The primary motivation for this research was to study the effect of presentation format on acquisition time, recall, and preference. While the main focus was on the relative difference between iconic and textual representations, the independent variables include: presentation format (icon, text and mixed), experience (low, medium, and high), command set (basic, enhanced) and session (primary and secondary recall) . Dependent measures include: acquisition time, response times (primary and secondary recall), and response errors (primary and secondary recall). To assess the presence of functional differences between the independent variables, the ANOVA procedure was applied to each set of dependent measure data. Where appropriate, significant effects were subsequently investigated via application the Newman-Keuls post hoc test procedure. Finally, subject preference measures were correlated with dependent measure data to determine how they were related. The findings associated with each analysis are detailed below. A significant effect was obtained for the main effect of format using acquisition time as the dependent variable. Thus, indicating that acquisition time was influenced by the presentation format of select word processing commands. No other acquisition effects were found to be significant. An ANOVA utilizing response time as the dependent variable supported the hypothesis that presentation format affects average primary response time (p < .01). Additionally, the interaction of the main effects of format and setblock achieved significance (p < .01). Format, setblock and the interaction of the two main effects produce significant (p < .01) average differences in terms of response errors. Therefore, the hypothesis that format and setblock significantly affect the number of response errors was supported. Comparison of the ANOVA summary tables for both response time and errors for primary and secondary tasks indicate that in general, the effects that held significance in the primary recall tasks also achieved (or perhaps more correctly maintained) significance in the secondary recall task. Specifically, using response time as the dependent variable, significance was achieved for the main effects of format (p < .01), and setblock (p < .01), and for the interaction of experience and setblock (p < .05). Finally, using response errors as the dependent variable, the format by setblock interaction was determined to be significant (p < .01). The results support the hypothesis that the number of secondary recall percent correct responses is affected by format and setblock. Subject preference data was utilized to determine the correlation between preference and: average acquisition time, average primary recall response time, average primary recall response errors, average secondary recall response time, and average recall response errors. The correlations achieved indicate that preference is not a particularly useful indicator of performance. In an attempt to summarize the results and findings of the study, the following recommendations/observations are set forth: • With the exception of novices, word processing experience does not dramatically influence the time required to learn or recall stimuli. Similarly, experience does not affect the number of response errors made. • Word processing systems which require subjects to learn and recall exact command sets benefit from enhanced text or enhanced text with graphics. • In applications where a precise verbal response is required, or where differences between functions is subtle, use of an accepted term in conjunction with a graphic is the preferred method. • In general, preference appears to be a poor predictor of performance. Therefore, preference should not be the only basis for deciding on command set formats. However, when subject preference is the primary driver, enhanced text commands should be used. The next preferred approach is the mixed enhanced command set. / Master of Science

no abstract provided by author / Ed. D.

Information processing has altered the structure of the traditional office. Typewriters are no longer a necessity to prepare written business communication. As a result of a metamorphosis from manual data manipulation to electronic data processing, microcomputers and their related peripheral equipment are becoming the key link in the information system. Increased usage of microcomputers and word processing software has been linked to decreased proficiency in detecting errors and in turn to decreased office productivity. Thus a number of questions arise including: Is it better to proofread from a hardcopy or a softcopy document? Does the color and contrast configuration of a video display terminal affect the operator's ability to proofread? The effect on the operator's ability to accurately detect errors in keyboarded text from different media has not been previously determined. This study was therefore completed to ascertain if a difference does exist. Seventy-two individuals enrolled in four word processing classes at a western North Carolina community college comprised the individuals participating in this study. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, a pretest instrument, and one of four error detection instruments. The error detection instruments were presented in either a hardcopy or softcopy format. The softcopy format consisted of three video display terminal configurations. Analyses of covariance with pretest scores used as the covariate were used to compare the quantity and types of errors detected by error detection environment configurations. Based on the findings from the analyses of data the following conclusions were derived. 1. Postsecondary word processing students have difficulty in finding errors in hardcopy and softcopy documents. 2. Postsecondary word processing students' abilities to detect errors in keyboarded text were not affected by the error detection environment–hardcopy or softcopy–during a ten-minute error detection process. Therefore, the printing of a hardcopy of keyboarded text when detecting errors for a short time period is not necessary. 3. Postsecondary word processing students' abilities to detect errors in keyboarded text were not affected by the video display terminal configurations examined in this study. A video display terminal’s color configuration is not a factor in the error detecting process for a short time period-ten minutes. Therefore, the color configuration of a video display terminal should not be a major consideration when purchasing new video display terminals for instructional use. 4. As the spelling Verification feature of word processing software does not detect all types of errors, instruction is needed in detecting errors that cannot be detected by the software’s spelling Verification feature. / Ed. D.

Thesis (B. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2007

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of using word processing and proofreading software in freshman composition at a community college. This study used pretest and posttest measures to determine if significant differences in the improvement of composition skills occurred between students in a composition class that did not use microcomputers and students in a composition class that did use microcomputers. Objective tests and writing samples were used as measurements. The population for the study consisted of students enrolled in freshman composition classes at a two year community college. Students self-selected enrollment in each class. Three hundred students who completed the pretest and posttest measures and completed the course were included in the study. There was no significant difference found in the improvement of writing skills between the two groups as measured by the objective test or the writing samples. There was a significant difference found in the withdrawal rate of students from the classes. The computer class had a significantly higher withdrawal rate than the non-computer class.

Decades of research have shed light on the nature of reading in our first language. There is substantial research about how we recognize words, the ways in which we process sentences, and the linguistic and non-linguistic factors which may affect those processes (e.g. Besner & Humphreys, 2009). This has led to more effective pedagogical techniques and methodologies in the teaching of L1 reading (Kamil et al., 2011). With the ever-increasing number of L2 English speakers in U.S. schools and universities, research in more recent has begun to investigate reading in L2. However, this field of inquiry is not nearly as robust as that of L1 reading. Much remains to be explored in terms of how L2 readers process words, sentences, and comprehend what they read (Grabe, 2012). The studies in this dissertation add to the growing body of literature detailing the processes of L2 reading and improvement in L2 reading skills. The first two studies will focus on a topic that has sparked lively discussion in the field over the last 10 years or so: the online processing of L2 morphologically complex words in visual word recognition. Article 3 discusses the effects of a pedagogical intervention and the ways in which it may influence the development of second language reading. Broadly, the studies in this dissertation will address the following research questions: (1) how do L2 readers process morphologically complex words? (2) Is there a connection between their knowledge of written morphology and their ability to use it during word recognition? (3) What is the role of L2 proficiency in these processes? (4) How does extensive reading influence the development of L2 reading skills? Many studies of L2 word processing have been conducted using offline methods. Accordingly, the studies in this dissertation seek to supplement what we know about L2 morphological processing and reading skills with the use of psycholinguistic tasks, namely, traditional masked priming, masked intervenor priming, and timed reading. Secondly, this collection of studies is among the few to explore the relationship between online processing and offline morphological awareness, thereby bridging the two fields of study. Thirdly, unlike most studies of online processing, the data from this dissertation will be discussed in terms of its implications for the teaching of L2 morphologically complex words and L2 reading skills. Thus, this dissertation may be of interest to those working in L2 psycholinguistics of word recognition and sentence processing as well as ESL practitioners.

The University of Arizona Composition Program has demonstrated that computers can be integrated successfully into composition instruction. Administrators and instructors are preparing to offer students in second-semester Freshman Composition (English 102) a computer-integrated course of instruction as the equipment and facilities become available. Chapter I relates how current research shows that computers offer support to current theories in composition and that they can be utilized in all the various processes involved with producing university writing. It explores the problems program directors and university administrators face in providing computer technology to undergraduates in writing courses. Chapter II compares the reactions of Southern Arizona Writing Project teacher-participants with freshman students in a pilot section of English 102 at the University of Arizona and with comparable undergraduates at other universities as they learn to use word processors as a tool for writing. Some differences between the older SAWP participants and the undergraduates were observed, especially a greater computer anxiety and a greater of urgency to learn about computers. The SAWP participants had less time to become proficient computer writers than did the freshmen. All these factors probably contributed to their lower success rate as computer writers. Nevertheless, a large majority of all ages of computer writers recognize the benefits of using word processors for writing and even those SAWP participants who made only limited progress expressed a sense of satisfaction at having mastered the machine. Chapter III describes ways that computer writing and strategies of collaborative learning and peer review were adapted to the syllabus of English 102 in a pilot class at the University of Arizona. Students reacted favorably to both computers and to the teaching strategies. However, the vision of total computer integration resulting in a paper-free writing course cannot be achieved without either restructuring the syllabus or acquiring substantially improved computer facilities, especially through networked workstations and computerized classrooms.

Recent research has shown that the early lexical representations children establish in their second year of life already seem to be phonologically detailed enough to allow differentiation from very similar forms. In contrast to these findings children with specific language impairment show problems in discriminating phonologically similar word forms up to school age. In our study we investigated the question whether there would be differences in the processing of phonological details in normally developing and in children with low language performance in the second year of life. This was done by a retrospective study in which in the processing of phonological details was tested by a preferential looking experiment when the children were 19 months old. At the age of 30 months children were tested with a standardized German test of language comprehension and production (SETK2). The preferential looking data at 19 months revealed an opposite reaction pattern for the two groups: while the children scoring normally in the SETK2 increase their fixations of a pictured object only when it was named with the correct word, children with later low language performance did so only when presented with a phonologically slightly deviant mispronunciation. We suggest that this pattern does not point to a specific deficit in processing phonological information in these children but might be related to an instability of early phonological representations, and/or a generalized problem of information processing as compared to typically developing children.

This research compared the effectiveness of an interactive video training program with an instructor-led program for teaching working adults the personal computer (PC) application WordPerfect. The objectives of the study were to develop a research methodology and instrumentation in order to determine whether instructor-led training resulted in significantly different reaction, performance, and post-training use than interactive video instruction and to utilize the findings to suggest strategies for teaching working adults PC applications. The study was based on the need to comparatively evaluate various instructional approaches for teaching PC applications to working adults. There is also an underlying need in computer training is for easily administered, yet comprehensive evaluation methodologies. There were 111 individuals in the original sample. Half were randomly assigned to a interactive video group and half to an instructor-led group. After initial dropouts there were 53 individuals in the instructor-led group and 47 in the interactive video group. Instructional objectives, content and topic sequence were the same for both groups. A pilot study was conducted to confirm the reliability and validity of the instruments and methodology. A demographic questionnaire was completed at the beginning of an initial training session. At the end of the first training session a performance test and a reaction questionnaire were completed. After two to three weeks a use survey, a knowledge test, and a performance test were completed. Descriptive and analytic statistics were prepared for the dependent variables (reaction, performance, and post-training use) and covariates (age, gender, occupation, organization, education, and prior use). Null hypotheses of no difference were rejected when the significance was less than .05. Results indicated no significant differences in performance between the groups after either the first training session or after two to three weeks. However, results indicated significant differences (p = .0004) in reaction with the instructor-led group rating the training better overall. The instructor-led group also indicated that the clarity and usefulness of the course materials was better (p = .035). Significant differences were also found in post-training use (p = .036). / Graduation date: 1991

Research in Software Product Line Engineering (SPLE) traditionally focuses on product derivation. Prior work has explored the automated derivation of products by module composition. However, it has so far neglected propagating changes (edits) in a product back to the product line definition. A domain-specific product should be possible to update its features locally, and later these changes should be propagated back to the product line definition automatically. Otherwise, the entire product line has to be revised manually in order to make the changes permanent. Although this is the current state, it is a very error-prone process. To address these issues, we present a tool called Paan to create product lines of MS Word documents with back-propagation support. It is a diff-based tool that ignores unchanged fragments and reveals fragments that are changed, added or deleted. Paan takes a document with variation points (VPs) as input, and shreds it into building blocks called tiles. Only those tiles that are new or have changed must be updated in the tile repository. In this way, changes in composed documents can be back-propagated to their original feature module definitions. A document is synthesized by retrieving the appropriate tiles and composing them. / text