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As handheld computers are becoming powerful, portable and wireless, they have recently received considerable attention in education because their multi-functionality and mobility can be used for supporting learning activities in various manner. In spite of the potential in education, handheld computers have several limitations. One of the critical limitations is the small screen size. In an attempt to find factors affecting text readability on the small screen of handheld computers, this study, first, reviewed basic reading process and reading model, previous studies examining potential factors affecting text readability on a small handheld screen. This study investigated the effect of screen orientation and margin on reading performance (reading speed and comprehension) and subjective impressions (ease of reading, mental workload and satisfaction) with a handheld computer. A 2x2 within-subject factorial design was conducted with 16 participants reading texts from a PDA (Compaq iPAQ 3850). The results of this study indicated that neither screen orientation nor margin had a significant influence on objective reading performance and subjective impression. It was found that there were no prevailing preference of screen orientation and margin in reading texts from a handheld computer screen. It was also found that participants had a favorable reading experience with the handheld computers. Based on results of experiments and post-experiment questionnaire, a set of recommendations was developed to improve reading from small screens of handheld computers. / Master of Science

In today’s multicultural society it is increasingly important that information is made available in a way that allows it to reach as many people as possible. The present study investigates the readability of the information provided in English on a Swedish municipality’s website. While Umeå Municipality sets a good example when it comes to providing information in foreign languages, the question is how easy the information is to read. The methods used to measure the readability of the texts were three automated readability formulas as well as additional analyses focusing on sentence structure and the number of clauses per word. The results show that despite obvious efforts to follow the guidelines for providing public information, more attention needs to be given to the form of the texts themselves. The complexity of the texts as gauged by the reading formulas was in all cases greater than what is recommended for information written for the general public. Some of the texts would seem to require the reader to have a college degree to fully comprehend the information. The supplementary analyses, especially when it comes to the number of clauses per sentence, confirmed the complexity of the texts. The importance of ‘writing for your audience’ thus seems to have been neglected for parts of the analysed material, which implies that some readers may not fully understand their rights and responsibilities regarding the areas addressed on the municipality’s website.

Submitted by Elba Lopes (elba.lopes@fecap.br) on 2017-08-16T18:06:18Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Fab??ola D???Agostini Peleias.pdf: 1095248 bytes, checksum: c2e855673f21c61c746dc10139ca07b2 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-16T18:06:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Fab??ola D???Agostini Peleias.pdf: 1095248 bytes, checksum: c2e855673f21c61c746dc10139ca07b2 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-01-31 / The accounting professional who prepares financial statements, which must be clear and accurate, needs to consider the comprehension degree of the user of financial information. Therefore, they have to enhance the language quality necessary to prepare these statements. In this context, there has been an increase in readability studies and a need to increase the written language of financial information. The aim of this research was to verify the (un) favorable linguistic features in financial statements of companies listed in Brazilian capital market, in Brazilian Portuguese. In this regard, the Textual Linguistics was chosen as a basis theory, because it allows the study of grammatical, semantic and pragmatic features of the Language. Based on the proposed aim, a tool was designed ??? a checklist of (un) favorable linguistic features pointed in financial information literature. Two constructs were considered for this end: cohesion and coherence. The favorable linguistic features categorized in the tool are: pause, ellipsis, simple sentences, sentences up to two lines, connectors and substitution. And the unfavorable are: repetition of words, long sentences, complex sentences, lack of parallelism, lack of pause, confused text, words of more than three syllables and jargon. The financial statements of IBRX50 BOVESPA 2015 social year were researched, and, for each one, the Flesch test was applied. It was observed very little variability in Flesch results. Therefore, three companies with the highest Flesch results and three with the smallest were chosen and analyzed in Atlas TI Software, through the codes. For each code, a(n) (un) favorable feature was categorized and observed in the six selected financial statements. All (un) favorable features were detected in the financial statements, in higher or smaller quantity. However, when comparing these results with the Flesch ones, there was no relationship between them. It was expected that companies with higher Flesch for readability would present more favorable features, and companies with smaller Flesch, more unfavorable. Nonetheless, this was not found in the researched sample. In this sense, it could be said that the Flesch test alone is insufficient for Financial Statements readability. It is necessary to consider other qualitative features. / O profissional cont??bil que atua na prepara????o das demonstra????es financeiras, que devem ser claras, precisa considerar o grau de compreens??o do usu??rio que utiliza a informa????o cont??bil. Por isso, deve buscar melhorar a qualidade da linguagem que utiliza na prepara????o dessas demonstra????es. Nesse cen??rio, tem havido um aumento de estudos da readability e da necessidade de melhora na linguagem escrita das informa????es cont??beis. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar os mecanismos lingu??sticos (des)favor??veis nas demonstra????es financeiras de empresas listadas no mercado de capitais brasileiro, no idioma portugu??s brasileiro. Para isso, optou-se pela Lingu??stica Textual como teoria de base, pois ela permite estudar as caracter??sticas gramaticais, sem??nticas e pragm??ticas da l??ngua. Ao considerar o objetivo proposto, foi constru??do um instrumento, que ?? um checklist de mecanismos (des)favor??veis apontados na literatura para as demonstra????es financeiras. Para isso, dois constructos foram considerados: coes??o e coer??ncia. No instrumento, os mecanismos lingu??sticos favor??veis categorizados foram: pausa, elipse, estruturas simples, senten??as de at?? duas linhas, uso de conectores e a substitui????o. E os desfavor??veis foram: repeti????o de palavras, frases longas, estruturas complexas, quebra de paralelismo, falta de pausa, confus??o no texto, poliss??labas e jarg??o. Foram pesquisadas as demonstra????es financeiras do exerc??cio de 2015 das empresas do IBRX50 (BOVESPA) e para cada uma, foi aplicada a m??trica de Flesch. Observou-se pouca variabilidade na nota de Flesch nas empresas. Foram ent??o selecionadas tr??s com maior Flesch e tr??s com menor para an??lise no software Atlas TI, por meio dos c??digos. Para cada um, foi elencado um mecanismo (des)favor??vel. Esses mecanismos foram observados nas seis demonstra????es financeiras selecionadas. Todos os mecanismos favor??veis e desfavor??veis do instrumento foram observados nas demonstra????es financeiras, em maior ou menor grau. Contudo, ao comparar esses resultados com as notas de Flesch, n??o se verificou rela????o entre eles. Esperava-se que empresas com maior Flesch para readability apresentariam mais mecanismos favor??veis, e empresas com menor Flesch, mais desfavor??veis. Entretanto, isso n??o ocorreu na amostra pesquisada. Assim, entende-se que a m??trica de Flesch, sozinha, ?? insuficiente para a readability das Demonstra????es, sendo necess??rio observar outros atributos qualitativos.

This study examines the readability of text books used by Year 11 students at a Secondary College in the A.C.T. Twenty-seven texts are examined with the majority being taken from the area of Social Science. The texts are examined using the following measures, The Fry Readability Index, The SMOG Formula, The Cloze Measure, The number of Words per T-Unit and the level of Abstraction of the text. According to these indices between 60% and 84% of the texts are too difficult for students commencing Year 11. This study also examined the interrelationship between the indices. A feature of this study is that it introduces into readability measures a consideration of the number of words per T-Unit and level of Abstraction

<p>The purpose of this study was to analyze texts from four English textbook series for Swedish school years 7-9 as regards their readability and to investigate whether the text difficulty progresses within series with grade level and with each assigned difficulty level. The study also wished to make comparisons between these textbook series to determine if they are equivalent as regards their average readability level. The readability formulas Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid in Microsoft Word 2007 was used for calculation of the readability grade levels of a selection of 231 texts from the series <em>Good Stuff</em>, <em>Happy</em>, <em>Time </em>and <em>Wings. </em>The results from both formulas indicated that the texts in general become more difficult for each school year and with assigned level. However, the study showed that there are differences among the four series as regards their average difficulty levels and that there is a great difficulty range among texts.</p>

The purpose of this study was to analyze texts from four English textbook series for Swedish school years 7-9 as regards their readability and to investigate whether the text difficulty progresses within series with grade level and with each assigned difficulty level. The study also wished to make comparisons between these textbook series to determine if they are equivalent as regards their average readability level. The readability formulas Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid in Microsoft Word 2007 was used for calculation of the readability grade levels of a selection of 231 texts from the series Good Stuff, Happy, Time and Wings. The results from both formulas indicated that the texts in general become more difficult for each school year and with assigned level. However, the study showed that there are differences among the four series as regards their average difficulty levels and that there is a great difficulty range among texts.

Att hitta rätt är något som vi ofta tar för givet utan att reflektera över hur det egentligen sker. När vi befinner oss på okända platser är det vanligt att vi ställs inför utmaningar när det kommer till navigering. Vi har alla upplevt situationer där vi gått vilse, känt oss förvirrade och tvingats fråga om vägbeskrivningar för att nå vårt mål. Ofta är det bristfällig skyltning och otydlig kommunikation som ligger bakom problemet. Med detta examenarbete i informationsdesign med inriktning textdesign är syftet att undersöka och förstå de utmaningar som besökare upplever i samband med besök i allmänna besöksytor. Genom att analysera befintliga skyltningssystem, kommunikationsmetoder och tillgänglighetssystem i byggnaden Värjan i Eskilstuna, har jag försökt att identifiera specifika brister och områden för förbättring. Via observationer, intervjuer och utvärderingar har jag kartlagt och analyserat besökarnas behov. Målet är att studien ska kunna bidra till en ökad förståelse för hur visuell tydlighet och kommunikation kan minska hindren som gör att besökarna inte hittar dit de ska. Studien bygger på teorier inom kognition, wayshowing och grafisk design för att ge funktion och tyngd åt studien. Med stöd av den teoretiska grunden och insamlade empirin föreslås ett gestaltningsförslag som utgår från byggnaden Värjan i Eskilstuna. / Finding the right way is something that we often take for granted without reflecting on how it happens. When we find ourselves in unfamiliar places, it is common for us to face challenges when it comes to navigation. We have all experienced situations where we got lost, felt confused and had to ask for directions to reach our destination. Often insufficient signage and unclear communication lies behind the problem. With this thesis in information design with a focus on text design, the aim is to investigate and understand the challenges that visitors experience in connection with visits to public visitor spaces. By analyzing existing signage systems, communication methods and accessibility systems in the building Värjan in Eskilstuna, I have tried to identify specific shortcomings and areas for improvement. Through observations, interviews and trials, I have mapped and analyzed the visitors' needs. The goal for the study is to be able to contribute to an increased understanding of how visual clarity and communication can reduce the obstacles that prevent visitors from finding where they are going. The study is based on theories in cognition, wayshowing and graphic design to give function and weight to the study. With the support of the theoretical foundation and collected empirical evidence, a design proposal is proposed presented that starts from the building Värjan in Eskilstuna.

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