradiated nuclear fuels and source materials differentiated by enrichment is presented for the countries involved. In 2004, some 2,558 t of nuclear fuels and source materials were imported into the Federal Republic, while approx. 1,971 t were exported. The chief trading partners are countries of the European Union, Canada, Russia and the USA. (orig.)

  14. Statistics of foreign trade in radioactive materials 2002

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2003-01-01

    The German Federal Office for Industry and Foreign Trade Control (BAFA) keeps annual statistics of the imports and exports of radioactive materials, nuclear fuels included. The entries, some of them with precise details, cover the participating countries and the radionuclides concerned as well as all kinds of radioactive materials. The tables listed in the article represent the overall balance of the development of imports and exports of radioactive materials for the years 1983 to 2002 arranged by activity levels, including the development of nuclear fuel imports and exports. For the year 2002, an additional trade balance for irradiated and unirradiated nuclear fuels and source materials differentiated by enrichment is presented for the countries involved. In 2002, some 3 070 t of nuclear fuels and source materials were imported into the Federal Republic, while approx. 3 052 t were exported. The chief trading partners are countries of the European Union, Russia, and the USA. (orig.)

  15. Current Perspective in the International Trade of Medicinal Plants Material: An Update.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasisht, Karan; Sharma, Neetika; Karan, Maninder

    2016-01-01

    The recent years have seen an increased interest in medicinal plants together with the therapeutic use of phytochemicals. Medicinal plants are utilized by the industry for the production of extracts, phytopharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals and their use is expected to grow faster than the conventional drugs. The enormous demand of medicinal plant material has resulted in huge trade both at domestic and international levels. The trade data of medicinal plant material with commodity code HS 1211 (SITC.4, code 292.4) and their derived/related products which are traded under different commodity codes has been acquired from COMTRADE, Trade Map, country reports, technical documents etc for the period 2001 to 2014. The data was analyzed using statistical tools to draw conclusions. The significant features of the global trade; the leading source, consumer, import and export countries; and the striking trends are presented. The trade of the ten key countries and the selected important items is also discussed in detail. The conservative figure of trade of medicinal plants materials and their derived/related products including extracts, essential oils, phytopharmaceuticals, gums, spices used in medicine, tannins for pharmaceutical use, ingredients for cosmetics etc. as calculated from the global export data for the year 2014 is estimated at USD 33 billion. The average global export in medicinal plants under HS 1211 for the fourteen year period was USD 1.92 billion for 601,357 tons per annum and for the year 2014 it stood at 702,813 tons valued at USD 3.60 billion. For the studied period, an annual average growth rate (AAGR) of 2.4% in volumes and 9.2% in values of export was observed. Nearly 30% of the global trade is made up by top two countries of the import and export. China and India from Asia; Egypt and Morocco from Africa; Poland, Bulgaria and Albania from Europe; Chile and Peru from South America are important supply sources. The USA, Japan and Europe

  16. Fifteen years of international trade in wood and forest-related products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Desclos, Pierre-Marie

    2014-01-01

    Little is generally known about international trade in forest-related products in spite of the fact that a significant portion of world production is exported. Two irreversible trends underlie international trade in forest-related products. One is globalization while the other is adding as much value as possible locally by processing the materials to the greatest extent possible in the country of origin. Some of the more surprising recent developments are the growth in trade in wood as a source of energy and the dependency of Europe on its massive imports in this area. International trade in forest-related products is a continually changing sector that follows developments in the technical, economic, social and political spheres. Its growth has been spectacular and will remain strong in coming years. The greatest potential for development will come from environmental management, improved logistics and innovation. (authors)

  17. Reading in Place

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Leah

    2012-01-01

    The digital age is rendering books more common, not less. It is true that there is nothing new about "furniture books": The trade in reading material has long been dwarfed by the market for coffee-table books, books that steakhouse chains buy by the yard, empty bindings that interior decorators use to accessorize the upholstery. As coffee-table…

  18. Flaws in Commercial Reading Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Axelrod, Jerome

    Three flaws found in commercial reading materials, such as workbooks and kits, are discussed in this paper, and examples of the flaws are taken from specific materials. The first problem noted is that illustrations frequently provide the information that the learner is supposed to supply through phonetic or structural analysis; the illustrations…

  19. Computational Text Analysis: A More Comprehensive Approach to Determine Readability of Reading Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aziz, Anealka; Fook, Chan Yuen; Alsree, Zubaida

    2010-01-01

    Reading materials are considered having high readability if readers are interested to read the materials, understand the content of the materials and able to read the materials fluently. In contrast, reading materials with low readability discourage readers from reading the materials, create difficulties for readers to understand the content of…

  20. Reading-Related Causal Attributions for Success and Failure: Dynamic Links With Reading Skill.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frijters, Jan C; Tsujimoto, Kimberley C; Boada, Richard; Gottwald, Stephanie; Hill, Dina; Jacobson, Lisa A; Lovett, Maureen W; Mahone, E Mark; Willcutt, Erik G; Wolf, Maryanne; Bosson-Heenan, Joan; Gruen, Jeffrey R

    2018-01-01

    The present study investigated the relation among reading skills and attributions, naming speed, and phonological awareness across a wide range of reading skill. Participants were 1,105 school-age children and youths from two understudied populations: African Americans and Hispanic Americans. Individual assessments of children ranging in age from 8 to 15 years were conducted for reading outcomes, cognitive and linguistic predictors of reading, and attributions for success and failure in reading situations. Quantile regressions were formulated to estimate these relations across the full skill span of each outcome. Reading-related attributions predicted contextual word recognition, sight word and decoding fluency, and comprehension skills. Attributions to ability in success situations were positively related to each outcome across the full span. On three reading outcomes, this relation strengthened at higher skill levels. Attributions to effort in success situations were consistently and negatively related to all reading outcomes. The results provide evidence that the strength of the relation between reading and attributions varies according to reading skill levels, with the strongest evidence for ability-based attributions in situations of reading success.

  1. The way we encounter reading material influences how frequently we mind wander

    OpenAIRE

    Trish L Varao Sousa; Jonathan S A Carriere; Dan eSmilek

    2013-01-01

    We examined whether different encounters of reading material influence the likelihood of mind wandering, memory for the material, and the ratings of interest in the material. In a within-subjects design participants experienced three different reading encounters: (1) reading a passage aloud, (2) listening to a passage being read to them, and (3) reading a passage silently. Throughout each reading encounter probes were given in order to identify mind wandering. After finishing the passage part...

  2. (Re-)reading medical trade catalogs: the uses of professional advertising in British medical practice, 1870-1914.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Claire L

    2012-01-01

    This article explores how medical practitioners read, used, and experienced medical trade catalogs in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Britain. Reader responses to the catalog, a book-like publication promoting medical tools, appliances, and pharmaceuticals, have been chronically understudied, as have professional reading practices within medicine more generally. Yet, evidence suggests that clinicians frequently used the catalog and did so in three main ways: to order medical products, to acquire new information about these products, and to display their own product endorsements and product designs. The seemingly widespread nature of these practices demonstrates an individual and collective professional desire to improve medical practice and highlights the importance of studying professional reading practices in the cultural history of medicine.

  3. AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN EXTENSIVE READING CLASS AT STAIN PONOROGO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  4. Relative intensity of bilateral trade flows, regional integration, and trade performance: the case of Brazil, 1984-1998

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silva Valquiria da

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research is to identify the component of trade that results specifically from bilateral relations and evaluate how the creation of trading blocs affects trade relations between countries. The trirapport coefficient of the relative intensity of bilateral agricultural sector trade flows between Brazil and other countries from 1984 and 1998 is used in the evaluation. In general, the results show that relative trade intensity between Brazil and its non-MERCOSUL trade partners fell after their entry into regional trade agreements (extra-bloc effect. The intra-bloc effect (trade expansion is reflected by changes in trade intensity between Brazil and the other MERCOSUL members and changes in trade intensity between NAFTA members Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

  5. U.S. international trade in transportation-related goods

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003-06-01

    Trade in motor vehicles and parts makes up three : of every four dollars that the U.S. trades in : transportation-related goods. : Canada is the United States' leading trade partner : in transportation-related goods, followed by : Japan and Mexic...

  6. TRADE EFFECTS: REGULATORY, ACCOUNTING PRACTICES AND REPORTING OF INFORMATION RELATED

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    ARISTIŢA ROTILĂ

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available It is known that within trade relations providers often credit customers for the value of goods or services which are the subject of conducted commercial transactions, this aspect being materialized in the issuance and acceptance of a trade effect. From the time of acceptance until maturity / settlement, trade effects should be reflected separately in the accounts and, to the extent that were not settled until the end of exercise, their value must be presented in the financial statements. Based on analysis of the Romanian accounting regulations, also taking into consideration the opinions expressed in specific literature concerning accounting reflection of trade effects, in this article we try to point out some aspects which, in our opinion, require clarification. We also want to point out some contradictions / inconsistencies regarding the reporting of information on the trade effects, specifically between the text of accounting regulations concerning the definition of accounting structures „cash and bank accounts” and “short term investments” and their contents when presented as positions in the balance sheet structure. In relation to the issues raised we try to prove the effects on the indicators concerning financial position and to make some suggestions that would have effects on Romanian accounting regulations, namely the improvement of financial reporting performed by the economic operators.

  7. Scientific Structural Changes within Texts of Adapted Reading Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aziz, Anealka; Fook, Chan Yuen; Alsree, Zubaidah

    2010-01-01

    ESL instructors generally use ready-made reading materials in commercially published coursebooks. However, it would be more effective for learners if ESL instructors are involved in developing reading materials for them. This is because they are closer, more sensitive and responsive to the needs of their learners and they are also aware of the…

  8. Influence of Reading Material Characteristics on Study Time for Pre-Class Quizzes in a Flipped Classroom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persky, Adam M; Hogg, Abigail

    2017-08-01

    Objective. To examine how instructor-developed reading material relates to pre-class time spent preparing for the readiness assurance process (RAP) in a team-based learning (TBL) course. Methods. Students within pharmacokinetics and physiology were asked to self-report the amount of time spent studying for the RAP. Correlation analysis and multilevel linear regression techniques were used to identify factors within the pre-class reading material that contribute to self-reported study time. Results. On average students spent 3.2 hours preparing for a section of material in the TBL format. The ratio of predicted reading time, based on reading speed and word count, and self-reported study time was greater than 1:3. Self-reported study time was positively correlated with word count, number of tables and figures, and overall page length. For predictors of self-reported study time, topic difficulty and number of figures were negative predictors whereas word count and number of self-assessments were positive predictors. Conclusion. Factors related to reading material are moderate predictors of self-reported student study time for an accountability assessment. A more significant finding is student self-reported study time is much greater than the time predicted by simple word count.

  9. International Trade Drives Global Resource Use: A Structural Decomposition Analysis of Raw Material Consumption from 1990-2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plank, Barbara; Eisenmenger, Nina; Schaffartzik, Anke; Wiedenhofer, Dominik

    2018-04-03

    Globalization led to an immense increase of international trade and the emergence of complex global value chains. At the same time, global resource use and pressures on the environment are increasing steadily. With these two processes in parallel, the question arises whether trade contributes positively to resource efficiency, or to the contrary is further driving resource use? In this article, the socioeconomic driving forces of increasing global raw material consumption (RMC) are investigated to assess the role of changing trade relations, extended supply chains and increasing consumption. We apply a structural decomposition analysis of changes in RMC from 1990 to 2010, utilizing the Eora multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model. We find that changes in international trade patterns significantly contributed to an increase of global RMC. Wealthy developed countries play a major role in driving global RMC growth through changes in their trade structures, as they shifted production processes increasingly to less material-efficient input suppliers. Even the dramatic increase in material consumption in the emerging economies has not diminished the role of industrialized countries as drivers of global RMC growth.

  10. 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.

  11. Trade-related Electronic Commerce Issues in the OECD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chang-In Yoon

    1998-12-01

    Full Text Available The trade committee of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD has begun the study of the trade related to electronic commerce since 1997. The scale of the study on one hand has avoided the fact of copy and duplication of WTO and its organizational principles, on the other hand it has played a supplementary and supportive function. At present, digital-related product, such as computers, software and travel is the key point to the trade which resorts to electronic commerce. It is predicted that this trend will go on. The study on electronic commerce could be summed up into three main components: First, according to the phase of the trade, it could be divided into advertisement, purchase, delivery and payment. Second, issues on electronic commerce in the international trade; such as the issue that leads to the unfairness and non-neutrality of the searching engine in international service trade. Besides, domain name, trademarks and the issue of middleman which exist at the moment in the electronic commerce are activated and will also be discussed. Third, issues of the trade policy related to the electronic commerce. For instance, the kernel principles which support the multi-trade regulation, including transparency, indiscrimination, anti-dumping, flexible trade, government arrangement, tariff and competition policy and so on. Under this background, we should explore way in formulating hypotheses with preconceived issues, validating the electronic commerce trade on the spot, actualizing the study on the application of electronic commerce coming with the GATS regulation, seeking the countermeasure in the future trade policy, such as benefit policy to the electronic commerce department and electronic commerce strategy approach of certain enterprises, etc.

  12. The Role of Comic Reading Materials in Enhancing the Ability to Read in EFL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roozafzai, Zahra Sadat

    2012-01-01

    Reading is an extremely active, complex, mental and personal process that concerns both the reader and the text. It is now generally believed that a range of reader with text factors affect the reading process to a considerable extent. So, teachers of EFL need to be aware of the important role of teaching materials. Thus, this study investigated…

  13. Mothers' Reading-Related Activities at Home and Learning to Read during Kindergarten

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silinskas, Gintautas; Parrila, Rauno; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija; Niemi, Pekka; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

    2010-01-01

    This longitudinal study investigates how the reading-related activities of mothers at home relate to the development of reading skills among their kindergarten children. A total of 1,529 children (5-to-6-year-olds) were tested on word reading twice, once at the beginning and once at the end of a kindergarten year. The mothers of the children (n =…

  14. 48 CFR 52.225-12 - Notice of Buy American Act Requirement-Construction Materials Under Trade Agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Requirement-Construction Materials Under Trade Agreements. 52.225-12 Section 52.225-12 Federal Acquisition...—Construction Materials Under Trade Agreements. As prescribed in 25.1102(d)(1), insert the following provision: Notice of Buy American Act Requirement—Construction Materials Under Trade Agreements (FEB 2009) (a...

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. Trade-related Electronic Commerce Issues in the OECD

    OpenAIRE

    Chang-In Yoon

    1998-01-01

    The trade committee of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has begun the study of the trade related to electronic commerce since 1997. The scale of the study on one hand has avoided the fact of copy and duplication of WTO and its organizational principles, on the other hand it has played a supplementary and supportive function. At present, digital-related product, such as computers, software and travel is the key point to the trade which resorts to electronic commerce...

  18. 48 CFR 252.225-7045 - Balance of Payments Program-Construction Material Under Trade Agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    .... Designated country means— (1) A World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA) country... another country, has been substantially transformed in a Free Trade Agreement country into a new and... Program-Construction Material Under Trade Agreements. 252.225-7045 Section 252.225-7045 Federal...

  19. Integration, Disintegration and Trade in Europe : Evolution of Trade Relations during the 1990s

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fidrmuc, J.; Fidrmuc, J.

    2000-01-01

    The gravity model of trade is used to assess the economic consequences of new borders, which arose in the wake of break-ups of multinational federations in Eastern Europe. The intensity of trade relations among the constituent parts of Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union and the Baltics was very high

  20. Designing Reading Materials for the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Devi Yusnita

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This research is aimed to design reading materials for the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, UIN Syarif HIdayatullah Jakarta, due to the absence of such specific materials in the market. To produce satisfactory teaching materials, the researcher did some steps i.e. doing needs analysis, reviewing the principles of materials design and reading strategies, designing course framework, designing syllabus, designing the reading materials, and implementing the sample lessons. The needs analysis was intended to find out what the students needed and to find out the subjects the students learned from the institution in order to produce adequate reading materials. Based on the needs analysis, the researcher then identified the global aims of the course, thereby, the writer designed course framework. This course framework contained general points of reading themes and topics, information of classroom activities that followed up reading, the length of study session, the number of the course meetings, and the number of participants. The course framework became the basis to write the syllabus. Finally the syllabus became the basis for designing reading materials.

  1. Reading and Vocabulary Recommendations for Spanish for Native Speakers Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer, Laura Gutierrez

    1995-01-01

    Focuses on the need for appropriate materials to address the needs of native speakers of Spanish who study Spanish in American universities and high schools. The most important factors influencing the selection of readings should include the practical nature of themes for reading and vocabulary development, level of difficulty, and variety in…

  2. The relation between global migration and trade networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sgrignoli, Paolo; Metulini, Rodolfo; Schiavo, Stefano; Riccaboni, Massimo

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we develop a methodology to analyze and compare multiple global networks, focusing our analysis on the relation between human migration and trade. First, we identify the subset of products for which the presence of a community of migrants significantly increases trade intensity, where to assure comparability across networks we apply a hypergeometric filter that lets us identify those links which intensity is significantly higher than expected. Next, proposing a new way to define country neighbors based on the most intense links in the trade network, we use spatial econometrics techniques to measure the effect of migration on international trade, while controlling for network interdependences. Overall, we find that migration significantly boosts trade across countries and we are able to identify product categories for which this effect is particularly strong.

  3. Lexical-Semantic Processing and Reading: Relations between Semantic Priming, Visual Word Recognition and Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nobre, Alexandre de Pontes; de Salles, Jerusa Fumagalli

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate relations between lexical-semantic processing and two components of reading: visual word recognition and reading comprehension. Sixty-eight children from private schools in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from 7 to 12 years, were evaluated. Reading was assessed with a word/nonword reading task and a reading…

  4. Emissions trading and competitiveness: pros and cons of relative and absolute schemes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuik, Onno; Mulder, Machiel

    2004-01-01

    Emissions trading is a hot issue. At national as well as supranational levels, proposals for introduction of emissions trading schemes have been made. This paper assesses alternative emissions trading schemes at domestic level: (1) schemes where the total level of emissions is fixed (absolute cap-and-trade), (2) schemes where the allowable level of emissions per firm is related to some firm-specific indicator (relative cap-and-trade), and (3) mixed schemes which combine elements of the above alternatives. We present a quantitative assessment of these alternatives for climate change policy in the Netherlands. It is concluded that while relative cap-and-trade would avoid negative effects on competitiveness, it would not reduce emissions at the lowest costs. Besides, the addition of a trade system to existing relative standards does not result in additional emission reduction; it should be combined with other policy measures, such as energy taxes, in order to realise further reduction. Absolute cap-and-trade leads to efficient emissions reduction, but, implemented at the national level, its overall macroeconomic costs may be significant. The mixed scheme has as drawback that it treats firms unequal, which leads to high administrative costs. We conclude that none of the trading schemes is an advisable instrument for domestic climate policy

  5. Help! (Not-So-Good Materials for Learning to Read).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venema, Minke S.

    1995-01-01

    Many primary adult reading materials used in literacy education reinforce the marginalization of the efforts and intelligence of women. Such representations undermine both female learners and tutors in a field heavily populated by women. (SK)

  6. Language-Related Values, Reading Amount, and Reading Comprehension in Students with Migration Backgrounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Khechen, Wahiba; Ferdinand, Hanna D.; Steinmayr, Ricarda; McElvany, Nele

    2016-01-01

    Background: Although various studies on general language performance have investigated determinants of students' reading comprehension (e.g., reading amount), they have paid insufficient attention to how students perceive parental values influence their language-related values and behaviour--and, as a consequence, their performance. This is…

  7. Impacts of licensed premises trading hour policies on alcohol-related harms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkinson, Jo-An; Prodan, Ante; Livingston, Michael; Knowles, Dylan; O'Donnell, Eloise; Room, Robin; Indig, Devon; Page, Andrew; McDonnell, Geoff; Wiggers, John

    2018-07-01

    Evaluations of alcohol policy changes demonstrate that restriction of trading hours of both 'on'- and 'off'-licence venues can be an effective means of reducing rates of alcohol-related harm. Despite this, the effects of different trading hour policy options over time, accounting for different contexts and demographic characteristics, and the common co-occurrence of other harm reduction strategies in trading hour policy initiatives, are difficult to estimate. The aim of this study was to use dynamic simulation modelling to compare estimated impacts over time of a range of trading hour policy options on various indicators of acute alcohol-related harm. An agent-based model of alcohol consumption in New South Wales, Australia was developed using existing research evidence, analysis of available data and a structured approach to incorporating expert opinion. Five policy scenarios were simulated, including restrictions to trading hours of on-licence venues and extensions to trading hours of bottle shops. The impact of the scenarios on four measures of alcohol-related harm were considered: total acute harms, alcohol-related violence, emergency department (ED) presentations and hospitalizations. Simulation of a 3 a.m. (rather than 5 a.m.) closing time resulted in an estimated 12.3 ± 2.4% reduction in total acute alcohol-related harms, a 7.9 ± 0.8% reduction in violence, an 11.9 ± 2.1% reduction in ED presentations and a 9.5 ± 1.8% reduction in hospitalizations. Further reductions were achieved simulating a 1 a.m. closing time, including a 17.5 ± 1.1% reduction in alcohol-related violence. Simulated extensions to bottle shop trading hours resulted in increases in rates of all four measures of harm, although most of the effects came from increasing operating hours from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. An agent-based simulation model suggests that restricting trading hours of licensed venues reduces rates of alcohol-related harm and extending trading hours of bottle

  8. Information Technology and Transcription of Reading Materials for the Visually Impaired Persons in Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nkiko, Christopher; Atinmo, Morayo I.; Michael-Onuoha, Happiness Chijioke; Ilogho, Julie E.; Fagbohun, Michael O.; Ifeakachuku, Osinulu; Adetomiwa, Basiru; Usman, Kazeem Omeiza

    2018-01-01

    Studies have shown inadequate reading materials for the visually impaired in Nigeria. Information technology has greatly advanced the provision of information to the visually impaired in other industrialized climes. This study investigated the extent of application of information technology to the transcription of reading materials for the…

  9. Insider trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maslechko, W.S.

    1998-01-01

    The policy arguments for and against prohibiting insider trading within the petroleum industry are discussed. Legal definitions of all relevant terms (e.g. 'special relationship' 'tippees', 'material facts', material changes' 'generally disclosed' information', 'necessary course of business') are provided. Enforcement of insider trading/tipping prohibitions are also defined. The recommended practice is: do not trade; do not tell or advise; encourage timely disclosure; do not speculate; implement a corporate disclosure and trading policy

  10. Reading and listening comprehension and their relation to inattention and hyperactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cain, Kate; Bignell, Simon

    2014-03-01

    Children with diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently have reading problems. To date, it is not clear whether poor reading is associated with both inattention and hyperactivity and also whether poor reading comprehension is the result of poor word reading skills or more general language comprehension weaknesses. We report two studies to examine how reading and listening comprehension skills are related to inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. Separate groups of 7- to 11-year-olds participated in each study. In both studies, we used teacher ratings of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity to identify three groups at risk of ADHD: poor attention, high hyperactivity, poor attention and high hyperactivity, and also same-age controls. In Study 1, we explored how inattention and hyperactivity predicted reading after controlling for non-verbal IQ and vocabulary. In Study 2, we compared listening and reading comprehension in these groups. Poor attention was related to poor reading comprehension, although the relation was partially mediated by word reading skill (Study 1). Groups with high hyperactivity had weak listening comprehension relative to reading comprehension (Study 2). These results indicate that the reading comprehension problems of children with attention difficulties are related to poor word reading and that listening comprehension is particularly vulnerable in children at risk of ADHD. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

  11. Protocol to monitor trade agreement food-related aspects: the Fiji case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravuvu, Amerita; Friel, Sharon; Thow, Anne Marie; Snowdon, Wendy; Wate, Jillian

    2017-04-26

    Despite the growing rates of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases, globally, public health attention has only relatively recently turned to the links between trade agreements and the nutritional risks associated with it. Specific trade agreements appear to have played an influential role in the volume and types of foods entering different countries, yet there is currently no systematic and objective monitoring of trade agreements for their impacts on food environments. Recently, INFORMAS was set up to monitor and benchmark food environments, government policies and private sector actions within countries and globally. One of its projects/modules focuses on trade policy and in particular the food-related aspects of trade agreements. This paper describes the INFORMAS trade protocol, an approach to collecting food-related information about four domains of trade: trade in goods; trade in services and foreign direct investment; domestic supports, and policy space. Specifically, the protocol is tested in Fiji. The development and testing of this protocol in Fiji represents the first effort to set out a framework and process for objectively monitoring trade agreements and their impacts on national food supply and the wider food environment. It has shown that entry into WTO trade agreements contributed to the nutrition transition in Fiji through the increased availability of imported foods with varying nutritional quality. We observed an increase in imports of both healthy and less healthy foods. The application of the monitoring protocol also highlights challenges for data collection associated with each trade domain that should be considered for future data collection and analysis in other low and middle income countries. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Readability of the Most Commonly Accessed Arthroscopy-Related Online Patient Education Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akinleye, Sheriff D; Krochak, Ryan; Richardson, Nicholas; Garofolo, Garret; Culbertson, Maya Deza; Erez, Orry

    2018-04-01

    To assess the readability and comprehension of written text by the most commonly visited websites containing patient education materials on common conditions that can be treated arthroscopically. We examined 50 websites, assessed independently by 2 orthopaedic surgery residents (S.A. and G.G.), with educational materials on 5 common conditions treated by arthroscopic surgeons: anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, meniscus tear, hip labral tear, shoulder labral tear, and rotator cuff tear. Following a Google search for each condition, we analyzed the 10 most visited websites for each disorder using a widely used and validated tool for assessing the reading levels of written materials (Flesch-Kincaid formula). The average grade reading level of the 50 websites studied was 9.90 with a reading ease of 52.14 ("fairly difficult, high school"). Only 26% of the websites were at or below the national average of an eighth-grade reading level. Of the 5 conditions treated by arthroscopic surgery, ACL tear had the highest average grade reading level at 10.73 ± 1.54, whereas meniscus tear had the lowest at 9.31 ± 1.81. Every condition in this study had an average readability at or above the ninth-grade reading level. The most frequently accessed materials for patients with injuries requiring arthroscopic surgery exceeds the readability recommendations of the American Medical Association and National Institutes of Health, as well as the average reading ability of US adults. Given the fact that these are the most commonly visited websites by the lay public, there needs to be a greater emphasis on tailoring written information to the literacy levels of the patient population. This study emphasizes the discrepancy between the recommended versus the measured reading levels of online patient education materials related to conditions treated by arthroscopic surgeons. The subject matter of these conditions is inherently complex; thus, relying solely on text to inform patients

  13. Trade Analysis and Safeguards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chatelus, R.; Schot, P.M.

    2010-01-01

    In order to verify compliance with safeguards and draw conclusions on the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) collects and analyses trade information that it receives from open sources as well as from Member States. Although the IAEA does not intervene in national export controls, it has to monitor the trade of dual use items. Trade analysis helps the IAEA to evaluate global proliferation threats, to understand States' ability to report exports according to additional protocols but also to compare against State declarations. Consequently, the IAEA has explored sources of trade-related information and has developed analysis methodologies beyond its traditional safeguards approaches. (author)

  14. How the nature of science is presented to elementary students in science read-alouds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivera, Seema

    Students as early as elementary school age are capable of learning the aspects of the nature of science (NOS), and the National Benchmarks incorporate the NOS as part of the learning objectives for K--2 students. Learning more about elementary science instruction can aid in understanding how the NOS can be taught or potentially integrated into current teaching methods. Although many teaching methods exist, this study will focus on read-alouds because they are recommended for and are very common in elementary schools. The read-aloud practice is particularly helpful to young students because most of these students have a higher listening comprehension than reading comprehension. One of the main components of the read-aloud practice is the discourse that takes place about the trade book. Both explicit and implicit messages are communicated to students by teachers' language and discussion that takes place in the classroom. Therefore, six multisite naturalistic case studies were conducted to understand elementary teachers' understanding of the NOS, students' understandings of the NOS, trade book representations of the NOS, and read-aloud practices and understandings in upstate New York. The findings of the study revealed that teachers and students held mostly naive and mixed understandings of the NOS. The trade books that had explicit connections to the NOS helped teachers discuss NOS related issues, even when the teachers did not hold strong NOS views. Teachers who held more informed NOS views were able to ask students NOS related questions. All teachers showed they need guidance on how to translate their NOS views into discussion and see the significance of the NOS in their classroom. Explicit NOS instruction can improve student understanding of the NOS, however the focus should be not only on teachers and their NOS understanding but also on the books used. These results show that quality trade books with explicit connections to the NOS are a useful instructional tool

  15. Musical experience, auditory perception and reading-related skills in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banai, Karen; Ahissar, Merav

    2013-01-01

    The relationships between auditory processing and reading-related skills remain poorly understood despite intensive research. Here we focus on the potential role of musical experience as a confounding factor. Specifically we ask whether the pattern of correlations between auditory and reading related skills differ between children with different amounts of musical experience. Third grade children with various degrees of musical experience were tested on a battery of auditory processing and reading related tasks. Very poor auditory thresholds and poor memory skills were abundant only among children with no musical education. In this population, indices of auditory processing (frequency and interval discrimination thresholds) were significantly correlated with and accounted for up to 13% of the variance in reading related skills. Among children with more than one year of musical training, auditory processing indices were better, yet reading related skills were not correlated with them. A potential interpretation for the reduction in the correlations might be that auditory and reading-related skills improve at different rates as a function of musical training. Participants' previous musical training, which is typically ignored in studies assessing the relations between auditory and reading related skills, should be considered. Very poor auditory and memory skills are rare among children with even a short period of musical training, suggesting musical training could have an impact on both. The lack of correlation in the musically trained population suggests that a short period of musical training does not enhance reading related skills of individuals with within-normal auditory processing skills. Further studies are required to determine whether the associations between musical training, auditory processing and memory are indeed causal or whether children with poor auditory and memory skills are less likely to study music and if so, why this is the case.

  16. Musical experience, auditory perception and reading-related skills in children.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Banai

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The relationships between auditory processing and reading-related skills remain poorly understood despite intensive research. Here we focus on the potential role of musical experience as a confounding factor. Specifically we ask whether the pattern of correlations between auditory and reading related skills differ between children with different amounts of musical experience. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Third grade children with various degrees of musical experience were tested on a battery of auditory processing and reading related tasks. Very poor auditory thresholds and poor memory skills were abundant only among children with no musical education. In this population, indices of auditory processing (frequency and interval discrimination thresholds were significantly correlated with and accounted for up to 13% of the variance in reading related skills. Among children with more than one year of musical training, auditory processing indices were better, yet reading related skills were not correlated with them. A potential interpretation for the reduction in the correlations might be that auditory and reading-related skills improve at different rates as a function of musical training. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Participants' previous musical training, which is typically ignored in studies assessing the relations between auditory and reading related skills, should be considered. Very poor auditory and memory skills are rare among children with even a short period of musical training, suggesting musical training could have an impact on both. The lack of correlation in the musically trained population suggests that a short period of musical training does not enhance reading related skills of individuals with within-normal auditory processing skills. Further studies are required to determine whether the associations between musical training, auditory processing and memory are indeed causal or whether children with poor auditory and

  17. 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.

  18. Trade and inter-group relations in the lower Niger 1830-1960 | Ali ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study focuses on trade and intergroup relations in the Lower Niger in the period 1830-1960. Trade constitutes an integral aspect of communal relationship in the Lower Niger region from 1830 to 1960. The objective of the study is to show how the people of the Lower Niger related with each other in trade and other ...

  19. Does Use of Text-to-Speech and Related Read-Aloud Tools Improve Reading Comprehension for Students with Reading Disabilities? A Meta-Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Sarah G.; Moxley, Jerad H.; Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Wagner, Richard K.

    2018-01-01

    Text-to-speech and related read-aloud tools are being widely implemented in an attempt to assist students' reading comprehension skills. Read-aloud software, including text-to-speech, is used to translate written text into spoken text, enabling one to listen to written text while reading along. It is not clear how effective text-to-speech is at…

  20. Readability, Reading Ability, and Readership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kern, Richard P.; And Others

    This paper presents data describing large differences between the reading difficulty levels of printed materials used in certain military occupational specialties (MOSs) and the relatively lower reading ability levels of men assigned to these MOSs. Initial data explore the relationship between reading ability and utilization of printed materials…

  1. The Promotion and Integration of Human Rights in EU External Trade Relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samantha Velluti

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The European Union (EU has made the upholding of human rights an integral part of its external trade relations and requires that all trade, cooperation, partnership and association agreements with third countries, including unilateral trade instruments, contain with varying modalities and intensity a commitment to the respect for human rights. The paper discusses selected aspects of the EU’s promotion and integration of human rights in its external trade relations and assesses the impact of the changes introduced by the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon (ToL on EU practice.

  2. The relations between reading and spelling: an examination of subtypes of reading disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bar-Kochva, Irit; Amiel, Meirav

    2016-07-01

    Three groups of reading-disabled children were found in studies of English, German, and French: a group with a double deficit in reading and spelling, a group with a single spelling deficit, and a more rarely reported group presenting a single reading deficit. This study set out to examine whether these groups can be found in adults, readers and spellers of Hebrew, which differs from the previously studied orthographies in many aspects. To this end, Hebrew-speaking adults with or without reading disability were administered various literacy and literacy-related tests. Results confirm the existence of the same three groups. While all shared a phonological deficit, subtle differences in phonological decoding ability and in speed of processing distinguished between the groups. The study therefore suggests that the previously reported associations and dissociations between reading and spelling are not restricted to English, German, or French and may not be only developmental in nature.

  3. Reading-Related Causal Attributions for Success and Failure: Dynamic Links with Reading Skill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frijters, Jan C.; Tsujimoto, Kimberley C.; Boada, Richard; Gottwald, Stephanie; Hill, Dina; Jacobson, Lisa A.; Lovett, Maureen W.; Mahone, E. Mark; Willcutt, Erik G.; Wolf, Maryanne; Bosson-Heenan, Joan; Gruen, Jeffrey R.

    2018-01-01

    The present study investigated the relation among reading skills and attributions, naming speed, and phonological awareness across a wide range of reading skill. Participants were 1,105 school-age children and youths from two understudied populations: African Americans and Hispanic Americans. Individual assessments of children ranging in age from…

  4. 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

  5. NEW APPROACHES: Reading in Advanced level physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagan, Dorothy

    1997-11-01

    Teachers often report that their A-level pupils are unwilling to read physics-related material. What is it about physics texts that deters pupils from reading them? Are they just too difficult for 16 - 18 year olds, or is it that pupils lack specific reading skills? This article describes some of the results from my research into pupils' reading of physics-related texts and tries to clarify the situation.

  6. Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA 2006 - Opportunities, Trade Relation and Evolution of Macedonian Economic Diplomacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krum Efremov

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Main activity in the foreign trade policy of the Republic of Macedonia during the past 10 years was the integration of the country on the Central European Free Trade Agreement – (CEFTA. The reason for this is the expectation that the membership of the Republic of Macedonia in CEFTA will significantly contribute to the continual efforts for strengthening the regional trade cooperation, further liberalisation of foreign trade exchange, and continuation of activities for harmonisation of trade rules with international standards. Additionally, CEFTA 2006 provides a much more comprehensive framework for development of mutual relations and economic cooperation among the countries of South Easte Europe. We will explain the concept of development of economic diplomacy in the Republic of Macedonia as a tool for supporting Macedonian economy. The purpose of these activities is to present the Republic of Macedonia as an attractive destination for foreign investments through the promotion of business advantages, and giving incentive to Macedonian export, as well as through strengthening of the country’s position as a attractive touristic destination.

  7. Introducing Science Concepts to Primary Students through Read-Alouds: Interactions and Multiple Texts Make the Difference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heisey, Natalie; Kucan, Linda

    2010-01-01

    First- and second-grade students in two intact multiage classrooms were engaged in three read-aloud sessions with thematically related trade books, each portraying a scientist involved in authentic investigation. One group engaged in discussion of text ideas during reading, whereas the other group engaged in discussion only at the conclusion of…

  8. Atomic Energy Authority Bill (Lords) - second reading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    In the debate in the House of Commons on the second reading of the Atomic Energy Bill, the objective of which is to put the finances of the Authority on to a trading fund basis, the discussion included the following: proposed changes in method of financing the Authority; safety; underlying research; customer relations; accountability; personnel; public relations; radioactive waste management; energy research; parliamentary scrutiny; energy policy; nuclear power; fast reactors; fusion research; government policy. (U.K.)

  9. The Materialism of Georges Bataille. A Reading from the Perspective of Nietzsche and Marx

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vicente Montenegro Bralic

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Georges Bataille’s notion of materialism can be seen as a critique of metaphysical or idealist conceptions of materialism. On the basis of the reconstruction of Bataille’s statements in his different early writings, the paper provides an interpretation of Bataille’s “base materialism” based on his peculiar reading of Nietzsche and Marx. The attempt to make compatible elements from both philosophies leads to a critical discussion with the authors, which, in turn, can be read as a forerunner of the deconstruction of materialism carried out by Jacques Derrida.

  10. EFL Learners' Use of Online Metacognitive Reading Strategies and Its Relation to Their Self-Efficacy in Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmadian, Moussa; Pasand, Parastou Gholami

    2017-01-01

    This study explores Iranian EFL learners' online reading metacognitive strategy use and its relation to their self-efficacy in reading comprehension. It further examines the effect of gender in this respect. To these ends, the Online Survey of Reading Strategies (OSORS) and reading selfefficacy questionnaire were adopted and administered to 63…

  11. Age-related changes in crowding and reading speed

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Rong; Patel, Bhavika N.; Kwon, MiYoung

    2017-01-01

    Crowding, the inability to recognize objects in clutter, is known to play a role in developmental changes in reading speed. Here, we investigated whether crowding also plays a role in age-related changes in reading speed. We recruited 18 young (mean age: 22.6???3.5; range: 18~31) and 21 older adults (mean age: 58.2???7.0; range: 50~73) with normal vision. Reading speed was measured with short blocks of text. The degree of crowding was determined by measuring crowding zone (the distance betwee...

  12. 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)

  13. Reading speed, comprehension and eye movements while reading Japanese novels: evidence from untrained readers and cases of speed-reading trainees.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiromitsu Miyata

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: A growing body of evidence suggests that meditative training enhances perception and cognition. In Japan, the Park-Sasaki method of speed-reading involves organized visual training while forming both a relaxed and concentrated state of mind, as in meditation. The present study examined relationships between reading speed, sentence comprehension, and eye movements while reading short Japanese novels. In addition to normal untrained readers, three middle-level trainees and one high-level expert on this method were included for the two case studies. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In Study 1, three of 17 participants were middle-level trainees on the speed-reading method. Immediately after reading each story once on a computer monitor, participants answered true or false questions regarding the content of the novel. Eye movements while reading were recorded using an eye-tracking system. Results revealed higher reading speed and lower comprehension scores in the trainees than in the untrained participants. Furthermore, eye-tracking data by untrained participants revealed multiple correlations between reading speed, accuracy and eye-movement measures, with faster readers showing shorter fixation durations and larger saccades in X than slower readers. In Study 2, participants included a high-level expert and 14 untrained students. The expert showed higher reading speed and statistically comparable, although numerically lower, comprehension scores compared with the untrained participants. During test sessions this expert moved her eyes along a nearly straight horizontal line as a first pass, without moving her eyes over the whole sentence display as did the untrained students. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In addition to revealing correlations between speed, comprehension and eye movements in reading Japanese contemporary novels by untrained readers, we describe cases of speed-reading trainees regarding relationships between these variables

  14. Some risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed El Hachemi Mazighi

    2004-01-01

    Traditionally guided by long-term contracts, the international natural gas trade is experiencing new methods of operating, based on the short term and more flexibility. Today, indeed, the existence of uncommitted quantities of natural gas, combined with gas price discrepancies among different regions of the world, gives room for the expansion of the spot-trading of gas. The main objective of this paper is to discuss three fundamental risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas: volume risk, price risk and infrastructure risk. The defenders Of globalisation argue that the transition from the long-term to the short-term trading of natural gas is mainly a question of access to gas reserves, decreasing costs of gas liquefaction, the building of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleets and regasification facilities and third-party access to the infrastructure. This process needs to be as short as possible, so that the risks related to the transition process will disappear rapidly. On the other hand, the detractors of globalisation put the emphasis on the complexity of the gas value chain and on the fact that eliminating long- term contracts increases the risks inherent to the international natural gas business. In this paper, we try to untangle and assess the risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas. Our main conclusions are: the short-term trading of gas is far from riskless; volume risk requires stock-building in both consuming and producing countries. (author)

  15. Aspects related to 'emission trading'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tutuianu, Ovidiu

    1999-01-01

    The paper presents the aspects of international GHG (greenhouse gases) emission trading, such as: quality of GHG emission data, possible partners, monitoring activity, market mechanisms and difficulties. The following conclusions are drown: - debates on international trade with GHG emissions are currently in a very early stage; - actions are possible and feasible, particularly after Kyoto Conference, as versatile mechanism (besides the Joint Implementation Projects) which have in view the lowering of the global emission costs in different zones of the planet; - difficulties concerning monitoring, reporting and verification, practically preclude implementing a system of emission trading covering all the GHG, all the sources and reservoirs; - an international viable system of emission trading could initiate with a limited number of participants and consideration of only emission categories easy to be confined and surveyed; - existence of a national market and corresponding institutions for monitoring which could booster an international system development

  16. Born Global Firms: A Foreign Trade Related Study on Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aytaç GÖKMEN

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available With the comprehensive advent in information and communication technologies and worldwide ease of transportation, the volume of international trade and business increased profoundly. Within this process, a Born Global Firm (BGF, right from its initiation, aims at creating competitive advantage by marketing a large volume of its products in various international markets by utilizing technological advances. Therefore, the rational behind the idea of BGF is to become an international firm in a short period of time and making international business affairs core of its business activities. Thus, the aim of this study is to review the concept of BGF theoretically and relate the issue to foreign trade affairs resting on significant sources related to the Turkish case mainly focusing on trade statistics as to review the potential development of BGFs in Turkey.

  17. Measuring the Readability of Children's Trade Books.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popp, Helen M.; Porter, Douglas

    In order to utilize interesting children's trade books in a systematic reading program, two readability formulas were devised based on a selection of children's trade books. Children's scores on selections from these books and judges' rankings were compared. The judges' decisions were considered to be highly credible and were used as the criterion…

  18. Some risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mazighi, Ahmed El Hachemi

    2004-01-01

    Traditionally guided by long-term contracts, the international natural gas trade is experiencing new methods of operating, based on the short term and more flexibility. Today, indeed, the existence of uncommitted quantities of natural gas, combined with gas price discrepancies among different regions of the world, gives room for the expansion of the spot-trading of gas. The main objective of this paper is to discuss three fundamental risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas: volume risk, price risk and infrastructure risk. The defenders of globalisation argue that the transition from the long-term to the short-term trading of natural gas is mainly a question of access to gas reserves, decreasing costs of gas liquefaction, the building of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleets and regasification facilities and third-party access to the infrastructure. This process needs to be as short as possible, so that the risks related to the transition process will disappear rapidly. On the other hand, the detractors of globalisation put the emphasis on the complexity of the gas value chain and on the fact that eliminating long-term contracts increases the risks inherent to the international natural gas business. In this paper, we try to untangle and assess the risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas. Our main conclusions are: the short-term trading of gas is far from riskless; volume risk requires stock-building in both consuming and producing countries; price risk, through the high volatility for gas, induces an increase in options prices; there is no evidence to suggest that money-lenders' appetite for financing gas infrastructure projects will continue in a short-term trading system. This would be a threat to consumers' security of supply. (Author)

  19. 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.

  20. Learning from Expository Text in L2 Reading: Memory for Causal Relations and L2 Reading Proficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosoda, Masaya

    2017-01-01

    This study explored the relation between second-language (L2) readers' memory for causal relations and their learning outcomes from expository text. Japanese students of English as a foreign language (EFL) with high and low L2 reading proficiency read an expository text. They completed a causal question and a problem-solving test as measures of…

  1. Developing Needs Analysis Based-Reading Comprehension Learning Materials: A Study on the Indonesian Language Study Program Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Salam

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to describe the need of development of 'Reading Comprehension' teaching materials to students and lecturers of Indonesian Language and Literature Education Department, Gorontalo. This research is included in the research and development to develop educational products in the form of teaching materials. Mixed research design was used in this study to explore the data needs of the development of reading materials learning. Quantitative data was obtained from the responses of 36 respondents and 2 lecturers of the Reading subjects on the questionnaire needs analysis and questionnaire of teaching material analysis that is being used today. Likert Scale was used in questionnaire of needs analysis seen from 7 aspects, namely: content of teaching material, reading strategy, text type, text genre, text topic, learning activity, and evaluation of learning (81 items and questionnaire of teaching material analysis that was being used that amounted to 5 aspects, namely: the content of teaching materials, organization of teaching materials, language, layout, and completeness of teaching material support (31 items. Qualitative data were obtained from open questions about the experiences of students and lecturers in reading learning in the same questionnaire, as well as content analysis of the material being used. The results showed that the requirement of development of teaching materials, students and lecturers assessed 63 items (77.78% in the required category, and 18 items (22.22% with the required categories. Then, the teaching materials currently in use still lack the aspects of the content, the text type, the text genre, the text topic, and the evaluation of each learning unit. Details of the results obtained 4 items (12.90% as low category, 22 items (70.97% as enough category, and 5 items (16.13% as high category.

  2. Readability assessment of internet-based patient education materials related to facial fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanghvi, Saurin; Cherla, Deepa V; Shukla, Pratik A; Eloy, Jean Anderson

    2012-09-01

    Various professional societies, clinical practices, hospitals, and health care-related Web sites provide Internet-based patient education material (IPEMs) to the general public. However, this information may be written above the 6th-grade reading level recommended by the US Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of this study is to assess the readability of facial fracture (FF)-related IPEMs and compare readability levels of IPEMs provided by four sources: professional societies, clinical practices, hospitals, and miscellaneous sources. Analysis of IPEMs on FFs available on Google.com. The readability of 41 FF-related IPEMs was assessed with four readability indices: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), and Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook (Gunning FOG). Averages were evaluated against national recommendations and between each source using analysis of variance and t tests. Only 4.9% of IPEMs were written at or below the 6th-grade reading level, based on FKGL. The mean readability scores were: FRES 54.10, FKGL 9.89, SMOG 12.73, and Gunning FOG 12.98, translating into FF-related IPEMs being written at a "difficult" writing level, which is above the level of reading understanding of the average American adult. IPEMs related to FFs are written above the recommended 6th-grade reading level. Consequently, this information would be difficult to understand by the average US patient. Copyright © 2012 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.

  3. Reading and listening comprehension and their relation to inattention and hyperactivity

    OpenAIRE

    Cain, Kate; Bignell, Simon

    2014-01-01

    Background: Children with diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently have reading problems. To date, it is not clear whether poor reading is associated with both inattention and hyperactivity and also whether poor reading comprehension is the result of poor word reading skills or more general language comprehension weaknesses. Aims: We report two studies to examine how reading and listening comprehension skills are related to inattention and hyperactivity/impulsiv...

  4. Behavioural and electrophysiological effects related to semantic violations during braille reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glyn, Vania; Lim, Vanessa K; Hamm, Jeff P; Mathur, Ashwin; Hughes, Barry

    2015-10-01

    This study investigated the potential to detect event related potentials (ERPs) occurring in response to a specific task in braille reading. This would expand current methodologies for studying the cognitive processes underlying braille reading. An N400 effect paradigm was utilised, whereby proficient blind braille readers read congruent- and incongruent-ending braille sentences. Kinematic and electroencephalography (EEG) data were obtained simultaneously and synchronised. The ERPs differed between the incongruent and congruent sentences in a manner consistent with the N400 effect found with a previous sighted reading paradigm, demonstrating that ERPs can be obtained during braille reading. The frequency of finger reversals and the degree of intermittency in the finger velocity were significantly higher when reading incongruent versus congruent sentence endings. Both reversals and the potential N400 effect may reflect processes involved in semantic unification. These findings have significant implications for the modelling of braille reading. The refinement of the technique will enable other ERPs to be identified and related to behavioural responses, to further our understanding of the braille reading process. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Permit trading and credit trading

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boom, Jan-Tjeerd; R. Dijstra, Bouwe

    This paper compares emissions trading based on a cap on total emissions (permit trading) and on relative standards per unit of output (credit trading). Two types of market structure are considered: perfect competition and Cournot oligopoly. We find that output, abatement costs and the number...... of firms are higher under credit trading. Allowing trade between permit-trading and credit-trading sectors may increase in welfare. With perfect competition, permit trading always leads to higher welfare than credit trading. With imperfect competition, credit trading may outperform permit trading....... Environmental policy can lead to exit, but also to entry of firms. Entry and exit have a profound impact on the performance of the schemes, especially under imperfect competition. We find that it may be impossible to implement certain levels of total industry emissions. Under credit trading several levels...

  6. Taiwanese EFL Learners’ Perceived Use of Online Reading Strategies

    OpenAIRE

    Lisa Wen Chun Chen

    2015-01-01

    Reading strategies are beneficial to learners’ reading comprehension. The strategies can be divided into different categories, such as global reading strategies, problem solving strategies and support strategies. Most previous studies investigated the importance of reading strategies in the paper-based reading. However, relatively few studies examined online reading strategies and their effects on reading comprehension. Online reading materials are important sources for EFL stu...

  7. Technological Transformations of Reading Culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Albrechtslund, Anne-Mette Bech

    The increasing use of social media along with the rapidly developing digitization of the book has led to a range of new circumstances for writing, publishing and reading books, resulting in transformations in reading culture and practices. The social aspect of reading is emphasized when readers...... relations in the network of writers, publishers, readers, and reviewers. Similarly, the increasing use of electronic reading devices plays a key role in the acceleration of a culture in which the audience engages with cultural works in new ways. The print book has an “easy materiality” (Marshall, 2010, p....... 17), but with the electronic book, the materiality of reading becomes more ambiguous and malleable as the book as technology is being radically reconstructed. The purpose of this paper is to explore these changes through an investigation into the technology relations (Ihde, 1990) in fiction reading...

  8. Effect of different materials in soil on the neutron moisture gauge readings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdul-Majid, S.

    1991-01-01

    Neutron moisture gauges that depend on scattering and thermalization of neutrons have been in use for a long time. The hydrogen in water is the effective element in thermalizing the neutrons coming from a neutron source, where they are detected by neutron detector such as B F 3 counter or boron lined counter. The high cross-section of boron for thermal neutrons makes detectors containing boron ideal for this application. There are always some possibility that some materials exist in soil other than water which can moderate and hence introduce false results in moisture contents measurements. For example, materials such as hydrocarbons, asphalt, wood, etc., contain both hydrogen and carbon. These elements are good neutron moderators. The effects of the existence of such materials in the soil on the gauge readings were examined. Elements of high neutron cross-section such as boron can be a source of large error as well, since they absorb thermal neutrons giving low moisture content value. The effect of such materials as part of the soil constituent on the gauge reading was also examined.3 fig

  9. 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.

  10. The Impact of the Labour Relations Act on Minority Trade Unions: A ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Impact of the Labour Relations Act on Minority Trade Unions: A South African ... trade unions in terms of international labour standards and the Constitution. In part one the article examines the concept of majoritarianism, pluralism and ...

  11. Most American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' online patient education material exceeds average patient reading level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eltorai, Adam E M; Sharma, Pranav; Wang, Jing; Daniels, Alan H

    2015-04-01

    Advancing health literacy has the potential to improve patient outcomes. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' (AAOS) online patient education materials serve as a tool to improve health literacy for orthopaedic patients; however, it is unknown whether the materials currently meet the National Institutes of Health/American Medical Association's recommended sixth grade readability guidelines for health information or the mean US adult reading level of eighth grade. The purposes of this study were (1) to evaluate the mean grade level readability of online AAOS patient education materials; and (2) to determine what proportion of the online materials exceeded recommended (sixth grade) and mean US (eighth grade) reading level. Reading grade levels for 99.6% (260 of 261) of the online patient education entries from the AAOS were analyzed using the Flesch-Kincaid formula built into Microsoft Word software. Mean grade level readability of the AAOS patient education materials was 9.2 (SD ± 1.6). Two hundred fifty-one of the 260 articles (97%) had a readability score above the sixth grade level. The readability of the AAOS articles exceeded the sixth grade level by an average of 3.2 grade levels. Of the 260 articles, 210 (81%) had a readability score above the eighth grade level, which is the average reading level of US adults. Most of the online patient education materials from the AAOS had readability levels that are far too advanced for many patients to comprehend. Efforts to adjust the readability of online education materials to the needs of the audience may improve the health literacy of orthopaedic patients. Patient education materials can be made more comprehensible through use of simpler terms, shorter sentences, and the addition of pictures. More broadly, all health websites, not just those of the AAOS, should aspire to be comprehensible to the typical reader.

  12. The problem of using trade secrets in economic relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    А. О. Олефір

    2015-05-01

    . The objects of trade secrets, depending on the fields may be the following types of information: (1 scientific and technical; (2 management; (3 commercial; (4 financial. At this stage, there is a growing role of know-how, compared with patents, because as their special advantages and drop interest in patenting innovations as an independent factor, as well as economic and legal efficiency mode of trade secrets. Under the know-how necessary to understand the technical, manufacturing, engineering knowledge, experience and skills related to the design, development, manufacture, sale, operation, maintenance, repair, improve technology and other innovative objects which have the status of trade secrets, and a factor of competitiveness entity. Given the fact that the administrative and jurisdictional mechanisms for the protection of trade secrets are more or less clear, we focused on internal corporate events. First, this is consolidation in the basic documents of the entity (statute, founding and collective agreements, work rules on trade secret law such provision as law on ownership and protection of trade secrets. Second, the order of the head of the entity to approve the list of information to be protected as a trade secret. Third, develop and adopt regulations on trade secrets. Fourth, to approve the regulations on the organization of the documents containing trade secrets. Fifth, to include in a labor agreement (contract the condition of non-disclosure of trade secrets or employee expected signing of enhancing privacy protection. Conclusions of the research. In order to stimulate innovation growth and protection of corporate security entities we should propose changes to the legislation: (1 secure the definition of the concept of «know-how (secret production» indicating that the exclusive right to the secret of acting as long as the relation of production secrets operating mode of trade secrets; (2 add Tax Code of Ukraine following types of tax benefits: (a exemption

  13. An assessment of international trade related to bioenergy use in Austria—Methodological aspects, recent developments and the relevance of indirect trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalt, Gerald; Kranzl, Lukas

    2012-01-01

    Increasing international biomass trade for energy and concerns about sustainability of globally traded biomass have raised interest in assessments of cross-border trade related to bioenergy. Within this paper, approaches to overcome methodological difficulties related to biomass trade are proposed and applied for the case of Austria. Biomass currently has a share of 15.5% in Austria’s primary energy consumption of 1354 PJ (2009). According to energy statistics, the rate of self-sufficiency with biomass for energy (defined as the ratio of domestic production to inland consumption, with both imports and exports taken into account) is 91%. However, feedstock imports for transport fuel production and indirect imports of wood-based fuels (wood processing residues and waste liquor of the paper industry originating from imported wood) are not taken into account in energy statistics, but prove to be of some significance. Imports of agricultural commodities to the amount of 9.7 PJ can be attributed to domestic biofuel production, and indirect imports of wood-based fuels, account for 31 PJ. With these import streams taken into account, the share of domestic fuels in bioenergy use is only 67%, rather than 84%, as official energy statistics suggest. On the other hand, Austria is exporting more than 50% of its production of sawnwood, panelboard and paper products. - Highlights: ► We investigate biomass cross-border trade related to bioenergy use in Austria. ► International biomass trade for energy has increased significantly in recent years. ► A flow wood diagram is derived to identify indirect trade streams of wood fuels. ► Biofuel feedstock imports are about as important as direct biofuel imports. ► 33% of bioenergy in Austria originate from imported biomass (2009).

  14. ULTOR(Registered TradeMark) Passive Pose and Position Engine For Spacecraft Relative Navigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hannah, S. Joel

    2008-01-01

    The ULTOR(Registered TradeMark) Passive Pose and Position Engine (P3E) technology, developed by Advanced Optical Systems, Inc (AOS), uses real-time image correlation to provide relative position and pose data for spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control. Potential data sources include a wide variety of sensors, including visible and infrared cameras. ULTOR(Registered TradeMark) P3E has been demonstrated on a number of host processing platforms. NASA is integrating ULTOR(Registerd TradeMark) P3E into its Relative Navigation System (RNS), which is being developed for the upcoming Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Servicing Mission 4 (SM4). During SM4 ULTOR(Registered TradeMark) P3E will perform realtime pose and position measurements during both the approach and departure phases of the mission. This paper describes the RNS implementation of ULTOR(Registered TradeMark) P3E, and presents results from NASA's hardware-in-the-loop simulation testing against the HST mockup.

  15. Reading Trends and Perceptions Towards Islamic English Websites as Teaching Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khairuddin, Zurina; Shukry, Azimah Shurfa Mohammed; Sani, Nurshafawati Ahmad

    2014-01-01

    This paper is a study of the reading trends and perceptions of Muslim Malaysian undergraduate students towards Islamic English websites as pedagogical materials in English language classrooms. Data was collected through a set of questionnaires to 180 students from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and Universiti Sultan…

  16. NAFTA literature at the International Trade Commission library

    Science.gov (United States)

    Root, Elizabeth A.

    1994-01-01

    Most of the US official materials regarding NAFTA originate in the Executive Office of the President, especially the Office of the United States Trade Representative. These materials can be purchased from the U.S.G.P.O. There were also numerous Congressional hearings; many of which are probably now out of print, government agencies and the public are welcome to make copies of the ones in the collections of the ITC libraries. One of the most important sources of materials available in electronic format is the National Trade Data Base, produced by the Department of Commerce. This is a collection of at least 120 separate files containing documents relating to trade. It includes several files specifically on NAFTA, including the text of the treaty. It is available as two CD-ROM's, issued monthly, or on Internet.

  17. The Approach to Defining Gravity Factors of Influence on the Foreign Trade Relations of Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalyuzhna Nataliya G.

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the article is to determine the gravity factors of influence on the foreign trade relations of countries on the basis of the results of the comparative analysis of the classical specifications of the gravity model of foreign trade and the domestic experience in gravity modeling. It is substantiated that a gravity model is one of the tools of economic and mathematical modeling, the use of which is characterized by a high level of adequacy and ensures prediction of foreign trade conditions. The main approaches to the definition of explanatory variables in the gravity equation of foreign trade are analyzed, and the author’s approach to the selection of the factors of the gravity model is proposed. As the first explanatory variable in the specification of the gravity model of foreign trade and the characteristics of the importance of economies of foreign trade partners, it is proposed to use the GDP calculated at purchasing power parity with the expected positive and statistically significant coefficient. As the second explanatory variable of the gravity equation of foreign trade, it is proposed to use a complex characteristic of the “trade distance” between countries, which reflects the current conditions of bilateral trade and depends on factors influencing the foreign trade turnover between countries — both directly (static proportionality of transport costs of geographical remoteness, and indirectly (dynamic institutional conditions of bilateral relations. The expediency of using the world average annual price for oil as the quantitative equivalent of the “trading distance” index is substantiated. Prospects for further research in this direction are identifying the form and force of influence of certain basic gravity variables on the foreign trade relations of certain partner countries and determining the appropriateness of including additional factors in the composition of the gravity equation of foreign trade.

  18. The relation between environmental pollution and trade: a panel data analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Selahattin Bekmez

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Human and environment relations began to change with agricultural revolution at first. This change was followed by the industrial revolution. As a result of the increase in the world's population, production, trade with the industrial revolution, environment has been effected negatively by accelerating the consumption of natural resources. Some of the factors such as industrialization, rapid population growth and excessive consumption of natural resources has been caused environmental pollution. In this context, this paper explains the dilemma between environmental pollution and trade for various countries with different income levels. This study aims to analyze the relationship between environment, economic growth and Trade Openness Rate. For this reason, CO2 emissions per capita, GDP and Trade Openness Rate have been used for the period from 1960 to 2010. The data has been obtained from the World Bank and analyzed by the Panel Data Method. To conclude, Trade Openness Rate of developed countries has a negative effect on the level of CO2 emission while Trade Openness Rate of developing and less developed countries has positive effect. The results may be evidence that the Pollution Haven Hypothesis is still valid for the developing and/or less developed countries.

  19. 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...

  20. Backbiting and bloodshed in books: short-term effects of reading physical and relational aggression in literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coyne, Sarah M; Ridge, Robert; Stevens, McKay; Callister, Mark; Stockdale, Laura

    2012-03-01

    The current research consisted of two studies examining the effects of reading physical and relational aggression in literature. In both studies, participants read one of two stories (containing physical or relational aggression), and then participated in one of two tasks to measure aggression. In Study 1, participants who read the physical aggression story were subsequently more physically aggressive than those who read the relational aggression story. Conversely, in Study 2, participants who read the relational aggression story were subsequently more relationally aggressive than those who read the physical aggression story. Combined, these results show evidence for specific effects of reading aggressive content in literature. © 2011 The British Psychological Society.

  1. Organ Trade

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.A.E. Ambagtsheer (Frederike)

    2017-01-01

    markdownabstractOrgan trade constitutes the sale and purchase of organs for financial or material gain. Although prohibited since the 1980s, an increasing number of reports indicate its proliferation across the globe. Yet, many knowledge gaps exist on organ trade, in particular on the demand -and

  2. 17 CFR 240.17a-23 - Recordkeeping and reporting requirements relating to broker-dealer trading systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... requirements relating to broker-dealer trading systems. 240.17a-23 Section 240.17a-23 Commodity and Securities... relating to broker-dealer trading systems. (a) Scope of section. This section shall apply to any registered broker or dealer that acts as the sponsor of a broker-dealer trading system. (b) Definitions. For...

  3. 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.

  4. The Effects of Differing Densities of Glossing on Vocabulary Uptake and Reading Comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elvenna Majuddin

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the effects of differing densities of glossing on the uptake of target words and the comprehension of idea units from a reading text. The focus was whether different densities of glossing would create trade-off effects. Thirty-three Malaysian ESL learners were assigned to three different conditions: high-density glossing, low-density glossing, and no-glossing. Three weeks after a vocabulary pretest the participants read a text under one of the conditions, and took a reading comprehension test and a vocabulary posttest. The results revealed that there were no trade-off effects between reading comprehension and uptake of the target words. However, the glossed words did appear to detract from the uptake of un-glossed vocabulary. The results also hinted at a trade-off effect between attention given to idea units containing glossed target words, and those that did not contain glosses. The findings suggested that teachers should be aware of potential side-effects of glossing.

  5. A new sentence generator providing material for maximum reading speed measurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perrin, Jean-Luc; Paillé, Damien; Baccino, Thierry

    2015-12-01

    A new method is proposed to generate text material for assessing maximum reading speed of adult readers. The described procedure allows one to generate a vast number of equivalent short sentences. These sentences can be displayed for different durations in order to determine the reader's maximum speed using a psychophysical threshold algorithm. Each sentence is built so that it is either true or false according to common knowledge. The actual reading is verified by asking the reader to determine the truth value of each sentence. We based our design on the generator described by Crossland et al. and upgraded it. The new generator handles concepts distributed in an ontology, which allows an easy determination of the sentences' truth value and control of lexical and psycholinguistic parameters. In this way many equivalent sentence can be generated and displayed to perform the measurement. Maximum reading speed scores obtained with pseudo-randomly chosen sentences from the generator were strongly correlated with maximum reading speed scores obtained with traditional MNREAD sentences (r = .836). Furthermore, the large number of sentences that can be generated makes it possible to perform repeated measurements, since the possibility of a reader learning individual sentences is eliminated. Researchers interested in within-reader performance variability could use the proposed method for this purpose.

  6. 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…

  7. A FEW CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT TRADE FAIR STANDS DESIGN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NEIDONI Nadina

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents some aspects related to the design of a trade fair stand, advertising a company specialized in the fabrication of corrugated fibre board packaging. The first section reviews shortly the main features of the industrial design. The second section deals with the structural conception of successful trade shows. Further, the importance of the package in the marketing matters is addressed. In this context corrugated fibreboard, as secondary or tertiary material is essential. In the final section, a comparison between two trade fair stands, representing a corrugated fibreboard company are presented.

  8. Cultural Literacy Based Critical Reading Teaching Material with Active Reader Strategy for Junior High School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damaianti, Vismaia S.; Damaianti, Lira Fessia; Mulyati, Yeti

    2017-01-01

    This article describes the findings of a study aimed at producing a set of cultural literacy-oriented critical reading teaching material. This material is developed as a countermeasure to the increasingly thin sensitivity of society, especially the students toward noble values of religion, custom, and culture. With this material student get a…

  9. Readability assessment of Internet-based patient education materials related to endoscopic sinus surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cherla, Deepa V; Sanghvi, Saurin; Choudhry, Osamah J; Liu, James K; Eloy, Jean Anderson

    2012-08-01

    Numerous professional societies, clinical practices, and hospitals provide Internet-based patient education materials (PEMs) to the general public, but not all of this information is written at a reading level appropriate for the average patient. The National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Health and Human Services recommend that PEMs be written at or below the sixth-grade level. Our purpose was to assess the readability of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS)-related PEMs available on the Internet and compare readability levels of PEMs provided by three sources: professional societies, clinical practices, and hospitals. A descriptive and correlational design was used for this study. The readability of 31 ESS-related PEMs was assessed with four different readability indices: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), and Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook (Gunning FOG). Averages were evaluated against national recommendations and between each source using analysis of variance and t tests. The majority of PEMs (96.8%) were written above the recommended sixth-grade reading level, based on FKGL (P Internet-based PEMs related to ESS, regardless of source type, were written well above the recommended sixth-grade level. Materials from the hospitals/university-affiliated websites had lower readability scores, but were still above recommended levels. Web-based PEMs pertaining to ESS should be written with the average patient in mind. Copyright © 2012 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.

  10. The Relations among Oral and Silent Reading Fluency and Comprehension in Middle School: Implications for Identification and Instruction of Students with Reading Difficulties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denton, Carolyn A.; Barth, Amy E.; Fletcher, Jack M.; Wexler, Jade; Vaughn, Sharon; Cirino, Paul T.; Romain, Melissa; Francis, David J.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the relations among oral and silent reading fluency and reading comprehension for students in Grades 6 to 8 (n = 1,421) and the use of fluency scores to identify middle school students who are at risk for failure on a high-stakes reading test. Results indicated moderate positive relations between…

  11. Can Readability Formulas Be Used to Successfully Gauge Difficulty of Reading Materials?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Begeny, John C.; Greene, Diana J.

    2014-01-01

    A grade level of reading material is commonly estimated using one or more readability formulas, which purport to measure text difficulty based on specified text characteristics. However, there is limited direction for teachers and publishers regarding which readability formulas (if any) are appropriate indicators of actual text difficulty. Because…

  12. determinants of intra-industry trade between zambia and it's trading

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Eyerusalem

    countries which are relatively similar and produce relatively similar products. IIT arises from the .... trade based on economies of scale, imperfect competition and product differentiation ... with liberalisation, such as the collapse of the manufacturing industries, the country's trade ... Zambia: Diagnostic Trade Integration. Study.

  13. INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL TRADE WITH POTATOES (2009 - 2011

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragoş Mihai MEDELETE

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper refers to the situation related to the potato world trade, 2009-2011. Defining aspects of this issue begin by presenting the sequence of continental entities defined by the FAO (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania, and then presents the study of global imports and exports, and positioning Romania in performing acts of international exchange - in the context of those mentioned above. During the material, given the composition of the trade balance of international trade presents strict export and import situation - in terms of value, subject to quantitative aspects of other scientific approaches. This (look value is more relevant to what is happening on the international market.

  14. The Development of Agriculture and Trade Relations in the Caucasus in the Early 20th Century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana E. Gvarliani

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes the development of agriculture and trade relations in the Caucasus in the early 20th century. This article utilizes the records of Georgian national archives, pre-revolutionary periodicals and monographic literature published in pre-revolutionary, soviet and Russian contemporary periods. The authors used the research methods such as principles of objectivity, historicism, systematic, comprehensive accounting of the economic indicators of agriculture development and trade in the Caucasus and the maximum possible neutrality of the researcher to interpret factual material. The authors come to the conclusion that the development of agriculture in the Caucasus after the revolutionary upheavals of 1905-1907 years in the subsequent period before the First World War entered into the stage of recovery. The reasons of this phenomenon became the discovery of significant quantities of oil, cement, manganese and other fields. The objects of the industry demanded also the additional food supply, this enabled the agriculture in the Caucasus to develop actively.

  15. Linking Technology to Genre-Based Reading (Technology Links to Literacy).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wepner, Shelley B.

    1991-01-01

    Introduces a new column written for the one-computer classroom and offers several perspectives for connecting software applications to trade book reading. Describes eight software packages for extending and enhancing students' reading of different genres: fairy tales, realistic fiction, science fiction, and biography and historical fiction in…

  16. Acceptability of Big Books as Mother Tongue-based Reading Materials in Bulusan Dialect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdalena M. Ocbian

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Several studies have proven the superiority of using mother tongue in improving the pupils‟ performance. Research results revealed that using a language familiar to the pupils facilitates reading, writing and learning new concepts. However, at present, teachers are confronted with the insufficiency of instructional materials written in the local dialect and accepted by the end-users as possessing the qualities that could produce the desired learning outcomes. This descriptive evaluative research was conducted to address this problem. It determined the level of acceptability of the six researcher-made big books as mother tongue-based reading materials in Bulusan dialect for Grade 1 pupils. The big books were utilized by 11 Grade 1 teachers of Bulusan District to their pupils and were evaluated along suitability and appropriateness of the materials, visual appeal and quality of the story using checklist and open-ended questionnaire. Same materials were assessed by eight expert jurors. Findings showed that the big books possessed the desired qualities that made them very much acceptable to the Grade 1 teachers and much acceptable to the expert jurors. The comments and suggestions of the respondents served as inputs in the enhancement and revision of the six big books.

  17. Early language mediates the relations between preschool inattention and school-age reading achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Sarah; Thornton, Veronica; Marks, David J; Rajendran, Khushmand; Halperin, Jeffrey M

    2016-05-01

    Early inattention is associated with later reading problems in children, but the mechanism by which this occurs is unclear. We investigated whether the negative relation between preschoolers' ADHD symptoms and 8-year-old reading achievement is directly related to the severity of inattention or is mediated by early language skills. Children (n = 150; 76% boys) were evaluated at 3 time points: preschool (T1), mean (SD) age = 4.24 (.49) years; 1 year later (T2), mean (SD) age = 5.28 (.50) years; and during school age (T3), mean (SD) age = 8.61 (.31) years. At T1, parents' Kiddie-SADS responses were dimensionalized to reflect ADHD severity. Children completed the Language domain of the NEPSY (i.e., A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment) at T1 and again at T2. At T3, children completed the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition Word Reading, Pseudoword Decoding, Reading Comprehension, and Spelling subtests, and their teachers completed ratings of Reading and Written Expression performance in school. The mediating effect of T2 Language on the relation between preschool Inattention and age 8 Reading was examined using the nonparametric bootstrapping procedure, while controlling for T1 Language. Language ability at T2 mediated the path from preschool inattention (but not hyperactivity/impulsivity) to 8-year-old reading achievement (both test scores and ratings) after controlling for preschoolers' language ability. Early attentional deficits may negatively impact school-age reading outcomes by compromising the development of language skills, which in turn imperils later reading achievement. Screening children with attentional problems for language impairment, as well as implementing early intervention for both attentional and language problems may be critical to promote reading achievement during school years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. Phase Change Material Trade Study: A Comparison Between Wax and Water for Manned Spacecraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinn, Gregory; Hodgson, Ed; Stephan, Ryan A,

    2011-01-01

    Phase change material heat sinks have been recognized as an important tool in optimizing thermal control systems for space exploration vehicles and habitats that must deal with widely varying thermal loads and environments. In order to better focus technology investment in this arena, NASA has supported a trade study with the objective of identifying where the best potential pay-off can be found among identified aqueous and paraffin wax phase change materials and phase change material heat sink design approaches. The study used a representative exploration mission with well understood parameters to support the trade. Additional sensitivity studies were performed to ensure the applicability of study results across varying systems and destinations. Results from the study indicate that replacing a wax PCM heat sink with a water ice PCM heat sink has the potential to decrease the equivalent system mass of the mission s vehicle through a combination of a smaller heat sink and a slight 5% increase in radiator size or the addition of a lightweight heat pump. An evaluation of existing and emerging PCM heat sink technologies indicates that further mass savings should be achievable through continued development of those technologies. The largest mass savings may be realized by eliminating the melting and freezing pressure of wax and water, respectively.

  19. The Effect of Text Materials with Relevant Language, Illustrations and Content Upon the Reading Achievement and Reading Preference (Attitude) of Black Primary and Intermediate Inner-City Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Gloria W.

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of text materials with relevant language, illustrations, and content upon the reading achievement and reading preference (attitude) of black primary and intermediate grade inner-city students. The subjects for the study were 330 black students enrolled in three schools in a large urban area. A…

  20. [Japanese learners' processing time for reading English relative clauses analyzed in relation to their English listening proficiency].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oyama, Yoshinori

    2011-06-01

    The present study examined Japanese university students' processing time for English subject and object relative clauses in relation to their English listening proficiency. In Analysis 1, the relation between English listening proficiency and reading span test scores was analyzed. The results showed that the high and low listening comprehension groups' reading span test scores do not differ. Analysis 2 investigated English listening proficiency and processing time for sentences with subject and object relative clauses. The results showed that reading the relative clause ending and the main verb section of a sentence with an object relative clause (such as "attacked" and "admitted" in the sentence "The reporter that the senator attacked admitted the error") takes less time for learners with high English listening scores than for learners with low English listening scores. In Analysis 3, English listening proficiency and comprehension accuracy for sentences with subject and object relative clauses were examined. The results showed no significant difference in comprehension accuracy between the high and low listening-comprehension groups. These results indicate that processing time for English relative clauses is related to the cognitive processes involved in listening comprehension, which requires immediate processing of syntactically complex audio information.

  1. M-Stream Deficits and Reading-Related Visual Processes in Developmental Dyslexia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boden, Catherine; Giaschi, Deborah

    2007-01-01

    Some visual processing deficits in developmental dyslexia have been attributed to abnormalities in the subcortical M stream and/or the cortical dorsal stream of the visual pathways. The nature of the relationship between these visual deficits and reading is unknown. The purpose of the present article was to characterize reading-related perceptual…

  2. Adolescents' Motivation for Reading: Group Differences and Relation to Standardized Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolters, Christopher A.; Denton, Carolyn A.; York, Mary J.; Francis, David J.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to extend the research on adolescents' motivation for reading by examining important group differences and the relation of motivation to standardized achievement. Adolescents (N = 406) ranging from grade 7 to grade 12 completed a self-report survey that assessed 13 different aspects of their reading motivation…

  3. Readability in reading materials selection and coursebook design for college English in China

    OpenAIRE

    Lu, Zhongshe

    2002-01-01

    This thesis studies the application of readability in reading materials selection and coursebook design for college English in an EFL context in China. Its aim is to develop rationales which coursebook writers can utilise in selecting materials as texts and as a basis for designing tasks. This study, through a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, argues that readability is applicable in the EFL Chinese context, and readability plays a important role in determining...

  4. A Dragon and a Dove? A Comparative Overview of Chinese and European Trade Relations with Sub-Saharan Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bert Jacobs

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available As China’s footprint in African trade grows larger by the day, the need to contextualize this rise through comparative analysis becomes ever more necessary. This paper contrasts the sub-Saharan trade relations of both China and Europe with their respective designated stereotypes: those of a dragon and a dove. The article compares the trade dynamics on four levels: the policies and institutional mechanisms that shape the relationship; the composition of the trade flows; the geographic distribution of trade dominance; and the influence of norms and values on the trade pattern. It concludes that although there are empirical grounds behind these stereotypes, Chinese and European trade relations with sub-Saharan Africa are becoming more similar, partly due to a more hawkish European stance.

  5. Reading is for girls!? The negative impact of preschool teachers' traditional gender role attitudes on boys' reading related motivation and skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolter, Ilka; Braun, Edith; Hannover, Bettina

    2015-01-01

    According to gender stereotypes, reading is for girls. In this study, we investigated the role of preschool teachers in transmitting such gendered expectations. We suggest that boys are less motivated to read in preschool, and less competent in reading 1 year later in primary school, if their preschool teacher holds a traditional gender role attitude than if the teacher has egalitarian beliefs. In 135 independent dyads of a female preschool teacher (N = 135) and one boy (n = 65) or one girl (n = 70) we measured teacher's gender role attitude, child's reading related motivation as well as precursors of reading skills in preschool, and child's reading skills at the end of first grade in primary school. As expected, the more traditional preschool teachers' gender role attitude was, the weaker was boys' motivation to (learn to) read while girls' motivation was unrelated to teachers' gender role attitude. In either gender, motivation in preschool predicted reading skills at the end of first grade. PMID:26379592

  6. Reading is for girls!? The negative impact of preschool teachers' traditional gender role attitudes on boys' reading related motivation and skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolter, Ilka; Braun, Edith; Hannover, Bettina

    2015-01-01

    According to gender stereotypes, reading is for girls. In this study, we investigated the role of preschool teachers in transmitting such gendered expectations. We suggest that boys are less motivated to read in preschool, and less competent in reading 1 year later in primary school, if their preschool teacher holds a traditional gender role attitude than if the teacher has egalitarian beliefs. In 135 independent dyads of a female preschool teacher (N = 135) and one boy (n = 65) or one girl (n = 70) we measured teacher's gender role attitude, child's reading related motivation as well as precursors of reading skills in preschool, and child's reading skills at the end of first grade in primary school. As expected, the more traditional preschool teachers' gender role attitude was, the weaker was boys' motivation to (learn to) read while girls' motivation was unrelated to teachers' gender role attitude. In either gender, motivation in preschool predicted reading skills at the end of first grade.

  7. Reading is for girls!? The negative impact of preschool teachers' traditional gender role attitudes on boys' reading related motivation and skills.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilka eWolter

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available According to gender stereotypes, reading is for girls. In this study, we investigated the role of preschool teachers in transmitting such gendered expectations. We suggest that boys are less motivated to read in preschool, and less competent in reading one year later in primary school, if their preschool teacher holds a traditional gender role attitude than if the teacher has egalitarian beliefs. In 135 independent dyads of a female preschool teacher (N=135 and one boy (n=65 or one girl (n=70 we measured teacher's gender role attitude, child's reading related motivation as well as precursors of reading skills in preschool, and child's reading skills at the end of first grade in primary school. As expected, the more traditional preschool teachers' gender role attitude was, the weaker was boys' motivation to (learn to read while girls' motivation was unrelated to teachers' gender role attitude. In either gender, motivation in preschool predicted reading skills at the end of first grade.

  8. Readability of Trauma-Related Patient Education Materials From the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eltorai, Adam E M; P Thomas, Nathan; Yang, Heejae; Daniels, Alan H; Born, Christopher T

    2016-02-01

    According to the american medical association (AMA) and the national institutes of health (NIH), the recommended readability of patient education materials should be no greater than a sixth-grade reading level. The online patient education information produced by the american academy of orthopaedic surgeons (AAOS) may be too complicated for some patients to understand. This study evaluated whether the AAOS's online trauma-related patient education materials meet recommended readability guidelines for medical information. Ninety-nine articles from the "Broken Bones and Injuries" section of the AAOS-produced patient education website, orthoinfo.org, were analyzed for grade level readability using the Flesch-Kincaid formula, a widely-used and validated tool to evaluate the text reading level. Results for each webpage were compared to the AMA/NIH recommended sixth-grade reading level and the average reading level of U.S. adults (eighth-grade). The mean (SD) grade level readability for all patient education articles was 8.8 (1.1). All but three of the articles had a readability score above the sixth-grade level. The readability of the articles exceeded this level by an average of 2.8 grade levels (95% confidence interval, 2.6 - 3.0; P reading skill level of U.S. adults (eighth grade) by nearly an entire grade level (95% confidence interval, 0.6-1.0; P education website have readability levels that may make comprehension difficult for a substantial portion of the patient population.

  9. Synthesis & Studies of New Non-Destructive Read-Out Materials for Optical Storage and Optical Switches

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Rentzepis, Peter M

    2005-01-01

    .... The optical, chemical and spectroscopic properties of this non-destructive write/read/erase computer memory material have been studied This organic storage system consists of two different molecular...

  10. TINGKAT KETERBACAAN READING MATERIALS DALAM MATA KULIAH TELAAH TEKS BAHASA INGGRIS STAIN PAMEKASAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mulyadi ---

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available This Article is summarized from a research report about reading level of textbook of English text study subject in STAIN Pamekasan. Reading level is measure about according to not it a reading to certain reader seen from level facet of difficulty / amenity its discourse. This research target is to describing the reading level of reading materials of English text study subject in STAIN Pamekasan. English subject is studied in two levels, namely, elementary level calls the English subject and also advanced level is English Text Study. This two subjects have the character to be obliged to go through for all college students in five studies program (prodi --- Islamic Religion education, Arab language education, and English education in Tarbiyah Department. Two other studies program are Islam Civil Law and Moslem law Banking in Moslem law Department. By using the analytical descriptive method expected can give the reading level of textbook pursuanting to understanding of college students can be explained. Its source data is from all textbooks taught at English text study subject in STAIN Pamekasan. The research result indicates that most existing discourse in textbooks taught is standard classification. for that is suggested to curator lecturer of English text study subject to be more selective in discourse election its textbooks. Boosting up difficulty level undoubted to be done by paying attention of lecturing technique “reading” for the students facility comprehend textbooks

  11. 77 FR 76797 - To Extend Nondiscriminatory Treatment (Normal Trade Relations Treatment) to the Products of the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-28

    ... Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (the ``WTO Agreement'') with respect to the... Act'') (19 U.S.C. 2431 et seq.) since 1994. The Russian Federation acceded to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on August 22, 2012. The extension of permanent normal trade relations treatment to the...

  12. Reconciling Trade and Environmental Protection in ASEAN-China Relations: More than Political Window Dressing?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joern Dosch

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Has the growing pro-environment rhetoric in ASEAN-China relations resulted in the effective mainstreaming of environmental issue into trade agreements and multilateral cooperation frameworks? The article discusses the cases of the ASEAN China Free Trade Area (ACFTA and the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS and argues that there is no shortage of national and regional policy agendas that visibly link trade growth and environmental considerations. However, this nexus is still a weak one in terms of implementation and effectiveness. The most promising initiatives towards an effective reconciliation of trade growth and environmental sustainability are promoted and often driven by foreign donors, most prominently the European Union (EU.

  13. Are reading and face processing related?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Starrfelt, Randi; Klargaard, Solja; Petersen, Anders

    2015-01-01

    Traditionally, perceptual processing of faces and words is considered highly specialized, strongly lateralized, and largely independent. This has, however, recently been challenged by studies showing that learning to read may affect the perceptual and neural processes involved in face recognition......, a lower perceptual threshold, and higher processing speed for words compared to letters. In sum, we find no evidence that reading skills are abnormal in developmental prosopagnosia, a finding that may challenge the recently proposed hypothesis that reading development and face processing abilities...

  14. 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.

  15. Integrating Relational Reasoning and Knowledge Revision during Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kendeou, Panayiota; Butterfuss, Reese; Van Boekel, Martin; O'Brien, Edward J.

    2017-01-01

    Our goal in this theoretical contribution is to connect research on knowledge revision and relational reasoning. To achieve this goal, first, we review the "knowledge revision components framework" (KReC) that provides an account of knowledge revision processes, specifically as they unfold during reading of texts. Second, we review a…

  16. Kindergartners' Spontaneous Focusing on Numerosity in Relation to Their Number-Related Utterances during Numerical Picture Book Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rathé, Sanne; Torbeyns, Joke; Hannula-Sormunen, Minna M.; Verschaffel, Lieven

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between kindergartners' Spontaneous Focusing on Numerosity (SFON) and their number-related utterances during numerical picture book reading. Forty-eight 4- to 5-year-olds were individually interviewed via a SFON Imitation Task and a numerical picture book reading activity. We expected differences in the…

  17. Are reading and face processing related?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Starrfelt, Randi; Klargaard, Solja K.; Petersen, Anders

    Traditionally, perceptual processing of faces and words is considered highly specialized, strongly lateralized, and largely independent. This has, however, recently been challenged by studies showing that learning to read may affect the perceptual and neural processes involved in face recognition......, reflected in better overall accuracy, a lower perceptual threshold, and higher processing speed for words compared to letters. In sum, we find no evidence that reading skills are abnormal in developmental prosopagnosia, a finding that may challenge the recently proposed hypothesis that reading development...

  18. 77 FR 17408 - Foreign-Trade Zone 151-Findlay, OH; Application for Reorganization Under Alternative Site Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-26

    ... to the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board (the Board) by the Findlay/Hancock County Chamber of Commerce... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [Docket 20-2012] Foreign-Trade Zone 151--Findlay... Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230-0002, and in the ``Reading Room'' section of...

  19. AUTHENTIC TEXTS FOR CRITICAL READING ACTIVITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ila Amalia

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This research takes an action research aimed at promoting critical reading (“thinking” while reading skills using authentic materials among the students. This research also aims to reveal the students perception on using critical reading skills in reading activities. Nineteen English Education Department students who took Reading IV class, participated in this project. There were three cycles with three different critical reading strategies were applied. Meanwhile, the authentic materials were taken from newspaper and internet articles. The result revealed that the use of critical reading strategies along with the use of authentic materials has improved students’ critical reading skills as seen from the improvement of each cycle - the students critical reading skill was 54% (fair in the cycle 1 improved to 68% (average in cycle 2, and 82% (good in cycle 3.. In addition, based on the critical reading skill criteria, the students’ critical reading skill has improved from 40% (nearly meet to 80% (exceed. Meanwhile, from the students’ perception questionnaire, it was shown that 63% students agreed the critical reading activity using authentic text could improve critical thinking and 58% students agreed that doing critical reading activity could improve reading comprehension. The result had the implication that the use of authentic texts could improve students’ critical reading skills if it was taught by performing not lecturing them. Selectively choosing various strategies and materials can trigger students’ activeness in responding to a text, that eventually shape their critical reading skills.

  20. The impact of policies regulating alcohol trading hours and days on specific alcohol-related harms: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez-Ramirez, Diana C; Voaklander, Donald

    2018-02-01

    Evidence supports the expectation that changes in time of alcohol sales associate with changes in alcohol-related harm in both directions. However, to the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive systematic reviews had examined the effect of policies restricting time of alcohol trading on specific alcohol-related harms. To compile existing evidence related to the impact of policies regulating alcohol trading hours/days of on specific harm outcomes such as: assault/violence, motor vehicle crashes/fatalities, injury, visits to the emergency department/hospital, murder/homicides and crime. Systematic review of literature studying the impact of policies regulation alcohol trading times in alcohol-related harm, published between January 2000 and October 2016 in English language. Results support the premise that policies regulating times of alcohol trading and consumption can contribute to reduce injuries, alcohol-related hospitalisations/emergency department visits, homicides and crime. Although the impact of alcohol trading policies in assault/violence and motor vehicle crashes/fatalities is also positive, these associations seem to be more complex and require further study. Evidence suggests a potential direct effect of policies that regulate alcohol trading times in the prevention of injuries, alcohol-related hospitalisations, homicides and crime. The impact of these alcohol trading policies in assault/violence and motor vehicle crashes/fatalities is less compelling. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  1. easyCBM® Reading Criterion Related Validity Evidence: Grades 2-5. Technical Report #1310

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Cheng-Fei; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2013-01-01

    In this technical report, we present the results of a study to gather criterion-related evidence for Grade 2-5 easyCBM® reading measures. We used correlations to examine the relation between the easyCBM® measures and other published measures with known reliability and validity evidence, including the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests and the Dynamic…

  2. Grouping and Read-Across Approaches for Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oomen, Agnes G; Bleeker, Eric A J; Bos, Peter M J; van Broekhuizen, Fleur; Gottardo, Stefania; Groenewold, Monique; Hristozov, Danail; Hund-Rinke, Kerstin; Irfan, Muhammad-Adeel; Marcomini, Antonio; Peijnenburg, Willie J G M; Rasmussen, Kirsten; Jiménez, Araceli Sánchez; Scott-Fordsmand, Janeck J; van Tongeren, Martie; Wiench, Karin; Wohlleben, Wendel; Landsiedel, Robert

    2015-10-26

    Physicochemical properties of chemicals affect their exposure, toxicokinetics/fate and hazard, and for nanomaterials, the variation of these properties results in a wide variety of materials with potentially different risks. To limit the amount of testing for risk assessment, the information gathering process for nanomaterials needs to be efficient. At the same time, sufficient information to assess the safety of human health and the environment should be available for each nanomaterial. Grouping and read-across approaches can be utilised to meet these goals. This article presents different possible applications of grouping and read-across for nanomaterials within the broader perspective of the MARINA Risk Assessment Strategy (RAS), as developed in the EU FP7 project MARINA. Firstly, nanomaterials can be grouped based on limited variation in physicochemical properties to subsequently design an efficient testing strategy that covers the entire group. Secondly, knowledge about exposure, toxicokinetics/fate or hazard, for example via properties such as dissolution rate, aspect ratio, chemical (non-)activity, can be used to organise similar materials in generic groups to frame issues that need further attention, or potentially to read-across. Thirdly, when data related to specific endpoints is required, read-across can be considered, using data from a source material for the target nanomaterial. Read-across could be based on a scientifically sound justification that exposure, distribution to the target (fate/toxicokinetics) and hazard of the target material are similar to, or less than, the source material. These grouping and read-across approaches pave the way for better use of available information on nanomaterials and are flexible enough to allow future adaptations related to scientific developments.

  3. Grouping and Read-Across Approaches for Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnes G. Oomen

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Physicochemical properties of chemicals affect their exposure, toxicokinetics/fate and hazard, and for nanomaterials, the variation of these properties results in a wide variety of materials with potentially different risks. To limit the amount of testing for risk assessment, the information gathering process for nanomaterials needs to be efficient. At the same time, sufficient information to assess the safety of human health and the environment should be available for each nanomaterial. Grouping and read-across approaches can be utilised to meet these goals. This article presents different possible applications of grouping and read-across for nanomaterials within the broader perspective of the MARINA Risk Assessment Strategy (RAS, as developed in the EU FP7 project MARINA. Firstly, nanomaterials can be grouped based on limited variation in physicochemical properties to subsequently design an efficient testing strategy that covers the entire group. Secondly, knowledge about exposure, toxicokinetics/fate or hazard, for example via properties such as dissolution rate, aspect ratio, chemical (non-activity, can be used to organise similar materials in generic groups to frame issues that need further attention, or potentially to read-across. Thirdly, when data related to specific endpoints is required, read-across can be considered, using data from a source material for the target nanomaterial. Read-across could be based on a scientifically sound justification that exposure, distribution to the target (fate/toxicokinetics and hazard of the target material are similar to, or less than, the source material. These grouping and read-across approaches pave the way for better use of available information on nanomaterials and are flexible enough to allow future adaptations related to scientific developments.

  4. Undergraduate Consent Form Reading in Relation to Conscientiousness, Procrastination, and the Point-of-Time Effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theiss, Justin D; Hobbs, William B; Giordano, Peter J; Brunson, Olivia M

    2014-07-01

    Informed consent is central to conducting ethical research with human participants. The present study investigated differences in consent form reading in relation to conscientiousness, procrastination, and the point-of-time (PT) effect among undergraduate participants at a U.S. university. As hypothesized, conscientious participants and those who signed up to participate in a research study more days in advance and for earlier sessions (PT effect) read the consent form more thoroughly. However, procrastination was not related to consent form reading. Most importantly, consent form reading in general was poor, with 80% of participants demonstrating that they had not read the consent form. Conscientious participants were more likely to self-report reading the consent form, irrespective of their measured consent form reading. The article closes with suggestions to improve the process of obtaining informed consent with undergraduate participants. © The Author(s) 2014.

  5. READING: The Nature and Difficulty Levels of Materials Read by Beginning Office Workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salzman, Gerald R.

    1980-01-01

    A high percentage of young people (16-24 years of age) lack essential skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic needed to become workers and citizens. The teaching of reading should be of importance to all educators, not just language arts teachers. (JOW)

  6. A case of exceptional reading accuracy in a child with Down syndrome – underlying skills and the relation to reading comprehension

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groen, M.A.; Laws, G.; Nation, K.; Bishop, D.V.M.

    2006-01-01

    We report on a case of a girl with Down syndrome (DS), K.S., whose reading accuracy is exceptional. This ability is associated with robust phonological skills and relative strengths in visual and verbal short-term memory, articulation, and speech fluency. Although her reading comprehension is age

  7. How Logical Reasoning Mediates the Relation between Lexical Quality and Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segers, Eliane; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2016-01-01

    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…

  8. TEACHING READING USING MAGAZINE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henny Uswatun Hasanah

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Teaching is a process of communication. It has to be created through the way of teaching and exchanging the message or information by every teacher and student. The message can be knowledge, skills, ideas, experiences, and many others. Through the process of communication, the people can receive the message or information. To avoid misunderstanding in the process of communication, media are needed in the process of teaching. Magazine can be other alternative as reading material in the classroom. Magazine as reading material has appeal for the students. To make the students get information from magazine, the teacher can ask the students to observe table of content and giving the students training to use it. Like, what is done on text book. Distinguishing informative reading material with fictive reading, important to know students in reading magazine. Like analyzing advertisements to detect propaganda.

  9. Trade, development and sustainability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røpke, Inge

    1994-01-01

    Mainstream economic theory argues that trade, and especially free trade, is beneficial to everyone involved. This fundamental idea ? which has the character of a dogma ? still plays an important role in international discussions on trade issues, notably in relation to development and environment...... be defended in all cases. Especially, the developing countries' benefits from trade have been very dubious. Furthermore, the trading system has contributed to environmental problems in several ways, e.g. generating undervaluation of natural resources, stimulating economic growth with environmental....... The purpose of this article is to critically assess the "free trade dogma" and to investigate the validity of widely used arguments concerning the relations between trade and development and between trade and environment. It is argued that the trading system is not something inherently good, which should...

  10. Readability of Spine-Related Patient Education Materials From Leading Orthopedic Academic Centers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryu, Justine H; Yi, Paul H

    2016-05-01

    Cross-sectional analysis of online spine-related patient education materials from leading academic centers. To assess the readability levels of spine surgery-related patient education materials available on the websites of academic orthopedic surgery departments. The Internet is becoming an increasingly popular resource for patient education. Yet many previous studies have found that Internet-based orthopedic-related patient education materials from subspecialty societies are written at a level too difficult for the average American; however, no prior study has assessed the readability of spine surgery-related patient educational materials from leading academic centers. All spine surgery-related articles from the online patient education libraries of the top five US News & World Report-ranked orthopedic institutions were assessed for readability using the Flesch-Kincaid (FK) readability test. Mean readability levels of articles amongst the five academic institutions and articles were compared. We also determined the number of articles with readability levels at or below the recommended sixth- or eight-grade levels. Intraobserver and interobserver reliability of readability assessment were assessed. A total of 122 articles were reviewed. The mean overall FK grade level was 11.4; the difference in mean FK grade level between each department varied significantly (range, 9.3-13.4; P Online patient education materials related to spine from academic orthopedic centers are written at a level too high for the average patient, consistent with spine surgery-related patient education materials provided by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and spine subspecialty societies. This study highlights the potential difficulties patients might have in reading and comprehending the information in publicly available education materials related to spine. N/A.

  11. Rearing a reading habit

    OpenAIRE

    Sridhar, M. S.

    2009-01-01

    Discusses the importance and ways of inculcating reading habit in children at the right age, describes the five reading phases in children along with interest and the material to satiate the need, explains how four deterministic factors affect the reading habit of children, enlists motivations that are behind the reading process with tips to improve reading habit of children.

  12. Asset price and trade volume relation in artificial market impacted by value investors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tangmongkollert, K.; Suwanna, S.

    2016-05-01

    The relationship between return and trade volume has been of great interests in a financial market. The appearance of asymmetry in the price-volume relation in the bull and bear market is still unsettled. We present a model of the value investor traders (VIs) in the double auction system, in which agents make trading decision based on the pseudo fundamental price modelled by sawtooth oscillations. We investigate the system by two different time series for the asset fundamental price: one corresponds to the fundamental price in a growing phase; and the other corresponds to that in a declining phase. The simulation results show that the trade volume is proportional to the difference between the market price and the fundamental price, and that there is asymmetry between the buying and selling phases. Furthermore, the selling phase has more significant impact of price on the trade volume than the buying phase.

  13. Mediating Effects of Working Memory in the Relation Between Rapid Automatized Naming and Chinese Reading Comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weng, Xiaoqian; Li, Guangze; Li, Rongbao

    2016-08-01

    This study examined the mediating role of working memory (WM) in the relation between rapid automatized naming (RAN) and Chinese reading comprehension. Three tasks assessing differentially visual and verbal components of WM were programmed by E-prime 2.0. Data collected from 55 Chinese college students were analyzed using correlations and hierarchical regression methods to determine the connection among RAN, reading comprehension, and WM components. Results showed that WM played a significant mediating role in the RAN-reading relation and that auditory WM made stronger contributions than visual WM. Taking into account of the multi-component nature of WM and the specificity of Chinese reading processing, this study discussed the mediating powers of the WM components, particularly auditory WM, further clarifying the possible components involved in the RAN-reading relation and thus providing some insight into the complicated Chinese reading process.

  14. THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO FREE TRADE WITHIN FAIR TRADE CHALLENGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Ya’kub Aiyub Kadir

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Free trade and fair trade are considered an ambiguous term with relative meanings of identification. Objectively, free and fair trade does not mean completely free and fair, but it means trade under binding rules obeyed by member countries as a consequence of their commitment after signing and ratification of the WTO agreements. Hence, this paper aims at exploring the issue and does an effort to harmonise between free trade and fair trade within the WTO system. Perdagangan bebas dan perdagangan yang adil adalah dua istilah yang ambigu maknanya. Secara obyektif, perdagangan bebas tidak bermakna bebas dan adil seluruhnya, tetapi bermakna sebuah perdagangan di bawah aturan-aturan mengikat setelah negara anggota menandatangani dan meratifikasi kesepakatan WTO. Tetapi dalam realitas kebanyakan Negara, terutama negara berkembang tidak mampu untuk membuka pasar dan menurunkan tarif secara keseluruhan. Persoalan tidak berimbangnya kekuatan, kurang demokrasi, krisis legitimasi dan dobel standar dalam WTO sistem merupakan sebuah tantangan yang masih berlanjut. Paper ini akan mengkaji persoalan ini dan berupaya mengharmonisasikan antara perdagangan bebas dan adil dalam sistem WTO.

  15. THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO FREE TRADE WITHIN FAIR TRADE CHALLENGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Ya’kub Aiyub Kadir

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Free trade and fair trade are considered an ambiguous term with relative meanings of identification. Objectively, free and fair trade does not mean completely free and fair, but it means trade under binding rules obeyed by member countries as a consequence of their commitment after signing and ratification of the WTO agreements. Hence, this paper aims at exploring the issue and does an effort to harmonise between free trade and fair trade within the WTO system.   Perdagangan bebas dan perdagangan yang adil adalah dua istilah yang ambigu maknanya. Secara obyektif, perdagangan bebas tidak bermakna bebas dan adil seluruhnya, tetapi bermakna sebuah perdagangan di bawah aturan-aturan mengikat setelah negara anggota menandatangani dan meratifikasi kesepakatan WTO. Tetapi dalam realitas kebanyakan Negara, terutama negara berkembang tidak mampu untuk membuka pasar dan menurunkan tarif secara keseluruhan. Persoalan tidak berimbangnya kekuatan, kurang demokrasi, krisis legitimasi dan dobel standar dalam WTO sistem merupakan sebuah tantangan yang masih berlanjut. Paper ini akan mengkaji persoalan ini dan berupaya mengharmonisasikan antara perdagangan bebas dan adil dalam sistem WTO.

  16. Africa-Asia trade versus Africa's trade with the North: Trends and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Abstract. This study shows that Europe continues to be Africa's major trading partner given the historical relations and long standing trading arrangements between the two. However, evidence also shows that despite maintaining strong trade linkages with Europe, Africa's trade with Asia has been growing at a much faster ...

  17. TRADE instructional materials for SARA/OSHA training. Volume 2, Managers and supervisors training

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1989-03-01

    This document provides instructional materials for an eight-hour training course for managers and supervisors of hazardous waste sites. It is one of three volumes of course materials TRADE is preparing to help DOE contractor training staff comply with 29 CFR 1910.120, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) rule that implements Title I of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986. OSHA`s final rule for hazardous waste operators was published in the Federal Register of March 6, 1989 (54 FR 9294). Combined with the materials in Volumes I and III and with appropriate site-specific information, these materials will help DOE contractors to meet the requirements of 1910.120 (e) that ``on-site management and supervisors directly responsible for, or who supervise employees engaged in, hazardous waste operations`` receive the same initial training as that of the employees they supervise and at least eight additional hours of specialized training in managing hazardous waste operations.

  18. Unequal Bargaining? Australia's Aviation Trade Relations with the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solomon, Russell

    2001-01-01

    International aviation trade bargaining is distinguished by its use of a formal process of bilateral bargaining based on the reciprocal exchange of rights by states. Australia-United States aviation trade relations are currently without rancour, but this has not always been the case and in the late 1980s and early 1990s, their formal bilateral aviation negotiations were a forum for a bitter conflict between two competing international aviation policies. In seeking to explain the bilateral aviation outcomes between Australia and the United States and how Australia has sought to improve upon these, analytical frameworks derived from international political economy were considered, along with the bilateral bargaining process itself. The paper adopts a modified neorealist model and concludes that to understand how Australia has sought to improve upon these aviation outcomes, neorealist assumptions that relative power capabilities determine outcomes must be qualified by reference to the formal bilateral bargaining process. In particular, Australia's use of this process and its application of certain bargaining tactics within that process remain critical to understanding bilateral outcomes.

  19. The skills related to the early reading acquisition in Spain and Peru.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sellés, Pilar; Ávila, Vicenta; Martínez, Tomás; Ysla, Liz

    2018-01-01

    This paper deals with the skills related to the early reading acquisition in two countries that share language. Traditionally on reading readiness research there is a great interest to find out what factors affect early reading ability, but differ from other academic skills that affect general school learnings. Furthermore, it is also known how the influence of pre-reading variables in two countries with the same language, affect the development of the reading. On the other hand, several studies have examined what skills are related to reading readiness (phonological awareness, alphabetic awareness, naming speed, linguistic skills, metalinguistic knowledge and basic cognitive processes), but there are no studies showing whether countries can also influence the development of these skills.Our main objective in this study was to establish whether there were differences in the degree of acquisition of these skills between Spanish (119 children) and Peruvian (128 children), five years old children assessed in their own countries and after controlling Economic, Social and Cultural Status (ESCS). The results show that there are significant differences in the degree of acquisition of these skills between these two samples. It's especially relevant, in these results, that the main predictor in a regression study was the country of origin, explaining a higher percentage of variance than other variables such as age differences, in months, or gender. These findings corroborate the results obtained in other studies with migrant population.

  20. Relations among student attention behaviors, teacher practices, and beginning word reading skill.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sáez, Leilani; Folsom, Jessica Sidler; Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Schatschneider, Christopher

    2012-01-01

    The role of student attention for predicting kindergarten word reading was investigated among 432 students. Using Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms and Normal Behavior Rating Scale behavior rating scores, the authors conducted an exploratory factor analysis, which yielded three distinct factors that reflected selective attention. In this study, the authors focused on the role of one of these factors, which they labeled attention-memory, for predicting reading performance. Teacher ratings of attention-memory predicted word reading above and beyond the contribution of phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge. In addition, the relations between four teacher practices and attention ratings for predicting reading performance were examined. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the authors found significant interactions between student attention and teacher practices observed during literacy instruction. In general, as ratings of attention improved, better kindergarten word reading performance was associated with high levels of classroom behavior management. However, better word reading performance was not associated with high levels of teacher task orienting. A significant three-way interaction was also found among attention, individualized instruction, and teacher task redirections. The role of regulating kindergarten student attention to support beginning word reading skill development is discussed.

  1. Virtual water trade of agri-food products: Evidence from italian-chinese relations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamastra, Lucrezia; Miglietta, Pier Paolo; Toma, Pierluigi; De Leo, Federica; Massari, Stefania

    2017-12-01

    At global scale, the majority of world water withdrawal is for the agricultural sector, with differences among countries depending on the relevance of agri-food sector in the economy. Virtual water and water footprint could be useful to express the impact on the water resources of each production process and good with the objective to lead to a sustainable use of water at a global level. International trade could be connected to the virtual water flows, in fact through commodities importation, water poor countries can save their own water resources. The present paper focuses on the bilateral virtual water flows connected to the top ten agri-food products traded between Italy and China. Comparing the virtual water flow related to the top 10 agri-food products, the virtual water flow from Italy to China is bigger than the water flow in the opposite direction. Moreover, the composition of virtual water flows is different; Italy imports significant amounts of grey water from China, depending on the different environmental strategies adopted by the two selected countries. This difference could be also related to the fact that traded commodities are very different; the 91% of virtual water imported by Italy is connected to crops products, while the 95% of virtual water imported by China is related to the animal products. Considering national water saving and global water saving, appears that Italy imports virtual water from China while China exerts pressure on its water resources to supply the exports to Italy. This result at global scale implies a global water loss of 129.29millionm3 because, in general, the agri-food products are traded from the area with lower water productivity to the area with the higher water productivity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. How phonological awareness mediates the relation between working memory and word reading efficiency in children with dyslexia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knoop-van Campen, Carolien A N; Segers, Eliane; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2018-05-01

    This study examined the relation between working memory, phonological awareness, and word reading efficiency in fourth-grade children with dyslexia. To test whether the relation between phonological awareness and word reading efficiency differed for children with dyslexia versus typically developing children, we assessed phonological awareness and word reading efficiency in 50 children with dyslexia (aged 9;10, 35 boys) and 613 typically developing children (aged 9;5, 279 boys). Phonological awareness was found to be associated with word reading efficiency, similar for children with dyslexia and typically developing children. To find out whether the relation between working memory and word reading efficiency in the group with dyslexia could be explained by phonological awareness, the children with dyslexia were also tested on working memory. Results of a mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of working memory on word reading efficiency via phonological awareness. Working memory predicted reading efficiency, via its relation with phonological awareness in children with dyslexia. This indicates that working memory is necessary for word reading efficiency via its impact on phonological awareness and that phonological awareness continues to be important for word reading efficiency in older children with dyslexia. © 2018 The Authors Dyslexia Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. A Study of the Influence of Advertising Techniques on Selection of Instructional Reading Materials by Prospective Teachers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenlaw, M. Jean; And Others

    This study examined the effect of three different modes of presentation on elementary education majors' selection and rating of materials for reading instruction. Materials were chosen to represent each of the following propaganda techniques: glittering generalities, name calling, transfer, testimonial, bandwagon, and card stacking. Students in…

  4. Plurilateral Trade Deals: An Alternative for Multilateral Trade Agreements?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnes Ghibuțiu

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available While multilateral trade negotiations under the World Trade Organization (WTO continue to be in impasse, plurilateral trade negotiations – i.e. among a group of WTO members – have intensified in recent years, and also recorded a series of concrete results in liberalizing specific sectors of international trade. Hence, there is a widely shared view that plurilateral trade negotiations could be an alternative for the multilateral ones. This paper aims to answer the following questions: What are plurilateral trade agreements? Which are the reasons behind the surge in plurilateral negotiations in recent years? What are the main achievements in liberalizing trade at the plurilateral level? What are the advantages of plurilateral negotiations relative to multilateral ones, and why are they considered an attractive alternative for negotiations at the multilateral level?

  5. 78 FR 76818 - U.S. Healthcare Education Trade Mission to New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad, India, January 27...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration U.S. Healthcare Education Trade Mission... published a document in the Federal Register of November 13, 2013 regarding the U.S. Healthcare Education..., note a top of page, correct the subject heading of the notice to read: U.S. Healthcare Education Trade...

  6. Who Says They Don’t Read? Slovene Elementary School Students’ Reading Motivation in EFL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anja Pirih

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available A typical (Slovene teenager today no longer finds reading materials on the book shelves in the local library, but forms a reading list of electronic sources, very often in English. However, in contrast with an abundance of studies focusing on first language (L1 reading strategies and motivation, not a lot of literature can be found on reading motivation in a foreign language, even though it is perceived as one of the most important factors influencing second language (L2 development. The aim of this research is to determine the influences on reading motivation in English as a foreign language in the group of young teenagers (11-14-year-olds and a possible transfer of L1 reading attitudes to L2 reading. The theoretical framework relies on Wigfield and Guthrie’s (1997 self-efficacy theory and Day and Bamford’s (1998 expectancy value model. The data obtained from 197 questionnaires give an insight into not only the frequency of reading in English and the type of reading materials, but also the factors influencing teenagers’ reading motivation in EFL.

  7. 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…

  8. Internal Control Over Financial Reporting and Managerial Rent Extraction: Evidence from the Profitability of Insider Trading

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Skaife, H.A.; Veenman, D.; Wangerin, D.

    2013-01-01

    This paper examines the association between ineffective internal control over financial reporting and the profitability of insider trading. We predict and find that the profitability of insider trading is significantly greater in firms disclosing material weaknesses in internal control relative to

  9. Subgrouping Poor Readers on the Basis of Individual Differences in Reading-Related Abilities

    OpenAIRE

    Catts, Hugh W.; Hogan, Tiffany; Fey, Marc E.

    2003-01-01

    The present study investigated the use of the Reading Component Model to subgroup poor readers. A large sample of poor readers was identified in second grade and subgrouped on the basis of relative strengths and weaknesses in word recognition and listening comprehension. Although homogeneous subgroups were not identified, poor readers could be classified into four subgroups that differed significantly in reading-related abilities. Further analyses showed that poor readers' strengths and weakn...

  10. The relation between attitude toward reading adolescent literature and literary reading behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Schooten, E; de Glopper, Kees

    The research presented in this article concludes that the widely accepted Model of Planned Behavior (MPB) is an adequate model for measuring the attitude toward reading adolescent literature [By 'adolescent literature' we mean works of fiction to be read by middle grade students. These can be works

  11. Using Authentic Materials for Extensive Reading to Promote English Proficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Siao-cing

    2012-01-01

    Current literature points to the importance and benefits of extensive reading. Extensive reading provides contextualized clues for better reading comprehension (Krashen, 1982), and substantial linguistic input (Bell, 1998) needed for language development. Several studies have found a correlation between extensive reading and specific linguistic…

  12. Applying PQ4R Strategy for Teaching Reading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moh.Rodli

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Despite receiving more attention than other language skills in English classroom, the result of students’ reading comprehension achievement is still far from expectation. To help students comprehend English reading texts and have better achievement in reading skill, PQ4R strategy can be an alternative to offer. The PQ4R (also well known as SQ4R strategy of comprehending reading material is an extension of SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review This method involves previewing the reading material, questioning the reading, reading to answer the questions, reflecting upon the reading, reciting the reading, and reviewing the material. This method is useful for improving students’ reading effectiveness in addition to help students better remember what they read. This paper highlights the PQ4R strategy and its use as an alternative to improve students’ reading comprehension achievement.

  13. APPLYING PQ4R STRATEGY FOR TEACHING READING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moh Rodli

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Despite receiving more attention than other language skills in English classroom, the result of students’ reading comprehension achievement is still far from expectation. To help students comprehend English reading texts and have better achievement in reading skill, PQ4R strategy can be an alternative to offer. The PQ4R (also well known as SQ4R strategy of comprehending reading material is an extension of SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review This method involves previewing the reading material, questioning the reading, reading to answer the questions, reflecting upon the reading, reciting the reading, and reviewing the material. This method is useful for improving students’ reading effectiveness in addition to help students better remember what they read. This paper highlights the PQ4R strategy and its use as an alternative to improve students’ reading comprehension achievement.

  14. A Comparative Study of Trade Relations and the Spatial-Temporal Evolution of Geo-Economy between China and Vietnam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teng Ma

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available With the increasing economic importance of the Asia-Pacific Region, the economic interdependence among countries in the region has gradually enhanced. With the continuous opening up of the two countries, Sino-Vietnamese economic relations have also been deepened. However, the export trade between Vietnam and China has been competitive. China and Vietnam seek to dominate or join an agreement that is conducive to their own trade, which also exacerbates the trade competition between the two countries. This paper compares China and Vietnam and analyzes their foreign trade data from 2005 to 2014. By analyzing the competitiveness of export commodities, the trade division effect and spatio-temporal changes of the geo-economic relationship in the Asia-Pacific Region, this study explores Sino-Vietnamese trade relations and compares the pattern of geo-economic evolution between the two countries. The findings show that China and Vietnam have similarities and substitutability in textiles, apparel and footwear in terms of commodity structure. There is already a trade diversion effect between Vietnam and China on these commodities, but it is not substantial. From a geographic perspective, China’s geo-economic relations in the Pacific Rim present an increasingly dispersed trend. However, the spatial pattern of Vietnam’s geo-economy has maintained a low-level and stable spatial agglomeration over the last decade.

  15. Prospects and risks of development of ukrainian-chinese trade and economic relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V.G. Rogovyj

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The main prospects and risks of development of Ukrainian-Chinese trade and economic relations have been researched in the article. It has been grounded that there is a considerable need for attraction of external financing for Ukraine, and China is one of the potential partners for this purpose. The areas of interest of Ukraine in cooperation with China have been determined, in particular, the attraction of external investments that will allow the intensification of economic growth in the country, and will provide creation of new workplaces. The sphere of interests of China in Ukraine has been determined, namely, the possibility of attraction of Ukrainian technologies to Chinese market with the placement of production in the territory of China. It has been found out that it is considerable risk for Ukraine as in 5–7 years Chinese partners will seize Ukrainian technologies and the need in Ukrainian partners for them will disappear. Besides, there is a risk of irrational use of land resources that may lead to depletion and decline of its quality. In order to avoid negative consequences of economic cooperation with China Ukraine needs to develop strategy of the economic partnership providing satisfaction of national interests. Keywords: Ukraine; China; economic cooperation; trade; trade and economic relations.

  16. The emergence of industrial relations in regional trade blocks: a comparative analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kaminska, M.E.; Visser, J.

    2011-01-01

    This article analyses the emergence and institutionalization of regional industrial relations arrangements in six regional integration agreements (European Union, North American Free Trade Association, Mercado Común del Sur, Economic Community of West African States, Southern African Development

  17. Motor-independent Visual Perception Skill Indexes are Related with Reading Skills in Children with Cerebral Palsy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vahid Reza Khodabandeh

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Cerebral palsy is one of the most common causes of physical disability in childhood that lead to various difficulties for children. These children may have abnormalities in visual perception. Visual perception plays an important role in learning of basic childhood’s skills. This research was designed to study the relation between each of subtests of visual perception with accuracy and speed components of reading skills in school-aged cerebral palsy children. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 24 spastic cerebral palsy students in second grade (10 girls and 14 boy were selected be available as from Tehran’s rehabilitation clinics. Visual perception and Reading skills were evaluated with the Test of Visual Perceptual Skill-revised (TVPS-R and Diagnostic Reading Test. Results: The results showed that between standard score of visual perception with accuracy and speed components of reading skills of cerebral palsy student were significantly correlated. Visual Discrimination with accuracy (P<0.001 and with speed (P<0.001, Visual Memory with accuracy  (P=0.002 and with speed (P=0.004, Visual-Spatial with accuracy (P<0.001 and with speed (P<0.001, Form Constancy with accuracy (P=0.003 and with speed (p<0.001, Visual Sequential Memory with accuracy (P=0.023 and with speed (P<0.028, Figure Ground Discrimination with accuracy (P=0.010 and with speed (P<0.011, Visual Closure with accuracy (p=0.009 and with speed (P<0.009 Conclusion: In general we can say that the relationship between visual perception skills with reading skills in first and second grade students with cerebral palsy is evident.

  18. Redirecting International Trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kokko, Ari; Söderlund, Bengt; Tingvall, Patrik Gustavsson

    2014-01-01

    The global financial crisis has contributed to the redirection of trade towards new markets outside the OECD area, where both demand patterns and the institutional environment differ from those in the OECD. This study provides an empirical examination of the consequences of this shift, based......-specific investments are particularly difficult to redirect towards markets with weak institutions....... on Swedish firm-level trade data. Results suggest that weak institutions hamper trade and reduce the length of trade relations, especially for small firms. Trade in industries that are characterized by a high frequency of trade conflicts and where transactions require extensive relationship...

  19. Redirecting International Trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kokko, Ari; Söderlund, Bengt; Tingvall, Patrik Gustavsson

    The global financial crisis has accelerated the redirection of trade towards new markets, outside the OECD area, where both demand patterns and the institutional environment differ from those in the OECD. This study provides an empirical examination of the consequences of this shift. Results...... difficult to redirect towards markets with weak institutions....... suggest that weak institutions hamper trade and reduces the length of trade relations, especially for small firms. Furthermore, trade in industries that are characterized by a high degree of trade conflicts and that requires extensive relationship specific investments for trade to occur are comparatively...

  20. Reading Maxwell in Conceptual Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonham, Scott W.

    2018-05-01

    An important aspect of science education involves helping students learn to read and communicate scientific information and arguments. In this note, I would like to share a resource that I have come across which I have found to be a useful tool for helping students improve those skills, learn content material, and acquaint them with a great scientist. Specifically, this is having non-science college students in my course Light, Color and Vision read and discuss a letter by James Clerk Maxwell entitled "On the Theory of Colours in Relation to Colour-Blindness" (see Fig. 1).

  1. Japan's Trade Policy with Asia

    OpenAIRE

    Shujiro Urata

    2014-01-01

    Japan's economic relations with Asian countries have rapidly become increasingly close in recent years, mainly through trade and direct investment. In Asia, Japanese companies have pursued a gfragmentation strategy, h which refers to breaking down production processes and assigning each process, through direct investment, to the country or region suited to implement it most efficiently. As a result, when a certain product is manufactured, its intermediate materials and parts are actively trad...

  2. Taiwanese EFL Learners’ Perceived Use of Online Reading Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Wen Chun Chen

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Reading strategies are beneficial to learners’ reading comprehension. The strategies can be divided into different categories, such as global reading strategies, problem solving strategies and support strategies. Most previous studies investigated the importance of reading strategies in the paper-based reading. However, relatively few studies examined online reading strategies and their effects on reading comprehension. Online reading materials are important sources for EFL students since an increasing number of learners read texts and learn through the Internet. EFL learners in Taiwan, unfortunately, are reported to be overwhelmed with English online materials on the Internet. Therefore, this study intends to examine EFL learners’ perceived use of online reading strategies and whether their perceived strategy uses are different in terms of proficiency levels and gender. There are 94 Taiwanese EFL learners (43% of them are males, n=40 and 57 % of them are females, n=54, who received the Online Survey of Reading Strategies (OSORS adapted from Anderson (2003 in the study. The result showed that EFL online readers tend to use more global strategies, such as using contextual clues and observing tables, figures, and pictures in the on-line text to increase understanding. High level learners used more global and problem solving strategies than low level learners, which corresponds to previous studies. Additionally, there is no difference of strategy use between males and females. Several pedagogical implications, such as the need to raise students’ awareness of strategy use, are addressed in the present study.

  3. 40 Dynamics of Foreign Trade and Trade Relation Problems: Policy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    FIRST LADY

    2011-01-18

    Jan 18, 2011 ... bounty of material good, but also of intellectual and cultural capital, an .... of market, increased investment and development of other sectors of the .... battered public image that has had an impinging effect on external relations.

  4. A reaction-diffusion model for market fluctuations - A relation between price change and traded volumes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuvan, Steven; Bier, Martin

    2018-02-01

    Two decades ago Bak et al. (1997) [3] proposed a reaction-diffusion model to describe market fluctuations. In the model buyers and sellers diffuse from opposite ends of a 1D interval that represents a price range. Trades occur when buyers and sellers meet. We show analytically and numerically that the model well reproduces the square-root relation between traded volumes and price changes that is observed in real-life markets. The result is remarkable as this relation has commonly been explained in terms of more elaborate trader strategies. We furthermore explain why the square-root relation is robust under model modifications and we show how real-life bond market data exhibit the square-root relation.

  5. The Differential Relations between Verbal, Numerical and Spatial Working Memory Abilities and Children's Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oakhill, Jane; Yuill, Nicola; Garnham, Alan

    2011-01-01

    Working memory predicts children's reading comprehension but it is not clear whether this relation is due to a modality-specific or general working memory. This study, which investigated the relations between children's reading skills and working memory (WM) abilities in 3 modalities, extends previous work by including measures of both reading…

  6. The role of IAEA safeguards in connection with nuclear trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imai, R.

    1977-01-01

    IAEA safeguards are one of the means to prevent the proliferation of nuclear material for military purposes. As such safeguards can be a potent instrument, and its characteristics are primarily technical. Other means may include (a) political incentives which render possession of nuclear weapons unnecessary and undesirable; (b) extension of trade restrictions regarding certain sensitive material, equipment and technology; and (c) accompanying requirements for physical protection. Peaceful nuclear industry has certain aspects which naturally call for international exchange. The technology itself represents one of the most advanced in our times, and therefore needs to be shared throughout the world. Uranium resources of economic levels are found in only a limited number of countries. Many of the components of the industry, including reactor manufacture and fuel cycle, are vey capital-intensive and technology-intensive, so that it would be natural for a relatively limited number of manufacturing or processing capabilities to serve the rest of the world. It is useful to examine the existing pattern of nuclear trade, as well as to forecast the effects of increasing trade volume. Regarding technology, there is a need to decrease the international shipper/receiver difference by means of containment/surveillance as well as by rapid and accurate reporting. Obviously, its effectiveness will be maximized if all the world's trading partners participated in a system of co-ordination. Improving technical effectiveness of safeguards is very important once nuclear material is in a country. In addition to nuclear material accountancy, new techniques may be employed to recognize the characteristic pattern of a nation's nuclear activities, or deviation from such a pattern. Tracing nuclear trade might become an important input to such an analysis. (author)

  7. Reading Comprehension Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Unal Ulker

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The academic success of the university students greatly depends on the mastery of an academic reading skill. However, students as well as teachers, take the learning of this skill for granted, as they tend to presuppose that reading skill is acquired as a part of their secondary education. As a result, most first-year students employ non university strategies to read academic texts, which leads to a surface approach to reading and prevents students from a better understanding of the material. This paper will discuss the strategies that involve students in taking a deep approach to reading academic texts.

  8. 77 FR 16048 - U.S. Customs and Border Protection 2012 West Coast Trade Symposium: “Harmonizing Trade for a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-19

    ... Advisor for Trade and Public Relations, Office of Trade Relations. [FR Doc. 2012-6589 Filed 3-16-12; 8:45... relating to the agency's role in international trade initiatives and programs. This year marks our twelfth year hosting trade symposia. Members of the international trade and transportation communities and...

  9. Content, format, gender and grade level differences in elementary students' ability to read science materials as measured by the cloze procedure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Richard L.; Yore, Larry D.

    Present instructional trends in science indicate a need to reexamine a traditional concern in science education: the readability of science textbooks. An area of reading research not well documented is the effect of color, visuals, and page layout on readability of science materials. Using the cloze readability method, the present study explored the relationships between page format, grade level, sex, content, and elementary school students ability to read science material. Significant relationships were found between cloze scores and both grade level and content, and there was a significant interaction effect between grade and sex in favor of older males. No significant relationships could be attributed to page format and sex. In the area of science content, biological materials were most difficult in terms of readability followed by earth science and physical science. Grade level data indicated that grade five materials were more difficult for that level than either grade four or grade six materials were for students at each respective level. In eight of nine cases, the science text materials would be classified at or near the frustration level of readability. The implications for textbook writers and publishers are that science reading materials need to be produced with greater attention to readability and known design principles regarding visual supplements. The implication for teachers is that students need direct instruction in using visual materials to increase their learning from text material. Present visual materials appear to neither help nor hinder the student to gain information from text material.

  10. Guidance to regulations on trade with emission permits for carbon dioxide; Vaegledning till lagstiftning om handel med utslaeppsraetter foer koldioxid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2008-07-15

    This guidance is intended to facilitate application of the rules on emissions trading. The guidance is principally concerned with issues relating to permit appraisal and monitoring, but also discusses some terms common to permits and allocations, such as installation and operator. The guidance follows the same structure as the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency regulations (NFS 2007:5) in order to provide direct support for the rules. The focus is on providing a general description of the responsibilities of the operator and application of the rules. In addition, some difficult terms and relationships are explained. However, no exhaustive description of the operator's responsibilities is given, nor are the rules on verification described. We therefore recommend that the guidance should be read in conjunction with the Trading Act, the Trading Ordinance and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The first chapter presents a brief description of the purpose of the trading scheme, and is followed by a chapter in which the rules on applying for permits and the application procedure are reviewed. The next chapter gives a description of how the operator should monitor emissions and how the rules for the monitoring plan work, as well as the options that exist for simplified monitoring. The next chapter looks at notifications the operator might have to make and what they should contain. Guidance is also provided on how the county administrative board should process these notifications. The conditions of the permit decision are also briefly described. This is followed by a short chapter on the emissions report and the materiality threshold. The final chapter comments on certain parts of the annexes to the regulations. The EU Emissions Trading Directive has been implemented in Sweden through the Emissions Trading Act (2004:1199) (the Trading Act), the Emissions Trading Ordinance (2004:1205), the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency regulations

  11. Materials data base as an interface between fusion reactor designs and materials development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishino, S.; Iwata, S.

    1983-01-01

    The materials data base is an integrated information system of experimental and/or calculated data of materials being compiled to meet the broad needs for materials data by taking advantage of the data base management systems. In this paper the objective of such computerized data base is described from the viewpoint of materials engineers and fusion system designers. Materials data spread themselves widely from the field that relates fundamental understanding of the behaviors of electrons, atoms, vacancies, dislocations and so on to the performance of components, devices, machines and systems. In our approach this information is described as ''relations'' by a set of tables which comprise related variables, for example, a set of values about essential properties for materials selection. This approach based on the relational model enables relational operations, i.e. SELECTION, PROJECTION, JOIN and so on, to select suitable materials, to set trade-off parameters for system designers and to establish design criteria. Stored data comprise (i) fundamental properties for all elements and potential structural materials, (ii) low cycle fatigue, irradiation creep and swelling data for type 316 stainless steels. These data have been selected and evaluated from critical reviews of existing data base of about 2 mega bytes data, some examples of materials selections and extraction of trade-off parameters are shown as a subject of critical issue concerning how to bridge the large gap between materials developments and system designs. (author)

  12. Exploration and exploitation of Victorian science in Darwin's reading notebooks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murdock, Jaimie; Allen, Colin; DeDeo, Simon

    2017-02-01

    Search in an environment with an uncertain distribution of resources involves a trade-off between exploitation of past discoveries and further exploration. This extends to information foraging, where a knowledge-seeker shifts between reading in depth and studying new domains. To study this decision-making process, we examine the reading choices made by one of the most celebrated scientists of the modern era: Charles Darwin. From the full-text of books listed in his chronologically-organized reading journals, we generate topic models to quantify his local (text-to-text) and global (text-to-past) reading decisions using Kullback-Liebler Divergence, a cognitively-validated, information-theoretic measure of relative surprise. Rather than a pattern of surprise-minimization, corresponding to a pure exploitation strategy, Darwin's behavior shifts from early exploitation to later exploration, seeking unusually high levels of cognitive surprise relative to previous eras. These shifts, detected by an unsupervised Bayesian model, correlate with major intellectual epochs of his career as identified both by qualitative scholarship and Darwin's own self-commentary. Our methods allow us to compare his consumption of texts with their publication order. We find Darwin's consumption more exploratory than the culture's production, suggesting that underneath gradual societal changes are the explorations of individual synthesis and discovery. Our quantitative methods advance the study of cognitive search through a framework for testing interactions between individual and collective behavior and between short- and long-term consumption choices. This novel application of topic modeling to characterize individual reading complements widespread studies of collective scientific behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Readability of Orthopaedic Oncology-related Patient Education Materials Available on the Internet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Akash K; Yi, Paul H; Stein, Andrew

    2015-12-01

    A person's health literacy is one of the most important indicators of a patient's health status. According to national recommendations, patient education materials should be written at no higher than the sixth- to eighth-grade reading level. The purpose of our study was to assess the readability of online patient education materials related to orthopaedic oncology on the websites of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), American Cancer Society (ACS), Bone and Cancer Foundation (BCF), and National Cancer Institute (NCI). We searched the online patient education libraries of the AAOS, ACS, BCF, and NCI for all articles related to orthopaedic oncology. The Flesch-Kincaid (FK) readability score was calculated for each article and compared between sources. A total of 227 articles were identified with an overall mean FK grade level of 9.8. Stratified by source, the mean FK grade levels were 10.1, 9.6, 11.1, and 9.5 for the AAOS, ACS, BCF, and NCI, respectively (P education materials related to orthopaedic oncology appear to be written at a level above the comprehension ability of the average patient. Copyright 2015 by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

  14. Examining the core: relations among reading curricula, poverty, and first through third grade reading achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowe, Elizabeth Coyne; Connor, Carol McDonald; Petscher, Yaacov

    2009-06-01

    Policy changes at the federal and state level are endeavoring to improve student achievement at schools serving children from lower-SES homes. One important strategy is the focus on using evidence-based core reading curricula to provide a consistent framework for instruction across schools. However, rarely have these curricula undergone rigorous comparative testing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the effects of six core reading curricula on oral reading fluency growth, while appraising whether these effects differ by grade level and for children living in lower socioeconomic (SES) households. Over 30,000 students in first through third grade Florida Reading First classrooms comprise this academically and economically diverse cross-sectional. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to model latent growth curves for students' reading fluency scores over the school year. Growth curves revealed differences across curricula as well as between students of lower and higher SES, suggesting that reading fluency growth trajectories for curricula varied depending on student SES and grade level. Findings indicate that while there are similarities among curricula, they sometimes differ in their ability to promote reading skill growth. Differences by grade level and SES were also detected. However, many of these differences were small. Implications for the use of curriculum as a conduit for improving reading instruction are discussed.

  15. Trade Liberalization and Optimal Environmental Policies in Vertical Related Markets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan-Shu Lin

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper establishes a symmetric two-country model with vertically related markets. In the downstream market, there is one firm in each country selling a homogeneous good, whose production generates pollution, to its home and the foreign markets a la Brander (1981. In the intermediate good market, there is also one upstream firm in each country, supplying the intermediate good only to its own country’s downstream market. The upstream firms can choose either price or quantity to maximize their profits. With this setting, the paper examines the optimal environmental policy and how it is affected by the tariff on the final good. It is found that, under free trade, the optimal final-good output with imperfect intermediate-good market will have the same output level as that with perfect intermediate-good market after imposing the optimal emission tax. The optimal environmental tax is smaller and the optimal environmental policy is less likely to be a green strategy under trade liberalization if the market structure in the intermediate good market is imperfect than perfect competition. On the other hand, the optimal environmental tax is necessarily higher if the upstream firm chooses price than quantity. Moreover, the optimal environmental policy is less likely to be a green strategy under trade liberalization if the upstream firms choose quantity than price to maximize their profits.

  16. Assessing spelling in kindergarten: further comparison of scoring metrics and their relation to reading skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clemens, Nathan H; Oslund, Eric L; Simmons, Leslie E; Simmons, Deborah

    2014-02-01

    Early reading and spelling development share foundational skills, yet spelling assessment is underutilized in evaluating early reading. This study extended research comparing the degree to which methods for scoring spelling skills at the end of kindergarten were associated with reading skills measured at the same time as well as at the end of first grade. Five strategies for scoring spelling responses were compared: totaling the number of words spelled correctly, totaling the number of correct letter sounds, totaling the number of correct letter sequences, using a rubric for scoring invented spellings, and calculating the Spelling Sensitivity Score (Masterson & Apel, 2010b). Students (N=287) who were identified at kindergarten entry as at risk for reading difficulty and who had received supplemental reading intervention were administered a standardized spelling assessment in the spring of kindergarten, and measures of phonological awareness, decoding, word recognition, and reading fluency were administered concurrently and at the end of first grade. The five spelling scoring metrics were similar in their strong relations with factors summarizing reading subskills (phonological awareness, decoding, and word reading) on a concurrent basis. Furthermore, when predicting first-grade reading skills based on spring-of-kindergarten performance, spelling scores from all five metrics explained unique variance over the autoregressive effects of kindergarten word identification. The practical advantages of using a brief spelling assessment for early reading evaluation and the relative tradeoffs of each scoring metric are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Trade Policy Preferences and the Factor Content of Trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jäkel, Ina Charlotte; Smolka, Marcel

    demonstrate that the factor price changes induced by trade policy are negatively correlated with the factor content of free trade (and therefore factor abundance). Using large-scale international survey data, we test whether these predicted distributional effects are reflected in the trade policy preferences...... of workers with different labor market skills. In order to isolate the effects of factor abundance from other skill-related confounding factors, we employ a within-skill-group estimator that exploits the cross-country variation in the factor content of free trade. In line with theory, the data show......This paper provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of public opinion towards free trade, investigating cleavages both between and within countries. We study the distributional effects of trade policy in a neoclassical economy with not just two, but many input factors in production. We...

  18. Indications of a major Neolithic trade route? An archaeometric geochemical and Sr, Pb isotope study on amphibolitic raw material from present day Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christensen, A.-M.; Holm, P.M.; Schuessler, U.; Petrasch, J.

    2006-01-01

    In order to interpret pre-historic cultural interactions, the provenance of amphibolitic raw material used for flat-axes and adzes in lower to middle Neolithic cultures throughout present day Germany were investigated by elemental and Sr, Pb isotopic methods. Within all settlements studied, a homogeneous actinolite-hornblende schist rock type (AHS) was found to be massively dominating, with a distinct petrography of needle-shaped actinolite interwoven with single larger grains of hornblende along with calcic plagioclase and large amounts of ilmenite. Geochemically, the AHS group is very homogeneous and has a signature of an enriched basaltic precursor with high concentrations of particularly the LIL-elements. The geochemical signature is relatively rare and can not be matched in nearby geological outcrops, wherefore the conclusion of 'imported material' is quickly reached. Strontium and Pb isotopic analyses of the AHS were compared to the isotopic composition of amphibolitic rocks with similar petrography and trace elemental signatures within possible archaeological trade regions. The isotopic data of the archaeological material point roughly to a Proterozoic age of the stone used; an age which can be reasonable matched to a single outcrop situated at Jistebsko within the Czech Republic. This area further shows archaeological traces of prehistoric mining. Based on petrographic, geochemical and isotopic evidence, this area is here presented as the provenance area of the stone raw material, which later spread throughout prehistoric Europe - establishing contact and trade routes between Neolithic cultures

  19. Examination of the Teaching Skills for Reading Scientific Materials Needed by Science Teachers by Comparing In-Service and Prospective Science Teachers

    OpenAIRE

    山根, 嵩史; 中條, 和光

    2016-01-01

    We examined the teaching skills for reading scientific materials needed by science teachers. We compared the views of teaching skills for reading scientific materials of science teachers both in service and in training. The result of text mining for free description of the teaching skills of both groups showed that, whereas trainee teachers emphasized language ability as a teaching skill (for example, the ability to image the contents of a text), current teachers emphasized teaching the curri...

  20. 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.

  1. "My Place": Exploring Children's Place-Related Identities through Reading and Writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlton, Emma; Cliff Hodges, Gabrielle; Pointon, Pam; Nikolajeva, Maria; Spring, Erin; Taylor, Liz; Wyse, Dominic

    2014-01-01

    This paper considers how children perceive and represent their placed-related identities through reading and writing. It reports on the findings of an 18-month interdisciplinary project, based at Cambridge University Faculty of Education, which aimed to consider children's place-related identities through their engagement with, and creation of,…

  2. METHODOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES OF TEACHING FUTURE ECONOMISTS TO READ ENGLISH TEXTS RELATED TO PROFESSIONAL AREA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ліліана Білогорка

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The role of reading competence in the structure of English professionally oriented communicative competence has been analysed; types of economics texts which should be used in teaching future economists – scientific economics texts, texts of professional economics activity, educational economics texts, texts of non-professional economics activity have been defined; the necessity of using not only authentic, but also semi-authentic and adapted texts in teaching future economists to read English texts related to professional area has been grounded; bachelor’s level requirements for students’ knowledge and skills in skimming, scanning reading and reading for detail have been defined; direct (cognitive and compensatory and indirect (metacognitive, affective and social learning strategies to enhance the quality of text reading have been specified in the article.

  3. Preferential Trade Arrangements and the Pattern of Production and Trade when Inputs are Differentiated

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.F. François (Joseph)

    2005-01-01

    textabstractThis paper is concerned with rules of origin when intermediate goods are differentiated. An analytical model emphasizes trade patterns and the relative importance of trade in intermediates given trade preferences. Econometric evidence based on intra-OECD trade in motor vehicles and motor

  4. Enhancing Reading Comprehension of Iranian Advanced EFL Learners through Task-based Reading Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vahid Fallah Golchin

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Language learning has experienced a shift of focus from a form-focused to a meaning-focused approach, and the necessity of using task-based learning, a relatively recent approach, has emerged. The vital role of task-based materials makes it obligatory not to exclude them from the language learning syllabi.  The current study aims at investigating whether task-based reading can contribute significantly to the development of reading comprehension of Iranian advanced EFL learners of English. An experimental study was carried out in order to scrutinize the applicability of task-based language teaching. To this end, 60 female advanced EFL learners, selected from among a pool of 100 learners, were assigned equally and randomly into two groups of thirty, consisting of an experimental and a control group. The selection of the participants was based on the results of a standard and piloted version of Paper-based TOEFL. The participant’s mean age was about 23, ranging from 20 to 27 years of age. Both groups received a pretest and a post-test of reading. During the treatment period the experimental group received task-based reading activities while the control group received reading instructions through traditional methods. The impact of the treatment upon the reading comprehension ability of the participants was analyzed through an independent-samples t-test, and comparisons between groups were made. The results clearly indicated the development of reading comprehension ability of the participants in the first group (the experimental group through the application of task-based reading activities.

  5. China’s Trade Relations with the United States in Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dong Wang

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available China’s trade relations with the United States over the past four decades is a topic that has not been fully dealt with in scholarly works. This paper charts the course of US-China economic relations since 1971, explains the principal forces stimulating growth and encouraging change and, finally, discusses how these two economic giants fit into an interlocking Asian and world economy. In reaction to the post-2008 financial downturn, advocates for a new world economic order have suggested a rebalancing of global demand, which will arguably become a major, politically charged issue in the US and in China in the years to come. Growing economic interdependence has quickly presented new challenges and opportunities, with issues such as human rights, Most-Favoured-Nation status, the Taiwan and Tibet question, and the huge American trade deficit threatening to cloud the relationship at times. With China’s emergence as a major power and America’s hegemonic ambitions tested in successive wars, the contradiction between a booming commercial relationship and conflict associated with geopolitical and ideological differences will continue to constitute a serious challenge. The long-term goal for each side will be to forge economic ties strong enough to create a stable political relationship, rather than to be held hostage by geopolitical constraints.

  6. Reading and Empathy

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCreary, John J.; Marchant, Gregory J.

    2017-01-01

    The relationship between reading and empathy was explored. Controlling for GPA and gender, reading variables were hypothesized as related to empathy; the relationship was expected to differ for males and females. For the complete sample, affective components were related to GPA but not reading. Perspective taking was related to reading…

  7. The Literacy Skills and Motivation to Read of Children Enrolled in Title I: A Comparison of Electronic and Print Nonfiction Books

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnyak, Natalie Conrad; McNelly, Tracy A.

    2016-01-01

    This mixed method study, grounded in Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, examines if nonfiction e-books read independently by children enrolled in a summer reading program will increase vocabulary, improve comprehension, and enhance motivation to read as compared to children reading nonfiction trade books with adult support. Findings indicate…

  8. Die Baltischen handels-beziehungen mit Russland: Pfadabhängigkeiten trotz EU-Integration? Challenging the Baltic states trade relations with Russia: caught in path dependencies?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klaus Schrader

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Against the backdrop of the lingering Ukraine crisis, Russia retaliated against the EU sanctions imposed on selected Russian enterprises and representatives by boycotting import goods from European and North American suppliers. Russian politicians further threatened to restrict the export of raw materials, especially natural gas, provided that the EU-Russia relations further worsen and sanctions gather momen-tum. Hence, the paper deals with the question to what extent the EU economies Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are vulnerable to Russian reprisals and would experience comparatively high costs of the EU sanction policy. The focus of the analysis is on the Baltic States’ trade relations with Russia because these countries were integrated in the Soviet division of labor before regaining independence. It is analyzed whether path dependencies in Baltic trade patterns still exist that could make Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania more vulnerable to political blackmail than other EU countries.

  9. The role of IAEA Safeguards in connection with nuclear trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imai, R.

    1977-01-01

    IAEA safeguards is one of the means to prevent proliferation of military and/or explosive utilization of nuclear material. As such; safeguards can be a potent instrument, and its characteristics are primarily technical. Other means may include; a) political incentives which make possession of nuclear weapons unnecessary and undescribable; b) an extent of trade restrictions regarding certain sensitive material, equipment and technology; and c) accompanying requirements of physical protection. Peaceful nuclear industry has an aspect which naturally calls for international exchange. The technology itself represents one of the most advanced in our times, and therefore, should be shared throughout the world. Uranium resources of economic grades are found only in a limited number of countries. Many of the components of the industry, including reactor manufacture and fuel cycle, are very capital-intensive and technology-intensive, so that it would be natural that a relatively limited number of manufacturing or processing capabilities should serve the rest of the world. It is useful to look at the existing pattern of nuclear trade, as well as to forecast the effects of increasing trade volume. Regarding technology, the problem divides itself into three in order that safeguards should be effective and non-intrusive. There is a need to decrease international shipper/receiver difference by means of containment/surveillance as well as quick and accurate reporting. Obviously, its effectiveness will be maximized if all the world's trading partners should participate in a system of coordination. Improving technical effectiveness of safeguards is very important, once nuclear material is in a country. Thirdly, in addition to nuclear material accountancy, new techniques may be employed to recognize characteristic patterns of a nations's nuclear activities, or deviation from such a pattern. Tracing nuclear trade might become important input to such an analysis

  10. A new generation of trade policy: potential risks to diet-related health from the trans pacific partnership agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Trade poses risks and opportunities to public health nutrition. This paper discusses the potential food-related public health risks of a radical new kind of trade agreement: the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP). Under negotiation since 2010, the TPP involves Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the USA, and Vietnam. Here, we review the international evidence on the relationships between trade agreements and diet-related health and, where available, documents and leaked text from the TPP negotiations. Similar to other recent bilateral or regional trade agreements, we find that the TPP would propose tariffs reductions, foreign investment liberalisation and intellectual property protection that extend beyond provisions in the multilateral World Trade Organization agreements. The TPP is also likely to include strong investor protections, introducing major changes to domestic regulatory regimes to enable greater industry involvement in policy making and new avenues for appeal. Transnational food corporations would be able to sue governments if they try to introduce health policies that food companies claim violate their privileges in the TPP; even the potential threat of litigation could greatly curb governments’ ability to protect public health. Hence, we find that the TPP, emblematic of a new generation of 21st century trade policy, could potentially yield greater risks to health than prior trade agreements. Because the text of the TPP is secret until the countries involved commit to the agreement, it is essential for public health concerns to be articulated during the negotiation process. Unless the potential health consequences of each part of the text are fully examined and taken into account, and binding language is incorporated in the TPP to safeguard regulatory policy space for health, the TPP could be detrimental to public health nutrition. Health advocates and health-related policymakers must be

  11. A new generation of trade policy: potential risks to diet-related health from the trans pacific partnership agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friel, Sharon; Gleeson, Deborah; Thow, Anne-Marie; Labonte, Ronald; Stuckler, David; Kay, Adrian; Snowdon, Wendy

    2013-10-16

    Trade poses risks and opportunities to public health nutrition. This paper discusses the potential food-related public health risks of a radical new kind of trade agreement: the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP). Under negotiation since 2010, the TPP involves Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the USA, and Vietnam. Here, we review the international evidence on the relationships between trade agreements and diet-related health and, where available, documents and leaked text from the TPP negotiations. Similar to other recent bilateral or regional trade agreements, we find that the TPP would propose tariffs reductions, foreign investment liberalisation and intellectual property protection that extend beyond provisions in the multilateral World Trade Organization agreements. The TPP is also likely to include strong investor protections, introducing major changes to domestic regulatory regimes to enable greater industry involvement in policy making and new avenues for appeal. Transnational food corporations would be able to sue governments if they try to introduce health policies that food companies claim violate their privileges in the TPP; even the potential threat of litigation could greatly curb governments' ability to protect public health. Hence, we find that the TPP, emblematic of a new generation of 21st century trade policy, could potentially yield greater risks to health than prior trade agreements. Because the text of the TPP is secret until the countries involved commit to the agreement, it is essential for public health concerns to be articulated during the negotiation process. Unless the potential health consequences of each part of the text are fully examined and taken into account, and binding language is incorporated in the TPP to safeguard regulatory policy space for health, the TPP could be detrimental to public health nutrition. Health advocates and health-related policymakers must be

  12. Analysis of physical flows in primary commodity trade. A case study in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, Tao; Li, Bo; Fang, Changming; Zhao, Bin; Luo, Yiqi; Chen, Jiakuan

    2006-01-01

    How globalization and international trade affect sustainable development and environment has attracted worldwide attention. Associated with the import and export of primary commodities, ecologically important materials have been exchanged among regions and countries. China, having the largest population in the world and the highest economic growth rate in last decades, may have an important influence on global sustainable development through the trade of primary commodities. Using the data from Almanac of China's Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, we analyzed material flows in the trade of primary commodity in China from 1950 to 2001. Our analysis shows that: (1) China has turned from a net exporter of primary commodities to a net importer; (2) minerals and fuels have been the major imports of primary commodities since 1992, just as well as foods and minerals did in 1980s; (3) most of the net imported primary commodities come from Oceania, Africa and Latin America. (author)

  13. Do not resonate with actions: sentence polarity modulates cortico-spinal excitability during action-related sentence reading.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Tullio Liuzza

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Theories of embodied language suggest that the motor system is differentially called into action when processing motor-related versus abstract content words or sentences. It has been recently shown that processing negative polarity action-related sentences modulates neural activity of premotor and motor cortices. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We sought to determine whether reading negative polarity sentences brought about differential modulation of cortico-spinal motor excitability depending on processing hand-action related or abstract sentences. Facilitatory paired-pulses Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (pp-TMS was applied to the primary motor representation of the right-hand and the recorded amplitude of induced motor-evoked potentials (MEP was used to index M1 activity during passive reading of either hand-action related or abstract content sentences presented in both negative and affirmative polarity. Results showed that the cortico-spinal excitability was affected by sentence polarity only in the hand-action related condition. Indeed, in keeping with previous TMS studies, reading positive polarity, hand action-related sentences suppressed cortico-spinal reactivity. This effect was absent when reading hand action-related negative polarity sentences. Moreover, no modulation of cortico-spinal reactivity was associated with either negative or positive polarity abstract sentences. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that grammatical cues prompting motor negation reduce the cortico-spinal suppression associated with affirmative action sentences reading and thus suggest that motor simulative processes underlying the embodiment may involve even syntactic features of language.

  14. 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

  15. Readability evaluation of Internet-based patient education materials related to the anesthesiology field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Oliveira, Gildasio S; Jung, Michael; Mccaffery, Kirsten J; McCarthy, Robert J; Wolf, Michael S

    2015-08-01

    The main objective of the current investigation was to assess the readability of Internet-based patient education materials related to the field of anesthesiology. We hypothesized that the majority of patient education materials would not be written according to current recommended readability grade level. Online patient education materials describing procedures, risks, and management of anesthesia-related topics were identified using the search engine Google (available at www.google.com) using the terms anesthesia, anesthesiology, anesthesia risks, and anesthesia care. Cross-sectional evaluation. None. Assessments of content readability were performed using validated instruments (Flesch-Kincaid Grade Formulae, the Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook, the New Dale-Chall Test, the Fry graph, and the Flesch Reading Ease score). Ninety-six Web sites containing Internet patient education materials (IPEMs) were evaluated. The median (interquartile range) readability grade level for all evaluated IPEMs was 13.5 (12.0-14.6). All the evaluated documents were classified at a greater readability level than the current recommended readability grade, P Internet-based patient education materials related to the field of anesthesiology are currently written far above the recommended readability grade level. High complexity of written education materials likely limits access of information to millions of American patients. Redesign of online content of Web sites that provide patient education material regarding anesthesia could be an important step in improving access to information for patients with poor health literacy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. 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.

  17. On the Determinants of Intra-industry Trade: Specialization and Relative Factor Endowments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Young Song

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper derives a general relationship among intra-industry trade, specialization, and gravity. This relationship holds in any two-country trade model under assumptions that are frequently adopted in theoretical trade models. Using this general relationship, we can take an integrated approach to the theory of intra-industry trade. In two-good, two-factor models, this relationship implies that the intensity of intra-industry trade is decreasing in the difference in factor proportions and is increasing in the product of per-worker GDPs. Thus, the popular assertion that a negative correlation between the intensity of intra- industry trade and the difference in factor proportions supports monopolistic competition is groundless. Using panel data on bilateral trade flows, we estimate these relationships. We find that the negative correlation between intra-industry trade and specialization is quite robust. We also find a robust positive correlation between intra-industry trade and the product of per-capita GDPs.

  18. Trade Slang as a Manifestation of Language-Group Relations at Work Places.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stromman, Solveig

    1987-01-01

    The alternating and mixed use of Swedish and Finnish and special trade slang in three relatively small firms (employing a total of 678 employees, 40 percent of whom were Swedish-speaking, 56 percent Finnish-speaking, and 4 percent bilingual) in the bilingual city of Vasa, Finland was analyzed. (CB)

  19. International emissions trading

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boom, Jan Tjeerd

    This thesis discusses the design and political acceptability of international emissions trading. It is shown that there are several designs options for emissions trading at the national level that have a different impact on output and thereby related factors such as employment and consumer prices....... The differences in impact of the design make that governments may prefer different designs of emissions trading in different situations. The thesis furthermore establishes that international emissions trading may lead to higher overall emissions, which may make it a less attractive instrument....

  20. 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.

  1. The Relationship between FL Reading Strategies and FL Reading Proficiency: A Study on Turkish EFL Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gönen, Ipek Kuru

    2015-01-01

    Reading in FL possesses certain challenges for FL readers such as difficulty in inferring underlying messages in texts and dealing with unfamiliar cultural load. All these challenges may be associated with FL learners' reading proficiency and their use of FL reading strategies especially while reading academic materials. This study aims at…

  2. 28 CFR 16.2 - Public reading rooms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Public reading rooms. 16.2 Section 16.2 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PRODUCTION OR DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL OR INFORMATION... Relations Service—in Suite 2000, 600 E Street, NW., Washington, DC; (4) Drug Enforcement Administration—in...

  3. 15 CFR 400.45 - Retail trade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Retail trade. 400.45 Section 400.45 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade (Continued) FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE REGULATIONS OF THE FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD Zone Operations and...

  4. Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) Status for Russia and U.S.-Russian Economic Ties

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Cooper, William H

    2006-01-01

    At several meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President George W. Bush stated that his administration will work with the Congress to grant Russia permanent "normal trade relations" (PNTR) status...

  5. DEVELOPING ONLINE READING SUPPLEMENTARYMATERIALSFOR THE TENTH GRADERS OF SMAN 3 PROBOLINGGO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reny Windi Astuti

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Reading is very important in learning a foreign language. Reading is also the interaction between reader and text. As the hardest skill for foreign language learners, reading requires rich background and knowledge of the language. Curriculum 2013 strongly suggeststhe teachers and students use textbook which government has developed. The researchers findthat English for the tenth graders does not have adequate reading materials. Based on the need analysis done by the researcher, the teacher has to add some other materials outside of the book to accommodate students in learning reading. Therefore, there should be adequate reading materials for English language learners. The purpose of this research was to develop online reading supplementary material based on curriculum 2013 that could be useful for English teachers. This study was carried toR&D (Research and Development. This paper presented; (1 supplementary materials which could be used by the students through online based, and (2 how to develop online reading supplementary materials. By considering these theories, it is hoped that the teachers and scholars can have theoretical insight in developing online reading supplementary materials.

  6. Exploration and Exploitation of Victorian Science in Darwin's Reading Notebooks

    OpenAIRE

    Murdock, Jaimie; Allen, Colin; DeDeo, Simon

    2015-01-01

    Search in an environment with an uncertain distribution of resources involves a trade-off between exploitation of past discoveries and further exploration. This extends to information foraging, where a knowledge-seeker shifts between reading in depth and studying new domains. To study this decision-making process, we examine the reading choices made by one of the most celebrated scientists of the modern era: Charles Darwin. From the full-text of books listed in his chronologically-organized r...

  7. Tracing trade-related telecouplings in the global land-system using the embodied human appropriation of net primary production framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haberl, H.; Kastner, T.; Schaffartzik, A.; Erb, K. H.

    2015-12-01

    Global land-system change is influenced by a complex set of drivers that transcend spatial, institutional and temporal scales. The notion of "telecouplings" is gaining importance in Land System Science as a framework to address that complexity of drivers. One of them is the trade in land-based products, which forges connections between different geographic regions. Trade in land-based products is growing rapidly, thereby creating an increasing spatial disconnect between the locations where primary products (e.g. crops, fodder or timber) are grown and harvested and where the related environmental pressures occur, and the locations where final products (e.g. food, fiber or bioenergy) are consumed. Governing land-related sustainability issues such as GHG emissions or pressures on biodiversity and ecosystems related with land-use changes requires information on trade-related telecouplings, e.g. in order to avoid leakage effects. However, tracing land use (change) related with flows of traded products is challenging, among others due to (a) the lack of easily implementable metrics to account for differences in land quality and land-use intensity, and (b) the lack of satisfactory methods to allocate land to products that are traded and consumed. Drawing from a database derived from FAO statistics that allows tracing bilateral trade flows between ~200 countries at a resolution of ~500 products for the time period 1986-2006, this presentation will discuss how the framework of embodied human appropriation of net primary production (eHANPP) can help tackling these difficult issues. The HANPP framework allows to consistently represent important aspects of land quality and land-use intensity, e.g. natural productivity potential or land-use efficiency. In terms of allocation of land to products, eHANPP is a factor-based approach, and the presentation will discuss differences to alternative methods such as environmentally extended input-output analysis. We will use the available

  8. Shorter lines facilitate reading in those who struggle.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew H Schneps

    Full Text Available People with dyslexia, who ordinarily struggle to read, sometimes remark that reading is easier when e-readers are used. Here, we used eye tracking to observe high school students with dyslexia as they read using these devices. Among the factors investigated, we found that reading using a small device resulted in substantial benefits, improving reading speeds by 27%, reducing the number of fixations by 11%, and importantly, reducing the number of regressive saccades by more than a factor of 2, with no cost to comprehension. Given that an expected trade-off between horizontal and vertical regression was not observed when line lengths were altered, we speculate that these effects occur because sluggish attention spreads perception to the left as the gaze shifts during reading. Short lines eliminate crowded text to the left, reducing regression. The effects of attention modulation by the hand, and of increased letter spacing to reduce crowding, were also found to modulate the oculomotor dynamics in reading, but whether these factors resulted in benefits or costs depended on characteristics, such as visual attention span, that varied within our sample.

  9. Colorado Student Assessment Program: 2001 Released Passages, Items, and Prompts. Grade 4 Reading and Writing, Grade 4 Lectura y Escritura, Grade 5 Mathematics and Reading, Grade 6 Reading, Grade 7 Reading and Writing, Grade 8 Mathematics, Reading and Science, Grade 9 Reading, and Grade 10 Mathematics and Reading and Writing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colorado State Dept. of Education, Denver.

    This document contains released reading comprehension passages, test items, and writing prompts from the Colorado Student Assessment Program for 2001. The sample questions and prompts are included without answers or examples of student responses. Test materials are included for: (1) Grade 4 Reading and Writing; (2) Grade 4 Lectura y Escritura…

  10. Teaching International Economics and Trade--Concepts in International Relations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Starbird, Caroline; DeBoer, Dale; Pettit, Jenny

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this book is to introduce students to real-life issues in international economics. The sections of the book are: (1) The Advantages of Trade; (2) Judging NAFTA; (3) Does Globalization Benefit Poor Countries?; (4) Pocket Guide to International Financial Institutions; (5) What Do You Know about the WTO?; (6) Free Trade and Shifting…

  11. Growth trajectories of early aggression, overactivity, and inattention: Relations to second-grade reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Sarah A O; Carter, Alice S; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J; Jones, Stephanie M; Wagmiller, Robert L

    2014-09-01

    The link between behavior problems and low academic achievement is well established, but few studies have examined longitudinal relations between early externalizing behaviors before school entry and low academic achievement following transition to formal schooling. Early inattention has been particularly overlooked, despite strong associations between inattention and reading difficulties later in development. Trajectories of infant and toddler aggression, overactivity, and inattention, developed from parent reports about 1- to 3-year-old children, were examined as predictors of direct assessments of 2nd-grade reading in an at-risk epidemiological study subsample (N = 359). Reports of inattentive and overactive behaviors at ages 1-3 years and changes in inattention through toddlerhood predicted reading achievement in 2nd grade. A parallel process model suggested that the effects of early inattention on reading appear to be most robust. Findings underscore the contribution of social-emotional development to school readiness and the importance of early identification of children with externalizing problems, as early interventions designed to reduce externalizing problems may improve later reading skills.

  12. Growth Trajectories of Early Aggression, Overactivity, and Inattention: Relations to Second Grade Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Sarah A. O.; Carter, Alice S.; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J.; Jones, Stephanie M.; Wagmiller, Robert L.

    2015-01-01

    The link between behavior problems and low academic achievement is well established, but few studies have examined longitudinal relations between early externalizing behaviors before school entry and low academic achievement following transition to formal schooling. Early inattention has been particularly overlooked, despite strong associations between inattention and reading difficulties later in development. Trajectories of infant/toddler aggression, overactivity, and inattention, developed from parent reports about 1- to 3-year-old children, were examined as predictors of direct assessments of second grade reading in an at-risk epidemiological study subsample (N = 359). Reports of inattentive and overactive behaviors at age 1-to-3 years and changes in inattention through toddlerhood predicted reading achievement in second grade. A parallel process model suggested that the effects of early inattention on reading appear to be most robust. Findings underscore the contribution of social-emotional development to school readiness and the importance of early identification of children with externalizing problems, as early interventions designed to reduce externalizing problems may improve later reading skills. PMID:25046126

  13. Readability of Online Patient Education Materials Related to IR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEnteggart, Gregory E; Naeem, Muhammad; Skierkowski, Dorothy; Baird, Grayson L; Ahn, Sun H; Soares, Gregory

    2015-08-01

    To assess the readability of online patient education materials (OPEM) related to common diseases treated by and procedures performed by interventional radiology (IR). The following websites were chosen based on their average Google search return for each IR OPEM content area examined in this study: Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE), National Library of Medicine, RadiologyInfo, Mayo Clinic, WebMD, and Wikipedia. IR OPEM content area was assessed for the following: peripheral arterial disease, central venous catheter, varicocele, uterine artery embolization, vertebroplasty, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, and deep vein thrombosis. The following algorithms were used to estimate and compare readability levels: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Formula, Flesch Reading Ease Score, Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, and Coleman-Liau Index. Data were analyzed using general mixed modeling. On average, online sources that required beyond high school grade-level readability were Wikipedia (15.0), SIR (14.2), and RadiologyInfo (12.4); sources that required high school grade-level readability were CIRSE (11.3), Mayo Clinic (11.0), WebMD (10.6), and National Library of Medicine (9.0). On average, OPEM on uterine artery embolization, vertebroplasty, varicocele, and peripheral arterial disease required the highest level of readability (12.5, 12.3, 12.3, and 12.2, respectively). The IR OPEM assessed in this study were written above the recommended sixth-grade reading level and the health literacy level of the average American adult. Many patients in the general public may not have the ability to read and understand health information in IR OPEM. Copyright © 2015 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Productive extension of semantic memory in school-aged children: Relations with reading comprehension and deployment of cognitive resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauer, Patricia J; Blue, Shala N; Xu, Aoxiang; Esposito, Alena G

    2016-07-01

    We investigated 7- to 10-year-old children's productive extension of semantic memory through self-generation of new factual knowledge derived through integration of separate yet related facts learned through instruction or through reading. In Experiment 1, an experimenter read the to-be-integrated facts. Children successfully learned and integrated the information and used it to further extend their semantic knowledge, as evidenced by high levels of correct responses in open-ended and forced-choice testing. In Experiment 2, on half of the trials, the to-be-integrated facts were read by an experimenter (as in Experiment 1) and on half of the trials, children read the facts themselves. Self-generation performance was high in both conditions (experimenter- and self-read); in both conditions, self-generation of new semantic knowledge was related to an independent measure of children's reading comprehension. In Experiment 3, the way children deployed cognitive resources during reading was predictive of their subsequent recall of newly learned information derived through integration. These findings indicate self-generation of new semantic knowledge through integration in school-age children as well as relations between this productive means of extension of semantic memory and cognitive processes engaged during reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Silk, porcelain and lacquer: China and Japan and their trade with Western Europe and the New World, 1500-1644. A survey of documentary and material evidence

    OpenAIRE

    Llorens Planella, Maria Teresa (Teresa Canepa)

    2015-01-01

    This dissertation focused on the prolific early European trade and consumption of three Asian manufactured goods: Chinese silk and porcelain, and Japanese lacquer in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and has shown how the material cultures of late Ming China and Momoyama/early Edo Japan became inextricably linked with the West. Multiple sources provided new and unexpected documentary and material evidence of this trade by the Iberian Kingdoms of Portugal and Spain, and the tradin...

  16. Trade Fairs, Markets and Fields

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moeran, Brian

    2011-01-01

    This article describes how trade fairs act as a framing mechanism that enables participants to come together for the exchange of goods and services and to perceive themselves as acting in a social field. This way, trade fairs make markets possible. Based on ongoing participant observation at book....../material, social, situational, content/appreciative, and the use value of goods, values which are then equated with a commodity exchange value in the form of price. Trade fairs frame order, but they are also events where the respective field might be reconfigurated. The contingency of personal interaction...

  17. The Explicit Instruction of Reading Strategies: Directed Reading Thinking Activity vs. Guided Reading Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Mehdi Yazdani

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Investigating the efficiencies and deficiencies of reading strategies is one of the noticeable issues in the related theory and research in reading comprehension instruction. This study was to examine the impact of Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA and Guided Reading (GR on reading comprehension. Sixty three Iranian students of grade one in Shahed high school in the city of Bojnourd took part in the study. They were assigned in three groups, one control and two experimental groups. The instruction lasted for ten weeks. This study utilized a pretest posttest control group in quantitative quasi- experimental design. The same reading comprehension test was administered as pre-test and post-test. The results were twofold: First, the instruction of learning strategies could foster reading comprehension skill. Second, while the explicit instruction of both strategies could improve the students' reading comprehension skill, Directed Reading Thinking Activity had a more significant positive effect than Guided Reading.

  18. Individual Attitudes Towards Trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jäkel, Ina Charlotte; Smolka, Marcel

    2013-01-01

    Using the 2007 wave of the Pew Global Attitudes Project, this paper finds statistically significant and economically large Stolper-Samuelson effects in individuals’ preference formation towards trade policy. High-skilled individuals are substantially more pro-trade than low-skilled individuals......-Ohlin model in shaping free trade attitudes, relative to existing literature....

  19. SYNTACTIC COMPLEXITY IN THE READING MATERIALS OF ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES LEVELS 1 – 3

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Widdy Wijanti

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available LLT Journal: A Journal on Language and Language Teaching Open Journal Systems LLT Journal ISSNs: e-ISSN: 2579-9533 (electronic p-ISSN: 1410-7201 (print User Username Password Remember me Journal Content Search Search Scope Browse By Issue By Author By Title Other Journals Font Size Make font size smaller Make font size default Make font size larger LLT Journal Barcode TOOLS FULL PAPER GUIDELINES Article Tools Print this article Indexing metadata How to cite item Email this article (Login required Email the author (Login required About The Author Widdy Wijanti Sampoerna University, Jakarta Indonesia OUR CONTACT LLT Journal English Language Education Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta, Indonesia For more details, please visit: LLT Journal Contact Address Home About Login Register Search Current Archives Author Guidelines Editorial Team Focus and Scope Publication Ethics Author Index Originality Screening Indexing and Abstracting Review Process Article Processing Charges Article Submission Charges Publishing Rights Peer Reviewers Home > Vol 20, No 2 (2017 > Wijanti SYNTACTIC COMPLEXITY IN THE READING MATERIALS OF ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES LEVELS 1 – 3 Widdy Wijanti Abstract In Indonesia, English is still considered as a foreign language and has become a crucial subject of study especially in the university level. For this reason, English for Academic Purposes has been conducted in the first year of college level for many years. Unfortunately, although many Asian countries including Indonesia have run the EAP course, the output is that there are still many Indonesian students who do not meet the vocabulary size and syntactic complexity that are expected while their learning process in the university. This results lower grades that they have in their assignments. Therefore, the recent study is aimed at evaluating the reading materials of EAP, especially in measuring the syntactic complexity containing in the texts as it is strongly believed in

  20. Reading screening mammograms - Attitudes among radiologists and radiographers about skill mix

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Lena Westphal; Brodersen, John

    2011-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: Because of shortage of personnel for the Danish mammography screening programme, the aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes of radiologists and radiographers towards a future implementation of radiographers reading screening mammograms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven...... of managers, and improved working relations. Organization related obstacles: shortage of radiographers and negative attitudes of managers. Professional related possibilities: positive experience with skill mix. Professional related obstacles: worries about negative consequences for the training...... and financial consequences of skill mix. Despite of this all radiologists and radiographers experienced with skill mix were strong advocates for reading radiographers....

  1. The effects of competing trade regimes on bilateral trade flows: case of Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Predrag Bjelić

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of competing trade regimes on Serbian trade with its most significant (traditional partners, like European Union and CEFTA 2006 signatories, and other untraditional trade partners with favourable trade regime, like the USA. To this end, gravity model with bilateral and time effects is estimated by Hausman-Taylor AR(1 instrumental variable estimator, using panel data on bilateral trade between Serbia and its main trade partners during the period 2001-2010. The results indicate that overall level of development and difference in factor endowments stimulate Serbia’s exports, which is in accordance with theoretical foundation that inter-industry trade is predominant in exports of less developed countries. Moreover, competing trade regimes appear as important determinant of Serbia’s trade relations, whereas additional liberalization of trade regime with the USA as untraditional trade partner, even asymmetrical to Serbia’s favour, cannot divert trade flows from traditional partners in the long-run. This could mean that distance plays more prominent role in bilateral trade than the degree of liberalization of trade regimes in case of Serbia. The result could be due to the contemporaneous effects of trade preferences granted to Serbia by the EU and other CEFTA 2006 signatories, main trading partners of Serbia.

  2. Relations of Perceived Parent and Friend Support for Recreational Reading with Children's Reading Motivations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klauda, Susan Lutz; Wigfield, Allan

    2012-01-01

    This study examined elementary school students' perceived support for recreational reading from their mothers, fathers, and friends. Participants, including 130 fourth graders and 172 fifth graders, completed the researcher-developed Reading Support Survey, which assesses how often children experience and how greatly they enjoy multiple types of…

  3. Implications of the New Regional Trade Agreements for the World Trading System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnes Ghibuțiu

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The year 2013 witnessed an outstanding rise in the pace and scale of negotiations on regional trade agreements (RTAs. While RTAs are not a new phenomenon, current negotiations involve multiple parties and/or major trading countries that have a significant combined economic weight, i.e. mega-RTAs. This paper looks at the recent surge in trade regionalism and addresses some of the key issues related to the potential impact of mega-RTAs upon the world trading system and global trade patterns. It examines the peculiarities of the new mega-RTAs and the factors underlying their proliferation, and discusses the main concerns raised by their foreseeable impact on excluded countries and the wider trading system. The paper finds that, if successfully concluded, mega-RTAs are likely to have far-reaching implications for the world trading regime, affecting its transparency and coherence. Nevertheless, the adverse effects could be cushioned through a revival of trading nations’ interest in the multilateral Doha Round talks.

  4. THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EAEU AND VIETNAM AS A FACTOR OF RUSSIAN-VIETNAMESE RELATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. V. Fedorov

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the infl uence of the free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam on  Russian-Vietnamese relations. The author considers preconditions for expansion of the EAEU, main steps of negotiations, special features  of the agreement, and results, achieved by present time. The author  pays special attention to evolution of Russian-Vietnamese relations  and also to key factors of Vietnam’s foreign policy. Russian- Vietnamese relations have been developing on the base of the USSR- Vietnam partnership in the Cold War. They were marked by stability  and high level of political contacts, but at the same time scales of economic cooperation were relatively low. Established interaction  between two states was a foundation for the dialogue for the  involvement of Vietnam in Eurasian integration. Vietnam, in turn,  tried to conduct multilateral foreign policy (including the expansion of network of free trade agreements and so it had positive attitude  for cooperation with Russia in a sphere of Eurasian integration. For  Russia, the EAEU – Vietnam free trade agreement has both political  (expansion of Eurasian integration beyond the Post-Soviet space and rise of prestige of the EAEU and economic (impact on trade and investment cooperation with the SRV signifi cance. The agreement entered into force in October 2016 and under its realization some  results have already been made. At the same time the agreement is of compromise and “test” sort. So it’s rather able to make an  immediate breakthrough in Russian-Vietnamese trade and Russian  policy in the Asia-Pacifi c in whole. But this agreement can be an  additional factor for attraction to Vietnam in Russia and enlargement of cooperation with Vietnamese counterparts.

  5. Characterizing copper flows in international trade of China, 1975-2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ling; Chen, Tianming; Yang, Jiameng; Cai, Zhijian; Sheng, Hu; Yuan, Zengwei; Wu, Huijun

    2017-12-01

    Since the economic reform, China has actively participated in the global market with rapid industrialization and gradually dominated the utilization and consumption of some critical materials, one of which is copper. China has reigned the global anthropogenic cycle of copper since 2004. We explore copper flows along with the international trade of China during 1975-2015, through life cycle lens, from ore to final products. Our main finding is that China has become more active in the copper-related trade, indicated by its great increase in trade volume and the number of trade partners. The physical volume of copper flows through trade increased over 119 times between 1975 and 2015, mainly because of more imported raw materials of copper and exported copper products. Generally, China is a net importer of copper, with increasing import dependence through the study period, whereas the degree of dependence slightly decreased from 2010 to 2015. The indicator of Export Support Rate took a decreasing percentage, which has fallen about 35% since 2010. It suggests China's changing position in the global resource and manufacturing market. In terms of trade price of different copper products, the price of imported copper concentrate was noticeably higher than that of exported one, revealing the poor copper resource endowment of China; while the different trend of copper semis in recent years signifies that China is in urgent need to improve its capability of producing high value-added semis. From international trade perspective, the copper resource of China presented stable supply as well as demand. The One Belt One Road strategy proposed by the state will further expand both the resource and market of copper. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. 75 FR 81977 - Order Exempting the Trading and Clearing of Certain Products Related to the CBOE Gold ETF...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-29

    ... Related to the CBOE Gold ETF Volatility Index and Similar Products AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading... the trading and clearing of certain options (``Options'') on the CBOE Gold ETF Volatility Index (``GVZ... Trust Shares''), an ETF designed to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion.\\5\\ \\5\\ See...

  7. The material footprint of nations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiedmann, Thomas O; Schandl, Heinz; Lenzen, Manfred; Moran, Daniel; Suh, Sangwon; West, James; Kanemoto, Keiichiro

    2015-05-19

    Metrics on resource productivity currently used by governments suggest that some developed countries have increased the use of natural resources at a slower rate than economic growth (relative decoupling) or have even managed to use fewer resources over time (absolute decoupling). Using the material footprint (MF), a consumption-based indicator of resource use, we find the contrary: Achievements in decoupling in advanced economies are smaller than reported or even nonexistent. We present a time series analysis of the MF of 186 countries and identify material flows associated with global production and consumption networks in unprecedented specificity. By calculating raw material equivalents of international trade, we demonstrate that countries' use of nondomestic resources is, on average, about threefold larger than the physical quantity of traded goods. As wealth grows, countries tend to reduce their domestic portion of materials extraction through international trade, whereas the overall mass of material consumption generally increases. With every 10% increase in gross domestic product, the average national MF increases by 6%. Our findings call into question the sole use of current resource productivity indicators in policy making and suggest the necessity of an additional focus on consumption-based accounting for natural resource use.

  8. The teaching and learning of reading in Swedish speaking schools in Finland : A study of teachers’ relation to reading in first and second grade in three Swedish speaking schools in Finland.

    OpenAIRE

    Frost, Lena

    2014-01-01

    Finnish student have for several years proved to be successful in reading in international studies. This interview based study aims to describe how teachers in Finnish schools for Swedish speaking children are relating to reading and reading education during the first two years of schooling. The result shows that reading, reading training and reading comprehension are natural elements in all teaching during the first two years in school and that teaching is based on students’ ability and inte...

  9. The attentional blink is related to phonemic decoding, but not sight-word recognition, in typically reading adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyson-Parry, Maree M; Sailah, Jessica; Boyes, Mark E; Badcock, Nicholas A

    2015-10-01

    This research investigated the relationship between the attentional blink (AB) and reading in typical adults. The AB is a deficit in the processing of the second of two rapidly presented targets when it occurs in close temporal proximity to the first target. Specifically, this experiment examined whether the AB was related to both phonological and sight-word reading abilities, and whether the relationship was mediated by accuracy on a single-target rapid serial visual processing task (single-target accuracy). Undergraduate university students completed a battery of tests measuring reading ability, non-verbal intelligence, and rapid automatised naming, in addition to rapid serial visual presentation tasks in which they were required to identify either two (AB task) or one (single target task) target/s (outlined shapes: circle, square, diamond, cross, and triangle) in a stream of random-dot distractors. The duration of the AB was related to phonological reading (n=41, β=-0.43): participants who exhibited longer ABs had poorer phonemic decoding skills. The AB was not related to sight-word reading. Single-target accuracy did not mediate the relationship between the AB and reading, but was significantly related to AB depth (non-linear fit, R(2)=.50): depth reflects the maximal cost in T2 reporting accuracy in the AB. The differential relationship between the AB and phonological versus sight-word reading implicates common resources used for phonemic decoding and target consolidation, which may be involved in cognitive control. The relationship between single-target accuracy and the AB is discussed in terms of cognitive preparation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. The Relation of Age and Reading Ability to Memory Processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marrach, Alexa; Fireman, Gary

    This study examined the relation of reading ability, age, and familiarity to iconic and short-term memory processing and how the familiarity of the stimuli affects recall. A total of 10 children in grades 2 through 6 and 10 adults were shown novel abstract forms, words, and non-words varying in order of approximation to English, for 50 msec., 500…

  11. A list of websites and reading materials on strategy & complexity

    OpenAIRE

    Wigboldus, S.A.

    2009-01-01

    The list has been developed based on a broad interpretation of the subject of ‘strategy & complexity’. Resources will therefore more, or less directly relate to ‘being strategic in the face of complexity’. Many of the articles and reports referred to in the attached bibliography can be accessed and downloaded from the internet. Most books can be found at amazon.com where you will often find a number of book reviews and summaries as well. Sometimes, reading the reviews will suffice and wil...

  12. Teacher cognition and the teaching of EFL reading in Norwegian upper primary classrooms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trine Mathiesen Gilje

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This article is about a qualitative study of teacher cognition and the teaching of EFL reading in Norwegian upper primary classrooms. Teacher cognition, defined by Borg (2003, p.81 as ‘what teachers think, know, and believe and the relationships of these mental constructs to what teachers do in the language teaching classroom’, is a relatively new field of research, with few studies focussing on its link to the teaching of EFL reading skills in state schools or in young language learner classrooms. The study therefore aimed to explore upper primary EFL teachers’ reading-related materials and practices, what knowledge, attitudes and beliefs formed the basis of their choices, and the role of teacher education in this context. The method was semi-structured interviews with eight randomly selected 6th grade EFL-teachers. The study showed that the teachers primarily based their teaching of EFL reading on textbooks, used them in similar ways, but also used additional reading materials to varying extents. The teachers thus appeared to be heavily guided by their textbooks, in addition to intuition and routines. The impact of formal teacher education varied from teacher to teacher. Nevertheless, it was argued that pre-service and in-service teacher education will play an important role in helping future EFL teachers make and understand the choices they make about reading materials and pracices, so that they can meet the demands of increasingly diverse classrooms due to differences in linguistic, social and national backgrounds between pupils.

  13. Critical reading and critical thinking Critical reading and critical thinking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loni Kreis Taglieber

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to provide, for L1 and L2 reading and writing teachers, a brief overview of the literature about critical reading and higher level thinking skills. The teaching of these skills is still neglected in some language classes in Brazil, be it in L1 or in L2 classes. Thus, this paper may also serve as a resource guide for L1 and/or L2 reading and writing teachers who want to incorporate critical reading and thinking into their classes. In modern society, even in everyday life people frequently need to deal with complicated public and political issues, make decisions, and solve problems. In order to do this efficiently and effectively, citizens must be able to evaluate critically what they see, hear, and read. Also, with the huge amount of printed material available in all areas in this age of “information explosion” it is easy to feel overwhelmed. But often the information piled up on people’s desks and in their minds is of no use due to the enormous amount of it. The purpose of this paper is to provide, for L1 and L2 reading and writing teachers, a brief overview of the literature about critical reading and higher level thinking skills. The teaching of these skills is still neglected in some language classes in Brazil, be it in L1 or in L2 classes. Thus, this paper may also serve as a resource guide for L1 and/or L2 reading and writing teachers who want to incorporate critical reading and thinking into their classes. In modern society, even in everyday life people frequently need to deal with complicated public and political issues, make decisions, and solve problems. In order to do this efficiently and effectively, citizens must be able to evaluate critically what they see, hear, and read. Also, with the huge amount of printed material available in all areas in this age of “information explosion” it is easy to feel overwhelmed. But often the information piled up on people’s desks and in their minds is of

  14. Does Performance in Digital Reading Relate to Computer Game Playing? A Study of Factor Structure and Gender Patterns in 15-Year-Olds' Reading Literacy Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasmusson, Maria; Åberg-Bengtsson, Lisbeth

    2015-01-01

    Data from a Swedish PISA-sample were used (1) to identify a digital reading factor, (2) to investigate gender differences in this factor (if found), and (3) to explore how computer game playing might relate to digital reading performance and gender. The analyses were conducted with structural equation modeling techniques. In addition to an overall…

  15. Readability assessment of internet-based patient education materials related to mammography for breast cancer screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    AlKhalili, Rend; Shukla, Pratik A; Patel, Ronak H; Sanghvi, Saurin; Hubbi, Basil

    2015-03-01

    The US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) recommends that Internet-based patient education materials (IPEMs) be written below the sixth-grade reading level to target the average American adult. This study was designed to determine the readability of IPEMs regarding mammography for breast cancer screening. Three-hundred mammography-related Web sites were reviewed for IPEMs. Forty-two IPEMs that met the Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct were assessed for readability level with four readability indices that use existing algorithms based on word and sentence length to quantitatively analyze Internet sources for language intricacy including the following: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), and Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook (Gunning FOG; GFOG). Results were compared to national recommendations, and intergroup analysis was performed. No IPEMs (0%) regarding mammography were written at or below the sixth-grade reading level, based on FKGL. The mean readability scores were as follows: FRES, 49.04 ± 10.62; FKGL, 10.71 ± 2.01; SMOG, 13.33 ± 1.67; and Gunning FOG, 14.32 ± 2.18. These scores indicate that the readability of mammography IPEMs is written at a "difficult" level, significantly above the recommended sixth-grade reading level (P < .05) determined by the USDHHS. IPEMs related to mammography are written well above the recommended sixth-grade level and likely reflect other IPEMs in diagnostic radiology. Copyright © 2015 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Reading New Environments: Students' Ability to Generalise Their Understanding between Different Ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magntorn, Ola; Hellden, Gustav

    2007-01-01

    This paper is based on a study of how students' read nature in different ecosystems. Its focus is on ecology and the context is outdoors. This literacy has to do with an ability to recognise organisms and relate them to material cycling and energy flow in the specific habitat that is to be read. A teaching sequence was designed in order to develop…

  17. Improving Reading Comprehension Skills through Reading Strategies Used by a Group of Foreign Language Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nancy Gómez Torres

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available A research study included the examination and implementation of a variety of strategies in order to improve students’ reading comprehension skills in a foreign language. Reading is the process of identification, interpretation and perception of written or printed material. Comprehension is the understanding of the meaning of written material and involves the conscious strategies that lead to understanding. The reading strategies are conscious techniques or unconscious processes employed by readers in their attempt to make sense of the written text (Barnett as cited by Gascoigne, 2005. Thus, the main goal of this piece of research was to implement some reading strategies in 2 elementary courses in EFL in order to obtain better results in the middle and long term in class and on ECAES, MICHIGAN, MELICET and PET tests.

  18. Relative productivity levels, 1947-1973: an international comparison. [US and eight major trading partners

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christensen, L.R. (Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison); Cummings, D.; Jorgenson, D.W.

    1981-05-01

    This paper provides an international comparison of levels of output, input, and productivity for the US and 8 of its major trading partners - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It first compares levels of output per capita in 1970 and allocates differences in these levels among differences in levels of capital and labor input per capita and differences in total factor productivity. Output per capita relative to the US in 1970 varied from 0.101 for Korea to 0.811 for Canada. For the industrialized countries except Canada, the range was from 0.460 for Italy to 0.721 for Germany. Variations in capital input per capita relative to the US were greater than for output, running from 0.082 for Korea to 0.920 for Canada. Again, excluding Canada, the range for industrialized countries was from 0.325 for Japan to 0.709 for Germany. Differences between levels of total factor productivity in the US and the eight remaining countries in 1970 were much smaller than differences in output per capita. Secondly, relative levels of output, input, and productivity are compared among all 9 countries for the period 1947 to 1973. The time-series results show that relative levels of output per capita between the US and its 8 trading partners have narrowed substantially during the postwar period. Levels of capital per capita have also narrowed throughout the postwar period for all countries relative to the US. Finally, relative productivity levels between the US and its major trading partners have narrowed substantially over the postwar period. For the 7 industrialized countries relative productivity levels in 1973 fell within the narrow range of 0.775 for the United Kingdom to 0.907 for Canada. For Korea the productivity gap remained very substantial; its level relative to the United States was 0.348. 46 references, 14 tables.

  19. Improvement of lithium chloride dew-point hygrometer for direct reading and controlling of relative humidity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, X.Z.; Chu, Y.

    1986-01-01

    The lithium chloride dew-point hygrometer has many advantages over other types of hygrometers. However, it only reads and controls the dew-point temperature of air instead of the relative humidity, which is more important in industry, agriculture, food storage, and hygiene. This paper describes a new hygrometer which is based on the same principle as the lithium chloride dew-point hygrometer, but it can read and control the relative humidity directly. The instrument is quick in response and the ranges of temperature and relative humidity are quite large. Its accuracy is normally within 3% RH and its precision is within 2% RH.

  20. Selected Readings in Genetic Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mertens, Thomas R.; Robinson, Sandra K.

    1973-01-01

    Describes different sources of readings for understanding issues and concepts of genetic engineering. Broad categories of reading materials are: concerns about genetic engineering; its background; procedures; and social, ethical and legal issues. References are listed. (PS)

  1. 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.

  2. Relation Between Reading and Quality of Life of Adolescents: Results of Cohort Cross-Sectional Sequential Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena G. Vikhareva

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Determination and monitoring of the quality of life of adolescents are needed to examine the social conditions of their life.Objective: Our aim was to study the relation between reading books and the number of read books with the quality of life of adolescents. Patients and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional cohort study where examined the quality of life of children aged 13–18 years attending secondary educational institutions of Izhevsk city and Udmurtia rural districts. Using PedsQL questionnaire, we analyzed the physical, emotional and social component of the quality of life of adolescents, school functioning and overall assessment score of the quality of life. The attitude to reading was determined by the results of the answers to questions about the love of reading (yes/no and the number of read books.Results: The study included 2,947 high school students, in which 2,473 (83.9% adolescents indicated their attitude toward reading. It has been shown that students who enjoy reading (42.2% have a lower assessment score of the quality of life on the scale of «emotional functioning» (66 ± 17 and higher — on the scale of «school functioning» (69 ± 15 than their peers not liking to read (68 ± 16 and 66 ± 15, respectively; p < 0.001. The number of read books was associated with the quality of life assessment on the scale of «physical functioning» and «school functioning» as well as with the assessment of the social component of quality of life for girls.Conclusion: The studied factors («reading books» and «the number of read books» are related to the quality of life of adolescents that may be taken into account in the preparation of educational programs.

  3. 15 CFR 30.52 - Foreign Trade Zones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Foreign Trade Zones. 30.52 Section 30.52 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FOREIGN TRADE REGULATIONS Import Requirements § 30.52 Foreign Trade Zones. Foreign...

  4. Reading, Demographic, Social and Psychological Factors Related to Pre-adolescent Smoking and Non-smoking Behaviors and Attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunseri, Albert J.; And Others

    1983-01-01

    A study examined reading, demographic, social, and psychological factors related to preadolescent smoking and nonsmoking behaviors and attitudes. Variables studied included reading achievement, family involvement, and racial and sex differences. (Authors/CJ)

  5. Environment, Trade, and Investment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Environment, trade, and investment are fundamentally linked as the environment provides many basic inputs of economic activity – forests, fisheries, metals, minerals – as well as the energy used to process those materials.

  6. Health literacy demands of written health information materials: an assessment of cervical cancer prevention materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helitzer, Deborah; Hollis, Christine; Cotner, Jane; Oestreicher, Nancy

    2009-01-01

    Health literacy requires reading and writing skills as well as knowledge of health topics and health systems. Materials written at high reading levels with ambiguous, technical, or dense text, often place great comprehension demands on consumers with lower literacy skills. This study developed and used an instrument to analyze cervical cancer prevention materials for readability, comprehensibility, suitability, and message design. The Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) was amended for ease of use, inclusivity, and objectivity with the encouragement of the original developers. Other novel contributions were specifically related to "comprehensibility" (CAM). The resulting SAM + CAM was used to score 69 materials for content, literacy demand, numeric literacy, graphics, layout/typography, and learning stimulation variables. Expert reviewers provided content validation. Inter-rater reliability was "substantial" (kappa = .77). The mean reading level of materials was 11th grade. Most materials (68%) scored as "adequate" for comprehensibility, suitability, and message design; health education brochures scored better than other materials. Only one-fifth were ranked "superior" for ease of use and comprehensibility. Most written materials have a readability level that is too high and require improvement in ease of use and comprehensibility for the majority of readers.

  7. Writing to Read: A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Writing and Writing Instruction on Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Steve; Hebert, Michael

    2011-01-01

    Reading is critical to students' success in and out of school. One potential means for improving students' reading is writing. In this meta-analysis of true and quasi-experiments, Graham and Herbert present evidence that writing about material read improves students' comprehension of it; that teaching students how to write improves their reading…

  8. Individual differences in executive control relate to metaphor processing: an eye movement study of sentence reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Columbus, Georgie; Sheikh, Naveed A; Côté-Lecaldare, Marilena; Häuser, Katja; Baum, Shari R; Titone, Debra

    2014-01-01

    Metaphors are common elements of language that allow us to creatively stretch the limits of word meaning. However, metaphors vary in their degree of novelty, which determines whether people must create new meanings on-line or retrieve previously known metaphorical meanings from memory. Such variations affect the degree to which general cognitive capacities such as executive control are required for successful comprehension. We investigated whether individual differences in executive control relate to metaphor processing using eye movement measures of reading. Thirty-nine participants read sentences including metaphors or idioms, another form of figurative language that is more likely to rely on meaning retrieval. They also completed the AX-CPT, a domain-general executive control task. In Experiment 1, we examined sentences containing metaphorical or literal uses of verbs, presented with or without prior context. In Experiment 2, we examined sentences containing idioms or literal phrases for the same participants to determine whether the link to executive control was qualitatively similar or different to Experiment 1. When metaphors were low familiar, all people read verbs used as metaphors more slowly than verbs used literally (this difference was smaller for high familiar metaphors). Executive control capacity modulated this pattern in that high executive control readers spent more time reading verbs when a prior context forced a particular interpretation (metaphorical or literal), and they had faster total metaphor reading times when there was a prior context. Interestingly, executive control did not relate to idiom processing for the same readers. Here, all readers had faster total reading times for high familiar idioms than literal phrases. Thus, executive control relates to metaphor but not idiom processing for these readers, and for the particular metaphor and idiom reading manipulations presented.

  9. Individual Differences in Executive Control Relate to Metaphor Processing: An Eye Movement Study of Sentence Reading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgie eColumbus

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Metaphors are common elements of language that allow us to creatively stretch the limits of word meaning. However, metaphors vary in their degree of novelty, which determines whether people must create new meanings on-line or retrieve previously known metaphorical meanings from memory. Such variations affect the degree to which general cognitive capacities such as executive control are required for successful comprehension.We investigated whether individual differences in executive control relate to metaphor processing using eye movement measures of reading. Thirty-nine participants read sentences including metaphors or idioms, another form of figurative language that is more likely to rely on meaning retrieval. They also completed the AX-CPT, a domain-general executive control task. In Experiment 1, we examined sentences containing metaphorical or literal uses of verbs, presented with or without prior context. In Experiment 2, we examined sentences containing idioms or literal phrases for the same participants to determine whether the link to executive control was qualitatively similar or different to Experiment 1.When metaphors were low familiar, all people read verbs used as metaphors more slowly than verbs used literally (this difference was smaller for high familiar metaphors. Executive control capacity modulated this pattern in that high executive control readers spent more time reading verbs when a prior context forced a particular interpretation (metaphorical or literal, and they had faster total metaphor reading times when there was a prior context. Interestingly, executive control did not relate to idiom processing for the same readers. Here, all readers had faster total reading times for high familiar idioms than literal phrases. Thus, executive control relates to metaphor but not idiom processing for these readers, and for the particular metaphor and idiom reading manipulations presented.

  10. Readability of sports medicine-related patient education materials from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganta, Abhishek; Yi, Paul H; Hussein, Khalil; Frank, Rachel M

    2014-04-01

    Although studies have revealed high readability levels of orthopedic patient education materials, no study has evaluated sports medicine-related patient education materials. We conducted a study to assess the readability of sports medicine-related patient education materials from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM). All sports medicine patient education articles available online in 2012 from the AAOS and the AOSSM, including the Stop Sports Injuries Campaign (STOP), were identified, and their readability was assessed with the Flesch-Kinkaid (FK) readability test. Mean overall FK grade level of the 170 articles reviewed (104 from AAOS, 36 from AOSSM, 30 from STOP) was 10.2. Mean FK levels for the 3 sources were 9.5 (AAOS), 11.0 (AOSSM), and 11.5 (STOP) (P = .16). Fifteen (8.8%) of the 170 articles had a readability level at or below eighth grade (average reading level of US adults); only 2 (1.2%) of the 170 articles were at or below the recommended sixth-grade level. The majority of sports medicine-related patient education materials from AAOS and AOSSM had reading levels higher than recommended, indicating that the majority of the patient population may find it difficult to comprehend these articles.

  11. How directional change in reading/writing habits relates to directional change in displayed pictures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hachoung; Oh, Songjoo

    2016-01-01

    It has been suggested that reading/writing habits may influence the appreciation of pictures. For example, people who read and write in a rightward direction have an aesthetic preference for pictures that face rightward over pictures that face leftward, and vice versa. However, correlations for this phenomenon have only been found in cross-cultural studies. Will a directional change in reading/writing habits within a culture relate to changes in picture preference? Korea is a good place to research this question because the country underwent gradual changes in reading/writing direction habits, from leftward to rightward, during the 20th century. In this study, we analyzed the direction of drawings and photos published in the two oldest newspapers in Korea from 1920-2013. The results show that the direction of the drawings underwent a clear shift from the left to the right, but the direction of the photos did not change. This finding suggests a close psychological link between the habits of reading/writing and drawing that cannot be accounted for simply by an accidental correspondence across different cultures.

  12. Children's understanding of Aesop's fables: relations to reading comprehension and theory of mind.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelletier, Janette; Beatty, Ruth

    2015-01-01

    Two studies examined children's developing understanding of Aesop's fables in relation to reading comprehension and to theory of mind. Study 1 included 172 children from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 6 in a school-wide examination of the relation between reading comprehension skills and understanding of Aesop's fables told orally. Study 2 examined the relation between theory of mind and fables understanding among 186 Junior (4-year-old) and Senior (5-year-old) Kindergarten children. Study 1 results showed a developmental progression in fables understanding with children's responses becoming increasingly decontextualized as they were able to extract the life lesson. After general vocabulary, passage comprehension predicted fables understanding. Study 2 results showed a relation between young children's theory of mind development and their understanding of fables. After general vocabulary, second-order theory of mind predicted children's fables understanding. Findings point to the importance of developing mental state awareness in children's ability to judge characters' intentions and to understand the deeper message embedded in fables.

  13. The Relation Between Caregivers' Multiliterate Reading Habits and Their Children's Oral Health Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Caregivers’ oral health literacy (OHL) assessment results have been found to be related to their children’s oral health status. A further aspect of this relationship may be the role of caregivers’ reading habits. Objective Our goal was to describe the relationship between caregivers’ multimodal (digital and print) and multilingual (English and Chinese) reading habits, their OHL, and their child’s oral health status in Hong Kong. Methods A random sample of 301 child-caregiver dyads was recruited from kindergartens in Hong Kong. Data included sociodemographic information and caregivers’ self-reported digital print and reading habits across two languages (Chinese and English). Caregivers’ OHL levels were assessed by two locally developed and validated oral health literacy assessment tasks: Hong Kong Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry-30 (HKREALD-30) and the Hong Kong Oral Health Literacy Assessment Task for Pediatric Dentistry (HKOHLAT-P). Children’s oral health status was assessed using two measures: dental caries experience (number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth) and oral hygiene status (Visible Plaque Index). Results Bivariate variations revealed significant differences in mean OHL scores between caregivers with different reading habits (Preading multimodal (print/digital) and multilingual (English/Chinese) texts, their literacy levels, and their children’s oral health status (Preading habits in the regression analysis, the caregivers' habit of reading digital and print texts was significantly retained in the final model. Regression analysis revealed significant associations between caregivers’ reading habits (digital Chinese) and their OHL word recognition scores: OR 5.00, 95% CI 1.10-3.65, P=.027. Significant associations were also evident for their OHL comprehension scores (digital Chinese: OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.30-4.20, P=.004; print Chinese: OR 2.50, 95% CI 1.40-4.30, P=.001). However, no significant associations

  14. Does testing with feedback improve adult spelling skills relative to copying and reading?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Steven C; Rubin, Benjamin R; Rickard, Timothy C

    2015-12-01

    We examined testing's ability to enhance adult spelling acquisition, relative to copying and reading. Across 3 experiments in which testing with feedback was compared with copying, the spelling improvement after testing matched that following the same amount of time spent copying. A potent testing advantage, however, was observed for spelling words free-recalled. In the fourth experiment, a large testing advantage for both word free recall and spelling was observed, versus reading. Subjects also generally preferred testing and rated it as more effective than copying or reading. The equivalent performance of testing and copying for spelling contrasts with prior work involving children and suggests that retrieval practice may not be the only effective mechanism for spelling skill acquisition. Rather, we suggest that the critical learning event for spelling is focused study on phoneme-to-grapheme mappings for previously unlearned letter sequences. For adults with extensive spelling expertise, focused study is more automatic during both copying and testing with feedback than for individuals with beginning spelling skills. Reading, however, would not be expected to produce efficient focused study of phoneme-to-grapheme mappings, regardless of expertise level. Overall, adult spelling skill acquisition benefits both from testing and copying, and substantially less from reading. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Detection of target phonemes in spontaneous and read speech

    OpenAIRE

    Mehta, G.; Cutler, A.

    1988-01-01

    Although spontaneous speech occurs more frequently in most listeners’ experience than read speech, laboratory studies of human speech recognition typically use carefully controlled materials read from a script. The phonological and prosodic characteristics of spontaneous and read speech differ considerably, however, which suggests that laboratory results may not generalize to the recognition of spontaneous and read speech materials, and their response time to detect word-initial target phonem...

  16. CO{sub 2} emissions trading. A study on the conditions and necessities for starting national emissions trading; CO{sub 2} -paeaestoekauppa. Selvitys kansallisen paeaestoekaupan kaeyttoeoenoton edellytyksistae sekae siinae huomioitavista seikoista

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maeaettae, K.

    2000-02-01

    This study analyses the applicability of emissions trading as a means of steering climate policy. Attention is paid to limiting carbon dioxide emissions in particular at national level. The model used in the implementation of national CO{sub 2} emissions trading are the emissions trading schemes applied in the United States, especially the trading in sulphur dioxide allowances, included in their Acid Rain Programme. All schemes applied until now are studied in order to specify what kinds of hindrances there could be to the well-functioning of emissions trading and also to map out what kinds of institutional innovations have been developed in practice to improve emissions trading. This study excludes the joint implementation procedure and the clean development mechanism. In fact, international control related to climate policy has been left to minor attention in other respects, too. In addition to the subjects mentioned above, this study also describes the terminological and legal framework within which emissions trading is to be practised. In this connection, it has been considered necessary to deal with technical legislative details, since, as it has been stated in relation to emissions trading, 'the devil is likely to be in details'. Thus this study discusses, among others, issues pertaining to the construing of. the criterion for an emission quota, i.e. what is actually traded in emissions trading, how the emission quotas and rights can be used (e.g. the emission deposit and emission derivatives), what kinds of provisions should be laid down on eligibility to emissions trading or on who can participate in emissions trading, what should be the validity period of an emission right, what would be the most appropriate way to organise the administrative control of emissions trading, and what kinds of sanctions should be laid down for infringements related to emissions trading. This study has been carried out by examining mainly U.S. literature on this

  17. Trade Finance and Trade Collapse during the Global Financial Crisis: Evidence from the Republic of Korea

    OpenAIRE

    E. Young Song

    2014-01-01

    This study examines the role of trade finance in the trade collapse of 2008-09 from the perspective of the Korean economy. We use two approaches. Firstly, as background to a more formal analysis, we make a casual observation on the behavior of aggregate data on trade finance, on which Korea has relatively abundant data. Aggregate data do not convincingly support the view that trade finance played an active role in causing the trade collapse. The measures of trade finance and the value of trad...

  18. Metatextual Awareness, reading comprehension and story summary – possible relations in a psycholinguistic perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marília Marques Lopes

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Even before formal education, children have a long term for developing their abilities of reading and writing, and these abilities relate to both reading comprehension and awareness of texts, whatever they are. This Metatextual Awareness, according to Jean-Émile Gombert (1992, comprises coherence, cohesion and text structure, and is a factor that can determine a good comprehension, as well as summary writing. The thesis this article is about employed Gombert’s theoretical framework on that subject, and dealt with correlations among metatextual awareness, reading comprehension and summary writing of narratives by 5th and 6th grade students in three public schools in Porto Alegre. To check these correlations, we applied simple choice tests to evaluate metatextual awareness and reading comprehension, and also a test of summary writing through a reference framework comprising categories like main events, writing autonomy and narrative structure. The results of these three aspects were related and we found that for summarizing a story the most important is the subject’s metatextual ability, or his attention to source text. At the same time, this metatextual awareness is also relevant to text comprehension as it is a kind of frame that guides him in understanding a story.

  19. International trade disputes in modern regulatory paradigm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamara Gordeeva

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This article studies the latest trends observed in the area of contradictory relations between countries with regard to international trade, which cause changes in the paradigm of international trade disputes. It has been found out that any state of inconsistent relations between the countries is recently characterized as a «trade war». It has been analyzed the notions of «dispute», «conflict», «war» according to international regulatory documents and determined the applicability of these terms depending on a number of criteria. It has been studied the evolution of the objects of international trade disputes since the time of ancient Greece until today, and new trends based on this have been revealed with regard to use of trade policy instruments that cause disputes between countries. Several specific examples of international trade disputes and causes of their occurrence have been considered. A quantitative analysis of international trade disputes in general and in relations between the leading countries in terms of a number of the trade disputes in which they were involved has been performed.

  20. Automatic and creative skills in reading Automatic and creative skills in reading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonor Scliar Cabral

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available In this article I will discuss the automatic and creative skills in reading, focusing on the differences between 1 processes involved while learning how to read and processes employed by the proficient reader and 2 knowledge for using language and metalinguistic awareness. The arguments will derive mainly from the definition of reading as a process where the receivers combine the information extracted from the written material with their specialized knowledge activated during this process (i.e. linguistic systems and correspondent rules and enciclopedic knowledge in order to comprehend, interpret and internalize structured new information and/or to experience aesthetic pleasure. Evidence to illustrate the arguments comes from experiments (1 with pre-school children and beginning readers on narrativity and on the dichotic paradigm, and with illiterate and literate adults with diferent levels of proficiency of reading in a task of erasing an initial syllable and an initial consonant. In this article I will discuss the automatic and creative skills in reading, focusing on the differences between 1 processes involved while learning how to read and processes employed by the proficient reader and 2 knowledge for using language and metalinguistic awareness. The arguments will derive mainly from the definition of reading as a process where the receivers combine the information extracted from the written material with their specialized knowledge activated during this process (i.e. linguistic systems and correspondent rules and enciclopedic knowledge in order to comprehend, interpret and internalize structured new information and/or to experience aesthetic pleasure. Evidence to illustrate the arguments comes from experiments (1 with pre-school children and beginning readers on narrativity and on the dichotic paradigm, and with illiterate and literate adults with diferent levels of proficiency of reading in a task of erasing an initial syllable

  1. Assessing international trade in healthcare services

    OpenAIRE

    Herman, Lior

    2009-01-01

    Growing evidence indicates that international trade in healthcare services is growing. Nevertheless, a major literature gap exists with regard to the nature of international healthcare trade and its extent. Taking a comprehensive approach, this research examines the magnitude, directions, patterns of specialisation, growth and other aspects related to international trade in healthcare services. Within this framework, trade is analysed with regard to cross border trade, consumption of healthca...

  2. Challenges to the Multilateral Trading System

    OpenAIRE

    Peter Sutherland

    2007-01-01

    Ever since the GATT was established in 1948, the growth in international trade and economic growth has been remarkable. The traditional mercantilism of trade relations is less and less appropriate for the global economy. Bilateral trade deals make the business environment more complex and unpredictable. Preferential trading agreements erode the principle of non-discrimination. They distort trade away from the underlying comparative advantage; create rents which are appropriated by special pro...

  3. Readability and quality assessment of internet-based patient education materials related to laryngeal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narwani, Vishal; Nalamada, Keerthana; Lee, Michael; Kothari, Prasad; Lakhani, Raj

    2016-04-01

    Patients are increasingly using the internet to access health-related information. The purpose of this study was to assess the readability and quality of laryngeal cancer-related websites. Patient education materials were identified by performing an internet search using 3 search engines. Readability was assessed using Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), and Gunning Fog Index (GFI). The DISCERN instrument was utilized to assess quality of health information. A total of 54 websites were included in the analysis. The mean readability scores were as follows: FRES, 48.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 44.8-51.6); FKGL, 10.9 (95% CI = 10.3-11.5); and GFI, 13.8 (95% CI = 11.3-16.3). These scores suggest that, on average, online information about patients with laryngeal cancer is written at an advanced level. The mean DISCERN score was 49.8 (95% CI = 45.4-54.2), suggesting that online information is of variable quality. Our study suggests much of the laryngeal cancer information available online is of suboptimal quality and written at a level too difficult for the average adult to read comfortably. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. 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.

  5. 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

  6. The Relation between Reading Skills and Eye Movement Patterns in Adolescent Readers: Evidence from a Regular Orthography.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdalena Krieber

    Full Text Available Over the past decades, the relation between reading skills and eye movement behavior has been well documented in English-speaking cohorts. As English and German differ substantially with regard to orthographic complexity (i.e. grapheme-phoneme correspondence, we aimed to delineate specific characteristics of how reading speed and reading comprehension interact with eye movements in typically developing German-speaking (Austrian adolescents. Eye movements of 22 participants (14 females; mean age = 13;6 years;months were tracked while they were performing three tasks, namely silently reading words, texts, and pseudowords. Their reading skills were determined by means of a standardized German reading speed and reading comprehension assessment (Lesegeschwindigkeits- und -verständnistest für Klassen 6-12. We found that (a reading skills were associated with various eye movement parameters in each of the three reading tasks; (b better reading skills were associated with an increased efficiency of eye movements, but were primarily linked to spatial reading parameters, such as the number of fixations per word, the total number of saccades and saccadic amplitudes; (c reading speed was a more reliable predictor for eye movement parameters than reading comprehension; (d eye movements were highly correlated across reading tasks, which indicates consistent reading performances. Contrary to findings in English-speaking cohorts, the reading skills neither consistently correlated with temporal eye movement parameters nor with the number or percentage of regressions made while performing any of the three reading tasks. These results indicate that, although reading skills are associated with eye movement patterns irrespective of language, the temporal and spatial characteristics of this association may vary with orthographic consistency.

  7. The Effect of Background Music While Silent Reading on EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    sakineh sahebdel

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This study attempted to determine the effect of background music while silent reading on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension. The participants were 57 Iranian EFL learners between the ages of 14 and 16 in two 3rd grade high schoolclasses at pre-intermediate proficiency level. Before treatment,both experimental and control groups took a reading comprehension pretest. In the experimental group, the researchers played Mozart sonatas as background music and asked them to read the passage silently and then answer the reading comprehension questions. In the control group, the procedure was the same, but no music was played while silent reading by the students. After ten sessions, the students of both groups were asked to answer another independent but parallel form of reading section of PET as their post-test. The independent samples t-testresultsindicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group in reading comprehension posttest, and listening to background music while silent reading had a significantly positive effect on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension. The results of the present study have implications for EFL students, teachers, and teacher educators as well as syllabus designers and materials developers.

  8. Forecasting market impact costs and identifying expensive trades

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bikker, Jacob A.; Spierdijk, L.; Hoevenaars, Roy P.M.M.; van der Sluis, Pieter Jelle

    Often, a relatively small group of trades causes the major part of the trading costs on an investment portfolio. Consequently, reducing the trading costs of comparatively few expensive trades would already result in substantial savings on total trading costs. Since trading costs depend to some

  9. Novice Teachers' Knowledge of Reading-Related Disabilities and Dyslexia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washburn, Erin K.; Mulcahy, Candance A.; Musante, Gail; Joshi, R. Malatesha

    2017-01-01

    Current understandings about the nature of persistent reading problems have been influenced by researchers in numerous fields. Researchers have noted that a current and accurate understanding of reading disabilities, such as dyslexia, can be helpful in assessing, teaching and supporting individuals with persistent reading problems. The purpose of…

  10. Effects of audio-visual aids on foreign language test anxiety, reading and listening comprehension, and retention in EFL learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Shu-Ping; Lee, Shin-Da; Liao, Yuan-Lin; Wang, An-Chi

    2015-04-01

    This study examined the effects of audio-visual aids on anxiety, comprehension test scores, and retention in reading and listening to short stories in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. Reading and listening tests, general and test anxiety, and retention were measured in English-major college students in an experimental group with audio-visual aids (n=83) and a control group without audio-visual aids (n=94) with similar general English proficiency. Lower reading test anxiety, unchanged reading comprehension scores, and better reading short-term and long-term retention after four weeks were evident in the audiovisual group relative to the control group. In addition, lower listening test anxiety, higher listening comprehension scores, and unchanged short-term and long-term retention were found in the audiovisual group relative to the control group after the intervention. Audio-visual aids may help to reduce EFL learners' listening test anxiety and enhance their listening comprehension scores without facilitating retention of such materials. Although audio-visual aids did not increase reading comprehension scores, they helped reduce EFL learners' reading test anxiety and facilitated retention of reading materials.

  11. International trade in carbon emission rights and basic materials: General equilibrium calculations for 2020

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perroni, C.; Rutherford, T.F.

    1993-01-01

    Restrictions on CO 2 emissions affect international trade and the pattern of comparative advantage. This paper, based on calculations with a static general equilibrium model, suggests that international trade in carbon rights is a substitute for trade in energy-intensive goods, and thus international trading in carbon rights reduces sectoral effects of emission reductions. In our model, we surprisingly find that free riding by non-signatory countries may not render unilateral action ineffective. If the OECD unilaterally cuts global emissions by 5 per cent from 1990 levels by the year 2020, emission by non-OECD regions increase but offset less than 15 per cent of this cutback. Moreover, carbon taxes depress international oil prices and create incentives for increased trade in natural gas. 14 refs, 7 figs

  12. Global timber trade pattern: the cards have changed

    OpenAIRE

    Roda Jean-Marc; Rohana Abd Rahman; Ismariah Ahmad; Lim Hin Fui; Mohd Parid Mamat

    2011-01-01

    Since the 1960s, the global timber trade has gradually evolved from a South-North trade to a South-South trade, with an acceleration of the phenomenon in the mid 1990s. Nowadays, Asia consumes more than 70% (in round wood equivalent) of the forest products originating from the tropics. Africa becomes the new frontier for the supplies of wood material for Asian giants, which now source raw wood from all over the world. Since the mid 1990s, the dynamics of the tropical timber trade have been in...

  13. Reading and Listening Comprehension and Their Relation to Inattention and Hyperactivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cain, Kate; Bignell, Simon

    2014-01-01

    Background: Children with diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently have reading problems. To date, it is not clear whether poor reading is associated with both inattention and hyperactivity and also whether poor reading comprehension is the result of poor word reading skills or more general language comprehension…

  14. Trade networks in West Africa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walther, Olivier

    2014-01-01

    To date, most of the literature on trade networks in West Africa has considered networks in a metaphorical way. The aim of this paper is to go one step further by showing how social network analysis may be applied to the study of regional trade in West Africa. After a brief review of the literature......, this exploratory paper investigates two main issues related to regional trade. We start by discussing how recent developments in regional trade in West Africa have contributed to challenging the social structure of traders. We then discuss the changes that have affected the spatiality of regional trade by looking...

  15. easyCBM® Reading Criterion Related Validity Evidence: Grades K-1. Technical Report #1309

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Cheng-Fei; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2013-01-01

    In this technical report, we present the results of a study to gather criterion-related evidence for Grade K-1 easyCBM® reading measures. We used correlations to examine the relation between the easyCBM® measures and other published measures with known reliability and validity evidence, including the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy…

  16. How working memory relates to children's reading comprehension: The importance of domain-specificity in storage and processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nouwens, S.; Groen, M.A.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.

    2017-01-01

    Working memory is considered a well-established predictor of individual variation in reading comprehension in children and adults. However, how storage and processing capacities of working memory in both the phonological and semantic domain relate to reading comprehension is still unclear. In the

  17. Integrating Reading and Technology: The Development of "Pamanpintermu"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arifani, Yudhi; Rosyid, Harunur

    2016-01-01

    Reading as one of English skills has paramount features in shaping EFL English competence. Referring to the importance for reading, it is inevitable that teaching method, assessments tools, reading material and activities have indispensable tasks to attain EFL learners' reading objectives. This study is intended to develop integrated reading…

  18. Reading performance with low-vision aids and vision-related quality of life after macular translocation surgery in patients with age-related macular degeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Nhung X; Besch, Dorothea; Bartz-Schmidt, Karl; Gelisken, Faik; Trauzettel-Klosinski, Susanne

    2007-12-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate the power of magnification required, reading performance with low-vision aids and vision-related quality of life with reference to reading ability and ability to carry out day-to-day activities in patients after macular translocation. This study included 15 patients who had undergone macular translocation with 360-degree peripheral retinectomy. The mean length of follow-up was 19.2 +/- 10.8 months (median 11 months). At the final examination, the impact of visual impairment on reading ability and quality of life was assessed according to a modified 9-item questionnaire in conjunction with a comprehensive clinical examination, which included assessment of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), the magnification power required for reading, use of low-vision aids and reading speed. Patients rated the extent to which low vision restricted their ability to read and participate in other activities that affect quality of life. Responses were scored on a scale of 1.0 (optimum self-evaluation) to 5.0 (very poor). In the operated eye, overall mean postoperative BCVA (distance) was not significantly better than mean preoperative BCVA (0.11 +/- 0.06 and 0.15 +/- 0.08, respectively; p = 0.53). However, 53% of patients reported a subjective increase in visual function after treatment. At the final visit, the mean magnification required was x 7.7 +/- 6.7. A total of 60% of patients needed optical magnifiers for reading and in 40% of patients closed-circuit TV systems were necessary. All patients were able to read newspaper print using adapted low-vision aids at a mean reading speed of 71 +/- 40 words per minute. Mean self-reported scores were 3.2 +/- 1.1 for reading, 2.5 +/- 0.7 for day-to-day activities and 2.7 +/- 3.0 for outdoor walking and using steps or stairs. Patients' levels of dependency were significantly correlated with scores for reading (p = 0.01), day-to-day activities (p vision-related quality of life in patients after

  19. Production and trading of biomass for energy - An overview of the global status

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heinimoe, J.; Junginger, M.

    2009-01-01

    The markets for industrially used biomass for energy purposes are developing rapidly toward being international commodity markets. Determining international traded biomass volumes for energy purposes is difficult, for several reasons, such as challenges regarding the compilation of statistics on the topic. While for some markets (pellets and ethanol) separate overviews exist, no comprehensive statistics and summaries aggregating separate biomass streams are available. The aim of this paper is to summarise trade volumes for various biomasses used for energy and to review the challenges related to measurement of internationally traded volumes of biofuels. International trade of solid and liquid biofuels was estimated to be about 0.9 EJ for 2006. Indirect trade of biofuels thorough trading of industrial roundwood and material byproducts comprises the largest proportion of trading, having a share of about 0.6 EJ. The remaining amount consisted of products that are traded directly for energy purposes, with ethanol, wood pellets, and palm oil being the most important commodities. In 2004-2006, the direct trade of biofuels increased 60%, whereas indirect trade has been almost constant. When compared to current global energy use of biomass (about 50 EJ yr -1 ) and to the long-term theoretical trading potential between the major regions of the world (80-150 EJ yr -1 ), the development of international trade of biomass for energy purposes is in its initial stage, but it is expected to continue to grow rapidly. (author)

  20. Trade credit supply, market power and the matching of trade credit terms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fabbri, D.; Klapper, L.F.

    2008-01-01

    This paper studies the decision of firms to extend trade credit to customers and its relation with their financing decisions. We use a novel firm-level database with unique information on market power in both output and input markets and on the amount, terms and payment history of trade credit

  1. Psychometric Research in Reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Frederick B.

    This review of psychometric research in reading analyzes the factors which seem related to reading comprehension skills. Experimental analysis of reading comprehension by L. E. Thorndike revealed two major components: knowledge of word meanings and verbal reasoning abilities. Subsequent analysis of experimental studies of reading comprehension…

  2. U.S.-Peru Economic Relations and the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Villarreal, M. A

    2007-01-01

    .... A free trade agreement with Peru is one of several bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) negotiated or being considered by the United States with Latin American countries in its effort to advance free trade throughout the region...

  3. 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…

  4. Memory architecture for efficient utilization of SDRAM: a case study of the computation/memory access trade-off

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gleerup, Thomas Møller; Holten-Lund, Hans Erik; Madsen, Jan

    2000-01-01

    . In software, forward differencing is usually better, but in this hardware implementation, the trade-off has made it possible to develop a very regular memory architecture with a buffering system, which can reach 95% bandwidth utilization using off-the-shelf SDRAM, This is achieved by changing the algorithm......This paper discusses the trade-off between calculations and memory accesses in a 3D graphics tile renderer for visualization of data from medical scanners. The performance requirement of this application is a frame rate of 25 frames per second when rendering 3D models with 2 million triangles, i...... to use a memory access strategy with write-only and read-only phases, and a buffering system, which uses round-robin bank write-access combined with burst read-access....

  5. International trade. Multinational aspects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozawa, Y

    2000-01-01

    Of numerous regional economic agreements, the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), South American Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Agreement are examples that are actively pursuing regional integration for freer trade of animals and animal products. The World Trade Organization (WTO) believes that regional and multinational integration initiatives are complements rather than alternatives in the pursuit of more open trade. In the efforts to harmonize SPS standards among multilateral trading nations, it is recommended that national requirements meet the standards developed by the OIE and the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission as the minimum requirements rather than adopting the standards of the lowest common denominator. Regional grouping may hinder multilateral or bilateral trade between the countries of a group and those of the other groups. How to eliminate such non-tariff barriers as traditional trade custom remains to be examined. Ongoing activities of VICH (Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medical Products) may pave the way for more open trade in pharmaceutical products between multilateral regional groups.

  6. Theme: Parents and Reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jund, Suzanne, Ed.

    1977-01-01

    This journal issue concentrates on the theme "Parents and Reading." It presents articles on sharing books with young children, using public relations in a reading program, guiding preschool learning, assessing language readiness, working with reading problems, and teaching reading readiness in Wisconsin kindergartens. Resources and a review of…

  7. Introduction to International Trade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Intercom, 1986

    1986-01-01

    Focusing mainly on United States-Japan relations, this issue provides 11 lesson plans and student handouts dealing with international trade topics such as protective tariffs, currency exchange rates, unofficial trade barriers, causes of unemployment, the balance of payments and the internationalization of the automobile industry. (JDH)

  8. READ – developing literacy together

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Mette Vedsgaard

    2015-01-01

    -home literacy-intervention throughout a school year. The children in the intervention group (1500 children in year 2 and 3) received reading materials and their parents were informed about how to talk about texts, language and knowledge with their children through specially developed tools such as “reading...

  9. Trade and health: how World Trade Organization (WTO) law affects alcohol and public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumberg, Ben; Anderson, Peter

    2008-12-01

    The alcohol field is becoming more aware of the consequences of world trade law for alcohol policies. However, there is a need for greater clarity about the different effects of trade on alcohol-related harm. A comprehensive review of all literature on alcohol and world trade [including World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes on alcohol], supported by a more selective review of other relevant cases, academic reports and the grey literature on trade and health. The burden of WTO law on alcohol policies depends upon the type of policy in question. Purely protectionist policies are likely to be struck down, which may lead to increases in alcohol-related harm. Partly protectionist and partly health-motivated policies are also at risk of being struck down. However, purely health-motivated policies are likely to be defended by the WTO-and to the extent that policy makers misunderstand this, they are needlessly avoiding effective ways of reducing alcohol-related harm. WTO agreements contain genuine and substantial risks to alcohol policies, and various ways of minimizing future risks are suggested. However, the 'chilling effect' of mistakenly overestimating these constraints should be avoided. Health policy makers should decide on which policies to pursue based primarily on considerations of effectiveness, ethics and politics rather than legality. As long as any effect of these policies on trade is minimized, they are overwhelmingly likely to win any challenges at the WTO.

  10. Provision and Dissemination of Easy-To-Read Materials: An experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Faezeh Amini

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available -Patient education is one of the most important factors for the provision of patients and their families' rights at health centers. Some of the benefits of patient education include: Increasing the level of health literacy, developing self-care skills in chronic diseases, increasing knowledge about conditions, improving the quality of care and helping the patient to achieve more self-sufficiency and reducing health care costs. Medical Librarians can help health professionals and nurses to promote community health by identifying useful information as well as writing them in plain language. This paper reports an experience about creating a nongovernmental center for the provision and dissemination of easy-to-read materials. It is hoped that launching and supporting such centers, in addition to promoting community health, will guarantee the patients' rights to access high quality and authentic health educational resources. This can also provide a field for the participation of various health groups and the activities of graduates of the above fields.

  11. Multilateral, regional and bilateral energy trade governance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leal-Arcas, Rafael; Grasso, Costantino; Rios, Juan Alemany (Queen Mary Univ. of London (United Kingdom))

    2014-12-01

    The current international energy trade governance system is fragmented and multi-layered. Streamlining it for greater legal cohesiveness and international political and economic cooperation would promote global energy security. The current article explores three levels of energy trade governance: multilateral, regional and bilateral. Most energy-rich countries are part of the multilateral trading system, which is institutionalized by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The article analyzes the multilateral energy trade governance system by focusing on the WTO and energy transportation issues. Regionally, the article focuses on five major regional agreements and their energy-related aspects and examines the various causes that explain the proliferation of regional trade agreements, their compatibility with WTO law, and then provides several examples of regional energy trade governance throughout the world. When it comes to bilateral energy trade governance, this article only addresses the European Union’s (EU) bilateral energy trade relations. The article explores ways in which gaps could be filled and overlaps eliminated whilst remaining true to the high-level normative framework, concentrating on those measures that would enhance EU energy security.

  12. 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.

  13. Thermal Management Tools for Propulsion System Trade Studies and Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarthy, Kevin; Hodge, Ernie

    2011-01-01

    Energy-related subsystems in modern aircraft are more tightly coupled with less design margin. These subsystems include thermal management subsystems, vehicle electric power generation and distribution, aircraft engines, and flight control. Tighter coupling, lower design margins, and higher system complexity all make preliminary trade studies difficult. A suite of thermal management analysis tools has been developed to facilitate trade studies during preliminary design of air-vehicle propulsion systems. Simulink blocksets (from MathWorks) for developing quasi-steady-state and transient system models of aircraft thermal management systems and related energy systems have been developed. These blocksets extend the Simulink modeling environment in the thermal sciences and aircraft systems disciplines. The blocksets include blocks for modeling aircraft system heat loads, heat exchangers, pumps, reservoirs, fuel tanks, and other components at varying levels of model fidelity. The blocksets have been applied in a first-principles, physics-based modeling and simulation architecture for rapid prototyping of aircraft thermal management and related systems. They have been applied in representative modern aircraft thermal management system studies. The modeling and simulation architecture has also been used to conduct trade studies in a vehicle level model that incorporates coupling effects among the aircraft mission, engine cycle, fuel, and multi-phase heat-transfer materials.

  14. Note Launchers: Promoting Active Reading of Mathematics Textbooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helms, Josh W.; Helms, Kimberly Turner

    2010-01-01

    Note launchers, an instructor-designed reading guide, model how to select, decide, and focus upon what textbook material is important to learn. Reading guides are specially-designed study aids that can steer students through difficult parts of assigned readings (Bean, 1996) while encouraging advance preparation. As an example of a reading guide,…

  15. Regional trade and border markets between Niger, Benin and Nigeria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walther, Olivier; Tenikué, Michel; Kuepié, Mathias

    The objective of this methodological paper is to identify a number of products or sectors whose trade is relevant for border regions in West Africa. Focusing on Niger, Benin and Nigeria, we start with contextualising the importance of border markets by quantifying the changes in the relative values...... and volumes of imports and exports passing through border posts. In a second step, we determine which are the products most commonly found among the imports and exports of the border posts. The study shows that seven products are recognised as being heavily imported, subject to significant trade from large...... traders, and considered as re-export products: building materials, cereals and flour, textile, used clothing, used vehicles, cigarettes and oil....

  16. Environmental Regulation and International Trade

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mulatu, A. [London School of Economics, London (United Kingdom); Florax, R.J.G.M.; Withagen, C.A. [Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2004-07-01

    We empirically investigate the responsiveness of international trade to the stringency of environmental regulation. Stringent environmental regulation may impair the export competitiveness of 'dirty' domestic industries, and as a result, 'pollution havens' emerge in countries where environmental regulation is 'over-lax.' We examine the impact of pollution abatement and control costs on net exports in order to grasp this phenomenon. Theoretically, our analysis is related to a general equilibrium model of trade and pollution nesting the pollution haven motive for trade with the factor endowment motive. We analyze data on two-digit ISIC manufacturing industries during the period 1977-1992 in Germany, the Netherlands and the US, and show that trade patterns in 'dirty' commodities are jointly determined by relative factor endowments and environmental stringency differentials.

  17. Executive Functioning in Children, and Its Relations with Reasoning, Reading, and Arithmetic

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Sluis, Sophie; de Jong, Peter F.; van der Leij, Aryan

    2007-01-01

    The aims of this study were to investigate whether the executive functions, inhibition, shifting, and updating, are distinguishable as latent variables (common factors) in children aged 9 to 12, and to examine the relations between these executive functions and reading, arithmetic, and (non)verbal reasoning. Confirmatory factor analysis was used…

  18. A bird's-eye view of scientific trading: Dependency relations among fields of science

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yan, E.; Ding, Y.; Cronin, B.; Leydesdorff, L.

    2013-01-01

    We use a trading metaphor to study knowledge transfer in the sciences as well as the social sciences. The metaphor comprises four dimensions: (a) Discipline Self-dependence, (b) Knowledge Exports/Imports, (c) Scientific Trading Dynamics, and (d) Scientific Trading Impact. This framework is applied

  19. Transport Infrastructure of China in Modern Conditions and its Role in the Development of Trade and Economic Relations with Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasiya S. Volkova

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This article examines transport infrastructure of China, its features, advantages and disadvantages, as well as the impact on trade and economic relations between Russia and China. The role of investment in the relations between the two friendly countries is of particular importance for mutual economic development. With the aim of improving trade relations, long-term contracts are being established in the main areas in which partnership between countries is of strategic importance. Important points have been singled out, which contribute to building up the interaction between Russia and China.

  20. Trading away what kind of jobs? Globalization, trade and tasks in the US economy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemeny, Thomas; Rigby, David

    2012-04-01

    Economists and other social scientists are calling for a reassessment of the impact of international trade on labor markets in developed and developing countries. Classical models of globalization and trade, based upon the international exchange of finished goods, fail to capture the fragmentation of much commodity production and the geographical separation of individual production tasks. This fragmentation, captured in the growing volume of intra-industry trade, prompts investigation of the effects of trade within, rather than between, sectors of the economy. In this paper we examine the relationship between international trade and the task structure of US employment. We link disaggregate US trade data from 1972 to 2006, the NBER manufacturing database, the Decennial Census, and occupational and task data from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Within-industry shifts in task characteristics are linked to import competition and technological change. Our results suggest that trade has played a major role in the growth in relative demand for nonroutine tasks, particularly those requiring high levels of interpersonal interaction.

  1. SELF-PACED READING AND THE ACHIEVEMENT OF PERSIAN EFL LEARNERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amir Toghyani Khorasgani

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed at investigating the effects of reading goals on L2 reading comprehension in a computer-mediated environment when reading is self-paced by the learners and students are responsible for their own comprehension. Sixty participants (30 males & 30 females in three groups of 20 were involved. A computer program, written in C#.NET program, presented the text on the screen four lines at a time, and measured the amount of time students would spend on each page initially, how many times students re-read pages, and how much time students would spend re-reading pages. L2 learners’ comprehension and learning strategies were measured in three ways: recall of materials, time spent reading each page of the text and time spent re-reading pages, and the number of times pages were re-read. Finally, after one month from the first test a posttest was administered to determine which group could remember materials better. The results revealed that recall of materials was significantly greater for the teaching-goal group than the other two groups in both first and second tests. Time spent re-reading was significantly greater for the teaching-goal group as well. These findings suggest that reading goals do have an effect on comprehension and recalling in a computer-mediated environment and students with a different reading goal performed differently while reading passages.

  2. STORIES OF PROSTITUTION: READINGS OF ENTERTAINMENT IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRAZIL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata Ferreira Vieira

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Censored by parents and conservative critics, stories about prostitutes have always been "forbidden" readings that, in addition to stimulating the book trade over the years, offered readers entertainment through the "euphoria and sensations" caused by the stuffed works with obscene plots and / or sexual insinuations. It is in this perception of reading, in nineteenth-century Brazil, who were the novels about the "women of life" like Lucíola (1862, the Brazilian writer José de Alencar (1829-1877,and Nana (1880, the French writer Émile Zola (1840-1902. Affiliated, respectively, with romantic and naturalistic esthetics, Lucíola and Nana fictionalize the live of two young prostitutes in a nineteenth-century patriarchal society. In order to understand how these novels were appropriated as "entertainment literature" by the reading public of the time, this article will investigate the trajectory of publication, circulation and reception of these works through the theoretical assumptions of the history of books and reading (CHARTIER, 1990 .

  3. 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.

  4. 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

  5. 77 FR 16873 - First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund, et al.; Notice of Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-22

    ... of the Trusts that may utilize active management investment strategies and invest (i) in fixed income... which pricing information is not readily available. No affiliated persons of applicants will serve as..., which should ensure that the Shares will not trade at a material discount or premium in relation to...

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  7. How Reading Strategy Use and Personality Types Are Related?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safdarian, Zahra; Ghyasi, Majid; Farsani, Mohammad Amini

    2014-01-01

    This study sought to uncover the reading strategies utilized by Iranian undergraduate English Foreign Language (EFL) learners and their relationship with personality types. To this end, 194 university EFL learners were asked to fill out the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to identify their personality types and answer a reading strategy…

  8. 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.

  9. Medicine procurement and the use of flexibilities in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, 2001–2016

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    't Hoen, Ellen F. M.; Veraldi, Jacquelyn; Toebes, Brigit; Hogerzeil, Hendrik

    Millions of people, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, lack access to effective pharmaceuticals, often because they are unaffordable. The 2001 Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual

  10. A Comparison of Reading Response Methods to Increase Student Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Cheryl J.; Zane, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    It is common in college courses to test students on the required readings for that course. With a rise in online education it is often the case that students are required to provide evidence of reading the material. However, there is little empirical research stating the best written means to assess that students read the materials. This study…

  11. How Working Memory Relates to Children's Reading Comprehension: The Importance of Domain-Specificity in Storage and Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nouwens, Suzan; Groen, Margriet A.; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2017-01-01

    Working memory is considered a well-established predictor of individual variation in reading comprehension in children and adults. However, how storage and processing capacities of working memory in both the phonological and semantic domain relate to reading comprehension is still unclear. In the current study, we investigated the contribution of…

  12. 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.

  13. Do Austerity Measures Harm International Trade?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorin Iulian CHIRIŢOIU

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on the trade relations between Romania and the PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain in order to verify whether the exports of Romania have been positively or negatively affected by the austerity measures adopted by these Eurozone periphery countries, thus diminishing Romania’s export performance in such markets. Hence, our main research question is whether austerity measures harm or affect in any way the inflows and outflows of international trade in the studied countries. To assess this hypothesis, we focused on the external trade relations, and their linkages with the macroeconomic environment, rather than the competitiveness of a state explained by a detailed sectoral analysis. In this respect, we use comparative and descriptive statistics in order to observe the consequences of the internal devaluation, and implicitly austerity measures, on the PIIGS-Romanian trade relations. Our findings suggest that the effects of austerity measures are not homogenous because they depend on the scale of trade exchanges and on the way in which the austerity measures were applied.

  14. Delayed Release from Proactive Interference with Meaningful Material: How Much Do We Remember After Reading Brief Prose Passages?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blumenthal, Gary B.; Robbins, Donald

    1977-01-01

    Three experiments were conducted, investigating the buildup of and the release from proactive interference, in which the stimulus materials were brief prose passages about specific topics. Each passage was followed by a multiple-choice test, and then a final test on all the passages read was given. Implications of the data for standardized tests…

  15. Fostering the Love of Reading: The Affective Domain in Reading Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cramer, Eugene H., Ed.; Castle, Marrietta, Ed.

    Representing current thinking about a wide range of issues related to reading motivation, this book offers a look at how to create classroom cultures that foster in students the love of reading. The book is about teachers and the critical role they play in helping children develop into motivated, active, engaged readers who read both for pleasure…

  16. Classic nuclear fuel trading and new ways of doing business

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lohrey, K.; Max, A.

    2001-01-01

    Nuclear fuel trading is a complex, dynamic, and innovative business segment. After the end of the East-West conflict in the early nineties it began to assume global dimensions. Yet, the volume of the nuclear fuel market is relatively small: In 2000, natural uranium worth approx. euro 1.2 billion was produced, and the value of the fuel freshly loaded in nuclear power plants amounted to approx. euro 8.0 billion. For comparison: The crude oil produced worldwide in that same year had a market value of approx. euro 715 billion. As a consequence of the strategic importance of uranium in the military sector, processing and using it as a nuclear fuel as well as trading it are subject to political influences. This also applies to the recycling of weapon-grade nuclear material into the civilian nuclear fuel cycle, which is already being practiced on an industrial scale. The deregulation of the electricity markets and the resultant cost pressure on electricity producers have initiated major changes in the nuclear fuel market. On the supply side, there is more and more concentration on a few large producers and trading companies. On the demand side, especially in the United States of America, more and more nuclear power plant operators merge into bigger enterprises with a considerable demand potential. Electronic trading over the Internet is going to supplement conventional trading in nuclear fuels, but is not going to replace it. The relatively small volume of the nuclear fuel market, the small number both of transactions and of active market participants, as well as individual wishes of customers, make it likely that electronic trading will remain restricted to a few market segments with standardized products. (orig.)

  17. Essays on Multinational Production and International Trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clementi, Federico

    This Thesis consists of an introduction followed by three independent chapters. Each chapter is a self-contained paper that can be read independently. They cover different topics of international economics with a specific focus on multinational production and international trade. A common feature...... the intensity of spillovers to local suppliers. Domestic firms benefit only from the activity of foreign clients that are not vertically integrated in their industry. In the last chapter, I use a detailed dataset of international transactions of Danish companies to study the impact of Chinese competition...

  18. The COMT Val/Met polymorphism is associated with reading related skills and consistent patterns of functional neural activation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landi, Nicole; Frost, Stephen J.; Mencl, W. Einar; Preston, Jonathan L.; Jacobsen, Leslie K.; Lee, Maria; Yrigollen, Carolyn; Pugh, Kenneth R.; Grigorenko, Elena L.

    2013-01-01

    In both children and adults there is large variability in reading skill, with approximately 5–10% of individuals characterized as having reading disability; these individuals struggle to learn to read despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. Although it is well established that a substantial portion of this variability is attributed to the genetic differences between individuals, specifics of the connections between reading and the genome are not understood. This article presents data that suggest that variation in the COMT gene, which has previously been associated with variation in higher-order cognition, is associated with reading and reading-related skills, both at the level of brain and behavior. In particular, we found that the COMT Val/Met polymorphism at rs4680, which results in the substitution of the ancestral Valine (Val) by Methionine (Met), was associated with better performance on a number of critical reading measures and with patterns of functional neural activation that have been linked to better readers. We argue that this polymorphism, known for its broad effects on cognition, may modulate (likely through frontal lobe function) reading skill. PMID:23278923

  19. Facilitating English-Language Learners' Oral Reading Fluency with Digital Pen Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chih-Ming; Tan, Chia-Chen; Lo, Bey-Jane

    2016-01-01

    Oral reading fluency is an indicator of overall reading competence. Many studies have claimed that repeated reading can promote oral reading fluency. Currently, novel Web- or computer-based reading technologies offer interactive digital materials that promote English oral reading fluency using the repeated reading strategy; however, paper-based…

  20. Anonymous electronic trading versus floor trading

    OpenAIRE

    Franke, Günter; Hess, Dieter

    1995-01-01

    This paper compares the attractiveness of floor trading and anonymous electronic trading systems. It is argued that in times of low information intensity the insight into the order book of the electronic trading system provides more valuable information than floor trading, but in times of high information intensity the reverse is true. Thus, the electronic system's market share in trading activity should decline in times of high information intensity. This hypothesis is tested by data on BUND...

  1. The specific relation of visual attention span with reading and spelling in Dutch

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Den Boer, Madelon; Van Bergen, Elsje; de Jong, Peter F.

    2015-01-01

    Visual attention span, the number of orthographic units that can be processed at a glance, has been shown to predict reading performance in orthographically opaque languages (i.e., French and English), independent from phonological awareness. Whether this relation is also found in Dutch, a more

  2. Attention in Relation to Coding and Planning in Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahapatra, Shamita

    2015-01-01

    A group of 50 skilled readers and a group of 50 less-skilled readers of Grade 5 matched for age and intelligence and selected on the basis of their proficiency in reading comprehension were tested for their competence in word reading and the processes of attention, simultaneous coding, successive coding and planning at three levels, i.e.,…

  3. Reviewing a Reading Program: Professional Development Module. Facilitator's Guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosanovich, Marcia; Jordan, Georgia; Arndt, Elissa; VanSciver, Mary; Wahl, Michelle; Rissman, Lila

    2008-01-01

    This "Facilitator's Guide" has been prepared for presenters of the Reviewing a Reading Program professional development training. It is one of three pieces comprising a suite of materials on reviewing reading programs: this "Guide", the "Reviewing a Reading Program Participant's Guide" and the "Reviewing a Reading Program" Professional Development…

  4. Human Factors in Financial Trading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leaver, Meghan; Reader, Tom W.

    2016-01-01

    Objective This study tests the reliability of a system (FINANS) to collect and analyze incident reports in the financial trading domain and is guided by a human factors taxonomy used to describe error in the trading domain. Background Research indicates the utility of applying human factors theory to understand error in finance, yet empirical research is lacking. We report on the development of the first system for capturing and analyzing human factors–related issues in operational trading incidents. Method In the first study, 20 incidents are analyzed by an expert user group against a referent standard to establish the reliability of FINANS. In the second study, 750 incidents are analyzed using distribution, mean, pathway, and associative analysis to describe the data. Results Kappa scores indicate that categories within FINANS can be reliably used to identify and extract data on human factors–related problems underlying trading incidents. Approximately 1% of trades (n = 750) lead to an incident. Slip/lapse (61%), situation awareness (51%), and teamwork (40%) were found to be the most common problems underlying incidents. For the most serious incidents, problems in situation awareness and teamwork were most common. Conclusion We show that (a) experts in the trading domain can reliably and accurately code human factors in incidents, (b) 1% of trades incur error, and (c) poor teamwork skills and situation awareness underpin the most critical incidents. Application This research provides data crucial for ameliorating risk within financial trading organizations, with implications for regulation and policy. PMID:27142394

  5. Reading for Understanding: How Reading Apprenticeship Improves Disciplinary Learning in Secondary and College Classrooms. Second Edition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoenbach, Ruth; Greenleaf, Cynthia; Murphy, Lynn

    2012-01-01

    Published in partnership with WestEd, this significantly updated second edition of the bestselling book contains strategies for helping students in middle school through community college gain the reading independence to master subject area textbooks and other material. Features of this book include: (1) Based on the Reading Apprenticeship…

  6. The continental free trade area

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sandrey, Ron; Jensen, Hans Grinsted

    The Trade Law Centre (tralac) has recently capitalised upon the prerelease Version 9.2 of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database and the recent excellent data sets from the World Bank and other publishing quality data on trade barriers across the African continent. It undertook a series...... of simulations examining regional integration and intra-African trade barrier reductions. The results for tariff elimination on intra-African trade are promising. But the real news is in confirming that these barriers are not as significant as the various trade-related barriers except for tariffs. Especially...... impressive results were forecast by simulating a modest 20% reduction in the costs associated with the particular African problem of transit time delays at customs, terminals and internal land transportation. These gains are significantly above both just intraAfrican tariff elimination and what may...

  7. Prospects for the EU-US Trade Relations in the Light of the TTIP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ružeková Viera

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available To success on international markets, individual economies are trying to take measures to increase their efficiency, flexibility and competitiveness. There is a liberalization of tariff and non-tariff barriers mainly due to trade based on regional integration. Among such agreements belong also the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP between the EU and the USA, which represent the largest economies in the world. The paper analyses developed scientific studies that assess the economic impact, advantages and disadvantages of closer economic cooperation. However, it reflects not only the economic but also foreign policy importance of this partnership. In the case of signing the TTIP, it would become the most important bilateral trade agreement ever, both in terms of international trade as well as in terms of the impact on international trade as a whole.

  8. Assessing readability of patient education materials: current role in orthopaedics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badarudeen, Sameer; Sabharwal, Sanjeev

    2010-10-01

    Health literacy is the single best predictor of an individual's health status. It is important to customize health-related education material to the individual patient's level of reading skills. Readability of a given text is the objective measurement of the reading skills one should possess to understand the written material. In this article, some of the commonly used readability assessment tools are discussed and guidelines to improve the comprehension of patient education handouts are provided. Where are we now? Several healthcare organizations have recommended the readability of patient education materials be no higher than sixth- to eighth-grade level. However, most of the patient education materials currently available on major orthopaedic Web sites are written at a reading level that may be too advanced for comprehension by a substantial proportion of the population. WHERE DO WE NEED TO GO?: There are several readily available and validated tools for assessing the readability of written materials. While use of audiovisual aids such as video clips, line drawings, models, and charts can enhance the comprehension of a health-related topic, standard readability tools cannot construe such enhancements. HOW DO WE GET THERE?: Given the variability in the capacity to comprehend health-related materials among individuals seeking orthopaedic care, stratifying the contents of patient education materials at different levels of complexity will likely improve health literacy and enhance patient-centered communication.

  9. Suggestions for foreign trade enterprises to reduce cost after implementation of RMB cross-border trade settlement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Min

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available After RMB cross-border trade settlement was implemented, the ability of foreign trade enterprises to evade foreign exchange risk has enhanced to a great extent. In the meantime, with exchange rate fluctuations, foreign trade enterprises have become more sensitive with exchange rate variation. Based on predecessors’achievement, this thesis reasonably proposed a cost model applicable to foreign trade enterprises, in which the variables are all related to exchange rate. Therefore, by making exchange rate estimation, this thesis conducted data analysis and modeling, so as to find a way for foreign trade enterprises to predict exchange rate in a reasonable way. The thesis reached the conclusion that foreign trade enterprises can better control their cost based on RMB cross-border settlement.

  10. Trading strategies in the overnight money market: Correlations and clustering on the e-MID trading platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fricke, Daniel

    2012-12-01

    We analyze the correlations in patterns of trading for members of the Italian interbank trading platform e-MID. The trading strategy of a particular member institution is defined as the sequence of (intra-) daily net trading volumes within a certain semester. Based on this definition, we show that there are significant and persistent bilateral correlations between institutions’ trading strategies. In most semesters we find two clusters, with positively (negatively) correlated trading strategies within (between) clusters. We show that the two clusters mostly contain continuous net buyers and net sellers of money, respectively, and that cluster memberships of individual banks are highly persistent. Additionally, we highlight some problems related to our definition of trading strategies. Our findings add further evidence on the fact that preferential lending relationships on the micro-level lead to community structure on the macro-level.

  11. Sustainable Trade Credit and Replenishment Policies under the Cap-And-Trade and Carbon Tax Regulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juanjuan Qin

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper considers the sustainable trade credit and inventory policies with demand related to credit period and the environmental sensitivity of consumers under the carbon cap-and-trade and carbon tax regulations. First, the decision models are constructed under three cases: without regulation, carbon cap-and-trade regulation, and carbon tax regulation. The optimal solutions of the retailer in the three cases are then discussed under the exogenous and endogenous credit periods. Finally, numerical analysis is conducted to obtain conclusions. The retailer shortens the trade credit period as the environmental sensitivity of the consumer is enhanced. The cap has no effects on the credit period decisions under the carbon cap-and-trade regulation. Carbon trade price and carbon tax have negative effects on the credit period. The retailer under carbon cap-and-trade regulation is more motivated to obey regulations than that under carbon tax regulation when carbon trade price equals carbon tax. Carbon regulations have better effects on carbon emission reduction than with exogenous credit term when the retailer has the power to decide with regards credit policies.

  12. The effect of inter-annual variability of consumption, production, trade and climate on crop-related green and blue water footprints and inter-regional virtual water trade: A study for China (1978-2008).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhuo, La; Mekonnen, Mesfin M; Hoekstra, Arjen Y

    2016-05-01

    Previous studies into the relation between human consumption and indirect water resources use have unveiled the remote connections in virtual water (VW) trade networks, which show how communities externalize their water footprint (WF) to places far beyond their own region, but little has been done to understand variability in time. This study quantifies the effect of inter-annual variability of consumption, production, trade and climate on WF and VW trade, using China over the period 1978-2008 as a case study. Evapotranspiration, crop yields and green and blue WFs of crops are estimated at a 5 × 5 arc-minute resolution for 22 crops, for each year in the study period, thus accounting for climate variability. The results show that crop yield improvements during the study period helped to reduce the national average WF of crop consumption per capita by 23%, with a decreasing contribution to the total from cereals and increasing contribution from oil crops. The total consumptive WFs of national crop consumption and crop production, however, grew by 6% and 7%, respectively. By 2008, 28% of total water consumption in crop fields in China served the production of crops for export to other regions and, on average, 35% of the crop-related WF of a Chinese consumer was outside its own province. Historically, the net VW within China was from the water-rich South to the water-scarce North, but intensifying North-to-South crop trade reversed the net VW flow since 2000, which amounted 6% of North's WF of crop production in 2008. South China thus gradually became dependent on food supply from the water-scarce North. Besides, during the whole study period, China's domestic inter-regional VW flows went dominantly from areas with a relatively large to areas with a relatively small blue WF per unit of crop, which in 2008 resulted in a trade-related blue water loss of 7% of the national total blue WF of crop production. The case of China shows that domestic trade, as governed by

  13. Ecological network analysis on global virtual water trade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Zhifeng; Mao, Xufeng; Zhao, Xu; Chen, Bin

    2012-02-07

    Global water interdependencies are likely to increase with growing virtual water trade. To address the issues of the indirect effects of water trade through the global economic circulation, we use ecological network analysis (ENA) to shed insight into the complicated system interactions. A global model of virtual water flow among agriculture and livestock production trade in 1995-1999 is also built as the basis for network analysis. Control analysis is used to identify the quantitative control or dependency relations. The utility analysis provides more indicators for describing the mutual relationship between two regions/countries by imitating the interactions in the ecosystem and distinguishes the beneficiary and the contributor of virtual water trade system. Results show control and utility relations can well depict the mutual relation in trade system, and direct observable relations differ from integral ones with indirect interactions considered. This paper offers a new way to depict the interrelations between trade components and can serve as a meaningful start as we continue to use ENA in providing more valuable implications for freshwater study on a global scale.

  14. Smart trade logistics - Compliance as an opportunity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zomer, G.R.

    2011-01-01

    Facilitation of trade logistics aims at simplification and harmonization of border procedures and related documentation. This is an accelerator for global trade and economic growth and therefore a priority in global trade policy. Trends in logistics and supply chain security and innovations in

  15. Read-Aloud Accommodations, Expository Text, and Adolescents with Learning Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Nancy K.; Bouck, Emily C.

    2017-01-01

    Adolescents with learning disabilities in reading have difficulties with reading and understanding difficult gradelevel curricular material. One frequently used method of support is using read-aloud accommodations, which can be live read-alouds or text-to-speech (TTS) read-alouds. A single case alternating treatment design was used to examine the…

  16. 77 FR 64031 - United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-18

    ... Trade Promotion Agreement AGENCIES: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security... tariff treatment and other customs-related provisions of the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement... other customs-related provisions of the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA). Please...

  17. 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.

  18. The parent/child/teacher reading relation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Myrna Machet

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Becoming a reader involves gaining the meaning of the activities involved which includes the purposes, values and roles that are part of the activity. At home literacy is contextualised and a child becomes aware of the uses and practises of reading in his or her culture. This home based literacy is a more natural form of literacy and must be distinguishedfrom school based literacy which is a more organised, systematic literacy. Teachers need to be aware of the important role that preliteracy experience plays in a child's ability to learn to read successfully. They can then provide experiences that will help those children who come to school without the prerequisite emergent literacy skills to become good readers. Teachers will benefit from being aware of family literacy practices and encouraging parents to become involved in their children's reading, because this will help children to make reading and general literacy activities more meaningful. Children who become successful readers associate books with enjoyment and are therefore willing to make the effort to become readers. This is more likely to happen with the support from the family. Research indicates that a key predictor of student success is family involvement in children's education (Ginsburg, 1999:3. Om 'n leser te word, hou in dat betekenis gevorm moet word van die aktiwiteite wat by lees betrokke is, nl die doel, waardes en rolle wat deel van die aktiwiteite. Geletterdheid word by die huis gekontekstualiseer en 'n kind word bewus van die gebruike van en praktyke vir lees in sy of haar kultuur. Hierdie huisgebaseerde geletterdheid is die natuurlikste vorm van geletterdheid en moet onderskei word van skoolgebaseerde geletterdheid wat 'n meer georganiseerde sistematiese soort geletterdheid is. Onderwysers moet bewus wees van die belangrike rol wat voor-geletterdheidervaring speel in In kind se vermoe om suksesvol te leer lees. Hulle kan dan geleenthede organiseer wat daardie kinders

  19. “Dangerous women”: Discursive practices of the Chilean State in relation to prostitution, sex trade and sex work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacqueline Espinoza-Ibacache

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates the discursive practices of the Chilean State in relation to women who practice prostitution, sex trade or sex work. We perform an analysis based on the studies made on discourse about the issue, from pragmatic and realizative perspectives of the language. From the 18 regulations and laws we identify acts of speech, such as implicatures or indirect reference and interdiscourses. In the results we present three categories as we call them: definitions, prescriptions and transformations. The definitions are used to describe an activity and the intervention agents. Prescriptions materialize the discourse through obligations and instructions dictated to impose social control. And the transformations, which is related to the first and the second, creates a new situation regarding the activity through the updating of mechanisms and the definition of new subjects. We conclude that the rules produce discursive practices for the social control of the bodies of prostitutes and sex workers, placing them in the line of abnormality, in this way they define a behavioral guide for the rest of women. © Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Sociales.

  20. Types and sequences of self-regulated reading of low-achieving adolescents in relation to reading task achievement

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Milliano, Ilona; van Gelderen, Amos; Sleegers, P.J.C.

    2016-01-01

    This study examines the relationship between types and sequences of self-regulated reading activities in task-oriented reading with quality of task achievement of 51 low-achieving adolescents (Grade 8). The study used think aloud combined with video observations to analyse the students' approach of

  1. Growth of reading skills in children with a history of specific language impairment: the role of autistic symptomatology and language-related abilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    St Clair, Michelle C; Durkin, Kevin; Conti-Ramsden, Gina; Pickles, Andrew

    2010-03-01

    Individuals with a history of specific language impairment (SLI) often have subsequent problems with reading skills, but there have been some discrepant findings as to the developmental time course of these skills. This study investigates the developmental trajectories of reading skills over a 9-year time-span (from 7 to 16 years of age) in a large sample of individuals with a history of SLI. Relationships among reading skills, autistic symptomatology, and language-related abilities were also investigated. The results indicate that both reading accuracy and comprehension are deficient but that the development of these skills progresses in a consistently parallel fashion to what would be expected from a normative sample of same age peers. Language-related abilities were strongly associated with reading skills. Unlike individuals with SLI only, those with SLI and additional autistic symptomatology had adequate reading accuracy but did not differ from the individuals with SLI only in reading comprehension. They exhibited a significant gap between what they could read and what they could understand when reading. These findings provide strong evidence that individuals with SLI experience continued, long-term deficits in reading skills from childhood to adolescence.

  2. Does corruption discourage international trade?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jong, E. de; Bogmans, C.W.J.

    2011-01-01

    We use measures of trade-related corruption to investigate the effects of corruption on international trade and compare the results with those of corruption in general. We distinguish corruption in an exporting economy from that in an importing economy. Both distinctions appear to be important.

  3. Reading screening mammograms – Attitudes among radiologists and radiographers about skill mix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johansen, Lena Westphal; Brodersen, John

    2011-01-01

    Introduction: Because of shortage of personnel for the Danish mammography screening programme, the aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes of radiologists and radiographers towards a future implementation of radiographers reading screening mammograms. Materials and methods: Seven combined phenomenological and hermeneutical interviews with radiographers and radiologists were performed. Stratified selection was used for sampling of informants. The interviews were analysed against theory about quality, organization and profession. Results: Quality related possibilities: radiographers do routinely measure the performance quality, radiographers obtain sufficient reading qualifications, and skill mix improves quality. Quality related obstacles: radiologists do not routinely measure performance quality. Organization related possibilities: shortage of radiologists, positive attitudes of managers, and improved working relations. Organization related obstacles: shortage of radiographers and negative attitudes of managers. Professional related possibilities: positive experience with skill mix. Professional related obstacles: worries about negative consequences for the training of radiologists, and resistance against handing over tasks to another profession. Conclusion: Attitudes towards radiographers reading screening mammograms are attached to either quality-, organisational or professional perspectives. Radiographers are capable of learning to read mammograms at sufficient performance level but routine measurement of performance quality is essential. Resistance against skill mix may be caused by an emotionally conditioned fear of losing demarcations. The main motive for skill mix is improvement of the utilization of resources. No evidence was found regarding the organisational and financial consequences of skill mix. Despite of this all radiologists and radiographers experienced with skill mix were strong advocates for reading radiographers.

  4. SchemaOnRead Manual

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    North, Michael J. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2015-09-30

    SchemaOnRead provides tools for implementing schema-on-read including a single function call (e.g., schemaOnRead("filename")) that reads text (TXT), comma separated value (CSV), raster image (BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and JPG), R data (RDS), HDF5, NetCDF, spreadsheet (XLS, XLSX, ODS, and DIF), Weka Attribute-Relation File Format (ARFF), Epi Info (REC), Pajek network (PAJ), R network (NET), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), SPSS (SAV), Systat (SYS), and Stata (DTA) files. It also recursively reads folders (e.g., schemaOnRead("folder")), returning a nested list of the contained elements.

  5. Detection of target phonemes in spontaneous and read speech

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mehta, G.; Cutler, A.

    1988-01-01

    Although spontaneous speech occurs more frequently in most listeners' experience than read speech, laboratory studies of human speech recognition typically use carefully controlled materials read from a script. The phonological and prosodic characteristics of spontaneous and read speech differ

  6. Syllabus in Trade Welding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of Secondary Curriculum Development.

    The syllabus outlines material for a course two academic years in length (minimum two and one-half hours daily experience) leading to entry-level occupational ability in several welding trade areas. Fourteen units covering are welding, gas welding, oxyacetylene welding, cutting, nonfusion processes, inert gas shielded-arc welding, welding cast…

  7. Yes, Holden Should Read These Books.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lisman, C. David

    1989-01-01

    Counters Donald Barr's assertion that works such as J. D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" and William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" are unfit reading material for adolescents ("Should Holden Caufield Read These Books?""New York Times Book Review," May 4, 1986). Shows how these works address adolescents'…

  8. 76 FR 1101 - Property Traded on an Established Market

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-07

    ... Property Traded on an Established Market AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION: Notice... regulations relating to determining when property is traded on an established market (that is, publicly traded... traded on an established securities market (often referred to as ``publicly traded''), the issue price of...

  9. Trade Facilitation Indicators and their Potential Impact on Trade Between the Countries of South-Eastern Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Toševska-Trpčevska Katerina

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we base our analysis on previous OECD findings and analysis of trade facilitation indicators for assessing relative economic and trade impact of specific trade facilitation measures for the countries of South-Eastern Europe. In the analysis we plan to include all CEFTA-2006 members, except Moldova, and other countries which are part of this region: Bulgaria, Romania and Greece. We plan to construct twelve trade facilitation indicators (TFIs that correspond to the main policy areas under negotiations at the WTO. The indicators are composed from seventy-eight variables, whose values are drawn from publicly available data. We plan to use these indicators in gravity model in order to estimate the impact of those policy areas on trade volumes between the countries of the region. The use of individual trade facilitation indicators should also enable countries to better assess which trade facilitation measures deserve priority.

  10. Examining the Reading of Informational Text in 4th Grade Class and Its Relation with Students' Reading Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Dan; Beecher, Constance; Cho, Byeong-Young

    2018-01-01

    Being proficient in independently reading and writing complex informational text has become a need for college and career success. While there is a great deal of agreement on the importance of the reading of informational text in early grades and teachers are encouraged to increase amount of the reading of informational text in early grades, few…

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  12. Productive Extension of Semantic Memory in School-Aged Children: Relations with Reading Comprehension and Deployment of Cognitive Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauer, Patricia J.; Blue, Shala N.; Xu, Aoxiang; Esposito, Alena G.

    2016-01-01

    We investigated 7- to 10-year-old children's productive extension of semantic memory through self-generation of new factual knowledge derived through integration of separate yet related facts learned through instruction or through reading. In Experiment 1, an experimenter read the to-be-integrated facts. Children successfully learned and…

  13. The COMT Val/Met polymorphism is associated with reading-related skills and consistent patterns of functional neural activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landi, Nicole; Frost, Stephen J; Mencl, W Einar; Preston, Jonathan L; Jacobsen, Leslie K; Lee, Maria; Yrigollen, Carolyn; Pugh, Kenneth R; Grigorenko, Elena L

    2013-01-01

    In both children and adults there is large variability in reading skill, with approximately 5-10% of individuals characterized as having reading disability; these individuals struggle to learn to read despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. Although it is well established that a substantial portion of this variability is attributed to the genetic differences between individuals, specifics of the connections between reading and the genome are not understood. This article presents data that suggest that variation in the COMT gene, which has previously been associated with variation in higher-order cognition, is associated with reading and reading-related skills, at the level of both brain and behavior. In particular, we found that the COMT Val/Met polymorphism at rs4680, which results in the substitution of the ancestral Valine (Val) by Methionine (Met), was associated with better performance on a number of critical reading measures and with patterns of functional neural activation that have been linked to better readers. We argue that this polymorphism, known for its broad effects on cognition, may modulate (likely through frontal lobe function) reading skill. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  14. Carbon Trading. Literature Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kerste, M.; Weda, J.; Rosenboom, N.

    2010-12-01

    From Pigou and Coase to the Kyoto Protocol, carbon trading has resulted in pricing of the negative externalities emanating from pollution. This report highlights leading literature and empirical findings on carbon trading, amongst others addressing the relevant carbon and related markets, the (lack of) success of carbon trading so far and room for improvement as well as its impact on investments in emission reduction. This report is part of a set of SEO-reports on finance and sustainability. The other reports deal with: Financing the Transition to Sustainable Energy; Innovations in financing environmental and social sustainability; and Sustainable investment.

  15. POTENTIAL TRADE EFFECTS OF TARIFF LIBERALIZATION UNDER THE TRANSATLANTIC TRADE AND INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP (TTIP FOR THE EU AGRI-FOOD SECTOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnieszka Poczta-Wajda

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available  The aim of this article is to determine the potential trade effects of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP for the EU agri-food sector. The ex post analysis covered the characteristics of agri-food trade between the EU and the US in the years 2004–2014 on the basis of statistical data from the database of the World Bank WITS. The ex ante evaluation was carried out using SMART – a partial equilibrium model. The results of the study indicate that although bilateral agri-food trade relations of the EU–US have relatively little importance, but it is significant at the individual industries level. TTIP agreement, which includes the reduction of tariff barriers to agri-food trade between the EU and the US, will contribute to boosting bilateral agri-food trade to a greater extent for the US. The creation of a free trade produces mostly creation effect, whereby it will be asymmetric – concentrated in a few product groups.

  16. Emission trading: A discussion paper

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-05-01

    Emission trading is a market-based incentive program designed to control air emissions in which a cap is placed on the total quantity of pollutants allowed to be emitted in an airshed. Appropriate shares of this amount are allocated among participating emission sources, and participants can buy or sell their shares. Advantages of emission trading include its potential to achieve air emission targets at a lower cost than the traditional command and control approach, and its ability to accommodate economic growth without compromising environmental quality. A study was conducted to evaluate the potential use of emission trading programs to achieve emission reduction goals set for nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds (VOC), and sulfur oxides. Emission trading programs in the USA are reviewed and a set of factors important for the success of emission trading are identified. Key policy and design issues related to an emission trading program are identified, explained, and discussed. Administrative issues are then analyzed, such as legislative authority, monitoring and enforcement requirements, and trading between jurisdictions. A preliminary assessment of emission trading for control of NOx and VOC in the Lower Fraser Valley indicates that emission trading would be feasible, but legislative authority to implement such a program would have to be introduced

  17. Developing and Standardization of a Diagnostic Reading Test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tahereh Sima-Shirazi

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective: This paper is a report on the development, structure and content of a diagnostic dyslexia reading test. The target population of this test is persian children who have problems in learning reading and may be considered as dyslexic. This diagnostic test is the first reading test developed for the native speakers of persian. Materials & Methods: The theoretical framework of the test is based on two well- established reading tests for the English speaking children, namely Durrell Analysis of Reading and Neale Analysis of Reading Ability. The linguistic content of the subtests is selected from the vocabulary and texts of the textbook used in the primary schools. Both the vocabulary and the sentences of the parrallel passeges were controlled for frequency, phonemic/graphemic regularity, syllable structure, morphology, syntax and semantics. They were also controlled for value judgement by two linguistics and three first grader teachers.The first version of the test is normed on 605 boy and girl first graders from different educational sectors and schools selected randomly.The method used in this research is cross- sectional, descriptive- analytic and the data analysis is based on pearson, and mann-whitney u. Results: Reliability of the test is calculated based on parrallel forms (~ 90% and validity is based on content validity.This test has a supplementary section including spelling, graphem/ phoneme correspondness, nonword reading, irregular word reading, and copy subtests. Conclusion: Considering highreliability and precise validation of the test it can be used to diagnose the dyslexia and related linguistic impairments.

  18. A Longitudinal Study of the Role of Reading Motivation in Primary Students' Reading Comprehension: Implications for a Less Simple View of Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cartwright, Kelly B.; Marshall, Timothy R.; Wray, Erica

    2016-01-01

    Although substantial research indicates motivation contributes significant variance to reading comprehension in upper elementary students, research with students in primary grades has focused, instead, on the relation of motivation to word reading. Assessment of reading motivation in 68 first and second graders indicated word and nonword reading…

  19. Are we moving towards functioning agricultural markets and trade relations?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brosig, Stephan; Glauben, Thomas; Levkovych, Inna

    2016-01-01

    We introduce a special feature on the functioning of international agricultural markets. This feature is motivated by the increased interest in the functioning of commodity markets raised by unprecedented price turbulences since 2008, major structural changes through changed roles of emerging...... economies and related concerns regarding food security. We argue that the delineation of non-functioning markets from markets that adequately adjusted to adverse framework conditions lacks theoretical foundation. We discuss the relevance of some results on institutions for agricultural markets in emerging...... and transition countries. A synthesis of the articles included in the special feature is provided by highlighting the selection of topics that span a topical range covering price formation on world and domestic markets, market power and trade policy modelling....

  20. Forecasting market impact costs and identifying expensive trades

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bikker, J.A.; Spierdijk, L.; Hoevenaars, R.P.M.M.; van der Sluis, P.J.

    Often, a relatively small group of trades causes the major part of the trading costs on an investment portfolio. For the equity trades studied in this paper, executed by the world's second largest pension fund, we find that only 10% of all trades determines 75% of total market impact costs.

  1. Screen-based reading practices – results of the Study on children and adolescents’ reading habits and attitudes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zofia Zasacka

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This article focuses on how digital technologies are used in the reading practices of adolescents. The results presented here are drawn from a study of young people’s reading habits. One of its aims was to determine students’ online reading habits. Selected results are presented from the qualitative and quantitative stages of the study. The quantitative stage was conducted in November 2013 with 1721 students completing primary school and 1816 students from lower secondary school. The paper reviews its key findings about how students read books: offline or online, printed or on-screen, whether they look for information about books on the internet and whether they use the internet as a source of reading material.

  2. Characteristics of Serbian foreign trade of agricultural and food products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Božić Dragica

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Agricultural and food products are a significant segment of the total foreign trade of Serbia, which is characterized by a relatively high import dependency, modest export and constantly present deficit. In such conditions, agrarian sector serves as a stabilizer, and its importance is reflected in the permanently positive balance, increased participation, particularly in total exports, and balancing the trade balance of the country. The aim of the paper is to analyze the basic characteristics of foreign trade of agricultural and food products of Serbia in the period 2005-2015. The tendencies in export, import, and the level of coverage of import by export of agro-food (or agrarian products are analysed. The participation of these products in the total foreign trade of Serbia is also considered, followed by the comparison of this indicator with the neighbouring countries. In the next part of the paper, the structure of Serbian export and import of agricultural and food products (by product groups is analysed. Special attention is given to the territorial orientation of export and import of agrarian products by the most important trade partners. In order to conduct more comprehensive analysis of comparative advantages, or competitiveness of certain groups of agro-food products of Serbia in the exchange with the world, indicator of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA is calculated. The analysis of qualitative competitiveness is derived using the indicator - unit value of export and import. The analysis points to the dynamic growth in the value of Serbian export and import of agro-food products, with the constant surplus of trade balance in the observed period. These products are significantly represented in the structure of the total foreign trade of the country, particularly in export (with about 20%. RCA indicators show that Serbia has a comparative advantage in trade of agro-food products to the world in primary products and products of lower

  3. Sex differences in mathematics and reading achievement are inversely related: within- and across-nation assessment of 10 years of PISA data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoet, Gijsbert; Geary, David C

    2013-01-01

    We analyzed one decade of data collected by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), including the mathematics and reading performance of nearly 1.5 million 15 year olds in 75 countries. Across nations, boys scored higher than girls in mathematics, but lower than girls in reading. The sex difference in reading was three times as large as in mathematics. There was considerable variation in the extent of the sex differences between nations. There are countries without a sex difference in mathematics performance, and in some countries girls scored higher than boys. Boys scored lower in reading in all nations in all four PISA assessments (2000, 2003, 2006, 2009). Contrary to several previous studies, we found no evidence that the sex differences were related to nations' gender equality indicators. Further, paradoxically, sex differences in mathematics were consistently and strongly inversely correlated with sex differences in reading: Countries with a smaller sex difference in mathematics had a larger sex difference in reading and vice versa. We demonstrate that this was not merely a between-nation, but also a within-nation effect. This effect is related to relative changes in these sex differences across the performance continuum: We did not find a sex difference in mathematics among the lowest performing students, but this is where the sex difference in reading was largest. In contrast, the sex difference in mathematics was largest among the higher performing students, and this is where the sex difference in reading was smallest. The implication is that if policy makers decide that changes in these sex differences are desired, different approaches will be needed to achieve this for reading and mathematics. Interventions that focus on high-achieving girls in mathematics and on low achieving boys in reading are likely to yield the strongest educational benefits.

  4. Shop Math for the Metal Trades. Combination Welder Apprentice, Machinist Helper, Precision Metal Finisher, Sheet Metal Worker Apprentice. A Report on Metal Trades Industry Certified, Single-Concept, Mathematical Learning Projects to Eliminate Student Math Fears.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newton, Lawrence R.

    This project (1) identifies basic and functional mathematics skills (shop mathematics skills), (2) provides pretests on these functional mathematics skills, and (3) provides student learning projects (project sheets) that prepare metal trades students to read, understand, and apply mathematics and measuring skills that meet entry-level job…

  5. Does information overload prevent chronic patients from reading self-management educational materials?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chung-Feng; Kuo, Kuang-Ming

    2016-05-01

    Self-care management is becoming an important part of care for chronic patients. However, various kinds of self-management educational materials which government or healthcare institutions provide for patients may not achieve the expected outcome. One of the critical reasons affecting patients' use intention could be patients' perceived information overload regarding the self-management educational materials. This study proposed an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which incorporated perceived information overload, to explore if information overload will prevent chronic patients from reading educational materials for self-care management. The independent variables are attitude, subject norm, perceived behavior control and perceived information overload while the dependent variable is behavior intention to use the self-management educational materials. Perceived information overload is also referred to as an antecedent variable which may has impacts on attitude and perceived behavior control. The cross-sectional study interviewed newly diagnosed chronic patients with coronary artery disease, who are the potential users of the self-management educational materials, in a medical center in Taiwan. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of the basic information distribution of the respondents, and structural equation modeling to study the reliability and validity for testing hypotheses. A total of 110 respondents were enrolled in this study and successful interview data were collected from 106 respondents. The result indicates that the patients' perceived information overload of self-management educational materials was validated to have impacts on attitude and perceived behavioral control constructs of the TPB as well as contributing a direct impact on patients' intentions to use self-management educational materials. Besides, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control constructs were validated to have significant impacts on

  6. Reading literacy and reading self-concept of year 6 primary school students

    OpenAIRE

    Cegnar, Katja

    2017-01-01

    In the present Master thesis, we research the relation between the reading literacy and its components and the reading self-concept in grade 6 elementary school students. Sixth grade students were chosen because they are partially taught by class teachers and because we assume that they are already familiar with the reading comprehension technique and have a more-or-less stable reading self-concept. In the theoretical part, we present the importance of functional literacy and of other types o...

  7. The Relation between Elementary Students' Recreational and Academic Reading Motivation, Reading Frequency, Engagement, and Comprehension: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Naeghel, Jessie; Van Keer, Hilde; Vansteenkiste, Maarten; Rosseel, Yves

    2012-01-01

    Research indicates the need to further examine the dimensions of reading motivation. A clear theoretical basis is necessary for conceptualizing reading motivation and considering contextual differences therein. The present study develops and validates the SRQ-Reading Motivation, a questionnaire measuring recreational and academic reading…

  8. Investigation of the Effect of Using a Novel as an Extensive Reading on Students’ Attitudes and Reading Ability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shima Ghiabi

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The present study aims at investigating learners’ perceptions on the use of a novel as an extensive reading in a college EFL reading course. For this purpose, fifty Iranian EFL students read and received instructions on an unabridged short novel in addition to, their text book for one semester. Three questionnaires were used to measure students’ attitudes toward novel-reading, students’ confidence in novel reading ability and students’ perceptions toward using a novel as an auxiliary material, prior to and after reading the novel. In addition, three open questions were offered to obtain benefits and obstacles of the novel reading. T-test analysis were used and findings revealed that there was a significant improvement after reading the novel in students’ attitudes, confidence, interest and their novel-reading ability. However, they suggested reading the novels according to the theme that they preferred. The result of this study are of pedagogic significance to EFL teaching in that they indicated how well a novel was received in an EFL Advanced reading class.

  9. 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.

  10. 29 CFR 1903.9 - Trade secrets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... INSPECTIONS, CITATIONS AND PROPOSED PENALTIES § 1903.9 Trade secrets. (a) Section 15 of the Act provides: “All... concerns or relates to the trade secrets, processes, operations, style of work, or apparatus, or to the...

  11. “Democratic Government”, Interest Groups and American Trade Politics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhanyu Dong

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The study of American trade politics is of great significance when interpreting U.S.A. trade policies and understanding China-U.S.A. trade relations. In order to explain the mechanism of American trade politics, this paper constructs a new analytical framework of “democratic government-interest groups”, which argues that U.S.A. trade policies are not only the choices made by the democratic government between state interests and political private benefits, but also the outcomes of interaction between the U.S.A. government and interest groups. The case study of the U.S.A. trade policies toward China since the new century also demonstrates how the interaction between the government and interest groups ultimately shapes trade policies. Therefore, we need to understand the logic of American trade politics, generate more mutual benefits for our two countries, and work together to promote the bilateral free trade as well as the bilateral relations between China and the U.S.A.

  12. HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL INTRA-INDUSTRY TRADE OF TURKEY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NEVZAT ŞİMŞEK

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Crucial improvement have taken place in intra-industry trade literature since intra-industry trade phenomenon was empirically determined. Nowadays economists discuss on the necessity of distinguishing between horizontal and vertical intra-industry trade especially relating to product differentiation in each industry. As standard Grubel-Lloyd index does not determine the time when two way trade is taken into consideration, in this paper first of all Two-Way Trade index is used and then horizontal intra-industry trade and low-high quality vertical intra-industry trade are distinguished from each other regarding unit value differential. As a result of the analysis the findings show that low quality vertical intra-industry trade dominate in Turkey's intra-industry trade.

  13. Statistical mechanics of the international trade network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fronczak, Agata; Fronczak, Piotr

    2012-05-01

    Analyzing real data on international trade covering the time interval 1950-2000, we show that in each year over the analyzed period the network is a typical representative of the ensemble of maximally random weighted networks, whose directed connections (bilateral trade volumes) are only characterized by the product of the trading countries' GDPs. It means that time evolution of this network may be considered as a continuous sequence of equilibrium states, i.e., a quasistatic process. This, in turn, allows one to apply the linear response theory to make (and also verify) simple predictions about the network. In particular, we show that bilateral trade fulfills a fluctuation-response theorem, which states that the average relative change in imports (exports) between two countries is a sum of the relative changes in their GDPs. Yearly changes in trade volumes prove that the theorem is valid.

  14. Trade Finance and Trade Collapse during the Global Financial Crisis: Evidence from the Republic of Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Young Song

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the role of trade finance in the trade collapse of 2008-09 from the perspective of the Korean economy. We use two approaches. Firstly, as background to a more formal analysis, we make a casual observation on the behavior of aggregate data on trade finance, on which Korea has relatively abundant data. Aggregate data do not convincingly support the view that trade finance played an active role in causing the trade collapse. The measures of trade finance and the value of trade both dropped sharply, but the ratio of trade finance over trade was stable and in some cases increased during the crisis period. Secondly, using quarterly data on listed firms in Korea, we conduct panel estimations to test whether firms that are more dependent on external finance experienced greater export contraction during the crisis. Our regression analysis suggests that the financial vulnerability of firms, measured by various financial ratios, did not contribute to export contraction during the financial crisis. This observation largely applies even to smaller firms, who are usually thought of as being more vulnerable financially. However, we find that small exporters that relied heavily on cross-border trade payables or receivables suffered larger drops in export growth during the crisis.

  15. Trading volume and the number of trades

    OpenAIRE

    Marwan Izzeldin

    2007-01-01

    Trading volume and the number of trades are both used as proxies for market activity, with disagreement as to which is the better proxy for market activity. This paper investigates this issue using high frequency data for Cisco and Intel in 1997. A number of econometric methods are used, including GARCH augmented with lagged trading volume and number of trades, tests based on moment restrictions, regression analysis of volatility on volume and trades, normality of returns when standardized by...

  16. Legal market abuse regulations of WpHG (law on stock trading) and the REMIT-VO in the electricity spot trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Retsch, Alexander T.

    2014-01-01

    The thesis on legal market abuse regulations of WpHG (law on stock trading) and the REMIT-VO in the electricity spot trading include the discussion of the following issues: market abuse, its forms of appearance (market manipulation, insider trade, insider information), electricity spot trading, relevant legislative frame, market abuse regulations (WpHG), interdiction of market manipulation and related regulations.

  17. A Reading Resource Center: Why and How

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minkoff, Henry

    1974-01-01

    Hunter College has set up a Reading Resource Center where students receive individualized help in specific problem areas not covered in their reading classes and where teachers can find materials either for their own edification or for use in the classroom. (Author)

  18. Impact of China in Latin America: The inter-industry trade and its challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung Hyong Rhee

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available This article analyses the implications of the rapid economic rise of China for the development prospects of Latin America. Since 1990s we have witnessed the growing exchanges between Latin America and Asian economies. China has led the Latin-Pacific exchanges. Based on an analysis of the changing trade relations between China and major Latin American countries since 2000, it argues as follows. First, China imports energy, food and other resources for domestic and export needs, and looks more like a “trade angel” and a “helping hand” as well as being an outlet for huge amounts of commodities from the region. China’s trade impact on Latin America is positive with higher gdp per capita, both directly, through a boom of export and indirectly, through better terms of trade. But it is also a challenge for development for the future. Second, the trade relations are now structured into a kind of inter-industry trade. China imports natural resources and primary products but exports manufacturing products from low-wage products (such as textiles and apparel to high-wage products (mainly electronics and telecommunications. Lack of inter-industry relation with China shows the weaker side of Latin America’s integrations in the value chain of global production.In this sense, the China boom presents a challenge to Latin American countries. For the region’s raw-materials producers, there is good news in the short-term but they run the risk of losing enthusiasm for diversification beyond extraction-based industries. Economic forces tend to reduce incentives for engaging in activities outside the resource sector: the “Dutch disease.” In order to ameliorate somewhat the effects of Dutch disease and move up the value chain, they need more proactive development strategy which has focused on developing domestic technological capabilities and diversifying the productive structure.

  19. On the relation between forecast precision and trading profitability of financial analysts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marinelli, Carlo; Weissensteiner, Alex

    2014-01-01

    We analyze the relation between earnings forecast accuracy and the expected profitability of financial analysts. Modeling forecast errors with a multivariate normal distribution, a complete characterization of the payoff of each analyst is provided. In particular, closed-form expressions for the ......We analyze the relation between earnings forecast accuracy and the expected profitability of financial analysts. Modeling forecast errors with a multivariate normal distribution, a complete characterization of the payoff of each analyst is provided. In particular, closed-form expressions...... for the probability density function, for the expectation, and, more generally, for moments of all orders are obtained. Our analysis shows that the relationship between forecast precision and trading profitability needs not be monotonic, and that the impact of the correlation between the forecasts on the expected...

  20. Managing dynamic epidemiological risks through trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horan, Richard D.; Fenichel, Eli P.; Finnoff, David; Wolf, Christopher A.

    2015-01-01

    There is growing concern that trade, by connecting geographically isolated regions, unintentionally facilitates the spread of invasive pathogens and pests – forms of biological pollution that pose significant risks to ecosystem and human health. We use a bioeconomic framework to examine whether trade always increases private risks, focusing specifically on pathogen risks from live animal trade. When the pathogens have already established and traders bear some private risk, we find two results that run counter to the conventional wisdom on trade. First, uncertainty about the disease status of individual animals held in inventory may increase the incentives to trade relative to the disease-free case. Second, trade may facilitate reduced long-run disease prevalence among buyers. These results arise because disease risks are endogenous due to dynamic feedback processes involving valuable inventories, and markets facilitate the management of private risks that producers face with or without trade. PMID:25914431

  1. Living Language through Creative Reading; Proceedings of the Annual Reading Conference (4th, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, June 13-14, 1974).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waterman, David C., Ed.; Gibbs, Vanita M., Ed.

    These proceedings are published primarily for the purpose of helping teachers to improve their reading instruction. The contents include "Official Program"; "I Wish Children Literature" by Lee Bennett Hopkins, which discusses the importance of providing children with good reading materials; "Black English and Reading" by Ronald W. Bruton, which…

  2. The effect of alcohol outlets, sales and trading hours on alcohol-related injuries presenting at emergency departments in Perth, Australia, from 2002 to 2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hobday, Michelle; Chikritzhs, Tanya; Liang, Wenbin; Meuleners, Lynn

    2015-12-01

    Few studies have investigated the combined effects of alcohol sales, outlet numbers and trading hours on alcohol-related harms. This study aimed to test whether associations: (i) exist between alcohol-related emergency department (ED) injuries and alcohol sales and counts of outlets; (ii) vary between on- and off-premises outlets; and (iii) vary by trading hours conditions [extended trading permits (ETP) versus standard hours]. Panel study using 117 postcodes over 8 years (2002-10): 936 data points. Perth, Australia. ED injury presentations, aggregated to postcode-level. Alcohol-related injuries were identified using time-based surrogate measures: night injuries (n=51,241) and weekend night injuries (n=30,682). Measures of alcohol availability included number of outlets with standard and extended trading hours and mean sales per postcode. Negative binomial regression modelling with random effects was used to examine associations between availability and alcohol-related injury, controlling for socio-demographic characteristics. (i) Night injuries were associated significantly with counts of on-premises outlets [incident rate ratio (IRR)=1.046; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.014-1.078] and sales per off-premises outlet (IRR=1.019; 95% CI=1.004-1.035); (ii) counts of on-premises outlets were positively associated with alcohol-related injury while counts of off-premises outlets indicated a negative association; and (iii) weekend night injuries increased by about 5% per on-premises outlet with an ETP (IRR=1.049; 95% CI=1.015-1.084) and by less than 1% for outlets with standard trading hours (IRR=1.008; 95% CI=1.004-1.013). Regions of Perth, Australia with greater off-premises alcohol sales and counts of on-premises alcohol outlets, particularly those with extended trading hours, appear to have higher levels of alcohol-related injuries. © 2015 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  3. How insiders traded before rules

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Braggion, F.; Moore, L.

    2013-01-01

    UK company insiders, such as directors, were legally allowed to trade in the shares of their own companies up until the Companies Act of 1980. This article investigates the trading behaviour of directors over the period 1890 to 1909 in the UK. It finds relatively few instances of directors who

  4. Dynamic Testing, Working Memory, and Reading Comprehension Growth in Children with Reading Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swanson, H. Lee

    2011-01-01

    This longitudinal study assessed (a) whether performance changes in working memory (WM) as a function of dynamic testing were related to growth in reading comprehension and (b) whether WM performance among subgroups of children with reading disabilities (RD; children with RD only, children with both reading and arithmetic deficits, and low verbal…

  5. Regional Trade Agreement and Agricultural Trade in East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Intra-EAC trade is very low, that is, at 9 per cent of the total regional trade, but it is on upward trend. Agricultural trade accounts for over 40 per cent of the intra-EAC trade. This study investigated the effect of EAC regional trade agreement on the regions agricultural trade by analyzing the degree of trade creation and ...

  6. Trade creation and trade diversion in the Canada - United States Free Trade Agreement

    OpenAIRE

    Kimberly A. Clausing

    2001-01-01

    In this paper the changes in trade patterns introduced by the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement are examined. Variation in the extent of tariff liberalization under the agreement is used to identify the impact of tariff liberalization on the growth of trade both with member countries and non-member countries. Data at the commodity level are used, and the results indicate that the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement had substantial trade creation effects, with little evidence of ...

  7. Pollution added credit trading (PACT). New dimensions in emissions trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaltegger, Stefan; Thomas, Tom

    1996-01-01

    To date, sources of hazardous, toxic, or otherwise harmful emissions have been regulated on a pollutant by pollutant basis. Environmental policies, even the more advanced 'incentive-based' programs, have focused on individual substances rather than on the overall environmental problem to which the substances contribute. This has produced results that are less economically efficient and ecologically effective than is desirable. A more comprehensive approach combines the principles of emission reduction credit trading with advances made recently in the field of environmental impact assessment, to yield an advanced form of inter-pollutant trading, which we refer to as pollution added credit trading (PACT). PACT incorporates a method for estimating the total environmental harm generated (pollution added) by a facility emitting a variety of pollutants. Weightings that reflect relative harm are used to calculate total pollution added. Each facility covered by PACT would receive annual allowances for total pollution added that they could discharge to the environment. As with existing emissions trading programs, surplus allowances could be sold and shortfalls would be covered by purchasing other facilities' surplus allowances. PACT is more efficient than single-pollutant emissions trading in that it captures differences in marginal reduction costs that exist between pollutants as well as between facilities. It is more ecologically effective because it focuses on the overall environmental problem, rather than on the individual pollutants that contribute to the problem

  8. A research on EU trade policy system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qi Sitong

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The EU is the world’s largest trade group, occupying an important position in the world trade in goods and services, especially in the field of service trade. The EU trade in services exports and imports are higher than the United States and Japan, and the EU is the world’s largest capital output and input group, and the world’s largest foreign aid providers. With the deepening of the European integration process, Europe’s position in the world economy and trade is on the rise. Therefore, the EU’s trade policy has increasingly become the focus of attention. From the vertical point of view, research directions can be divided into trade in goods policy, trade in services policy, international direct investment policy, trade-related intellectual property policy four field. In this paper, the four vertical areas are illustrated as the focus of the study.

  9. Trade Policy

    OpenAIRE

    Murray Gibbs

    2007-01-01

    In an otherwise insightful and thoughtful article, Sebastian Pfotenhauer (Trade Policy Is Science Policy,” Issues, Fall 2013) might better have entitled his contribution “Trade Policy Needs to Be Reconciled with Science Policy.” The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the agreements administered by the World Trade Organization, particularly the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), were adopted to promote international trade and i...

  10. RFamide-related Peptide-3 and the Trade-off between Reproductive and Ingestive Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Jill E; Benton, Noah A; Russo, Kim A; Klingerman, Candice M; Williams, Wilbur P; Simberlund, Jessica; Abdulhay, Amir; Brozek, Jeremy M; Kriegsfeld, Lance J

    2017-12-01

    Ingestive and sex behaviors are important for individual survival and reproductive success, but when environmental energy availability is limited, individuals of many different species make a trade-off, forfeiting sex for ingestive behavior. For example, food-deprived female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) forego vaginal scent marking and lordosis (sex behaviors) in favor of foraging, hoarding, and eating food (ingestive behavior). Reproductive processes tend to be energetically costly, and individual survival requires homeostasis in metabolic energy. Thus, during energetic challenges, the chances of survival are enhanced by decreasing the energy expended on reproductive processes. The entire hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) system is inhibited by severe energetic challenges, but comparatively little is known about the effects of mild energetic challenges. We hypothesized that (1) a trade-off is made between sex and ingestive behavior even when the level of food restriction is insufficient to inhibit the HPG system; (2) mild energetic challenges force a trade-off between appetitive ingestive and sex behaviors, but not consummatory versions of the same behaviors; and (3) the trade-off is orchestrated by ovarian steroid modulation of RFamide-related peptide 3 (RFRP-3). In other species, RFRP-3, an ortholog of avian gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone, is implicated in control of behavior in response to energetic challenges and stressful stimuli. In support of our three hypotheses, there is a "dose-response" effect of food restriction and re-feeding on the activation of RFRP-3-immunoreactive cells in the dorsomedial hypothalamus and on appetitive behaviors (food hoarding and sexual motivation), but not on consummatory behaviors (food intake and lordosis), with no significant effect on circulating levels of estradiol or progesterone. The effect of food restriction on the activation of RFRP-3 cells is modulated at the time of estrus in gonadally-intact females

  11. A trade-off relation between tilt and twist angle fluctuations in InN grown by RF-MBE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashimoto, A.; Iwao, K.; Yamamoto, A.

    2008-01-01

    In the InN growth on sapphire substrates, it is difficult to control both of tilt and twist angle fluctuations at same time. It is necessary to understand initial growth stage such as the role of nitridation process to improve the mosaicity. Low-temperature nitridation technique brings the drastically improvement of the tilt angle fluctuation, although the twist angle fluctuation becomes worse. Such experimental results strongly indicate that there is some trade-off relation between the tilt and the twist angle fluctuations as a function of the nitridation condition such as the nitridation time. In this paper, we discuss about such trade-off relation in the direct growth of InN on the nitridation sapphire substrates and also propose a simple model of initial nitridation process to explain it. (copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  12. Early Adolescents' and Their Parents' Mental Imagery in Relation to Perceived Reading Competence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mol, Suzanne E.; Jolles, Jelle; Van Batenburg-Eddes, Tamara; Bult, Maureen K.

    2016-01-01

    This cross-sectional survey study examined the relation between mental imagery (i.e., seeing images of a story "in the mind's eye") and perceived self-competence in reading. The study was conducted with a group of seventh-grade to ninth-grade students in the prevocational educational track of secondary schools in the Netherlands and…

  13. PROMOTING AUTONOMOUS LEARNING IN READING CLASS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agus Sholeh

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available To have good acquisition and awareness in reading, the learners need a long and continuous process, and therefore, they are required to have autonomy in learning reading. This study aims to promote learner autonomy in reading class by combining learner-centered reading teaching and extensive reading teaching. Learner-centered reading teaching was carried out through group discussion, presentation, and language awareness activities. Meanwhile, extensive reading teaching was done to review the learners‘ materials in presentation and reinforce their acquisition. Those two different approaches were applied due to differences on learner's characteristics and needs. The result showed some success in the practice of autonomy, indicated by changes on learners' attitude. However, many learners showed that they focused more on obtaining score than on developing their language acquisition. By implementing the approach, the teacher can assist learners to be aware of their ability to learn independently and equip them with the skill needed for long-life learning.

  14. Print exposure, reading habits, and reading achievement among deaf and hearing college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marschark, Marc; Sarchet, Thomastine; Convertino, Carol M; Borgna, Georgianna; Morrison, Carolyn; Remelt, Sarah

    2012-01-01

    This study explored relations of print exposure, academic achievement, and reading habits among 100 deaf and 100 hearing college students. As in earlier studies, recognition tests for book titles and magazine titles were used as measures of print exposure, college entrance test scores were used as measures of academic achievement, and students provided self-reports of reading habits. Deaf students recognized fewer magazine titles and fewer book titles appropriate for reading levels from kindergarten through Grade 12 while reporting more weekly hours of reading. As in previous studies with hearing college students, the title recognition test proved a better predictor of deaf and hearing students' English achievement than how many hours they reported reading. The finding that the recognition tests were relatively more potent predictors of achievement for deaf students than hearing students may reflect the fact that deaf students often obtain less information through incidental learning and classroom presentations.

  15. Disentangling regional trade agreements, trade flows and tobacco affordability in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appau, Adriana; Drope, Jeffrey; Labonté, Ronald; Stoklosa, Michal; Lencucha, Raphael

    2017-11-14

    In principle, trade and investment agreements are meant to boost economic growth. However, the removal of trade barriers and the provision of investment incentives to attract foreign direct investments may facilitate increased trade in and/or more efficient production of commodities considered harmful to health such as tobacco. We analyze existing evidence on trade and investment liberalization and its relationship to tobacco trade in Sub-Saharan African countries. We compare tobacco trading patterns to foreign direct investments made by tobacco companies. We estimate and compare changes in the Konjunkturforschungsstelle (KOF) Economic Globalization measure, relative price measure and cigarette prices. Preferential regional trade agreements appear to have encouraged the consolidation of cigarette production, which has shaped trading patterns of tobacco leaf. Since 2002, British American Tobacco has invested in tobacco manufacturing facilities in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa strategically located to serve different regions in Africa. Following this, British America Tobacco closed factories in Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Mauritius and Angola. At the same time, Malawi and Tanzania exported a large percentage of tobacco leaf to European countries. After 2010, there was an increase in tobacco exports from Malawi and Zambia to China, which may be a result of preferential trade agreements the EU and China have with these countries. Economic liberalization has been accompanied by greater cigarette affordability for the countries included in our analysis. However, only excise taxes and income have an effect on cigarette prices within the region. These results suggest that the changing economic structures of international trade and investment are likely heightening the efficiency and effectiveness of the tobacco industry. As tobacco control advocates consider supply-side tobacco control interventions, they must consider carefully the effects of these economic agreements and

  16. Binary trading relations and the limits of EDI standards

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damsgaard, Jan; Truex, D.

    2000-01-01

    This paper provides a critical examination of electronic data interchange (EDI) standards and their application in different types of trading relationships. It argues that EDI standards are not directly comparable to more stable sets of technical standards in that they are dynamically tested...... and negotiated in use with each trading exchange. It takes the position that EDI standards are an emergent language form and must mean different things at the institutional and local levels. Using the lens of emergent linguistic analysis it shows how the institutional and local levels must always be distinct...... and yet can coexist. EDI standards can never represent the creation of an 'Esperanto of institutional communication'. Instead we believe that standards must be developed such that they support and accommodate general basic grammatical forms that can be customised to individual needs. The analysis...

  17. International provision of trade services, trade, and fragmentation

    OpenAIRE

    Deardorff, Alan V.

    2001-01-01

    The author examines the special role that trade liberalization in services industries can play in stimulating trade in both services, and goods. International trade in goods requires inputs from such trade services as transportation, insurance, and finance, for example. Restrictions on services across borders, and within foreign countries add costs, and barriers to international trade. Lib...

  18. Disciplinary Literacy in Science: Developing Science Literacy through Trade Books

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Zhihui

    2014-01-01

    Developing science literacy requires not only firsthand explorations of the material world but also secondhand investigations with text. A potentially powerful kind of text in science is trade books. This column describes four classroom ploys for using science trade books to enhance students' secondhand experiences.

  19. Visual and Ocular Control Anomalies in Relation to Reading Difficulty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bedwell, C. H.; And Others

    1980-01-01

    The visual behavior under both static and dynamic viewing conditions was examined in a group of 13-year-old successful readers, compared with a group of the same age retarded in reading. Research supports the notion that problems of dynamic binocular vision and control while reading are important. (Author/KC)

  20. Multilateral Organization vs. Bilateral Negotiations: A Case of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Namhoon Kwon

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available In the 1990s, the issue of intellectual property rights (IPR protection gained a prominent place on the international trade agenda, which led to the establishment of the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPs as a part of the WTO regime. Two questions are asked regarding this development: whether a multilateral organization such as the WTO performs better than bilateral negotiations in resolving IPR disputes, and what happened around the 1990s to create an environment favorable to the establishment of a multilateral organization. To deal with these issues, this paper takes the IPE (international political economy approach. Using a very simple game theory model, I derive the cases in which a multilateral organization has better performances. Then, it is used to show that political pressures due to the growth of the US trade deficit in the late 1980s could have been the reason that a multilateral organization became the institutional equilibrium.

  1. Leisure reading collections in academic health sciences and science libraries: results of visits to seven libraries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Erin M

    2014-03-01

    To visit leisure reading collections in academic science and health sciences libraries to determine how they function and what role they play in their libraries. The author visited seven libraries with leisure reading collections and carried out a semistructured interview with those responsible either for selection of materials or for the establishment of the collection. These collections contained a variety of materials, with some libraries focusing on health-science-related materials and others on providing recreational reading. The size of the collections also varied, from 186 to 9700 books, with corresponding differences in budget size. All collections were housed apart, with the same loan period as the regular collection. No collections contained electronic materials. Although there was little comparable statistical data on usage, at the six libraries at which active selection was occurring, librarians and library staff felt that the collection was well used and felt that it provided library users with benefits such as stress relief and relaxation and exposure to other perspectives. Librarians and library staff at the libraries that undertook active selection felt that their leisure reading collection was worthwhile. It would be interesting for future work to focus on the user experience of such collections. © 2013 The author. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2013 Health Libraries Group.

  2. Proceedings of the Emissions trading conference : effective strategies for successful emissions trading in a global market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    There is growing interest everywhere in the topic of emissions trading in order to meet the commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol. During this conference, most aspects of emissions trading were discussed, ranging from the need to establish credible emission reduction estimates to the means of achieving those goals, to the trading activities of Ontario Power Generation in the field of emissions trading both at the domestic and the international level. There were presentations that focussed on greenhouse gas policies, markets and strategic plays, and the preparation for the regulation of greenhouse gas. An emissions trading regime for Canada was examined by one of the presenters. This conference provided a useful venue for all stakeholders to discuss various strategies and ideas related to emissions trading. Speakers represented governments, the private sector and utilities, as well as the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. tabs., figs

  3. The Role of Psychic Distance in International Trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Håkanson, Lars

    2014-01-01

    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance to international trade of impediments related to, first, geographic distance, such as freight and other costs related to the movement of physical goods, and second, “psychic distance”, such as the costs and difficulties of transferr......Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance to international trade of impediments related to, first, geographic distance, such as freight and other costs related to the movement of physical goods, and second, “psychic distance”, such as the costs and difficulties...... of transferring and interpreting the information necessary to effect international transactions. Design/methodology/approach – The paper highlights that psychic distance perceptions between countries are not symmetric and that both exporters’ and importers’ perceptions are important. The empirical analysis covers...... international trade in three categories of goods among 25 major trading nations for the period 1962-2008, employing structural equation modeling, incorporating the mutual interdependence of the distance measures. Findings – Exporters’ perceptions are more important for trade in differentiated products than...

  4. WHAT COMES NEXT? A GLOBAL TRADE WAR OR THE RENEGOTIATION OF US TRADE AGREEMENTS?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Virginia Câmpeanu

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In March 2018, the US President announced additional tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to be applied to all exporters in the US market. The main reason behind these protectionist measures is the threat to national security caused by the US balance of trade, as reflected by annual losses of hundreds of billions of dollars. Strengthening of the US steel and aluminum industries, job creation and, hence, the consolidation of the US economy appear to be among the benefits of the new tariffs. This article aims to analyze US trade and issues related to the major trading partners, as well as the new protectionist measures initiated by president Trump, alongside the domestic and international responses. Finally, the article highlights the immediate and foreseeable consequences of these measures and concludes that rather than triggering a global trade war, the Trump administration is preparing the means to exert pressure to renegotiate the US trade agreements.

  5. Measuring the Gains from International Trade Allocated Across Countries

    OpenAIRE

    Chung, Dongsik

    2004-01-01

    The intraindustry trade, multiple posttrade equilibria and multiple pretrade equilibria almost invalidate the role of the terms of trade as a divider of trade gains and as a predictor of the direction of trade. The indices of international trade benefits (ITB), which will be developed in this paper, aim at complementing what the terms of trade lacks as well as making it possible to utilize the estimated trade gains in a meaningful manner.The indices relatively measure the portion that a tradi...

  6. World Trade Organization activity for health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gros, Clémence

    2012-01-01

    Since the establishment of a multilateral trading system and the increasing mobility of professionals and consumers of health services, it seems strongly necessary that the World Trade Organization (WTO) undertakes negotiations within the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and that WTO's members attempt to reach commitments for health-related trade in services. How important is the GATS for health policy and how does the GATS refer to health services? What are the current negotiations and member's commitments?

  7. Children’s understanding of Aesop’s fables: Relations to reading comprehension and theory of mind

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janette Patricia Pelletier

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Two studies examined children’s developing understanding of Aesop’s fables in relation to reading comprehension and to theory of mind. Study 1 included 172 children from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 6 in a school-wide examination of the relation between reading comprehension skills and understanding of Aesop’s fables told orally. Study 2 examined the relation between theory of mind and fables understanding among 186 Junior (4-year-old and Senior (5-year-old Kindergarten children. Study 1 results showed a developmental progression in fables understanding with children’s responses becoming increasingly decontextualized as they were able to extract the life lesson. After general vocabulary, passage comprehension predicted fables understanding. Study 2 results showed a relation between young children’s theory of mind development and their understanding of fables. After general vocabulary, second-order theory of mind predicted children’s fables understanding. Findings point to the importance of developing mental state awareness in children’s ability to judge characters’ intentions and to understand the deeper message embedded in fables.

  8. Children’s understanding of Aesop’s fables: relations to reading comprehension and theory of mind

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelletier, Janette; Beatty, Ruth

    2015-01-01

    Two studies examined children’s developing understanding of Aesop’s fables in relation to reading comprehension and to theory of mind. Study 1 included 172 children from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 6 in a school-wide examination of the relation between reading comprehension skills and understanding of Aesop’s fables told orally. Study 2 examined the relation between theory of mind and fables understanding among 186 Junior (4-year-old) and Senior (5-year-old) Kindergarten children. Study 1 results showed a developmental progression in fables understanding with children’s responses becoming increasingly decontextualized as they were able to extract the life lesson. After general vocabulary, passage comprehension predicted fables understanding. Study 2 results showed a relation between young children’s theory of mind development and their understanding of fables. After general vocabulary, second-order theory of mind predicted children’s fables understanding. Findings point to the importance of developing mental state awareness in children’s ability to judge characters’ intentions and to understand the deeper message embedded in fables. PMID:26500569

  9. Utopian Materialities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elgaard-Jensen, Torben

    2004-01-01

    In various ways, this paper makes the counter-intuitive claim that the utopian and the material are thoroughlyinterdependent, rather than worlds apart. First, through a reading of Thomas More's Utopia, it is argued thatUtopia is the product of particular kinds of relations, rather than merely...... a detachment from the known world.Second, the utopianism of a new economy firm is examined. It is argued that the physical set-up of the firm -in particular the distribution of tables and chairs - evoke a number of alternatives to ordinary work practice.In this way the materialities of the firm are crucial...... to its persuasive image of being the office of the future.The notion that utopia is achieved through material arrangements is finally related to the analysis of facts andfictions in ANT. It is argued, that even though Utopias are neither fact nor fiction, they are both material andeffective...

  10. Read/write schemes analysis for novel complementary resistive switches in passive crossbar memory arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Shimeng; Liang Jiale; Wu Yi; Wong, H-S Philip

    2010-01-01

    Recently a prototype of complementary resistive switches has been proposed to solve the sneak-path problem in passive crossbar memory arrays. To further evaluate the potential of this novel cell structure for practical applications, we present a modeling analysis to capture its switching dynamics and analyze its unique read/write schemes. The model is corroborated by experimental data. We found a trade-off between the read voltage window and write voltage window. The constraint from avoiding disturbance on unselected cells is critical for proper functionality, which in turn limits the writing speed.

  11. Study on the Related Teaching of "Narrative Creation" and "Narrative Reading" : Making use of "the method of narrative" as a common element

    OpenAIRE

    Mitoh, Yasuhiro

    2014-01-01

    This study has explored the related teaching of "narrative creation" and "narrative reading". For this study, I hypothesized as follows. There is "the method of narrative" in "narrative creation" and "narrative reading" as a common element. By this related teaching that used "the method of narrative" as a common element, children’s ability of "narrative creation" and "narrative reading" will increase. As a result of this study, the following conclusions were obtained. Children surely make use...

  12. Rules-of-trade for international nuclear commerce

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, W.R.

    1978-07-01

    The rules-of-trade are those treaties, laws, executive agreements, and implementing regulations that apply to international transfers of nuclear materials, equipment, technology, or skilled personnel. The rules-of-trade are a key element in assuring the international commerce that facilitates deployment of nuclear energy will not also facilitate the manufacture of nuclear explosive devices. But the rules must be pertinent, enforceable, and understandable. The two principal problems of current rules-of-trade concern their enforceability and their flexibility; these are discussed at some length. The following additional concerns are described briefly: fast breeder reactors, spent fuel management, nonconforming parties, eligibility for international financing, fair competition and equity, and pre-existing facilities

  13. Picture-books: first structured reading materials for children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivana Martinović

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Early literacy has recently become a current topic, and there’s a widespread belief that literacy startsdeveloping almost as soon as the child is born, if the child is surrounded with adequate materials and persons who will motivate the development of literacy. The first structured reading materials that a child interacts with are picture-books. It is usually the first contact a child has with literature and a written word in general, and it happens during childhood, the child's most sensitive period, which is why it is important to pay special attention to the quality of picture-books. Croatian picture-books published till the early 80ies of the past century have been investigated to a some extent. However, the picture-books found on the Croatian market and in the libraries in the past 30 years have been the subject of research only sporadically. There's little data on the quality and features of this multifunctional material that is of such great importance for children. The aim of the paper is to give an overview of the relevant data found in literature on the historical development of picture-book publishing, their features, functions they help develop, their age-appropriateness, and quality. The paper presents research results stemming from the analysis of the Croatian Children's Book Centre documentation on contemporary picture-book publishing and data on the language of picture-books that are the result of a picture-book corpus study made as part of the PhD research by the author. The data on contemporary authors and illustrators was obtained by analysing the documentation of the Croatian Library Association, Commission for library services for children and youth. The language of the picture-book corpus was analysed using a computer programme, i.e. the analysis was conducted of the lexical diversity of picture-books for three-year olds. The picture-books have not been investigated from the linguistic perspective before, which makes this

  14. The Regulation of Nuclear Trade: Non-Proliferation-Supply-safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-01-01

    Volume II of the study on the regulation of nuclear trade deals with the national legislation of OECD countries with significant nuclear programmes and regulations in that field and, in essence, covers two aspects. The first concerns political and administrative controls over imports and exports of sensitive products, namely fissile materials and large nuclear equipment as well as technology transfers. In most cases, this description of the provisions applicable is completed with the list of nuclear items whose export is restricted. The second aspect concerns the licensing system governing trade in as well as the import and export of nuclear material to protect users and the public against the hazards created by its radioactive properties. This volume also contains information on regulations concerning physical protection, industrial property and transport, as well as on multilateral and bilateral agreements involving nuclear trade. (NEA) [fr

  15. Reading Comprehension Instruction Practices in Sierra Leone

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hersbach, S.; Denessen, E.J.P.G.; Droop, W.

    2014-01-01

    Aim: In this study an attempt was made to give insight in the way reading comprehension is taught in Sierra Leone. Attention was paid to the didactical strategies and the materials used during reading comprehension instruction. Methodology: Primary school teachers in Sierra Leone (N=43) were

  16. Reading Patterns Changing

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2011-01-01

    Modern life is changing the way people read April 23 was the 16th World Book and Copyright Day,also known as the World Book Day.Reading-related problems have once again attracted people’s attention.Today,living a life with an increasingly rapid pace,most people are

  17. Relationships between Event-Related Potentials and Behavioral and Scholastic Measures of Reading Ability: A Large-Scale, Cross-Sectional Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalifian, Negin; Stites, Mallory C.; Laszlo, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    In the cognitive, computational, neuropsychological, and educational literatures, it is established that children approach text in unique ways, and that even adult readers can differ in the strategies they bring to reading. In the developmental event-related potential (ERP) literature, however, children with differing degrees of reading ability…

  18. Children's History of Speech-Language Difficulties: Genetic Influences and Associations with Reading-Related Measures

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeThorne, Laura Segebart; Hart, Sara A.; Petrill, Stephen A.; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Thompson, Lee Anne; Schatschneider, Chris; Davison, Megan Dunn

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: This study examined (a) the extent of genetic and environmental influences on children's articulation and language difficulties and (b) the phenotypic associations between such difficulties and direct assessments of reading-related skills during early school-age years. Method: Behavioral genetic analyses focused on parent-report data…

  19. Reading, Writing & Rings: Science Literacy for K-4 Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    McConnell, S.; Spilker, L.; Zimmerman-Brachman, R.

    2007-12-01

    Scientific discovery is the impetus for the K-4 Education program, "Reading, Writing & Rings." This program is unique because its focus is to engage elementary students in reading and writing to strengthen these basic academic skills through scientific content. As science has been increasingly overtaken by the language arts in elementary classrooms, the Cassini Education Program has taken advantage of a new cross-disciplinary approach to use language arts as a vehicle for increasing scientific content in the classroom. By utilizing the planet Saturn and the Cassini-Huygens mission as a model in both primary reading and writing students in these grade levels, young students can explore science material while at the same time learning these basic academic skills. Content includes reading, thinking, and hands-on activities. Developed in partnership with the Cassini-Huygens Education and Public Outreach Program, the Bay Area Writing Project/California Writing Project, Foundations in Reading Through Science & Technology (FIRST), and the Caltech Pre-College Science Initiative (CAPSI), and classroom educators, "Reading, Writing & Rings" blends the excitement of space exploration with reading and writing. All materials are teacher developed, aligned with national science and language education standards, and are available from the Cassini-Huygens website: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/edu-k4.cfm Materials are divided into two grade level units. One unit is designed for students in grades 1 and 2 while the other unit focuses on students in grades 3 and 4. Each includes a series of lessons that take students on a path of exploration of Saturn using reading and writing prompts.

  20. EU-MOLDOVA TRADE RELATIONS: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES OF MOLDOVAN INDUSTRIES ON THE SINGLE MARKET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioana SANDU

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Engaging on the long road of implementing the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the EU in 2010, Moldova is now closer than ever to being included in the most privileged category of the Eastern neighbouring countries - those who have chosen to deepen the European economic integration. The Vilnius Summit in November 2013 has reinforced the ‘more for more’ principle for both Moldova and Georgia by emphasizing, at the same time, the role of reactive measures and financial aid in counterbalancing aggressive trade barriers from non-EU states. Not only has Moldova proved to efficiently capitalize the provisions of the ATP agreement since 2008, but it has also consequently received more support from the EU in boosting exports to the single market. The wine industry was the first to benefit from the free-trade regime, as for the EU decision of eliminating quotas from the beginning of 2014. Nonetheless, the progressive liberalisation of trade flows between Moldova and the EU would finally oppose two asymmetric partners. Consequently, Moldova is facing the challenge of asserting its value on the EU market, by yet not undermining the relevance of other important trading partners nearby.

  1. Reading Strategies Employed by University Business English Majors with Different Levels of Reading Proficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jun; Intaraprasert, Channarong

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of reading strategies by the university Business English majors in relation to their levels of reading proficiency. The participants were 926 university Business English majors from 6 universities in southwest China. The Strategy Questionnaire for Business English Reading (SQBER) and the…

  2. The Rise of Middle Kingdoms: Emerging Economies in Global Trade

    OpenAIRE

    Gordon H. Hanson

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, I examine changes in international trade associated with the integration of low- and middle-income countries into the global economy. Led by China and India, the share of developing economies in global exports more than doubled between 1994 and 2008. One feature of new trade patterns is greater South-South trade. China and India have booming demand for imported raw materials, which they use to build cities and factories. Industrialization throughout the South has deepened globa...

  3. African agricultural trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Hans Grinsted; Sandrey, Ron

    2015-01-01

    This article starts with a profile of African agricultural trade. Using the pre-release version 9.2 of the GTAP database, we then show that the results for tariff elimination on intra-African trade are promising, but these tariff barriers are not as significant as the various trade-related barriers...... outside of tariffs. Impressive results were forecast by simulating both a 50% reduction in what can be considered traditional non-tariff barriers and a modest 20% reduction in the costs associated with transit time delays at customs, terminals and internal land transportation. Gains from tariff...... elimination, non-tariff barrier reductions and time in transit cost reductions are likely to be cumulative and would generate very large gains to Africa. The policy implications are clear: while cooperation will enhance the gains, much of the benefits will result from unilateral actions and regional...

  4. Write to read: the brain's universal reading and writing network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perfetti, Charles A; Tan, Li-Hai

    2013-02-01

    Do differences in writing systems translate into differences in the brain's reading network? Or is this network universal, relatively impervious to variation in writing systems? A new study adds intriguing evidence to these questions by showing that reading handwritten words activates a pre-motor area across writing systems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Construction, integration, and mind wandering in reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, Peter; Bortolussi, Marisa

    2013-03-01

    In two experiments, we investigated how text recall was related to moment-to-moment variations in mental state while reading, and how both recall and mental state were related to the interest value of the text. In both experiments, subjects read either an interesting text (a segment of Rice's Interview with the Vampire [A. Rice, 1997, Interview with the vampire, New York. NY: Ballantine Books] or a less interesting text (a segment of Thackery's The History of Pendennis [W. M. Thackery, 2009/1914, The history of Pendennis, Project Gutenberg, Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7265]). The texts were read sentence-by-sentence on a computer screen, and subjects were periodically interrupted to answer a probe question. In Experiment 1, the probe asked whether subjects were attending to the text; in Experiment 2, the probe asked whether subjects were engaged with the story world. After reading the text, subjects were asked to recall as much of the story as possible. Recall of the material just prior to the probe was examined as a function of the whether the ratings were high, medium, or low. As expected, both on-task ratings and engagement ratings were higher for Interview than for Pendennis, but there were a substantial number of medium ratings given to both stories. In Experiment 1, there was a clear effect of story on recall over and above the effect of on-task rating. However, in Experiment 2, recall was purely a function of engagement rating. The results were interpreted in terms of a model in which recall is largely determined by the situation model representation of the narrative and in which engagement ratings (but not on-task ratings) provide a relatively pure index of the allocation of resources to processing of the situation model.

  6. Growth in Reading-Related Skills of Language Minority Learners and Their Classmates: More Evidence for Early Identification and Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kieffer, Michael J.; Vukovic, Rose K.

    2013-01-01

    This longitudinal study investigated growth in reading-related skills between Grade 1 and 4 for language minority (LM) learners and their native English-speaking classmates from similarly low socioeconomic backgrounds (N = 166). Growth trajectories were compared by language background and by Grade 4 reading difficulties, with the goal of informing…

  7. Oscillatory brain dynamics during sentence reading: A Fixation-related spectral perturbation analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorenzo eVignali

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigated oscillatory brain dynamics during self-paced sentence-level processing. Participants read fully correct sentences, sentences containing a semantic violation and sentences in which the order of the words was randomized. At the target word level, fixations on semantically unrelated words elicited a lower-beta band (13-18 Hz desynchronization. At the sentence level, gamma power (31-55 Hz increased linearly for syntactically correct sentences, but not when the order of the words was randomized. In the 300 to 900 ms time window after sentence onsets, theta power (4-7 Hz was greater for syntactically correct sentences as compared to sentences where no syntactic structure was preserved (random words condition. We interpret our results as conforming with a recently formulated predictive-coding framework for oscillatory neural dynamics during sentence-level language comprehension. Additionally, we discuss how our results relate to previous findings with serial visual presentation versus self-paced reading.

  8. Effects of reading goals on reading comprehension, reading rate, and allocation of working memory in children and adolescents with spina bifida meningomyelocele

    Science.gov (United States)

    ENGLISH, LIANNE; BARNES, MARCIA A.; FLETCHER, JACK M.; DENNIS, MAUREEN; RAGHUBAR, KIMBERLY P.

    2011-01-01

    Spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with intact word decoding and deficient text and discourse comprehension. This study investigated the ability to adjust reading in accordance with specified reading goals in 79 children and adolescents with SBM (9–19 years of age) and 39 controls (8–17 years of age). Both groups demonstrated slower reading times and enhanced comprehension when reading to study or to come up with a title than when reading for specific information or for entertainment. For both groups, verbal working memory contributed to comprehension performance in those reading conditions hypothesized to require more cognitive effort. Despite their sensitivity to the goals of reading, the group with SBM answered fewer comprehension questions correctly across all reading goal conditions. The results are discussed in relation to the hypothesized cognitive underpinnings of comprehension deficits in SBM and to current models of text comprehension. PMID:20338082

  9. Effects of reading goals on reading comprehension, reading rate, and allocation of working memory in children and adolescents with spina bifida meningomyelocele.

    Science.gov (United States)

    English, Lianne; Barnes, Marcia A; Fletcher, Jack M; Dennis, Maureen; Raghubar, Kimberly P

    2010-05-01

    Spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with intact word decoding and deficient text and discourse comprehension. This study investigated the ability to adjust reading in accordance with specified reading goals in 79 children and adolescents with SBM (9-19 years of age) and 39 controls (8-17 years of age). Both groups demonstrated slower reading times and enhanced comprehension when reading to study or to come up with a title than when reading for specific information or for entertainment. For both groups, verbal working memory contributed to comprehension performance in those reading conditions hypothesized to require more cognitive effort. Despite their sensitivity to the goals of reading, the group with SBM answered fewer comprehension questions correctly across all reading goal conditions. The results are discussed in relation to the hypothesized cognitive underpinnings of comprehension deficits in SBM and to current models of text comprehension.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  11. Genetic and Environmental Overlap between Chinese and English Reading-Related Skills in Chinese Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Simpson W. L.; Chow, Bonnie Wing-Yin; Ho, Connie Suk-Han; Waye, Mary M. Y.; Bishop, Dorothy V. M.

    2014-01-01

    This twin study examined the relative contributions of genes and environment on 2nd language reading acquisition of Chinese-speaking children learning English. We examined whether specific skills-visual word recognition, receptive vocabulary, phonological awareness, phonological memory, and speech discrimination-in the 1st and 2nd languages have…

  12. Reading through Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madhavi Gayathri Raman

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper captures the design of a comprehensive curriculum incorporating the four skills based exclusively on the use of parallel audio-visual and written texts. We discuss the use of authentic materials to teach English to Indian undergraduates aged 18 to 20 years. Specifically, we talk about the use of parallel reading (screen-play and audio-visual texts (Shawshank Redemption, and Life is Beautiful, A Few Good Men and Lion King drawn from popular culture in the classroom as an effective teaching medium. Students were gradually introduced to films based on novels with extracts from the original texts (Schindler’s List, Beautiful Mind for extended reading and writing practice. We found that students began to pay more attention to aspects such as pronunciation, intonational variations, discourse markers and vocabulary items (phrasal verbs, synonyms, homophones, and puns. Keywords: Reading, films, popular culture, ESL classroom, language skills

  13. The Relative Predictive Contribution and Causal Role of Phoneme Awareness, Rhyme Awareness, and Verbal Short-Term Memory in Reading Skills: A Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melby-Lervag, Monica

    2012-01-01

    The acknowledgement that educational achievement is highly dependent on successful reading development has led to extensive research on its underlying factors. A strong argument has been made for a causal relationship between reading and phoneme awareness; similarly, causal relations have been suggested for reading with short-term memory and rhyme…

  14. A Comparison of Reading Response Methods to Increase Student Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheryl J. Davis

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available It is common in college courses to test students on the required readings for that course. With a rise in online education it is often the case that students are required to provide evidence of reading the material. However, there is little empirical research stating the best written means to assess that students read the materials. This study experimentally compared the effect of assigned reading summaries or study questions on student test performance. The results revealed that study questions produced higher quiz scores and higher preparation for the quiz, based on student feedback. Limitations of the study included a small sample size and extraneous activities that may have affected general knowledge on a topic. Results suggest that study questions focusing students on critical information in the required readings improve student learning.

  15. Energy trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glachant, J.M.; Kimman, R.; Schweickardt, H.E.

    2001-05-01

    This document brings together 18 testimonies of experts about energy trading: 1 - the energy trading experience on European deregulated markets: structure of deregulated energy markets in Europe, case study: a two years experience of a power exchange in western Europe, case study: European energy exchanges (experience of spot and future trading), case study: risk management on energy deregulated markets; 2 - the trading activity environment and realities in France: the French electrical law and the purchase for resale, experience feedback: status after 3 months of trading in France (the first experience of a French producer), the access to the power transportation network, which legal constraints for trading in France, the access of eligible clients to the French power market, conditions of implementation of a power exchange market in France, which real trading possibilities in France for producers and self-producers in the legal frame, case study: the role of trading in the company (main part or link to process), convergence of gas and electricity markets, gas-electricity trading: which pricing models; 3 - risk management and use of new technologies potentiality, the results outside the French borders: case study: what differences between the European and US markets, prices volatility and commodity risk management: towards the on-line trading, role and developments of E-business in energy trading, how to simplify trade in a liberalized market. (J.S.)

  16. Speaking in Tongues: Can International Graduate Students Read International Graduate Admissions Materials?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Zachary W.

    2017-01-01

    A recent Educational Testing Services report (2016) found that international graduate students with a TOEFL score of 80--the minimum average TOEFL score for graduate admission in the United States--usually possess reading subscores of 20, equating to a 12th-grade reading comprehension level. However, one public flagship university's international…

  17. Reading Fluency as a Predictor of Reading Proficiency in Low-Performing, High-Poverty Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Scott K.; Smolkowski, Keith; Katz, Rachell; Fien, Hank; Seeley, John R.; Kame'enui, Edward J.; Beck, Carrie Thomas

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine oral reading fluency (ORF) in the context of a large-scale federal reading initiative conducted in low performing, high poverty schools. The objectives were to (a) investigate the relation between ORF and comprehensive reading tests, (b) examine whether slope of performance over time on ORF predicted…

  18. Reading and Grammar Learning through Mobile Phones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shudong; Smith, Simon

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes an ongoing language-learning project, three years into its development. We examine both the feasibility and the limitations of developing English reading and grammar skills through the interface of mobile phones. Throughout the project, reading and grammar materials were regularly sent to students' mobile phones. Students read…

  19. Emissions trading in the Netherlands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zapfel, P.

    2002-01-01

    In the article 'Emissions trading in the Netherlands. The optimal route towards an international scheme?' (issue 1, 2002) Mulder asks the question to what extent a Dutch national CO2 trading scheme is a worthwhile effort toward an international trading scheme (i.e. is it a first step toward a European-wide emissions trading scheme) when presenting the proposal of the Dutch Commission on CO2 trade and related economic analysis. His conclusion, underlined by modeling results, is that a national scheme along the lines proposed by the Dutch Commission is an expensive policy instrument due to the high transaction costs. The first-best option according to Mulder is to impose CO2-emissions trading with an absolute ceiling on an international level. In the meantime, he states, improving the design of the energy tax system may be an efficient alternative. In this comment I would like to address two issues. First, does the approach proposed by the Dutch Commission make sense from a European perspective towards an EU-wide cap and trade allowance scheme as proposed by the European Commission in October 2001? and Second, what might this Dutch model and philosophy, scaled up to the EU level, look like?

  20. Does Visual Attention Span Relate to Eye Movements during Reading and Copying?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosse, Marie-Line; Kandel, Sonia; Prado, Chloé; Valdois, Sylviane

    2014-01-01

    This research investigated whether text reading and copying involve visual attention-processing skills. Children in grades 3 and 5 read and copied the same text. We measured eye movements while reading and the number of gaze lifts (GL) during copying. The children were also administered letter report tasks that constitute an estimation of the…

  1. Discovering Preferential Patterns in Sectoral Trade Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cingolani, Isabella; Piccardi, Carlo; Tajoli, Lucia

    2015-01-01

    We analyze the patterns of import/export bilateral relations, with the aim of assessing the relevance and shape of "preferentiality" in countries' trade decisions. Preferentiality here is defined as the tendency to concentrate trade on one or few partners. With this purpose, we adopt a systemic approach through the use of the tools of complex network analysis. In particular, we apply a pattern detection approach based on community and pseudocommunity analysis, in order to highlight the groups of countries within which most of members' trade occur. The method is applied to two intra-industry trade networks consisting of 221 countries, relative to the low-tech "Textiles and Textile Articles" and the high-tech "Electronics" sectors for the year 2006, to look at the structure of world trade before the start of the international financial crisis. It turns out that the two networks display some similarities and some differences in preferential trade patterns: they both include few significant communities that define narrow sets of countries trading with each other as preferential destinations markets or supply sources, and they are characterized by the presence of similar hierarchical structures, led by the largest economies. But there are also distinctive features due to the characteristics of the industries examined, in which the organization of production and the destination markets are different. Overall, the extent of preferentiality and partner selection at the sector level confirm the relevance of international trade costs still today, inducing countries to seek the highest efficiency in their trade patterns.

  2. Detection of target phonemes in spontaneous and read speech.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehta, G; Cutler, A

    1988-01-01

    Although spontaneous speech occurs more frequently in most listeners' experience than read speech, laboratory studies of human speech recognition typically use carefully controlled materials read from a script. The phonological and prosodic characteristics of spontaneous and read speech differ considerably, however, which suggests that laboratory results may not generalise to the recognition of spontaneous speech. In the present study listeners were presented with both spontaneous and read speech materials, and their response time to detect word-initial target phonemes was measured. Responses were, overall, equally fast in each speech mode. However, analysis of effects previously reported in phoneme detection studies revealed significant differences between speech modes. In read speech but not in spontaneous speech, later targets were detected more rapidly than targets preceded by short words. In contrast, in spontaneous speech but not in read speech, targets were detected more rapidly in accented than in unaccented words and in strong than in weak syllables. An explanation for this pattern is offered in terms of characteristic prosodic differences between spontaneous and read speech. The results support claims from previous work that listeners pay great attention to prosodic information in the process of recognising speech.

  3. The determinants of trade credit use

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hermes, Niels; Kihanga, Ernest; Lensink, Robert; Lutz, Clemens

    2015-01-01

    Most small businesses in the developing economies suffer from a lack of access to formal external finance. One important alternative source of finance for these entrepreneurs is trade credit. Applying a unique data-set containing data on specific trade relations between rice wholesalers and rice

  4. What Prospects for the World Trading System?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnes Ghibuțiu

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available New developments and dramatic changes are under way in the world trading system. This paper aims to take stock of the latest and most relevant developments and highlight the prospects for global trade governance. The focus is on three major issues, i.e. : (1 the outcome of the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2013 in Bali (Indonesia and especially its significance for enhancing the multilateral trading system; (2 the accelerated pace and scale of negotiations on regional trade agreements (RTAs and their wider impact; and (3 the positive results of continued unilateral trade liberalization efforts, in contrast with the pervasiveness of crisis-related protectionist measures. The paper concludes that, despite improved prospects for multilateral trade liberalization following the last WTO Ministerial Conference, the world trading system is becoming more fragmented and less coherent, and also more uncertain, being increasingly driven by RTAs and a variable geometry approach to WTO trade agreements.

  5. Effects Of Trade Liberalization Policy On The Performance Of Small ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Majority of food processors (i.e. 94 %) were established after the introduction of trade liberalization policy in 1983, and about 67 % sourced raw materials locally and 55 % financed businesses from own savings and profits. The trade liberalization policy had a positive effect on the output growth of SMS food processing ...

  6. Effects of Phonological Training on the Reading and Reading-Related Abilities of Hong Kong Children with Dyslexia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li-Chih Wang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to investigate phonological awareness training by examining outcomes among Chinese children who learn Chinese without phonetic system training. Fifty-six Hong Kong children from the 3rd to 6th grades were recruited. Two-thirds of the children had been officially identified as dyslexic by the local government, and the remainder were considered high risk for dyslexia. The children were divided equally into a control group and an experimental group, with the groups matched as closely as possible by age and gender. Children in the experimental group were trained by onset-rime-level phonological training. The training lasted ~3 weeks, with 15 daily sessions lasting ~20 min each. Our results indicated that children in the experimental group made significant improvements in Chinese character reading, onset awareness, rime awareness, and rapid naming after training. The association between phonological awareness and Chinese character reading, especially the association between rime awareness and Chinese character reading, also changed after training. The benefits of phonological awareness training were more obvious for children younger than 10 years old. The results of the present study can be extended to provide another approach to Chinese learning for children suffering from reading difficulties who are not responding to the usual approach in their region.

  7. International trade law perspectives on paperless trade and inclusive digital trade

    OpenAIRE

    Mitchell, Andrew D.; Mishra, Neha

    2017-01-01

    Cross-border paperless trade is increasingly important to generate economic gains in a digitalised economy. Several developing and least developed countries will need to modernise their domestic laws and regulations to facilitate cross-border electronic transmissions, particularly to promote cloud computing and electronic payments. In recent trade agreements, trading partners have committed to deeper and more comprehensive provisions on electronic commerce, including adopting domestic laws on...

  8. Trade in the Atlantic Basin, 2000-2012: a panoramic view

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorena Ruano

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This article offers a descriptive analysis of the goods trade in the Atlantic, and provides the following data: the largest trade volume can be found in the North Atlantic and the Americas, albeit with slower growth; Africa and South America trade mainly with the North, but with a tendency towards diversification; Europe depends less on Atlantic trade than other regions, South America being the most dependent of these; Africa mainly trades with extra-regional partners; the Atlantic’s role in world trade is diminishing owing to the rise of Asia (China; exports can be divided into those from the North (products with greater added value and the South (raw materials; imports are dominated by automobiles and oil; the main challenge is the economic crisis in Europe; with the Doha round havingstalled, the Atlantic free trade agreements under negotiation (Canada-EU; TTIP are gaining importance, with the aim of boosting the flow of goods, which represents one of the largest in the world.

  9. Systemic trade risk of critical resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klimek, Peter; Obersteiner, Michael; Thurner, Stefan

    2015-11-01

    In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the role of strongly interconnected markets in causing systemic instability has been increasingly acknowledged. Trade networks of commodities are susceptible to cascades of supply shocks that increase systemic trade risks and pose a threat to geopolitical stability. We show that supply risk, scarcity, and price volatility of nonfuel mineral resources are intricately connected with the structure of the worldwide trade networks spanned by these resources. At the global level, we demonstrate that the scarcity of a resource is closely related to the susceptibility of the trade network with respect to cascading shocks. At the regional level, we find that, to some extent, region-specific price volatility and supply risk can be understood by centrality measures that capture systemic trade risk. The resources associated with the highest systemic trade risk indicators are often those that are produced as by-products of major metals. We identify significant strategic shortcomings in the management of systemic trade risk, in particular in the European Union.

  10. Trade Liberalisation and Vertical Integration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bache, Peter Arendorf; Laugesen, Anders Rosenstand

    We build a three-country model of international trade in final goods and intermediate inputs and study the relation between four different types of trade liberalisation and vertical integration. Firms are heterogeneous with respect to both productivity and factor (headquarter) intensity. Final......-good producers face decisions on exporting, vertical integration of intermediate-input production, and whether the intermediate-input production should be offshored to a low-wage country. We find that the fractions of final-good producers that pursue either vertical integration, offshoring, or exporting are all...... increasing when intermediate-input trade or final-goods trade is liberalised. Finally, we provide guidance for testing the open-economy property rights theory of the firm using firm-level data and surprisingly show that the relationship between factor (headquarter) intensity and the likelihood of vertical...

  11. Work-based physiological assessment of physically-demanding trades: a methodological overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Nigel A S; Groeller, Herb

    2003-03-01

    Technological advances, modified work practices, altered employment strategies, work-related injuries, and the rise in work-related litigation and compensation claims necessitate ongoing trade analysis research. Such research enables the identification and development of gender- and age-neutral skills, physiological attributes and employment standards required to satisfactorily perform critical trade tasks. This paper overviews a methodological approach which may be adopted when seeking to establish trade-specific physiological competencies for physically-demanding trades (occupations). A general template is presented for conducting a trade analyses within physically-demanding trades, such as those encountered within military or emergency service occupations. Two streams of analysis are recommended: the trade analysis and the task analysis. The former involves a progressive dissection of activities and skills into a series of specific tasks (elements), and results in a broad approximation of the types of trade duties, and the links between trade tasks. The latter, will lead to the determination of how a task is performed within a trade, and the physiological attributes required to satisfactorily perform that task. The approach described within this paper is designed to provide research outcomes which have high content, criterion-related and construct validities.

  12. A simple test for PPP among traded goods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ph.H.B.F. Franses (Philip Hans); D.J.C. van Dijk (Dick)

    2002-01-01

    textabstractThe so-called Balassa-Samuelson model implies that relative prices of non-traded goods may be nonstationary and, hence, that PPP should preferably be tested on real exchange rates based on prices of traded goods only. We propose a simple test for PPP among traded goods which can be

  13. U.S. International Trade: Trends and Forecasts

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Nanto, Dick K

    2006-01-01

    .... The purpose of this report is to provide current data and brief explanations for the various types of trade flows along with a short discussion of particular trends and points of contention related to trade policy...

  14. What Can Readers Read after Graded Readers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    McQuillan, Jeff

    2016-01-01

    Nation (2014) concluded that most of the vocabulary one needs to read challenging texts in English can be acquired incidentally through voluminous reading. This study examines possible texts that second language (L2) readers can use to move from controlled-vocabulary materials such as graded readers, which go up through approximately the…

  15. Vietnamese Economic Reform: How Important to US-Vietnam Trade Relations

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Croce, Larry W

    2001-01-01

    .... That year, the US trade embargo was lifted as the Vietnamese government promised greater cooperation in resolving issues surrounding US personnel still listed as missing in action from the Vietnam War...

  16. Building ESP Content-Based Materials to Promote Strategic Reading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bautista Barón Myriam Judith

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available This article reports on an action research project that proposes to improve the reading comprehension and vocabulary of undergraduate students of English for Specific Purposes–explosives majors, at a police training institute in Colombia. I used the qualitative research method to explore and reflect upon the teaching-learning processes during implementation. Being the teacher of an English for specific purposes course without the appropriate didactic resources, I designed six reading comprehension workshops based on the cognitive language learning approach not only to improve students’ reading skills but also their autonomy through the use of learning strategies. The data were collected from field notes, artifacts, progress reviews, surveys, and photographs. Este artículo informa sobre un proyecto de investigación cualitativa que propone mejorar la comprensión de lectura y el vocabulario de estudiantes universitarios de inglés que se especializan en temas relativos a explosivos en una escuela de policía, en Colombia. Por tratarse de un curso de inglés específico que carece de los recursos didácticos apropiados, diseñé seis talleres de comprensión de lectura basados en el enfoque del aprendizaje cognitivo de la lengua, para mejorar tanto su comprensión de lectura como su autonomía para usar estrategias de aprendizaje. Para la recolección de datos se emplearon notas de campo, artefactos, pruebas de progreso, encuestas y fotografías. 

  17. COMPETITIVE POSITION OF THE MAIN PRODUCERS AND EXPORTERS OF OILSEEDS AND VEGETABLE OILS IN THE INTRA-EU TRADE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karolina Pawlak

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper was to assess the competitive position of the main producers and exporters of oilseeds and vegetable oils in the intra-EU trade in 2004 and 2012. The competitiveness was assessed with the use of a selected set of quantitative measures of international competitive position. Moreover, some shares of the analysed countries in the intra-EU trade, as well as relative export intensity of oilseeds and vegetable oils in these countries were estimated. On the basis of the conducted analyses it is possible to conclude that apart from Germany in trade in rapeseed and soya beans, as well as the Netherlands in trade in rapeseed and sunflower-seed, the main producers and exporters of oilseeds were competitive on the Single European Market. Excluding soya-bean oil produced in the EU mainly from imported raw material, competitive advantage of most of the countries decreased together with the level of processing and was lower in trade in vegetable oils.

  18. Trade-offs between commuting time and health-related activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christian, Thomas J

    2012-10-01

    To further understand documented associations between obesity and urban sprawl, this research describes individuals' trade-offs between health-related activities and commuting time. A cross-section of 24,861 working-age individuals employed full-time and residing in urban counties is constructed from the American Time Use Survey (2003-2010). Data are analyzed using seemingly unrelated regressions to quantify health-related activity decreases in response to additional time spent commuting. Outcomes are total daily minutes spent in physical activity at a moderate or greater intensity, preparing food, eating meals with family, and sleeping. Commuting time is measured as all travel time between home and work and vice versa. The mean commuting time is 62 min daily, the median is 55 min, and 10.1% of workers commute 120 min or more. Spending an additional 60 min daily commuting above average is associated with a 6% decrease in aggregate health-related activities and spending an additional 120 min is associated with a 12% decrease. The greatest percentage of commuting time comes from sleeping time reductions (28-35%). Additionally, larger proportions of commuting time are taken from physical activity and food preparation relative to the mean commuting length: of 60 min spent commuting, 16.1% is taken from physical activity and 4.1% is taken from food preparation; of 120 min commuting, 20.3% is taken from physical activity and 5.6% is taken from food preparation. The results indicate that longer commutes are associated with behavioral patterns which over time may contribute to obesity and other poor health outcomes. These findings will assist both urban planners and researchers wishing to understand time constraints' impacts on health.

  19. Nuclear trade: An approach to the Argentine situation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Antoniotti, A.A.; Paez, M.R.

    2006-01-01

    Under the Argentine nuclear trade regime, from the early stages of nuclear development an actual and strict monopoly governed the transfer of nuclear materials. That meant that the Federal State took the control as user, producer, purchaser or seller. This policy was inspired and clearly echoed by similar ones developed by other countries with important development in the nuclear field. This paper discusses the types of contract on nuclear commerce, the relation with costs incurred by the nuclear industry, ways in which the Federal State intervenes in nuclear commerce, and comparative policies in other fields or products in Argentina. (author)

  20. How to Be Engaging: Recreational Reading and Readers' Advisory in the Academic Library

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholson, Heather

    2012-01-01

    While recreational reading material was once an integral part of the academic library collection and librarians were seen as guides in reading development for students, this has not been the case in the last 50 years. Fiscal constraints have forced library professionals to make choices so that leisure reading material has not been viewed as a high…

  1. THE ESSENCE OF QUESTIONING AND EXPLICIT READING INSTRUCTION STRATEGY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sa’dulloh Muzammil

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Teacher’s questioning may function to assist students comprehend more reading materials and to enable them to be proficient readers. Yet, the students may be less benefited from which if the teacher neither provides sufficient explicit reading strategy nor involves higher-level questions. Consequently, the teacher should pay more careful attentions as follows: 1 teacher should involve both lower- and high-lever questions; 2 teacher should provide students with explicit reading strategy; 3 teacher should be aware of the activities in reading phases: pre-, during-, and post-reading.

  2. The QAP weighted network analysis method and its application in international services trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Helian; Cheng, Long

    2016-04-01

    Based on QAP (Quadratic Assignment Procedure) correlation and complex network theory, this paper puts forward a new method named QAP Weighted Network Analysis Method. The core idea of the method is to analyze influences among relations in a social or economic group by building a QAP weighted network of networks of relations. In the QAP weighted network, a node depicts a relation and an undirect edge exists between any pair of nodes if there is significant correlation between relations. As an application of the QAP weighted network, we study international services trade by using the QAP weighted network, in which nodes depict 10 kinds of services trade relations. After the analysis of international services trade by QAP weighted network, and by using distance indicators, hierarchy tree and minimum spanning tree, the conclusion shows that: Firstly, significant correlation exists in all services trade, and the development of any one service trade will stimulate the other nine. Secondly, as the economic globalization goes deeper, correlations in all services trade have been strengthened continually, and clustering effects exist in those services trade. Thirdly, transportation services trade, computer and information services trade and communication services trade have the most influence and are at the core in all services trade.

  3. Recognizing and Addressing the Barriers to Adolescents' "Reading Like Historians"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nokes, Jeffery D.

    2011-01-01

    In recent years, there has been a growing body of research investigating how historians read, how children and adolescents read historical materials, and how teachers attempt to help adolescents read like historians. This research suggests that historians, unlike students, are unusually skillful readers employing several heuristics to construct…

  4. Combining rate-based and cap-and-trade emissions policies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fischer, Carolyn

    2003-12-01

    Rate-based emissions policies (like tradable performance standards, TPS) fix average emissions intensity, while cap-and-trade (CAT) policies fix total emissions. This paper shows that unfettered trade between rate-based and cap-and-trade programs always raises combined emissions, except when product markets are related in particular ways. Gains from trade are fully passed on to consumers in the rate-based sector, resulting in more output and greater emissions allocations. We consider several policy options to offset the expansion, including a tax, an 'exchange rate' to adjust for relative permit values, output-based allocation (OBA) for the rate-based sector, and tightening the cap. A range of combinations of tighter allocations could improve situations in both sectors with trade while holding emissions constant

  5. Evaluation of Material Models within LS-DYNA(Registered TradeMark) for a Kevlar/Epoxy Composite Honeycomb

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polanco, Michael A.; Kellas, Sotiris; Jackson, Karen

    2009-01-01

    The performance of material models to simulate a novel composite honeycomb Deployable Energy Absorber (DEA) was evaluated using the nonlinear explicit dynamic finite element code LS-DYNA(Registered TradeMark). Prototypes of the DEA concept were manufactured using a Kevlar/Epoxy composite material in which the fibers are oriented at +/-45 degrees with respect to the loading axis. The development of the DEA has included laboratory tests at subcomponent and component levels such as three-point bend testing of single hexagonal cells, dynamic crush testing of single multi-cell components, and impact testing of a full-scale fuselage section fitted with a system of DEA components onto multi-terrain environments. Due to the thin nature of the cell walls, the DEA was modeled using shell elements. In an attempt to simulate the dynamic response of the DEA, it was first represented using *MAT_LAMINATED_COMPOSITE_FABRIC, or *MAT_58, in LS-DYNA. Values for each parameter within the material model were generated such that an in-plane isotropic configuration for the DEA material was assumed. Analytical predictions showed that the load-deflection behavior of a single-cell during three-point bending was within the range of test data, but predicted the DEA crush response to be very stiff. In addition, a *MAT_PIECEWISE_LINEAR_PLASTICITY, or *MAT_24, material model in LS-DYNA was developed, which represented the Kevlar/Epoxy composite as an isotropic elastic-plastic material with input from +/-45 degrees tensile coupon data. The predicted crush response matched that of the test and localized folding patterns of the DEA were captured under compression, but the model failed to predict the single-cell three-point bending response.

  6. Trade treaties and alcohol advertising policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gould, Ellen

    2005-09-01

    Restrictions on alcohol advertising are vulnerable to challenge under international trade agreements. As countries negotiate new trade treaties and expand the scope of existing ones, the risk of such a challenge increases. While alcohol advertising restrictions normally do not distinguish between foreign and domestic products, this neutral character does not protect them from being challenged under trade rules. The article analyzes four provisions of trade agreements--expropriation, de facto discrimination, market access, and necessity--in relation to the jeopardy they pose for alcohol advertising restrictions. Key cases are reviewed to illustrate how these provisions have been used to either overturn existing advertising restrictions or prevent new ones from coming into force. The article also reports on the mixed results governments have had in trying to justify their regulations to trade panels and the stringent criteria imposed for proving that a regulation is "necessary."

  7. Exchange Rate and International Trade: Case From Indonesian Manufacturing Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anung Yoga Anindhita

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Exchange rate fluctuation in Floating Exchange Rate Regime is considered to Exchange rate fluctuation in Floating Exchange Rate Regime is considered to have impacts on the international trade through its adjustment to the price and its volatility to the trade risk. This paper is aimed at estimating those impacts on the international trade of manufacturing sector in Indonesia for period 2007 to 2014. To conduct estimation, it uses multiple regression analysis on two models: First, the import of raw-and-auxiliary materials; Second, the export of manufacturing sector. The results show that the exchange rate impacts both work significantly on the import of raw-and-auxiliary materials. The finding implies that, through the import of raw-and-auxiliary materials, manufacturing sector is very susceptible to the shock caused by exchange rate changes. Meanwhile, the export of manufacturing sector is not able to take advantage of the depreciation of the exchange rate due to the lack of competitiveness.DOI: 10.15408/sjie.v6i2.5210

  8. 78 FR 60191 - United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-01

    ... Trade Promotion Agreement AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security... tariff treatment and other customs-related provisions of the United States- Colombia Trade Promotion... States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (``CTPA'' or ``Agreement''), and on June 28, 2007, the Parties...

  9. Improving reading comprehension in reading and listening settings: the effect of two training programmes focusing on metacognition and working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carretti, Barbara; Caldarola, Nadia; Tencati, Chiara; Cornoldi, Cesare

    2014-06-01

    Metacognition and working memory (WM) have been found associated with success in reading comprehension, but no studies have examined their combined effect on the training of reading comprehension. Another open question concerns the role of listening comprehension: In particular, it is not clear whether training to improve reading comprehension must necessarily be based on processing written material or whether, as suggested in a recent study by Clarke et al. (2010, Psychol. Sci., 21, 1106), a programme based on verbal language could also be effective. The study examined the feasibility of improving text comprehension in school children by comparing the efficacy of two training programmes, both involving metacognition and WM, but one based on listening comprehension, the other on reading comprehension. The study involved a sample of 159 pupils attending eight classes in the fourth and fifth grades (age range 9-11 years). The listening and reading programmes focused on the same abilities/processes strictly related to text comprehension, and particularly metacognitive knowledge and control, WM (per se and in terms of integrating information in a text). The training programmes were implemented by school teachers as part of the class's normal school activities, under the supervision of experts. Their efficacy was compared with the results obtained in an active control group that completed standard text comprehension activities. Our results showed that both the training programmes focusing on specific text comprehension skills were effective in improving the children's achievement, but training in reading comprehension generated greater gains than the listening comprehension programme. Our study suggests that activities focusing specifically on metacognition and WM could foster text comprehension, but the potential benefit is influenced by the training modality, that is, the Reading group obtained greater and longer-lasting improvements than the Active control or

  10. Digital Reading Disposition Scale: A Study of Validity and Reliability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulut, Berker; Karasakaloglu, Nuri

    2018-01-01

    In this study, "a Digital Reading Disposition Scale" was developed to determine undergraduate pre-service teacher students' dispositions towards digital reading, opposed to a preference for printed reading material. Initially, a 20-items trial version of the scale was administered to a total sample of N = 301 undergraduate pre-service…

  11. Polyester non-woven fabric finger cover as a TRUCT Braille reading assistance tool for Braille learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doi, Kouki; Fujimoto, Hiroshi

    2007-11-01

    Transparent resinous ultraviolet-curing type (TRUCT) Braille signs are becoming more and more popular in Japan, especially when they are printed together with visual characters. These signs are made by screen printing, a technique that can be applied to various base materials, such as paper, metal, and plastic. TRUCT Braille signs have begun to be used in public facilities, such as on tactile maps and on handrails. Naturally, it is expected that Braille beginners will utilize these signs. However, it has been pointed out that the friction between the forefinger and the base material may affect reading accuracy and speed. In this study, we developed a finger cover made of soft, thin polyester non-woven fabric to reduce friction during Braille reading. We also carried out a study to investigate the effect of its use. The subjects were 12 Braille learners with acquired visual impairment, who were asked to read randomly selected characters with and without the finger cover. The results showed that most participants could read TRUCT Braille significantly faster and more accurately with a finger cover than without it, regardless of the base material and dot height. This result suggests that wearing the finger cover enables Braille learners to read TRUCT Braille more efficiently. The finger cover can be used as a Braille reading assistance tool for Braille learners. An additional, health-related advantage of the finger cover is that the forefinger remains clean. We expect that the finger cover will be in practical use in Japan within 1 or 2 years.

  12. Overlapping genetic and child-specific nonshared environmental influences on listening comprehension, reading motivation, and reading comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schenker, Victoria J; Petrill, Stephen A

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the genetic and environmental influences on observed associations between listening comprehension, reading motivation, and reading comprehension. Univariate and multivariate quantitative genetic models were conducted in a sample of 284 pairs of twins at a mean age of 9.81 years. Genetic and nonshared environmental factors accounted for statistically significant variance in listening and reading comprehension, and nonshared environmental factors accounted for variance in reading motivation. Furthermore, listening comprehension demonstrated unique genetic and nonshared environmental influences but also had overlapping genetic influences with reading comprehension. Reading motivation and reading comprehension each had unique and overlapping nonshared environmental contributions. Therefore, listening comprehension appears to be related to reading primarily due to genetic factors whereas motivation appears to affect reading via child-specific, nonshared environmental effects. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Overlapping Genetic and Child-Specific Nonshared Environmental Influences on Listening Comprehension, Reading Motivation, and Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schenker, Victoria J.; Petrill, Stephen A.

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the genetic and environmental influences on observed associations between listening comprehension, reading motivation, and reading comprehension. Univariate and multivariate quantitative genetic models were conducted in a sample of 284 pairs of twins at a mean age of 9.81 years. Genetic and nonshared environmental factors accounted for statistically significant variance in listening and reading comprehension, and nonshared environmental factors accounted for variance in reading motivation. Furthermore, listening comprehension demonstrated unique genetic and nonshared environmental influences but also had overlapping genetic influences with reading comprehension. Reading motivation and reading comprehension each had unique and overlapping nonshared environmental contributions. Therefore, listening comprehension appears to be related to reading primarily due to genetic factors whereas motivation appears to affect reading via child-specific, nonshared environmental effects. PMID:26321677

  14. Contextualizing Embodied Resources in Global Food Trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, G. K.; Brauman, K. A.; Sun, S.; West, P. C.; Carlson, K. M.; Cassidy, E. S.; Gerber, J. S.; Ray, D. K.

    2014-12-01

    Trade in agricultural commodities has created increasingly complex linkages between resource use and food supplies across national borders. Understanding the degree to which food production and consumption relies on trade is vital to understanding how to sustainably meet growing food demands across scales. We use detailed bilateral trade statistics and data on agricultural management to examine the land use and water consumption embodied in agricultural trade, which we relate to basic nutritional indicators to show how trade contributes to food availability worldwide. Agricultural trade carries enough calories to provide >1.7 billion people a basic diet each year. We identify key commodities and producer-consumer relationships that disproportionately contribute to embodied resource use and flows of food nutrition at the global scale. For example, just 15 disproportionately large soybean trades comprised ~10% the total harvested area embodied in export production. We conclude by framing these results in terms of the fraction of each country's food production and consumption that is linked to international trade. These findings help to characterize how countries allocate resources to domestic versus foreign food demand.

  15. Trade Credit Insurance and Asymmetric Information Problem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sokolovska Olena

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The presence of different risk factors in international trade gives evidence of the necessity of support in gaps that may affect exporters’ activity. To maximize the trade volumes and in the same time to minimize the exporters’ risks the stakeholders use trade credit insurance. The paper provides analysis of conceptual background of the trade credit insurance in the world. We analyzed briefly the problems, arising in insurance markets due to asymmetric information, such as adverse selection and moral hazard. Also we discuss the main stages of development of trade credit insurance in countries worldwide. Using comparative and graphical analysis we provide a brief evaluation of the dynamics of claims and recoveries for different forms of trade credit insurance. We found that the claims related to the commercial risk for medium and long trade credits in recent years exceed the recoveries, while with the political risk the reverse trend holds. And we originally consider these findings in terms of information asymmetry in the trade credit insurance differentiated by type of risk.

  16. The Relations between Early Working Memory Abilities and Later Developing Reading Skills: A Longitudinal Study from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nevo, Einat; Bar-Kochva, Irit

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the relations of early working-memory abilities (phonological and visual-spatial short-term memory [STM] and complex memory and episodic buffer memory) and later developing reading skills. Sixty Hebrew-speaking children were followed from kindergarten through Grade 5. Working memory was tested in kindergarten and reading in…

  17. Reading and listening in people with aphasia: effects of syntactic complexity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeDe, Gayle

    2013-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare online effects of syntactic complexity in written and spoken sentence comprehension in people with aphasia (PWA) and adults with no brain damage (NBD). The participants in Experiment 1 were NBD older and younger adults (n = 20 per group). The participants in Experiment 2 were 10 PWA. In both experiments, the participants read and listened to sentences in self-paced reading and listening tasks. The experimental materials consisted of object cleft sentences (e.g., It was the girl who the boy hugged.) and subject cleft sentences (e.g., It was the boy who hugged the girl.). The predicted effects of syntactic complexity were observed in both Experiments 1 and 2: Reading and listening times were longer for the verb in sentences with object compared to subject relative clauses. The NBD controls showed exaggerated effects of syntactic complexity in reading compared to listening. The PWA did not show different modality effects from the NBD participants. Although effects of syntactic complexity were somewhat exaggerated in reading compared with listening, both the PWA and the NBD controls showed similar effects in both modalities.

  18. The determinants of aggregate energy use in Western Germany: factor substitution, technological change, and trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Welsch, H.; Ochsen, C.

    2005-01-01

    This paper examines the determinants of production-related energy use in West Germany over the period 1976-1994. The approach is to estimate a system of share equations for energy, capital, low-skilled labor, high-skilled labor, and materials in the West German production sector, taking account of biased technological change and increasing trade orientation. While technological change is found to be energy saving, increased openness is energy using, i.e., tends to increase the energy share. Factor substitution, biased technological change, and trade contribute to the year-to-year volatility of energy intensity in the proportion 66:30:4. The results are robust across several specifications examined. (author)

  19. The design process of a reading comprehension manual

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Alonso Lopera Medina

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Material design is an important part in the teaching practices. This article describes the process of material design of a foreign language (FL reading manual for undergraduate students at Universidad de Antioquia (Medellín – Colombia. A case study was used as a research method. Four in-service English teachers based their inquiry following the reflective approach of professional development. They also took into account the guidelines to design teaching materials proposed by Howard and Major (2004.  Some of the results of their inquiry for the design of the manual involve contextualization, personalization, and students’ needs. A sample of a reading strategy is given in order to illustrate how teachers worked and designed the manual as a product of their inquiry. Conclusions suggest that this professional development practice helped teachers become more aware of their own teaching realities and also helped them to understand their beliefs and practice in teaching reading as a foreign language.

  20. Additive versus multiplicative trade costs and the gains from trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Allan

    This paper addresses welfare effects from trade liberalization in a heterogeneous-fi…rms trade model including the empirically important per-unit (i.e. additive) trade costs in addition to the conventional iceberg (i.e. multiplicative) and fi…xed trade costs. The novel contribution of the paper...... is the result that the welfare gain for a given increase in trade openness is higher for reductions in per-unit (additive) trade costs than for reductions in iceberg (multiplicative) trade costs. The ranking derives from differences in intra-industry reallocations and in particular from dissimilar impacts...