Abstract: Handwriting has continued to persist as a means of communication and recording information in day-to-day life even with the introduction of new technologies. Given its ubiquity in human transactions, machine recognition of handwriting has practical significance, as in reading handwritten notes in a PDA, in postal addresses on envelopes, in amounts in bank checks, in handwritten fields in forms, etc. This overview describes the nature of handwritten language, how it is transduced into electronic data, and the basic concepts behind written language recognition algorithms. Both the online case (which pertains to the availability of trajectory data during writing) and the off-line case (which pertains to scanned images) are considered. Algorithms for preprocessing, character and word recognition, and performance with practical systems are indicated. Other fields of application, like signature verification, writer authentification, handwriting learning tools are also considered.

Abstract: Situated Literacies is a rich and varied collection of key writings from leading international scholars in the field of literacy. Each contribution, written in a clear, accessible style, makes the link between literacies in specific contexts and broader social practices. Detailed ethnographic studies of a wide variety of specific situations, all involving real texts and lived practices, are balanced with general claims about the nature of literacy. Contributors address a coherent set of issues: * the visual and material aspects of literacy * concepts of time and space in relation to literacy * the functions of literacies in shaping and sustaining identities in communities of practice * the relationship between texts and the practices associated with their use the role of discourse analysis on literacy studies These studies, along with a foreword by Denny Taylor, make a timely and important contribution to literacy theory and suggest directions for the further development of the field. Situated Literacies is essential reading for anyone involved in literary education.

Abstract: Internationally recognised as one of the leading texts in its field, this volume offers a comprehensive introduction to vocabulary for language teachers who would like to know more about the way vocabulary works. Two leading specialists make research and theory accessible, providing the background knowledge necessary for practitioners to make informed choices about vocabulary teaching and testing. This second edition retains the popular format of the first edition, and has been rewritten to take account of the many developments in the past 20 years. There is a greater focus on the vocabulary learning process, with new chapters on incidental learning, and intentional learning, and a new wide-ranging discussion of formulaic language. The book now also includes extensive treatment of word lists and vocabulary tests, with explanations of their various strengths and limitations. Updated further reading sections, and new Exercises for Expansion make this volume more invaluable than ever.

Abstract: Unquestionably, data analysis is the most complex and mysterious of all of the phases of a qualitative project, and the one that receives the least thoughtful discussion in the literature. For neophyte nurse researchers, many of the data collection strategies involved in a qualitative project may feel familiar and comfortable. After all, nurses have always based their clinical practice on learning as much as possible about the people they work with, and detecting commonalities and variations among and between them in order to provide individualised care. However, creating a database is not sufficient to conduct a qualitative study. In order to generate findings that transform raw data into new knowledge, a qualitative researcher must engage in active and demanding analytic processes throughout all phases of the research. Understanding these processes is therefore an important aspect not only of doing qualitative research, but also of reading, understanding, and interpreting it. For readers of qualitative studies, the language of analysis can be confusing. It is sometimes difficult to know what the researchers actually did during this phase and to understand how their findings evolved out of the data that were collected or constructed. Furthermore, in describing their processes, some authors use language that accentuates this sense of mystery and magic. For example, they may claim that their conceptual categories “emerged” from the data1—almost as if they left the raw data out overnight and awoke to find that the data analysis fairies had organised the data into a coherent new structure that explained everything! In this EBN notebook, I will try to help readers make sense of some of the assertions that are made about qualitative data analysis so that they can develop a critical eye for when an analytical claim is convincing and when it is not. Qualitative data come …

Abstract: Foreword. Introduction. Vitual Tax--Payers. The National State Caught between World Economy and Individualization: What is to be Done?. The Globalization Shock: A Belated Discussion. Part I: Dimensions, Controversies, Definitions: . 1. The World Horizon Opens Up: On the Sociology of Globalization. 2. Transnational Civil Society: How a Cosmopolitan Vision is Emerging. 3. Contours of World Society: Rival Perspectives. Part II: Perspectives:. 4. Errors of Globalism. 5. Responses to Globalization. 6. Europe and Globalization. Conclusion: Decline a la Carte: The Brazilianization of Europe. Further Reading. Index.

Abstract: This work describes research questions for which the statistic is most appropriate, the underlying assumptions and rationale of the analysis, and the logic behind interpreting the results. It is designed to clarify each statistic's logic and utility rather than teach applications.

Abstract: Foreword, Isabel L. Beck. Preface. I. The Role of Context Effects in Models of Reading. Early Applications of Information Processing Concepts to the Study of Reading: The Role of Sentence Context. Automatic Contextual Facilitation in Readers of Three Ages, West, Stanovich. Toward an Interactive Compensatory Model of Individual Differences in the Development of Reading Fluency. The Interactive Compensatory Model of Reading: A Confluence of Developmental, Experimental, and Educational Psycholgoy. II. Phonological Sensitivity and the Phonological Core Deficit Model. Early Reading Acquisition and the Causes of Reading Difficulty: Contributions to Research on Phonological Processing. Assessing Phonological Awareness in Kindergarten Children: Issues of Task Comparability, Stanovich, Cunningham, Cramer. Explaining the Differences between the Dyslexic and the Garden-Variety Poor Reader: The Phonological-Core Variable-Difference Model. The Phenotypic Performance Profile of Reading-Disabled Children: A Regression Based Test of the Phonological-Core Variable- Difference Model, Stanovich, Seigal. III. Matthew Effects in Reading. Tying It all Togehter: A Model of Reading Acquisition and Reading Difficulty. Matthew Effects in Reading: Some Consequences of Individual Difference in the Acquisition of Literacy. IV. The Importance of Word Recognition in Models of Reading. The Word Recognition Module. Concepts in Developmental Theories of Reading Skill: Cognitive Resources, Automacity, and Modularity. V. The Cognitive Consequences of Literacy. Measuring Print Exposure: Attempts to Empirically Track 'Rich Get Richer' Effects. Exposure to Print and Orthographic Processing, Stanovich, West. Does Reading Make You Smarter?: Literacy and the Development of Verbal Intelligence. Literacy Experiences and the Shaping of Cognition, Stanovich, Cunningham, West. Reading Disability Classification: Are Reforms Based on Evidence Possible? Discrepancy Definitions of Reading Disability: Has Intelligence Led Us Astray? VII. The Reading Instruction: Comments on the 'Reading Wars'. Putting Children First by Putting Science First: The Politics of Early Reading Instruction. Romance and Reality. 25 Years of Reserach on the Reading Process: The Grand Synthesis and What It Means for Our Field.

Abstract: Many new words middle school children encounter in books they read are relatively transparent derived forms whose meanings might be figured out through analysis of the word parts. Of importance is whether students can not only read and recognize the structure of morphologically complex words but also determine their meanings. This issue was addressed by investigating the relationship of third and fifth graders' awareness of the structure and meanings of derived words and the relationship of these forms of morphological awareness to word reading and reading comprehension. The results showed that awareness of structure was significantly related to the ability to define morphologically complex words; some aspects were also significantly related to the reading of derived words. The three morphology tasks accounted for significant variance in reading comprehension at both grade levels, but the contribution was stronger for the fifth than the third grade. It may be educationally noteworthy that morphological analysis contributed significantly to reading comprehension for the third graders because they are presumably just beginning to learn to read and understand morphologically complex words.

Abstract: Abstract It is difficult now to reconstruct the logic that led us to believe that the nature of human relationships—the degree to which an individual is interconnected and embedded in a community—is vital to an individual’s health and well-being as well as to the health and vitality of entire populations. In retrospect, a combination of observations and reading the rich theoretical literature on social integration, attachment, and social networks led us to test these ideas empirically.

Abstract: PART ONE NOTIONS OF LITERACY PART TWO READING AS DESIGN PART THREE COMPUTERS, LANGUAGE, AND LITERACY

Abstract: The goal of many recent intervention studies has been to examine the conditions that must be in place for all children to acquire adequate reading skills. Although the ultimate goal of reading instruction is to help children acquire the skills necessary to comprehend text, an important subgoal for early reading instruction is to teach children to identify words accurately on the printed page. Five recent studies of methods to prevent reading difficulties were examined in light of the goal that every child should acquire adequate word reading skills during early elementary school. It was estimated that our best current methods, if applied broadly, would leave anywhere from 2% to 6% of children with inadequate word reading skills in the first and second grades. Several broad characteristics of these "treatment resisters" are identified, and the implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

Abstract: 1. Reading Instruction in American Schools. 2. What Really Matters: Kids Need to Read a Lot. 3. Kids Need Books They Can Read. 4. Kids Need to Learn to Read Fluently. 5. Kids Need to Develop Thoughtful Literacy. 6. Where to Begin: Instruction for Struggling Readers. 7.Afterword. Bibliography. Index.

Abstract: This article integrates the findings in the special issue with a comprehensive review of the evidence for seven central questions about the role of naming-speed deficits in developmental reading disabilities. Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and cross-linguistic research on naming-speed processes, timing processes, and reading is presented. An evolving model of visual naming illustrates areas of difference and areas of overlap between naming speed and phonology in their underlying requirements. Work in the cognitive neurosciences is used to explore two nonexclusive hypotheses about the putative links between naming speed and reading processes and about the sources of disruption that may cause subtypes of reading disabilities predicted by the double-deficit hypothesis. Finally, the implications of the work in this special issue for diagnosis and intervention are elaborated.

Abstract: A brief retrospective is first provided on the study of reading and writing relations. Next, it is suggested that research has supported the theoretical contention that reading and writing rely on analogous mental processes and isomorphic knowledge. Four basic types of shared knowledge are delineated. Then, reasons are articulated about why it is also important to consider the separability of reading and writing. Further, over time, as reading and writing are learned, the nature of their relation changes. A description is then offered of a preliminary developmental outlook on the relation of reading and writing. The article concludes with theoretical and practical implications for use of a developmental model.

Abstract: A meta-analysis of supplemental, adult-instructed one-to-one reading interventions for elementary students at risk for reading failure was conducted. Reading outcomes for 42 samples of students (N = 1,539) investigated in 29 studies reported between 1975 and 1998 had a mean weighted effect size of 0.41 when compared with controls. Interventions that used trained volunteers or college students were highly effective. For Reading Recovery interventions, effects for students identified as discontinued were substantial, whereas effects for students identified as not discontinued were not significantly different from zero. Two studies comparing one-to-one with small-group supplemental instruction showed no advantage for the one-to-one programs.

Abstract: Converging evidence from a number of neuroimaging studies, including our own, suggest that fluent word identification in reading is related to the functional integrity of two consolidated left hemisphere (LH) posterior systems: a dorsal (temporo-parietal) circuit and a ventral (occipito-temporal) circuit. This posterior system is functionally disrupted in developmental dyslexia. Reading disabled readers, relative to nonimpaired readers, demonstrate heightened reliance on both inferior frontal and right hemisphere posterior regions, presumably in compensation for the LH posterior difficulties. We propose a neurobiological account suggesting that for normally developing readers the dorsal circuit predominates at first, and is associated with analytic processing necessary for learning to integrate orthographic features with phonological and lexical-semantic features of printed words. The ventral circuit constitutes a fast, late-developing, word identification system which underlies fluent word recognition in skilled readers.

Abstract: Part 1. Foundations. M. Coltheart, Assumptions and Methods in Cognitive Neuropsychology. O. Selnes, Contributions from the Study of Deficits to Our Understanding of Brain Function: A Historical Overview. Part 2. Objects. M.J. Riddoch, G. Humphreys, Recognizing and Identifying Objects. E. de Haan, Face Recognition. Part 3. Attention. C. Umilta, Mechanisms of Attention. M. Farah, Consciousness. Part 4. Words. A. Hillis, The Organization of Lexical Knowledge. W. Badecker, Allen, Morphology: The Internal Structure of Words. B. Rapp, J. Folk, Reading Words. M. Tainturier, B. Rapp, Spelling Words. L. Nickels, Spoken Word Production. Part 5. Sentences. R. Martin, Understanding Sentences. R. Berndt, Producing Sentences. T. Gollan, J. Kroll, Bilingualism. Part 6. Memory. A. Parkin, Memory Systems. J. Shelton, A. Caramazza, Semantic Categories. D. Schacter, C. Dodson, Constructive Processes in Memory. Part 7. Space, Time, Numerosity and Music. M. Noel, Numerical Cognition. I. Peretz, Musical Cognition. M. McCloskey, Spatial Frames of Reference. J. Mangels, R. Ivry, Temporal Processing. Part 8. Actions and Plans. L. Buxbaum, B. Coslett, Motor Programming and Execution. G. Humphreys, Planning and Executing Complex Action Sequences. Part 9. Future Directions. M. McCloskey, Future Directions.

Abstract: 1. Why Test Language for Specific Purposes? 2. Specific Purpose Language Ability 3. Context, Discourse Domains, and Task Characteristics 4. Strategic competence: Between knowledge and context 5. From Target Language Use to Test Tasks 6. Specific Purpose Tests of Listening and Speaking 7. Specific Purpose Tests of Reading and Writing 8. LSP Test Development and Technology.

Abstract: There is some controversy in the research literature as towhether the development of reading skills in differentorthographies varies primarily as a function of common underlyingcognitive processes (`the central processing hypothesis'), oralternatively, as a function of orthographic transparency (`thescript dependent hypothesis'). These alternative views wereexamined by studying the reading skills of 245 children in grades1--5, learning to read concurrently in English, their firstlanguage (L1) and Hebrew, their second language (L2). Childrenwere administered a non-verbal intelligence task, parallel L1 andL2 memory tasks, and word recognition and pseudoword readingtasks in both languages. Ratings of Hebrew oral proficiency wereprovided by teachers. The central processing hypothesis waspartially supported in that regardless of orthography, memoryexplained a small proportion of the variance on L1 and L2 readingmeasures. Though L2 oral proficiency was a significant predictorof L2 reading, it explained only a small proportion of thevariance. The script dependent hypothesis was supported by thefact that (a) children could read more accurately voweled Hebrew(a `transparent' orthography) than English (a `deep'orthography), (b) the developmental profiles associated withEnglish word recognition and pseudoword decoding was much steeperthan the one depicting Hebrew word recognition and Hebrewpseudoword word decoding, and (c) decoding error categories wereorthography-specific. We conclude that the two alternatives arecomplementary: When the script is less complex young childrenappear to develop their word recognition skills with relativeease, even in the absence of sufficient linguistic proficiency.At the same time, a more accurate picture of what facilitates L1and L2 reading development is enhanced when individualdifferences in underlying cognitive skills are considered aswell.

Abstract: The relationship between the home environments of 66 children and their language and literacy development was examined. After accounting for child age, parent education, and child ability as indexed by scores on a rapid automatized naming task and Block Design of the WPPSI-R, shared book reading at home made no contribution to the prediction of the literacy skills of letter name and letter sound knowledge in kindergarten. In contrast, home activities involving letters predicted modest and statistically significant amounts of variance. For the areas of receptive vocabulary and phonological sensitivity, neither shared book reading nor letter activities were predictive. Follow-up to mid-Grade 2 underscored the importance of letter name/sound knowledge and phonological sensitivity in kindergarten in accounting for individual differences in later achievement in reading comprehension, phonological spelling, and conventional spelling.

Abstract: The “Simple View of Reading” proposes that reading comprehension could be predicted by the product of decoding and linguistic comprehension. A somewhat modified version of this model suggests that the relationship between decoding and linguistic comprehension should be additive rather than multiplicative. This research is comprised of two studies. The first study compared the efficacy of the two formulas: (a) Reading Comprehension = Decoding ◊ Listening Comprehension, and (b) Reading Comprehension = Decoding + Listening Comprehension. The second study reported here explored whether adding another factor, speed of processing, to the Simple View of Reading formula improves its ability to predict reading comprehension. Forty third-grade children were administered word-attack and listening comprehension subtests from the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery; the reading comprehension subtest from the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests; and a list of 40 letters to measure speed of processing. The results showed that Decoding and Listening Comprehension, whether multiplied with each other or added to each other, did not significantly alter the outcome. Furthermore, while 48% of the variance for Reading Comprehension could be explained by Decoding and Listening Comprehension, speed of naming the letters added another 10%. A modified model of reading is proposed which can be expressed by the formula, R = D ◊ C + S.

Abstract: Physiognomy, the art of reading personality traits from faces, dates back to ancient Greece, and is still very popular. The present studies examine several aspects and consequences of the process of reading traits from faces. Using faces with neutral expressions, it is demonstrated that personality information conveyed in faces changes the interpretation of verbal information. Moreover, it is shown that physiognomic information has a consistent effect on decisions, and creates overconfidence in judgments. It is argued, however, that the process of "reading from faces" is just one side of the coin, the other side of which is "reading into faces." Consistent with the latter, information about personality changes the perception of facial features and, accordingly, the perceived similarity between faces. The implications of both processes and questions regarding their automaticity are discussed.

Abstract: Concurrent relationships among measures of naming speed, phonological awareness, orthographic skill, and other reading subskills were explored in a representative sample of second graders. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that naming speed, as measured by the the rapid automatized naming (RAN) task, accounted for a sizable amount of unique variance in reading with vocabulary and phonemic awareness partialled out. The unique contribution of naming speed to reading was relatively stronger for orthographic skills, whereas the contribution of phonemic skills was stronger for nonword decoding. In further analyses, marked difficulties on a range of reading tasks, including orthographic processing, were seen in a subgroup with a double deficit (slow naming speed and low phonemic awareness) but not in groups with only a single deficit. These findings are broadly consistent with Bowers and Wolf's (1993a, 1993b; Wolf & Bowers, 1999) double-deficit hypothesis of reading disability.

Abstract: This study explored the relationship between language anxiety and reading in Spanish. The issues addressed were: (1) the effect of language anxiety on the reading comprehension and recall of university-level language students and (2) the effect of language anxiety on the reading process itself. A total of 89 participants, all students in two different levels of Spanish at a large university, took part in the study. Two inventories assessed two different anxiety levels: the Reading Anxiety Scale and the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. Also, an instrument called the Cognitive Interference Questionnaire was used to assess the number of off-task thoughts of each participant while reading. The reading comprehension assessment measures consisted of a written recall protocol and a multiple-choice test. The results indicated that more highly anxious students (those with high scores on both anxiety inventories) tended to recall less passage content than did those participants who claimed to experience minimal anxiety. For the type of information recalled, the relationships between anxiety and recall were less systematic. Reading anxiety affected the number of important (“High”) pausal units recalled, whereas foreign language classroom anxiety affected the number of supporting (“Mid”) pausal units recalled. In both cases, highly anxious learners recalled fewer pausal units. In contrast, neither reading anxiety nor foreign language classroom anxiety affected significantly the recall of unimportant (“Low”) pausal units. Results from the analysis of data from the Cognitive Interference Questionnaire indicated that highly anxious students tended to experience more off-task, interfering thoughts than their less-anxious counterparts.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to uncover any differences in the early reading and spelling processes of children learning to read in a first language (L1) and children learning to read in a second language (L2). The reading and spelling development of native Dutch-speaking children and minority children in the first two grades of elementary school were compared. The children were given a number of tasks to test their vocabulary knowledge and the efficiency of their word decoding (including grapheme knowledge and word blending), word spelling (including cipher knowledge and phonemic segmentation), and reading comprehension processes. Analyses of variance were used to test for differences between the L1 and L2 learners. LISREL analyses were used to explore the components underlying the reading and spelling processes in the 2 groups of children. The results showed that the minority children kept up with the native Dutch-speaking children on word blending and word decoding tasks. On word spelling and reading ...