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This research examines whether changes in the regulatory environment (Plain English Guidelines, Reg. FD and SOX), management pessimism, and meeting/beating or missing analyst forecasts have had an impact on earnings disclosure readability over the 1997-2007 timeframe and whether firm managers are able to make negative firm financial information less transparent to the market by making negative earnings disclosures less readable. The idea that management may attempt to reduce the impact of bad news by making it more costly to analyze is not new. However, studying the qualitative aspects of the unaudited earnings disclosures is a unique setting and extends previous work on annual report readability. This study finds that the Plain English Guidelines, Reg. FD and SOX had differential impacts on earnings disclosure readability. Additionally, it finds that earnings disclosure readability decreases as firm earnings decrease. Moreover, this study demonstrates that institutional investors contribute to earnings disclosure readability and may serve as monitors of management in this regard. Finally, firms that beat analyst forecasts have more readable earnings disclosures. This study not only contributes to the body of academic literature, but also informs regulators regarding their ability to induce firm management to write more informative earnings disclosures. / Ph. D.

This study was designed to examine the comprehension processes used when reading cancer information found on the Internet and its relation to readability. The focus of the research was on the utilization of an alternative methodology, propositional analysis, to provide indices of textual difficulty that complement standard readability formulas. Kintsch's (1998) framework about discourse comprehension was used to distinguish between textbase and situational factors influencing comprehension. <br /><br /> This study analysed the verbal protocols of 16 community dwelling older adults. They each read a pair of either breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer web pages at low and high readability levels. Propositional density and coherence were measured for the web pages; recall, concepts, inferences, and coherence were measured for the protocols. Coherence was also captured using network representations. The readability formulas used were the Flesch-Kincaid (F-K), Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) and SMOG. Results showed that propositional density did not agree with readability scores, and that the readability formulas did not even produce consistent results among themselves. Results also showed that readability was not associated with web page coherence. Analysis of the protocols revealed marked individual differences for the kinds of information recalled, the types of inferences made, and the coherence of mental models. Variations in background and personal interest appeared to influence whether superordinate or subordinate propositions were recalled. Dependence on prompted versus non-prompted interview questions also varied by individual. <br /><br /> The findings of this study suggest that propositional analysis should be considered as a complementary methodology to readability formulas. Relying solely on these formulas as an indictor of comprehension may mislead online health providers that their information will be understood. The findings also highlight that that individual create distinct and personalized mental models when presented with web pages that are influenced by text and situation based factors.

More and more parents are turning to the Internet for information about their children’s health and wellbeing. With all of the conflicting information online, how do parents decide which health websites to believe and follow? One website element the impact of which is not well understood is the readability level of content presented. An online survey was conducted with parents and university students in an attempt to isolate the relationships between website readability and credibility judgements and intentions to act. Parents and students were randomly assigned to view and evaluate one of three mock websites about Fragile X syndrome with identical content but differing readability levels. It was predicted that users would find websites that were easier to understand more credible and they would in turn then be more likely to act on the information from simple readability websites. Contrary to the author’s hypothesis, students were more likely to follow recommendations on websites written at a complex readability level, when they were engaged with the website. Results also showed that readability was less of an influence on credibility than were the parents’ pre-experiment knowledge of the disorder. / February 2017

附作者簡歷. / Thesis (M.A.)--香港中文大學敎育學院. / Fu zuo zhe jian li. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-145). / Thesis (M.A.)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue jiao yu xue yuan. / Chapter 第一章 --- 導言 / 問題說明 --- p.1 / 有關文獻 --- p.10 / 假設 --- p.31 / 定義 --- p.33 / Chapter 第二章 --- 研究方法 --- p.39 / 研究設計 --- p.39 / 研究對象 --- p.44 / 研究工具 --- p.46 / 實驗程序 --- p.56 / 資料分析 --- p.63 / Chapter 第三章 --- 結果與討論 --- p.69 / 結果 --- p.69 / 討論 --- p.101 / Chapter 第四章 --- 摘要，結論及建議 --- p.127 / 摘要與結論 --- p.127 / 建議 --- p.136 / 參考文獻 --- p.141 / 附錄 --- p.146 / Chapter 一 --- 虛實詞式填字測驗試卷 --- p.146 / Chapter 二 --- 實詞式填字測試試卷 --- p.151 / Chapter 三 --- 虛詞式填字測試試卷 --- p.154 / Chapter 四 --- 多項選擇式理解測驗試卷 --- p.157 / Chapter 五 --- 填字測驗各項平均分、標準差及「兩元次重複測量設計」之電腦計算程序 --- p.174 / Chapter 六 --- 填字測驗成績与理解測驗成績相關係數之電腦計算程序 --- p.178 / Chapter 七 --- 填字測驗中倆種計分法所得成績之相關係數之電腦計算程序 --- p.182

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 70 p. Includes bibliographical references.

What makes identity readable? To answer this question, I examine the constructions of queer, non-German women in three contemporary transnational German films, Aimée und Jaguar, Fremde Haut and Auf der anderen Seite. To become readable, and thus to survive within the socio-political realm of German culture, these protagonists must construct and perform interconnected dimensions of identity— sex, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, language, clothing, and name—that can be located along a hegemonic-defined continuum. But when the characters cannot be read within this framework, they trouble dominant readings and understandings of their positions in this system and disrupt normative conceptions of identity. These threats to the system, however, do not lead to a renegotiation of the protagonists’ identities. Rather, hegemonic German society reacts to the unreadability of these queer figures by violently rejecting them through deportation and/or death.

This study was designed to examine the comprehension processes used when reading cancer information found on the Internet and its relation to readability. The focus of the research was on the utilization of an alternative methodology, propositional analysis, to provide indices of textual difficulty that complement standard readability formulas. Kintsch's (1998) framework about discourse comprehension was used to distinguish between textbase and situational factors influencing comprehension. <br /><br /> This study analysed the verbal protocols of 16 community dwelling older adults. They each read a pair of either breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer web pages at low and high readability levels. Propositional density and coherence were measured for the web pages; recall, concepts, inferences, and coherence were measured for the protocols. Coherence was also captured using network representations. The readability formulas used were the Flesch-Kincaid (F-K), Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) and SMOG. Results showed that propositional density did not agree with readability scores, and that the readability formulas did not even produce consistent results among themselves. Results also showed that readability was not associated with web page coherence. Analysis of the protocols revealed marked individual differences for the kinds of information recalled, the types of inferences made, and the coherence of mental models. Variations in background and personal interest appeared to influence whether superordinate or subordinate propositions were recalled. Dependence on prompted versus non-prompted interview questions also varied by individual. <br /><br /> The findings of this study suggest that propositional analysis should be considered as a complementary methodology to readability formulas. Relying solely on these formulas as an indictor of comprehension may mislead online health providers that their information will be understood. The findings also highlight that that individual create distinct and personalized mental models when presented with web pages that are influenced by text and situation based factors.

Aims: This study addressed the challenge of evaluating and improving patient education material as well as recall of information from a tinnitus counselling session. The first aim was to examine the readability and suitability of two tinnitus patient education brochures provided by an audiology clinic to new tinnitus patients. If the readability of the brochures were higher than international recommendations for reading grade level (RGL), then an attempt to rewrite a brochure to a suitable RGL would be made. The second aim was to investigate a) the amount of information tinnitus patients can successfully recall directly following their initial appointment, b) the amount of information that is retained one to two weeks following their appointment, c) whether the amount of information recalled is related to patient variables, and d) the themes that arose from interviews with the patients. Method: To address study aim 1, readability analyses were completed for two patient tinnitus brochures provided to new patients at a private hearing aid clinic using several readability formulas. If found to have a readability level over 5th grade level one brochure would be rewritten to an acceptable readability level while attempting to maintain the initial level of content. The suitability of the brochures was assessed by two experts in the area of health literacy using the Suitability Assessment of Material (SAM). To address study aim 2, eight participants consulting for tinnitus services were prospectively identified by a clinical audiologist at a private hearing aid clinic. Immediately following the initial tinnitus counselling session, participants took part in a digitally-recorded seven-item open-ended interview and provided demographic and audiological information. One to two weeks later, a second interview using the same questions was conducted. Results: After analyzing the readability of the brochures it was evident that both exceeded the recommended RGL on the Flesch-Kincaid (F-K), Fry, Fog, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG). The experts rated Brochure 1 as “unsuitable” for patient education and Brochure 2 as “adequate” for patient education using the SAM. Brochure 1 was revised and was within the internationally recommended RGL as measured by the F-K, Fry, and Fog, whilst keeping the content similar to the original. Overall, participants correctly recalled only a small amount of information in the immediate (36.8%) and one to two weeks later (33.7%). There was no significance difference in amount of correctly recalled information between appointments, and none of the correlations performed for recall and participant variables were statistically significant. Effect sizes were calculated and no trend was found for audiometric variables, although demographic variables did tend to explain more of the variance in recall in the short-term than immediately. The most notable themes identified in the interview immediately after the appointment were: Hearing aids, Understanding/Empowerment, and Masking/Music therapy. At the short-term follow up interview, Hearing aids, Cost, and Hope/Positive were commonly reported. Conclusions: As over half of New Zealanders do not have adequate health literacy skills to meet the demands of life and work (Ministry of Health, 2010) it follows that written and verbal health information should be easy understandable to allow patients to take an active role in their health care and experience the best possible health outcomes. Overall, participants only remembered modest amounts, only one brochure was adequate for patient education, and the RGL of both brochures were higher than recommended. There is a great need for more studies examining suitability, readability, and patient recall not only in tinnitus, but in all areas of healthcare.

The aim of this study was to examine the readability of news articles published in the Swedish national newspaper Dagens Nyheter during the years 1999 - 2013. Our hypothesis was that the written language in newspapers is simpler today than it was 15 years ago. To measure the possible change of the written language in a quantitative study we chose to use a method to calculate the readability of 30 news articles, two from each year. We could not see any development of the language level so we chose to do a complementary qualitative study of the layout and presentation of the news articles. This secondary study showed a significant change in how news is presented throughout the years. The articles from 2003 and forth were presented with more space and more pictures and photos than the articles in our sample published before 2003. We used different theories to support the cause of our study and to analyse and make conclusions from the results. We used the social responsibility theory to support our hypothesis and prove why this problem is relevant and worth studying. The other theories we used to analyse the articles and make conclusions to answer our questions were the framing theory and theories about informational texts, like news articles, and news values.