Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 73-85) Also available in print.

No description available.

The gender-neutral pronoun hen has been added to the Swedish language with the aim to reduce sexism in the language and make language more inclusive. An objection against the implementation of the word is that the word would be cumbersome to read and would take more cognitive capacity to process. The present study examined if that concern is warranted. 209 participants self-paced read five texts with three pronouns each. Participants were randomly distributed to conditions containing only hen, he/she, she, or he as pronouns. No difference was found between reading speed in the condition containing hen as a pronoun in comparison with the conditions using han, hon or han/hon. No overall difference in memory recall was found either. However, sexism was found to be a moderator for memory recall when reading a text including hen, leading to lower memory recall for individuals scoring high on modern sexism.

The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of audio feedback from an electromyograph on reading speed and comprehension. The subject reduced as much audio feedback, and thus laryngeal tension, as possible, thus permitting more efficient reading. After baseline, the subject received twelve half-hour practice sessions, six ten-minute testing sessions on easy, or light, material and six ten-minute testing sessions on difficult material. A post-test without feedback was given after training and a follow-up test, without feedback, was given. This method of training permits a higher rate of reading speed, while allowing the subject to process complex information and maintain a constant level of recall.

This dissertation suggests a new approach to reading instruction and phonetic control in materials development. The central feature of this approach is its reliance on phoneme-grapheme correspondence data. Specifically, the products of this dissertation were (1) the development of relative frequency tables depicting the various phonemes produced by a given grapheme structure, (2) the development of five different levels of phonetic sophistication, (3) the classification of 974 words as regular or irregular in accordance with each level of sophistication, and (4) the phonetic rewriting of three existing short stories to make them phonetically regular. One of the phonetically rewritten stories was given to an existing group of sixth grade students along with its original form. The students performed with superior reading speed and equal comprehension on the phonetically rewritten story. This difference was significant at the .01 level.

No / PURPOSE. Previous studies suggest that optimal reading speed is unaffected by cataract, yet is significantly reduced in age-related macular degeneration (ARMD ). This raises the question of whether a reading speed test could be developed to assess potential vision after cataract surgery. METHODS. Nineteen subjects with cataract, 15 with ARMD, and 13 control subjects with normal, healthy eyes read Bailey-Lovie word charts aloud, and subsequently, critical print size and optimal reading speed were calculated. Measurements were also taken with the charts in reversed-contrast polarity and after pupillary dilation. RESULTS. Although the subjects with cataract had reduced word acuity and increased critical print size, optimal reading speed was similar to that of the control group at a mean of approximately 100 wpm. Optimal reading speed in the subjects with ARMD was substantially worse (mean of 39 wpm). Reversing the contrast polarity of the charts slightly increased the word acuity and optimal reading speed of the subjects with cataract. CONCLUSIONS. The results suggest that optimal reading speed would be useful as a potential-vision test. The proposed test would use text size of at least 1.32 degrees (1.2 log minimum angle of resolution [logMAR]), and pupil dilation would be unnecessary. A reading test with black letters on a white background would be adequate, because charts with reversed-contrast polarity made minimal difference in reading speed.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether three typeface variations of dot matrix print [single density, dual density, and photocopied dot matrix type] and two formatting variations [fully justified and left justified] had any effect on the reading rates or reading comprehension of college students when compared to the same typewritten material. A pretest/posttest design with experimental and control groups utilized the Cloze Reading Test and the Nelson Denny Reading Test to measure reading comprehension and reading rates respectively to college students [N= 240]. Subjects were randomly assigned to the groups to test the effects of the six treatment levels and two control groups of the independent variables [typefaces and type formatting] on the dependent variables [reading comprehension and reading rates. Four test sessions were used to collect the data and answer the research question: Do either of the three typeface variations of dot matrix print or the two formatting variables have any effect on reading comprehension or reading rates of the subjects when compared to typewriter type? A factorial analysis of covariance [p. < .05] was used to analyze reading comprehension; and a two way analysis of variance [p. < .05] was used to analyze reading rates. The findings indicated that typefaces or formatting made no significant difference in the reading rate or reading comprehension scores of the subjects tested. / Ph. D.

Läshastigheten hos undertexter har studerats sedan 1980-talet men mycket lite forskning har undersökt hur läshastigheter i undertexter till verkliga filmer och tv-serier ser ut. Studien replikerar en tidigare studie på engelskspråkiga undertexter och samlar in en korpus bestående av svenska undertexter hämtade från filmer och serier på Netflix, vilka analyseras kvantitativt för att kartlägga hur fördelningen av läshastigheter och exponeringstider ser ut. Därefter följer en kvalitativ analys av exempel på höga läshastigheter från korpusen, med utgångspunkt i den senaste forskningen på hur höga läshastigheter påverkar tittare. Resultaten visar att de svenska undertexterna förvisso har en lägre läshastighet än de engelskspråkiga, men att väldigt höga läshastigheter och korta exponeringstider ändå förekommer trots riktlinjer kring maximal läshastighet. Detta kan leda till att tittare inte hinner läsa klart undertexterna innan de försvinner ur bild. / The reading speed of subtitles has been studied since the 1980s, but very little research has been done on what the reading speed of subtitles for actual films and tv-shows are like. The study replicates an earlier study on Anglophone subtitles and gathers a corpus consisting of Swedish subtitles from films and series on Netflix, which are analysed quantitatively to chart the distribution of reading speeds and exposure times. This is followed by a qualitative analysis of examples of high reading speeds from the corpus, using the latest research into the effects of high reading speeds on viewers. The results show that even though the Swedish subtitles have lower reading speeds than the Anglophone ones, very high reading speeds and short exposure times are present, despite guidelines regulating the maximum reading speed. This can lead to viewers not being able to finish reading the subtitles before they disappear.

Abstract The present study reports the results of an intervention in year two based on proven methods to enhance students decoding and reading speed. Since a slow and uncertain decoding can affect reading comprehension. I have conducted tests in two classes in year 2, in decoding, and reading comprehension. I identified 16 students who received results stanine 1 to 3 on one or both tests. These students were given further tests in listening comprehension and in decoding. A standardized test was used both as a pretest and as a posttest, measuring literally awareness, decoding of the content, form and nonsense words and RAN. Five of the students become members in the intervention group, denoted The reading club.  Four students got constitute a control group. Another four pupils lacked sufficient prerequisites for participation, and three students received too high results of decoding test for participation in the study. Should the intervention study, which lasted for 45 minutes three times a week for five weeks, enhance the students decoding skills and reading speed? After completion of the intervention I compared the results from the intervention group with the pupils from the control group and the students who normed the test. The students who participate in The Reading club enhance the reading speed compare to the control group.

The modern computerised era in which we live means that all areas of society are subjected to information technology. Children are increasingly exposed to and have access to computers, which necessarily have an influence on their education and development. Seeing that children are the most receptive group when it comes to exposure to new technology, this may have enriching effects on computer literacy, which is often considered part of general literacy. With regards to literacy, reading is one of the skills which pose a high challenge. It is also a key skill that opens the world of information, as most information is received through reading. Any reading stimulation via electronic or printed media that encourages learners to read is considered to improve reading ability, reading speed, reading comprehension and phonetic awareness. The aim of this study was to determine whether there was a correlation between early computer exposure and experience (both computer access and use) and reading ability of grade 1 learners. In this study a one shot cross-sectional survey design was used. Schools with grade 1 learners in the Umvoti district of Kwa Zulu Natal were selected to participate in the study - stratified sampling was used. The grade 1 classes were selected on the basis of random sampling. The selected classes (N=4; 85 learners) participated 'intact' in the study. The data was analysed using descriptive as well as inferential statistics (e.g. MANCOVA). / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.